English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News &
Editorials
For July 25/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2026/english.july25.26.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/@eliasbejjani8036
Bible Quotations For today
The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt
themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 23/01-12:
“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the
Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow
it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practise what they teach. They tie
up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but
they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their
deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their
fringes long. They love to have the place of honour at banquets and the best
seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places,
and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you
have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on
earth, for you have one Father the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called
instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you
will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who
humble themselves will be exalted.”
Titles For Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related
News & Editorials published on 24-25 July/2026
Elias Bejjani/Text, Video, Arabic & English: Mistakes, Sins, Blunders of
Transparent Political Cleverness, and Falsification of Facts Committed by Joseph
Aoun During His Visit to America
July 23, 2026
Saint Charbel Makhlouf: An Expanded Biography of the Life and Holiness of
Lebanon’s Great Hermit/Elias Bejjani/July 23/ 2026
Israel reinforces northern front: Preparations for potential escalation with
Iran and Lebanon
Trump promised Aoun to rein in Netanyahu, support army
Aoun: My meeting with Trump was fruitful, time has come to end war
Residents enter shattered south Lebanon town after Israeli withdrawal
Residents return to Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh as Israeli forces destroy nearby
villages
Hezbollah says Aoun's US visit 'submission' to foreign power link
President Aoun, PM Salam Review U.S. Visit, Southern Lebanon Deployment
UNESCO adds Lebanese castles to World Heritage List despite Israeli objections
David Schenker: No Israeli Withdrawal Before Hezbollah's Disarmament is Verified
Bombings Escalate to a Peak: Zawtar al-Gharbiya Embraces its Residents
Senior US Official: No Chance of Extending UNIFIL's Mission in Lebanon
Massive Explosions in Markaba and Kfar Tebnit... and Two Paramedics Targeted in
Nabatieh al-Fawqa
Following new information... Geagea: To reopen the case of Ramzi Irani's
assassination
Hezbollah Displays Its Power to the State: What Is the Truth Behind the
Information Branch's Prevention of Hassan Alayek's Arrest?
Zawtar al-Gharbiya Welcomes Back Its Residents!
Japanese militant who took part in a 1972 Tel Aviv airport attack, dies in
Beirut
Lebanon’s Civil Defense warns against swimming along entire coastline
Fuel prices rise in Lebanon
From the heart of Washington… Aoun embraces Berri and Hezbollah: How will the
duo respond?/Lara Yazbek/Al-Markazia/July 24, 2026
Mr. Aoun Came To Washington. Lebanon Now Owes Results./David Daoud and Ahmad
Sharawi/FDD/July 24/2026
Aoun’s Bigger Mission in Washington as the Regional Order Shifts/Samar El Kadi/This
Is Beirut/July 24/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published on 24-25 July/2026
Israel’s Netanyahu to meet Trump at White House on Tuesday
Trump warns Russia and China against arms sales to Iran
US House again passes resolution seeking to halt military action in Iran
US strikes Iran as clashes over shipping routes escalate
Pakistan and Iran explore path toward new talks with US
US warns citizens in Middle East to remain vigilant amid fears of further
regional escalation
Iranian missiles and drones target Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan after US night of
bombing
UN urges evacuation of 6,000 sailors stranded in Hormuz strait
Gulf and Arab countries, EU leaders slam Houthi Red Sea tanker attacks
UN urges evacuation of 6,000 sailors stranded in Hormuz strait
Iran military says attacked US bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait
Israeli military kills 4 Palestinians after settler killed in West Bank
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu orders new West Bank outposts after deadly
clash
Netanyahu vows to act 'with force' after deadly clash in West Bank
Explosions break out near US base in northern Iraq
Britain Says Armed Forces Ready After IRGC Threat Over U.S. Use of UK Bases
EU Sanctions Six More Iranians Over Human Rights Violations
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published
on 24-25 July/2026
Trump Igniting Nuclear Arms Race in the Middle East/Iran Cannot Have
Centrifuges, Why Should Saudi Arabia?/Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/July 24,
2026
Saudi Arabia as a Nuclear Power: A Message of Pressure and Deterrence from the
US to Iran!/Laura Yamin/Al-Markazia/July 24, 2026
Iran’s Mistakes Have United the World Against It/Sawsan Al-Shaer/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/July
24, 2026
Bab al-Mandab... The Gate of Sorrows!/Mishari Al-Zaydi/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/July
24, 2026
Graham’s legacy of peace negotiations/Rabbi Marc Schneier/Arab News/July 24,
2026
Red Sea escalation threatens Turkiye’s balancing act/Dr. Sinem Cengiz/Arab
News/July 24, 2026
Question: What did Jesus mean when He said to not cast your pearls before swine
(Matthew 7:6)?/GotQuestions.org/July 24/2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets on 24 July/2026
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on 24-25 July/2026
Elias Bejjani/Text, Video, Arabic & English: Mistakes, Sins, Blunders of
Transparent Political Cleverness, and Falsification of Facts Committed by Joseph
Aoun During His Visit to America
July 23, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156155/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTd1oPZut0U
Summary of the Main Topics Addressed in the Commentary
*A positive assessment of President Joseph Aoun’s visit to the United States,
while noting major observations and criticisms.
*Accusing President Aoun of distorting the historical facts related to
Hezbollah’s creation.
*Affirming that Hezbollah is an Iranian project and not a consequence of the
Israeli occupation.
*Criticizing the description of Hezbollah as a Lebanese resistance organization.
*Objecting to the praise directed toward the Lebanese Army leadership and Army
Commander Rodolphe Haykal.
*Criticizing the portrayal of Nabih Berri as a statesman and the defense of his
political role.
*Warning against policies of appeasement and political maneuvering in dealing
with national issues.
*Criticizing the composition of the delegation accompanying the President during
his visit to Washington.
*Holding presidential advisers responsible for certain presidential positions
and statements.
*Comparing President Aoun’s approach with that of President-elect Bashir Gemayel
in calling things by their true names.
*Calling on Lebanese citizens to practice criticism and refrain from turning
officials into political idols.
*Stressing that officials should be judged by their performance and not
glorified merely for carrying out their duties.
President Aoun’s Visit to Washington: Positives and Mistakes
President Joseph Aoun’s visit to the United States was an important achievement,
that the American position toward Lebanon was noteworthy, and that the overall
approach of the visit carried positive and encouraging elements. At the same
time, however, certain political mistakes and missteps accompanied the visit and
deserve to be highlighted out of respect for truth and history.
First: Falsifying the History of Hezbollah’s Creation
Since assuming the presidency, President Aoun has repeatedly stated on various
occasions that Hezbollah is a Lebanese organization that emerged as a result of
the Israeli occupation. Such a statement constitutes a falsification of history
and an insult to the intelligence of the Lebanese people. According to publicly
known facts and the testimonies of its founders and leaders, Hezbollah was never
a direct result of the occupation. Rather, it is an Iranian ideological,
military, and jihadist project established by the Iranian regime and attached to
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Its leaders have repeatedly declared that
their ideological, political, and military allegiance is to the doctrine of
Wilayat al-Faqih and that their funding, armament, and direction come from Iran.
Therefore, describing Hezbollah as merely a Lebanese resistance movement does
not reflect the reality of its formation, trajectory, and role.
Second: Hezbollah Between Lebanese Identity and Iranian Affiliation
It is true that Hezbollah’s members hold Lebanese citizenship, but this does not
make the project to which they belong a Lebanese one. Its ideology,
decision-making, financing, and political and military references are all tied
to Iran. They are mercenaries in every sense of the term as defined in political
science. Hassan Nasrallah repeatedly confirmed on many occasions that Hezbollah
is part of the Wilayat al-Faqih system and that its money, weapons, and support
come from Iran.Therefore, describing Hezbollah as an independent Lebanese
organization contradicts the facts publicly declared by its own leadership.
Third: A Different Reading of the Liberation of South Lebanon in 2000
Hezbollah did not liberate South Lebanon in 2000. Rather, it occupies it,
displaced its inhabitants, and caused its destruction and devastation.
Furthermore, Israel’s withdrawal in 2000 was not the result of a military
victory by Hezbollah but came within the framework of complex regional and
international considerations. The issue of the Shebaa Farms was later used to
justify the continuation of weapons outside the authority of the state.
Fourth: Criticism of Confidence in the Army Leadership
As for President Aoun’s confidence in the Army leadership, this confidence does
not align with the realities represented by Army Commander Rodolphe Haykal, who
is affiliated with Nabih Berri and Hezbollah. Aoun bears full responsibility for
any performance or decisions issued by the military leadership as long as he
defends it and grants it political cover.
Fifth: Nabih Berri and the Concept of a Statesman
Describing Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri as a statesman is both a sin and a
crime, because Berri’s political, financial, constitutional, and militia record
lies at the heart of every crisis that has afflicted Lebanon and the Lebanese
people. He is part of the problem, not the solution.He also serves as cover for
Hezbollah’s jihadist and Iranian policies and has contributed to consolidating a
political reality that has weakened the state and its institutions.
Sixth: The Problem of Political Cleverness and Appeasement
One of the main causes of Lebanon’s crises is the tendency of the majority of
political party bosses, officials, and religious leaders to adopt appeasement
and political cleverness instead of telling the whole truth. Calling things by
their true names is the essential gateway to building a real state and restoring
the Lebanese people’s confidence in their leadership.
Seventh: Criticism of the Presidential Delegation
Many Lebanese, including myself, question the reasons behind the selection of
certain members of the delegation that accompanied President Aoun to Washington.
This “poorly assembled” delegation was not the best representation of Lebanon
for a visit of such importance. The exclusion of certain figures and ministers,
including the Foreign Minister, raises many doubts and questions.
Eighth: The Role of Advisers
The advisers surrounding President Aoun, especially those involved in drafting
his speeches and positions, are characterized by approaches that lack a Lebanese
national perspective and that openly and blatantly distort historical and
political realities.
The President needs advisers who possess the courage to tell him the truth
rather than flatter him.
Ninth: Comparison with Bashir Gemayel’s Experience
Some compare Joseph Aoun to Bashir Gemayel, and this is a major mistake.
Bashir’s experience was distinguished by honesty, clarity, and courage in
calling things by their true names, without resorting to appeasement or
ambiguity. He also surrounded himself with capable advisers who were willing to
express opposing opinions whenever necessary.
Tenth: A Call for Criticism and Against Creating Idols
Lebanese citizens, especially those who consider themselves sovereignists,
should stop blindly applauding any official, including the President of the
Republic, who is merely a public servant working for the state and its citizens.
Performing one’s duties does not place a person above criticism or
accountability. Joseph Aoun must not become a new political idol, because
previous experiences have proven that political sanctification leads to further
mistakes and failures.
Conclusion
President Joseph Aoun’s visit to the United States was positive in terms of its
form and overall results. However, it was marred by major political mistakes,
most notably:
*Justifying Hezbollah’s creation and linking it to the Israeli occupation.
*Polishing the image of Nabih Berri and presenting him as a statesman.
*Defending the Army leadership and granting it unconditional confidence.
*Furthermore, reliance on advisers who serve as deposits for Hezbollah, Nabih
Berri, the Syrian Nationalist Party, the remnants of Michel Aoun’s disastrous
legacy, and groups of opportunists and hypocrites does not provide the President
with a critical reading of reality.
Ultimately, speaking the truth, no matter how difficult, remains a national and
moral duty. Public officials should be evaluated based on their performance and
commitment to the truth, not on the amount of applause that surrounds them.
The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email:
Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website:
https://eliasbejjaninews.com
Saint Charbel Makhlouf: An Expanded Biography of the Life and Holiness of
Lebanon’s Great Hermit
Elias Bejjani/July 23/ 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/07/156061/
Saint Charbel Makhlouf is one of the most renowned saints of the Maronite Church
and the Catholic Church in modern times. His fame has spread far beyond Lebanon
and the Middle East to every continent of the world. Millions of believers know
him as the “Heavenly Physician” because of the countless graces, healings, and
miracles attributed to his intercession. Maronites and Catholics celebrate the
feast of Saint Charbel each year on July 23, commemorating his passing from this
earthly life into eternal glory. His life remains a remarkable example of
asceticism, prayer, self-denial, and obedience. He has become a spiritual symbol
of Lebanon and of the Universal Church, while his shrine in Annaya is today one
of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites in the world.
His Birth Name and Early Life
Saint Charbel was born Youssef Antoun Makhlouf on May 8, 1828, in the village of
Bekaakafra in the district of Bsharri in northern Lebanon. Bekaakafra is
considered one of the highest inhabited villages in Lebanon.
His father was Antoun Makhlouf, and his mother was Brigitte Chidiac. Youssef
grew up in a humble and devout rural family whose livelihood depended on farming
and livestock raising. He lost his father at a young age, a hardship that marked
his childhood. From an early age, he showed signs of deep piety and a strong
attraction to prayer and solitude. He often withdrew to a nearby cave to pray in
silence, and the villagers sometimes referred to him as “the little hermit.”
His Religious Calling and Entrance into Monastic Life
From his youth, Youssef felt a powerful call to the monastic life. In 1851, he
secretly left his family home and entered Our Lady of Mayfouq Monastery,
belonging to the Lebanese Maronite Order.
Upon entering religious life, he took the name Charbel, in honor of Saint
Charbel of Antioch, a Christian martyr of the second century. After a period of
formation, he moved to Saint Maroun Monastery in Annaya, where he continued his
monastic journey. On November 01,1853, he professed his first monastic vows.
He later pursued his philosophical and theological studies at Kfifan Monastery,
where he studied under the guidance of the holy monk Nimatullah Al-Hardini, who
would later be canonized as a saint of the Maronite Church.
His Priestly Ordination
Father Charbel was ordained a priest on July 23, 1859. Remarkably, this same
date would later become his liturgical feast day. Following his ordination, he
returned to Saint Maroun Monastery in Annaya, where he devoted himself to a life
of prayer, labor, and silence.
His Life at Annaya Monastery
Saint Maron Monastery in Annaya, located in the Jbeil region of Lebanon, has
become one of the most famous monasteries in the Christian world because of its
association with Saint Charbel.
He lived there for more than sixteen years as a monk before moving to the
hermitage.
He became known for:
Long periods of silence.
Complete obedience to his superiors.
Profound humility.
Love for the poor.
Constant devotion to the Holy Eucharist.
Severe asceticism.
He firmly believed that monks should live the Gospel in practice and not merely
in theory.
His Move to the Hermitage
A hermitage is a place of strict monastic solitude where a hermit lives a life
of prayer, contemplation, and work apart from the world. In 1875, his superiors
granted him permission to move to the Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul,
located near Annaya Monastery. There he spent the final twenty-three years of
his life.
A Life of Asceticism and Prayer
Saint Charbel’s life in the hermitage is considered one of the most rigorous
examples of asceticism in Maronite monastic history.
His daily life centered on:
Prayer/He spent long hours in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
Fasting/He fasted during most days of the year.
Vigil/He slept only a few hours each night.
Manual Labor/He participated in simple agricultural work.
Silence/He spoke only when absolutely necessary.
His Personal Virtues
Humility/He never sought position, recognition, or fame. He considered himself
the least among the monks.
Obedience/He faithfully carried out the instructions of his superiors without
complaint.
Voluntary Poverty/He embraced poverty throughout his entire life.
Constant Prayer/Those who knew him regarded him as a man who lived continually
in the presence of God.
Love for the Eucharist/ The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was the center of his
spiritual life.
His Death
On the evening of December 16, 1898, while celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the
hermitage, Father Charbel suffered a stroke. He remained ill for several days
before passing away on December 24, 1898. The Maronite Church celebrates his
liturgical feast on July 23, the date associated with his priestly ordination
and spiritual remembrance within the Church tradition. He was seventy years old
at the time of his death.
Events Following His Death
Soon after his burial, extraordinary events began to occur. Residents of the
area reported seeing mysterious lights emanating from his tomb during the night.
Because these occurrences continued, Church authorities opened the tomb several
months later. To their astonishment, his body was found largely incorrupt and
preserved in an unusual manner. It was also observed to exude a fluid resembling
a mixture of water and blood. This phenomenon continued for many years. His
remains were examined on several occasions during the twentieth century,
attracting the attention of physicians, researchers, clergy, and pilgrims from
around the world. Today, the saint’s relics are preserved at his shrine in
Annaya, which receives millions of pilgrims.
Annaya Monastery and His Shrine
Saint Maron Monastery in Annaya has become the worldwide center of devotion to
Saint Charbel.
The site includes:
The saint’s tomb.
A museum containing his personal belongings.
The historic monastery church.
The modern basilica.
A pilgrims’ reception center.
Every year, visitors arrive from Lebanon, the Arab world, Europe, the Americas,
Africa, and Asia.
His Beatification
After extensive study of his life and miracles, the Cause for Beatification was
introduced in Rome.
On December 5, 1965, Pope Paul VI declared Father Charbel Blessed during the
Second Vatican Council. This event marked a historic milestone for the Maronite
Church.
Twelfth: His Canonization
Following the recognition of additional miracles in Lebanon and many other
countries, his cause was further examined.
On October 9, 1977, Pope Paul VI canonized him as a saint of the Universal
Church.
Since that day, he has been officially venerated throughout the Catholic world
as Saint Charbel Makhlouf.
Thirteenth: Some of the Most Famous Miracles Attributed to His Intercession
Thousands of spiritual and medical testimonies have been attributed to Saint
Charbel’s intercession.
Among the most notable are:
The Healing of Sister Marie Abel Kassis/This miracle played a central role in
the process leading to his beatification. She was cured of severe illnesses
after invoking his intercession.
The Healing of Nohad El Shami/ Her case became one of the most famous modern
miracles associated with Saint Charbel. She was reportedly healed from a serious
paralysis, and two unusual wounds appeared on her neck following a vision of the
saint.
Healings from Cancer/
Numerous testimonies from Lebanon and abroad describe recoveries from various
forms of cancer attributed to his intercession.
