English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News
& Editorials
For January 25/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the
lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2026/english.january 25.26.htm
News Bulletin Achieves Since
2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006
Click On
The Below Link To Join Elias Bejjaninews whatsapp group
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FPF0N7lE5S484LNaSm0MjW
اضغط
على الرابط في
أعلى للإنضمام
لكروب
Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group
Elias Bejjani/Click on
the below link to subscribe to my youtube channel
الياس
بجاني/اضغط
على الرابط في
أسفل للإشتراك في
موقعي ع اليوتيوب
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOOSioLh1GE3C1hp63Camw
Bible Quotations For today
From everyone to whom much has been given, much will
be required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be
demanded
Saint Luke 12/42-48/:”The Lord said, ‘Who then is the faithful
and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give
them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his
master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one
in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says to himself, “My master
is delayed in coming”, and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women,
and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day
when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut
him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. That slave who knew what his
master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a
severe beating. But one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will
receive a light beating. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be
required; and from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be
demanded.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on January
24-25/2026
The Necessity of Ending Lebanon’s “Battleground” Status and Recognizing
Israel/Elias Bejjani/January 25/2026
Video & Text: Commemorating the Annual Brutal Damour Massacre/Elias Bejjani/January
21, 2025
Paris backs Beirut, but weapons, UNIFIL, and reforms cloud the picture—The
latest
Tragedy at dawn: Tripoli wakes to ruins as residential buildings collapse
Lebanese Interior Minister says there may be one fatality after building
collapse in Tripoli
Woman rescued as search continues after five-story building collapses in
Tripoli, investigation ordered
Unsafe paragliding flights in poor weather nearly end in disaster in Jounieh
Aoun asks Council for South to offer aid to residents affected by Israeli
attacks
Salam Says Lebanon to Expand State Control as International Confidence Grows
Berri denies suggesting negotiations team that represents three sects
Lebanon PM says international force needed after UNIFIL
Lebanon’s leaders stress timely elections, condemn Israeli attacks
Hezbollah-Affiliated Al-Akhbar to Scale Back Due to Funding Cuts
Qatar Pledges $480 Million and Plans to Rebuild Three Destroyed Villages in
South Lebanon
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on January
24-25/2026
Video-Link To an important Interview Mosab Hassan Yousef from "Stand Tall
Israel" Youtube Platform: Everything You’ve Been Told About Palestinians Is a
Lie | Mosab Hassan Yousef
Video-Link To an important Interview with Imam Tawhidi & Dr. Mordechai Kedar
Yousef from "Stand Tall Israel" Youtube Platform /What Islam REALLY Says About
Israel — The Truth Few Admit
Airlines reroute, cancel flights as tensions ramp up over Iran
Amid US military buildup, Iran says will treat any attack as ‘all-out war
against us’
US military to provide ‘more limited’ support for allies, document shows
Iran executes two men linked to ISIS for 2023 bus bombing
Iran's Revolutionary Guard commander warns the US, says his force has its
'finger on the trigger'
Seeking to limit Iran’s influence, US threatens to starve Iraq of its oil
dollars
US asks Italy to join Gaza security force as founding member
US special envoys in Israel to discuss future of Gaza: Sources
Israel aims to ensure more Palestinians are let out of Gaza than back in
Israeli strike kills 2 teenagers in Gaza
Israel’s Arab Bedouin see hopes for better life crushed after deadly crackdown
Syria begins oil extraction at recently controlled fields, state news agency
says
Military personnel gather, after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew
from Deir
Risk of ISIS detainee breakouts in Syria ‘of paramount concern’ for EU
US envoys Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff met with Putin for four hours in Moscow:
US official
Ukraine says deadly Russian strikes threaten US-backed peace talks
Ukraine, Russia to hold second day of direct talks in Abu Dhabi on US plan
US authorities say man shot dead in Minneapolis was armed, ‘violently resisted’
Trump threatens Canada with 100 percent tariff if it completes China trade deal
US has taken oil from seized Venezuelan tankers, Trump says
Venezuela says over 600 prisoners released
Thousands protest US immigration crackdown, child’s detention
US-brokered peace talks between Russia, Ukraine break off without deal
Pakistani human rights lawyers jailed for 17 years over social media posts
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on January
24-25/2026
The
Beginning of the End for the Mullahs/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone
Institute/January 24, 2026
EU’s future may well depend on Marine Le Pen appeal verdict/Mohamed Chebaro/Arab
News/January 24, 2026
The Rassemblement National‘s mission impossible in France/Francis Ghilès/The
Arab News/January 24/2026
Nouri al-Maliki: The old disaster in a new wrapper/Karam Nama/The Arab
News/January 24/2026
A Mechanism of Coercion/Michael Young/Diwan/Published on Jan 23, 2026
Selected X tweets fror January 24/2026
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on January
24-25/2026
The Necessity of Ending Lebanon’s “Battleground” Status and Recognizing
Israel
Elias Bejjani/January 25/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/151479/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4GdPMkWXbs
As the saying goes, “Once the cause is
known, wonder ceases.” The true tragedy of Lebanon is not merely its security,
economic, or social collapse, but the suicidal persistence in remaining a
perpetual “battleground” and a regional “mailbox.” The core cause of this
national disintegration lies in the absence of faith among Lebanon’s ruling
class: political leaders, party bosses turned corporate oligarchs, hypocritical
Arabists, leftists, and self-proclaimed nationalists. They do not believe in the
concept of the state, nor in Lebanon as a sovereign entity with a distinct role
and mission. More dangerously, they lack the most basic standards of ethics and
genuine patriotism.
The so-called “Resistance” in Lebanon was never a Lebanese project. It was a
façade for cross-border agendas that transformed the country into a hostage.
This tragic farce began in the late 1960s, when criminal and terrorist
Palestinian organizations violated Lebanese sovereignty under the banner of
“liberation.” They were assisted by the so-called “National Movement”—a
coalition of leftists, Arabists, Baathists, and ideologues who harbored
hostility toward Lebanon as a state, a message, and a beacon of freedom—thereby
tearing apart the national fabric.
This was followed by the barbaric Syrian Baathist occupation, which imposed its
tutelage under the same slogans and ushered in one of the darkest eras in
Lebanon’s modern history. Since 2005, the Iranian-backed, sectarian, and
reckless Hezbollah militia has tightened its grip on the Lebanese people,
turning the South, the Suburbs, the Bekaa, and other regions into weapons
depots, tunnel networks, and missile platforms serving the agenda of Tehran’s
mullahs.
The insistence on keeping Lebanon in a permanent state of war with Israel—at a
time when Arab states are negotiating, reconciling, and prioritizing their
national interests—has produced devastating consequences:
The reduction of the state to mere “geography” used for settling the scores of
others, led by Iran, Syria, and the local, regional, and international merchants
of the “Resistance” illusion.
The impossibility of building a stable economy or attracting investment in a
country held hostage by a trigger finger controlled by foreign powers, capable
of igniting a war of total destruction at any moment.
Lebanon’s transformation into a “terrorist island” outside international
legitimacy and the rule of law, depriving it of peace, sovereignty,
independence, and development.
The entrenchment of a culture of death and war that drives Lebanon’s finest
youth into exile, leaving the country to militias, mobs, and political
opportunists.
Transitioning Lebanon into a “normal state” through mutual recognition between
Lebanon and Israel is not an act of treason. On the contrary, it represents the
highest form of patriotism and political realism. The benefits are clear and
tangible:
Finalizing borders and dismantling the fabricated pretexts of the Shebaa Farms
and Kfarchouba Hills, long exploited as an evil & fake tags “Shirt of Uthman” to
justify the persistence of illegal weapons.
Securing safe investment in offshore gas and oil resources and opening the door
to economic, commercial, and tourism cooperation in a region moving toward “zero
problems.”
Ending the so-called “state of war,” thereby stripping all militias of any
claimed legitimacy and restoring exclusive sovereign decision-making to the
Lebanese Army.
Most importantly, halting Lebanon’s role as a “factory of death” and restoring
its historic function as a cultural and civilizational bridge between East and
West.
In conclusion, Lebanon’s recovery of its identity and sovereignty begins with
full border control, strict adherence to international resolutions—including the
latest ceasefire agreement—and the rejection of the false narrative that
“Lebanon must always be the last to sign a peace accord with Israel.” Today,
Lebanese citizens are called upon to break free from political herd mentality
and the worship of “Iscariot” leaders who feast on national humiliation and
Lebanese blood.
Liberating Lebanon from the grip of “Temple Traders” and the culture of
appeasing the strong while shifting loyalties for personal gain requires the
courage to speak a simple truth: we want a homeland, not a battleground; a
state, not a private farm; and a just peace that ends nearly six decades of
deception, false heroism, and revolutionary delusions. The solution lies in
mutual recognition between Lebanon and the State of Israel, Under the auspices
of the United Nations and the international community, Lebanon will return to
being "a land of message, creativity, freedoms and stars," not "a land of
graves."
Video & Text: Commemorating the Annual Brutal Damour Massacre
Elias Bejjani/January 21, 2025 From 2025 Archive
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/126200/
The memory of the Damour Massacre, perpetrated by the Syrian Assad regime,
Palestinian terrorism, leftist and Arab nationalist groups, and jihadists on
January 20, 1976, remains etched in the Lebanese, Christian, moral, national,
and faith-based consciousness. It serves as a painful reminder of a brutal
chapter in Lebanon’s history and the resilient struggle of its free Christian
community.
Paris backs Beirut, but weapons,
UNIFIL, and reforms cloud the picture—The latest
LBCI/January 24/2026
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's visit to France and his meeting with President
Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France's support for Lebanon, while also highlighting
mounting concerns over the country's internal challenges, foremost among them
the issue of illegal weapons and how it will shape international engagement with
Beirut. French officials made clear that support for the Lebanese Army and
Internal Security Forces (ISF) remains a priority, but there is currently no
guarantee of success for the international conference scheduled for March 5 to
mobilize such backing. France is intensifying preparations to ensure the
conference goes ahead, including discussions about holding a preparatory meeting
in a Gulf country. Even so, the scale of assistance that Lebanon's security
forces might receive remains uncertain. The political conditions tied to any
future support place particular emphasis on the continuation of the army's plan
to restrict weapons to state authority. Under these conditions, the Lebanese
state would bear full responsibility for the outcomes of that process, whether
positive or negative. Salam has repeatedly stressed that the disarmament plan
will continue through all its phases. Another pressing concern shared by Salam
and French officials is the future of the United Nations Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL), whose mandate is set to expire at the end of the year.
Questions are growing over whether an international presence south of the Litani
River can be maintained. While Salam has expressed a desire to preserve a United
Nations umbrella and France is keen to retain a military presence in Lebanon,
officials acknowledge that the issue is complex and would require U.S. and
Israeli approval, potentially subject to multiple conditions. Concerns also
extend to the future of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism. Salam and French
leaders agree on the importance of maintaining it. Still, informal indicators
suggest it could eventually be replaced by a Lebanese-Israeli committee
operating at a higher political level. Financial reforms remain another key area
of focus, particularly the long-awaited financial gap law required by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and backed by Arab and international partners.
For France and other stakeholders, the passage of this legislation is a critical
indicator of Lebanon's seriousness about reform. In conclusion, officials
involved in the talks stressed that Lebanon's path forward hinges on achieving
military, security, political, and economic stability, with the swift completion
of the process to restrict weapons to state control seen as the central key to
unlocking broader international support.
Tragedy at dawn: Tripoli wakes to ruins as residential
buildings collapse
LBCI/January 24/2026
A new tragedy struck the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli early Saturday when
two residential buildings collapsed in the Qoubbeh district, trapping members of
one family under the rubble and reigniting concerns over unsafe and
deteriorating structures in the city. The collapse occurred shortly after 3
a.m., when a five-story building and a neighboring three-story structure gave
way. Authorities said the toll could have been far higher had it not been for
the owner of a nearby shop who noticed cracks in the buildings and raised the
alarm. Before the collapse, municipal authorities intervened and evacuated the
two buildings along with their residents. However, a family of five from the
Al-Mir family was still inside their apartment at the moment the buildings
collapsed, leaving them buried beneath debris. Neighbors described moments of
terror as the structures came down, sending shockwaves through the area. One
woman, still visibly shaken hours later, recounted how the collapse nearly
reached her own building, which had not been evacuated, as families lived
through what residents described as frightening and chaotic scenes. Civil
Defense teams, the Lebanese Red Cross, and relief organizations worked
tirelessly, often using their bare hands, to search for survivors. Rescuers were
able to pull one woman alive from the rubble, and throughout the day, they
reported detecting sounds from beneath the debris, raising hopes that others may
still be alive. The disaster has once again brought attention to the growing
danger posed by aging and unstable buildings in Tripoli. Officials said the
collapsed structure was not among the 105 buildings currently listed as at risk
of collapse and whose residents have been formally warned to evacuate. A meeting
scheduled for next week was already set to address buildings deemed unsafe and
in need of urgent rehabilitation. The interior minister has reiterated the
government's commitment to advancing solutions to this long-standing issue. For
residents of Tripoli, the collapse is yet another chapter in a recurring tragedy
that has shifted between neighborhoods, years, and successive governments.
Locals say the repeated disasters underscore the need for clear responsibility,
adequate funding, and concrete action to prevent further loss of life.
Lebanese Interior Minister says there may be one fatality
after building collapse in Tripoli
LBCI/January 24/2026
Interior Minister Ahmed Al-Hajjar said rescuing survivors remained the absolute
priority following a deadly building collapse in the northern city of Tripoli,
stressing that residents of densely populated neighborhoods are equal citizens
entitled to full state protection. Speaking to reporters at the scene, the
minister said he wanted to make it clear from the outset that he had been raised
in a working-class neighborhood. “Those who live in these areas are first-class
Lebanese citizens, just like any other Lebanese citizen,” he said. He added that
all relevant authorities were present on the ground to stand by residents
regardless of whether the area is considered popular or affluent. “I am here,
and all concerned agencies are here, to be alongside our people,” he said.
Describing the incident as tragic and deeply regrettable, Al-Hajjar said
coordination began early in the morning with the governor, the director general
of Civil Defense, the mayor of Tripoli, the Internal Security Forces (ISF), and
all other concerned bodies. He also said he had contacted President Joseph Aoun
and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. “Our absolute priority is to save the lives of
those still under the rubble,” he said. “All other matters will be addressed in
Tripoli and followed up, but at this moment, the top priority is those who are
still alive.”He expressed hope that all those trapped would be found alive,
while noting that there may be a fatality. He said authorities would not rush to
conclusions and would allow Civil Defense teams to continue their work. He
praised the director general of Civil Defense, who is leading the operation,
saying all efforts are focused on rescuing as many lives as possible. Asked
whether the Cabinet would provide solutions, Al-Hajjar said he had been in
contact with the president, the prime minister, the Higher Relief Committee
tasked with the file, and the municipality since the morning. He said there was
a firm commitment from both the president and the prime minister to secure the
necessary funds for all possible solutions, including repairs where feasible and
the provision of housing allowances for affected families.
