English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News &
Editorials
For November 06/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2026/english.november06.26.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
Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I
am, to see my glory
Saint John 17/24-26/:”Father, I desire that those also, whom you
have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given
me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ‘Righteous Father,
the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent
me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love
with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’
Titles For The English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related
News & Editorials published on November 05-06/2026
Ballot Jihad: How Political Islam Uses Elections in Europe and America as
a Weapon to Infiltrate the West and Achieve Empowerment and Islamization/Elias
Bejjani/November 04/2026
Whoever God has blessed let him extend his hand with humility and love to the
needy./Elias Bejjan/November 02/2026
The Faith and Patriotism of Father Najeeb Al-Ameel versus the Trojanism and
Diabolism of the Regime, the Rulers, the Judiciary, and the Politicians under
the Barbaric Occupation of Hezbollah/Elias Bejjani/31 October 2026
Health Ministry: 4,390 Victims and 12,429 Wounded Since March 2
5 Embassies Support the Monopoly of Arms: Calling for an Independent Judiciary
in the Dahr al-Baidar Case
Two Arrest Warrants in the Dahr al-Baidar Explosives Case.. Military Judiciary
Begins Interrogations and Postpones Procedural Phase to Nov 17
UNIFIL: Security Council Examines Arrangements for the Post-Mandate Phase
Hezbollah Pursues Explosives File to the Palace of Justice.. The Five Embassies
Demand Declaring Loyalty to the State
Is the Tampa Page Turned? Where Do Lebanese-Israeli Negotiations Stand Amid
American Ambiguity and Tel Aviv’s Insistence on Direct Communication?
Hezbollah’s Practices May Return Us to the Era of Arab Estrangement: Official
Statements Are Not Enough
The Israeli Security Project Extends Beyond the Elections... Druze as a Pressure
Card from Lebanon to Syria
Two Arrest Warrants Issued Against Al-Kordi and Amhaz... and a Wave of Threats
in European Skies
Israel's Zamir visits Khiam, says army 'on high alert'
Israeli strikes target Tallousa, Aita al-Jabal and Hadatha-Harees
US, UK, and allies back Lebanese state monopoly on arms and war decisions
Judge issues arrest warrants for two held over Hezbollah explosives
Lebanon: Four Former Army Generals Questioned as Defendants in Beirut Port Blast
Probe
Woman dead as people smuggler tries to run over Lebanese troops
Aoun calls Yemen's leader to reject 'any interference'
Aoun: We won't accept to share our sovereignty with anyone
Sami Gemayel demands executive steps to keep Lebanon out of war
Made in Lebanon: Social Media Account Tied to Pro-Hezbollah Media Backs French
Protests
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on November 05-06/2026
Democratic 'Blue Wave' Swept Through State Capitals across US
Trump Says Hegseth Doing 'a Very Good Job' as Questions Swirl about His Future
Iran Says Two Tankers and Tugboat Caught Fire in Hormuz
Race for 2028 Heats Up after US Midterms Firestorm
Democratic Congress Could Test Decades of US Support for Israel
Israel's main Arab list says will back Eisenkot to form government
Arab Parties Extend a Hand to Try and Topple Netanyahu, but Challenges Remain
Netanyahu loses religious party's support as rival tipped to form government
Gaza Welcomes US Election Results With Reservations
Egypt Offers Israel Fresh Assurances over Sinai Development Projects
Egypt, US Sign Strategic Objective Agreement to Expand Cooperation
Iraqi Investigation Accuses Armed Factions of Manipulating Airport Contracts
Multiple flights in Europe diverted because of bomb threats after earlier hoaxes
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on November 05-06/2026
Europe's Dangerous New Plan to Destroy Independent Media/Robert Williams/Gatestone
Institute/November 05/2026
What Trump and Sadat Have in Common/Suleiman Jawda/Asharq Al-Awsat/November
05/2026
Sudan: Against a Scheme to Create a Failed State/Osman Mirghani/Asharq Al-Awsat/November
05/2026
China Puts Its Interests to Work for Peace!/Huda al-Husseini/Asharq Al-Awsat/November
05/2026
No More 'Deals': President Trump Needs to Finish Two Jobs. If He Does, He Will
Go Down in History as the Greatest President Ever/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/November 05/2026
France is burning ...Assimilation is happening, but into a culture of grievance
and violence/Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/November 05/ 2026
A Turkish UN secretary-general would serve the Erdogan regime/Sinan Ciddi and
Helin Unal/Washington Examiner/November 05/2026
Iran’s Civic Movement Regains Momentum, but the Regime’s Repression Apparatus
Endures/Janatan Sayeh/Insight/November 05/2026
A Sip of Rebellion/Joseph Habib | Nidaa Al-Watan | November 6, 2026
Trump, the Baseball Cap, and the Veto/Jean El-Feghali | Nidaa Al-Watan |
November 6, 2026
UNIFIL Positions After Withdrawal: Who Owns the Land and Who Controls It?/Tony
Attieh | Nidaa Al-Watan | November 6, 2026
Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published (Some of the News reports below are
translated from Arabic by AI)
Ballot Jihad: How Political Islam Uses Elections in
Europe and America as a Weapon to Infiltrate the West and Achieve Empowerment
and Islamization
Elias Bejjani/November 04/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/11/158819/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gZ7S6KAn0o
Introduction: America Votes, and Political Islam Seeks an Opportunity for
Empowerment
The US elections held yesterday, Tuesday November 03, 2026, were not just a
normal election or a traditional democratic transfer of power. The results,
which led to the Democratic Party taking control of both houses of Congress
after Republicans lost many seats, raise a very dangerous question about the
future of the West, and about the ability of Western democracies to protect
themselves from ideological movements that use the freedoms available to reach
power and expand influence.
What deserves attention is not only the victory of Democrats and the defeat of
Republicans, but the nature of the electoral alliances formed inside American
society, and how different political forces used population, religious, and
cultural blocs, including organized Muslim voting blocs, to reach
decision-making centers. Americans and Westerners in general must understand
that political Islam, both Sunni and Shia, especially Muslim Brotherhood
currents, does not look at elections the way liberal democracies do. All these
movements treat elections as a means to reach power, build institutions and
influence, and achieve their ideological, political, and religious projects.
Ballot Jihad.
After armed jihad, coups, assassinations, and terrorism, the ballot box has
become in the calculations of all jihadist Islamic movements a very important
political and organizational weapon. The goal is not just to win a parliamentary
or local seat, but to use the win to build power and influence that opponents
will find hard to confront later.
US Election Results and Their Political Message
Yesterday's results showed a big shift in the American balance of power, as
Democrats (left, gay groups, political Islam) regained the majority in the House
and Senate, and won in states considered Republican strongholds. One notable
event was the win of Dr. Abdul Salam Al-Sayed for a Senate seat in Michigan,
known for his ideological affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood groups and his
family, becoming the first Muslim elected to this chamber in US history. This
event has political, demographic, and electoral importance, but by itself it
does not mean political Islam has taken over American institutions, nor does it
prove that all Muslim voters vote according to one organizational directive.
The problem we discuss is much deeper.
Organized voting blocs, whatever their identity, can become influential in close
races, and turn into a bargaining force that imposes conditions on major
parties. When ideological organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood invest in
this fact, it becomes necessary to monitor their programs, connections, and
political goals. American democracy allows a Muslim citizen and a non-Muslim
citizen to vote, run for office, and reach the highest positions, and this is a
constitutional right that must not be touched. But it does not give any Islamic
or non-Islamic organization the right to use these freedoms to cancel the
freedoms of others or to impose an ideological rule on them.
Ballot Jihad... The New Weapon of Political Islam
We must be clear about the plans, tricks, and taqiyya of political Islam, which
does not always need a rifle, a suicide bombing, or an armed militia to achieve
its goals. It can use elections, party alliances, associations, educational
institutions, media, municipalities, and unions as multiple fronts for one
political battle, and this is the essence of what we call ballot jihad. In
democratic societies, political Islamic movements have wide space for freedom,
organization, and expression, and can benefit from laws that protect religious
and political pluralism. But the danger begins when these freedoms turn into
tools to build a jihadist and religious authoritarian project that does not
really believe in the right of others to exercise the same freedoms.
The electoral empowerment strategy of these jihadist and terrorist Islamic
organizations is based on:
Mobilizing voters on the basis of religious, ideological, and organizational
loyalty.
Using demographic weight in close electoral districts.
Pressuring major parties to get political concessions.
Building temporary electoral alliances with forces that differ ideologically.
Organizational control or wide influence over civil society institutions.
Placing their cadres in municipal councils, legislative institutions, and
centers of influence.
Turning electoral gains into long-term political, legislative, and media
influence.
Thus the ballot box becomes, in the calculations of these movements, a front of
political jihad... It is a battle not necessarily fought with weapons and all
kinds of terrorist operations, but with votes, organization, money, alliances,
and exploiting legal and political loopholes. The question the West must ask is:
Do these organizations accept democracy as a permanent principle, or do they
accept it only when it is a path to power?
The Muslim Brotherhood and the Empowerment Project
It is impossible to understand a basic aspect of contemporary political Islam,
both Sunni and Shia, without studying the concepts, doctrines, plans, and
projects of the Muslim Brotherhood, founded by Hassan al-Banna in Egypt in 1928.
The Brotherhood is not just a charity or traditional religious movement, but an
ideological movement with a transnational political and organizational project,
based on making Islam the reference for governance, society, and the state. Over
decades, the group's methods and branches evolved, some entered elections and
parliaments, formed political alliances, and some reached power. But electoral
participation does not automatically mean abandoning the jihadist ideological
project or accepting all foundations of a civil state and liberal democracy. The
concept of empowerment (tamkeen) in the literature of all jihadist Islamic
currents refers to moving from the stage of building the organization and social
base to the stage of expanding influence and reaching centers of power. Here
lies the importance of monitoring what these movements announce in their
electoral programs, what they say in their internal literature, and what they do
when they hold power. Therefore the West should not be satisfied with hearing
democratic slogans, but should ask about the real position on freedom of belief,
women's rights, rights of Christians and Jews, freedom of expression,
independence of judiciary, and peaceful transfer of power.
Taqiyya, Gradualism, Abrogation... The Problem of Temporary Discourse
One of the issues to stop at when studying the political religious discourse of
Muslim Brotherhood groups in all their organizations and branches is the issue
of gradualism in action, the gap between public discourse and political
practice, and how religious texts are used to serve ideological goals. These
movements present themselves in Western societies as moderate, defending
freedoms, pluralism, and minority rights, while in their other literature or
positions they adopt different views about state, society, and source of
legislation. We should not consider every moderate discourse as deception, or
attribute taqiyya to every Muslim, but we have the right, indeed the duty, to
ask about the extent to which public discourse matches the actual political
program. Here the importance of studying the concepts of taqiyya, gradualism,
and empowerment in their jurisprudential and organizational contexts appears,
and not allowing them to be used to justify hiding political goals or evading
accountability. As for dividing Quranic verses into peaceful verses in the phase
of weakness and fighting verses in the phase of strength, it is a complex
interpretive and jurisprudential subject, and it should not be reduced to one
equation that applies to all Muslims. But what the West must understand is that
religious and electoral slogans are not enough to judge any movement. The
criterion is its real program and its behavior when it has power.
The Opportunistic Alliance Between the Left, Political Islam, and Gays
One of the paradoxes worthy of criticism and study in Western politics is the
emergence of electoral and interest-based alliances between currents of the
radical left and groups of political Islam and gay groups. This alliance is not
based on unity of doctrine or values, but on intersection of immediate electoral
and political interests. The left needs Muslim voters' votes in some districts,
political Islam needs doors to institutions where the left has influence, and
alliances that help it expand its political presence... and gays need forces
that support their demands... Here a stark paradox appears. Political Islamic
groups adopt very conservative positions, reject homosexuality, and oppose basic
aspects of individual freedoms defended by leftist groups. Yet, we find
electoral and political intersections between the three parties when their
interests meet against a common opponent. The left raises slogans of diversity
and pluralism, while Islamic movements allied with it adopt religious and
political views that do not accept pluralism in the liberal sense... The same
opportunistic equation applies to the alliance of gays with those who stay
silent or support their life and rights demands.. What kind of alliance is this?
And what intellectual harmony is there between projects, aspirations, concepts,
values, and lifestyles that are contradictory? It is an alliance of interests
and votes, not an alliance of principles. And the danger is that some Western
parties may discover too late that the votes they invested in do not necessarily
adopt the social and cultural project they defend.
Example of Hamas and Gaza... What Does Political Islam Do After Winning?
The experience of Palestinian Hamas provides a model that must not be ignored
when discussing political Islam's relationship with elections. In January 2006,
jihadist and terrorist Hamas won the majority of seats in the Palestinian
Legislative Council, in elections in which Fatah and other political forces
participated. But in June 2007, after bloody armed confrontations with Fatah,
Hamas took control of Gaza by force, expelled the Palestinian Authority from it,
and established a unilateral rule under which no new general elections were
held. These facts are not just historical details, but raise a fundamental
question about the difference between electoral victory and respect for
democracy. Elections give the winner the right to govern within the constitution
and law, and do not give him the right to abolish opposition or use weapons
against opponents or monopolize power indefinitely. Here the difference appears
between democracy as a fixed political value, and democracy as a tactical means
to reach power.
Hitler and the Historical Lesson That Must Not Be Forgotten
European history itself provides a stark example of the danger of totalitarian
movements reaching power through political and constitutional paths. Adolf
Hitler reached the position of Chancellor on January 30, 1933 by presidential
appointment, after the Nazi party became a large electoral force and benefited
from alliances and political maneuvers.
After reaching power, he used state institutions and exceptional laws to
dismantle democracy, ban opposition parties, and establish a dictatorial regime.
Here the historical lesson is clear: Reaching power through elections or
constitutional procedures alone does not prove that the movement is committed to
democracy. Peoples have the right to know in advance whether whoever reaches
power will preserve the rights of his opponents, or will use his authority to
eliminate their political existence.
Role of Qatar, Turkey, and Iran... Money, Organization, and Weapons
Sunni and Shia political Islam based on the ideological concepts of terrorist
Muslim Brotherhood groups cannot be studied apart from the regional and
international influence network that supports it and invests in its expansion,
and here three countries with different roles stand out:
Qatar: Has wide financial, media, and diplomatic tools, and has a history of
relations with movements and figures linked to political Islam, in addition to
influential international media influence.
Turkey: Under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it became a political ally of a number of
Islamic currents, and uses its political, media, and economic tools to enhance
its regional influence.
Iran: Leads a Shiite political and military Islamic project under the authority
of Wilayat al-Faqih, and uses its affiliated armed organizations in the region
to expand its influence at the expense of state sovereignty.
Sunni and Shia political Islam are not one organization, but they intersect in
many cases in putting ideological and organizational reference above the concept
of an independent nation-state. The Sunni side includes multiple currents and
organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram,
with big differences in structure, goals, and means among them.
As for the Shia side, arms of the Iranian regime stand out, foremost Hezbollah
in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and armed Iraqi factions linked to Tehran.
These organizations are not all identical in their goals or methods, but their
existence forces Western countries to deal with external financing, cross-border
organizations, and political and military interventions seriously and
transparently.
The Eastern Message to the West
We in the Middle East do not read these issues from books alone. We have lived
long experiences with religious and political regimes, with armed organizations,
and with countries where pluralism collapsed before the authority of doctrine
and weapons. In Lebanon, we know well what it means for an armed organization to
have the decision of war and peace outside state institutions, and for loyalty
to an external reference to come before loyalty to the constitution and
homeland, and we also know how religious slogans, resistance, and jihad can turn
into tools to justify monopolizing power and decision. Therefore the warning we
direct to the West is not a warning against Muslims, but against political Islam
that wants to turn religion into political authority above constitution and law.
A Muslim who lives in America or Canada or Europe, respects the constitution,
believes in equality, and accepts the right of others to exercise their
freedoms, is a citizen with full rights and duties. As for the organization that
wants to exploit democracy to establish a system that does not recognize the
rights of those who are not its followers, it is an opponent of democratic
principles, regardless of the religion it uses as a cover for its project.
Conclusion: From Jihad by Sword to Jihad by Ballot
The recent American elections should be an occasion for a deeper reading of the
future of Western democracy, and to notice that political conflict in modern
societies does not always happen with weapons, but may happen through ballot
boxes, party alliances, institutions, money, and media. Ballot jihad is the
political expression of using elections as a means for empowerment, when the
goal of democratic participation becomes reaching power, not respecting its
rules, values, and principles, and political Islam, both Sunni and Shia,
deserves serious critical study that does not flatter or compromise, and does
not confuse it with Islam as a religion or Muslims as citizens. Hence the West
must not deal naively with organizations that raise slogans of democracy in
opposition, then reject pluralism when they reach power. Also the left must not
ignore ideological and political contradictions with its electoral allies just
to get extra votes... In the same context, gays should not ally with those who
criminalize, prohibit, and betray their social lifestyle... And most
importantly, Western institutions must not overlook any external financing or
organizational connection or attempt to impose religious authority on civil
society. The ballot box is not a weapon against democracy, but it can be turned
into a political weapon against it when used by movements that do not accept
peaceful transfer of power nor equality among citizens. Jihad by sword destroyed
countries and societies, and ballot jihad may turn into another path to
empowerment if accountability, transparency, and protection of institutions are
absent. Beware that the ballot box turns into a Trojan horse through which
enemies of pluralism and groups of terrorism and barbarism enter democratic
institutions!
Democracy does not protect itself just by opening ballot boxes, but by
protecting the constitution, law, freedoms, and the right of every citizen to
live free, whatever his religion, origin, or belief. The West is not required to
abandon its democracy, but is required to understand that everyone has the right
to participate in elections, and no party has the right to use this
participation to abolish democracy itself.
Finally, it is very important that the world, with all its countries and
systems, understands the reality of the contradictions in the Muslim
Brotherhood's discourse:
In the phase of weakness in the West and in any country in the world (Dar al-Harb
/ House of War), the Muslim Brotherhood raises the Meccan verses - the verses of
patience and peacefulness:
"O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed" [Al-Imran:
200]
"And be patient, and your patience is not but through Allah" [An-Nahl: 127]
"Indeed, Allah is with the patient" [Al-Baqarah: 153]
"And if they incline to peace, then incline to it and rely upon Allah" [Al-Anfal:
61]
"There shall be no compulsion in religion, the right path has become clear from
the wrong" [Al-Baqarah: 256]
"For you is your religion, and for me is my religion" [Al-Kafirun: 6]
With these verses they address the West: We are moderate, democratic, we believe
in coexistence.
And at the time of empowerment and strength (Dar al-Islam/House of Islam) in any
country, the Muslim Brotherhood applies the Medinan verses - the verses of the
sword and empowerment which abrogate what came before them:
"And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you
find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every
place of ambush" [At-Tawbah: 5]
"Fight those who do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day" [At-Tawbah: 29]
"And fight them until there is no fitnah and the religion, all of it, is for
Allah" [Al-Anfal: 39]
"And He brought down those who supported them among the People of the Scripture
from their fortresses
*The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: https://eliasbejjaninews.com
Whoever God has blessed let him extend his hand with humility and love to
the needy.
Elias Bejjan/November 02/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/11/158763/
In this life where fortunes shift like the wind, some people succeed while
others stumble. It is not necessarily because the successful one is smarter, nor
because the one who stumbles is less capable, but because God distributes
talents, opportunities, and circumstances as He wills. He gives freely, and He
gives with a wisdom we do not always understand. Some people find doors opening
before them; others find them closing again and again; and still others are born
carrying in their body or soul a wound they cannot heal alone.
Here arises the moral, human, and faith-based duty: that the one whom fortune
has favored should extend a hand to the one whom it has not. This is not a favor
— it is a debt. The success we enjoy is not purely our own possession; it is a
trust from God, a free gift, and a responsibility. As the Lord Jesus said to His
disciples: “Freely you have received; freely give” (Matthew 10:8). These words
alone are enough to condemn every form of arrogance and every closing of the
heart.
Often the real test takes place within the same family. One member succeeds
financially or socially, another falters, and a third falls prey to an illness
that prevents him from relying on himself. Whether it is addiction or any other
physical, psychological, or mental disease, the sick person is a human being in
need, and the healthy are called to stand beside him, not to abandon him.
