English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 14/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 12/20-28/:”Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour. ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’”

Titles For The English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 13-14/2026
The day the treacherous and hateful hand reached out to assassinate Bachir the man, yet it failed to kill the dream and the cause he embodied
Elias Bejjani/September 14/2026
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross/Elias Bejjani/September 14, 2026
Emasculated, powerles and puppets/Elias Bejjani/September 12/2026
Exposing MP Melhem Riachi’s Fallacies Regarding Whether Hezbollah Should Be Tried, and Affirming That the Iranian, Terrorist, and Jihadist Hezbollah Is Not the Shiites, but Rather Their Enemy… Falling into the Trap of “Forgive and Forget”/Elias Bejjani/September 12/2026
On the 44th Anniversary of Bashir: Lebanon First and the State’s Monopoly on Arms
Video link of the celebration held on the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of President Bashir Gemayel and his comrades - Ashrafieh
Commemoration of the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of President Bashir Gemayel and his comrades – Ashrafieh
Israel and Lebanon to meet in Rome in October, US official says
Anticipated Lebanese-Israeli Meeting in Washington
Washington Hosts Lebanese-Israeli Meeting; Israeli Withdrawal Expected
Katz: Israeli Army Prepares to Seize Control of "Ali Taher" Heights in Lebanon; Warns Anyone Approaching the Area Will Be "Eliminated"
Anticipated Lebanese-Israeli Meeting in Washington
Artillery shelling and airstrikes in the south... and a massive explosion in Al-Khiam overnight
The strikes did not end its activity.. “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” redistributes its services to alternative service centers
Israeli Patrol Detains and Questions Kafr Shuba Mayor
Negotiations Move Forward... While Israel Takes a Step Back
Patriarch Al-Rai from Hamalaya: Lebanon is not built by the victory of one party over another
Bischop Audi: The State Cannot Remain a Project Deferred Until All Conflicts Are Resolved
Lebanon: On the Anniversary of the Assassination of President Bachir Gemayel
Berri: Between Waiting and Endorsing Suicide
The War of Time Between Hezbollah and the State
General Amnesty Enters the Election Bazaar... Sunni Votes Tip the Scales Between Rival Christian Factions
The State Prevented "The Party" from Handing Over Nabatieh to Israel
Brace Yourselves for a Tougher Phase

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 13-14/2026
Trump says he will consider a request to release more 9/11 records... before boarding his plane back to the U.S.
U.S. Army Commander: We are not concerned about ammunition stockpiles... "We are ready and prepared for any contingency."
Omani Foreign Minister: Regional Meeting Postponed in the Interest of Consensus; Muscat Reaffirms Commitment to Fostering Dialogue Supporting Stability and Cooperation
Trump says US could stay in Iran and keep oil, like Venezuela deal
Gulf-Iran meeting on Strait of Hormuz postponed, Oman says
Saudi foreign minister warns continued regional escalation risks widening conflict
Pakistan PM condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia in call with MBS
Turkey FM says Israel wants to destabilize Syria as he visits Damascus
Trump says Zelenskyy ‘has to stop’ attacking Russian refineries
Russia says hit Ukraine rail site ‘used to transport military cargo’ from Europe
Kremlin not ruling out return to Ukraine talks in October
Israeli strike kills two people in Gaza, medics say
Iraqi Presidency Spokesperson to Al Arabiya: We condemn recent attacks on Saudi Arabia... "The region is destabilized without security cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Iraq."
Yemeni Army Recaptures Positions from Houthis West of Taiz Amid Air Force Strikes
350 Civilians Killed or Injured in Houthi Attacks in Western Yemen; Government Statement Reveals Details; ~2,000 People Arrive in Djibouti Amid Escalation

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 13-14/2026
Bin Laden and the Long Shadow/Meshari Al-Thaidy | Asharq Al-Awsat | September 13, 2026
The War on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia/Colonel Charbel Barakat/September 14/2026
Bashir, Who Departed... and the State That Never Arrived/Daoud Rammal | Nidaa Al-Watan | September 14, 2026
Beirut Port Explosion: Indictment to be Issued Within Days/Tony Karam | Nidaa Al-Watan | September 14, 2026
UNIFIL After 48 Years and Four Wars/Sam Menassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 14/2026
Democracy in Retreat… Its Adversaries on the Rise/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 14/2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets on September 13/2026

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 13-14/2026
The day the treacherous and hateful hand reached out to assassinate Bachir the man, yet it failed to kill the dream and the cause he embodied
Elias Bejjani/September 14/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/09/147262/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHJIZ6NMN8s
On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in 1982, Lebanon witnessed a tragic day that will never fade from its memory nor from the conscience of the Lebanese who believe in their unique identity. That day became a defining milestone in the history of the Lebanese Resistance — a torch still held high with unwavering faith and the steadfast determination of saints by Bashir’s faithful followers.
On that day, the treacherous hand of hatred struck and killed Bashir’s body, yet it utterly failed to kill Bashir’s cause, his ambition, his thought, his patriotism, and his spirit of resistance. On that day, the Cross of Lebanon was lifted to heaven bearing upon it the Martyr of Lebanon, President Sheikh Bashir Gemayel, surrounded by his twenty-three righteous companions who had walked with him on his earthly journey — a journey he dedicated wholly to Lebanon and its sacred cause — and who were granted to accompany him as well on his return to the Paradise of the righteous and the saints.
Bashir was raised upon the Cross of Lebanon after he and his companions had watered the blessed soil of the Land of the Cedars with their pure and sacred blood. He was lifted up surrounded by his martyred comrades to stand with them before his Lord, with a clear conscience, abundant faith, and sacred purity. He rose to heaven after fulfilling his earthly mission, after having drawn the clear contours of the Lebanese Cause, planted within the hearts of the Lebanese the spirit of resistance and sacrifice, and instilled in their souls the unshakable belief in the inevitable victory of the Land of the Message — the land where the Lord Jesus performed His first miracle and which the Virgin Mary blessed, making it a sanctuary for the faithful.
God Almighty willed to distinguish Bashir in his death just as He had distinguished him in his life, lifting him up to His Paradise on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross — the same Cross on which the Only Begotten Son was nailed for the salvation of all humanity. And as the Apostle Paul said: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”(1 Corinthians 1:18)
Bashir embraced the Cross and made it a beacon, a path, and a way of life in spreading his Lebanese message — a message of coexistence, love, brotherhood, loyalty, civilization, culture, dignity, and honor. He ascended to heaven leaving behind his values, his teachings, his spirit, and his love for the homeland in the hearts and consciences of his people whom he loved, having offered himself as a sacrifice for their salvation and freedom. And as Jesus Christ said: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”(John 15:13).
Whoever is protected by the Cross cannot be overcome by demons, nor can the holiness of his cause be defiled by the heresies of the Pharisees, the scribes, and their ilk. And just as Jesus Christ conquered death, shattered its sting, and rose from the tomb on the third day, Bashir’s national and spiritual message shall remain alive until the Day of Judgment. It is this very message that will one day raise Lebanon from the grave of subjugation, dependency, servitude, selfishness, and occupation.
Bashir’s Lebanon will never die, for it lives on in the struggle, resistance, and pride of every Lebanese who truly believes in Bashir’s dream — the dream of the Cause — and who wishes to live with head held high, in dignity and pride, in a free, sovereign, independent, and democratic homeland. A homeland overshadowed by justice, equality, and decent living; a homeland liberated from foreign armies, mercenaries, Trojan traitors, and subversive agents; a homeland governed by its own people, where human rights are respected and human dignity is preserved.
Bashir struggled to restore unity to the Lebanese land, sovereignty to the Land of the Cedars, freedom and dignity to the Lebanese person, authority to the state, and effectiveness to its institutions. He was the one who declared loudly: “We want to live with our heads held high, and what must be changed is the mentality — to renew the person in order to renew Lebanon.”
And as the prophet Malachi said in the Holy Bible: “The law of truth was in his mouth.”(Malachi 2:6)
Bashir, as he offered himself as a living sacrifice upon the altar of the homeland, was following in the footsteps of Christ, who offered Himself out of love for the world. He freely chose the path of Golgotha, believing that there can be no resurrection without the Cross, and no freedom without laying down one’s life. His blood and the blood of his companions were not shed in vain, for they mingled with the soil of Lebanon to sanctify it and give it life — just as the blood of Christ mingled with the wood of the Cross to grant the world salvation and eternal life.
Thus, Bashir’s martyrdom remains a sign of hope and faith: hope in Lebanon’s resurrection from the death of bondage, and faith that whoever lays down his life for his beloved will surely rise with Christ in glory — and with him, Lebanon shall also rise.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross
Elias Bejjani/September 14, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/09/29134/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6aH14yxAY8
On September 14th of every year, the Holy Church, East and West, lifts high the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, not as a wood of shame and death, but as a sign of victory, life and power. It is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross, the feast that summarizes the entire mystery of Christianity: that death was conquered by death, and that love reached its summit on the wood.
How the Cross was lost and how it was found
After the crucifixion on Mount Golgotha, the Romans wanted to erase every trace of the Cross. They threw the wood into a large pit near Golgotha, and built over it a temple to the Roman god Venus, to prevent the early Christians from visiting the place and venerating the Holy Cross.
It remained so until the year 326 AD, when Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, came to Jerusalem with piety and longing, searching for the wood of the Holy Cross. She was told that the Cross was buried near the temple of Venus built by Emperor Hadrian. She ordered the place to be excavated, and three crosses were found.
How would they know which was the Cross of Christ? Tradition says that Patriarch Macarius suggested that each cross be placed, one after the other, upon the body of a dead man whose funeral was passing by at that time. When the third Cross was placed, the dead man rose by a wondrous miracle. They also placed it upon a sick woman and she was instantly healed. Then Patriarch Macarius lifted the wood of the Cross high so that all present could see it, and they cried out with tears of joy, “Lord, have mercy.” And Saint Helena raised the Holy Cross on Mount Golgotha and built above it the Church known to this day as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Cross between captivity and triumph
The story of the Cross did not end there. In the year 614, Chosroes, King of the Persians, entered Jerusalem victorious, and took thousands of Christians captive, foremost among them Patriarch Zacharias, and transferred them to his country, and took the relic of the precious wood of the Cross as booty. It remained in his possession for fourteen years.
When Emperor Heraclius defeated the Persians in 628, his first condition was the release of the captives and the return of the relic of the Cross. Chosroes had died and his son Siroes reigned in his place. He accepted the condition and released the captives with Patriarch Zacharias and handed the relic of the Cross to Heraclius. Heraclius brought it to Constantinople, whose entire population came out to receive him with lamps and hymns of victory and rejoicing.
A year later, Heraclius himself carried the relic to Jerusalem to set it in its place on Golgotha. The people came out to meet him, headed by Patriarch Zacharias, with torches and church hymns, and they walked to the road of Golgotha. There the Emperor suddenly stopped by a hidden power and could not take a single step forward.
The Patriarch came forward and said to the King: “Our Lord Jesus Christ walked this road carrying His Cross, crowned with thorns, wearing the garment of mockery and humiliation, and you are wearing your purple robes and on your head a crown studded with jewels, so you must imitate Christ in His humility and poverty.” The King listened to the Patriarch’s words, took off his luxurious garments, put on a humble garment and walked bareheaded, barefoot, until he reached Golgotha, where he set the Cross in the place where it had been before.
There is a third account linked to the feast, which is the apparition of the Cross to Emperor Constantine the Great himself before a battle against his enemy Maxentius near Rome. While he was in battle, the Cross appeared to him in the clear sky, surrounded by writing in letters prominent with light: “By this sign you shall conquer.” He put his trust in the God of the Cross and was victorious, and he and his soldiers believed in Christ, and made the banner of the Cross flutter among his flags. He brought the Church out of the darkness of the catacombs, ordered the demolition of the temples of idols and built churches in their place. And since that time, since the year 330, the celebration of the Feast of the Cross has spread throughout East and West.
The Cross… Foolishness or the Power of God?
The world sees in the Cross a defeat, but we believers see in it the summit of love and victory. This is what the Apostle Paul explains precisely: “The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
“For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?… For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.”
And our Lord Jesus Himself explained the mystery of the Cross with the grain of wheat: “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit… And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:20-32)
Here is the secret of the Exaltation. The Cross did not remain an instrument of execution, but was lifted up to draw all. Christ did not come down from the Cross to prove His power, but remained upon it to prove His love.
Lebanon and the Cross of Light
Lebanon has been distinguished by this feast since ancient times. On the eve of the feast, then and now, a flame of lights appears on its mountains and coasts, fires lit on mountain peaks reminding us of the light that burst forth from the wood of salvation. The Cross in the Lebanese conscience is not a sectarian symbol, but it is the identity of a land that was sanctified because, as the Lord said to Moses, it is set apart for Him.
On this feast, and as we see our many crosses today: a homeland stripped of its decision, a scattered people, a suffering Church, we remember that the true Cross was not lifted once and ended, but is lifted every day when we choose humility instead of purple, truth instead of bargaining, and witness instead of subservience.
The Cross is the criterion. Whoever does not carry his cross and follow Him cannot be His disciple. And whoever is ashamed of His Cross, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him.
So thanks be to the Lord Jesus who said: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” Amen.

Emasculated, powerles and puppets
Elias Bejjani/September 12/2026
Berri, Qassem, Aoun, Haykal, Salam, Mteri and the mouthpieces of Iran's deception are parrot-fashion regurgitating the narrative of Israel's withdrawal, reconstruction and the release of prisoners, while they are powerless, emasculated, fawn over Hezbollah and grovel to appease it with humiliation and servility.

