English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 23/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
The Parable of the Slaves and the Master who Entrusted them with Different
Amounts Of Money to Invest
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint
Luke 19/11-28/:"As they were listening to this, Jesus went on to tell a parable,
because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God
was to appear immediately. So he said, ‘A nobleman went to a distant country to
get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and
gave them ten pounds, and said to them, "Do business with these until I come
back."But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him,
saying, "We do not want this man to rule over us."When he returned, having
received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money,
to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The
first came forward and said, "Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds." He
said to him, "Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very
small thing, take charge of ten cities."Then the second came, saying, "Lord,
your pound has made five pounds." He said to him, "And you, rule over five
cities." Then the other came, saying, "Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up
in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you
take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow." He said to him,
"I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I
was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could
have collected it with interest." He said to the bystanders, "Take the pound
from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds."(And they said to him,
"Lord, he has ten pounds!") "I tell you, to all those who have, more will be
given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them bring
them here and slaughter them in my presence." ’After he had said this, he went
on ahead, going up to Jerusalem."
Titles For The Latest English
LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October
22-23/2025
Elias Bejjani/October 21/2025/ My X Account
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video: The 42nd Anniversary of Hezbollah’s Crime – The
1983 Bombing of the U.S. and French Military Headquarters in Beirut
The Anniversary of the Aaichiye، Massacre and the Assassination of Dany Chamoun
and His Family ...They loved Lebanon unto martyrdom and offered themselves as
pure sacrifices upon its altar./Elias Bejjani/October 21/2025
Barrack on Marines' Anniversary Warns Against Past Mistakes
Expat Vote Knocks on the Cabinet's Doors
What the Lebanon-Israel diplomatic deadlock means for regional stability and
peace/ANAN TELLO/Arab News/October 22, 2025
Japan-backed telescope to power Lebanon’s first astronomical observatory on
Mount Makmel
One killed in drone strike on Ain Qana
Aoun says parliamentary vote must be held on time, expats participation 'a must'
Issa expected to activate negotiations, Barrack may visit Beirut soon
Report: 'Mechanism' to intensify meetings on Lebanese Army plan
Israeli army chief inspects military exercise near Lebanon's border
Barrack: Lebanon must resolve its own divisions and reclaim its sovereignty
US envoy Tom Barrack marks anniversary of 1983 Marine compound attack in Beirut,
says America “must not repeat past mistakes”
Salam: Hezbollah must become a normal political party
PM Salam discusses South Lebanon and post-UNIFIL phase with UNIFIL commander
Israel gears for confrontation with Hezbollah, challenges US Gaza strategy
Washington Flashes 'Hell of War' to Push Lebanon Towards Disarming Hezbollah and
Normalizing with Israel
From shootout to arrest: Armed drug dealer in Lebanon caught after 'daring'
escape
Where are Lebanon’s missing? Families search for answers as Israel holds at
least 20 captives
Fadel Shaker appears in Beirut court after 12 years on the run
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October
22-23/2025
Netanyahu hints at opposition to any Turkish forces in Gaza
US pushes plan to disarm Hamas and rebuild Gaza
Avichay Adraee / Shame on every free Arab who colluded with Hamas and supported
its crimes
Israeli lawmakers approve advancement of West Bank annexation bills
Israel returns 30 Palestinian bodies to Gaza: Health ministry
World Court says Israel must allow UN aid to Gaza and ensure basic needs of
Palestinians
Israel deports 32 foreign activists who helped Palestinian olive harvest
Syria Arrests Major Officer in Charge of Notorious Assad-era Prison
Syrian forces surround extremist camp to capture French fighter
Twelve UN staff leave Yemen’s Sanaa after Houthi detention
Putin oversees readiness test of Russia’s nuclear forces
Pakistani naval vessel seizes drug shipments in Arabian Sea
Trump says doesn’t want ‘wasted’ meeting with Putin
German firm behind Louvre heist truck basks in publicity
German far-right lawmakers accused of spying for Russia
US missionary abducted in Niger capital: Diplomatic sources
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
on October
22-23/2025
Lasting peace in Gaza hinges on Palestinian
statehood, not temporary ceasefires: Experts/Yusra Asif/Al Arabiya English/22
October/2025
From the Middle East to Nigeria: Building the next axis of growth in Africa/Dr.
Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya English/22 October/2025
What Egypt’s Coordinated Islamization Program Means for Coptic Christians/Coptic
Solidarity/Raymond Ibrahim/October/2025
Muslim Migrants Fuelling the Rise in Anti-Semitic Attacks/ Con Coughlin/Gatestone
Institute./October 22/2025
Mamdani's 9/11 Moment of Truth/Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute/October 22,
2025
Iran...What Lies Beyond the Return to the Past?/Yousef Al-Dayni/Acharq Al-Awsat/October
22/2025
Selected English Tweets from X Platform For 22 October/2025
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October
22-23/2025
Elias Bejjani/October 21/2025/ My X Account
Please be informed that my account on the X
platform has been suspended for reasons unknown to me. This is the fourth
account in five years to be arbitrarily suspended.
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video: The 42nd Anniversary of
Hezbollah’s Crime – The 1983 Bombing of the U.S. and French Military
Headquarters in Beirut
Elias Bejjani/October 23, 2025
On this day, we remember with deep national pain and heartfelt prayers the 42nd
anniversary of a horrific terrorist crime that targeted our American and French
friends who came to Lebanon to help its people resist the combined terrorism of
the Syrian, Iranian, and Palestinian forces — supported by the global left and
both branches of political Islam, Sunni and Shiite.
On October 23, 1983, the jihadist and criminal regime of the Iranian mullahs in
Tehran, through its terrorist proxy blasphemously named Hezbollah, bombed the
U.S. and French military barracks in Beirut. The attack resulted in the
martyrdom of 241 American Marines, 56 French soldiers, and a large number of
innocent Lebanese civilians.
That massacre was neither spontaneous nor isolated. It was the founding
declaration of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s terrorism beyond its borders,
and the first public announcement of Tehran’s so-called “exporting the
revolution” project— a campaign of ideological and military expansion carried
out through extremist sectarian militias, whose mission was and remains to
destroy peace and stability in the Middle East and impose Iranian hegemony over
the Arab world.
All conclusive evidence proved that the Iranian regime ordered, planned,
financed, trained, and executed that attack through its newly formed military
proxy at the time — Hezbollah.
Since that day, nothing in Hezbollah's essence, behavior, or purpose has
changed. It remains today the terrorist and occupying proxy of Iran, both inside
Lebanon and across the free world.
The same Hezbollah that murdered American and French soldiers in 1983 is the
same entity that now slowly kills the Lebanese people— through state capture,
political paralysis, economic collapse, corruption, wars and isolation. After
its humiliating defeat in its latest futile war against Israel, Hezbollah
shamelessly returned to internal terror tactics: intimidation, assassination,
hunger, and propaganda against every free Lebanese who refuses to kneel to the
Wilayat al-Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist) regime in Tehran.
It must be said clearly and unequivocally: “Hezbollah has never been, and will
never be, a resistance movement.”
It is not a Lebanese entity by any means, nor does it represent the honorable
Shiite community. It has kidnapped and enslaved this community, sending its
youth to die in Iran’s expansionist and jihadist wars. It imposes its so-called
political and parliamentary representation through murder, fear, and terrorism,
silencing dissenters from within before silencing others.
Hezbollah is an Iranian, terrorist, criminal, and jihadist mercenary gang— it
has absolutely nothing to do with defending Lebanon or liberating its land. It
was founded solely to serve the interests of the Iranian Mullahs regime and
execute its security and military orders. True resistance defends its people and
nation — it does not occupy, rob, or destroy them, nor does it act as a foreign
army operating under foreign command.
Over four decades, reality has proven that Hezbollah has not liberated a single
inch of Lebanese territory. On the contrary, it has occupied Lebanon, dragged it
into senseless wars, devastated its economy, opened its borders to smuggling and
chaos, and stripped its citizens of sovereignty and dignity.
Therefore, Hezbollah’s continued domination and armament mean that the 1983
crime is still ongoing — in new forms, every single day. Just as it once
targeted international peacekeeping forces, today it targets the Lebanese state
itself, preventing its recovery and holding its future hostage to Tehran’s
decisions.
The international community must act now — not with words, but with deeds — to
help Lebanon reclaim its sovereignty and dismantle this Iranian occupation
structure. This requires:
*Full implementation of all international resolutions, especially UNSC
Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of all Lebanese and
non-Lebanese militias; Resolution 1701, which mandates that weapons be held
exclusively by the Lebanese state; and Resolution 1680, alongside the Lebanese
Constitution and the Armistice Agreement with Israel.
*Enforcement of the recent ceasefire agreement that Hezbollah signed following
its defeat and surrender to Israel, ensuring that Lebanon’s southern border is
no longer a hostage to Hezbollah’s weapons or terror.
*Strengthening the Lebanese Army and legitimate state institutions so that they
alone hold authority and control over all Lebanese territory.
*Placing Lebanon under UN Chapter VII international protection if current
leaders and rulers remain hesitant, complicit, or incapable of confronting
Hezbollah and dismantling its military, security, and propaganda networks.
*Imposing severe international sanctions on Hezbollah and all those who fund or
politically cover it, and prosecuting its leaders as war criminals and
terrorists before Lebanese and international courts.
If the free world truly seeks peace in the Middle East, it must help Lebanon
dismantle the Iranian occupation apparatus embodied by Hezbollah and allow the
Lebanese people to rebuild their free, sovereign, and independent nation.
On this solemn anniversary, we offer prayers for the souls of the American and
French soldiers, and for the innocent Lebanese who perished in that terrorist
attack. We also pray for Lebanon’s liberation from the Iranian occupation and
its criminal militias — so that our nation, Lebanon, may once again rise as a
free, sovereign, and dignified homeland, worthy of peace and justice.
The Anniversary of the Aaichiye، Massacre and the
Assassination of Dany Chamoun and His Family ...They
loved Lebanon unto martyrdom and offered themselves as pure sacrifices upon its
altar.
Elias Bejjani/October 21/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/10/68292/
The systematic brutality targeting Lebanon’s free and sovereign men and women —
leaders, clergy, and intellectuals — has continued since the 1970s through
various oppressive and terrorist means. Nothing has changed for the better since
the Aaichiye, massacre and the assassination of martyr Dany Chamoun and his
family. Lebanon remains occupied, and its rulers, politicians, and party leaders
— the vast majority of them — are Trojan collaborators executing the occupier’s
commands while trampling the nation’s interests.
First came the Palestinian occupation, followed by the Syrian one, and then the
cancer of Hezbollah and its godless masters, the mullahs of Iran. Today, as we
commemorate the Aaichiye massacre and the martyrdom of Dany Chamoun and his
family, we must recognize, with national and spiritual awareness, that Hezbollah
has destroyed Lebanon, displaced its people, dismantled its institutions, and
dragged it — against the will of the majority — into a devastating war with
Israel to serve Iran’s interests.
Despite all the destruction and loss, Hezbollah refuses to acknowledge defeat,
surrender its weapons to the state, and abide by the ceasefire, the
constitution, and international resolutions. History teaches us that nations not
nourished by the generous sacrifices of their people collapse, their identity
fades, and their dignity and heritage are erased.
Holy Lebanon — blessed with youth who fear neither death nor martyrdom for its
sake, like Dany Chamoun and his family — will endure, for evil cannot overcome
it. Martyrdom is born of faith and love: faith in a homeland and a cause, and
love so pure and giving that it ascends to the level of offering one’s life for
those we love.
The martyrs are the beacon that lights our path to freedom and the incentive to
continue Lebanon’s sacred mission of dignity and spiritual greatness. As we
remember the Aaichiye massacre and the assassination of Dany Chamoun and his
family, we affirm that our faith in God, in Lebanon, and in our right to live
freely and with dignity requires us to endure pain and hardship, for nations are
built only on love, hope, and sacrifice — even unto martyrdom.
Many years have passed since those crimes, yet the horrors of the Aaichiye
massacre and the assassination of Dany Chamoun and his family remain vivid in
the hearts and minds of Lebanon’s free and sovereign people. These were heinous
crimes committed by the Syrian occupier and his local mercenaries — godless
agents and devils who accepted the role of tools and traitors.
Tragically, some of our own people submitted to the role of Trojans and Judases,
betraying the blood of martyrs. They are the moral, national, and ethical cancer
devouring our country. These very same figures still control Lebanon’s fate
today, dragging it — through hatred, envy, and bitterness — toward ruin and
destruction.
The political class and political party mafias who
side with the Iranian occupier, embodied by its local terrorist armed
proxy, Hezbollah, have betrayed the martyrs’ blood in exchange for power
and privilege. They traded sovereignty for seats and turned a blind eye to all
international resolutions concerning Lebanon.
The Aaichiye massacre and the assassination of Dany Chamoun and his family still
fill our hearts with sorrow and our eyes with tears for those noble heroes who
sacrificed their lives for Lebanon and its people.
We must never forget that Lebanon is a sacred land, its boundaries written in
the Holy Scriptures. It is God’s own domain, mentioned more than seventy-seven
times in the Old Testament:
“The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in
Lebanon.” (Psalm 92:12)
“His fragrance shall be like Lebanon.” (Hosea 14:6)
In Islam, Lebanon is held in reverence. The Prophet
Muhammad said: “Three mountains are among the
mountains of Paradise.” They asked: “O Messenger of God, which mountains?” He
said: “Mount Uhud — it loves us and we love it — Mount Sinai, and Mount
Lebanon.”
It is also said that among the seven mountains bearing the divine throne on
Judgment Day, Lebanon will be one of them. (As cited by historian Antoine Khoury
Harb in The Name of Lebanon Through the Ages.)
In conclusion, freedom is a divine gift granted to humanity so that we may be
free in thought, word, and belief. So, our Heavenly
Father, grant us steadfastness in truth and courage in bearing witness to it.
Martyr Dany Chamoun, the martyrs of Aaichiye, and all the martyrs of Lebanon’s
sacred land are the leaven of faith that continuously gives life to our nation,
planting within it love, generosity, and hope.
