English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News &
Editorials
For August 20/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2026/english.August
20.26.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
When you give a banquet, Invite all those
who cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the
righteous
Luke 14/12-15: “He said also to the one who had invited him,
‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your
brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in
return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor,
the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they
cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the
righteous.’One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is
anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’”
Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related
News & Editorials published on August 19-20/2026
General Labor Confederation President Bechara Al-Asmar Appointed Chairman
of the Social Security Fund Board… What a Choice!/Elias Bejjani/August 18/2026
A Political Class Hatched by the Incubators of Occupations/Elias Bejjani/August
18/2026
Insatiable Stomachs/Abu Arz/Facebook/August
19, 2026
Canadian official condemns Israel’s ‘unlawful invasion’ and announces new aid to
Lebanon
Lebanon says received French invitation to meeting on army support
Lebanon mulls removing restrictions against 600,000 Syrians
Israeli Bombings and Raids in Southern Lebanon
Salam and El-Anani Discuss Strengthening Cooperation Between Lebanon and UNESCO:
Attacks on Heritage are Attacks on People's Memory and the Country's History
Gabriel from Maarab: Discussion Focused on the Importance of Disarming Hezbollah
Berri: I guarantee the immediate deployment of the army south of the Litani
River in this case
Israeli Incursion into Mays al-Jabal and Explosions... Two Victims in a Tuk-Tuk
Explosion
Lebanon... The Suffering Continues/Fouad Matar/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/August 19, 2025
Ali al-Taher's Loss Is Less Than Khamenei's/Abdul Wahab Badrakhan/Al-Nahar/August
19, 2026
"It's not working"/Marwan Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan/August 20, 2026
Legitimate Concerns About New “Support”… Hezbollah Prepares and Awaits Iranian
Orders/Lara Yazbek/Al-Markazia/August 19, 2026
How a withdrawal-for-disarmament deal left Lebanon with little leverage/ANAN
TELLO/Arab News/August 19, 2026
Lebanon... the Suffering Continues/Fuad Matar/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 19/2026
The hope coming from the South
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 19-20/2026
Iran targeted civilians in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and region: US Ambassador
Huckabee
Iran’s armed forces warn Gulf countries against assisting US military
Hormuz traffic slows as uncertainty over waterway persists
Iran considers attacking US military targets in Europe if Trump escalates:
Report
Israel army chief vows in Syria to deter threats to border
Turkey slams Israel’s ‘untenable’ claims after strikes on Syrian base
Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli strikes on Syrian air base
Israeli airstrike kills nine Palestinians at police post in Gaza, medics say
Israeli settler violence in West Bank amounts to ‘terror’: Huckabee
Israel launches criminal probes into killings of Hind Rajab, Palestinian
paramedics
47 Palestinian families face ‘imminent’ displacement after West Bank water
cutoffs, Israeli rights group warns
UAE denies claims of canceling residencies and providing money to Iran
Iraqi parliament speaker asks Iranian counterpart for special status on Hormuz
oil exports
Trump plans Kim Jong Un meeting, says North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons
North Korea leader’s sister says ‘unaware’ of reported Kim-Trump communication
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published
on August 19-20/2026
Iran: Protecting the Inside, Destabilizing the Outside/Amr el-ShobakiAsharq
Al-Awsat/August 19/2026
The Makkah Agreement: From Crisis Management to the Making of Deterrence/Dr.
Ibrahim Al-OthaiminAsharq Al-Awsat/August 19/2026
The global land agenda’s moment of truth/Osama Faqeeha & Bradley Hiller/Arab
News/August 19, 2026
Alliance of Sahel States’ multibillion-dollar ‘gold pipeline’/Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab
News/August 19, 2026
Makkah Agreement set to trigger a regional grassroots movement/Dr. Dania
Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/August 19, 2026
Washington Negotiates with the Revolutionary
Guard: US Admits Control Over Iranian Decision-Making
The Makkah Agreement: From Crisis Management to Deterrence Building
Selected Face Book & X tweets on August
19/2026
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on August 19-20/2026
General Labor Confederation President
Bechara Al-Asmar Appointed Chairman of the Social Security Fund Board… What a
Choice!
Elias Bejjani/August 18/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/08/156755/
With each passing day, enlightened, free, and sovereignty-minded
Lebanese become increasingly convinced that the tenure of Joseph Aoun and the
government of Nawaf Salam, along with most of those who revolve within the orbit
of power, the owners of the country’s political parties enterprises and
political parties agencies, and their networks of vested interests, is nothing
more than a blatant and transparent continuation of the approach that ruled
Lebanon throughout the years of Syrian and Iranian occupations.
From this perspective, the election of Bechara Al-Asmar, President of the
General Labor Confederation, as Chairman of the Board of the National Social
Security Fund can only be understood within the context of the continuation of
the same ruling establishment that brought the country to collapse and whose
real levers of power remain firmly in the hands of Nabih Berri and Hezbollah.
It is well known that the General Labor Confederation, which was supposed to
serve as the umbrella defending the rights of Lebanese workers, has for many
years been transformed into an instrument subordinate to the political
establishment and its apparatuses, losing both its independence and its genuine
trade-union role. In the eyes of large numbers of Lebanese workers, the
Confederation no longer represents their interests or aspirations. Instead, it
has become part of a system of political patronage and dependency that has
stripped national institutions of their true purpose and national character.
The experience of past decades confirms that the majority of labor and
professional unions that fell under the domination of the traditional political
parties—the poisonous legacy of successive occupations—have been transformed
into tools of political and electoral mobilization rather than institutions
dedicated to defending the rights of their members.
In this context, the names of Bechara Al-Asmar and Bassam Tlais stand out as
prominent figures within a union structure that has become closely associated
with the projects and interests of the forces dominating Lebanon’s political
decision-making, foremost among them the Amal Movement and Hezbollah.
If the National Social Security Fund constitutes the last social safety net for
hundreds of thousands of Lebanese citizens, then placing it under the management
of figures affiliated with the same political establishment raises legitimate
concerns among citizens who have suffered from corruption, waste, and political
patronage throughout the past decades. Genuine reform begins by removing public
institutions from the influence of political parties and occupation forces and
restoring them to competent, experienced, and independent leadership.
In recent years, the Lebanese people have endured an unprecedented financial and
economic collapse, while the official union leadership remained largely absent
from any serious and effective defense of workers, retirees, and low-income
citizens. It also failed to prevent the erosion of wages, protect social
security and mutual assistance funds, or confront policies that pushed hundreds
of thousands of Lebanese into poverty and forced many into emigration.
Accordingly, what is required is not merely opposition to the appointment of
this individual, Rather, it is a fundamental reassessment of Lebanon’s labor
movement, its liberation from partisan and political tutelage and from
subservience to occupation forces, and the enactment of modern laws that
guarantee its independence and transparency, thereby restoring its natural role
as the foremost defender of workers’ rights and interests.
In conclusion, the heresy of installing Bechara Al-Asmar at the head of the
National Social Security Fund Board under the false pretense and deception of an
“election” constitutes yet another indication that the mentality of political
quotas and patronage still controls the state and its institutions, and that the
presidency tenure of Joseph Aoun and the government of Nawaf Salam serves merely
as a façade for Iranian domination as represented by Nabih Berri and Hezbollah.
Real reform will begin only when Lebanon frees itself from occupation and when
competence, integrity, and independence become the sole criteria for assuming
public office, free from partisan loyalties and regional agendas.
The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website:
https://eliasbejjaninews.com
A Political Class Hatched by the Incubators
of Occupations
Elias Bejjani/August 18/2026
The entire political class, from top to bottom, from the middle to the
seventies, is a scumbag, hatched by the incubators of occupations...
emasculated, with fabricated files, opportunists, corrupt, narcissistic, with no
vision or cause. And there are no exceptions... politicians, party-owning
companies, religious figures, and rulers who are themselves ruled. And of
course, the flocks of sheep belonging to the party-owning companies.
Insatiable Stomachs
Abu Arz/Facebook/August 19, 2026
Information indicates that corruption has returned to its former glory, at the
highest levels of government and among their inner circles, as well as through
sectarian quotas and nepotism.
As the saying goes, "There's no smoke without fire." And Imam Ali, when asked,
"Who are the most despicable of people?"
He replied, "Those whose fortunes prospered while their homelands starved."
At your service, Lebanon
Canadian official condemns Israel’s ‘unlawful invasion’ and announces new aid to
Lebanon
The Associated Press/19 August ,2026
A Canadian government official condemned what he called Israel’s “unlawful
invasion” of Lebanon, saying Beirut should govern its own space and have
sovereignty over its lands. Randeep Sarai, Canada’s secretary of state for
international development, visited Lebanon to announce new humanitarian aid to
the crisis-hit country, where the UN says some 360,000 people remain displaced
as a result of the latest conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese
militant group Hezbollah. “We have been working actively, I think, through
diplomatic channels to do whatever possible to stop that and to allow Lebanese
communities that are from those areas to be able to move back,” Sarai said in an
interview with The Associated Press late Tuesday. The latest Israel-Hezbollah
war started when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel on March 2, two
days after the US and Israel began attacks on Iran. The war has killed over
4,000 people, caused wide destruction in southern Lebanon and at one point
displaced over 1 million people. Israel launched a ground invasion and is now
occupying dozens of towns and villages in southern Lebanon, many of which have
been almost completely demolished. Israeli officials have said they will not
pull out from Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed. Canada has criticized
Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Lebanon. It lists Hezbollah as a terrorist
organization and has condemned its attacks on Israel. During his visit, Sarai
announced that Canada is launching three new programs in Lebanon to support
vulnerable families and women, raising the total of its assistance to the nation
so far this year to more than $50.23 million. Canada, which is home to a large
Lebanese diaspora, has given Lebanon about $575 million in assistance over the
past 10 years, including nearly $38 million in funding in March to provide basic
necessities such as food, medical and health services, Sarai said. “Our
commitment is long-term, and we’re there for Lebanon,” said Sarai, who visited
shelters housing people displaced by the war and Syrian refugees during his
visit. Sarai also met President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who
both took their posts last year promising to reinstate state authority over all
parts of Lebanon and to implement reforms to fight corruption. The country is
still struggling with an economic crisis that began in late 2019 rooted in
decades of corruption. “There’s a lot of optimism and I hope Lebanon will be
able to deliver on these,” said Sarai about the pledged reforms. “The world is
really watching and supportive of this government, and optimistic that they will
achieve those goals.”Sarai said Canada is trying to help create a safe
environment in Syria with access to food, drinking water and schools, so that
more refugees can return. “We’ll do whatever we can to make sure that
environment is safe when they do decide to go back,” he said. At one point
during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, Lebanon hosted an estimated 1.5 million
refugees. Some half-million Syrians have returned since former Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024, according to Lebanon’s social
affairs minister.
Lebanon says received French invitation to meeting on
army support
AFP/August 19, 2026
BEIRUT: Lebanon said Wednesday it had received an invitation from France for a
meeting to prepare for an international conference on support for the Lebanese
army, an event postponed by the Middle East war. The conference in Paris was
supposed to take place in March but was delayed after militant group Hezbollah
drew Lebanon into the regional war by attacking Israel in support of its backer
Iran. Lebanon said in a statement Wednesday that President Joseph Aoun had
“received from the French charge d’affaires in Lebanon, Bruno Da Silva, a letter
from French President Emmanuel Macron that included an invitation for Lebanon to
participate in a preparatory meeting to be held in Paris on September 17.”Aoun
thanked Macron for the invitation, praising “the constant interest he shows
toward Lebanon and its national institutions, foremost among them the army and
the Internal Security Forces.”
He said the invitation highlighted the importance of “supporting the Lebanese
army with the aim of enabling it to possess the capabilities and resources
necessary to carry out its responsibilities effectively.”The army “requires
international support and a collective effort to meet its operational needs,
logistical equipment, training and capacity building,” the statement by the
Lebanese presidency added. Army chiefs from several countries, as well as
representatives from governmental and international organizations, along with
experts, are expected to attend the meeting, according to the presidency.
France did not announce anything on Wednesday related to the conference. In
February, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot visited Lebanon to prepare
for the event. Beirut received pledges of international support for its troops
after Lebanon’s government committed to disarming Hezbollah last year and tasked
the army with the process. Hezbollah has been weakened by over a year of
hostilities with Israel, which a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end, although
the fighting has not been completely halted. Lebanon and Israel have since
entered US-sponsored direct talks in an effort to end hostilities. In June they
signed a framework agreement that calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah, a
gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon and the deployment of
the Lebanese army to the region, starting in “pilot zones.”But the Lebanese
military faces major challenges amid a shortage of equipment, personnel, and
technical capabilities necessary to carry out its mission.
Lebanon mulls removing restrictions against 600,000 Syrians
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 19, 2026
Lebanese authorities began reviewing security restrictions against some 600,000
Syrians in the latest move that reflects Beirut’s desire to open a new chapter
in relations with Damascus based on clear security and legal foundations. The
restrictions are among the thorniest issues in Lebanon and that emerged during
the wave of Syrian displacement sparked by the civil war. The restrictions led
to hundreds of thousands of Syrians being barred entry to Lebanon. Addressing
the issue would pave the way for Lebanese-Syrian relations that are based on
security coordination and respect for the law. Asharq Al-Awsat learned that
Lebanon’s General Directorate of the General Security has kicked off the legal
procedures to lift security restrictions against over 600,000 Syrians that
barred their entry to Lebanon for years. A prominent security source revealed
that General Security chief Hassan Choucair has formed a committee that will
study the file of Syrians who have security warrants against them that have
prevented them from entering Lebanon. The warrants are tied to residency or
entry violations. The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that authorities are now
examining the file of every Syrian who has been barred entry to Lebanon over
residency violations, such as entering Lebanon illegally or violating residency
rules or exceeding the duration of their stay. The source said the committee has
already completed tens of thousands of files. The General Security will issue a
statement upon completion of the procedures. It will inform the Syrian
authorities of its results. The move is not limited to building trust between
Beirut and Damascus, but it also aims to crack down on people smuggling across
the Lebanese-Syrian border. The latest procedures will allow Syrians to enter
Lebanon with their identification papers or through travel agencies as long as
they meet the necessary requirements. Syrians wishing to work in Lebanon must
obtain work and legal residency permits from the General Security.“Lebanon
welcomes anyone who wants to reside on its territory as long as they are doing
so legally,” said the source. “Syria is a sisterly country and organizing the
movement of people in and out of both countries benefits them both,” he added.