Illness is not a shame that deserves neglect, nor a weakness that justifies
forgetting. Whoever possesses health, money, and ability must become a support
for the one from whom illness has stripped independence and the dignity of
self-reliance. Abandoning the sick in their weakness is a betrayal of blood and
of conscience; standing by them is a human and faith duty that does not fall
away with the type or severity of the disease. Expectations of them must be
realistic, and they must be treated with mercy, patience, and respect — not with
judgment or superiority. As the Apostle Paul wrote: “Bear one another’s burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
Likewise, when one member of the family becomes wealthy while the others remain
in need, wealth is no justification for arrogance, distance, or forgetfulness.
Rather, it is a call to humility and love. Scripture repeatedly urges us in this
direction: “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need,
yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John
3:17). And again: “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone,
and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). A
person did not create himself, nor did he grant himself his intelligence or his
opportunities — so how can he look down on the one who was not given what he was
given?
Pride and arrogance do not come from God, but from the devil. Wealth that strips
a person of his humanity, humility, and compassion for others is empty wealth,
no matter how large the account. True wealth is the kind that keeps the hand
extended and the heart merciful. As the Lord Jesus warned: “Take care, and be on
your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the
abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). And He also said: “Do not lay up for
yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven”
(Matthew 6:19-20).
One of the most dangerous things that can happen is when sons or daughters
succeed and then forget their parents. Parents are the root; they are the ones
who gave and continue to give. Honoring and caring for them in old age and
weakness is a duty that does not disappear with success or wealth. Whoever
abandons his father and mother after becoming rich abandons part of his own
humanity. Scripture reminds us: “Honor your father and mother (this is the first
commandment with a promise)” (Ephesians 6:2).
In the end, remember, you who have succeeded: the day the Lord takes back the
deposit of life, you will take nothing of the earth’s riches with you. You will
leave everything behind just as you left it the day you arrived. As Job the
righteous man said with profound honesty: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be
the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). No money, no position, no status will
accompany you — only the love you gave, the hand you extended, and the humility
you preserved.
So extend your hand today, while you are still able, before the day comes when
you can no longer do so. Helping is not a favor; it is a right of human
brotherhood, a duty of faith, and proof that the grace you received has not
corrupted your heart. As the Lord Jesus said on the day of judgment: “Truly, I
say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it
to me” (Matthew 25:40).
*The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
The Faith and Patriotism of Father
Najeeb Al-Ameel versus the Trojanism and Diabolism of the Regime, the Rulers,
the Judiciary, and the Politicians under the Barbaric Occupation of Hezbollah
Elias Bejjani/31 October 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/10/158726/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7UYdHm16FM
Oh the shame, oh the horror, oh the disgrace!
What Father Najeeb Al-Ameel, the priest of the steadfast town of Rmeish, has
been subjected to at the hands of an unjust, ungrateful female judge—stripped of
all human feeling, detached from reality and conscience, a compliant tool in the
hands of the barbaric Iranian occupier, who knows nothing of the judiciary but
its name—is a vile insult to everything that is human, to humanity itself, to
reason, values, principles, and conscience.
It is a judicial and humanitarian crime complete in all its elements: a priest
who stood with his people in the most difficult circumstances, who strengthened
them on their land and refused their displacement, is summoned and accused of
issuing a threat merely because he asked, with bitter sarcasm, about the
impossibility of resorting to any force other than the Lebanese state under
occupation. Instead of being honored for preserving the land, honor, and
dignity, he is treated as a suspect.
In this context it a must to read the words of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of
Matthew (Chapter 23): “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor
do you allow those who are entering to go in… Woe to you, blind guides… For you
pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters
of the law: justice and mercy and faith.
It also veryhelpfull to read in the Gospel of Saint Luke (11:42-46) the Lord’s
rebuke of the Pharisees and lawyers who load people with burdens hard to bear,
while they themselves will not touch them with one of their fingers, yet neglect
justice and the love of God.
This female judge—an instrument in the hands of the terrorist and jihadist
Hezbollah—and those behind her, above her, and with her from the political
rabble, the so falesly called political parties, the companies, and the
agencies, are a filthy, degenerate, and diabolical contemporary version of those
same scribes, Pharisees, and Trojans across the ages, for they turn a blind eye
to occupation, destruction, displacement, and killing.
Therefore, in a loud voice that will not be silenced, I say with a clear
conscience and deep conviction: May the curse of heaven fall upon the Lebanese
regime, the rulers, and the judiciary of Lebanon, upon all the political parties
apparatuses, companies, and agencies, and upon the political rabble of its
scribes, Pharisees, and Trojans.
O God, uncover what is hidden, replace the oppressors, and grant victory to the
truth and its people.
*The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: https://eliasbejjaninews.com:
Health Ministry: 4,390 Victims and 12,429 Wounded Since
March 2
Al-Markazia / November 05, 2026
The Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health
announced that the cumulative toll of the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, from
March 2 to November 5, has risen to 4,390 victims and 12,429 wounded.
5 Embassies Support the Monopoly of Arms: Calling for an
Independent Judiciary in the Dahr al-Baidar Case
Al-Markazia / November 05, 2026
The embassies of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and
Japan issued a joint statement reaffirming their strong support for the Lebanese
government in its efforts to ensure the state's exclusive monopoly on weapons,
emphasizing that the state alone must hold the decision-making authority in
matters of war and peace. The five embassies noted that they take note of the
steps taken by Lebanese authorities regarding the Dahr al-Baidar case, calling
for a swift and independent judicial process free from any political
interference to ensure full accountability. The statement stressed the necessity
of securing a clear and public commitment from all members of Parliament and
political parties affirming their support for the positions of President Joseph
Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam regarding the state's exclusive authority
over decisions of war and peace. The embassies renewed their desire to see the
Lebanese state restore its actual and full sovereign authority over all its
territories.
Two Arrest Warrants in the Dahr al-Baidar Explosives Case..
Military Judiciary Begins Interrogations and Postpones Procedural Phase to Nov
17
Janoubia / November 05, 2026
Judicial proceedings in the high-stakes file of the explosives shipment seized
at the Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint have transitioned to the Military Court,
entering the stage of direct interrogations and legal procedures balancing
arrests and the postponement of hearings based on formal motions presented by
the defense. First Military Investigative Judge Ghada Abou Alwan initiated
interrogation sessions in this extraordinary file, questioning the two primary
detainees today: Ali al-Kurdi and Haitham Amhaz, in the presence of their legal
counsel, Attorney Maan al-Asaad. Immediately upon concluding the hearing and
recording their statements, Judge Abou Alwan issued two in-person arrest
warrants against them to complete investigations into the shipment's route, the
nature of the seized materials, and the presumed involved parties. In procedural
trial developments, Attorney Maan al-Asaad, acting as legal counsel for six
other non-detained defendants in the case, submitted a formal motion of
preliminary exceptions (procedural defenses) before the military judiciary,
leading to the postponement of their interrogation. Consequently, Judge Ghada
Abou Alwan decided to adjourn the session to November 17, pending the Military
Prosecution's review of the motion to issue its direct legal opinion, allowing
the investigative judge to render her procedural decision and resume criminal
and field investigations in this highly sensitive file. This comes after the
Government Commissioner to the Military Court in Lebanon charged 13
individuals—two of whom are in custody—for their link to the shipment, as
revealed by a judicial source to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on October 30. The
source stated that Judge Claude Ghanem "charged 12 individuals affiliated with
Hezbollah, in addition to the wife of one of them, in the explosives transport
case," citing multiple offenses including "violating government decisions,
possession of weapons and explosives, and forming illegal associations aimed at
undermining the state's authority and prestige." The source added that among the
defendants, 8 individuals have been fully identified, including the two
detainees and the wife of one of them, while the remaining 5 are known only by
their military aliases. Penalties under the charges carry up to 10 years of hard
labor. The source further noted that Ghanem referred the defendants along with
the file to Abou Alwan to conduct investigations and issue the necessary arrest
warrants against them. It is worth noting that security forces intercepted a
truck carrying 500 kilograms of high explosives on October 8 while it was being
transported from the eastern part of the country toward Beirut, arresting its
driver and an accompanying passenger. According to authorities, the truck en
route to Beirut was carrying 250 kilograms of TNT and 250 kilograms of C-4
explosives. Following the seizure in the Dahr al-Baidar area—along the
international highway connecting eastern Lebanon to the capital—a security
source stated that one of the two detainees is "the son of a Hezbollah
official." About a week after the truck was seized, Hezbollah acknowledged
ownership of the explosives, demanding the release of the detainees and the
cargo. Speaking through one of its MPs, Hezbollah stated that the truck was
intended to transport military equipment to fight occupying Israeli forces in
southern Lebanon, denying allegations by opponents that it was intended for
internal assassinations within Lebanon.
UNIFIL: Security Council Examines Arrangements for the
Post-Mandate Phase
Al-Markazia / November 05, 2026
UNIFIL issued a statement noting that "pursuant to Security Council Resolution
2790 (2025), UNIFIL’s mandate in Lebanon will expire on December 31, 2026,
following which the mission will begin the drawdown and withdrawal of its
forces." The mission highlighted that the Security Council is currently
considering options for the phase following the end of UNIFIL’s mandate,
including monitoring and reporting activities along the Blue Line in the
upcoming stage, clarifying that decisions regarding any future arrangements rest
entirely with the Security Council.
It confirmed that peacekeepers from 45 countries will continue to execute their
daily tasks as usual across southern Lebanon until the end of the mission’s
mandate, including monitoring and reporting developments, engaging with the
parties, supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces, and facilitating humanitarian
missions.
Hezbollah Pursues Explosives File to the Palace of
Justice.. The Five Embassies Demand Declaring Loyalty to the State
Nidaa Al-Watan/November 06, 2026
As the world moves to the rhythm of U.S. President Donald Trump's decision
regarding Iran, amidst anticipation over whether the Republicans' loss of both
houses of Congress will push him to accelerate his military options before the
Democrats assume control of the legislative branch on January 3, eyes turn to
Lebanon, which once again stands before two possibilities: returning to the
negotiation table or sliding into an open regional confrontation. Will Trump
choose a military strike? And will Hezbollah embark on a new support war for
Tehran?
Amid these concerns, a highly significant diplomatic development emerged on the
Lebanese scene: five embassies stepped in to support President Joseph Aoun and
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. A joint statement issued by the embassies of the
United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Japan did not limit
itself to renewing support for the government in its efforts to restrict weapons
exclusively to the state, but went further by demanding that the state alone
hold the decision-making authority over war and peace.
Most importantly, the statement did not merely affirm the authority of the
presidency and the premiership; it called on all members of Parliament and
political parties to declare a clear commitment to the positions of the
President and the Prime Minister regarding the state's exclusive right to decide
on war and peace—a political message that places Lebanese forces before the
responsibility of defining their stance on the state project and its
sovereignty.
In parallel, the five embassies refocused light on the Dahr al-Baidar explosives
file, calling for a swift and independent judicial course, free from any
political interference, to ensure full accountability. This message is
inseparable from the battle to establish state authority, as the monopoly of
arms cannot remain a mere political slogan while security and judicial files
remain subject to political maneuvering and compromises. The embassies renewed
their desire to see the Lebanese state restore its actual and full sovereign
authority over all its territories.
Hezbollah Besieges the Explosives Investigation
Concurrently, the mentality of the Hezbollah militia remains captive to an
excess of power that views the state merely as an arena to be subjugated, and
the judiciary as an obstacle to be bypassed. While the "Loyalty to the
Resistance" parliamentary bloc called for an end to political and media
bickering to allow room for national solutions, MTV revealed that a Hezbollah
delegation paid a visit lasting nearly two hours to the Cassation Public
Prosecutor, Judge Ahmad Rami Al-Haj, at the Palace of Justice. The delegation
included MP Hussein الحاج Hassan, the head of Hezbollah's Liaison and
Coordination Unit Hussein Al-Abdallah, and attorney Mohammad Hammoud, aiming to
exert pressure on and encircle the course of the investigation into the Dahr al-Baidar
explosives file. This brazen scene recalls the worst intimidation tactics that
accompanied the Beirut Port explosion investigation, revealing that
Hezbollah—instead of letting the judiciary have its say in a highly critical
file—continues to deal with judicial institutions through the logic of
guardianship and imposing a fait accompli. It appears Hezbollah has not yet
grasped that the era in which it could intimidate judges, disrupt
investigations, and dictate terms to institutions has passed.
Two Arrest Warrants
Judicially, First Military Investigative Judge Ghada Abou Alwan interrogated
detainees Ali al-Kurdi and Haitham Amhaz in the Dahr al-Baidar explosives case,
in the presence of their legal counsel, Attorney Maan al-Asaad. At the
conclusion of the session, she issued two in-person arrest warrants against
them. Attorney Al-Asaad, in his capacity as legal counsel for the six
non-detained defendants, submitted a motion of preliminary exceptions
(procedural defenses), which necessitated delaying their interrogation.
Consequently, Judge Abou Alwan adjourned the session to the 17th of this month,
pending the Military Prosecution's review of the defenses to issue its opinion,
after which the investigative judge will render a decision regarding them and
resume her investigations into the file.
Positive Neutrality
On the other hand, in a position affirming the continuation of the policy of
positive neutrality, the President of the Republic stated: "We will not accept
anyone sharing our sovereignty, and positive neutrality is a necessity to
distance Lebanon from regional conflicts." Furthermore, the President requested
Cassation Public Prosecutor Judge Ahmad Rami Al-Haj to strictly prosecute
perpetrators of fraud and trafficking in expired medications, food, and spoiled
meat, coordinating with relevant ministries and departments to ensure food and
drug safety.
During his reception of a delegation from the International Finance Corporation
(IFC), President Aoun stressed that Lebanon possesses human capital and a
private sector with immense capabilities, and that what is required today is
translating international interest in Lebanon into concrete projects and
investments, alongside pursuing reforms and restoring confidence in the Lebanese
economy.
Minister of Finance Yassin Jaber quoted the President—whom he represented at the
17th Bosphorus Summit held in Istanbul under the title "Global Transformation
and the Search for Stability"—as saying: "Building lasting stability in Lebanon
requires extending state sovereignty over its entire territory, restoring
citizen trust through reform and accountability, and converting recovery and
reconstruction into opportunities for growth and employment." Jaber affirmed
Lebanon's commitment to strengthening its institutions and army, implementing
Resolution 1701 and all other relevant international resolutions, and working to
ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory. For
his part, Minister of Foreign Affairs Youssef Raggi, during the Lebanese
flag-raising ceremony in front of the Parliament building in Ottawa, announced
the determination to restore state authority and its exclusive right to make
decisions regarding war and peace, saying: "We have not lost hope in Lebanon."
He acknowledged that "the path is arduous, and rebuilding a state weakened over
decades cannot be achieved overnight," emphasizing that "the resolve is firm and
unwavering."
Attempted Run-Over Incident
While an Army unit was carrying out security measures to prevent smuggling and
control the border in the barren highlands of Arsal along the Lebanese-Syrian
border, a vehicle carrying individuals bypassed an Army monitoring checkpoint,
heading from Syrian into Lebanese territory through illegal crossings. The
driver attempted to run over the checkpoint personnel, posing an imminent danger
to their safety, which forced them to fire warning shots to compel the vehicle
to stop. At that point, the driver stopped the vehicle and fled to an unknown
destination. Upon inspecting the vehicle, it was found to be carrying 12
individuals of Syrian nationality who were being smuggled into Lebanese
territory.
Is the Tampa Page Turned? Where Do Lebanese-Israeli
Negotiations Stand Amid American Ambiguity and Tel Aviv’s Insistence on Direct
Communication?
Janoubia/November 5, 2026
Security and diplomatic conditions in southern Lebanon are heading toward an
extremely sensitive and complex phase. Warnings issued by the Hebrew press and
Israeli security circles regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued
targeting of Iranian capabilities and vital points have intersected with
explicit warnings that Lebanon will once again be dragged into comprehensive
targeting if Hezbollah takes any field support action for the "Axis of
Resistance."These threats come at a time when absolute ambiguity surrounds the
Lebanese-Israeli negotiating track, in parallel with a pivotal shift in
Washington brought about by the results of the US midterm congressional
elections, and amid field reports warning of strenuous Israeli attempts to
create a new fait accompli south of the Litani River, paving the way for
imposing a buffer zone and establishing a permanent military presence.
According to special data obtained by An-Nahar newspaper from a Lebanese source
involved in following up and coordinating negotiation lines, the presidential
team and those monitoring the file have not received any specific signals or
dates to hold a new round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations, whether in the
United States or in other capitals. This hiatus comes after the last round of
talks in Tampa yielded results inconsistent with the level of Lebanese and
official expectations. The source attributes this diplomatic freeze to the White
House administration's preoccupation and deep involvement in the fallout of the
2026 US midterm elections, in which American voters dealt a blow to the
Republican Party's authority, affecting its majority in both the House and the
Senate. Although Axis parties reacted with cautious welcome to the decline in
Trump’s legislative control, official analyses confirm that these results will
not prevent the US administration and Tel Aviv from continuing their plots
against Tehran and its allies—even if it changes the pace and direction of
movement compared to the flexibility seen before the elections.
Regarding security arrangements in the south, political readings received by An-Nahar
warn of growing fears regarding the dismantling and liquidation of the
"Mechanism" security committee. Its team is managed by American General Joseph
Clearfield from his headquarters in the US Embassy in Awkar, following the
downsizing and sidelining of the French presence. Data indicates that the
Israeli side is pressing to completely dispense with the Mechanism and move
toward direct military communication between the Lebanese and Israeli armies,
without the need for Washington's mediation or United Nations cover—something
the Lebanese military delegation categorically rejected during the Tampa
negotiations, adhering strictly to the parameters of the "Framework Agreement"
and established official mechanisms.
The most dangerous aspect of An-Nahar's report is reflected in warnings conveyed
by official references from a senior officer in the United Nations Interim Force
in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The officer revealed a systematic downsizing of the
international force's tasks and a decline in the cooperation of Israeli army
units with it on the ground, particularly in areas occupied by Israel south and
north of the Litani River. Ahead of the official expiration of UNIFIL’s mandate
at the end of this year, Israel is seeking to prove the futility of the Blue
Helmets' presence, exploiting the lack of international agreement on an
alternative force.
This field behavior was accompanied by the carving out of several newly
established military roads and the construction of security fortifications
extending from the vicinity of Naqoura to dozens of points in border villages
and the Lebanese interior—reinforcing fears of imposing a long-term occupation
and establishing a buffer zone by force of fait accompli. Facing these threats,
official Lebanese circles are preparing two urgent messages addressed to
Congress and the Trump administration to reaffirm full adherence to Resolution
1701 and demand that the South not be stripped of the UN banner.
Hezbollah’s Practices May Return Us to the Era of Arab Estrangement: Official
Statements Are Not Enough
Lara Yazbek/Al-Markaziyah/ November 5, 2026
The features of the entire region, including Lebanon, have changed since October
7. However, Hezbollah’s practices have not changed, according to sovereign
political sources speaking to Al-Markaziyah, remaining exactly as they were:
negative, destabilizing interventions in Arab countries.
The Syrian regime—which the party fought to protect while simultaneously
safeguarding its own military supply lines—has fallen, yet the party has not
been deterred and continues to try to weaken the pillars of the new governance
in Damascus, hoping it will fall or reduce its involvement in countering weapon
and money smuggling operations destined for the party. In this context,
Damascus announced on Tuesday that it thwarted a plot targeting the Homs
refinery, accusing a cell linked to the party of being behind it following a
security operation that resulted in the arrest of its members and the seizure of
explosive devices prepared to carry out the attack. Since the fall of Bashar
al-Assad's regime, Syrian authorities have dismantled at least six cells and
networks linked to Hezbollah, with attributed activities ranging from planning
assassinations and launching rockets to targeting vital facilities.