Barrack on Marines' Anniversary Warns Against Past
Mistakes
Expat Vote Knocks on the Cabinet's Doors
Nidaa Al-Watan/October 23, 2025
Forty-two years after the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, Americans
have not forgotten. Among those who have delved into the memory is US Envoy Tom
Barrack, who wrote on the "X" platform: "America cannot — and must not — repeat
the mistakes of that past." The question here is: What mistakes did America
commit then that it should not repeat? Is it in its silence regarding those
behind the bombing that killed 241 US Marines?
Barrack elaborated in his tweet, stating: "241 U.S. Marines, sailors, and
soldiers, 58 French military personnel, and six Lebanese civilians were killed
when a suicide bomber destroyed the Marine barracks in Beirut — one of the
deadliest attacks on Americans overseas." He added: "We honor their memory by
remembering the lesson: Lebanon must resolve its own divisions and reclaim its
sovereignty."
It is worth noting that at the time, fingers of accusation for the bombing were
pointed at President Hafez al-Assad for the decision, and at leaders and
officials in "Hezbollah" for the execution, including Haj Imad Mughniyeh, who
went into hiding since that date and was later assassinated in Syria.
New Sanctions on Lebanese Components and Figures Moving from the anniversary to
the current reality, the atmosphere in Washington indicates that the US
administration is considering imposing sanctions on Lebanese figures and
components that are financially assisting "Hezbollah." Information suggests
American dissatisfaction with the Lebanese obstruction of the expatriate vote,
as well as American displeasure with the leniency towards "Hezbollah"
domestically, which allows it to rebuild itself. This matter will not pass in
Washington, which will have a stance and a measure against it.
Expat Vote to the Council of Ministers In the electoral context, "Nidaa Al-Watan"
learned that Prime Minister Nawwaf Salam intends to place the draft law
submitted by Foreign Minister Youssef Rigi on the agenda of the next Council of
Ministers session. Salam promised this step after the pressing parliamentary
action and after it became clear that Minister Youssef Rigi's move has political
and popular support from residents and expatriates. "Nidaa Al-Watan" also
learned that today's cabinet session will be preceded by a coordination meeting
between Presidents Jozef Aoun and Nawwaf Salam to try to find a solution to the
issue of the draft law submitted by Minister Rigi concerning the election law,
amid Aoun's emphasis on the necessity of the expatriate vote and urging MPs to
complete work in this direction. Information indicates that Aoun will address
the issue of negotiations with Israel at the beginning of the session,
explaining the rationale of his position and where things might head. He will
also touch upon the situation in the South and on the borders and the existing
dangers, and will address living files after all that has happened in recent
days.
Aoun: Elections Will Be on Time In the context of the movement towards allowing
expatriates to vote in their places of residence for the 128 MPs, the President
of the Republic met with the MPs who signed the expatriate voting draft law. He
emphasized to them the right of Lebanese diasporas to have a participatory role
with resident Lebanese in the Lebanese political decision through the ballot
box, and he is committed to two fundamental constants: holding the parliamentary
elections on time and the necessity of the diaspora's participation in them. MP
Ghassan Hasbani spoke on behalf of the delegation, saying: We came to His
Excellency the President of the Republic and discussed with him the need to
address the imbalance in the current parliamentary election law, particularly
regarding the right of the Lebanese diaspora around the world to participate in
the electoral process by voting for MPs in their civil registry districts. We
requested His Excellency to ask the government to initiate, as quickly as
possible, the preparation and sending of an urgent draft law by referral decree
to the Parliament to correct this imbalance, especially since the government
itself had previously pointed out the ambiguity and legal confusion surrounding
the current text, particularly concerning the distribution of the six seats
allocated to expatriates across the continents.
Based on our keenness to complete the constitutional deadline on time,
transparently, and in a balanced manner, we appeal to His Excellency the
President to adopt this just national cause, as it represents a fundamental step
in restoring the right of Lebanese expatriates around the world to participate
in determining the fate of their homeland, especially since a large part of them
were forced to leave Lebanon due to the difficult economic, living, and security
conditions. Lebanese expatriates around the world constitute a basic pillar of
the nation, and they have a pivotal role in supporting its economy and
stability, and they have the full right to participate in determining their
future and the future of their country through the ballot boxes. Hence, we call
upon His Excellency the President to continue his national efforts and urge the
government to assume its responsibilities in this delicate circumstance and
immediately refer the urgent draft law to the Parliament, confirming the
principle of equality among all Lebanese, residents and expatriates, and
safeguarding their right to participate in national decision-making."
Al-Rai and the Expatriates' Right Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara
Boutros Al-Rai, in turn, stressed the right of expatriates, affirming that it
cannot be limited to demanding them to help their country while they are
deprived of their right to choose their 128 MPs.
Salam to Transform "Hezbollah" into a Political Party In a notable stance, Prime
Minister Nawwaf Salam, in an interview with "Paris Match" magazine, stressed
that "Hezbollah must exercise its activity normally without retaining an armed
militia," emphasizing "the need to respect the ceasefire with Israel and disarm
the party." Regarding the disarmament of "Hezbollah," Salam clarified that "the
goal is clear, which is to restore the state's monopoly on weapons south of the
Litani River within three months," explaining that this will be done "through a
multi-stage process that ultimately aims to transform Hezbollah into a political
party without an armed wing."
Israel Assassinating a Radwan Official In the field, a series of targets
occurred amid Israeli overflights. The Deputy Spokesperson for the Israeli Army,
"Captain Ella," confirmed the "targeting by the Israeli Defense Forces Air Force
of Issa Ahmed Karbala, a faction commander in the Radwan Force in the Ain Qana
area." She added: "He was involved in transferring combat means inside Lebanon
and sought to advance plans against the State of Israel. His activities
constituted a breach of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon." She
concluded: "The Israeli Defense Forces continue its operations to remove any
threat and to protect the security of the State of Israel."
What the Lebanon-Israel diplomatic deadlock means for regional stability and
peace
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/October 22, 2025
LONDON: As the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza tenuously holds, attention is now
shifting north to Lebanon. There, a proposal from President Joseph Aoun for
talks to resolve long-standing disputes has been rejected by Israel.
With Israel still occupying five hilltops in Lebanon, airstrikes continuing in
the south, and Hezbollah’s disarmament unresolved, the question looms: Are the
two countries ready to bury the hatchet?
On Oct. 13, at the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit where US President Donald Trump
unveiled the Gaza ceasefire deal, Aoun struck a conciliatory tone. “Today, the
general atmosphere is one of compromise, and it is necessary to negotiate,” he
said.
Citing the 2022 US- and UN-mediated maritime border agreement between Lebanon
and Israel, Aoun said: “Lebanon negotiated in the past with Israel … What
prevents repeating the same thing to find solutions to pending matters,
especially that war did not lead to results?”
Israel’s response came about a week later. US envoy Tom Barrack conveyed
Israel’s rejection of Aoun’s proposal, which called for a two-month halt to
Israeli military operations, withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory, and
subsequent border and security talks.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat on Oct. 20
that the proposed negotiations had collapsed.
Barrack, writing on X the same day, warned that unless Lebanon disarms the
Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, Israel “may act unilaterally — and the
consequences would be grave.”
He added that several US-backed initiatives meant to nudge Lebanon toward peace
“have stalled.”The Lebanese government now finds itself caught between US
pressure to disarm Hezbollah and the militia’s firm refusal to do so.
In late September, a year after Israel killed his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah,
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem reaffirmed the group’s stance.
“We will never abandon our weapons, nor will we relinquish them,” he said,
vowing to “confront any project that serves Israel.”
Israel has already escalated its attacks, claiming it is targeting Hezbollah
military sites. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has continued to launch sporadic attacks
on Israel, though mostly in response to Israeli strikes.
Since October, Lebanon has accused Israel of carrying out multiple strikes in
southern Lebanon, despite the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and
Hezbollah in November last year.
On Oct. 17, UN experts said Israeli strikes were causing civilian casualties and
“seriously undermining” Lebanon’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah in the south.
These developments leave observers questioning whether Lebanon and Israel could
ever achieve sustainable peace.
“In Lebanon, the idea of making peace with Israel has long been a taboo for many
people,” David Wood, senior analyst on Lebanon at the International Crisis
Group, told Arab News.
“Many Lebanese still resent Israel’s history of repeatedly occupying and
attacking Lebanon, which stretches back decades. In addition, plenty in Lebanon
denounce Israel’s brutal treatment of Palestinians, especially in Gaza
recently.”
That resentment is rooted in decades of conflict. Israel first invaded southern
Lebanon in 1978 to drive out Palestinian militants and establish a buffer zone.
A larger invasion followed in 1982, when Israeli forces reached Beirut and
occupied much of the south until 2000.
Another war followed in the summer of 2006 after a Hezbollah cross-border raid,
sparking a month-long conflict in which Israel invaded Lebanon.
New cycles of cross-border violence reignited on Oct. 8, 2023, after the
Hamas-led attack on southern Israel triggered Tel Aviv’s war on Gaza.
Cross-border fire between Hezbollah and Israel escalated in September last year,
with Israeli airstrikes decimating Hezbollah’s leadership and killing around
4,000 of its fighters.
Hundreds of Lebanese civilians were also killed and towns and villages
devastated. Israel reported the deaths of 75 soldiers and 45 civilians from
Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks, sniper fire, and cross-border infiltrations.
Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced on both sides of the border.
Although a ceasefire was reached in November last year, there have been repeated
violations by both sides.
The Lebanese Army Command reported more than 4,500 Israeli breaches as of
September this year. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has claimed one attack since the
truce, AFP reported, although Israel accuses the militia of many more.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli actions have killed more than 270 people
and wounded about 850 since the truce began. As of Oct. 9, the UN human rights
office had verified 107 civilian deaths, including 16 children.
Even so, a number of Lebanese, tired of this cycle of violence, are starting to
question the long-standing taboo on seeking peace.
“Some Lebanese do call for their country to reach a peace deal with Israel,”
Wood said. “These people argue that Lebanon must prioritize its own national
interest and avoid becoming entangled in conflict with Israel, as most recently
happened following the Oct. 7 attacks.”
He added: “This week, a widely watched Lebanese talk show host — Marcel Ghanem —
spoke of the need to break the taboo over Lebanon making peace with Israel.”IN
NUMBERS:
• 950 Projectiles fired from Israel into Lebanon since Nov. 27, 2024.
•100 Israeli airstrikes documented during the same period.
Others, however, see little room for optimism.
Lebanese economist and political adviser Nadim Shehadi believes Beirut should
“pick up where it left off in the May 17, 1983, agreement,” which parliament
annulled after Israel added conditions not in the original text.
That US-brokered deal sought to end hostilities and secure an Israeli
withdrawal, contingent on a simultaneous Syrian pullout that never occurred at
the time. The deal collapsed within a year amid Syrian opposition and internal
divisions, and parliament annulled it in 1984.
“The Lebanese state should take the initiative,” Shehadi told Arab News. “At the
moment, it is implementing an agreement it did not negotiate, for a war it did
not participate in, and with conditions it cannot deliver.”
He added that the government’s position is “weak,” saying it “seems to be acting
on behalf of Israel and the US.”The November 2024 agreement between Lebanon and
Israel mandates that Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon and that Hezbollah
retreat north of the Litani River within 60 days, with the Lebanese army
deploying to the border region.
It also reaffirmed both sides’ commitment to UN Security Council Resolution
1701, which calls for an area in southern Lebanon free of armed forces other
than the Lebanese army.
Shehadi argues that for now, “the maximum achievable under UNSCR 1701 is a
‘cessation of hostilities,’ not even a ceasefire — it is far below the minimum
requirement, which is an end of state of war.”Meanwhile, Lebanese security and
political analyst Ali Rizk believes that direct talks between Lebanon and Israel
“are out of the question.”
Indirect negotiations over land border demarcation — similar to the US-brokered
maritime talks — are the most that can be expected as long as “Israel continues
to occupy Lebanese territory and carry out nearly daily aggressions on Lebanon,”
Rizk told Arab News.
Even if that changed, Rizk said, direct talks would remain unlikely. “The
Shiites form the majority in Lebanon and at the same time would overwhelmingly
reject such talks, owing to the fact that the Shiites have borne the brunt of
Israeli aggressions, not least since Oct. 7, 2023.” He added: “The assassination
of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah makes it even more difficult, given
how he was an icon for many Lebanese Shiites — and non-Shiites — and not just
for Hezbollah members.”
Southern Lebanon has long been a Hezbollah stronghold and is predominantly
Shiite, with smaller Christian and mixed communities found mainly along the
coast and in certain enclaves.
“Given these realities, engaging directly with Israel will be a risky gamble
that President Aoun will likely not be willing to take as this would alienate
Lebanon’s largest religious sect,” said Rizk. Recent reports suggest that Aoun
and Berri are instead preparing for indirect negotiations, he added.
Indeed, Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the present course relies on
representatives of the nations that brokered the November 2024 ceasefire.
Beirut-based policy expert Hussein Chokr said the two sides’ objectives remain
“fundamentally irreconcilable.”
“A vast gap separates them, making negotiations unlikely unless Israel were to
accept Lebanon’s conditions — an improbable scenario at present — or unless the
Lebanese presidency were to yield to external pressure, risking a dangerous
internal rupture,” he told Arab News.
Chokr said Lebanon views negotiations as a way to halt Israeli aggression and
bring about its withdrawal.
He added that Israel has three goals: formal recognition, the dismantling of
Hezbollah’s military capacity, and a peace process “on its own unilateral terms
— one that does not aim for a just or balanced peace, but rather seeks to impose
a new reality through force.”
“This is not peace; it is a demand for submission,” he added.
Chokr argued that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is not seeking a
just or reciprocal peace but rather aims to cement a new balance of power with
Lebanon where Israel holds the upper hand, capitalizing on what he perceives as
strategic gains after inflicting significant damage on Hezbollah.
“His implicit message to Lebanon is: accept peace on my terms or face continued
devastation.”
Lebanon, by contrast, insists “any real peace with Israel must be comprehensive
and just, anchored in the Arab Peace Initiative launched in Beirut in 2002,”
Chokr said.
The 2002 Arab Peace Initiative offers normalization in exchange for Israel’s
full withdrawal from Arab territories occupied in 1967 and a Palestinian state
along the pre-1967 borders.