Israeli Bombings and Raids in Southern Lebanon
Beirut: Asharq Al-Awsat/August 19, 2025 (Google translation from Arabic)
Israeli warplanes launched a series of raids early Wednesday morning targeting
the Ali al-Taher hill on the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Doha Kfar Rumman,
and the outskirts of Deir Siryan in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces also
carried out bombings at dawn targeting the towns of Jadatha and Mansouri in
southern Lebanon, and fired several shells at the town of Majdal Zoun and the
surrounding valleys in southern Lebanon. At night, they dropped flares over the
Tyre and Bint Jbeil areas in southern Lebanon, according to the official
Lebanese National News Agency. It is worth noting that Israel launched a war on
Lebanon on March 2nd, after Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel. Israeli
forces have occupied several towns in southern Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes
continued to target wide areas of southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in
eastern Lebanon after the initial ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel
on April 16, which was subsequently extended on April 23 for three weeks, and
then again on May 15 for 45 days. A new ceasefire was announced on June 20,
after which the frequency of Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon decreased.
Salam and El-Anani Discuss Strengthening Cooperation
Between Lebanon and UNESCO: Attacks on Heritage are Attacks on People's Memory
and the Country's History
Central News Agency/August 19, 2026 Prime Minister Dr. Nawaf
Salam received the Director-General of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Dr. Khaled El-Anani. They
discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between Lebanon and the organization in
the fields of education, culture, heritage, media, science, and technology. They
also discussed supporting Lebanon's efforts to protect its archaeological and
heritage sites, rehabilitate those damaged, enhance education, and ensure the
safety of journalists. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the
Lebanese government and UNESCO, signed on behalf of Lebanon by Minister of
Culture Dr. Ghassan Salameh, with the aim of establishing a comprehensive and
sustainable institutional framework for cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Salam said: "The UNESCO General Conference
was held in Beirut in 1948, during which Arabic was adopted as a working
language of the conference, a historic step that solidified its presence in the
world. The great writer Taha Hussein attended on this occasion and delivered a
lecture on the Arabic language." He added: “It is no coincidence that Beirut has
been designated a Creative City of Literature in the UNESCO Creative Cities
Network since 2019. Despite the wars and destruction it has endured, and the
tragedies it has suffered, particularly the 2020 port explosion, it remains a
vibrant city, carrying the banner of culture and renewal in our Arab world. The
inscription of the castles of Jabal Amel and Tyre on the list of endangered
heritage sites is also of particular importance, as an attack on heritage is not
merely an attack on the stones, but an attack on the memory of the people and
the history of the country.”
Canadian Minister of State: President Salam received Canadian Minister of State
for International Development Randeep Sarai, where they discussed the current
situation in Lebanon and the region, and ways to strengthen bilateral relations
and cooperation between Lebanon and Canada. The meeting also addressed how
Canada can support the government’s efforts to advance the return and recovery
process in the South, given the limited resources available and the increasing
needs, thereby enhancing the government’s ability to meet the needs of returnees
and consolidate stability. The Syndicate of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers: Prime
Minister Salam received a delegation from the Syndicate of Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers in Lebanon, headed by Carole Abi Karam. Following the meeting, Abi
Karam explained that the delegation briefed the Prime Minister on the state of
the pharmaceutical industry in Lebanon, which has become a vital sector, and on
the most pressing challenges facing the sector. They also discussed the
requirements that would help the industry overcome these challenges, ensuring
the continued availability of quality medications for citizens at affordable
prices, as well as securing vaccines for all hospitals in Lebanon and enhancing
access to export markets.
She added, "Prime Minister Salam expressed his full understanding and
encouragement, emphasizing his interest in this sector and his conviction in the
importance of its role. He also directed that the necessary laws and measures be
pursued to enable us to continue our work and develop the pharmaceutical
industry in Lebanon."
Gabriel from Maarab: Discussion Focused on the Importance
of Disarming Hezbollah
Al-Markazia/August 19, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea met in Maarab with a delegation from the
American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL), headed by Executive Director Edward M.
Gabriel. The delegation included Paul Salem, Thomas Abraham, Makram Azar, Ahmed
Boumroud, Michel Chammas, Najad Fares, Tony Fram, Nassim Haffar, Oscar Saikali,
Salim Sassin, Kamal Chehayeb, Jack Taameh, Stephen Howard, and Matthew Awdi,
along with Karel Touma from the US Embassy in Beirut. Representing the Lebanese
Forces were MP Ghassan Hasbani, a member of the Strong Republic Bloc; Joseph
Jbeily, a member of the Executive Committee; and former Minister Richard
Kouyoumjian, head of the Foreign Relations Department. Gabriel described the
meeting between the ATFL board and advisors with Geagea and representatives of
the Lebanese Forces as "very constructive and informative." He said, "After
discussing security and military issues and reform files, Dr. Geagea presented a
clear vision of the path he expects the framework agreement to take, as well as
the areas he believes need to be addressed to support the US government's
efforts to bring the parties together and achieve progress in this regard." He
added, "The discussion focused primarily on the importance of disarming
Hezbollah, in parallel with the withdrawal of Israeli forces, in addition to the
necessity of returning residents to their homes so they can resume their way of
life." In response to a question, Gabriel answered, "Of course, we strongly
support the idea of 'pilot zones' or experimental zones. As we understood from
Dr. Geagea, their success will require close attention and follow-up from the
United States to ensure that both Lebanon and Israel make progress in
implementing the content and objectives of the framework agreement. Therefore,
we leave Lebanon more optimistic and with a better understanding of the current
situation."
Berri: I guarantee the immediate deployment of the army
south of the Litani River in this case
Al-Markazia/August 19, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri received a delegation from the American Task
Force for Lebanon (ATFL), headed by Ambassador Ed Gabriel, at the Second
Presidency headquarters in Ain al-Tineh. The meeting addressed the general
situation and the latest political and field developments in light of Israel's
continued aggression and destruction of villages in southern Lebanon. Speaker
Berri emphasized to the delegation that what the south is experiencing is
intolerable and may even surpass the crimes and massacres perpetrated against
people, property, and heritage in Gaza, including the killing of civilians in
violation of the most basic international and humanitarian laws, conventions,
and norms. The Speaker of Parliament pointed out to the delegation that the
United States, and its President Donald Trump, are the only countries capable of
compelling Israel to end its war, cease fire, and withdraw to the international
border in the south. He stated that only then would he guarantee the immediate
deployment of the Lebanese Army in the area south of the Litani River, ensuring
that the Lebanese Army would be the sole force maintaining security and
possessing weapons in that region. He emphasized that the people of this area
have the right to return and rebuild, and they are eager to see the Lebanese
Army safeguarding their security and stability. For his part, Ambassador Gabriel
said after the meeting: “The US working group on Lebanon held a very good
meeting with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. We discussed issues related to
reform and the security situation in Lebanon and the south, particularly the
direct negotiations and the framework agreement.” He added: “We sensed that
Speaker Berri is very interested in achieving progress on the pilot zones and
that he personally wants to see these zones succeed.”
In response to a question regarding the Ali Taher hill and its handover to the
Lebanese Army? Gabriel responded: Israel must be clear about accepting the
Lebanese army's control of Ali Taher Hill to prevent widespread destruction by
Israel, but Israel must also be clear about its desire for the Lebanese army to
control this area. He added: The people of the south do not want war; they want
to return to their homes. We believe it was a very good meeting, and the Speaker
of Parliament was very frank. We will make sure to convey his vision and
perspective to American policymakers.
In response to a question about what efforts the United States can make to stop
the war and pressure Israel to cease fire, Gabriel replied: We have a President
of the United States who has a strong interest in seeing the Lebanese crisis
resolved. President Trump is working very hard to push the Israelis to stop the
death and destruction. The President has even said, "Enough is enough," to the
Israelis. We expect he will continue to work with the Israelis to make them
understand that if they want peace, this is not the way to achieve it, and I
believe the United States will exert pressure in this direction. Speaker Berri
also received Canadian Minister of State for International Development Randeep
Sarai and his accompanying delegation, in the presence of Canadian Ambassador to
Lebanon Gregory Galligan. Discussions focused on developments in Lebanon and the
region, as well as the latest political and field developments in light of
Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon. The meeting also addressed the
reconstruction efforts and bilateral relations between Lebanon and Canada.
The Speaker also received UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany and his
accompanying delegation, in the presence of Minister of Culture Ghassan Salameh
and Lebanon's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Hind Darwish. The meeting addressed
the organization's work programs in Lebanon and the importance of its role in
protecting heritage, cultural, and archaeological sites, particularly those
threatened by Israeli attacks.
Israeli Incursion into Mays al-Jabal and Explosions... Two
Victims in a Tuk-Tuk Explosion
Al-Markaziya/August 19, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
The Israeli occupation army carried out a series of violent explosions this
afternoon in the vicinity of the cemetery in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiya. It
was reported that the Israeli army bulldozed a number of houses in the al-Mansouri
area, coinciding with artillery shelling and the burning of houses in the town's
fourth district, south of Tyre. It was also reported that an enemy Merkava tank
targeted a house in the town of al-Mansouri. Earlier today, Israeli aircraft
attacked a house in the al-Deir neighborhood of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, completely
destroying it. Israeli forces conducted a sweep with machine guns towards the
town of Haddatha in the Bint Jbeil district.
Large explosions were carried out in the towns of Houla, Tallousa, and Bani
Hayyan in the Marjeyoun district. A large explosion was also carried out in the
town of Kfar Tebnit. This was followed by three loud explosions that
reverberated throughout the Nabatieh region, caused by Israeli army bombings in
the town of Tallousa. A Merkava tank also targeted the town of Khiam with four
shells. An Israeli drone dropped a bomb on the town of Mansouri, causing a fire
in the area where it landed. Two victims in a tuk-tuk explosion: It was reported
that two young men, Ali Murtada Hassan Saeed (from the town of Qasiba) and Ali
Abbas Rihan (from the town of Adshit), were killed, and two others were wounded,
when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by the Israeli enemy detonated
near the earthen berm between the towns of Mayfadoun and Zawtar al-Sharqiya. The
four young men were in a tuk-tuk and on a motorcycle near the berm after a tour
of the area. Civil Defense, Islamic Scout Ambulance Service, and Islamic Health
Authority teams transported the bodies of the two martyrs and the wounded to
hospitals in Nabatieh. Incursion and Sweeping: Reports indicate an Israeli
incursion into the western outskirts of Mays al-Jabal, in the Doubayh area. This
was accompanied by artillery shelling targeting a house, followed by machine gun
fire and a fire at the site. All of this occurred in full view of UNIFIL forces,
who happened to be passing through. Israeli forces blocked the UNIFIL convoy and
forced it to retreat. At dawn, Israeli forces carried out a bombing in the town
of Haddatha. At night, Israeli forces conducted bombing operations in the town
of Mansouri and fired several shells at the town of Majdal Zoun and the
surrounding valleys. They also dropped flares over the Tyre and Bint Jbeil areas
at night, while drones flew over the Litani River from Qasmiyeh up to the
Qaqayyeh Bridge. Shortly after midnight, Israeli aircraft launched a series of
raids on southern Lebanon. Two raids were reported on Dabsha, Nabatieh, causing
powerful explosions, as well as raids on Doha, Kfar Rumman, and Barashit.
Reports indicate airstrikes on Qantara, Ali al-Taher, and the outskirts of Deir
Siryan. Israeli aircraft were also observed flying over the western Bekaa
Valley.
Lebanon... The Suffering Continues
Fouad Matar/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/August 19, 2025 (Google translation from Arabic)
The majority of Lebanese citizens are struggling to make ends meet. Those
displaced from the south are the most affected, and their situation is truly
heartbreaking. Meanwhile, as the aforementioned conditions worsen, the Lebanese
parliament has decided to raise the monthly salary of each member to five
thousand dollars, up from three thousand. Some of those who are financially
well-off have registered a sort of objection, with some even claiming that they
spend their own money on the needs of the regions they represent. What is
striking is that most members of the Lebanese parliament achieved their goal of
reaching parliament by spending money they own, and some inherited from their
parents and grandparents, in order to gain the favor of the voters. There are
also those who secured their parliamentary seats through various means, both
foreign and domestic. On this basis, the parliamentary salary, whether it rises
to five thousand dollars from three thousand, is of little consequence to him,
as if it were simply a reflection of the cost of living. This means that the
member of parliament, like his constituents and the rest of the impoverished
population, is struggling to cope with the profound impact of the war, which has
affected the prices of goods, including oil. The soaring price of oil has become
a heavy burden on the majority of Lebanese, who have resorted to using
motorcycles – an unprecedented phenomenon in Lebanon and the Arab world. Due to
the dire circumstances, citizens are now using motorcycles with their families,
both adults and children.
Some within the Lebanese parliament might find it surprising that their
legislative body sometimes passes laws without thorough debate. Their reason for
this surprise is that a member of parliament is, in principle, a servant of the
people, or that providing services entails costs, whether in terms of effort or
because certain situations require action that necessitates expenditures beyond
one's personal funds. Therefore, the parliamentary salary ultimately serves the
interests of the voters. This is an interpretive perspective that may be
convincing. Furthermore, the monthly salary of a member of parliament is a
common practice in many parliaments. However, in many countries, these salaries
do not constitute a burden on the state's general budget. This is the case in
the United States, where the annual salary of a member of Congress is around
$175,000, and in Britain, the annual parliamentary salary is £86,000, in
addition to allowances for travel and assigned tasks. The point of this
comparison, specifically with regard to Lebanon, is that increasing the salary
of a member of parliament, which is a tradition in parliaments worldwide, comes
at a time when parliamentary debates cannot even secure a small percentage of
electricity, and when corruption cases and the lack of judicial oversight are
exposing hidden financial and political imbalances that are not receiving
decisive attention. As for southern Lebanon, which is experiencing a situation
similar in terms of Israeli expansion to what happened in Gaza, and this
continues to occur in some cities and towns of the West Bank by Israeli settlers
who are implicitly encouraged by their government, which relies on deception and
whose prime minister is only concerned with the fear of not winning the
elections, because the outcome of that would be imprisonment and the start of
inquiries about what happened and is still happening in terms of aggression, the
purpose of which is to change the map of the two hoped-for states.