Meanwhile in Yemen, where the legitimate government backed by Saudi Arabia
launched a campaign to end the rebellion of the Houthis—the party's allies in
the supposed Axis of Resistance—Hezbollah has volunteered once again to train
and assist them, after playing a fundamental role in their coup against
governance years ago. The Ministry of Interior in the recognized government
announced that Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Lebanese Hezbollah experts are
deployed in Sana'a, Saada, and Hodeidah. Yemeni Minister of Interior, Major
General Ibrahim Ali Ahmed Haidan, stated that 21 experts from the Revolutionary
Guard and Hezbollah are managing Houthi operations and threatening Yemen's
security and navigation, explaining that they are distributed across six
governorates, including Sana'a, Saada, and Hodeidah. He pointed out that the
experts' specializations include operations management, command and control,
ballistic missiles, drones, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare, noting that
"the Houthi siege on Taiz is one of the results of the presence of Iranian
Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah experts and their support."For those who have
forgotten, the sources continue, these practices by the party are what alienated
the Arab and international families from Lebanon in past years, compounding its
political, economic, and financial crises. Consequently, Gulf diplomacy
boycotted Lebanon and withdrew its ambassadors from Beirut because of them.Worse
still, the change that swept through the region also touched Lebanon, where a
new administration took over the reins of the country—a government elected by
the sovereignist camp following Hezbollah's defeat in the first support war,
which weakened its ability to control domestic decision-making. Yet this
government, which makes wonderful sovereign decisions "on paper," takes no
action against a party marching forward with the exact same "crimes" against
Arab countries and against Lebanon. Instead, it merely issues statements of
solidarity after the fact with countries targeted by the party's schemes—as seen
in the positions recorded yesterday by President General Joseph Aoun and Prime
Minister Nawaf Salam. However, according to the sources, official reluctance to
deter Hezbollah threatens Lebanon's supreme interest, as it could lead to the
exact same negative outcome: Arab, Gulf, and international abandonment of
Lebanon. As a reminder, the Houthis are shelling Saudi Arabia today. The risks
of this inaction multiply when considering the possibility that the party's
weapons—which have not been disarmed—will drag us into new wars whose results
will be fatal and destructive to Lebanon, its people, infrastructure, and
economy. When will official Lebanon awaken from its slumber?
The Israeli Security Project Extends Beyond the
Elections... Druze as a Pressure Card from Lebanon to Syria
Najwa Abi Haidar/Al-Markaziyah/ November 5, 2026
It does not appear that the results of the Israeli elections—regardless of the
identity of the government born from coalition consultations—will alter the core
security approach adopted by Tel Aviv toward Lebanon, Syria, and the region. The
issue, according to a military expert speaking to Al-Markaziyah, goes beyond
partisan competition for power to connect with a strategic project that Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to establish: creating a connected security
axis from southern Lebanon to the Golan Heights, passing through the Jezzine,
Bekaa, and Eastern Mountain range regions, enabling Israel to cut off any
potential threat coming from the north and east. In this context, mobilizing the
Druze card in Syria and the Golan, and Israeli efforts to invest in it in
Lebanon, fall among the pressure tools that can be employed to enshrine this
security axis. The military expert considers that this orientation not only aims
to fortify Israel's borders but is also linked to attempts to curb Turkish
influence in Lebanon and Syria, and to prevent Iran from using extremist groups
to carry out security operations against Israel, its interests, and its sites
along this entire axis.The matter is not limited, according to this reading, to
Netanyahu's personal orientations; rather, the security project has become part
of ongoing Israeli discussions, making a change in government insufficient on
its own to drop it or alter its priorities. Some Israeli statements reinforce
these fears: last April, Netanyahu announced his intention to expand the
security zone in Lebanon eastward, pointing out that this would allow for
helping the Druze, and later reaffirmed his determination to remain in the
security zone in southern Lebanon as long as security necessities dictate. In an
American reading of the election outcomes, the Soufan Center pointed out that
Gadi Eisenkot, should he manage to form a government, might maintain many
Israeli policies toward Lebanon and Syria, albeit with a difference in style and
engagement with American initiatives. Parallel to security calculations, the
military expert points to data regarding consultative meetings held by Eisenkot
with several Palestinian leaders and officials prior to the elections,
addressing the post-election phase and possibilities for a solution. The
Palestinian side stressed, according to circulating information, that ending the
conflict begins with adopting the two-state solution and establishing a
Palestinian state, considering them the fundamental gateway to achieving
regional stability, opening the path to the Abraham Accords, and expanding them
toward a comprehensive settlement. Between the Israeli security project and the
Palestinian bet on a settlement, the region stands before two opposing paths:
the first seeks to impose field realities and security belts that transcend
borders, while the second opens the door to the possibility of establishing a
Palestinian state and a political settlement as the basis of stability in the
region. Will the upcoming Israeli government content itself with managing this
reality, or will it move to expand its scope?
Five Embassies on the Dahr el-Baydar Line: Full Accountability Far Away from
Politics, and Hezbollah Out of the File: Giving Room for Wise National Remedies
Two Arrest Warrants Issued Against Al-Kordi and Amhaz...
and a Wave of Threats in European Skies
Al-Markaziyah) | November 5, 2026
The issue of the monopoly of weapons and the decision of war and peace is
advancing to the forefront of the Lebanese scene, with five embassies stepping
in to support the positions of the President of the Republic and the Prime
Minister, demanding a clear political commitment to the authority of the state.
Between an adherence to expressions of sovereignty and neutrality, and judicial
moves in the Dahr el-Baydar explosives file, the actual test of the state's
ability to translate its decisions into actions continues, while Israeli
violations persist in the south, and economic, developmental, and security files
accumulate on the cabinet table. While the results of
the US midterm elections are the subject of reading and analysis in the United
States, and while the world awaits their repercussions on all regional and
international files, Lebanon reiterates its adherence to its sovereign
decisions—with execution suspended until further notice.
Embassies on the Line
In this context, the embassies of the United States of America, the United
Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Japan issued a joint statement affirming their
strong support for the Lebanese government in its efforts. The five embassies
noted that they take note of the steps taken by Lebanese authorities in the Dahr
el-Baydar case, calling for a swift and independent judicial process, far from
any political interference, to ensure full accountability.
The statement stressed the necessity of obtaining a public, clear
commitment from all members of parliament and political parties affirming their
support for the positions of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf
Salam regarding the monopoly of the decision of war and peace in the hands of
the Lebanese state. The embassies renewed their affirmation of their desire for
the Lebanese state to restore its actual and full sovereign authority over all
its territories.
No One Will Share It with Us
Not far away, President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun received today the
second part of a book on the neutrality of Lebanon and the Lebanese, and on this
occasion said: "Lebanon is an independent and sovereign state, and we will not
accept that anyone shares our sovereignty with us." He added, "Positive
neutrality is a necessity to neutralize Lebanon from regional conflicts, as it
can no longer bear further pivotal disagreements, ambitions, and desires for
hegemony."
Exercising Sovereignty to Build Stability
For his part, Minister of Finance Yassin Jaber, conveying the position of the
President of the Republic, affirmed that "building permanent stability in
Lebanon requires extending state sovereignty over all its territories, restoring
citizens' trust through reform and accountability, and turning recovery and
reconstruction into opportunities for growth and employment."Representing the
President of the Republic at the 17th Bosphorus Summit held in Istanbul under
the title "Global Transformation and the Search for Stability," he stressed that
"stability without development is fragile, and what is required goes beyond
addressing the repercussions of the recent crisis to building a capable state
that can face future crises." He affirmed "Lebanon's commitment to strengthening
its institutions and army, implementing Resolution 1701 and all relevant
international resolutions, and working to ensure the complete withdrawal of
Israeli forces from Lebanese territories."
Two Arrest Warrants
Judicially, First Military Investigating Judge Gada Abu Alwan commenced her
investigations into the Dahr el-Baydar explosives file, interrogating detainees
Ali Al-Kordi and Haitham Amhaz today in the presence of their lawyer, Maen Al-Asaad.
At the end of the session, she issued in-person arrest warrants against them.
Lawyer Al-Asaad, acting as legal counsel for the six non-detained
defendants, submitted a formal objection motion, prompting a delay in their
interrogations. Judge Abu Alwan thus postponed the session to the 17th of this
month, pending review and opinion by the Military Public Prosecutor's Office,
after which the investigating judge will make her decision and resume
investigations into the file.
Hezbollah Denounces
Hezbollah was quick to respond, announcing that "room must be given for wise
national remedies, and we denounce all political positions that disowned the
sacred right of the Lebanese to defend their homeland and resist Israel." The
Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc called on the government to re-evaluate the
option of direct negotiations with Israel, warning against the continuation of
Israeli attacks on the south and threats to expand military operations inside
Lebanese territory. In a statement issued following
its regular Thursday meeting, the bloc considered that the current negotiating
track has not achieved the desired results, but rather led, in its expression,
to further losses and repercussions, demanding that the authorities review their
calculations to preserve national unity.
Southern Situation
On the ground, an Israeli drone dropped a sound bomb near the Amriya mosque,
close to the town of Mansouri. A drone also dropped a sound bomb in the airspace
of the southern outskirts of the town of Kfarshouba in the Hasbaya district.
Another drone dropped two sound bombs between the towns of Khiam and Ibl al-Saqi.
The Israeli army also carried out a combing operation with machine guns
from the Shariqi area toward the vicinity of citizens harvesting olives. An
advance of an armored force was recorded toward Wadi Shabha in the Hasbaya
district, concurrently with bulldozers completing road-paving work toward the
valley.
Border Control
On another border front, the Army Command - Orientation Directorate announced in
a statement that "on November 4, 2026, while an army unit was carrying out
security measures to prevent smuggling and control borders in the outskirts of
the town of Arsal along the Lebanese-Syrian border, a vehicle equipped with
tinted glass and no license plates bypassed an army checkpoint monitoring point,
heading from Syrian territory into Lebanese territory via illegal crossings."
The driver attempted to run over the checkpoint personnel, posing a grave threat
to their safety, forcing them to fire warning shots to compel it to stop. At
that point, the driver stopped the vehicle and fled to an unknown destination.
Upon inspecting the vehicle, it was found to be carrying 12 Syrian nationals
being smuggled into Lebanese territory. A woman among them was hit by gunfire,
and three others were injured due to shattering glass. They were transported to
a hospital for treatment, but the woman succumbed to her wounds. An
investigation was initiated under the supervision of the competent judiciary to
uncover the circumstances of the incident, and follow-up is underway to arrest
the fleeing driver.
Translating Attention
Economically, while the cabinet session on electricity was postponed to next
week pending the return of Energy Minister Joe Al-Sadi from Qatar, where he is
finalizing talks regarding the Qatari electricity initiative, the President of
the Republic affirmed that Lebanon possesses human energies and a private sector
with great capabilities. He stressed that what is required today is to translate
international interest in Lebanon into concrete projects and investments, in
parallel with pursuing reforms and restoring confidence in the Lebanese economy.
The President's remarks came while receiving a delegation from the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) at the Baabda Palace before noon today, during which
ways to enhance cooperation between Lebanon and the Corporation were discussed,
particularly in fields of private sector financing, attracting investments, and
supporting developmental projects and infrastructure.
At Berri's
Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri also received the World Bank's Middle East and
North Africa Regional Director, Dalia Khalifa, in Ain el-Tineh, in the presence
of the World Bank Group Representative in Lebanon, Enrique Blanco Armas. The
meeting addressed projects supported by the Bank in Lebanon and its work
programs.
Bureau Committee
Additionally, the Parliament Speaker called the Parliament's Bureau Committee to
a meeting at 10:30 AM on Monday, November 9, 2026, in Ain el-Tineh.
Fraud Crimes
On the socio-security front, the President of the Republic asked Acting Public
Prosecutor Judge Ahmed Rami Al-Hajj to crack down firmly on perpetrators of
fraud and trafficking in counterfeit medicines, food, and spoiled meats,
coordinating with relevant ministries and departments to ensure health and drug
safety.
Restoring Confidence
President Aoun discussed monetary policy, the financial stability draft law,
deposit recovery, and preparations to restore international confidence in the
banking sector with the Governor of the Bank of Lebanon.
"Southern" Meeting
Furthermore, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam chaired the weekly meeting for return
and recovery in the south and affected areas. Discussions covered tracking the
contracting of projects implemented by the South Council and the Council for
Development and Reconstruction (CDR) in the south and affected areas.
Needs of steadfast towns in the south regarding fuel and cash support for
families were also discussed, along with pre-fab housing (especially in pilot
areas) and the necessity of pairing their use with the provision of necessary
electricity and water infrastructure, clearing debris from roadsides in Nabatieh,
and following up on the Nabatieh Civil Defense Center project.
On the International Front
Europe witnessed a new wave of bomb threats aboard several flights on Thursday,
leading to the diversion of flight paths and the emergency landing of 3 planes
in Bulgaria, according to media reports. An Aer Lingus flight traveling from
Dublin to Rome was forced to land at the Évreux-Fauville Air Base in France's
Normandy region at around 10 AM after receiving a bomb threat.
French media reported that French fighter jets escorted the aircraft
until it landed, while specialized bomb disposal teams arrived at the site. The
British newspaper The Guardian reported that more than 150 passengers were on
board and all safely exited the aircraft as bomb disposal teams began searching
it for any hazardous materials.
Israel's Zamir visits Khiam, says army 'on high alert'
Naharnet/November 05/2026
Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir vowed a "strong defense" against Hezbollah as
he visited Israeli forces in the occupied southern town of Khiam on Wednesday.
During the visit, Zamir warned Hezbollah that Israeli forces remain on high
alert and ready to strike. "We are committed to establishing a strong defense
along our borders and safeguarding the security of residents in the north," he
said. "We will not allow Hezbollah to establish terrorist infrastructure in the
area. Any attempt by the enemy to entrench its presence, enhance its
capabilities, or threaten our northern communities will be met with an immediate
and powerful response," Zamir added. Zamir accused Hezbollah of acting as an
Iranian proxy rather than serving national interests: "During the war, Hezbollah
has once again proven that it is an arm of Iran, not a Lebanese defender. Its
actions have directly harmed the interests of the Lebanese state and its
citizens."
Israeli strikes target Tallousa, Aita al-Jabal and
Hadatha-Harees
Agence France Presse/November 05/2026
Israeli strikes targeted overnight Tallousa, Aita al-Jabal and Hadatha-Harees,
the National News Agency said. The strikes come hours after a drone targeted a
motorcyclist in Qabrikha, killing the man and wounding another, the first such
death since September. Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the broader
Middle East war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with massive
airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says has killed more than 4,300
people. Lebanon and Israel concluded a U.S.-brokered framework agreement in June
involving the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces
from Lebanon's south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region.
Violence has decreased since the signing of the agreement and a U.S.-Iran
memorandum of understanding earlier that month. However, implementation is
lagging. In September, 13 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a village
in the Nabatieh region of southern Lebanon.
US, UK, and allies back Lebanese state monopoly on arms and war decisions
Naharnet/November 05/2026
The Embassies of the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, and
Japan affirmed Thursday their strong support for the Lebanese government as the
sole entity authorized to hold weapons and decide on matters of war and peace.
"We, the Embassies of the United Kingdom, the United States of America,
Australia, Canada, and Japan, as friends of Lebanon, affirm our strong support
for the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the state monopoly of arms and that
the state alone should make decisions regarding war and peace," the five
embassies said in a joint statement.
The embassies encouraged "a swift, independent judicial process, free from
political interference, that ensures full accountability" in the Dahr al-Baydar
explosives case. "It is also essential for Lebanon in the current situation to
have a clear public commitment from all members of parliament and all parties
affirming their support for the President’s and the Prime Minister’s
declarations that only the Lebanese state has the right to decide on war and
peace. "We reaffirm our ultimate desire to see the full restoration of effective
Lebanese sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory," the statement said.
Judge issues arrest warrants for two held over Hezbollah explosives
Naharnet/November 05/2026
Judge Ghada Abou Alwan interrogated the detainees Haitham Amhaz and Ali al-Kurdi
on Thursday in the Hezbollah explosives case and issued two arrest warrants
against them, MTV reported. Alwan also scheduled a hearing in two weeks to
notify the remaining defendants in the case before issuing arrest warrants
against them as well, the TV network added. Government Commissioner to the
Military Court Judge Claude Ghanem had charged 13 individuals in the case before
referring them to Alwan. The truck, which was stopped at a checkpoint on the
main highway linking Beirut with the eastern Bekaa Valley earlier in October,
was carrying 780 kilograms of explosives, including 250 kilograms of TNT and 250
kilograms of C-4 plastic explosives, according to judicial officials. The news
of its seizure generated heated public discussion, with many accusing Hezbollah
of planning to carry out assassinations of domestic opponents at a time when the
group is under increasing pressure to disarm. Hezbollah later issued a statement
acknowledging that the explosives belonged to the group. It said they were
intended for use against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. It said it had
requested Lebanese authorities return the explosives and release the two people
who were detained. For years, Hezbollah had moved weapons freely in parts of
Lebanon. That changed in March, when the Lebanese government declared all
military activities by the Iran-backed group “illegal.”That decision came hours
after Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, triggering a war that has
killed nearly 4,000 people in Lebanon and resulted in Israeli forces occupying a
large swath of southern Lebanon. The group fired the rockets two days after
Israel and the United States launched a war on Iran, its main backer. Hezbollah
has refused to recognize the government decision outlawing its military wing.
Lebanon: Four Former Army Generals Questioned as Defendants
in Beirut Port Blast Probe
Beirut: Youssef Diab/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 05/2026
The investigation into the Beirut port explosion took a new turn on Wednesday as
judicial investigator Judge Tarek Bitar questioned four former Lebanese Army
generals as defendants, expanding the scope of legal proceedings ahead of an
indictment expected before the end of the year.
The hearing also marked the first attendance of a representative of the Public
Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Cassation, Judge Mohammad Saab. Those
questioned during the lengthy session were former Lebanese Army Chief of Staff
Maj. Gen. Walid Salman, former Deputy Chief of Staff for Equipment Brig. Gen.
Manuel Karjian, former head of the Ammunition Department Brig. Gen. Georges
Moussa, and former director of the Equipment Directorate Brig. Gen. Munir Abou
Zeid. Their defense lawyers, lawyers representing the civil claimants and
Cassation Advocate General Judge Mohammad Saab attended the hearing. A judicial
source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the officers had been summoned based on a
substantive submission prepared by Saab, in which he brought allegations against
them over suspicions that they had prior knowledge of the presence of ammonium
nitrate at Beirut port. The source explained that the questioning focused on
“the suspicions outlined in the submission, in preparation for further
investigation and a determination of the judicial position regarding each
defendant, without the allegations necessarily establishing responsibility.”
Judicial Cooperation
Saab’s attendance marked the first time a representative of the Public
Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Cassation had participated in an
investigative hearing before Bitar in the case. It also signaled cooperation
between the judicial investigator and the prosecutor’s office, which had
previously boycotted Bitar and suspended cooperation with him when Judge Ghassan
Oueidat headed the office. The questioning ended without any decision on whether
the four officers would be detained or released, leaving their legal status
unresolved. “Bitar did not issue an arrest warrant against any of them, nor did
he decide to release them or require them to sign a residence undertaking,
leaving the matter unresolved,” the judicial source explained. The source did
not disclose the content of the officers’ statements or their responses to the
allegations.
Previously Questioned Defendants to Be Summoned Again
Bitar’s next steps will extend beyond the four former officers. According to the
same judicial source, the investigator is preparing to summon all those he
previously questioned without issuing decisions concerning their cases. They
include former Prime Minister Hassan Diab, former Interior Minister Nohad
Machnouk, former General Security Director-General Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim and
former State Security Director-General Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba, as well as judges
and senior officials. The move will bring previously deferred decisions back
before Bitar as he continues investigating the allegations against the four
officers. The upcoming summonses will involve individuals whose procedural
status remains unresolved, making the next round a crucial step in determining
the measures to be taken before the indictment is finalized. Those facing
allegations will remain in a state of uncertainty over the judicial measures
that await them.
Indictment Expected Before Year-End
Meanwhile, the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Cassation will prepare
a supplementary substantive submission concerning the four officers and forward
it to Bitar as soon as possible, according to the judicial source. The
supplementary submission will be added to the case file Bitar is reviewing as he
prepares his indictment, taking into account the latest questioning sessions and
the statements obtained. The source stressed that Bitar “is committed to issuing
the indictment before the end of this year,” adding that he would soon devote
his attention to reviewing the case file and drafting the indictment.