But the current Israeli administration “recognizes no such formula of land and
rights in exchange for peace,” Chokr said. “It treats ‘peace’ as a concession it
grants in return for the other side’s survival — peace in exchange for being
spared destruction.”
He warned that entering talks aimed at disarming Hezbollah could deepen
Lebanon’s internal divisions and push the country “into a dangerous internal
spiral.”
Still, some observers see potential for limited progress.
Wood of the International Crisis Group said Lebanon “is more likely to reach
some kind of limited security arrangement with Israel, rather than a deal for
peace and full normalization.”
Aoun’s remarks on Oct. 13, he added, “referred to the need for Lebanon to
address its immediate problems with Israel.”
“At present, they are Israel’s ongoing occupation and near-daily military
attacks, which are directly denying the hopes of displaced Lebanese that they
can start rebuilding their communities after the disastrous war.”
Japan-backed telescope to power Lebanon’s first
astronomical observatory on Mount Makmel
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/October 22, 2025
BEIRUT: Mount Makmel, Lebanon’s highest mountain rising 3,093 meters above sea
level, is preparing to host the country’s first astronomical observatory. A
telescope set to be installed at the observatory is a gift from Japan’s Kochi
Prefecture to Notre Dame University–Louaize (NDU). It will complement the
university’s existing main observatory on campus, the largest of its kind in the
Middle East. NDU recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Municipality
of Bsharri, as Mount Makmel, the tallest peak in the entire Levant,
geographically spans the districts of Bsharri and Danniyeh. The region is
renowned for hosting some of the last remaining Cedars of Lebanon forests. The
area has been identified by the National Council for Scientific Research as the
most suitable site for astronomical studies. University President Fr. Bechara
Khoury described the project as “a new framework that opens broad educational
and research horizons for students in the field of astronomical sciences.”
Meanwhile, Bsharri Mayor Joe Kairouz said that the municipality “will work to
secure the necessary funding to implement the astronomical observatory project
on Mount Makmel in cooperation with relevant local and international bodies,
ensuring that its objectives are achieved according to the highest
standards.”According to the university president, the Notre Dame University–Louaize
Observatory will foster “a dynamic framework of integrated scientific
cooperation” between the main observatory on the Zouk Mosbeh campus and the new
site on Mount Makmel. Khoury said it reflects “the university’s educational and
research mission, and enhances its capacity to provide precise astronomical
data.”Awareness activities will also be organized to promote scientific culture
and public interest in astronomy. The collaboration between NDU and the Bsharri
Municipality also focuses on efforts to declare “Mount Makmel a Dark Sky
Reserve, in order to protect the nocturnal environment and preserve the purity
of the night sky from light pollution,” added Khoury.
One killed in drone strike on Ain Qana
Naharnet/October 22, 2025
One person was killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a motorbike in
Ain Qana in Iqlim Al-Tuffah on Wednesday. The Israeli army claimed that the man
killed, Issa Karbala, was a unit commander with Hezbollah's al-Radwan force and
had been "involved in moving weapons inside Lebanon" and "advancing terrorist
plots against Israel."
Earlier this week, violent Israeli airstrikes targeted open areas and valleys in
south Lebanon, with Israel saying it targeted Hezbollah "infrastructure". On
Monday and Tuesday, Israeli surveillance drones heavily overflew over Beirut and
its suburbs, sparking concern among residents. Despite a ceasefire reached in
November last year, Israel has kept up its strikes, usually saying it is
targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives. It is also still occupying five hills
in south Lebanon that it deems "strategic."
Aoun says parliamentary vote must be held on time, expats participation 'a must'
Naharnet/October 22, 2025
President Joseph Aoun stressed Wednesday the need to hold the parliamentary
elections on time, adding that the participation of expats is a must. Aoun's
comments come amid tensions over the current electoral law which only allows
expats to vote for six newly-introduced seats in parliament, with Sixty-five MPs
-- forming a parliamentary majority -- demanding to amend the law in order to
allow expats to vote for all 128 seats. Hezbollah and Amal argue that they do
not enjoy the same campaigning freedom that other parties enjoy abroad and are
objecting the amendment."The Lebanese diaspora should take part in the political
decision-making in Lebanon by participating in the vote," Aoun said, as he met
with a delegation of the 65 MPs who had submitted a draft law to amend the
electoral law. Speaker Nabih Berri had refused to discuss the amendment in
Parliament. He said the May 2026 elections will be held on time but that "there
is no time for any amendment".
Issa expected to activate negotiations, Barrack may visit
Beirut soon
Naharnet/October 22, 2025
The file of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel is expected to be activated
upon the arrival in Beirut of Michel Issa, the new U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, a
media report said. Issa, who will arrive in Beirut in early November, will meet
with Lebanese officials and accurately relay his administration’s stance on the
Lebanese file, sources told al-Binaa newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.
Al-Liwaa newspaper meanwhile said that U.S. envoy Tom Barrack is readying to
return to Lebanon and will be in Beirut on November 7, citing unofficial
reports. Barrack sparked alarm in Lebanon on Monday when he warned that there
might be a “major confrontation” between Israel and Hezbollah if Beirut does not
take serious steps toward disarming the group. Barrack added that U.S. President
Donald Trump’s “newly appointed and extremely capable Ambassador to Lebanon,
Michel Issa, arrives in Beirut next month to help Lebanon steer a steady course
through these complex issues,” stressing that “now is the time for Lebanon to
act.”
Report: 'Mechanism' to intensify meetings on Lebanese Army plan
Naharnet/October 22, 2025
It has been agreed to intensify the meetings of the Mechanism ceasefire
committee to follow up on the implementation of the Lebanese Army plan for arms
monopolization, a security source told Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel. “10,000
Lebanese Army troops are deployed in the South Litani region,” the source said.
“The Lebanese Army successfully accompanied residents during the olive harvest
season in areas near the Blue Line,” the source added.
Israeli army chief inspects military exercise near
Lebanon's border
Naharnet/October 22, 2025
Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir on Tuesday made an inspection visit to an ongoing
Israeli military exercise near Lebanon’s border. "Alongside continuing
operational activity, thwarting threats and maintaining a high level of
preparedness and readiness, you must return to training to improve efficiency
and preparedness for war on all fronts," Zamir told commanders.In light of
Zamir’s directives, a 91st Division exercise was conducted this week to train on
readiness and efficiency and to train division forces for various scenarios, the
Israeli army said. This is the first full division-level exercise after two
years of combat.
“The exercise involved training on various scenarios, both defensive and
offensive, and also tested the readiness and efficiency of the division. In
addition, the Chief of Staff spoke with the commanders of the active and reserve
battalions, emphasizing the need to maintain the readiness and efficiency of the
forces and highlighting the importance of integration between the various
branches in the exercise,” the Israeli army added.
Barrack: Lebanon must resolve its own divisions and reclaim its sovereignty
Naharnet/October 22, 2025
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack on Wednesday said that “Lebanon must resolve its own
divisions and reclaim its sovereignty.”“On October 23, 1983, 241 U.S. Marines,
sailors, and soldiers, 58 French military personnel, and six Lebanese civilians
were killed when a suicide bomber destroyed the Marine barracks in Beirut -- one
of the deadliest attacks on Americans overseas,” Barrack said in a post on the X
platform. “We honor their memory by remembering the lesson: Lebanon must resolve
its own divisions and reclaim its sovereignty. America cannot — and must not —
repeat the mistakes of that past,” Barrack added, suggesting that the U.S. must
not send any troops to Lebanon.
US envoy Tom Barrack marks anniversary of 1983 Marine
compound attack in Beirut, says America “must not repeat past mistakes”
LBCI/October 22, 2025
US envoy Tom Barrack marks anniversary of 1983 Marine compound attack in Beirut,
says America “must not repeat past mistakes”
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack marked the anniversary of the 1983 attack on the U.S.
Marines’ compound in Beirut in a post on X, paying tribute to the victims and
reflecting on the lessons of the tragedy. In his post, Barrack said: “On October
23, 1983, 241 U.S. Marines, sailors, and soldiers, 58 French military personnel,
and six Lebanese civilians were killed when a suicide bomber destroyed the
Marine compound in Beirut — one of the deadliest attacks on Americans overseas.”
He added: “We honor their memory by remembering the lesson: Lebanon must resolve
its own divisions and reclaim its sovereignty. America cannot — and must not —
repeat the mistakes of that past.”
Salam: Hezbollah must become a normal political party
Naharnet/October 22, 2025
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said that “Hezbollah must become a normal
political party without an armed wing.” “There will be no backing down from the
state’s monopolization of military force,” Salam added, in an interview with
French magazine Paris Match.
"I believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views war as if it’s
like riding a bicycle: if you stop, you'll fall. That's why I'm worried about
the situation. On the border with Lebanon, we're facing a war of attrition --
not a full-scale war, but a war that exhausts everyone,” Salam added. As for the
possibility of a near-term peace between Lebanon and Israel, he said: "Let's be
realistic. We previously held negotiations with Israel, particularly regarding
the demarcation of the maritime border two years ago. So, this is nothing new.
What we're demanding today is the full implementation of the ceasefire declared
last November, which is yet to be respected. The Israelis have not fully
withdrawn; they still occupy a number of positions in the south and hold
Lebanese prisoners. For a ceasefire to be effective, it must be implemented, not
just declared." Regarding the timeline for the Lebanese Army’s weapons
monopolization plan, he explained: "At least, this is our goal in the area south
of the Litani River -- the plan will be implemented in phases. In the first
three months, the focus will be on arms control: preventing the transfer or use
of weapons south of the Litani. Then the second phase will begin, covering the
area between the Litani and Sidon."He pointed out that "the ultimate goal is
clear: restoring the state's monopoly over armed force, as stipulated in the
1989 Taif Agreement."Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite a November
ceasefire that brought to an end more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah
that culminated in two months of open war. As part of that deal, Israeli forces
were to withdraw from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah was to dismantle its forces
in the region. Under U.S. pressure and fearing an escalation of Israeli strikes,
the Lebanese government has moved to begin disarming Hezbollah, a plan which the
movement and its allies oppose.
PM Salam discusses South Lebanon and post-UNIFIL phase with UNIFIL commander
LBCI/October 22, 2025
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam received the commander of the United
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major General Diodato Abagnara, at
the Grand Serail on Wednesday afternoon. The meeting discussed the situation in
South Lebanon and the coordination between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army, as well
as progress in the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
Preparations for the post-UNIFIL phase were also addressed during the talks.
Israel gears for confrontation with Hezbollah, challenges US Gaza strategy
LBCI/October 22, 2025
Away from the media spotlight and as attention focused on U.S. Vice President JD
Vance’s remarks at the Joint Coordination Center overseeing the Gaza ceasefire
implementation, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir was supervising military
exercises conducted by the 91st Division in northern Israel in preparation for a
potential escalation with Lebanon. The drills took place on Tuesday and were
revealed on Wednesday, when the Israeli military announced it was expanding its
training to include paragliding insertion operations along the northern border,
similar to tactics used on October 7. The military also said Zamir, along with
the head of the Northern Command, the head of the Ground Forces, and other
senior officers, instructed all command levels to resume intensified training
and readiness for a possible multi-front war. The developments came amid reports
suggesting that Hezbollah is strengthening its military capabilities, as
cross-border fire continues between the Israeli army and the group. Israel’s
northern front has once again returned to the forefront of Israeli security
priorities, with officials in northern border towns and military figures calling
for changes to the rules of engagement with Lebanon. The situation on the
Lebanese front coincided with growing tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv
over post-war arrangements in Gaza. Israeli leaders have asked the visiting
high-level U.S. delegation not to move forward with the second phase of
President Donald Trump’s plan before all Israeli captives are released and Hamas
takes verifiable steps toward disarmament. Washington, however, insists on
transitioning to the second phase and has sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio to
join the talks and oversee progress. Meanwhile, Israeli security agencies are
also examining reports claiming that Iran has resumed work at sites previously
destroyed by Israeli airstrikes to advance its nuclear capabilities. The latest
threats, statements, and intelligence assessments have placed the region at a
crossroads: either facing broader military escalation on multiple fronts, or a
breakthrough in American, Arab and international efforts to solidify the Gaza
ceasefire and move forward with the Trump plan.
Washington Flashes 'Hell of War' to Push Lebanon Towards
Disarming Hezbollah and Normalizing with Israel
Janoubia/October 22, 2025
In a notable report, the Emirati newspaper Al Khaleej suggested that the
statements made by the US Envoy Tom Barrack carry a veiled threat to Lebanon,
indicating that Israel "might proceed with a wide-ranging military operation"
should Beirut continue to hesitate in disarming Hezbollah. According to the
newspaper, this threat reflects a lenient American stance toward any Israeli
military move, which practically means that Washington does not object to the
outbreak of a new war against Lebanon. The newspaper
pointed out that the United States and Israel believe that subduing Lebanon
requires a new military confrontation, as long as there are Lebanese forces
rejecting "Israeli conditions" and the peace plan promoted by US President
Donald Trump. Washington demands the disarming of
Hezbollah as a fundamental condition, without obligating Israel to implement
Resolution 1701 or the ceasefire agreement signed on November 27, 2024, which
stipulated Israel's withdrawal from five Lebanese positions and a cessation of
hostilities, as part of the so-called "Mechanism" sponsored by Washington and
Paris. However, the newspaper noted that Israel ignored all these commitments,
while the United States and France were unable to exert any real pressure on it,
leaving Lebanon in a critical situation, without external guarantees or security
assurances, and threatened to be pushed into a corner between accepting
American-Israeli dictates or facing a "hell" similar to what happened in Gaza.
Al Khaleej added that President Joseph Aoun's approval of the principle of
indirect negotiation on the land border is similar to the maritime border
demarcation experience, but it was met with American-backed Israeli rejection of
any negotiating formula other than direct talks and under the terms of the
victor. This opens the door for political, economic, and possibly military
pressure to gradually push Lebanon towards the option of normalization within
the framework of "Trump's New Middle East Plan."
From shootout to arrest: Armed drug dealer in Lebanon
caught after 'daring' escape
LBCI/October 22, 2025
An individual named Hassan Yahfoufi, who planned to distribute toxic drugs and
open fire on a police officer and a sergeant from the Mount Lebanon Intelligence
Unit in Saadiyat, was tracked by Army Intelligence from the coast to the eastern
border and ultimately arrested.
