English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News &
Editorials
For August 31/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2026/english.August
31.26.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
When you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless
slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 17/05-10/:’The apostles
said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the
size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and
planted in the sea”, and it would obey you. ‘Who among you would say to your
slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come
here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him,
“Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink;
later you may eat and drink”?Do you thank the slave for doing what was
commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say,
“We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” ’
Titles For The English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on August 30-31/2026
Patriarch Al-Rahi and President Aoun
Commit a Deadly Sin and Violate the Constitution by Falsely Deeming the Iranian,
Terrorist Hezbollah a "Partner" and Its Formation the Result of Occupation/Elias
Bejjani/August 31, 2026
Statement of Condemnation and Solidarity with Lebanese Sovereignist Writer and
Director Youssef El Khoury/Elias Bejjani/August 29/2026
Yes to peace with Israel & no the Jihadist-Iranian Hezbollah/Elias Bejjani/August
28/2026
Youssef El Khoury/Abou Arz/Facebook/August 30, 2026
Lebanese Foreign Ministry Responds to Araqchi: Rational Relations Between States
Require Respect for Sovereignty and Dealing with State Institutions
King Abdullah II Receives Army Commander, Affirms Jordan's Support for Lebanon
and its Efforts to Preserve its Security and Sovereignty
Berri Discusses Developments with Jumblatt and Receives His Memoirs, "A Destiny
in This Levant"
Iran Links Hamas, its Allies’ Weapons in Lebanon to Hezbollah’s Arms
Patriarch Rai: The state is not built by defeating one partner, but by uniting
all partners under its umbrella.
Metropolitan Audeh: We may not be able to change everything in our country, but
we can change our flawed thinking and lifestyle.
Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: UNIFIL Alternative Is Another Force Operating under UN
Banner
US says Lebanese state ‘sole legitimate interlocutor’
Aoun says south won't remain a 'forgotten region' or 'bargaining chip'
US says Hezbollah doesn't want to talk to anyone
Qassem: Resistance will ultimately defeat the enemy's project
U.S. Congressman LaHood pushes Lebanon to break Hezbollah’s grip/Amal Chmouny/Beiruter/August
30/2026
The envoy who said too much/Dr. Ramzi Abou Ismail/Beiruter/August 30/2026
Exclusive to The Beiruter: A growing Maronite presence in Jordan/Michella Rizk/Beiruter/Beiruter/August
30/2026
Lebanon archaeological finds showcase rich heritage despite war woes
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on
August 30-31/2026
US strikes Iranian launchers on Larak Island
over Strait of Hormuz mine threat
Iran strikes US forces in Jordan after US attack on Larak Island
Iran supreme leader calls for unity among Muslim countries
Iran supreme leader calls for unity among Muslim countries
US must fulfill commitments for Hormuz to reopen, Tehran is in no hurry: Iranian
deputy FM
Trump Says US Will Refill Strategic Petroleum Reserve Using Venezuelan Oil
Venezuela Says Retains ‘Sovereignty’ in US Oil Deal
Netanyahu Condemns Israeli Settler Attack in Flashpoint West Bank Village
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan to hold first Mecca defense pact meeting in
Istanbul
Israeli strike kills two people including a 3-year-old boy, Gaza medics say
Israel Army Says Struck Hamas Commander in Gaza Hospital Compound
US News Agency Says Crew Attacked by Israeli Settlers in West Bank
Far-Right Israeli Minister Boasts of Worse Prison Conditions for Palestinians
Al-Hijri Gunmen Prevent Students in Syria’s Sweida from Sitting for Official
Exams
Two killed near Druze-majority Sweida in Syria: sources
Syrian security forces kill former Assad-era army commander during arrest
attempt
Death toll from Russia strike on Ukraine arms depot rises to 38
At least six dead after ferry carrying nearly 270 people capsizes off northern
Cyprus
Egypt’s Banque Misr reviews US Iran sanctions notice, UAE launches urgent
examination
Rescuers dig into tunnel as missing toll from Nepal, China flood tops 3,000
Google Maps Will Show ‘Lake America’ in US, not ‘Lake Ontario’
Russia Says Preparing ‘Massive Strikes’ on Ukraine’s Energy Sector
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published
on August 30-31/2026
Why Is the Trump Administration Determined to Arm Hostile Jihadist States
That Will Outlast It?/Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/August 30, 2026
Dilemmas and Predicaments/Samir Atallah/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
Era of Inventing Identities...to Make Falsifying History Easier/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq
Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
China between the Gulf and Iran/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/August
30/2026
Iran and the Duality of Political Memory/Kifah Mahmood/Asharq Al-Awsat/August
30/2026
Masoud's Advice and the Supreme Leader's Message/Mishary Dhayidi/Asharq Al-Awsat/August
30/2026
Emerging Kurdish role in Syria can be a win-win/Hani Hazaimeh/Arab News/August
30/2026
Netanyahu’s escalation with Turkiye smacks of desperation/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab
News/August 30/2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets on August 30/2026
Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on August 30-31/2026
Patriarch Al-Rahi and President Aoun
Commit a Deadly Sin and Violate the Constitution by Falsely Deeming the Iranian,
Terrorist Hezbollah a "Partner" and Its Formation the Result of Occupation
Elias Bejjani/August 31, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/08/157089/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRZ4e9sEe-o&t=230s
Yesterday, His Beatitude Patriarch Al-Rahi committed a glaring national mistake
that violates the constitution and all legal and rights-based norms, in addition
to a full-fledged deadly sin when he considered Hezbollah to be a partner in his
sermon (the text of his remarks is at the bottom), where he stated: "What is
required is to approach matters with wisdom and national responsibility, for the
state is not built by defeating a partner, but by the gathering of all partners
under its roof."
In the same falsifying context, President Joseph repeatedly says on every
occasion and without occasion that Hezbollah was formed as a result of the
occupation. Meanwhile, the truth—well known to him and to every Lebanese
citizen—is that Hezbollah is an Iranian, terrorist, criminal, jihadist gang that
manufactures and trades in all contraband. As its leaders themselves boast, they
are an Iranian army in formation, ideology, funding, and reference.
The Patriarch and the President are required either to exercise their
faith-based, national, and constitutional duties or resign, because Lebanon
today faces a historic opportunity to rid itself of the Iranian occupation and
its local gang. Therefore, official and ecclesiastical positions are important
and must not be subservient, cowardly, personalized, or built on personal
interests and benefits.. Enough of Lebanese leaders who are drowning in
subservience, fear, personal benefits, and self-interests..
Statement of Condemnation and Solidarity with
Lebanese Sovereignist Writer and Director Youssef El Khoury
Elias Bejjani/August 29/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/08/157044/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=009wMFHGnf8
I, Elias Bejjani, in my own name and on behalf of the Lebanese in occupied
Lebanon and the Diaspora who share my national and faith-based aspirations for a
free, sovereign, independent, democratic Lebanon, liberated from the Iranian
Jihadist occupation and from the domination of its Lebanese mercenary tools,
condemn in the strongest terms the lawsuit filed by the Higher Islamic Shiite
Council against the Lebanese sovereignist writer, director, and activist Youssef
El Khoury, against the backdrop of his political views and national positions,
which he expressed freely and responsibly within the framework of his natural
and constitutional right to freedom of expression.
This lawsuit cannot be separated from the climate of intimidation that has
prevailed in the Lebanese arena for decades, where religious, political, and
judicial institutions are often used as tools of pressure to silence free and
independent voices that refuse to submit to Iran’s project of domination over
Lebanon and call for the restoration of the sovereignty of the state and for the
exclusive possession of weapons by the Lebanese legitimate authorities.
The Higher Islamic Shiite Council was established to serve as a national
reference concerned with the affairs of members of the Lebanese Shiite community
and to defend their interests and rights within the framework of the Lebanese
state. However, its non-Lebanese and Iranized positions and practices have led a
broad segment of Lebanese, including many free members of the Shiite community,
to regard it as a political institution completely aligned with Hezbollah’s
choices and with the expansionist and terrorist agenda of the Iranian regime,
rather than expressing the aspirations of free Lebanese Shiites who aspire to a
free, sovereign, and independent state.
Turning political and intellectual disagreement into judicial prosecutions, and
summoning public prosecution authorities and security agencies to confront an
opinion, a position, or a historical interpretation, constitutes a serious
violation of the principles of freedom, democracy, and pluralism upon which
Lebanon was founded. Ideas are not confronted with lawsuits, opinions are not
answered with intimidation, and intellectual debate is not settled in
courtrooms.
Youssef El Khoury, this resounding voice in the wilderness of the Land of the
Cedars, has exercised nothing more than his legitimate right to express his
political opinion and his reading of historical events and their contemporary
repercussions. Every citizen has the right to agree or disagree with him, to
debate or criticize him, but no religious or political authority has the right
to monopolize history, faith, or patriotism, or to impose upon the Lebanese a
single interpretation of events and facts under threat of prosecution and
intimidation.
Youssef El Khoury is a free Maronite committed to the words of Our Lord Jesus
Christ to the scribes and Pharisees who asked Him to silence His disciples and
the crowds: “If these were silent, the stones would cry out.”Luke 19:39–40,
What is most dangerous in this case is the continued use of the Lebanese
judiciary in political and ideological battles targeting opponents of
Hezbollah’s criminal project and of the disguised Iranian occupation of Lebanon.
Instead of the judiciary being used to protect citizens, safeguard their rights,
and hold accountable those responsible for the wars, destruction, corruption,
and collapse that have afflicted the country, it is being employed to pursue
sovereignist voices and free national voices.
Together with all the free and honorable Lebanese, I declare our full solidarity
with Youssef El Khoury, and I consider that targeting him is an attack on every
free Lebanese who refuses to submit to the logic of weapons and foreign
tutelage, and on every person of opinion who calls for the establishment of a
genuine sovereign and independent state that is subject to no foreign or militia
influence.
I also affirm that defending Youssef El Khoury’s freedom is a defense of the
freedom of all sovereignist Lebanese, and of their right to think, express
themselves, criticize, and hold others accountable, without fear of
intimidation, accusations of treason, or prosecution.
The Lebanon in which we believe is the Lebanon of freedom, pluralism, and
democracy, not the Lebanon of intellectual repression and silencing of voices.
It is the Lebanon of sovereignty and independence, and of the supremacy of the
state over all external loyalties and axes.
Full solidarity with Youssef El Khoury. And full condemnation of the attempts
to silence free voices through lawsuits and intimidation, and through the
exploitation of religious and judicial institutions to serve political agendas
that have nothing to do with the interests of Lebanon and the Lebanese.
Yes to peace with Israel & no the Jihadist-Iranian
Hezbollah
Elias Bejjani/August 28/2026
To Iran’s mercenaries and the scum of hatred, extremism, and the business of
“resistance”: Yes, a thousand times yes to peace and normalization with the
State of Israel. And Lebanese Jews are above you, and more Lebanese than you
are, you agents of the terrorist mullahs.
Youssef El Khoury
Abou Arz/Facebook/August 30, 2026
This man embodies the sacred Lebanese cause in all its values and dimensions.
Therefore, in national affairs, he is in the position of the accuser, not the
accused.
Shame on you, you who speak ill of him.
We are at your service, Lebanon.
Lebanese Foreign Ministry Responds to Araqchi: Rational
Relations Between States Require Respect for Sovereignty and Dealing with State
Institutions
National News Agency/August 30, 2026
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, in a statement, welcomed the
keenness of the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Abbas
Araqchi, to establish good relations with the Lebanese government. It affirmed
that "Lebanon has always sought, and continues to seek, to establish the best
relations with all countries, including Iran." She also affirmed that she "has
always adopted rationality, openness, and a constructive spirit in approaching
all issues, and expects all her counterparts to adopt the same approach.
Rationality in relations between states presupposes, first and foremost, dealing
with states through their constitutional and legitimate institutions, not with
'parties' or 'factions' within them. Just as Iran, or any other host country,
would not accept the Lebanese ambassador bypassing its official institutions to
deal with parties or factions independently of it, Lebanon does not accept this
either. Relations between states are built with and through states, and respect
for sovereignty is a mutual principle that does not tolerate selectivity or
transgression."
King Abdullah II Receives Army Commander, Affirms Jordan's
Support for Lebanon and its Efforts to Preserve its Security and Sovereignty
National News Agency/August 30, 2026
Jordanian King Abdullah II received Lebanese Army Commander General Rudolph
Heikel on Sunday, in the presence of Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II. The
Petra News Agency reported that King Abdullah affirmed during the meeting, held
at Al-Husseiniya Palace, Jordan's support for brotherly Lebanon and its efforts
to preserve its security and sovereignty. Also present at the meeting were
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Major General Yousef Ahmed Al-Huneiti,
and Director of King Abdullah's Office, Engineer Alaa Al-Batayneh.
Berri Discusses Developments with Jumblatt and Receives His Memoirs, "A Destiny
in This Levant"
National News Agency/August 30, 2026
Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri received former Progressive Socialist Party
leader and former minister Walid Jumblatt at the Second Presidency headquarters
in Ain al-Tineh. Jumblatt presented Speaker Berri with his memoirs, published as
"A Destiny in This Levant." The visit was also an opportunity to discuss
developments in Lebanon and the region, as well as political and field updates.
After the meeting, Jumblatt simply said: "I only presented President Berri with
my memoirs."
Iran Links Hamas, its Allies’ Weapons in Lebanon to
Hezbollah’s Arms
Beirut: Paul Astih/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
As efforts to address Hezbollah’s weapons continue to stall, along with the
domestic dialogue over the issue, discussion of Palestinian weapons inside the
refugee camps has simultaneously receded, despite the fact that the process of
withdrawing those weapons actually began some time ago. With key stages in the
handover of weapons belonging to Palestinian factions of the Palestine
Liberation Organization now completed, attention has turned primarily to weapons
held by factions close to Hezbollah, foremost among them Hamas and Palestinian
Islamic Jihad. Both movements have refused to cooperate with the official
Lebanese-Palestinian understanding on the issue, raising questions over whether
the fate of these weapons will be addressed separately or whether it has, in one
way or another, become tied to the fate of Hezbollah’s own weapons. Since August
2025, the Lebanese Army has taken possession of a large portion of the medium
and heavy weapons belonging to PLO factions. The process took place in stages,
in implementation of the resolutions of the Lebanese-Palestinian summit held on
May 21, 2025, between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas. The resolutions affirmed Lebanon’s sovereignty over its entire
territory, the extension of state authority, and the principle that weapons must
be held exclusively by the state. However, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and
other allied factions rejected the resolutions of the Lebanese-Palestinian
summit. They believe the Lebanese state should address the Palestinian issue in
Lebanon as a single package, meaning that priority should not be given to
weapons over Palestinian rights and demands.
A Bargaining Chip
After US President Donald Trump announced at the end of July that the “Board of
Peace” he chairs had reached an agreement calling for the “full disarmament” of
Hamas and other armed groups in the Gaza Strip, questions emerged over whether
the fate of Hamas's weapons in Lebanon was linked to the fate of its weapons in
Gaza. However, a senior Lebanese official told Asharq Al-Awsat that “what is
preventing the completion of the process of taking possession of Palestinian
weapons deployed inside the camps, specifically the weapons of Hamas,
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and their allies, is that Iran and Hezbollah have
linked the fate of these weapons to the fate of Hezbollah’s weapons, believing
that they can be used as a bargaining chip in any future negotiations.”He noted
that “when Hamas is asked to hand over its weapons in Lebanon, it says the
matter is in Hezbollah’s hands. When Hezbollah is asked about the issue, it says
the time is not right to settle it.”The source explained that “around 60 percent
of the weapons belonging to PLO factions have been handed over, and most of the
remaining weapons are small arms that the factions say they need to maintain
security in the camps and defend themselves in any internal Palestinian
conflict.” He added that “Hamas's main weapons are concentrated in Rashidieh
camp south of the Litani River, including the Grad rockets located there.”
Hamas's Position
On whether the fate of Hamas's weapons in Lebanon is linked to the fate of its
weapons in Gaza, sources within the movement said that, regarding Palestinian
weapons in the Gaza Strip, “the discussion was about restricting and collecting
the weapons, not handing them over, with the weapons to be collected by a
Palestinian party, whether the local administration in the Gaza Strip or the
Palestinian factions.” They stressed that “the weapons in Gaza cannot be
compared with those in Lebanon because Gaza is under Israeli occupation, and the
Palestinian people have the right to resist the occupation with all the means at
their disposal.As for the weapons in Lebanon, the movement does not have heavy
weapons in Lebanon. There are many Palestinian factions that possess weapons,
and they predate Hamas in terms of their presence in the camps and may possess
quantities of weapons far greater than those held by Hamas. Therefore, we said
that in Hamas's case in Lebanon, the discussion primarily concerns small arms
held by the Palestinian resistance or by the movement, rather than heavy weapons
in the conventional sense.” The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the movement
supports any steps that would strengthen Lebanon’s stability and security. It
has held several meetings with the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee to
reach a comprehensive solution to the conditions of Palestinians, covering
humanitarian, social, economic, and rights-related aspects. But recently we have
observed new measures restricting Palestinians, contrary to what had been
agreed, including preventing them from owning property and denying Palestinians
certain professional and social rights.”The source added: “As for the weapons,
they have been there for decades and are historically linked to the issue of the
Israeli occupation. Today, their presence is more symbolic than a means of
confronting the occupation. If the Lebanese state wants to address this issue,
we are open to dialogue and understanding to reach solutions that satisfy
everyone, away from any tension or confrontation.”