Woman dead as people smuggler tries to run over Lebanese
troops
Naharnet/November 05/2026
A woman was wounded and eventually died of her wounds when a people smuggler
tried to run over Lebanese troops in the outskirts of the eastern town of Arsal,
the Lebanese Army said. “A vehicle equipped with tinted windows and lacking
license plates bypassed troops at a military checkpoint, traveling from Syrian
territory into Lebanese territory via illegal crossings,” the army said in a
statement. “The driver attempted to run over the checkpoint personnel, posing an
imminent danger to their safety. As a result, they were forced to fire warning
shots to compel the vehicle to stop. The driver then brought the vehicle to a
halt and fled to an unknown destination,” the army added. It said that upon
inspecting the vehicle, it was found to be transporting 12 individuals of Syrian
nationality who were being smuggled into Lebanese territory. “A woman among them
sustained a gunshot wound, and three other individuals were injured by shattered
glass. They were all transported to a hospital for treatment, where the woman
later succumbed to her injuries,” the army said. “An investigation has been
initiated under the supervision of the competent judiciary to clarify the
circumstances of the incident, and efforts are ongoing to locate and arrest the
fleeing driver,” it added.
Aoun calls Yemen's leader to reject 'any interference'
Naharnet/November 05/2026
President Joseph Aoun has called the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership
Council in Yemen, Rashad Muhammad al-Alimi to convey Lebanon's commitment to
Yemen's state sovereignty, after the internationally-recognized government
accused Hezbollah of having military advisers in the war-torn country. During
the call, Aoun expressed rejection of “any interference by individuals or groups
in its internal affairs, or engaging in activities that compromise its security,
stability, and the safety of its citizens."Hezbollah on Wednesday denied the
allegations as "completely baseless," noting that Yemenis are fully capable of
defending their country without foreign support. It added that internal dialogue
is the only way to safeguard Yemen's unity and stability and resolve
disagreements.
Aoun: We won't accept to share our sovereignty with anyone
Naharnet/November 05/2026
President Joseph Aoun stressed Thursday that Lebanon is an independent and
sovereign state, stating that "we will not accept anyone sharing our
sovereignty, so that we do not pay the price of past mistakes again."He called
on those who seek empowerment from the outside against their compatriots to
instead draw strength from their own people against the outside. Aoun also
considered positive neutrality a necessity to isolate Lebanon from regional
conflicts, noting that what this country has endured up to today is enough. “It
is no longer capable of bearing further axis-based disputes, greed and desires
for hegemony,” the president added. “Distancing Lebanon from external ambitions
and fortifying national unity protect the Lebanese entity at a time when the
region is passing through a phase of turmoil as a result of the accelerating
military and political developments,” Aoun went on to say. Aoun's remarks came
as he received at the Baabda Palace former Minister and MP Michel Pharaon, who
presented him with the second part of the book "Lebanon's Official Neutrality
and the Neutrality of the Lebanese within the Framework of the Arab League: In
Diplomacy, Culture, Memory, and Education" The book was published following a
series of meetings addressing the topic of neutrality, organized by the Lebanese
Foundation for Permanent Civil Peace (ADAA) in cooperation with a group of
intellectuals, researchers and experts.
Sami Gemayel demands executive steps to keep Lebanon out of
war
Naharnet/November 05/2026
Kataeb Party leader MP Sami Gemayel has called for "executive measures" to
prevent Hezbollah from dragging Lebanon into a war. "The state cannot leave the
decision to avoid war to Hezbollah and build on reassurances from the group,"
Gemayel told journalists on Wednesday.
He added that national dialogue can only take place after Hezbollah disarms,
firmly rejecting any prior discussions regarding the group's weapons or a
national "defense strategy.""The government's decision regarding the exclusivity
of arms is clear and must be implemented first," Gemayel said. "Dialogue would
come after Hezbollah's disarmament and when the decision of war and peace
returns to the hands of the state, allowing the Lebanese to regain their right
to self-determination free from foreign influence and illegal arms."
Made in Lebanon: Social Media Account Tied to
Pro-Hezbollah Media Backs French Protests
Max Lesser and Ahmad Sharawi/Investigation/November 05/2026
Torche360’s X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram accounts, however, do not appear
to provide information about who owns or operates it. However, the LinkedIn
account of Ghada Saad, a woman appearing in Torche360’s videos, calls “the
French Platform ‘Torche360,’ part of ‘Blue House Film’ productions,” a Beirut
production firm. She is a content creator for the outlet, according to her
LinkedIn profile, and previously held roles at Al Mayadeen, a media outlet
referred to by the Times of Israel as pro-Hezbollah and by Reuters as
pro-Iranian.
Connections to Sanctioned Hezbollah- and Iran-affiliated Entities
Lebanese commercial registry records state that journalist Radwan Mortada owns
90 percent of Blue House SAL, the corporate entity associated with Blue House
Film. Mortada previously worked for the pro-Hezbollah newspaper Al-Akhbar and
appeared on Hezbollah’s television channel Al Manar, which the United States
designated as a terrorist entity in 2006 for being owned or controlled by
Hezbollah. Mortada also directed “The Emerald Resistance: Ireland’s Voice for
Palestine,” a documentary produced by the Iranian state-run outlet Press TV that
examined Irish solidarity with the “Axis of Resistance,” a network of
Iran-backed groups operating across the Middle East.
Blue House Film itself has worked with Press TV, which the United States has
also sanctioned because it is owned by Iranian state broadcaster Islamic
Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). According to Blue House Film’s website,
the company collaborated with Press TV to produce a documentary series in Iraq,
featuring interviews with political and security officials. In July 2025,
Mortada and Blue House Film’s managing partner, Mostapha Wehbi, joined 13 other
international media figures on an IRIB-organized visit to Iran to document
damage from Israeli airstrikes.
Mortada and Wehbi cofounded another media brand, known as Al-Mahatta. New
York-based political risk and due diligence analyst Rany Ballout described Al-Mahatta
as “Hezbollah’s New Digital Mouthpiece” in 2023, although Mortada has publicly
disputed this allegation and threatened lawsuits.
Pro-Hezbollah Sympathies and Anti-Israel Narrative Hijacking
Torche360’s content occasionally displays overt pro-Hezbollah sympathies. On
February 22, 2025, for example, Torche360 posted a video calling the deceased
former head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, an “emblematic leader against
colonialism.”
Blue House Film’s website also advertises projects with the Qatari state media
brand Al Jazeera, and the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA).
In addition to the X post comparing the French police to the IDF, Torche360
placed at least 23 additional posts on X alone sympathetic to the protests
between September 1 and October 26, 2026. Among various posts sympathetic to the
protestors, Torche360 posted content claiming that the French government fears
its people and that the media fixates on looting rather than police violence.
The account also publicized plans from France’s Yellow Vest movement for
protests on October 24, possible further demonstrations on October 31, and a
November 5 strike.
Other Torche360 posts attempt to inject anti-Israel narratives into the
protests. For example, Torche360 suggested that French authorities were seeking
Israeli intelligence assistance to monitor civilians amid the protests.
Torche360 also interviewed Thomas Portes, a French politician, multiple times in
October. He supports the protests and criticizes France’s relationship with
Israel. Porte is part of the French left wing affiliated with La France
Insoumise (LFI), the party founded by Jean-Luc Melenchon. Although Torche360’s
published posts on X do not identify the interviewer by name, facial recognition
software suggests she is Mona Hammoud-Elhor, a French-Lebanese journalist who
previously worked as a reporter and news anchor for RT France, the
Russian-funded broadcaster, from October 2016 to January 2021.
Torche360 similarly conducted at least two interviews with Belgian Member of the
European Parliament Marc Botenga, a member of the far-left Workers’ Party of
Belgium (PTB-PVDA) and The Left, a coalition within the European Parliament. In
one interview, Botenga criticized U.S. support for Israel and European policies
toward Gaza, advocating for sanctions and an arms embargo against Israel.
French Authorities Should Investigate Torche360’s Ties to Pro-Hezbollah
Ecosystem
Torche360’s posts about the protest appear to get modest engagement. As of this
writing, its most viewed X post (the October 26 post) only has 709 views. As of
that same day, the Torche360 account on X only has 185 followers. Its other
platforms appear dramatically more popular, with 43,000 followers on Facebook,
30,400 on Instagram, and 21,600 subscribers on YouTube.
Hezbollah carried out a wave of terrorist bombings in Paris in the 1980s and
bombed the French Embassy in Kuwait in 1985. A social media brand that frames
Hezbollah’s leader in a favorable light may violate France’s rules against
apology for terrorism. It is unclear if Torche360 is violating this law or any
relevant French law; however, this deserves scrutiny due to Torche360’s
favorable post about Nasrallah, in addition to the fact that employees who work
at Blue House Films (which appears to run Torche360) have historical ties to
Hezbollah-aligned and Hezbollah-owned media outlets.
The French people should also know that a media brand with ties to a
pro-Hezbollah media ecosystem is trying to shape narratives surrounding the
ongoing protests in their country.
**Max Lesser is a senior analyst on emerging threats at the Center on Cyber and
Technology Innovation (CCTI) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
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 and @FDD_CCTI.
Follow Ahmad on X @AhmadA_Sharawi. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan
research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on November 05-06/2026
(Some of the News reports below are
translated from Arabic by AI)
Democratic 'Blue Wave' Swept Through
State Capitals across US
Asharq Al Awsat/November 05/2026
The blue wave Democrats rode to retake control of the US Congress this week
extended into state-level races, as the party won majorities in a number of
legislatures previously held by Republicans. Democrats secured new trifectas --
control of both chambers of the legislature and the governor's seat -- in at
least five states in Tuesday's midterms, flipping at least 11 state legislative
chambers from Republican control, according to data from NGO State Navigate late
Wednesday. The victories mean the party will have the power to lead policy
decisions on everything from health care to taxation in states such as Texas and
Georgia, where they had long taken a backseat. "Democrats are on track to have
their largest net gain in state legislative seats in the 21st century," Chaz
Nuttycombe, State Navigate's executive director, told AFP. "It's not a blue
wave; it's a blue cataclysm." Among the most striking results are in Texas,
where Democrats wrested the majority in the state's lower chamber from
Republicans for the first time since 2002 while also winning the governorship.
In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms turned the governor's seat blue for the first
time in more than two decades, and Democrats similarly flipped control of the
legislature's lower chamber.
Far from Washington gridlock -
President Donald Trump has vowed to use his veto powers to reject legislation
from the incoming Democratic Congress, a move that could lead to gridlock at the
national level. Experts have suggested the state-level gains could circumvent
that issue. Democrats this week won complete control of government in five
states -- Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Nevada -- and were on
the verge of doing the same in Arizona as of early Thursday. "They won't have to
be frustrated by vetoes and Senate filibusters, which are no doubt going to
frustrate Democrats at the national level," said Thad Kousser, a professor at
the University of California, San Diego, referring to the state Democratic
trifectas. The victories will allow Democrats the freedom to legislate on
prominent policy points. Kousser noted that many of the most pressing issues in
voters' lives are now decided at the state level, referencing the 2022 Supreme
Court decision ending federal abortion protections and giving states the power
to dictate their own abortion laws. Data centers and artificial intelligence
have also emerged as top issues as the Trump administration has shied away from
regulatory action.
In Texas, Democratic Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned on tighter
regulations for AI data centers. "The key issues that matter most for Americans'
daily lives are things like education, criminal justice and medical care, and
those policies are primarily made by states," Kousser said.
Nuttycombe of State Navigate put it this way: "State governments are much more
efficient than Congress and can actually get things done." "Some of these states
haven't had Democratic trifectas in decades; the legislators will feel they have
a lot of catching up to do."
Trump Says Hegseth Doing 'a Very Good Job' as Questions
Swirl about His Future
Asharq Al Awsat/November 05/2026
US President Donald Trump backed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, a
day after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in midterm
elections that reflected voter anger over the Iran war. Asked whether he was
considering replacing Hegseth, whom he has described as a champion of the war,
Trump told reporters: "No, I think he's doing a very good job."The response
contrasted with then-President George Bush, who fired Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld the morning after the 2006 midterm elections, when voter discontent
over the Iraq war helped Democrats win control of Congress. But sources said
Trump could still replace Hegseth as Republicans assess their losses. One Trump
adviser said Hegseth "could be on the chopping block" because of the war.
"Someone is going to get blamed for this and you know it's not going to be him
(Trump)," the adviser said. Trump has described Hegseth as a key proponent of
the unpopular conflict, saying on March 23: "Pete, I think you were the first
one to speak up, and you said, 'Let's do it, because you can't let them have a
nuclear weapon.'"On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance publicly questioned
whether the Iran war was worth it and said it cost Republicans control of
Congress. Asked for comment, the White House referred Reuters to Trump's public
remarks on Hegseth. The Defense Department said Hegseth was "100 percent
committed" to leading the Pentagon until the end of Trump's term, which ends on
Jan. 20, 2029.
IMPEACHMENT THREAT
Hegseth has been a polarizing figure in American politics and has made enemies
even with his own Republican Party. One Republican lawmaker, US Representative
Thomas Massie, even filed articles of impeachment against him earlier this year,
accusing him of abusing his office by launching hostilities against Iran without
approval by Congress. Republican US Senator Thom Tillis told CBS news on Tuesday
night that Hegseth has "a reckoning" coming and his strained relationship with
lawmakers was undermining the Trump administration's push for a $1.5 trillion
defense spending package in Congress.
"I think after the election, we need to determine whether or not he's the best
person to bring those needs to Congress if he wants something done before the
end of this Congress, which is only 60 days away," Tillis said as the midterm
results came in. Democrats have promised to investigate Hegseth and his
handling of the Pentagon, and aides say that could include everything from his
handling of the Iran war to his purges of top military officers including the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He could also face scrutiny over his
Ukraine policy and US military strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats in
Latin American waters, which some Democrats say could amount to war crimes. At
times, the conflict between Hegseth and members of Congress has become personal.
Last year, Hegseth sought to prosecute Democratic US Senator Mark Kelly after he
and five other Democrats in Congress with backgrounds in the military and
intelligence urged US troops to refuse illegal orders.
Hegseth accused them of sedition.
Representative Adam Smith, the Democrat who is expected to lead the House Armed
Services Committee next year, promised vigorous oversight on everything from the
Iran war to what he called the erosion of the "apolitical foundation of the
armed forces."A source familiar with the matter said rancor on Capitol Hill
over Hegseth has featured in White House discussions about potential
replacements for him, saying there would be a need to have someone in the job
who could distance themselves from events under Democratic scrutiny. Chief
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth would continue to drive Trump's
agenda and that the Pentagon "has followed the law." "Secretary Hegseth will not
back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or
launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists," Parnell said.
TENNESSEE SENATE SEAT?
One long-rumored possibility for Hegseth would be filling the Senate seat that
will be vacated by Senator Marsha Blackburn, who was elected on Tuesday to
become Tennessee's next governor starting in January. She has four years left in
her term, and Hegseth, a Tennessee resident who voted there on Tuesday, could be
appointed to the position, without having to run for election. Asked whether he
wanted Hegseth to fill Blackburn's seat, Trump said: "Well, I think, I think
he's doing a very good job, and I actually think he'd be very popular if he did
that.""But I haven't heard that at all," Trump told reporters. Trump has
regularly praised Hegseth publicly, and has given the former Army National Guard
soldier significant leeway as he sought to reshape the Pentagon. But last month
Trump publicly split with Hegseth by pulling the plug on his plans to livestream
the Army's firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. Many fellow
Republicans, along with religious leaders and international observers, raised
objections to the plan. Defense officials privately expressed relief that the
livestreaming would not go forward.
Iran Says Two Tankers and Tugboat Caught Fire in Hormuz
Asharq Al Awsat/November 05/2026
Two oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's
Revolutionary Guards said, according to local media on Thursday. Since the
outbreak of the Iran war on February 28, Tehran has severely restricted traffic
through the strategic waterway, which normally carries about one-fifth of global
oil consumption. The United States has in response imposed a blockade on Iranian
ports and helped tankers travel the strait. "Last night, in two separate
incidents, a large oil tanker attempting to pass through the illegal passageway
south of the Strait of Hormuz suffered a fire after striking a mine and was
brought to a halt," the Guards told the Fars news agency. "Another supertanker
was halted by a massive fire while exiting the eastern Strait of Hormuz. A
tugboat that had approached the supertanker to extinguish the fire also caught
fire." Fars also reported the IRGC navy's electronic warfare unit had taken
control of two LUCAS drones, a US-developed model short for Low-cost Uncrewed
Combat Attack System.
Race for 2028 Heats Up after US Midterms Firestorm
Asharq Al Awsat/November 05/2026
President Donald Trump's stunning midterms defeat by the Democrats has upended
another US election -- the race to replace him in the White House in 2028. The
crushing defeat for the Republicans is particularly stinging for Vice President
JD Vance, who had been the frontrunner but now risks being seen as tied to his
lame-duck boss. But the midterms are a potential launchpad for rising Democratic
stars like Georgia senator Jon Ossoff, whose youthful vibe has already drawn
comparisons to former president Barack Obama.
Republicans in turmoil -
The MAGA coalition that shot Trump to power in 2016 and 2024 effectively
collapsed in Tuesday's midterms, leaving any presumptive Republican heir with a
mountain to climb. Long seen as the odds-on favorite for the Republican
nomination in 2028, Vance is the most obvious victim after hitching his wagon to
Trump throughout the midterms campaigns with rallies in swing states. The
ambitious 42-year-old quickly tried to distance himself from the electoral
disaster, blaming it on Trump's unpopular war on Iran in a long thesis posted on
X on Wednesday. But voters are likely to reject his attempts to disown Trump.
It's a familiar problem for US vice presidents. Former Democratic candidate and
vice president Kamala Harris suffered from a similar problem in 2024 when she
said that "there's not a thing that comes to mind" when asked how she'd
differentiate herself from Joe Biden.
"The bad news for Vance is that sitting vice presidents seldom win the
presidency," James Lindsay of the Council for Foreign Relations, said. Trump's
Secretary of State Marco Rubio's name has also been bandied about. Rubio, 55,
has kept a far lower profile during the midterms but any top official in Trump's
administration will struggle to wash their hands of the Iran war. The
Republicans' midterm disaster could, however, be a boost for other possible
candidates. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 48, who ran against Trump for the
Republican nomination in 2024, has suddenly become very vocal.
He described the Democratic sweep as "the political equivalent of a meteor
strike" -- and pointed out that it was only in his own state that Republicans
held them off. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, 55, has also left the door open, having
run against Trump in 2016 -- although his chances may have been harmed by the
Democrats' stunning senate and governor wins in the midterms in his state.
Democrats on a high -
The Democratic field is crowded but the midterms have given some likely
candidates a boost.
Ossoff's reelection as Georgia Senator has fueled speculation about a 2028 run
by a telegenic politician who has already gained attention for mocking Trump's
relationship with a young staffer. The 39-year-old has said that he has "zero
interest in running for president" but his swiftly-declared win in Georgia --
and his victory speech -- have bolstered his status in the party. Before the
midterms Kamala Harris, 62, had been the favorite for the nomination, but there
are many in the party who would prefer to have someone without a losing track
record.Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, 53, who was interviewed by Harris to
be her running mate in 2024, had a good night on Tuesday as he stormed back to
reelection in the key battleground state. Outgoing California Governor Gavin
Newsom, 59, is another big name who has repeatedly taken on Trump. He predicted
in an interview with AFP in September Trump's presidency "as we know it would be
over after the midterms. But Newsom, like Harris, may be seen as more of an old
guard figure in a party that is looking to its rising stars. A prominent but
potentially divisive choice would be left-wing New York Congresswoman Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, who said in September that she was weighing a run, musing about
whether a Latina could win in a country that rejected female nominees in 2016
and 2024. Other possible contenders include former Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel,
JB Pritzker, the billionaire Illinois governor who set out a lengthy national
agenda after winning a third term on Tuesday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear,
and Arizona senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly.
Democratic Congress Could Test Decades of US Support for Israel
Asharq Al-Awsat/November 05/2026
Democrats’ takeover of Congress and growing Republican unease over Israel could
trigger the biggest reassessment of US support for its closest Middle East ally
in decades, after an election shaped in part by anger over the Iran war.
Democrats won both the Senate and House in Tuesday’s midterms. Many winning
candidates were progressives who campaigned against military aid to Israel and
the US-Israeli war on Iran, Reuters said. Israel’s campaign in Gaza and Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s embrace of President Donald Trump and other
Republicans had already strained decades of bipartisan support for Israel.
