English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For  September 14/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2025/english.September14.25.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006 

Click On The Below Link To Join Elias Bejjaninews whatsapp group
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FPF0N7lE5S484LNaSm0MjW
اضغط على الرابط في أعلى للإنضمام لكروب Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group

Elias Bejjani/Click on the below link to subscribe to my youtube channel
الياس بجاني/اضغط على الرابط في أسفل للإشتراك في موقعي ع اليوتيوب
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOOSioLh1GE3C1hp63Camw

Bible Quotations For today
‘Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 17/01-04/:"Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, "I repent", you must forgive.’"

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 13-14/2025
The day the treacherous and hateful hand reached out to assassinate Bachir the man, yet it failed to kill the dream and the cause he embodied/Elias Bejjani/September 14/2025
The Arab panic fit against Israel is a demagogue and a media hype./Elias Bejjani/September 14/2025
History of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross/Elias Bejjani/September 14/2025
On the 24th Anniversary of 9/11: Remembering an Unprecedented Crime and a Warning Bell for Humanity/Elias Bejjani/September 11/2025
Text & Video: The Fawning Over Qatar’s Ambassador in Lebanon and the Hollow Arab Leaders’ Statements Condemning Israel’s Strike in Doha Against Hamas Terror Chiefs/Elias Bejjani/September 10/2025
A video link to an interview from the "Hona Lebanon" YouTube Platform with the leader of the "Other Option" movement, Engineer Alfred Madi.
Aoun: Bachir Gemayel’s Dream Remains Alive
Israeli raids: a response to Hezbollah's positions, not government "decisions"!
Israeli incursion into Adaisseh and a raid kills a Hezbollah member in Aitaroun
Palestinian factions hand over weapons in largest Lebanon refugee camp
Lebanon’s army leads disarmament push in Ain al-Hilweh and Beddaoui — will it reshape camp security?
Weapons handed over from Ain al-Hilweh and al-Beddawi camps
One killed in Israeli strike in Aitaroun
Lebanon’s FM stresses two-state solution as key to ‘just and lasting peace’
Roads plagued by chaos, nonfunctioning traffic lights; Lebanon explores measures to restore order
Lebanon takes steps toward reopening Qlayaat airport to travelers — the details
Twenty-three shops closed — is Lebanon’s vital highway about to be transformed?

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 13-14/2025
Video Link to an interview with Senator Cruz
Al-Sharaa says Syria in talks with Israel on security deal
Israeli strikes on Yemen’s Houthi militants damage residential homes, forcing families to live in ruins
Summit in Doha to discuss Arab-Islamic response to Israeli attack against Qatar
Rubio meets Qatar PM before visiting Israel in a delicate balance with two allies
Rubio says Qatar strike ‘not going to change’ US-Israel ties
Israel army says over 250,000 residents have left Gaza City as it kills 32 in airstrikes
Israeli hostages forum says Netanyahu ‘obstacle’ to ending Gaza war
Saudi foreign minister arrives in Doha for Arab-Islamic summit on Israeli attack
How Saudi-France diplomatic initiative moved Palestine one step closer to statehood
Israeli hostages forum says Netanyahu ‘obstacle’ to ending Gaza war
Jordan’s FM holds calls with UK and Turkish counterparts on Gaza, West Bank, and Qatar crisis
Oscar-winning Palestinian director Basel Adra says his home in West Bank raided by Israeli soldiers
Iraq’s Yazidis rediscover lost history through photos found in a museum archive

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on September 13-14/2025
Question: “What is the biblical solution to the problem of evil?/GotQuestions/September 13/2025
Britain's Right (or Far Right as their detractors call them) took to the streets en masse/
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Face Book/September 13/2025
The Authoritarian Quartet, China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran: A New World Order in the Making?/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/September 13, 2025
US, Israel and the attack on Qatar/Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/September 13, 2025
UK PM tries to turn crisis into opportunity/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/September 13, 2025
Globalization is dead — the world faces an existential choice/Bertrand Badre/Arab News/September 13, 2025
Slected X tweets For September 13/2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published 
The day the treacherous and hateful hand reached out to assassinate Bachir the man, yet it failed to kill the dream and the cause he embodied
Elias Bejjani/September 14/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147262/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTL_sVeE4kE&t=260s
On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in 1982, Lebanon witnessed a tragic day that will never fade from its memory nor from the conscience of the Lebanese who believe in their unique identity. That day became a defining milestone in the history of the Lebanese Resistance — a torch still held high with unwavering faith and the steadfast determination of saints by Bashir’s faithful followers.
On that day, the treacherous hand of hatred struck and killed Bashir’s body, yet it utterly failed to kill Bashir’s cause, his ambition, his thought, his patriotism, and his spirit of resistance. On that day, the Cross of Lebanon was lifted to heaven bearing upon it the Martyr of Lebanon, President Sheikh Bashir Gemayel, surrounded by his twenty-three righteous companions who had walked with him on his earthly journey — a journey he dedicated wholly to Lebanon and its sacred cause — and who were granted to accompany him as well on his return to the Paradise of the righteous and the saints.
Bashir was raised upon the Cross of Lebanon after he and his companions had watered the blessed soil of the Land of the Cedars with their pure and sacred blood. He was lifted up surrounded by his martyred comrades to stand with them before his Lord, with a clear conscience, abundant faith, and sacred purity. He rose to heaven after fulfilling his earthly mission, after having drawn the clear contours of the Lebanese Cause, planted within the hearts of the Lebanese the spirit of resistance and sacrifice, and instilled in their souls the unshakable belief in the inevitable victory of the Land of the Message — the land where the Lord Jesus performed His first miracle and which the Virgin Mary blessed, making it a sanctuary for the faithful.
God Almighty willed to distinguish Bashir in his death just as He had distinguished him in his life, lifting him up to His Paradise on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross — the same Cross on which the Only Begotten Son was nailed for the salvation of all humanity. And as the Apostle Paul said:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”(1 Corinthians 1:18)
Bashir embraced the Cross and made it a beacon, a path, and a way of life in spreading his Lebanese message — a message of coexistence, love, brotherhood, loyalty, civilization, culture, dignity, and honor. He ascended to heaven leaving behind his values, his teachings, his spirit, and his love for the homeland in the hearts and consciences of his people whom he loved, having offered himself as a sacrifice for their salvation and freedom. And as Jesus Christ said:
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”(John 15:13)
Whoever is protected by the Cross cannot be overcome by demons, nor can the holiness of his cause be defiled by the heresies of the Pharisees, the scribes, and their ilk. And just as Jesus Christ conquered death, shattered its sting, and rose from the tomb on the third day, Bashir’s national and spiritual message shall remain alive until the Day of Judgment. It is this very message that will one day raise Lebanon from the grave of subjugation, dependency, servitude, selfishness, and occupation.
Bashir’s Lebanon will never die, for it lives on in the struggle, resistance, and pride of every Lebanese who truly believes in Bashir’s dream — the dream of the Cause — and who wishes to live with head held high, in dignity and pride, in a free, sovereign, independent, and democratic homeland. A homeland overshadowed by justice, equality, and decent living; a homeland liberated from foreign armies, mercenaries, Trojan traitors, and subversive agents; a homeland governed by its own people, where human rights are respected and human dignity is preserved.
Bashir struggled to restore unity to the Lebanese land, sovereignty to the Land of the Cedars, freedom and dignity to the Lebanese person, authority to the state, and effectiveness to its institutions. He was the one who declared loudly: “We want to live with our heads held high, and what must be changed is the mentality — to renew the person in order to renew Lebanon.”
And as the prophet Malachi said in the Holy Bible: “The law of truth was in his mouth.”(Malachi 2:6)
Bashir, as he offered himself as a living sacrifice upon the altar of the homeland, was following in the footsteps of Christ, who offered Himself out of love for the world. He freely chose the path of Golgotha, believing that there can be no resurrection without the Cross, and no freedom without laying down one’s life. His blood and the blood of his companions were not shed in vain, for they mingled with the soil of Lebanon to sanctify it and give it life — just as the blood of Christ mingled with the wood of the Cross to grant the world salvation and eternal life.
Thus, Bashir’s martyrdom remains a sign of hope and faith: hope in Lebanon’s resurrection from the death of bondage, and faith that whoever lays down his life for his beloved will surely rise with Christ in glory — and with him, Lebanon shall also rise.

The Arab panic fit against Israel is a demagogue and a media hype.
Elias Bejjani/September 14/2025
The Arab uproar and tribal panic fit against Israel after its attack on Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Qatar is a hymn of empty rhetoric and a foolish return to the era of the demagoguery of Ahmed Saeed, Al-Sahhaf, Abdel Nasser, Gaddafi, and Saddam Hussein, the kings of defeat and illusion.

History of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Elias Bejjani/September 14/2025
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” (Matthew 16:24)
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147225/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVKhx9YRw-A
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” ( Corinthians 1:18–25)
Historical Background of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Every year on September 14, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, one of the most important liturgical feasts in the universal Church, both East and West. This feast is rooted in pivotal events in Christian history:
1-The Vision of the Cross to Emperor Constantine the Great
In the early fourth century, Emperor Constantine the Great was preparing for a decisive battle against his rival Maxentius. Before the battle, he prayed to the God of the Christians — the God of his mother, Saint Helena — asking for victory. Then he beheld in the clear sky a radiant cross surrounded by the words: “In this sign you shall conquer” (Latin: In hoc signo vinces.). Trusting in the power of the Cross, Constantine marched to battle and achieved a stunning victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD. Following this triumph, he embraced the Christian faith, placed the sign of the Cross on his soldiers’ banners, and issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, granting Christians religious freedom after three centuries of bloody persecution. He also began reviving the Church from the darkness of the catacombs, destroying pagan temples and building churches in their place.
2-The Discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helena
The Cross of Christ had remained buried under rubble in Jerusalem since the Crucifixion. In 326 AD, Saint Helena, Constantine’s mother, embarked on a sacred mission to the Holy Land to find it. She was accompanied by about 3,000 soldiers who agreed to light great bonfires on hilltops as a signal if they found it—an act that inspired the tradition of lighting “the bonfire of the Cross” (Abbouleh) on the feast day. After much effort, an elderly Jewish man guided her to the site. They found three crosses and the title inscription that read “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” To discern which was the True Cross, they laid the crosses on the body of a dead man. When he touched the third cross, he immediately rose back to life. Great rejoicing followed. Helena wrapped the Cross in costly silk and placed it in a silver reliquary inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was built on the very site of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
3-The Captivity of the Cross in Persia and Its Triumphant Return
In 614 AD, the Persian king Khosrow II invaded Jerusalem, slaughtered thousands, and took Patriarch Zacharias captive along with many Christians. He also seized the relic of the Holy Cross as war plunder and carried it off to Persia, where it remained for fourteen years.
In 628 AD, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius defeated the Persians and signed a peace treaty that included the return of the Holy Cross. Heraclius carried it back to Jerusalem in a solemn procession. Dressed in simple garments and barefoot in humility, he carried the Cross on his shoulders and placed it once again in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on September 14, 628 AD. This is the historical moment when the Church established September 14 as the annual Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
4-Theological and Spiritual Meaning of the Feast
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross does not glorify the Cross as an instrument of torture, but as an instrument of salvation. What once symbolized shame became, through Christ’s blood, the symbol of glory, resurrection, and victory over death and sin. The Church teaches us to carry our daily crosses and follow Christ, knowing that the path of Calvary leads to the Resurrection. The Cross is the power of God for salvation and the sign that divides death from life. On this day, churches decorate the Cross with red flowers, and the priest lifts it high, blessing the four directions — a symbol of the universal scope of salvation through Christ.
The Feast and the Maronites of Lebanon
For the Maronite Church of Lebanon, this feast carries profound spiritual, historical, and national meaning.
During centuries of persecution, the Maronites took refuge in the high mountains of Lebanon and chose the Cross as their sacred emblem and shield of identity. The fires of the Cross that once signaled Helena’s discovery became a living symbol of their Christian steadfastness.
To this day, on the eve of September 14, Maronite villages across Mount Lebanon light great bonfires on hilltops. These flames link all the mountain summits together, proclaiming that the Maronites are the people of the Cross — witnesses to Christ’s victory even in the darkest times.
This custom expresses their enduring covenant to preserve the Christian presence in the East and to keep Lebanon a sanctuary of faith and freedom.
What Fouad Afram al-Bustani Wrote About This Feast
The renowned Lebanese historian and philosopher Fouad Afram al-Bustani (1904–1994) described this feast as a cornerstone of Maronite spiritual identity and Lebanese national consciousness. In his writings on Lebanese heritage, he stated:
“The Feast of the Cross is not merely a liturgical commemoration but a proclamation of destiny. The Maronites planted the Cross upon the peaks of Lebanon as a banner of liberty and a shield of faith. The flames that rise each year from their mountain villages are not just fires of memory — they are beacons of vigilance, declaring that this land was chosen to be a fortress of Christianity in the East. ”His words capture the deep meaning the Cross holds for the Lebanese Maronites: a sign of redemption, resilience, and rootedness in their mountain homeland.
The feast glorifies not the Cross as an instrument of death, but as the throne of Christ’s victory. What once symbolized shame became the very symbol of salvation, redemption, and resurrection. On this day, churches decorate the Cross with red flowers and incense, and the priest raises it high, blessing the four directions — symbolizing that Christ’s salvation extends to the ends of the earth. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a commemoration of victory, a testimony of faith, and a covenant of hope. For the Maronites of Lebanon, it is not just a memory of the past, but a living declaration: that they are the People of the Cross, guardians of a sacred trust, and witnesses of Christ’s light rising from the mountains of Lebanon to the whole world.
Conclusion
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is not merely a commemoration of past events, but a celebration of God’s love conquering hatred, light conquering darkness, and life conquering death. Whoever contemplates the mystery of the Cross and embraces it with faith will experience in his own life the power of the Resurrection and the blessings of redemption and salvation.