Palestinian Factions in Lebanon
Palestinian armed forces in Lebanon are broadly divided into three main groups,
although their situations today differ significantly. The first group consists
of PLO factions, most notably Fatah, the largest Palestinian force in Lebanon,
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the
Liberation of Palestine, and the Palestine Liberation Front, along with smaller
factions.The second group consists of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the
two most prominent Palestinian Islamist armed forces outside the PLO. The two
movements were part of the Palestinian forces alliance, which also included
factions historically linked to Syria. In 2025, they announced that their
weapons were tied to the “Palestinian cause,” rather than to PLO weapons, and
therefore did not take part in the handover process that began in August 2025 in
the same manner. The third group consists of factions that were linked to the
former Syrian regime and whose presence inside the camps has now become largely
symbolic. Three main forces fall into this category: the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine-General Command, the most prominent Palestinian faction
that was closely linked to the Assad regime and maintained military bases
outside the camps, most notably Qusaya and Sultan Yacoub in the Bekaa. Fatah
al-Intifada was also closely linked to Syria and maintained positions and
weapons outside the camps, most notably in Naameh, south of Beirut, and in the
Bekaa in eastern Lebanon. The third was Al-Sa'iqa, a Palestinian faction
established by Syria's former leadership. Its ties to the Syrian regime were
direct, although weaker in Lebanon than those of the General Command and Fatah
al-Intifada. These three factions effectively lost their Syrian political and
military backing after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. The
Lebanese state did not wait for a comprehensive agreement on disarming
Palestinian factions inside the camps. Instead, the Lebanese Army began dealing
with the military bases of Syria-linked factions outside the camps. It took
control of General Command positions in Qusaya and Sultan Yacoub, including
their weapons, equipment, and rockets. Several positions belonging to other
factions were also dismantled. Notably, this took place at the end of 2024 and
beginning of 2025, before the process of handing over weapons in PLO camps began
in August 2025. Fatah al-Intifada, meanwhile, maintained a presence in some of
the camps, and the handover of its weapons was not directly linked to the
transfer of control over General Command bases. A month ago, the movement began
handing over its heavy and medium weapons to the Lebanese Army at Beddawi camp
in northern Lebanon, in a move described as the first instance of a Palestinian
faction outside the PLO proceeding to hand over its weapons.
Patriarch Rai: The state is not built by defeating one
partner, but by uniting all partners under its umbrella.
National News Agency/August 30, 2026
In his sermon today, Patriarch Rai stated that the issue of the state's monopoly
on the use of force should not be transformed into a confrontation among the
Lebanese, nor a pretext used by one group against another, nor a source of
incitement for street protests and sectarian division. It is a matter connected
to the very existence of the state, the unity of its authority, and the right of
all Lebanese to live under a single legal framework and unified institutions. It
must be approached with wisdom and national responsibility, for the state is not
built by defeating one partner, but by uniting all partners under its umbrella.
The Lebanese people aspire for negotiations and efforts to move beyond mere
waiting and achieve results that safeguard Lebanon's rights, halt the attacks,
lead to withdrawal from its territory, and restore security and stability. As
the Lebanese army remains the unifying national institution, bearing the burden
of protecting security and stability and extending the authority of the
legitimate government, it is the duty of the state to equip it with what it
needs so that it deserves the support of the Lebanese people and remains the
bulwark of the nation and its institutions. As for the South, it cannot remain a
land of waiting and suffering. Its people want to return to their villages and
homes; the land calls to its sons and daughters, and the affected areas await
reconstruction and the restoration of life. No settlement is worthwhile if
people do not feel safe on their land, and if Lebanon does not regain its
sovereignty over all its territory. We want Lebanon to maintain an active
neutrality that protects it from regional conflicts and safeguards its
independent decision-making, without compromising its right to defend its land
and sovereignty. We want it to remain a homeland of encounter, not an arena of
confrontation; a bridge for dialogue, not a battleground for others' conflicts.
When our love for Lebanon becomes action, not just words, then we can hope for
the salvation we desire and the homeland we deserve.
Metropolitan Audeh: We may not be able to change
everything in our country, but we can change our flawed thinking and lifestyle.
National News Agency/August 30, 2026
Metropolitan Elias Audeh, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut and its
dependencies, presided over the Divine Liturgy at St. George Cathedral. After
the Gospel reading, he delivered a sermon, some of which included the following:
He said: “These words comfort us because they are close to our reality in this
country. The Lebanese have learned to live amidst successive crises, wars, and
hardships, and to carry much weariness, fear, and anxiety in their hearts. They
may think they live in barren land, and that everything they build is liable to
collapse. But the Apostle calls us not to give up and to persevere in love,
hope, and faithfulness until the end. We may not be able to change everything in
our country, but we can change our flawed thinking and lifestyle.” We can be
loving, compassionate, and faithful in our homes, honest in our work, and
upright in our dealings with others, rejecting corruption, falsehood, injustice,
and hypocrisy, and being careful not to add new hatred to a country already
exhausted by it. The vineyard God has placed within us is not just the Church,
but also our homes, communities, and nation, and it is our duty to be vigilant
and watchful, preserving what God has given us. The Apostle Paul advises the
Corinthians: “Let all that you do be done in love.” Love is the greatest
commandment that the Lord Jesus gave to his disciples; it is the fruit the owner
of the vineyard desires. We are not required to succeed in the eyes of others,
nor to amass a great harvest for ourselves, but rather that our lives should
bear fruit pleasing to God. We must forgive when we can take revenge, serve when
we can ignore, give when receiving is easy, and hope when despair seems the
easiest path. He concluded: “Each of us lives today within a vineyard God has
given us, and the day will come when the owner of the vineyard will return to
ask us about the fruit.” Do we offer Him an empty, sinful life, or abundant
fruit resulting from personal effort and obedience to His will? In the Divine
Liturgy, we say, "What is Yours we offer to You." Have we reaped the fruits of
the talents given to us, or have we wronged our brothers and our country,
seizing what belongs to others as the vinedressers in the Gospel parable did,
killing their son? The vineyard belongs to Him. Everything we do for Him must be
in response to His great love. And what love is greater than to lay down one's
life for one's friends? Do we truly grasp the immensity of this love?
Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: UNIFIL Alternative Is Another
Force Operating under UN Banner
Beirut: Mohamed Choucair/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
The United States' persistent refusal to renew the mandate of the United Nations
Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) demands a search for an alternative UN
peacekeeping force that has both European and American backing to operate in
southern Lebanon, Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told
Berri warned that without such a force, there would be no legal basis to
maintain an international presence. This international role remains essential as
the sole framework supporting the Lebanese Army's efforts to deploy and extend
state sovereignty over all its territory, which is conditioned on a full Israeli
withdrawal to the international borders, he went on to say. Berri stressed that
bilateral agreements between Lebanon and Israel are not an alternative to an
international presence in the south, so long as Tel Aviv refuses to implement
what the two countries reached under the US-sponsored "Framework Agreement."This
agreement committed to implementing the first "pilot phase" and establishing a
mechanism to verify the army's deployment in the covered towns. Berri noted that
despite his rejection of the agreement, he had proposed expanding it by applying
it on the district level, based on the administrative divisions of the south,
rather than restricting it to the occupied town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh and
incorporating liberated towns into it. The December 31 expiration of the UNIFIL
mandate in southern Lebanon, driven by Washington's insistence, has raised deep
concerns among the Lebanese public regarding the loss of an international
presence that can monitor the Israeli withdrawal. While Israel pushes for
bilateral agreements in place of the UN force, an approach broadly rejected in
Lebanon, alternative proposals include forming a European force under a UN
mandate if the Security Council extension is blocked.
This shifts the responsibility to the United States to consider Lebanon's
position, especially since President General Joseph Aoun has called for a
UN-backed European force as an alternative if Washington blocks Lebanon's
official request to temporarily extend UNIFIL’s mandate.
US says Lebanese state ‘sole legitimate interlocutor’
Al Arabiya English/30 August ,2026
The US State Department on Saturday reiterated its call for Hezbollah to disarm,
underscoring that the Lebanese government was the “sole legitimate” mediator in
the country’s affairs.The State Department’s position through a spokesperson was
posted on the US embassy in Beirut’s official page on X in response to a media
inquiry. “The Trilateral Framework clearly states that the Lebanese Government
is the sole legitimate interlocutor for discussions about the future of Lebanon
and on behalf of the Lebanese people,” the official was quoted as saying. The
statement added that the US stands with Lebanese people and wanted Lebanon to be
a safe and sovereign country, but for that to happen the Iran-backed Hezbollah
group “must disarm.” “When Hezbollah decides it is ready to do so, it can talk
with the Lebanese state, with whom we are already in dialogue and tell them it
is ready to turn in its weapons. Then we could try to bring the views close to
each other,” the State Department official said. “But as it stands, Hezballah so
far does not want to talk to the Lebanese state, nor talk to us, nor talk to
Israel, because it is simply taking orders from Iran. It’s time for Hezballah to
do what’s best for Lebanon and the Lebanese people.”
Aoun says south won't remain a 'forgotten region' or
'bargaining chip'
Naharnet/August 31/2026
President Joseph Aoun on Sunday marked the 48th anniversary of the disappearance
of revered Shiite cleric Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his companions by saying that
he refuses to allow the South to remain a "forgotten region" or a bargaining
chip.
The president added that the only legitimate weapons protecting the land should
be those of the state."We are working to achieve what the disappeared imam
wanted: a strong and just state and a South protected by its army, its security
forces, and the resilience of its people and the state combined," Aoun went on
to say.He added: "The case of Imam al-Sadr’s disappearance remains an open
national and humanitarian issue, and we will continue to demand the full truth
about his fate and the fate of his companions."
US says Hezbollah doesn't want to talk to anyone
Naharnet/August 31/2026
A U.S. Department of State spokesperson has said that "the Trilateral Framework
clearly states that the Lebanese Government is the sole legitimate interlocutor
for discussions about the future of Lebanon and on behalf of the Lebanese
people.""The United States stands with the Lebanese people and wants Lebanon to
be a safe and sovereign country. For that to happen, Hizballah must disarm," the
spokesperson added. "As (U.S.) Ambassador (to Lebanon Michel) Issa has said, we
want nothing more than for them (Hezbollah) to hand over their weapons," the
spokesperson went on to say. "When Hezbollah decides it is ready to do so, it
can talk with the Lebanese state, with whom we are already in dialogue and tell
them it is ready to turn in its weapons. Then we could try to bring the views
close to each other," the spokesperson added. But "as it stands, Hezbollah so
far does not want to talk to the Lebanese state, nor talk to us, nor talk to
Israel, because it is simply taking orders from Iran," the State Dept.
spokesperson noted. They also called on Hezbollah to "do what’s best for Lebanon
and the Lebanese people."The remarks come amid of flurry of reports, rumors and
denials about a possible meeting between U.S. and Hezbollah officials.
Qassem: Resistance will ultimately defeat the enemy's
project
Naharnet/August 31/2026
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Sunday warned that "any retreat" in the
face of the U.S. and Israel will lead to the "annihilation" of Iran, Hezbollah,
their allies, and Muslims in general.The U.S. and Israel "act ruthlessly to
dominate the world. Any resistance, regardless of the cost, will halt the
enemy's advance and pave the way for us to regain our standing," Qassem said.
"No matter what America and Israel do, no matter how severe the sanctions, and
no matter how intense the military aggression, resistance will ultimately defeat
the enemy's project," he added.
U.S. Congressman LaHood pushes Lebanon to break Hezbollah’s
grip
Amal Chmouny/Beiruter/August 30/2026
As Lebanon stands at a crossroads between reform and paralysis, Representative
Darin LaHood is pressing Congress to act. He’s preparing to introduce a new
Lebanon sanctions bill, framing it as part of a broader push to reinforce the
Lebanese state amid a volatile Middle East.“In the coming weeks, I will
introduce to the House a bill mirroring the Lebanese Sanction Stabilization and
Support Act just presented to the Senate,” LaHood told The Beiruter in an
exclusive interview. “It’s time for real consequences for those undermining
Lebanon’s sovereignty, especially for Hezbollah and anyone standing in the way
of disarmament and reform.”The Senate bill, introduced by Senators Jeanne
Shaheen and James Lankford, would impose targeted sanctions on those backing
Hezbollah or blocking Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) efforts to disarm the group,
while supporting Lebanese state institutions. LaHood’s House version aims to go
further by rewarding constitutional authorities who assert state control and
increasing pressure on those keeping Lebanon tied to an Iranian-backed militia.
For LaHood, a Republican from Illinois and co-chair of the bipartisan
U.S.-Lebanon Friendship Caucus, Lebanon’s fate is personal. His
great-grandparents immigrated from Aitou in northern Lebanon to Peoria, where
his family helped build the local Lebanese American community. Today, he
represents a district home to eight thousand Lebanese families whose anxieties
about Lebanon’s collapse and Hezbollah’s dominance have shaped his political
outlook. That background, he says, grounds his approach to Lebanon in the
language of sovereignty, enforcement, accountability, and state capacity. Before
Congress, LaHood served as a federal prosecutor, including a stint as chief
terrorism prosecutor in Las Vegas. In Washington, he describes Lebanon as both
an ancestral home and a strategic test for American influence.“Lebanon is in the
vital national interest of the United States,” he said. “Today it is more
important than ever.”
A rare opening
LaHood sees a rare opening for Lebanon to break free from old patterns. With
Iran weakened, Hezbollah on the back foot, Syria’s influence eroding, and new
leaders in Beirut, he argues that Washington’s old playbook of containing crises
and sanctioning Hezbollah’s financiers is no longer enough. “This is a
once-in-a-generation opportunity today to change the trajectory of Lebanon
positively,” LaHood said. Hezbollah remains deeply woven into Lebanon’s
politics, economy, and security. Even weakened, it is far more than a militia:
it is a party, a welfare provider, an intelligence network, and above all,
Iran’s main instrument in Lebanon. Its core role is denying the state a monopoly
on force, especially along the southern border, where outside decisions can pull
Lebanon into conflict. LaHood is blunt: Lebanon cannot be sovereign while
Hezbollah holds its own arsenal and command structure. “Disarm Hezbollah,” he
insists, but he’s clear that it’s not just a slogan. Real disarmament, he says,
takes a strong state able to deploy forces, control borders, stop weapons
smuggling, protect its people, and gradually secure Israeli withdrawal from the
south.
The army as the test
At the heart of LaHood’s approach is backing the (LAF). Congress is advancing a
$1.2 billion, five-year aid package, but for LaHood, results matter more than
numbers. He wants to see real change on the ground. “We have to support the LAF…
Full stop,” he said. “The LAF needs new equipment, drone technology,
communications, and, crucially, funding to pay its soldiers.” In another
formulation, he put the matter more simply: “We need to support and fulfill what
the LAF needs. They need some wins.” For LaHood, “wins” aren’t headline-grabbing
clashes with Hezbollah; they’re tangible gains: the army moving south, holding
ground, protecting communities, stopping weapons, and showing that the state can
provide for its people without a militia’s patronage. The LAF’s rare legitimacy
across Lebanon’s sectarian lines is fragile without real capacity. Washington’s
job, he argues, is to make the army effective in clear, measurable ways. But
military progress isn’t enough. Disarmament will fail, LaHood warns, if southern
Lebanese only encounter the state as checkpoints while Hezbollah supplies aid
and services. True reconstruction, he insists, means schools, housing,
infrastructure, and a sense that citizens “feel wanted in the government.” The
state must supplant Hezbollah not just in conflict zones, but in everyday life.
Sanctions with a political purpose
Sanctions are central to LaHood’s strategy not as political theater, but as hard
leverage. His bill would target “any individual that is against the disarmament
of Hezbollah” or who opposes “the best interest of an independent, prosperous,
and sovereign Lebanon.” That means financiers, political protectors, officials
blocking the LAF, and anyone sabotaging reform or enabling illicit money flows.
“Sanctions are not a punishment for their own sake; they are leverage to force
the changes Lebanon desperately needs,” LaHood said. “Anyone -official or
private citizen- working against Lebanon’s independence, working to shield
Hezbollah, must face consequences.” LaHood’s case relies on precision: sanctions
must raise the cost for spoilers without fueling resentment against Washington.
The goal is to isolate those sabotaging sovereignty, while backing the
institutions and communities poised to rebuild. He applies the same logic to
economic reform. When asked about governance, LaHood was blunt: “All of the
above.” From banking and justice to power, ports, and contracts, he sees a
system rigged for impunity. Lebanon’s collapse has left the state hollow and
citizens dependent on sectarian bosses. Without restoring basic services and
rule of law, the state cannot persuade anyone it can protect them from war or
from their own leaders.
The Israel-Lebanon equation
LaHood’s toughest challenge is Israel. He recognizes Israeli fears after
Hezbollah’s rocket attacks. Still, he urges Washington to look “through the
lens” of Lebanon’s future and use its military and diplomatic power to shape a
more balanced approach. He warns that if U.S. policy centers only on Israeli
concerns, it will never build a Lebanese alternative to Hezbollah. Constant
Israeli pressure weakens the very institutions Lebanon needs. LaHood’s solution:
empower the LAF, let it secure the south, push Hezbollah toward disarmament, and
set the stage for Israeli withdrawal “sooner rather than later.” Asked if
Lebanon should join the Abraham Accords, LaHood calls it premature. “First,
let’s focus on the LAF, on sovereignty, on rebuilding,” he said. For him,
normalization must wait until Lebanon has true state authority and a secure
border. The goal is not a diplomatic spectacle but a foundation for real
sovereignty.