Democratic control could bring greater scrutiny of military aid and West Bank
violence, along with hearings and challenges to Trump nominees, although the
president’s veto limits the party’s ability to force major policy changes. One
successful progressive was Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, the first Muslim elected
to the US Senate despite Republican attempts to win over Jewish voters who might
have been uncomfortable with his faith and his criticism of Israel. There were
also signs that Republicans might reexamine their party's traditional support
for Israel. Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday blamed the election rout on
the war against Iran and identified Israel as an issue for Republicans. He
said in a social media post that one pollster identified four actions that would
bring disgruntled Trump voters back: "1) End the war 2) Focus on cost of
living/inflation 3) Put America First 4) Change our relationship to Israel."
Trump announced in a Fox News interview on Tuesday that he had made a deal with
Netanyahu that Washington would end annual security assistance to Israel.
However, it was not immediately clear that he had the legal authority to stop
the billions of dollars in military assistance Washington sends Israel each
year. Policy toward Israel has emerged as a generational divide in US politics.
Opinion polls show younger voters, including some Republicans, feel the country
has been too supportive of Israel and insufficiently supportive of residents of
the Palestinian territories.
SENTIMENT SHIFTING
Congressional sentiment had already been shifting. In September, 46 of the 47
members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted for a resolution to force Trump's
administration to report to Congress on increasing violence against
Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Republicans blocked the
measure, but the near-unanimous Democratic vote was a sharp departure from
decades of reliable bipartisan backing for Israel. Democrats will likely focus
again on West Bank violence. "We need to make sure that we apply our laws and
international law and our policies uniformly across the board when it comes to
the actions of countries. There should not be an Israel exception," said
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who has led attempts to put
human rights conditions on Israel aid. Democrats’ power remains limited,
however. Trump promised to be “Mr. Veto,” and they are unlikely to muster the
two-thirds majorities needed to override his vetoes if the president refuses to
sign their bills. Still, there might be enough resistance to sending US tax
dollars abroad, and anger over the Iran war, for the "America First" wing of the
Republican Party to also push back. The election result could see "weird
bedfellows of left and right come together in condemnation of Israel," said
Price Floyd, a former US official and senior adviser with Argyll Strategy, a
London-based strategic communications firm.
MAKING NOISE
Majorities also mean Democrats can summon administration officials to public
hearings, a rarity under Trump's Republicans. "What Congress can do is they can
make ... a lot of noise. They can threaten to hold up nominees. They can create
lots of questions about various assistance deals and force the president to do
waivers (if he lifts sanctions)," said William Wechsler, senior director of
Middle East programs at the Atlantic Council. Opinion polls showed the Iran war
was a top election issue. Many Americans blamed higher prices – especially for
gasoline – on the conflict Trump began in February.
Jonathan Schanzer, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies think tank, which advocates for a strong US-Israel alliance, said
Israel's changing leadership could change the "mood music" of dealings between
the two countries. Netanyahu lost his governing majority in an October 27
Israeli election, but denied opponents a clear path to unseat him. Negotiations
to form a new government are expected to be protracted. A new Israeli
government, particularly one less closely tied to Republicans, could engage in a
more cooperative way with Democrats, Schanzer said.
"Nothing is going to change in the United States until January when Congress
takes their seats and by then, there may be a new Israeli government that would
also have an impact on this," Schanzer said.
Israel's main Arab list says will back Eisenkot to form government
Agence France Presse/November 05/2026
Israel's largest Arab party grouping, the Joint List, said Thursday it would
recommend opposition bloc leader Gadi Eisenkot for the formation of a new
government after last week's election. "The Joint List announced today,
Thursday, that it will inform the President of the State, Isaac Herzog, this
evening of its decision to recommend that Gadi Eisenkot be tasked with forming
the government," the list said in a statement. Arab-majority lists won an
unprecedented 19 parliamentary seats in the election out of 120, making them
potential kingmakers in Israel's next government.
Arab Parties Extend a Hand to Try and Topple Netanyahu, but Challenges Remain
Asharq Al Awsat/November 05/2026
A veteran Arab lawmaker in Israel says his bloc is willing to break with decades
of precedent and join forces with Jewish-led parties in a shared bid to end
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's long rule. “We want to do things that we
did not do in the past in order to remove this criminal government,” Ahmad Tibi,
a senior member of the Arab Joint List, told The Associated Press. But any such
partnership could be politically fraught for both sides. For the Joint List, it
would mean backing a government unlikely to end Israel’s wars or curb settlement
expansion in the occupied West Bank. For Netanyahu’s opponents, it would mean
aligning with parties that not only criticize Israeli policies, but reject its
identity as a Jewish state. After historic voter turnout delivered Arab-led
parties a record share in Israel's parliament, Tibi said the Joint List is
willing to support an anti-Netanyahu government without joining it. That could
reassure Jewish-led factions that view them with suspicion and satisfy their own
constituents. It would still give the Joint List major influence. Only one Arab
party has ever served in an Israeli government, in 2021. But that party, Ra’am,
is much more conciliatory than the Joint List and held fewer seats. Ra’am is
willing to join another anti-Netanyahu government as a partner, but any such
arrangement would still need the support of the Joint List. If the Jewish-led
parties reject such a partnership, then it would prove Israel is “an ethnocracy,
not an absolute democracy for all citizens,” Tibi said. The Joint List's
positions put it at odds with most Israelis. Most of the Palestinian population
in what is now Israel fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding its
creation. Those who remained were granted citizenship, including the right to
vote, and today they and their descendants make up some 20% of the population.
Many Jewish Israelis have historically viewed Arab-led political parties with
suspicion. That distrust has been reinforced by lawmakers who have defended or
praised Israel's enemies. The Joint List, a coalition of three left-wing and
nationalist parties, rejects what it refers to as the “racist Zionist consensus”
in Israel. It calls for partnering with Jewish Israelis who support a
Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories
occupied in the 1967 Mideast war. It rejects Israel’s identity as a Jewish
state, calling for equal rights for all its citizens.
Many Jewish Israelis see that as support for the country’s enemies at a time of
war. Netanyahu has encouraged such sentiments, lodging unproven accusations of
electoral fraud against the Arab-led parties and portraying them as a threat to
national security. A dilemma for Netanyahu's opponents That creates a dilemma
for Netanyahu’s main opponents, led by former general Gadi Eisenkot.
In the campaign, they portrayed Netanyahu as a corrupt leader who failed to
prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and then blocked a public inquiry into it. They
cast the election in existential terms, saying Netanyahu’s far-right government
threatened Israel’s democratic institutions.
They won 48 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared to 53 for Netanyahu’s
coalition. The Joint List won 11 seats and Ra’am won 8, making them crucial to
forming an anti-Netanyahu majority.
The Joint List could help an anti-Netanyahu bloc take power by voting for it or
by abstaining to lower the threshold needed for a majority. Either arrangement
could allow opposition parties to form a government without requiring the Joint
List to become part of their administration. Joining could put its lawmakers in
the uncomfortable position of being part of a government waging wars in Gaza and
Lebanon that they oppose. Some of Eisenkot’s allies welcome Arab support while
others are opposed, pointing to past statements by Joint List leaders they argue
deny Israel’s legitimacy or support its enemies. Tibi said he was under no
illusions that a partnership with Netanyahu’s opponents would end the wars or
bring about a Palestinian state. But he said a “repair government” would improve
the lives of Palestinian citizens, by ending Netanyahu’s rule and also
potentially addressing local issues like a wave of violent crime in Arab
communities. It's unclear what conditions would be required Eisenkot has said
Arab-led parties must meet certain conditions in any partnership, including
calling Hamas a terrorist group that needs to be destroyed. Tibi said the
conditions do not apply to parties like the Joint List that want to provide
outside support. The Joint List and Ra’am have denounced Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023,
attack and any violence against civilians. But they have refused to brand Hamas
a terrorist group or call for its destruction, saying that doing so would
justify Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza. Tibi said both the Oct.
7 attack and Israel’s response to it were immoral. The veteran lawmaker has long
been a lightning rod for right-wing attacks on Arab parties. During Israel’s
2019 elections, Netanyahu, popularly known as Bibi, campaigned on the slogan
“Bibi or Tibi?” to warn voters that opposing him meant relying on Arab-led
parties to form a government. Tibi said Tuesday that the election result had
turned the slogan on its head. “When he said ‘Bibi or Tibi,’ he incited against
Arabs,” he said. “Now, it’s ‘Tibi,’ because Arab voters went in a very massive
way to take part in the elections. It’s definitely our story this time.”
Netanyahu loses religious party's support as rival tipped to form government
Agence France Presse/November 05/2026
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish party long aligned with Benjamin Netanyahu declined on
Thursday to recommend him to stay as Israel's prime minister, as signs grew that
rival Gadi Eisenkot will have the first chance to form a government. President
Isaac Herzog was holding a second day of consultations with political parties
after the October 27 election, in which neither Netanyahu -- a polarizing
right-winger who has led Israel through three years of war -- nor Eisenkot
secured enough votes for a majority. United Torah Judaism, which backed
Netanyahu after the previous five elections, in its meeting with Herzog declined
to recommend Netanyahu again as prime minister, although it also did not side
with Eisenkot. The party informed Herzog "that it has decided not to recommend
any member of Knesset to form a government," the president's office said in a
statement, referring to the 120-member parliament in which United Torah Judaism
has won seven seats. The party, which represents ultra-Orthodox Jews of
Ashkenazi origin, who mostly hail from or have roots in Europe, as well as Shas,
which represents the same community but of Sephardic, or mostly Middle Eastern
and North African descent, have both been backed by Netanyahu as they push to
maintain the exemption from military service for religious students. Netanyahu
has preserved the exemption but stopped short of enshrining it in law, in the
face of major resentment from many other Israelis as reservists serve multiple
tours due to the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. "In whatever government is next
formed, our immediate item is sorting out the status of Torah students," United
Torah Judaism lawmaker Isaac Pindrus said. Eisenkot, a former military chief
seeking to unite the center and center-right, has been adamant about closing
exemptions to military service, with some of his opposition allies harshly
criticizing the ultra-Orthodox as self-serving. Observers say United Torah
Judaism's approach may be aimed more at punishing Netanyahu and showing that
their votes cannot be taken for granted, while they could still serve in a
government if he were to form one. Herzog will meet representatives of the major
parties later on Thursday before tasking one lawmaker with forming a government.
He generally bases his decision on which person receives the most party
recommendations, making it likely he will ask Eisenkot. Once Herzog gives the
mandate, that lawmaker will have 28 days to form a government, with a potential
14-day extension. If the lawmaker fails, Herzog will then task someone else.
Netanyahu's bloc -- including United Torah Judaism -- has 53 seats in the new
parliament, as opposed to 48 for Eisenkot's bloc. Israeli-Arab parties soared in
strength on the back of anger over Netanyahu's hard-right government, winning 19
seats. Eisenkot could form a government with the Arab parties but would risk
losing support from some in the opposition.
Gaza Welcomes US Election Results With Reservations
Gaza: Asharq Al Awsat/November 05/2026
Political factions in Gaza watched the US midterm elections as closely as
Israel's, but were divided over what the results could mean for Palestinians.
Some welcomed the Republicans' loss of their majorities in both the House of
Representatives and Senate under President Donald Trump as a victory for the
Palestinian cause. Others were more cautious, arguing that the results would do
little to ease the crises gripping the war-battered enclave. Neither Fatah nor
Hamas, nor any other Palestinian faction in Gaza, publicly commented on the US
congressional midterm results. But their affiliated media outlets closely
tracked the vote, highlighting the success of candidates of Arab and Muslim
descent. Among them was Dr. Adam Hamawy, who won a House seat representing New
Jersey after having worked in Gaza during the Israeli war that followed the Oct.
7, 2023, attacks. Munther al-Hayek, Fatah's spokesman in Gaza, told Asharq Al-Awsat
that the war had featured prominently in the midterm campaigns and that the
current US administration's stance on the Palestinian territories had cost
Republicans votes. "The current US administration's negative positions toward
the situation in the Palestinian territories influenced voters, contributing to
the Republicans' clear defeat," Hayek said. "Everyone who supported Palestine
and stood by its people, particularly Gaza, whose plight featured in most
campaign speeches by its supporters, achieved clearly positive results," he
added. Hamas leaders, including spokesman Hazem Qassem, took a more guarded
approach, declining to comment officially. In October 2025, Hamas accepted a
Trump-proposed plan to end the Gaza war. Israel, however, has yet to withdraw
from the positions it occupies in the enclave as required under the agreement
and continues to carry out targeted killings of Hamas members. A senior Hamas
official based in Turkey, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity,
played down expectations of any meaningful shift. "The election results will
change nothing fundamental for Palestinians, particularly Gaza residents, but
could offer some hope of curbing the overwhelming US support for Israel's
attacks on the enclave," the official said. He also cautioned against
overlooking the Democrats' role in the war. "We must remember that the
Democratic Party, represented by former President Joe Biden's administration,
was the first to support the ongoing war and was unable to impose any solutions
on Benjamin Netanyahu's government, unlike Trump, who later managed to do so
despite his unwavering support for Israel," he said. For many ordinary
Palestinians in Gaza, the distinction between Republicans and Democrats is
narrow, according to Gaza-based writer and political analyst Mustafa Ibrahim.
"Most Palestinians outside the political factions, particularly in Gaza, believe
both parties support Israeli policies, with only minor differences on certain
issues," Ibrahim told Asharq Al-Awsat. He said it was too early to gauge the
elections' impact on Gaza, noting that newly elected lawmakers would not be
sworn in or take office for another two months. In the meantime, Ibrahim said,
Trump could press Israel to accelerate measures sought by the Board of Peace in
Gaza, including the entry of the national committee tasked with administering
the enclave. But he saw little prospect of major progress, citing Israel's
political deadlock following its own elections. Ibrahim also doubted that
Democratic lawmakers could exert significant influence, drive rapid change, or
deliver major breakthroughs in US policy toward the Palestinian cause.
Egypt Offers Israel Fresh Assurances over Sinai Development Projects
Cairo: Ahmad Jamal/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 05/2026
Egypt issued fresh assurances to Israel over its development projects in the
Sinai Peninsula, amid Israeli media reports expressing concern about the
projects. Experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt's reassurances were intended
to underscore that developing Sinai was an irreversible national security
priority, and that Cairo would not be swayed by Israeli claims or reservations,
stressing that its development plans were an entirely domestic matter. Egyptian
Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir said the 500-km Arish-Taba railway was
primarily a development project, dismissing concerns over its purpose. He said
the railway, along with plans to build villages and factories, would encourage
Egyptians to settle in Sinai, describing this as essential to national security.
Israeli media reports have raised concerns about the railway's potential
"strategic and military implications", arguing that it could facilitate the
rapid movement of large quantities of equipment, goods and personnel across the
peninsula. Al-Wazir, speaking during a visit to North Sinai, said the railway
was intended to support peaceful development and settlement, adding that there
was no reason for concern. The project forms part of a wider transport network
linking the Suez Canal cities with Sinai, connecting the ports of Arish and Taba
through railways, highways and logistics zones. Military and strategic expert
Major General Ayman Abdel Mohsen said the minister's remarks highlighted the
role of development in national security, arguing that securing Sinai went
beyond military measures and required encouraging people to settle there. He
told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt would press ahead with infrastructure projects
in Sinai regardless of Israeli objections, rejecting concerns raised in Israeli
media over the railway and logistics corridors. Major General Adel al-Omda, an
adviser at the Military Academy for Postgraduate and Strategic Studies, said the
remarks followed Israeli statements about Sinai and reflected Egypt's commitment
to implementing its development and security plans. He said Egypt aimed to
settle between three million and eight million people in the peninsula by 2030.
Al-Omda said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had outlined a three-pronged plan to
develop and secure Sinai, covering security, development and public awareness.
He said security operations had been carried out, while new cities, including
New Rafah, New Ismailia and New Port Said, had been built in and around the
peninsula and connected through road and transport networks. Awareness
campaigns, lectures, and seminars were also being held in Sinai. Egypt has
continued to pursue development projects across the peninsula, with the
government reporting significant progress in recent years. In late 2023, Prime
Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the government had spent more than 600 billion
Egyptian pounds ($11.6 billion) on Sinai development over the previous decade,
funding projects in infrastructure, roads, housing, water and tunnels.
Egypt, US Sign Strategic Objective Agreement to Expand Cooperation
Egypt: Fathiya al-Dakhakhni/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 05/2026
Egypt and the United States signed a Strategic Objective Framework Agreement on
Enhancing Mutual Prosperity on Wednesday, aimed at expanding cooperation across
several sectors, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. Egyptian Foreign
Minister Badr Abdelatty attended the signing ceremony alongside the ministers of
finance, supply and internal trade, and higher education and scientific
research. The agreement was signed by Egypt’s Deputy Foreign Minister for
International Cooperation, Dr. Samar El-Ahdal, and US Chargé d’Affaires in Cairo
Robert Silverman. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ambassador Nader Zaki said the
framework agreement aims to strengthen cooperation with the United States to
achieve tangible economic growth in Egypt. He explained that its objectives
include expanding cooperation in key sectors and adopting US institutional and
technological innovations to improve the efficiency of Egypt’s water, energy and
infrastructure systems. The agreement also seeks to modernize education,
healthcare and governance, develop the skills of Egyptian professionals and
create more jobs, particularly in areas of shared strategic interest such as
water management, artificial intelligence and energy. Another objective is to
strengthen Egypt’s food security through science-based agriculture. The signing
comes amid repeated statements by both sides emphasizing the strategic nature of
relations between Cairo and Washington and their longstanding ties. Former US
Ambassador David Satterfield identified three main reasons behind Washington’s
strategic view of Egypt: preserving the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, ensuring
access to and transit through the Suez Canal, and maintaining stability within
Egypt itself. Satterfield told Asharq Al-Awsat that the peace treaty “remains,
even in light of the Abraham Accords, the cornerstone and fundamental pillar of
stability and peace in the broader Middle East.”He explained that the United
States considers its engagement with and support for Egypt vital to preserving
the treaty. “Egypt’s geographical location gives it particular importance to the
United States because of the Suez Canal,” he added. A Congressional Research
Service report updated on February 25, 2026, supports this assessment, linking
Egypt’s importance to US national security to its geographical position,
population and diplomatic influence. The report notes that facilitating the
passage of US naval vessels through the Suez Canal provides Washington with a
significant advantage when it needs to deploy forces rapidly to the Gulf and
Indian Ocean. US interests, however, extend beyond the canal and the peace
treaty. Satterfield warned that instability in Egypt, whether driven by economic
or political factors or both, “would threaten not only US interests but those of
the broader Middle East.”In his assessment, Egypt’s stability is therefore a
strategic interest in its own right, rather than merely a desired outcome of
bilateral cooperation. Ben Fishman, a researcher at the Washington Institute for
Near East Policy and former director for North Africa at the US National
Security Council, agreed. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the United States
maintains a longstanding strategic relationship and strong military partnership
with Egypt, while the peace agreement with Israel “remains a pillar of regional
stability.”The two countries’ interests also converge in Gaza. Washington needs
a regional partner to help negotiate and implement security arrangements, while
Cairo requires US cooperation to support a resolution to a crisis affecting its
borders and security. The Congressional Research Service notes that Egypt played
a key role, alongside other partners, in mediating the October 2025 Gaza
ceasefire and hosted the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in support of the agreement.
Despite the importance of their relationship, Cairo and Washington do not agree
on every issue. Fishman explained that US and Egyptian interests converge in
some conflicts and diverge in others, which is natural in a relationship based
on mutual interests. Satterfield echoed that assessment, stressing that such
differences do not undermine the strategic nature of bilateral ties.
“Disagreements also exist between the United States and NATO countries, but they
do not diminish the fact that both sides view the relationship as strategic,” he
said. “That is the nature of international relations.”In a related development,
Abdelatty discussed the latest regional developments with Massad Boulos, senior
adviser to the US president for Arab and African affairs, during a telephone
call on Wednesday. According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman, the
discussion addressed intensive efforts to promote de-escalation. Abdelatty
stressed “the importance of all parties showing the necessary flexibility to
reduce tensions and allow a return to the political track, rather than moving
toward a resumption of military operations, whose grave dangers to the region
and the world President Sisi has warned against.”The call also covered “the need
to maintain full support for efforts to unify the Libyan government in a way
that achieves the security and stability sought by the Libyan people.”The two
officials also discussed the situation in Sudan, emphasizing the importance of
ending the ongoing war and launching a Sudanese-owned political process.