Ali al-Taher's Loss Is Less Than Khamenei's
Abdul Wahab Badrakhan/Al-Nahar/August 19, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Israel doesn't need to declare that attack is its permanent policy. Its
aggression continues in Lebanon and Syria, as well as in Gaza and the West Bank.
Recent statements by the two poles of extremism, the finance and security
ministers, indicate that the issue of "genocide" no longer embarrasses Israeli
politicians; in fact, they are now more eager to practice it. Even if the
American president reminds them that the Palestinian side "agreed to lay down
its arms," Smotrich argues that "Hamas leaders shouldn't be alive," while Ben-Gvir
calls for killing 30 to 40 people in Gaza every night (...) "They shouldn't
live; they aren't even human," echoing the words of former Defense Minister Yoav
Gallant, who (along with Netanyahu) is wanted by the International Criminal
Court. Iran, for its part, has recently been keen to announce its imminent shift
from defense to offense, having become certain that the United States is moving
toward freezing the war in the current situation. The military capabilities Iran
has reached, coupled with the continued blockade of ports and the tightening of
the economic siege through "unprecedented" sanctions targeting Chinese and Gulf
entities and companies whose services Iran still benefits from, reveal a growing
Iranian offensive strategy that increasingly relies on mobilizing proxies. This
escalates regional tensions without helping Iran extricate itself from its
predicament. Regardless of the extent of Houthi attacks on oil and non-oil sites
in Saudi Arabia, these will not yield any gains for Tehran and could even
provoke renewed US strikes against its infrastructure, especially if the Houthis
persist in their attempts to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Their provocations
on internal fronts, aimed at reigniting the war, will have limited results and
will not enable them to overrun Marib and seize its oil and gas facilities. It
is clear that the Revolutionary Guard will play all its cards in Iraq,
intensifying its attacks on Kurdistan and not hesitating to instigate preemptive
clashes between its factions and the state in order to revive divisions and
thwart the government's plan to "monopolize weapons." And preparing for the
period after the American withdrawal from Iraq at the end of September.
With the American pressure becoming clear, Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to
feign "cooperation" with the "Gaza plan" after officially rejecting it. However,
he reminds the American envoy, Donald Trump's son-in-law, of the "shared
objectives" (no military or administrative presence for Hamas and the factions
in Gaza), meaning he is "cooperating" to undermine the plan as formulated by the
mediators with the so-called "Peace Council." Netanyahu and his cronies want
nothing more than a green light to implement the plan in their own way.
Therefore, his agreements with Jared Kushner may calm the situation in Gaza
relatively, pending the Israeli elections at the end of October. American
pressure is less effective with regard to Lebanon, not only because the "Party
of Iran/Hezbollah" refuses to disarm, but also because the "Party" is obligated
to escalate, according to the instructions of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
American pressure is also less effective because the Lebanese side, the state
and the army, has nothing to offer to force Israel to withdraw or to contain
Hezbollah's weapons. The rounds of negotiations, from Rome to Washington, caught
in this vicious cycle, sees both Israel and Iran as wanting to break it: Israel,
because it continues to destroy infrastructure to prevent southerners from
returning to their land and rules out any complete withdrawal even if the war
ends; and Iran, because it is usurping the capabilities of the Lebanese state by
seizing Hezbollah's weapons and decision-making power, and because it is
clinging to the "Lebanon card" at any cost, for Hezbollah's loss of the Ali
Taher hill is not more important to Iran than the loss of Ali Khamenei.
"It's not working"
Marwan Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan/August 20, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
"It's not working." This phrase is the most frequently used when inquiring about
the progress of the implementation procedures related to the "model areas,"
which began in Zawtar Al-Gharbiya. It encapsulates the gap between political
pledges and the lack of will to translate them into action on the ground. The
deployment of the Lebanese army to an area does not necessarily mean that the
state has gained full control over the territory. This is not a theoretical
assumption, but rather an experience that the area south of the Litani River
witnessed after the July 2006 war. At that time, the Lebanese army deployed in
the south, supported by thousands of UNIFIL troops, reaching the border with
Israel. However, actual control on the ground remained with Hezbollah. The
recent war revealed the existence of thousands of military installations and
infrastructure, along with tunnels and weapons depots, scattered across the
south, confirming that the official state deployment did not translate into
actual control on the ground.
The question that arises is: how was Hezbollah able to do this in an area
supposedly under the deployment of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL? Another model,
closer to and more serious than the experience following the July 2006 war, is
the fifteen-month period following the November 2004 ceasefire agreement. It is
more serious because Hezbollah, through its leaders, announced its withdrawal
from south of the Litani River and affirmed its full cooperation with the
Lebanese army in implementing the ceasefire agreement. However, the war waged in
support of Iran revealed that Hezbollah still possessed military infrastructure
and weapons depots. These experiences raise the same question today with even
greater urgency: Is the deployment of the army and security forces in a given
area sufficient to declare that the state has established security and military
control over it? Official deployment may be a reality on the ground, without
necessarily implying the end of another force's presence or its relinquishment
of its ability to move, stockpile, and rebuild its military infrastructure.
Therefore, adhering to the "experimental zones" will be impossible, as they fall
under the "framework agreement" between Lebanon and Israel, an agreement that
Hezbollah rejects, describing it as a "humiliating and shameful agreement." Most
importantly, this agreement is the result of direct negotiations between the two
countries, negotiations which Hezbollah fundamentally rejects, accusing those
who decided to engage in them of being agents serving Israel. The challenge lies
not only in the army's ability to deploy, but also in the existence of the will
and the decision to exercise full state authority on the ground. What is
required is not merely a military and security presence of the state, but that
this presence become synonymous with actual control: no parallel military
structures, no weapons depots, no tunnels, and no ability for any other party to
make security or military decisions independently of the state. Here we return
to square one: the state's decision to reclaim its authority, sovereignty, and
prestige from an organization like Hezbollah cannot be reduced to a "model area"
while other areas remain outside the state's effective control. Sovereignty
cannot be applied piecemeal, and the state's prestige cannot be selective or
geographically confined. The state's reclaiming of its decision-making power is
not a limited security measure, but a political and sovereign decision that
strikes at the very heart of the influence that Hezbollah has accumulated over
decades. Therefore, this decision cannot be partial or selective; it must be
comprehensive, or it is not a decision at all.
In short, "This is not acceptable."
Legitimate Concerns About New “Support”… Hezbollah Prepares
and Awaits Iranian Orders
Lara Yazbek/Al-Markazia/August 19, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Al-Markazia – The Wall Street Journal, citing informed officials, reported that
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has exploited the lull created by
the memorandum of understanding with the United States to prepare the ground
with allied groups across the region in order to intensify attacks when
necessary. The report indicated that Iran has sent advisors to Iraq, Yemen, and
Lebanon to discuss these plans, noting that Arab intelligence officials have
detected evidence including communications between Iran and its allied groups in
those countries. In any case, it has become known that the commander of the Quds
Force in the IRGC, General Ismail Qaani, visited Iraq last week, urging Iraqi
armed factions loyal to Iran, according to sovereign political sources speaking
to Al-Markazia, not to comply with the Iraqi government's demand to hand over
their weapons by the end of September. Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also visiting Baghdad today, announced on
Saturday that he is in contact "with fighters on the front lines in Lebanon."
This information, coupled with an Iranian official's announcement that his
country has shifted from a defensive to an offensive policy, confirms, according
to sources, that Iran is indeed preparing for a new round of fighting. This
development reinforces Lebanese fears of a renewed conflict in the south.
Hezbollah, firstly, is hardening its stance, refusing to surrender its weapons
and attempting to derail the negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. Secondly,
it refuses to hand over the Ali Taher facility to the Lebanese army and has even
begun attacking Israelis there, albeit without claiming responsibility.
According to the sources, it seems to be laying the groundwork for a resumption
of fighting whenever Tehran gives the order to return to war—a moment,
ironically, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is eagerly awaiting.
So far, the Americans are restraining Tel Aviv, but no one knows when Iran will
tell Hezbollah to "go for it," especially since the memorandum of understanding
between Tehran and Washington has expired and has not been renewed. Local
concerns are therefore justified and legitimate, and escalation may be imminent,
unless the legitimacy breaks this stalemate by intensifying pressure on the
party to back down, at least in Ali Taher, perhaps through Speaker of Parliament
Nabih Berri, who is unwilling to engage in a new round of fighting. He is the
only one capable of playing this role to protect the blood of the Lebanese and
the Shiites, the sources conclude.
How a withdrawal-for-disarmament deal left Lebanon with
little leverage
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/August 19, 2026
LONDON: Weeks into US-backed talks meant to trade an Israeli withdrawal for
Hezbollah’s disarmament, renewed strikes and evacuation orders in southern
Lebanon are raising a difficult question: Is there anything meaningful left to
negotiate? The US said on Aug. 11 that the next round of Israel-Lebanon talks
would be held in Rome in early September, after officials from both sides
acknowledged setbacks during meetings there earlier this month. The ministry
says Israeli attacks have killed 4,346 people across Lebanon since March 2. “The
political track will reconvene in Rome in early September, and conversations
will continue in Beirut, Jerusalem and Washington in the interim,” a State
Department official said. “We feel good about the trajectory.”That optimism,
however, contrasts with developments on the ground. Talks that began on Aug. 4
and were expected to last three days ended after two, as tensions escalated in
southern Lebanon. On Aug. 5 the Israeli military resumed strikes, accusing the
Iran-backed Hezbollah of violating a ceasefire which was initially announced on
April 17 and later extended several times. The attacks were accompanied by the
first evacuation warning in weeks. Beirut has sought a phased Israeli withdrawal
from the south. But Lebanese officials are increasingly frustrated by what they
see as Israeli delays ahead of October elections, while Israel maintains that
Hezbollah disarmament must be verified before any further pullback.A State
Department spokesperson nevertheless described the August meetings as
“constructive,” according to media reports. But the process faces a growing
test. At least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on
Aug. 15, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, making them among the deadliest
attacks since the country agreed to a US-mediated peace framework with Israel.
The June framework links a phased Israeli withdrawal to Hezbollah’s disarmament.
But differences over sequencing and enforcement remain unresolved, and the
latest escalation reportedly threatens to erode public confidence in an already
politically fraught process while complicating Lebanon’s efforts to disarm the
militant group. “It was a bad deal to begin with, and now it is coming apart,”
said Sami Halabi, Director of Policy at The Alternative Policy Institute (BADIL),
based in Beirut. “Frankly, it is on a knife’s edge.”Halabi said the talks’
survival may depend largely on whether Israel is prepared to make concessions.
“Much will depend on whether Israel makes any concessions, because the Lebanese
side is in a very difficult position,” he told Arab News. “It put itself in that
position by agreeing to a very bad deal.”
He said Lebanon’s remaining leverage was limited.
“Now, (Lebanon’s) only leverage is its presence at the negotiating table,”
Halabi said. “The only leverage it has is to walk out of the room. If it does
that, then the gloves are off.”Indeed, critics of the June agreement say the
framework front-loads Lebanon’s most difficult concession — disarming Hezbollah
— while leaving Israel’s withdrawal conditional, gradual and without a firm
deadline. Hussein Chokr, a Beirut-based policy expert, offered a similarly bleak
assessment of Lebanon’s negotiating position. He said Lebanese authorities have
repeatedly framed concessions as “strong negotiating cards,” weakening the
country’s hand rather than strengthening it. “The government has not worked to
acquire real sources of leverage,” Chokr told Arab News. “Instead, it has relied
on the hope that the US administration will pressure Israel, even though such
pressure will never, under any circumstances, be treated by Washington as a
higher priority than the relationship between the US and Israel.”
For Halabi, the key question is whether President Donald Trump is willing to
intervene more forcefully.“My personal view is that he has not done anything,
and Lebanon is not really his priority,” he said. “I do not think he will take
significant action to stop the Israelis from doing what they are doing.”
The continued strikes are already reshaping perceptions of the talks, Halabi
said. “The talks were not going well because Israel was carrying out almost
daily violations,” he said. “Now the attacks have escalated, making people
believe the negotiation process is useless.
“Without negotiations, the situation returns to a logic of conflict,” he warned.
“Pressure is building on all sides.”Chokr, however, said he does not expect
Israeli bombardment to derail the talks because, in his view, Lebanon’s current
leadership remains committed to negotiations regardless of the military
pressure.
“The party seeking negotiations is the current Lebanese authority, not Israel,”
he said. “This authority has already shown that it is willing to make
concessions and submit to pressure.”Previous Israeli strikes did not change
Beirut’s position or weaken its desire to continue negotiations, Chokr said:
“Israel, by contrast, initially treated these negotiations as a political
maneuver, a way to preempt Iran and separate the Lebanese track from the broader
track between Tehran and Washington.”But Israel’s assessment evolved, he added:
“After seeing the political softness and ease with which the Lebanese
authorities approached the process, Israel began to view the negotiations as an
opportunity to maximize its gains.”Those gains, he said, “may include securing
the legitimacy of Lebanese recognition, or at least legitimizing its presence,
without abandoning its military path of attacking Lebanon under the pretext of
self-defense. “In short, what began as an Israeli maneuver to block Iran has
successfully been turned by Israel into an opportunity to gain far more than a
maneuver alone could have delivered.”The negotiations also risk becoming
increasingly entangled with regional tensions. Halabi said Iran has an interest
in reasserting its influence in Lebanon, whose border with Israel gives Tehran
additional leverage.
“One effect of the negotiations was, in a sense, to separate regional
negotiations from Lebanese negotiations,” he said. “Now, those issues are
becoming linked again.”That is particularly dangerous because wider regional
diplomacy has stalled as well, he explained: “At a high level, we cannot return
to the old status quo because the world is no longer the same as it was
before.”Iran-US diplomacy has stalled because both sides accuse the other of
breaching a June interim agreement, and neither is currently participating in
direct talks. From Israel’s perspective, Halabi said, the country appears intent
on consolidating territorial gains and could seek to create a buffer zone or
pursue the annexation of southern Lebanon. “This is becoming increasingly
evident to people watching the installations Israel is putting in place, the
nature of its attacks and its intransigence at the negotiating table,” he said.
He expects the process to deteriorate further before Washington intervenes.
“Things will probably fall apart until the escalation gets out of hand,” he
said. “Then the Americans will have to get involved again and tell the Israelis
to back off.”