In Lebanon’s drug world, his name stands out among active dealers operating in
Beirut’s southern suburbs and across the areas of Chouf and Mount Lebanon,
including Damour, Jiyeh, and Saadiyat. His main connection is one of the
country’s most notorious drug lords, Abbas “Gebran” Zaiter.When authorities
learned he was preparing to deliver a shipment of drugs, a patrol from the Mount
Lebanon Intelligence Unit closed in on him in Saadiyat. But Yahfoufi fled toward
the Saadiyat bridge, got out of his car, and opened fire at the officers,
injuring both himself and two members of the patrol, a lieutenant and a
sergeant.
Despite his wounds, he escaped through nearby orchards to a friend’s home in the
southern suburbs, where he treated his injuries before fleeing again at dawn.
Army Intelligence was waiting. In the early morning hours, Yahfoufi boarded a
minibus to Sharawneh, heading to the home of his friend and employer, Gebran
Zaiter. Before reaching his destination, Army Intelligence ambushed and arrested
him. This operation is part of a broader effort by Lebanese security forces to
combat the “drug epidemic,” which threatens the country’s reputation and social
stability. Last September, Army Intelligence carried out three major operations
that led to the arrest of key figures in the drug trade: Abbas Rabih Awadeh,
Hamza Rajeh Jaafar, and Hassan Abbas Jaafar, who alone is wanted on 229
warrants.
In addition to drug trafficking, they face charges of robbery, counterfeiting,
and shooting at the army. Authorities also cite the case of notorious dealer Ali
Monzer Zaiter, who was killed in August after years of surveillance. These
operations aim to curb the drug trade that once thrived along the
Lebanese-Syrian border, which has declined since the fall of the Assad regime
and the reduction of Hezbollah’s influence.
Where are Lebanon’s missing? Families search for answers as Israel holds at
least 20 captives
LBCI/October 22, 2025
Between October 2024 and June 2025, Israel captured at least 20 Lebanese
nationals in operations that spanned the period of war, the 60-day truce, and
the subsequent Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanese villages. Among the 20
captives, eight are Hezbollah fighters—seven were captured in Aita al-Shaab and
one in Blida. While Israel claims that one of the captives is Capt. Imad Amhaz,
described as an active Hezbollah member, the group has refrained from commenting
on his case, while his family insists he is a civilian.
In addition to Amhaz, there are 11 civilians, according to their families. They
include paramedic Mohammad Jawad, nurse Hassan Qashkoush, fishermen Mohammad
Juheir and Ali Fneish—both abducted off the Naqoura coast—municipal police
officer Mortada Mhanna, and shepherd Maher Hamdan.
Others, such as Ali Tarhini, were taken on “Return Day” in Taybeh after being
shot. Information received by his family from Lebanese detainees released by
Israel last March indicates that he survived. Meanwhile, Hussein Karaki, who was
wounded in Markaba on the same day, was transferred into Israeli territory in
full view of his family—no new information has since emerged about him. So far,
there is no official information about the condition of the captives. Families
receive updates through unofficial channels, Israeli-released videos,
information obtained by Hezbollah, or testimonies from recently freed Lebanese
and Palestinian prisoners who saw them in detention. The most recent of these
accounts involved nurse Hassan, mentioned by the brother of a freed Palestinian
prisoner on X, who published a list of detainees held alongside his sibling in
Ofer and Ashkelon prisons—he was among them.
Hassan’s family in Lebanon contacted the account holder and confirmed the
accuracy of his information, including that their relative was a nurse, as well
as the number and ages of his children and other personal details. The families
remain in distress, searching for their loved ones. They have turned to the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Beirut, hoping for any
information—even though the organization’s staff in Palestine is barred from
visiting Israeli prisons. They also appealed to the Baabda Palace, seeking to
raise their voices to President Joseph Aoun, and are waiting for a possible
meeting. Aoun, along with Lebanon’s official authorities, is following up on the
case through the ceasefire monitoring committe, and previously discussed it with
the president of the ICRC in New York.
Once again, the state appears powerless. The final number of detainees remains
uncertain: Israel does not share figures with Lebanon, and Hezbollah has not
disclosed how many of its members are missing. Some may have been killed and
remain unaccounted for beneath the rubble, while others may be prisoners.
Fadel Shaker appears in Beirut court after 12 years on the run
Associated Press/October 22, 2025
Lebanese pop star Fadel Shaker who turned himself in this month after 12 years
on the run appeared in court Tuesday in Beirut for the first time. Fadel Shaker
had been hiding out in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh since
bloody street clashes erupted between Sunni Muslim militants and the Lebanese
army in June 2013 in the coastal city of Sidon. He was tried in absentia and
sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2020 for providing support to a "terrorist
group." As part of the deal that persuaded Shaker to turn himself in, the
sentences he received while on the run would be dropped and he would be
questioned in preparation to stand trial on new charges of committing crimes
against the military. Tuesday's court appearance was a preliminary questioning
session. During the 2013 shootout between followers of hard-line Sunni cleric
Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir and the Lebanese army, which killed at least 18 soldiers,
Shaker appeared in a video uploaded to YouTube in which he called his enemies
pigs and dogs, and taunted the military, saying "we have two rotting corpses
that we snatched from you yesterday," an apparent reference to slain soldiers.
Shaker became a pop star throughout the Arab world with a smash hit in 2002.
Almost 10 years later, he fell under the influence of al-Assir and shocked fans
by turning up next to the hard-line cleric at rallies and later saying that he
was giving up singing to become closer to God. In July, Shaker, along with his
son Mohammad, released a new song that went viral throughout the Arab world and
got over 113 million views on YouTube.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on October
22-23/2025
Netanyahu hints at opposition to any Turkish forces in Gaza
Reuters/22 October/2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Wednesday at his opposition
to any role for Turkish security forces in the Gaza Strip as part of a mission
to monitor a US-backed ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Speaking in Jerusalem alongside visiting US Vice President JD Vance, Netanyahu
said they had discussed the “day-after” for Gaza, including who could provide
security in the territory shattered by two years of war. Vance, who said on
Tuesday US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan was going better than
expected, reiterated his optimism. “I never said it was easy. But what I am is
optimistic that the ceasefire is going to hold and that we can actually build a
better future in the entire Middle East,” he said. Having secured a ceasefire,
mediators are focused on the second phase of Trump’s Gaza plan which demands
Hamas disarm and foresees the deployment of an International Stabilization Force
that would train and support vetted Palestinian police.
Netanyahu has ‘strong opinions’ on Turkish role in Gaza
Responding to a question about the idea of Turkish security forces in Gaza,
Netanyahu said: “We will decide together about that. So, I have very strong
opinions about that. Want to guess what they are?”Vance said on Tuesday there
would be a “constructive role” for Turkey to play as the truce moved towards the
next stage. Once warm relations between NATO member Turkey and Israel hit new
lows during the Gaza war, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sharply
criticizing Israel’s attacks on the enclave and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Turkey, which helped persuade Hamas to accept Trump’s plan, has said it would
take part in the international task force to monitor the implementation of the
ceasefire, and that its armed forces could serve in a military or civilian
capacity as needed. Two weeks ago, Erdogan said Turkey could play a role “in the
field”, while a senior official told Reuters that it will take part in the joint
task force – alongside Israel, the United States, Qatar and Egypt – established
to locate the bodies of deceased hostages in Gaza whose locations were unknown.
Under the first phase of Trump’s plan, a ceasefire began 12 days ago. It was
followed by the release of remaining living hostages seized in Hamas’ October 7,
2023 attacks on Israel, and the freeing of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners by
Israel. But the ceasefire has remained fragile, with flashes of violence and
recriminations over the pace of returning hostage bodies, bringing in aid and
opening borders. Israeli forces have killed at least 87 Palestinians, among them
civilians, since the ceasefire began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and
two Israeli soldiers were killed by Palestinian militants in southern Gaza over
the weekend. Hamas’ attack on Israel that triggered the war killed around 1,200
people according to Israeli tallies, with another 251 dragged into Gaza as
hostages. Israeli attacks have killed more than 68,000 Palestinians in Gaza
since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
US pushes plan to disarm Hamas and rebuild Gaza
AFP/22 October/2025
US Vice President JD Vance warned Wednesday of the tough task ahead in disarming
Hamas and building a peaceful future for Gaza, as Washington sought to reassure
its ally Israel over the next steps in its ambitious ceasefire deal. Vance met
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the second day of a trip to Israel, part of
a diplomatic blitz in support of the US-brokered plan to end the fighting,
recover hostages and, eventually, rebuild the devastated Palestinian territory.
“We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but
rebuild Gaza, to make life better for the people of Gaza, but also to ensure
that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,” Vance said. Vance
had kicked off the three-day visit on Tuesday by opening the Civil-Military
Coordination Center (CMCC) in southwest Israel, where US and allied troops will
work with Israeli forces to monitor the truce and to oversee aid to Gaza.
Turkish troops?
“A lot of our Israeli friends working together with a lot of Americans to
actually mediate this entire ceasefire process, to get some of the critical
infrastructure off the ground,” Vance said, after talks with Netanyahu in
Jerusalem. Vance cited an “international security force” as one of the bodies
that would have to be set up. Under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan,
this military mission would keep the peace in Gaza as Israel withdraws. Several
US allies are considering joining the force, but no American troops would be on
the ground inside Gaza, instead coordinating from the CMCC in Kiryat Gat,
Israel. Reports that Israel’s outspoken critic and regional rival Turkey could
provide troops have rattled Israeli opinion. Netanyahu said decisions on the new
security force would be made in discussion with the United States, but on
Turkey’s role he said: “I have very strong opinions about that. You want to
guess what they are?”
‘Great optimism’
Despite an eruption of violence on Sunday, when two soldiers were killed and
Israel responded with a deadly wave of airstrikes, Vance expressed “great
optimism” that the ceasefire would hold and the plan to end the war proceed.
Netanyahu and his wife Sara welcomed Vance and the US Second Lady Usha Vance to
his office and the couples sat down for breakfast, followed by a working meeting
and a televised news conference. The Israeli leader, who has been criticized by
some domestic opponents for accepting the US-backed ceasefire before Hamas was
fully destroyed and before all the remains of deceased hostages are returned,
defended the deal. “We’ve been able to do two things. Put the knife up to
Hamas’s throat. That was the military effort guided by Israel,” he said,
thanking Trump for his diplomatic efforts in the broader Middle East, smoothing
relations with Israel’s neighbours. “And the other effort was to isolate Hamas
and the Arab and Muslim world, which I think the president did brilliantly with
his team. So those two things produced the hostages,” Netanyahu said. Vance also
championed the Gaza deal’s role as a “critical piece in unlocking the Abraham
Accords” -- a Trump administration plan to build relations between Israel and
its former foes in the Arab world.
‘Very, very fragile’
Israel responded to its soldiers’ deaths on Sunday with an intense wave of
bombings that the territory’s health ministry said killed 45 Palestinians. Hamas
denies any role in the killings. Despite the violence, Hamas has continued to
hand over the remains of deceased hostages in small numbers as part of the
ceasefire deal, and Palestinians have welcomed the truce, their cities lying in
ruins. Displaced civilian Imran Skeik, 34, living in a tent in Al-Saraya Square
in the Al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, told AFP: “The situation is much
better -- the war has stopped, and there are no sounds of bombs and shelling
like before.”“We hope the ceasefire continues and that Israel and Hamas both
stick to it. We’ve started to get some rest, but there are still many problems.
Will we have to stay in tents -- another kind of suffering?”
Hostage remains
The Israeli military said Wednesday the remains of two more hostages returned
the day before had been identified as Aryeh Zalmanovich and Master Sergeant
Tamir Adar. Zalmanovich, 85 at the time of his death, was abducted from his home
in kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity on November 17, 2023, the military
said. The soldier Adar, 38 when he died, was killed while fighting to defend Nir
Oz on October 7, 2023, and his body was taken captive, it said. The militants
have now released 15 of the 28 hostage bodies pledged to be returned under the
deal, but Hamas has said the search is hampered by the level of destruction in
the territory. The war, triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel,
has killed at least 68,229 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in
the territory, figures the UN considers credible. Hamas’s 2023 attack resulted
in the deaths of 1,221 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based
on official Israeli figures.
Avichay Adraee/Shame on every free Arab who colluded
with Hamas and supported its crimes
X Platform/October 22, 2025
Shame on every free Arab who colluded with Hamas and supported its crimes. Shame
on every honorable Arab who supported the cowardly acts of treachery carried out
by the criminal ISIS members of Hamas against Israelis. Shame on all the
gloaters who distributed sweets in celebration of the killing of innocent
Israelis. Shame on everyone who incited the killing of Israelis from the studios
of the bankrupt Muslim Brotherhood and the cheap tools of Hamas. Shame on
everyone who marketed the false and alleged victory to the Gazans to cover up
the defeat of the vanquished Hamas. Shame on Hamas and its ISIS members; may God
curse these corrupt individuals.
Israeli lawmakers approve advancement of West Bank
annexation bills
AFP/ 22 October/2025
Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday voted in favor of advancing two bills on annexing
the occupied West Bank, an ambition openly promoted by far-right ministers in
recent months. The vote came with US Vice President JD Vance visiting Israel to
shore up a Gaza ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump, who has made clear
he would not back annexation of the West Bank. “I will not allow Israel to annex
the West Bank,” Trump told reporters at the White House in September. “It’s not
going to happen.”Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
had called on MPs from his Likud party to abstain from voting. In a statement,
Likud called the votes “another provocation by the opposition aimed at damaging
our relations with the United States.” “True sovereignty will be achieved not
through a showy law for the record, but through proper work on the ground,” it
added.