Iraqi Investigation Accuses Armed Factions of Manipulating Airport Contracts
Baghdad: Hamza Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 05/2026
An Iraqi official source has disclosed suspected irregularities in airport
contracts that may have benefited armed groups operating outside the law.
Separately, Kataib Hezbollah accused authorities in Baghdad of selling oil at
discounted prices, while an informed source said Iraq had been forced to do so
because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its lack of an oil tanker
fleet. The official source told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Wednesday that
the Federal Commission of Integrity was scrutinizing contracts involving the
Ministry of Transport and airports and had detected suspected manipulation
linked to the financing of armed groups. Some contracts had been manipulated
“for the economic benefit of armed groups operating outside the law,” the source
added. The official did not identify the groups involved, explain the nature of
the alleged manipulation or specify how much money was suspected of being
directed to them. The investigation comes amid growing questions about the
relationship between the political influence of armed factions and their
economic interests, as pressure continues on the Iraqi government to bring all
weapons under state control. The controversy over transport and airport
contracts in Iraq recalls the experience of Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International
Airport, where Hezbollah’s influence within the airport’s security and
administrative institutions has raised questions about the state’s ability to
maintain effective oversight of vital facilities. In Iraq, the influence of
armed factions extends beyond their military presence. Groups linked to them
hold political roles and positions within state institutions, while
investigations into government contracts have raised questions about the extent
to which these factions benefit from state resources and public spending.
Escalation Over State Control of Weapons
The disclosure of the investigation came amid escalating tensions between Iraq’s
Kataib Hezbollah and the government and the Coordination Framework. The group is
demanding the release of a draft agreement that it says the so-called “Islamic
Resistance” reached with a Framework committee on placing weapons under state
control. An account on X under the name Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, whose holder
identifies himself as a security official in Kataib Hezbollah, said the armed
factions were still awaiting a copy of the agreement. He added that they had
suspended all military operations inside Iraq until further notice. Baghdad
authorities had not previously announced receiving a copy of any agreement
concluded by the factions. However, spokespeople for Shiite parties had
disclosed that the groups were negotiating with a four-member committee from the
Coordination Framework to reach an agreement on their weapons. Al-Assaf
criticized the government’s performance, accusing it of making promises it had
failed to fulfill. He also questioned oil sales contracts with a regional
company, asking whether Coordination Framework members approved of selling oil
at discounted prices and sharing the profits. He claimed the profits exceeded
4.5 trillion Iraqi dinars a month, without providing details or evidence to
support the figure. No comment could be obtained from the country’s relevant
energy authorities. An informed political source, however, explained that Iraq
was selling oil shipments at discounted prices because of “the shipping crisis
in the Strait of Hormuz, the transport and transit risks borne by buyers, and
the pressure facing the country because it does not have its own tanker
fleet.”The escalation followed the failure to convene a regular Coordination
Framework meeting on Sunday evening because several members were absent, amid
continuing disagreements over the allocation of positions and ministerial
portfolios in PM Ali al-Zaidi’s government. Political researcher Falah al-Mishal
attributed Kataib Hezbollah’s escalation to several factors, including the
Coordination Framework’s approval of measures to close border crossings with
Iran, pressure to bring factional weapons under state control, and objections to
certain government foreign policy measures. Al-Mishal told Asharq Al-Awsat that
Iraq’s efforts to develop relations with Syria and Jordan, expand ties with the
Arab world and honor its agreements with the United States had led Kataib
Hezbollah to feel that the Coordination Framework, once its ally, had abandoned
its previous commitments and pledges.
Divisions Within the Shiite Camp
Tensions have not been confined to Kataib Hezbollah. Asaib Ahl al-Haq, led by
Qais al-Khazali, also criticized armed factions refusing to surrender their
weapons, without naming them. Ahmed al-Moussawi, a senior Asaib Ahl al-Haq
figure and member of parliament, told the movement’s Al-Ahd television channel
that these factions would produce nothing more than “a resistance with 10
rockets.”Al-Moussawi questioned whom the factions were resisting, adding that
those refusing to surrender their weapons were attacking Asaib Ahl al-Haq but
were, in his words, “not worth responding to.”The exchange of criticism reflects
widening divisions within the Shiite political camp, at a time when the
Coordination Framework had been expected to consolidate its position following
the completion of the government formation process. Instead, competition over
positions and ministerial portfolios, coupled with conflicting interests among
its members, has reignited disputes within the alliance and raised questions
about its ability to coordinate the positions of armed factions. Despite the
escalating exchanges, security and political affairs expert Fadel Abu Ragheef
does not necessarily believe efforts to bring weapons under state control are
losing momentum. Abu Ragheef told Asharq Al-Awsat that the issue “remains on the
table as long as there is a final deadline extending into next year.”He added
that “US statements on bringing weapons under state control are increasing
pressure on the Iraqi public and putting the government in a difficult
position.” Abu Ragheef also pointed to “cooperation from some factions on this
issue, including parties that had previously refused to cooperate,” but warned
that the outbreak of a regional war could change the situation.
Multiple flights in Europe diverted because of bomb threats after earlier hoaxes
Associated Press/November 05/2026
Multiple flights in Europe made emergency landings on Thursday after being
diverted because of bomb threats, authorities said. The incidents followed hoax
bomb threats earlier this week that prompted searches, diversions and in one
case a military escort. More than a dozen flights from cities including
Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw were confirmed to have
been targeted with bomb threats, most diverted to other airports for emergency
landings while others landed safely at their destinations. So far inspections
have not turned up hazardous or suspicious materials. Such threats are not new,
but the latest incidents come at a time of increased geopolitical tensions and
other disruptions, like attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems, drone
incursions in Europe and mysterious triggers to alert apps. Authorities have
warned that hybrid threats abound.
Czech police said searches of another four planes that landed in Prague after
being targeted by bomb threats were clear. They have not given details on where
the flights originated. Earlier, a flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a
military air base in western France because of a bomb threat, the French prime
minister's office said. The flight landed safely at the base in Evreux in
Normandy, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's office said. All 151 passengers and
six crew members were safe and military bomb disposal teams were examining the
plane, the office said. It added that it was following the situation in real
time. No other information was immediately released.
Authorities report 'abstract threats' to several airports
A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels landed at its destination,
where inspections found no hazardous or suspicious items, the airline said. A
Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest landed safely in Bucharest following a
bomb threat, airport spokesman Teo Postelnicu said.
A Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome landed safely at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci
airport at around 9:30 a.m., escorted by Italian air force fighter jets,
according to an airport official with knowledge of the situation. The official
spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak
publicly. An emailed bomb threat had been received, and security clearance
procedures by police bomb disposal experts were completed, with no explosives
found, the official said. A flight to Warsaw landed in Vienna following a mail
to Polish authorities containing an abstract threat, said Stefan Loidl, a police
spokesperson in Lower Austria province. Nothing was found and the plane
continued to Warsaw. He said there was also an abstract threat to Vienna Airport
concerning four other flights, which he declined to identify, but operations
were not disrupted. Polish authorities checked a LOT flight that was about to
depart from Warsaw to Paris on Thursday morning after a threat was reported at
Warsaw's Chopin Airport, said airport spokesman Piotr Rudzki. No threat was
ultimately identified. One runway at Chopin airport was temporarily closed while
authorities carried out standard security procedures. Three Ryanair flights
bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, had to make emergency landings because of bomb
threats on board. Two of the flights, one from Copenhagen, Denmark, and the
other from Madrid, landed safely at Sofia's Vasil Levski Airport, airport
officials told reporters. The third Sofia-bound flight, from London's Stansted
Airport to Sofia, had been diverted and landed safely at the airport in Plovdiv,
Bulgaria's second-largest city, Plovdiv Airport CEO Krassimir Peshev said.
Hoaxes prompted similar searches earlier this week
Several flights across Europe received hoax bomb threats earlier this week that
prompted searches, diversions and, in one case, an escort by the Italian air
force until landing, officials said. The flights included Polish airline LOT,
Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair. The hoax threats came after a plane
headed for Bulgaria was diverted to Hungary after receiving a similar bomb
threat while in the air. No one was injured.
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on November 05-06/2026 /(Some of the News reports below are
translated from Arabic by AI)
Europe's Dangerous New Plan to Destroy Independent Media
Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute/November 05/2026
Banning independent media outlets and journalists directly would not work: it
would just give the game away. Instead, softer, more indirect ways to get rid of
alternative and independent media have been devised. In Germany, a draft bill
has been put on the table that will, if all 16 federal states pass it, require
big tech platforms to manipulate the algorithms in such a way that at least 20%
of algorithmic recommendations for content must come from media outlets approved
by German authorities. The point, we are told, is "diversity" – because nothing
quite screams "diversity" like state-approved media. "[P]rivate outlets would
have to apply to Germany's 14 regional media authorities, which decide who
receives it," according to the news website Brussels Signal.
Germany is reportedly planning to empower regional media authorities to conduct
"indiscriminate mass surveillance" of online media, podcasts, and videos using
tools such as AI, even when no complaint has been lodged. "This would
effectively elevate one authority to a media control body -- a move that would
open the floodgates to political censorship." — Pauline Voss, Nius.de, September
29, 2026.
It does not get much more totalitarian than that. In the United Kingdom, the
government is so concerned that too many people refuse to let themselves be
brainwashed by state-approved legacy media that it is devising Orwellian plans
to force them to consume it. Now we know why the government wants Big Tech to
boost and prioritize public service media – because it really is state
propaganda media.According to The Telegraph's investigation, dozens of civil
servants from government departments including the Home Office and Ministry of
Justice had taken part since the scheme first launched in 2018. These ostensible
"public service" media organizations, in short, functioned as organs of state
propaganda, especially during elections.
It is also not news that the BBC, in the words of The Telegraph, "has become a
tool for promoting anti-Israel bias," and, "[i]ts flawed journalism is adding
fuel to the fire of anti-Semitism that is glowing ever more dangerously." The
news here is that government employees, for eight years, have been part of all
this. How much of the manipulation and disinformation has been pushed by the
British state? One-third of it? Half of it? All of it? Does the British public
not deserve to know?
In Germany, a draft bill has been put on the table that will, if all 16 federal
states pass it, require big tech platforms to manipulate the algorithms in such
a way that at least 20% of algorithmic recommendations for content must come
from media outlets approved by German authorities.
Having quietly killed free speech in Europe, several European governments are
now zeroing in on independent media and journalists to end the free flow of
information. Banning independent media outlets and journalists directly would
not work: it would just give the game away. Instead, softer, more indirect ways
to get rid of alternative and independent media have been devised.
In Germany a draft bill has been put on the table that will, if all 16 federal
states pass it, require big tech platforms to manipulate the algorithms in such
a way that at least 20% of algorithmic recommendations for content must come
from media outlets approved by German authorities. The point, we are told, is
"diversity" – because nothing quite screams "diversity" like state-approved
media. Germany's state-funded broadcasters, such as ARD, ZDF and Deutschland
Radio, are automatically qualified, whereas "private outlets would have to apply
to Germany's 14 regional media authorities, which decide who receives it,"
according to the news website Brussels Signal.
According to ReMix, "The proposed measure is already being slammed as a
state-mandated propaganda effort that would force German citizens to view
content friendly to the ruling establishment parties." Germany, in short, is
introducing a system that will effectively ban independent journalism by using a
state-imposed algorithm to force its extinction, while giving priority to
state-approved content from corporate legacy media, which by virtue of its size
and funding already plays an outsized role.
That is not all. Germany is reportedly planning to empower regional media
authorities to conduct "indiscriminate mass surveillance" of online media,
podcasts, and videos using tools such as AI, even when no complaint has been
lodged. The aim, according to German news website Nius:
"The new law would empower media authorities to automatically monitor new media
on platforms like YouTube, X, and Instagram and to penalize alleged violations
of journalistic standards. This would effectively elevate one authority to a
media control body -- a move that would open the floodgates to political
censorship. In the past, state media authorities have repeatedly taken action
against media outlets they deemed undesirable.
"Even today, state media authorities use AI to scan the internet – officially in
the name of protecting minors. In doing so, they repeatedly stumble upon
statements they deem criminal, such as potential insults or incitement to
hatred. In 2025 alone, the media authorities had around 4,000 posts deleted
based on this information. "What's new is that media authorities will no longer
only be able to prosecute illegal or harmful content without cause, but will
also be required to automatically monitor compliance with journalistic standards
of due diligence."
It does not get much more totalitarian than that.
In the United Kingdom, the government is so concerned that too many people
refuse to let themselves be brainwashed by state-approved legacy media that it
is devising Orwellian plans to force them to consume it:
"Today (23 June) the government has published a Green Paper, Watch this Space: A
new strategic direction for UK media, to consult on options to require social
media companies and video sharing platforms to make sure that news content from
public service media (PSM), which includes the BBC, ITV, STV, Channel 4, S4C and
5, and other trustworthy providers, is prominent and easy to find on their
platforms. It could include, for example, a range of national and local news
publishers all being more likely to be at the top of people's social media feeds
when they search for news. This will be key for helping to tackle mis- and
disinformation, particularly during times of social unrest or crisis."
Now we know why the government wants Big Tech to boost and prioritize public
service media – because it really is state propaganda media.
According to recent reporting by The Telegraph, the UK government has been
infiltrating so-called "public service" media with state-employed bureaucrats,
who have been planted in these media organizations, including BBC, ITV and
Channel 4, as supposed fact-checkers and journalists.
The state bureaucrats were embedded "to produce news and analysis on
'high-impact, sensitive topics' such as small boat crossings and the Covid
pandemic" and to work on "verifying and preparing news bulletins." According to
The Telegraph's investigation, dozens of civil servants from government
departments including the Home Office and Ministry of Justice had taken part
since the scheme first launched in 2018. Even more unsettling is reportedly that
senior civil servants in the government's employ were "lent to the broadcasters
during general elections to dissect party manifestos and verify figures brought
up in live debates." These ostensible "public service" media organizations, in
short, functioned as organs of state propaganda, especially during elections.
Prof. Carl Heneghan, Director of the University of Oxford's Centre for
Evidence-Based Medicine, expressed concern over government employees working on
coverage of Covid:
"Not only does it undermine the trust, it goes to the heart of the editorial
problem. If you have people writing for you with competing interests, it won't
be impartial. It is the government organisation you will be partial to. You will
want to toe the line. It's unacceptable. This is a huge issue... If government
employees are writing for the BBC it should be explicit who they work for so the
reader can judge for themselves."
The Telegraph described how one government employee had been tasked with
"fact-checking claims about crime rates among different nationalities that were
dominating news cycles", for which he "drafted an explainer piece which went
online and copy for my boss who went on the radio to provide this much needed
context for audiences". It is not news that the BBC is a master of manipulation
and disinformation. According to an internal BBC whistleblower memorandum from
November 2025, the BBC doctored a speech by US President Donald J. Trump to make
him appear to encourage the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riot "by splicing
together footage from the start of his speech with something he said nearly an
hour later."
It is also not news that the BBC, in the words of The Telegraph, "has become a
tool for promoting anti-Israel bias," and, "[i]ts flawed journalism is adding
fuel to the fire of anti-Semitism that is glowing ever more dangerously."The
news here is that government employees, for eight years, have been part of all
this. How much of the manipulation and disinformation has been pushed by the
British state? One-third of it? Half of it? All of it? Does the British public
not deserve to know?
While this story has been embarrassingly underreported outside the UK, it ought
to raise serious questions in every Western country about its own public service
media -- and who actually runs it.
*Robert Williams is based in the United States.
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
What Trump and Sadat Have in Common
Suleiman Jawda/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 05/2026
In his book My Conversations with Sadat, prominent Egyptian journalist Ahmed
Bahaa El-Din recounted an amusing exchange from a lengthy conversation he once
had with President Anwar Sadat. It was shortly after Egypt's victory in the
October 1973 War. The country was moving toward a market economy, abandoning the
public-sector model that had dominated its economic policies. Cairo was
preparing to recover through peace the remaining territory of the Sinai
Peninsula, having already regained part of it through war. The state was also
preparing to embark on a different political course that would allow parties
with competing political visions to operate. All these developments prompted
Bahaa El-Din, as he sat with the president at the presidential retreat in Al-Qanater
Al-Khayriya, north of Cairo, to consider whether such sweeping political and
economic changes required a new constitution. Surely, he thought, these policies
needed a constitutional foundation to establish and consolidate them, rather
than remain a collection of disconnected measures with no unifying framework. He
therefore asked Sadat whether he believed Egypt needed a new constitution and
whether the idea was occupying his thoughts or weighing on his mind. Sadat
looked at him with an expression of surprise before replying, "What
constitution, Ahmed? Nasser and I are the last of the pharaohs. We don't need a
constitution to rule."
He paused briefly, then continued, to Bahaa El-Din's astonishment: "The
presidents who come after me will be ordinary men. They'll need a constitution
to govern, or simply to get things done," as he put it. The journalist was so
taken aback that he could scarcely think of anything to say in response.
Sadat's words had convinced him that the constitution was of little concern to
the president. Even if Sadat yielded to those demanding a new charter and agreed
to draft one, he would hardly consider himself bound by its provisions. He would
govern as Nasser had governed before him, and as the pharaohs had done before
them, with no need for written constitutional rules to consult or invoke before
the public. Of course, Sadat returned to the constitution in 1980 and amended
some of its provisions, particularly the article governing the length of his
presidential tenure. He removed the limit, effectively allowing himself to
remain in office indefinitely.
But God willed that he would never benefit from the change. He departed this
world on a day of celebration, among his soldiers, while his successor,
President Hosni Mubarak, would be the one to benefit, remaining in power for 30
years. Thus, when Sadat contemplated extending his time in office, he found he
had no choice but to return to the constitution and rewrite some of its
provisions. The irony was that time was not on his side. Little did he know that
he was clearing the way not for himself, but for the man who would succeed him.
This is a long story, with many details worth telling, but there is no need to
pursue it further here. It is not, after all, the point of these lines. It has
merely served as an introduction, perhaps a longer one than necessary. The point
is that US President Donald Trump, in the run-up to the congressional midterm
elections, behaved, along with his administration, in much the same spirit as
Sadat when he spoke to Bahaa El-Din. From what we have read, Trump sensed the
danger posed by the congressional elections well in advance. He began taking
precautions and whatever preemptive measures he could to withstand a possible
Democratic majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
He had done everything within his political and popular reach before the
elections to help his Republican Party retain control of both chambers. Yet he
was far from certain how the contest would end. What Trump and his
administration wanted was to govern during his remaining two years in the White
House much as they had during the previous two, or at least as closely as
circumstances would allow. We read his remarks suggesting that if the elections
produced Democratic majorities, and those majorities were genuine rather than
the result of Democratic electoral manipulation, he would have no choice but to
recognize them. At the same time, however, he intended to govern through what he
called the president's "executive powers." In other words, he would leave the
Democratic majorities behind him and exercise whatever authority his
administration could extract from the loopholes available to it.
These are extraordinary words, unlike anything previously heard from a president
in his position. But Trump has grown accustomed, since returning to the White
House, to governing as he sees fit, with little regard for the constraints
imposed by established institutions. He therefore imagines that he can continue
down the same path even if his party loses its congressional majorities. His
thinking on this point bears a striking resemblance to Sadat's response to Bahaa
El-Din. Reality, however, has rules of its own. Otherwise, Sadat would never
have returned to the constitution when he contemplated extending his presidency,
having previously dismissed its importance so casually. Now that Republicans
have lost their majorities in both chambers of Congress, we shall see how far
those executive powers can carry President Trump.Words are one thing; reality is
another. Between them lies a distance invariably determined by the demands of
necessity and the constraints of circumstance.