By then, he warned, Israel may have strengthened its position on the ground. “In
the meantime, Israel will have consolidated more territory, and we will be in an
even worse position,” he said. “I do not know whether the negotiations will
survive. The president’s initiative — and it is very much the president’s
initiative — is under fire. It will be very difficult to negotiate a way out of
this. It could happen, but I do not think it is very likely.”Chokr also
questioned Washington’s ability or willingness to compel Israeli restraint,
noting that the US has struggled to enforce Trump’s own proposals in Gaza.
“Unfortunately, Lebanon will remain trapped in this position unless its
authorities work to acquire real leverage that can be used to secure actual
gains in negotiations,” he said. For ordinary Lebanese, the uncertainty carries
its own cost. As negotiators debate withdrawal, disarmament and enforcement,
civilians in the south remain caught between Israeli strikes, evacuation orders
and a political process that has yet to deliver security.
Lebanon... the Suffering Continues
Fuad Matar/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 19/2026
The majority of Lebanese citizens are experiencing severe economic hardship,
with those displaced from the south being the most severely affected and facing
deplorable conditions. Amidst these worsening circumstances, the Lebanese
parliament has decided to increase the monthly salary of its members from 3,000
to 5,000 dollars.Some affluent MPs voiced what resembled an objection, with some
even saying they will spend from their own pocket to meet the needs of the
regions they represent. Most lawmakers achieved their goal of securing
parliamentary seats by spending their own personal wealth - and in some cases,
inherited family fortunes - to win over voters. Furthermore, others were
propelled into office by various means, whether through external or internal
backing. Consequently, the parliamentary monthly salary matters little to them,
whether it increases or not. It is as if this raise is framed as a response to
living conditions, suggesting that MPs struggle just like their constituents and
the rest of the impoverished population. They contend that the war has caused a
qualitative disruption, impacting commodity prices including oil, whose soaring
cost imposes a heavy burden on the Lebanese majority. This has led to an
unprecedented phenomenon in both Lebanon and the wider Arab world, where
citizens, driven by deteriorating conditions, now use motorcycles to transport
their entire families, including adults and children.Within the parliament, some
MPs may be surprised that the legislature, responsible for enacting laws,
occasionally passes legislation without extensive debate. The basis for this
view is that a lawmaker is, in principle, in the service of the public. This
service entails necessary operational costs, whether for advocacy efforts or
because certain situations demand mobilization that requires funding beyond
personal finances. Consequently, from this perspective, the parliamentary salary
ultimately serves the interests of the constituents - an explanation that some
may find convincing.
Furthermore, monthly salaries for lawmakers are standard practice in many
legislatures worldwide. However, in many countries, these salaries do not pose a
burden on the state's general budget. This is evident in the United States,
where a member of Congress receives an annual salary of around 175,000 dollars,
and in the United Kingdom, where the annual parliamentary salary stands at
86,000 pounds, supplemented by allowances for travel and official assignments.
The purpose of this comparison regarding Lebanon specifically is to highlight
that while the parliamentary salary increase aligns with global legislative
traditions, it occurs at a time when parliamentary debates fail to secure even a
small percentage of electricity in Lebanon. Furthermore, critical issues
regarding corruption and the failure to safeguard judicial independence receive
no decisive attention. This is taking place while southern Lebanon is
experiencing a situation closely resembling the Israeli expansion in Gaza and
that is also unfolding across the West Bank driven by Israeli settlers. These
settlers receive implicit encouragement from their government, which relies on
obfuscation, while its prime minister remains solely consumed by the fear of
losing the elections; such an outcome would lead to his imprisonment and
accountability for the ongoing aggression that is aimed at altering the
envisioned two-state roadmap.
The hope coming from the South
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/08/58634/
The video presents a narrative contrasting Lebanon’s historical identity as a
peaceful, pluralistic haven of coexistence with its devastation during the civil
war years. It argues that the conflict was not merely an internal civil war, but
rather the result of covert foreign interferences (specifically naming Syrians,
Palestinians, and Iranians) aiming to destroy Lebanese sovereignty. Finally, it
highlights the deep south of Lebanon as the last stronghold of cross-communal
peace, defending the region under the leadership of General Antoine Lahad and
the South Lebanon Army (SLA), while advocating for a decentralized or federal
political structure to ensure future stability.
This documentary about Lebanon seen from the Southern eye is very important as a
document talking about how the Southerners use to look at the situation during
the eighties.
About 20 years later things changed and South Lebanon returned to the occupied
country without the Guardians of the Land.The people of Lebanon especially new
generations don’t have a clue about that period they were miss lead and may
consider the real protectors of the land as traitors and those who sold the
country to strangers as heroes.When general Lahad passed away he wasn’t even
buried in the land he tried to protect for the generations to come. Cesar Sakr
who wrote the script wasn’t allowed to be buried in his own village too. Those
who are sending Lebanese to be killed faraway for no reason are still given the
spot lights of the Media.This short documentary is coming from the old days to
say that many other options were available to give better future for our beloved
country. Should we ever dream again of a change?…
Executive Summary
The video presents a narrative contrasting Lebanon’s historical identity as a
peaceful, pluralistic haven of coexistence with its devastation during the civil
war years. It argues that the conflict was not merely an internal civil war, but
rather the result of covert foreign interferences (specifically naming Syrians,
Palestinians, and Iranians) aiming to destroy Lebanese sovereignty. Finally, it
highlights the deep south of Lebanon as the last stronghold of cross-communal
peace, defending the region under the leadership of General Antoine Lahad and
the South Lebanon Army (SLA), while advocating for a decentralized or federal
political structure to ensure future stability.
Key Topics
Lebanon’s Historical Identity and Geography
Descriptions of Lebanon's strategic location as a bridge between East and West,
its mountainous terrain safeguarding freedom, and its role as a historic
sanctuary for persecuted religious and political minorities.
A Culture of Coexistence and Pluralism
The tradition of multi-religious harmony (Christians, Druze, Sunnis, and Shias
living and working side-by-side), lack of a state religion, and the "Lebanese
way" of peaceful compromise.
The Impact of the Civil War
The destruction of Beirut and the country at large after 13 years of war,
resulting in massive casualties, the paralysis of the state, the rise of rival
militias, and the transformation of Lebanon into a base for international
terrorism and foreign occupation.
Foreign Interference vs. Internal Conflicts
The video's core thesis that external actors (Syrians, Palestinians, and
Iranians) exploited internal demographic tensions—specifically the shifting
balance between Christians and Muslims following the 1943 National Pact—to
manipulate communities and wage a covert war against Lebanese sovereignty.
The South Lebanon Army (SLA) and General Antoine Lahad
The formation and role of the SLA as a multi-sectarian military force in
southern Lebanon, led by General Lahad after his resignation from the dismantled
national army in 1983.
The SLA's mission: maintaining sovereignty, protecting minorities, resisting
foreign and extremist dominance, and providing local administrative, medical,
and educational stability in the south.
Proposals for Lebanon's Future
General Lahad's vision for a reformed political structure, specifically
advocating for a federal system with socially and economically viable autonomous
provinces to accommodate the pluralistic realities of post-war Lebanon while
preserving national unity.
The hope coming from the South
This documentary about Lebanon seen from the Southern eye is very important as a
document talking about how the Southerners use to look at the situation during
the eighties.
About 20 years later things changed and South Lebanon returned to the occupied
country without the Guardians of the Land. The people of Lebanon especially new
generations don’t have a clue about that period they were miss lead and may
consider the real protectors of the land as traitors and those who sold the
country to strangers as heroes. When general Lahad passed away he wasn’t even
buried in the land he tried to protect for the generations to come. Cesar Sakr
who wrote the script wasn’t allowed to be buried in his own village too. Those
who are sending Lebanese to be killed faraway for no reason are still given the
spot lights of the Media. This short documentary is coming from the old days to
say that many other options were available to give better future for our beloved
county. Should we ever dream again of a change?...
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on August 19-20/2026
Iran targeted civilians in Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait and region: US Ambassador Huckabee
Al Arabiya English/19 August ,2026
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has said Iran deliberately targeted
civilians in attacks on Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and elsewhere in the region, adding
that Tehran had “shown its true colors.”
“Iran was aiming for civilians in its attacks on Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the
region. They showed their true colors,” Huckabee told Al Arabiya English’s
Counterpoints program in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. His comments come
amid heightened tensions with Tehran and uncertainty over whether renewed
military confrontation could erupt. Huckabee said he trusted US President Donald
Trump’s judgment when it came to deciding whether major combat operations
against Iran were necessary. “I trust Trump’s
instincts on major combat operations against Iran,” he said. The ambassador also
suggested Trump could again consider military action if Tehran refused to
abandon its nuclear and uranium enrichment ambitions and reopen the Strait of
Hormuz. Huckabee warned Iran against triggering another conflict, saying Tehran
had already experienced US military action twice and should understand that
Trump was prepared to use force if he deemed it necessary. “Iran would not be
doing themselves a favor” by starting another war, Huckabee said. The remarks
underscore Washington’s continued pressure on Tehran as the US seeks to deter
further Iranian attacks while pushing for movement on Iran’s nuclear program and
the reopening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. You can watch the full
interview Wednesday night on Al Arabiya English’s live stream here.
Iran’s armed forces warn Gulf countries against
assisting US military
AFP/August 19, 2026
TEHRAN: Iran’s armed forces on Wednesday warned Gulf countries against assisting
the US military, saying it would be tantamount to joining American military
operations. “We wish to warn that any assistance or facilitation provided to the
aggressor US military amounts to participation in the US military operation,”
armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said, according to Iran’s Mehr news
agency. War between Iran and the United States broke out on February 28 after
US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic republic, which retaliated with missile and
drone strikes including on US bases across the region.
“It seems unlikely that such a large number of military aircraft, particularly
refueling aircraft could be present at regional bases without knowledge of host
countries,” said Abdollahi. “The countries bordering the Arabian Gulf, which
have issued various statements saying they would not allow the United States to
use their territory against Iran, should know that we are fully aware of the
situation.”The warning comes as the USS George Washington aircraft carrier is
being redeployed to the Middle East to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln following
reports of deteriorating living conditions for its crew.
Hormuz traffic slows as uncertainty over waterway persists
Reuters/August 19, 2026
SINGAPORE: Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed, data showed on
Wednesday, as most shipowners avoided the key waterway because of a lack of
clear signaling on its reopening from a blockade during the Iran war. Six
commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, Kpler data showed by 0258 GMT,
down from nine a day earlier and below the 10-day daily average of 11.Inbound
traffic included an empty very large crude carrier that followed the Omani
side of the strait, as well as two tankers, one of medium-range and the other
intermediate, the data showed.
Two medium-range fuel tankers and a post-Panamax vessel exited the strait. On
Tuesday, US President Donald Trump said no talks were taking place with Iran
and insisted the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting Iran’s assertion
that it remained shut to shipping.
The waterway handled a fifth of the world’s shipments of crude oil and
liquefied natural gas before the war. As security concerns curb oil shipments to
the world’s largest importer, two Chinese shipping giants that used to carry
half its imports of Middle Eastern oil before the war have kept their tankers
out of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab El-Mandeb since late July, say tanker
tracker Vortexa and a ship broker. At the Bab El-Mandeb strait on the Red Sea,
where Yemeni Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20, Kpler
data showed 30 weekend transits by commodity vessels, up from 19 in the prior
week. There were no tracked Saudi oil shipments.
Iran considers attacking US military targets in Europe
if Trump escalates: Report
Donald Self, Al Arabiya English/19 August ,2026
Iran is considering attacking US military assets in Europe if US President
Donald Trump decides to escalate the conflict, regime insiders told the
Financial Times on Tuesday.
According to the two sources, Iranian forces have weighed striking US military
targets in south-eastern Europe such as in Bulgaria, which recently authorized
US aircraft to refuel at its Bezmer airbase. Cyprus, where a British air base
was hit by a drone in March, was also named as a potential target.
Sub-sea fiber optic cables in the Strait of Hormuz have also been considered as
a target in the event of any renewed US offensive, according to the report. The
60-day memorandum of understanding signed in Islamabad has expired with no
progress on negotiations to open the strait. Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba
Khamenei last week appointed hardliners to top security and military posts.
Trump confirmed on Tuesday that there were “no talks or conversations going on
or scheduled” with Tehran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps have explicitly warned that, in any return to
full-scale conflict, Iran would move beyond its previous strategy of hitting US
assets and strategic infrastructure in the Middle East to more distant targets.
Iran has proven willing to go after distant targets. Washington has accused Iran
of firing multiple missiles at Diego Garcia, a joint US-UK military base in the
Indian ocean in the early weeks of the war. None of the missiles reached their
target over 4000 kilometers away. Turkey also reported NATO air defenses
intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles in March, the same month that the Cyprus
base was struck, although Western officials have said they suspect it was an
Iranian drone fired by regional proxies. An Iranian attack on a US base in
Jordan last month killing three American soldiers was the most accurate long
range attack the regime has carried out, demonstrating its capacity to hit
distant targets, the insiders reportedly said.
Israel army chief vows in Syria to deter threats to
border
AFP/August 19, 2026
JJERUSALEM: Israel’s army chief said Wednesday during a visit to an
Israeli-occupied security zone in southern Syria that the military would not
allow threats to “establish themselves” on the border. “We are monitoring the
changes on the Syrian front. We will not allow hostile forces to establish
themselves on our borders, and we will know how to use our operational
capabilities precisely where and when needed,” Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told troops.
Israeli forces have been stationed in a security zone in southern Syria since
the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, occupying what was previously a
buffer zone patrolled by the United Nations that had separated Israeli and
Syrian forces in the Israeli-occupied Golan since 1974. The top general said the
army can not afford to let down its guard on any of Israel’s active war fronts,
including Syria. “We are still in a multi-front war, alert and operating in all
arenas — escalation can develop in any one of them, and we must remain in
constant readiness.”Zamir’s visit came one day after Israel bombed the Abu Duhur
air base in Idlib province in northwestern Syria, accusing Damascus of violating
an agreement by accepting Turkish troops on it.
“Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to
Israel’s security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings,” said a statement by
the Office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which stopped short of
acknowledging Israeli responsibility. Turkiye, which has had tense relations
with Israel in recent years, rejected the allegations, while the US ambassador
to Turkiye Tom Barrack condemned the strikes, saying they constituted an
“unnecessary escalation.”Syria’s foreign ministry condemned “in the strongest
terms the Israeli airstrikes” targeting the base, calling them “an unjustified
act of aggression” and urging action by the UN Security Council. The attacks
come as Syria “has exercised restraint and worked to consolidate stability and
avoid escalation,” it added. Despite tensions between the neighbors, Israel and
Syria’s new authorities have held several rounds of direct talks and have agreed
to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism. But last week Israeli Defense
Minister Israel Katz said that his country planned to keep troops in Syria.