On the 24th Anniversary of 9/11: Remembering an Unprecedented Crime and a Warning Bell for Humanity
Elias Bejjani/September 11/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147179/
On this day in 2001, terrorism struck at the heart of the United States when Al-Qaeda, led by the global terrorist Osama bin Laden, carried out the deadliest terrorist attack in modern history, killing nearly 3,000 innocent people from various nationalities and religions, and spreading fear and destruction in New York and Washington. That dark day was a grim reminder to the world of the danger of political Islam, which uses religion as a cover to justify violence, murder, and hatred, turning young people into destructive human bombs.
Political Islam: A Dual Cancer Threatening Humanity
Sunni Political Islam
Sunni political Islam is represented by the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt, which became the ideological and organizational incubator for most extremist terrorist groups in the Muslim world. From its womb emerged bloody groups such as:
Al-Qaeda, which carried out the 9/11 attacks.
Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, which carried out mass executions and imposed its extremist ideology by force.
Boko Haram in Nigeria, which kidnapped hundreds of girls and massacred civilians.
Hamas in Gaza, which hides behind the façade of “resistance” while practicing bloody terrorism that targets civilians and drags the Palestinian people into disasters and wars.
These groups use terrorism as a political tool to achieve their so-called “caliphate project,” seeking to overthrow civil and democratic systems through violence, assassinations, and coups, while spreading hate speech and opposing values of pluralism, freedom, and human rights.
Shiite Political Islam
On the other side stands Shiite political Islam, the other face of the same terrorist coin, led by the Iranian regime of the mullahs, which has turned religion into a tool of regional domination under the slogan of “exporting the revolution.” Tehran deploys a network of armed terrorist proxies across several countries to destabilize and destroy national sovereignties, most notably:
Hezbollah in Lebanon, which turned South Lebanon into an Iranian military base, dragged Lebanon into devastating wars, assassinated national and political figures, and today controls the Lebanese state by force of arms and intimidation.
The Houthi militias in Yemen, which ignited a bloody civil war and attacked neighboring countries with Iranian missiles and drones.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq, which committed sectarian crimes and destroyed Iraq’s state institutions.
Iranian militias in Syria and Gaza, which contributed to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and supported tyrannical regimes.
Hezbollah is the most dangerous spearhead of this network, having become a parallel army inside Lebanon that engages in kidnapping, smuggling, and drug trafficking, and threatening regional and international peace on behalf of Tehran.
Hamas and Hezbollah: A Dual Model of Cross-Border Terrorism
Hamas not only overthrew the democratic order in Gaza by force in 2007, but also turned the Strip into a base for launching indiscriminate rockets at civilians, using the population as human shields, and triggering repeated devastating wars.
Hezbollah imposed its hegemony over Lebanon’s political decision-making, dragged the country into international isolation, carried out terrorist operations and assassinations inside and outside Lebanon, and continues to threaten regional security in the service of Iran’s agenda.
Neither of these groups seeks to liberate their people or achieve justice. Instead, they serve foreign agendas of expansion and domination, leading their own societies into death, destruction, poverty, and collapse.
The Need to Eliminate Political Islam in Its Sunni and Shiite Forms
Twenty-four years after the 9/11 attacks, it has become clear that defeating global terrorism requires uprooting its ideological and organizational foundations — namely, the elimination of political Islam in both of its forms:
Overthrowing the Iranian regime of the mullahs, which sponsors, funds, and commands the most dangerous Shiite terrorist networks in the world.
Designating the Muslim Brotherhood and all its branches worldwide as terrorist organizations, cutting off their funding sources, and shutting down their propaganda institutions.
Dismantling Iran’s armed proxies militarily, foremost among them Hezbollah in Lebanon, through decisive operations carried out by legitimate international and regional forces, and arresting their leaders to bring them before international justice.
In Summary, The world has paid a heavy price for decades of ignoring the danger of political Islam, and today terrorism once again threatens global peace and security. Protecting humanity’s shared future requires a firm international alliance to put a final end to this dual cancer, and to close the chapter of exploiting religion to justify violence, tyranny, and domination. Without such action, the world will continue to relive the tragedies that began on that dark September morning.

Text & Video: The Fawning Over Qatar’s Ambassador in Lebanon and the Hollow Arab Leaders’ Statements Condemning Israel’s Strike in Doha Against Hamas Terror Chiefs
Elias Bejjani/September 10/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147141/
The gravest danger facing the Middle East today—its Arab states in general and Lebanon in particular—is the deliberate, hypocritical blindness to the true existential threat: the expansionist project of Iran’s clerical regime. Iran spreads its influence directly through the Revolutionary Guard and Quds Force, and indirectly through its sectarian proxy militias, in full coordination with the Muslim Brotherhood network financed and run by Qatar and Erdoğan’s Turkey. At the forefront of this deadly alliance stands Hamas, which turned Gaza into a bloody prison and a jihadist base that threatens Palestinians and the entire region.
The Stark Reality
*In Lebanon, Hezbollah hijacked the state and turned it into an Iranian colony.
*In Iraq, the Popular Mobilization Forces erased sovereignty and placed strategic decisions in Tehran’s hands.
*In Syria, the Assad regime—long an enemy of Arabs and a loyal Iranian tool—collapsed. Israel played a major role in striking and dismantling it both militarily and politically.
*In Yemen, the Houthis blackmail the Gulf with missiles and drones, all in service of Iran.
*In Gaza, Hamas surrendered the strip to Iran, turning it into a doomed battlefield against Israel.
Yet despite this catastrophic landscape, some Arabs persist in portraying Israel as their existential enemy. But Israel has not occupied their capitals nor dismantled their institutions—while Iran has destroyed Lebanon and four Arab republics and stripped them of sovereignty. The undeniable truth is this: the existential threat comes from Iran and its proxies, alongside the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas—not from Israel.
Hamas: The Brotherhood’s Terror Arm
Hamas is nothing more than a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, designated as a terrorist organization in most Arab countries. Nevertheless, yesterday we witnessed a hysterical wave of Arab statements condemning Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha. These populist outbursts are hollow and meaningless, nothing but a cheap show that recalls the empty propaganda of Egypt’s Ahmed Said, Hamas’s Abu Ubaida, and Iraq’s “Comical Ali” Muhammad al-Sahhaf. Empty words, devoid of substance, exposing the impotence of regimes that prefer slogans to action.
Israel Is Not the Enemy—Iran Is
The Arab states issuing condemnations know very well that Israel is not their existential threat. Their true enemy is Iran’s expansionist regime, which has already swallowed five states: Lebanon, Syria (before Assad’s fall), Iraq, Yemen, and Gaza through Hamas. Those who pretend otherwise are willfully blind to the reality of Wilayat al-Faqih and its mercenaries tearing apart their nations—with political Islam, funded and orchestrated by Qatar and Turkey, as well political Sunni and Shiite extremism.
The Direct Consequence of Hamas’s Crimes
What the region suffers today is a direct result of Hamas’s terrorist assaults on Israel. Whoever plants terror will reap only fire and destruction. Hamas brought calamity upon Gaza, dragged the region into endless wars, and put the entire Middle East on the global frontline.
Israel Lifted the Iranian Threat from You Arab countries
Those who issue shrill, emotional condemnations of Israel should remember: it was Israel that dismantled Assad’s regime, their long-time enemy and Iran’s Syrian proxy. It was Israel that struck Hezbollah in Lebanon, weakened Hamas in Gaza, and contained the Iranian threat that terrifies their capitals night and day. Instead of lamentations and hollow denunciations, they should admit Israel is doing what they themselves were too weak—or too cowardly—to do.
Qatar and Turkey: Sponsors of Terror
The Doha operation once again exposed Qatar as the banker and sponsor of Islamist terrorism, in league with Erdoğan’s Turkey, which deploys the Muslim Brotherhood across dozens of Arab, European, and Latin American states. Those who cheer Qatar and Erdoğan today are either blind, ignorant, or complicit in the terror project.
Greater Israel: A Reality, Not a Scarecrow
As former minister Yusuf Salameh wrote today in a statement published on my web site, “Greater Israel” is not the mythical land “from the Nile to the Euphrates.” It is a sphere of influence extending from Lebanon through Syria, Doha, and Yemen, all the way to Iran—made real by Israel’s unmatched military and intelligence reach, freely crossing Arab skies without deterrence. The wise see “Greater Israel” as an undeniable reality; the foolish repeat it as an empty scarecrow.
The Right to Pursue Terrorists Anywhere
The pursuit of Hamas leaders, Boko Haram, al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra, Hezbollah, the Iraqi PMF, all Jihadist organizations and Iran’s many terrorist armed proxies is a legitimate right everywhere in the world. Terrorism knows no borders, and every state has the right to uproot it wherever it exists.
Empty Statements and Hollow Heroics
Those who flattered Qatar’s ambassador in Lebanon, or who issued hollow statements of “condemnation,” are nothing but hypocrites. Their words are shallow and meaningless, ignoring the Iranian monster and political Islam that threaten their very survival.
In the end, only by reining in the Iranian beast can Arab states understand their inevitable enemy. If Arab rulers and peoples fought wars with the same passion they write empty statements and poetic slogans, they would dominate the world today. Instead, they remain blind, submissive, and trapped in cardboard heroics and parroting rhetoric.
Elias Bejjani – Lebanese Diaspora Activist
Phoenicia@hotmail.com

A video link to an interview from the "Hona Lebanon" YouTube Platform with the leader of the "Other Option" movement, Engineer Alfred Madi.
September 13/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147254/
A sovereign and patriotic analysis of Lebanon's current miserable situation at the leadership level.
Bashir Gemayel, the distinguished leader and visionary, and what distinguishes him from all current leaders.
The circumstances of Michel Aoun's election as president.
The fate of illegal weapons.
The dangers of elections under the hegemony of weapons.
The possibility that Israel will continue its war against Hezbollah. Chapter Seven is the solution.
• If elections are held now, they will be a legalization of Hezbollah.
• The solution is through Chapter Seven.
A special episode with the leader of the "Other Option" movement, Engineer Alfred Madi, with journalist Jenny Rahme, on the "Hona Lebanon" channel.
September 13, 2025

Aoun: Bachir Gemayel’s Dream Remains Alive
This is Beirut/September 13/2025
On the eve of the 43rd anniversary of President Bachir Gemayel’s assassination (September 14), President Joseph Aoun declared that his killing “did not only deprive Lebanon of a president or a political leader, but also represented an attempt to kill an authentic Lebanese dream. Yet, dreams do not die with those who carry them; they remain alive in the hearts of those who believe in them and strive to fulfill them.”He added, “The martyred president embodied the determination to build a strong and united Lebanon. He believed in the ability of the Lebanese to overcome their divisions in order to establish a free and independent country, founded on solid institutions and fair justice. Even today, the principles for which he sacrificed his life remain national constants shared by all: a free, sovereign and independent Lebanon, where its children live with dignity and security.”