Woman rescued as search continues after five-story building
collapses in Tripoli, investigation ordered
LBCI/January 24/2026
A five-story residential building collapsed at around 3 a.m. on Saturday in the
northern city of Tripoli, triggering an emergency response amid reports that a
family was inside the structure. Civil defense and ambulance teams rushed to the
scene and launched search-and-rescue operations. Rescuers later pulled a woman
alive from beneath the rubble, as efforts continued to locate others believed to
be trapped. President Joseph Aoun followed the incident at dawn and instructed
Lebanon’s interior minister to mobilize all relevant agencies — including civil
defense, the Lebanese Red Cross, and the Tripoli municipality — to speed up
debris removal and rescue efforts, with the army to be called in if necessary.
He also ordered an investigation into the causes of the collapse to determine
who was responsible. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said all those injured in
the collapse would receive treatment at the ministry’s expense. Its public
health emergency operations center reported that at least two people were
injured and transferred to a city hospital. New details emerge in Lebanon’s
‘fake prince’ case as investigation advances. The ministry added that it has
been closely monitoring developments since the incident, in coordination with
emergency responders, as rescue teams continue to work to reach those still
trapped under the rubble.
Unsafe paragliding flights in poor weather nearly end in
disaster in Jounieh
LBCI/January 24/2026
The coastal city of Jounieh narrowly avoided a serious incident after six people
went paragliding from three aircraft despite poor weather, in a clear breach of
air safety rules. Each paraglider carried two people during the flights,
heightening the risk amid unfavorable winds and limited visibility. Despite the
dangerous conditions, all six landed safely, and no injuries were reported. Two
of the paragliders landed along the rocky shoreline of Haret Sakher, while the
remaining four touched down in the wooded areas of Harissa.
Aoun asks Council for South to offer aid to residents
affected by Israeli attacks
Naharnet/January 24/2026
President Joseph Aoun held a meeting Friday in Baabda with Hashem Haidar, the
head of the state-run Council for South Lebanon. Haidar briefed the president on
the measures taken by the council to assist the residents of the southern
villages who have been affected by the Israeli attacks, the Presidency said in a
statement. Aoun for his part called on the council to continue offering aid and
anything needed by the residents, especially in terms of housing, nutrition and
health care.
Salam Says Lebanon to Expand State Control as International Confidence Grows
This is Beirut/January 24/2026
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday that
Lebanon has full operational control over southern Lebanon and will expand
operations north of the Litani river as international engagement with Lebanon
increases. Salam outlined a two-part policy driving the Lebanese state’s
governance goals: institutional and financial reform and restoring the Lebanese
state’s monopoly on arms possession. He highlighted actions taken to move
towards these objectives, citing a new law passed that strengthens the judiciary
with a mechanism that appoints state employees. This has established a
regulatory framework that is capable of overseeing important areas such as
telecommunications and electricity. In the statement, Salam also declared that
Lebanese territory south of the Litani river is under full Lebanese sovereignty
for the first time since prior to the outbreak of civil war in 1975. The
Lebanese cabinet has approved a plan to initiate the second phase of restoring
full Lebanese state sovereignty, expanding its focus north of the Litani river.
He urges that Hezbollah take part in the Lebanese political system as a
political party rather than an independent organization with a regional agenda.
Salam further adds that Lebanon intends to utilize diplomatic and political
means to garner international pressure for stopping attacks on the country from
Israel and securing Israel’s withdrawal from the five occupied points in the
south. As Lebanon strengthens its sovereignty, Nidaa al-Watan confirmed Salam’s
recent meetings with representatives from international organizations including
UNHCR, the World Bank, OCHA, and IMF head Kristalina Georgieva. This engagement
reflects the increased international confidence in Lebanon.
Berri denies suggesting negotiations team that represents
three sects
Naharnet/January 24/2026
The U.S. is pressing Lebanon to join a tripartite committee comprising Israel,
Lebanon and the United States with the aim of holding meetings leading to
agreements sponsored by Washington, al-Akhbar newspaper reported. "It has become
known that Washington and Tel Aviv are demanding an increase in the level of
representation to become ministerial," the daily said, adding that PM Nawaf
Salam is not opposed to this while President Joseph Aoun fears such a step. Al-Akhbar
added that Speaker Nabih Berri for his part has suggested forming "a tripartite
political delegation that represents the three sects (Christians, Shiites and
Sunnis)." Berri's office however denied the report's claim about the Speaker's
stance, calling it "mere fabrication, misinformation and lies" and noting that
al-Akhbar has always published "such reports."
Lebanon PM says international force needed after UNIFIL
AFP/January 24, 2026/January 24/2026
PARIS: Lebanon will need some sort of international force after the withdrawal
of the United Nations’s Unifil mission scheduled for 2027, Prime Minister Nawaf
Salam said during a visit to Paris Saturday. Some 10,800 UN peacekeepers have
manned a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon since March 1978, but they will
have one year to leave Lebanon starting 31 December, under a resolution passed
last August under pressure from the United States and Israel. “We will always
need an international presence in the south, and preferably a UN presence, given
the impartiality and neutrality that only the UN can provide,” Nawaf Salam said
the day after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. The force would
need a mix of observers and peacekeepers, largely because of a “history of
hostility” with Israel, he added. UN peacekeepers current operate in southern
Lebanon in cooperation with the Lebanese army, part of a ceasefire between
Israel and the pro-Iranian Shiite movement Hezbollah in place since November
2024. While Israel was supposed to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, it
has maintained them in five areas it considers strategic. It regularly conducts
airstrikes in the country on what it claims are Hezbollah sites and members,
whom it accuses of rearming. Questioned about Hezbollah’s promised disarmament,
Salam said Phase 2 of this process had begun “two weeks ago.”The Lebanese army
says it has completed the first phase, which calls for disarming Hezbollah south
of the Litani River. The second phase will involve disarmament between the
Litani and the Awali River, an area further north that has significant Hezbollah
influence. “I can clearly see that Phase 2 has different requirements than Phase
1,” said Salam, adding that Hezbollah’s rhetoric had been “rather harsh.”
“But let me be clear, we will not back down,” he added.
Lebanon’s leaders stress timely elections, condemn Israeli
attacks
LBCI/January 24/2026
Information obtained by LBCI indicates that President Joseph Aoun and Parliament
Speaker Nabih Berri discussed parliamentary elections during their meeting on
Friday, reaffirming that the vote will be held as scheduled. The talks also
addressed Israeli attacks in the south and ways to intensify contacts with
friendly countries and the international community to pressure Israel to halt
its attacks and abide by the ceasefire agreement and U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1701.
Hezbollah-Affiliated Al-Akhbar to Scale Back Due to Funding
Cuts
This is Beirut/January 24/2026
The Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar is carrying out widespread
terminations and restructuring amid funding cuts, according to Beirut Time News.
According to the report, the financial changes were announced suddenly and
without prior notice, as departments were reorganized and employees received
cuts in their salaries and benefits. This development indicates broader
fractures in Hezbollah’s financing structures, suggesting that its support is
drying up. Much of what Iranian funding remains for Hezbollah is primarily
allocated towards maintaining a minimum level of battle readiness. Nabih Berri
recently denounced the newspaper in a statement from his media office, stating
that the nature of Al-Akhbar’s reporting of his meeting with President Aoun on
forming a tripartite committee for meetings with Washington and Tel Aviv is
deceptive. Berri’s break with Hezbollah’s information ecosystem indicates the
general weakening of Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanese politics. If funding
pressures persist as Hezbollah continues to lose the support it needs to sustain
its media and social institutions, a pillar to its power in Lebanon, its ability
to influence the information and political landscapes in Lebanon will be
decreased.
Qatar Pledges $480 Million
and Plans to Rebuild Three Destroyed Villages in South Lebanon
This is Beirut/January 24/2026
Qatar has decid/January 24/2026ed to allocate $480 million to fund projects and
investments in Lebanon, while preparing to rebuild three destroyed villages in
the south, according to information obtained by daily An-Nahar. The initiative
is reminiscent of Doha’s role in post-war reconstruction following the 2006
conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The reconstruction effort will focus on
villages that suffered extensive destruction from the Israel-Hezbollah war in
2024 including Kfarkela in Marjayoun and Aita al-Shaab in Bint Jbeil, along with
smaller localities in the western sector such as Yarine, Jibbein, Tayr Harfa,
and Alma al-Shaab. An American company is expected to accompany and supervise
the rebuilding process, according to informed sources quoted by the newspaper.
In parallel, Doha has held contacts with the U.S. administration in Washington
and secured written guarantees, reportedly as a precaution against the
possibility that Israel could target newly rebuilt homes in the affected areas.
These efforts have involved close coordination between U.S. and Qatari
ambassadors in Lebanon, Michel Issa and Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani
respectively. Lebanese sources say the plans have also been reviewed at the
highest political level, with follow-up by President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih
Berri, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. The head of the Council of the South,
Hashem Haidar, recently provided Lebanese officials with detailed maps and
figures outlining the scale of destruction in southern towns. Qatari Minister of
State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi is
scheduled to arrive in Beirut next Monday at the head of a delegation to discuss
implementation mechanisms with Lebanese officials. The delegation is also set to
meet the country’s three top leaders. Speaker Berri said Qatar “truly stands by
Lebanon and supports its institutions,” highlighting in particular its
longstanding assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces. Over the past three years,
Qatar has contributed an estimated $300 million to help cover military salaries,
in addition to supplying fuel, military vehicles, and equipment. Doha is
expected to play a central political and financial role at the International
Conference to Support the Lebanese Army, scheduled for March 5 in Paris. A
Lebanese military source described Qatar as the second-largest supporter of the
army after the United States, noting that Doha has reaffirmed its commitment to
continued assistance in coordination with Washington.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published
on January
24-25/2026
Video-Link To an important Interview Mosab Hassan Yousef from "Stand Tall
Israel" Youtube Platform: Everything You’ve Been Told About Palestinians Is a
Lie | Mosab Hassan Yousef
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM8ecqEizXo
January 24/2026
What if everything you’ve been told about Palestinians is wrong?
In this explosive and deeply unsettling conversation, Mosab Hassan Yousef — the
son of a Hamas founder turned outspoken critic of Islamist ideology — dismantles
the dominant narratives surrounding Palestine, Gaza, and the Israel–Palestinian
conflict.
Mosab argues that this war was never about land, borders, or occupation — and
that October 7 was not a reaction to policy, but the result of decades of
indoctrination, ideological warfare, and a culture that glorifies endless
“resistance” over life itself.
Speaking with Dinesh D'Souza, Mosab explains why “Palestinianism” functions less
as a national identity and more as a political weapon, why Gaza remains
dangerous even without Hamas, and why Western leaders fundamentally
misunderstand the nature of this conflict.
This is not a comfortable discussion.
It challenges assumptions held by the media, universities, NGOs, and political
elites — and asks a question most are afraid to confront:
What happens when an entire society is built around grievance, victimhood, and
the destruction of its neighbor?
Mosab also addresses:
Why October 7 shattered Israel at a moral level
Why removing Hamas alone will not bring peace
How the conflict has been exploited by global powers and radical ideologies
Why comparisons to post-WWII Germany and Japan matter today
How the West may be importing a conflict it does not understand
Whether you agree or disagree, this conversation forces a level of moral clarity
rarely heard in public discourse.
Israel, Mosab argues, is not the problem — it is the solution.
KEY TOPICS COVERED
The myth vs. reality of Palestinian identity
October 7 and the collapse of moral illusions
Gaza beyond Hamas
Indoctrination, victim culture, and generational warfare
Religion, ideology, and the real roots of the conflict
Why ceasefires fail — and why peace has not arrived in 77 years
Video-Link To an important
Interview with Imam Tawhidi & Dr. Mordechai Kedar Yousef from "Stand Tall
Israel" Youtube Platform /What Islam REALLY Says About Israel — The Truth Few
Admit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS9vnJ-peIM
00:42 Dual Islamist Views on Israel: Destroy or Tolerate
05:10 Democracy vs Islamism: Using Freedom to Undermine the State
09:55 National Security vs Democracy — Why Extremist Groups Get Banned
14:40 The “Right of Return” and Historical Reality
20:05 Global Intifada: When the Conflict Leaves the Middle East
23:55 Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, and 7th-Century “Fake News”
28:40 Religious Symbols, Coins, and Political Islam
32:50 Islamic Law on Land Ownership — The Four Legitimate Claims
38:10 The UN, International Law, and Competing Narratives
41:50 Indigenous Claims, Names, and Arab Migration History
46:30 Normalization, Abraham Accords, and Iran’s Shadow
50:45 The Temple Mount, Third Temple, and Religious Coexistence
What does Islam really say about Israel — beyond slogans, protests, and
political narratives?
In this rare and deeply honest conversation, Imam Mohammad Tawhidi and Dr.
Mordechai Kedar confront some of the most sensitive and misunderstood questions
at the heart of the Israel–Palestinian conflict, Islamic theology, and Middle
East history.
This discussion cuts through propaganda to examine Islamic law, Quranic
interpretation, historical claims, and political Islam, addressing topics that
few Muslim leaders — and few Western commentators — are willing to speak about
openly.
Among the issues explored:
The two competing Islamist views of Israel: total rejection vs. pragmatic
coexistence
Whether Islam grants Muslims ownership over Jerusalem
The historical origins of the Al-Aqsa narrative
How Islamic jurisprudence defines land ownership
Why the “Right of Return” collapses under historical and legal scrutiny
The difference between democracy and national security when confronting
extremism
Why groups like the Muslim Brotherhood are not simply political movements
How postmodern narratives have replaced truth in global institutions
The role of the United Nations, international law, and competing historical
claims
The Temple Mount, the Third Temple, and possibilities for religious coexistence
The Abraham Accords, normalization, and Iran’s influence in the region
This conversation is not about emotion, outrage, or slogans. It is about facts,
theology, history, and reality — and why refusing to confront them has
consequences far beyond the Middle East.
Whether you agree or disagree, this is a discussion that challenges assumptions
on Islam, Israel, Jerusalem, and the future of the region.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Imam Mohammad Tawhidi is a Shia Muslim Imam, author, and reformist voice known
for confronting political Islam, extremism, and antisemitism using Islamic
sources and jurisprudence.
Dr. Mordechai Kedar is an Israeli scholar, Arabic-language expert, and former
intelligence officer specializing in Middle Eastern politics, Islam, and Arab
society.