During a preliminary reading on Wednesday, lawmakers voted in favor of examining
two bills, which means they will be brought forward for further readings in
parliament. The first text, passed by 32 MPs to nine, proposed annexing Maale
Adumim, a large Israeli settlement home to some 40,000 people just east of
Jerusalem. The second proposal to annex the entire West Bank was supported by 25
MPs while 24 voted against. The Knesset, as the parliament is known, has 120
members. Far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet have openly called for
annexation of the Palestinian territory, occupied by Israel since 1967. “Mr
Prime Minister. The Knesset has spoken. The people have spoken,” Israel’s
far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted on X. “The time has come to
impose full sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria -- the inheritance of our
ancestors -- and to promote peace agreements in exchange for peace with our
neighbors with strength,” he said, using the Israeli Biblical term for the West
Bank. All of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank are illegal under
international law. In August, Israel approved a major settlement project between
Maale Adumim and Jerusalem in an area of the Palestinian territory that the
international community has warned threatens the viability of a future
Palestinian state. At a signing ceremony in September, Netanyahu vowed that
there would be no Palestinian state. “We are going to fulfil our promise that
there will be no Palestinian state, this place belongs to us,” he said at the
event in Maale Adumim. Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the West Bank
is home to around three million Palestinians, as well as more than 500,000
Israelis living in settlements. Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023,
violence has also surged in the West Bank.
Israel returns 30 Palestinian bodies to Gaza: Health
ministry
AFP/22 October/2025
Israel returned the bodies of 30 Palestinians to Gaza on Wednesday, bringing the
total number handed over under the ceasefire deal to 195, the health ministry in
the territory said. Under the deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel
was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli
returned. Israel’s military said Wednesday that the remains of two more hostages
returned the day before from Gaza had been identified as those of Aryeh
Zalmanovich and Master Sergeant Tamir Adar. Since October 10, the remains of 15
hostages have been returned, out of the 28 pledged to be handed over by Hamas
under the ceasefire deal. Gaza’s health ministry said that 57 of the returned
Palestinian bodies had so far been identified by their relatives, while 54
unidentified bodies had been buried on Wednesday. Gaza’s civil defense agency, a
rescue force operating under Hamas authority, said the funeral procession began
at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis and proceeded to a
cemetery in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza. AFP footage from Nasser Hospital
showed dozens of bodies laid out on the floor in white body bags as rescue
workers stood in a line to pray over the dead. Umm Hassan Hammad said she had
been unable to identify the body of her son who has been missing since October
7, 2023. “Every day I come here, maybe I recognize him from his clothes or the
trousers he went out in since October 7,” she said.
World Court says Israel must allow UN aid to Gaza
and ensure basic needs of Palestinians
Reuters, The Hague/22 October/2025
The United Nations’ top legal body, the International Court of Justice, on
Wednesday gave an advisory opinion saying that Israel is under the obligation to
ensure the basic needs of the civilian population in Gaza are met. The panel of
11 judges added Israel has to support relief efforts provided by the United
Nations in the Gaza Strip, and UN entities, including UNRWA, the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. “As an
occupying power, Israel is obliged to ensure the basic needs of the local
population, including the supplies essential for their survival,” presiding
judge Yuji Iwasawa said. He added that basic needs include food, water, shelter,
fuel and medical services. Advisory opinions of the ICJ, also known as the World
Court, carry legal and political weight, but they are not binding and the court
has no enforcement power.
Israel rejects opinion
The opinion, which was requested by the UN General Assembly in December,
clarified the protections states must provide for UN staff and is expected to
have effects beyond the Gaza conflict. In a post on X, Israel’s foreign ministry
said it categorically rejected the court’s findings and added “Israel fully
upholds its obligations under international law.”Israel banned UNRWA from
operating in Gaza last year, claiming that some of its employees were members of
militant group Hamas, or other affiliated associations.
The ministry said that the United Nations had yet to fully probe the extent of
Hamas involvement in UNRWA, and said Israel would not cooperate “with an
organization that is infested with terror activities.”The ICJ judges on
Wednesday found that Israel had not substantiated its claims that a significant
number of UNRWA employees are Hamas members. In April this year lawyers for the
United Nations and Palestinian representatives at the ICJ accused Israel of
breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza between March and
May, a time when Israel completely cut off all goods, accusing Hamas fighters of
stealing aid. Since then, some humanitarian aid has been allowed in but UN
officials say it was nowhere near what was needed to ease a humanitarian
disaster which crossed the threshold into famine. A ceasefire agreed this month
calls for Israel to admit 600 trucks of aid per day, but the UN says far less is
entering so far. The ICJ opinion found Palestinians in Gaza were inadequately
supplied and stressed Israel cannot use starvation as a weapon of war. Paul
Reichler, a lawyer acting for the Palestinians, said the findings meant Israel
was not complying with its international law obligations. “On the one hand, you
have the court finding that starvation as a method of warfare is illegal, and on
the other, the court found that Israel deliberately prevented food from reaching
the civilian population in Gaza,” he said. UNRWA, which serves millions of
Palestinians by running schools and aid distribution, employs more than 30,000
people. The UN said in August last year that nine UNRWA staff may have been
involved in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 assault on Israel and had been fired. Israel
says another UNRWA employee killed in Gaza in October 2024 was also a Hamas
commander. In an earlier 2024 advisory opinion, the ICJ found that Israel’s
occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and should end immediately. The
court also said that Israel had human rights obligations to the Palestinians
because of its position as an occupying power.
Israel deports 32 foreign activists who helped
Palestinian olive harvest
AFP/22 October/2025
Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin said Wednesday he had ordered the
deportation of 32 foreign activists who had helped Palestinians harvest olives
in the occupied West Bank, on the grounds they violated a military order. Levin
said the deportation order came after a complaint filed by Northern West Bank
Settlements Council president Yossi Dagan, who said the activists were
“anarchists who carried out provocations in the Samaria area.”Rudy Schulkind, a
30-year-old British national among the deported, told AFP he had come to the
West Bank to support Palestinian farmers. This year’s olive season has been
particularly violent, with several acts of vandalism and attacks from Israeli
settlers. Foreign activists often provide a presence meant to deter these
incidents in rural West Bank areas. Schulkind said he was held 72 hours by
Israeli forces before being deported on October 19. “We were arrested after they
declared the area we were harvesting in as a military zone,” he said, alleging
that this was a common Israeli tactic against Palestinians. He added that all 32
international volunteers were arrested in an olive grove near the West Bank city
of Nablus. Schulkind said that he and the other volunteers “were never brought
before a judge,” during their detention. Minister Levin said the deportation was
co-signed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and accused the
activists of violating “a military commander’s order” and of belonging to the
UAWC (Union of Agricultural Work Committees). UAWC is a Palestinian non-profit
organization that focuses on agricultural development. Israel labelled it a
terrorist organization in 2021, along with five other NGOs, in a ruling
condemned by the UN. Schulkind did not disclose which organization he came with,
but Fuad Abu Seif, General Director of UAWC, told AFP the volunteers came under
a so-called “National Campaign” organized by many Palestinian NGOs and the
Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture. Abu Seif said the UAWC is a member of that
campaign, but not an organizer. For its part, the Palestinian foreign ministry
condemned the arrests.
Syria Arrests Major Officer in Charge of Notorious
Assad-era Prison
Asharq Al-Awsat/October 22/2025
Syrian authorities said on Wednesday they had arrested a former military
official accused of executing detainees at the infamous Saydnaya prison during
the rule of former president Bashar al-Assad. In a statement, the interior
ministry said the Damascus province's counter-terrorism branch arrested Major
General Akram Salloum al-Abdullah. It said he had held "several positions, most
notably as Commander of the Military Police at the defense ministry between 2014
and 2015, during the rule of the former regime". The ministry stated that
Abdullah was "implicated in committing serious violations against detainees in
Saydnaya prison", accusing him of being "directly responsible for carrying out
the executions of detainees inside Saydnaya military prison... during his tenure
as commander of the military police".The prison, outside Damascus, was one of
the darkest elements of Assad family rule, which ended after more than five
decades when Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by opposition factions in December.
Rights group Amnesty International has called the facility a "human
slaughterhouse". The Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Saydnaya
Prison estimates that 30,000 people were taken into detention in the facility
from 2011 onwards, while only around 6,000 have been released. The others remain
missing. Diab Serriya, co-founder of the association, said that Abdullah was
"the highest-ranked individual" to be arrested over Saydnaya to date. Serriya
said the military police was in charge of the prison, and that the period under
Abdullah's leadership saw many executions and acts of torture against prisoners.
"He is responsible for those crimes," he told AFP. More than 200,000 people have
died in Syria's prisons, including by execution and under torture, according to
the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
Syrian forces surround extremist camp to capture French
fighter
Al Arabiya English/22 October/2025
Syrian forces said they had surrounded on Wednesday a camp housing a prominent
French extremist wanted by his government, sparking clashes at the site
according to a monitoring group. The operation in northwest Syria was the new
government’s first known assault targeting extremists since the ouster in
December of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. The group of foreign extremists
targeted by government forces on Wednesday was Firqatul Ghuraba in Arabic, or
the Foreigners’ Brigade, led by 50-year-old Oumar Diaby, a Franco-Senegalese
criminal turned preacher who adopted the name Omar Omsen.
Al Arabiya’s correspondent reported on Wednesday that clashes between Syrian
security forces and French militants erupted overnight in Idlib’s Harem in
northwest Syria. General Ghassan Bakir, a top security commander in the
northwestern province of Idlib, in a statement said government forces had
completely surrounded the camp near the Turkish border, where Diaby is holed up.
The operation followed accusations against the group of kidnapping a girl.
Security forces “sought to negotiate with the leader to voluntarily surrender to
the relevant authorities, but he refused and barricaded himself inside the
camp... and began firing, provoking security personnel, and terrorizing
residents,” Bakir said. Diaby’s son Jibril told AFP via WhatsApp that “the
clashes began after midnight and are still ongoing.”Jibril also said that the
clashes were linked to “France’s wish to secure the extradition of two French
members of the group.”In September 2016, the United States designated Diaby,
suspected of funneling French-speaking fighters to Syria, as an “international
terrorist.” He is also wanted on a French arrest warrant.
The issue of foreign fighters who flocked to Syria during the years of conflict
is a thorny one, with some countries refusing to take fighters back. French
security sources have previously told AFP that “around 50” people are believed
to be part of Diaby’s group. They have no known relation to ISIS, which was
crushed in a US-led battle waged in alliance with Kurdish-led forces. A resident
of the Harem region, where the camp is located near the Turkish border, told AFP
he had seen government forces bringing reinforcements to the area beginning
Tuesday and had heard explosions.With AFP
Twelve UN staff leave Yemen’s Sanaa after Houthi
detention
Reuters/22 October/2025
Twelve international United Nations employees who had been held by Yemen’s
Houthis inside their compound flew out of the Houthi-held capital on Wednesday,
the UN said. The Iran-backed Houthis raided the UN compound in the capital Sanaa
last weekend, holding 20 staff including 15 foreigners. Five Yemeni nationals
were released on Sunday. The Houthis have harassed and detained UN staff and aid
workers for years, accusing them of spying, but they have accelerated arrests
since the start of the Gaza war. “Earlier today, 12 UN international staff who
were among those previously held in the UN compound in Yemen departed Sanaa on a
UN Humanitarian Air Service flight,” said a statement released by UN
Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres’s spokesperson. Their destination was not
revealed. The three remaining staff are now “free to move or travel,” the UN
said. Among those detained was UNICEF’s representative in Yemen Peter Hawkins, a
UN source and Houthi sources told AFP at the time. The Houthis, part of Iran’s
“axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States, have frequently fired
on Red Sea shipping and Israeli territory during the two-year Gaza war, claiming
solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel has launched numerous retaliatory
strikes, including a major attack in August that killed the Houthis’ premier and
nearly half of his cabinet. Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi accused detained
UN employees of having a hand in the attack, without giving evidence. The UN has
rejected the claim.
A total of 53 UN workers are still arbitrarily detained by the Houthis,
according to the international body. The Houthis stormed UN offices in Sanaa on
August 31, detaining more than 11 employees, it said. A senior Houthi official
told AFP the UN staff were suspected of spying for the United States and Israel.
In mid-September, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen was transferred from
Sanaa to Aden, the interim capital of the internationally recognized government.
Putin oversees readiness test of Russia’s nuclear
forces
Reuters/22 October/2025
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday oversaw a test of Russia’s nuclear forces
on land, sea and air to rehearse their readiness and command structure. The test
included the launch of a land-based “Yars” intercontinental ballistic missile
from a cosmodrome, the launch of a “Sineva” ballistic missile from a nuclear
submarine in the Barents Sea, and the launch of nuclear-capable cruise missiles
from strategic bombers. Russia carries out regular drills of its nuclear forces
to put them through their paces and to remind adversaries that it holds the
world’s largest nuclear arsenal at a period of soaring East-West tensions. “The
exercise tested the level of preparedness of the military command and the
practical skills of the operational personnel in organizing the control of
subordinate forces,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“All exercise tasks were completed.”NATO began its own annual nuclear exercises
earlier this month, with F-35A fighter jets and B-52 bombers among some 60
aircraft from 13 nations taking part in the Steadfast Noon exercise, hosted by
Belgium and The Netherlands.
Pakistani naval vessel seizes drug shipments in
Arabian Sea
Al Arabiya English/22 October/2025
A Pakistani naval vessel part of the Combined Maritime Force (CMF) seized drugs
worth over $972 million in the Arabian Sea, the force said in a statement on
Tuesday. “Over a 48-hour period, PNS Yarmook conducted boarding operations of
two dhows; neither vessels were transmitting Automatic Identification Systems (AIS)
or displaying any external markings, both were subsequently identified as having
no nationality,” it said in the statement. According to CMF, the crew first over
two tons of crystal methamphetamine valued at $822 million. “Less than 48 hours
later, the crew boarded a second dhow and seized 350 kg of crystal meth worth
$140 million and 50 kg of cocaine worth $10 million,” the statement added. “The
success of this focused operation highlights the importance of the
multi-national collaboration,” the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Commodore Fahad
Aljoiad, commander of CTF 150, said in the statement. “PNS Yarmook has had one
of the most successful narcotics seizures for CMF, which is directly attributed
to the expertise and collaboration of our naval forces within the
organization.”The report did mention any details on the origin of the boats
carrying the drugs. The CMF is a multinational naval partnership of naval forces
of 47 countries, among them the US, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates,
tasked to uphold the international rules-based order along the world’s most
important shipping lanes and curb the smuggling of drugs and weapons.