Exposing MP Melhem Riachi’s Fallacies Regarding Whether Hezbollah Should Be Tried, and Affirming That the Iranian, Terrorist, and Jihadist Hezbollah Is Not the Shiites, but Rather Their Enemy… Falling into the Trap of “Forgive and Forget”
Elias Bejjani/September 12/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/09/157401/
Below is the link to the full clip containing the question and answer from MP Melhem Riachi’s interview (the subject of this commentary), running from 16:30 to approximately 18:45–19:00, and covering the question and answer in full. The link to the full interview, along with the texts of the question and answer, are also at the bottom of the page.
Beginning of the question: 16:30 — Direct link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NuHBg673UM&t=990s
Beginning of the answer: 17:16 — Direct link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NuHBg673UM&t=1036s
At a time when the Lebanese people, particularly sovereignists and free citizens, are waiting for a courageous and frank national speech that puts matters plainly after decades of criminality, assassinations, occupation, invasions, terrorism in all its forms, and the destruction of the state, MP Melhem Riachi’s performance in a Youtube-TV interview on “Voice of Lebanon” on September 10, 2026, constitutes a major disappointment and a resounding political fall, exposing the deep-seated malicious intentions in his personal approaches and, most likely, those of whoever employs him and speaks through him.
When Riachi was directly asked whether the Lebanese Forces would demand that Hezbollah be held accountable for the entire previous period of assassinations and looting, extending to the scandals of tunnels crossing sovereignty and existence (“Lebanon above and Lebanon below”), his answer was shameful and filled with blatant fallacies promoting the heresy of “forgive and forget,” disguised in false legalistic language.
The following text dismantles and refutes this dangerous fall through a direct confrontation between the interviewer’s question and Riachi’s answer:
Journalist Jimmy Francis’s question:
“Regarding the points that Dr. Samir Geagea addressed, he spoke about dismantling Hezbollah. But many people, after the phrase ‘dismantling Hezbollah’ and holding its responsible figures accountable, wondered: Will the Lebanese Forces not demand that Hezbollah be held accountable for the entire previous period in which it is said to have assassinated, stolen, looted, and done all of this? Even today, the issue of the tunnels in the South—does it not warrant prosecution, questioning, and accountability? We know: Lebanon above and Lebanon below. Are you prepared to say ‘forgive and forget’ with Hezbollah, or will you demand that Hezbollah’s officials be held accountable, as well as any official connected to a particular assassination that occurred in Lebanon, especially from 2005 until today?”
MP Melhem Riachi’s answer:
“Any official who has anything to do with a particular assassination that occurred in Lebanon from 2005 until today, of course, we are in favor of putting him on trial. But we are against general, mass trials. These general trials—just as in the old days, during the Middle Ages, when priests would grant general amnesties—this is not how it works! These are all heresies. You cannot come and put an entire people on trial and remove them from their environment and from their people. What Samir Geagea said on Martyrs’ Day was very clear in addressing the Shia environment, in the relationship with the Shiites, and in the relationship with all of Lebanon’s founding components, and the Shiites are part of them. He told them: ‘My sect is my mother.’ But is this holding the Shiites accountable? What is it… pay attention, this is a precise point; because you are asking me and saying to me, ‘Putting Hezbollah on trial’: putting certain officials and leaders on trial, who have been proven to have been exposed and to have had a hand in it—as happened with the International Tribunal—we have no objection to that. But putting the Shiites environment on trial? Certainly, we categorically reject that. And we, the Shiites, are part of our people, and we want to protect them.”
Refuting the Fall: Why Riachi’s Statement Is a Free Service to the Terrorist System and the Iranian Axis
What Riachi’s answer contains amounts to three fatal errors—political, legal, and moral—revealing a desire to evade the issue and exonerate the real perpetrators:
The Great Lie: Inventing a “Trial of the Environment” to Evade the Trial of the Killers
Riachi maliciously and Rasputin-like jumps from the charge of putting “Hezbollah” on trial as an armed terrorist and military organization to an imaginary charge called “putting the Shiites environment on trial.”
The glaring truth is that no one in Lebanon is calling for putting a sect or an environment on trial. The demand is clear and specific: to put an armed militia on trial that possesses a missile arsenal, its own security apparatus, a parallel economy, and the decision to make war and peace outside the institutions of the state.
Turning the discussion from holding a criminal organization accountable into targeting a sect is precisely the malicious, fraudulent, and diabolical narrative that Hezbollah promoted for two decades in order to shield itself behind innocent civilians. For a Christian MP, who is supposedly representing a sovereignist political stances, to adopt this narrative means that he is providing the criminals with free Christian cover. The Shiites in Lebanon are Hezbollah’s first victims, and holding its system accountable is an essential step toward liberating them, not targeting them.
The Ridiculous Appeal to the International Tribunal to Justify Impunity
Riachi relied on the example of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which tried individuals in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, to claim that accountability should be limited only to individuals who actually “pressed the button.”
The fall here is twofold.
First, the International Tribunal limited its jurisdiction to a single crime and was not mandated to investigate Hezbollah’s accumulated criminal record.
Second, the crimes of the party are not merely individual mistakes; they constitute a systematic policy and an integrated organizational doctrine that has extended over 35 years: assassinations targeting sovereignists and free citizens, including, but not limited to, Bassel Fleihan, Gebran Tueni, Samir Kassir, George Hawi, Pierre Gemayel, Walid Eido, Antoine Ghanem, Wissam al-Hassan, Wissam Eid, Mohammad Chatah, Lokman Slim, Joe Bejjani, Elias Hasrouni, and hundreds of others; the May 7, 2008 coup and the forcible occupation of Beirut; the futile wars in Syria and the region; the criminal “war of support” in 2023–2024, which destroyed the South and left its people out in the open, only for Israel afterward to uncover a vast network of tunnels (“Lebanon above and Lebanon below”); as well as the Captagon, money-laundering, smuggling, and mafia-like practices network.
Riachi’s sophistry and his blatantly fraudulent cleverness in reducing Hezbollah’s bloody terrorist record to “a person who pulled the trigger,” while exonerating the leadership and the system, is a disregard for the blood of the martyrs and a legitimization of crimes.
Ignoring the International Reality: Hezbollah Is Not a Lebanese Party but a Military Brigade Directly Affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
The attempt to portray Hezbollah as a local party with which one can negotiate and engage in dialogue, or to apply “forgive and forget” to its criminal record and its treacherous, Iranianized, and jihadist leadership, is a collection of errors and sins and an act of political delusion. The United States and countries around the world have officially come to deal with Hezbollah as an organization wholly affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
When Hezbollah is a military arm of a foreign state, trying its members as individuals and within naïve traditional frameworks amounts to denying the reality of “disguised occupation.” History tells us that terrorist organizations such as ISIS or the Nazi Party were tried as “organizations” and criminal entities, not merely through pursuing some of their field operatives.
Conclusion: A Disguised General Amnesty or Genuine Justice?
What MP Melhem Riachi is proposing, through his openly diabolical rejection of “general trials” and his use of vague references to the Middle Ages and priests, is in reality a disguised general amnesty aimed at turning the page on crime without accountability or punishment.
The Lebanese people, and all those who were displaced, whose homes were destroyed, and whose decision-making was hijacked, do not want revenge against their neighbors. They want a sovereign state that enforces the law, dismantles this parallel entity, and brings its political and military leadership before Lebanese and international courts for all their crimes against the homeland. Exonerating the system under the slogan of “protecting the environment” is the greatest crime, one that destroys whatever hope remains for the establishment of the state.

On the 44th Anniversary of Bashir: Lebanon First and the State’s Monopoly on Arms
Nidaa Al-Watan | September 14, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
On the 44th anniversary of the assassination of President Bashir Gemayel, the occasion serves to revisit key moments of his political journey and his vision for Lebanon. Emphasis is placed on sovereignty, the necessity of restricting arms solely to the State, and maintaining a unified and independent Lebanon across its entire 10,452-square-kilometer territory. MP Nadim Gemayel highlighted the "deep disappointment regarding the State's failure and absence," urging it to "get serious," as no one else will do its job. He asserted that liberating Lebanon from illegal weapons is not the task of Syria or Israel, but the responsibility of the Lebanese State. Gemayel declared, "No, we do not simply say 'at your command, Bey,'" emphasizing that the Lebanese people "do not bow to kiss hands" and that the truth must be spoken, however difficult. He asked, "Do you want all of Lebanon to become a new Nabatieh or a new Ali Al-Tahir Hill?" He also rejected any questioning of the loyalty of Lebanese Army personnel, stressing that the national project encompasses Lebanon in its entirety, rather than a Lebanon tailored to the specifications of any single faction.
He also addressed the camp held in Tannourine, acknowledging that "the olive-green uniform [of the armed faction] is still intimidating," yet the ultimate bet remains on the State. He saluted the youth who participated in the annual camp, affirming that their loyalty is "to Lebanon alone," and recalled the sacrifices made by the Lebanese people in the highlands of Tannourine and Aqoura, as well as in Zahle, Ain El-Remmaneh, Ashrafieh, and Bikfaya. Regarding relations with Israel, Gemayel stated that "peace is neither surrender nor taboo," deeming it a necessary decision if it serves the interests of Lebanon and its people—particularly the South and Lebanon's Shia community. In his address at the ceremony in Sassine Square, political writer Dr. Saleh Machnouk stated that 44 years could be summed up in a single sentence: "How right you were, Bashir." He revisited the vision of a sovereign, united Lebanon, asserting that sovereignty "cannot be fragmented" and that the battle for sovereignty belongs to all Lebanese people. Machnouk emphasized that the new generation is the "Lebanon-First" generation; he rejected the continued transformation of Lebanon into an arena for regional conflicts and causes, insisting that anyone wishing to fight for another cause should do so in the country where that cause originates. He called for restricting the possession of arms to the state, arguing that a genuine defense strategy entails disarming all illegal factions across Lebanese territory, and urged the army to implement state decisions without hesitation. Machnouk concluded by affirming that Bashir Gemayel represents more than just a memory or nostalgia; his courage, candor, and indomitable spirit are "needed in Lebanon today more than ever." He called upon all Lebanese—Muslims and Christians alike—to choose to build a homeland "in Bashir’s image." Dr. Makram Rabah also delivered a speech, stating: "True loyalty to Bashir—and to the heroes we cherish—is not found in their deification. Loyalty to Bashir lies in understanding his project, developing it, and transforming it into a vision that unites the Lebanese people. Ultimately, Bashir did not need a new statue, a larger portrait, or more slogans. He spoke of a state, of sovereignty, of independent Lebanese decision-making, and of institutions capable of protecting the individual, so that no citizen would remain dependent on a leader, a sect, or a militia for protection." He added, "I am not here to claim that I was a follower of Bashir, nor to rewrite my personal history to suit the occasion." Bashir was not a static figure; he was a man who evolved politically. The significance of his experience lies in the conclusion he reached: to change Lebanon, one must do so from within the state itself. It is about gaining legitimacy, not merely winning a battle. In her address, Rasha Mohsen Salim invoked the legacies of the martyred President Bashir Gemayel and Lokman Slim, grounded in the concept of exclusive loyalty to Lebanon. She noted that both men left behind a sacred trust: to defend the land and build a modern, just, and transparent state—one founded on freedom and dedicated to protecting its citizens. Salim emphasized that Bashir and Lokman did not fight for a "mirage" or for perpetual conflicts, but for a homeland worthy of sacrifice—standing firm against agendas of endless war, occupation, and displacement.

Video link of the celebration held on the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of President Bashir Gemayel and his comrades - Ashrafieh
Commemoration of the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of President Bashir Gemayel and his comrades – Ashrafieh
Source: https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/09/157495/
Voice of Lebanon / September 13, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
The 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of President Bashir Gemayel.. Nadim Gemayel: No to the former Syria nor the future Syria, nor to Wilayat al-Faqih, nor to any cause at the expense of Lebanon's interest
The Bashir Gemayel Foundation commemorated, in Sassine Square in Ashrafieh, the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of President Bashir Gemayel and his comrades, in a large gathering attended by a crowd of political, diplomatic, and party figures, with the participation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs Youssef Raji, Justice Adel Nassar, Industry Joe Issa el-Khoury, and Energy and Water Youssef Sadi, head of the Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel and his wife Karin, MP Ghassan Hasbani representing the head of the Lebanese Forces Party Dr. Samir Geagea, and MPs: Nadim Gemayel, Elias Hankach, Ashraf Rifi, Michel Moawad, Jihad Pakradouni, Nicolas Sehnaoui, Hagop Terzian, Raji al-Saad, Jean Talouzian, Melhem Khalaf, Adib Abdel Massih and Ghada Ayoub, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, and Ambassador of Qatar Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Hajir Sanki representing the Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Fahd bin Abdulrahman Al-Dosari, former MP Mrs. Solange Gemayel, Mrs. Joyce Amin Gemayel, Mrs. Youmna Bashir Gemayel Zakkar, Sheikh Amine Gemayel and family members, Governor of Beirut Judge Marwan Abboud, and a number of political, social, media figures and families of martyrs.
The event began with a prayer for the occasion, then the Lebanese national anthem, then Mrs. Youmna Gemayel Zakkar spoke and said: "When we live the legend, we no longer pay attention to time. Forty-four years have passed. A great man from my country carried and believed in Bashir's project, which was not a project for him alone, but was a project for a homeland."
She added: "Yesterday, the 'monk of the cause,' Father Boulos Naaman, left us for a better place, to the embrace of the Father, carrying our concern. The concern of the only space of freedom in this East. His second meeting will be with comrade-in-struggle Bashir, and I believe the first word he will say to him will be: 'If only you had taken care of yourself... how many calamities you would have spared us and your homeland'."
She continued: "On this day, 44 years ago, Abbot Naaman said, in a moment of emotion and prayer for Bashir: 'They say the hero does not die. And this is not true. The true hero dies... and dies in his thirties, after making sure that redemption has been accomplished, and that the promise will be fulfilled'."
And she continued: "From the front of 'Freedom and the Human Being' you embraced Bashir, and you were among the first founders of the 'Bashir Gemayel Foundation'. O holy Abbot, from the heart we say to you: Thank you. And goodbye."
And Mrs. Gemayel asked the audience to stand for a minute of silence for the repose of the soul of Father Boulos Naaman, and announced: "From the first moment, until your martyrdom, your words and speeches turned into a gospel of a cause and a homeland, turned into a written constitution, and became a 'refrain' we repeat at every moment: your words were always for the future... a testament for those near and far... for today, and for every day." And she said: "Release Bashir, free Bashir. Bashir rests when his project is realized, Bashir rests when we fill the deadly void he left. On September 14, 1982, time stopped at four and ten minutes, and Lebanon is still waiting for Bashir's time, waiting for the promise of the homeland, the promise of citizenship, the promise of dignity and dream, the promise of Lebanon." And she added: "There are men who live a full lifetime, and there are men who encapsulate a full lifetime, and you are among them."
Then Mrs. Gemayel recited the names of the martyrs of September 14.
The celebration included a screening of excerpts from the speeches of the martyred President Bashir Gemayel and anthems related to the occasion, in addition to speeches by Dr. Saleh El-Machnouk, Dr. Makram Rabah, Mrs. Rasha Mohsen Salim, and MP Nadim Gemayel.
El-Machnouk
Dr. Saleh El-Machnouk gave a speech in which he said: "Forty-four years, we went around and around, and wasted our time, then we returned to you. Forty-four years, we can today summarize in just one sentence: How right you were, O Bashir. And this conviction is not born today, but it is an old Beiruti conviction. In the famous meeting with President-elect Bashir Gemayel, the Beiruti leader Saeb Salam told him: 'I wish I had known you long ago.' As for me, I did not waste time from the beginning. My colleague Makram reminded me of the session that brought us together with our friend Nadim, he told me: We were sitting at the American University of Beirut, and in that nationalist atmosphere, they were filling our heads with talk about Bashir Gemayel, and we were looking at him and wondering: What is his story? And who brainwashed him? But the truth is that my mother took care of this matter early on, and as it should be."
He said: "On the occasion of Bashir's election and martyrdom, I would like to pay tribute from here to Lebanese women and to their patriotism. If this was my conviction at that time, at the height of the Syrian occupation, and at the peak of the phase of planting artificial hatreds between Muslims and Christians, then imagine the 'battle' I bring to you today. A battle whose title is clear and frank: Bashir, in himself, is a title, yesterday, today and tomorrow, a title for how to overcome our side identities and our historical hatreds, and to be, when the time of seriousness comes, first and last Lebanese, and that is why I came today, I, the son of Mazraa, and a resident of Ras Beirut, and the first lover of Ashrafieh, of course. That is, I belong to those whom Bashir said were good citizens. I came today from the area that they used to call 'West Beirut,' before it was called as such. This is the Beirut that Bashir stood against the image that some tried to attach to him: the isolationist, the sectarian, the divisive. He came and said, word for word: 'The battle of sovereignty must be participated in by all Lebanese, because sovereignty cannot be divisible. If Jounieh is free, sovereign and independent, and West Beirut is occupied, this means that we are all occupied'."
And he continued: "This Beirut is the same one that united its message on the day he was assassinated, two streets away from Bashir, and by the same criminals, and in defense of the same project, the martyred President Rafik Hariri. And since that day, our cause has become one, our vision one, and our dreams one. And the two men who thought, at a moment in time, that they were able to frighten us or break us or divide us, one of them went to the afterlife, while the other fled to Moscow, and the memory of Bashir remained here, in Ashrafieh, and Lebanese who came from every corner of the 10,452 square kilometers began to talk about it."
And he added: "We are a generation of Lebanese born after the martyrdom of Bashir, and became aware of the world after the martyrdom of President Rafik Hariri. But we are not a generation that came from a vacuum, and we are not cut off from a tree. We are a generation of conviction and sacrifice, we are the generation of Gebran Tueni and Pierre Gemayel, we are the generation of this oath, we are the generation of 'Lebanon First,' we are a generation, and unlike many who preceded us, who believes with complete and absolute conviction that: No, lying is not the salt of men, and escape is not two-thirds of manhood. No, we will not see tomorrow, and the matter is not left to 'God will manage it.' And the hand that we cannot break, we do not kiss it and pray for it to be broken. This hand that wants to extend to us and threaten us, whether it comes from the southern suburb or from Tehran, we are the ones who will break it. We are a generation that believes with complete and firm conviction that our fathers and grandfathers played enough. From Abdel Nasser to the PLO, to Hafez al-Assad. And that our governments and our army wasted enough time. From the equation of 'Army, People and Resistance' to the experimental zones. And most importantly, we are convinced that not every time someone appears who wants to trade in the Palestinian cause in Lebanon, we must allow Lebanon to be entered into a new conflict. And not every time Khamenei leaves and a new Khamenei comes in Iran, we must re-enter the country into a new war."[Dahiyeh]
He added: "Whoever wants to fight for another cause or for another country, let him carry his weapon and go fight in the country of his cause. And that is why I came here today, I came based on Bashir's will, to tell the truth that I know, no matter how difficult this truth is. The truth without brokerage, nor cheating, nor trickery, nor that language used by every politician in Lebanon who wants to outsmart us and waste our time. The difficult truth is that the majority of the Lebanese people, Muslims and Christians, want to conclude a peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel. Not a truce agreement, nor an end to the conflict, nor a cessation of the state of war, but a peace agreement. An agreement that puts a final and certain end to 57 years of using Lebanon's land for failed and backward ideological projects, all of which were at the expense of the Lebanese, half of whom became below the poverty line, and the other half in the diaspora."
And he concluded: "The difficult truth is that the leadership of the Lebanese Army, which we respect, its responsibility is to implement the decisions of the Lebanese state, and period."
Rabah
Dr. Makram Rabah gave a speech in which he said: "On the anniversary of the assassination of Bashir Gemayel, I would like to start from a basic idea for me: Loyalty to Bashir, and to the heroes we love, is not by sanctifying them. Loyalty to Bashir is by understanding his project, developing it, and transforming it into a project that brings Lebanese together, because Bashir, in the end, did not need a new statue, nor a bigger picture, nor more slogans. Bashir was talking about a state, about sovereignty, about a Lebanese decision, and about institutions capable of protecting the Lebanese, instead of remaining in need of a leader or a sect or a militia to protect him. And here, for me, begins the true meaning of this anniversary."
He considered that "one of our major sins is that we still live in the past more than we build the future. We know all the details of the disagreements of the past, but we sometimes forget to ask the only question that really matters."
And he asked: "What do we want to do with Lebanon today? And here also falls on us a responsibility, as historians and as citizens, to build a collective memory of citizenship, not a memory that erases the pains of groups, nor asks anyone to forget his martyrs or his experience, but a memory that places all these experiences within a larger national framework," because the most dangerous thing in Lebanon is the weaponization of small memories. Each sect takes its wound, and each group takes its fear, and turns it into a political weapon in the face of other groups, and thus memory, instead of helping us understand the past, becomes a means to reproduce it." And he stressed that "What is required is not a unified and artificial memory, nor an official narrative telling people what they should remember. What is required is a national memory that recognizes that each group has its story and its pain, but says at the same time that no wound gives its owner the right to destroy the state, and no fear gives a group the right to arm itself at the expense of the rest of the citizens. Citizenship begins when memory stops being a weapon, and turns into knowledge and responsibility." And Rabah said: "Bashir was not a rigid project, he was a man who evolved politically. At a stage of his life, like most leaders during the war, he believed that force and weapons were capable of changing the equation, but the importance of his experience lies in that he reached another place: If you want to change Lebanon, you have to change it from within the state, you have to win legitimacy, not just win the battle. You must have an army, but more importantly you must have a state, and the state must reject weapons outside it, and reject that Lebanon remains an arena for the wars of others, or for wars that we Lebanese ourselves bring to our country... And citizenship means that only the Lebanese Army carries legitimate weapons, and that only the state decides war and peace."
Salim
Rasha Mohsen Salim evoked the legacy of the martyred President Bashir Gemayel and Lokman Slim, starting from the concept of exclusive loyalty to Lebanon, and said: "Both left a trust represented in defending the land and building a modern, just and transparent state, based on freedom and protecting its citizens."She stressed that "Bashir and Lokman did not defend a 'mirage' or eternal conflicts, but a homeland worth sacrificing for, in the face of projects of permanent wars, occupation and displacement. And she affirmed that the Lebanese remain to complete what Bashir and Lokman started, calling for taking responsibility and confronting those who try to hijack Lebanon and its identity, and concluded with a call to action: 'Come to the best deed.'"
Gemayel
As for MP Nadim Gemayel, he launched in his speech a series of political positions in which he stressed the need for the state to move from speeches and slogans to decision and implementation, asking: "What was done? And what has been achieved?" and affirming that "What is required is for the state to actually take charge, respect its decisions and be up to its word."
On the file of Hezbollah's weapons, Gemayel considered that "waiting for the party to 'become Lebanese and hand over its weapons to the state' means not understanding its composition, its doctrine and the extent of its connection to Iran." And he called on the political authority to "give the order to the army, affirming his confidence that the military institution will not split and that no one will stand in its way when the political decision is taken." Gemayel rejected "using the pretext of civil war or the division of the army to justify the lack of decisiveness," considering that "failure to address the file of illegal weapons is what threatens the state and its unity." He also criticized "the lack of harmony and commitment between the political authority and the military leadership," and asked "how can the world take Lebanon seriously in light of backtracking on decisions and not implementing them."
In foreign relations, Gemayel stressed that "Lebanon wants the best relations with its surroundings, provided there is no interference in its affairs or ambitions for its land," affirming that "our only loyalty is to Lebanon, not to any state or reference or cause not directly linked to Lebanon's interest." On the subject of peace, Gemayel renewed his position calling for a "bold approach," recalling that he "called from Ashrafieh a year ago for direct negotiations," and said that "the common borders with Israel require a decision that leads to a final solution to the conflict." And he affirmed that "peace is not surrender, and is not among the taboos, if it is in the interest of Lebanon and its people, especially the South and the Shiites of Lebanon and every area of the 10,452 km²."
Gemayel stopped at the concept of the 10,452 km² "which was associated with Bashir Gemayel's project," stressing that it is "a space of freedom, security, dignity, equality, justice, sovereignty, free economy and a free state, and not a space of wars and tunnels and external loyalties." He also paid tribute to the youth participating in the annual Bashir Gemayel camp in the highlands of Tannourine, and "to those who continue to hold on to the land and the sacrifices of previous generations," remembering Bashir and Maya and Pierre and Antoine and Ramzi and Elias and Pascal and all the martyrs.
At the conclusion of his speech, Gemayel affirmed that the past years have proven, in his opinion, "the correctness of the choices of the martyred President Bashir Gemayel and his project in building a real, inclusive, unified, strong and capable state," saying "Bashir was the dream for Lebanon and the nightmare for Lebanon's enemies. And in front of all the deflation parties and hand-kissing that we live today, you remain alone... Bashir the Truth."