SUBSCRIBE TO STAND TALL ISRAEL
For uncensored conversations on:
Israel & Middle East geopolitics
Radical Islam & political extremism
Media bias and propaganda
Truth, history, and moral clarity
Airlines reroute, cancel flights as tensions ramp up over Iran
Reuters/24 January/2026
Airlines have been rerouting and canceling some flights across the Middle East
as tensions ramp up between Iran and the United States, with President Donald
Trump saying on Thursday the US had an “armada” heading toward Iran. A senior
Iranian official said on Friday Iran will treat any attack “as an all-out war
against us,” ahead of the arrival of a US military aircraft carrier strike group
and other assets in the Middle East in the coming days. The European Union’s
aviation regulator recommended on January 16 that its airlines stay out of
Iran’s airspace as tensions flared over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on protests
and US threats of intervention.
KLM
Airline KLM will avoid flying over large parts of the Middle East until further
notice due to rising tensions there, the Dutch arm of airline group Air France
KLM said on January 24.
“As a precaution, given the geopolitical situation, KLM will not fly through the
airspace of Iran, Iraq and Israel and will not fly over several countries in the
Gulf region,” a KLM spokesperson said.
Air France
Air France resumed its service to Dubai on January 24 after suspending it a day
before, saying it was following the situation in the Middle East “in real
time.” “Air France continuously monitors the geopolitical situation of the
territories served and overflown by its aircraft,” it said in a statement.
Lufthansa
Lufthansa said on January 14 it would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace until
further notice, and would only operate day flights to Tel Aviv and Amman
between January 14 and January 19. Some flights could be cancelled as a result
of these actions, it added in a statement that day.
British Airways
British Airways temporarily suspended flights to Bahrain on January 16 as a
precautionary measure, saying it “continue(d) to keep the situation in the
region under close review.” Flights to Bahrain were once again available on the
BA website on January 24, and a spokesperson for the airline said all its
flights were going ahead as scheduled.
Finnair
Finnair said in a statement on January 16 it had stopped flying through Iraqi
airspace, traveling to Doha and Dubai over Saudi Arabia instead. The carrier had
already been avoiding Iranian, Syrian and Israeli airspace for security reasons.
Wizz Air
A Wizz Air spokesperson said in January that the company avoided Iraqi and
Iranian airspace. “Therefore some westbound flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi
airports will have to make (refueling and crew change) stops in Larnaca, Cyprus
or Thessaloniki, Greece,” the representative said.
Amid US military buildup, Iran says will treat any attack
as ‘all-out war against us’
The Arab News/January 24/2026
Iran will treat any attack “as an all-out war against us,” a senior Iranian
official said on Friday, ahead of the arrival of a US military aircraft carrier
strike group and other assets in the Middle East in the coming days. “This
military buildup – we hope it is not intended for real confrontation – but our
military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high
alert in Iran,” said the senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of
anonymity. “This time we will treat any attack – limited, unlimited, surgical,
kinetic, whatever they call it – as an all-out war against us, and we will
respond in the hardest way possible to settle this,” the official said. “If the
Americans violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will
respond,” said the Iranian official. He declined to specify what an Iranian
response might look like. “A country under constant military threat from the
United States has no option but to ensure that everything at its disposal can be
used to push back and, if possible, restore balance against anyone who dares to
attack Iran,” the official said. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that
the United States had an “armada” heading toward Iran but hoped he would not
have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or
restarting its nuclear programme. US officials, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several
guided-missile destroyers will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days. The
US military has in the past periodically sent increased forces to the Middle
East at times of heightened tensions, moves that were often defensive. However,
the US military staged a major buildup last year ahead of its June strikes
against Iran’s nuclear programme. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said
there were also signs that Israel was still seeking an opportunity to attack
Iran, warning such a move could further destabilise the region. “I hope they
find a different path, but the reality is that Israel, in particular, is looking
for an opportunity to strike Iran,” Fidan said in a televised interview on
Friday. The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on nine vessels of what is
known as the shadow fleet and eight related firms, the US Treasury Department
said, as the Trump administration sought to escalate pressure on Iran. The
Treasury said the vessels and their respective owners or management firms have
collectively transported hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian oil
and petroleum products to foreign markets.
US military to provide ‘more limited’ support for allies,
document shows
AFP/24 January/2026
The US military will prioritize protecting the homeland and deterring China
while providing “more limited” support to allies in Europe and elsewhere, a
Pentagon strategy document released on Friday said. The 2026 National Defense
Strategy (NDS) marks a significant departure from past Pentagon policy, both in
its emphasis on allies taking on increased burdens with less backing from
Washington, and its softer tone on traditional foes China and Russia. “As US
forces focus on homeland defense and the Indo-Pacific, our allies and partners
elsewhere will take primary responsibility for their own defense with critical
but more limited support from American forces,” the strategy said. The previous
NDS -- released under President Donald Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden --
described China as Washington’s most consequential challenge and said that
Russia posed an “acute threat.”The new document however urges “respectful
relations” with Beijing -- while making no mention of US ally Taiwan, which
China claims as its territory -- and describing the threat from Russia as a
“persistent but manageable” one affecting NATO’s eastern members. Both the Biden
and Trump strategies say homeland defense is important, but their descriptions
of the threats facing the US differ significantly. The Trump administration’s
NDS takes aim at the past administration for neglecting border security, saying
this led to a “flood of illegal aliens” and widespread narcotics trafficking.
“Border security is national security,” and the Pentagon “will therefore
prioritize efforts to seal our borders, repel forms of invasion, and deport
illegal aliens,” it said.
‘Restore military dominance’
Biden meanwhile focused on China and Russia, saying they posed “more dangerous
challenges to security and safety at home” than even the threat of terrorism.
The 2026 NDS also includes no mention of the dangers of climate change -- which
Biden’s administration had identified as an “emerging threat.” Like Trump’s
national security strategy, which was released last month, the NDS elevates
Latin America to the top of the US agenda. The Pentagon “will restore American
military dominance in the Western Hemisphere. We will use it to protect our
Homeland and our access to key terrain throughout the region,” the NDS said. The
document called that the “Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine,” a reference
to the declaration two centuries ago by the then-young United States that Latin
America was off limits to rival powers.Since returning to office last year,
Trump has repeatedly employed the US military in Latin America, ordering a
shocking raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, as
well as strikes on more than 30 alleged drug-smuggling boats that have killed
more than 100 people. Trump’s administration has provided no definitive evidence
that the sunken vessels were involved in drug trafficking, and international law
experts and rights groups say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial
killings as they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate
threat to the United States.
Iran executes two men linked to ISIS for 2023 bus bombing
Al Arabiya English/24 January/2026
Iran executed two men for the 2023 bombing of a bus carrying pilgrims,
identifying them as linked to ISIS, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported
on Saturday. The news agency said the attack killed a toddler and injured
several others on a bus travelling from Tehran to Ilam, a province in the
west that borders Iraq. The two men were involved in planting the bomb on the
bus, Mizan said. With Reuters
Iran's Revolutionary Guard commander warns the US, says his
force has its 'finger on the trigger'
Associated Press/24 January/2026
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, a force which was key in putting down
recent nationwide protests in a crackdown that left thousands dead, is "more
ready than ever, finger on the trigger," its commander said Saturday, as U.S.
warships headed toward the Middle East. Nournews, a news outlet close to Iran's
Supreme National Security Council, reported on its Telegram channel that the
commander, Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, warned the United States and Israel "to avoid
any miscalculation." "The Islamic Revolutionary Guards and dear Iran stand more
ready than ever, finger on the trigger, to execute the orders and directives of
the Commander-in-Chief," Nournews quoted Pakpour as saying. Tension remains high
between Iran and the U.S. in the wake of a bloody crackdown on protests that
began on Dec. 28, triggered by the collapse of Iran's currency, the rial, and
swept the country for about two weeks.
Trump's warnings -
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Tehran, setting two red lines
for the use of military force: the killing of peaceful demonstrators and the
mass execution of people arrested in the protests. Trump has repeatedly said
Iran halted the execution of 800 people detained in the protests. He has not
elaborated on the source of the claim — which Iran's top prosecutor, Mohammad
Movahedi, strongly denied Friday in comments carried by the judiciary's Mizan
news agency. On Thursday, Trump said aboard Air Force One that the U.S. was
moving warships toward Iran "just in case" he wants to take action.
"We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won't have to
use it," Trump said. A U.S. Navy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity
to discuss military movements, said Thursday that the aircraft carrier USS
Abraham Lincoln and other warships traveling with it were in the Indian Ocean.
Trump also mentioned the multiple rounds of talks American officials had with
Iran over its nuclear program before Israel launched a 12-day war against the
Islamic Republic in June, which also saw U.S. warplanes bomb Iranian nuclear
sites. He threatened Iran with military action that would make earlier U.S.
strikes against Iranian uranium enrichment sites "look like peanuts."
"They should have made a deal before we hit them," Trump said.
Airline jitters -
The tension has led at least one European airline to cancel some flights to the
wider region, with Air France saying it had decided to temporarily suspend its
service to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The airline cancelled two return
flights from Paris to Dubai over the weekend, saying, without elaborating, that
it was due to the current situation in the Middle East. It said it would resume
its service to Dubai later Saturday. "The airline is closely following
developments in the Middle East in real time and continuously monitors the
geopolitical situation in the territories served and overflown by its aircraft
in order to ensure the highest level of flight safety and security," the company
said. Arrivals information at Dubai's international airport also showed the
cancellation of Saturday flights from Amsterdam by Dutch carriers KLM and
Transavia, and a flight from Luxembourg by Luxair. The airlines did not
immediately respond to requests for comment. Some flights from KLM were also
canceled on Friday and Saturday to Tel Aviv, Israel, according to online flight
trackers.
Rising death toll -
Although there have been no further demonstrations in Iran for days, the death
toll reported by activists has continued to rise as information trickles out
despite the most comprehensive internet blackout in Iran's history, which has
now lasted more than two weeks. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News
Agency on Saturday put the death toll at 5,137, with the number expected to
increase. More than 27,700 people have been arrested, it said. The group's
figures have been accurate in previous unrest and rely on a network of activists
in Iran to verify deaths. That death toll exceeds that of any other round of
protest or unrest there in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding Iran's
1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran's government offered its first death toll on
Wednesday, saying 3,117 people were killed. It said 2,427 were civilians and
security forces, and labeled the rest as "terrorists." In the past, Iran's
theocracy has undercounted or not reported fatalities from unrest.
Seeking to limit Iran’s influence, US threatens to starve Iraq of its oil
dollars
The Arab News/January 24/2026
Seeking to curb Iranian influence in Iraq, the US is said to have threatened
senior Iraqi politicians with sanctions targeting the Iraqi state, including
potentially its critical oil revenues, should armed groups backed by Iran be
included in the next government.
Iraq, which has long walked a tightrope between Washington and Tehran, has
received a warning to this end from the US, reported Reuters quoting Iraqi
officials and “one source familiar with the matter”. The US warning was
delivered repeatedly over the past two months by the US Charge d’Affaires in
Baghdad, Joshua Harris, in conversations with Iraqi officials and influential
Shia leaders. The message was also conveyed to some heads of Iran-linked groups
via intermediaries. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani has also met
earlier this month with US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, in Baghdad. The
focus of the meeting seems to have been on Syria and US decision to transfer
ISIS detainees from there to Iraq, said analysts. According to INA, the Iraqi
premier highlighted “a constructive partnership between Iraq and the United
States in combating terrorism” alongside cooperation on economic development,
sustainable growth and supporting bilateral and regional efforts for prosperity
in Iraq and the region.
Since taking office a year ago, Trump has acted to weaken the Iranian
government, including via its neighbour Iraq. The US president has pursued a
maximum pressure campaign against Iran, with Iraq often caught in the crossfire
as Tehran has used it as a vital economic lung. Iran views Iraq as vital for
keeping its economy afloat amidst sanctions and long used Baghdad’s banking
system to skirt the restrictions, US and Iraqi officials have said. Successive
US administrations have sought to choke that dollar stream, placing sanctions on
more than a dozen Iraqi banks in recent years in an effort to do so.
But Washington has never curtailed the flow of dollars from the oil revenues of
Iraq, a top OPEC producer, sent via the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to the
Central Bank of Iraq.The US has had de facto control over oil revenue in dollars
from Iraq, a top OPEC producer, since it invaded the country in 2003. For the
last 23 years, the United States has held effective control over the country’s
oil revenue in dollars, giving Washington extraordinary leverage over Baghdad’s
affairs, with implications for regional dynamics involving Iran. Oil is Iraq’s
most important revenue source, accounting for some 90% of the state budget. This
gives Washington significant sway over the country’s economic and political
stability. When the Iraqi government asked US troops to leave the country in
2020, Washington reportedly threatened to cut Iraq’s access to the New York
Federal Reserve funds, with Baghdad ultimately backing down. While the Iraqi
government has gained more control over its financial affairs since the early
years of the US occupation, the ongoing relationship highlights the enduring
influence of the US on Iraq’s economic landscape, even as the country seeks to
assert its sovereignty and independence.
“The United States supports Iraqi sovereignty, and the sovereignty of every
country in the region. That leaves absolutely no role for Iran-backed militias
that pursue malign interests, cause sectarian division, and spread terrorism
across the region,” a US State Department spokesperson told Reuters.
The US spokesperson did not answer Reuters questions about the sanction threats.
Trump, who bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, threatened to again
intervene militarily in the country during protests last week. Among the senior
politicians to whom Harris’ message was passed were Prime Minister Sudani, Shia
politicians Ammar Hakim and Hadi Al Ameri, and Kurdish leader Masrour Barzani.
The conversations with Harris started after Iraq held elections in November in
which Sudani’s political bloc won the single-largest bloc of seats but in which
Iran-backed militias also made gains, the sources said. The message centred on
58 members of parliament views by the US views as linked to Iran. “The American
line was basically that they would suspend engagement with the new government
should any of those 58 MPs be represented in cabinet,” one of the Iraqi
officials said. The formation of a new cabinet could still be months away due to
wrangling to build a majority. When asked to elaborate “they said it meant they
wouldn’t deal with that government and would suspend dollar transfers,” an
official said. Iran has long supported an array of armed factions in Iraq. In
recent years, several have entered the political arena, standing for election
and winning seats as they seek a slice of Iraq’s oil wealth.
“Serious threat”
Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at London’s Chatham House think
tank, said armed groups were increasingly benefiting from positions in Iraq’s
massive bureaucracy and so took the threat of cutting dollar flows seriously.
“The US has significant leverage,” he said. “The threat of the loss of access
to US dollars, which is how Iraq’s economy functions through the sale of oil,
has made it very concerning.”One of the people Washington objects to is Adnan
Faihan, a member of the powerful, Iran-backed political and armed group Asaib
Ahl al-Haq (AAH), who was elected first deputy speaker of parliament in late
December, the Iraqi official and the source with knowledge of the matter said.