Trump says doesn’t want ‘wasted’ meeting with Putin
AFP/22 October/2025
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he had shelved plans for a summit in
Budapest with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine war because he did not want
a “wasted” meeting. Trump’s reversal came just days after he announced that he
would meet Putin in the Hungarian capital within two weeks, following what he
called a productive phone call to end Russia’s war. The US leader pressured
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to give up the eastern Donbas region in
exchange for peace during “tense” talks last Friday in Washington, a senior
Ukrainian official told AFP. But on Tuesday, a White House official said that
there were now “no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the
immediate future” despite the Budapest announcement. “I don’t want to have a
wasted meeting,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked why the
Putin encounter had been put on ice. “I don’t want to have a waste of time, so
I’ll see what happens.”Asked by an AFP journalist what had changed his mind,
Trump said: “A lot of things are happening on the war front. And we’ll be
notifying you over the next two days as to what we’re doing.” US Secretary of
State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also called off an
expected meeting to arrange the Budapest summit after speaking by phone on
Monday, the White House said.
‘Going in circles’
Trump has counted on personal chemistry with Putin to reach a Ukraine peace
deal, but has found himself frustrated time and again by the Russian leader.
Ukraine and its European allies, meanwhile, have been left scrambling to keep up
with the mercurial US president. Zelenskyy’s talks with Trump at the White House
last week were “not easy,” the senior Ukrainian official told AFP, adding that
diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war felt like they were being
“dragged out” and “going in circles.”Trump called last week for both Moscow and
Kyiv to stop the war at their current battle lines, and publicly made no
references to Ukraine giving up territory. But when asked if Trump urged
Zelenskyy to pull out of land that Ukraine still controlled -- one of Putin’s
key demands -- the Ukrainian official said: “Yes, that’s true.”Zelenskyy left
the meeting empty-handed after Trump, who spoke with Putin the day before,
denied his request for long-range Tomahawk missiles and pressured him into
making a deal. Ukraine considers the Donbas -- a largely industrial area
spanning its eastern Lugansk and Donetsk regions -- an inseparable part of its
territory and has rejected the idea of ceding it many times.
‘Line of contact’
The Kremlin said Tuesday there was no “precise” date for any new meeting between
Trump and Putin, who held talks in Alaska in August but failed to reach a
breakthrough on Ukraine. European leaders have rejected the idea of Ukraine
giving up land -- instead backing the proposal that fighting should be frozen on
the current front lines. In a joint statement published Tuesday, leaders
including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Britain’s Keir
Starmer warned that Russia was not “serious about peace.”“We strongly support
President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that
the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations,” the
statement said. NATO leader Mark Rutte was heading to Washington on Tuesday for
a meeting with Trump, the military alliance said in a statement. EU leaders are
then set to close ranks in support of Ukraine at a Brussels summit on Thursday
-- followed a day later by a “coalition of the willing” meeting of European
leaders in London to discuss the next steps to help Kyiv. Putin ordered a
full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a “special
military operation” to demilitarize the country and prevent the expansion of
NATO. Russia now occupies around a fifth of Ukrainian territory -- much of it
ravaged by fighting -- while tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers have
been killed.
German firm behind Louvre heist truck basks in
publicity
AFP/22 October/2025
The German company that made the furniture hoist used in the Louvre heist has
been taking advantage of the scandal to promote the device, posting
tongue-in-cheek adverts about the quality of its equipment. Boecker, a lifting
equipment maker based near Dortmund, posted a picture of the mounted truck
outside the Paris museum on social media with the caption: “When you need to get
going again quickly.”The device, called the Agilo, can transport up to 400
kilograms with an engine that is “as quiet as a whisper,” the post said.
Alexander Boecke, managing director of the company, told AFP the machine was
sold “a few years ago to a French customer who rents this type of equipment in
Paris and the surrounding area.”Similar pieces of equipment are a common sight
around Paris, where elevators are small or absent in most apartment buildings.
The alleged jewel thieves had arranged to have the vehicle demonstrated to them
last week and had stolen it during the demonstration, he said. “They removed the
customer's labelling and replaced the license plates,” Boecker said. Watching
news reports about the heist on Sunday, Boecker, 42, and his wife quickly
recognized the furniture hoist as being one of theirs. “When it became clear
that no one had been injured in the robbery, we took it with a touch of humor”
and “started thinking about how we could perhaps use this,” he said. “It was, of
course, an opportunity for us to use the most famous and most visited museum in
the world to get a little attention for our company,” he said.
“The crime is, of course, absolutely reprehensible, that's completely clear to
us.”In Sunday's heist, thieves parked the truck with an extendable ladder below
the museum's Apollo Gallery shortly after it opened. They then climbed up the
ladder in broad daylight before using cutting equipment to get through a window
and open display cases to steal the jewelry. They made off with eight priceless
pieces, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave his wife
Empress Marie-Louise and a diadem that once belonged to the Empress Eugenie,
which is dotted with nearly 2,000 diamonds.
The entire operation took just seven minutes.
German far-right lawmakers accused of spying for
Russia
AFP/22 October/2025
Lawmakers from Germany’s far-right AfD faced allegations from political rivals
Wednesday that they used their positions to spy for Russia, as the party’s links
to Moscow increasingly come under scrutiny. Alternative for Germany (AfD)
politicians have lodged numerous parliamentary questions seeking details of
critical infrastructure, security and military matters, particularly in the
eastern state of Thuringia. “The impression is almost unavoidable that the AfD
is working through a Kremlin order list with its inquiries,” Georg Maier, the
interior minister in Thuringia, told the Handelsblatt newspaper. The anti-EU,
anti-migrant party, which has enjoyed a surge in popularity that propelled it to
second place in February’s national election, rejects the allegations as
baseless. But several of the party’s leading figures maintain close and often
controversial ties to Russia, and have been critical of German support for
Ukraine in its fight against Moscow. Maier, from the center-left Social
Democrats (SPD), the junior partner in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government,
alleged that AfD lawmakers have been “abusing” their position to gather
sensitive information. It relates to matters such as the police, military and
infrastructure that might be of interest to foreign powers, he said. He said the
AfD had filed 47 such inquiries in Thuringia – where the party is the biggest
force but remains in opposition – in the past year alone, and have been posing
questions with “increasing intensity and depth of detail.” In the Bundestag,
Germany’s national parliament, AfD lawmakers have also been filing numerous
“highly problematic inquiries,” apparently at the behest of “authoritarian
states,” according to Konstantin von Notz, a Green MP and deputy chairman of the
legislature’s intelligence oversight committee. Von Notz told AFP that the
inquiries are “intended to deliberately help them weaken our country, spy on our
critical infrastructure, and sabotage it.”
‘Utterly ridiculous’
After its record result in February’s national election, coming second behind
Merz’s center-right CDU/CSU bloc, the AfD’s poll ratings have continued to rise,
with many surveys now ranking it as the biggest party in Germany. AfD lawmakers
vehemently deny spying. Bernd Baumann, an AfD lawmaker in German parliament,
told AFP that his colleagues have been trying to uncover details about Germany’s
run-down infrastructure and neglected security plans. “There is nothing secret
about the facts uncovered. They form the basis of public, democratic opposition
work,” Baumann said. “The fact that the other parties are now portraying that as
espionage activity is utterly ridiculous and an expression of pure despair over
the AfD’s poll ratings.”Germany’s BND foreign intelligence agency declined to
comment on the allegations.Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, did
not immediately respond to AFP.A government spokesman said it had been made
aware of the accusations against the AfD but would not comment further. The
latest controversy to hit the AfD comes amid uproar over a planned visit to
Moscow by the party’s deputy leader in parliament. Von Notz, the Green lawmaker,
contended that the AfD’s use of parliamentary inquiries in Germany appears to
fit a broader pattern. “It is quite striking that other right-wing extremist
parties in our European neighbors have already submitted very similar questions
– apparently for payment,” von Notz told AFP. He urged law enforcement and
counter-espionage services to investigate. Marc Henrichmann, the chairman of the
Bundestag’s intelligence oversight committee and a CDU member, told AFP that
Russia has been using political parties like the AfD as part of a hybrid
strategy to attack Europe. German security services need to closely monitor
whether “the AfD continues to allow itself to be led on a leash by the Kremlin
as a hybrid part of Putin’s war effort,” he said.
US missionary abducted in Niger capital: Diplomatic
sources
AFP/22 October/2025
A US missionary working for evangelical Christian organization SIM has been
abducted in Niger’s capital Niamey, sources close to the case and diplomatic
sources said Wednesday. It marks the latest in a spate of kidnappings of
westerners this year in northern Niger, a country plagued by extremist violence
and governed by a military junta for over two years. The unnamed victim, a man
in his 50s, is “already en route for the border with Mali,” a diplomatic source
said after his seizure Tuesday. SIM operates in several areas of Niger and
across west Africa where it evangelizes, assists local churches and hospitals or
provides access to drinking water. In April, a 67-year-old Swiss woman
identified as “Claudia” was kidnapped in the northern city of Agadez, three
months after the abduction of Austrian Eva Gretzmacher, 73, in the same city.
ISIS group in the Sahel was considered responsible for the two kidnappings,
carried out by local criminal groups on its behalf, according to several
observers of extremist movements in the region. In October 2020, American
missionary Philip Walton was kidnapped in Massalata, a village located 400
kilometers (249 miles) from Niamey, near the Nigerian border. He was freed the
same month following intervention by US special forces in northern Nigeria.
American humanitarian worker Jeffery Woodke was kidnapped in October 2016 by
extremists, only to be freed in 2023. Since 2023 Niger has been governed by a
military junta that took power in a coup and ousted US and French forces that
were assisting in the fight against extremist violence which has destabilized
the country. “With our withdrawal from the region, we have lost our ability to
monitor these terrorist groups closely but continue to liaison with partners to
provide what support we can,” former head of the US Africa Command, General
Michael Langley, said at the end of May.
The Latest
English LCCC
analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
on October
22-23/2025
Lasting peace in Gaza hinges on Palestinian
statehood, not temporary ceasefires: Experts
Yusra Asif/Al Arabiya English/22 October/2025
Brokered through a rare coalition of US and Middle East leaders, President
Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan has revived talks of a two-state
solution as a possible path to lasting peace. While it may seem premature to
consider conflict-ending solutions, experts say that rejecting one paradigm to
address the conflict, without offering an alternative framework for long-term
mutual peace and security, is a recipe for perpetual violence between Israelis
and Palestinians.
“I fear we are in a reality where it would be too easy to move on and buy the
idea of peace and that [the Gaza ceasefire] is the end of all wars in the Middle
East. That would be very dangerous, and it is essential to continue to finalize
long-lasting peace based on justice,” Haggai Matar, the Executive Director of
the Israeli magazine +972, told Al Arabiya English.
Matar said that a two-state solution remains a realistic endgame to the
decades-long conflict. However, the path to achieving it is riddled with
complexities stemming from both sides and wider geopolitical elements, including
the US and neighboring Arab countries.
Navigating a two-state solution. The United States under Trump’s leadership,
must navigate between Israel’s flat rejection of Palestinian statehood and the
insistence and expectation of a growing majority of its allies that statehood is
an indispensable condition to end the conflict and help stabilize the region.
Arab countries say the peace plan must lead to eventual independence for a
Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says this will
never happen. The longstanding question of Palestinian statehood was articulated
in the disconnect between Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at
the Gaza peace summit in Egypt this month.
While al-Sisi said that a two-state solution was the only way to achieve peace,
Trump was noncommittal. “A lot of people like the one-state solution. Some
people like the two-state solution. So, we’ll have to see,” Trump told reports
aboard Air Force One.
The Trump administration remains eager to end the conflict, but true peace can
only realistically be achieved by Palestinian self-determination – something no
US government has been able to deliver, said Sir John Jenkins, a former senior
British diplomat, now with Cambridge University’s Center for Geopolitics. “The
situation fundamentally remains as intractable as it always was. Trump’s methods
have resulted in some remarkable achievements, but they are essentially deals.
To go further requires a strategy and a whole lot of after-care,” Jenkins told
Al Arabiya English. Although Trump’s peace plan focuses exclusively on Gaza, the
New York Declaration stipulates that “Gaza is an integral part of a Palestinian
State and must be unified with the West Bank.”
Without addressing these challenges – who will govern over what territory and
when – statehood will remain aspirational. Meanwhile, countries in the Middle
East have renewed diplomatic efforts towards Palestinian statehood, following
the 2023 Gaza war.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Qatar and UAE have repeatedly emphasized their
support towards Palestinian statehood as the only path to long-term security in
the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia has positioned itself as a key actor to regional stability. Riyadh
is leading a global alliance with France to implement a two-state solution.
Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in September told an
international conference in New York on Palestine that the kingdom views a
two-state solution as “a historic opportunity to achieve peace.”
“It is time to achieve justice for the Palestinian people and to recognize a
Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza,” he said. Diplomatic adviser to the
United Arab Emirates president, Anwar Gargash, called on Wednesday for
compromise to end the Middle East conflict by providing a viable state for
Palestinians and ensuring security for Israel. His comments came during an
interview at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit in Abu Dhabi. In a break with decades
of Western foreign policy, Britain, France, Canada, Australia and several other
countries have now recognized a Palestinian state, a largely symbolic move that
has nonetheless added pressure on Israel.
Obstacles to a two-state solution
A key factor hindering Palestinian statehood is a “deep lack of trust” between
the Israelis and the Palestinians, said Ksenia Svetlova, former member of the
Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
Before meaningful negotiations can happen, she said, both sides must restore
confidence and create a stable, hopeful political horizon for their people. “One
of the main obstacles that remains unsolved is the lack of trust – you cannot
really negotiate if you don’t trust that the other side will live up to its
word,” Svetlova told Al Arabiya English. “It is impossible to just jump from
[Oct. 7] into a reality in which we have negotiations over borders, security,
Jerusalem, refugees, and so on.”She said a two-state solution remains the only
viable option to end the conflict, but it would require time and stability.