The test ahead
LaHood called President Aoun’s Washington visit a turning point, citing the Oval
Office meeting as a major success that built trust among U.S. leaders. He
pointed to the possible reopening of direct U.S. flights to Beirut as a
practical and symbolic shift. Most crucial, he said, were the talks on how U.S.
security teams can help Lebanon weaken Hezbollah and stabilize the south. Still,
he admits the limits. Hezbollah is hurt but not gone. Reformist governments have
stumbled at home. Israel’s security priorities may clash with Lebanon’s need to
build a functioning state. No U.S. bill can rebuild Lebanon overnight. But
LaHood warns that caution is now riskier than action. Hesitation lets Hezbollah
regroup, Iran adapt, and Lebanon’s institutions wither. His answer is clear: arm
the state, pressure spoilers, push reform, rebuild the south, and keep U.S.
diplomacy front and center. LaHood is not just asking for more aid. He is
betting that this moment is different—that Lebanon’s state can finally become
stronger than the militia undermining it, and that U.S. policy can help make
that real. If the bet works, Lebanon could move toward true sovereignty. If it
fails, Hezbollah will fill the gap again. LaHood’s bill is more than sanctions:
it tests whether Washington can turn a fleeting chance into lasting change.
The envoy who said too much
Dr. Ramzi Abou Ismail/Beiruter/August 30/2026
https://www.thebeiruter.com/article/the-envoy-who-said-too-much/2406
Tom Barrack’s criticism of Israel’s actions in Syria exposes a possible divide
in Washington over whether Turkey or Israel should shape the next regional
order.
Tom Barrack may have said too much. But the problem is not merely that an
American envoy contradicted official policy or offended an ally. His remarks
exposed a more consequential possibility: the United States may be attempting to
carry two increasingly incompatible Middle East strategies at the same time.
It was argued that the next regional round would be shaped by the emerging
competition between Israel and Turkey. Israel seeks to preserve military freedom
of action and prevent a new regional power from replacing Iran along its
northern frontier. Turkey wants a stable Syria anchored to Ankara and refuses to
accept that Iranian influence should simply be replaced by uncontested Israeli
dominance. The winner would gain more than influence over Syria and Lebanon. It
could become Washington’s principal strategic partner in shaping the region.
However, that competition appeared inside Washington itself. When Israel struck
the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northern Syria, it said Syria was approaching a
breach of prior understandings by allowing a Turkish military presence. Turkey
and Syria denied that a permanent deployment was planned. Tom Barrack, US
ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, went significantly
further. He called the strike an “unnecessary escalation”, said American
intelligence had not confirmed the Turkish movement alleged by Israel, and
suggested that Israel might have been “baiting” Turkey into a confrontation. He
presented this only as one possible theory, but connected it to the approaching
Israeli election.
Barrack also said Israel had not warned Washington before the strike. Israel
disputed his account, saying it had shared intelligence with relevant American
authorities. What followed was an unusually public disagreement not only over
policy, but over the facts on which military action had been taken.
Compare Barrack’s interpretation with that of Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador
to Israel. Huckabee said Israel had seen Turkey moving further south and
interpreted this as a potential threat. He emphasized that the strike had caused
neither casualties nor significant destruction and argued that an
Israeli-Turkish confrontation was not close
Barrack saw a reckless and potentially political provocation. Huckabee saw a
limited preventive operation that should not be exaggerated. These are not yet
two formally declared American policies. But they are two very different
readings of the regional order.
This may partly be institutional. Barrack’s political world is Ankara, Damascus
and the reconstruction of post-Assad Syria. Huckabee’s is Israel and its
security doctrine. Diplomats do not simply observe the countries in which they
serve. They gradually learn to understand how those countries perceive threats,
sometimes to the point of carrying those perceptions back into their own
government.
Barrack’s interpretation is consistently closer to Ankara’s reading of Syria
than Israel’s. His relationship with the Israeli establishment now appears
strained enough to raise questions about his credibility as an intermediary. Yet
it would be too easy to dismiss him as an envoy captured by his posting.
Washington did not disown him. Barrack corrected his statement that Israel
“still occupies” the Golan Heights in violation of United Nations resolutions.
That formulation directly contradicted Trump’s 2019 recognition of Israeli
sovereignty over the territory. Barrack quickly clarified that he had been
describing its historically contested status, not changing American policy.
But he did not withdraw his criticism of the strike or his doubts about Israel’s
intelligence assessment. More importantly, Richard Grenell, Trump’s special
envoy for special missions, publicly defended him. Grenell said Barrack was not
“a freelancer”, speaks regularly with Trump and was doing “exactly what he’s
asked to do”. The distinction is revealing. Barrack was corrected when he
contradicted an explicit Trump decision. He was defended when he challenged
Israel’s conduct in Syria.
This suggests that the United States may contain two strategic instincts. One
treats Israeli military primacy as the foundation of regional order and accepts
preventive action against developing threats. The other sees Turkey as
indispensable to NATO, Syria’s reconstruction and the containment of Iran, and
therefore considers uncontrolled Israeli action a threat to a wider American
settlement.
These are not necessarily organized wings with clear membership. They may
represent a deliberate division of labor. Barrack articulates Turkish and Syrian
concerns; Huckabee reflects Israeli security thinking; Trump remains above both,
preserving his ability to arbitrate. But another possibility is more troubling:
Washington has not decided which regional order it prefers.
Trump has not publicly explained his position on Barrack’s latest statements. We
know that he previously told Netanyahu to be “reasonable” in dealing with
Turkey. He has also criticized Israeli conduct in Lebanon and called for a
“softer touch”. At the same time, his administration has maintained its
foundational commitment to Israel and preserved the Golan decision Barrack was
forced to reaffirm.
Trump may believe he can hold all of this together personally. His relationship
with Erdoğan gives him leverage in Ankara. His relationship with Netanyahu
allows him to restrain Israel without formally abandoning it. Barrack’s access
provides a channel into Turkey and Syria, while Huckabee reassures Israel. That
may prevent war while Trump remains in office. It does not necessarily amount to
a durable American strategy.
If Washington cannot choose between Turkey, its NATO ally, and Israel, its
closest regional security partner, it may eventually decide not to choose at
all. It may refine deconfliction mechanisms, contain the most dangerous
incidents and otherwise allow the competition to unfold.
But sitting out would not be neutral. It would encourage both actors to
establish facts on the ground while keeping their actions below the threshold
that forces American intervention. Israel would continue defining and enforcing
its security zones. Turkey would deepen its military and political position in
Syria. Syria and Lebanon would become the geography through which the rivalry is
managed.
The most dangerous moment may therefore arrive after Trump’s departure. If
restraint depends on one president’s personal relationships rather than an
institutional American doctrine, his successor will inherit unanswered
questions. What Turkish military presence in Syria would Washington tolerate?
Which Israeli red lines would it enforce? What happens if an Israeli strike
kills Turkish personnel? Would Washington support Israel, defer to its NATO
obligations, or attempt to remain outside the conflict?
Lebanon would not escape this ambiguity. Hezbollah’s weakening is creating a
regional space that others will try to shape. Israel does not want Iranian
infrastructure replaced by Turkish influence. Turkey does not want Iran’s
retreat to produce permanent Israeli dominance across Syria and Lebanon. The
Lebanese weapons question is therefore becoming part of a larger contest over
who inherits the geography left behind by Iran.
The next war may not begin because Washington chooses Turkey or Israel. It may
begin because both spend years believing that Washington will ultimately choose
them, only to discover, at the moment of confrontation, that America has chosen
to sit it out.
Tom Barrack may have said too much. But what he exposed was not merely his own
uncertainty. It was the possibility that the United States has not yet decided
what the next Middle East is supposed to be.
Exclusive to The Beiruter: A growing Maronite presence in
Jordan
Michella Rizk/Beiruter/Beiruter/August 30/2026
After 17 years of waiting, the Maronite Church of the Baptism of Jesus Christ at
Al-Maghtas in Jordan is finally moving from plans to construction. This
exclusive report reveals new details about the project and plans to expand the
Maronite presence across Jordan.
Exclusive to The Beiruter: A growing Maronite presence in Jordan
After 17 years of waiting, a Maronite project at one of Christianity’s most
significant sites is finally moving from cornerstone and architectural plans to
construction.
The journey of the Maronite Church of the Baptism of Jesus Christ at Al-Maghtas,
Jordan’s Baptism Site, began in 2009. Its cornerstone was laid in 2012, but more
than a decade would pass before the engineering, administrative and financial
requirements needed to build it fell into place. Funding has now been secured,
and construction is expected to take around 18 months. What will rise at the
site traditionally associated with the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the
Baptist is more than a church. The plans envision a fully integrated complex
with facilities for pilgrims, parishioners, accommodation and activities.
And Al-Maghtas is only part of a much larger story.
In an exclusive interview with The Beiruter, Father Joseph Soueid, the
Patriarchal Vicar of the Maronites in Jordan, reveals that preparations are also
underway for a new church dedicated to Saint Rafqa in Fuheis, Jordan, on a plot
of approximately 11,000 square meters. Together with Saint Charbel Church in
Amman and the new church at Al-Maghtas, the third project could, in Father
Soueid’s vision, become another step toward consolidating the Maronite presence
in Jordan and eventually developing it into a more established Maronite
ecclesiastical structure.
A project 17 years in the making
The story began in 2009, when King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein allocated a plot
of approximately 4,000 square meters at Al-Maghtas to the Maronite Church.
The project was initiated during the tenure of the late Maronite Patriarch
Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. It entered a new phase under Patriarch Bechara Boutros
Al-Rahi, who laid the cornerstone at the site in 2012.
What followed was a lengthy process involving land registration, documentation,
approvals and the development of architectural plans suited to the religious and
archaeological sensitivity of the Baptism Site. In 2024, the Maronite Patriarch
tasked Father Soueid with directly overseeing the project. His work included
completing the planning and documentation files, while coordinating with
Jordanian and ecclesiastical authorities, the Lebanese diaspora, Christian
communities abroad and relevant diplomats to secure the funding required to
launch construction. On the Jordanian side, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, the
King’s adviser for religious and cultural affairs, was among the key figures
following the project.
After years of planning and attempts to secure financing, the project has now
reached the point its supporters had waited for: actual construction.
A site designed to stand out
The significance of the project lies not only in being located at Al-Maghtas,
but also in where the Maronite church will stand within the site. In another
important detail revealed to The Beiruter, Father Soueid says the Maronite
Church was given a prominent position at the entrance to Al-Maghtas, making its
façade one of the first visitors will see as they enter. He places that decision
within the context of the longstanding relationship between Jordan’s Hashemite
royal family and the Maronite Patriarchate, stretching from the reign of King
Hussein bin Talal to King Abdullah II.
That relationship will also be visible in the architecture.
Father Soueid reveals that Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad asked for the façade of the
Al-Maghtas complex to draw inspiration from the Maronite Patriarchal See in
Bkerke.
The result will give the Maronite complex at the entrance to Al-Maghtas a direct
architectural reference to the seat of the Maronite Patriarchate in Lebanon.
More than a church
Calling the project a “new church” does not fully capture its scale. The church
will form part of a larger complex designed for pilgrims, parishioners,
accommodation and activities. Plans include an underground theatre, spaces for
residents and members of the parish, and a “Ruth Tent,” named after the biblical
Ruth, who appears in the genealogy of Jesus. The aim is to create a site capable
of hosting pilgrims and religious and cultural activities rather than limiting
its function to the celebration of Mass.
Ten years of plans
Reaching the construction stage was preceded by years of architectural work.
Engineer Osama Tawal has accompanied the project since its early stages,
studying the site from historical, spiritual and engineering perspectives and
developing its plans over roughly a decade. One of the central challenges was
finding a design that could preserve the architectural identity envisioned for
the complex while complying with the regulations governing Al-Maghtas and UNESCO
requirements. With the project now moving into construction, engineer Habib
Haddad and his team are overseeing its engineering and on-site implementation,
in coordination with Tawal and the other parties involved.
The funding breakthrough
For years, financing remained the main obstacle standing between the
architectural plans and an actual building. That changed when Lebanese
businessman Sheikh Sarkis Elias Sarkis agreed to fully fund the project. Father
Soueid described the contribution as having “restored hope in a project that has
been waiting since 2009,” stressing that the objective was not simply to build a
church, but to create a house of prayer, a beacon of faith, a destination for
pilgrims, and a bridge of love and encounter between peoples. With the financing
secured, construction can finally begin. Under the current schedule, the work is
expected to take around 18 months. The significance of that support is amplified
by the site itself. "Al-Maghtas is traditionally identified as the place where
Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, where the heavens opened, the Holy
Spirit descended and the voice of the Father was heard: “This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased.”"
From the Baptism Site to the Lebanese diaspora
For the Maronite Church, choosing Al-Maghtas carries a meaning that extends
beyond expanding its geographical presence in Jordan.
The site is associated in Christian tradition with the baptism of Jesus by John
the Baptist in the Jordan River and the Gospel scene bringing together the Son,
the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father.
Father Soueid captures its significance in a simple phrase: “Heaven and earth
met there.”
But the spiritual identity of the project does not mean it is intended for
Maronites alone.
While unmistakably Maronite, the complex is also envisioned as a destination for
Lebanese visitors, including the diaspora, and for pilgrims arriving from
Lebanon and Lebanese communities around the world.
Father Soueid describes it as
a church for all of Lebanon and the Lebanese abroad. and the Maronite Church.
On the agenda: from the opening to the 2030 Jubilee
The plans do not end when construction is completed.
In information shared with The Beiruter, Father Soueid says the Maronite
Patriarchal Vicariate in Jordan is preparing to connect the opening of the
complex with preparations for the 2030 Jubilee, marking roughly 2,000 years
since the preaching of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus and the beginning
of Christ’s public ministry.
Ahead of the Jubilee, plans are being developed around three major milestones
intended to form part of a single program:
- celebrating the 30th anniversary of Saint Charbel Church in Amman,
- inaugurating the Church of the Baptism of Jesus Christ at Al-Maghtas,
-laying the cornerstone for a new church project in Fuheis.
The ambition is for these occasions to extend beyond local church celebrations,
drawing religious and civil leaders, pilgrims, and Lebanese visitors from both
Lebanon and the diaspora while reconnecting them with Jordan’s historic
Christian sites.
Father Soueid’s vision extends further, to 2033. Rather than allowing pilgrimage
activity to end with the 2030 Jubilee, he envisages the following years
continuing to mark milestones associated with the life and ministry of Jesus,
culminating in those connected to his death and resurrection. Within that
vision, Jordan and Lebanon could form part of a broader pilgrimage route for
visitors to the region, connecting historic Christian sites across both
countries rather than treating them as separate destinations.
Exclusive: Saint Rafqa Church
In information revealed for the first time to The Beiruter, Father Soueid says
preparations are underway for a church dedicated to Saint Rafqa in Fuheis, on an
11,000-square-meter plot he says King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein allocated to
the project.
Unlike Al-Maghtas, which has reached the construction stage, the Fuheis project
remains in its early phases and has yet to secure funding. But its significance
goes beyond adding another church. With Saint Charbel Church already in Amman
and the Church of the Baptism of Jesus Christ moving into construction at Al-Maghtas,
Saint Rafqa Church would further expand the Maronite footprint across Jordan.
Its location in Fuheis, one of the kingdom’s most prominent Christian population
centers, would also give it a distinct role from both Amman and the pilgrimage
complex at Al-Maghtas. If the project moves forward, the laying of its
cornerstone is planned as one of three major milestones marking the next phase
of the Maronite Church’s presence in Jordan.
From a church to a broader presence
Seventeen years after the project first began, the Maronite complex at Al-Maghtas
is finally moving from plans to construction. But what is taking shape around it
points to something larger than a single new church: a Maronite presence
stretching across Amman, Al-Maghtas and potentially Fuheis, connected at the
same time to pilgrimage and to Lebanese communities at home and abroad. Some of
those plans are already becoming construction sites. Others still need financing
and further steps before they can become reality.
For now, Al-Maghtas is the beginning.
https://www.thebeiruter.com/article/exclusive-to-the-beiruter-a-growing-maronite-presence-in-jordan/2423
Lebanon archaeological finds showcase rich heritage
despite war woes
Agence France Presse/August 31/2026
From a Roman temple to ancient olive presses, Lebanon keeps turning up
archaeological treasures even as the latest Israel-Hezbollah war has caused
excavations to grind to a halt at precious heritage sites in the country's
south. Important discoveries in recent years include the remains of columns and
bases from a Roman temple in Maasser al-Shouf in the mountains southeast of
Beirut, nestled next to a millennia-old cedar forest. "A whole system was built
around this temple," which dates to between the first century BC and the second
century AD, said Myriam Ziade, regional antiquities official with the culture
ministry. She said the site was turned into a Crusader fortress between the 12th
and 13th centuries. The local municipality reported finding huge stone blocks on
the hill in 2017, and excavations began five years later with a team from an
Italian university, with the dig revealing the ruins of the large temple, she
told AFP. Archaeologists are to soon resume work at the site, located "on a
network of roads leading from the Mediterranean coast to the Bekaa valley" in
the country's east, she said. The eastern city of Baalbek has one of Lebanon's
best-known landmarks: a stunningly well-preserved Roman temple complex set
against the mountainous border with Syria.
Protecting heritage -
Lebanon is brimming with archaeological finds showcasing its rich history over
thousands of years, from the Phoenician, Persian, Roman and Byzantine periods,
the Crusades, and Arab and Islamic sultanates and empires. After Iran-backed
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March, triggering heavy
Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion in the south, the United Nations
cultural agency UNESCO last month added several Lebanese sites to its World
Heritage in Danger list. They include the southern coastal city of Tyre, home to
a Roman triumphal arch and a second-century hippodrome. The list also includes
five castles in south Lebanon's Jabal Amel area, among them the Crusader-era
Beaufort fortress, which Israeli forces captured in May. Sarkis Khoury, head of
antiquities at Lebanon's culture ministry, told AFP the war had forced
archaeologists to switch tack. We are "now focused on protecting endangered
heritage in southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa, particularly in the Baalbek
region", he said. "Excavations in dangerous areas have come to a halt, and
archaeological missions are going through a period of minimal activity
throughout Lebanon, especially in the southern regions." He said foreign
archaeological teams had stopped going to Lebanon.