They said the US opposed Faihan’s appointment to the post. In a sign the
pressure campaign was working, AAH leader Qais al-Khazali communicated a
willingness to the Americans to remove Faihan as deputy speaker, an Iraqi
official told Reuters. Faihan currently remains in his position. In the last
government, AAH held the education ministry, and Iraqi officials say it is
seeking to participate in the next government, too. AAH was a key group in a
sophisticated oil smuggling network generating at least a $1 billion a year for
Iran and its proxies in Iraq, sources previously told Reuters. Khazali was
sanctioned by Washington in 2019 for AAH’s alleged role in serious human rights
abuses, related to the killing of protesters in Iraq that year and other
violence, including a 2007 attack that killed five US soldiers. At the time, he
dismissed the sanctions as unserious.
Iraq holds the bulk of proceeds from its oil export sales at a Central Bank of
Iraq account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Though it is a sovereign
account of the Iraqi state, the arrangement gives the US practical control over
a critical choke point of Iraqi state revenues, making Baghdad reliant on
Washington’s goodwill.
“US efforts to achieve stability in the region are focused on ensuring states
retain their sovereignty and can achieve security through mutual economic
prosperity,” the US State Department spokesperson said. The move to pressure
Baghdad with a possible suspension of dollars takes place as the US begins
marketing Venezuelan oil, which followed the capture of Venezuelan leader
Nicolas Maduro in Caracas by US forces and his transfer to New York to be put on
trial in relation to drug charges. The US Department of Energy has said all
proceeds from Venezuelan oil sales would be initially settled in US-controlled
accounts at globally recognised banks.
US asks Italy to join Gaza security force as founding member
Reuters/24 January/2026
The US has asked Italy to join the International Stabilization Force for Gaza
as a founding member, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people
familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
US special envoys in Israel to discuss future of Gaza:
Sources
Reuters/24 January/2026
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet
with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two
people briefed on the matter told Reuters. The US on Thursday announced plans
for a “New Gaza” rebuilt from scratch, to include residential towers, data
centers and seaside resorts, part of President Donald Trump’s push to advance an
Israel-Hamas ceasefire shaken by repeated violations. The Israeli prime
minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The
head of a transitional Palestinian committee backed by the US to temporarily
administer Gaza, Ali Shaath, said on Thursday that the Rafah border crossing -
effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than 2
million people who live there - would open next week. Israel wants to restrict
the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt
to ensure that more are allowed out than in, three sources briefed on the
matter said ahead of the border’s expected opening. The border was supposed to
have opened during the initial phase of Trump’s plan to end the war, under a
ceasefire reached in October between Israel and Hamas. The death toll in Gaza
since October 7, 2023, now stands at 71,654, and the death toll since the
October ceasefire at 481, according to data from Gaza’s health ministry on
Saturday. Earlier this month, Washington announced that the plan had now moved
into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further
from Gaza, and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration.
The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since
2024. Trump also said on Thursday that the United States has an “armada” heading
toward Iran, but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to
Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program.
Israel aims to ensure more Palestinians are let out of Gaza than back in
The Arab News/January 24/2026
Israel wants to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the
border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more are allowed out than in, sources
briefed on the matter told Reuters ahead of the border’s expected opening next
week. The head of a transitional Palestinian committee backed by the US to
temporarily administer Gaza, Ali Shaath, announced on Thursday that the Rafah
border crossing, effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of
the more than two million people who live there, would open next week. The
border was supposed to have opened during the initial phase of President Donald
Trump’s plan to end the war, under a ceasefire reached in October between Israel
and Hamas. Earlier this month, Washington announced that the plan had now moved
into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further
from Gaza and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration.
The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since
2024. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of
the issue, said it was still not clear how Israel planned to enforce limits on
the number of Palestinians entering Gaza from Egypt, or what ratio of exits to
entries it aimed to achieve. Israeli officials have spoken in the past about
encouraging Palestinians to emigrate from Gaza, although they deny intending to
transfer the population out by force. Palestinians are highly sensitive to any
suggestion that Gazans could be expelled, or that those who leave temporarily
could be barred from returning. The Rafah crossing is expected to be staffed by
Palestinians affiliated with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and
monitored by EU personnel, as took place during an earlier, weeks-long ceasefire
between Israel and Hamas early last year. The sources said that Israel also
wants to establish a military checkpoint inside Gaza near the border, through
which all Palestinians entering leaving would be required to pass and be
subjected to Israeli security checks. Other sources also said that Israeli
officials had insisted on setting up a military checkpoint in Gaza to screen
Palestinians moving in and out. The US embassy in Israel did not immediately
respond to a request for comment on whether Washington supported Israel in
limiting the number of Palestinians entering Gaza or setting up a checkpoint to
screen those entering and leaving.Under the initial phase of Trump’s plan, the
Israeli military partially pulled back its forces within Gaza but retained
control of 53 percent of the territory including the entire land border with
Egypt. Nearly all of the territory’s population lives in the rest of Gaza, under
Hamas control and mostly in makeshift tents or damaged buildings. The sources
said that it was not clear how individuals would be dealt with if they were
blocked by Israel’s military from passing through its checkpoint, particularly
those entering from Egypt. The Israeli government has repeatedly objected to the
opening of the border, with some officials saying Hamas must first return the
body of an Israeli police officer held in Gaza, the final human remains of a
hostage due to be transferred under the ceasefire’s first phase. US officials in
private say that Washington, not Israel, is driving the rollout of the
president’s plan to end the war.
Israeli strike kills 2 teenagers in Gaza
AFP/Reuters/January 24, 2026
GAZA: The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that Israeli
fire had killed three people, including two children, in two separate incidents
in the northern Gaza Strip. Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli forces
killed the two teenagers in a drone strike, while the military claimed it
eliminated two “terrorists” who planted an explosive device near troops.The
civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue service, said the drone killed
the two near Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza.
FASTFACT
Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital said on Saturday it received the two bodies, adding
they were two boys aged 13 and 15. The territory’s Al-Shifa Hospital said it
received the two bodies, adding they were two boys aged 13 and 15. The military
said the pair had posed an “immediate threat” to its soldiers. “Earlier today
... troops operating in the northern Gaza Strip identified several terrorists
who crossed the Yellow Line, planted an explosive device in the area, and
approached the troops, posing an immediate threat to them,” the military said in
a statement. Under a US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect on Oct. 10,
Israeli forces have withdrawn to positions behind a so-called “Yellow Line” in
Gaza, though they remain in control of more than half of the territory.
“Following the identification, the (Israeli air force) struck and eliminated the
terrorists in order to remove the threat,” the military said. A military press
officer claimed that its troops had “killed two terrorists and not children,”
without specifying the ages of those killed. The civil defense said another
fatality was also reported in a separate incident when an Israeli quadcopter
struck a group of civilians in Jabalia, also in northern Gaza. It did not
provide details on the person killed in that incident. The press officer said
the military had only one incident report.US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared
Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two people briefed on the matter said. Gaza
has been reduced to rubble in the war that was triggered by an attack on
southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since the beginning of the war, the death toll
in Gaza now stands at 71,654 people, with 481 deaths since the October
ceasefire, according to Health Ministry data.The ceasefire has largely halted
fighting between Israel and Hamas, but both sides have accused each other of
violating its terms.
Israel’s Arab Bedouin see hopes for better life crushed after deadly crackdown
The Arab News/January 24/2026
When the Israeli Bedouin village of Tarabin al-Sana backed Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu’s party in the last elections, they expected their lives
would improve. Three years later, the small community in the Negev has been left
stunned after a two-week crackdown during which police shot dead a 36-year-old
father of six. Israeli police set up roadblocks, fired tear gas and searched
homes in scenes reminiscent of military raids on Palestinian towns in the
occupied West Bank. Tarabin’s residents, however, are Israeli citizens. At the
last national elections in 2022, some 60 percent of the village’s voters cast
their ballots for Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party. “What happened in Tarabin
in the last two weeks has never happened before,” tribal representative and
local council member Abed Tarabin said. “We are citizens of the state; we didn’t
do anything to warrant the move they made,” he added, accusing the police of
having “punished the entire village”.The crackdown began on December 27 when
police made arrests in the village over what they said were violent incidents
and stolen weapons. After accusing residents of retaliatory acts of vehicle
arson in a nearby Jewish community, officers encircled Tarabin. Residents say
forces withdrew on January 11, but that police were still present. Two young
children wandered aimlessly past a pile of twisted charred metal, crushed breeze
blocks and a burnt-out car next to the dilapidated village school. “The children
here are traumatised,” said resident Mundher Tarabin, 36, adding that some were
so badly affected they still hadn’t gone back to school days later. Israel’s
impoverished and long-marginalised Bedouin are descendants of shepherds who once
roamed freely far beyond the country’s current borders. Today there are about
300,000 Bedouin living in Israel, and like its other Arab minorities, they often
complain of discrimination. Campaigning in 2021, Netanyahu visited Tarabin and
drank coffee with local leaders to woo Arab voters. Behind a camel pen on the
edge of the village, Mundher Tarabin showed where Netanyahu had made a
speech.“He said he’d make the Negev a better place,” Tarabin said.
“And people supported him.”
Tarabin said he had himself voted for Netanyahu’s Likud, but would not do so
again in elections this year. Faced with poor infrastructure and opportunities,
Bedouin grapple with high levels of crime within their communities. Police said
the Tarabin raid was part of a wider operation called “New Order” aimed at
“removing illegal weapons from criminal circulation, disrupting criminal
activity and enforcing the law”. “Dozens of suspects were arrested or fined for
a range of offences, including illegal weapons possession, drug offences,
outstanding warrants and traffic-related violations,” they said. Visiting the
Negev on January 7, Netanyahu warned that crime in the region was “out of
control”. “We will rein it in,” he vowed, and said this would involve Jewish
settlement on an unprecedented scale as well as “arrangements for the Bedouin
residents”. Bedouin in the Negev live in a mixture of communities recognised and
not recognised by the government. Many say the police fail to effectively
address crime. “The state has always known how to come and deal with crime. But
what we see today is not dealing with crime — it’s incitement,” Mundher Tarabin
said. He accused far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir — who
spearheaded the Tarabin operation and visited the village five times in two
weeks — of using the raid as a campaign stunt. “They want to show the right wing
that they are doing their job,” agreed Huda Abu Obaid, a resident of Lakiya, a
nearby Bedouin town where police placed temporary roadblocks in November. Abu
Obaid said Ben Gvir had visited multiple times to record social media videos.
Abu Obaid — who heads the NGO Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality — said
the key to stopping the cycle of violence was investing in education and
employment. But she was fearful the state was attempting to scapegoat the
Bedouin. “If today they are closing the towns, and they are using the police,
using weapons against the people, I’m not sure what they will do in the next few
years.”
Syria begins oil extraction
at recently controlled fields, state news agency says
Reuters/24 January/2026
The Syrian Petroleum Company has begun extracting oil from recently controlled
fields and sending output to the Homs and Baniyas refineries, the state news
agency SANA reported on Saturday. One of those fields, al-Omar oilfield, which
is the country’s largest, came under government control recently after a
lightning offensive against Kurdish forces who had held the site for nearly a
decade and used it as a military base.
Military personnel gather, after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew
from Deir
Reuters/24 January/2026
A four-day ceasefire between the Syrian government and Kurdish forces expired on
Saturday night, with the truce’s fate uncertain and both sides exchanging
accusations of violations. The ceasefire ended at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT), with Syrian
troops and Kurdish forces massed on opposing sides of front lines around the
last cluster of Kurdish-held cities. The deadline given to the Kurdish-led
Syrian Democratic Forces has expired, Syrian Information Minister Hamza
al-Mustafa said. “The Syrian government affirms that it is now considering its
next options,” he added on X. There was no immediate comment from the SDF on the
ceasefire’s fate. Government troops have seized swathes of northern and eastern
territory in the last two weeks from the SDF in a rapid turn of events that has
consolidated President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s rule. Government forces were closing in
on the last SDF strongholds earlier this week when he abruptly announced a
ceasefire, giving them until Saturday night to lay down arms and come up with a
plan to integrate with Syria’s army - or to resume fighting. Syria’s foreign
ministry denied on Saturday reports that an agreement to extend the ceasefire
had been reached, describing them as baseless, according to the state news
agency. The ministry also said there had been no “positive response” to the
government’s proposal, accusing the SDF of repeated violations of the truce. The
SDF said the government was moving toward escalation in a “systematic manner.”
“Military build-ups and logistical movements have been observed, clearly
indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new
confrontation,” the SDF said in a statement.
Risk of ISIS detainee breakouts in Syria ‘of paramount
concern’ for EU
The Arab News/January 24/2026
The EU said on Friday that alleged breakouts by detained foreign fighters from
the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria were of “paramount concern,” and it was
monitoring the transfer of prisoners to Iraq. “The recent alleged breakouts of
Daesh (ISIS) detainees amidst the clashes is of paramount concern,” EU spokesman
Anouar El Anouni said, referring to fighting between the Syrian government and
Kurdish-led forces who had previously secured the prisoners. “We closely monitor
the situation, including the transfer of remaining fighters detained, including
foreign terrorist fighters to Iraq,” Anouni said.
The EU expression of concern comes as poor security at a camp in Syria housing
thousands of suspected relatives of ISIS extremists has prevented UN agency
staff from entering, days after Kurdish forces withdrew and the army deployed at
the site. Two former employees at the al-Hol desert camp said on Friday that
some of its residents had escaped during an hours-long security vacuum.
Thousands of suspected jihadists and their families, including foreigners, have
been held in prisons and camps in northeast Syria since 2019, when the
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defeated ISIS with the support of a
US-led coalition. This year, the SDF had to relinquish to Syrian government
control swathes of territory they had seized during their fight against ISIS,
and on Tuesday withdrew from al-Hol. In Raqa province, Kurdish forces who
formerly controlled a prison housing ISIS detainees were bussed out on Friday
under a deal with the government, as a four-day truce neared expiry. The United
Nations said on Thursday it was taking management responsibility for vast camps
in Syria housing tens of thousands of women and children associated with Islamic
State, after the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces who guarded them for
years. Celine Schmitt, the UN refugee agency’s spokeswoman in Syria, said that
“UNHCR was able to reach al-Hol for the past three days but has not yet been
able to enter inside the camp due to the volatile security situation.”“UNHCR is
returning to al-Hol today, with the hope of resuming the bread delivery that had
stopped for the past three days,” she said. A former employee of a local
humanitarian organisation that operated in al-Hol said on condition of anonymity
that most associations withdrew on Tuesday “due to the deteriorating security
situation.”Some camp residents fled during the “security vacuum” between when
the SDF withdrew and the army took control, they said, without providing a
number. A former employee at another organisation working there said “escapes
were reported, but the exact number is unknown.” “The camp is fenced, but
without security, anyone can easily cross it and flee,” they said, also
requesting anonymity. Both ex-employees said camp residents torched centres
belonging to aid organisations operating in the camp, where humanitarian
conditions are dire. Before the turmoil, the camp housed some 23,000 people,
mostly Syrians but also including around 2,200 Iraqis and 6,200 other foreign
women and children of various nationalities. Roj, a smaller camp in the
northeast still under Kurdish control, holds some 2,300 people, mostly
foreigners. The Kurds and the United States have repeatedly urged countries to
repatriate their citizens but foreign governments have generally allowed home
only a trickle. In the meanwhile, it was revealed on Friday that Europeans were
among 150 senior ISIS group detainees transferred from Syria to Iraq earlier
this week as part of a US operation. The extremist group, which the US military
transferred to Iraq on Wednesday, were “all leaders of the Islamic State group,
and some of the most notorious criminals,” and included “Europeans, Asians,
Arabs and Iraqis,” one security official said. Another security source said the
group included “85 Iraqis and 65 others of various nationalities, including
Europeans, Sudanese, Somalis and people from the Caucasus region.” He added that
they “all participated in ISIS operations in Iraq,” including the 2014 offensive
that saw the jihadist group seize large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
“They are all at the level of emirs,” the official added. They are now held at a
prison in Baghdad. The group was the first batch of 7,000 ISIS suspects,
previously held by Syrian Kurdish fighters, that the US military said it will
transfer to prisons in Iraq.