Israeli raids: a response to Hezbollah's positions, not government "decisions"!
Lara Yazbek/Al-Markazia/September 13, 2025
Al-Markazia - Israeli military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon continue. On a daily basis, Israel bombs the south and the Bekaa Valley, assassinating Hezbollah members, targeting homes, and striking what it claims are Hezbollah infrastructure, weapons depots, and factories. According to what political sources told Al-Markazia, Hezbollah uses these attacks every time to target the Lebanese state, its shortcomings, and its "failed" diplomacy, which it believes has failed to deter Israel. The party believes that the state is "conceding, retreating, and submitting to the dictates of America and Saudi Arabia," prompting Israel to respond in the form of further escalation. However, according to the sources, Israel is not responding to the Lebanese state as much as it is responding to Hezbollah's positions and the latter's lack of cooperation with it and its decisions. The attacks are condemned and must be controlled and stopped. This is what the ruling class is demanding from the international community, led by Washington and Paris, the sponsors of the ceasefire agreement. However, Israel, stung by October 7 and the support war, neither listens to the Lebanese state's statements nor cares as much as it listens to Hezbollah's positions. The latter publicly rejected the arms monopoly decision and deemed it non-existent. Its Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said a few days ago: "Do not stab the resistance in the back... Do not stand with Israel until it takes what it wants from the resistance with your support. Get out of the arms monopoly story... Do not pressure the resistance." Before that, the head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, had said that the resistance is more legitimate than the government, adding: "We have informed those concerned that the resistance's weapons are forbidden to be touched, even south of the river." The party therefore openly declares that it will not hand over weapons, even south of the Litani River, at a time when the Syrian authorities periodically halt arms shipments intended for smuggling to the party, which is clearly trying to rebuild its military capabilities. This is the greatest service the party has provided to Israel, with these positions and performance, and as long as it continues with them, the Israeli raids will continue. By doing so, it harms the Lebanese state and its efforts to liberate the land, as much as Israel harms it, the sources conclude.

Israeli incursion into Adaisseh and a raid kills a Hezbollah member in Aitaroun
Central/September 13, 2025
Israeli forces penetrated the outskirts of the town of Adaisseh at dawn and carried out an explosion there. An Israeli drone also dropped a bomb in the vicinity of the old square of the town of Kfar Kila. Furthermore, the Israeli army reported the killing of a Hezbollah member in an airstrike targeting him last night in the Aitaroun area in southern Lebanon. A drone flew at very low altitude over the villages adjacent to the Litani River. An Israeli drone dropped a bomb on a house in the town of Kfar Kila and on the southern outskirts of Aita al-Shaab.

Palestinian factions hand over weapons in largest Lebanon refugee camp
AFP/September 13, 2025
AIN AL-HILWEH, Lebanon: Palestinian factions handed over weapons from Lebanon’s largest refugee camp on Saturday, a Palestinian official said, as part of a push by the government to disarm non-state groups. Abdel Hadi Al-Asadi, of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said the umbrella group conducted “the operation of delivering new batches of weapons.” The Lebanese army confirmed that it received “five truckloads of weapons from the Ain Al-Hilweh camp in Sidon,” the largest in Lebanon, and “three trucks from the Beddawi camp in Tripoli.”“The delivery included various types of weapons, shells, and ammunition,” the army said in a statement. An AFP journalist near Ain Al-Hilweh reported Lebanese army vehicles posted around the camp, preventing anyone from approaching. The densely-populated Beddawi camp, near the northern city of Tripoli, was hit last year by Israeli strikes that killed a Hamas commander, his wife and two daughters, according to the Palestinian militant group. In Beddawi, an AFP journalist saw three covered trucks leaving the camp, with Lebanese army vehicles waiting for them outside.
Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad, both not part of the PLO which has begun handing over weapons, have not announced plans to disarm in Lebanon. Lebanon hosts about 222,000 Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations agency UNRWA, with many living in overcrowded camps outside of the state’s control. During a visit to Beirut in May, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas agreed with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun that weapons in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps would be handed over to the Lebanese authorities. The process began last month, when the army received weapons from camps around Beirut and southern Lebanon. During a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that largely ended with a November ceasefire, Palestinian groups including Hamas claimed rocket fire toward Israel.
The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, a body affiliated with the Lebanese prime minister’s office that is overseeing the arms transfer process, announced in a statement that it is continuing its “meetings with various Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.”It said the discussions were part of its “commitment to extending its sovereignty over all its territory.”By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army stays out of the Palestinian camps and leaves Palestinian factions to handle security. Lebanon’s disarmament push has been rejected by Hezbollah, which was the country’s most powerful political force before being severely weakened by the war with Israel. Beirut’s plan entails the complete disarmament of the border area with Israel within three months, in the first of five phases to monopolize weapons with the army, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi told AFP last week.

Lebanon’s army leads disarmament push in Ain al-Hilweh and Beddaoui — will it reshape camp security?
LBCI/September 13, 2025
With careful precision, the Lebanese army is continuing its process of receiving Palestinian weapons.In Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon’s largest and most complex refugee camp, the fourth phase of weapons handovers began under heavy security. Five truckloads of arms belonging to the Palestine Liberation Organization were discreetly delivered to the army, with the operation kept under wraps until the final minutes. Away from the media, the shipments left the camp through the entrance and were transported to a nearby army barracks. The only available footage was documented by members of Fatah. At the same time, the Lebanese army received shipments from the Beddaoui camp in the Tripoli district. Journalists were kept several meters away from the trucks, which carried weapons that had not yet been inspected by the army’s engineering regiment to ensure safety. According to the Lebanese army, the deliveries included five truckloads from Ain al-Hilweh and three from Beddaoui, containing various types of weapons, shells and munitions. Fatah said the weapons also included an anti-aircraft system. Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee Chairman Ramez Dimashkieh confirmed that the process will continue in other camps, though without specific dates. Sources said efforts are underway to arrange a meeting between the committee and the Alliance factions, including Islamic Jihad and Hamas, but no agreement has yet been reached. The committee has already held separate meetings with some of these groups. For now, at least publicly, Fatah appears to be the only faction engaging with the new regional dynamics, pursuing a diplomatic rather than military path. While awaiting the outcome of the committee’s efforts, sources said resolving the weapons issue in the camps ultimately requires granting the Lebanese army access when needed and authorizing it to take necessary measures through a Lebanese political decision.

Weapons handed over from Ain al-Hilweh and al-Beddawi camps
Naharnet/September 13, 2025
The Lebanese Army was on Saturday handed over five truckloads of weapons from the Ain al-Hilweh camp and another three from the al-Beddawi camp as part of an ongoing disarmament process.So far only the Fatah Movement has handed over weapons from several camps in Beirut and its suburbs and the southern region of Tyre. The Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee announced said Friday that dialogue with Hamas is ongoing for the handover of its weapons,” adding that it expects the file to be finalized at the end of the month. During a visit to Beirut in May, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun agreed that weapons in Lebanon's Palestinian camps would be handed over to the Lebanese authorities. The implementation of the deal -- part of Lebanese authorities' decision to disarm all non-state groups -- began in August as Abbas' Fatah movement surrendered its weapons in south Beirut's Burj al-Barajneh camp. By longstanding convention, the Lebanese Army stays out of the Palestinian camps -- where Fatah, Hamas and other armed groups are present -- and leaves the factions to handle security. Lebanon hosts about 222,000 Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations agency UNRWA. The move to collect the Palestinian factions' weapons comes as the Lebanese government, under heavy U.S. pressure and amid fears of expanded Israeli military action, has tasked the army with drawing up a plan to disarm Hezbollah by the end of the year. During a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah that largely ended with a November ceasefire, Palestinian groups including Hamas claimed rocket fire towards Israel.

One killed in Israeli strike in Aitaroun
Agence France Presse/September 13, 2025
Lebanese authorities said that one person was killed Friday in an Israeli strike on the country's south near the border, the latest deadly raid this week despite a ceasefire with Hezbollah. "An Israeli enemy strike on the town of Aitaroun killed one person," the Health Ministry said in a statement. Israel has continued to carry out attacks on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah operatives or sites, in spite of the November truce that sought to end more than a year of hostilities with the Iran-backed group. A day earlier, the health ministry said one person was killed in a strike in south Lebanon, while five others died Monday in strikes in the country's east that the Israeli army said targeted Hezbollah positions. Under heavy U.S. pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, the Lebanese government last month ordered the military to draw up a plan to disarm the once-dominant Hezbollah, and last week said the army would begin to put it into action. Hezbollah, badly weakened by the recent war, has opposed the disarmament push, which Lebanon says is part of implementing the ceasefire deal.

Lebanon’s FM stresses two-state solution as key to ‘just and lasting peace’
LBCI/September 13, 2025
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Youssef Rajji, said in a post on X that a just and lasting peace cannot be achieved “without the two-state solution.”Published Saturday, the post emphasized Rajji’s commitment to diplomacy. He added, “142 yes… the path of diplomacy remains the most effective.”

In pictures: Lebanese army displays weapons seized from Palestinian camps
LBCI/September 13, 2025
The Lebanese army on Saturday received a total of eight truckloads of weapons from Palestinian refugee camps as part of its ongoing disarmament process. Five trucks carrying arms were handed over from the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Sidon and three from the Beddaoui camp in Tripoli. The shipments included various types of weapons, shells, and munitions, which were transferred to specialized military units for inspection and necessary procedures.

Roads plagued by chaos, nonfunctioning traffic lights; Lebanon explores measures to restore order
LBCI/September 13, 2025
Traffic accidents, nonfunctioning traffic lights, and gridlock at intersections plague Lebanon’s roads day and night, offering just a glimpse of what drivers face around the clock. Every driver seems to assume they have the right of way, often disregarding traffic safety rules or even the minimum standards set by the traffic law. In recent months, road fatalities have continued to rise, both in numbers and overall losses. The situation prompted the reactivation of the Traffic Safety Committee, initiated by Lebanon's Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Ahmad al-Hajjar. The committee met less than a month ago after years of inactivity. The meeting aimed to enforce traffic and road safety laws through a series of measures, most notably reactivating broken traffic lights and cameras in Greater Beirut. The plan also includes deploying gendarmerie units and motorbike patrols on the ground. Authorities face challenges in deploying sufficient personnel, as the number of security forces has decreased by roughly 6,000 in recent years, from about 28,000. These measures are coupled with stricter enforcement against traffic and public safety violations. On Lebanon’s roads, hundreds of violations can be recorded within minutes, including drivers running red lights, driving without seat belts, talking on cell phones, and motorcyclists riding without helmets. Given this situation, simply reactivating the Traffic Safety Committee and taking field measures may not be sufficient without enforcing the traffic law passed in 2012. At that time, the law’s application restored order to Lebanon’s roads.

Lebanon takes steps toward reopening Qlayaat airport to travelers — the details
LBCI/September 13, 2025
Will René Moawad Airport in Qlayaat open to travelers soon? Significant steps are underway to make it happen. The latest development is the approval of an amendment to the public-private partnership law by parliamentary committees, clearing the way for its passage in parliament. The goal is to facilitate investor participation in financing and operating state development projects, beginning with the rehabilitation of Qlayaat airport. Once the public-private partnership board members are appointed, the process of receiving investor bids will begin, with the contract expected to be awarded in the first quarter of 2026. According to sources in the Ministry of Public Works, the rehabilitation is expected to take no more than three years. The project will operate under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, meaning the investor will fund and operate the airport for an agreed period before returning it to the state. Sources said interest has already emerged from a Saudi company, an Emirati company, a French company, and several Lebanese business groups. In any case, having a second official airport in Lebanon is widely seen as essential. It represents significant economic and developmental value, particularly for the north, and offers Lebanon an opportunity to rejoin the global investment map.