Ancient port city -
Still, some work continues. In Batroun, a northern coastal city home to the
ruins of a small Roman amphitheater, an archaeologist was surrounded by tools
and papers, documenting the latest finds as waves lapped rocks nearby. Samar
Karam, in charge of archaeological sites in north Lebanon, said a Roman-era
olive press was found on private property along with pottery weights and items
for textile production. On another nearby property overlooking an ancient sea
wall, excavations revealed two stone quarries "one Roman and the other
Phoenician", she said. The ruins of rooms from Phoenician, Persian and Roman
periods have been uncovered, their pink or grey flooring helping to distinguish
them. Archaeologists have found pieces of Greek pottery, as well as rooms and
large jars for storing goods from the harbour, discoveries that Karam said
showed the ancient city's "lively commercial activity".
Tombs in the city date to a variety of historical periods, she added.
Hippodrome search -
In Beirut, whose history spans over 5,000 years, Laure Salloum oversees
archaeological excavations in the chaotic modern city. She said current digs
were "really construction projects" where workers had stumbled across historical
treasures.A recent discovery uncovered the remains of a Roman-era olive press,
while work was ongoing in central Beirut in search of "the remaining part" of a
Roman hippodrome, Salloum said. The hippodrome was initially unearthed years ago
when excavations began for a commercial and residential complex. Other
accidental discoveries in the city have included a 2,000-year-old Roman
bathhouse. Such finds often cause development plans to grind to a halt."We're
constantly making new discoveries," Khoury said. "Lebanon is at the crossroads
of a region that has been full of crises for thousands of years."
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on August 30-31/2026
US strikes Iranian launchers on Larak
Island over Strait of Hormuz mine threat
Al Arabiya English/31 August ,2026
US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday after Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces were observed preparing to launch
rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz, a US official told Al
Arabiya English.The official said US Central Command (CENTCOM) completed
clearing sea mines from international shipping routes in the strait last week.
“US forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the
free flow of commerce through this essential waterway,” the official added. The
IRGC said a US attack on Larak island on Sunday killed and wounded several
Iranian fighters and civilians, and vowed to respond and punish those
responsible.The IRGC did not provide a precise casualty toll.The IRGC said the
attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and would be met with a
“response and punishment” from Tehran. US President Donald Trump said last week
that all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of
the Strait of Hormuz and Iran has been told that any ship or boat placing new
mines will be destroyed. The last known US strikes on Iran were in late July as
the war has reached a stalemate in recent weeks with Washington threatening to
impose costly sanctions on countries that support Iran. The US and Israel
attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel
and neighboring countries. The Iran war has now crossed its six-month mark.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands
and displaced millions. Eighteen US service members have been killed in the
conflict. The war has led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which before
the conflict used to see a transit of about a fifth of the world’s oil barrels
consumed.
With Reuters
Iran strikes US forces in Jordan after US attack on Larak Island
Arab News/August 30, 2026
WASHINGTON: Iran launched attacks on US forces stationed in Jordan on Monday,
Reuters reported, citing Fox News, hours after US forces struck two Iranian
launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Jordan’s army said Monday it had intercepted eight missiles, shortly after
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked US military targets in the
Washington-allied kingdom.
“Air defense systems intercepted eight missiles that breached the Kingdom’s
airspace at dawn today, Monday,” read a statement quoting the army’s
spokesperson.
Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, citing a US source, first broker the report that
Iran was attacking US forces in Jordan. There was no significant impact so far,
Yingst said in a post on X, adding that nearly all incoming missiles had been
intercepted. The Iranian strikes came after the US military attacked two Iranian
rocket launchers on Larak Island, according to a US official cited by Axios.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vowed to retaliate after the attack, according to
Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, saying the US strike had killed and wounded
several Iranian fighters and civilians. It did not provide a casualty count. The
US strikes targeted launchers that Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces were
preparing to use to launch rockets carrying sea mines toward the Strait of
Hormuz, Axios reported, citing the US official. “US forces are monitoring the
area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through
this essential waterway,” a US official told Al Arabiya. Iran’s Fars news agency
reported that an explosion was heard near Larak Island, although it said the
cause was unknown. Reuters separately reported the explosion, saying its cause
had not been independently established. US President Donald Trump said last
week that all mines had been detonated or removed from the international
waters of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran has been told that any ship or boat
placing new mines will be destroyed.
The United States has warned Iran against laying new mines in international
waters, while Tehran has repeatedly asserted its right to control shipping
through the strait.
The last known US strikes on Iran were in late July as the war has reached a
stalemate in recent weeks with Washington threatening to impose costly
sanctions on countries that support Iran. The latest exchange marks a fresh
escalation between Washington and Tehran centered on the strategic waterway,
through which a major share of the world’s oil shipments normally passes. The US
and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own
strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. The Iran war has now
crossed the six-month mark. • With Reuters
Iran supreme leader calls for unity among Muslim countries
Al Arabiya English/30 August ,2026
Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday called on Muslim countries in
the region to unite against the United States and Israel, in a written message
issued six months on from the start of the Middle East war. Khamenei, in power
since shortly after his father Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the war
on February 28, has yet to be seen in public since his appointment, and
authorities have not released any video or audio of him. “The solution to the
problems of the Islamic nations is unity of words, friendship, and cooperation
on the path of goodness,” he said Sunday. “Anyone, in any position, who does
anything that leads to division among Muslims and creates conflict in the Muslim
community, knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, has
served the purpose of the enemies of Islam,” he added, according to his official
website.The supreme leader called on the rulers of regional countries to
“recognize your real enemy, understand its plan, and confront it,” referring to
the US and Israel. During the war, Iran targeted US military bases across the
Middle East, straining ties with regional nations. Khamenei, who has the final
say on major state policies, also called on Iranian officials and citizens to
put aside differences and come together against Israel and the United States.
“Again, this servant’s advice to the Iranian people is to not allow any
differences to arise among themselves in any way,” he said, echoing remarks made
in another statement on Friday. “I firmly declare that doing anything
detrimental to social cohesion is prohibited,” he had said in Friday’s message.
He also called Friday for the gradual de-dollarization of the Iranian economy
and for boosting economic production to support growth following months of a US
naval blockade and years of crippling sanctions that have hit livelihoods.With
AFP
US must fulfill commitments for Hormuz to reopen, Tehran
is in no hurry: Iranian deputy FM
Al Arabiya English/30 August ,2026
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that although Iran has
reached an understanding with Oman on arrangements for passage through the
Strait of Hormuz, the waterway will remain closed until the US fulfills its
commitments, Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday. “Iran has reached an
understanding with Oman regarding arrangements for passage through the Strait of
Hormuz, but this understanding will not automatically enter the implementation
phase,” the agency quoted Gharibabadi as saying on Saturday.
He said that commitments from the US should be fulfilled and underscored that
Iran was in no hurry to reopen the strait and that it would continue its
defensive measures. “Implementation of this understanding requires commitments
to be fulfilled by the other side, especially the United States. Whenever these
commitments are implemented, Iran will also take its measures,” Gharibabadi
said. “These measures are not a new issue. If Washington is interested in
returning to the path of diplomacy, it must accept responsibility for its past
actions,” he added. Gharibabadi stressed that the Strait of Hormuz remains
closed, saying, “If a vessel passes through this route, it will do so with the
coordination and authorization of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”Touching on the
role of mediators, he said that “the efforts of Qatar and Pakistan were aimed at
examining whether there is a possibility of returning to the implementation of
the commitments under the Islamabad understanding.”
Trump Says US Will Refill Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Using Venezuelan Oil
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that oil from a recently struck deal
with Venezuela will be used to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which
has been drawn down sharply in recent years to respond to global supply
disruptions and high fuel prices.
Trump said in a social media post that the "topping out" process will begin
shortly, describing the Venezuelan oil as a “Gift from Venezuela to the People
of the United States.”It is unclear how quickly the Venezuela deal could
provide oil for the reserve or deliver any near-term benefit to US motorists.
The agreement Trump announced on Friday is aimed at reviving Venezuela's
battered oil industry, but it will require significant investment and
infrastructure work before production can rise substantially. The reserve held
about 290 million barrels as of August 21, near a 44-year low, after the United
States drew down its stockpile under both the Biden and Trump administrations in
response to global supply disruptions, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine
and the conflict with Iran.
Venezuela Says Retains ‘Sovereignty’ in US Oil Deal
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
Interim leader Delcy Rodriguez assured the public Saturday that Venezuela
retains control of its oil under a new agreement that allows the United States
significant access to it. The United States will have majority control of 65
billion barrels of Venezuela's proven reserves in what President Donald Trump
described Friday as "the biggest oil deal in world history.""One thing must be
absolutely clear: Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its
resources," Rodriguez said in a speech on state television. The agreement with
the United States aims to turn "cold, inert" resources underground to "a source
of social and economic well-being for the people of Venezuela," she said.
Caracas says the deal involves $100 billion in private investment aimed at
revitalizing the industry in a country with the world's largest proven oil
reserves. But a lack of transparency is raising concerns among Venezuelans,
including supporters of the government. A flood of social media comments decried
loss of sovereignty, meager benefits and political costs. "We don't know who
this will benefit -- whether it's Venezuela or (the United States)," said Jesus
Salazar, a 68-year-old security guard. "I have my doubts, but we'll have to wait
and see what happens."Venezuela's government has operated under intense pressure
from the Trump administration since American forces ousted and captured
long-time ruler Nicolas Maduro in January. Washington allowed Rodriguez, his
vice president, to stay on as interim leader so long as she toes Washington's
line. Venezuela's ruling party said Saturday it supports economic measures that
"prioritize national interests and make it possible to overcome the impact of
more than a decade of economic sanctions, unilateral coercive measures, and
unjust blockades."The party consistently blames US sanctions for the collapse of
Venezuela's economy.
Petrol and poverty -
Rodriguez has pushed through reforms in Venezuela's mining and petroleum
industries, opening once tightly controlled sectors to private capital and
foreign investment. Washington, for its part, has eased sanctions imposed on
Venezuela's oil sector under the Maduro government. Oil production rose by 29.8
percent between January and July, reaching 1.2 million barrels per day -- still
well below the three million barrels per day produced a quarter of a century
ago.The US deal aims to restore production to those levels, but analysts agree
it would take time."The increase in production won't be seen for at least three
or four years," said engineer Oswaldo Felizzola, a professor at the Institute of
Higher Studies in Administration (IESA) in Caracas. He welcomed the United
States acting as a "guarantor" for investments in Venezuela, which has failed to
attract significant capital for more than a decade. "Without this, these fields
would not be developed over the next 10 or 15 years," because state-owned
Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) "does not have the financial resources to do
so."An initiative of this magnitude could accelerate long-awaited economic
recovery in Venezuela, a country still reeling from the brutal 80 percent
contraction between 2014 and 2021 that plunged millions of Venezuelans into
poverty. Many survive on a monthly minimum wage equivalent to $0.16, plus
government subsidies that can reach $240 per month -- still far short of the
estimated $730 needed to buy basic food necessities for a family of five.
Doubt and optimism
Carlos Baco, a 74-year-old government employee, hopes oil revenues will start
flowing under the new deal, but said he hasn't felt the effects of the increase
in oil production over the past few months. "Consumer goods and food are more
expensive... the dollar is rising and prices are going up," he said. "It's
impossible here."Rodriguez has promised more than $204 billion in tax revenue
from the deal, without providing details. For analyst Elias Ferrer of the
Orinoco think tank, the investment is good news, even without specifics. "It's
undoubtedly better than before. Before, this oil wasn't being extracted; if no
one extracts it, no one pays royalties, and no one profits from it," he said.
"If everything is done correctly... this will be a great opportunity for
Venezuela to see its oil sector revived," said attorney Dolores Dobarro,
Venezuela's former deputy minister of energy.
Netanyahu Condemns Israeli Settler Attack in Flashpoint West Bank Village
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Qusra in the
northern occupied West Bank on Saturday after nearly three weeks of tension in
the area, drawing rare condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Earlier in August a group of settlers began blocking supplies from entering
Palestinian houses on the outskirts of the village near Nablus, trapping
residents inside and drawing unusually strong criticism from the US ambassador.
Weeks later, Israeli forces continue to operate in the area while settlers still
roam the surrounding hills. On Saturday, Qusra residents and the military said
dozens of settlers had descended on the village, throwing stones at residents
and barricading themselves inside a house while Palestinians were inside. In
nearby Jalud, NBC News said masked settlers attacked and injured members of its
reporting team and a Palestinian woman it had gone to interview. "I strongly
condemn the criminal acts of violence committed in the villages of Qusra and
Jalud by a handful of rioters who are violating the law, causing a grave
injustice to the law-abiding Jewish community, interfering with the army in
carrying out its missions, and harming Israel's standing in the world,"
Netanyahu said in a statement. President Isaac Herzog also condemned the attack
in Qusra, while Israel's foreign ministry called the violence "a disgrace". In
Qusra, resident Yussef Abdul Kareem Hassan told AFP that a handful of villagers
were doing work on a house on Saturday when they were approached by a small
group of settlers. The settlers then called for backup and returned with dozens
more, Hassan said, adding that they surrounded the Palestinians inside the house
and began throwing stones. AFP footage of Qusra on Saturday showed dozens of
Israeli forces deployed to the site.
Soaring violence -
The Israeli military said soldiers and border police forces were dispatched
"following reports that Israeli rioters had arrived in the area and that violent
clashes had occurred, including stone-hurling toward Palestinians and additional
civilians". "Upon their arrival, the security forces identified dozens of
rioters who had barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while
Palestinian residents were inside," the military said in a statement, adding
that it was "aware of reports of Palestinian injuries". It said forces had
worked to remove the settlers from the house, separate the groups and confiscate
vehicles "that were suspected of having been used to reach the area". The
vehicles would be used as evidence in a police investigation that has been
opened, it said, adding that forces continued to operate in the area "to prevent
further disturbances and restore order". Violence by Israeli settlers towards
Palestinians in the West Bank has persisted for years, often with little or no
legal consequence, but recent months have seen a surge in attacks. More than
500,000 Israelis live in settlements in the Palestinian territory, which are
illegal under international law, among some three million Palestinians. Israel
has occupied the West Bank since 1967. According to an AFP tally based on data
from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at
least 1,103 Palestinians in the West Bank, including both gunmen and civilians,
since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Israeli figures show at least
48 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in
Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations during the same
period.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan to hold first Mecca
defense pact meeting in Istanbul
Al Arabiya English/30 August ,2026
Top officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are expected to gather in
Istanbul for the first committee meeting under the Mecca Joint Defense
Agreement, the Turkish foreign ministry said. The talks will focus on
international security and ways to deepen defense cooperation between the three
countries. Foreign and defense ministers, as well as army chiefs of staff from
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, are expected to participate in the Istanbul
meeting. The gathering comes weeks after the three countries signed the Mecca
Joint Defense Agreement in the holy city of Mecca on Aug. 7. The pact
established a framework for closer defense cooperation and stipulates that an
armed attack against any one of the three countries would be treated as an
attack against all three. Ankara has said the countries would establish
mechanisms to coordinate their cooperation, including joint military exercises
and collaboration in defense industries.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has
described the agreement as technically comparable to NATO’s Article 5
mutual-defense provision, while Pakistan has stressed that the pact is defensive
in nature and is not directed against any particular country.
Israeli strike kills two people including a 3-year-old boy,
Gaza medics say
Reuters/30 August ,2026
An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinians, including a three-year-old child,
in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday, health officials said. Gaza medics said the
Israeli airstrike near a bakery in Deir Al-Balah killed one man, Hussam Nusair,
a three-year-old boy, Tayyem Hamdan, and wounded several others. The Israeli
military said it attacked and killed a Hamas militant. It said that Nusair
advanced attacks against Israeli forces and civilians. Hamas did not immediately
comment on the military’s allegation. An October 2025 US-backed ceasefire halted
major fighting in the shattered territory, but it failed to end strikes by the
Israeli military, which it said aimed to thwart attacks by Hamas and other Gaza
militants. Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining
efforts to implement a broader plan by US President Donald Trump to end the Gaza
conflict, which also includes Israeli withdrawals and Hamas disarmament. More
than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect
last October, according to Gazan health officials, while the Israeli military
says four Israeli soldiers have been killed.
Israel Army Says Struck Hamas Commander in Gaza Hospital
Compound
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
Israel's military said it struck a Hamas commander within the compound of a Gaza
hospital on Saturday, while the territory's health officials said Israeli
strikes elsewhere killed four people. It is the latest bloodshed to occur in the
war-shattered territory despite a US-backed ceasefire that took effect in
October 2025, with Israel continuing to target Palestinians it says are
fighters. The military said it struck a Hamas commander who "was hiding within
the compound" of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah,
but was unable to immediately confirm if he had been killed. It said the
commander, who it did not name, advanced "attacks against Israeli troops and
civilians" and was targeted in a structure adjacent to hospital buildings.
"Earlier today, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital was targeted, with a small storage
facility hit," the hospital's director Raed Hussein said. "Thankfully, there
were no major casualties, apart from four minor injuries," he told AFP, but said
the strike had "caused extensive material damage." AFP footage from the scene
showed several damaged water tanks on the roof of a building and debris down
below. The military said steps had been taken to "mitigate the risk to
civilians", adding that it had warned Gazan medical authorities two days earlier
about "the cessation of the use of medical facilities for terrorist purposes".