US envoys Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff met with Putin for
four hours in Moscow: US official
LBCI/January 24/2026
U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff spoke with Russian President
Vladimir Putin for four hours in Moscow ahead of trilateral peace talks with
Ukraine, a U.S. official said on Saturday. They "met for just about four hours,
and again, (a) very, very productive discussion, speaking about the final issues
that are open," the official told a media call. AFP
Ukraine says deadly Russian strikes threaten US-backed
peace talks
Agence France Presse/January 24/2026
Ukraine on Saturday accused Russia of undermining negotiations to end their
almost four-year war by launching fresh deadly strikes, as officials from both
countries and the United States met for a second day of direct talks in Abu
Dhabi. Bombardments killed one person and injured 27 in Kyiv and the
northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight, authorities said, as Ukrainian and
Russian negotiators were set for a second day of talks on the latest
U.S.-brokered proposals. "Peace efforts? Trilateral meeting in the UAE?
Diplomacy? For Ukrainians, this was another night of Russian terror," Ukraine's
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said. He said Russia's President Vladimir Putin
"ordered a brutal massive missile strike against Ukraine right while delegations
are meeting in Abu Dhabi to advance the America-led peace process. His missiles
hit not only our people, but also the negotiation table."The first known direct
contact between Ukrainian and Russian officials on the proposal began on Friday.
Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said the discussions focused "on the
parameters for ending Russia's war and the further logic of the negotiation
process". An initial U.S. draft drew heavy criticism in Kyiv and western Europe
for hewing too closely to Moscow's demands, while Russia rejected later versions
for proposing European peacekeepers in Ukraine. Both sides say the fate of
territory in the eastern Donbas region is the main outstanding issue in the
search for a settlement to a war that has killed tens of thousands, displaced
millions and devastated parts of Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump met his
Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos on
Thursday and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff later held talks with Vladimir Putin in
the Kremlin.
'Massive' Russian attack -
Thousands of people in Kyiv went without heating in sub-zero temperatures due to
Russian strikes. The European Union, which has sent hundreds of generators to
Ukraine, has accused Moscow of "deliberately depriving civilians of heat". "Kyiv
is under a massive enemy attack," Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram,
reporting the latest overnight strikes. He added that several non-residential
buildings had been hit. Fires broke out in several buildings hit by drone debris
while heat and water services in parts of the capital were interrupted, he said.
Zelensky said Russia had launched "over 370 attack drones and 21 missiles of
various types".The strikes left 88,000 families temporarily without power in
Kyiv, according to DTEK, Ukraine's largest energy provider. Meanwhile, the head
of the northern Chernigiv region, Vyacheslav Chaus, said "hundreds of thousands"
were without electricity after Russian strikes on a critical energy facility in
the Nizhyn district. Zelensky last week declared a "state of emergency" in the
energy sector, battered by relentless Russian strikes on heat and electricity
supplies. While diplomacy to end Europe's worst conflict since World War II has
gained pace, Moscow and Kyiv appear deadlocked over the issue of territory.
Donbas territory dispute -
Hours after Putin met Witkoff -- and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner -- in
Moscow, the Kremlin said its demand that Kyiv withdraw from the eastern Donbas
region still stood. "Russia's position is well known on the fact that Ukraine,
Ukrainian armed forces, have to leave the territory of the Donbas," Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "This is a very important condition," he added.
Kyiv has rejected such terms. "The Donbas is a key issue," Zelensky told
reporters on Friday, ahead of the talks. Zelensky said he and Trump had agreed
on post-war security guarantees in Davos. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are
last known to have met face-to-face in Istanbul last summer, in talks that ended
only in deals to exchange captured soldiers. The Abu Dhabi meeting is the first
time they have faced each other to talk about the Trump administration's plan.
Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to get full control of eastern Ukraine
by force if talks fail. Trump has in the past pressured Ukraine to agree to
terms that Kyiv sees as capitulation. "I believe they're at a point now where
they can come together and get a deal done," he said on Wednesday. "If they
don't, they're stupid -- that goes for both of them."
Ukraine, Russia to hold second day of direct talks in Abu Dhabi on US plan
The Arab News/January 24/2026
Delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States will meet in Abu Dhabi on
Saturday for the second day of negotiations on a plan being pushed by US
President Donald Trump to end the almost four-year-long war. The first known
direct contact between Ukrainian and Russian officials on the proposal began
Friday. Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said the discussions focused
“on the parametres for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the
negotiation process”. An initial US draft drew heavy criticism in Kyiv and
western Europe for hewing too closely to Moscow’s line, while later iterations
prompted pushback from Russia for floating the idea of European peacekeepers.
Both sides say the fate of territory in the eastern Donbas region is one of the
main outstanding issues in the search for a settlement to a war that has killed
tens of thousands, displaced millions and decimated parts of Ukraine. President
of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received on
Friday the heads of delegations participating in the talks between the United
States, Russia and Ukraine, including Steve Witkoff, United States special
envoy. Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and special envoy, Igor
Kostyukov, chief of the main directorate of the general staff of the Russian
Armed Forces, and Rustem Umerov, secretary of the national security and defence
council of Ukraine. The UAE foreign ministry said in a statement, published by
official news agency WAM, the talks were scheduled to last two days and were
“part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to
the crisis”. The statement also said that UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan “welcomed the UAE’s
hosting of trilateral talks” and expressed his hope that “these discussions
would contribute to tangible steps toward ending a crisis that has persisted for
nearly four years and resulted in immense humanitarian suffering”. He added that
hosting these talks reflects the international community’s confidence in the
UAE’s leading role and its steadfast approach to supporting peace and
transforming challenges into meaningful opportunities for the peoples of both
countries and the wider region.” Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday and US envoy Steve
Witkoff later held talks with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.
The Emirates meeting began as thousands of people in Kyiv were without heating
in sub-zero temperatures due to Russian strikes. The European Union, which has
sent hundreds of generators, accused Moscow of “deliberately depriving civilians
of heat”.
While diplomacy to end Europe’s worst conflict since World War II has gained
pace, Moscow and Kyiv appear deadlocked over the issue of territory. Hours after
Putin met Witkoff — and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — in Moscow, the
Kremlin said its maximalist demand that Kyiv withdraw from the eastern Donbas
region still stood. “Russia’s position is well known on the fact that Ukraine,
Ukrainian armed forces, have to leave the territory of the Donbas,” Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “This is a very important condition,” he added.
Kyiv, which still controls around 20 percent of the eastern region, has rejected
such terms. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators are last known to have met
face-to-face in Istanbul last summer, in talks that ended only in deals to
exchange captured soldiers. The Abu Dhabi meeting is the first time they have
faced each other to talk about the Trump administration’s plan. Putin has
repeatedly said Moscow intends to get full control of eastern Ukraine by force
if talks fail. Trump repeated on Wednesday his belief that Putin and Zelensky
were close to a deal. “I believe they’re at a point now where they can come
together and get a deal done. And if they don’t, they’re stupid — that goes for
both of them,” he said. The UAE has successfully facilitated 17 mediation
efforts for prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, resulting in the
release of 4,641 detainees, said WAM.
US authorities say man shot dead in Minneapolis was armed,
‘violently resisted’
AFP, Minneapolis/24 January/2026
A man shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday was armed and
“violently resisted” attempts by officers to disarm him, the US Department of
Homeland Security said. “Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow
officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered
medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene,” DHS said on X
after the shooting. DHS also said the shooting occurred during “a targeted
operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault.”
Trump threatens Canada with 100 percent tariff if it completes China trade deal
AFP/24 January/2026
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade
deal with China, he will impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over
the border. Relations between the United States and its northern neighbor have
been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over
trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led
global order. During a visit to Beijing last week, Carney hailed a “new
strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary but landmark
trade agreement” to reduce tariffs - but Trump warned of serious consequences
should that deal be realized.If Carney “thinks he is going to make Canada a
‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he
is sorely mistaken,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “China will eat
Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their
businesses, social fabric, and general way of life,” he said.“If Canada makes a
deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100 percent tariff against
all Canadian goods and products coming into the USA.”The two leaders have
sharpened their rhetorical knives in recent days, beginning with Carney’s speech
on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he earned a standing
ovation for his frank assessment of a “rupture” in the US-led global order. His
comment was widely viewed as a reference to Trump’s disruptive influence on
international affairs, although the US leader was not mentioned by name. Trump
fired back at Carney a day later in his own speech, and then withdrew an
invitation for the Canadian prime minister to join his “Board of Peace” - his
self-styled body for resolving global conflict. Initially designed to oversee
the situation in postwar Gaza, the body appears now to have a far wider scope,
sparking concerns that Trump wants to create a rival to the United Nations.
“Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are
Canadian,” Carney said Thursday in a national address, while acknowledging the
“remarkable partnership between the two nations.”
US has taken oil from seized Venezuelan tankers, Trump says
Reuters/24 January/2026
The United States has taken the oil that was on seized Venezuelan tankers and
will process it in US refineries, President Donald Trump said in a New
York Post interview that was published on Saturday. “Let’s put it this way -
they don’t have any oil. We take the oil,” Trump told the newspaper. The oil is
being refined in “various places” including Houston, he said. The US military
has seized seven Venezuela-linked tankers since the start of Trump’s month-long
campaign to control Venezuela’s oil flows. Trump said on Tuesday that his
administration had taken 50 million barrels of oil out of Venezuela, and was
selling some of it in the open market.
Venezuela says over 600 prisoners released
AFP/24 January/2026
Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez said Friday that over 600 inmates
have been released, far more than estimated by rights groups, who are demanding
the liberation of all political prisoners. Days after the US ouster of socialist
leader Nicolas Maduro in a January 3 bombing raid on Caracas, the government
undertook to release a “large number” of the hundreds of Maduro opponents
languishing in prison. The announcement, which was hailed by Washington, created
expectations of large groups of prisoners walking free.But the releases have
taken place in dribs and drabs.
Rodriguez said 626 prisoners have been released since December and said she
would ask the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to verify the number.
“Enough with the lies,” she exclaimed, alluding to the figures issued by rights
groups. Foro Penal, a leading Venezuelan rights group, said it had counted 155
political prisoners released, mostly since Maduro’s overthrow, and estimated
that over 700 people were still being held. Outside the notorious Helicoide
intelligence services headquarters in central Caracas that NGOs say is a torture
center, prisoners’ families have been growing increasingly agitated at the
drip-feed of releases. Adriana Abreu wore a t-shirt with the image of her
husband, Guillermo Lopez, a activist from opposition leader Maria Corina
Machado’s party who was detained two years ago. “Unfortunately, Guillermo is
missing out on the life of our son, who is only four years old,” she said
through tears. Maduro and his wife were Cilia Flores were snatched from a
military base in Caracas and flown to the United States to face trial on drug
trafficking charges.
‘The oil is ours’
Maduro was succeeded by his vice president Rodriguez, whom US President Donald
Trump backed to take over, provided she gave Washington access to Venezuela’s
rich oil deposits. This week he praised her leadership as “very strong” and said
the United States was set to “become richer” after taking a cut of Venezuela’s
crude. Reforms designed to revive the Caribbean country’s moribund economy have
been coming thick and fast. On Thursday, lawmakers gave their initial backing to
plans to throw open the oil sector to private investors, paving the way for the
return of US energy majors. On the streets of Caracas, however, supporters of
Maduro have continued to stage near-daily demonstrations for his release. On
Friday, thousands of supporters of “chavismo” -- the fiercely anti-US, socialist
doctrine pioneered by Maduro’s predecessor and mentor Hugo Chavez -- marched
through the city. Marlene Blanco, a 65-year-old accountant, was particularly
critical of Trump’s grab for Venezuelan oil. “The oil is ours, and it has to be
bought at the right price,” she declared.
Thousands protest US immigration crackdown, child’s detention
AFP/24 January/2026
Thousands of people braved icy conditions on Friday to protest the Trump
administration’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and businesses closed
their doors amid anger over the detention of a five-year-old migrant boy. Dozens
of eateries, attraction sites and other businesses shuttered as part of a day of
coordinated action to defy the weeks-long federal immigration operation underway
in Minnesota. Images of an apparently terrified pre-schooler, Liam Conejo Ramos,
being held by immigration officers who were seeking to arrest the boy’s father
have rekindled public outrage at the federal crackdown, during which an agent
shot and killed a US citizen. The superintendent of Columbia Heights Public
Schools, where Ramos was a preschool student, said the child and his Ecuadoran
father, Adrian Conejo Arias -- both asylum seekers -- were taken from their
driveway as they arrived home on Tuesday.
Ramos was then used as “bait” by officers to draw out those inside his home,
superintendent Zena Stenvik added. One protester, who declined to be named, told
AFP he was marching “because if we don’t fight, we don’t win. If we don’t fight,
fascism wins.”
The local man held a sign reading “five-years-old, dude,” a reference to Ramos.
Thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been deployed
to the Democratic-led city, as President Donald Trump presses his campaign to
deport undocumented immigrants across the country. On a visit to Minneapolis on
Thursday, Vice President JD Vance confirmed Ramos was among those detained. But
he argued that agents were protecting him after his father “ran” from officers.
“What are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child
freeze to death?” he said. UN human rights chief Volker Turk called on US
authorities to end the “harmful treatment of migrants and refugees.”Arias, the
father of the boy, was at a Texas detention facility, according to an ICE
database that does not list the whereabouts of under-18s.