Israel and Lebanon to meet in Rome in October, US official says
Reuters/13 September ,2026
Israel and Lebanon will meet in Rome in October to discuss a US-brokered security agreement intended to ease hostilities along the border, a State Department Official told Reuters. The continued implementation of the deal “remains the only viable mechanism to restore Lebanon’s sovereignty and Israel’s security,” the official said, adding that the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors will meet in Washington next week. The seventh round of negotiations in the Italian capital ended in August without a breakthrough on key territorial issues.Hezbollah and Israel returned to war on March 2 amid the wider regional conflict. Israel’s military is occupying what it describes as a “buffer zone” about 10 km (6 miles) into Lebanon along the entire length of the Israeli border. Israeli officials say the zone is necessary to protect northern Israeli communities from attacks launched by Hezbollah. More than 4,300 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since March, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Anticipated Lebanese-Israeli Meeting in Washington
Beirut / Asharq Al-Awsat / September 13, 2026
A US State Department official announced on Sunday that the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington will meet next week to discuss ongoing developments and the continued implementation of the trilateral framework, ahead of the next round of official talks scheduled for Rome this coming October.The eighth session of negotiations had originally been scheduled to take place this month in the Italian capital, Rome, but the US State Department announced that the session had been postponed until next month. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamada Moawad and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter would meet at the State Department next week "to discuss ongoing developments and the continued implementation of the trilateral framework." The official emphasized that the trilateral framework agreement remains the only viable mechanism for restoring Lebanon's sovereignty and ensuring Israel's security.

Washington Hosts Lebanese-Israeli Meeting; Israeli Withdrawal Expected
Al-Markaziya | September 13, 2026   (Google translation from Arabic)
The US Embassy in Beirut announced that the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel will hold a meeting in Washington next week to discuss ways to implement the "tripartite framework" adopted by both sides. The embassy stated that the next round of official Lebanese-Israeli talks would take place in Rome, Italy, this coming October. Israeli reports indicated the commencement of a limited withdrawal from the Ali al-Tahir Heights and a reorganization of the Israeli army's deployment in the area, alongside discussions regarding the potential entry of the Lebanese Army into the heights and their surroundings. Meanwhile, the diplomatic track in Washington remains active, despite the postponement of the official negotiation round in Rome to October. The Israeli public broadcaster "Kan" reported that the Israeli army is preparing to redeploy in southern Lebanon and reduce its troop levels in the area Israel refers to as the "Yellow Line," noting a limited withdrawal from Ali al-Tahir Heights toward Beaufort Castle (Qalaat al-Shaqif). In a parallel development, Israel's Channel 12 reported that Israel is considering allowing the Lebanese Army to enter Ali al-Tahir and the surrounding areas—a move that, if implemented, would revive a previous US-Lebanese proposal for the Lebanese Army to take control of the zone following an Israeli withdrawal. About a week ago, the Israeli public broadcaster revealed that the security establishment was considering a broader plan to redraw deployment lines within Lebanon, dubbed the "Grey Line." The plan entails withdrawing from parts of the current "Yellow Line" to a narrower strip closer to the border—spanning a depth of three to four kilometers—and establishing fixed military positions from which Israeli forces could launch operations into Lebanese territory as needed. At the time, the plan was still awaiting a decision from the political leadership.

Katz: Israeli Army Prepares to Seize Control of "Ali Taher" Heights in Lebanon; Warns Anyone Approaching the Area Will Be "Eliminated"
Riyadh: AlArabiya.net and agencies | September 14, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the Israeli army is preparing to take operational control of the "Ali Taher" heights in southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah or other groups from re-establishing a presence there. Speaking to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, Katz described the heights as part of Israel's "security zone," warning that anyone approaching the area would be targeted. He added that Israeli forces would not withdraw or redeploy until Hezbollah had been disarmed throughout Lebanon. On Friday, Israel had threatened to launch further strikes against Hezbollah at new locations, following a major operation to destroy underground infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed group at Ali Taher Hill in southern Lebanon. "We are ready and prepared to continue the campaign and keep striking Hezbollah at additional locations," Katz said in a statement. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced in a joint statement that Israel had detonated an extensive network of underground tunnels belonging to Hezbollah in the Ali Taher heights. Following the army's announcement of the demolition operation on Thursday, a 4.1-magnitude earthquake was recorded in southern Lebanon, according to the US Geological Survey. AFP journalists felt the tremors from the blasts, while footage released by the Israeli Defense Minister showed a fireball rising into the sky. In a statement coinciding with the Jewish New Year, Katz said, "We promised the residents of the north that we would provide them with protection, and we have kept our promise"—remarks made just weeks before a difficult general election. He added, "We now have a strong security zone—indeed, the strongest ever—that will protect residents from any direct attacks or shelling, and allow us to maintain control and threaten Hezbollah deep within Lebanese territory." For his part, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir pledged in a video statement released by the army on Friday that "any attack on residential communities in northern Israel, or on the IDF forces protecting them, will be met with an immediate and powerful response." Referring to ongoing negotiations between Israel and Lebanon regarding the potential deployment of the Lebanese Army in parts of southern Lebanon—in implementation of the framework agreement between the two countries—Zamir stated that this army must "prove its effectiveness on the ground... otherwise, it will not be possible to move forward with the agreement concluded between the governments of Israel and Lebanon." Last week, the Israeli army announced it had seized control of this high ground, located north of the Litani River at the edge of the occupied zone in southern Lebanon. Israel accuses Hezbollah of digging tunnels in this area that enabled it to launch drones and rockets at Israeli military positions in southern Lebanon, as well as at northern Israel. The Middle East conflict spread to Lebanon starting March 2, after Hezbollah—an ally of Tehran—launched rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, February 28. Israel had previously seized control of the historic Beaufort Castle (Qal'at al-Shaqif) in late May, located just a few kilometers from the Ali al-Tahir area.

Anticipated Lebanese-Israeli Meeting in Washington
Beirut / Asharq Al-Awsat / September 13, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
A US State Department official announced on Sunday that the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington will meet next week to discuss ongoing developments and the continued implementation of the trilateral framework, ahead of the next round of official talks scheduled for Rome this coming October.The eighth session of negotiations had originally been scheduled to take place this month in the Italian capital, Rome, but the US State Department announced that the session had been postponed until next month. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamada Moawad and Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter would meet at the State Department next week "to discuss ongoing developments and the continued implementation of the trilateral framework." The official emphasized that the trilateral framework agreement remains the only viable mechanism for restoring Lebanon's sovereignty and ensuring Israel's security.

Artillery shelling and airstrikes in the south... and a massive explosion in Al-Khiam overnight
Al-Markaziya / September 13, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
The Ali Al-Taher woodland, on the outskirts of Nabatieh Al-Fawqa, was subjected to intermittent artillery shelling, coinciding with an Israeli airstrike targeting the area between the towns of Mifdoun and Zoutar Al-Sharqiya. Zoutar Al-Sharqiya also experienced a violent Israeli-caused explosion this afternoon. Another explosion struck the town of Al-Qantara in southern Lebanon. The towns of Hadatha, Markaba, and Zoutar Al-Sharqiya were subjected to Israeli artillery shelling this morning. Israeli warplanes also launched a raid on the Ali Al-Taher woodland on the outskirts of Nabatieh Al-Fawqa, while three airstrikes targeted the Al-Deir neighborhood in Nabatieh Al-Fawqa, amidst powerful explosions that shook the area. An Israeli airstrike targeted the Al-Aqida neighborhood in Kfar Tebnit. Separately, the Israeli army carried out a massive explosion in the town of Al-Khiam—in southern Lebanon—overnight (Saturday–Sunday), causing windows to shatter in several facing towns. Movement of vehicles was also recorded overnight in the city of Al-Khiam, the town of Houla, and several surrounding towns, coinciding with a blackout of lights in villages along the border strip. Furthermore, Israeli warplanes conducted raids targeting the area between the towns of Hadatha and Haris in the Bint Jbeil district, as well as Wadi Zibqin. Warplanes also launched a raid targeting the town of Al-Qantara and carried out a two-wave airstrike on the outskirts of Nabatieh Al-Fawqa.

The strikes did not end its activity.. “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” redistributes its services to alternative service centers
Central/September 13, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
A new report published by the Israeli “Alma” Institute for Security and Strategic Studies indicated that the Israeli strikes that targeted the branches of the “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” Foundation in Lebanon caused extensive damage to the physical and public structure of the institution, without being able to completely stop its activity. According to the report, which was translated by “Lebanon 24”, “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” may have tended to reorganize its work mechanism by reducing the number of visible and announced branches, in exchange for relying on central service centers that are less visible and more integrated into neighborhoods and commercial and civil environments. The institute pointed out that these centers may operate without signs or clear external indicators, in a move that it believes aims to adapt to military pressures and limit the opportunities for monitoring and targeting sites. According to the report’s data, the “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” network included no less than 31 well-known branches in different regions of Lebanon on the eve of the Israeli strikes in October 2024. During the bombing wave extending between October and November of the same year, it was announced that 28 strikes were carried out, targeting at least 25 branches or properties linked to the institution. By May 2025, information had spoken about the restarting of about 19 branches, before new strikes in March 2026 affected dozens of sites linked to “Al-Qard Al-Hassan,” including branches that had been rebuilt after the ceasefire that entered into force on November 27, 2024. “Alma” estimates that, as of August 2026, the institution began moving from a model based on a wide network of public branches to a structure that includes a smaller number. From central service centers, each center is responsible for providing services to customers belonging to a number of branches that have stopped working. The report indicated information about two service centers in southern Lebanon, one in Maaroub and the other in the city of Tyre, based on an unofficial announcement published on the Telegram application during August 2026.
According to the announcement, the Maaroub Center began work on August 5, to serve customers of the Shehabiya, Ain Al-Mizrab, Bint Jbeil and Maaroub branches, while the Sour Center entered service on August 7 to provide services to the customers of Sour-Al-Bus, Sour Al-Madina and Qana. The institute pointed out that the announcement did not mention the name “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” directly, but the accompanying post on Telegram indicated that these centers are affiliated with the institution. Alma said that he used open sources and visual materials in an attempt to determine the possible geographic scope of the two centers, but he was unable to pinpoint their locations accurately and with certainty. In Beirut, the report talked about monitoring two service centers in Haret Hreik, one of them on Al-Areed Street, and it is believed that they are providing services to customers of about 17 former branches in the capital that were subjected to strikes and have not yet resumed their activities. As for the Bekaa Valley, the institute explained that it does not have confirmed information about the current status of the branches, but it is likely that the institution will resort to a similar model based on consolidating the services of a number of branches in limited centers. The report also dealt with an incident that occurred in July 2026, which resulted in the cancellation of the reopening of one of the “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” branches in the “Dunia Cinema Center” building in the city of Tyre, after the building was bombed, following the objection of residents and owners of commercial establishments in the building and its surroundings to the reopening of the branch. Alma concluded that the Israeli strikes, despite their wide scope and the damage they caused, did not lead to an end to the activity of “Al-Qard Al-Hassan,” but rather may have prompted the institution to restructure its operational model. According to the institute’s estimate, this model is based on reducing the number of visible sites, and integrating the services of the affected branches into smaller, more central and less visible centers within civilian and commercial areas, which may make monitoring and targeting these sites more difficult.