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that it was "appalled by reports of an
Israeli airstrike within the Al-Aqsa Hospital compound," adding that "hospitals
should be safe places for patients and healthcare workers." "At a time when
Israeli forces are routinely targeting hospitals, it is of utmost importance
that all parties respect and preserve the neutrality and protection of medical
facilities," it wrote on X. Gaza's civil defense agency, which operates as a
rescue force under Hamas, said four people were killed in other strikes across
the territory on Saturday. Israeli fire east of Deir al-Balah killed one person,
the agency said. The Israeli military said it was checking the reports. An
Israeli strike near a roundabout in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City
killed two people and injured several others, the civil defense said. When
contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it struck a "military operative" in
the area. Another strike killed one person and critically injured another in the
southern city of Khan Yunis, the civil defense said. The Israeli military said
it was checking the reports.Israel has kept striking Gaza and its forces have
made further inroads despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced in October, with
Israel insisting it must eliminate threats from Hamas, which led the
unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack against Israel. Israeli operations in Gaza
have killed at least 1,313 people since the ceasefire came into effect,
according to the Palestinian territory's health ministry, which also operates
under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United
Nations.
The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as
well as the death of one civilian contractor.
US News Agency Says Crew Attacked by Israeli Settlers in West Bank
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
Israeli settlers attacked an NBC crew in the central West Bank Saturday, as they
were interviewing a Palestinian woman who said she’d been driven out of her
house by settlers, the network said. NBC’s American correspondent Matt Bradley,
two other crew members and the woman they were interviewing were all treated for
injuries sustained during the attack, NBC said. There were no further details on
their injuries. The assault was caught on video and shared by NBC, with footage
showing masked settlers approaching the crew with sticks and beating the crew’s
vehicles. Israel’s military said it was “aware of reports of Palestinian
injuries, including a Palestinian woman who sustained non-life-threatening
injuries and was evacuated by the Red Crescent for medical treatment.” It did
not comment on the attack on the NBC crew. It was the latest in a growing wave
of violence by West Bank settlers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a
rare condemnation of the violence on Saturday. The Israeli leader has come under
heavy US criticism for the settler attacks. Settlers seized British activist and
held him locked in shed. Israeli settlers seized a British activist from a
Palestinian village in the West Bank and locked him in a shed before turning him
over to police, his lawyer said Sunday. The lawyer, Inbar Shaked Vardi, said
settlers held her client, Finn Joughin, for half an hour Saturday before turning
him over to Israeli police. Joughin was set to appear before a Jerusalem court
later Sunday, she said. Video showed two settlers, one armed, restraining
Joughin and marching him away from the village. It was not immediately clear
what led to his capture. Settlers say he assaulted a child, accusations Vardi
vehemently denied. Settlers point to a video where the activist uses his body in
an apparent attempt to block a settler boy from passing through a fence. Vardi
said the video shows he was trying to protect the village. Police said they were
investigating and holding Joughin in custody on suspicion of committing an
indecent act against a minor.
Far-Right Israeli Minister Boasts of Worse Prison
Conditions for Palestinians
Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
Israel's far-right national security minister on Sunday boasted of worsening
conditions for Palestinian prisoners as he visited female inmates. Two months
before elections, Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video in which a veiled woman, her
face blurred out, said that prisoners had "extremely bad" conditions and "don't
get any rights, and we have particular needs as women". "We haven't bathed for
three days and we haven't changed our underwear," she said, warning of the risk
of disease. Ben-Gvir responds approvingly as he compares the treatment to that
of hostages held for up to two years by Hamas and other fighters in Gaza
following the October 7, 2023 attacks. "Our hostages had no shampoo and had no
such conditions. I am proud that we have succeeded in reducing the terrorists'
prison conditions to the bare minimum. The summer camps in the prisons are
over," Ben-Gvir said.
Ben-Gvir, who earlier in his career was convicted of offenses including racism,
has a history of provocative actions and statements. Earlier this year, he
posted a video of himself taunting foreign activists of an intercepted flotilla
that tried to break the blockade of Gaza, saying "welcome to Israel" as they
were forced to kneel with shackled hands.The activists reported physical abuse,
with an Australian saying Israeli authorities sexually assaulted her. Israel
denied the allegations. Ben-Gvir again drew international condemnation recently
when he said Israel should kill 30 to 40 Palestinians each night in Gaza.
According to her husband, the prisoner speaking in the video is Yasmine Shaaban,
who was re-arrested by Israeli forces in May 2025 during a raid on her home near
Jenin, months after being released as part of a Gaza ceasefire agreement. The
Palestinian Authority's Commission on Detainees Affairs accused Ben Gvir of
"brutality, hatred and racism". The Gaza prisoners ministry under Hamas said
Ben-Gvir's video "reflects the depths of depravity to which the occupation
regime has sunk". Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition is struggling in
some polls ahead of October 27 elections, and Ben-Gvir has refused his pleas to
boost the right-wing's chances by running jointly with a fellow
ultranationalist.
Al-Hijri Gunmen Prevent Students in Syria’s Sweida from Sitting for Official
Exams
Damascus/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
Armed factions in Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province have blocked students
from travelling to sit for official exams, demanding they be held instead in the
areas they control, drawing condemnation from the Damascus-appointed governor on
Saturday.The factions are part of the so-called “National Guard” that is
affiliated with prominent Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri who control
swathes of the province. Sweida city and other parts of the southern province
are run by local armed groups and are the last areas outside the grasp of
Syria's new authorities, who have been trying to establish control over the
entire country after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024.Tensions
have run high ever since clashes last year between the Druze and
government-aligned forces that spiraled into some of the worst internecine
violence the country had witnessed since Assad's fall.
The authorities had scheduled an exam session for Saturday in the
government-controlled north of the province for students who were unable to take
the test two months ago due to the ongoing tensions.But Druze fighters in Shahba,
north of Sweida city, said in a statement on Friday that "all roads are
completely closed to the movement of students and proctors to examination
centers outside the area", insisting that tests should be held in their areas
instead, citing security concerns. Sweida governor Mustafa al-Bakkur condemned
the move on Saturday, saying: "Outlaw gangs are working to make the future of
Sweida's students a political bargaining chip to be manipulated as they please."
He said that around 150 students were still able to sit for their exams, some of
them having left Druze-controlled areas days prior to avoid any
obstacles.Volunteers from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent on the Damascus-Sweida
road. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
'Shots in the air' -
One 18-year-old student told AFP she was on a bus in Sweida city hoping for the
road to open when "an armed group arrived and threatened the students"."Some
members of these factions fired shots into the air to intimidate and frighten
the students" after they insisted on heading north, she added, requesting
anonymity out of fear for her safety. The education ministry said in a statement
that it "regrets that not all of our students were able to reach the examination
centers". A source in Sweida told Asharq Al-Awsat that the factions are aiming
to “obstruct realistic solutions to the crisis in the provinces.”
He accused the factions of deliberately seeking to keep students out of school,
so that they can continue to manipulate their education for their own interests.
Many members of the factions themselves did not complete their education.
Reacting to Saturday's events, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for
Syria Marianne Ward said the body was "concerned" by the developments. "The
United Nations calls on all relevant stakeholders to ensure that children with
the support of their caregivers can exercise their right to education without
pressure or disruption of movement," she added. In July 2025, clashes erupted in
Sweida between Druze factions and Bedouin fighters, with security forces
intervening on the side of the Bedouins along with other tribal groups. In the
end, more than 2,000 people were killed, including 789 Druze civilians,
according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. A committee formed
by the Syrian government said it had documented the killing of 1,760 people.
Damascus last month said it began trying suspects over the violence. Israel,
which also has a Druze population, intervened militarily during the clashes with
strikes in Sweida and Damascus, saying it was defending the minority community.
Al-Hijri, who has been a vocal critic of the new authorities, went so far as to
say on Monday that his community was "an integral part of the State of Israel".
The source in Sweida told Asharq Al-Awsat that several members of the Druze
community have spoken out against al-Hijri's stances. The Druze council in
Lebanon and other political forces in Sweida also rejected his positions,
underscoring the Druze community’s Arab identity and history.
Two killed near Druze-majority Sweida in Syria: sources
Updated 30 August 2026 23:56
AFP/August 30, 2026
SWEIDA, Syria: Two civilians were killed near the Druze-majority city of Sweida
in southern Syria on Sunday, two local security sources told AFP, during
suspected clashes between local armed groups and government forces. The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights monitor reported the same death toll, adding that
government forces and armed groups from the Druze minority group had been
exchanging fire since Saturday night. Tensions have been high in Sweida province
since clashes between Druze and government-aligned forces last year led to some
of the worst communal violence since the fall of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar
Assad in 2024. A Druze security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that a
shell launched from a government-controlled area “targeted the outskirts of the
city of Sweida, striking a tractor and killing two people on board, the driver
and a woman who was with him.”
Sweida city and other parts of the surrounding Druze-majority province are run
by armed groups and are the last major areas outside the grasp of Syria’s new
Islamist authorities, who have been trying to unite the country after toppling
Assad. The Druze are an Arabic-speaking religious minority in Syria comprising
around three percent of the country’s population. The security source,
requesting anonymity, also said that “intermittent clashes have been taking
place between the National Guard and government forces since Saturday night,”
referring to prominent Druze leader Hikmat Al-Hijri’s armed group. A second
source who inspected the missile strike site said that “the tractor was
completely burned,” adding that the two victims were farmers. The Syrian
government did not immediately comment. Druze armed groups’ latest row with
Damascus came on Saturday when they refused to allow students to head to
government-controlled areas to sit for official exams.In July 2025, clashes
erupted in Sweida between Druze factions and Bedouin fighters, with government
security forces intervening on the side of the Bedouins along with other tribal
groups.In the end, more than 2,000 people were killed, including 789 Druze
civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. A
committee formed by the Syrian government said it had documented the killing of
1,760 people.Government forces and their allies were accused at the time of
executing civilians and other abuses, and Damascus last month said it began
trying suspects over the violence.Israel, which also has a Druze population,
intervened militarily during the clashes with strikes in Sweida and Damascus,
saying it was defending the minority community. Hijri, who has been a vocal
critic of the new authorities, praised Israel for its intervention and said on
Monday that his community was “an integral part of the State of Israel.”
Syrian security forces kill former Assad-era army commander
during arrest attempt
Al Arabiya English/30 August ,2026
Syrian security forces said on Sunday that they killed an army commander who
served under ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad, after he opened fire on them as they
tried to arrest him. In a statement, the forces accused Firas Abdul Karim
Hammoud of having taken part in anti-government insurrections that killed
security personnel. Since al-Assad’s fall in December 2024, Syria’s new
authorities have arrested dozens of security officials from his rule, and trials
began in April. The security forces said they “neutralized Firas Abdul Karim
Hammoud... following an armed clash and a raid on his hideout in the town of
Safita” in Tartus province in the coastal Alawite heartland. Hammoud had
previously “opened fire on security personnel during an attempt to arrest him,”
they added. “During the recent operation, he again opened fire and initiated a
firefight with the security forces... necessitating their response.”President
says Syria ‘shakes off dark stain’ with removal from US terror list . President
says Syria ‘shakes off dark stain’ with removal from US terror list.They said
Hammoud served as a commander of the special forces in the so-called “25th
Division” under al-Assad’s rule. They accused him of working under Assad-era
general Ghiath Dalla in leading pro-Assad groups on the coast after the former
president’s fall. They added that he was involved in “armed insurrection
operations” against state institutions that killed security personnel. Dalla, a
former officer in the much-feared Fourth Brigade, had announced on social media
last year the formation of a “military council for the liberation of Syria.”The
announcement came shortly before deadly violence involving the Alawite minority,
to which al-Assad’s family belongs, erupted on the Syrian coast in March 2025.
Authorities accused armed al-Assad supporters of sparking the violence by
attacking security forces.A national commission of inquiry said at least 1,426
members of the minority were killed. With AFP
Death toll from Russia strike on Ukraine arms depot rises to 38
AFP/30 August ,2026
The death toll from a Russian strike on an arms depot near Kyiv has risen to 38,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday. The strike on the Ukrainian
military depot storing ammunition, drones and explosives triggered a huge
explosion and fire, and secondary detonations that sent flames shooting into the
surrounding area. Emergency services in the town of Myla have managed to put out
most of the fires and bomb disposal teams are working to clear the site,
Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. He gave an updated toll of 38 dead, 20 injured, and
four missing and said “the extent of contamination in the area is
significant.”The attack was the second to hit a munitions depot near Kyiv in
less than two months, and officials voiced anger that arms were still being
stored so close to residential areas.Ukrainian prosecutors have opened an
investigation into criminal negligence. Russia launched at least two missiles
and 267 drones at Ukraine between late Friday and early Saturday, according to
the Ukrainian air force. US-led diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, Europe’s
deadliest since World War II, have been at a standstill for months.
Russia has demanded sweeping territorial and political concessions from Ukraine,
which Kyiv has ruled out as tantamount to capitulation.
At least six dead after ferry carrying nearly 270 people
capsizes off northern Cyprus
The Associated Press/30 August ,2026
A ferry carrying almost 270 passengers and crew capsized off the coast of
northern Cyprus on Sunday, Turkish media reported. The catamaran-style ferry was
traveling from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, in the breakaway north
of ethnically divided Cyprus, to the Turkish port of Tasucu in Mersin
province.The Turkish ambassador to Nicosia, Ali Murat Basceri, said there were
some casualties, but did not specify how many, speaking to Turkey’s state-run
TRT news channel. Many of the 259 passengers and eight crew members were
rescued, Basceri said, adding that some were taken to hospital. Kyrenia Mayor
Murat Senkul said the ship belonged to the Filo Denizcilik ferry company and
sank off the coast of Diana beach on Cyprus’ northern coast. The ferry started
taking in water about 7.5 kilometers (4 nautical miles) off the coast, TRT
reported. Video footage from the scene shows people with life-vests floating in
the waters around the capsized vessel. The catamaran-style ferry was traveling
from the port of Kyrenia, also known as Girne, in the breakaway north of
ethnically divided Cyprus, to the Turkish port of Tasucu in Mersin province. The
Turkish ambassador to Nicosia, Ali Murat Basceri, said there were some
casualties, but did not specify how many, speaking to Turkey’s state-run TRT
news channel. Many of the 259 passengers and eight crew members were rescued,
Basceri said, adding that some were taken to hospital. Kyrenia Mayor Murat
Senkul said the ship belonged to the Filo Denizcilik ferry company and sank off
the coast of Diana beach on Cyprus’ northern coast. The ferry started taking in
water about 7.5 kilometers (4 nautical miles) off the coast, TRT reported. Video
footage from the scene shows people with life-vests floating in the waters
around the capsized vessel.
Egypt’s Banque Misr reviews US Iran sanctions notice, UAE
launches urgent examination
Reuters/30 August ,2026
Egypt’s Banque Misr said on Saturday it was reviewing a US Treasury notice to
cut off its UAE branches from dollar transactions over their dealings with Iran,
while the UAE central bank said it had launched an urgent examination of the
branches following the US action.
The US imposed Iran-related sanctions on an Egyptian bank comes as part of
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s campaign to increase economic pressure to try
to break a stalemate six months into Washington’s war with Iran. Banque Misr
said its branch in the UAE continues to provide banking services to its
customers in accordance with the applicable rules and procedures. The UAE
central bank said later on Saturday it had decided to conduct a “special and
urgent examination” of Banque Misr’s branches in the country, including “a
forensic/in-depth lookback covering the period referred to in the statement
issued by the US authorities.”“The Central Bank expects banks licensed in the
UAE not to expose the UAE’s financial system to reputational risks, to respect
the laws and regulations of the countries whose financial institutions are used
in conducting transactions, and not to misuse the advanced financial
infrastructure of the UAE,” it added in a statement.
Rescuers dig into tunnel as missing toll from Nepal, China
flood tops 3,000
AFP/30 August ,2026
Rescuers in Nepal and China battled through leg-sucking mud, as well as the
threat of rising rivers and a newly formed lake, on Sunday to search for
thousands missing after a deadly wall of water and debris swept through the
Himalayas, engulfing entire villages.
Latest figures from both countries put the number of missing at 3,048, including
hundreds of foreigners. There were 797 confirmed deaths, with reports of some
bodies possibly swept downstream as far away as India. Nepal said it had begun
the grim task of burying some of the hundreds of bodies on Sunday, after first
taking DNA samples so that families could later reclaim them and perform
traditional funeral rites once they had been identified. The disaster, which
struck the China-Nepal border Wednesday morning, was caused by a glacial
collapse, sending a wall of water and debris downstream, the US Geological
Survey said. Nepali army troops and engineers also drilled through debris on
Sunday toward hydropower workers believed trapped in a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A
hydroelectric site in the Himalayan river valley after they successfully
inserted a pipe into the passage. They have “started sending air through the
small opening,” Nepali Home Minister Sudan Gurung said in a statement. Overnight
rain and rising river waters hampered efforts earlier on Sunday, filling the
excavation area with water before conditions eased, the Nepal army said.Nepal’s
disaster authority listed 933 hydropower workers among the missing in an area
home to vast energy infrastructure projects. Chinese rescuers near the Tibet
border port that was hit by a deadly mudslide were “moved to a safe location” on
Sunday after a new lake was formed by a landslide, state media reported. China’s
state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday that experts had said “a glacier on
the southern slope of Lirung Peak in Nepal” fractured, triggering an ice-rock
avalanche. The torrent plummeted rapidly, forming a massive debris flow that
travelled more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) before crashing into Gyirong
Port.“The sudden glacial collapse and flash flood is a devastating reminder of
how fragile these mountain environments can be,” UN climate chief Simon Stiell
said in a statement.
‘Nothing left’
Survivors face an agonizing wait to learn the fate of missing relatives and the
prospect of rebuilding their lives from nothing.“All the settlements near the
river were swept away,” resident Buddhi Ram Dangol told AFP in Nepal’s Nuwakot
district.