‘Dealing with children’
Border Patrol senior official Gregory Bovino defended his officers’ treatment of
Ramos, telling reporters Friday: “I will say unequivocally that we are experts
in dealing with children.”ICE commander Marcos Charles said Friday “my officers
did everything they could to reunite him with his family” and alleged that
Ramos’s family refused to open the door to him after his father left him and ran
from officers. They would be detained “pending their immigration proceedings,”
he added after alleging they entered the United States illegally and were “deportable.”Ramos’s
teacher, whose name was given as Ella, called him “a bright young student.” In
Minneapolis, where temperatures touched -23C (-9F) on Friday, protesters wrapped
in hats, gloves and scarves chanted “ICE out” as part of a broader anti-ICE day
of action. Separately, protesters picketed outside Minneapolis-St. Paul airport
over the facility’s use for deporting those swept up in immigration raids.
Methodist pastor Mariah Furness Tollgaard said in a statement that 100 members
of clergy were arrested and charged with trespassing and disobeying a peace
officer on Friday, while demonstrating at the airport. “As a faith leader in
Minnesota, my tradition teaches that every person bears the image of God and is
worthy of dignity and safety, and in this moment, all people of faith and moral
conscience must stand up,” she said.
‘Just a baby’
Former US vice president Kamala Harris said she was “outraged” by Ramos’s
detention and called him “just a baby.”Ramos is one of at least four children
detained in the same Minneapolis school district this month, administrators
said. Minneapolis has been rocked by increasingly tense protests since federal
agents shot and killed US citizen Renee Good on January 7. An autopsy concluded
that the killing was a homicide, a classification that does not automatically
mean a crime was committed. The officer who fired the shots that killed Good,
Jonathan Ross, has neither been suspended nor charged. Marc Prokosch, the lawyer
for Ramos and his father, said they followed the law in applying for asylum in
Minneapolis, a sanctuary city where police do not cooperate with federal
immigration authorities. Children have been caught up in immigration enforcement
under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Minnesota has sought a temporary restraining order for the ICE operation in the
state which, if granted by a federal judge, would pause the sweeps. There will
be a hearing on the application Monday.
US-brokered peace talks between Russia, Ukraine break off without deal
Reuters/24 January/2026
Ukraine and Russia ended a second day of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on
Saturday without a deal but with future meetings mooted after overnight Russian
airstrikes that knocked out power for over a million Ukrainians amid subzero
winter cold. Statements after the conclusion of the talks did not indicate that
any agreements had been reached, but Moscow and Kyiv both said they were open to
further dialogue. “The central focus of the discussions was the possible
parameters for ending the war,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X after
the meeting. “As a result of the meetings held over these days, all sides agreed
to report back in their capitals on each aspect of the negotiations and to
coordinate further steps with their leaders,” he said, adding that further
meetings could take place as early as next week. A UAE government spokesperson
said there was face-to-face engagement between Ukraine and Russia - rare in the
almost four-year-old war triggered by a full-scale Russian invasion - and
tackled “outstanding elements” of Washington’s peace framework. A spokesperson
for Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, told reporters just before 5 p.m.
Abu Dhabi time (1300 GMT) that the discussions had concluded.
Bombardment of Ukraine before second day of talks
The bombardment of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and its second largest city Kharkiv by
hundreds of Russian drones and missiles prompted Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha
- who was not at the talks - to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of
acting “cynically.”“This barbaric attack once again proves that Putin’s place is
not at (US President Donald Trump’s) Board of Peace, but in the dock of the
special tribunal,” Sybiha wrote on X. “His missiles hit not only our people, but
also the negotiation table.”Saturday was scheduled to be the final day of the
talks, billed by Zelenskyy as the first trilateral meeting under the US-mediated
peace process. The UAE statement said the talks were conducted in a
“constructive and positive atmosphere.”“(They) included direct engagement
between Russian and Ukrainian representatives on outstanding elements of the
US-proposed peace framework, as well as confidence-building measures aimed at
supporting progress toward a comprehensive agreement,” it added. Kyiv is under
mounting Trump administration pressure to make concessions to reach a deal to
end Europe’s deadliest and most destructive conflict since World War Two.
Zelenskyy had said on Friday that it was too early to draw conclusions from the
first day of meetings in Abu Dhabi, and he had urged Russia to show it was
ready for peace. US peace envoy Steve Witkoff said at the annual World Economic
Forum in Davos this week that a lot of progress had been made in the talks and
only one sticking point remained. However, Russian officials have sounded more
skeptical.
Russia wants all of Donbas
After Saturday’s talks, Zelenskyy said the US delegation had raised the issue of
“potential formats for formalizing the parameters for ending the war, as well as
the security conditions required to achieve this.”Ahead of the discussions,
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday Russia had not dropped its
insistence on Ukraine yielding all of its eastern area of Donbas, the industrial
heartland grouping the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Putin’s demand that
Ukraine surrender the 20 percent it still holds of Donetsk - about 5,000 sq km
(1,900 sq miles) - has proven a major stumbling block to any deal. Most
countries recognize Donetsk as part of Ukraine. Putin says Donetsk is part of
Russia’s “historical lands.”Zelenskyy has ruled out giving up territory that
Russia has not been able to capture in four years of grinding, attritional
warfare against a much smaller foe. Polls show little appetite among Ukrainians
for any territorial concessions. Russia says it wants a diplomatic solution but
will keep working to achieve its goals by military means as long as a negotiated
solution remains elusive. Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security
and Defense Council, said late on Friday that the first day of talks had
addressed parameters for ending the war and the “further logic of the
negotiation process.”Meanwhile, Ukraine came under renewed Russian bombardment.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched 375 drones and 21 missiles in the
overnight salvo, which once again targeted energy infrastructure, knocking out
power and heat for large parts of Kyiv, the capital. At least one person was
killed and over 30 injured. Before Saturday’s bombardment, Kyiv had already
endured two mass overnight attacks since the New Year that cut electricity and
heating to hundreds of residential buildings. Ukraine’s deputy prime minister
said on Saturday that 800,000 people in Kyiv - where temperatures were around
-10 degrees Celsius - had been left without power after the latest Russian
assault. Zelenskyy said on Saturday Russia’s heavy overnight strikes showed that
agreements on further air defense support made with Trump in Davos this week
must be “fully implemented.”
Pakistani human rights lawyers jailed for 17 years over social media posts
The Associated Press/24 January/2026
A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced two human rights lawyers to 17 years in
prison each over social media posts the authorities claimed were hostile to the
state and its security institutions. Judge Afzal Majoka announced the verdict a
day after Zainab Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha were arrested in
Islamabad, according to court documents. The couple appeared briefly via video
link but boycotted the hearing, prompting the court to conclude the trial and
deliver the verdict. Family and friends denounced the ruling. The court verdict
said Mazari had posted multiple tweets in recent years that “portrayed the
agenda” of the outlawed Baloch separatist group and Pakistani Taliban. The case
stems from a complaint filed in August 2025 with the National Cyber Crime
Investigation Agency, alleging the couple used social media to malign the state
and its security institutions. They were formally indicted last October and had
repeatedly refused to appear in court. In his verdict, the judge mentioned the
complaint which alleged that Mazari “consistently disseminated highly offensive,
misleading and anti-state contents on social media”, with the “active
connivance” of her husband. The prosecution also accused Mazari of propagating a
“narrative that aligned with hostile terrorist groups and proscribed
organizations and individuals.”The couple, who were formally indicted last
October and had repeatedly refused to appear in court, denied the changes.
International and domestic rights groups condemned the arrest of Mazari and her
husband and called for their immediate release. Amnesty International said in a
statement Friday that the couple’s detention marked “the latest escalation in a
sustained campaign of judicial harassment and intimidation by the Pakistani
authorities.”It said Mazari and Chattha were arrested while on their way to a
court hearing, with eyewitnesses reporting that law enforcement officials used
excessive force. No reasons were given for the arrests at the time, raising
serious concerns about the couple’s safety. Human rights activists in Pakistan
have increasingly come under pressure from the government, which has been
cracking down on criticism and dissent. Mazari and Chattha often represented
journalists, political figures and human rights activists who had been detained
by the security forces without formal charges or court appearances. Mazari is
the daughter of Shireen Mazari, Pakistan’s former human rights minister who
served under imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan. She denounced the
verdict on X as “totally illegal.”Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah
Tarar praised the verdict against the pair. “As you sow, so shall you reap!” he
wrote on X, adding that they had been sentenced under the cyber laws.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on January
24-25/2026
The Beginning of the End for the Mullahs
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/January 24, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/01/151474/
For decades, Iranian leaders grew accustomed to Western caution, diplomatic
hedging, and carefully measured statements designed to avoid escalation. They
learned that repression at home would provoke criticism but rarely consequences.
They learned that terrorism abroad would be condemned but tolerated. They
learned that nuclear deception would lead to negotiations, not punishment. Trump
combines two instruments that authoritarian regimes fear more than anything
else: open moral alignment with their victims and credible willingness to use
force. Through words, Trump has broken a long-standing taboo in American policy.
He has spoken directly to the Iranian people, not as passive subjects trapped
behind borders, but as political actors whose struggle is important.... This
matters. Authoritarian regimes depend on isolating their populations
psychologically, convincing them that they are alone, forgotten, invisible. When
the president of the United States openly recognizes their struggle, this wall
of isolation cracks. Most importantly, military consequences were not just
threats but were made explicit and carried out. For years, US presidents, for
their own convenience, pretended that protests in Iran were just isolated
economic grievances or temporary outbursts, and pretended that regime survival
was the same as legitimacy. Any country that chooses to do business with the
regime should understand that it is indirectly financing torture, executions,
and crushing democratic aspirations.
Military pressure must remain credible: deterrence saves lives. When a regime
believes it can massacre protestors without consequence, it will do so. When it
fears international retaliation, it hesitates. Trump's explicit warnings
regarding executions and escalation altered calculations in Tehran. When Trump
hesitates, Iran resumes executions. Removing the mullahs' fear would be a gift
to the regime.
Moral pressure must remain constant. The Iranian people must continue to hear
that their struggle is seen, respected, and supported. Silence kills hope.
Recognition strengthens it.
President Donald Trump has altered the psychological balance of power between
Washington and Tehran in a way no previous American leader had dared to do. For
the first time since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, Iranian leaders
face a U.S. president who they believe is willing to act on his threats. The
Iranian regime for the first time understands that mass executions, regional
escalation, or accelerated nuclear weapons development will no longer be met
with statements of concern but with force.
Never in its forty-six-year history, thanks to the Trump administration and
Israel, has the Iranian regime been weaker. Never, since Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini's 1979 Islamic Revolution, has the clerical system faced such a
convergence of internal rebellion, economic collapse, military vulnerability,
and psychological defeat. Never have the mullahs appeared so exposed and so
afraid of their own population. This historic weakening is the outcome of
sustained pressure and — above all — the courage of the Iranian people, who have
risen against a system that has ruled them for generations through prisons and
executions.
The foundations of the Islamic Republic — its claim to divine legitimacy, its
violence, its image of invincibility, and its control over the economy — are all
eroding at the same time. Regimes rarely collapse simply because people dislike
them. They fall when fear changes sides. Today, fear is no longer only for the
population; it has reached the highest offices of the regime.
For that reason, this moment is not the time for hesitation or compromise, but
to intensify pressure. History shows that authoritarian systems often survive
not because they are strong, but because their opponents become impatient,
divided, or discouraged too early. Iran today stands at a crossroads. One path
leads to democratic transformation. The other leads to the survival of one of
the most brutal ideological regimes of the modern era.
If one examines the landscape honestly, only three actors are truly planning the
end of this radical authoritarian system and toward the possibility of freedom
in Iran. The rest of the international community, at best, watches from a
distance; at worst, it enables the regime through trade, diplomatic
normalization or silent complicity. The three decisive forces are President
Donald Trump and his administration, the government of Israel under Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Iranian people themselves.
Trump has altered the psychological balance of power between Washington and
Tehran in a way no previous American leader had dared to do. For decades,
Iranian leaders grew accustomed to Western caution, diplomatic hedging, and
carefully measured statements designed to avoid escalation. They learned that
repression at home would provoke criticism but rarely consequences. They learned
that terrorism abroad would be condemned but tolerated. They learned that
nuclear deception would lead to negotiations, not punishment.
This pattern, under Trump, changed dramatically. For the first time since the
establishment of the Islamic Republic, Iranian leaders face a U.S. president who
they believe is willing to act on his threats. This is a strategic shift. Trump
combines two instruments that authoritarian regimes fear more than anything
else: open moral alignment with their victims and credible willingness to use
force.
Through words, Trump has broken a long-standing taboo in American policy. He has
spoken directly to the Iranian people, not as passive subjects trapped behind
borders, but as political actors whose struggle is important. Trump publicly
encouraged protestors, praised their courage, and framed their movement as a
legitimate fight for freedom. This matters. Authoritarian regimes depend on
isolating their populations psychologically, convincing them that they are
alone, forgotten, invisible. When the president of the United States openly
recognizes their struggle, this wall of isolation cracks.
Through actions, Trump has reinforced his words with tangible pressure.
Sanctions were treated as economic weapons designed to suffocate the regime's
financial arteries. Officials involved in repression were targeted. Most
importantly, military consequences were not just threats but were made explicit
and carried out.
The Iranian regime for the first time understands that mass executions, regional
escalation, or accelerated nuclear weapons development will no longer be met
with statements of concern but with force. This dual strategy — moral clarity
combined with strategic coercion — has produced something unprecedented: genuine
fear at the top of the Iranian state, with reports indicating that regime
leaders are now wiring huge amounts of money abroad in an apparent effort to
safeguard assets against the regime's potential collapse.
Israel constitutes the second pillar of this historic pressure. For years,
Tehran portrayed itself as the untouchable center of a regional axis, shielded
by the Western reluctance to escalate. That illusion has been shattered. Israeli
military actions against regime assets and infrastructure — especially those
connected to the nuclear program — have shown the regime that its skies are
penetrable, its secrets exposed, and its defenses irrelevant.
The significance of Israel's actions strikes at the mythology of the Islamic
Republic. The regime has long cultivated the image of divine protection,
presenting itself as a power that cannot be challenged. When Israeli operations
reached deep into Iranian territory, that narrative collapsed. The population
saw that the regime could not protect its own most sensitive installations. The
elite saw that decades of propaganda could be undone in three hours.
This military humiliation had a psychological effect that sanctions alone could
never achieve. It told ordinary Iranians that the Islamic Republic, which
claimed absolute authority over their lives, could not even guarantee its own
security. It told the ruling class that their monopoly on force was conditional.
The most decisive force in this historic moment, however, was neither Washington
nor Jerusalem. It was the Iranian people.
For years, US presidents, for their own convenience, pretended that protests in
Iran were just isolated economic grievances or temporary outbursts, and
pretended that regime survival was the same as legitimacy. The recent waves of
demonstrations in Iran have revealed a society that no longer asks for reform.
They demand an end to the regime.
These protests -- ignited by the destruction of consumer purchasing power and
the impossibility of living in silence while a corrupt elite enriches itself --
quickly became political. Chants shifted from complaints about prices to
rejection of the entire system.