Twenty-three shops closed — is Lebanon’s vital highway about to be transformed?
LBCI/September 13, 2025
The first practical steps have begun to implement one of Lebanon’s most vital infrastructure projects: expanding the Nahr al-Kalb–Tabarja Highway from two lanes in each direction to four lanes. The initial step followed the Ministry of Public Works forming a committee that includes the municipalities affected by the project and asking them to begin closing all shops and commercial establishments violating regulations along the road. Most of the encroachments are within the Jounieh municipality, which includes Sarba, Ghadir, Haret Sakher, and Sahel Aalma. Jounieh municipality issued warnings and, following instructions from Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Sami Sader, and with support from security forces, began the closures. The closure process will be carried out in stages. In the first stage, 23 shops and commercial establishments—both permanent and temporary structures, such as tents—were closed. Removing the encroachments is a key step in enforcing the law, which must apply equally to everyone, even though it may affect some people’s lives. Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny told LBCI that contractors cannot begin excavation and road expansion work until these violations and encroachments are removed.  He emphasized that all cases will be taken into account and that the ministry is awaiting the results of the survey and closure operations. A follow-up meeting will be held after the closures to finalize the plan and begin excavation work.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 13-14/2025
Video Link to an interview with Senator Cruz
Senator Cruz on the Muslim Brotherhood Threat, National Security, and America’s Global Leadership
Senator Ted Cruz (R–TX) and Dr. Victoria Coates examine the Muslim Brotherhood’s global and domestic threat, its role in fueling terrorism, and the urgent need for congressional action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiUS7sZjvys

Al-Sharaa says Syria in talks with Israel on security deal
Agence France Presse/September 13, 2025
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that Damascus is negotiating with Israel to reach a security agreement that would see Israel leave areas it occupied after the December overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. mAs Islamist-led forces toppled Assad on December 8, Israel deployed troops to the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces since an armistice that followed the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Israel has also launched hundreds of air strikes on targets in Syria and carried out incursions deeper into the south. Syria's new authorities have not responded to the attacks. "We are now in a state of negotiations and dialogue on the issue of a security agreement," Sharaa said in an interview with state television channel Alekhbariah. He said that Israel believed that Syria had "quit" the 1974 disengagement agreement after Assad's fall, "even though Syria, from the first moment, expressed its commitment" to the accord. "Now, negotiations are underway on a security agreement to return Israel to where it was before December 8," Sharaa said. Israel and Syria have no diplomatic relations, with the two countries technically at war since 1948. Last month, Syrian state media said Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer had met in Paris to discuss de-escalation and the situation in Druze-majority Sweida province after deadly sectarian violence. Also last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel was holding talks aimed at the demilitarization of southern Syria. In the interview, Sharaa revealed that Syrian forces entered secret negotiations with key Assad ally Russia during the offensive that eventually toppled the longtime ruler. "When we reached Hama in the battle of liberation, there were negotiations between us and Russia," Sharaa said. When forces arrived in Homs further south, Russia "stayed away from the battle... as part of an agreement reached between us", he said. Sharaa also noted how his forces avoided attacking Russia's Hmeimim air base on Syria's Mediterranean coast. Russia's naval base in Tartus and its air base at Hmeimim are Moscow's only official military outposts outside the former Soviet Union. Assad fled to Russia from Hmeimim.

Israeli strikes on Yemen’s Houthi militants damage residential homes, forcing families to live in ruins
AP/September 13, 2025
ADEN, Yemen: Israel’s deadly airstrikes this week targeting Iran-backed militants in Yemen have damaged residential areas in the country’s capital of Sanaa, leaving many houses in ruins and residents without help from authorities and unable to afford repairs on their own.
Wednesday’s strikes killed 46 people — including 11 women and five children — and wounded 165, according to a toll released late Thursday by the militant-run health ministry in Sanaa. Most of the casualties were in Sanaa. Militant officials said 11 local journalists were also killed in the strikes. The strikes followed a drone launched by the Houthi militants that breached Israel’s multilayered air defenses and slammed into a southern Israeli airport, blowing out glass windows and injuring one person. In yemen, a military headquarters and a Sanaa fuel station were also hit, the militants said previously, as well as a government facility in the city of Hazm, the capital of northern Jawf province. The National Museum of Yemen was also damaged, according to the militants’ culture ministry, with footage from the site showings damage to the building’s façade. In Sanaa, where Yemen’s yearslong civil war has impoverished many, residents told The Associated Press they cannot afford any major repairs and that the local authorities are not offering compensation or help with reconstruction. Dozens of homes in Sanaa’s central Tahrir area were damaged. One of the residents from there, Um Talal, said she has no faith the authorities will help repair the house where she lives with her daughter and two sons. The airstrikes knocked out their living room walls and damaged the kitchen, leaving dirt, debris and rubble, speaking to The Associated Press over the phone. “Everything was lost in the blink of an eye,” she said. “Authorities haven’t even called us to this day. ”Despite the destruction, she said the family will fix what they can and continue living in their home. Another resident, Ahmed Al-Wasabi, said he and his family — luckily — were not home when one of the airstrikes partially destroyed their house. “The explosions terrified people who went running and children and women were crying and screaming,” said Khaled Al-Dabeai, a grocery shop owner who added that the force of the explosions knocked products off his shelves. Israel has previously launched waves of airstrikes in response to the Houthis’ firing missiles and drones at Israel. The Houthis say they are supporting Hamas and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have launched missiles and drones toward Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea for over 22 months, saying they are attacking in solidarity with Palestinians amid the war in Gaza. Houthi leader Mahdi Al-Mashat vowed on Wednesday to continue the attacks, warning Israelis to “stay alarmed since the response is coming for sure.”

Summit in Doha to discuss Arab-Islamic response to Israeli attack against Qatar
Arab News/September 13, 2025
DUBAI: Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that an emergency Arab-Islamic Summit set to take place in its capital Doha will discuss a draft resolution on Israel's attack against the Gulf state, according to the Qatar News Agency (QNA). “The summit will discuss a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar, submitted by the preparatory meeting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers, which will be held tomorrow Sunday,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari told QNA. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced earlier that Doha will host an extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit to discuss the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar targeting senior Hamas leaders. Al Ansari emphasized that “the convening of the Arab-Islamic Summit at this time has its significance, as it reflects the broad Arab and Islamic solidarity with the State of Qatar in confronting the cowardly Israeli aggression.” The preparatory meeting of foreign ministers will happen on Sunday. The summit will then convene on Monday.

Rubio meets Qatar PM before visiting Israel in a delicate balance with two allies
Associated Press/September 13, 2025
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Qatar's prime minister Friday ahead of a visit to Israel this weekend, showing how the Trump administration is trying to balance relations between key Middle East allies days after Israel targeted Hamas leaders in a strike on Doha. Despite tensions between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rubio will arrive in Israel on Sunday for a two-day visit. It is a show of support for the increasingly isolated country before the United Nations holds likely contentious debate on the creation of a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu opposes.
Rubio and Vice President JD Vance met Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House. Later Friday, Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff had dinner with the Qatari premier in New York, where Trump went to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The Trump administration is walking a delicate line between two major allies after Israel took its fight with Hamas to the Qatari capital, where leaders of the militant group had gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza. Qatar is a key mediator, and while its leaders have vowed to press forward, the next steps are uncertain for a long-sought deal to halt the fighting and release hostages taken from Israel.
Condemning the strike but supporting Israel
Israel's attack Tuesday also has ruptured Trump's hopes to secure a wider Middle East peace deal, with the rulers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar all uniting in anger. Trump himself has distanced himself from the strike, saying it "does not advance Israel or America's goals" and has promised Qatar that it would not be repeated. The U.S. also joined a U.N. Security Council statement condemning the strike without mentioning Israel by name. At a Security Council meeting Thursday, Sheikh Mohammed accused Israel of not caring about the hostages held in Gaza because of the strike but said Qatar would continue "our diplomatic role without any hesitation in order to stop the bloodshed."Trump's ironclad support for an Israeli government that has increasingly flouted international norms in the war unleashed by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack is a source of concern in the Gulf and one that Rubio will be forced to addressed on his trip. In a potential sign of Trump's unhappiness with Netanyahu, Rubio will meet in Israel with the families of hostages still held by Hamas, many of whom are opposed to Israel's new plans to occupy Gaza City. Rubio will "underscore that their relatives' return remains a top priority," the State Department said. "I think this is an emergency tour designed to show some kind of solidarity after the Doha strikes," said Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. diplomat who worked on Israel-Palestinian and broader Middle East issues under six secretaries of state from 1978 to 2003. "They are trying to navigate a delicate balance, demonstrating irritation but in no way imposing any kind of meaningful actions against Israel," said Miller, now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "This is a fine line the administration is walking."
Rubio and Israeli leaders will discuss 'operational goals' in Gaza
On the trip, Rubio would "convey America's priorities in the Israel-Hamas conflict and broader issues concerning Middle Eastern security, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to Israeli security" with an emphasis on the Trump administration's commitment "to fight anti-Israel actions including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state," the State Department said. The visit comes as efforts to broker a hostage release and ceasefire deal to end the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza have stalled and Israel has moved ahead with plans to occupy Gaza City. The department said Rubio and Israeli leaders would discuss Israel's "operational goals and objectives" in Gaza and shared attempts to persuade European nations not to recognize a Palestinian state. Rubio also is expected to visit the City of David, a popular archaeological site and tourist destination built by Israel in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in contested east Jerusalem. It contains some of the oldest remains of the 3,000-year-old city. But critics accuse the site's operators of pushing a nationalistic agenda at the expense of Palestinian residents. Its parent organization, Elad, helps settle Jewish families in Arab neighborhoods as a way to stake the Jewish claim to the entire city. Israel captured east Jerusalem, home to the city's most important religious sites, in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area. Israel claims the entire city as its eternal, undivided capital while the Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, including the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The competing claims lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and frequently boil over into violence. In 2017, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, though he said the move had no bearing on the city's final boundaries. Nonetheless, the move pleased the Israelis and enraged the Palestinians. Only a few small countries have followed suit, and the vast majority of the international community says the city's status should be settled through negotiations.

Rubio says Qatar strike ‘not going to change’ US-Israel ties
AFP/September 13, 2025
WASHINGTON: The United States is “not happy” about Israeli strikes targeting Hamas in Qatar, but the attack will not change Washington’s allied status with Israel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday as he departed for the region. Tuesday’s air strikes — the first by Israel against US ally Qatar — have rocked the region and put huge strain on diplomatic efforts to bring about a truce in war-ravaged Gaza. “What’s happened has happened. Obviously, we were not happy about it, the president was not happy about it,” Rubio told reporters shortly before departing Washington for discussions with officials in Israel. “It’s not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis, but we are going to have to talk about it — primarily, what impact does this have” on the truce efforts, Rubio added. “We need to move forward and figure out what comes next, because at the end of the day, when all is said and done, there is still a group called Hamas, which is an evil group.”Israel targeted Hamas leaders gathering in Qatar to discuss a new ceasefire proposal put forward by US President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump has called Israel’s attack unfortunate, chided Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and said the United States found out about the attack too late to stop it. In addressing Rubio’s visit, the State Department this week said only that the top US diplomat would discuss “operational goals and objectives” with Israel and show “the US commitment to Israeli security.”Rubio also confirmed he would take part in the inauguration of a new tunnel in Jerusalem’s Old City for visitors approaching the Temple Mount, the holiest site for Jews, which is also sacred for Muslims as the Al-Aqsa compound. “The city of David is separate. I intend to go to that,” Rubio said. The secretary of state’s Israel trip is timed to occur barely a week before France leads a United Nations summit on September 22 at which a number of Western countries plan to recognize a Palestinian state centered around the West Bank. France, exasperated over Israel’s massive offensive in Gaza, has rejected US and Israeli criticism and says there must be a new path for the Palestinians.