Sudan: Against a Scheme to Create a Failed State
Osman Mirghani/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 05/2026
Since it broke out in 2023, the war in Sudan has brought destruction on an
unprecedented scale, and it has spared nothing. State institutions and private
property, infrastructure, hospitals, universities, museums, banks, and
agricultural laboratories have all been destroyed or looted. At every stage, one
pattern has stood out: the deliberate targeting of the electricity sector, and
of anything else that keeps life running. As the army has regained the
initiative and the balance has tipped in its favor, with the Rapid Support
Forces in retreat, drones have entered the battle in force, exposing the war's
growing external dimension. In recent days the attacks on power stations have
returned with new intensity: sixteen stations hit in ten days, cutting power
across wide areas amid warnings of a total blackout. This is more than a
question of power cuts. It is a paralysis that threatens every sector of life.
Electricity drives agricultural and industrial production, and keeps hospitals,
communications networks, and banking services running. Destroying the energy
system undermines the foundations of daily life and pushes the country toward an
economic and service collapse whose consequences would be hard to contain. After
the repeated attacks, Sudan announced that more than 180 drones had struck the
country this year, launched from Ethiopian territory. Early this week the
government filed complaints with the UN Security Council and the African Union's
Peace and Security Council, accusing Ethiopia of aggression and of complicity in
attacks launched from its soil. These accusations move the war beyond an
internal confrontation into a regional one, and they call for an international
investigation. Outside intervention in the war can no longer be ignored, and its
escalating pace raises serious questions about its aims. Plans to weaken and
partition Sudan are nothing new. Since South Sudan's secession in 2011, warnings
have grown of further attempts to break the country apart, driven by struggles
for influence over its food, water, and mineral resources, and by the reshaping
of the regional balance of power.
The war so far can be read in three stages. The first was an attempt to seize
the state through a lightning coup at the outset. The Rapid Support Forces
attacked the residence of Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of the
Sovereignty Council and commander of the army, to arrest or kill him, while
simultaneously attacking the army's General Command and other units in the
capital, seizing the radio and television headquarters, and besieging ground and
air bases. The plan failed. The presidential guard repelled the attack on the
residence, and the armed forces recovered their footing despite the shock of
surprise and the RSF's numerical superiority in the capital at the start of the
war.
The second stage was an attempt to take the country by force, spreading from
Khartoum to the central states and expanding into Kordofan and Darfur. But the
army gradually retook the capital and Gezira state, forcing the RSF to fall back
to its strongholds in Kordofan, Darfur, and Blue Nile.
The third stage, the present one, runs in my view along two tracks. The first is
the creation of a parallel entity and a de facto partition on the Libyan model:
the declaration of the Tasees government; the establishment of local
administrations, a police force, and nominal institutions; an attempt to extend
control across western Sudan; an alliance with Abdelaziz al-Hilu and his SPLM-North
forces in the Nuba Mountains; and a corridor through Blue Nile to the Ethiopian
border. That track has stalled. Internationally and regionally, there has been a
refusal to recognize any parallel entity; influential regional powers have stood
with Sudan against any threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity; and
the army has moved to retake Kordofan and Blue Nile ahead of an expected advance
on Darfur. And so the second track has emerged, in a more dangerous form:
turning Sudan into a failed state by draining its capacities, destroying its
infrastructure, crippling basic services, and plunging society into chaos. The
escalating drone attacks on power stations and vital facilities belong to this
context, as part of a war on the foundations of the state.
The growing threat has led Egypt to hint at activating its joint defense
agreement with Sudan, to support it and to ensure that no red line is crossed on
its territorial unity, its sovereignty, or the integrity of its institutions.
Saudi Arabia, too, has affirmed its rejection of any parallel entity in Sudan
and its firm support for the country's unity, sovereignty, and territorial
integrity, and for preserving its state institutions. In the face of all this,
the great wager remains on the Sudanese themselves, and on their capacity to
protect their country from the schemes against it. What is reassuring is that,
talking to people, you find them aware of the dangers and conspiracies
threatening the country. That explains their patience with the mounting
suffering the war has caused, and their conviction that they will get past this
turning point, perhaps the most dangerous in Sudan's history since independence.
The challenge is no longer only to end the war, but to keep it from becoming a
gateway to undermining the state and destroying the foundations of its survival.
China Puts Its Interests to Work for Peace!
Huda al-Husseini/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 05/2026
China is pursuing parallel diplomatic efforts to prevent the Middle East from
sliding into another confrontation, one whose repercussions could extend from
the Gulf to the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. For Beijing, containing tensions
is no longer a matter removed from its immediate interests. The oil that fuels
its industries, the ships that carry its goods and the investments it has built
up over the years all become vulnerable whenever war escalates and fighting
threatens vital shipping routes.
Against this backdrop, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi received Ali Bagheri
Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in Beijing.
The meeting conveyed a clear message: continued fighting offers no way out, and
the solution lies in dialogue and negotiations. For his part, the Iranian
official reaffirmed his country's commitment to protecting its sovereignty,
security and territorial integrity while keeping the door open to negotiations.
This leaves room for diplomacy, although it does not yet indicate agreement on
the terms of a settlement.
The meeting coincided with an announcement that China would dispatch three
envoys to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia, followed by Egypt, Djibouti, Ethiopia and
Eritrea. This diplomatic itinerary reveals how Beijing views the region's crises
as interconnected. Escalation involving Iran affects Gulf security, Houthi
attacks on Saudi Arabia threaten stability and maritime navigation, and
disruptions in the Red Sea have repercussions for the Suez Canal and ports in
the Horn of Africa. Calming one flashpoint while leaving the others unresolved
would not provide sufficient protection for trade and energy supplies. The same
reasoning was evident during Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting with Oman's
Sultan Haitham bin Tarik in Beijing. Xi's warning against turning the Middle
East into an arena for competition among major powers reflects a desire to
prevent regional conflict from escalating into a broader confrontation. Oman's
relationships and diplomatic channels give it an opportunity to convey messages
and explore possible settlements. Closer Chinese-Omani cooperation could combine
Beijing's economic weight with Muscat's experience in quiet diplomacy.
China has a diplomatic track record on which to build. In March 2023, it hosted
the Saudi-Iranian agreement to restore diplomatic relations, following earlier
rounds of talks in Iraq and Oman. That achievement demonstrated Beijing's
ability to provide political backing for an agreement when both parties possess
the will to reach one. Restoring relations between two countries, however, is
easier than containing a confrontation involving the United States, Iran, the
Houthis and the security of maritime routes. Yesterday's success gives China an
opportunity, but it does not guarantee a similar outcome today.
China's relations with Iran rest on economic and political interests that allow
Beijing to engage the Iranian leadership as a partner. It can explain to Tehran
the costs of escalation and emphasize the opportunities for cooperation and
trade that stability would bring. Yet its ability to influence decisions is not
the same as its ability to dictate them. If Iran's leadership believes that
backing down would threaten its survival or weaken its deterrence, it may place
its security calculations above the advice of its Chinese partner, however
important that partnership may be.
At the same time, China maintains extensive energy, trade and investment
partnerships with Gulf countries. It therefore cannot pursue a successful
diplomatic initiative while overlooking Saudi Arabia's security or downplaying
the seriousness of attacks on its cities and facilities. Any initiative must
directly address Gulf concerns, foremost among them missiles, drones and
maritime security. The more Beijing can do to help stop the attacks, the greater
the confidence in its role. General appeals for restraint alone would leave the
most pressing questions without convincing answers.
Djibouti illustrates why China's diplomatic efforts extend beyond the Gulf. Its
presence there encompasses commercial interests, infrastructure and maritime
facilities, alongside a military base opened in 2017 near the Doraleh
Multipurpose Port. It is important to distinguish Chinese investment in ports
from sovereignty over them. The ports remain on Djiboutian territory. This
presence gives Beijing a strategically important position near the Bab al-Mandab
Strait, supporting its naval operations and helping protect its interests and
supply routes.
Disruptions to this passage could force China to bear higher shipping and
insurance costs, while its goods could face delays or be diverted along longer
routes. Its regional investments and its partners' ability to trade would also
suffer, particularly in Ethiopia, which depends on access through Djibouti.
China's diplomatic visits, therefore, are not simply about exchanging political
messages. They are an attempt to protect a network of interests linking ports,
markets and energy sources. In this sense, Red Sea security is part of China's
economic security.
The prospects for success will depend on the limits Beijing sets for its
mission. Achieving a temporary de-escalation, opening a negotiating channel or
securing commitments to protect navigation appear more attainable than a
comprehensive settlement. Such steps require coordination with Washington, since
the American decision to launch or suspend military strikes remains a decisive
factor. They also require verifiable commitments from Iran and the Houthis.
China's relationship with Tehran may help it apply pressure, but that
relationship alone cannot guarantee compliance by all parties.
Another obstacle is the absence of publicly announced details about the
initiative. What is being asked of each party? What guarantees would be
provided? And how would violations be addressed? Without answers, China's
efforts remain closer to a diplomatic push for de-escalation than a fully
developed peace plan. The more realistic assessment is that China has an
opportunity to reduce tensions and buy time for negotiations, while the
prospects of resolving all the region's crises at once remain limited. The
measure of its success will be whether it can halt the deterioration and
translate its diplomatic contacts into concrete steps that protect civilians,
infrastructure and maritime navigation, giving the region some breathing room
before another confrontation whose consequences could prove difficult to
contain.
No More 'Deals': President Trump Needs to Finish Two Jobs.
If He Does, He Will Go Down in History as the Greatest President Ever
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/November 05/2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22966/trump-needs-to-finish-two-jobs
There is a difference between agreeing to a document and actually implementing
it.
For Iran, Hamas is not simply another Palestinian political movement. It is part
of the network of armed groups that the Iranian regime has cultivated to
threaten Israel and advance its regional objectives, which include exporting the
Islamic Revolution to the entire Middle East and beyond.
Given Qatar's and Turkey's long record of hosting Hamas leaders and providing
the terrorist organization with political and financial support, there is little
reason to expect either country to put genuine pressure on Hamas to dismantle
its military and political infrastructure.
The United States needs to reassess its policy toward Gaza and Iran. Peace
arrangements that leave Hamas and Iran armed, organized and capable of
rebuilding their military infrastructures is not a lasting peace arrangement. It
is a temporary pause that allows both Hamas and Iran to prepare for more
massacres against Israel and everyone else.
Israel cannot be expected to accept the permanent presence of armed terrorist
organizations, such as Hamas or its patron, Iran, committed to its destruction
just because international diplomats prefer to believe that another "deal" will
somehow solve the problem.
There can be no more fake "Munich, the Sequel" "deals" that only one side, the
US, has any intention of keeping. Trump urgently needs to finish these two jobs.
If he does, he will go down in history as the greatest president ever. The first
is to ensure that the Gaza Strip -- for both the people there and the entire
region -- is neutralized from terror forever. The second, as he originally
promised, is to liberate the Iranian people -- and again, the entire region --
from a catastrophic regime. While President Donald Trump deserves credit for
seeking peace, he is making a fundamental mistake if he believes that Islamist
terrorist organizations such as Hamas can be talked into abandoning their
jihadist ideology, surrendering their weapons and giving up their commitment to
Israel's destruction.
More than three years after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 massacre, the
Iran-backed terrorist group is still demonstrating that it has no intention of
relinquishing its grip on the Gaza Strip.
The latest evidence came during the funeral of Arafat al-Areer, a Hamas
terrorist killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Videos circulating on
social media on October 31 and November 1 showed large crowds attending the
funeral procession, accompanied by dozens of armed men openly displaying their
weapons and firing into the air.
These were not clandestine meetings of underground terrorist cells. The gunmen
appeared openly in the streets, clearly with little concern about concealing
their identities or weapons.
The size of the funeral was also revealing. The footage showed hundreds of
people taking part in the procession. The presence of such a large crowd raises
serious questions about Hamas's ability to mobilize people, display its symbols,
and project its power in public.
More importantly, the scenes raise questions that the international community
should be answering: What happened to the promised demilitarization of the Gaza
Strip? What happened to the negotiations to disarm Hamas? Weren't we told that
Hamas had agreed to surrender its weapons? What happened to the "roadmap" of
President Donald J. Trump's Board of Peace, which was supposed to end Hamas's
military and political control of the Gaza Strip?
On July 30, 2026, US President Donald J. Trump announced that the Board of Peace
had reached an agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed
groups in the Gaza Strip. The announcement was presented as a major breakthrough
in implementing the president's 20-point peace plan.
While President Trump deserves credit for seeking peace, he is making a
fundamental mistake if he believes that Islamist terrorist organizations such as
Hamas can be talked into abandoning their jihadist ideology, surrendering their
weapons and giving up their commitment to Israel's destruction.
The "roadmap" envisaged a phased process under which Hamas and other factions
would relinquish their weapons; civilian and security responsibilities would be
transferred to a Palestinian administrative committee, and an international
verification mechanism would supervise implementation. The stated objective was
a Gaza governed according to the principle of one authority, one law, and one
weapon.
The Board of Peace's "roadmap" was explicit: Hamas was not supposed to retain
either its military capabilities or its role in governing the Gaza Strip.
Yet the scenes from the funeral suggest that the distance between diplomatic
declarations and reality still remains vast.
There is a difference between agreeing to a document and actually implementing
it. Hamas's purported acceptance of a "roadmap" is not the same as surrendering
its weapons, dismantling its military infrastructure, or giving up control of
the population.
The Board of Peace should explain what concrete steps have been taken to verify
that Hamas is disarming. How many weapons have been surrendered? How many
weapons depots have been dismantled? What has happened to the tunnels and
military production facilities? Who is monitoring Hamas's armed operatives? Who
is ensuring that the terrorist group does not continue to exercise authority
behind the scenes?
The public appearance of armed terrorists at a funeral is a reminder that Hamas
members remain visible and organized in the Gaza Strip.
In July 2026, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
reported that Hamas had been using funerals for its military operatives as
demonstrations of its continued presence. According to the report, the
processions featured armed men, Hamas flags, and jihadist slogans, with the
declared objective of conveying that the terrorist group remained active,
organized, and undefeated despite military pressure and Israeli and American
plans for the Gaza Strip.
The Iranian regime has a direct interest in preventing Hamas from disappearing
as an armed organization. Tehran has spent decades providing Hamas with
financial and military assistance, weapons expertise, and training.
For Iran, Hamas is not simply another Palestinian political movement. It is part
of the network of armed groups that the Iranian regime has cultivated to
threaten Israel and advance its regional objectives, which include exporting the
Islamic Revolution to the entire Middle East and beyond (here, here and here).
To Iran, allowing Hamas to surrender its weapons and become an ordinary
political movement would mean losing an important instrument of Iranian
influence on Israel's southern border.
Hamas, meanwhile, has every reason to preserve its military infrastructure and
its ability to intimidate the population. Its leaders understand that
surrendering their weapons would mean surrendering the principal instrument
through which they have maintained their power in the Gaza Strip since violently
seizing control of the territory from the Palestinian Authority in 2007. The
United States and the members of the Board of Peace need to stop treating
Hamas's declarations as a substitute for action. They should demand measurable,
independently verified progress toward the complete dismantling of Hamas's
military wing and governing structures. There must be clear deadlines,
transparent reporting, and immediate consequences for noncompliance.
This requirement applies equally to the countries that have played central roles
in mediating and supporting the Gaza arrangements, including Qatar and Turkey,
as well as other international partners. Their responsibility should not end
with securing Hamas's signature on a document. They must help ensure that the
commitments are actually implemented.
Given Qatar's and Turkey's long record of hosting Hamas leaders and providing
the terrorist organization with political and financial support, there is little
reason to expect either country to put genuine pressure on Hamas to dismantle
its military and political infrastructure.
The United States needs to reassess its policy toward Gaza and Iran. Peace
arrangements that leave Hamas and Iran armed, organized and capable of
rebuilding their military infrastructures is not a lasting peace arrangement. It
is a temporary pause that allows both Hamas and Iran to prepare for more
massacres against Israel and everyone else.
Israel cannot be expected to accept the permanent presence of armed terrorist
organizations, such as Hamas or its patron, Iran, committed to its destruction
just because international diplomats prefer to believe that another "deal" will
somehow solve the problem.
If the Board of Peace and its international partners cannot secure genuine
disarmament, they must acknowledge that their approach has failed and reconsider
their options.
Israel cannot be expected to wait indefinitely while Hamas rebuilds a war
machine. There can be no more fake "Munich, the Sequel" "deals" that only one
side, the US, has any intention of keeping. President Trump urgently needs to
finish two these jobs. If he does, he will go down in history as the greatest
president ever. The first is to ensure that the Gaza Strip -- for both the
people there and the entire region -- is neutralized from terror forever. The
second, as he originally promised, is to liberate the Iranian people -- and
again, the entire region -- from a catastrophic regime.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
*Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
France is burning ...Assimilation is happening, but into a
culture of grievance and violence
Clifford D. May/The Washington Times/November 05/ 2026
For nearly seven weeks, demonstrations in France have continued – “mostly
peaceful,” we’re told, but punctuated by arson and looting. Do you feel sorry
for the high school students who, having endured crowded classrooms and teacher
shortages, are out on the streets protesting and, in many cases, rioting?
I’m sorry, but I don’t.
Their complaints may well be legitimate. But more than 100 schools have been
damaged in what France’s prime minister calls the most violent student unrest in
decades. Shouldn’t even the least educated protesters grasp that smashing
windows is not an effective way to upgrade the public school system? As a
reporter in Africa years ago, I visited schools built of bare cinderblocks and
certainly without air conditioning. I never saw students set anything on fire.
Yet, across France, in video after video I’ve been watching, angry students have
been joined in the rioting by angry immigrants from Africa and the Middle East,
along with the angry children of immigrants. Many commentators look at this
alliance and assert that France has failed to assimilate its immigrants. I think
that’s a flawed analysis. Assimilation has been happening – just not to
traditional French culture and the values of le modèle républicain.
Instead, the protesters, immigrant-origin and others, have joined the hard
multicultural left, which embraces a neo-Marxist oppressor/oppressed binary,
treats grievance as virtue, and excuses violence in pursuit of “social justice.”
No one embodies this ideology better than Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the founder of La
France Insoumise. The party’s name is usually translated as “France Unbowed.”
More literally, it is “Unsubmissive France.” There’s an awkward irony in that,
given what some in France call islamo-gauchisme, the alignment of factions of
the French left with Islamists whose goal is to make the French do the exact
opposite: submit. A brief but hopefully instructive digression: Soumission
(Submission) is the title of Michel Houellebecq’s brilliant novel imagining
France electing an Islamist government.
When the book came out on Jan. 7, 2015, newsstands in Paris were displaying the
latest issue of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. On its cover was an
unflattering caricature of Mr. Houellebecq, accompanied by the mocking headline:
“In 2015, I lose my teeth. In 2022, I observe Ramadan.” That very same day,
terrorists avenging the magazine’s earlier caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad
stormed its offices, slaughtering 12 people. The bloodbath forever linked Mr.
Houellebecq’s warning of submission with the use of violence to restrict the
free speech of unbelievers. The attack was carried out by Cherif and Said
Kouachi – French-born citizens, the sons of Algerian immigrants, operating on
behalf of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The brothers hadn’t failed
to assimilate. They had assimilated into the culture of jihad against the West.
Two days after their attack, they were killed in a shootout with French police.
During the protests and riots of recent days, French national symbols have been
vandalized. In Marseille, rioters stormed city hall and knocked over a bust of
Marianne, the personification of the French Republic. The 143-year-old city hall
in Limoges was largely destroyed. Marseille’s archdiocese says churches were
broken into. A fire damaged the entrance hall of a Nantes lycée named for Nelson
Mandela.
Some demonstrators wore keffiyehs and waved Palestinian flags. In Lyon, some
masked protestors burned Israeli and American flags. The connection with crowded
classrooms is not obvious.
And I question whether Gazans, still suffering from the war Hamas started by
invading Israel and carrying out a bloody pogrom, are comforted to learn they
have supporters stealing chic merchandise from Louis Vuitton and Hermès stores.
Mr. Mélenchon condemned the looting, but he has also written that “traditional
France is a diminished France” and that he wants a “New France” that
accommodates the beliefs and addresses the grievances of immigrants.