“There is nothing left.”Worried relatives crowded around lists of rescued people
pasted on a wall at an army base serving as a rescue hub in the district capital
Bidur. Nepal’s disaster authority said on Sunday 592 foreigners, including
trekkers and Hindu pilgrims to Tibet’s sacred Mount Kailash, were among the
missing. The Isha Foundation, led by Indian guru Sadhguru, said in an Instagram
post on Saturday that 80 members had been on a group trip in the area. “At this
time, there seems to be no encouraging indications of survivors at the
immigration office area,” it said.
‘Enormous’ trauma
The United States and Canada said they would provide $3.6 million each in
humanitarian aid to Nepal. The UK has offered $6.8 million, while the UN
released $2.5 million in emergency funding, and aid pledges were made by the
European Union, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies and others. Nepal’s economy is already under pressure, with limited
resources to respond to a disaster of this scale. Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal
said the reconstruction bill could run into “billions of dollars.” He appealed
for specialized assistance, including heavy-lift drones and technology to help
locate people who are trapped. Malaysia said it would send search-and-rescue
specialists to assist. Khanal also called for forensic testing kits to identify
corpses and freezer units to store them, saying bodies that have been in water
could decompose at a faster rate.
The deluge of ice and mud caused huge lakes, and one of those formations has
become a risk for further floods. The Chinese and Nepali foreign ministers spoke
on Saturday and discussed sharing satellite and hydrological data, both sides
said. In Tibet, where Chinese authorities are the only source of information,
rescue operations were paused at the hardest-hit area of Gyirong because of the
risk of more flooding from a newly formed lake.However, state broadcaster CCTV
said late on Saturday that the lake was “discharging naturally” and had been
“essentially drained,” citing China’s ministry of water resources.
A total of 2,141 rescuers were near the Gyirong site, the Xinhua state news
agency said. Nepal reported a death toll of 781 people on Sunday, with 2,502
people unaccounted for.Across the border in Tibet, 16 people died and 546 remain
missing, CCTV reported.
Authorities also said they had evacuated 555 stranded tourists and 499 Chinese
residents from Tibet. In India, officials said they had recovered seven bodies
from rivers flowing from Nepal, believed to be flood victims.
Google Maps Will Show ‘Lake America’ in US, not ‘Lake Ontario’
Damascus/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
Google Maps has changed the name of "Lake Ontario" to "Lake America" for US
users to reflect President Donald Trump's executive order renaming the lake,
according to a Google statement. Trump announced on Thursday that he was
changing the name of the smallest of the five Great Lakes, part of an escalating
trade feud with Canada that has prompted the two countries to impose reciprocal
tariffs on billions of dollars in goods. The president's order affects the US
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which sets the standards for
official US maps. It does not have any impact on Canadian naming conventions
or how the rest of the world refers to the lake. "Since we update Google Maps to
reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the US,
people using Maps in the US will see 'Lake America,' those in Canada will
continue to see 'Lake Ontario,' and those outside of the US and Canada will
see both names," Google said in a blog post issued on Saturday. The White
House, Carney's office and Ford's office did not immediately comment on Sunday
on Google's decision. Google Maps made a similar change to the Gulf of Mexico
last year, labeling it the "Gulf of America" following Trump's executive order
on his first day in office renaming the body of water. Canadian Prime Minister
Mark Carney immediately rejected the lake's name change on Thursday.
Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, which shares a long border with
Canada, declared that "New York won't be calling it that," while Phil Scott, the
Republican governor of neighboring Vermont, called Trump's decision "petty and
disappointing" on social media. The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, on Saturday
unveiled a large lakeside sign that reads, "Lake Ontario: Now and Always," in
both English and French. "President Trump can call it whatever he wants, but I
can tell you, the rest of the world will always call it Lake Ontario," Ford
said.
Russia Says Preparing ‘Massive Strikes’ on Ukraine’s Energy Sector
Russia's defense ministry on Sunday said it was gearing up for large-scale
attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in a tit-for-tat response to strikes
by Kyiv. "Russian forces have begun preparations for massive strikes against
facilities in Ukraine's energy sector in response to the ongoing attacks by the
Kyiv regime on civilian infrastructure and on Russia's oil and energy complex,"
it said on Telegram. Last winter, Moscow repeatedly hit Ukrainian power plants,
devastating the country's energy sector and plunging millions of people into
cold and darkness in sub-zero temperatures. Both sides have for several months
escalated long-range strikes, targeting infrastructure such as warehouses,
businesses, oil and port facilities, as well as ships, increasing civilian
casualties. On Sunday, the Russian army claimed to have struck a plant in Kyiv
producing asbestos and cement whose warehouses, it said, were used to store
explosives, as well as a manufacturer of drones and munitions. On Saturday, a
Russian strike on an ammunition depot in the suburbs of the Ukrainian capital
triggered a huge explosion and killed at least 37 people.
Ukraine for its part attacked an oil refinery with drones in northwestern
Russia, causing a fire, according to the local authorities.
The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published
on August 30-31/2026
Why Is the Trump Administration Determined to Arm Hostile Jihadist States
That Will Outlast It?
Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/August 30, 2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22814/trump-administration-determined-to-arm-hostile-jihadist-states
An institution built around one person, such as US President Donald J. Trump,
carries the expiration date of that person's term in office. The states that
join it do not.
The real plan, as can be seen from Saudi Arabia's recent moves, seems to be to
avoid joining the Abraham Accords, and instead position themselves in Gaza,
right on the border of Israel, to be able to attack it after Trump leaves
office. No one will have his determination to make sure that any agreements are
enforced.
Early on, Saudi Arabia came up with a "poison pill": the kingdom conditioned
joining the Abraham Accords on the creation of a Palestinian state. Saudi Crown
Prince Mohamed bin Salman has since reached an agreement with the US that
reportedly allows Saudi Arabia to develop domestic uranium enrichment
capabilities under safeguards that fall short of the stringent standards
previously demanded by Washington, rather than importing nuclear fuel as other
Gulf countries do. The uranium enrichment would, of course, be supposedly "for
peaceful purposes." However, these enrichment centrifuges could also be used to
make nuclear weapons -- the same kind Iran is not allowed to have.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright signed the nuclear framework before Trump, to
his great credit, the next day presented his own "poison pill": first, Saudi
Arabia would have to normalize its relations with Israel and join the Abraham
Accords. This requirement seems to have been, revealingly, a dealbreaker.
Instead, Saudi Arabia organized the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement with Turkey,
which has a vast military, and Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons. Based on the
Middle East's frequent schoolyard excuse that "it all started when he hit me
back," the three countries could, for instance, provoke or attack on Israel,
then when Israel responds for its own self-defense, claim that all three of them
had been attacked and "forced" to retaliate: Turkey with its conventional
military, Pakistan with a nuclear weapon, and Saudi Arabia by financing the
expedition.
[T]he most senior levels of the Israeli security establishment that concluded
that Turkey is still financing Hamas. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan holds
a seat on the Gaza Executive Board, the body charged with implementing the
disarmament of Hamas.
When the White House named the executive board for the Board of Peace in
January, its members included Fidan, senior Qatari official Ali Al-Thawadi and
Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu stated publicly that the composition had never been coordinated with
Israel and ran contrary to its policy.
The Board of Peace itself, 28 countries operating under UN Security Council
Resolution 2803, released an interim report to the UNSC that identified Egypt,
Qatar, Turkey and the United States as the four mediating states. The 15-point
roadmap that now governs Hamas's disarmament was drafted by those four
"guarantors"... What, though, will they actually be guaranteeing?
A former senior Shin Bet officer with three decades in the service has argued
that the parties actually driving developments inside the board are Qatar and
Turkey, assisted by Egypt. The arrangement amounts to the Muslim Brotherhood
supervising the supposed disarming of its own Palestinian branch, Hamas.
Turkey has been strengthening its hold on Syria and positioning its military
there, potentially for a pincer attack on Israel: from Syria on Israel's east
and Gaza on Israel's west.
Senior Israeli officials trace the Iranian money reaching Hamas and Hezbollah
along a route running through Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan's implicit permission.
Money often settles what communiqués leave open. Eight governments -- among them
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco -- signed the
founding donors' declaration behind roughly $17 billion in reconstruction
pledges... Whoever pays the contractors, the suppliers and eventually the
policemen, will decide who governs the streets they patrol.
The political alignment already exists on paper. On August 3, Qatar, Egypt and
Turkey published a declaration in their capacity as mediating countries,
condemning Israeli operations in Gaza and calling on the international community
to compel Israel to stop.
Trump's term of office ends in January 2029. He personally chairs the Board of
Peace and will pass on that position to whoever succeeds him. Every month of
delay moves the supposed complete disarmament of Hamas closer to Trump's
successor, and to the states that will still be seated at the table when he or
she arrives.
[T]he US State Department informed Congress that Turkey has not met the
statutory conditions... which require Ankara to give up its Russian-made S-400
surface-to-air missiles. Although Turkey tested the S-400 following its delivery
and has not returned it to Russia, the Turkish government claims that the system
is in storage — presumably until it is taken out of storage.
Erdogan has made no secret of his intentions regarding Israel, as well as Syria,
Cyprus and Greece. As recently as March 30, 2025, he stated, "May Allah, for the
sake of his name ... destroy and devastate Zionist Israel" He also reportedly
prayed for "mercy upon the martyrs" of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad
and a "speedy recovery" for their wounded terrorists. Previously, Erdogan
stated, "Jerusalem is our city," and "Patience brings victory," and that "We are
determined to not give up on our rights on Jerusalem." This is the country to
which Trump wants to supply stealth fighter jets?
The Saudi nuclear file runs on an identical clock. The draft nuclear cooperation
agreement reported to Congress does not contain a Saudi commitment to forgo
enrichment and reprocessing, a commitment Washington spent two decades calling
the gold standard for nuclear nonproliferation. The Agreement refers instead to
additional "safeguards" in the most sensitive areas of cooperation, which is
diplomatic phrasing for enrichment centrifuges on Saudi soil.
Even if the S-400 batteries have been shipped off from Turkey to another
country, and Hamas offices in Istanbul are shuttered and independently verified
as closed, no F-35 stealth fighter jets should be supplied to Turkey. After all,
the S-400 missile batteries could always find their way back.
In addition, no uranium enrichment centrifuges should be allowed in Saudi
Arabia, even if a binding Saudi renunciation of enrichment and reprocessing were
written into the operative text, not a side letter. As we have seen with Iran,
no one but Trump can be counted on to enforce international commitments.
Not one dollar for Gaza reconstruction should be disbursed through channels
controlled by governments that Israel has identified as financing Hamas, the
organization the money is meant to displace.
What Turkey and Saudi Arabia want from Washington is hardware, and those F-35s
will still be flying and those centrifuges will still be spinning, long after
the people that vouched for them have left office.
An institution built around one person, such as US President Donald J. Trump,
carries the expiration date of that person's term in office. The states that
join it do not. Nothing better explains the conduct of Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and
Saudi Arabia over the past eight months — and nothing in current American policy
appears to be taking the countless danger signals from them seriously. Pictured:
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman shakes hands with Turkey's
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, on June 22, 2022. (Photo by Adem Altan/AFP
via Getty Images)
An institution built around one person, such as US President Donald J. Trump,
carries the expiration date of that person's term in office. The states that
join it do not.
Nothing better explains the conduct of Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia
over the past eight months — and nothing in current American policy appears to
be taking the countless danger signals from them seriously.
The real plan, as can be seen from Saudi Arabia's recent moves, seems to be to
avoid joining the Abraham Accords, and instead position themselves in Gaza,
right on the border of Israel, to be able to attack it after Trump leaves
office. No one will have his determination to make sure that any agreements are
enforced.
Early on, Saudi Arabia came up with a "poison pill": the kingdom conditioned
joining the Abraham Accords on the creation of a Palestinian state. Saudi Crown
Prince Mohamed bin Salman has since reached an agreement with the US that
reportedly allows Saudi Arabia to develop domestic uranium enrichment
capabilities under safeguards that fall short of the stringent standards
previously demanded by Washington, rather than importing nuclear fuel as other
Gulf countries do. The uranium enrichment would, of course, be supposedly "for
peaceful purposes." However, these enrichment centrifuges could also be used to
make nuclear weapons -- the same kind Iran is not allowed to have.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright signed the nuclear framework before Trump, to
his great credit, the next day presented his own "poison pill": first, Saudi
Arabia would have to normalize its relations with Israel and join the Abraham
Accords. This requirement seems to have been, revealingly, a dealbreaker.
Instead, Saudi Arabia organized the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement with Turkey,
which has a vast military, and Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons. Based on the
Middle East's frequent schoolyard excuse that "it all started when he hit me
back," the three countries could, for instance, provoke or attack on Israel,
then when Israel responds for its own self-defense, claim that all three of them
had been attacked and "forced" to retaliate: Turkey with its conventional
military, Pakistan with a nuclear weapon, and Saudi Arabia by financing the
expedition.
On August 17 in Jerusalem, Shin Bet director David Zini and military
intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder briefed Jared Kushner and a Board of
Peace delegation on conditions inside Gaza and on Hamas's reconstruction of its
military capabilities. Their presentation included an assessment from the most
senior levels of the Israeli security establishment that concluded that Turkey
is still financing Hamas. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan holds a seat on
the Gaza Executive Board, the body charged with implementing the disarmament of
Hamas. Both facts sat in the same room on the same afternoon and produced no
visible consequence.
When the White House named the executive board for the Board of Peace in
January, its members included Fidan, senior Qatari official Ali Al-Thawadi and
Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu stated publicly that the composition had never been coordinated with
Israel and ran contrary to its policy. The Board of Peace itself, 28 countries
operating under UN Security Council Resolution 2803, released an interim report
to the UNSC that identified Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United States as the
four mediating states. The 15-point roadmap that now governs Hamas's disarmament
was drafted by those four "guarantors," together with High Representative for
Gaza Nickolay Mladenov. What, though, will they actually be guaranteeing?
Israelis who have spent careers on this file do not treat the result as an
accident. A former senior Shin Bet officer with three decades in the service has
argued that the parties actually driving developments inside the board are Qatar
and Turkey, assisted by Egypt. The arrangement amounts to the Muslim Brotherhood
supervising the supposed disarming of its own Palestinian branch, Hamas.
The Board describes itself as an objective mechanism. Its operational majority
consists of governments historically hostile to Israel, which have spent two
decades keeping the Hamas solvent and trying to lend it political
respectability.
Turkey has been strengthening its hold on Syria and positioning its military
there, potentially for a pincer attack on Israel: from Syria on Israel's east
and Gaza on Israel's west. On August 18, Israeli aircraft struck an airbase near
Aleppo to stop a Turkish military deployment against which Jerusalem had warned
Damascus for weeks.
At its inaugural summit in February, the Board of Peace denied Turkey a place in
the International Stabilization Force, instead awarding troop slots to Albania,
Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Morocco, and giving Egypt and Jordan
stewardship of police reconstruction. That arrangement left Turkey with
logistics.
Hamas nevertheless keeps offices and personnel on Turkish soil, where it
recruits, raises money and plans terror attacks. Senior Israeli officials trace
the Iranian money reaching Hamas and Hezbollah along a route running through
Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's implicit permission.
Money often settles what communiqués leave open. Eight governments -- among them
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco -- signed the
founding donors' declaration behind roughly $17 billion in reconstruction
pledges, against a World Bank estimate of $71.4 billion over a decade. A senior
Board of Peace official, describing the three-year mechanism capped at $400
million for debts inherited from Hamas rule, said the outside money would come
from regional partners rather than from Washington. Whoever pays the
contractors, the suppliers and eventually the policemen, will decide who governs
the streets they patrol.
The political alignment already exists on paper. On August 3, Qatar, Egypt and
Turkey published a declaration in their capacity as mediating countries,
condemning Israeli operations in Gaza and calling on the international community
to compel Israel to stop.
Thirteen days later, a joint statement signed by Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia accused Israel of
disrupting peace efforts and urged the Board of Peace to take concrete measures
against any party obstructing implementation. The guarantors have a shared
position on how this war ends, and it has nothing to do with security for
Israel, to say the least.
The resource they are actually managing is time.
Kushner left the Jerusalem meeting predicting that weapons from Hamas could
begin coming out of Gaza within 30 days and that tunnels might be filled within
60-90 days.
Seven months after the ceasefire took effect, the International Stabilization
Force has still not deployed, and the Palestinian "technocratic" committee built
to administer Gaza cannot physically enter it. Trump's term of office ends in
January 2029. He personally chairs the Board of Peace and will pass on that
position to whoever succeeds him. Every month of delay moves the supposed
complete disarmament of Hamas closer to Trump's successor, and to the states
that will still be seated at the table when he or she arrives.
Two decisions now before Washington would outlast the arrangement entirely.
Standing beside Erdogan in Ankara on July 7, Trump signaled willingness to for
sell US F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey. Erdogan told reporters he had been
promised five aircraft, a claim Trump neither denied nor corrected.
Two weeks later, the US State Department informed Congress that Turkey has not
met the statutory conditions set by Section 231 of CAATSA and Section 1245 of
the 2020 defense Authorization Act, which require Ankara to give up its
Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missiles. Although Turkey tested the S-400
following its delivery and has not returned it to Russia, the Turkish government
claims that the system is in storage — presumably until it is taken out of
storage.
While praising Turkey as a founding member of the Board of Peace, the State
Department also voiced concern about the relationship with Hamas.