Israel captured most of the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and
later annexed the areas under its control, in a move not recognized by the
international community except for the United States and Colombia.
Turkey slams Israel’s ‘untenable’ claims after strikes on
Syrian base
Reuters/19 August ,2026
Turkey firmly rejected on Wednesday what it called “untenable allegations” by
Israel regarding its military position in Syria, after Israel bombed a Syrian
air base near the Turkish border and said Syria was on the verge of permitting
Turkish troops to deploy there. Israel carried out airstrikes against the Abu
al-Duhur base near Aleppo on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from Turkey and
criticism from a US envoy who called the attack an “unnecessary escalation.” In
a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late on
Tuesday that Syria was on the verge of violating a “status quo agreed with
Israel in security matters” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase,
adding that such a deployment would threaten Israel’s security and it would not
tolerate this. In response, Turkey’s presidency said the “imputations” from
Netanyahu’s office stemmed from his intention to pursue “expansionist and
destabilizing policies” ahead of elections in Israel, adding that lasting
regional peace could only be achieved if Israel respected international law and
abandoned its “aggressive and coercive policies.”“The untenable allegations put
forward by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office are intended to legitimize
Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity,” it said on X, without explicitly referring to any potential
deployment plans. “Turkey will resolutely continue to cooperate with the Syrian
Government on a legitimate basis for the establishment of peace, stability, and
prosperity in Syria, and will never allow the destabilization of Syria.”The
strikes on Tuesday follow worsening security tensions between Israel and Turkey
and increasingly sharp rhetoric between the two countries over Syria, where both
countries’ militaries are active.
Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army and has emerged as one of Syrian
President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s main allies, accuses Israel of trying to destabilize
Syria and undermine its new administration, repeatedly calling for international
pressure and measures on Israel to respect Syria’s territorial integrity.
Ankara has been training Syria’s army, helping it rebuild its state institutions
and infrastructure, and providing military and diplomatic support. Last year,
Turkey and Israel — also sharply at odds over the war in Gaza — established a
line of communication to avoid any incidents in Syria.
Tom Barrack, the US special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, told Reuters
after the strikes on Tuesday that Washington was working to establish a
deconfliction mechanism among Israel, Turkey and Syria, and added the US already
facilitates an information-sharing and dialogue mechanism among the parties.
Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli strikes on Syrian air base
Al Arabiya English/August 19/2026
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned the bombing of Syria’s Abu al-Duhur air base
by Israel.“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia’s condemnation and rejection in the strongest terms of the attacks that
the Israeli occupation forces launched targeting the military airport of Abu al-Duhur
in the Syrian Governorate of Idlib,” a statement said.
It added that the strikes are a “blatant violation of international law and the
sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic.”Furthermore, the statement reiterated
Riyadh’s call on the international community to “put an end to Israel’s
violations of international laws and customs.”“The Kingdom also reaffirms its
solidarity with the Syrian Arab Republic and its support for all efforts to
uphold its sovereignty, preserve its territorial integrity and unity, and
achieve security and stability for the brotherly Syrian people.”Earlier on
Tuesday, Israel had bombed the Abu al-Dhuhur air base in Syria, drawing
criticism from Syria and Turkey and voices of concern from the US.Since the fall
of Syria’s long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel has
repeatedly launched strikes on its northeastern neighbor, including military
installations.
Israeli airstrike kills nine Palestinians at police post in
Gaza, medics say
Al Arabiya English/19 August ,2026
An Israeli airstrike killed nine Palestinians at a police station in Gaza on
Wednesday, medics said, two days after US envoy Jared Kushner ended a trip to
the region that failed to push forward Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in the
enclave. Medics and police sources said several officers, some of them
high-ranking, were among those killed at what Gaza’s interior ministry said was
the headquarters of the municipal police. Fifteen others were wounded, they
said. Earlier on Wednesday, in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, a separate
Israeli airstrike killed one Palestinian, medics said, taking Wednesday’s death
toll to at least 10. The Israeli military said that strike had targeted a Hamas
militant. It has not commented on the strike on the police station.
Diplomatic progress stalled
In what had appeared to be a possible breakthrough at the end of July, President
Trump announced that Hamas had accepted a roadmap which entailed the Palestinian
militant group decommissioning its weapons in phases as Israel’s military
withdrew from Gaza. The military would also stop its operations in the
territory. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose ruling
coalition is trailing in opinion polls ahead of an October election, rejected
the roadmap, insisting that the military would only withdraw once Hamas has
completely disarmed. Hamas has demanded that Israel adhere to the ceasefire and
withdraw its forces from Gaza. Both sides have disputed the sequencing of how
Trump’s plan should be implemented. Israel said its strikes aimed to thwart
imminent attacks by Hamas and Gaza militants. On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike
killed at least seven Palestinians, including a child, at a beachfront cafe,
medics said. The Israeli military said they targeted Hamas commanders who had
planned attacks against forces operating in the enclave. On Wednesday, a Hamas
official said the group had told ceasefire mediators, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey
that if there was no halt to Israel’s targeted attacks “it would influence their
stance on the agreement.” He didn’t elaborate. The official said the latest
killings had dealt a blow to Kushner’s diplomatic efforts despite the assurances
he and Trump’s Board of Peace have given Hamas leaders when they met in Egypt on
Sunday that they would compel Israel to end “assassinations and targeted
attacks.”More than 1,200 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed
in Gaza since a ceasefire was reached last October, according to Gazan health
officials and the Israeli military. With Reuters
Israeli settler violence in West Bank amounts to ‘terror’:
Huckabee
Al Arabiya English/19 August ,2026
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described acts of violence carried out by
Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank as “terror,” in an exclusive
interview with Al Arabiya English’s Counterpoints on Wednesday. Huckabee’s
comments come amid renewed scrutiny of settler attacks against Palestinians in
the West Bank and growing calls for Israeli authorities to curb the violence.
The ambassador has taken an unusually forceful public stance on recent
attacks, drawing a distinction between the wider Israeli settler population and
those involved in violence against Palestinian civilians.
His remarks add to mounting international pressure on Israel to address settler
violence and ensure accountability for attacks in the occupied territory.You can
watch the full interview Wednesday night on Al Arabiya English’s live stream
here.
Israel launches criminal probes into killings of Hind
Rajab, Palestinian paramedics
The Associated Press/19 August ,2026
Israel’s military on Wednesday announced its first criminal investigations into
troop conduct in the war in Gaza, focusing on the killings of 5-year-old Hind
Rajab and her family and of 15 Palestinian paramedics.
The military said it would not launch criminal investigations into three other
attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without
Borders. Its statement said it had completed reviews of 150 incidents of troop
conduct in Gaza and made decisions on the five cases.The military statement did
not mention the many other high-profile killings that Israel has pledged to
investigate throughout the war. It did not mention the Israeli strikes on a
hospital in southern Gaza that killed five journalists in August 2025, including
Mariam Dagga, a visual journalist who freelanced for the AP and other news
organizations. Both the killing of Rajab and her family, trapped in a vehicle
and pleading for help by phone in February 2024, and the killing of 15 medics in
May 2025 drew international outcry. Rajab’s
grandmother, also named Hind Rajab, told The Associated Press by phone that the
Israeli investigation is not enough, and called for an international probe into
the killing of her granddaughter and all of the hundreds of children killed in
Gaza during the war. “An international investigation is required to uncover the
truth and hold all those responsible accountable,” she said. “We call for
justice, not only for Hind, but for all Gaza children.”The military’s statement
comes nearly three years after the war began. Israeli strikes continue in Gaza
despite a fragile ceasefire.
The 5-year-old was the last alive in a stranded car
The military admitted to firing at the family car carrying Rajab, four of her
cousins and her aunt and uncle as they fled an Israeli invasion of Gaza City. As
gunfire sprayed around them, Rajab’s cousin, 15-year-old Layan Hamada, called
the Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic center, telling them that a tank was
approaching and her family had been killed. Seconds later, more gunshots were
heard, and Layan’s screaming stopped, according to the Red Crescent recording of
the call.Palestinian paramedics dispatched an ambulance to rescue Rajab, the
sole survivor, and stayed on the line until contact was lost. Rajab, her five
relatives and two medics from the ambulance were found dead 12 days later. The
military admitted Wednesday that troops had fired toward that ambulance, killing
the two medics.
The 15 paramedics had been trying to reach casualties
In the other killing, Israeli troops opened fire on the vehicles of the 15
paramedics as they drove in the southern city of Rafah. The military said one
deputy commander had been directed to step down.Troops shot at an ambulance that
was driving to retrieve casualties from an Israeli offensive, then fired on
several other emergency vehicles that went out to look for the first one,
according to phone footage and the sole survivor of the shootings. Troops then
bulldozed over the bodies and vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and
rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later to dig out the
bodies.The Israeli military initially said it opened fire because the vehicles
were “advancing suspiciously” on nearby troops without headlights or emergency
signals. But it backtracked from that account after the footage emerged, showing
the Red Crescent and Civil Defense teams driving slowly with their emergency
vehicle lights flashing and logos visible. “We are not obligated to prove the
truth because it is already proven to the whole world,” Eid Azizi, a Palestinian
Red Crescent spokesperson, told the AP in a phone call. “We shouldn’t have
reached this point if they respected and followed the international humanitarian
law.”
Israel will not criminally probe World Central Kitchen strike
The military said it had decided not to open a criminal investigation into the
April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of World Central Kitchen vehicles,
killing seven staffers of the US-based aid group, which has distributed food in
Gaza throughout the war. The aid group at the time said it had coordinated with
the military over the movement of its cars. The vehicles, which had the group’s
logo on their roofs visible from the air, were left incinerated and mangled,
indicating multiple targeted strikes. Wednesday’s military statement said it had
mistakenly identified several individuals in the vehicles as armed Hamas
military operatives, and that the convoy deviated from the previously
coordinated route. But it concluded that “the decisions of the commanders did
not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct.” At the time, two
officers were removed from their positions and three others reprimanded.
The military also decided not to take criminal action over the killings of four
staffers from Doctors Without Borders in two separate instances in November 2023
and February 2024. Israel later barred the medical charity from operating in
Gaza.
The war’s toll keeps growingThe war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led
militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel and abducted
251 others. Israel’s ensuing war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than
73,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. That includes at least 1,273
people killed in Gaza since a fragile ceasefire took effect in October,
according to the ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government,
maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN
agencies and independent experts. It does not give a breakdown of civilians and
militants but says women and children constitute about half of the dead.
47 Palestinian families face ‘imminent’ displacement
after West Bank water cutoffs, Israeli rights group warns
Arab News/August 19, 2026
RAMALLAH: Forty-seven Palestinian families in Jordan Valley, northern West Bank,
are at risk of being forced from their homes after Israeli forces and settlers
cut their remaining water supplies, Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has
warned.
More than 300 Palestinians, about half of them children, are affected in the
communities of Ras Al-Ahmar, Ath-Tha’la and East Atouf, where the last pipelines
supplying residents were severed over the past week, according to B’Tselem. The
rights group said that Israeli authorities also routinely prevented water from
being transported into the area, leaving families heavily dependent on farming
and livestock without reliable access to water. B’Tselem warned that the
disruption of water infrastructure was creating conditions that could ultimately
force the remaining Palestinian families to leave.
The water cutoffs come amid the construction of a roughly 22-km Israeli barrier
through the northern Jordan Valley that B’Tselem said had damaged farmland,
crops and water infrastructure since work began in March.Israel calls the
project the “Crimson Thread” barrier, which is planned to extend from Ein Shibli
to the Tayasir military checkpoint. Israel says that the project is intended to
prevent weapons smuggling from Jordan. According to B’Tselem, construction has
uprooted olive trees, destroyed crops and greenhouses and damaged kilometers of
water and irrigation pipelines, while potentially isolating Palestinian-owned
agricultural and grazing land. In July, Israeli forces uprooted more than 300
olive and grape trees and damaged pipelines serving about 45,000 dunams of
agricultural land in the Atouf and Al-Baqi’a areas, the organization said.
B’Tselem also reported increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against
Palestinian communities along the planned route, including damage to water
pipes, road blockages and restrictions on access to grazing land. Residents have
also been threatened with expulsion, it said. The latest warning comes amid
accelerating displacement of Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities across
the occupied West Bank, with the Jordan Valley emerging as one of the areas most
severely affected. UN figures show that settler attacks and related access
restrictions have displaced more than 2,300 Palestinians across the West Bank
since the beginning of 2026. More than half of displacement attributed to those
pressures this year has occurred in the Jordan Valley.Water infrastructure has
increasingly been affected. OCHA reported in July that humanitarian
organizations were trucking water to vulnerable herding communities in the
northern Jordan Valley, while recurrent settler violence, demolitions and
restrictions on access to water sources had exacerbated shortages. B’Tselem said
that, as of June 30, 64 Palestinian communities across the West Bank had been
forcibly displaced by Israeli military actions and settler violence since
October 2023, affecting more than 4,300 people. Among them were families from
Ras Ein Al-Auja in the Jordan Valley, where prolonged settler violence and
pressure culminated in large-scale displacement earlier this year. OCHA
separately documented the displacement of about 600 Palestinians from the Ras
Ein Al-Auja Bedouin community in January, describing it as the largest
single-community displacement linked to settler attacks and access restrictions
in the West Bank since the UN began systematically recording such cases in 2023.
The UN has warned that settler violence, settlement expansion and demolitions
are driving Palestinians from their homes and undermining access to livelihoods
and essential services across the West Bank.
UAE denies claims of canceling residencies and providing
money to Iran
Arab News/August 19, 2026
DUBAI: UAE’s diplomatic adviser to the UAE president Anwar Gargash has denied
claims the UAE provided financial services to Iran in a statement on X. “Some
platforms targeting the UAE are circulating false information about the country,
at a time when the state continues to focus its efforts on addressing regional
developments and preparing for the post-phase period,” Gargash said. He also
denied claims the UAE was canceling labor residences. “The UAE’s approach is
that the best response to such claims is through work and tangible achievements
on the ground,” he said. “Facts and concrete achievements remain stronger than
rumors, and work remains stronger than noise,” he said.