Meanwhile, a traditional two-state solution may no longer be practical due to
changes on the ground – such as Israeli settlements in the West Bank, security
issues and demographic shifts, according to the co-executive director of the
Abraham Initiatives in Israel. “There are so many changes on the ground –
especially the issue of security, the issue of settlers, and a lot of
demography. The whole landscape has really changed,” Thabet Abu Ras told Al
Arabiya English. He instead suggested a confederation of two independent,
democratic states – Israel and Palestine – sharing the land between the Jordan
River and the Mediterranean as one homeland with free movement, equality, and
cooperation on key issues like Jerusalem, refugees, and resources.
Lack of a long-term solution threatens more violence
Experts say that a lack of a long-term solution to the conflict threatens to
unleash prolonged violence and instability in the region. According to Haggai
Matar, temporary measures like ceasefire, hostage exchanges and aid deliveries
are not real solutions and they only delay the next outbreak of violence.
“Without a long-term solution of any kind, we are really just setting ourselves
up for the continuation of apartheid and oppression of Palestinians,” he said.
“That will most certainly lead to the next eruption that would also endanger
Israelis and cause even more harm to Palestinians.”Matar emphasized that
violence isn’t limited to major flare-ups like the Oct. 7 Hamas attack but that
it exists daily under conditions of “apartheid and occupation.” He warned that
unless these issues are addressed, another war seems inevitable.
From the Middle East to Nigeria: Building
the next axis of growth in Africa
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya English/22 October/2025
In recent years, Gulf states have increasingly sought to diversify their
investments beyond the Middle East, eyeing promising opportunities across
Africa’s emerging markets. Among these, Nigeria stands out as a nation with
immense untapped potential. Nigeria has always been a tale of what could be. It
could be Africa’s gem and the country with most potential for international
investors – including those in the Gulf – if it addresses major impediments to
growth. Now, key opposition voices are planning bold reforms to turn the tide of
years of underinvestment in a bid to finally capitalize on Nigeria’s true
potential.
Home to the fastest growing population in Africa with an average age of just 18,
Nigeria’s entrepreneurial spirit is matched by few others. It follows only Egypt
and South Africa in terms of African start-up funding, with Lagos a major
continental hub for fintech and home to unicorns like Moniepoint valued at over
$1 billion. Last year, Google was the latest major tech company to invest a
sizeable sum in the company (over $110 million).
Throughout the country, there are other similar investment opportunities. Common
challenges including food and energy insecurity have in places been solved by
innovative solutions with technology at their core. Nigeria’s most funded
agritech company, ThriveAgric, for instance supports almost one million
smallholder farmers with access to finance, technology and markets for their
products. It aims to reach 10 million by 2027. This tech savvy population, if
properly supported, could prove a valuable economic partner for decades to come.
Despite its vast potential, Nigeria has for years been stuck in an endless cycle
of stagnation, evidenced perhaps most clearly by a more than decade-long decline
in foreign direct investment (FDI) as overseas investors have been put off by
excessive bureaucratic red tape and growth barriers including limited financial
sector modernization and government corruption. President Tinubu has in recent
months tried to court Gulf investment, undertaking several recent visits to the
region which failed to generate investment pledges on the scale required for
Nigeria’s future success. A $1.2 billion Saudi investment pledge for instance,
lags significantly behind the Kingdom’s USD$5 billion pledge for projects in
South Africa.
For Nigeria to thrive, it must work to ensure greater FDI inflows from around
the world. It should look to prioritize development strategies that result in
long-term Gulf investment commitments. Only through significant reforms can the
conditions be laid for game-changing pledges. Saudi Arabia alone has committed
to invest $41 billion in Africa over the next decade. The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
has become the continent’s largest overall investor with total inflows exceeding
$60 billion. Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind.
Recent Nigerian governments have failed to grapple with mounting challenges
including those exacerbated by external factors including conflicts and the
global pandemic. The country has struggled to create the foundations for lasting
economic success, underinvesting in its young population. Leading talent in
sectors including fintech and agribusiness could generate high yield return
while also aligning with growth strategies by Gulf leaders including Saudi
Arabia and the UAE. There exist significant synergies with the Arab world,
including similar challenges like tackling food security and diversifying
economies away from fossil fuels.Nigeria should be a priority market for foreign
investment. Yet at present, global investors remain deeply concerned about its
conditions which are not conducive to growth, namely corruption. While the World
Bank recently expressed cautious optimism about Nigeria’s economic landscape,
one must look past the headlines. In reality, everyday Nigerians are not
experiencing the benefits of supposed government reforms. The Tinubu
administration is struggling to deal with the task at hand.
Stubborn inflation – forecast to remain steady at 22.5 percent in 2025 despite
government projections of 15 percent – has resulted in a major cost-of-living
crisis. Over 80 million young Nigerians remain unemployed, with about 1.7
million graduates leaving Nigeria’s universities and polytechnics every year
with limited opportunities awaiting them. Many move abroad in search of a better
future.
At the same time, systemic corruption turns away potential economic support and
shows few signs of slowing despite recently introduced reforms. It is something
so entrenched that ultimately only an outside party may be able to reverse the
tide, an emerging global trend.
It should come as no surprise, therefore, that senior opposition figures within
Nigeria are looking to challenge the status quo. Prince Adewole Adebayo, leader
of Nigeria’s Social Democratic Party, has been one of the most vocal. He has
positioned himself as an anti-corruption and pro-business champion while
stressing the need to address poverty and core challenges in order to attract
greater foreign investment. In a recent interview, he stated that ‘people are
growing tired of hearing about Nigeria’s vast economic potential’, adding that
there exists ‘clear systemic issues which few in positions of authority are
willing to fix’. Such remarks perfectly capture Nigeria’s current problem.
Too many talk endlessly about the country’s rich potential driven by its young,
entrepreneurial population. Yet those in positions of authority have for too
long benefited from the unfair system in place, content with a rooted culture of
corruption and underinvestment.
It will take an all new, fresh thinking government to implement the measures
needed to turn the tide. To attract greater investment, a new government must
pursue bold tax reforms, be committed to eliminating corruption across the
entire country, and must enhance security prospects. At the same time, it should
pursue a new approach to infrastructure development, prioritizing cross-country
connectivity and greater investment in vital public services including education
and healthcare. This could be achieved through the creation of a new wealth fund
supported by both government and foreign investment as well as the introduction
of multisector apprenticeship schemes for recent graduates.
Separate green funds and further initiatives could also be developed,
capitalizing on Nigeria’s renewable potential and Gulf expertise in clean energy
development. The likes of Kenya, Zimbabwe and Morocco, among others, have
already seen large benefits from such investment. Nigeria could follow. These
are just some examples of areas foreign investors can grow excited about. They
represent well-trodden paths which have yielded positive socioeconomic impacts
elsewhere in Africa and could be at the heart of pledges to invest growing sums
across the African continent.
If Nigeria is to realize its true potential, it needs to first fix its inherent
problems. This requires fresh and perhaps out-of-the-box thinking – highlighted
by the likes of Adebayo – before the right partners can be approached.
Opposition members standing primarily on platforms which champion the
elimination of rampant and entrenched corruption, poverty and a culture of
underinvestment understand the preconditions required for long-term economic
growth and prosperity. With Nigerian elections just two years away in 2027,
there is light at the end of the tunnel and plenty for international investors
to be excited about.
What Egypt’s Coordinated Islamization Program Means for Coptic Christians
Coptic Solidarity/Raymond Ibrahim/October/2025
On October 20, three official reports emerged from Egypt’s state and religious
media apparatus, detailing a coordinated architecture of religious and state
policy. Another report appeared a week earlier. Taken together, these four
announcements—driven by President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, his Minister of Awqaf
(Endowments), Sheikh Al-Azhar, and the Mufti of the Republic—reveal a systematic
effort to expand Sunni-Muslim influence across education, culture, youth
programs, and state asset management. Cloaked in the language of “moderation”
and “national cohesion,” their real agenda is more dramatic: the religionization—that
is, Islamization—of the Egyptian state, with profound consequences for Egypt’s
minorities, first and foremost, its most ancient community: the Coptic
Christians.
The four recent initiatives follow:
1.Sisi and Awqaf: Expansion of imam and preacher training, nationwide children’s
programming in 20,000-plus mosques under the banner “Correct Your Concepts,” and
directives to maximize financial benefit from Awqaf endowments.
2. Culture Ministry and Dar al-Ifta: Joint publications, training programs, and
cultural outreach aimed at “building the Egyptian human” via state-approved
“moderate thought.”
3.Dar al-Ifta and the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM): Civilizational heritage is
being closely tied to religious messaging, further embedding Islam into the
narrative of national history and tourism.
4. Al-Azhar and Cairo University: Curricula and research explicitly drawing on
Islamic heritage to “respond to contemporary challenges.”
Such developments are not new or unique. In the past few months alone we have
seen the Minister of Awqaf meeting the Minister of Education, the head of the
Space Agency, the Mufti meeting the Foreign Minister, and reports on promoting
Kuttab (Quranic madrassah, not unlike those of Pakistan, or Afghanistan.) These
are all are part of a growing and persistent pattern.
Nor are these isolated policy tweaks; they form a deliberate,
multi-institutional strategy to weave Islam into the fabric of Egyptian
life—into schools, mosques, universities, museums, youth programs, and cultural
centers. The projected outcomes are clear: a regime bolstered by religious
legitimacy, and a narrowing of civic space for non-Muslim voices.
The power dynamics are likewise evident. Sisi commands the overarching program;
the Ministry of Awqaf supplies infrastructure and finances; Al-Azhar and Dar al-Ifta
provide religious legitimacy, training, and doctrinal authority.
That children are targeted in over 20,000 mosques reveals how early the
indoctrination begin. The push to extract maximum value from Awqaf assets shows
how financial levers are being mobilized to fuel the religionization project.
The rhetoric of “moderation,” “national identity,” “combating extremism”,
functions as a legitimizing veil. Beneath it lies a more sinister reality: the
state is embedding a particular religious worldview—a distinctly Islamic one,
aligned with government priorities—into the everyday life of Egyptians.
Religious institutions are now openly no longer independent moral actors—they
are conduits of state ideology.
For Egypt’s Coptic Christians, who make up 10–15% of the population, the
consequences are dire. High-profile state visits and symbolic gestures cannot
counterbalance a policy that systematically sidelines them:
Institutional Marginalization: As Sunni-Muslim institutions dominate identity
formation, Coptic institutions have no equivalent role. Museums, curricula, and
mosque programs are Sunni-controlled; Christians are relegated to being passive
observers, even more excluded from nation-building than they were before.
Civic and Legal Risk: Copts continue to face unequal treatment under
personal-status laws, church construction restrictions, and sectarian violence.
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reports note that courts are
applying Sharia inheritance rules to Christians in violation of their faith.
Narrative Control: Linking “national identity” to state-sanctioned Islamic
heritage implicitly erases millennia of Egypt’s pre-Islamic history, from the
Pharaohs to the Copts. The ancient role of Coptic Christians in Egypt’s national
story is actively canceled.
Content Exclusion: Museum programs and curricula framed around Sunni-Islamic
narratives systematically erase minority histories, weakening both visibility
and identity.
Symbolism vs. Substance: While church-building initiatives and state visits are
touted, real influence over socialization sites—mosques, universities, cultural
programs—is firmly in Sunni-Muslim hands.
Nor does the term “moderate thought” offer any reassurance. It signals only to
state-approved Islam. Voices outside this official line—Christian minorities,
independent Muslims, critical religious actors—are delegitimized. The joint
cultural programs are designed to create a citizenry whose moral compass is
centrally managed and Muslim-oriented.
Meanwhile, the state reaps enormous benefits:
Consolidating Sisi’s legitimacy by presenting him as guardian of both state and
religion—a modern sultan, if not a caliph. Embedding state-approved religious
norms into social infrastructure, ensuring generational compliance.
Leveraging Awqaf’s financial and symbolic network to extend government influence
deeper into society.
What to watch for:
Content of children’s mosque programs: presentation of minorities, civic values,
and the shaping of historical memory.
Composition of imam and daʿwah training: curriculum control and enforcement of
ideological orthodoxy. Allocation of Awqaf revenues: exclusive Sunni-Muslim
programs or genuine interfaith initiatives. Representation of Coptic heritage in
museums, curricula, and cultural forums.Implementation of legal reforms promised
to minorities versus expansion of religion-state infrastructure. What these
announcements reveal is more than a “reform” agenda—moderate or otherwise; they
signal the emergence of a new civic-religious order in Egypt. Sunni-Muslim
institutions are being harnessed to mold national identity, manage youth, and
consolidate power. Within this architecture, the already marginalized Copts are
set to see their long-standing vulnerability deepen.
Muslim Migrants Fuelling the Rise in Anti-Semitic Attacks
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute./October 22/2025
With counter-terrorism officials warning that the huge influx of illegal
immigrants entering European countries could lead to further terrorist
atrocities, [Elon] Musk's warning that the UK needed a "revolutionary government
change" to tackle the migrant crisis could not be more timely.
The ability of the UK security authorities to tackle the problem has been
undermined by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who claims that anti-Israel protesters
who chant "From the river to the sea" are not anti-Semitic.
Reportedly, supporters of Mamdani are "training 30 more people" to bring his
policies to more American cities.
There have already been countless instances of such Islamic violence in Europe
and the US, including both World Trade Center attacks (1993 and September 11,
2001), as well as in the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden and Spain.
The deeply disturbing trends in Europe... should serve as a warning to the US
and its Western allies about the dangers of tolerating large-scale immigration,
especially concerning migrants who struggle to impose Islamic sharia law and the
judicial systems of the countries from which they came, rather than adopt the
laws and values of the West.
Elon Musk's blunt warning that "violence is coming" to the UK because of its
failed immigration policy dating back decades has turned out to be chillingly
prophetic. Within weeks of his dire warning, two Jewish worshippers were killed
and three others wounded in a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Manchester,
carried out by a Muslim jihadi.
Elon Musk's blunt warning that "violence is coming" to the UK because of its
failed immigration policy dating back decades has turned out to be chillingly
prophetic. Within just weeks of the tech entrepreneur issuing his dire warning,
two Jewish worshippers were killed and three others wounded in a terrorist
attack on a synagogue in Manchester, carried out by a Muslim jihadi.
The unprovoked attack, which took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the
Jewish calendar, should serve as a warning to the US and other Western countries
about the dangers of lax immigration policies.