Erdogan has made no secret of his intentions regarding Israel, as well as Syria,
Cyprus and Greece. As recently as March 30, 2025, he stated, "May Allah, for the
sake of his name ... destroy and devastate Zionist Israel" He also reportedly
prayed for "mercy upon the martyrs" of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad
and a "speedy recovery" for their wounded terrorists. Previously, Erdogan
stated, "Jerusalem is our city," and "Patience brings victory," and that "We are
determined to not give up on our rights on Jerusalem." This is the country to
which Trump wants to supply stealth fighter jets?
The Saudi nuclear file runs on an identical clock. The draft nuclear cooperation
agreement reported to Congress does not contain a Saudi commitment to forgo
enrichment and reprocessing, a commitment Washington spent two decades calling
the gold standard for nuclear nonproliferation. The Agreement refers instead to
additional "safeguards" in the most sensitive areas of cooperation, which is
diplomatic phrasing for enrichment centrifuges on Saudi soil. Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman has said for years that the kingdom would pursue a nuclear
weapon if Iran obtained one.
Once submitted, the US-Saudi nuclear cooperation agreement takes effect unless
both chambers of the US Congress adopt resolutions of disapproval within 90
days.
Congress is the only American institution whose calendar runs longer than a
presidency, and the remedies to the current administration arming
terrorist-supporting, jihadist, long-term enemies of Israel are unglamorous but
effective.
Even if the S-400 batteries have been shipped off from Turkey to another
country, and Hamas offices in Istanbul are shuttered and independently verified
as closed, no F-35 stealth fighter jets should be supplied to Turkey. After all,
the S-400 missile batteries could always find their way back.
In addition, no uranium enrichment centrifuges should be allowed in Saudi
Arabia, even if a binding Saudi renunciation of enrichment and reprocessing were
written into the operative text, not a side letter. As we have seen with Iran,
no one but Trump can be counted on to enforce international commitments.
Not one dollar for Gaza reconstruction should be disbursed through channels
controlled by governments that Israel has identified as financing Hamas, the
organization the money is meant to displace.
The Board of Peace was created by an executive decision and can be undone by
one. What Turkey and Saudi Arabia want from Washington is hardware, and those
F-35s will still be flying and those centrifuges will still be spinning, long
after the people that vouched for them have left office.
**Pierre Rehov, who holds a law degree from Paris-Assas, is a French reporter,
novelist and documentary filmmaker. He is the author of six novels, including
"Beyond Red Lines", "The Third Testament" and "Red Eden", translated from
French. His latest essay on the aftermath of the October 7 massacre " 7 octobre
- La riposte " became a bestseller in France. As a filmmaker, he has produced
and directed 17 documentaries, many photographed at high risk in Middle Eastern
war zones, and focusing on terrorism, media bias, and the persecution of
Christians. His latest documentary, "Pogrom(s)" highlights the context of
ancient Jew hatred within Muslim civilization as the main force behind the
October 7 massacre.
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Dilemmas and Predicaments
Samir Atallah/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
There are many nightmares a writer would prefer, or try, to avoid. The worst is
to repeat himself, especially when crises drag on and the men at their center
lose themselves in their statements and positions, and the world becomes lost
along with them.
No global crisis has evolved, spread, and become as intertwined as the current
one, which has been called the “October 7 War.” It continues to generate new
consequences from one month to the next and from one year to the next, moving
from threats of existential annihilation to threats of economic destruction.
The war has erupted from one front to another, from one region to another, and
from one issue to another, without asking anyone's permission or offering anyone
an explanation. It began as the war in Gaza and the war against Hamas, and has
become a war over Hormuz and the Strait of Hormuz, and over who controls it.
Everyone claims a connection to Layla, while also claiming ownership of the
strait, its administration, its revenues, and its shipping routes. The truth is
that everyone is trying to control it and assert the legitimacy of that control,
or is entering into mediation efforts in the hope that the fire will stop
spreading. The issue that began in Gaza on October 7 has now produced
repercussions as far as China's borders, or beyond them. Every side has its own
predicament, even if it appears that the greatest predicament belongs to the man
at the top. While Trump appears to be winning on the military front, as
expected, he seems to be in a predicament on the political front.The Iranians
are suffering and losing their way no less. It is hardly a sign of health when
all of their victories are of the negative kind, or consist of the losses
suffered by others. Nor is it a victory for the Iranian president to complain
about the hardships facing his people. And you cannot fight with the arms of
others while keeping your own arm “wrapped up.”
Era of Inventing Identities...to Make Falsifying History
Easier
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
Today, the Druze, or the Muwahhidun, find themselves, wherever they live,
prisoners of a situation they did not seek but that was imposed upon them by the
circumstances of history, the complexities of geography, the baseness of
intelligence agencies, and the savagery of advanced technology.
The Druze, that small community with a rich heritage, now find themselves
victims of changing maps, collapsing identities, and the rampage of an
occupation emboldened by an absolute mandate from the world's sole superpower.
When Benjamin Netanyahu rules over more than half the world's population through
Israeli “lobbies,” active and widespread under various names in the major
centers of global decision-making, the extent of the cultural, political,
military, and economic siege encircling a small community becomes clear. Its
population barely exceeds one million, yet fate has decreed that it stand
anxious and unsteady on every seismic political fault line in the Arab Levant,
wounded in its Arab identity, its Islam, its patriotism, and its loyalty to its
land, the very land it has defended with blood for nearly a thousand years, from
the frontiers of northern Syria during the countdown to the collapse of Abbasid
rule, to the coasts of the Levant and Palestine during the wars of the Franks,
or the Crusades.
It is trying, as best it can, to hold out to this day, as Israel and others lay
waste to the region, amid a state of Arab helplessness rivaled only by the great
calamities of history, such as the fall of Baghdad to Hulagu and the ravaging of
Damascus at the hands of Timur.
Today, this small Muslim community, which emerged from the heart of Fatimid
Ismaili Shiism, stands accused of treason and condemned as infidel, so that it
can more easily be erased, its people uprooted, and its identity falsified.
This accelerating, cancerous falsification has two ugly faces: one exposed, the
other concealed. Within this reality, one striking aspect of the Muwahhidun
Druze is connected to the “esotericism” of their monotheism, dating back to the
days of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.
The truth is that throughout Islamic history, differences in interpretation and
narrative have existed. Contradictions in interests and priorities have also
emerged throughout the remarkable journey of the true faith, which began in
Mecca and Medina and spread throughout the Middle East and then to all corners
of the world. The fact is that the original Hijazi environment, with its limited
components at the dawn of Islam, expanded in Umayyad Damascus, Abbasid Baghdad,
and Fatimid Cairo to become an Islamic state that was richly diverse, stretching
from China in the east to Spain in the west, and teeming with religions,
cultures, languages, ethnicities, philosophical and intellectual movements, and,
inevitably, major economic interests.
About a thousand years ago, a group of subjects of the Fatimid state experienced
another doctrinal division in the history of Shiism, following the greater
division that occurred after the death of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, which resulted
in the emergence of the Twelver Shiite and Ismaili Shiite traditions.
In this division, which followed the death, or disappearance, of the caliph
al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 1021, those who would become the “Muwahhidun Druze”
broke away from the Ismaili Shiites because they refused to recognize the
imamate of al-Hakim's son, al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah. The result was the
elimination of their presence in Egypt and the closure of the door of
proselytization to those who had joined it, before al-Hakim's death, in the
Levant and Palestine, specifically northwestern Syria, including Aleppo and
Jabal al-Summaq, or al-Jabal al-A'la; Damascus and its surrounding areas,
including Wadi al-Ajam; the heights of Mount Hermon in southwestern Syria; Wadi
al-Taym, on the western slopes of Mount Hermon; southern Mount Lebanon; and the
Galilee mountains and the coast of Acre in Palestine. Later, the Druze presence
grew in Jabal al-Arab, in Hauran, and northern Jordan.
Over the past thousand years, of course, states have fallen and states, even
empires, have been born, while identities and loyalties have changed. Just as
armies of occupation and domination came from the east, from the Turks and
Persians, in the early part of that period, Western influence prevailed during
the past three centuries, beginning with Europe and ending with the United
States, which inherited the European ascendancy.
It is well known that the European ascendancy, particularly the British one, in
the Arab Levant gave the region the Balfour Declaration, and consequently
Israel, and did not end until Washington took the reins after the Suez War in
1956.
The names of the various entities and regions of the Arab Levant, naturally, did
not originate with the Arab presence or the Islamic conquest. Rather, they are
Canaanite, Aramaic, Assyrian, and Babylonian, and certainly not Hebrew, in order
to justify Israel's occupations, Israel now preoccupied not only with
obliterating all of the past of which it was not a part, but with inventing a
future that would make it the custodian of the Arab Levant and its peoples.
And yet we see Israel, whether through its “occupations,” both political and
actual, or through its advanced technology, including artificial intelligence,
or through its “employees” and spies, working relentlessly to falsify the past
and erase the present, paving the way to “fabricate” a future that suits its
ambitions and narrative and justifies its existence.
We have begun to hear ancient Canaanite and Aramaic names that predate the
Jewish presence, dug up from the depths of ancient history, polished up and sold
to the ignorant, the parrots, and the fools, as well as the “agents,” as part of
the process of “inventing” alternative convictions and fabricated cultures.
Indeed, in times of decline, there is nothing easier to falsify than to buy
consciences, encourage fascination and submission, portray subservience as
wisdom, surrender as foresight, and treason as political “pragmatism” that
claims to anticipate the future.
China between the Gulf and Iran
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
The sole common factor between Saudi Arabia and Iran is China. As the largest
buyer of crude oil from both nations, China has also felt the economic sting of
the conflict due to supply disruptions and their broader fallout. While domestic
gasoline prices have surged by nearly a third and Chinese exports to Arab
markets have contracted, China's economy continues to register growth. China is
the nation most invested in the energy security and maritime navigation of the
Middle East, as it stands as the region's primary oil importer. This contrasts
sharply with the United States, which no longer purchases Gulf oil and has
instead emerged as the world's largest producer and exporter. Despite the vast
scale of its interests in the region, Beijing pursues a policy vastly different
from that of the US, to a degree that we sometimes find difficult to understand.
The US has long maintained a well-defined policy that, specifically since the
British withdrawal from "East of Suez", has aligned with its own interests, the
protection of energy flows, and countering communist expansion. President
Richard Nixon adopted a strategy of regionally backing both Iran and Saudi
Arabia. This was subsequently followed by the well-known Carter Doctrine, which
established a commitment to utilizing military force to protect the Gulf.
The Middle East is crucial to China, however, Beijing does not act as a
protector of its own interests there just yet. Despite possessing the world's
largest tanker fleet, its vessels sit waiting outside the Strait of Hormuz.
Similarly, while China maintains a naval presence in the Gulf of Aden near areas
controlled by Yemen's Houthi militia, Chinese forces have refrained from
engaging them despite ongoing attacks, leaving its tankers waiting out in the
ocean. Chinese politicians likely prefer to avoid involvement in the US-Iran
conflict, and it may suit their interests to weaken the Trump administration by
refraining from intervening against Iran. Tehran has currently decided to permit
some Chinese vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz, but this concession
arrived late, coming after the Americans established a maritime corridor in the
waters of Oman that is less vulnerable to Iranian attacks.
This maritime workaround prompted the Iranians to travel to Baghdad last week to
convince officials that they would exempt their oil tankers from targeting and
that they should use the Iranian sea lane, following the desertion of most
tankers from this route in favor of the Omani corridor.
Whether the conflict concludes now or in a year, China will, over the long term,
adopt the same strategy previously deployed by major global powers like Britain
and the US to defend their interests - by constructing a larger fleet,
establishing more military bases, forging defense pacts, and pursuing a more
aligned foreign policy. However, this is not imminent. Today, China coexists
with American hegemony, primarily because it benefits from the guaranteed,
continuous flow of oil, and secondly, because its geopolitical priorities lie
elsewhere, specifically in Taiwan, the South and East China Seas, and the
Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is for this reason that former US President Barack
Obama famously labeled China a "free rider," as it capitalizes on American
protection of international shipping lanes.
China’s policy appears somewhat foreign to us. Historically, we have been
accustomed to navigating the old international polar system by aligning with a
single camp, whether the French or the British, the Axis or the Allies, or the
Soviet Union or the US. However, China is rapidly ascending as a superpower and
has not yet reached the stage of forcing geopolitical positioning and alignment.
This does not imply that Beijing is a country devoid of alliances or stances, as
it maintains its own animosities within its immediate geopolitical periphery.
In the Middle East and Africa, Beijing is a "friend" to all, making its policy
easy to deal with, yet simultaneously difficult to understand. China appears
contradictory; it stands as the largest buyer from the warring Gulf nations and
is the premier trading partner for both Saudi Arabia and Iran. Furthermore,
China is Israel's second-largest trading partner, while also remaining a
supporter of the Palestinian cause!
The tedious Chinese neutrality observed today is expected to diminish as its
interests expand and occasionally conflict. The war with Iran has come to test
Beijing's policy. Thus far, China has not been forced to shed its public
neutrality, though it may do so if the scope of the conflict broadens and
prolongs. This does not deny the fact that Beijing is currently assisting Iran
covertly and to a limited extent, without directly defying the American
blockade. Beijing wishes to see a defeat for Trump, while simultaneously
recognizing that the Tehran regime, by its very nature, fosters chaos that harms
Chinese interests.
For its part, Iran considers China its sole ally and seeks its support, while
viewing Russia as a temporary friend of convenience due to deep-seated
historical grievances.
Meanwhile, countries in the Arab region, specifically the Gulf states, have
constructed substantial interest-based relations, seeking to win Beijing over or
at least neutralize its stance, a strategy that has proven partially successful.
China "does not want to be another America" - meaning a hegemonic power - a
stance it has repeatedly declared, yet there are ample indications that the
"Dragon Empire" is ascending. It established its first military base in our
region in Djibouti, south of the Red Sea, and maintains warships at the gateway
of the Red Sea that previously helped in combating Somali pirates. Following an
American withdrawal, Beijing will find itself compelled to fill the vacuum.
Iran and the Duality of Political Memory
Kifah Mahmood/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
There is a memory that forgets nothing, and another that recalls only what it
desires, and between the two arises one of the most pervasive phenomena in
politics and one of the least willing to acknowledge itself: the duality of
memory. In public life, forgetting is not always a defect of memory, nor is
remembering evidence of an alert consciousness.A person may remember an event
because it supports his account, and forget it because it threatens that
account. At this point memory ceases to be a neutral storehouse of facts and
becomes an instrument for rearranging the past to the measure of the present.
This is not a passing phenomenon; it is among the oldest instruments of power,
because it does not confiscate the truth. It merely arranges it.
The ideologized mind is adept at disposing of time. It summons up a position
taken half a century ago as though it happened yesterday, if it incriminates an
opponent, and cannot recall what it said itself a few years back once that
becomes embarrassing. Alliances shift, slogans are exchanged, and those who held
them move from a cause to its opposite - whereupon selective memory undertakes
to build the bridge that makes yesterday consistent with today.
Herein lies the paradox: the politician does not usually need to falsify
history. It is enough for him to select from it. And selection is more dangerous
than outright lying, because a lie is exposed by setting the account against
reality, whereas selection builds its case out of facts that are entirely true,
illuminating some and extinguishing others, and emerging with an incomplete
picture that appears complete with a half-truth deadlier than any falsehood
entire.
Iranian policy may be the clearest contemporary model of this duality. In its
discourse, Tehran raises the principle of sovereignty and the rejection of
interference and counts any foreign military presence near its borders a threat
to its national security - a comprehensible position in the logic of states. But
the principle loses its absoluteness once it becomes exchangeable according to
party and geography. Where its adversaries are concerned, sovereignty is a red
line beyond discussion; where its own influence is concerned, intervention
itself is reformulated under the headings of resistance, common security, the
unity of the arenas, and the defense of the axis.
Nor does the duality stop at the boundaries of discourse. Tehran has warned Gulf
states against taking part in American economic pressure, and its statements
have gone as far as intimating that neighbors' interests would be targeted
should they participate. At the same time, it speaks of respecting the
sovereignty of countries, while its name is coupled with armed forces inside
Iraq that shell an important part of the country in the Kurdistan Region to the
point that Baghdad now faces mounting pressure to keep its territory from
becoming a platform for striking its neighbors, or its own region, which America
and its allies consider a red line.
The clearest manifestation of this equation is reflected by the relationship
with the Kurdistan Region. The region whose capital has been struck by ballistic
missiles more than once, on the pretext that it shelters what threatens Iranian
security, is the same region required, under security understandings, to disarm
the Iranian Kurdish opposition and move it away from the border. That is to say:
the presence of armed groups on a neighbor's soil is unacceptable when they are
Tehran's adversaries, and legitimate when they are its allies, such as the
militias in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen. The rule is one
and the same; the verdict changes with the identity of whoever holds the rifle.
Iran is not an exception in this respect so much as its most consistent and
conspicuous model. Many keep two ledgers: one of the grievances done to them,
read aloud at every gathering, and one of what their own hands have committed,
which stays in the drawer. This is why the discourses resemble one another,
while the narratives contradict one another, and why talk of international law
and good neighborliness becomes a language brandished in the face of adversaries
rather than a standard by which actions are measured.
The point here is not to deny a country's right to protect its security or to
weave its alliances. The matter is finer than that: does the principle we demand
of others remain binding on us when circumstances reverse? That is the line
separating realism from selectivity. Realism acknowledges that states have
interests, and that they may maneuver, bargain, and change their allies.
Duality, by contrast, sets rules for others that it does not consider itself
bound by and at that point memory turns from an instrument for understanding
history into an instrument for justifying positions.
Societies that live on a double memory do not learn from their history; they
reproduce it. For them history is not a school, but an ammunition depot, opened
whenever the battle needs a witness and bolted shut whenever a fact appears that
does not serve the account. Reconciliation with history therefore does not begin
with agreement on a single narrative, which is impossible, but with accepting an
idea at once simple and arduous: that the past does not change as our positions
toward it change.