Iraqi parliament speaker asks Iranian counterpart for
special status on Hormuz oil exports
Arab News/August 19, 2026
Iraq’s parliament speaker Haibat Al-Halbousi called for special status for
Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz during talks with his
Iranian counterpart Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Baghdad on Wednesday, his
office said in a statement, without providing further details.Qalibaf arrived
in neighboring Iraq Wednesday for a three-day visit where he will meet with
Iraqi officials and leaders of an Iran-backed political coalition. Iran-backed
Iraqi militias have launched and claim drone attacks targeting US bases and
diplomatic presence both within the country and abroad, piling the pressure on
Baghdad which for years has delicately tried to maintain strong ties between
both Washington and Tehran. President Donald Trump last month welcomed his Iraqi
counterpart Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi at the White House, showering him with
praise. Qalibaf on Wednesday praised the country’s Tehran-backed militias —
which he called the “resistance in Iraq” — describing them as a “key component
of the country’s national power.” “After years of experience in Iraq, the
resistance has gone beyond the borders of the two countries and has become an
influential force at the regional and global levels,” Qalibaf said.
Iran has long relied on its top allies and proxies, notably the Hezbollah
militant group in Lebanon and the Yemeni Houthi rebels, in years of Middle East
conflict. Qalibaf said on Tuesday that the strategic Strait of Hormuz will not
be opened until the United States meets Tehran’s demands, including lifting a
naval blockade. “I want to state clearly that the Strait of Hormuz will not be
opened until the American commitments stipulated in the memorandum of
understanding … are implemented,” Qalibaf said in a speech broadcast on state
television. He listed the removal of the blockade, the lifting of oil sanctions
and unfreezing of Iran’s assets abroad among the demands.– with agencies
Iraqi parliament speaker asks Iranian counterpart for
special status on Hormuz oil exports
Arab News/August 19, 2026
Iraq’s parliament speaker Haibat Al-Halbousi called for special status for
Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz during talks with his
Iranian counterpart Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Baghdad on Wednesday, his
office said in a statement, without providing further details. Qalibaf
arrived in neighboring Iraq Wednesday for a three-day visit where he will meet
with Iraqi officials and leaders of an Iran-backed political coalition.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias have launched and claim drone attacks targeting US
bases and diplomatic presence both within the country and abroad, piling the
pressure on Baghdad which for years has delicately tried to maintain strong ties
between both Washington and Tehran. President Donald Trump last month welcomed
his Iraqi counterpart Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi at the White House, showering
him with praise. Qalibaf on Wednesday praised the country’s Tehran-backed
militias — which he called the “resistance in Iraq” — describing them as a “key
component of the country’s national power.”“After years of experience in Iraq,
the resistance has gone beyond the borders of the two countries and has become
an influential force at the regional and global levels,” Qalibaf said.
Iran has long relied on its top allies and proxies, notably the Hezbollah
militant group in Lebanon and the Yemeni Houthi rebels, in years of Middle East
conflict. Qalibaf said on Tuesday that the strategic Strait of Hormuz will not
be opened until the United States meets Tehran’s demands, including lifting a
naval blockade. “I want to state clearly that the Strait of Hormuz will not be
opened until the American commitments stipulated in the memorandum of
understanding … are implemented,” Qalibaf said in a speech broadcast on state
television. He listed the removal of the blockade, the lifting of oil sanctions
and unfreezing of Iran’s assets abroad among the demands.– with agencies
Trump plans Kim Jong Un meeting, says North Korea has 57
nuclear weapons
Reuters/19 August ,2026
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he planned to meet with North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and said the Asian nation held 57 “very powerful”
nuclear weapons.The remarks come as Trump ordered Pentagon officials to cut
short joint exercises with the South Korean military, writing in a Sunday social
media post that they sent a message to Pyongyang that was “totally inappropriate
and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President,
has been unthreatening and respectful.”During Trump’s first term, Kim called
Trump a “mentally deranged US dotard” and threatened that he had use of a
“nuclear button” on his desk. The leaders’ relationship cooled after
face-to-face meetings in 2018 and 2019, including a brief exchange at the
demilitarized zone between the Koreas in which Trump became the first sitting US
president to step into North Korean territory. “I know Kim Jong Un very well,
and he’s going to be fine as long as we have a smart president,” Trump told
reporters Wednesday during a tour of the helipad he is constructing on the White
House’s historic south lawn. “The fact that I get along with him – that’s a good
thing, not a bad thing. He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons,” Trump said.
“They should have never allowed it. If I were president, I wouldn’t have allowed
it. But he’s got them.”There have been varying estimates by experts over the
years on how many nuclear weapons North Korea has. In June, the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute estimated that North Korea has “possibly
assembled around 60 warheads, possesses enough fissile material to produce at
least 30 more.”
North Korea leader’s sister says ‘unaware’ of reported Kim-Trump communication
AFP/Published: 19 August ,2026
The powerful sister of Kim Jong Un said Wednesday she was “unaware” of reported
communication between her brother and Donald Trump, after the US president
hinted at contact with the North Korean leader but said ties between the two
remained “excellent.”Kim Yo Jong’s statement came hours after Washington and
Seoul announced their annual exercises would end about a week earlier than
planned following an order from Trump to scale them back.Trump said on Sunday
that he had told the Pentagon to curtail the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield
exercises – a day before they started – citing his “good relationship” with
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Asked on Monday whether Kim had responded to
his requests for a conversation, Trump said: “Yeah, he has.”But Kim’s sister,
Kim Yo Jong, said Wednesday she was unaware of any such contact between her
brother and Trump. “Regarding the recent news from Washington about
communication between the leaders of North Korea and the United States, I am
completely unaware of it,” she said in a statement.“It is likely the only matter
concerning our top leadership’s foreign policy that I am unaware of.”Kim Yo Jong
nevertheless said her brother still had “good memories and feelings” about Trump
and that the relationship between the two leaders remains “excellent.”Earlier
Wednesday, Seoul’s military said the drills would wrap up on Friday, not on
August 27 as originally planned. “We have decided to adjust the UFS exercise
period to run from the 17th to the 21st,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff
said in a statement. The decision was made “at the suggestion of the US side,”
it added. The Pentagon said the “substantially reduced” drills would “preserve
essential readiness and... (cause) no degradation to US training objectives.”The
exercises are designed to prepare for a possible attack by North Korea.They were
understood to consist of two phases: the first, focused on defending against
potential North Korean threats, was due to run until Friday; and the second,
focused on a counteroffensive, from August 24 to 27.The second phase is now
understood to have been scrapped. Kim Yo Jong, however, dismissed the reduction,
saying: “we do not consider it worth commenting on and find it completely
uninteresting.”She said reducing the scale or duration of the exercise did not
change their “provocative and aggressive” character. Nuclear-armed North Korea
has long voiced outrage at the exercises, considering them dress rehearsals for
an invasion. Wednesday’s early morning commentary by the state-run Korean
Central News Agency said they pose “the most immediate and open threat” to North
Korea and “regional security.”That commentary did not mention Trump’s order or
his desire to resume talks with Kim, with whom he has hinted at being in
contact.
‘Much safer’
In the initial announcement on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the
drills as unfriendly towards a country that had been respectful to him. South
Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told lawmakers on Wednesday that Seoul had not
been informed in advance of Trump’s plan to downsize them.
“Neither our government nor US government officials knew in advance what
President Trump revealed via Truth Social,” Cho said. Trump has insisted that he
is making the situation “much safer” through his ties with Kim. “There has been
persistent speculation that Washington could seek renewed talks with Pyongyang
ahead of the November US midterm elections,” Yang Moo-jin, former president of
the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP. “For Trump, a meeting with...
Kim Jong Un could offer a chance to secure a foreign-policy legacy.”The Wall
Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed US officials, that Trump is
pushing aides to set up a meeting with Kim as soon as this autumn.
“Reducing exercises could have a positive impact on the possibility of
US-North Korea dialogue,” Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University,
told AFP. “The suspension of joint exercises has always been a prerequisite for
North Korea to engage in dialogue with the US,” he added.Trump and Kim met three
times in his first spell in the White House, but they have not held talks during
his second term. The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea
to bolster the country’s defenses, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended
with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Trump has repeatedly criticized
longstanding US alliances, casting doubt on Washington’s commitment to security
in East Asia and alarming regional partners.
The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published
on August 19-20/2026
Iran: Protecting the Inside, Destabilizing
the Outside
Amr el-ShobakiAsharq Al-Awsat/August 19/2026
The scenes of war and truce between Iran and America suggest that Iran is trying
to establish that it held firm in the confrontation. It played its cards in
defense of its own existence and the interests of its system, even at the
expense of the region's states.
Under external attack, Iran has so far managed to close the chapter of the
demonstrations against the regime. The opposite has happened in the countries
Tehran penetrated with its "arms" and militias- in Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen.
We have seen an unprecedented social and political rupture between Hezbollah,
which entered a "war in support of Iran" on behalf of another state, and the
rest of Lebanon's components. In Iraq, the split has gone so far that militias
loyal to Iran have struck Saudi Arabia, in the same militia fashion that
respects neither their own state nor its neighbors. This is a scene of division
par excellence: A government trying to extend its sovereignty over the whole
country, and armed organizations entrenching division and refusing to hand their
weapons to the state.
The paradox- that Iran unified its home front in the face of external attack
while its "arms" did the opposite, deepening internal fissures and social
divisions in every country where they operate- is worth reflecting on. It may
hold a lesson for Iran: to undertake a surgical review of its system's policies
toward the region's states.The question that arises is this: Why did the Iranian
home front hold together after a fashion- a front where protests rejecting the
regime had stopped only weeks before the war- with people rejecting the
American-Israeli attacks on their country? And why did Gulf leaders seek to halt
the war, back mediation efforts, and deal with extreme wisdom and patience with
the Iranian assaults on their states, while the response to the militias'
aggression was immediate?
The difference is clear on both counts: In the cohesion of the Iranian home
front, and in how other states deal with a state that endures- whatever problems
and crises it has caused- as against how they deal with militias that are
transient, or that ought to be.
For any system, whatever its nature and however much one agrees or disagrees
with it, its fall by armed foreign invasion produces catastrophic results. What
helped Iran hold together internally was that it played the card of foreign
aggression against the homeland rather than against the regime. It is a state
with institutions that monopolize force; and even in the duality of the army and
the Revolutionary Guard, each is led by a single point of reference, the Supreme
Leader. No militia inside Iran can take a step, in peace or in war, apart from
the direction of the Supreme Leader and the ruling apparatus.
What is striking is that the Iranian regime's support for the Palestinian cause
was not only the product of doctrinal conviction. It was also a card in defense
of ambitions embodied in the nuclear project, in a regional presence, and in
attempts at hegemony and interference in the affairs of other states. Nor was
Iranian ideological discourse ever separable from Iran's own supreme interests;
it was never purely for the sake of God and of Palestine.Beyond that, Iranian
society has remained for decades a living society, a broad segment of which
rejects the regime's choices and demands that it defend only the country's
national interests, refrain from interfering in the affairs of other states, and
abandon the policy of "arms" and of exporting its model by force. This current
has receded, for now, with the war.
Iran's "arms," by contrast, did not fight for a national cause but on behalf of
a doctrinal alliance, in political subordination to another state. Their land
was not occupied and they have no national project; they have merely entrenched
social and political divisions in every country where they operate. This stands
in contrast to Iran, which monopolized the state, force, and weapons, and
adopted a national political narrative in the face of external attack, with the
aim of securing its own social cohesion.
The difference between Iran and its "arms" is owed neither to Iranian genius and
the purity of its model, nor to the vices and sins of the "arms." It is that the
system in Tehran entered its war from a position of defending national
self-evident truths against attack from abroad, which strengthened its national
cohesion- regardless of whether its narrative is sound, and regardless of the
scale of its errors. Hezbollah, by contrast, fought a war on Iran's account that
entrenched division among the Lebanese. And in divided Yemen, the Houthis have
deepened both the division and the suffering.
The contradiction in Iranian discourse is this: A state that raises the banner
of defending national soil against attack from abroad, and of rejecting any
foreign interference in the region's affairs, while at the same time turning
into another "abroad" itself- imposing hegemony and sowing division inside other
countries. A jolting paradox.
The Makkah Agreement: From Crisis Management to the Making of Deterrence
Dr. Ibrahim Al-OthaiminAsharq Al-Awsat/August 19/2026
The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, signed on August 7, between Saudi Arabia,
Türkiye, and Pakistan, marks an important development in the course of strategic
relations among the three countries, not only because it establishes a long-term
joint defense framework, but because it comes at a sensitive stage in which the
regional security environment is undergoing deep and accelerating shifts, and in
which building partnerships better able to confront and deter challenges matters
more and more. The significance of the Makkah agreement, therefore, does not
stop at its military details; it extends to broader shifts that may shape part
of the regional security landscape in the period ahead. The first of these
shifts, in my view, is the move from crisis management to the building of
deterrence, which the agreement reveals clearly. The wars the Gulf region has
witnessed - beginning with the Iran-Iraq war, which lasted eight years, through
the Second Gulf War of 1990-1991, then the Iraq war of 2003, and on to the
successive crises and repeated attacks on energy facilities - differ in nature
but share a recurring security pattern: dealing with crises after they occur.
Gulf security has for the most part moved only after a threat has materialized,
to contain it and limit its consequences, rather than building equations of
deterrence that keep it from arising in the first place. Here, the value of the
Makkah agreement's joint-defense provision stands out, since it stipulates that
any armed attack on one of the three states is considered an attack on all
parties to it. When aggression against a single state becomes aggression
touching all three, the calculations of any party contemplating escalation
change, because the cost of confrontation grows larger and wider. This is the
essence of deterrence: that clarity of commitment and complementarity of
capabilities should suffice to prevent a threat before it occurs, rather than
merely deal with it afterward. The second shift concerns the widening of the
circle of regional security. The agreement brings together three states
belonging to different and complementary geopolitical circles. Saudi Arabia lies
at the heart of the Gulf and the Arab world and, by virtue of its position and
its political and economic weight, forms a principal center in the equation of
regional security. It is also directly bound up with the security of the Gulf
and the Red Sea and with the routes of energy and trade, which ties its security
to a wide range of regional challenges. Türkiye adds a weight extending toward
the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, while Pakistan represents an
important strategic and military extension toward South Asia. Saudi Arabia thus
finds itself at the heart of a broad geopolitical space linking three regions of
great importance for security, trade, and energy. This gives the agreement a
dimension beyond cooperation among the three countries alone, and opens the way
to wider coordination in defense, training, and military industries. It also
reflects a shift toward diversifying security partnerships and widening options.