Jihad al-Shamie, the 35-year-old terrorist responsible for carrying out the
Manchester synagogue attack, came from a family of Syrian immigrants who had
lived in the UK since the 1990s and been granted British citizenship.
Details have subsequently emerged of the terrorist's Islamist links, with UK
security officials reporting that Shamie called the emergency services on the
day of the attack, in which he pledged allegiance to Islamic State.
It was also reported that the terrorist's father, Faraj al-Shamie, posted a
message on Facebook after the October 7, 2023 Hamas invasion of Israel, in which
1,200 people were murdered and about 250 civilians and soldiers taken hostage,
praising the terrorists responsible for committing the massacre as "Allah's men
on earth". He added that the Hamas terrorists who invaded the Jewish state had
"proved beyond a shadow of a doubt" that Israel would be destroyed eventually.
In another recent UK case involving Muslim migrants, an Afghan asylum seeker has
been charged with threatening to kill Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK's
anti-immigration Reform Party. Prior to crossing the English Channel in a small
boat from France, Fayaz Khan, a 26-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, posted a video
clip online claiming he was "going to shoot him" -- a reference to Farage.
With counter-terrorism officials warning that the huge influx of illegal
immigrants entering European countries could lead to further terrorist
atrocities, Musk's warning that the UK needed a "revolutionary government
change" to tackle the migrant crisis could not be more timely. Addressing a
"Unite the Kingdom" anti-immigration rally in London last month, Musk warned
that "uncontrolled migration" would result in further terrorist attacks.
"Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight
back or you die." Musk also called for "a change of government in Britain"
because of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's failure to tackle the migration
crisis.
Musk has been a vocal critic of Europe's failure to address the challenge of
mass immigration, saying at a rally in the summer that there would be
"widespread slaughter" in Europe unless the authorities took a tougher stance on
the inflow of illegal migrants.
Nor is the threat posed by Muslim migrants confined only to the UK. In Germany,
security officials detained three suspected terrorists accused of plotting to
target Jewish institutions. Two of those arrested were born in Lebanon.
Concerns about an upsurge in violent attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets
both in Europe and the US come against a background of rising anti-Semitism
since October 7, 2023.
The scale of the problem in the UK was highlighted when anti-Israel protests
took place in Manchester and other British cities despite the distress caused to
the Jewish community by the Manchester synagogue attack. Starmer publicly
denounced the protests, and urged those taking part to "recognise and respect
the grief of British Jews", while a spokesman for the Community Security Trust,
which provides security for the UK's Jewish community, said the protests were
"phenomenally tone deaf".
The ability of the UK security authorities to tackle the problem has been
undermined by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who claims that anti-Israel protesters
who chant "From the river to the sea" are not anti-Semitic. Khan argues that
whether the phrase was anti-Semitic or not depends on the context in which it is
spoken.
There will be concerns that attitudes such as this will take root in other
Western cities, where politicians espousing a similar radical agenda are seeking
votes.
In New York, for example, there are concerns that the election of Zohran Mamdani
as the city's next mayor could have a similar outcome in legitimising
anti-Israel sentiment in the city, and from there throughout the United States.
Reportedly, supporters of Mamdani are "training 30 more people" to bring his
policies to more American cities.
As Israel marked the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, Mamdani, who
has been accused of supporting radical Islamist ideology, marked the anniversary
with a post criticising Israel and the US and calling for an end to "occupation
and apartheid."
His comments prompted a furious response from Israel's Foreign Ministry, which
issued a statement declaring:
"Two years after Hamas launched its barbaric massacre against Israel and the
Jewish people, Mamdani has chosen to act as a mouthpiece for Hamas propaganda —
spreading Hamas's fake genocide campaign."
There have already been countless instances of such Islamic violence in Europe
and the US, including both World Trade Center attacks (1993 and September 11,
2001), as well as in the UK (here, here, here and here); Germany (here, here,
here and here); France (here, here, here, here, here, and here), Denmark, Sweden
and Spain (here and here).
The deeply disturbing trends in Europe, therefore, where anti-Israel activists
receive encouragement from the political establishment while the rise in
anti-Semitism is left untouched, should serve as a warning to the US and its
Western allies about the dangers of tolerating large-scale immigration,
especially concerning migrants who struggle to impose Islamic sharia law and the
judicial systems of the countries from which they came, rather than adopt the
laws and values of the West.
**Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a
Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Mamdani's 9/11 Moment of Truth
Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute/October 22,
2025
If Zohran Mamdani is elected the next mayor of New York City, he will face the
next anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on America as either
an undisguised hypocrite or honest enough to reveal his expansive contempt for a
nation that remains the beacon of freedom around the world. Try as he might, on
that solemn day of remembrance, Mamdani will not be able to have it both ways.
To date, his 9/11 references fail to reveal even a suggestion of grief for the
thousands of Americans who died that day. Instead, he recounts how the terror
attack left him feeling isolated from the rest of us, refusing to suggest that
on September 11, 2001, we all became New Yorkers.
The New York Post quotes him as saying, "There is still this
illusion...particularly a result of settler-colonialism, that all of us can
become New Yorkers..."
For those studying the Mamdani family, this should come as no surprise. He has
supped at his father's table, and Columbia Professor Mahmood Mamdani pulls no
punches regarding his view of the country that welcomed him and his family
decades ago.
Consider Mahmood Mamdani's book, Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, published several
years after 9/11. He wrote, "we need to recognize that suicide bomber, first and
foremost, as a category of soldier." He also reminded the public that, according
to him, suicide bombing must not be "stigmatized as a mark of barbarism."
His comments will come as a chilling reminder to the survivors of the 9/11
terror attack that the ideology Professor Mamdani has offered his students and,
one suspects, the current front-running mayoral candidate in New York City. Nor
have his observations muted over time.
His most recent book, Slow Poison, seeks to rehabilitate one of Africa's most
ruthless dictators, Idi Amin. The author suggests that the bizarre actions and
atrocities inflicted by Amin on his fellow Ugandan citizens were simply done in
the cause of strengthening his post-colonial nation.
So, what would a Mayor Zohran Mamdani say at one of the most sacred sites in his
city, the 9/11 memorial, when the anniversary of that attack on New York is on
his official calendar? Will he too suggest the terrorists were courageous
soldiers who flew the airliners into the towers for the purpose of attacking
"post-colonial" America? That we "deserved" the murder of 2,977 New Yorkers?
If the voters of Gotham decide to give City Hall over to Mamdani in November,
they will need to appreciate that their new mayor does not view himself as a
"New Yorker." Not now, not tomorrow, and certainly not on 9/11.
**Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute
Iran...What Lies Beyond the Return to the Past?
Yousef Al-Dayni/Acharq Al-Awsat/October 22/2025
Today, Tehran faces two dead ends: UN sanctions have been reinstated and its
domestic legitimacy has been eroding. Instead of redefining its relationship
with its citizens through genuine economic and political reform, the authorities
have turned to symbolic gestures and discourse, digging deep into the distant
past and invoking ancient figures and myths in an attempt to fuel nationalism as
a substitute for modern citizenship founded on the enhancement of living
conditions, justice, and inclusion.
Since last summer, when the statue of Arash the Archer was erected in central
Tehran, the shift has been highly visible. The regime has turned to pre-Islamic
history as it seeks to replace its theocratic revolutionary discourse with
nationalist rhetoric and imagery that emphasizes the glory of ancient empires.
In the media, an Achaemenid soldier is shown side by side with a soldier of the
current army under the caption “For Iran.” The state once founded on the idea of
an “Islamic nation” seemingly seeks to reinvent itself as an “Iranian nation.”
Yet this nationalist discourse conceals a deeper problem. Power and water cuts,
currency collapse, and crumbling public services weigh on citizens as sanctions
have gone from being a siege into a mirror reflecting domestic failures. The
narrative of “victimhood” has fallen apart amid the inflation, jobs, and
corruption crises.
While the regime raises the banner of nationalism to unify the domestic front,
the slogans raised on the streets reflect growing divisions: “Not Gaza, not
Lebanon, my soul is for Iran,” and “Water and life are our rights.” The focus on
basic demands has been growing after decades of exploiting religious and
national sentiments. Nationalism, which was supposed to serve as a unifying
framework, has instead become a tool for monopolizing identity and excluding
dissidents- the same function that revolutionary discourse had had in previous
decades.
The old sanctions could be absorbed by boisterous rhetoric that redirected the
anger. Today, however, these sanctions directly undermine the arteries of daily
life. The battered economy, the falling currency, and crumbling infrastructure
amplify every foreign step to pressure the regime. As the resources of the IRGC
and its economic networks shrink, intra-elite tensions have been aggravating,
and in anticipation of the post-Supreme Leader era, nationalism is used not as a
unifying tool but as a weapon in the struggle for legitimacy.
Abroad, Iran’s position appears even more incoherent. Its attempt to sustain the
nuclear program under the banner of “national dignity” now runs up against an
international order that has reordered its priorities after the war in Ukraine.
The resumption of sanctions is not merely a lever of economic pressure. It is an
integrated framework for oversight capable of paralyzing any strategic pursuit.
Delays in nuclear or missile projects drain the political capital of this
regime, whose justifications for the country’s isolation are gradually becoming
less convincing.
Iran is a model for the paradox of modern states that got everything they need
to survive (wealth, geography, and human resources) but insist on defining its
strength against what it opposes rather than through what it produces. It lives
off the memory of ancient empires instead of pursuing a modern state project.
While neighboring countries are using stability to reinforce their influence and
develop productive economies, Tehran continues to recycle ancient symbols to
conceal the failures of the present. As sanctions persist, this path will become
a heavy burden on the regime itself; the siege narrative is failing to convince
its population.
With this political landscape, Iran seems to stand at a historical crossroad:
either it lays new foundations for legitimacy founded on citizenship and
enhancing living conditions, or it continues to take refuge in myth until it
fully drains its society. Nationalism may buy the regime some time, but it
cannot build stability nor build the future. As living crises intensify, bigger
questions will inevitably arise: whom is this state governed for? To what end is
its present sacrificed every day?
On the opposite end of the Arab Gulf lies Iran’s greatest challenge: the rising
Saudi model. While Tehran retreats into the past, Riyadh builds its national
project on converting its rich heritage into fuel for the future. The Kingdom
neither denies its roots nor remains hostage to them, investing in its deep
history to power a modern developmental vision centered on human empowerment,
education, and responsible openness to the world. It is a rational actor
investing first in its people, and it is redefining power as the capacity to
create opportunities, not enemies.
This model of blending identity, sovereignty, and development offers a lesson
that the entire region can learn: legitimacy is built on the welfare of
citizens, not mass mobilizations, and real heritage is not harnessed for
nostalgia but as a foundation for the future. While Tehran digs through its
ancient symbols to defend a crumbling discourse, Riyadh pushes forward with a
balanced formula that weighs history and modernity. It demonstrates that in this
century, strength is measured by a nation’s ability to transform its past into a
developmental project, not by its capacity to flee its present.
Selected English Tweets from X Platform For
22
October/2025
Tony Breidy
October 23, 1983 marks a solemn day in U.S.
military history. On that morning, a suicide bomber drove a truck packed with
explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241
American service members, including 220 Marines. It was one of the deadliest
attacks on U.S. forces overseas since World War II.
We remember their sacrifice:
- These Marines were part of a multinational peacekeeping force during Lebanon’s
civil war.
- The attack highlighted the growing threat of terrorism and reshaped U.S.
military strategy in the region.
- Every year, ceremonies are held across the country — especially at Camp
Lejeune, North Carolina — to honor their memory and service.
Their courage and dedication continue to inspire generations.
Pope Leo XIV
On the paths of the heart, the Risen One walks with us and for us. Jesus bears
witness to the defeat of death and affirms the victory of life, despite the
darkness of Calvary. Our lived history still has much goodness in which to hope.
#GeneralAudience
Natalia ܢܐܬܐܠܝ
@NataliaInMotion
https://x.com/i/status/1981002740806385805
Very dangerous. Shia schools in southern Mount Lebanon teach children hateful
songs about Jews. In this song they actually sing “mom I want to buy a gun to
fight the Jews.”
Meanwhile the Lebanese ruling government is quiet and is turning a blind eye
instead of arresting those responsible for raising an entire generation to be
terrorists.
#NataliaInMotion
Ambassador Tom Barrack
On October 23, 1983, 241 U.S. Marines, sailors, and soldiers, 58 French military
personnel, and six Lebanese civilians were killed when a suicide bomber
destroyed the Marine barracks in Beirut — one of the deadliest attacks on
Americans overseas. We honor their memory by remembering the lesson: Lebanon
must resolve its own divisions and reclaim its sovereignty. America cannot — and
must not — repeat the mistakes of that past. 🇱🇧🇺🇸
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
I rarely respond to bots, but I’ll make an exception. I doubt this person is
Swedish because his argument is that of many Arabs/Muslims, that the mere
association with Israel is shameful.
If he’s reading my response, I want him to know that mistaking my X feed for an
Israeli is a badge of honor, not shame. Whoever doesn’t like it is their
problem.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Driving a car is a right, but only after proving that you know how.
Sovereignty is also a right, and should likewise be earned after a nation
demonstrates it knows how. Palestinians do NOT know how to self-govern. As of
yet, they don’t deserve a state. They have to earn it. To be fair, Lebanese,
Syrians, Iraqis have also failed in sovereignty test. Their states make
imperialism look good.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
https://x.com/i/status/1981069465597919332
A longish interview with @MichellaSKY
on @skynewsarabia: Prez Trump's Peace Plan is excellent and was endorsed by all
Arab and Islamic countries, and Israel. Only one who rejected it was Hamas, and
that's why plan was divided into Phase 1, which has been almost completed, and
Phase 2, in which Hamas must disarm and which Hamas will never agree to. As
such, what we have so far is a ceasefire and are still far, far, away from
peace.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
All articles from #Lebanon show that the majority of the Lebanese oppose
normalization with #Israel (at least that's what they say in public, and many
say the opposite in private).
The problem is that the media should ask the Lebanese why they oppose
normalization. The answer would make the Lebanese feel ashamed, because they'd
be putting Palestinian interests ahead Lebanese interests