Healings from Blindness and Paralysis/
Church and medical commissions have documented many reports concerning the
healing of severe and incurable conditions.
The administration of the Annaya shrine continues to receive reports and
testimonies from countries throughout the world.
Fourteenth: The Spread of His Veneration Throughout the World
Today, Saint Charbel is among the most widely venerated saints of the Christian
East.
Churches, monasteries, shrines, and chapels dedicated to him can be found in
dozens of countries, including: Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, the
United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Australia, France,
Italy, Germany, Belgium, South Africa, and the Philippines.
Hundreds of churches, chapels, and shrines bearing his name have been
established across the globe.
Fifteenth: The Spiritual Importance of Saint Charbel
The significance of Saint Charbel lies in the fact that he:
United prayer and work.
Lived the Gospel with extraordinary fidelity.
Embodied the spirituality of Eastern Christianity.
Offered a universal model of asceticism and contemplation.
Became a spiritual bridge between East and West.
For this reason, Christians, Muslims, and people of various religious
backgrounds visit his shrine seeking prayer, healing, and blessings.
A Prayer Through the Intercession of Saint Charbel for Lebanon
Lord God, Master of history and of all nations, we ask You through the
intercession of Saint Charbel Makhlouf, Hermit of Annaya and Saint of Lebanon
and the world, to look with mercy upon Lebanon and its people. Grant its sons
and daughters wisdom, courage, and fidelity to the truth. Bless every effort
that seeks justice, peace, freedom, and human dignity. Protect Lebanon from
violence, division, and corruption. Strengthen the rule of law and its
institutions, and safeguard its sovereignty, independence, and territorial
unity. Lord, heal the wounds of the Lebanese people, comfort those who suffer,
and grant all public servants the grace to work faithfully for the common good.
Through the intercession of Saint Charbel, make Lebanon once again a land of
encounter, love, witness, and mission, according to Your holy will. To You be
glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Conclusion
Saint Charbel remains one of the most prominent spiritual figures in the history
of Eastern Christianity. His hidden life in a small hermitage in Annaya became a
universal testimony to faith, prayer, holiness, and total dedication to God.
Today, his name is honored in hundreds of churches, monasteries, and shrines
throughout the five continents, making him one of the most beloved saints of the
modern era.
**The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website:
https://eliasbejjaninews.com
**Note: The information presented in this study has
been compiled from numerous reputable ecclesiastical, theological, historical,
and scholarly sources.
Introduction
Israel reinforces northern front: Preparations for potential escalation with
Iran and Lebanon
LBCI/July 24/2026
As attention remains focused on the possibility of renewed conflict with Iran,
the Israeli military has quietly reinforced its northern front, deploying its
Mountain Brigade to high ground overlooking the Lebanese side of the disputed
Shebaa Farms area amid preparations for a potential widening of hostilities.
According to Israeli reports, troops have been conducting training exercises and
operational drills in anticipation of the possibility that Lebanon could again
become part of a broader regional conflict. Air defense systems have also been
placed on heightened alert, particularly following reports that a missile landed
in the area. Inside Israel, authorities have raised the level of emergency
preparedness amid growing speculation that military action against Iran could
take place by the end of the week. Emergency coordination committees have
reportedly been established, public activities scheduled for Saturday and Sunday
have been canceled in several areas, and bomb shelters have been opened across
parts of the country, from the northern border to central and southern Israel.
The heightened security measures come as Israeli officials warn that any new
confrontation with Iran could prove more severe than previous rounds of
fighting. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a limited security cabinet
meeting to discuss possible scenarios should war with Iran erupt. According to
Israeli media reports, officials assessed that a future conflict would likely be
more dangerous than the recent exchanges between the two countries.
Israeli security officials are also reportedly seeking U.S. backing to avoid a
repeat of previous ceasefire arrangements, arguing that Israel should be allowed
to continue military operations until it achieves its objectives, including
neutralizing Iran's ballistic missile capabilities and its nuclear program.
Against the backdrop of the escalating rhetoric, Netanyahu announced that he
will travel to Washington on Monday for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump
and to attend the funeral of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. The visit has fueled
speculation in Israel that it could also be linked to ongoing strategic
coordination with Washington as pressure mounts on Iran.
Trump promised Aoun to rein in Netanyahu, support army
Naharnet/July 24/2026
U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to President Joseph Aoun in their Washington
meeting to restrain Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and prevent him,
as much as possible, from escalating tensions, an informed political source
said. Trump also responded positively to Aoun's proposals, particularly
regarding providing all forms of support to the Lebanese Army, the source told
Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. During the summit, Trump instructed his Secretary of
Defense, Pete Hegseth, who was also present, to “send a military mission to
Beirut to assess the army's needs as part of developing and strengthening the
military cooperation program between the two countries,” the source added,
revealing that Trump demonstrated full responsiveness to Aoun's requests. A
member of the Lebanese delegation was quoted as saying: "A positive atmosphere
prevailed throughout the meeting, from beginning to end. We almost felt as
though they had met before and had a prior acquaintance, because we were
surprised by the level of political chemistry between them." The source
confirmed that Trump expressed understanding for Aoun's request to expand the
pilot zones to include towns still under occupation. He said that the commander
of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, will visit Beirut
very soon, following a visit by General Joseph Clearfield, who heads the
military coordination group for Lebanon. Their joint visit is intended to verify
the army's deployment in the two pilot zones and ensure they are free of any
armed presence other than Lebanese military units, a clear reference to
Hezbollah. The source believes that Admiral Cooper's presence opens the door to
discussing the expansion of the pilot zones. He anticipates that the tripartite
political and military meeting of the member states of the Framework Agreement
in Rome on August 4 will be a crucial step in finalizing this expansion.
Aoun: My meeting with Trump was fruitful, time has come to
end war
Naharnet/July 24/2026
President Joseph Aoun called Friday on the European Union to support the
implementation of a framework agreement reached in late June with Israel. Aoun
said Lebanon is committed to the path of reforms, despite being under Israeli
attacks since October 2023, when Hezbollah joined the Gaza war in support of
Hamas and the Palestinian people. In November 2024, a ceasefire was reached but
Israel kept up its attacks, especially on south Lebanon. In March, Hezbollah
fired at Israel after the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei and said
it's also in retaliation for 15 months of Israeli violations. Aoun, who has
staunchly criticized Hezbollah's decision to pull Lebanon into war, met Tuesday
with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington. Hezbollah branded the visit a
failure and said that it showed the government’s submission to a foreign power.
"My meeting with President Trump was fruitful, and the time has come to bring a
definitive end to the war," Aoun said. Earlier on Friday, Aoun met with Prime
Minister Nawaf Salam and discussed with him the latest developments, his
Washington visit, and Salam's recent visit to south Lebanon.
Residents enter shattered south Lebanon town after Israeli
withdrawal
Reuters/July 24, 2026
ZAWTAR AL-GHARBIYEH, Lebanon: Residents began entering the southern Lebanese
town of Zawtar Al-Gharbiyeh on Friday, some inspecting damaged homes and
searching for belongings after Israeli troops withdrew and the Lebanese army
deployed under a US-brokered agreement.
The return remains tentative. More than half the town has been destroyed and
many of the homes still standing are badly damaged, according to Mayor Abed
Ezzeddin. Residents walked through streets covered in rubble, stopping outside
damaged homes. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for almost five months,” said
one, Mohammed Darwish. “We want to go in and check,” he said. “We’re happy that
we’re going in today.”Darwish said he hoped to remain in the town but that
residents had not been told whether they would be allowed to stay overnight. For
some, the scale of the destruction has not diminished their determination to
remain. “My house is destroyed, and my children’s house is destroyed. Everything
is destroyed,” said another resident, Abu Ali Ezzeddin. “I’m planning to stay in
(Zawtar Al-Gharbiyeh) because my livelihood is here,” he said. The Lebanese army
began deploying in Zawtar Al-Gharbiyeh on Tuesday after Israeli forces
withdrew from the area, marking the first test of a US-brokered plan agreed by
Lebanon and Israel in direct talks. The plan foresees the Lebanese army
confiscating weapons from the Iran-aligned Hezbollah group in designated areas
and Israeli troops withdrawing in phases so that Lebanese troops can deploy. The
Israeli military has described Zawtar Al-Gharbiyeh as one of three towns or
villages covered by the initial pilot program. Israeli troops still occupy a
swathe of territory about 10 kilometers (six miles) into southern Lebanon, where
they have razed villages to the ground. As a result, tens of thousands of
Lebanese displaced from their hometowns when the latest war between Hezbollah
and Israel erupted on March 2 remain unable to return home. Israeli troops
continued to carry out controlled explosions in towns they occupy near Zawtar
Al-Gharbiyeh this week. Army units have been sweeping Zawtar Al-Gharbiyeh for
mines and unexploded ordnance, and ambulances entered the town on Thursday to
remove the bodies of Hezbollah fighters killed in fighting in the town. A senior
Lebanese military official told Reuters this week that considerable work
remained before the town could be declared safe. On Thursday, Hezbollah’s
parliamentary bloc dismissed the Lebanese army’s deployment as a symbolic
exercise.
Residents return to Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh as Israeli forces
destroy nearby villages
Naharnet/July 24/2026
Israeli forces detonated overnight into Friday houses and culverts in al-Khiam,
Majdalzoun, Serbine, Kfartebnit, Haddatha, Tiri and Kounine, while strikes
targeted the outskirts of al-Mansouri and Deir Seryan. The Israeli army also
conducted mock raids over several areas in south Lebanon. Displaced residents
were meanwhile returning Friday to check on their homes in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh,
one of several "pilot zones" where the Lebanese army deployed as part of a
Washington-sponsored deal with Israel. In nearby Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, Israeli
troops remain. Lebanon and Israel started in April rare direct talks championed
by Washington. They reached an agreement by late June, setting a plan for the
deployment of Lebanese military forces in areas in southern Lebanon, where
Hezbollah had a military presence and influence, and the withdrawal of Israeli
forces, while disarming the militant group. The first pilot zone includes three
southern villages, Froun, Srifa, and Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh -- all outside the
primary Israeli-occupied buffer zone.
Hezbollah says Aoun's US visit 'submission' to foreign
power link
Agence France Presse/July 24/2026
Hezbollah branded on Thursday President Joseph Aoun’s recent visit to Washington
a failure and said that it showed the government’s submission to a foreign
power. In a statement, the group’s lawmakers said the visit revealed "the extent
of subservience and submission to foreign tutelage", adding that it "failed to
achieve... an American commitment to the withdrawal of the enemy from our land",
referring to Israel.
President Aoun, PM Salam Review U.S. Visit, Southern Lebanon Deployment
This is Beirut/July 24/2026
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met on Friday to
review the latest developments in Lebanon, including Aoun’s recent visit to the
United States and the implementation of the U.S.-brokered Framework Agreement
with Israel. Aoun briefed Salam on the outcome of his meetings in Washington
with U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying U.S.
officials expressed their readiness to continue supporting the Lebanese Armed
Forces, assist Lebanon across various sectors, and remain committed to
implementing the framework agreement. He added that Lebanon reaffirmed its
position that Israel must complete its withdrawal from all occupied Lebanese
towns and villages to the internationally recognized southern border. For his
part, Salam briefed Aoun on his visit to Zawtar El Gharbiyeh following the
Israeli withdrawal, stressing that the government remains committed to
supporting residents, meeting their needs, and ensuring they can remain on their
land. The two leaders also discussed Salam’s scheduled visit to Iraq on Sunday,
where he is expected to meet Iraqi Prime Minister to discuss strengthening
bilateral relations between Lebanon and Iraq.
UNESCO adds Lebanese castles to World Heritage List despite Israeli objections
Associated Press/July 24/2026
A United Nations committee voted Friday to inscribe a major archaeological site
in the West Bank and a set of castles in southern Lebanon as World Heritage
sites, despite objections from Israel, which had urged the committee to reject
the bids. The decision at a U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization meeting in South Korea came days after Israel's Foreign Ministry
urged the committee to reject efforts to designate the small West Bank town of
Sebastia and the Lebanese castles, calling the nominations a "weaponization of
cultural heritage."
At their meeting in Busan, members of the UNESCO committee decided to place
Sebastia and five castles in Lebanon's Mount Amel area on both the World
Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger after reviewing the
nominations on an emergency basis.
Sebastia, a hilltop town about 10 kilometers northwest of Nablus in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank, is identified by scholars as ancient Samara, capital
of the biblical Kingdom of Israel. The area's archaeological remains span the
Iron Age, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods. Christian and Islamic tradition
holds that John the Baptist was buried there, according to a UNESCO website.
Sebastia's nomination, first submitted by the Palestinian delegation to UNESCO
in 2012, argued that World Heritage status was needed to help preserve the site,
saying it remains largely undeveloped under Israeli control and requires
additional conservation despite attracting tourists. The designation comes as
Israel, which does not recognize a Palestinian state, moves to expropriate large
swaths of land around the site, even as it faces pressure to crack down on
violence by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian territory.
The five castles in the Mount Amel region are recognized for their layered
architectural heritage, combining Crusader, Ayyubid, Mamluk and local
influences, reflecting the evolution of fortified architecture over nearly nine
centuries, according to a UNESCO description.
In Tuesday's statement, Israel's Foreign Ministry accused the Palestinian
delegation of waging a "hostile, one-sided campaign" at UNESCO by falsely
portraying Sebastia as an area facing an emergency, calling the effort a
political attempt to "erase the site's profound, well-documented Jewish and
Christian history."
Israel withdrew from UNESCO in 2019, accusing the organization of being biased
against it and of downplaying its historical ties to the Holy Land. Israel's
Foreign Ministry also took objection to efforts to list Beaufort Castle in
southern Lebanon as a World Heritage site. The castle was part of the nomination
covering five castles in the Mount Amel area. The ministry said Hezbollah, an
Iran-backed militant group, has turned Beaufort Castle into a military
stronghold by building tunnels beneath the site and launching rockets from the
area, and accused UNESCO of ignoring those developments. UNESCO and the Lebanese
embassy in South Korea declined to comment on the Israeli claims about
Hezbollah. The UNESCO committee on Wednesday placed another Lebanese site, Tyre,
an ancient Phoenician city in the southern part of the country, on the list of
world heritage sites in danger.
David Schenker: No Israeli Withdrawal Before Hezbollah's
Disarmament is Verified
Al-Nahar/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Former US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker
discussed the future of the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel,
Washington's role in ensuring its implementation, its position on the Israeli
withdrawal, and his assessment of President Joseph Aoun's visit to the United
States.
1- The political division in Lebanon included President Joseph Aoun's visit to
the White House. How do you assess this visit from your perspective?
- I believe that President Joseph Aoun's visit was successful. He received a
good reception, adhered to the messages he wanted to convey, and returned to
Lebanon with a number of gains, including American pledges to provide additional
support to the Lebanese army, assurances of Washington's continued commitment to
the framework agreement, and a promise to launch direct flights between Lebanon
and the United States.
2- The visit seemed positive, but what about the possibility of implementing the
shared vision, which faces Israeli obstacles on one hand, and Iran's insistence
on linking the Lebanese track to its own on the other?
- There are certainly significant obstacles to implementing the framework
agreement. The upcoming Israeli elections may push the Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu is hesitant to redeploy the Israeli army from Lebanese territory. It
is also certain that Hezbollah will attempt to undermine the pilot zones by
infiltrating them with weapons, despite the Lebanese army's control over them,
and may even try to launch rockets toward Israel from those areas. It is unclear
whether the Lebanese army will actually confront Hezbollah when this proxy of
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, as expected, challenges the army's
authority. Iran will try to play the spoiler role through Hezbollah, but the
defunct memorandum of understanding that linked Lebanon to the Strait of Hormuz
is largely irrelevant. Today, the Lebanese government, not Iran, is trying to
assert its sovereignty, and President Aoun's visit indicates that Washington
fully supports these efforts.
3- What forms of American guarantees are there for the implementation of the
framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, especially since some Lebanese,
most notably Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, are skeptical of them?
- Washington is a key party to the framework agreement between Lebanon and
Israel. Although the details have not yet been finalized, the plan stipulates
that the United States, through the US Central Command (CENTCOM), will act as
the arbiter within the "mechanism." The revised agreement stipulates that the
United States will determine whether the Lebanese army establishes control over
the pilot areas from which Israel has cleared Hezbollah and its infrastructure.
The agreement states that Israeli withdrawals are contingent upon the Lebanese
army fulfilling its responsibilities to a high standard. Speaker Nabih Berri may
be skeptical of the United States' ability or willingness to compel Israel to
uphold its commitments. However, the US administration wields considerable
influence over Israel and appears committed to this agreement. President Donald
Trump has, on several occasions, forced the Israeli government to take steps it
did not want to take.
Following the first ceasefire with Iran in 2014, Trump prevented Israeli
retaliatory strikes, forcing the Israeli Air Force to turn back mid-mission
after Iran violated the truce. Earlier this year, he also prevented Israel from
targeting Beirut's southern suburbs.
I am confident that the United States will pressure both sides to fulfill their
obligations, but the most difficult part may be getting the Lebanese army to do
so, even if it means a confrontation with Hezbollah.
4- There are Lebanese concerns that this process is linked to President Trump
personally, and that things will revert to the status quo with the next US
president. - The framework agreement is not dependent on President Trump; in
fact, any Democratic administration is likely to be more committed to its
implementation. However, what worries me most is the possibility of a change in
the Lebanese government, as this process will be lengthy. It is difficult, for
example, to imagine that a government in Beirut headed by Najib Mikati would be
as committed to disarmament, peace, and normalization as the current government.
5- Will the United States actually pressure Israel to withdraw from southern
Lebanon? Or will the situation remain unresolved pending a US-Iranian
settlement?
- If the Lebanese army fulfills its obligations, I believe the Trump
administration will pressure Israel to meet its commitments.