The agreement's real value remains its capacity to convert political
understanding into sustained cooperation and shared capabilities on the ground.
The third shift is that diversifying partnerships does not mean replacing
existing alliances. This matters particularly for Saudi Arabia, bound to the US
by an established strategic relationship extending more than eight decades, of
which the defense and security partnership is among the most important pillars,
and which was recently reinforced by the signing of the strategic defense
agreement between the two countries. The Makkah agreement, then, does not come
as a substitute for that relationship; it adds a new space of cooperation and a
widening of options. This is confirmed by President Donald Trump's welcoming of
the agreement and his description of it as a big, bold, and important step - a
sign that building greater regional capabilities can proceed in parallel with
existing international partnerships rather than at their expense.
In the end, the importance of the Makkah agreement may lie less in the volume of
power the three countries combine than in the message it sends: that the
region's security is no longer a matter of waiting on what others do, but a
responsibility that begins with building the capacity to deter, widens through
partnerships, and rests on a network of established international relations.
Perhaps this is the most important shift of all - that the region should move
gradually from managing its security in times of crisis to taking part in making
the environment that keeps those crises from arising at all.
The global land agenda’s moment of truth
Osama Faqeeha & Bradley Hiller/Arab News/August 19, 2026
Every second, land degradation claims four football fields of healthy terrain,
resulting in a yearly loss equivalent to two Spains. As one would expect, the
costs of these losses are staggering, putting billions of people at risk and
draining the global economy of nearly $1 trillion annually. Left unchecked, up
to 95 percent of the world’s land could be degraded — defined as a loss of
capability to produce benefits from a particular use — by 2050, with droughts
hitting more than three-quarters of the world’s population.
Nonetheless, there is cause for optimism. As delegates gather in Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia, for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification, there is growing momentum for a more ambitious global response.
The summit’s theme, “Restoring Land. Restoring Hope,” reflects a growing
recognition that land restoration is not just an environmental imperative but an
economic and development opportunity.
For the first time, the key ingredients for large-scale land restoration —
political will, international cooperation, implementation capacity and financing
— are beginning to align. Five recent signs suggest that this could be the
moment when we turn ambition into action.
The first is broader participation in the UN Convention to Combat
Desertification process. COP16 in Riyadh in 2024 was the largest and most
inclusive such summit to date. It elevated land use and drought on the global
agenda and linked them to issues such as food and water security, gender
equality and land tenure. The landmark result was the Riyadh Action Agenda, the
first global framework dedicated to land, which has since brought together more
than 100 public and private partners.
COP16 also mobilized $12 billion for programs like the Riyadh Global Drought
Resilience Partnership, alongside expanded private sector engagement through
Business4Land. Now, two forthcoming Riyadh Action Agenda initiatives — Land &
Soil Breakthroughs and the Community Platform — aim to accelerate progress as
countries increasingly translate political commitments into national drought
plans and land degradation neutrality targets.
The second sign is the progress made toward greater convergence among the Rio
Conventions. For decades, the climate, biodiversity and land agendas that
emerged from the 1992 Rio Earth Summit advanced separately. Yet they are now
increasingly seen as interconnected dimensions of a single planetary crisis — an
understanding that is long overdue and essential to developing more integrated
approaches to policymaking, finance and implementation.
COP16 reinforced this new thinking with a decision to strengthen collaboration
among the Rio Conventions. The same trend is apparent across a wide range of
initiatives, from the water, energy, food and ecosystem nexus and various just
transition frameworks to more integrated sustainable finance taxonomies.
Indeed, the momentum behind these new forms of collaboration continues to build.
Both the Belem Joint Statement and the Antalya Dialogue on Rio Convention
synergies signal growing recognition that 2026 — when the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the
UN Convention to Combat Desertification hold COPs within months of one another —
offers a timely opportunity to align efforts to address the planetary crisis.
Land restoration is not just an environmental imperative but an economic and
development opportunity.
The third promising sign is the growing leadership role of developing and
emerging economies. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s COP-hosting
record reflects this shift. Since 2013, every biennial summit has been hosted by
a developing or emerging economy, from Namibia and China to India and Ivory
Coast, with Egypt expected to host COP18. And national initiatives are
reinforcing the same trend. Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative, Pakistan’s Ten
Billion Tree Tsunami, the Saudi Green Initiative and China’s Three-North
Shelterbelt Program all demonstrate that large-scale restoration is achievable.
Then there is the growing ecosystem of global partnerships, from the Brazil-led
Resilient Agriculture Investment for Net-Zero Land Degradation initiative to
local networks advancing restoration and resilience across Asia, Africa and
Latin America. Together, these developments point to a new reality: developing
and emerging economies are increasingly shaping the vision and driving the
implementation of the global land agenda.
The fourth sign is the emergence of a new generation of large-scale restoration
initiatives. Beyond national efforts, restoration programs are now operating
across entire regions, joining a lineage that traces back to the 2011 Bonn
Challenge, which aims to restore 350 million hectares of degraded and deforested
landscapes by 2030. For example, the Middle East Green Initiative, backed by
almost 30 endorsing countries, seeks to plant 50 billion trees and restore 200
million hectares.
At the same time, the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership works to
shield the world’s 74 most drought-vulnerable countries. In Africa, the Great
Green Wall is regaining momentum, with support from 22 countries, while
Initiative 20x20 has rallied 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries around
restoration commitments. Together, these initiatives demonstrate that
restoration is no longer just a national undertaking but increasingly a regional
and continental one.
While much remains to be done, it is clear that the global land agenda has
reached a turning point.
The fifth sign is the mobilization of capital. After years of chronic
underinvestment, finance for land restoration and drought resilience is
beginning to scale up. Climate financing by multilateral development banks has
increased in recent years, reaching a record $163 billion in 2025, some of which
benefits land and promotes drought resilience.More importantly, the financing
model is evolving rapidly. Initiatives such as the Middle East Green Initiative
and the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership are designed to use
strategic public funding to unlock far larger pools of concessional and private
capital. Innovative vehicles are accelerating this shift. Luxembourg’s Drought
Resilience Investment Facility aims not only to fund drought resilience but to
build a viable market for it. And private sector coalitions such as
Business4Land, together with instruments such as thematic bonds and resilience
credits, are helping redefine healthy land as a productive asset capable of
generating economic, social and environmental returns.While much remains to be
done, it is clear that the global land agenda has reached a turning point. The
question is no longer whether large-scale land restoration is possible but
whether governments, institutions and investors can move quickly enough to
convert unprecedented momentum into action before the costs of delay become
prohibitive.
*Osama Faqeeha is Deputy Minister of Environment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
and Chief Adviser to the UNCCD COP16 President. Bradley Hiller is Lead Climate
Change Specialist at the Islamic Development Bank. Copyright: Project Syndicate
Alliance of Sahel States’ multibillion-dollar ‘gold pipeline’
Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/August 19, 2026
The collapse of West Africa’s political order last year assumed an oddly
bureaucratic tone. The Economic Community of West African States formally
confirmed the departure of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, even as the bloc
preserved a six-month transition for visas, trade and passport recognition.
Diplomatic language made the rupture sound manageable, yet the underlying
economic break was considerably more consequential. The three states had already
built the machinery of separation. The Alliance of Sahel States, created in
September 2023 as a mutual defense pact, acquired a confederal structure a year
later, complete with a planned import levy and a proposed regional development
bank. By the time the ECOWAS exit became official, the juntas had moved beyond
rejecting Western political conditions. They were beginning to assemble an
economic system designed to function with less reliance on them.
And gold sits at the center of this transformation.
The three Alliance of Sahel States economies collectively produce about 230
tonnes of gold a year. At a spot price of just over $4,380 per troy ounce, that
volume carries a gross market value of about $32.4 billion. A staggering figure
representing a little more than half the combined gross domestic product of the
three economies, corresponding to the value of gold extracted, not government
revenue, export earnings or money available to the juntas.
It is a distinction central to understanding the Sahel’s new political economy.
Gold does not need to make Mali, Burkina Faso or Niger rich to make their
governments harder to isolate. A commodity with enormous value relative to its
physical weight can finance imports, secure hard currency, attract foreign
partners and compensate for weaknesses in conventional financial channels. Every
additional point in the chain that governments control can increase the share of
that value they retain. Gold does not need to make Mali, Burkina Faso or Niger
rich to make their governments harder to isolate. As a result, the overall
strategy has already moved in this direction. Mali’s 2023 mining code raised the
potential state stake in mining projects from 20 percent to 35 percent. Burkina
Faso has created a state mining participation company while increasing royalties
on higher-value production. Niger has gone further, nationalizing the Somair
uranium operation previously controlled by France’s Orano and revoking licenses
held by several Western companies.
Moreover, a parallel monetary system is also being discussed. Alliance of Sahel
States officials have floated a common central bank and currency to replace the
CFA franc, whose reserve arrangements have long been politically contentious. A
functioning gold-backed currency remains difficult to imagine given the bloc’s
limited reserve-management and monetary institutions. However, it does signal
that gold, bilateral settlement and physical commodities are likely to become
alternatives to conventional currency channels. What’s more, Western and ECOWAS
assumptions have another problem. Regional growth can remain respectable while
regional integration deteriorates. ECOWAS projected 5 percent growth for 2026
and 7.1 percent for 2027, yet those aggregates say little about who controls the
mineral rents being generated inside the bloc’s former Sahelian core. The three
departing states remove about 70 million consumers from the customs union while
taking major mineral assets outside its institutional framework.
A useful way to read the break, therefore, is vertically rather than
horizontally. ECOWAS measures economic integration through trade, markets and
formal institutions. The Alliance of Sahel States is increasingly pursuing
sovereignty through control of a “gold pipeline” running from mine to tax office
to refinery to foreign buyer. Put simply, the political exit was the
announcement — the pipeline is the project. The most revealing part of the
Sahel’s commodity story begins where the official export figures stop making
sense. However, the most revealing part of the Sahel’s commodity story begins
where the official export figures stop making sense. Take Mali, for instance. In
2019, it was reported to have sold nearly 81 tonnes of Malian gold to a single
country, but Bamako declared only about half a tonne of this. SWISSAID has
estimated that between 30 tonnes and 57 tonnes of Malian gold may be smuggled
out each year, representing $1.98 billion to $3.77 billion in undeclared trade.
Between 2012 and 2022, the cumulative quantity of undeclared Malian gold was
estimated at about 300 tonnes, worth some $13.5 billion.
Elsewhere, Niger’s official gold exports in 2022 amounted to only 235 kg, worth
less than €10 million ($11.5 million), but again just one country recorded €457
million in gold imports from Niger. Burkina Faso is estimated to lose about $490
million a year through smuggling and under-declaration. Togo, meanwhile,
reported billions of dollars-worth of gold exports in 2024 despite producing
little gold itself. The figures do not prove every tonne originated in the
Alliance of Sahel States but they expose how poorly national production
statistics map onto the bullion actually reaching international markets.
Physical gold makes the problem unusually difficult to police. Couriers
reportedly move between 10 kg and 40 kg per trip. A $500 airfare is irrelevant
when the passenger is carrying bullion easily worth hundreds of thousands to
millions of dollars. The transaction also bears little resemblance to
conventional commodity trade: the gold can move through intermediaries, change
hands for cash and enter a refining system where its provenance becomes
progressively harder to reconstruct.
Domestic refining could change things even further. Burkina Faso launched a
national refinery in late 2024 with an annual capacity of 150 tonnes a year.
Mali broke ground in June 2025 on a refinery designed to process 200 tonnes,
with 62 percent state ownership and the remainder held by Russia’s Yadran Group
and a Swiss investor. The Malian facility is designed for 99.5 percent purity
and has been explicitly presented as a regional processor capable of handling
gold from neighboring Burkina Faso.
This lurch to refining matters because it captures a stage of the value chain
that producers have historically outsourced. More importantly, high-purity
bullion is highly fungible. Once ore has become standardized bars, the questions
shift from where the metal was mined to who is willing to buy it.
Russia enters the system at this point, with Kremlin-associated networks linked
to more than $2.5 billion in African gold flows since 2022, while Wagner
Group-linked forces reportedly gained access to Mali’s Intahaka artisanal mine
and received payment for security services.
A mine, a security contractor, a refinery and an offshore buyer can therefore
become parts of one circuit in which gold finances security; security protects
access to gold; refining increases the commodity’s portability; and offshore
markets convert bullion into currencies, imports or further strategic
relationships.
Ultimately, the Alliance of Sahel States juntas’ vertical sovereignty is
complete: control over mine, refinery, transport and buyer transforms gold from
commodity into instrument of state power. The laundering machine will eventually
transcend gold itself — turning into a conversion mechanism in which
commodities, illicit flows, nationalization decrees, external security
guarantees and political rhetoric are endlessly transmuted into one another,
making Western isolation of a sufficiently autonomous political system
tolerable.
*Hafed Al-Ghwell is senior fellow and program director at the Stimson Center in
Washington and senior fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian
Studies. X: @HafedAlGhwell
Makkah Agreement set to trigger a regional grassroots
movement
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/August 19, 2026
The signing of the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and
Turkiye this month triggered several reactions. Some countries welcomed it,
others had a more reserved approach and some were outright alarmed at seeing
three important Muslim countries come together. Since the agreement was
announced, hundreds of articles have been published and hundreds of interviews
given to analyze its implications for regional and even global security.
However, few have examined its effects on the grassroots level. The agreement
has awakened a new consciousness among the people of the region. For the first
time, they feel they have the power of self-determination. A new movement has
already been born in Lebanon and it has the potential to spread across the
region. This is very important. People believe they can own their security and
their fate. They do not need to be attached to a foreign power, whether that is
the US, Russia or China. This comes after a century of relying on foreign powers
for protection. During and after the First World War, US President Woodrow
Wilson spoke about self-determination as being the cornerstone of global peace.
But the Middle East did not enjoy self-determination. This was more of a slogan
to cover for Western dominance. The Levant, for example, had to endure the
Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Balfour Declaration. After the Second World War,
the region had to choose either the Soviet camp or the American one. Even after
the fall of the Soviet Union, the region still had to have external protection.