What pays the price in the end is neither the historian nor the adversary, but
the generations handed a truncated account, which they take for an inheritance,
and are then asked to defend as an identity. We may differ over the
interpretation of an event, over the assessment of its motives and its
consequences. What we may not do is demand that others remember what suits us
and then grant ourselves a license to forget when the truth grows heavy. A
mature political memory is not the one that retains everything, but the one
strong enough to remember what it hates to remember. A state that wants a stable
future needs a memory that neither avenges nor deceives: a memory that
acknowledges facts, whoever their authors, errors whoever committed them, and
victims whatever their identities.
Once memory becomes the property of ideology, truth forfeits its right to exist
unless it seeks permission from the owners of the narrative. Here the great
paradox is complete: minds afflicted with a fish's memory whenever their own
past is examined, which turn into a complete archive from which not a comma is
missing whenever an adversary's past is examined. This is less a weakness of
memory than a weakness of integrity toward it. Politics changes positions,
interests change alliances, and time changes a great deal. Truth alone should
not change along with them.
Masoud's Advice and the Supreme Leader's Message
Mishary Dhayidi/Asharq Al-Awsat/August 30/2026
Masoud Pezeshkian may be the man closest to expressing the voice of Iranians,
given that he came to his post through a general vote - the post of president of
the republic, or president of a public, as they say in Iran. It is true that the
mechanisms of approval and vetting, before a candidacy is formally accepted,
pass through the filters of the authorities and of institutions above the state,
which are tied in the end to the Supreme Leader's office and to the centers of
power in the Revolutionary Guard and the like. But he remains the closest to the
people's voice, without being its complete and final expression.
For this reason, perhaps, his voice seems different to some degree from the rest
of the system's leaders, from the Supreme Leader himself through to Qalibaf, the
Revolutionary Guard commanders, and the rest of the military and security men
and the system's clerics.
In remarks he made in a television interview last Friday, he said: “We must
correct our outlook in order to raise the level of our relations with
neighboring states, and we must reach a common language with them to guarantee
the region's security.”
On Saturday, the following day, Pezeshkian said, during the opening of a bridge
and tunnel complex in Isfahan by video link, that the government “would work to
manage energy consumption over the winter but would not allow production to
stop; and that if necessary, they should cut the electricity to the government,
but not to industry. “
This talk has a different flavor and a different impact from that of the rest of
the system's leaders. The man acknowledges, in a different vocabulary, the harm
done to the Iranian people by the blockade and the economic sanctions, that
there is a real crisis, and that the Iranian is worn out.
He acknowledges that Iran's relations with its neighbors need improving and need
a common language. To grasp how different this is, compare it with the talk of
the generals: Rezaei, or Abdollahi, or Vahidi, and others, and the difference
becomes clear.
And - this is the most important thing - he is not entirely in harmony with the
words of the secluded Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who in a written message
released by the Tasnim agency called on officials to avoid making any
dispiriting statements that would weaken national and public motivation.
Khamenei warned in the written statement against talk of weak points, holding
that displaying them serves the enemy.
I will not go so far as to say this reflects real and fundamental differences
portending divisions capable of developing further. I will say it indicates some
degree of difference. Had this degree of difference not materialized, we would
be dealing with stone rather than ordinary human beings, who disagree even in
times of calm, let alone during the calamities of fate and the misfortunes of
the world.
Calamities are like great blessings: they cannot be concealed.
Emerging Kurdish role in Syria can be a win-win
Hani Hazaimeh/Arab News/August 30/2026
The dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and the integration
of its fighters into the Syrian army should not be interpreted simply as a
victory for Damascus or a defeat for the Kurds. If implemented in good faith, it
could mark the beginning of a new relationship between Syrian Kurds and the
Syrian state — one that could serve the interests of Damascus, the Kurds,
Turkiye and the wider region. For more than a decade, Syria’s Kurdish question
has been inseparable from the country’s broader fragmentation. The civil war
created circumstances in which Kurdish forces established a powerful presence
across large parts of northeastern Syria, developing their own military,
political and administrative structures while becoming a key partner of the
international coalition against Daesh. Although understandable during wartime,
that arrangement was never likely to provide a sustainable long-term formula for
a unified Syrian state. The integration of SDF fighters into the Syrian army
therefore represents a significant shift from parallel military structures
toward a single national security framework. Damascus has regained authority
over substantial territory and strategic assets, including border crossings and
energy infrastructure. For the Syrian government, this represents an important
restoration of sovereignty and a step toward rebuilding a state fragmented by
years of conflict. Historically, Syrian Kurds have faced serious grievances over
citizenship, political recognition and cultural rights. The emerging settlement
provides an opportunity to address those grievances within the Syrian state
rather than through permanent confrontation with it. The Kurds are surrendering
a degree of military and territorial autonomy, but in return they can gain
something potentially more durable: recognized rights, political participation
and a legitimate place within national institutions. That distinction matters.
Military autonomy can provide leverage but it can also generate insecurity,
invite external intervention and encourage neighboring states to view Kurdish
aspirations primarily through a security lens. Political influence exercised
through national institutions offers a more sustainable path. The Kurdish
community should therefore view this moment not as the abandonment of its
aspirations but as an opportunity to transform them. The future of Kurdish
rights should be secured through constitutional guarantees, legislation and
political representation — not indefinitely through an independent armed
force.This, however, places a major responsibility on Damascus. A unified Syria
cannot mean a state that demands cultural uniformity from its citizens. National
unity and cultural diversity are not contradictory. A strong state is one that
is capable of accommodating legitimate differences while preventing those
differences from becoming a justification for territorial fragmentation. If
Damascus wants the integration process to succeed, it must translate its
political commitments into durable legal and constitutional guarantees. Kurdish
cultural and linguistic rights, citizenship, political representation, local
administration and equality before the law cannot depend solely on promises or
the goodwill of individual leaders. They must be protected by institutions that
survive changes of government.
This transformation could also serve Turkiye’s interests. Ankara has long viewed
the presence of an armed Kurdish organization along its southern border,
particularly one it associates with the PKK, as a major national security
concern. The dissolution of the SDF as an independent military structure and the
incorporation of its personnel into the Syrian state fundamentally changes that
equation.The appointment of Mazloum Abdi to a formal advisory role within the
Syrian state is particularly significant. A unified Syrian security structure is
far less threatening to Turkiye than a permanently autonomous armed entity
operating along its border. This does not eliminate all Turkish security
concerns but it creates a political framework through which they can be
addressed without another cycle of military confrontation. For Ankara, a stable
Syria capable of controlling its territory and guaranteeing the rights of its
Kurdish citizens is ultimately a more sustainable outcome. The international
community also stands to benefit. The SDF played a critical role in the fight
against Daesh but wartime arrangements cannot substitute indefinitely for
functioning national institutions. Syria ultimately needs a state capable of
assuming responsibility for its territory and security. Integrating former SDF
personnel into national structures can help achieve that objective, provided the
process preserves Syria’s capacity to combat terrorism.
The appointment of former SDF commander Mazloum Abdi to a formal advisory role
within the Syrian state is particularly significant. It illustrates how a former
military interlocutor can become a political partner. Such a transition could
provide Syria with an opportunity to turn years of confrontation into
cooperation.There are, nevertheless, reasons for caution. Integration alone will
not resolve decades of mistrust. The precise status of Kurdish rights, the
integration of former SDF personnel and meaningful Kurdish political
participation will remain tests of the agreement. If grievances are ignored,
today’s settlement could become tomorrow’s crisis.The emerging arrangement
should therefore be understood as a potential win-win rather than a zero-sum
outcome. Damascus gains sovereignty and territorial integrity. Syrian Kurds gain
recognition, rights and a path to political participation. Turkiye gains greater
security along its border. The international community gains a more coherent
Syrian state capable of assuming responsibility for security and combating
terrorism. Most importantly, ordinary Syrians gain an opportunity to move beyond
the fragmented political and military realities created by the war.
The ultimate measure of success will not be whether one side believes it
defeated the other. It will be whether both sides conclude that they have more
to gain from cooperation than confrontation. If Damascus delivers on its
commitments and the Kurds successfully transform their former military leverage
into political influence, the dissolution of the SDF may ultimately be
remembered not as the end of the Kurdish role in Syria but as the beginning of a
more sustainable one.The real victory would be neither Damascus over the Kurds
nor the Kurds over Damascus. It would be the emergence of a Syria in which
Kurdish rights and Syrian sovereignty are no longer competing objectives but
complementary pillars of a stable and united state.
• Hani Hazaimeh is a senior editor based in Amman. X: @hanihazaimeh
Netanyahu’s escalation with Turkiye smacks of desperation
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/August 30/2026
As if Israel does not have enough unresolved conflicts, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu seems determined to add another, this time with Turkiye, in what
appears to be a last-ditch attempt to improve his chances in the October general
election. It is almost impossible to provide an alternative explanation for this
misguided decision to strike Abu Duhur airport, a Syrian military base near the
Turkish border. Unlike previous Israeli military operations in Syria, this time
Israel took responsibility for the attack and blamed Turkiye for planning to
deploy forces at the airbase. In an area where stability has been scarce,
particularly during the past three years, it is impossible to comprehend who
could benefit from a direct confrontation between two of the region’s most
powerful militaries. Hence, considering Netanyahu’s past, it is inevitable that
suspicions are growing that this escalation, which was followed by another
airstrike in Syria a few days later, is motivated by domestic political
considerations. This latest development fits the perilous pattern of behavior of
Israel’s current government, which resorts to a single modus operandi: the use
of force. It sees risks rather than opportunities and almost completely
sidelines, if not outright neglects, diplomatic solutions to disagreements and
security challenges. The fall of Bashar Assad and the emergence of Ahmad Al-Sharaa
as Syria’s new leader were unsettling for Israel. Al-Sharaa’s past naturally
raised concerns. Yet, Al-Sharaa proved to be pragmatic and extremely restrained
in the face of Israeli provocations.Israel’s overreaction to the new Syrian
leadership, including the seizure of additional territory, which it claimed was
necessary to create a buffer zone beyond the occupied Golan Heights, and the
airstrikes it carried out in December 2024, was met with a remarkably pragmatic
response from Al-Sharaa, which has continued since. The message from Damascus
has been that it has no interest in confrontation or escalation with Israel.
Having endured the tragically disastrous years of the Assad family’s rule, Syria
wants to concentrate on rebuilding its country, economy, and society. To do so,
it needs foreign investment and political support. This week’s US decision to
remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after 47 years, is a
major relief for Damascus. It opens the way for greater private sector
investment and closer integration with the global economy. Why would Syria risk
all this through a futile confrontation with Israel?
Israel’s security and political leadership have learned little from the
calamities of the past three years. Netanyahu claims that Israel and Syria
agreed to a security status quo “which Syria was on the verge of breaching by
permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an air base near Aleppo.” This claim
hardly holds water, given that Israel itself has unilaterally and repeatedly
altered the status quo. Turkiye, backed by the US, strongly rejected the
accusation, arguing that Israel was attempting to “bait” Turkiye into a conflict
ahead of the Israeli elections. Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkiye and
special envoy for Syria, did not mince his words. In an interview, he suggested
that “one theory is they were just baiting Turkiye, and it is a very aggressive,
but maybe well-received, pre-election concept.”
Barrack’s other possible explanation was hardly more complimentary to Israel:
that there may have been confusion between the Israeli military, Mossad, and the
prime minister’s office. If true, that would suggest that Israel’s security and
political leadership have learned little from the calamities of the past three
years.It was not that long ago that Israel and Turkiye were close allies, and
there was considerable strategic logic to that relationship — logic that has not
fundamentally changed over the years and, if anything, should once again become
prominent in the calculations of both countries. Instead, the relationship
increasingly appears to have become a matter of clashing personalities between
the leaders of both countries, with hostile rhetoric and provocations eclipsing
the national interests.
In recent months, anti-Turkish rhetoric from senior members of the Israeli
Cabinet has increased significantly, despite the absence of hard evidence that
Turkiye is building a military base in Syria or that its actions there are
driven by hostile intentions toward Israel. The suggestion that Turkiye’s
objective is to restrict the Israeli Air Force’s air superiority in Syria by
permanently stationing advanced air-defense systems has neither been accompanied
by conclusive evidence nor been sufficiently examined as a reflection of the
Israeli government’s apparent belief that it can control another country’s
airspace indefinitely.
Ultimately, there is a huge leap between a visit by a Turkish delegation to a
site to assess the viability of rehabilitating it and establishing a Turkish
presence there, and the assumption that such a presence would be hostile to
Israel. There is an equally enormous leap between such a possibility and the
aspiration to preserve the ability to violate another country’s sovereignty
rather than reaching long-term understandings with it.
Above all, the change of government in Syria represents a positive development
for Israel, given the close relationship between Damascus and Tehran during the
Assad era. That relationship facilitated Hezbollah’s presence in Syria and the
free flow of weapons from Iran to the organization’s militants in Lebanon.
Reducing Iran’s influence is a common interest for both Syria and Israel, and
arguably outweighs any immediate or grave threat to Israeli security. What has
been taking place in Syria should be viewed as an opportunity, rather than a
threat, at a time when the Middle East’s security architecture is shifting
rapidly, as evidenced by the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement involving Saudi
Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkiye.
Moreover, at a time when Israel’s international standing is at one of its lowest
points, and when the US president has forged close relations with both Turkiye’s
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Al-Sharaa, Netanyahu might find that further
strikes against Syria only undermine his country’s relationship with Washington.
Provoking a crisis with Turkiye, a NATO member, raises the suspicion that the
Israeli leader and those close to him are becoming increasingly desperate. It
also suggests that political considerations may be eclipsing sound judgment, at
the cost of risking Israel’s national interests simply to keep Netanyahu in
power.If anything, this approach should deter and alienate voters who may
otherwise have considered another four years under the current leadership. And
who knows what he and his lieutenants might be plotting next?
• Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate
fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg
Selected Face Book & X tweets
on August 30/2026
Chatham House
Iran and its regional allies are likely to test the Mecca Pact in the near
future, potentially by attacking Saudi Arabia via the Houthis or using
Iraq-based militias.
Brian McDonald B
Saudi Arabia asked USA to lead war again houthi's, USA refused
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked the U.S. to lead a military
campaign against Yemen’s Houthis (Ansarallah), according to Kan News.
The request was raised during a meeting earlier this month between MBS and
CENTCOM commander Gen. Brad Cooper.
Washington rejected taking direct leadership of the campaign, particularly
because the Houthis are not targeting U.S. vessels in the Red Sea. However, the
U.S. told the crown prince it would support Saudi military operations against
the group.
Source: Kan news
Israel Foreign Ministry
The antisemitic Erdoğan seeks, every few days, to reach new heights of wild
incitement against the Jewish state in an attempt to divert attention from his
actions against his own people and across the region. Erdoğan has destroyed
Turkish democracy, imprisoned his political opponents, hosted and supported the
Hamas terrorist organization, and invaded neighboring countries.Like the worst
antisemites in history, Erdoğan seeks to deflect attention from his own
disgraceful actions by spreading false blood libels.
Dr Walid Phares
@WalidPhares
The East Mediterranean maritime alliance
Greece-Israel-Cyprus alliance creates a nucleus of an Eastern Mediterranean
force.
Eventually Malta, could join as well. This alliance would project joint defense
of the largest body of water in the Mediterranean. Also it could launch an
advanced counter terrorism network in the same area.
Dr Walid Phares
According to Channel 14 in Israel and NGOs reporting, Jihadi forces in South
Syria are now attacking the Druse city of Souaida. We strongly recommend that
the US asks Israel to widen the protection of the Druse and Christian
communities north of the Golan.
Donald J Trump Posts TruthSocial
JUST NOW: Iran has launched a fresh wave of ballistic missiles targeting US
military installations in Jordan. Loud explosions have reportedly been heard
near critical facilities hosting American service members, including the
Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and strategic outposts near Aqaba. Pray for US troops.
Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו
Thank you PM Janša for your courage and clarity amidst EU hypocrisy. The EU
remains silent when Turkey, a NATO member, illegally occupies half of Cyprus –
an EU member! Yet when the Jewish people want to exercise their historic right
to build and live in their ancestral homeland, the EU is outraged. You reminded
everyone that Slovenia is a sovereign state and an equal member of the EU. That
is not a provocation. It is a right that some wish to deny.
Thank you, Janez, for your conviction and leadership.
Fox News World
President Donald Trump amplified a Christian lawmaker-backed plan to create
expedited immigration pathways for Jewish Canadians fleeing antisemitism —
sharing the proposal with millions on Truth Social. Canada has reported nearly
7,000 antisemitic incidents in a country of roughly 41 million people. The U.S.,
with more than 342 million people, has reported fewer than 6,300. The National
Association of Christian Lawmakers is urging the State Department and DHS to use
existing refugee, humanitarian and visa authorities to help facilitate
relocation for the more than 2,000 Jewish Canadians who have expressed interest.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has already told Trump his state would welcome Jewish
families who legally enter the United States, and Jewish and Christian leaders
in Tulsa have offered to help receive them.
Foreign Policy
After the fall of the Assad regime and with both Hezbollah and Iran weakened,
Israel and Turkey see a vacuum and are competing to shape the region, writes
Anchal Vohra.
Greece in Lebanon
Greece continues its tangible support to the @LebarmyOfficial . On 29
August, Greece delivered a second shipment of military equipment to the LAF: 13
APCs and 10 General Purpose Military Vehicles, fully operational and equipped,
together with a substantial quantity of spare parts. Greece stands steadfastly
by Lebanon and the LAF, supporting their capabilities and Lebanon’s sovereignty,
security and stability.