Naturally, the Israeli withdrawals under the framework agreement are conditional
and will be implemented gradually. Remember that the Lebanese army commander
announced in December 2025 that he had completed the disarmament of Hezbollah
and the dismantling of its infrastructure south of the Litani River, but that
wasn't true. I believe the success of this operation will depend on verification
on the ground. Israel will not withdraw from southern Lebanon based on Lebanese
pledges to disarm Hezbollah. The Israelis, as well as the Lebanese, understand
this.
6. Do you think it's possible to reach a peace agreement between Lebanon and
Israel? Or will the Lebanese political reality and the presence of the Israeli
right wing in the government prevent it?Peace will take time. I believe that if
both sides adhere to their commitments, it will be possible, over time, to build
trust. The Lebanese will return to the south to rebuild, and the Israelis will
return to the north, and perhaps the atmosphere will gradually improve.
Normalization will take time, but relations can become more normal during this
period.
Opinion polls indicate that a majority of Lebanese want an end to the ongoing
wars with Israel waged by Hezbollah, and the Israelis want this as well. The
current Israeli government may not be able to accomplish this, but it is
possible that the government will change in October.
Bombings Escalate to a Peak: Zawtar al-Gharbiya Embraces
its Residents
Al-Modon/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
The Israeli escalation in southern Lebanon reached its peak with intensified
bombing operations targeting several towns and border areas. This coincided with
artillery shelling, machine gun fire, and movements of Israeli military
vehicles, continuing the violations on the ground and widening the scope of
attacks along the southern border. Meanwhile, for the fourth consecutive day,
the first phase of the demilitarization process in Zawtar al-Gharbiya continued,
under close observation. Some residents began entering Zawtar al-Gharbiya,
escorted and supported by the Lebanese Army, after the area was cleared of
remnants of the Israeli aggression. According to the framework agreement signed
between Lebanon and Israel, Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Frun, and Sarifa are supposed to
be areas free of armed presence or any Hezbollah elements. Further pilot areas
will be announced if the Lebanese Army's actions meet with Israeli approval. In
return, Lebanon received American guarantees that these areas would not be
targeted while the Lebanese Army carries out its duties there, although this is
not tied to any specific timeframe. A New Round of Negotiations Expected in Rome
The establishment of new pilot zones hinges on the seventh round of
negotiations, scheduled to take place in Rome on August 4th under US auspices.
This seventh round of negotiations comes in light of two significant events:
first, the summit between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his American
counterpart, Donald Trump, at the White House; and second, the commencement of
the first phase of the pilot zone with the Lebanese Army's entry into the town
of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, in addition to reinforcing its deployment in the towns of
Frun and Srifa. The Lebanese delegation will include diplomats and officers from
the Lebanese Army, reflecting the political and military nature of the
negotiations and the need for a comprehensive approach that combines diplomatic
and field aspects. The negotiations will address in detail the mechanisms
required from both sides to implement the pilot zone plan. They will also
discuss establishing a clear framework for the verification mechanism related to
the withdrawal of weapons and defining the practical steps necessary to ensure
the Lebanese Army's full control over these areas, thus guaranteeing the plan's
implementation according to clear and agreed-upon standards.
The establishment of new pilot zones is now contingent upon this seventh round
of negotiations. Hezbollah: Weapons After Israeli Withdrawal
Hezbollah's escalation of its stance regarding President Joseph Aoun's visit to
the United States was noteworthy. The party stated that the visit failed to
produce an American commitment to an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory.
This contrasted with the position of its partner in the alliance, Speaker of
Parliament Nabih Berri, who gave the agreements reached during the visit a
chance to be implemented and contacted the president to congratulate him on his
safe return. The Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc stated that the Lebanese
presidential visit to Washington failed to achieve even the minimum of Lebanon's
sovereign national demands. In a statement, the bloc added that any discussion
of the resistance's weapons outside the area south of the Litani River cannot
take place before the Israeli enemy withdraws. The statement affirmed that the
Lebanese army had reinforced its deployment in areas the Israeli army had failed
to occupy, emphasizing that the Israeli army "has not withdrawn from any of the
areas it occupies, but rather opened fire on Lebanese army units in the town of
Zawtar al-Gharbiya under the pretext that they had advanced 100 meters into
occupied territory," as it put it. The statement reiterated its rejection of
direct negotiations and the framework agreement that resulted from them,
stressing the priority of the complete withdrawal of the occupation army from
Lebanese territory and the implementation of the November 27 agreement.
Field Raids and Explosions
A Syrian worker was injured as a result of Israeli aggression that caused the
destruction of homes and facilities in the south. Israeli occupation forces
continued their military operations in the vicinity of the town of Ibl al-Saqi,
where they conducted intensive sweeps throughout the night with machine guns,
punctuated by successive explosions and movements of their military vehicles in
the vicinity of the spring area. Israeli warplanes carried out a raid targeting
the vicinity of Deir Siryan town in the Qusayr region, but the missile did not
explode. The raid coincided with warplanes flying at low altitude and carrying
out mock raids in the skies of several southern regions.
Senior US Official: No Chance of Extending UNIFIL's Mission
in Lebanon
Al-Markazia/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Heba Nasr, the Middle East Bureau Chief in Washington, reported that she had
discussed the future of UNIFIL's mission in Lebanon with the US administration.
She quoted a senior US official who confirmed that "there is absolutely no
chance of extending UNIFIL's mission."
The official added that "the available options after the end of UNIFIL's mission
are being studied," but emphasized that "there will be no open-ended mandates
for the United Nations." Nasr noted that "it was the Lebanese side that
requested the extension of UNIFIL's mission."
Massive Explosions in Markaba and Kfar Tebnit... and Two
Paramedics Targeted in Nabatieh al-Fawqa
Al-Markazia/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
The Israeli army carried out a massive explosion this afternoon in the town of
Kfar Tebnit, the sound of which was alarmingly heard throughout the Nabatieh
region. It also carried out an explosion in the town of Al-Tayri, in the Bint
Jbeil district. An enemy drone dropped a stun grenade on the town of Mansouri,
causing no injuries. Later that afternoon, the Israeli army carried out two
explosions in the town of Markaba, followed by a search operation and artillery
shelling targeting the town. An Israeli aircraft also dropped a stun grenade on
Mansouri. At dawn, the Israeli army directly targeted a Civil Defense ambulance
belonging to the Islamic Health Authority in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, injuring two
paramedics and damaging the ambulance. This was followed by artillery shelling
of the town. Also at dawn, Israeli forces carried out demolition operations on
several culverts on roads connecting the towns of Haddatha, Tayri, Qounine, and
Khiam. They also opened fire with machine guns on the outskirts of Majdal Zoun
in the morning.
Following new information... Geagea: To reopen the case of
Ramzi Irani's assassination
Al-Markazia/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
The following statement was issued by the head of the Lebanese Forces Party,
Samir Geagea: The interview conducted by the newspaper “Nidaa al-Watan” with
Brigadier General Retired lawyer Charles Atta's testimony sheds considerable
light on crucial information concerning the assassination of martyr Ramzi Irani.
The details he presents constitute new information not considered in the
previous investigation, opening a wide door to uncovering various aspects and
circumstances of this crime. Therefore, the Public Prosecutor's Office is urged
to take up this case and reopen the file, which was suspiciously shelved during
the Syrian occupation, preventing the truth from being revealed and those
responsible from being held accountable. Justice may be delayed, but it is never
lost, and the truth cannot be buried forever.
Hezbollah Displays Its Power to the State: What Is the
Truth Behind the Information Branch's Prevention of Hassan Alayek's Arrest?
Al-Markazia/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
MTV sources reported that the Information Branch did not send any forces to the
southern suburbs of Beirut, and that reports of Hezbollah members deploying
around a hotel in the area were unrelated to the branch. The sources considered
Hezbollah's actions to be a show of force to the Lebanese state, despite the
absence of any security activity in the area. The sources, who confirmed that
Hezbollah members were deployed around the hotel in question, also indicated
that the relevant authorities know exactly when and how to execute judicial
orders. MTV had previously reported that the Information Branch attempted to
enter the Pearl Hotel in the Maawad area to execute the arrest warrant against
Hassan Alayek, but Hezbollah members surrounded the hotel entrances and
prevented the Information Branch from entering to arrest him.
Zawtar al-Gharbiya Welcomes Back Its Residents!
Al-Markazia/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Residents of the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya began returning to the town today,
escorted by the Lebanese Army. Amidst security and organizational measures to
facilitate the return process, the town's entrances witnessed heavy congestion,
leading to significant delays for vehicles due to the large influx of residents
eager to return. Many opted to continue their journey on foot to reach their
homes. The mayor of Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Abdul Ezz El-Din, stated in a televised
interview that "the debris removal operations in the town are ongoing, and army
engineering teams are working regularly to clear the remnants of war to ensure
the safe return of residents."He confirmed that "some neighborhoods in the town
are safe and accessible to residents, while others remain inaccessible due to
rubble and destruction. The army is working to remove the debris to facilitate a
full return." He added that "Israeli forces are still present on the outskirts
of the town (in Zawtar al-Sharqiya) and can be seen with the naked eye. This
matter falls under the responsibility of the Lebanese army."
Japanese militant who took part in a 1972 Tel Aviv airport
attack, dies in Beirut
Associated Press/July 24/2026
Kozo Okamoto, the Japanese militant who took part in a deadly attack on Tel
Aviv's airport more than five decades ago, died Thursday in Beirut, the
Palestinian group that had been protecting him said. He was 78. The Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a faction that is the second-largest
group in the Palestine Liberation Organization, said that Okamoto had been ill
for a long time. Okamoto, who made rare public appearances since he settled in
Lebanon after being released from Israel, was known within the PFLP as Ahmad al-Yabani,
or Ahmad the Japanese. The PFLP said in its statement that Okamoto's journey was
"marked by immense sacrifices spanning for decades on the battlefields of
struggle in support of the Palestinian cause." The Palestinian group added that
Okamoto "never compromised nor faltered but remained steadfast to his
principles."Okamoto had served 12 years in an Israeli lockup for a May 30, 1972
attack on the international airport outside Tel Aviv that was thought to be
carried out by members of the Japanese Red Army guerrilla group in a joint
operation with the PFLP. In the 1972 attack, Okamoto and two of his colleagues
arrived in Tel Aviv on a flight from Europe, then collected their bags, in which
they had packed rifles and grenades, and opened fire, killing 26 people and
wounding dozens, according to AP reports. The two Japanese with Okamoto were
killed in the attack while he was wounded. Okamoto was sentenced to life in
prison but freed in 1985 in a prisoner exchange between Israel and Palestinian
guerrillas. He later gained political asylum in Lebanon, where he lived until
his death. One of the rare public appearances that Okamoto made was in May 2022
at a Beirut cemetery, where Palestinian militants and other personalities are
buried, to mark the 50th anniversary of the attack. The Japanese Red Army, a
violent ultra-leftist group that had links to Palestinian militants, was formed
in 1971 and took responsibility for several international attacks, including the
takeover of the U.S. Consulate in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1975. The PFLP is a
radical faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization and gained notoriety
after the simultaneous hijackings of four Western airliners in 1970 and the
seizure of an Air France flight en route from Tel Aviv to Paris that was
diverted to Entebbe, Uganda. The PFLP said in a statement Thursday that
Okamoto's attack at the Israeli airport was in retaliation for a 1968 Israeli
commando attack on Beirut's international airport. The leader of the PFLP, Ahmed
Saadat, is one of the most prominent Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Saadat
was accused of organizing the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister
Rehavam Zeevi, an ultranationalist who called for the mass expulsion of
Palestinians. Okamoto and four other Japanese were arrested by Lebanese
authorities in 1997 in eastern Lebanon after spending years illegally in the
country, protected by Palestinian and Lebanese leftist groups during the chaotic
days of the 1975-90 civil war. They were put on trial and the four were handed
over to Japan in 2000 while Okamoto became the first person to get political
asylum in Lebanon. Japan has been demanding for years that Okamoto be handed
over by Lebanon, but Beirut has repeatedly rejected the demand. He is considered
a hero by many in Lebanon and the Arab world for championing the Palestinian
cause and opposing Israel. Okamoto once described himself during his trial in
Lebanon as "an Arab resistance fighter."
Lebanon’s Civil Defense warns against swimming along entire
coastline
LBCI/July 24/2026
The Lebanese Civil Defense warned citizens against swimming along the country’s
coastline, from Aabdeh in the north to Naqoura in the south, due to high waves
and strong sea currents that increase the risk of drowning incidents. In a
statement, the Civil Defense urged the public to exercise caution and refrain
from swimming until sea conditions improve, while adhering to public safety
guidelines and instructions from relevant authorities.
Fuel prices rise in Lebanon
LBCI/July 24/2026
On Friday, July 24, 2026, the prices of 95-octane gasoline and 98-octane
gasoline increased by LBP 67,000, and diesel by LBP 110,000, while gas prices
remained unchanged.
The current prices for hydrocarbon derivatives are as follows:
* Gasoline 95 octane: LBP 2,414,000
* Gasoline 98 octane: LBP 2,432,000
* Diesel: LBP 2,209,000
* Gas canister: LBP 1,127,000
From the heart of Washington… Aoun embraces Berri and
Hezbollah: How will the duo respond?
Lara Yazbek/Al-Markazia/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Al-Markazia – President Joseph Aoun, speaking from the most important
decision-making center in the world today, Washington, spoke very positively
about the Shiite duo. From inside the Oval Office, and in front of his host, US
President Donald Trump, Aoun affirmed that Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri is
a statesman, adding: “He actually supports what we are doing, but we must be
careful.” His position as Speaker of Parliament and leader of the Shia
community—we must recognize the sensitivity of his position.” At a dinner held
in his honor at the residence of Lebanese Ambassador Nada Mouawad in Washington,
Aoun spoke about Hezbollah, its people, and its environment, saying: “Let me
address directly the question I know is on everyone’s mind tonight: Is disarming
Hezbollah truly achievable? Yes, but only if we are honest about what it
actually requires. The armed group we are talking about is not a foreign
mercenary force; it is composed of Lebanese citizens who, over forty years, have
been molded by a massive and continuous investment on the ideological, social,
and military levels into a non-state armed group operating outside the control
of the government. This reality does not make the goal any less urgent, but
rather the method all the more important…” Aoun, who has been relentlessly
attacked by the Shia duo in recent weeks, with the resistance media, its online
armies, and its officials heaping the most vile insults upon him, even accusing
him of treason, was neither neutral nor indifferent in his remarks about
Hezbollah and Amal. He avoided speaking about them, nor did he abandon or treat
them harshly. On the contrary, according to political sources monitoring the
situation for "Al-Markazia," we saw him, in a responsible and paternalistic
stance, embracing and defending them. According to these sources, everyone knows
that the American administration is nearing sanctions against Berri and has
already imposed them on his closest associates. However, Aoun defended the
Speaker of Parliament before Trump. It was also noteworthy that Aoun emphasized
that the party members are not mercenaries but Lebanese citizens, and he wanted
to reassure them that no one would harm, isolate, or betray them, stressing that
the best way to control weapons is through an Israeli withdrawal from the south.
Aoun made these remarks from the heart of Washington and in front of the media,
which refutes the narrative of his "submission and surrender to the Americans"
promoted by the party. After all this flexible and inclusive presidential
performance, and after Aoun extended a hand once again to the duo, the biggest
question is: how will they respond? Or will they respond at all? Berri is
waiting for the results, as he said, but the party's position is the most
important, the sources continue. So, will they respond? Will this facilitate the
army's mission in the designated areas, or at least refrain from obstructing it?
Will it halt the incitement campaign against Aoun? Will it say no to Iran if it
asks it to reignite the southern front? Unfortunately, all indications emanating
from the party after the Aoun-Trump summit, thus far, are not promising but
rather cause for pessimism. MP Ihab Hamadeh, a member of the Loyalty to the
Resistance bloc, stated that "Aoun is implementing an agenda that serves
Israel," while the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc asserted that "the
presidential visit to Washington failed to achieve even the most basic national
and sovereign demand, as it did not yield an American commitment to the enemy's
withdrawal from our land." The bloc further noted that "the authorities are
persisting in deepening the predicament of Lebanon and the Lebanese people,
embroiling them in a futile path of successive concessions that undermine the
sovereignty of the state and the dignity of the nation and its people."
Mr. Aoun Came To Washington. Lebanon Now Owes Results.
David Daoud and Ahmad Sharawi/FDD/July 24/2026
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2026/07/23/mr-aoun-came-to-washington-lebanon-now-owes-results/
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s July 21 meeting with President
Donald Trump clarified the terms of the U.S.-Lebanese relationship but did not
resolve Lebanon’s central problem: Hezbollah’s weapons and the absence of a
state monopoly on force. Aoun thanked Trump for brokering the June 26 Framework
Agreement with Israel — which conditions new U.S. assistance and a phased
Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon on verifiable Lebanese action against
Hezbollah — and sought U.S. pressure for further withdrawals, support for the
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), and reconstruction aid. Trump reaffirmed the
framework and promised further Israeli redeployment and “very concrete plans”
for supporting the LAF. Aoun walks away from the summit strengthened
domestically as Washington’s principal Lebanese interlocutor, but without making
any measurable commitments. That political benefit must now yield tangible
results: Lebanese Cabinet approval and enforcement of a verifiable pilot zone
plan, a nationwide disarmament timetable, and safeguards against Hezbollah’s
interference in implementation and aid.