Israeli Patrol Detains and Questions Kafr Shuba Mayor
Al-Markaziya / September 13, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
After an Israeli patrol advanced yesterday to the outskirts of the town of Kafr Shuba in the Arqoub region, the Mayor of Kafr Shuba and Head of the Arqoub Municipalities Union, Qassem Al-Qadiri, was subjected to questioning and interrogation by the patrol. This occurred while he was at the site of the water reservoir that supplies the town. According to reports, Al-Qadiri was interrogated and his phone was confiscated by the patrol before he was released. He returned to the town in good health. In a related statement clarifying yesterday's events, the Kafr Shuba Municipality announced that Mayor and Union Head Dr. Qassem Al-Qadiri had been questioned and interrogated by an Israeli patrol while at the water reservoir site; he was questioned and his phone was taken before he was released. The municipality confirmed that Dr. Qadiri is safe and in good health, is now back among his family and fellow townsfolk, and was neither detained nor taken to any other location.

Negotiations Move Forward... While Israel Takes a Step Back
Nidaa Al-Watan / September 14, 2026   (Google translation from Arabic)
Forty-four years after his martyrdom, Bachir Gemayel remains the benchmark against which the state’s capacity to truly function as a state is tested. The pivotal equation is clear: it is either the Lebanese "Republic of Bachir" or the Iranian "Republic of Khamenei." Caught between two vastly different models—diametrically opposed in a life-or-death struggle—the South serves as the true testing ground for this existential choice. The state is attempting to assert its presence by bolstering the deployment of the army and security agencies in Nabatieh and its environs—backed by local residents—yet this effort remains fraught with risk as long as Hezbollah refuses to surrender its weapons or allow the state to hold a monopoly on force and decision-making. It is precisely here that the legacy of Bachir Gemayel regains its significance. In his political thought and doctrine, the genuine Lebanese resistance he led was neither an end in itself nor a project for a "state-within-a-state"—unlike Tehran’s militia in Lebanon. Amidst discussions on restoring the territory to the fold of state legitimacy, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported that the Israeli army had carried out a limited withdrawal from the Ali al-Tahir heights toward Beaufort Castle (Qalaat al-Shaqif). Contacts are reportedly underway with the Lebanese government to discuss the potential entry of the Lebanese Army into Ali al-Tahir and the surrounding area. Reports also indicate an Israeli plan for a gradual pullback from current troop positions, eventually reaching the "Yellow Line." In light of this military situation, the diplomatic track is regaining momentum following a temporary freeze. The US Embassy in Beirut quoted a State Department official stating that Lebanon’s Ambassador to the US (Nada Hamadeh Mouawad) and the Israeli Ambassador (Yechiel Leiter) are set to meet at the State Department next week. They will discuss current developments and continue implementing the "tripartite framework"—described by the official as the "only viable mechanism to restore Lebanon's sovereignty and Israel's security"—while noting that the next round of formal talks is scheduled for Rome in October. In this context, *Nidaa Al-Watan* reported that the meeting will focus on assessing the situation and overcoming obstacles to the new round. It will serve as an opportunity to clarify matters and determine the feasibility of continuing negotiations, at a time when Washington is pressing to maintain the negotiating track and achieve a tangible outcome.
**A Trilateral Summit Paves the Way for Army Support**
Concurrently, as progress is made on the file regarding support for the army and security agencies, *Nidaa Al-Watan* has learned that a summit will bring together President Joseph Aoun, French President Emmanuel Macron, and King Abdullah II of Jordan, ahead of the preparatory meeting in Paris aimed at supporting the army. The summit will address the situation in Lebanon and the region, as well as ongoing conflicts. It will be followed by the opening of the preparatory conference, which is intended to pave the way for mobilizing broad support for the Lebanese Army and security agencies, subject to specific conditions and mechanisms.
**Bashir in Achrafieh**
While the equation of statehood and sovereignty is being tested both on the ground and in the corridors of Rome, the memory of Bashir Gemayel has returned to the forefront from the heart of Achrafieh—"Bashir’s starting point." The event drew significant diplomatic, political, and public attendance, notably including US Ambassador Michel Issa. In his address, MP Nadim Gemayel asserted that the fundamental prerequisite for the country's recovery is for the State to "take itself seriously, respect its own decisions, and stand by its word," emphasizing the need for the will and boldness to implement a genuine state-building project. Gemayel criticized the notion of banking on a shift in Hezbollah’s stance, stating: "If you are waiting for the Party to become truly Lebanese and hand over its weapons to the State, then you fail to understand its politics, its ideology, or the extent of its ties to Iran." He noted the readiness of the international community, as well as Arab and Gulf states, to support Lebanon, yet he placed the primary responsibility on the domestic front, asking: "How can the world take us seriously when you allow the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the militia to continue tunneling into our mountains while you merely watch? Do you want all of Lebanon to end up like Bint Jbeil and Ali al-Tahir?"
The State Commemorates the "Dream President"
A notable aspect of this year’s commemoration is the shift in attitude; the State—for whose establishment Bachir was martyred, and which subsequently endured long periods of Syrian occupation and later Iranian hegemony—had previously avoided even mentioning his name. Today, the landscape has changed. The President of the Republic has placed the memory of Bachir at the heart of the national consciousness and the project to restore the State. He affirmed that the martyred President remains "a symbol of faith in Lebanon as a mission, a sovereign entity, and a land of freedom," and that his slogan—"Lebanon: 10,452 km²"—encapsulated a national philosophy grounded in the unity of the land and the entity, while rejecting partition and exclusion. He renewed the pledge to continue building a "strong and just State." Prime Minister Nawaf Salam noted that a dispute—no matter how intense or far-reaching—cannot justify resorting to assassination, whether by means of explosive devices or silenced weapons. He emphasized that moving past the violent chapters of Lebanon’s history is not achieved by denying them or consigning them to oblivion, but rather through frank dialogue, reconciliation, and the management of differences within the framework of state institutions and democratic principles.
On the judicial front, and in a significant development regarding the Beirut Port explosion case, Advocate General at the Court of Cassation Judge Mohammad Saab has finalized the Public Prosecution’s submission on the merits of the case. He is expected to hand it over tomorrow to the Judicial Investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, paving the way for the issuance of the indictment.

Patriarch Al-Rai from Hamalaya: Lebanon is not built by the victory of one party over another
Central/September 13, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
The town of Hamlaya, the birthplace of Saint Rafqa, celebrated the 25th anniversary of the declaration of her sainthood, in a comprehensive spiritual occasion during which the Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi presided over the Divine Liturgy, after he was received by spiritual and political figures and the people of the region, and a ceremony was held on the occasion. In his sermon, Patriarch Al-Rahi said, “Lebanon has exhausted itself for a long time with many contradictory calculations and priorities, while what is required is for the nation’s interest to become a point of convergence among the Lebanese, because the nation is not built by the victory of one party over another, but rather by a common will that protects the land, preserves humanity, and establishes peace, justice, and stability.” In recalling the testimony of Saint Rafqa, Al-Rai saw that “patience does not mean surrender to reality, but rather steadfastness in faith and work for a better reality,” noting that “Rafqa suffered but was not defeated, and waited but did not despair, and remained steadfast without losing her hope.” The Patriarch concluded by praying through the intercession of Saint Rafqa, asking that “the believers learn to choose “the one thing that is needed,” and that God remain at the heart of their lives, and that the Lord bless Hamalaya and Lebanon and preserve his people in peace and hope,” repeating: “Saint Rafqa, pray for us and for Lebanon.”

Bischop Audi: The State Cannot Remain a Project Deferred Until All Conflicts Are Resolved
Al-Markaziya / September 13, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
Metropolitan Elias Audi of Beirut and its Dependencies (Greek Orthodox) presided over the Divine Liturgy at Saint George Cathedral. After the Gospel reading, he delivered a sermon in which he said: "For the Christian, the Cross is not a sign of suffering, but a sign of love. In today’s Gospel, we heard: 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.' This is the truth we realize when we behold the Cross. God loved us, and the Cross is the way He demonstrated that love. He did not love us from afar, nor did He stand by as a mere spectator to our suffering; rather, He drew near to humanity, took on human flesh, and entered into our weakness, pain, and death, in order to open a path to life for us from the very heart of death. Therefore, when we look at the Cross, we should not see only the suffering Christ endured for our sake; we must also hear His call for us to come to Him and bear our own cross alongside Him. Christ did not save us from the Cross by eliminating suffering from our lives; instead, He saved us through His presence with us in that suffering, transforming the Cross into a path leading to the Resurrection. This is what the Apostle Paul understood when he said: 'But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.' We boast in the Cross because it holds the mystery of love. The Cross is not a burden when borne out of love; it is not a weakness when borne for the sake of truth; and it is not an end when Christ is our companion on the journey to the Kingdom. Thus, the Apostle Paul also says: 'And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires' (Galatians 5:24). The cross we bear is not merely the difficult circumstances we face; it is also that which we must put to death within ourselves. Our cross might be learning to forgive and letting go of a long-held grudge. It might mean accepting that our word will not always prevail, or setting aside our pride and extending a hand to those who have wronged us—or to those in need—instead of withdrawing into ourselves and thinking only of our own interests." He added: "We live in an age where people seek to escape all pain, pursuing comfort, success, and prosperity. The Gospel reminds us that we do not mature by fleeing the Cross, but rather by learning to bear what we cannot change without losing our faith, and by transforming our suffering into an opportunity for love. We are not called to love pain, accept injustice, or surrender to evil; rather, we are called to ensure that pain does not diminish our capacity for love, mercy, and hope. These words resonate with the life of every Lebanese person. The Cross of this country has become heavy, and the weariness of its people has endured for too long. Many carry unspoken anxieties within their homes, fear of the future in their hearts, and burdens in their lives that they did not choose. There are those enduring the ravages of war, those who have lost their savings or their homes, those toiling to provide for their families, those awaiting a son or daughter who left in search of a secure future, those who have lost the ability to dream, and those who ask in prayer: 'Lord, how long?' We have no answer to this question. The Church does not tell us that the Cross is light or that pain does not hurt; the Gospel does not deny human suffering. Christ Himself wept for His friend Lazarus, and He suffered and cried out on the Cross. Yet, the Church tells us that we do not bear this Cross alone and that God sees." He continued: "If Lebanon is bearing a long-standing cross, let us ensure that this cross does not turn into harshness and despair within us. Let us not allow poverty to make us selfish, nor fear to breed resentment and hatred among us; let us not let disappointment kill our hope, nor allow the prolonged crisis to make us indifferent to the suffering of others. Let us make our cross an opportunity to rediscover one another—where the strong bear the weak, the capable support the needy, and the healthy comfort the suffering—and to uphold each other's human dignity. This message is directed especially at those who control prices in this country. Citizens can no longer secure a decent life due to financial hardship and exorbitant costs. While the excuse given is the high price of fuel, the reality is greed and a lack of love for one’s neighbor; people prioritize their own interests over the tragedy of their fellow citizens. This situation demands swift—indeed, urgent—intervention by officials to curb greedy manipulators and to alleviate the citizens' suffering rather than burdening them with further taxes and fees. We have long called upon the Lebanese people to rally behind the State and entrust it with all their affairs, recognizing it as the sole responsible authority; yet, the State must demonstrate to its citizens that it is working seriously and competently to resolve both its own problems and theirs. The State cannot remain a project deferred until all conflicts and wars are settled. Governance is about vision, planning, decision-making, and execution. Decisions alone are insufficient; what is required is diligent work following those decisions, a genuine intent to implement them, and the pursuit of radical reforms and innovative solutions to the lingering problems that negatively impact citizens' lives." He said: "Christ does not tell us that our path is free of the cross; rather, He tells us He is with us on the journey. A cross borne alone might crush us, whereas a cross borne with Christ becomes a stage on the path to salvation. Since every human being is created in the image of Christ, each is called to help their fellow human bear their cross. This may not eliminate pain, but it gives it meaning; it may not shorten the wait, but it preserves hope within us; it may not immediately change circumstances, but it transforms the heart living amidst adversity. Let us, then, come to Christ with our crosses and lay before Him our weariness, our fears, our destiny, our families, our homeland, and all that we no longer know how to carry; let us allow Him to share the burden of what we could not bear alone. Let us always remember the words of the Gospel: 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.' If the cross began with love, we can only bear it through love; and if Christ transformed the cross into a path to the Resurrection, let us believe that our own crosses are not the final destination of our lives."
He concluded: "Therefore, no matter how long the time of the cross may last, let us not lose hope or let go of Christ’s hand. And no matter how long the night of Lebanon endures, let us persevere in prayer, work, and love—for we believe in a God who entered death to grant us life, and in a Christ who was crucified and rose again, triumphing over death."

Lebanon: On the Anniversary of the Assassination of President Bachir Gemayel
Former Judge and Lawyer François Daher | Facebook | September 13, 2026
1- Iran remains committed to its regional ideological-political project.
2- Hezbollah persists with its narratives within that project.
3- The Lebanese authorities have adopted Hezbollah’s narratives, having declared their own powerlessness vis-à-vis the group.
4- Israel continues to consolidate its positions—as part of a strategy to safeguard its entity, existence, and security stability—at a pace dictated by the extent of U.S. authorization.
5- All parties are seeking to weather the U.S. presidential term with minimal losses.
6- Lebanon is condemned to stagnation and attrition throughout the term, held captive by the demands of the Party and its constituency, and burdened by the losses the Party has inflicted upon the rest of the Lebanese people—a situation that explains the rampant cost-of-living crisis.
7- Opposition and sovereignist forces remain deliberately fragmented and devoid of a political project; they have kept themselves imprisoned by the Taif Agreement and confined within the cage of the centralized governance system, scavenging for scraps—rendered toothless and unable to break free or escape its bars.