In late September he accused the government of repressing “harmless” students,
with an “obvious racist aftertaste.” After an Oct. 8 Paris demonstration that
ended in clashes with police, he posted: “The Bastille has been retaken,”
praising young people for pressing their demands “in the most beautiful way
possible.”To him, asking immigrants to assimilate into historic French norms is
imperialist arrogance. And France’s elites, perpetually penitent for the sins of
long-gone European empires, cannot insist immigrants adopt a French identity
they’ve spent decades apologizing for. So they offer something else: the
identity of the victim. What’s happening in France isn’t staying in France. One
example: In Germany last Saturday, rioters attacked police and looted stores. As
for America, many commentators assert that we’re okay because we do a better job
of assimilating immigrants. In the past, I think that’s been true. Now, I’m not
so sure. Imagine you’re a newcomer to America and you read The New York Times’
“1619 Project” arguing that slavery and racism are the central, defining
elements of American history.
Next, you might take a class at Columbia taught by Mahmood Mamdani, the Herbert
Lehman Professor of Government and father of New York City’s current mayor, who
wrote in a 2004 book that suicide bombers should be recognized as “a category of
soldier” and not “stigmatized as a mark of barbarism.”And then perhaps a friend
directs you to the popular political commentator and Twitch streamer Hasan
Piker, who said that “America deserved 9/11” – yes I know he apologized for that
remark, he’s so very sorry – and who, asked whether America is worse than
al-Qaeda, answered “pound for pound… yes.” He hasn’t apologized for that. Given
such introductions to America’s rising culture of grievance and violence, how
likely is it that you’ll become a proud American waving the Stars and Stripes on
the Fourth of July?
**Clifford D. May is founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD), a columnist for The Washington Times, and host of the
“Foreign Podicy” podcast.
A Turkish UN secretary-general would serve the Erdogan
regime
Sinan Ciddi and Helin Unal/Washington Examiner/November 05/2026
Turkey has nominated a serious candidate for the top United Nations post, one
which Feridun Sinirlioglu must not be allowed to hold. Selecting a Turkish U.N.
secretary-general would transform the U.N. into a puppet show for Turkey’s
authoritarian regime led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Given Ankara’s
flagrant violations of international law, appointing Sinirlioglu would be an
insult to the rules-based international order. The U.N. was founded in 1945 and
consists of 193 member states. Its mission is to maintain international peace
and security, provide humanitarian assistance to those in need, protect human
rights, and uphold international law. As the U.N.’s chief administrative
officer, the secretary-general represents the organization’s values and serves
as a voice for all humanity, particularly the world’s poorest and most
vulnerable populations. The position therefore demands unwavering independence,
impartiality, and a commitment to upholding the principles of the U.N. Charter.
This is not the job for a Turkish candidate, who has represented and defended
Ankara’s indefensible views on the world stage for decades.
On Friday, Turkey nominated Sinirlioglu, the eighth secretary general of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, appointed in December
2024. He briefly served as Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2015. Before
that, he built a long and distinguished career as a diplomat in Turkey’s foreign
ministry. In short, he has played a significant role in representing Ankara’s
policies and priorities, raising questions about his ability to maintain the
independence expected of a U.N. secretary-general. While Turkey has faced
multiple criticisms over its domestic and foreign policy, Sinirlioglu has never
publicly distanced himself from Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party policies
and has instead represented the government in several important diplomatic
roles.
One key policy area is Cyprus. Turkey invaded the island in 1974 and, in 1984,
declared the territory it occupies as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,
an entity which only Turkey recognizes. As an employee of the Turkish foreign
ministry, Sinirlioglu has helped uphold one of the biggest violations of
national sovereignty, something the U.N. Security Council has denounced numerous
times. As U.N. chief, there is sufficient alarmism to suspect that Sinirlioglu
would push a policy agenda over Cyprus: the formal recognition of the TRNC,
which would be a big win for Erdogan, and a major loss for international law.
Another issue is Sinirlioglu’s support of other states that violate
international law. As OSCE chief, he has called Russia an “important partner”
and thanked Moscow’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, for engaging in a “frank
and productive” conversation about the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Defenders of the
rules-based order should not be enabling states which violate national borders
and terrorize innocent people, a principle which Sinirlioglu has chosen to
ignore.
As Turkey’s U.N. ambassador, Sinirlioglu also played a pivotal role in Ankara’s
effort to redraw the boundaries of the Eastern Mediterranean, illegally and
unilaterally. In letters to the U.N. secretary-general between July 2021 and
2022, he argued that Greece’s sovereignty over these islands depended on keeping
them demilitarized under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Paris Peace
Treaty. Greece rejected the claim as legally baseless, warning it threatened
regional peace and stability. To be clear, Turkey has refused to sign the U.N.
Convention on the Law of the Sea and instead is seeking to expand its maritime
borders at the expense of Greece, Cyprus, and possibly other countries along the
Mediterranean littoral under its “Blue Homeland” doctrine. As the U.N. chief,
how can Sinirlioglu be expected to uphold established maritime law when he has
devoted his career to undermining it?
Finally, Sinirlioglu’s close association with the Turkish government’s policies
also raises questions about the value he ascribes to human rights. In 2021,
Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, an international agreement aimed
at preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence signed
by 45 European countries. The Turkish government terminated the convention
despite widespread societal and international criticism. By any measure,
Erdogan’s governance of Turkey since 2003 has been characterized by devastating
blows to the rule of law, freedom of expression, and citizens’ rights, something
on which, once again, Sinirlioglu has had nothing to say. As a senior diplomat,
Sinirlioglu certainly has a resume that makes him qualified to hold the top U.N.
job, but that is necessary but not sufficient. He has also represented a country
which consistently and proudly violates established international norms, laws,
and practices. A representative of the Erdogan regime has no business running
the U.N.
**Sinan Ciddi is a senior fellow and director of the Turkey program at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, where Helin Unal is a
research fellow.
Iran’s Civic Movement Regains Momentum, but the Regime’s Repression Apparatus
Endures
Janatan Sayeh/Insight/November 05/2026
Amid the Islamic Republic’s neither-war-nor-peace standoff with the United
States and Israel, scattered demonstrations against the regime are gradually
increasing — from roughly 30 in May to 90 in July to 130 in September.
But getting people out on the street has not been enough to spark systemic
change in Iran, as many had hoped. In January, the regime showed a bloody
resolve, killing as many as 36,500 of its own citizens to quash protests that
had taken over the streets nationwide.
It has become apparent that no revolution from within can succeed without the
aid of external efforts to weaken the regime’s apparatus of repression. The
U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign that began on February 28 advanced the cause, but
the April ceasefire cut the effort short.
An investigation carried out by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
examined English, Persian, and Hebrew sources, including citizen reports,
Iranian state media, and U.S. and Israeli military announcements. Using mapping
software to verify locations, the report identified only 210 strikes against the
regime’s internal security forces out of approximately 13,000 targets struck by
the United States and 10,800 attacks conducted by Israel during the first stage
of the war. Among the 210 associated with internal security forces were
facilities belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its
Basij paramilitary, Iran’s police, the Ministry of Intelligence, and propaganda
centers.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard identified Iran’s ballistic
missile capabilities and navy as Washington’s primary targets, consistent with
U.S. Central Command’s (CENTCOM’s) April 6 statement that included a range of
military targets without mentioning internal security bases. U.S. strikes
consequently concentrated in Iran’s central provinces and along its southern
coastline, while Israeli operations focused on the more urbanized western and
northern regions, with nearly half of all Israeli strikes hitting Tehran alone.
Unlike CENTCOM, the IDF repeatedly identified the regime’s repression apparatus
among its targets.
Nearly half of recorded strikes against the repression apparatus took place in
Tehran and its vicinity. Most of the others targeted western and northwestern
provinces, possibly because they are easier for Israeli jets to reach and have a
history of protests and insurgencies. Sites farther from Israel saw fewer
strikes. Mashhad, a northeastern city of 3.5 million that witnessed some of
January’s largest protests, saw only one recorded strike against the local
repression apparatus.
The IDF estimated that its strikes eliminated between 4,000 and 5,000 regime
personnel, most of whom reportedly belonged to the regime’s internal security
forces. It was an unprecedented blow, with the aim of spreading fear among all
those who defend the regime.
Yet even losses on that scale represent only a fraction of the personnel
available to the regime. There are roughly 190,000 members of the IRGC, about
half of them conscripts; 90,000 active Basij; and 200,000-300,000 police;
alongside an estimated 450,000 Basij reservists, not all of whom are immediately
deployable.
Unlike during the 12-Day War in June 2025, when Israeli calls for protests
contradicted evacuation warnings from Washington and Jerusalem, President Donald
Trump this year instructed Iranians to remain sheltered, while Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the moment to take to the streets would soon
arrive. An Israeli media campaign repeatedly publicized footage of strikes
against Iran’s internal security forces, pairing it with the message that “we
[Israel] will create the conditions for you to take your destiny into your own
hands.”
Many Iranians cheered the strikes and celebrated after news broke of the
elimination of regime officials. Scenes of people applauding in the streets as
explosions echoed in the background appeared on social media. Other footage
showed individuals playing revolutionary anthems from their balconies and
chanting anti-regime slogans. Ordinary Iranians even shared the locations of
mobile security checkpoints on social media to help Israel strike the units with
drones.
Such hyperlocal targeting of repression patrols and personnel sheltering in
tents after their bases were bombed fundamentally altered the calculus of the
regime’s forces. It was the first time that these forces feared for their lives
as much as the dissidents they persecuted. Reports soon emerged of repression
units hiding under bridges, commanders abandoning their posts, personnel
deserting, and separate security institutions refusing to come to one another’s
aid.
The regime’s growing desperation was evident by late March, when the Islamic
Propagation Coordination Council urged “committed youth,” revolutionary forces,
and volunteers to join its “Homeland Defenders” campaign for defense, following
earlier IRGC recruitment notices seeking children as young as 12 for wartime
support.
The regime began to rebuild its repression apparatus following the U.S. and
Israeli strikes. It is further militarizing its support base as a first line of
defense against protesters. Authorities have spread recruitment billboards and
sent mass texts nationwide, established public weapons-training booths and
nightly firearms classes, and expanded dedicated training for women and
children. They are calling the effort “Life Sacrifice.”
More recent U.S. strikes against Iran, including those following Tehran’s
violations of the June memorandum of understanding that brought about the tense
and often-broken ceasefire, have largely targeted military assets along the
Persian Gulf coast. But to truly maximize its leverage against the Islamic
Republic in any renewed conflict, Washington must degrade the regime’s
repression apparatus to empower the regime’s only existential threat, the
Iranian people.
**Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD), where he focuses on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic
Republic’s regional malign influence. For more analysis from the author and FDD,
please subscribe HERE. Follow Janatan on X @JanatanSayeh. Follow FDD on X @FDD
and @FDD_Iran. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute
focusing on national security and foreign policy.
A Sip of Rebellion
Joseph Habib | Nidaa Al-Watan | November 6, 2026
This is a day woven from imagination; of its details, we have invented nothing
except the thread that binds them. We trace its numbered hours in the lives of
two female friends in Tehran, each harboring the wish to see Iran when the
darkness of the Mullahs clears away.
Last Wednesday morning, which coincided with the anniversary of the 1979
takeover of the US Embassy, one of them—Mahsa—left her home without a hijab. She
was heading to a modern café to drink coffee and read a book whose ideas
radically conflicted with the totalitarian ideology of the Islamic Republic. As
she walked down the street where innocent blood had flowed earlier this year,
men loyal to Tehran's tyrants aroused her suspicion, staring at her with disdain
because she was unveiled. She also noticed a rally
near the former US Embassy site, where indoctrinated protesters raised banners
of death and placards of revenge, repeatedly chanting in loud voices: "Death to
America!" and "Death to Israel!" Mahsa caught fragments of a conversation
between two elderly participants in the rally, the gist of which was that the
Republicans were defeated in the US midterm elections thanks to the "arms of
Iran's heroes." Joy was written on their faces in celebration of the loss of
"Trump's party."The young woman continued on her way, lamenting the state of
Iran and the level of political awareness among a large segment of her country's
people. Minutes later, she reached the café. She entered, ordered her coffee,
and sat at a small round table near a large glass facade overlooking one of
Tehran's upscale streets. She opened her book and resumed reading where she had
last left off. Suddenly, her friend Narjes sneaked up
from behind and covered Mahsa's eyes with her hands. Mahsa turned around, and
the two exchanged kisses and laughter. After reassuring each other about their
well-being and families, Narjes asked her friend in a low voice not devoid of
sarcasm: "Did you see the rally in the nearby street? They are celebrating
Trump's defeat! Have these people no shame? Don't they live among us and suffer
what we suffer daily?"
Mahsa hastened to reply in a tone blending confidence with disgust: "Do you
think those who killed tens of thousands of their defenseless citizens in
squares and streets in just two days have any shred of shame left?" She added:
"They have made our country an enemy of the free world since 1979, plunging it
into tragedies, hardships, corruption, sanctions, and blockades... The situation
can no longer bear further attrition, and there is no way to be rid of them
except by overthrowing the regime, one way or another."
Narjes sighed deeply, sunlight reflecting off her cascading blonde hair, and
said sorrowfully: "We have no hope except leaving this place for America, where
we can enjoy our rights and hold officials accountable without being subjected
to persecution, imprisonment, execution, or murder." She paused for a moment,
her eyes welling with tears, then added: "My brother Azad was killed in cold
blood in January, close to here, because he was demanding a better life for all
of us. What makes it worse is that they restricted us and even interfered in the
funeral arrangements. Does this make any sense?"
She mocked the triviality of the Ayatollah regime's propaganda, considering that
dissidents in America can turn the tables through the ballot box, while the
Mullahs entrench their power by sending their people to their graves
prematurely.
Mahsa placed her hand over the hand of the woman she considered a sister,
squeezing it in comfort: "Do not lose hope, Narjes. Azad was not killed for us
to give up and leave the land that was soaked with his blood and the blood of
our martyrs. We have no right to rest after all we have endured. A day will come
when we liberate our country from the rule of murderers and backward minds. Hard
times have come upon us since the Islamic Revolution hijacked Iran, but the
future will have no mercy on those who stand in the way of free people once they
are determined to complete the mission. We will reclaim our rights with our own
hands, even if it takes time." Narjes smiled faintly
and nodded in agreement, then took a sip of her coffee, imagining a free
Iran—without an Islamic Republic, without a Supreme Leader, and without a
Revolutionary Guard. Let no one miscalculate; dreaming fighters alone make
history.
Trump, the Baseball Cap, and the Veto
Jean El-Feghali | Nidaa Al-Watan | November 6, 2026
There is a phenomenon in Lebanon worth pondering, no less strange than the
fluctuations of Lebanese politics itself: the ability of some Lebanese to
analyze the US elections and read their results not as dictated by facts and
data, but as their political whims desire—as if the ballot boxes in the United
States were opened specifically to confirm their expectations and pre-existing
stances.Since the Democrats won the Senate and House midterm elections, the
temperature of political analysis has risen. Some have begun talking about the
end of the Trump era, the waning of his influence, and the Congress becoming
capable of disrupting his policies and turning the tables in Washington. On the
other hand, others have gone toward opposite readings according to their
positions and calculations. However, it is striking
that many of these readings treat the election result as if it were a coup in
the structure of the American system, rather than a shift in the balance of
power within one of its institutions. The problem is that political analysis is
not built on wishful thinking, nor on projecting local rivalries onto a
completely different international scene.The Democrats' victory in both the
Senate and the House grants them significant legislative and oversight
authority, places political hurdles before the President, and opens the door to
investigations and accountability. However, it does not strip Donald Trump of
his constitutional powers, nor does it turn the White House into an institution
without authority.
Here specifically, one must stop at a single word: Veto.
The US Constitution grants the President the right to object to bills
passed by Congress. Trump can refuse to sign a bill that does not align with his
orientation and return it to Congress, and his objection cannot be overridden
except by a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate. This is not a
mere procedural detail, but one of the pillars of the system of checks and
balances upon which the American Republic was founded.
In other words, the Democrats can win in Congress, obstruct Trump's projects,
and force new calculations upon him, but they cannot assume that everything they
decide will become effective law. There is an elected President who enjoys
constitutional powers, and he is not a mere spectator to Congressional
battles.As for the baseball cap associated with Trump's image, on which the word
"VETO" is written, it perhaps serves as a symbol of this paradox: caps may
change, majorities may shift, and the tone of political discourse may alter, but
the Constitution does not change with every election.
Therefore, before distributing American victories and defeats according to
Lebanese measurements, it is better to read institutions, powers, and balances
of power as they are, not as we want them to be. In politics, as in life, the
problem is not wishing for a specific outcome, but confusing your wish with
reality.
UNIFIL Positions After Withdrawal: Who Owns the Land and Who Controls It?
Tony Attieh | Nidaa Al-Watan | November 6, 2026
As the end of UNIFIL’s mission approaches, a chapter in the history of southern
Lebanon spanning 48 years is coming to a close—a period during which
international forces became an integral part of the lives, daily details, and
memories of southerners. It will not be easy for them, especially those who were
neither hostile to UNIFIL nor attacked them, to get used to mornings,
afternoons, or evenings devoid of Polish, Finnish, Italian, Spanish, French,
Irish, Ghanaian, and other patrols from all corners of the earth after December
31 and the few months the withdrawal is expected to take.
The UN convoy will no longer pass through the streets of their towns, nor will
those mutual greetings between locals and patrol members recur—greetings that
over the years carried familiarity, affection, and welcome, weaving human
relationships, friendships, and cultural, social, and developmental
interactions. It will feel strange for the General Headquarters in Naqoura,
which for decades represented a key landmark of international presence in the
South, to be empty of its soldiers, vehicles, and workshops.
This departure will also open a highly critical real estate and security file.
What will be the fate of the land and real estate occupied by international
forces for decades, as well as the ownership of the facilities and structures
built upon them? And who will actually control these sites—specifically those
located in the "Yellow Zone"—amid the Israeli military presence?These questions
gain added importance given the strategic value of some UNIFIL centers situated
on elevated hills overlooking sensitive border roads and corridors.
Who Owns the Land?
To understand the complexities of this file, one must determine the legal status
of the land occupied by international forces. It is divided between private
property belonging to Lebanese citizens and public property provided by the
Lebanese state.
In a statement issued on April 11, 2011, UNIFIL clarified that the Lebanese
government, through the army, is responsible for providing land and arranging
lease contracts for private properties, and is responsible for paying rental
fees, not the United Nations. International forces also pledged to restore real
estate to its original condition or pay compensation for damages in accordance
with applicable agreements.This relies on the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)
signed between Lebanon and the United Nations in 1995, paragraph 16 of which
stipulates that the Lebanese state provides headquarters, camps, and premises at
no cost to the United Nations, while the land remains Lebanese despite being
under UN authority throughout the period of use. These
legal arrangements are not limited to a few cases, as UNIFIL positions are
spread across vast areas of southern territory, some owned by dozens of
citizens. In Naqoura, the General Headquarters lies partially on private
properties, while the positions of the Italian and Chinese forces in Shamaa
occupy land owned by Lebanese individuals. In Kfarchouba, five positions stand
on properties belonging to 18 citizens, while the Spanish battalion headquarters
in Ibl al-Saqi occupies about 400 dunams—part of which falls within the real
estate scope of the town of Blat—with ownership belonging to about 40 people.
With the withdrawal date approaching, the issue of lease fees and
compensation is raised, alongside the fate of buildings, fortifications, and
fixed installations, the transfer of whose ownership is determined according to
contracts and handover arrangements and does not automatically revert to the
Lebanese Army. As for military and technical equipment, it remains subject to
original ownership rights and arrangements for its withdrawal or transfer.
Who Receives the Centers After Withdrawal?
However, settling legal and real estate matters does not necessarily mean the
possibility of handing over all UNIFIL centers to the Lebanese state or
returning the land to its owners. There is a distinction between centers located
in areas where the Lebanese Army is deployed and exercising its authority—where
the handover process is supposed to occur according to agreed arrangements—and
those located in the "Yellow Zone."Here arises a problem addressed in a briefing
issued by the UK House of Commons Library on September 24, 2026, which noted
that nearly half of UNIFIL’s sites, according to September data, were located
within areas under Israeli control, making the handover of some to the Lebanese
state extremely difficult. In this context, a UN
source points to the possibility of the Israeli army taking over around 30
UNIFIL sites along the Blue Line after their evacuation, noting that
international forces intend to dismantle these sites without destroying them.
Selected Face Book & X tweets on November 05/2026