Aoun and Lebanon deserve some credit: the government proscribed Hezbollah’s
military activities on March 2; Aoun backed direct negotiations with Israel and
the framework despite Hezbollah’s objections; and the LAF reinforced its
presence around the proposed southern Lebanon pilot zones — parcels of
Israeli-occupied Lebanese territory to be transferred to LAF control. There, the
LAF would clear nonstate weapons and infrastructure, third-party inspectors
would verify its work, and qualified units would prevent Hezbollah’s return
before further Israeli withdrawals. On the summit day, the LAF entered Zawtar
al-Gharbiyeh as Israeli forces withdrew but remained nearby. The limited
handover showed that LAF control can produce phased Israeli redeployment — but
not Hezbollah’s disarmament, and therefore cannot substitute for nationwide
policy. Trump’s endorsement strengthens Aoun’s authority to expand the process
and Trump’s standing to condition further U.S. support on verified performance.
Yet Aoun has already taken positions that hollow out the framework. He publicly
placed Israeli withdrawal before Lebanese performance and insisted that
Hezbollah’s disarmament cannot be achieved by force, effectively giving the
group a veto. In the Oval Office, he again emphasized U.S. pressure on Israel
without offering a comparable Lebanese timetable. He has not held LAF commander
Rodolphe Haykal accountable for resisting the Cabinet’s March 2 decision and
refusing to proceed with disarmament. Although Aoun insists that no foreign
power may negotiate for Lebanon, welcoming assistance from any country,
including Iran, risks inviting Tehran into implementation, diluting U.S.
leadership, and restoring Iranian leverage over Lebanese decisionmaking.
Aoun left the White House with political credit but the same implementation
deficit. He had reportedly intended to present Trump with a written proposal to
disarm Hezbollah in tandem with Israeli withdrawal; neither side later confirmed
its delivery, disclosed its contents, or announced Cabinet approval. The opacity
on the proposal’s fate recalls past instances of Lebanon equivocating on its
promises. In September 2025, the Cabinet merely “welcomed” an LAF disarmament
proposal without a timetable to avoid confronting Hezbollah. The LAF later
declared “effective control” south of the Litani River on January 8, 2026, yet
Hezbollah’s renewed conflict with Israel two months later exposed its
substantial fighting force and military infrastructure there.
Because of Lebanon’s record, Beirut’s future commitments must be formal,
binding, and unambiguous — and here, Aoun is no bystander. Executive authority
and ultimate control of the LAF rest with the Cabinet, but the president may
chair Cabinet meetings, introduce urgent matters, and, with the prime minister,
call extraordinary sessions. He should use those powers to secure formal
decisions, defend them publicly, and press the LAF to execute them.
Aoun should use his enhanced political standing to secure a dated, LAF-prepared
pilot zone plan formally adopted by the Cabinet. It should designate the units
responsible for each zone and vet them for Hezbollah links or sympathies;
identify the weapons, tunnels, caches, and command facilities to be cleared;
specify lawful measures against armed personnel who resist implementation;
guarantee third-party inspectors real-time access; and pair verified LAF
milestones with phased Israeli withdrawals. Trump’s “very concrete plans” should
provide the necessary equipment and assistance, but only if Lebanon meets
equally concrete benchmarks.
If Aoun brought the reported written proposal to Washington, he should announce
it publicly, secure Cabinet adoption, and establish an enforceable nationwide
timetable. Beyond the pilot zones and southern Lebanon, the plan should cover
the seizure or destruction of Hezbollah’s weapons and tunnels, closure of its
smuggling routes, dismantlement of its command structure, and demobilization of
its armed personnel throughout the country. Lebanon’s political commitment must
be explicit: dialogue may determine how Hezbollah complies, but neither
Hezbollah nor Iran may determine whether Lebanon complies.
Aoun should also press the Cabinet and responsible authorities to insulate state
institutions — including the security, reconstruction, and financial apparatuses
— from Hezbollah’s influence. Officials with operational or financial ties to
the group should be removed or recused from reconstruction, procurement, and
donor-fund oversight, with U.S. audits ensuring that assistance does not reach
Hezbollah or its affiliates. Lebanon should vet and discipline LAF,
intelligence, and security personnel who cooperate with Hezbollah or obstruct
disarmament. If Haykal continues to delay or resist Cabinet directives, Aoun
should press the Cabinet to impose lawful consequences. Lebanon should cooperate
with targeted U.S. sanctions against officials obstructing disarmament and work
with Washington to dismantle Hezbollah’s financial institutions and Iranian
funding channels.
Aoun’s fear that seizing Hezbollah’s entire arsenal at once could provoke civil
conflict makes immediate, comprehensive disarmament unlikely. Trump should not
demand sweeping promises Aoun cannot deliver. But Lebanon’s very real
constraints cannot again justify American acquiescence to indefinite Lebanese
inaction. Publicly, the summit demonstrated mutual amity but produced no
enforceable bargain. Its ultimate success should therefore depend on whether
Aoun return to Beirut prepared to treat Hezbollah’s disarmament, in principle,
as an enforceable state obligation rather than an aspiration dependent on the
group’s consent — and accepting concrete commitments that make continued
progress enforceable: Cabinet-approved plans, timetables, verification, and
defined consequences for obstruction. Trump should enforce that bargain: only
verified Lebanese action will produce American support; delay, prevarication, or
attempts to rewrite Lebanon’s obligations, whatever the reason, will bring
suspended assistance and targeted punitive measures.
**David Daoud is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD),
where he focuses on Israel, Hezbollah, and Lebanon affairs. Ahmad Sharawi is a
senior research analyst at FDD. For more analysis from the authors and FDD,
please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. Follow David on X @DavidADaoud and
Ahmad @AhmadA_Sharawi. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research
institute focusing on foreign policy and national security.
Aoun’s Bigger Mission in Washington as the Regional Order
Shifts
Samar El Kadi/This Is Beirut/July 24/2026
Joseph Aoun’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on
Tuesday has been hailed as a success as the Lebanese president works to restore
the country’s sovereignty and revive its regional and international standing
amid a shifting geopolitical landscape.
“This visit comes at a moment when the regional order that Iran sought to build
through the so-called 'Axis of Resistance' has effectively collapsed after three
years of war,” political analyst Nawfal Daou told This is Beirut.For the first
time in decades, Lebanon has a president and a government committed to extending
state authority over the entire country and ending the existence of illegal
weapons. “Lebanon is repositioning itself within a new Arab order led by the
Gulf states, Egypt and Jordan, and, by extension, within an international order
in which the U.S. remains the principal power,” he said. Daou added Aoun’s
objectives include securing international and Arab backing for Lebanon’s effort
to restore full sovereignty over its territory and reclaim independent national
decision-making. “For the first time in decades, Lebanon has a president and a
government committed to extending state authority over the entire country and
ending the existence of illegal weapons,” he added. “Aoun arrived in Washington
carrying Lebanon's demands: the liberation of occupied Lebanese territory from
Israel and the liberation of Lebanese decision-making from Iranian influence,”
Daou said. The encounter was an opportunity to officially endorse a
pre-established agreement, especially on the issue of Hezbollah's arms.
Former MP and political activist Fares Souaid described Aoun's meeting with
Donald Trump as a diplomatic success that reflected prior coordination between
Beirut and Washington. “Aoun's visit came at a decisive moment for both Lebanon
and the region, which is undergoing a profound geopolitical transition,” he told
This is Beirut. Souaid said that many of the key issues of the summit had
already been agreed upon before the two presidents sat down together. “The
encounter was an opportunity to officially endorse a pre-established agreement,
especially on the issue of Hezbollah's arms,” he said.
Interpreting Aoun’s White House visit solely through the lens of the Trilateral
Framework misses its broader strategic significance, according to Daou. “The
Trilateral Framework agreement is only one component of a much larger project,”
he said.
Signed June 26 between Lebanon, Israel, and the U.S., the Trilateral Framework
calls for the Lebanese state to assume exclusive security control over the
country as Israel pulls back its military. At the center of the agreement are
pilot zones where the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is tasked with dismantling
Hezbollah’s infrastructure under a verification mechanism.
Beyond this framework for restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty, Daou said, Beirut’s
objectives include rebuilding its partnership with the international community
and reclaiming its place in the regional order. “The regional landscape is being
redrawn through the transformations taking place in Syria and Iraq,” he said.
“If Lebanon fails to join this emerging Arab order, it risks missing a historic
opportunity to consolidate its sovereignty, redefine its regional role, and
complete its return to the Arab fold.”Souaid said he expects Washington to stand
firmly behind Aoun's efforts to implement the Trilateral Framework while
recognizing that any lasting solution must secure Shia political backing. “The
U.S. administration understands that any measures taken will ultimately require
a degree of Shia consensus,” he said. “That explains why Trump sent a
conciliatory message to Speaker Nabih Berri and even indicated he would be
willing to engage with Hezbollah.”“Washington knows the central challenge in
Lebanon is not with the Christians, Sunnis, or Druze—it is within the Shia
community,” Souaid added.He also said Trump sought to reassure the Lebanese
people while encouraging all political actors to engage with the process.
“Trump, the current architect of the region, sent a message of hope to the
Lebanese people and extended a hand to Nabih Berri and Hezbollah,” Souaid said.
“As for Aoun, he represented Lebanon in the best possible way and returns home
with a clear diplomatic and political victory.”
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on 24-25 July/2026
Israel’s Netanyahu to meet Trump at White House on Tuesday
AFP/July 24, 2026
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President
Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, the Israeli leader’s office said.
Since Trump’s return to office last year, the two have already met six times,
most recently on February 11 in Washington.
But this visit comes at a time when disagreements between them over the handling
of the war with Iran have occasionally spilled into public view. “As part of the
visit, the prime minister will meet with President Trump at the White House on
Tuesday and attend the funeral service for Senator Lindsey Graham, a friend of
Israel,” Netanyahu’s office said, adding that he would depart for Washington on
Monday. The two leaders were closely aligned when Trump returned to the White
House, launching a joint war against Iran in late February that both sides
initially hailed as a success. Netanyahu has often described Trump as “the
greatest friend” Israel ever had in the White House. But their alliance has
shown signs of strain in recent months, particularly over whether to keep up
military pressure on Iran or seek a diplomatic solution. “We get along very
good. (Netanyahu) knows who the boss is,” Trump said earlier this month in a
phone interview with Axios, referring to himself. Relations between the two
leaders reached a low point in April during negotiations on an initial US-Iran
ceasefire — which has since collapsed — with Trump unleashing profanity-laced
tirades against his Israeli ally.
‘Very difficult guy’
Trump had been seeking to wind down hostilities in Lebanon, where Israel’s
continued military campaign against Hezbollah was proving an obstacle to the
Iran talks. But hours before the ceasefire deal was signed, Netanyahu launched
fresh attacks, provoking broadsides from Trump in the press. “Are you f-ing
crazy? What are you f-ing doing? I helped you stay out of jail,” Trump said he
told Netanyahu during a tense exchange, according to an interview with the New
York Post. Trump later described Netanyahu as a “very difficult guy” in another
interview. Netanyahu downplayed the exchanges as “tactical disagreements,”
saying they both were aligned on the goals of disarming Hezbollah and preventing
Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “We can disagree in the morning, and by the
afternoon, we have common action,” he added. Netanyahu’s visit comes months
before Israeli national elections in which he plans to seek another term. Recent
polls show Netanyahu trailing, with public anger still lingering over his
government’s failure to prevent Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, which
sparked the Gaza war.
Trump warns Russia and China against arms sales to Iran
LBCI/July 24/2026
U.S. President Donald Trump warned China and Russia on Friday against selling
weapons to Iran, saying he believed assurances from Xi Jinping and Vladimir
Putin that they were not yet doing so."Therefore, two major Countries that
people speak of often in terms of Iran are, in my opinion, not participating,"
Trump said on his Truth Social network. "If they did, it would be very bad for
them -- Certainly not in their best interests."AFP
US House again passes resolution seeking to halt military action in Iran
Associated Press/July 24/2026
The House on Thursday narrowly passed a resolution to halt U.S. military action
in Iran, sending a warning to President Donald Trump for the second time as the
war has escalated and the future of the conflict is increasingly uncertain. The
214-208 vote requiring congressional approval for the war came just before the
Senate narrowly rejected a similar resolution, 47-49. Though the votes forced by
Democrats are largely symbolic, they are meant as a signal to the Republican
president that his support on Capitol Hill is chipping away as the war drags on
and lawmakers in both parties have questioned his administration's endgame. The
war has had "no clear mission, no strategy, no end goal," said Washington Rep.
Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat who led the resolution on the House floor. The House
resolution passed after a handful of Republicans voted with Democrats to end the
war. But the vast majority of Republicans in both chambers voted to back the war
and cede congressional war powers to Trump. Joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes
launched the war in late February. A tenuous ceasefire deal was reached in
April, but Trump declared the ceasefire was "over" earlier this month.
Trump has insisted that continued U.S. attacks against Iran do not mean a return
to war or long-term action. After the first House vote to halt the war in early
June, he posted on social media that it was "unpatriotic" and "meaningless."A
statement of administration policy issued by the White House on Thursday noted
that the resolutions don't have the force of law and encouraged lawmakers to
vote against them. "The President has the Constitutional authority to defend the
United States and our citizens from the danger posed by the Iranian regime," the
policy statement said. "This requires the ability to act decisively to ensure it
never obtains a nuclear weapon."Continued American airstrikes are occurring even
as diplomatic efforts show little public sign of progress and officials on both
sides have dug in on the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway
for global energy that remains largely closed. The unpopular war threatens
further worldwide economic disruption and is sending fuel prices up ahead of
midterm U.S. elections this fall. "We are in this new escalatory phase where
Americans have been killed, and Americans are experiencing the rising costs — I
think it's important that people be held accountable," said Maryland Sen. Chris
Van Hollen, a Democrat who led the Senate effort on Thursday. "And this is a
very unpopular war."Most Republicans vote to cede congressional powers
As the House debated the resolution Wednesday evening, Foreign Affairs Committee
Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., read out names of 18 service members killed since
the war began. "To belittle this mission is to belittle and demean the very
service these members gave their life for," Mast said. "Their sacrifice was not
meaningless. This operation is bringing reckoning for the hundreds of times Iran
has attacked and killed people of the United States of America."The top Democrat
on the panel, New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, said that presidents are supposed to
make the case to Congress. The service members who died made the ultimate
sacrifice for "an illegal unauthorized war that the American people don't want,"
Meeks said. Democrats said they would continue to force Republicans to vote on
the issue.
"If Donald Trump won't listen to the people and end this war then Congress
must," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Trump is watching Iran votes closely
Republicans on both sides of the Capitol know that voting against the war can
have a political cost, even as many of them have privately questioned the Trump
administration's handling of the conflict.In his post after the June House vote,
Trump called the four Republicans who voted with Democrats "GRANDSTANDERS!" and
said they should be "ashamed of themselves.""They would rather have our Country
fail than give me another, of many, victories," he said. When the Senate passed
a war powers resolution on Iran for the first time in June, Trump called the
four Republicans who voted for it "losers" and then reprimanded them at a Senate
GOP luncheon that he attended the next day. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, one of
the Republicans who had voted with Democrats, said afterward that he had clashed
with Trump over the issue. He said he told Trump directly that he needed to give
more details to the public about the conflict. "This was supposed to last four
weeks. It's lasted four months," said Cassidy, who had just lost reelection in a
primary after Trump endorsed one of his opponents. "Our original objectives have
not been achieved."Trump argued back, Cassidy later told reporters, and he told
the president that he wouldn't change his vote until he got a briefing. The
White House later relented, giving Cassidy a one-on-one meeting, and the
Louisiana Republican changed his vote in a late-night do-over vote before the
Senate left for a two-week recess. Cassidy voted against the resolution again on
Thursday.
Polling finds Americans disapprove of the war
Most Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling the situation with Iran,
according to recent polling. A Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted in July
found that few Americans think the war in Iran has been worth fighting, and most
aren't confident that the U.S. military action in Iran and negotiations to end
the war will prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Only about two-thirds
of Republicans approve of Trump's handling of the situation in Iran, according
to the poll. Most Republicans, about 6 in 10, think the war has been worth
fighting and are confident that the military action and ensuing negotiations
will prevent Iran from development nuclear weapons, but a sizable share — about
one-third — are unconvinced. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said that if Congress can't
force Trump to seek congressional authorization then lawmakers should block war
funding. The House on Wednesday adopted a Republican-only $95 billion budget
proposal, including money for the Iran war, but its future is uncertain in the
Senate. "He wants to break the law, fine, let him break the law, but we control
the appropriations process, and that's what we need to use," Kaine said.
US strikes Iran as clashes over shipping routes escalate
Associated Press/July 24/2026
Bahrain activated its sirens early Friday, warning residents to shelter from
detected fire hours after the U.S. military said it had wrapped up its 13th
night of strikes against Iran. The Gulf states have come under frequent fire
over the past week as the U.S. and Iran exchange escalating strikes in fighting
that began with a struggle over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media reported that four people had been killed and nine injured
in the bombardment. The previous day, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said
they targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the
Iran war as international oil topped $100 a barrel. U.S. Central Command said
the latest barrage was designed to "further degrade Iran's ability to threaten
civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters" as the
Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a
fifth of the world's oil and gas transited in peacetime. It said the strikes
ended shortly before 5 a.m. local time Friday. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of
Iraq, which has close ties to both the U.S. and Iran, was in Tehran on Thursday
to call for peace and dialogue. He promised not to allow Iraqi territory to be
used for attacks on Iran, his office said. Al-Zaidi met with Trump earlier this
month in Washington.
US strikes sites across Iran
U.S. strikes hit a naval base for the Revolutionary Guard in the north of Iran,
the Iranian semiofficial news outlets Fars and ISNA reported Friday morning.