Berri: Between Waiting and Endorsing Suicide
Alan Sarkis | Nidaa Al-Watan | September 14, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
The South is falling, piece by piece. The tunnels at Fatlat Ali al-Tahir have been blown up. The threat has drawn closer to Nabatieh, the capital of Jabal Amel. The Lebanese Army has deployed amidst mounting public calls for its presence. A second "Call from Nabatieh" has emerged, demanding that the State step in to protect the city and its residents—a move met by a swift visit from General Joseph Aoun—while Hezbollah remains on the battlefront and Iran stays in the background. Amidst these developments, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri finds himself facing the most perilous political moment of his career. The landscape in the South is shifting rapidly. It is no longer merely a matter of a fallen military post or a destroyed tunnel; villages are being drained, homes demolished, livelihoods halted, and families displaced. A region that served for decades as the socio-economic heartland for Lebanon’s Shiites is under fire. Consequently, a question is gaining traction within the Shiite community: What has Iran done to the South? Have Lebanon’s Shiites been left to their fate now that the country has been transformed into an arena for a war far larger than itself? Dissent is mounting, and sentiments once difficult to voice publicly are now being openly expressed: that Iran has sold out Lebanon’s Shiites—as well as the South and Jabal Amel—leaving Hezbollah to wage a war for which the people of the South are paying the price. Many fear that the "Gaza model" will be replicated in Lebanon, transforming the conflict with Israel into a catastrophe that engulfs the Shiite community itself. Berri is monitoring this shift. He is aware of the growing tension within his own constituency and recognizes that the rift between the Amal Movement and Hezbollah has transcended mere political disagreement. Tensions have surfaced in Arabsalim, and warning signs have appeared in Dahiyeh; a fire is smoldering beneath the ashes. For this reason, Berri draws a red line against intra-Shiite infighting, knowing that its eruption could open a door that no one could close. Today, Berri faces two stark choices. He can wait—thereby preserving a minimum level of Shiite unity—while watching the South being drained and losing political capital within his own constituency, despite having previously warned that Israel is capable of occupying the South. Alternatively, he can intervene and push for the State to reclaim its decision-making authority and halt the war, but in doing so, he would clash with Hezbollah and a military apparatus linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Berri navigates between these two options. He allows the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council to host US Ambassador Michel Issa to discuss the sect’s future, standing, and existence, yet simultaneously hardens his political stance by rejecting the "Framework Agreement" and declaring it null and void. He sends signals to both domestic and international audiences, attempting to open one door without slamming another shut, all while time runs out. Berri knows the equation has changed; the balance of power is no longer what it was. The South, the Bekaa, and the Dahiyeh have become increasingly exposed to Israel, and the State can no longer protect its territories unless it regains control over its own decisions. Most importantly, Berri knows that the military decision is not in his hands: Hezbollah holds the weapons, while the IRGC controls key aspects of military decision-making. Indications suggest that Hezbollah no longer deals with Berri and his political leadership as it once did. Berri sees a catastrophe taking shape before him; he does not want to leave his community facing a fate like that of Gaza, yet he cannot afford an open confrontation with Hezbollah. He knows that any internal Shiite clash would be catastrophic. Yet, he also knows that leaving things as they are could be even more dangerous. For now, Berri has chosen to wait. But waiting is not a permanent stance; every passing day brings further destruction, mounting anger, and the continued erosion of the state. Berri is approaching a moment of decision: either intervene before the South is confronted with a new *fait accompli*, or wait until national suicide becomes an irreversible choice.

The War of Time Between Hezbollah and the State
Amjad Iskandar | Nidaa Al-Watan | September 14, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
Since instigating the "Gaza Support" war, Hezbollah has lost its "South" card—not only militarily but politically as well. The weaponry it employed for decades to impose its terms within Lebanon and across the region has lost much of its leverage following the defeats it suffered. The longer the party delays handing over its arms to the state, the more its ability to alter the new political reality diminishes. An official decision might well await a major security blunder by the party, turning the issue of its status as an illegal organization into a matter requiring military intervention. Yet, this logic existed even on the eve of the "Al-Aqsa Flood"; nevertheless, the party launched the "Gaza Support" war, dragging Lebanon into a confrontation over which it had no say. The Lebanese people do not have the luxury of time, and the state must not hold the recovery of its sovereign decision-making hostage to the very entity that usurped it. Israel has changed in many respects since October 7; consequently, an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon will not mirror the events of 2000—not until Hezbollah’s military capabilities have been shattered.
Here lies the most dangerous paradox: an unplanned convergence of interests has emerged between the Lebanese state and Israel in confronting a reality imposed by the party itself. Neither the state nor any Lebanese faction desired this path. Yet, responsibility for this reality rests with those who insisted on keeping Lebanon an arena for a conflict that transcends its borders and interests, and on retaining an arsenal that has become a primary factor in exposing the country to perils over which it holds no control. The "new state" in Lebanon is not the heir to the forces that, for years, turned a blind eye to the expansion of the *Velayat-e Faqih* (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) project under the pretext of confronting Israel. The theory prioritizing the conflict with Israel—at the expense of political stability, freedom, development, human rights, and prosperity—has failed. Nations are not built on perpetual warfare, nor is their strength measured by an armed organization's ability to launch missiles; rather, it is measured by the capacity to protect citizens, secure their future, and safeguard sovereignty. Ideologies such as "Islam is the Solution," when transformed into projects for armed rule, yield nothing but tragedy and defeat. Furthermore, accepting a political organization that seeks to turn Lebanon into an authoritarian Islamic regime—on the sole condition that it lays down its arms—is akin to the world accepting Nazism on the condition that it withdraws from the countries it occupied. The problem is not resolved simply by warehousing weapons if the underlying ideology and the power project relying on it remain intact. The "Iranian model" offers a vivid example of the dangers inherent in closed, ideological regimes. Iran established Hezbollah in Lebanon for purely military reasons; weaponry was the means, and a military function was the project's core. When the ability to utilize that function vanishes, the foundation upon which the organization was built collapses. Thus, the question today concerns not merely the fate of the arsenal, but the fate of the very purpose for which the party was created, as well as the state's ability to end the duality of arms and decision-making. The battle in Lebanon is not just about weapons; it is about the nature of the state, its identity, and its sovereign decision-making. Either the state prevails—restoring authority over war, peace, and weaponry to its institutions—or Lebanon remains trapped between an impotent state and an armed mini-state.

General Amnesty Enters the Election Bazaar... Sunni Votes Tip the Scales Between Rival Christian Factions
Sobhi Qablawi / Nidaa Al-Watan / September 14, 2026
On August 12, 2026, Parliament passed a law reducing sentences—widely known in the media as the "General Amnesty Law"—which was notably linked to the issue of Islamist detainees. However, the law's repercussions extend beyond the Sunni public that supports it; a broad segment of this community believes that the Battle of Abra—fought between Sheikh Ahmed Al-Assir’s group and the Lebanese Army—was orchestrated by Hezbollah and the "Resistance Brigades," and that the subsequent investigations and trials were unfair. This brings to the fore a key issue regarding the Christian electoral wager on Sunni votes. Following the challenge filed against the law with the Constitutional Council on September 10, 2026—personally submitted by Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Gebran Bassil—an intra-Christian conflict between the FPM and the Lebanese Forces (LF) came to light, coinciding with reactions within the Sunni street. It is worth noting that the Lebanese Forces supported the amnesty law, consistent with their stance that the matter required a resolution that upholds justice and lifts the burden of oppression from the aggrieved.
According to circulating reports, meetings between MP Ghada Ayoub and representatives of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Assir began weeks before deliberations on the General Amnesty Law even commenced. These meetings were held away from the media spotlight, due to the specific sensitivities of Sidon, as well as the legacy of the war east of Sidon and the accompanying political narratives that held the Lebanese Forces responsible for the conflict during that period. However, following the stance taken by the Lebanese Forces in support of the general amnesty law, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Assir inquired about the possibility of publicizing these meetings; the response was that there was no objection. Consequently, a photo was published showing MP Ghada Ayoub with a committee of Sheikh Al-Assir’s supporters to discuss the legislation.
In political terms, this development suggests that those within the Sunni community who were able to move past the events of May 7 can also transcend the legacy of the Lebanese Civil War—especially given the significant time that has elapsed since those events. Conversely, the Free Patriotic Movement’s negative stance on the general amnesty law has further embarrassed its allies in areas with a significant Sunni presence—particularly in Sidon, where Sheikh Ahmed Al-Assir enjoys notable support among a segment of the electorate. Thus, this issue could translate into an electoral gain for the Lebanese Forces in the upcoming parliamentary elections, while making an alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement politically costlier for certain figures in Sidon and the broader Sunni community. This dynamic is not limited to Sidon; it could extend to other Sunni-majority areas, such as Iqlim al-Kharroub, where the position of Christian political forces regarding the amnesty law could become a decisive factor in shaping electoral alliances. Furthermore, should Sheikh Ahmed Al-Assir’s release occur shortly before the parliamentary elections, he could emerge as a highly influential electoral asset—and perhaps even a "dark horse" in the race—contrary to initial appearances.

The State Prevented "The Party" from Handing Over Nabatieh to Israel
Jean Fghali | Nidaa Al-Watan | September 14, 2026
Regarding the story of the Ali al-Tahir hill, the problem lies not merely in the loss of a military position, but in a question that inevitably confronts the Lebanese people: Why did Hezbollah not hand this position over to the Lebanese Army, given that the Party knew the alternative could be the Israeli Army seizing it? This question has moved beyond mere political debate. The Party refused to hand the hill over to the Army—even though doing so would have strengthened Lebanon’s negotiating position with Israel. Instead, events on the ground culminated in the Party evacuating the site, followed by Israel announcing its control over it. Worse still, Hezbollah evacuated Ali al-Tahir with a green light from Iran. Herein lies the paradox demanding scrutiny: If Hezbollah views Israel as the primary threat to Lebanon, why is handing a Lebanese position to the Lebanese Army considered more difficult than leaving it vulnerable to falling into Israeli hands? The Party might justify its stance with military considerations, arguing that surrendering a strategic site to the Army before reaching a comprehensive understanding regarding its arsenal could force it to make greater concessions. Yet, this very argument exposes the core of the problem: the Party does not view the Lebanese Army as the sole, natural authority for defending Lebanese territory; rather, it sees the Army as a party whose acquisition of a military position could alter the equation regarding the Party's weapons. This is the most painful aspect of the Ali al-Tahir saga, for the Lebanese State should have been the natural beneficiary of any withdrawal from a Lebanese military position. If Hezbollah were to withdraw from the site only for Israel to subsequently establish a presence there, the conflict would no longer be solely with Israel; it would also become a dispute over who holds authority regarding the territory and the use of arms. The Ali al-Tahir incident demonstrated that the slogan of "Resistance" can turn into a political quagmire when the state itself is sidelined from the defense equation. If Hezbollah refuses to hand the site over to the army—fearing this might set a precedent leading to the surrender of other positions—then the issue is not merely the hill itself; the problem lies in the rejection of the principle that the state holds exclusive authority over military decisions. This is precisely the crux of the matter: Hezbollah realized that Ali al-Tahir was not the ultimate objective. It feared that ceding the site would establish a precedent for a new pattern—one beginning with Israeli military pressure and culminating in the Party surrendering everything. More critically, losing the site to Israel does not strengthen Hezbollah’s position; instead, it raises a counter-question: What benefit did Lebanon derive from Hezbollah holding the site if the outcome was its fighters withdrawing without the position being transferred to the Lebanese Army? In this context, it is the state—not the Party—that should be given the opportunity to control the territory and the decision-making process. Lebanon does not need an armed force that unilaterally decides where to fight and where to withdraw, only to leave the state to deal with the consequences. Ali al-Tahir is not just a hill; it is a genuine test of the very concept of the state. The harshest outcome for Hezbollah is that its refusal to hand the site over to the state might prompt its adversaries to ask: Was protecting the "Resistance" more important to the Party than preventing Israel from reaching the site?

Brace Yourselves for a Tougher Phase
Antoine Farah | Nidaa Al-Watan | September 14, 2026
It appears Lebanon is heading toward the end of 2026 much as it ended previous years: with yet another postponement of the crisis and the solution. The year that was supposed to witness serious progress in addressing the financial collapse is drawing to a close without a final decision on the law to address the financial gap; meanwhile, the Parliament will devote the remainder of the year to debating and passing the 2027 budget. As for depositors' funds, the issue is once again being deferred to the coming year. Notably, this delay requires no complex political analysis or interpretation; the Governor of the Central Bank has spoken of it clearly. Practically, this means that addressing one of the greatest financial crises in Lebanon’s modern history will not begin before 2027—nearly seven years after it erupted. Yet, the most difficult question is not whether the resolution process will be pushed to 2027, but whether 2027 will truly be the year of the solution. Nothing guarantees this so far. The draft law addressing the financial gap, in its current form, suffers from a fundamental flaw: it appears less like a rescue plan and more like a scheme to manage—and deepen—losses. If left unchanged, there is a risk that the "gap solution" will itself turn into a new gap, with depositors bearing the brunt of the cost while the State’s actual responsibilities remain a subject of dispute. What is needed is not merely to polish the draft or introduce technical amendments, but to reconsider its very structure and philosophy. A law intended to restore confidence in the financial system cannot effectively begin by enshrining depositors' losses. Otherwise, Lebanon will not have resolved the collapse; it will simply have institutionalized a new method for managing it. It is against this backdrop that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation is visiting Beirut. However, the visit shows no signs of a breakthrough in the crisis. The delegation comes merely to offer pleasantries—and perhaps a "blessing" for the bank restructuring law (provided it is not challenged)—while reiterating its familiar criticisms regarding the financial gap bill, thereby further complicating an already complex situation. Yet, the crisis is no longer solely financial; the economy’s fate is inextricably linked to the trajectory of the national crisis and the regional war. As the war appears protracted and complex, and the path of negotiations remains murky, any hope for an economic turnaround remains open to justified skepticism. Crucially, it remains unclear whether the conclusion of this process will truly pave the way for the restoration of full sovereignty—an issue inseparable from the country's ability to build a state and an economy capable of recovery. Consequently, 2027 may prove more difficult than some anticipate. Purchasing power will remain under severe strain, and the labor market—particularly in the Gulf, where many Lebanese work—will face further challenges; any decline in job opportunities or remittances from the region would have immediate repercussions for the Lebanese economy. Thus, Lebanon does not appear poised to enter 2027 with a comprehensive rescue plan in hand; instead, it faces a deferred crisis, a legislative bill requiring a complete overhaul, and a regional landscape fraught with uncertainty.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 13-14/2026
Trump says he will consider a request to release more 9/11 records... before boarding his plane back to the U.S.
Reuters / September 14, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he would consider a request from relatives of those killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks to release further records related to the events. Speaking to reporters in Ireland before boarding his plane to return to the United States, he said, "I will look into it when I get back." Relatives of those killed and injured in the 9/11 attacks are calling for the declassification of more records linked to the attacks. Bipartisan lawmakers in New York have urged the Trump administration to release certain phone call records. New York Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis told ABC News earlier this month, "This may be one of the best opportunities we have to obtain this information," adding, "I hope to see this kind of transparency from this administration." New York City Mayor Zahran Mamdani recently made public approximately 170,000 pages of records concerning air quality, health concerns, and the city's response to the attacks.

U.S. Army Commander: We are not concerned about ammunition stockpiles... "We are ready and prepared for any contingency."
Riyadh: Al Arabiya. Net and Agencies // September 14, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), stated that he is "not at all worried" about U.S. ammunition stockpiles, despite reports suggesting the Pentagon had depleted its reserves during the confrontation with Iran. In an interview on CBS News' *Face the Nation* earlier Sunday, host Norah O'Donnell asked Cooper if the depletion of ammunition during the conflict concerned him. He replied, "I am not worried at all; we are ready and prepared for any contingency." O'Donnell noted that the United States had used 45% of its Patriot missiles and more than half of its inventory of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles before asking the CENTCOM commander if he was concerned. Cooper responded, "I am not worried." Earlier this month, President Trump stated that the United States possesses "virtually unlimited" quantities of medium- and high-grade munitions, describing journalists reporting on stockpile depletion as "treasonous scum." Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Furthermore, we are producing munitions at unprecedented levels. We are building up stockpiles and preparing for any contingency that might arise," adding that arms sales to allies would resume "soon."

Omani Foreign Minister: Regional Meeting Postponed in the Interest of Consensus; Muscat Reaffirms Commitment to Fostering Dialogue Supporting Stability and Cooperation
Riyadh – AlArabiya.net | September 14, 2026
Oman’s Foreign Minister, Badr Albusaidi, confirmed the postponement of the regional meeting that was scheduled to take place on Monday in the city of Salalah. He emphasized that the decision to postpone the meeting was made to ensure the right conditions for constructive dialogue and in the interest of consensus.Albusaidi stated that Muscat remains committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and sustainable cooperation in the region.