Israel army says over 250,000 residents have left Gaza City as it kills 32 in airstrikes
AFP/September 13, 2025
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said Saturday that more than 250,000 people have left Gaza City for other parts of the territory over the past few weeks, since it intensified its assault on Gaza's largest urban centre. "According to IDF (military) estimates, more than a quarter of a million residents of Gaza City have moved out of the city for their own safety," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee said on X.The comments come as a barrage of airstrikes killed at least 32 people across Gaza City as Israel ramps up its offensive there and urges Palestinians to evacuate, medical staff reported Saturday.The dead included 12 children, according to the morgue in Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were brought. Israel in recent day has intensified strikes across Gaza City, destroying multiple high-rise buildings and accusing Hamas of putting surveillance equipment in them. It has ordered residents to leave, part of an offensive aimed at taking over the largest Palestinian city, which it says is Hamas’ last stronghold. Hundreds of thousands of people remain there, struggling under conditions of famine. One of the strikes overnight and into early morning Saturday hit a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, killing a family of 10, including a mother and her three children, said health officials. Images showed the strikes hitting followed by plumes of smoke. Israel’s army didn’t immediately respond to questions about the strikes. In the wake of escalating hostilities and calls to evacuate the city, the number of people leaving has spiked in recent weeks, according to aid workers. However, many families remain stuck because of the cost of finding transportation and housing, while others having been displaced too many times and don’t want to move again, not trusting that anywhere in the enclave is safe. In a message on social media Saturday, Israel’s army told the remaining Palestinians in Gaza City to leave “immediately” and move south to what it’s calling a humanitarian zone. Army spokesman Avichay Adraee said that more than a quarter of a million people had left Gaza City — from an estimated 1 million who live in the area of north Gaza around the city. The United Nations however, put the number of people who have left at more than 100,000 between mid-August and mid-September. The UN and aid groups have warned that displacing hundreds of thousands of people will exacerbate the dire humanitarian crisis. Sites in southern Gaza where Israel is telling people to go are overcrowded, according to the UN, and it can cost more than $1,000 in transportation and other costs to move there. An initiative headed by the UN to bring temporary shelters into Gaza said more than 86,000 tents and other supplies were still awaiting clearance to enter Gaza as of last week. The bombardment Friday night across Gaza City came days after Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar, intensifying its campaign against the militant group and endangering negotiations over ending the war in Gaza. Families of the hostages still held in Gaza are pleading with Israel to halt the offensive, worried it’ll kill their relatives. There are 48 hostages still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed to be alive.

Israeli hostages forum says Netanyahu ‘obstacle’ to ending Gaza war
AFP/September 13, 2025
JERUSALEM: The main Israeli group campaigning for the release of hostages held in Gaza said Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the chief obstacle to freeing the captives, shortly after he accused Hamas’s leaders of prolonging the war. “The targeted operation in Qatar proved beyond any doubt that there is one obstacle to returning the... hostages and ending the war: Prime Minister Netanyahu,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement, referring to Israel’s recent strike on a meeting of Hamas members in the Gulf state. “Every time a deal approaches, Netanyahu sabotages it,” they added. Earlier in the evening, the premier had said eliminating Hamas’s leaders in Qatar would bring an end to the war, accusing the group of derailing past efforts to secure a ceasefire. This photo posted on X under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's account shows himself and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee in s cornerstone-laying ceremony for a promenade named after US President Donald Trump in Bat Yam city, Israel. relatives of hostages still being held by Hamas accuse Netanyahu of deceiving Trump to keep his support for his plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza. (X: @netanyahu)
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza. They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war,” he said on X. “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”The forum, however, characterized the accusation as Netanyahu’s latest “excuse” for failing to bring home the captives. “The time has come to end the excuses designed to buy time so he can cling to power,” the forum said. “This stalling... threatens the lives of additional hostages who are barely surviving after nearly two years in captivity, as well as the recovery of those who have died. Palestinian militants led by Hamas abducted 251 people during their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Forty-seven of the captives are still held in Gaza, including 25 the military says are dead. Thousands of Israelis massed in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, calling on the government to end the war and strike a deal to return hostages, an AFP correspondent reported.

Saudi foreign minister arrives in Doha for Arab-Islamic summit on Israeli attack
Arab News/September 13, 2025
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Doha on Saturday to attend the preparatory meeting of foreign ministers for an emergency joint Arab-Islamic summit, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The summit will focus on the Israeli attack in the Qatari capital earlier this week that targeted Hamas officials. The strike, which left several dead and wounded, was widely condemned across the Arab and Islamic world as a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and international law. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the attack as an “aggressive act” and reiterated the Kingdom’s solidarity with Doha, stressing the need for the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions.

How Saudi-France diplomatic initiative moved Palestine one step closer to statehood
Sherouk Zakaria/Arab News/September 13, 2025
DUBAI: In a landmark vote on Friday, 142 nations backed a Saudi-French declaration at the UN General Assembly calling for an independent Palestinian state, signaling that Riyadh’s diplomatic push is mobilizing unprecedented global consensus for a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict.The vote to adopt the “New York Declaration,” which calls for a two-state solution without Hamas involvement, is the latest step in mounting international pressure on Israel to end its war in Gaza, which has killed more than 64,000 people, according to local health officials, injured tens of thousands, and created famine conditions amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe. French President Emmanuel Macron said the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the declaration shows that the international community is “charting an irreversible path towards peace in the Middle East.”
“Another future is possible. Two peoples, two states: Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security,” he wrote in a post on X on Friday. The Saudi Foreign Ministry welcomed the adoption of the declaration and said it “confirms the international consensus on moving forward toward a peaceful future in which the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate right to establish an independent state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”The “New York Declaration,” the outcome of an international conference organized by Saudi Arabia and France in July at UN headquarters, called for a Gaza ceasefire, the release of all hostages, Hamas’ disarmament and the transfer of its weapons to the Palestinian Authority under international supervision, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. It also addressed normalization between Israel and the Arab countries and proposed the deployment of a “temporary international stabilization mission” to Palestine, under the mandate of the UN Security Council, to support the Palestinian civilian population and the transfer of security responsibilities to the PA. The vote now paves the way for a one-day UN conference on the two-state solution, co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris on Sept. 22, where a number of states including France, the UK, Canada, Belgium, and Australia promised to formally recognize the state of Palestine. Formally known as “The New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution,” the resolution passed on Friday with overwhelming support, with 142 countries voting in favor. Only 10, including Israel and its key ally the US, voted against, while 12 nations abstained. The list of nations that voted in favor of the resolution endorsing the The declaration, which embodied Saudi Arabia’s intensifying global efforts to push for a Palestinian state, was already endorsed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, including several Arab countries. Friday’s outcome was condemned by the US and Israel. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein denounced the declaration’s adoption as “disgraceful,” saying his country “utterly rejects” it and calling the UN General Assembly “a political circus detached from reality.”Similarly, Morgan Ortagus, US deputy special envoy to the Middle East, condemned the UNGA’s action as “another misguided and ill-timed publicity stunt” that rewards Hamas and undermines diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza. She added that disarming Hamas and releasing hostages is the key to ending the war.
Hamas has said it will not agree to disarm unless a sovereign Palestinian state is established. The growing calls for Palestinian statehood come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to escalate the conflict. On Tuesday, he authorized airstrikes on Hamas targets in Qatar during a meeting weighing a US ceasefire proposal — a move which was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond for undermining peace efforts and violating Qatar’s sovereignty.

Israeli hostages forum says Netanyahu ‘obstacle’ to ending Gaza war
AFP/September 13, 2025
JERUSALEM: The main Israeli group campaigning for the release of hostages held in Gaza said Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the chief obstacle to freeing the captives, shortly after he accused Hamas’s leaders of prolonging the war.
“The targeted operation in Qatar proved beyond any doubt that there is one obstacle to returning the... hostages and ending the war: Prime Minister Netanyahu,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement, referring to Israel’s recent strike on a meeting of Hamas members in the Gulf state. “Every time a deal approaches, Netanyahu sabotages it,” they added. Earlier in the evening, the premier had said eliminating Hamas’s leaders in Qatar would bring an end to the war, accusing the group of derailing past efforts to secure a ceasefire. This photo posted on X under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's account shows himself and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee in s cornerstone-laying ceremony for a promenade named after US President Donald Trump in Bat Yam city, Israel. relatives of hostages still being held by Hamas accuse Netanyahu of deceiving Trump to keep his support for his plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza. (X: @netanyahu) “The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza. They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war,” he said on X. “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”The forum, however, characterized the accusation as Netanyahu’s latest “excuse” for failing to bring home the captives. “The time has come to end the excuses designed to buy time so he can cling to power,” the forum said. “This stalling... threatens the lives of additional hostages who are barely surviving after nearly two years in captivity, as well as the recovery of those who have died. Palestinian militants led by Hamas abducted 251 people during their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Forty-seven of the captives are still held in Gaza, including 25 the military says are dead. Thousands of Israelis massed in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, calling on the government to end the war and strike a deal to return hostages, an AFP correspondent reported.

Jordan’s FM holds calls with UK and Turkish counterparts on Gaza, West Bank, and Qatar crisis
Arab News/September 13, 2025
AMMAN: Jordan’s Minister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs, Ayman Safadi, held separate calls on Saturday with British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss the ongoing crisis in Gaza, the situation in the occupied West Bank, and Israel’s recent attack on Qatar.During the call with Cooper, the ministers emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation between Jordan and the UK, including in the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which continues to suffer from an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe worsened by Israeli military action, the Jordan News Agency reported. They stressed the urgent need to reach a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire and to open all crossings to ensure immediate aid reaches those in need. Safadi also highlighted the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank, citing settlement expansion, land confiscation, and the economic, social, and political blockade imposed on the Palestinian people. He called on the international community to act swiftly to halt these measures, which undermine the two-state solution and the prospects for a just and lasting peace. The ministers also addressed Israel’s attack on Qatar, with Safadi reiterating Jordan’s condemnation and pledging support for the Gulf state in safeguarding its security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. He congratulated Cooper on assuming her role following the British Cabinet reshuffle and welcomed London’s continued backing for the two-state solution and its plan to recognize the state of Palestine at the UN General Assembly this month. In his discussion with Fidan, Safadi called for joint efforts to immediately halt Israel’s assault on Gaza, secure a prisoner exchange agreement, and facilitate the swift delivery of aid, the JNA reported. The ministers condemned Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank and reaffirmed Jordan and Turkiye’s solidarity with Qatar, underlining the importance of the upcoming Arab-Islamic summit in Doha in forming a unified regional response to Israeli aggression. Both calls concluded with a commitment to maintain close coordination on issues of shared concern and regional security.