Blasts overnight were also reported on Iran's Qeshm Island, home to stores of
naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use to attack vessels on the
Strait of Hormuz, as well as in Isfahan province, where there is a major Iranian
air base as well as one of Iran's nuclear sites. More strikes reportedly hit
Iran's southwest Khuzestan province and southern Fars province. Four people were
killed and five wounded in a U.S. missile attack on the outskirts of Ahvaz on
the Karun River, Iranian state media said. An attack in Lorestan province in
Western Iran injured two, state media said, while two more were injured by
explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, a critical hub for moving military
supplies as well as trade cargo. Meanwhile, the Houthis threatened to shut down
another key trade route with the world economy already reeling from Iran's
closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of
the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to
the Gulf of Aden. Around 12% of the world's trade, including a fourth of global
container traffic, passes through there, moving between Europe and Asia via
Egypt's Suez Canal. The Houthi attacks put at risk oil shipments from Saudi
Arabia's Yanbu port on the Red Sea and present a "double whammy" on top of the
disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, said maritime data and analysis firm Lloyd's
List Intelligence. Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels a day of oil
exports to Yanbu via an overland pipeline as the war has bottled up the Persian
Gulf. President Donald Trump threatened "major military punishment" against the
Houthis if their attacks on ships continue. As the rhetoric escalated, so did
economic fallout. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard,
spiked more than 6% to about $100 a barrel. That's the highest level since May,
before the two sides reached a preliminary peace agreement last month that has
since collapsed.
Both sides dig in over Strait of Hormuz
Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the
Strait of Hormuz, which was open to all toll-free before the war. It has
attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by U.S. forces
and intended to be outside Tehran's control.
Trump said on social media Thursday that sanctioned Iranian funds in the
possession of the U.S. will cover the expense of fixing boats damaged in the
war. "Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that
from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything
related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in
its possession, and controls," Trump said. It was unclear what legal mechanisms
Trump would use to access and spend the funds, but he said that doing so would
be "the fair and equitable thing to do." Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi
condemned the suggestion, writing on X that "once governments normalize
confiscation, no one's assets are safe. Ensuing chaos will not be pretty or
peaceful."
Pakistan and Iran explore path toward new talks with US
Reuters/July 24, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is exploring a path toward a resumption of stalled US-Iran
talks over ending their nearly five-month-old war, three Pakistani sources said,
following a push initiated by China. Exploratory discussions took place during a
visit by Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni to Islamabad this week — his
second within the last 10 days, the sources said. Momeni, who is considered
close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, met with Pakistani government leaders
and army chief Asim Munir this week, according to Pakistani government
statements. All three sources cautioned that the obstacles to any talks with the
US remain high.
Hormuz closure hitting China
Pakistan has found itself in an increasingly complicated situation as a
potential future mediator. Earlier this week, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi
movement declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, a close ally of
Islamabad that signed a mutual defense treaty with Pakistan last year.
Beijing has economic interests in finding a diplomatic solution to reopening key
Middle Eastern trade routes. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, also
discussed the new Middle East effort with Chinese officials when he visited
China last week, all three Pakistani sources said. “The Chinese are unhappy
because Iran’s attacks on other Gulf states and the closure of the Strait of
Hormuz are hitting their interests,” a Pakistani government official said.
Disruptions in the Red Sea would hit another key trade route Beijing relies on.
Dar and the Pakistani military’s public relations wing did not respond to
requests for comment.
In a statement, China’s foreign ministry said “China supports the mediation
efforts made by Pakistan and other parties.” It added that China will continue
to “play an active role in restoring peace and tranquillity in the Middle East
Gulf region as soon as possible.”
Halt in attacks
Beijing has consistently backed Pakistan’s mediation efforts and had in March
dispatched its special envoy to lead a shuttle-diplomacy trip around the Middle
East. The US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in June to move
toward ending the war after mediation by Pakistan and Qatar. It was intended to
provide a 60-day window for negotiations on a permanent agreement. But indirect
talks yielded no progress. Both sides blamed each other for violations, and the
conflict resumed. The Houthis said on Thursday that they struck two Saudi oil
tankers as part of their naval blockade, threatening to create a second
chokepoint for global oil supplies alongside the near-closure of the Strait of
Hormuz. The escalation has raised both the stakes and the hurdles for Pakistan’s
latest diplomatic efforts. A halt in attacks on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf
nations would now be a “pre-requisite for any talks to resume,” said a
Pakistani official. It’s a message that Pakistan has conveyed to Iran, the
official added.
US warns citizens in Middle East to remain vigilant amid
fears of further regional escalation
Arab News/July 24, 2026
LONDON: The US has urged its citizens in the Middle East to exercise heightened
caution, warning that the regional security environment remains volatile and
could deteriorate further amid ongoing tensions. In a security alert issued on
Friday, the US Embassy in Jerusalem said Americans in the region should be
prepared for flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures and other travel
disruptions as airlines continue to adjust schedules. “Due to heightened
tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the
potential for unforeseen escalation,” the Embassy said.
It also advised Americans outside the region to reconsider travel to and through
the Middle East and urged those who choose to travel to closely monitor airline
operations and airport updates. The alert comes as fighting between the US and
Iran continues to escalate across the region.
US forces carried out a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iranian targets
overnight, while Iran launched fresh missile and drone attacks against Bahrain,
Kuwait and Jordan, prompting air raid sirens and interceptions by Gulf air
defense systems. The US Embassy also warned that American diplomatic facilities
and interests abroad could face threats. “US diplomatic facilities, including
outside the Middle East, have been targeted,” the statement said, adding that
Iran and groups aligned with Tehran “may target other US interests overseas or
at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the
world.” The State Department reminded US citizens that it had authorized the
departure of non-emergency government personnel and eligible family members from
its mission in Israel on Feb. 27 because of security risks. Despite the warning,
the US Embassy said its consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv remain open
for both routine and emergency services. It advised Americans in Israel to
identify the nearest shelter or protected space, download the Israeli military’s
Home Front Command alert application, maintain emergency supplies and avoid
demonstrations and large gatherings. It also urged US citizens to remain aware
of their surroundings, follow the instructions of local authorities and exercise
caution at locations publicly associated with the US.
Iranian missiles and drones target Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan after US night of
bombing
Arab News/July 24, 2026
DUBAI: Iranian drones and missiles targeted Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan on
Friday, hours after the US military said it had wrapped up its 13th night of
strikes against Iran. Gulf states and Jordan have come under frequent fire over
the past week as the US and Iran exchange escalating strikes in fighting that
began with a struggle over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Bahrain
activated its sirens early Friday, warning residents to shelter from detected
fire hours after the US military said it had wrapped up its 13th night of
strikes against Iran. Bahrain’s air defenses “intercepted and destroyed” a
number of “air strikes,” the kingdom’s military said. “The deliberate use of
missiles and drones to target civilians and private property is a blatant
violation of International Humanitarian Law,” the Bahrain Defense Force said.
The Kuwaiti Army said its air defenses were “confronting attacks by hostile
drones” fired from Iran. Jordan said that its air defense systems and Royal
Jordanian Air Force aircraft intercepted and shot down seven missiles and six
drones launched from Iran. There were no casualties or damage caused during the
operation, the state news agency reported. Earlier, Iran’s military said it
carried out drone strikes against several American military facilities and bases
in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait in retaliation for the latest US attacks. The
statements claimed Iranian drones targeted US stores at the Isa Air Base in
Bahrain, aircraft hangars at Al-Azraq base in Jordan, and sites in Kuwait. There
was no confirmation from the US of any targeting of its facilities or personnel.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards, meanwhile, said they targeted a data center in
Bahrain belonging to Amazon, according to state media, though neither the US
tech giant nor Bahrain have commented on the claim, AFP reported.
State media also reported on Friday that the US had struck a Revolutionary
Guards’ base in the northern province of Gilan. “This morning, an IRGC naval
forces headquarters in Zibakenar was targeted by American enemy projectiles,
which damaged some of the equipment in the complex,” said Ali Bagheri, deputy
governor for the province, quoted by the official IRNA news agency. The previous
day, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they targeted two Saudi oil tankers
in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped
$100 a barrel. Blasts were also reported Thursday on Iran’s Qeshm Island, home
to stores of naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use to attack
vessels on the Strait of Hormuz, as well as to the northwest near Andimeshk,
Omidiyeh and Firuzabad. Four people were killed and five wounded in a US missile
attack on the outskirts of Ahvaz on the Karun River, Iranian state media said.
US Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to “further degrade
Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting
regional waters” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of
Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited in peacetime.
It said the strikes ended shortly before 5 a.m. local time Friday. Prime
Minister Ali Al-Zaidi of Iraq, which has close ties to both the US and Iran, was
in Tehran on Thursday to call for peace and dialogue, AP reported. He promised
not to allow Iraqi territory to be used for attacks on Iran, his office said.
Al-Zaidi met with Trump earlier this month in Washington. Houthis threaten to
shut second key shipping route. Meanwhile, the Houthis threatened to shut down
another key trade route with the world economy already reeling from Iran’s
closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Bab El-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of
the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to
the Gulf of Aden. Around 12 percent of the world’s trade, including a fourth of
global container traffic, passes through there, moving between Europe and Asia
via Egypt’s Suez Canal. *With AFP and AP
UN urges evacuation of 6,000 sailors stranded in Hormuz strait
AFP/July 24, 2026
GENEVA: The United Nations on Friday called for the safe evacuation and
repatriation of some 6,000 sailors stuck in a “dire humanitarian and human
rights crisis” in the Strait of Hormuz. UN human rights chief Volker Turk called
for urgent action to remedy the plight of thousands of seafarers caught up in
the Middle East war, his spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said. The International
Maritime Organization has said there are at least 6,000 seafarers on hundreds of
vessels who are stranded in the strait, unable to evacuate during the ceasefire.
Many others are unaccounted for. Turk is urging states, ship owners and all
other relevant actors to “urgently ensure the protection of stranded seafarers,”
including through consular assistance and providing essential supplies, “and by
facilitating evacuations and repatriations,” Mantoo told a press conference in
Geneva. “Parties to the conflict should urgently work to facilitate safe passage
for stranded seafarers to safely evacuate and disembark, as well as ensure the
delivery of critical supplies,” Mantoo added. The war, which erupted at the end
of February, resumed this month after a ceasefire that had lasted just a few
weeks, throwing the region back into chaos as Iran and the United States battle
for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Attacks on civilian shipping -
The US military insists that the strategic waterway — through which one fifth of
the world’s oil passed before the war — is “open for transit” after Iran pressed
on with attacks on tankers using the route in a bid to strongarm them into
paying for safe passage. “Attacks against civilian vessels are unacceptable and
must stop. They are protected under international humanitarian law,” said Mantoo.
“Seafarers remain exposed to hostilities as deadly attacks in the strait
continue — facing imminent risks of death or harm,” the spokeswoman said, adding
that 17 seafarers had been reported killed since the conflict erupted at the end
of February. The UN rights office said some seafarers had been abandoned at sea
by ship owners who had left them without support, repatriation and wages,
including at least nine ships with 93 crew members. “The seafarers have been
left on their ships to fend for themselves without food, water, fuel, medical
care, electricity or means to communicate with their families,” said Mantoo.
Ukraine conflict -
Turk also raised concerns for seafarers in other confict zones, notably in the
Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Shipping
companies have suspended services to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports following
mounting Russian attacks on the coast.
The UN rights office said it had verified at least four attacks on civilian
vessels in the Odesa region this month, in which 34 vessel workers were killed
or injured. Ukraine is a major commodity exporter, with 90 percent passing
through Black Sea ports in and around Odesa.
“Seafarers should not be forced or compelled to endanger their lives by sailing
through conflict zones. Nor should they face the risk of reprisal by shipowners
if they decline these assignments,” said Mantoo.
Gulf and Arab countries, EU leaders slam Houthi Red Sea tanker attacks
AFP/July 24, 2026
BRUSSELS/DUBAI: Gulf and Arab countries have condemned the Houthi attack on a
Saudi ship while it was sailing in the Red Sea, saying the act was a flagrant
violation of international laws on the freedom of navigation and a direct threat
to regional security and stability of the region. The Palestinian foreign
affairs ministry, in a statement, emphasized the need for an “immediate halt to
these aggressions, which undermine the safety of maritime navigation,
international trade, and the smooth flow of energy supplies.”Bahrain, Kuwait,
Jordan, Qatar and the UAE also issued separate statements expressing their
solidarity with Saudi Arabia and whatever steps the Kingdom will take to protect
its security, stability and interests. The League of Arab States also reaffirmed
its categorical rejection of the Houthi attack on a Saudi vessel in the Red Sea,
as well as the Iranian attacks targeting the Gulf states and Jordan, stressing
that such actions constitute a violation of international law and a threat to
maritime security and regional stability, Asharq Al-Awsat reported quoting Saudi
Press Agency. In a statement, the Arab League’s official spokesperson welcomed
the position expressed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), emphasizing the
importance of Arab solidarity in confronting threats targeting the security of
Arab states and the safety of maritime shipping lanes.The spokesperson stressed
the need for the immediate cessation of all actions threatening international
navigation in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, calling on Iran to cease its
violations and return to the negotiating process as the only path toward a
comprehensive and sustainable settlement. The statement warned that continued
escalation would further complicate the crisis and undermine efforts to promote
security and stability in the region.
Meanwhile, the European Union’s top diplomat demanded on Thursday that the
Houthis “cease” attacks on ships in the Red Sea, after a Saudi vessel was hit by
the Iran-backed militants. “The attack on an oil tanker in the Red Sea is
unacceptable, illegal and further inflames an already volatile situation in the
region,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement. “The Houthis
must cease all actions that endanger international shipping and the lives of
seafarers,” she added. The attack on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea brought the
war roiling the Middle East to a new front and sent oil prices surging. Earlier
this week, the Houthis said they had struck two Saudi oil tankers after
declaring a blockade of Saudi ports. Kallas said an EU naval mission deployed in
the Red Sea to help ships pass through the vital waterway “remains firmly
committed to protecting freedom of navigation for all.”European counties also
individually condemned the Houthis’ actions. Britain strongly condemned the
strikes on Saudi shipping. “These reckless actions endanger lives, risk
environmental catastrophe and regional stability, in serious violation of
international law,” the Foreign Office said. “We stand in solidarity with Saudi
Arabia and urge the Houthis to stop.”A spokesperson for the French foreign
ministry said the “irresponsible strikes” marked a major escalation. Germany
said it was “very worried” that the oil tanker attacks risked escalation of the
conflict in the region. The situation in the Middle East is “clearly moving in
the wrong direction,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.
UN urges evacuation of 6,000 sailors stranded in Hormuz strait
AFP/July 24, 2026
GENEVA: The United Nations on Friday called for the safe evacuation and
repatriation of some 6,000 sailors stuck in a “dire humanitarian and human
rights crisis” in the Strait of Hormuz. UN human rights chief Volker Turk called
for urgent action to remedy the plight of thousands of seafarers caught up in
the Middle East war, his spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said. The International
Maritime Organization has said there are at least 6,000 seafarers on hundreds of
vessels who are stranded in the strait, unable to evacuate during the ceasefire.
Many others are unaccounted for. Turk is urging states, ship owners and all
other relevant actors to “urgently ensure the protection of stranded seafarers,”
including through consular assistance and providing essential supplies, “and by
facilitating evacuations and repatriations,” Mantoo told a press conference in
Geneva. “Parties to the conflict should urgently work to facilitate safe passage
for stranded seafarers to safely evacuate and disembark, as well as ensure the
delivery of critical supplies,” Mantoo added. The war, which erupted at the end
of February, resumed this month after a ceasefire that had lasted just a few
weeks, throwing the region back into chaos as Iran and the United States battle
for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Attacks on civilian shipping -
The US military insists that the strategic waterway — through which one fifth of
the world’s oil passed before the war — is “open for transit” after Iran pressed
on with attacks on tankers using the route in a bid to strongarm them into
paying for safe passage. “Attacks against civilian vessels are unacceptable and
must stop. They are protected under international humanitarian law,” said Mantoo.
“Seafarers remain exposed to hostilities as deadly attacks in the strait
continue — facing imminent risks of death or harm,” the spokeswoman said, adding
that 17 seafarers had been reported killed since the conflict erupted at the end
of February. The UN rights office said some seafarers had been abandoned at sea
by ship owners who had left them without support, repatriation and wages,
including at least nine ships with 93 crew members. “The seafarers have been
left on their ships to fend for themselves without food, water, fuel, medical
care, electricity or means to communicate with their families,” said Mantoo.
Ukraine conflict -
Turk also raised concerns for seafarers in other confict zones, notably in the
Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Shipping
companies have suspended services to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports following
mounting Russian attacks on the coast. The UN rights office said it had verified
at least four attacks on civilian vessels in the Odesa region this month, in
which 34 vessel workers were killed or injured. Ukraine is a major commodity
exporter, with 90 percent passing through Black Sea ports in and around Odesa.
“Seafarers should not be forced or compelled to endanger their lives by sailing
through conflict zones. Nor should they face the risk of reprisal by shipowners
if they decline these assignments,” said Mantoo.
Iran military says attacked US bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait
Agence France Presse/July 24/2026
Iran's military said on Friday it carried out drone strikes against several
American military facilities and bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait in
retaliation for the latest U.S. attacks against the Islamic republic. "This
morning, the fuel tanks, large equipment warehouses and silos and the barracks
of the U.S. terrorist army forces at the Isa Air Base in Bahrain were targeted
by Arash kamikaze drones," the army said in a statement carried by state TV. An
AFP journalist in Bahrain reported an explosion and the sounding of warning
sirens in the country on Friday morning, though it was not immediately clear if
the two events were linked. The Iranian army also claimed drone attacks against
Jordan, targeting "aircraft hangars, aviation maintenance hangars and a
barracks" at Al-Azraq base. Jordan has not reported any strikes in the last few
hours. In a separate statement, the Iranian army said it had launched drones at
U.S. equipment warehouses in Camp Udairi and the site of American military
personnel in Camp Doha and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. Meanwhile, the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological arm of Iran's military, said it had
targeted the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, claiming to have destroyed an
ammunition depot and inflicted casualties among U.S. personnel. Tehran argues
that any facility or base in the Middle East that the U.S. military uses for
strikes on Iran is considered a legitimate target for retaliation.