Today, the countries of the region are realizing their own power if they come
together. They no longer need to rely on foreign powers.
States in the region have finally realized that security stems from themselves,
not from a foreign power.
It is also about a new mentality in the region. It is based on cooperation,
balance and stability. The region has long been torn between competing
ideologies and competing camps. The states and people of the region always had
to choose a camp. In the 1950s, it was the pan-Arab, pro-Soviet or pro-West
camp. More recently, it has been either the pro-West or the Iranian camp. The
Makkah Agreement changes things. This alliance is based on coming together to
achieve prosperity and security for all. States in the region have finally
realized that competition and confrontation lead to nowhere. They have also
realized that the security they seek stems from themselves, not from a foreign
power. “The region is witnessing a transformation. The agreement between Saudi
Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan opens the door for a new era of regional relations
that will deliver prosperity and security to its people, and we don’t want
Lebanon to be left behind,” said Amine Bashir, a Lebanese lawyer and activist.
He is starting, along with other like-minded activists, the “Justice and Freedom
Movement.”According to Bashir, the Makkah Agreement opens a new chapter in the
region and Lebanon should seize the opportunity to realize its own
self-determination. He added the new movement is not taking the side of one axis
over another, simply because it does not view the Makkah Agreement as involving
an axis. The pact is not aimed against anyone but is rather focused on
benefiting its members. The agreement sets the concept of balanced partnerships.
Hence, it is in the interest of Lebanon to have a position within this
framework.
What is interesting about this movement is that it comes from the grassroots,
from activists in touch with ordinary people. This tells you a lot about the
Makkah Agreement and why it is set to be a success. It is not about regional
leaders meeting up and signing a piece of paper. It is about the will of the
people. People in the region are fed up with empty slogans that lead them
nowhere. They want to see concrete results. This pact transcends fake ideologies
or ethnicities. It talks to every one of us. It talks about how people can live
in dignity and peace, how they can prosper by relying on themselves and how they
can craft a better future for their children.This pact transcends fake
ideologies or ethnicities. It talks about how people can live in dignity and
peace. For Lebanon, the Makkah Agreement is very important. In its manifesto,
the Justice and Freedom Movement states that it believes that the upcoming phase
will witness a shift from a policy of axes to a policy of partnerships and from
dependency on foreign powers to independence and self-reliance. It is a platform
that can give Lebanon leverage when negotiating with Israel. In the activists’
view, Lebanon should be part of this framework in order to be able to talk with
Israel on an equal footing and not be forced to accept humiliating conditions.
Bashir said Lebanon has a chance — instead of being pulled by competing axes —
to be part of an attempt to create stability in the region.
This nascent movement is only an example of how people think. The same way those
in Lebanon think that the Makkah Agreement could be their salvation, I am sure
many Iraqis, Syrians, Jordanians and others think the same. The fact this
agreement transcends leaderships and trickles down to the grassroots means it is
sustainable. Popular acceptance of the Makkah Agreement will give it momentum to
grow bigger and stronger. Again, it is not only about three leaders meeting and
signing a piece of paper, it is about the people of the region wanting to take
their fate into their own hands.
**Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on
lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace
Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.
Washington Negotiates with the Revolutionary Guard: US
Admits Control Over Iranian Decision-Making
Laura Yamin/Al-Markazia/August 19, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Al-Markazia – US President Donald Trump stated that Washington has both direct
and back channels of communication with officials in the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard, emphasizing that he is not in a hurry regarding Iran and does not have a
specific timetable. This comes as the Axios website revealed details of secret
communications between the US administration and the Revolutionary Guard
leadership through the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nechirvan
Barzani. For his part, Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's envoy, stated in
an interview with Fox News that talks between the United States and "various
sectors of the Iranian government" are more serious than ever, but the two sides
have not yet reached an understanding.
In response, the Revolutionary Guard denied the validity of Trump's statements
regarding "direct" contact with its officials. According to the Iranian news
agency Tasnim, the Guard stated that "Trump's claims of conducting
behind-the-scenes talks with the Revolutionary Guard are merely delusions
stemming from defeat and impotence in the war." He added, "There are no talks
between Revolutionary Guard officials and the Americans, and diplomatic matters
fall under the purview of other parties." Despite this denial, diplomatic
sources told Al-Markazia that such communication is likely to have taken place,
via a Kurdish mediator. It may be ongoing or it may have ceased, but the
important point, according to the sources, is its implications. The American
administration seems to have realized that the power to make decisions in Iran
has completely slipped from the hands of the pragmatic political and diplomatic
team in the country, and is now entirely in the hands of the Revolutionary
Guard. Therefore, it understands that if it truly wants to reach an agreement
with Iran, it cannot sit down with those it is currently negotiating
with—namely, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, or
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi—but must reach an understanding directly with the
actual decision-makers in Iran, namely the Revolutionary Guard. Otherwise, the
negotiations will be a waste of time and will continue to spin in a vicious
cycle. Is this an American acknowledgment that the final word in the Islamic
Republic now belongs to the Revolutionary Guard? The question remains whether
they have informed Washington that they do not want any compromises with it,
especially since they do not hide their intention to move from defense to
offense, and what will the United States do if that is the case?
The Makkah Agreement: From Crisis Management to Deterrence
Building
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Othaimeen/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/August 19, 2025
(Google translation from Arabic)
The Makkah Agreement for Joint Defense, signed on August 7, 2026, between the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, represents a significant
development in the strategic relations between the three countries. This is not
only because it establishes a long-term joint defense framework, but also
because it comes at a sensitive juncture marked by profound and rapid
transformations in the regional security environment, making it increasingly
important to build partnerships more capable of confronting and deterring
challenges. Therefore, the importance of the Makkah Agreement extends beyond its
military details, encompassing broader transformations that may shape aspects of
the regional security landscape in the coming period. The first of these
transformations, in my view, is the shift from crisis management to deterrence
building, a shift clearly demonstrated by this agreement. The wars that the Gulf
region has witnessed, from the eight-year Iran-Iraq War to the Second Gulf War
(1990-1991), the 2003 Iraq War, and the subsequent crises and repeated attacks
on energy facilities, despite their varying natures, share a recurring security
pattern: dealing with crises after they occur. Gulf security has generally been
reactive, focusing on containing and mitigating the repercussions of threats
rather than establishing deterrents to prevent them from happening in the first
place. Herein, in my view, lies the value and importance of the joint defense
principle enshrined in the Mecca Agreement, which stipulates that “any armed
attack targeting one of the three states is considered an attack on all three.”
When an attack on one state becomes an attack on all three, the calculations of
any party contemplating escalation change, as the cost of confrontation becomes
greater and more widespread. This is the essence of deterrence: that clear
commitment and integrated capabilities are sufficient to prevent threats before
they materialize, rather than merely reacting to them afterward. The second
shift relates to the expansion of the regional security sphere. The agreement
brings together three countries belonging to different yet complementary
geopolitical spheres. Saudi Arabia, situated at the heart of the Gulf and the
Arab world, constitutes, by virtue of its location and political and economic
weight, a key player in the regional security equation. It is directly linked to
the security of the Gulf, the Red Sea, and energy and trade routes, making its
security intertwined with a wide range of regional challenges. Turkey adds to
this sphere a weight extending towards the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black
Sea, while Pakistan represents a significant strategic and military extension
towards South Asia. Thus, Saudi Arabia finds itself at the center of a vast
geopolitical space connecting three regions of paramount importance for
security, trade, and energy. This gives the agreement a dimension that
transcends mere cooperation between the three countries, opening the door to
broader coordination in defense, training, and military industries. It also
reflects a trend towards diversifying security partnerships and expanding
options. The true value of the agreement lies in its ability to translate
political understanding into sustained cooperation and shared capabilities on
the ground. The third key shift is that diversifying partnerships does not imply
replacing existing alliances. This is particularly important for Saudi Arabia,
which has a long-standing strategic relationship with the United States spanning
more than eight decades, with defense and security partnerships forming one of
its cornerstones. This partnership was recently strengthened by the signing of
the Strategic Defense Agreement between the two countries. Therefore, the Makkah
Agreement is not intended to replace this relationship, but rather to expand
cooperation and broaden options. This is underscored by US President Donald
Trump's welcoming of the agreement, describing it as a significant, bold, and
important step, reflecting that building greater regional capabilities can
proceed in parallel with, not at the expense of, existing international
partnerships. Ultimately, the significance of the Makkah Agreement may not lie
in the combined power of the three countries, but rather in the message it
sends: that regional security is no longer a matter of waiting for others to
act, but rather a responsibility that begins with building deterrence
capabilities, expands through partnerships, and is based on a network of
established international relations. Perhaps this is the most important shift:
that the region is gradually moving from managing its security during crises to
actively participating in creating the environment that prevents such crises in
the first place.
Selected Face Book & X tweets
on August 19/2026
Darya Safai MP
The assassination attempt on Fouad Pashaei, Secretary-General of the
Constitutionalist Party of Iran, is alarming news that indicates the lack of
personal security for political activists in the opposition to the bloodthirsty
regime of the Islamic Republic. U.S. police are investigating the perpetrators
of this assassination. The Islamic Republic has desperately sought and continues
to seek the assassination of Iranian opposition figures, and as long as the
Islamic Republic exists, the world will not see the color of peace. We stand
alongside this steadfast man and his esteemed family, and we wish them the
swiftest possible recovery.
Jean-Noël Barrot
The Iranian people, a great people, are the primary victims of this period of
extreme tension in the Middle East, caught in a vise between the bloody
repression of the January 2026 protests and the bombings.
It is precisely because France stands alongside the Iranian people, supporting
its artists, scientists, and researchers, that two French diplomats were
scandalously and deliberately assaulted last July 19.
I had announced that this intolerable act would be followed by consequences. It
has been done. Two Iranian diplomats in France will be expelled in the coming
days.
David Albright
The Syrian reactor would have held 50 tonnes of natural uranium metal. There is
also evidence that Syria also worked on putting together a facility to separate
plutonium from the reactor’s irradiated fuel to be produced in the reactor. The
reactor was destroyed by Israel in September 2007 when it was near completion.
Bassem Eid
BREAKING NEWS: The United Arab Emirates is suspending all trade, commercial
exchange, and financial transactions with the Islamic Republic of Iran, "in
light of regional escalations that undermine regional and international peace
and security."The UAE was the first country to join the Abraham Accords. Now
it's the first Muslim country to take major action against the Iranian Regime.
Other Muslim countries should follow suit; if they do, there could be a chance
for real peace in the region.
Trump War Room
https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2089428012181708989/video/1
"We have a plan to rebuild Gaza, but we will not allow Gaza to be rebuilt until
the demilitarization occurs. Nobody wants to put more money into a place that's
gone on for so long if it's just going to be taken over by terrorists or blown
up again." https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2089428012181708989/video/1
Joe Truzman
I have tracked Palestinian armed groups for a decade. Hamas’s assurances to
Jared Kushner are a strategic deception, not a genuine commitment to
disarm.Hamas'a weapons are the foundation of its power. It has no intention of
surrendering them.
Israel Foreign Ministry
The murder of Nader Boulos Tannous, a Syrian Christian who returned from Sweden
to rebuild his life in Syria, raises serious concerns. Christians are among the
Middle East’s most ancient indigenous communities. Their security must be
guaranteed.
Tom Harb
Nader Boulos Tannous was murdered for trying to rebuild his life.
A Syrian Christian from Wadi al-Nasara, he left Sweden, returned home, and
opened a salon in Homs. Gunmen shot him dead on 15 August 2026. He was his
parents’ only son.
Christians are indigenous to Syria, not guests. Their security is the real test
of Ahmed al-Sharaa’s leadership. Photo-ops and empty promises of inclusion mean
nothing while minorities face killings, intimidation, and curricula that breed
contempt. International legitimacy must be earned by results not rhetoric.
Protect the vulnerable, stop the attrition, or forfeit any claim to a pluralist
“new Syria”.
Foreign Ministry @KSAmofaEN
Statement | The Foreign Ministry expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s
strongest condemnation of the airstrikes carried out by the Israeli occupying
forces targeting Abu al-Duhur Military Airport in Syria’s Idlib Governorate, in
a blatant violation of international law and the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab
Republic.
Hillel Neuer
It's time for Canada to finally wake up and remove every single IRGC regime
official from the country.
Quote
Mark Dubowitz
There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Iran regime officials living in
Canada. They threaten Iranian Canadians, Jewish Canadians, and ultimately all
Canadians. Their presence is a national security threat and a national disgrace.
x.com/stewglobal/sta…
Max Meizlish
There is one very important thing to remember about how money moves to Iran
through the UAE. It is often indirect. And that’s not what this new policy
appears to address.
Billions of dollars of the regime’s sanctioned oil revenue moves through UAE by
way of opaque shell companies based in China/Hong Kong. That means halting all
DIRECT trade, commercial exchange, and financial transactions with Iran may
still allow billions in oil revenue to reach the regime INDIRECTLY.
As has always been the case, to solve the problem of Iranian sanctions evasion,
more pressure must be put on the regime’s enablers in China. UAE deserves credit
for this long overdue move, but the U.S. needs to keep up the pressure and
ensure banks in the Emirates apply enhanced due diligence on transactions for
which there is reason to suspect possible Iranian sanctions evasion/shadow
banking. FinCEN’s June 2025 advisory identifies many such red flags and
typologies of evasion. https://fincen.gov/system/files/advisory/2025-06-06/FinCEN-Advisory-Illicit-Oil-Smuggling-508.pdf
Quote
Afra Al Hameli
Director of the Strategic Communications Department at MoFA: All Trade,
Commercial Exchange, and Financial Transactions with Iran Halted.The Director of
the Strategic Communications Department at the
Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications
The untenable allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office are
intended to legitimise Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity. The imputations
voiced stem from Netanyahu’s intent to pursue expansionist and destabilising
policies in the region ahead of the elections in Israel. Türkiye, like the vast
majority of the international community, stands for the consolidation of lasting
peace in our region. The sole path to this objective lies in Netanyahu’s
abandonment of his aggressive and coercive policies and in his respect for
international law. Türkiye will resolutely continue to
cooperate with the Syrian Government on a legitimate basis for the establishment
of peace, stability, and prosperity in Syria, and will never allow the
destabilisation of Syria.