Oscar-winning Palestinian director Basel Adra says his home in West Bank raided by Israeli soldiers
AP/September 14, 2025
JERUSALEM: Palestinian Oscar-winning director Basel Adra said that Israeli soldiers conducted a raid at his West Bank home on Saturday, searching for him and going through his wife’s phone. Israeli settlers attacked his village, injuring two of his brothers and one cousin, Adra told The Associated Press. He accompanied them to the hospital. While there, he said that he heard from family in the village that nine Israeli soldiers had stormed his home. The soldiers asked his wife, Suha, for his whereabouts and went through her phone, he said, while his 9-month-old daughter was home. They also briefly detained one of his uncles, he said.As of Saturday night, Adra said he had no way of returning home to check on his family, because soldiers were blocking the entrance to the village and he was scared of being detained. Israel’s military said that soldiers were in the village after Palestinians had thrown rocks, injuring two Israeli civilians. It said its forces were still in the village, searching the area and questioning people. Adra has spent his career as a journalist and filmmaker chronicling settler violence in Masafer Yatta, the southern reaches of West Bank where he was born. After settlers attacked his co-director, Hamdan Ballal, in March, he told the AP that he felt they were being targeted more intensely since winning the Oscar. He described Saturday’s events as “horrific.”“Even if you are just filming the settlers, the army comes and chases you, searches your house,” he said. “The whole system is built to attack us, to terrify us, to make us very scared.”Another co-director, Yuval Abraham, said he was “terrified for Basel.”“What happened today in his village, we’ve seen this dynamic again and again, where the Israeli settlers brutally attack a Palestinian village and later on the army comes, and attacks the Palestinians.”“No Other Land,” which won an Oscar this year for best documentary, depicts the struggle by residents of the Masafer Yatta area to stop the Israeli military from demolishing their villages. Ballal and Adra made the joint Palestinian-Israeli production with Israeli directors Abraham and Rachel Szor.
The film has won a string of international awards, starting at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2024. It has also drawn ire in Israel and abroad, as when Miami Beach proposed ending the lease of a movie theater that screened the documentary. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians want all three for their future state and view settlement growth as a major obstacle to a two-state solution. Israel has built well over 100 settlements, home to more than 500,000 settlers who have Israeli citizenship. The 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under seemingly open-ended Israeli military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers. The Israeli military designated Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank as a live-fire training zone in the 1980s and ordered residents, mostly Arab Bedouin, to be expelled. Around 1,000 residents have largely remained in place, but soldiers regularly move in to demolish homes, tents, water tanks and olive orchards — and Palestinians fear outright expulsion could come at any time. During the war in Gaza, Israel has killed hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank during wide-scale military operations, and there has also been a rise in settler attacks on Palestinians. There also has been a surge in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Iraq’s Yazidis rediscover lost history through photos found in a museum archive
AP/September 13, 2025
PHILADELPHIA: Archaeologists studying ancient civilizations in northern Iraq during the 1930s also befriended the nearby Yazidi community, documenting their daily lives in photographs that were rediscovered after the Islamic State militant group devastated the tiny religious minority. The black-and-white images ended up scattered among the 2,000 or so photographs from the excavation kept at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, which led the ambitious dig. One photo — a Yazidi shrine — caught the eye of Penn doctoral student Marc Marin Webb in 2022, nearly a decade after it was destroyed by IS extremists plundering the region. Webb and others began scouring museum files and gathered almost 300 photos to create a visual archive of the Yazidi people, one of Iraq’s oldest religious minorities. The systematic attacks, which the United Nations called a genocide, killed thousands of Yazidis and sent thousands more into exile or sexual slavery. It also destroyed much of their built heritage and cultural history, and the small community has since become splintered around the world. Ansam Basher, now a teacher in England, was overwhelmed with emotion when she saw the photos, particularly a batch from her grandparents’ wedding day in the early 1930s. “No one would imagine that a person my age would lose their history because of the Daesh attack,” said the 43-year-old, using an acronym for the extremist group. Basher’s grandfather lived with her family while she was growing up in Bashiqa, a town outside Mosul. The city fell to IS in 2014. “My albums, my childhood photos, all videos, my two brothers’ wedding videos (and) photos, disappeared. And now to see that my grandfather and great-grandfather’s photo all of a sudden just come to life again, this is something I’m really happy about,” she said. “Everybody is.”
A cache of cultural memory
The archive documents Yazidi people, places and traditions that IS sought to erase. Marin Webb is working with Nathaniel Brunt, a Toronto documentarian, to share it with the community, both through exhibits in the region and in digital form with the Yazidi diaspora. “When they came to Sinjar, they went around and destroyed all the religious and heritage sites, so these photographs in themselves present a very strong resistance against that act of destruction,” said Brunt, a postdoctoral student at the University of Victoria Libraries. The city of Sinjar is the ancestral homeland of the Yazidis near the Syrian border. The first exhibits took place in the region in April, when Yazidis gather to celebrate the New Year. Some were held outdoors in the very areas the photos documented nearly a century earlier. “(It) was perceived as a beautiful way to bring memory back, a memory that was directly threatened through the ethnic cleansing campaign,” Marin Webb said. Basher’s brother was visiting their hometown from Germany when he saw the exhibit and recognized his grandparents. That helped the researchers fill in some blanks. The wedding photos show an elaborately dressed bride as she stands anxiously in the doorway of her home, proceeds with her dowry to her husband’s village, and finally enters his family home as a crowd looks on. “I see my sister in black and white,” said Basher, noting the similar green eyes and skin tone her sister shares with their grandmother, Naama Sulayman. Her grandfather, Bashir Sadiq Rashid Al-Rashidani, came from a prominent family and often hosted the Penn archaeology crews at his cafe. He and his brother, like other local men, also worked on the excavations, prompting him to invite the westerners to his wedding. They in turn took the photos and even lent the couple a car for the occasion, the family said.
Some of the photos were taken by Ephraim Avigdor Speiser, the Penn Museum archaeologist who led excavations at two ancient Mesopotamian sites in the area, Tepe Gawra and Tell Billa. “My grandfather used to talk a lot about that time,” said Basher, who uses a different spelling of the family surname than other relatives.Her father, Mohsin Bashir Sadiq, 77, a retired teacher now living in Cologne, Germany, believes the wedding was the first time anyone in the town used a car, which he described as a 1927 model. It can be seen at the back of the wedding procession.Basher has shared the photos on social media to educate people about her homeland. “The idea or the picture they have in their mind about Iraq is so different from the reality, ” she said. “We’ve been suffering a lot, but we still have some history.”
Found photos, history awakened
Other photos in the collection show people at home, at work, at religious gatherings. To Marin Webb, an architect from Barcelona, they show the Yazidis as they lived, instead of equating them with the violence they later endured. Locals who saw the exhibit told him it “shows the world that we’re also people.”
An isolated minority, the Yazidis have been persecuted for centuries. Many Muslim sects consider them infidels; many Iraqis falsely see them as worshippers of Satan. They speak Kurdish and their traditions are amalgamated, borrowing from Christianity, Islam and the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism.
Basher is grateful the photos remained safe — if largely out of sight — at the museum all this time. Alessandro Pezzati, the museum’s senior archivist, was one of several people who helped Marin Webb comb through the files to identify them. A lot of these collections are sleeping until they get woken up by people like him,” Pezzati said.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on September 13-14/2025
Question: “What is the biblical solution to the problem of evil?”
GotQuestions/September 13/2025
Answer: Broadly stated, the “problem of evil” is the seeming contradiction between an all-powerful, all-loving God and the human experience of suffering and evil in the world. Critics claim that the existence of evil is proof that the omnipotent, omnibenevolent God of the Bible cannot exist. Since “bad things happen to good people,” critics say, God is either nonexistent or less good or less powerful than Scripture suggests.
Despite what some critics think, the so-called “problem of evil” is not something the Bible leaves unaddressed. Scripture not only refers to the problem of evil, but it offers several solutions to it. By looking at the Bible’s honest questioning of evil, God’s response to evil, and the scriptural solution to evil, one can address this problem using almost nothing other than God’s Word. Of course, this question ties into theology and philosophy as well. There are multiple ways of coming to possible solutions, and none is entirely complete all by itself.
According to the Bible, the experience of evil is something God understands and acknowledges. God’s willingness to grant us the freedom of making our own choices also allows for the possibility of moral evil. Moral evil leads to physical evil. Even so, God has always acted to soften the blows that evil and suffering land on humanity. He also provided the one and only means to make all wrongs right. One day, God’s plan to defeat and destroy evil will be fully complete.
Scripture acknowledges the “problem of evil”
Many of the Bible’s 66 individual books openly express what we would now term the “problem of evil.” In some cases, these expressions are all but a direct accusation against God, in response to the suffering the writers had seen or experienced.
The entire book of Job, for example, is a discussion of the reasons why mankind experiences suffering even when we don’t seem to deserve it. In addition, Scripture offers many other notable passages that clearly reflect the problem of evil:
Habakkuk 1:2–4, “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.”
Ecclesiastes 4:1–3, “Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed—and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors—and they have no comforter. And I declared that the dead, who had already died, are happier than the living, who are still alive. But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.”
Psalm 10:1, “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”
Psalm 22:1–2, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.”
Psalm 83:1–2, “O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God. See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads.”
John 16:2–4, “They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.”
Romans 8:36, “As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’“
Revelation 6:9–10, “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’”
These passages show a personal, deep awareness of the reality of evil. Scripture does not present evil as an abstraction or a remote idea. The real human beings who recorded the words of the Bible were painfully aware of the existence of evil and suffering. And they were willing to express their feelings to God, especially when they felt He wasn’t acting according to their expectations.
Notably, however, these same authors also recognize and trust the goodness of God to make these wrongs right, someday.
Scripture frames the “problem of evil”
The Bible makes it clear that evil is something God neither intended nor created. Rather, moral evil is a necessary possibility. If we are truly free, then we are free to choose something other than God’s will—that is, we can choose moral evil. Scripture points out that there are consequences for defying the will of God—personal, communal, physical, and spiritual.
Genesis 1:31, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
Genesis 2:16–17, “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’“
Genesis 3:17–19, “To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”
Proverbs 19:3, “A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord.”
Matthew 5:3–11, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. . . . Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”
John 9:1–3, “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’”
Romans 1:18–28, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. . . . Just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.”
Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”
Hebrews 2:2–3, “For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?”
Taken together, Scripture shows us that physical evils—sickness, famine, war, and death—are the result of moral evil. And moral evil is something human beings are all responsible for, on a personal and a communal level. We suffer because of our own sins at times. Other times, we suffer because of the sins of others. In some situations, we suffer from simple cause-and-effect. And we sometimes suffer for a special purpose, in order to bring hope or help—or a warning—to others (see 2 Corinthians 1:4).
The Bible “frames” the problem of evil by keeping it in the proper context. “Evil” is meaningless without something to compare it to. For comparison, we have the original creation of God, called “very good” (Genesis 1:31). We have the standard of goodness in God Himself. And we have an explanation for the various causes of evil and suffering.
Likewise, we see that this physical world is not all there is. Nor is this mortal life all we have been made for. We can experience physical struggles such as “mourning” and “persecution” (Matthew 5:4, 11) while looking to a greater, more permanent state of being “blessed.”
Of course, clearly framing what evil is and why we experience it is not the same as resolving the problem of evil. However, even the framing of evil in the context of Christian theology shows that our experience of evil and suffering is not incompatible with God’s existence. Amplifying this proof is how the Bible goes beyond accurately describing evil to revealing God’s action to remedy it.
Scripture opposes the “problem of evil”
Scripture shows that God did not create evil and does not promote it; rather, it describes God’s actions in combatting it. God limits the impact of evil, warns us of the dangers of evil, acts to stop the spread of evil, gives us an escape from evil, and will eventually defeat evil forever.
Genesis 3:21, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”
Genesis 4:10–15, “The Lord said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.’ Cain said to the Lord, ‘My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.’”
Genesis 6:5–8, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
Genesis 7:1–4, “The Lord then said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. . . . Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.’”

Britain's Right (or Far Right as their detractors call them) took to the streets en masse,
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Face Book/September 13/2025
Britain's Right (or Far Right as their detractors call them) took to the streets en masse, today, in London. Polls show that the Far Right bloc is polling at 34 percent, compared to the ruling Labor Party at 19 percent. Tories are at 15 percent (together with Far Right would be on the cusp of a majority). If Starmer's coalition survives until 2029 (unlikely), the Right would have built up a sweeping support that'll allow it to effortlessly win the election.
Where is this Right wave coming from? It is coming exactly from the merger of Islamism and Leftism under the banner of Palestine, now the symbol of cross national global elite, even though Palestine is supposed to be a nation state (nationalism), not a global movement (internationalism). Islamism and its Palestinian flag is provoking a massive nativist reaction in the West, driven mainly by Christian nationalism.
The Right wave started with Brexit and is still building up. Just ask yourself how Trump became the first Republican president to win the popular vote since 2004 and how AfD won the second biggest bloc in Germany while Le Pen's bloc continues to expand.
This is not the Right of Reagan and Thatcher (Neo-Liberal, small government, socially conservative, capitalism) or Left of Clinton and Blair (free trade, big government, socially Liberal, capitalism). This is pure identity politics: The West vs Islamism.
The ideas of capitalism, socialism, social values, are scattered across the spectrum. Think how small government Trump wants to deploy federal government to lower crime in big cities (this is an abomination for Second Amendment small gov Republicans) or how Democrats are arguing for state rights against a dominant presidency (an abomination for socially and economically engineered society of the Democrats).
Who will win this battle? If I have a crystal ball, I will say that Right wing, nativist, Christian nationalists will crush Left Wing, globalist, Islamists of Palestine (with Qatar, Turkey, Aljazeera and co behind them).
My forecast might be wrong, but excuse my bit of bragging: Over the past two decades, I've discerned patterns and correctly projected outcomes, correctly calling beforehand China's decline and Israel's destruction of Hezbollah and uprooting of Iran's nuclear program.