Israeli military kills 4 Palestinians after settler killed
in West Bank
Agence France Presse/July 24/2026
The Israeli military shot and killed four Palestinians in the village of Tell in
the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Friday, raising
tensions in the occupied territory after an Israeli settler was killed in a
confrontation with local residents. Two other Israelis and four more
Palestinians were wounded, health officials said, and the Israeli military
announced it was preparing for an "extensive" counterterror operation in the
West Bank. The exact circumstances of the incident remained unclear. But Israeli
media reports and interviews with local Palestinian officials suggested a group
of settlers entered Tell on Friday morning and were confronted by residents who
were fearful of an attack. According to the Israeli military, one of the
residents took one of the settlers' weapons and fired on the group, killing
Benayahu Mellet, 32, a security guard in a settlement nearby. In a video of the
incident, confirmed by the Israeli military and circulated online by the
military correspondent for Israel's Army Radio, two armed men in civilian
clothing, as well as at least one Israeli soldier, are shown pointing their
weapons at a group of Palestinians who had gathered in a field. At one point,
the two armed men rush toward several Palestinian residents with their guns
drawn. In the footage, the residents try to push them back and appear to disarm
one of the men before opening fire. In a statement, the Israeli military said it
killed the man who took the settler's weapon and that he was armed when soldiers
shot him. But a separate video, published by Israeli media outlets and confirmed
by the military, showed Israeli forces firing on a group of Palestinians in the
same field who were already on the ground. More than a dozen gunshots can be
heard in the footage, which is less than a minute long. The military said the
suspect was one of the people killed in the field. It did not respond to
questions about why soldiers killed the other men — all of whom were related —
or how long after the original altercation the killings took place. Later, army
chief Eyal Zamir said he was sending more troops to the occupied West Bank,
where soldiers have encircled Tell and the nearby city of Nablus. Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu also said Israel would "act forcefully" following the
incident.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu orders new West Bank outposts after deadly
clash
AFP/July 24, 2026
NABLUS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the establishment of
new settler outposts in the occupied West Bank on Friday, in a retaliatory move
after a confrontation left two Israelis and four Palestinians dead. Violence in
the West Bank has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023
attack on Israel. Friday’s violence erupted near the settlement of Havat Gilad
and the neighboring Palestinian village of Tell, in territory occupied by Israel
since 1967. Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in
settlements in the West Bank alongside around three million Palestinians.
Following Friday’s incident, Netanyahu vowed to “act with full force against the
terrorists and those who orchestrate and sponsor them.”He later announced a
series of steps including raids in Palestinian villages suspected of hosting
militants and “accelerating the legalization of farm outposts and establishment
of new ones” in the West Bank. All Israeli settlements are illegal under
international law, while outposts are small settlements established usually
without government approval and therefore illegal under Israeli law. They are
usually on hilltops, often composed of a few mobile homes set up overnight by
small groups of settlers, with the aim of eventually being recognized as a
proper settlement. According to Walid Zidan, head of the Tell village council,
Friday’s clashes began when a group of about 20 settlers entered the village.
“Villagers came out to defend their homes and property. Clashes and physical
altercations broke out between the residents and the settlers,” Zidan told AFP.
“Israeli soldiers were present and together with the settlers began opening fire
... it was the settlers who stormed the village, with the intention of killing,
vandalising and setting property on fire.”
Arrests
The Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry reported four Palestinians killed
and four others wounded in the incident. Grieving Palestinian relatives gathered
at two hospitals in the nearby city of Nablus, where the victims’ bodies were
taken, an AFP journalist reported. Shortly after, Israeli troops came to a
hospital to take away a man who had been injured during the clash, as well as
his brother, a hospital official told AFP. The AFP journalist at the scene saw
troops taking at least one handcuffed man from the hospital. The military said
troops arrested two men who had taken part in the clashes from the Nablus
hospital. The military said there was a violent confrontation between dozens of
Palestinians and Israeli civilians in Tell Friday. An emergency response
security team from Havat Gilad was called to the scene along with soldiers, a
military official said. “During the confrontation, shots were fired on both
sides and a weapon belonging to a member of the emergency response security team
was stolen by a Palestinian terrorist,” the official said.“One member of the
security team was killed during the incident and additional security members
were injured,” he said. The clashes in Tell subsequently died down, he said.
‘Extensive’ operation
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said a man in his thirties was
pronounced dead near Havat Gilad. Two other people, in their twenties, were
evacuated by helicopter with gunshot wounds, one of them in a serious condition.
The military later said another Israeli, an officer, was also killed in the
violence. AFP journalists were unable to reach the site of the violence as
Israeli forces had set up roadblocks across the area. The Israeli military said
it was preparing to launch an “extensive counterterrorism operational activity”
in the West Bank, adding it had postponed soldiers’ leave in the territory. “We
are pursuing every terrorist involved in the attack,” military chief Lt. Gen.
Eyal Zamir said as he visited Tell, according to a statement. Palestinians
reported other bouts of violence involving settlers in the north of the West
Bank. In one such incident, settlers attacked the village of Farata, also near
Havat Gilad, according to Abdel Moneim Shanneh, head of the local council. “The
settlers set fire to the olive groves... The army prevented young men from the
village from extinguishing fires and opened fire on them,” he said. The
Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams transported eight individuals injured in
the attack, including six with live bullet wounds. The Palestinian Red Crescent
reported that two men were injured during another attack by settlers in the
village of Sarra, also near Nablus. Israeli figures show that at least 48
Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in
Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations since the start of the
Gaza war. According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health
ministry, Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,094 Palestinians,
including both militants and civilians, over the same period.
Netanyahu vows to act 'with force' after deadly clash in West Bank
Agence France Presse/July 24/2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a forceful response Friday after
a clash in the West Bank killed an Israeli and four Palestinians, while the
military announced preparations for a new operation in the occupied area.
Violence in the West Bank has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas's
October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Friday's violence erupted near the settlement
of Havat Gilad and the neighboring Palestinian village of Tell, in territory
occupied by Israel since 1967.Excluding east Jerusalem, more than 500,000
Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank alongside around three million
Palestinians. Netanyahu vowed in a statement to "act with full force against the
terrorists and those who orchestrate and sponsor them", and said he said he
would convene a meeting of security officials. According to Walid Zidan, head of
the Tell village council, Friday's clashes began when a group of about 20
settlers entered the village. "Villagers came out to defend their homes and
property. Clashes and physical altercations broke out between the residents and
the settlers," Zidan told AFP. "Israeli soldiers were present and together with
the settlers began opening fire ... it was the settlers who stormed the village,
with the intention of killing, vandalizing and setting property on fire." The
Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry reported four people killed and four
others wounded in the incident. Grieving Palestinian relatives gathered at two
hospitals in the nearby city of Nablus, where the victims' bodies were taken, an
AFP journalist reported. For its part, the Israeli military said there was a
violent confrontation between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli civilians. An
emergency response security team from Havat Gilad was called to the scene along
with soldiers, a military official said. "During the confrontation, shots were
fired on both sides and a weapon belonging to a member of the emergency response
security team was stolen by a Palestinian terrorist," the official said. "One
member of the security team was killed during the incident and additional
security members were injured," he said, adding that four Palestinians were also
killed.The clashes subsequently died down, he said.
'Extensive' operation
Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said a man in his thirties was
pronounced dead near Havat Gilad. Two other people, in their twenties, were
evacuated by helicopter with gunshot wounds, one of them in a serious condition.
AFP journalists were unable to reach the site of the violence as Israeli forces
had set up roadblocks across the area. The Israeli military said it was
preparing to launch a widespread operation in the West Bank. "IDF soldiers are
preparing for extensive counterterrorism operational activity in the sector,"
the military said. It added that it had postponed soldiers' leave across the
territory and had begun deploying forces in the area. Hours later, in a separate
incident, Israeli settlers attacked the village of Farata, also near Havat Gilad,
according to Abdel Moneim Shanneh, head of the local council. "The settlers set
fire to the olive groves... The army prevented young men from the village from
extinguishing fires and opened fire on them," he said, adding that five men were
injured. Violence in the West Bank has intensified since the Gaza war began,
with a rise in settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian attacks on
Israelis. All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under
international law. Israeli figures show at least 47 Israelis, including
civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or
during Israeli military operations since the start of the Gaza war. According to
an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli
soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,094 Palestinians, including both
militants and civilians, over the same period.
Explosions break out near US base in northern Iraq
Associated Press/July 24/2026
A series of explosions broke out near a military base hosting U.S. forces in
northern Iraq, hours after the U.S. military said it had wrapped up its 13th
night of strikes against Iran. A journalist with the Associated Press heard at
least seven blasts around 9:30 a.m. local time in the city of Irbil, the capital
of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and observed at least four plumes of
black smoke rising into the sky from areas near or inside the base after. The
U.S. and Iran have exchanged escalating strikes in fighting that began with a
struggle over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media
reported that four people had been killed and nine injured in the U.S.
bombardment. U.S. Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to
"further degrade Iran's ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial
vessels transiting regional waters" as the Americans push to regain control over
the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas transited
in peacetime. It said the strikes ended shortly before 5 a.m. local time Friday.
Bahrain activated its sirens twice later that morning, warning residents to
shelter from detected incoming fire. Gulf states have also come under frequent
fire over the past week. The previous day, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels
said they targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening
the Iran war as international oil topped $100 a barrel. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi
of Iraq, which has close ties to both the U.S. and Iran, was in Tehran on
Thursday to call for peace and dialogue. He promised not to allow Iraqi
territory to be used for attacks on Iran, his office said. Al-Zaidi met with
Trump earlier this month in Washington.
US strikes sites across Iran
U.S. strikes hit a naval base for the Revolutionary Guard in the north of Iran,
the Iranian semiofficial news outlets Fars and ISNA reported Friday morning.
Blasts overnight were also reported on Iran's Qeshm Island, home to stores of
naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use to attack vessels on the
Strait of Hormuz, as well as in Isfahan province, where there is a major Iranian
air base as well as one of Iran's nuclear sites. More strikes reportedly hit
Iran's southwest Khuzestan province and southern Fars province. Four people were
killed and five wounded in a U.S. missile attack on the outskirts of Ahvaz on
the Karun River, Iranian state media said. An attack in Lorestan province in
Western Iran injured two, state media said, while two more were injured by
explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas, a critical hub for moving military
supplies as well as trade cargo. Meanwhile, the Houthis threatened to shut down
another key trade route with the world economy already reeling from Iran's
closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of
the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to
the Gulf of Aden. Around 12% of the world's trade, including a fourth of global
container traffic, passes through there, moving between Europe and Asia via
Egypt's Suez Canal. The Houthi attacks put at risk oil shipments from Saudi
Arabia's Yanbu port on the Red Sea and present a "double whammy" on top of the
disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, said maritime data and analysis firm Lloyd's
List Intelligence. Saudi Arabia has diverted millions of barrels a day of oil
exports to Yanbu via an overland pipeline as the war has bottled up the Persian
Gulf. President Donald Trump threatened "major military punishment" against the
Houthis if their attacks on ships continue. As the rhetoric escalated, so did
economic fallout. The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard,
spiked more than 6% to about $100 a barrel. That's the highest level since May,
before the two sides reached a preliminary peace agreement last month that has
since collapsed.
Both sides dig in over Strait of Hormuz
Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the
Strait of Hormuz, which was open to all toll-free before the war. It has
attacked ships using a route through the strait that is overseen by U.S. forces
and intended to be outside Tehran's control. Trump said on social media Thursday
that sanctioned Iranian funds in the possession of the U.S. will cover the
expense of fixing boats damaged in the war. "Please let this statement serve to
represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages
done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian
Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls," Trump said.
It was unclear what legal mechanisms Trump would use to access and spend the
funds, but he said that doing so would be "the fair and equitable thing to do."
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the suggestion, writing on X
that "once governments normalize confiscation, no one's assets are safe. Ensuing
chaos will not be pretty or peaceful."
Britain Says Armed Forces Ready After IRGC Threat Over U.S. Use of UK Bases
This is Beirut/24 July 2026
On Friday Britain said its armed forces are prepared to defend the country after
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that any military base
used by the United States to launch strikes on Iran would be considered a
legitimate target. In a statement issued Thursday, the IRGC claimed U.S. bombers
had flown missions against Iran from RAF Fairford in southwest England and
warned that countries allowing such operations could face retaliation. The
warning came after Prime Minister Andy Burnham's government reaffirmed an
existing defense arrangement allowing U.S. forces to use British bases for what
London described as the collective self-defense of the region. The British
government said the agreement with Washington covers U.S. defensive operations
targeting missile sites and capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in
the Strait of Hormuz. Responding to Iran's warning, London said its position
remains unchanged and that it is committed to defending its people, interests,
and allies while avoiding a broader regional conflict. The statement comes as
the United States carried out a 13th consecutive night of strikes against Iran
following the collapse of an interim truce, while Tehran continued launching
attacks against U.S. bases in neighboring Arab countries.
Recent Attacks on British Assets
Earlier this year, Iran reportedly fired two ballistic missiles toward the
U.S.-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, though neither struck
the facility. In March, a Shahed-type drone caused minor damage to Britain's RAF
Akrotiri base in Cyprus. London later clarified that Akrotiri would not be
included under the current U.S.-UK defense arrangement. British authorities have
repeatedly accused Iran of orchestrating cyberattacks and using criminal
networks and proxy groups to target dissidents and other individuals in the UK.
Security services said they disrupted 20 potentially lethal Iran-linked plots
over the past year. Britain also recently banned support for the IRGC under new
national security legislation, citing Tehran's increasing use of state-backed
proxy networks. The move followed a series of attacks targeting Jewish sites in
London, which the government said were "almost certainly" directed by the IRGC.
EU Sanctions Six More Iranians Over Human Rights Violations
This is Beirut/24 July/2026
The European Union on Friday imposed sanctions on six additional Iranian
individuals over human rights violations, bringing the total number of
sanctioned individuals and entities to 269 individuals and 53 entities. The new
sanctions target five judges of Iran’s regional Revolutionary Courts, accused of
issuing death sentences, lengthy prison terms, flogging, and other punishments
against political dissidents, religious minorities, and human rights activists,
including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi and individuals linked to
the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.The EU also sanctioned Nima Salehi, an
Iranian hacker and founder of the Ashiyane cyber group, accusing him of
conducting cyberattacks against domestic opponents, reformists, and foreign
institutions in cooperation with Iran’s Cyber Police (FATA) and the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The measures include asset freezes, EU travel
bans, and a prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to those
listed. The EU also reaffirmed its support for the Iranian people’s fundamental
rights and freedoms.
The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published
on 24-25 July/2026
Trump Igniting Nuclear Arms Race in the Middle East/Iran Cannot Have
Centrifuges, Why Should Saudi Arabia?
Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/July 24, 2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22731/saudi-arabia-nuclear-arms-race
The question before the US Congress is not whether the two
regimes [Iran and Saudi Arabia] are morally equivalent. They are not. The
question is whether uranium enrichment becomes inherently safe simply because
today's Saudi regime happens to be friendly.
In Iran, what began as a civilian nuclear program of a trusted ally before 1979
became the longest-running nuclear proliferation crisis of the modern era.
The doctrine that emerged from that failure never rested on the assumption that
allies cannot be trusted. It rested on the recognition that no one can predict
who will govern a country 20 or 50 years after sensitive technology has been
transferred. Nuclear infrastructure outlives the governments that acquire it and
the administrations that approve it.
The agreement signed this week authorizes a uranium enrichment capability that
will survive this and future governments in Riyadh, in a region where the
durability of governments cannot be assured.
The UAE's only nuclear power plant, Barakah, runs on imported fuel. Nothing in
their reactors suffers from the absence of centrifuges.
Saudi Arabia declined those terms, and rather than hold the line, Washington
moved it.
Within 18 months, Washington went to war over centrifuges in one country and
signed a contract to build them in another. If President Donald Trump said it
would be "unfair" for Iran to not have ballistic missiles since Saudi Arabia and
Qatar have them, how is it not equally "unfair" for Saudi Arabia to conduct
uranium enrichment but not all the other countries in the Middle East?
The precedent will not stop at the Saudi border. Turkey has expansionist
ambitions its president has articulated with increasing candor.
"Jerusalem is our city," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced,
and "We may come suddenly one night," he has threatened Greece. "When you say 'Tayfun'
[a Turkish ballistic missile]," he continued, "the Greek is scared. They say it
will hit Athens. Of course it will hit it." This, incidentally, is the leader to
whom Trump wants to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets.
If enrichment is dangerous enough to justify war on one country because
governments change and capabilities endure, those realities do not dissolve if
the recipient should decide it is no longer a friend.
Benefits for friends cannot be retrieved if they are suddenly found in the hands
of enemies.
At the moment, it looks as if Trump wants to arm his "friends," Saudi Arabia and
Turkey, with advanced American weapons systems such as the F-35 stealth fighter
jet. When he leaves office, both countries will be perfectly positioned with
those deadly weapons to attack an infidel West that they have never wanted and
have never liked.
This week, the US signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi
Arabia that opens a path to both uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing
on Saudi soil. The question before the US Congress is whether uranium enrichment
becomes inherently safe simply because today's Saudi regime happens to be
friendly.
For more than two decades, the policy of the United States toward the Middle
East, regardless of the party holding power in Washington, rested on the
proposition that certain nuclear technologies are too dangerous to spread in an
undemocratic region where regimes are overthrown and strategic realities change
overnight. At the center of this policy sit centrifuges and uranium enrichment.