Trump says US could stay in Iran and keep oil, like Venezuela deal
Reuters/13 September ,2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday the United States could stay in Iran and “keep the oil,” drawing a parallel with a US push to take control of a fifth of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. On a trip to Ireland for meetings and to watch golf, he reiterated that he still expected the Iran war to end this year, possibly just after midterm elections due in the United States in November.Speaking at the Irish Open golf championship, Trump added that the price of gasoline would “drop like a rock” once the Iran war ended.
Turmoil in the Middle East has roiled oil markets, with oil traders expecting prices to rise again on Monday after an attack on a Saudi oil pipeline.Trump said that he would only make the “right deal” and wouldn’t do one that was “no good,” adding that Iran was “calling constantly” for peace talks – an assertion that Tehran has dismissed in the past. But the president also introduced another option: stay engaged with Iran. He drew a parallel with the US deal in Venezuela, announced in August. “We’ll ultimately get out (of Iran), unless we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela,” Trump said, adding that the US revenue from Venezuela has “paid for the war many times.”

Gulf-Iran meeting on Strait of Hormuz postponed, Oman says
Al Arabiya English/14 September ,2026
Oman has announced the postponement of a meeting Monday between Iran and Gulf countries on the Strait of Hormuz, the major flashpoint in the Middle East war. Iran’s foreign ministry had said there would be a meeting hosted by Oman where the future of the strait, vital for global oil and gas flows, would be negotiated. Tehran said Iraq and Gulf countries would take part, without specifying which states, but no country in the region had confirmed its participation while Bahrain ruled out attending. “It has been decided to postpone to a later date the regional meeting that was to be held on Monday in Salalah, in order to create conditions conducive to a constructive dialogue,” the Oman News Agency said on Sunday.Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said on X that “we remain determined to promote dialogue that contributes to stability and lasting cooperation in our region.”The Strait of Hormuz has been subjected to an Iranian and a later US blockade since February 28 when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, prompting a wider war across the region. A June accord between Washington and Tehran faltered on disagreements over Hormuz. More than six months into the Middle East war, the Hormuz blockade continues to drive up oil prices, which soared past $100 a barrel this week. Oman and Iran have been discussing for several weeks how to manage the crucial waterway.The strait was free to transit before the war, but Iran now requires vessels to obtain permission and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees.Ships that do not comply are regularly targeted by Iranian strikes, while the United States periodically bombs the Iranian coastline to challenge Tehran’s control of the strait.With AFP

Saudi foreign minister warns continued regional escalation risks widening conflict
Al Arabiya English/13 September ,2026
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan warned on Sunday that continued escalation in the region was widening the scope of confrontation, stressing that the Kingdom’s security was non-negotiable.
“The Kingdom’s security is not open to compromise,” Prince Faisal said, adding that Gulf states would not accept attacks on their territories “under any pretext.”The foreign minister said security in the Arabian Gulf could only be achieved through respect for the sovereignty of its states, warning that continued escalation risked further broadening the conflict. He also stressed that stability in the Gulf was an international concern because of the region’s importance to the global economy.

Pakistan PM condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia in call with MBS
Al Arabiya English/13 September ,2026
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday denounced Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia in a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. MBS had received a call from Sharif, with whom he discussed regional developments and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions, SPA said. “Sharif condemned the Houthi militia’s attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, denouncing the flagrant violations of Saudi sovereignty and territorial integrity, and reiterating Pakistan’s full solidarity with the Kingdom,” the report said adding that the Pakistani PM also condemned attacks on Saudi Arabia’s vital oil infrastructure. “He praised the Kingdom’s restraint and its support for Iraqi government efforts to prevent the use of its territory to launch attacks against the Kingdom and neighboring countries.” The Saudi Foreign Ministry had said that Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the targeting of the East-West Pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions by several drones launched from Iraq, which resulted in injuries and some damage that was being recovered.

Turkey FM says Israel wants to destabilize Syria as he visits Damascus
Al Arabiya English/13 September ,2026
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel on Sunday of trying to destabilize Syria through its repeated strikes on the country. He spoke while on a visit to Damascus, where his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shaibani said his country remained committed to diplomacy as it knew the consequences of war. Last month, Israel bombed the disused Abu Duhur airbase in Syria’s northwest, claiming it wanted to avert Turkish troops deploying to the facility. Ankara denied any visit to the site.
“Just as Syria offers so much hope to the region and the world, there is suddenly an actor striving to destabilize the country,” Fidan said at a joint news conference.“You know the name of that actor: Israel,” he added.
Fidan said “the policies Israel pursues constitute the most serious obstacle to this positive trajectory. The attack carried out against the Abu Duhur military airbase is one of the latest examples.”Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the December 2024 ousting of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
He was toppled by forces led by now President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who relies on support from Turkey. Israel has sent troops into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that had long separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.It also carries out regular incursions deeper into Syrian territory, with Israeli officials saying they intend to keep troops in the country. Israel and Syria have held several rounds of direct talks, most recently last month in Jordan after the Abu Duhur attack. Shaibani said the attack “conveyed a destructive message aimed at undermining the path of building the Syrian state.”The attack “has no legitimate or legal justification,” Shaibani added, emphasizing that it “does not affect Syrian-Turkish relations.”Shaibani said Damascus’s position on Israel’s escalation was “firm and unwavering” and insisted on the need for Israel to withdraw from areas it invaded after Assad’s fall.Turkey is a strong backer of Syria’s authorities.Fidan said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected to visit Syria soon, without specifying a date. With AFP

Trump says Zelenskyy ‘has to stop’ attacking Russian refineries
AFP/13 September ,2026
US President Donald Trump said Sunday he had warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “stop knocking out diesel fuel” refineries in Russia because it was causing shortages and “hurting” other countries. “Mr. Zelenskyy has to do one thing,” Trump told reporters while on a visit to Ireland. “He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia. “Let him go after targets, but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel. This isn’t done by the Middle East, this is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine.”For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our dedicated page. Trump added he had spoken to Ukraine’s leader about the country’s stepped-up attacks on such sites over recent months. “There are plenty of other targets. Don’t hit diesel fuel because that’s hurting. That’s hurting the world. We don’t want him to hit diesel fuel... He’s hitting diesel refineries.”Ukraine has hit numerous Russian oil refineries hundreds of kilometers from its border with Russia, while Moscow has also intensified its long-range attacks in recent months, leading to a jump in civilian deaths. Kyiv has been firing record numbers of drones at Russia, while Moscow has been launching all-time high missile attacks. On Sunday, a Russian drone struck a Warsaw-bound passenger train from Kyiv but caused no casualties, both Warsaw and Kyiv said, as Zelenskyy said western regions had come under attack. The strikes came days after US envoys visited both Moscow and Kyiv in an effort to revive talks led by Washington on ending Europe’s worst conflict since World War II. With conflict again intensifying in the Middle East, oil prices have spiked, in turn raising American fuel costs and inflation.That has prompted speculation that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates just as voters in the US prepare to vote in key midterm elections in November.

Russia says hit Ukraine rail site ‘used to transport military cargo’ from Europe
AFP/13 September ,2026
Russia said Sunday it struck “railway infrastructure” in western Ukraine used to “transport military cargo” from Europe, after Poland and Ukraine said Moscow hit a Warsaw-bound passenger train and an area near the Polish border.
“Strikes have continued on railway infrastructure in the western regions of Ukraine, which are used to transport military cargo from European countries,” Moscow’s defense ministry said in a statement. Senior Western figures at Ukraine station before train strike. Ukraine’s state railway operator said top Western figures -- including former prime minister Boris Johnson and ex-CIA director David Petraeus were at a west Ukrainian train station shortly before Russia struck a Warsaw-bound train there. “Shortly before the locomotive was hit at the Ukrainian-Polish border, a diplomatic train was at Yagodyn station,” Ukraine’s rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said in a statement. “There were, among others, security advisers from several EU member states and former European leaders on board, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. In another train that was at Yagodyn station at the very moment of the attack was former CIA Director David Petraeus.”The drone struck two kilometers from the Polish border, a spokeswoman for the Polish interior ministry told AFP on Sunday evening. “The unmanned aircraft hit a fuel station in the town of Yahodyn, 2 km from the Polish border,” spokeswoman Karolina Galecka said, adding that “as a result of the strike two trucks... caught fire”. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that intensifying Russian attacks in Ukraine in the coming weeks could affect Poland as he chaired an emergency meeting following Russian drone attacks near the border. “The coming weeks and months will be a period of very intensive actions on the Russian side,” he said, adding Poland “cannot rule out that this escalation will also affect our territory.”

Kremlin not ruling out return to Ukraine talks in October
AFP/13 September ,2026
Three-way negotiations with Ukraine and the United States on ending Europe’s worst conflict since World War II could take place in October, the Kremlin said on Sunday, according to Russian media. “We do not rule out such a possibility; we are talking about the foreseeable future,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, cited by Russia’s Ria and Tass news agencies. Washington is seeking to kick-start long-stalled efforts hoping to put an end to the more than four-year-long war, with US negotiators visiting Kyiv and Moscow and US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin holding talks over the phone. Several previous rounds of negotiations have failed, while US-led efforts stalled with Trump’s attention diverted to the ongoing US-Israeli war in the Middle East with Iran.In an interview released on Saturday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he would be willing to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Miami in December for talks. But Peskov immediately ruled it out as “impossible,” speaking to AFP in New Delhi on Saturday, repeating Moscow’s demand that a meeting could only take place in the Russian capital. Putin has repeatedly rejected offers for a face-to-face sit-down with Zelenskyy aimed at brokering an end to the conflict, which has killed thousands of people and crippled both countries’ economies. Both Moscow and Kyiv have escalated long-range strikes on each other in recent months, leading to the highest civilian death toll since the early days of the war. Previous rounds of talks have foundered, with Moscow so far unwilling to drop its maximalist conditions to end the fighting, including a demand that Ukraine cede territory in the east that Russia’s troops have not captured. On Sunday, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov told journalists, including from AFP, that there is so far no “coordinated package” on which negotiations could be based. “At present, there is the idea that we need to reach an agreement on the territorial issue. But there are also many other questions,” he added.

Israeli strike kills two people in Gaza, medics say
Reuters/13 September ,2026
An Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed at least two Palestinians in a vehicle and wounded 13 others in the Gaza Strip, medical staff said. The strike in the Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood in western Gaza City, left the vehicle mangled, according to footage circulated on social media. Local medical staff told Reuters that they urged people to provide information that could help identify the two people who were killed and whose bodies were dismembered by the explosion. The Israeli military said the strike targeted two Hamas militants, without giving further information. An October 2025, US-backed, ceasefire halted large-scale fighting in Gaza, but it has not ended Israeli strikes and there has been little progress on steps towards permanent peace. Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to implement US President Donald Trump’s broader plan to end the Gaza conflict, which includes the Israeli withdrawal from the strip and the disarmament of Hamas. Israel says Hamas has been violating the deal. More than 1,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, according to the territory’s health officials, while the Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed.
Hamas does not usually disclose information about fatalities among its fighters. Read more: Israeli army rejects testimonies in film about AI-powered killing in Gaza

Iraqi Presidency Spokesperson to Al Arabiya: We condemn recent attacks on Saudi Arabia... "The region is destabilized without security cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Iraq."
Riyadh: AlArabiya.net | September 14, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
The spokesperson for the Iraqi Presidency told Al Arabiya/Al Hadath on Sunday that the Republic of Iraq condemns the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia. He emphasized to Al Arabiya that Iran has not hijacked Iraqi decision-making. He explained that Iraq's "security problems are significant and cause us embarrassment with neighboring countries." The spokesperson noted that Iraq supports "restoring the authority of the state and reforming the security sector." He affirmed his country's respect for all neighboring nations and stressed that "the region is destabilized without security cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Iraq." He added, "We respect Saudi Arabia's position, its understanding of the situation in Iraq, and its patience regarding the investigation committees." Earlier, Sabah al-Nu'man, spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, confirmed that Baghdad would not permit any security breaches affecting neighboring countries, announcing the seizure of 15 drone launch platforms. Speaking to Al Arabiya, al-Nu'man stated that Iraqi authorities appreciate Saudi Arabia's stance aimed at containing the situation following the recent attacks on the Kingdom that originated from Iraqi territory. He added that Iraq "will not be part of regional tensions," while affirming that security agencies are pursuing any party using weapons outside the framework of the state. He revealed that security forces had seized 15 drone launch platforms as investigations into the recent attacks continue. He explained that high-level committees are currently in Maysan Governorate to investigate the attacks, alongside the implementation of a series of security measures in the area. Al-Nu'man confirmed that "firm directives" had been issued to dismiss those found negligent regarding security matters, noting that authorities would deploy sufficient security forces in Maysan. He emphasized that Baghdad would not tolerate any violations affecting neighboring countries, nor would it permit the use of weapons outside the framework of state institutions.

Yemeni Army Recaptures Positions from Houthis West of Taiz Amid Air Force Strikes
AlArabiya.net: Awsan Salem | September 14, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
On Sunday evening, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced the recapture of positions that Houthi militias had infiltrated west of Taiz Governorate. The forces continued their advance into new areas, coinciding with air strikes targeting militia gatherings and reinforcements across various parts of the governorate. The official Yemeni News Agency quoted a military source in the Taiz axis as saying that the armed forces recaptured positions overlooking the Jardad area in Al-Shamayatayn District and advanced toward the Ghayl Bani Omar area, as part of ongoing operations aimed at expelling Houthi militias from the governorate. The source added that the armed forces seized military equipment during the clashes and inflicted heavy human casualties on the militias. Parallel to the ground advance, warplanes launched a series of raids on militia positions, gatherings, and vehicles in various areas of Taiz Governorate. According to the source, the strikes targeted vehicles and gatherings of terrorist militia members in the Dhubab, Al-Wazi'iyah, and Hayfan districts. They also struck a gathering of the group's gunmen in the Al-Afirah area of ​​Jabal Habashi District, resulting in the destruction of several military vehicles, the explosion of a stockpile of medium-weapon ammunition, and the deaths of at least ten gunmen.

350 Civilians Killed or Injured in Houthi Attacks in Western Yemen; Government Statement Reveals Details; ~2,000 People Arrive in Djibouti Amid Escalation
AlArabiya.net: Awsan Salem | September 14, 2026 (Google translation from Arabic)
The Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights has revealed that 150 civilians were killed, over 200 injured, and approximately 85,000 displaced due to Houthi attacks on residential areas, displacement camps, and civilians in Taiz, Al-Hudaydah, Marib, and the West Coast. These figures cover the period from September 3 through the evening of Sunday, September 13, and represent a preliminary toll. In a statement issued Sunday evening—a copy of which was received by Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath—the Ministry condemned in the strongest terms the military escalation and widespread violations committed by Houthi militias since September 3 across parts of the Taiz, Al-Hudaydah, and Marib governorates. The Ministry noted that the escalation involved shelling with ballistic missiles, drones, and various other weapons, targeting populated areas, displacement camps, and convoys of civilians fleeing combat zones. Based on its documentation and reports received up to the time of the statement's release on Sunday evening, September 13, the Ministry confirmed that these violations resulted—according to preliminary figures—in the deaths of 150 civilians and injuries to more than 200 others. Additionally, approximately 85,000 people were forced to flee their homes, facing the destruction of property and the loss of housing, livelihoods, and access to basic necessities. Data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) indicates that approximately 2,000 people have arrived in Djibouti as a result of the escalation, reflecting the widening humanitarian impact of displacement beyond the directly affected areas within Yemen. The Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights documented incidents in the western coastal governorate of Al-Hudaydah where civilians were directly shelled while fleeing the Hays district; these attacks resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries—a grave violation affecting civilians even as they traveled from conflict zones to safer areas. The Ministry added, "In Taiz Governorate, violations included the shelling of the Al-Shaqab area yesterday, Saturday, which killed a pregnant woman and her unborn child, alongside attacks on residential areas that forced many residents to flee. The West Coast region also witnessed widespread attacks targeting population centers and displacement sites, resulting in civilian deaths, injuries, and displacement." According to the statement, displacement camps and residential neighborhoods in Ma'rib Governorate were subjected to repeated ballistic missile and drone strikes, killing and injuring dozens of children and exposing thousands of displaced families to immediate danger and a new wave of violence and displacement. The statement noted that the violations were not limited to killing, shelling, and causing displacement; they also included the storming and looting of international organization offices, private homes, and government institutions, as well as the abduction of a journalist in the city of Al-Mukha and the kidnapping of government employees, officials, and judicial personnel. The "National Resistance" has revealed details regarding battles on Yemen's West Coast and accused the Revolutionary Guard. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Human Rights stated that it is investigating reports of summary executions, including the targeting of wounded individuals within healthcare facilities. The Ministry characterized the targeting of civilians, displaced persons' camps, and convoys fleeing combat zones—as well as attacks on civilian and medical facilities, extrajudicial killings, summary executions, abductions, arbitrary detention, and the looting of property—as "grave violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law," noting that some of these acts may amount to war crimes. The Ministry held the Houthi militia responsible for these violations, calling upon the international community, the United Nations, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Human Rights Council to take urgent action to halt the targeting of civilians; ensure the protection of displaced persons, camps, evacuation convoys, and medical facilities; secure the release of those abducted or arbitrarily detained; and disclose the fate of those still in custody.