The Authoritarian Quartet, China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran: A New World Order in the Making?
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/September 13, 2025
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21903/china-russia-north-korea-iran-authoritarian
This was not simply an anniversary parade; it was a declaration of intent by a coalition of states that reject the Western-led order and seek to replace it with an authoritarian alternative. When seen together, the gathering represented the closest thing yet to the formation of a new bloc: one that might aim to construct an entirely new world order defined not by democracy, but by coercion, censorship, and force.
Dismissing these events as mere theater would be irresponsible. Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine is a direct challenge to the stability of Europe –a challenge that that Iran and North Korea materially support. China, meanwhile, has been expanding its military footprint throughout the South China Sea and accelerating preparations for the possibility of a future confrontation with Taiwan. Together, these powers are testing the limits of Western resolve. They are also watching closely to see whether the United States, Europe, and their allies respond with hesitation or with strength.
They appear fully aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it: to reshape the world to where their authority dictates the rules, freedom is suppressed, and sickly, hesitating democracies are dismantled as they deserve to be.
The world has entered the hour of choice: Will Western nations deter this authoritarian quartet with unity and strength, or will they fall back on illusions that "diplomacy" – talking long enough -- can contain belligerent ambitions?
What truly defined China's recent elaborate military parade was not the weaponry rolling across Tiananmen Square, but the rare gathering of leaders who stood shoulder to shoulder. Xi Jinping hosted Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, with Iran regime's President Masoud Pezeshkian also in attendance -- all creating a tableau that symbolized far more than a military tradition.
The spectacle that unfolded in Beijing recently was unlike any other military parade the world has seen. China, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, staged its most elaborate display of military might, showcasing hypersonic missiles, advanced drones, cyberwarfare divisions, and an arsenal that left no doubt about its ambitions to be seen as a global military superpower.
What truly defined this moment, however, was not the weaponry rolling across Tiananmen Square, but the rare gathering of leaders who stood shoulder to shoulder. Xi Jinping hosted Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, with Iran regime's President Masoud Pezeshkian also in attendance -- all creating a tableau that symbolized far more than a military tradition. This was not simply an anniversary parade; it was a declaration of intent by a coalition of states that reject the Western-led order and seek to replace it with an authoritarian alternative.
The symbolism could not have been more striking. Three nuclear-armed states—China, Russia, and North Korea—stood together, while Iran, long seeking nuclear capabilities, joined them on the same platform, demonstrating a shared message to the world: that they are building an alliance strong enough to challenge the United States, Europe, and their allies. Each nation has its own motivations—Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, China's determination to push back against American influence in Asia, North Korea's pursuit of legitimacy and resources, and Iran regime's ideological mission to spread Islamic governance and authoritarian control across the world. When seen together, the gathering represented the closest thing yet to the formation of a new bloc: one that might aim to construct an entirely new world order defined not by democracy, but by coercion, censorship, and force.
The timing and context made the event even more significant; The parade followed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, where these same leaders had already met to promote their vision of the world. In both settings, their words and actions underlined a consistent theme: the Western-led international system has had its time, and now must give way to a new era where authoritarian powers set the rules. Xi Jinping used his platform to insist that "The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is unstoppable," and that no "bully"—a barely veiled reference to the United States and its allies -- could slow its progress. The rhetoric echoed decades of grievances but, placed in the setting of this vast military display, it sounded more like the proclamation of a strategy.
For Russia, the parade offered much-needed solidarity at a time when its war in Ukraine remains a grinding and costly campaign. Putin stood proudly next to Xi and Kim, as if trying to show the world that, despite international sanctions and condemnation, more than a million killed in the war and a tenuous economy, Moscow is far from isolated. North Korea has already been a supplier of ammunition and manpower to aid Russia's military, openly casting aside the international restrictions placed on it. In return, Moscow provides Pyongyang with diplomatic recognition and avenues to bypass economic isolation. China plays a crucial role in this triangle by buying its oil and helping Russia secure access to technology and markets, giving both Moscow and Pyongyang room to maneuver. Iran's presence added yet another layer. While Iran's regime does not yet possess nuclear weapons, its government has openly supported Russia's war in Ukraine with drones and military cooperation, while Iran's ideology remains focused on exporting Islamist authoritarianism across the Middle East and beyond. The inclusion of Tehran in this Beijing spectacle seemed intended to show showed that this emerging alliance is not merely about military support, but also about aligning authoritarian models of totalitarian governance against democratic norms.
For decades, authoritarian regimes such as Russia, China, and North Korea sought to secure themselves individually; now, they appear to be converging in an open and public manner. Their leaders are showcasing their confederation at grand international events. By marching together, they are sending a message that they are capable of forming an enduring alliance, one that combines military strength, economic interdependence, and ideological alignment. U.S. President Donald Trump responded to the parade with a cutting remark on social media: "Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un as you conspire against the United States of America." His words, though sarcastic, captured the essence of what many in Washington might have been trying to deny: that these leaders were, indeed, conspiring to weaken the West, undermine its alliances, and gradually construct an alternative system of global governance. The underlying question now is whether this emerging authoritarian alliance will continue as a symbolic partnership or evolve into a coordinated strategy with lasting global impact. Dismissing these events as mere theater would be irresponsible. Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine is a direct challenge to the stability of Europe –a challenge that that Iran and North Korea materially support. China, meanwhile, has been expanding its military footprint throughout the South China Sea and accelerating preparations for the possibility of a future confrontation with Taiwan. Together, these powers are testing the limits of Western resolve. They are also watching closely to see whether the United States, Europe, and their allies respond with hesitation or with strength.
History provides a sobering lesson: appeasement in the face of authoritarian aggression rarely prevents conflict. Israel's recent refusal to submit to Iranian-backed Hamas aggression shows what strength and resilience can achieve. The Iranian regime miscalculated in expecting that fear and diplomacy would paralyze its target. Instead, the regime faced a determined resistance that disrupted its plans, as well as demolishing "trillions of dollars" of investments in nuclear weapons plants.
On the wider international stage, if the West chooses weakness or endless "table meetings" that go nowhere, it emboldens those who openly seek to undermine the global order. If, however, the West adopts a strategy of "peace through strength"—and imposes strict secondary sanctions, military deterrence, and clear lines of defense -- the chances of deterring this authoritarian axis increase significantly. China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are no longer operating as distant or disconnected powers with coincidental interests. They are aligning publicly, celebrating their unity, and preparing to test the strength of the current international system. They appear fully aware of what they are doing and why they are doing it: namely, to reshape the world into one where their authority dictates the rules, freedom is suppressed, and sickly, hesitating democracies are dismantled as they deserve to be.
The world has entered the hour of choice: Will Western nations deter this authoritarian quartet with unity and strength, or will they fall back on illusions that "diplomacy" – talking long enough -- can contain belligerent ambitions?
The parade in Beijing offered a warning: against determined authoritarian powers, only resolve will suffice.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
**Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2025 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

US, Israel and the attack on Qatar
Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/September 13, 2025
The US has long cloaked its engagements with the Arab world in the rhetoric of mutual interest and strategic partnership, yet Israel’s Sept. 9 airstrike on Doha — carried out by 15 jets targeting a residential building, and killing six, including a Qatari security officer and the son of a Hamas negotiator — has torn away that veil entirely. It was not merely another aggressive strike in Israel’s campaign of regional escalation and wanton recklessness, but also a gross violation of Qatar’s sovereignty: an attack on a major non-NATO ally hosting the largest US military base in the region, Al-Udeid, where over 10,000 American troops are stationed. Moreover, Qatar has poured billions into US treasury bonds, invested over $45 billion in American infrastructure and corporations, and purchased more than $26 billion in US defense equipment. Yet, when Israeli jets entered Qatari airspace, the US offered nothing more than a belated warning — delivered 10 minutes after the attack began. Despite Doha’s unwavering role as a principal mediator, tirelessly facilitating ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel at the explicit request of Washington, the attack was not met with pre-emption or protection but outright betrayal. Reports confirming US foreknowledge of the operation, coupled with the inexplicable failure of layered, highly sophisticated American air defenses to intercept or even warn Qatar, lay bare the fiction of Washington’s security guarantees. The attack also represented a conscious Israeli decision to sabotage diplomacy and a horrific American failure to uphold its commitments, revealing an alliance that operates with contempt for Arab sovereignty and peace.
The brazen assault also confirmed the Gulf’s most profound strategic anxiety in the last decade: that American priorities are now violently divorced from those of its Arab partners. Despite Qatar’s indispensable role as a peace-broker in the Arab region, coupled with bilateral commitments to generate a US-Qatar economic exchange worth $1.2 trillion, the country’s sovereignty was sacrificed for Israel’s tactical objectives.
The administration’s feeble warning, delivered as Israeli jets were already inbound, exposes a sobering truth: A major non-NATO ally is not protected, but patrolled.
Meanwhile, for countries such as the UAE and Bahrain, which normalized relations on the promise of US-backed stability, this attack sets a chilling precedent. Their multibillion-dollar air defense networks, purchased from Washington, proved useless against an attack facilitated by their guarantor’s acquiescence. And, if a country like Qatar, with its privileged military relationship, can be attacked with impunity, what assurances do other less influential states have? The answer is unequivocal: Washington’s security assurances are negotiable, but Israeli impunity is not. This is no longer the muted retreat of American power, as many envisioned, but reckless abdication, leaving those who relied on Washington exposed and vulnerable to the next unilateral strike. Beyond Doha, even the Gulf Cooperation Council faces an unpleasant paradox.
GCC member states collectively hold over $3 trillion in sovereign wealth and have invested billions in advanced American defense systems like THAAD and Patriot batteries. Yet this hardware proved meaningless when Israeli willfulness penetrated Qatari airspace unimpeded in order to bomb a building near schools and embassies. The failure is not technological but political: a superpower that would not and did not activate defenses to protect a major partner from its own client state. It follows a dangerous pattern — from the 2019 attack on Saudi oil fields to the June 2025 missile barrage on Al-Udeid — each time exposing the hollowness of American assurances.The US has chosen to outsource its Middle East policy to a belligerent Israeli government that shows no interest in peace.
As a result, the Arabian Peninsula is faced with an agonizing question: Are these partnerships designed for mutual security, or do they merely subsidize US weapons sales while providing diplomatic cover for Israeli military aggression and reckless unilateralism?
Qatar’s resolute declaration to continue mediation efforts, even after suffering a direct military attack on its capital, stands in profound moral contrast to the collapse of American credibility. Such grotesque asymmetry is perhaps the final unraveling of the post-Cold War security architecture in the Middle East, where US power was synonymous with guaranteed stability. In its place is a dangerous new reality: a region where a US-armed client state operates with complete impunity.
In a way, the $5.6 trillion the US spent on its post-9/11 wars failed to purchase any semblance of order. Rather, chaos is the War on Terror’s legacy, empowering rogue actors such as Israel to act unilaterally, while Washington provides diplomatic cover, stern letters, and muted finger-wagging. For now, collective GCC condemnation, including a rare solidarity visit from the UAE’s president, signals a definitive Arab recognition that the era of relying on American assurances is over. The region must now navigate a volatile arena no longer shaped by Arab-US mutual interest, but by the reckless ambitions of Washington’s most reckless ally. The Doha attack will irrevocably accelerate the Gulf’s military and strategic decoupling from Washington. Saudi Arabia’s development of a domestic arms industry and the UAE’s deepened security pacts with France and Russia are no longer contingency plans but necessities. For Qatar, the Sept. 9 attack demands a fundamental recalibration. How can any country engage in US-brokered diplomacy when the same Washington permits one party to bomb the negotiation venue? The strike confirmed the US is no longer content being a mediator but a direct enabler of Israeli unilateralism, reducing Washington’s role from peace-broker to guarantor of chaos. It is perhaps too soon to determine how regional responses are likely to be fractured or unified, but either way, it will prove consequential. However, there will be no unified Arab military reaction — pan-Arab military solidarity remains impossible, but we will witness calculated realignment: increased support for Palestine, accelerated nuclear hedging programs, and deeper security partnerships with Moscow and Beijing. While some capitals may tolerate Israeli aggression through silence, others, led by Qatar’s principled diplomacy, will pursue multilateral accountability.But none will trust Washington again anytime soon. The larger tragedy is that this moment could have been avoided. Instead, the US has chosen to outsource its Middle East policy to a belligerent Israeli government that shows no interest in peace, stability, or mutual security. The result is a region less secure, more polarized, and increasingly willing to look beyond Washington for protection. When even a partner like Qatar is not safe, no one is. In the end, the bombing in Qatar is an attack on the idea of enduring American leadership, and will long be remembered as the moment the Arab world decided that the US was no longer a friend, but an unpredictable and disinterested power whose promises are written in sand.
**Hafed Al-Ghwell is senior fellow and program director at the Stimson Center in Washington DC and senior fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies. X: @HafedAlGhwell