The regime responded by killing thousands of civilians and arresting many more.
Entire neighborhoods have been terrorized. Internet blackouts attempt to
suffocate coordination.
Despite all this, much of Europe and the broader Western world remain silent --
a form of complicity. European governments speak endlessly of human rights while
maintaining diplomatic and commercial relationships with the most violent
regimes on Earth. They condemn repression in carefully calibrated language while
avoiding confrontation. They worry about "stability" while ignoring that the
Iranian regime deliberately destabilizes entire regions, funds wars beyond its
borders, supplies weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine, and has
orchestrated assassinations and terror plots on European soil itself.
The irony here is that Europe also suffers from the regime's policies — through
terrorism, refugees and security threats — yet hesitates to support the one
force capable of eliminating the source: the Iranian people. Instead, it offers
statements, conferences, and moral flapdoodle.
This is why relentless economic pressure on Tehran must be maintained. Sanctions
should not be designed for evasion and headlines, but as mechanisms that
genuinely disrupt the financial capacity of Iran's security services, its
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and its institutions of repression. Any
country that chooses to do business with the regime should understand that it is
indirectly financing torture, executions, and crushing democratic aspirations.
Military pressure must remain credible: deterrence saves lives. When a regime
believes it can massacre protestors without consequence, it will do so. When it
fears international retaliation, it hesitates. Trump's explicit warnings
regarding executions and escalation altered calculations in Tehran. When Trump
hesitates, Iran resumes executions (such as here, here, here and here). Removing
the mullahs' fear would be a gift to the regime.
Moral pressure must remain constant. The Iranian people must continue to hear
that their struggle is seen, respected, and supported. Silence kills hope.
Recognition strengthens it.
Only three forces are actively pushing history in the direction of freedom: the
United States, Israel, and the Iranian people themselves. Together they have
created the greatest threat to the Islamic Republic since its birth.
The opportunity must not be wasted. The Iranian regime is cornered. To relax now
would be to offer it time to rebuild its machinery of repression. Either the
West stands with a population seeking freedom from a savage, fundamentalist
authoritarian system, or it stands by while that system reasserts control
through blood.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, is a political scientist, Harvard-educated analyst, and
board member of Harvard International Review. He has authored several books on
the US foreign policy. He can be reached at dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu
**Follow Majid Rafizadeh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
EU’s future may well depend on Marine Le Pen appeal
verdict
Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/January 24, 2026
NATO — an appeal court in Paris could give the coup de grace to the future of
the EU as a bloc, if Marine Le Pen’s appeal against a conviction relating to the
embezzlement of European Parliament funds by her party succeeds.
It is not only the French far-right firebrand’s political future that hangs in
the balance, but also the fate of France’s Fifth Republic and that of Europe,
too. Either Le Pen or her protegee Jordan Bardella, head of the patriotic French
movement National Rally, will run for president of France regardless of the
court decision. Right-wing skeptics have been on the rise across the Continent
but have so far been kept at bay in major European countries such as France and
Germany. But with their numbers growing, Le Pen’s legal troubles might not be
sufficient to shift the vote away from a populist movement bent on winning the
keys to the Elysee Palace. Meanwhile, France’s mainstream political parties
appear fragmented and in disarray, with none seeming to offer an appealing
alternative to National Rally’s plan to radically change the country’s direction
with anti-immigration and US-style “France first” policies and a euroskeptic
agenda. Le Pen is seeking to overturn a March ruling that found her guilty of
misusing EU funds in the hiring of staff from 2004 to 2016. However, with no new
political coalition or movement emerging to challenge the populist shift, the
success or failure of the appeal is unlikely to dent her chances or those of her
party in winning the presidency 500 days from now.
France’s mainstream parties appear fragmented.
Recent opinion polls suggest that Le Pen’s legal troubles have had little impact
on National Rally’s fortunes. Instead, the party’s appeal has been growing
across the board, especially among young and older voters. A poll by Le Monde
showed that 40 percent of respondents believed that National Rally would improve
the situation in France when it came to security, reindustrialization, quality
of public services, and the cost of living. Like many populist parties in
Europe, Le Pen’s National Rally has been benefiting from toxic social media and
a narrative of despair directed from the US toward Europe’s mainstream parties.
A third of voters also said that National Rally is the only party that could do
things differently, while not specifying how. Meanwhile, a growing number of
voters favor tougher rules for overseas-born residents in relation to housing,
welfare, and employment.
For the past 15 years, Le Pen has been trying to bring the far right into the
political mainstream in France. Recent geopolitical changes mean there has never
been a more favorable time for such a drive, with Europe as a bloc, as well as
its democratic liberal values, besieged and under attack. While the past stigma
of racism and antisemitism persists, National Rally’s disdain of EU as a bloc —
a posture that echoes the Make America Great Again stance in the US — resonates
with a larger section of voters in France, and indeed the rest of Europe.
The case against Le Pen for misusing EU funds is now a matter for the Paris
appeal court, which might clear her after 13 weeks of deliberation or uphold the
previous verdict. But whatever the court’s finding, Le Pen and Bardella are
likely to emerge stronger, appearing to be the victims of a witch hunt, and
capable of rallying even more support. The question facing France and the EU is
what Le Pen or Bardella will do with a win — whether they will be able to
deliver better living standards and boost economic growth and not just deliver
more “patriotic posturing” while worsening the socioeconomic malaise in the
country.French people, of course, are free to elect novices who lack a track
record in office. But voters should be under no illusion that with the US and
Russia actively seeking to undermine the EU, and promote far-right nationalist
parties as a kind of “enemy within,” the stakes in France are high for 2027.
• Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years’
experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.
The Rassemblement National‘s mission impossible in France
Francis Ghilès/The Arab News/January 24/2026
If Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella is able to claim the very powerful office of
president, the shock waves in France and across Europe will be huge. The
anti-Semitic party founded as the Front National (FN) in 1972 and presided in
turn by Jean Marie Le Pen (1972-2011), his daughter Marine (2011-2021) and
Jordan Bardella since, has shed its pariah status and won over middle France,
particularly outside the major cities.
Its rise mirrors the failure of traditional parties of Left and Right to address
the many fears that stalk the French electorate: lack of stable jobs, growing
social inequality and rising cost of living, climate change and a general
feeling of insecurity which many, not least in the RN attribute to what they
regard as uncontrolled immigration. This fear is increased by a declining birth
rate. The Great Replacement Theory, a white nationalist conspiracy theory coined
by the French author Renaud Camus in which ethnic and white European populations
are being deliberately replaced by non-white peoples, especially from
Muslim-majority countries, is flourishing. Similar claims have been advanced in
other national contexts in Europe and the United States.
I think the author underestimates the fact that the rise of the RN is fuelled
also by an arrogant ruling Paris elite which includes many politicians and media
people who, day after day speak in very condescending words to their fellow
countrymen and women whom they take to be the great legion of the unwashed. No
one symbolises this arrogance better than President Emmanuel Macron who often
makes French people, including many in the educated middle and upper middle
classes feel like spitting at their television screens and whose approval rating
last autumn dropped to 11 percent the lowest figure ever recorded.
Elsewhere across Europe and North America, political divisions and culture wars
are being stoked by the internet and social media. The author of this
well-documented and crisply written book, Victor Mallet has enjoyed a
distinguished career at the Financial Times, most recently as its Paris
correspondent. He has done his political, social and historical homework with
due diligence. He has interviewed the main actors in the story he tells. He
rightly identifies the rise of the hard-right in the French media, not least the
establishment of the increasingly powerful media empire of the billionaire
conservative Catholic Vincent Bolloré, an empire that encompasses television,
radio, newspapers and magazines, as well as book publishing, as a growing power
in the land. This empire has helped fuel a campaign of hatred against Arabs and
Islam and strong support for Israel over its policies in Gaza. Those who appear
on C-News often resort to crude language, do not shy from insulting journalists,
deputies, ministers and foreign statesmen they disapprove of. They are not
afraid of lying.
That the founder of the FN, Jean Marie Le Pen volunteered to fight as a French
officer during Algeria’s war of liberation (1954-1962) and once boasted of
torturing the natives, fits well with a widespread fear of immigration, of the
spread of drug-related violence and the obsession with Islamic terrorism. The
most watched TV station in France C-News is a long litany of rants against Arabs
and Arab countries, where Algeria has pride of place because of the unhealed war
of independence against France (1954-1962), Islam, feminists and the elites they
love to hate. French elites overwhelmingly are easy to caricature because they
behave like a tribe which lives within a few kilometres of the Seine in central
Paris and suffer from “an exaggerated view of France’s global importance in the
twenty-first century”except in Europe where it “remains a significant power”.
Bolloré media are not alone in giving increasing space to leaders of the
hard-right in a landscape with the powerful state media often appear staid.
Mallet rightly remarks that the “Bollorisation” of the French media continues
apace.
Mallet is at home with French history’s successive waves of declinisme over the
last 150 years, a conviction that the nation is going to the dogs, economically
and culturally. The latter aspect matters in a country which long considered
Paris as the beacon of world culture, the mother of universal Enlightenment
values, the birthplace of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. The first wave of
declinisme happened when General Boulanger threatened the stability of the
recently born Third Republic in the 1880s; it came to the fore again in the run
up to the Second World War. An America that seems to have gone rogue, Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine and the relentless rise of China explain the current wave,
none of which the very sophisticated self-proclaimed elites saw coming. French
security forces famously ignored the warnings that Russia was about to invade
Ukraine handed to them in the autumn and winter of 2021-2022 by their British
and American peers.
What is relatively new is that on international affairs, the RN is on perilous
ground. Its leaders have realised in recent weeks that as much as they like, and
often endorse some of Donald Trump’s ideas and policies, the French do not take
kindly to President Emmanuel Macron being insulted day after day by an
exceptionally vulgar US president and his cronies. They may dislike the present
incumbent of the Elysée Palace but they respect the institution of the
presidency which, since General de Gaulle founded the Fifth Republic in 1959,
remains the cornerstone of French institutions and the pride of the country. The
RN could be on slippery ground if hostilities between America and France
escalate. Marine Le Pen was also once famously close to Vladimir Putin, her
party has borrowed money from a Russian bank in the past and some of her party’s
deputies and officials’ proximity with senior Russian officials could come back
to haunt them in what will be a very hard fought and nasty presidential
campaign. Daggers will be out as never before since the collapse of the Fourth
Republic in 1958.
Victor Mallet quite rightly discerns that the Achilles heel of the party is its
economic programme, or absence thereof. Marine Le Pen has won millions of votes
of ordinary French men and women in villages and small towns across the country
and, in the process, built up a solid popular vote as well as an efficient party
machine. She wants to hold on to this popular vote. Jordan Bardella for his part
has gone to great lengths to win the support of the business community. His
liberal credo includes lowering taxes, a vote catcher in a heavily-taxed country
like France.
But the RN also wants to fund myriad policies, all of which cost money. They
agree that Macron’s keynote policy of increasing the retirement age should be
discarded. How can you square that with a declining population, a fast shrinking
workforce and a harsh attitude towards immigrants? The answer is that you cannot
and herein lies the RN’s weakness, expertly analysed by a journalist who, as
befits a Financial Times staffer knows how to read a balance sheet and has a
solid grounding in economics. I would go further and argue that Bardella has no
professional experience in real life and far less in political life, than his
mentor. He is an empty vessel. A presidential campaign is unforgiving.
Whatever promises the candidates make in the run up to the election, the winner
will be faced with the necessity of cutting the budget deficit to avoid the
runaway increase in France’s public debt which will overshoot the euro 3.232
billion mark in 2026 (110 percent of Gross Domestic Product) in the third
quarter. Most of this debt is held by foreign institutions, which suggests
financial markets will be a major actor in French domestic politics. The
eventual victory of a RN candidate will also hit the already fraying
Franco-German alliance which has played a key role in the European Union since
1959.
Françoise Fressoz put it pithily in Le Monde (16 December 2025). “Flatter le
Peuple est facile, le servir est beaucoup plus difficile. C’est dans ce hiatus
que réside le dernier frein à une possible victoire du RN en 2027.” (To flatter
the people is easy, to serve them is much more difficult. The hiatus between the
two might prevent the RN from winning in 2027). This quote sums up Victor
Mallet’s excellent guide, he insists rightly in his preface that his book “is
not a polemic”, to the volatile politics of a country which is very anxious
about its future. John Burn Murdoch writes that “the advance of liberal
democracy has tended to track economic growth.”
“Recent events suggest it may be necessary to sustain them but this pattern has
reversed over the past fifteen years. Democratic backsliding, the advance of
populists and the breakdown of the liberal world order have all tracked a clear
economic and democratic slowdown. The turmoil of the past decade is not an
aberration nor a special case but the new normal (Is liberal democracy in
terminal decline?, John Burn-Murdoch, FT, 23 January 2026). Unlike what its
elites think, the rise of the FN mirrors recent history. France is a normal
nation.
**Francis Ghilès is a senior researcher at the Barcelona Centre for
International Affairs, a Visiting Fellow at King’s College, London and member of
the Frontier Energy Network.
Nouri al-Maliki: The old disaster in a new wrapper
Karam Nama/The Arab News/January 24/2026
Today, amid growing talk of his potential return to the premiership, Iraq seems
to be deliberately heading back towards the very tragedy it has spent 22 years
trying to escape. It is as if two decades of failure, corruption and
institutional decay were not enough to convince the political class that ruin
cannot be recycled. Maliki’s return is not a routine political development; it
is a historical relapse that takes Iraq back to square one, to the moment when
all its crises began: sectarianism, corruption, state collapse and the rise of
the Islamic State (ISIS).
This week, I reviewed an American study with limited circulation that offers a
stark and detailed picture of the disaster awaiting Iraq should Maliki return to
power. The study states, “Maliki no longer holds the influence he once had, and
his current alliances are the product of Iranian pressure rather than his own
political strength.” This sentence encapsulates the situation perfectly, “Maliki
is returning not because he is capable, but because he is required, by Iran and
its militias in Iraq.”
He is returning not with a vision, but as a component of a larger project. He is
the weakest link in Iran’s chain of influence, a figure that Tehran prefers
precisely because he is malleable, not independent. This alone makes his
comeback a recipe for renewed instability. Iraq does not need a weak man driven
by sectarian resentment; it needs a state capable of protecting itself from such
individuals.
Even within the Coordination Framework, the umbrella of Iran‑aligned parties and
militias, Maliki is not a “leader of the moment,” but a burden of the past. The
study states, “Maliki’s return will trigger protests and intra‑Shia tensions
that could escalate into armed confrontation.”