This week, the US signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi
Arabia that opens a path to both uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing
on Saudi soil. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince
Abdulaziz bin Salman signed the nuclear accord, in compliance with Section 123
of the Atomic Energy Act, alongside a bilateral safeguards agreement whose
contents were not disclosed. The framework contemplates a uranium enrichment
facility on Saudi territory, built by American firms, after a two-year joint
study. Congress now has 90 days of continuous session to review it, and only a
joint resolution of disapproval carried by a veto-proof majority in both
chambers can stop it. No president has been overridden on one.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia cannot be exactly equated with the Islamic Republic
of Iran. Saudi Arabia has been a sometimes strategic ally of the United States,
apart from its involvement in the devastating 9/11 attacks, while Iran has spent
decades financing terrorism and directly attacking American forces. The question
before the US Congress is not whether the two regimes are morally equivalent.
They are not. The question is whether uranium enrichment becomes inherently safe
simply because today's Saudi regime happens to be friendly.
Washington answered that question once, in the negative, on the basis of an
experience it paid dearly to acquire. In the mid-1970s, few countries appeared
more firmly anchored in the American camp than the Imperial State of Iran under
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who purchased advanced American weapons and was
encouraged in his nuclear ambitions by US administrations that treated the
alliance as a cornerstone of regional strategy. A few years later, the Shah was
gone, and the alliance was gone with him, while the reactors built by the US and
Germany, the trained nuclear physicists and the institutional appetite for a
nuclear program stayed where they were. In Iran, what began as a civilian
nuclear program of a trusted ally before 1979 became the longest-running nuclear
proliferation crisis of the modern era.
The doctrine that emerged from that failure never rested on the assumption that
allies cannot be trusted. It rested on the recognition that no one can predict
who will govern a country 20 or 50 years after sensitive technology has been
transferred. Nuclear infrastructure outlives the governments that acquire it and
the administrations that approve it. Nuclear programs are measured in
generations, political arrangements in years. The agreement signed this week
authorizes a uranium enrichment capability that will survive this and future
governments in Riyadh, in a region where the durability of governments cannot be
assured.
Riyadh has never concealed how it thinks about this. Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman said in 2018 that Saudi Arabia would pursue a nuclear weapon if Iran
acquired one -- a statement he has never retracted. Whether that day comes is
beside the point. The declaration establishes that uranium enrichment is
understood in Riyadh through the lens of regional deterrence as much as energy
policy, an unusual foundation on which to build a fuel cycle in a country
floating on oil and natural gas.
There was a standard for exactly this situation, and Washington wrote it. When
the United Arab Emirates signed its own nuclear agreement with the US in 2009,
Abu Dhabi renounced uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing outright and
accepted the IAEA's Additional Protocol. American officials spent 15 years
citing it as proof that civilian nuclear power requires no domestic fuel cycle.
The UAE's only nuclear power plant, Barakah, runs on imported fuel. Nothing in
their reactors suffers from the absence of centrifuges.
Saudi Arabia declined those terms, and rather than hold the line, Washington
moved it. The agreement, as described by the administration, leaves enrichment
open and drops the Additional Protocol, whose purpose is to give IAEA inspectors
the ability to detect undeclared activity. The unpublished bilateral arrangement
offered in its place is unlikely to be stricter than the regime Riyadh refused.
Enrichment itself is deferred to a two-year study of "commercial viability,"
though nobody expects Saudi centrifuges to undercut the global nuclear fuel
market. A dozen Democrat lawmakers warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio in
March that this was the direction of travel, and Rubio had himself co-sponsored
legislation in 2018, with a Democrat colleague, requiring congressional approval
of this kind of agreement.
The timing compounds the difficulty. American and Israeli aircraft struck
Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025 and again beginning in February, on the
stated grounds that Iran's uranium enrichment constituted an intolerable threat.
IAEA inspectors have had no access to Iran's declared enrichment sites for more
than a year and cannot account for the 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to
60% -- close to the level required for nuclear weapons. Most of it is believed
to be sealed in tunnels at Isfahan. Within 18 months, Washington went to war
over centrifuges in one country and signed a contract to build them in another.
If President Donald Trump said it would be "unfair" for Iran to not have
ballistic missiles since Saudi Arabia and Qatar have them, how is it not equally
"unfair" for Saudi Arabia to conduct uranium enrichment but not all the other
countries in the Middle East?
The precedent will not stop at the Saudi border. Turkey has expansionist
ambitions its president has articulated with increasing candor.
"Jerusalem is our city," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced,
and "We may come suddenly one night," he has threatened Greece. "When you say 'Tayfun'
[a Turkish ballistic missile]," he continued, "the Greek is scared. They say it
will hit Athens. Of course it will hit it." This, incidentally, is the leader to
whom Trump wants to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets.
Egypt, meanwhile, has a civilian-use nuclear program and a long memory.
Neither Turkey nor Egypt will accept the restrictions Washington has waived for
Saudi Arabia. The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, which has backed
the campaign against Iranian enrichment throughout, immediately called the Saudi
deal a mistake:
"Why does Saudi Arabia need to enrich uranium on its home soil? The answer isn't
complicated: It doesn't unless it would like to establish the rudiments of a
nuclear-weapons program...."
It is unclear why the editorial board bothered with "rudiments."
The WSJ noted that the UAE, a steadier ally through the Iran war, now has little
reason to keep to rules binding no one else. The gold standard functioned
because it was uniform. Applied selectively, it becomes a bargaining position --
and bargaining positions can be bargained away.
For Israel, the consequences are more immediate. Nuclear cooperation had been
the inducement for Saudi recognition of the Jewish state, the entire logic of
the arrangement discussed before October 7, and the agreement signed Wednesday
contained no such condition. Trump attached one the following day, writing that
the nuclear deal's approval depended on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords
and insisting there would be no enrichment under the deal. Riyadh has not
responded, the deal's text remains unpublished, and the administration memo
describing it permits the Saudis to enrich uranium supplied by third parties.
Nothing in Trump's Truth Social post amends a signed instrument, and the
leverage the deal was meant to purchase had already been spent. Israeli
officials across the political spectrum had already said so bluntly, warning of
an arms race and a precedent leaving Israel to face nuclear weapons on two
fronts rather than one. Jerusalem could live with Saudi reactors fueled with
uranium enriched abroad. Uranium enrichment in Saudi Arabia is another matter --
and Israel was not consulted.
When a country willingly joins the Abraham Accords, as did the UAE, Bahrain,
Morocco and Kosovo, that is one thing; but when a country is coerced into
joining to obtain a specific benefit, such as a nuclear enrichment program, the
likelihood that it will stay in the Accords has to be open to question. It would
be perfectly possible for Saudi Arabia to agree to join the accords for now;
then, when Trump leaves office, and Saudi Arabia has its centrifuges comfortably
enriching uranium, to bow out of the Abraham Accords — and perhaps also at a
time when US oversight had become far less rigorous. Nuclear non-proliferation
policy was not designed to judge the intentions of current leaders, but to limit
the options available to their successors, whose intentions one cannot know.
The US Congress is therefore deciding something more consequential than whether
Saudi Arabia is a reliable partner today. At stake is whether the principle that
guided American policy toward Iran for decades still exists in any form
applicable to a country Washington happens to like at this moment. If enrichment
is dangerous enough to justify war on one country because governments change and
capabilities endure, those realities do not dissolve if the recipient should
decide it is no longer a friend.
Benefits for friends cannot be retrieved if they are suddenly found in the hands
of enemies.
At the moment, it looks as if Trump wants to arm his "friends," Saudi Arabia and
Turkey, with advanced American weapons systems such as the F-35 stealth fighter
jet. When he leaves office, both countries will be perfectly positioned with
those deadly weapons to attack an infidel West that they have never wanted and
have never liked.
**Pierre Rehov, who holds a law degree from Paris-Assas, is a French reporter,
novelist and documentary filmmaker. He is the author of six novels, including
"Beyond Red Lines", "The Third Testament" and "Red Eden", translated from
French. His latest essay on the aftermath of the October 7 massacre " 7 octobre
- La riposte " became a bestseller in France. As a filmmaker, he has produced
and directed 17 documentaries, many photographed at high risk in Middle Eastern
war zones, and focusing on terrorism, media bias, and the persecution of
Christians. His latest documentary, "Pogrom(s)" highlights the context of
ancient Jew hatred within Muslim civilization as the main force behind the
October 7 massacre.
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Saudi Arabia as a Nuclear Power: A Message of Pressure
and Deterrence from the US to Iran!
Laura Yamin/Al-Markazia/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Al-Markazia - Saudi Arabia and the United States signed an agreement to
cooperate in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, a move that represents a step
towards strengthening economic relations between the two countries. According to
the Saudi Press Agency, the agreement comes within the framework of the
strategic partnership between the two countries and complements what was
announced during the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to
Washington last November. The Saudi Press Agency stated that the agreement will
enhance cooperation between the two countries in the peaceful uses of nuclear
energy and support the exchange of expertise, knowledge, and technologies,
contributing to the development of joint cooperation according to the highest
international standards related to nuclear security, safety, and
non-proliferation. For its part, the US Department of Energy praised the
agreement, describing it as "historic," and confirmed that American companies
will supply the Kingdom with nuclear technology. US Energy Secretary Chris
Wright said in a statement that this agreement "reflects our two countries'
shared commitment to strengthening US-Saudi trade relations and achieving
prosperity at home and security for our allies abroad." He added, "Rest assured,
these agreements adhere to the highest standards of nuclear safety and
non-proliferation, relying on the best technologies and nuclear scientists in
the world, designed right here in the United States." Meanwhile, US Secretary of
State Marco Rubio announced that Saudi Arabia is pursuing a "peaceful and
civilian" nuclear program. At the height of the US-Iranian conflict, the primary
cause of which was the Iranian nuclear program, enriched uranium, and the
nuclear bomb that Iran was just weeks away from producing, comes the agreement
on the exchange of nuclear technology between the US and Saudi Arabia. According
to diplomatic sources speaking to Al-Markazia, the timing of this agreement is
striking and laden with messages. Through the agreement's content and timing,
Washington seems to be signaling to Iran that it possesses numerous methods and
means to contain, curb, and ultimately thwart its hostile nuclear ambitions,
including the possibility of transforming the Kingdom into a nuclear state.
Tehran, naturally, did not receive this news with satisfaction. While the
enrichment process is ostensibly "peaceful," the Islamic Republic understood
perfectly well that the agreement, part of the pressure exerted upon it, would
constitute an additional blow to the regime and its expansionist ambitions. It
would also make the Kingdom think twice, or even more, before launching missiles
at its Gulf neighbors, especially given that US President Donald Trump announced
yesterday that this agreement should be reciprocated by the Kingdom joining the
Abraham Accords. This step, however, demonstrates the depth of relations between
Washington and Riyadh and the extent of trust between them. It is a result of
the civilized, peaceful, and constructive approach adopted by the Kingdom's
leadership over the past years, which has made its acquisition of nuclear
weapons acceptable to the United States. Meanwhile, all of Iran's hostile
behavior over the past decades has made its acquisition of nuclear weapons a red
line in the eyes of the entire world, not just the United States.
Iran’s Mistakes Have United the World Against It
Sawsan Al-Shaer/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Following the recent developments and shifts, it is imperative to intensify Gulf
diplomacy by sending joint delegations to engage with European allies and those
with whom we maintain good relations, such as China and Russia, to contribute to
ending the final chapter of this hostile Iranian regime. The commander of the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Vahidi, has succeeded in unifying the international
stance against Iran, making confrontation inevitable. This will play a
significant role in mobilizing an international coalition to protect vital
waterways for the flow of goods, oil, and other commodities. We need to
translate these positions into alliances and concrete actions. Vahidi’s biggest
mistake was persisting with Iran’s old strategies without possessing the skill
and competence to employ them effectively: the stick of escalation followed by
the carrot of negotiations. His escalation threatens international security, and
he failed to realize that he had exhausted the Hormuz card, which had become a
catalyst for a unified international stance against Iran. He then squandered the
"Iranian carrot"—the negotiating game Iran offered the international community
as a gift—after his insistence on closing the strait. Even during negotiations,
he failed to utilize this card effectively, and then issued his dangerous threat
by ordering the closure of Bab el-Mandeb. The second card Vahidi squandered was
the effort Iran had invested since the early days of the war in creating
divisions within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by suggesting to the Gulf
states that Iran was targeting only some of them, not all. Vahidi then
undermined mediators and neutral parties, and finally committed his
irresponsible act of inciting the Houthis, thus failing in his objective.
Iranian politicians worked to sow discord among the GCC states, hoping to
prevent a unified eastern front against them. They deliberately varied the
nature of their attacks from one Gulf state to another, a tactic rather than a
consistent strategic position. The second tactic Iran used to sow discord among
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states was to try to divide them. It targeted
those states that rejected settlements and mediation efforts more than those
that did, attempting to create the illusion that its expansionist project
excluded them. This is entirely false, and Vahidi himself undermined this tactic
by targeting it. Vahidi seems to lack the patience for sustained conflict.
Furthermore, this renewed fighting was far more intense than the first, and
offers of negotiation were no longer effective. Therefore, his military need to
alleviate pressure led him to instruct the Houthis to move and threaten Bab al-Mandab.
This decision lacked a coherent military strategy, as it would galvanize
international action, ultimately benefiting the Gulf states. These states have
adopted a position that views the Iranian threat as a general danger, whether
emanating from Iran itself or its proxies. They are reassessing the situation
and agree that it is a genuine threat to the security of the entire region,
indeed to the security of the world, and must be addressed with utmost
seriousness. Yes, my savior succeeded in making European countries now rally
around America to put an end to this tampering with the security of the world
and its waterways; therefore, Britain opened its bases to the American army
because the danger has become one.
Bab al-Mandab... The Gate of Sorrows!
Mishari Al-Zaydi/Al-Sharq Al-Awsat/July 24, 2026 (Google translation from
Arabic)
What happened was not surprising to anyone familiar with the deep connection
between the Houthi group and the Iranian center, and that it is there—and only
there—that the directives and instructions come to the leader of Saada and his
entourage, regardless of any "transient" agreements he makes with the legitimate
Yemeni government, or with Saudi Arabia, or with the "Coalition," or with the
United Nations... All of this is, for the Houthis, marginal actions that do not
affect the core of Iranian interests. Therefore, the Houthi attack on maritime
navigation in Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea was merely a matter of time and
waiting. The waiting has ended, and the Houthi claw has begun to move after the
Iranians "desired" it. In fact, analysts of the Iranian regime boast of their
cunning in attacking Saudi Arabia, with whom they publicly claim to be at peace,
and they boast that they will not suffer any consequences for this attack; It's
a problem specifically between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia... They said it
quite brazenly in some of their programs, and Al-Hadath channel broadcast this
recording. Why does the attack on Bab al-Mandab, after the attack on the Strait
of Hormuz, signify the inevitability of confrontation and conflict?! But before
that, let's examine some of the features of the gate. Bab al-Mandab is the name
people used to call it, and it's the same in English, with another name or
description added to it: "Gate of Grief." As for the most famous name in Arabic
and English, it has been explained in more than one way, such as saying that it
was named so because of the many tears shed by mothers, wives, daughters, and
sisters for their men crossing this fierce sea strait; for the sea waters or the
fog of oblivion and absence have swallowed up countless of these men. It has
been said that the reason is the abundance of lamentation, wailing and weeping,
due to an ancient event, dating back to when this water, like tears, gushed
forth after the separation of the African and Asian continents in the distant
past, before humankind even existed. How could the lost and nonexistent weep for
something they never saw? Its importance became clearly evident with the opening
of the Suez Canal in 1869, forming a crucial link in the shortest sea route,
through which most trade between Asia and Europe passes, and which carries
approximately 10 percent of global maritime traffic. Does the leader of Saada,
and the officers of the "Revolutionary Guard" who manipulate him, imagine that
the world, with Saudi Arabia and America at the forefront, will allow them to
close the gate? Bab al-Mandab could have been a gateway of joy, not sorrow, for
the people of Yemen and all the countries near it, by seizing this divine
geographical gift and engaging in global trade and development. But in certain
chapters of history, it has truly become a gateway of sorrow for Yemen. The
energy, magic, and secret of the place, and perhaps its curse or resentment,
were touched by the voice of the great Yemeni poet, Abdullah al-Baradouni, when
he said: We will suffer, not for any sin other than that / Our house's corner is
at Bab al-Manadib A curse from there harms / Our family, friends, and relatives!
Graham’s legacy of peace negotiations
Rabbi Marc Schneier/Arab News/July 24, 2026
Saudi Arabia stands at a crossroads that few outside its own borders fully
understand. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the most consistent American voices for
Saudi-Israeli normalization, died on the night of July 11 with an ambitious
autumn diplomatic push unfinished. He had briefed Saudi Ambassador to the US
Princess Reema bint Bandar. He had briefed Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin
Farhan. He had told friends that he still had work to do on Israeli-Saudi
normalization.
That work now belongs to those he leaves behind and it belongs, in a particular
way, to a set of leaders that the American political class rarely turns to
first. It belongs to the religious leaders of the Muslim and Jewish worlds.
The Abraham Accords have entered a season in which their expansion depends less
on senators than on rabbis and imams, and less on treaty text than on
relationships built over decades. Graham understood the Senate calendar. He
understood the ratification threshold. What he could not build alone was the
foundation of trust between two peoples that no treaty can substitute for. That
foundation is what religious leaders build. It is what religious leaders have
always built. And it is what the next chapter of the accords will require in a
way the last chapter did not.
Saudi Arabia has been consistent for years about what it requires. Normalization
with Israel must include a credible political horizon for Palestinians to live
side by side with Israelis. That is not a maximalist demand. It is the
considered position of a Kingdom whose monarch bears the title Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques and whose stewardship of Islam’s holiest sites carries a
responsibility to the entire Muslim world. Negotiations around any peace
agreement will secure movement on a pathway to Palestinian statehood. If
anything, it is these reasons that now make the interfaith track so important.