UK PM tries to turn crisis into opportunity
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/September 13, 2025
During the 2008 global financial turmoil, Rahm Emanuel, former US President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, said: “Never let a crisis go to waste.” This advice was seized on by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week when he carried out his first major ministerial reshuffle ahead of the UK budget in November. The change of Cabinet was driven by the resignation of Deputy PM Angela Rayner after an ethics inquiry found that she breached the UK ministerial code by underpaying around £40,000 ($54,000) in tax during a recent property purchase. Faced with this political shock, Starmer decided that the best form of defense was offense and launched a wide-ranging reshuffle. This resulted in the appointment of a new deputy PM, David Lammy, and new holders of two of the so-called great offices of state, with Yvette Cooper as foreign secretary and Shabana Mahmood as home secretary. Beyond this, there has been a wider ministerial shakeup. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and Defense Secretary John Healey were the only Cabinet ministers to retain their portfolios. This reflects the importance of their roles within this government, with the political fate of Reeves, in particular, increasingly tied to that of Starmer.
After a challenging first 15 months in office following Labour’s landslide election victory in 2024, the key question for Starmer is whether his government can recover much of its previous support. It needs to do this in the face of an insurgent Reform UK party, led by Brexiteer Nigel Farage, which has a clear lead in UK-wide opinion surveys of up to around 15 percentage points.
With UK politics in flux, Starmer needs to rejuvenate his government — that is, reverse mid-term political unpopularity to increase seat count at the next election — in a way that no previous Labour leader has been able to do other than Harold Wilson in 1966. In that year, the then prime minister called a snap election because his government, elected 17 months earlier, had only a slim majority in the House of Commons.
Wilson’s gamble paid off when he won a significantly larger majority, boosting his MP seat count from 317 to 364. However, on other occasions when Labour has been in power, the party has tended to win significantly fewer, or around the same number, of seats as at the previous election. Certainly, it is difficult for incumbent parties to renew themselves in power in this way. Nevertheless, the Conservatives, sometimes described as the most successful party in the Western world, have managed this feat more often. In 2019, for example, Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a majority in the House of Commons, moving the Conservative seat count up to 365 from 298 at the 2017 election under his predecessor Theresa May. Another example came in 1983 when Margaret Thatcher increased her election-winning tally to 397 seats from the 339 gained four years earlier. This historical context illustrates the challenge Starmer faces. The next year of his premiership is likely to be defined by two key events — the annual budget, led by Reeves, on Nov. 26, and the UK’s devolved and local elections next May.Starmer’s government needs new momentum if it is to change the fundamentals in Labour’s favor.
The budget will be a major occasion for the government, which has repeatedly declared economic growth as its leading priority. It comes amid growing warnings that Reeves will need to make significant, further tax increases and/or spending cuts in order to meet her self-imposed borrowing rules. These insist that day-to-day government costs will be paid for by tax income, rather than borrowing, by 2029-30, and also that debt will be falling as a share of national income by the end of this parliament, with the next election no later than 2029. While these rules may make economic sense, they come with political pain, not least because Reeves has left herself with a fiscal buffer of only around £10 billion, and Labour pledged in its 2024 election manifesto not to increase taxes on “working people,” including income tax and the UK’s value-added consumption tax.
This in an economic landscape, too, where long-term borrowing costs recently rose to the largest level since 1998. So, it is increasingly expensive to repay government debt.
Over the summer, the independent National Institute for Economics and Social Research think tank said that the overall gap in the public finances could reach as much as £50 billion a year. While that may be a significant overestimate, it is clear that Reeves has some big decisions to make on the spending and taxation fronts in November. The second key moment for Starmer will be May’s devolved elections in Wales and Scotland, plus the local English council ballots. The Welsh ballots, where Labour has held power in Cardiff for over a quarter of a century since devolution, could be especially challenging. Polls in recent weeks indicate that Labour is now in third place, behind Reform UK and Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party. In Scotland, the Scottish National Party is well ahead in polls, with Labour second. So, the governing SNP is favorite to become the largest single party in Holyrood, despite being in power for almost two decades. Taken together, Starmer now has an unexpected window to get on the front foot ahead of the budget in November. His government badly needs new momentum if it is to change the fundamentals of May's elections in Labour’s favor.
**Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.

Globalization is dead — the world faces an existential choice
Bertrand Badre/Arab News/September 13, 2025
In November 1985, during their first summit in Geneva, US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev slipped away from the official proceedings to speak privately. Only years later did we learn what they discussed. Gorbachev told the broadcaster Charlie Rose that Reagan had asked him a startling question: “What would you do if the United States were suddenly attacked by someone from outer space? Would you help us?” Gorbachev replied: “No doubt about it.” Reagan responded: “We, too.” Although the two superpowers were locked in a nuclear arms race and staring each other down across Europe, they could still imagine uniting against a common existential threat.
Four decades later, humanity finds itself locked in another arms race. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reports that global defense spending reached a record $2.7 trillion in 2024 — an inflation-adjusted increase of 9.4 percent over the previous year. After nine consecutive years of such spending increases, this surge is unprecedented since the end of the Cold War, with little indication that it will slow. Dozens of countries are expanding their militaries, and more governments are making long-term commitments to boost their defense budgets.
The reasons are many, and some are understandable. In addition to Russia’s war in Ukraine, there are rising tensions in East Asia and the Middle East, as well as vulnerabilities in cyberspace and space. But more fundamentally, this escalation reflects the collapse of globalization as we knew it — meaning a rules-based order anchored in multilateralism, open trade, and international cooperation.
It is easy to forget how different the mood was just a decade ago. In 2015 — the high-water mark for the most recent wave of globalization — world leaders delivered three landmark agreements: the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on development financing, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris climate agreement. Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama shook hands in Washington, signaling to many observers that a new era of sustainable, inclusive, and resilient globalization was at hand.
But the resulting optimism proved short-lived. Within a few years, trade wars, nationalist and nativist politics, and geopolitical rivalries had undermined the previous consensus. Today, tariffs, subsidies, industrial policies, refugee crises, and the new arms race all attest to a world where cooperation has lost its luster. As the French historian Arnaud Orain argues, the “end of history” thesis has given way to a world once again conceived as finite — as a pie to be divided, rather than expanded. According to this mindset, what is mine is mine, and what is yours is negotiable.
But the existential threats that inspired Reagan’s thought experiment are still here, and are more pressing than ever. Climate change, ecosystem collapse, and widening social inequalities endanger us all. They have been thoroughly documented, their consequences are already visible, and strategies to confront them have been elaborated in countless policy documents and experts’ reports. Yet they are perpetually treated as secondary to the immediate fear of aggression by one’s neighbors or rivals.
Humanity finds itself locked in another arms race.
Future historians — if the profession still exists — will wonder why, in the mid-2020s, homo sapiens poured unprecedented resources into preparing to fight each other, while neglecting collective action against obvious planetary threats. The sums involved are staggering. The nearly $3 trillion devoted annually to defense could cover a significant portion of the investments needed to decarbonize our economies, adapt to climate change, and preserve biodiversity. Instead of extending the cooperative logic of globalization to planetary survival, we are reengineering it with walls, tariffs, and weapons. Call it “barbed-wire globalization.” Humanity will remain interdependent, but relations will be managed not with common institutions but through spheres of influence. Meanwhile, the planet will recede from political consciousness. It is mad to obsess over relative geopolitical power while ignoring the absolute reality of planetary boundaries. If there is to be any hope, we must invent something new: not globalization, but “planetarization” — the recognition that preserving our fragile world is the precondition for everything else. Upcoming gatherings, such as the UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil, offer opportunities to advance such a perspective, even after this year’s disappointing negotiations to address plastics in our oceans. But the window is closing.
Some will argue that the picture is not so bleak, because humanity is living through an extraordinary period of scientific and technological innovation. Given the progress in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, renewable energy, and advanced materials, why not place our trust in human ingenuity to see us through?
The counterargument is sobering. A century ago, revolutionary discoveries in physics, chemistry, and medicine also promised a golden future, ultimately leading to what the French called the “30 glorious years” after the Second World War. But before getting there, the world endured a devastating depression, fascism, and a global war waged with those new technologies. The Manhattan Project produced nuclear weapons before the energy contained within the atom had been put to civilian use; the science that gave us modern fertilizer also created chemical weapons.
Today, AI and other breakthroughs may likewise transform society. But if history is any guide, military applications will outpace civilian uses. As ever, we should “follow the money”: Defense budgets dwarf climate investments. The danger is not that the technology will fail, but that it will be harnessed first for conflict, not collective survival.
Unlike earlier historical turning points, this one offers no second chances. Resources are finite, the carbon budget is shrinking fast, and planetary boundaries are strained. The choice is stark: Globalization can be reorganized into a militarized array of political blocs, where resources are consumed by trade wars, culture wars, and real wars, or we can embrace “planetarization” and start pursuing strategies to survive together with dignity.
Bertrand Badre, a former managing director of the World Bank, is chair of the Project Syndicate Advisory Board, CEO and founder of Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital, and the author of "Can Finance Save the World?" (Berrett-Koehler, 2018). ©Project Syndicate

Slected X tweets For September 13/2025
Pope Leo XIV
I would like that today we may together begin to build a culture of reconciliation. We must meet one another, heal our wounds, and forgive the wrongs we did and did not do, but whose effects we still carry. There are no enemies — only brothers and sisters. What we need are gestures and policies of reconciliation.

Mario Duarte
Holly Father,
You are asking us, the Catholic faithful, to reconcile with a movement that is openly opposed to what GOD has revealed in Holy Scripture, to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the precepts of His Church. Such a request reflects a lukewarm and politically correct stance, precisely what Revelation 3:16 warns against.
We cannot reconcile with evil. Instead, we must call upon world leaders to uphold justice and ensure there are real consequences for those who do harm to others.
As for the faithful, we may turn the other cheek in the face of insult, but when our very lives are threatened, we are bound to defend them, even by the sword.
Respectfully in Christ.

JD Vance
I am grateful to Governor Spencer Cox, Utah law enforcement, Kash Patel, and the FBI for giving this case the time, resources, and hard work it deserved. This is a big breakthrough, and everyone who helped--from the law enforcement professionals to the people giving tips--deserves our credit and gratitude. In some ways, the investigation is still in the early days. But I do believe we have the shooter in custody. Say a prayer for Erika Kirk and those two beautiful babies. We took a big step this morning in getting justice for Charlie, and for his family. Thanks be to God for that.