One must remember that Muqtada al‑Sadr still carries a deep resentment toward
Maliki, first for fighting him militarily, and second for blocking him from
forming a government after his electoral victory. This is an accurate
description of Maliki’s standing within his own camp: he is a fierce enemy of
the Sadrist movement, a nemesis of the October protest generation, and a symbol
of corruption and Iranian subservience. His return would reignite fault lines
within the Shia community itself, turning Baghdad into a battleground for
factions united only by mutual hostility.
Maliki does not understand that today’s Shias are not the Shias of yesterday, no
longer captive to the mythology of sectarian rule, and that the October
generation will not accept the return of a man who embodies the worst of Iraq’s
political system.
For Iraqis, al-Maliki is more than just a politician; he is a symbol of a dark
era. The study notes, “Maliki represents a retaliatory state that practised
exclusion under the banners of de-Baathification and the criminalisation of
Sunni communities.” This is not merely an academic observation; it describes a
wound that has never healed. His return would revive exclusionary politics and
sectarian rhetoric, creating the sense that the state belongs to one group
alone. This alone would be enough to push Sunnis towards one of three responses:
withdrawal, boycott or uprising. All three would recreate the conditions of
2013-2014, the years that paved the way for ISIS. Maliki has never understood
that exclusion does not build a state, but rather a monster waiting beneath the
rubble.
The Kurds know Maliki equally well. They are familiar with his volatility,
broken promises and confrontational approach to oil, territory and federal
authority. The study warns, “Maliki’s return could push the Kurds once again
towards independence.’ This is not an exaggeration, but a sober reading of
history.”The man who triggered the 2014 crisis with Erbil and helped drive the
Kurds towards the 2017 referendum is fully capable of reopening the same wound.
Maliki does not understand that Iraq cannot be governed through an overbearing
central authority and that the Kurds will not accept political blackmail again.
The available indicators also suggest that Iran does not want Maliki because he
is strong, but rather because he is weak enough to be controlled. As the study
puts it, “Iran is pushing Maliki forward on the condition that he remains weak
and under its supervision.” Therefore, his return is not an Iraqi decision, but
part of Tehran’s attempt to recalibrate its influence after regional setbacks.
To Iran, Maliki is not a leader, but an instrument, someone who can achieve what
others cannot and who can be discarded once he is no longer useful. This alone
makes his return dangerous for Iraq, which does not need a prime minister who
functions as a political proxy for a foreign state.
The entire region would pay the price if Maliki returns. The study warns,
“Maliki’s return will push Saudi Arabia and the UAE to freeze investments,
Turkey to escalate militarily, and the United States to impose sanctions.” This
would mean Iraq entering a phase of regional and international isolation once
again, precisely as it did under Maliki’s previous tenure. He does not
understand that the world has changed and that Iraq cannot survive in isolation.
No economy can grow while clashing with every major regional and global actor.
The study outlines four possible scenarios for Maliki’s return, all of which are
bleak: a weak and besieged government that collapses within two years; renewed
sectarian violence, including clashes between Shias and Sunnis; an impossible
national reconciliation that contradicts his entire record; or a deceptive
international consensus that leads to prolonged regional conflict. None of these
scenarios is hypothetical; they are the natural continuation of his previous
rule. Maliki does not understand that time does not move backwards and that the
Iraq he left in 2014 is not the same country he would return to today. The
conclusion is clear, Maliki’s return is not just a political mistake; it is a
historical sin. It would be the resurrection of a period that produced ISIS,
empowered militias, exacerbated divisions and brought Iraq to the brink of
collapse. What Iraq needs today is a state, not a man living in a lie of his own
making. It needs a national project, not a leader driven by sectarian hostility
towards the majority of his own people.
Iraq needs a future, not a replay of the events that once destroyed the country.
Maliki’s return is not an option; it is a step backwards, a return to the
tragedy that Iraqis believed they had left behind, only to see it reappear in a
more fragile, dangerous and explosive form.
**Karam Nama is journalist and author. He served as managing editor of the
London-based newspaper Al-Arab. He has written six books, including Unlicensed
Weapon: Donald Trump, a Media Power Without Responsibility and The Sick Market:
Journalism in the Digital Age. His latest book, The False Promise: Don’t Ask AI
for What You Don’t Deserve, is currently in print.
A Mechanism of Coercion
Michael Young/Diwan/Published on Jan 23, 2026
Israeli-Lebanese talks have stalled, and the reason is that the United States
and Israel want to impose normalization.
In recent days, there have been reports that the so-called Mechanism, the
five-party committee discussing implementation of the ceasefire agreement
reached between Lebanon and Israel in 2024, is in deep freeze. This may be due
partly to the fact that the U.S. envoy to Lebanon, Morgan Ortagus, recently
revealed her relationship with Lebanese banker Antoun Sehnaoui, raising
questions about possible conflicts of interest. Ortagus was the major mover in
the Mechanism, so until her situation is clarified, things may not advance.
Yet that is not the sole, or even the major, reason for what is a manufactured
deadlock. In principle, the Mechanism is supposed to discuss several issues
related to implementation of the ceasefire deal. These include an Israeli
withdrawal from southern Lebanon in a period “which should not exceed 60 days,”
implementation of Resolution 1701 (and implicitly Resolution 1559), which affirm
that only the Lebanese state should holds weapons, and indirect negotiations
between Lebanon and Israel “with the objective of resolving remaining disputed
points along the Blue Line, consistent with [Security Council] Resolution 1701.”
From the Lebanese perspective, the priorities are three: an Israeli withdrawal,
border demarcation, which would likely include security arrangements with
Israel, and the release of Lebanese prisoners held by the Israelis. However,
Israel and the United States have other plans. Their primary aim is to push
Lebanon into a normalization arrangement with Israel, and one of their
instruments for doing so is the establishment of an economic zone in the border
area, an idea that was not part of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement.
Rather, the plan was proposed by another U.S. envoy, Tom Barrack, in September.
His rationale was that such a zone would create an incentive to normalize
relations and bring prosperity to all, replacing Hezbollah’s patronage networks
and making its weapons anachronistic.
The Lebanese state is adamantly opposed to such schemes. It understands this
would not only divide the country, it could also provoke regional retribution.
Beirut is still committed to the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, which offers
Israel peace if it withdraws from all Arab territories occupied in 1967 and
accepts a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. However,
neither the United States nor Israel has any interest in what Lebanon wants.
Their shared aim is to bludgeon the Lebanese into a hazardous peace.
Making matters worse, the economic zone plan hides something deeply pernicious.
According to unconfirmed reports in Beirut, such a zone would be managed by a
civil council, which would have Israeli representatives. This would give Israel
a say in whatever happens in the Lebanese border area covered by the zone—in
other words, it would be allowed to take, or more likely impose, decisions
affecting sovereign Lebanese territory.
Faced with bad options, what can the Lebanese do? They should start by looking
around them. Given the disengagement of the United States, the present Middle
East is being shaped by competition among the region’s leading states—Israel,
Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, despite its setbacks in the past two years—as
they strive to fill the vacuum. The regional political order has morphed into a
game largely devoid of ideology or commitments, defined mainly by cold
calculations of power, where every country is a potential opponent or ally
depending on the circumstances, but where all countries have a stake in
preventing the rise of a regional hegemon (other than themselves). In this
environment, the parties seek to consolidate spheres of influence in which they
can act freely and deny access to their foes.
Only recently, we saw major examples of this new game of nations in three
countries—Yemen, Syria, and Iran. In Yemen at the start of the year, Saudi
Arabia showed its apprehensions about the partnership between the United Arab
Emirates and Israel by engaging in military action in the country. It reversed
the early December takeover of Hadhramawt and Mahra Governorates by the UAE-backed
Southern Transitional Council (STC), which seeks independence for southern
Yemen. This takeover was likely associated in the Saudi mind with Israel’s
recognition of Somaliland on December 26. Riyadh saw two of its rivals
consolidating their foothold around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Saudi
passageway to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. By taking over the two
Yemeni governorates, the STC also cut off Saudi land access to the sea.
While Israel’s involvement in Yemen had been mainly focused on Ansar Allah, or
the Houthis, and its alliance with Iran, the reversal of fortune for its Emirati
partner cannot have gone down well. The Israelis seek a presence in Somaliland
because Bab al-Mandeb is also a passage to their Red Sea port of Eilat, and
access to the territory will give them the military and intelligence
capabilities to monitor the Houthis and Iranian movements in the area, even if
Israel does not establish permanent bases. The Iranians and Houthis have also
developed ties in the African Horn, including with Al-Shabab in Somalia.
Therefore, we are seeing an expansion of Middle Eastern rivalries to the
region’s periphery in eastern Africa, which is why, in this broader contest,
Emirati setbacks in Yemen have meaning for Israel.
In Syria, Turkish and Saudi agreement on the need to consolidate a unified
Syrian state received a major boost when the country’s army forced the
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to retreat behind the Euphrates River. This
was a victory over an Israeli yearning to see Syria fragmented. Israel’s
insistence on protecting Syria’s Druze has been an example of this aim, but it
was Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, who best expressed Israeli thinking
on the matter. Just under a year ago, he publicly supported a federal system in
Syria, one in which ethnosectarian minorities would live in autonomous regions
to protect themselves. Not surprisingly, critics construed this as a revival of
an Israeli fantasy to break up Arab countries to better safeguard Israel.
Several months before that, Sa’ar had, similarly, voiced support for the Kurdish
minority in northeastern Syria, describing them as “a great nation, one of the
great nations without political independence. They are our natural allies.”
Türkiye has for some time been highly critical of Israel because of its
brutality in Gaza. In August of last year, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan
announced that his country had completely cut off trade ties with Israel and
closed its airspace to Israeli aircraft. This reconfirmed and reinforced a
decision taken in May 2024 to sever direct bilateral trade ties. However, the
Turks are not alone. Since Israel’s bombing of a Hamas office in Qatar last
September, Riyadh has also regarded Israel as a foremost regional adversary,
seeing in that attack an effort to impose its domination, particularly over the
Gulf states, after having provoked a war with Iran in June and dragging the
United States into it.
The recent uprising in Iran was also interpreted by the region’s leading states
in a similar light. The fact that the Saudis discouraged the United States from
attacking Iran, as President Donald Trump had vowed, was built on two premises:
that chaos in the country would have a negative impact on regional, therefore
Saudi, stability. But most probably also, that Iran’s breakdown could shift the
regional balance sharply in Israel’s favor. That’s not to say the Saudis would
regret the Iranian regime’s downfall, but today Iran is a potential
counterweight to Israel, and the Saudis do not want Israel to gain from an
Iranian collapse.
There may be something else. There have been persistent reports of Israeli ties
with Baluchi separatists in the Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan, which
could create problems for both Iran and Pakistan. There have been claims that
Israel armed groups in the province prior to the recent uprising, an accusation
the Iranian authorities have also made. While this remains unconfirmed, from a
Saudi perspective the escalation of a Baluchi insurgency in Iran could also
endanger Pakistan, Saudi Arabia’s partner in the Strategic Mutual Defense
Agreement of September 2025, which is aimed at reinforcing defense cooperation
between Riyadh and Islamabad and laying a foundation for mutual defense in case
of war.
What lessons can Lebanese officials draw from the Yemeni, Syrian, and Iranian
examples? Siding with Israel will mean turning Lebanon into a regional football,
which the country cannot afford. Any U.S. or Israeli effort to shoehorn Lebanon
into an Israeli sphere of influence will be perceived by Israel’s adversaries as
a challenge, not least because Lebanon is a strategic extension of Syria, whose
stability is vital for Ankara and Riyadh. The Lebanese have to play on this to
secure a margin of maneuver with regard to Israel, as both the Saudis and Turks
have a strong voice in Washington. This is easier said than done, however, and
will probably have to be accompanied by measures that satisfy the Americans,
such as making tangible gains in disarming Hezbollah and strengthening the
army’s presence south of Sidon.
The Lebanese must also ensure that France and the United Nations remain active
participants in the Mechanism, and not be pushed aside by the United States and
Israel. There are limits to what both can do, but by refusing a U.S. and Israeli
monopoly over the Mechanism, Lebanon could avoid the trap of coerced peace. This
would also reaffirm Beirut’s commitment to a UN framework for diplomacy on
Lebanon, as well as Lebanese willingness to implement Security Council
resolutions, above all Resolutions 1559 and 1701.
Lebanon’s weaknesses impose more proactive regional diplomacy as well, to find
supporters in its efforts to push back against the U.S. and Israeli agenda.
Aside from Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, states such as Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan,
which all have considerable leverage in Washington, could back the Lebanese in
sidestepping normalization. If Israel uses this as a pretext to resume a more
intensive bombing campaign, such countries would also be valued allies in asking
the Trump administration to restrain the Israelis.
Hezbollah is not making things easier for the Lebanese state, as it has refused
to disarm in the impending second phase of the army’s plan to secure a state
monopoly over weapons, which covers the area between the Litani and Awwali
Rivers. Consequently, Lebanon may have to engage in a more sustained dialogue
with Iran over the party’s weapons. The usual response to this is that Tehran
has no intention of agreeing to Hezbollah’s disarmament, as it doesn’t want to
lose a valuable regional card for nothing in exchange. That may be true, but a
new Israeli offensive may not only seize that card from Iran’s hands, it may
also make it all but impossible for Lebanon to escape a more concerted U.S. and
Israeli push to force it into Israel’s arms. Iran, as a major regional power,
has to accept that it has a similar interest as Türkiye and Saudi Arabia in not
allowing this to happen.
The United States’ and Israel’s disdain for international law and sovereignty
should be a warning to officials in Beirut. Neither has any interest in real
peace with Lebanon; their ambition is subjugation, the imposition of a surrender
under the guise of peace. If Lebanon wants to reassert the sovereignty of its
state institutions, this cannot stop at collecting Hezbollah’s arms; Hezbollah’s
archenemy presents no less of a danger.
https://carnegieendowment.org/middle-east/diwan/2026/01/a-mechanism-of-coercion
**Diwan, a blog from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Middle
East Program and the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, draws on
Carnegie scholars to provide insight into and analysis of the region.
Selected X tweets fror January
24/2026
Cedar Accords
“The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the hills, by
righteousness.” Psalm 72:3
https://x.com/i/status/2014249847923368401
Shadi khalloul שאדי ח'לול
Peace is coming soon
Evil will be defeated. Jews and Aramaic Maronites are both sharing common roots.
It's a natural alliance
henri
Why does Hezbollah hate peace in Lebanon?
Peace means stability. Stability means a better economy. A better economy means
Christians coming back. Christians coming back means Lebanon becomes a
Christian-majority country. And that is exactly what they do not want to
happen.Capisce?
Pierre Poilievre
President Trump must know that after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, over
40,000 brave Canadians fought tooth and nail in Afghanistan over 13 years. They
did so on the frontlines in the most dangerous districts in the mountains of
Tora Bora to the deserts of Kandahar. 158 of them paid the ultimate price.
Thousands still suffer the scars.
We thank them. We honour them. We remember them. Our American friends should
too.