The Israeli government has heard it. The American Senate has heard it. What has
changed is that the man most positioned to translate that position into
ratifiable American law is gone. What has not changed is the underlying
religious truth the position rests on: that two peoples of faith can share a
future when their faith leaders teach them how.
The children of Abraham were never meant to agree on everything. They were
always meant to recognize one another
Here is what the accords actually are and what religious leaders must now teach
the public they too often let politicians speak for.
The accords are the first admission by Arab countries and Muslim-majority states
— five of them so far — that Jewish self-determination in the ancestral Jewish
homeland is compatible with the Muslim faith. That admission took decades of
relationships to build. It was built not by treaties but by teachers. Not by
ministers but by imams, rabbis and scholars who understood that the deepest work
of peace happens before the diplomats arrive and continues long after they
leave.
The accords’ expansion to Saudi Arabia and one day to Indonesia, the world’s
largest Muslim-majority nation, would produce more than a treaty. It would
produce the political conditions to allow two peoples to live alongside one
another each with their dignity intact. But only if religious leaders do the
work that only they can do.
I have said this everywhere: in Riyadh, in Doha, in Manama, in Abu Dhabi, in
Baku, in Astana and in Rabat. The children of Abraham were never meant to agree
on everything. They were always meant to recognize one another. That recognition
does not begin in the Senate. It begins in the mosque and in the synagogue. It
begins between an imam and a rabbi who are willing to stand in one another’s
houses of worship and say, publicly, that the other is not the enemy their
politicians have taught them to fear.
I do not underestimate the moment. The Kingdom has been targeted by missiles.
The region has entered a war it did not seek. Public opinion in the Muslim world
has shifted and Muslim leaders have adjusted with it. None of this makes the
work of religious reconciliation less urgent. It makes it more urgent. When the
political architecture is uncertain, the religious foundation matters more, not
less. When a senator like Graham is no longer at his desk, the rabbis and imams
who understood what he was trying to build must now step forward and continue
the work he began.
The rabbis and imams who understood what he was trying to build must now step
forward and continue the work he began
What is at stake is larger than any one senator, any one election, any one
government. The reconciliation of the spiritual center of Islam with the
spiritual center of Judaism will reverberate to every place a Jew and a Muslim
live as neighbors and to every place they do not yet know they can. It will
weaken the antisemitism that disfigures Western capitals and the Islamophobia
that rises beside it. It will carry a message the region has not heard in a
generation: that the religions of Abraham, having tested one another for some
1,400 years, have arrived at the recognition that they were brothers all along.
Graham understood that a treaty was only the beginning. He was preparing to
spend his fall making Saudi normalization real. We are the ones who must now
step into the space he leaves.
There is no substitute for the presence of Muslims and Jews in one another’s
lives. That is where peace begins. The most effective strategy for a shared
tomorrow is normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, an American-led
initiative that can reverberate across the globe.
• Rabbi Marc Schneier is president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding
and the founding senior rabbi of The Hampton Synagogue. He is a noted adviser to
many Gulf states.
Red Sea escalation threatens Turkiye’s balancing act
Dr. Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/July 24, 2026
Tensions in the Red Sea have started to escalate after Yemen’s Iran-backed
Houthi movement declared what it described as a complete naval blockade on Saudi
Arabia and intensified missile and drone attacks against Saudi oil tankers.
Following the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea has emerged as a
critical maritime chokepoint. Its security has become a regional and global
issue, affecting countries with major commercial and geopolitical interests,
including Turkiye.
Turkiye strongly condemned the Houthi threats to impose the blockade on Saudi
Arabia, affirming its solidarity with Riyadh. At the same time, with the
evolving Red Sea security landscape, Ankara is expanding its engagement in the
Horn of Africa, a region it views as crucial to protect its maritime interests.
The Turkish parliament recently approved a two-year extension of its military
mission in Somalia. Although this is a continuation of an existing mission, the
timing is significant. It comes at a moment when instability in the Red Sea is
reshaping security calculations and increasing the strategic importance of the
Horn of Africa.For Turkiye, the extension matters more now because as a country
with vested interests in both Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, it has major
concerns over the Red Sea security crisis. Turkiye’s economy has been affected
by increased freight costs, with large container ships rerouting to avoid the
Red Sea because of Houthi maritime attacks.
Ankara strongly condemned the Houthi threats
The strategic significance of the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait for the
Turkish economy and maritime trade cannot be ignored. A prolonged crisis in the
Red Sea would affect Turkish interests significantly. As a result, the security
of the maritime routes has become an increasingly important focus of Turkiye’s
national economic planning. Moreover, the Red Sea has become an area of
competition, with several actors, including Israel, entering the rivalry.
Turkiye’s growing security engagement with the Red Sea through the Horn of
Africa is a response to this increasingly competitive environment.
Turkiye has been expanding its military presence to protect its geopolitical
interests in both regions for some time. In late January, Ankara deployed F-16
fighter aircraft together with additional military personnel to reinforce its
military base in Mogadishu. This marked the first deployment of advanced manned
combat aircraft to Somalia. It also showed that Turkiye is playing a long game
in the Horn of Africa as it seeks to become a key security actor in one of the
world’s most critical maritime corridors.
With its rapidly growing defense industry, Turkiye increasingly presents itself
as a flexible security partner capable of working with both Western allies and
regional governments. As it expands its military footprint, it also offers
military capabilities.
In February, Ankara sent a deep-sea drilling vessel to Somalia for what was
described as Turkiye’s first offshore exploration mission outside its maritime
zone. Although the drilling took place in the Indian Ocean off Somalia’s coast,
it was closely linked to the Red Sea’s security environment. Because of attacks
on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, Turkiye has provided naval escorts for
its survey and drilling vessels during these missions.
One of Turkiye’s main concerns is to strengthen its presence along critical
maritime trade routes. This strategy extends beyond Somalia, and focuses on
expanding influence over key ports in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea,
including Somalia’s Mogadishu Port, Sudan’s Suakin Island, and several strategic
ports in Libya.
Turkiye’s cautious tone reflects a pragmatic foreign policy
Should the security situation in the southern Red Sea deteriorate further,
Ankara would probably be forced to respond in several ways. Turkiye has a strong
interest in protecting freedom of navigation through the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait.
Its military presence, particularly in Somalia, could support maritime security
operations, intelligence sharing, and the protection of commercial shipping.
Ankara will also likely deepen security cooperation with Riyadh by expanding
intelligence sharing, increasing defense-industrial collaboration, particularly
in drone technologies, air and missile defense systems, and maritime
surveillance capabilities, while also enhancing coordination on protecting
critical infrastructure and commercial shipping.
Also, as a NATO member, Turkiye shares the alliance’s broader interest in
safeguarding maritime security. Although the military alliance maintains only a
limited operational role in the Red Sea, Ankara could contribute through
intelligence cooperation, naval coordination, maritime surveillance, or
selective participation in coalition maritime security initiatives should
regional circumstances require. However, Ankara is also likely to avoid direct
participation in a broader regional military confrontation unless it is directly
threatened. In 2024, Houthis targeted a Turkish vessel with several ballistic
and naval missiles. At that time, Turkiye condemned the attack and noted that
necessary steps had been taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,
without specifying the nature of those measures. Later, in response to the
Houthi actions, a US-led coalition, with significant British participation,
launched airstrikes against Houthi positions. However, despite being a NATO ally
whose vessel had been targeted by the Houthis, Turkiye has maintained a cautious
distance from Western-led military operations in the Red Sea. Rather than
joining multinational naval missions outright, Ankara adopted a cautious tone
reflecting a pragmatic foreign policy focused on strategic autonomy and
maintaining dialogue with competing regional powers. However, the situation in
the region now significantly differs from 2024. Today, the Red Sea is no longer
a peripheral area for Turkish foreign policy but a core strategic area where
maritime security, energy interests, and regional influence increasingly
intersect. Therefore, with its interests at stake, any further escalation in
this key corridor is likely to challenge Ankara’s delicate balancing act.
• Dr. Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkiye’s
relations with the Middle East.
X: @SinemCngz
Question: What did Jesus mean when He said to not cast
your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6)?
GotQuestions.org/July 24/2026
Answer: Jesus said, “Do not cast your pearls before swine” in the Sermon on the
Mount. Christ had just finished instructing the crowd on judgment and reproof:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others,
you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”
(Matthew 7:1–2), and “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye”
(Matthew 7:5). Then in verse 6, Christ tempers these admonitions and shows us
the difference between “judgment” and “discernment.” We are not to be
hypocritical judges, yet we must be able to discern the swine, lest we cast our
pearls before them. Before Jesus says, “Do not cast your pearls before swine,”
He says, “Do not give dogs what is sacred.” An analogy mentioning dogs is also
used in Proverbs: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly”
(Proverbs 26:11). A dual reference to swine and dogs is also found in 2 Peter
2:22, “Of [false teachers] the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’
and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’” In His
sermon, Jesus uses dogs and pigs as representative of those who would ridicule,
reject, and blaspheme the gospel once it is presented to them. We are not to
expose the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who have no other purpose than to
trample it and return to their own evil ways. Repeatedly sharing the gospel with
someone who continually scoffs and ridicules Christ is like casting pearls
before swine. We can identify such people through discernment, which is given in
some measure to all Christians (1 Corinthians 2:15–16).
The command not to cast your pearls before swine does not mean we refrain from
preaching the gospel. Jesus Himself ate with and taught sinners and tax
collectors (Matthew 9:10). In essence, the instruction in Matthew 7:6 is the
same that Jesus gave to His apostles when He said, “If anyone will not welcome
you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that
home or town” (Matthew 10:14). We are to share the gospel, but, when it becomes
apparent that the gospel is not welcome, we are to move on. We are responsible
to share the good news; we are not responsible for people’s response to the good
news. Pigs don’t appreciate pearls, and some people don’t appreciate what Christ
has done for them. Our job is not to force conversions or cram the gospel down
people’s throats; there’s no sense in preaching the value of pearls to swine.
Jesus’ instruction to His apostles on how to handle rejection was to simply go
elsewhere. There are other people who need to hear the gospel, and they are
ready to hear it.
Selected Face Book & X tweets
on 24 July/2026
Hiba Nasr
New: President Trump and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun agreed to launch
discussions toward a bilateral U.S.–Lebanon security agreement aimed at
establishing a durable framework for long-term strategic cooperation.
Sources told me that, beyond this significant outcome and the agreement to
pursue the re-establishment of direct flights between the United States and
Lebanon, the visit also yielded:
• Expand U.S. military assistance and capabilities support for the Lebanese
Armed Forces, reinforcing their role as Lebanon’s sole legitimate national
defense institution.
• Explore options for post-UNIFIL monitoring and verification arrangements,
including the possibility of extending or adapting the current UNIFIL mandate.
• Advance efforts to identify new investment opportunities for U.S. companies in
Lebanon, particularly in the energy, telecommunications, digital transformation,
and other strategic sectors.
• Work with international partners to support Lebanon’s reconstruction and
long-term economic recovery.
Hiba Nasr
Reviewing the guest list from the dinner hosted 2 nights ago by the Lebanese
Ambassador in Washington Nada Hamadeh Mouawad in honor of President Joseph Aoun,
the caliber and breadth of those in attendance immediately stand out.
For a country the size of Lebanon, the guest list is striking—reflecting the
breadth of Washington’s diplomatic, political, and policy interest at this
moment.
Worth a look at who was in the room:
• Secretary of Energy Chris Wright
• World Bank President Ajay Banga
• Senator Jim Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
• Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Coons, Chris Murphy, James Lankford, Bill
Hagerty, Jack Reed, Joni Ernst, and Jacky Rosen
• Congressman Brian Mast, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
• Members of Congress Darrell Issa, Darin LaHood, Abe Hamadeh, Joe Wilson, Carol
Miller, Debbie Dingell, and Marcy Kaptur
• Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau
• Deputy Secretary of Commerce Paul Dabbar
• Deputy National Security Advisor Mike Needham
• Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby
• Ambassadors Michel Issa, Mike Waltz, and Monica Crowley
• Dr. Massad Boulos, Senior Advisor to the President for Arab and Middle Eastern
Affairs
• Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for
Counterterrorism at the National Security Council
• Various Assistant Secretaries from the Departments of State, War, and Treasury
• Senior Directors from the National Security Council and the Development
Finance Corporation (DFC)
Prime Minister of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
“My wife and I share in the profound grief of the families of Major Yuval Ezra,
of blessed memory, a battery commander in the Artillery Corps, and Master-Sgt.
(Res.) Sergeant Major Benayahu Mellet, of blessed memory, a member of the
emergency squad in Havat Gilad, who fell in the murderous terrorist attack this
morning in Samaria. Together with all citizens of
Israel, we send our deepest condolences to the dear families and wish a full
recovery to our wounded. Yuval and Benayahu acted with heroism and engaged the
heinous terrorists to protect our citizens. Their courage and sacrifice will be
etched in our hearts forever. I stand by the IDF soldiers and security forces
who are operating around the clock with determination and force against
terrorism. May their memory be a blessing.”
Ted Cruz
https://x.com/tedcruz/status/2080281271758995749/video/1
My prediction: AOC will run for president, and Zohran Mamdani will replace Chuck
Schumer in the Senate. Some Republicans are cheering that our opponents are
crazy. I’m not.
This is bad for America. I may disagree with Democrats on taxes and regulations,
but this country needs two parties that actually love America.
Hiba Nasr
I followed up with the U.S. administration on the future of the UNIFIL mission.
A senior U.S. official told me: “There is absolutely a 0% chance of extending
UNIFIL. Zero.”
The official added that post-UNIFIL options are being explored, but stressed
that there will be no more open-ended UN mandates.
Shadi khalloul שאדי ח'לול
Lebanese President!! What a joke is this. Are you serious? Israel withdrew from
South Lebanon completely in 2000, left their best ally SLA, which in my eyes a
big mistake. We expected peace with you as intl' community promised us. We
received kidnapping 3 soldiers by Hezba-lah in 2006 that lead to 2nd Lebanese
war and 1701 UN resolution and another tome Israelifull withdrawal from Lebanese
land captured during the fighting. You were supposed to enforce 1701 but LAF
under your charge and UNIFIL failed to implement it. In Oct 8th Israel didn't
occupy nothing until Hiz-balah Iranian mercenary fired missiles at Israel only
to support Hamas as unification of terrorists fronts to wipe out Israel.
I have to tell you as a Maronite Israeli to Maronite Lebanese, you are a big
disappointment, you are responsible for this mess and you are completely liar.
Disarm Hezba-lah or you will face the consequences. Our Christians and Maronites
in Lebanon deserve freedom, better future and expect from you better firm
actions to save them from this evil. Israel is your friend, and Iran with
similar Islamic forces are your enemy.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
As a student of history at The American University of Beirut (AUB), I spent
enormous time at its top notch Jafet Library, mostly looking up sources for my
papers and reading for my courses, and partially looking up the archives of the
student movement. The archives of Outlook, the weekly student newspaper,
fascinated me. Outlook was launched in 1949 and came out weekly until 1975, when
it stopped with the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war.
Outlook archives so fascinated me that I decided activism had unfinished
business to settle. Together with friends, we revived Outlook in 1996 and I
served as its editor-in-chief between 1997 and 2001. The first picture is of an
Outlook issue from 1970 that we reprinted in 2000. I was also fascinated by
stories of student takeovers of AUB campus (AUB is fenced in with access
restricted to students, faculty and staff). All the characters that I read about
became my heroes and I looked them up to connect with them. One of them was one
of my Outlook EiC predecessors Nabil Boulus, with whom I exchanged long emails.
A friend who put together a volume of most of the issues that I edited, printed
this note from one of our exchanges (second pic).
Also among my heroes was Maher Masri, President of the 1971 Student Council,
when it took over campus for 28 days (pic of the young man -- aged 25 --
speaking at the podium). The last pic, colored, is of Maher Masri today (aged
80). When I was still a student, in 1999, Maher was the Palestinian Economic
Minister in Ramallah and visited Beirut with Hanan Ashrawi (also AUB alum) who
gave a speech at West Hall. During their visit. Outlook's admin representative
Ibrahim Khoury, a contemporary of Maher at AUB, introduced us upon my request.
When I started telling Maher about how amazing I thought his takeover was, he
looked at Ibrahim and laughed, saying "these were the days of our thuggery." He
did not talk about them with any nostalgia, just dismissed them as days "from
which we learnt."
Both Boulus and Masri disappointed me. I thought they had sold out on the
revolution and become domesticated.
The reason Im telling you this story, prompted by my earlier conversation with a
journalist over the death of Red Army's Kozo Okamoto whom I knew up close and
personal, is to explain how age and maturity turn ambitious, romantic, zealous
Leftist youngsters into reasonable, realistic, clear eyed, former Leftists in
older age. If my younger self meets me today, he'd think I was bought off and
domesticated, unaware that experience taught me that change cannot be violent
and sudden, but has to be slow and incremental.
Many Americans who lived in communes, as hippies, or were at Woodstock,
eventually matured into mainstream humans. Only a fraction of them remained in
the counterculture.
These stories teach us that what you see now, in terms of youngsters cheering
for Palestine and angry at Israel, is not a new phenomenon as many might think.
Israel is the establishment and Palestine is the anti-establishment. Youngsters
are usually revolutionary, counterculture, anti-establishment beings. Their
majority grows to become establishment people with nostalgia toward all the
counterculture that they once loved (songs, books, friendships).
But some never mature, either intentionally or not. The ones who intentionally
stay Leftist -- think Bernie Sanders -- are rare and usually turn into angry
populists who enjoy what the establishment has to offer but ride the wave to
office of the antiestablishment younger citizens.
My close friend and fellow AUB History Department alum Makram Rabah shared my
fascination with these characters, so much so that he ended up writing a short
book about them "A Campus at War." Perhaps one day, I'll put my story in a
chapter or a book (parts of it are already in my book The Arab Case for Israel).
See less