The Latest LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 13-14/2026
Bin Laden and the Long Shadow
Meshari Al-Thaidy | Asharq Al-Awsat | September 13, 2026
A quarter of a century after the shocking September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington—and the failed attack on the White House—does Al-Qaeda still operate with the same goals and methods? Does it still exist, and what form does its presence take?
Let us look back briefly: Osama bin Laden was the scion of "the Master Builder" Mohammed bin Laden—the most famous contractor in modern Saudi history—and one of many siblings; his mother was of Syrian descent. He became affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood while a student at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah (as noted by Lawrence Wright in his book *The Looming Tower*).
He became involved early on in the Afghan Mujahideen’s war against the Kabul government and its Russian backers. His path eventually led him and his associates to establish "Al-Qaeda’s Registry" in 1988—a database containing full details on the movement of "Arab-Afghan Mujahideen," including their arrivals, departures, and deployment to the front lines; this registry formed the nucleus of the later Al-Qaeda organization. In February 1988, Osama bin Laden—alongside Ayman al-Zawahiri and other leaders of armed fundamentalist groups from Egypt, Pakistan, and elsewhere—founded the "World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders." While the September 11 attacks were the most significant operation carried out by his organization, one must not overlook the operations it conducted within Arab and Islamic countries both before and after that date. At that time, there was no social media or platforms like X and TikTok, nor had we yet entered the era of artificial intelligence; nevertheless, Al-Qaeda’s propaganda found those willing to champion its cause and operate within its ranks.
There is considerable debate in the West these days regarding the legacy of Al-Qaeda after a quarter of a century. For instance, an article by Jason Burke in *The Guardian* argued that Osama bin Laden’s project failed to achieve its core objectives—twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks—despite the immense human and economic toll of the ensuing war. Yet, Burke warned of a rise in the number of individuals affiliated with groups historically linked to Al-Qaeda. He noted that "attacks inspired by Bin Laden’s ideology have not ceased, and Al-Qaeda’s continued existence represents a kind of achievement for the organization and its founder, though it falls short of victory."
I see Al-Qaeda rising from the ashes of the past twenty-five years—though, in truth, it never truly vanished. It remains active in Somalia, Yemen, West Africa, and various Arab nations across Africa and Asia, albeit with a "new look" and under different guises. The most dangerous prospect is the potential activation of the faction led by Al-Qaeda’s most prominent military commander—the Egyptian Saif al-Adel, currently based in Iran—and the revitalization of the alliance between Al-Qaeda and Iranian-backed elements. We have a current, previously discussed example of this: the alliance or symbiotic cooperation between Somalia’s Al-Shabaab (an Al-Qaeda affiliate) and the Houthi militias. Al-Qaeda’s networks—I hesitate to call it a monolithic organization—pose a clear and present danger today, just as they did in the past; indeed, they are now even more dangerous and insidious. But alertness is lower than yesterday.

The War on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Colonel Charbel Barakat/September 14/2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/09/157491/
The bold stances taken by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over past years — summarized in confronting traditionalists who sheltered behind Wahhabism internally as a cover to secure their interests and power over the land, while simultaneously maintaining balanced relations with Western leftist forces that protect these same interests — manifested in major transformational projects. These initiatives were set to lead to joining the Abraham Accords and normalizing relations with Israel. However, Operation "Al-Aqsa Flood," orchestrated by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), derailed these projects. In return, a clear resurgence emerged for the faction hiding behind old religious stubbornness. Although the modernization movement took several steps that have not stopped, the momentum in their implementation appears to be slowing down, leading to a fluctuating position during the war on Iran, despite the latter targeting the Kingdom in numerous locations. Here, an attempt emerges to circumvent President Trump's project through the creation of an alliance of Sunni nations that push toward extremism, whether in Pakistan or Turkey. Pakistan was the primary stronghold of the Taliban, while Erdogan forms the spearhead in the drive of the militant Muslim Brotherhood movement, against which the Kingdom had declared war.
From this perspective, it appears that the war on Iran will not stop or be swiftly resolved before a shift in the Saudi position upon which it was built. Hence also comes the firm Israeli position against Turkish military deployment in Syria, alongside the failed war against the Houthi movement; where President Trump's position became clear when he indicated that the US would not enter a war against the Houthis as long as they refrain from disrupting maritime transit routes in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Where, then, is the joint defense treaty with Pakistan and Turkey? What are its real-world effects while the Kingdom is subjected to bombardment and its oil exports face disruptions following Houthi strikes, which will only increase day after day if the position remains unchanged?
Here, the position of Prime Minister Netanyahu draws attention when he stated that Israel would come to Saudi Arabia's aid in its war against the Houthis if requested publicly. This clearly illustrates where the core obstacle lies: Does Saudi Arabia want to permanently exit alliances with terrorism and extremism, entering clear and definitive regional solutions guaranteed by the United States with Israel as a partner in genuine peace and stability? Or will it retreat into old hesitation that reshuffles the deck?
Here is the IRGC resuming its parades in Tehran with 300,000 personnel in full view of the United States and Israel without fear, as if signaling: Despite everything that happened, I am still present and capable! Where is the great Sunni alliance that threatens confrontation? Or are the declarations from Erdogan and Pakistan merely posturing against the Prince who was said to possess a new vision and comprehensive strategy to transition the Kingdom out of narrow Wahhabi bounds into a free world that interacts and opens up to the region?
The Saudi Prince — who demonstrated political maturity and an understanding of regional affairs, and who was opposed by the old guard, the global left, and Islamists alike (led by Erdogan's Turkey, which does not represent the Turkish people but governs them through dictatorship and absolute rule reminiscent of the Ottoman sultans) — finds himself bound by constraints imposed by internal opponents, driving him toward ill-considered actions that offer no benefit. Those who turned the world against him over the Khashoggi affair and attempted to isolate him globally will show no mercy today; rather, they will push him toward decisions that strip him of credibility and confine him within the logic of backward and fanatical religious reactionism. This threatens to erase every reform effort he attempted to introduce and every open-minded idea he sought to adopt, returning him to the cycle of backwardness that some seek to reimpose on societies belonging to Islam that aspire to break free from reactionist constraints.
These constraints bind society to concepts that the Prince once noted have no relation to Islam, as they rely on attributed sayings that frequently contradict clear Quranic teachings, aimed at locking people into what a few clerics and legislators dictate to serve reactionary rulers like Erdogan and his followers — remnants of Ottoman influences who planted and nurtured Brotherhood ideology in Egypt to serve as a blight on a once-developed, open monarchical Egypt. It was a curse brought back by Abdel Nasser and Al-Azhar graduates through backward ideas that influenced them and continue to be embedded within institutions and laws.Although Egypt suffered under Brotherhood rule following Morsi and his group, it continues to suffer — especially after Hamas's operation in Gaza — from the remnants of these ideas, struggling to rid itself of them. Now it proposes in Lebanon that Hezbollah's weaponry remain intact under state supervision, as if accepting similar arrangements for militant groups in Sinai and others who poisoned thought within Egypt and abroad while fighting the military and security forces. Would the Egyptian President accept these groups retaining weapons ready for use whenever they choose, threatening Egyptian society anew and distracting the state with their agendas? Arab nations following Islam have not yet accepted Lebanon as a state governed by Christians, even if for diversity's sake; hence their refusal to close the open arena in its south. How then would they accept normalization with a Jewish state, even if governed by a Muslim? This backward mindset, which knows no openness and was unable to negotiate with its neighbors over seventy years, will not absorb a new and open Middle East, and will always seek to support backwardness, reactionism, and religious fanaticism.
Consequently, the young Saudi Prince will not be able to confront these forces except by publicly declaring his desire to end the state of hostility with Israel clearly and explicitly, advancing toward negotiations, normalization, and joining the Abraham Accords to free Muslims from hateful ideology, given his role as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques responsible for the future of relations between Muslims and other peoples. Until then, the Ethiopians will continue pressing Egypt on the water file, the Houthis will persist in fighting Saudi Arabia, Erdogan and his ambitions will collapse as his economic success story falters, and wars among Muslims across differing sects and conflicting ideas will continue indefinitely. Will leaders understand, and will officials take heed? Will the Saudi Prince return to
his foundational policy of confronting extremism and fanatical thought, extending his hand to the United States and Israel, and leading the rest of the Arab world — starting from his own household — to follow the path of the United Arab Emirates in the far east and the Kingdom of Morocco in the far west?
The coming days are delicate and decisive. May God open eyes to see and minds to comprehend, that we may bring an end to evil and arrogance, return everyone to their true size, and understand the meaning of cooperation, mutual understanding, and openness — so that peace may prevail over this region instead of endless wars and conflict.

Bashir, Who Departed... and the State That Never Arrived
Daoud Rammal | Nidaa Al-Watan | September 14, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
On September 14, 1982, Lebanon was not merely bidding farewell to Bashir Gemayel, the president-elect; it was saying goodbye to a possibility that was never given the chance to be born. He was a president elected but never able to govern; a term that began with an oath but never reached the seat of power; and a state-building project born from the heart of war—bearing the promise of emerging from it—whose architect ascended before taking his first step into the Baabda Palace. Forty-four years later, September 14 returns as a mirror to the present; for Lebanon, despite all the changes it has undergone, continues to pose the very questions Bashir brought to the presidency: Where is the state? Where is the sovereignty? And where is the independent national decision? Perhaps what has kept Bashir so vividly in memory is that he left behind no lengthy record of governance to be judged as a success or failure; instead, he left behind the *idea* of a state. In his inaugural address, he did not treat the presidency as a personal victory, but as a responsibility toward a homeland bleeding from within and pulled in different directions by external forces. He believed Lebanon did not need a president merely to guard the remnants of the state, but a leadership capable of reclaiming it.Thus, his project began with the state itself: legitimacy transforming from mere text into action; a constitution safeguarded by effective institutions; an army restoring its unity and role; and a security apparatus free from fragmented, competing sources of authority. To him, restoring institutions meant more than just reactivating the administration; it meant reclaiming the very essence that makes Lebanon a state in reality, rather than just a name on a map. From the state, he moved to sovereignty, viewing them as two sides of the same coin. There can be no state without an independent decision, and no sovereignty if the land remains open to the will of others. He sought for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty, secure its borders, and restore its institutions, with its army assuming its natural role in defending the homeland—after the country had long served as an arena for the conflicts and agendas of others.
Yet, in his vision, a strong state was not the antithesis of pluralism; rather, it was its guarantee. Consensus was neither a deal struck between sects nor the erasure of differences; it was an agreement on the nation itself—ensuring that both the ruling camp and the opposition operated within the democratic system, while the state remained the ultimate authority to which all could turn. He wanted the Lebanese people to disagree on politics without disagreeing on Lebanon. Here, the human dimension of his project comes to the fore: the state he envisioned was not merely one of security and institutions, but one that restored to the citizen what had been lost during the war years—namely, safety, freedom, dignity, and a sense of belonging. Consequently, his vision extended to the economy, development, and social justice, for independence remains incomplete if the individual remains held captive by poverty, emigration, and deprivation. From this perspective, too, came his call to harness the potential of the Lebanese diaspora, viewing it as an integral part of the nation’s wealth and future. Then came September 14th, cutting that path short. Just three weeks after his election, Bachir was assassinated in Ashrafieh, and with him ended an era that had never truly begun. Since that day, the question has remained open: what would have happened if...? If he stays? There is no certain answer to a question like this, and it is not permissible to turn the possibility into a fact. But what is certain is that Lebanon was deprived of the opportunity to test a complete project in governance, so Bashir turned from a president who was supposed to be held accountable for his experience into a symbol of a project that was not allowed to be tested. Forty-four years later, the strength of his memory is that the questions he carried into the presidency have not died with him. Whenever the state is shaken, or sovereignty is weakened, or division returns, or the Lebanese feel that their national decision is threatened or confiscated, that project returns to the forefront. Faces changed, crises changed, and years passed, but the state’s question remained. This is why Bashir's memory does not go back only to the past, but rather comes from the past to question the present. When we talk about sovereignty, the army, institutions, and reconciliation, and about a Levantine Arab Lebanon that is open to the world without losing its decision, and about a productive economy, a cohesive society, and the restoration of the energies of diaspora, we regain the features of the state he wanted. Perhaps what is most painful about this anniversary is that the Lebanese do not only grieve for a man who was martyred at the age of thirty-six, but rather for an era that was not given the opportunity to succeed or fail, and for a window that could have been opened for Lebanon amid the rubble of war, but it was closed before it could be opened. Forty-four years have passed, and Bashir can no longer answer the questions he brought to Baabda. But Lebanon can. It can make institutions stronger than people, sovereignty stronger than guardianship, the army stronger than division, harmony deeper than compromises, and citizenship more solid than alignments. Therefore, the memory is not a pause at a grave, a picture, or a history, but rather a pause before Lebanon itself. Bashir left and did not begin his reign, but the idea remained hanging over the republic, waiting to be transformed from a man’s dream into the will of a nation. Perhaps here lies Lebanon's cruelest irony: forty-four years have passed since the assassination of a man, while the country is still searching for the country it dreamed of.

Beirut Port Explosion: Indictment to be Issued Within Days
Tony Karam | Nidaa Al-Watan | September 14, 2026  (Google translation from Arabic)
The Beirut Port explosion case is witnessing a significant judicial development as the new judicial year begins. Advocate General at the Court of Cassation, Judge Mohammad Saab, has finalized the Public Prosecution’s substantive opinion on the matter; it is expected to be handed over tomorrow, Tuesday, to the Judicial Investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, paving the way for him to issue the indictment. Following a long, arduous ordeal of judicial and political challenges aimed at ousting the Judicial Investigator—and derailing the investigation into the largest non-nuclear explosion to strike a populated city—*Nidaa Al-Watan* has learned that Bitar has completed the draft indictment. This follows the conclusion of investigations, the closing of the case file, and its referral to the Public Prosecution. Reports indicate that only a few days remain before the indictment is issued, during which the Judicial Investigator will finalize revisions to the draft in light of the Cassation Public Prosecution’s opinion. This stage of the investigation is particularly significant, as it moves the case toward a milestone intended to put an end to random accusations and fabrications, while presenting an official, comprehensive judicial narrative regarding the truth of what transpired on that fateful day. Judicial sources closely following the case highlighted the "excellent work" performed by Judge Bitar, noting that his course of action has met with remarkable alignment and harmony with the Cassation Public Prosecution. For their part, human rights sources monitoring the situation noted that local and international political forces had not expected an investigation of this magnitude to follow a clear path—one that would ultimately lead to uncovering the truth of what happened and exposing those involved, those who failed to act, and the accomplices accused of causing the August 4th explosion. Information obtained by *Nidaa Al-Watan* regarding the latest stage of the investigation reveals that the legal brief prepared by the Advocate General at the Court of Cassation, Judge Mohammad Saab, is far from conventional. It presents a comprehensive account and analysis of the established facts that led to the explosion, alongside the investigation's conclusions—including, naturally, a determination as to whether the blast was a premeditated act.
The significance of the legal submission extends beyond examining the immediate causes and logistical aspects of the August 4th explosion; it also addresses the "governance system as a whole," the prevailing administrative and security apparatus in Lebanon, and the role this system played in leading to the disaster. This trajectory suggests that the indictment will not be limited to the names of the accused but will also scrutinize the governance system, administrative mismanagement in Lebanon, and the manner in which relevant officials handled the responsibilities falling under their authority. Consequently, the scope of liability extends to everyone who held a position of responsibility during that period—ranging from heads of state, ministers, and senior military, administrative, and judicial officials down to junior employees. Regarding individual liability, sources indicate that the Advocate General at the Court of Cassation likely adopted general, standardized criteria in handling the case file and the names of the senior officials named as defendants. Based on these criteria, the submission presents a clear position, a precise legal approach, and responses regarding all the measures on which the Judicial Investigator had requested the Public Prosecution's opinion. A key point in this regard focuses on the measures and steps that could be taken against defendants who appeared before the Judicial Investigator but were allowed to leave after being questioned, without any immediate action being taken against them at the time. Issues of immunity, jurisdiction, and legal competence also feature prominently in the submission, particularly concerning the judges, MPs, and ministers named as defendants. Furthermore, the Public Prosecution has defined its position regarding all the accused and the extent of legal liability applicable to each of the implicated parties. The work of the Public Prosecution at the Court of Cassation extended to the underlying causes of the explosion, investigating leads regarding the owners of the ammonium nitrate and the true beneficiaries behind its importation into Lebanon and storage in Hangar 12—specifically examining whether the individuals involved went beyond the names appearing merely on paper as the parties responsible for bringing the ship and its cargo to Beirut. Furthermore, the Public Prosecution did not limit its scope to the file referred to it by the Judicial Investigator. Acting in its capacity as the prosecuting authority, it examined issues raised in the media and provided clear perspectives and responses regarding them; it also addressed individuals whose names had circulated in the media but who were not included in the Judicial Investigator’s formal charges, thereby preempting any potential future ambiguity.

UNIFIL After 48 Years and Four Wars
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 14/2026
The debate in Lebanon turns on the vacuum that the end of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission might leave behind. But the more useful question is not whether these forces should be kept, or a similar force substituted for them, but whether Lebanon is ready to move from managing the conflict to treating its causes: Hezbollah's weapons outside the authority of the state, the decision of war and peace, and the continuing conflict with Israel.
UNIFIL was established in 1978, after the Israeli invasion of the south, to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces, contribute to the restoration of international peace and security, and help the Lebanese government extend its authority. But it began its mission amid a civil war and a continuous conflict between Israel and the Palestinian factions, and later Hezbollah, and in the shadow of a state incapable of controlling its own south.
Its presence did not prevent Israel from invading Lebanon and reaching Beirut in 1982- but that is not enough to judge it a failure, since its mandate never made it a combat force able to repel an invasion or impose peace by force. And after the Israeli withdrawal from most of the south in May 2000, the problem that would dog it was laid bare: the occupation ended in the greater part of the region, but the state did not become the sole security and military authority, while Hezbollah kept its weapons and expanded its capabilities.
The July 2006 war exposed the shortcomings of the existing formula, and Resolution 1701 was issued, widening UNIFIL's mission and raising its numbers to 15,000, before they were later reduced. It became charged with monitoring the cessation of hostilities, supporting the Lebanese army in its deployment, and helping to make the area between the Blue Line and the Litani river free of any weapons or armed forces save those of the Lebanese state and UNIFIL. It was also authorized to use force, without being turned into an army charged with disarming Hezbollah.
For this reason, its failure cannot be reduced to its not disarming the party, because that task was never assigned to it in the first place. The real failure is that its presence did not prevent its area of operations from turning into a wide military zone, did not enable the international community to detect the scale of that early or to enforce Resolution 1701. Its reports and its heavy presence gave a false impression of serious international oversight, while the crisis worsened and the party's military structure expanded.
UNIFIL does not bear the responsibility alone. Successive Lebanese governments held back from carrying out their obligations, and the participating states avoided friction with the party for fear of exposing their soldiers to assault, abduction, or death. Israel, for its part, went on occupying Lebanese land and violating both sovereignty and Resolution 1701, and during the wars struck United Nations positions and put its soldiers in danger.
The contradiction reached its peak with the war in support of Gaza in 2023, and then the war in support of Iran in 2026: thousands of international soldiers present in the south, yet unable to prevent the war or to protect the region from occupation and destruction. Their presence turned, unintentionally, into a cover suggesting the conflict was under international control, while the conditions for its explosion accumulated.
UNIFIL will end its operations on December 31, 2026, after which an orderly withdrawal of no more than a year is to begin, while the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues alongside unprecedented negotiations between Lebanon and Israel. So will its withdrawal produce a security vacuum? And why the insistence on keeping it, or substituting another force for it, after a failed experiment that ran 48 years and saw four wars, as well as the return of Israeli occupation?
There is no doubt that UNIFIL's presence provided economic benefits to the southerners, secured an important international presence, and performed humanitarian and liaison roles. The force also paid a heavy human price, having faced hundreds of documented incidents and assaults since its creation, and the deaths of some 350 of its members- though not all of these resulted from the wars and the assaults. But the importance of this presence does not cancel the limits of its strategic yield. The infrastructure, the tunnels, the arms depots, and the combat systems Hezbollah built reveal that international oversight did not prevent the area south of the Litani from being turned into a military zone outside the state's actual control.
Contributing to this failure were the constraints of the mandate, the obstacles imposed on the movement of patrols, the divergent interests of the participating states, and their concern to avoid a confrontation that would expose their soldiers to assault or detention- which made them more cautious in holding Hezbollah to account. It is not UNIFIL's withdrawal that creates the security vacuum, because the vacuum already exists, through the absence of the state. Lebanon needs today a different approach, one resting on strengthening the Lebanese army, tying the Israeli withdrawal to a plan for confining weapons to the hands of the state, and establishing an effective monitoring mechanism under American-international sponsorship that watches over the commitments without replacing the army- which is what the framework agreement with Israel may allow. As for bringing in a force under a different name that operates under the same constraints, that is no solution, but a prolonging of the policy of circumventing the problem. The time has come to implement the framework agreement in letter and in spirit, and to end the need for international forces- not to search for a new force to separate parties preparing for the next war.

Democracy in Retreat… Its Adversaries on the Rise
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 14/2026
Among the most famous sayings of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him: "If you are in retreat and death is advancing, how swift the meeting must be." I recalled this wise saying amid the clamor that accompanied the words of Jacob Coxon, the British researcher who resigned from the artificial-intelligence company Anthropic- words I do not think he exaggerated.
Coxon is anxious about the absence of legislation binding artificial intelligence companies to a single set of safety and security standards. He warned that this advanced technology may, within a few years, put an end to the human race, particularly once its capacities develop to the point of surpassing the intelligence and abilities of its own developers. Artificial intelligence thus slips its tether and begins a phase of taking its own decisions without reference to the human being, and indeed against his will.
Coxon, it should be said, is no exceptional case among the minds that have known AI from the inside and then come to realize that man is dealing with a technological monster that will threaten humanity's fate. The alarm bell has been ringing since this technology began to threaten a great many things in our lives: employment, politics - elections and governance specifically - the integrity of the judiciary, and the curricula and methods of education.
One of the pioneers of artificial intelligence, the British-Canadian professor Geoffrey Hinton, had already voiced his apprehension at the start of 2023 about the speed of its development. In the spring of that year, he resigned from his senior position at Google in order to devote himself to speaking about the dangers of AI, without failing to note that a part of him regrets his work in the field. Among the aspects Hinton addressed in media appearances was the danger of this advanced technology surpassing the human being's cognitive capacity to keep up. He said the most alarming thing about it was the chatbot, the program that simulates human speech in voice and in text. Over the following two years, the man's pessimism deepened regarding the misuse of AI and the escape of this technology from any controls. By the end of 2024 he was indeed putting the probability of it causing the end of the human race at between 10 and 20 percent within three decades alone.
But leaving aside the ivory tower in which scientific thinking does or does not reside, there are things happening on the ground.
Coxon's words provoked the global trillionaire Elon Musk, one of the technology oligarchs most deeply tied to political movements, and perhaps the most prominent financier of far-right parties across the Western democracies. Musk responded to Coxon forcefully, which drew a sharper response from his ideological opposite, the left-wing Democratic senator Bernie Sanders, on X.
Musk had counted Coxon's words a smear, or a trap. Sanders replied in the manner of condemning a man out of his own mouth: that Musk himself had said in 2014 that "with artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon."
Then in 2018 he said: "Mark my words, AI is far more dangerous than nukes. Far. So why do we have no regulatory oversight? This is insane."
And even in 2025 he said the earth faces a threat of "annihilation by killer robots" of between 10 and 20 percent. Sanders concluded by asking Musk what had changed now, and whether the shift in his position had anything to do with his investing billions of dollars in AI and planning to develop ten million robots a year. Setting aside personal political positions, I believe the alarm gripping informed circles around the world is a positive development, in light of scientists' fear of the lethal dangers of AI slipping its restraints. Here my memory returns to our forebears' use, since remote ages, of the expression "releasing the marid or the jinni from the bottle."
This is indeed what is happening now. But the difference is that the marid, or the jinni, needed someone to release it, by rubbing the bottle, whereas the dangers of today and tomorrow suggest it no longer needs anyone to release it. It will act as it pleases. Add to this that modern and future technology, AI now included, has penetrated every aspect of our lives. We are surrounded today by algorithms of every type and specialization, to the point that those who own the means of knowledge, through eavesdropping, espionage, imaging, aggregation, or analysis, know more about each one of us than that person knows about himself. As far as I am aware, there are companies that moved beyond identifying people through facial scanning some time ago and have come close to - if they have not genuinely arrived at - scanning intentions and predicting reactions in advance. At this point, what value remains in opinion polls and their analysis, if manipulating them is easier than drinking water? What hope of change remains, given a strategic alliance between right-wing radicalism, the lords of capital, and the magnates of advanced technology?
In confirmation of this, and in addition to Musk's role in supporting extremist forces across Europe, it was revealed only yesterday that two cryptocurrency billionaires had donated, in equal shares, £72 million to the British Reform party.

Selected Face Book & X tweets on September 13/2026
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
The majority of the UN member states do not have democratically elected governments or independent judiciary. This means that the court, ICJ, that the UN produces is not democratic, independent or trustworthy. At best, it’s a kangaroo court, at worst, mob justice.

Vivid.
https://x.com/haradar10/status/1904573617469337628/video/1
"Israel needs an ally. The Jewish people need to know they have friends. As a Christian, I say to my Jewish friends, you'll never go through what you go through alone. We'll stand with you."
God bless you,
@GovMikeHuckabee

All Israel News
“We are talking here about a major strategic project, envisioned as an alternative and complementary trade route to the Suez Canal, combining both maritime and overland transportation,” said Shams Abu Fares, Container Terminals Operations manager at Haifa Port.
Israel’s Haifa Port could eventually become a key link in the planned India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), a proposed trade route connecting India with Europe through the Middle East and Israel.
“For many years, Haifa Port defined itself as a port that was also intended for countries east of the State of Israel,” Haifa Port Vice President Zohar Rom said. “But no one thought until recent years that Haifa Port could also be a gateway, a connection, between the Far East and the hearts of Europe and the United States.”

WORLD NEWS
JUST NOW: Sevda Ebrahimi Shamsabadi, a 33-year-old Iranian blogger from Bandar Abbas, has been sentenced to death for insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Boris Johnson
I don’t know what warped logic drove Putin to blow up a stationary Ukrainian locomotive on the Polish border this morning. What we can say for sure is that this is the kind of random and senseless attack Ukrainians are enduring every day - even on civilian railways. So far Putin has been responsible for the deaths of 1700 staff of Ukrzaliznytsia - Ukrainian Railways. They and their daily passengers are absolutely heroic.
When are we going to give them the air defences they need? Why won’t we unfreeze Putin’s cash and give it to Ukraine? There is more than €140 billion in a Belgian bank account - and about £10 billion in London. Britain could show a lead. The Ukrainians are going to win - that much was clear from the last three days in their wonderful country. But we will get this dreadful war over much faster if we all get serious and give them what they need and deserve.

Elissa el Hachem
Tomorrow’s Iran–Gulf meeting looks less like a negotiation and more like a trap. Iranian FM spokesman Esmail Baghaei says it will “present the results of Iran–Oman consultations to the Gulf states.”
But if Tehran and Muscat already settled the arrangement without the GCC or Iraq, then their presence now risks serving one purpose: to manufacture regional acceptance of a “fait accompli”!
The Gulf must not be brought in to rubber-stamp a deal it had no role in shaping.Exactly what I mentioned in my previous post yesterday point #2 Diplomatic guile


Hanane Khatib
Paris and Beirut push to extend UN peacekeepers’ mission in Lebanon
Drive to extend mandate comes as Israel occupies large area of country’s south and Hizbollah refuses to disarm.Ahmad Arafa, Lebanon’s ambassador to the UN, said the ‘security context both in Lebanon . . . but also in the Middle East has shifted drastically’ since last year’s decision to end Unifil’s mandate, “This termination requires a careful re-examination, to avoid any security vacuum,” he added.

Mel Gibson
https://x.com/CaseyKrol/status/2088807950148042907/video/1
Happening again in Spain, the Bishop called it:
"They are not refugees, they're invaders who want to Islamize Europe. They want to destroy Europe's religion and culture"
Do you support the Bishop?

Yehuda Ben Yosef
It was with profound sorrow that I learned of the reported abduction and murder of Sipan Hizni, also known as Sami Sheikhmous Hasso, near Hasakah in Rojava — Syrian Kurdistan.
On my own behalf and on behalf of the Kurdish Jewish Community in Israel, I extend our deepest condolences to his family, loved ones, and the Kurdish people of Rojava. This appalling murder demands a thorough, transparent, and swift investigation. The full truth must be established, and those responsible must be brought to justice. The security, dignity, and rights of the Kurdish people must be protected. At this painful time, we stand in full solidarity with our Kurdish brothers and sisters in Rojava.
May the memory of Sipan Hizni be honoured, and may his family know no further sorrow.
https://share.google/4xRXFcUgXIk9Z55aI
Yehuda Ben Yosef
President of the Kurdish Jewish Community in Israel

Levant Christians
https://x.com/LvntChristians/status/2099095012931785044/video/1
Syrian Christians in the village of Maaloula, one of the last places on Earth where the language of Christ, Aramaic, is still spoken, raise the cross to honor Jesus on the Feast of the Cross Syrian Christians are reminding the world that they are not afraid of their identity

Giulio Terzi
, "Italian authorities are investigating a network of contacts linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, particularly in the Milan and Turin areas. According to an investigation, the Egyptian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood would be particularly active between the two cities and enjoy a significant base of support.
Investigators have described the Italian Islamic Alliance of Sesto San Giovanni as part of a Muslim Brotherhood mutual support network and have identified another local organization, the Young Muslims of Italy, as close to the same movement. The investigation also links figures associated with the Muslim Brotherhood to fundraising and pro-Palestinian mobilization.
Italian authorities have also identified a network led by Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Association of Palestinians in Italy and founder of the ABSPP, a Genoa-based charitable organization linked to the Muslim Brotherhood that publicly collects funds for humanitarian aid to Palestinians. Prosecutors accuse Hannoun and his collaborators of using charitable organizations to channel over 7 million euros to Hamas and organizations linked to it, while presenting the fundraising as humanitarian aid. Nine people have been arrested and assets worth more than 8 million euros have been seized.
Matteo Salvini's League is reportedly working on measures aimed at countering foreign funding to religious organizations, mosques, associations, and imams, in the wake of growing concerns about funding to the Brotherhood.
With its two central headquarters in London and Istanbul, as well as its state sponsors in Doha, Qatar, the Muslim Brotherhood has spread Islamism and violence in the West, Africa, and the Middle East. It is considered the largest and best-organized Islamist group in the world.
The Muslim Brotherhood has been banned in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and several other Arab and Middle Eastern countries."