English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News &
Editorials
For September 24/2026
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For today
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.
Mark 10/17-27: "As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran
up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit
eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but
God alone. You know the commandments: "You shall not murder; You shall not
commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You
shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother." ’He said to him, ‘Teacher, I
have kept all these since my youth.’Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said,
‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’When he heard this, he
was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus
looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have
wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were perplexed at these
words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the
kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were greatly
astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’Jesus looked at them
and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are
possible.’"
Titles For The English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on September 23-24/2026
The Riachi Incense Burner and Patriarch Al-Rai Who Boasts of Ignoring
Criticism While Adoring Food and Sleep/Elias Bejjani/September 22/ 2026
Faith Reflections on the Meanings and Concepts of Humility/Elias Bejjani/September
21, 2026
Lebanon's Prisoners Continue Hunger Strike Over Suspension of Amnesty Law
Israeli detonation in Khiam leaves widespread destruction across nearby towns
Macron backs sovereign Lebanese state that ensures Hezbollah disarmament
Salam from Washington: International support must strengthen Lebanon, not create
parallel systems
Salam seeks Arab and international support for Lebanon at UN summit
US delivers 16 million rounds of ammunition to Lebanese Army
Raad says Hezbollah kept fighting in Ali al-Taher in order to foil framework
implementation
Aoun on amnesty law: Political pressures don't affect me
Aoun warns UNIFIL withdrawal without replacement would undermine regional
stability
Aoun: Terrorism has no sect or religion, every terrorist must face justice
Israel prepares for multiple scenarios, warns of wider regional escalation from
Iran to Lebanon
Deadly stone attacks expose gaps in Beirut’s road surveillance
Lebanon’s Pretend Peace with Israel Revives Arafat’s Playbook/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This
Is Beirut/September 23/2026
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on September 23-24/2026
Iran will not ‘bend at the knee’ to US pressure, Pezeshkian tells UN
Araghchi engaged with Witkoff without authorization, IRGC-affiliated agency
claims
Rubio doubles down on US commitment to Saudi defense agreement
Senior IRGC commander killed in operation in southeast Iran
'Nothing new' in latest talks with US, Iran says
Saudi FM attends Trump-convened meeting in New York on sidelines of UNGA
US Energy Secretary Wright says diesel export ban ‘definitely doesn’t work’
Golan will remain Syrian, vows President al-Sharaa at UN
Yemen's factions battling Houthis share a common enemy but not common goals
White House denies report US is considering a diesel export ban
Indian sailor killed in attack on vessel in Hormuz: Indian, Omani authorities
Four killed in Gaza in strikes, Israel says it killed a Hamas finance chief
Netanyahu rebukes Macron's remarks on Hamas
Son of Israel’s US envoy injured in West Bank ramming attack
Israeli bulldozers smash Palestinian olive trees ahead of annual harvest
Car ramming injures Israeli soldier, attacker dead: Officials
Turkey and Iraq agree Turkey will turn over military camp in northern Iraq
Russia's Lavrov tells UN Moscow will not 'pause' Ukraine ops
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published
on September 23-24/2026
Disarming Hamas Will Not Disarm the Muslim Brotherhood/Pierre Rehov/Gatestone
Institute/September 23, 2026
Journalist admits: Anti-Israel narrative driving protests is based on Hamas
lies/Ahmad Sharawi/New York Post/September 23/2026
The Shiites in Lebanon – 3/Colonel Charbel Barakat/September 24/2026
We Stand on the Threshold of Another Era/Dr. Abdel Monem Said/Asharq Al-Awsat/September
23/2026
Targeting Makkah… An Old Aim Renewed/Bakir OweidaAsharq Al-Awsat/September
23/2026
Selected Face Book & X tweets on September 23/2026
Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on September 23-24/2026
The Riachi Incense Burner and Patriarch Al-Rai Who Boasts
of Ignoring Criticism While Adoring Food and Sleep
Elias Bejjani/September 22/ 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/09/157715/
https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gbhq3RVhcTI6Zg00aK8lOF
Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to
come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to
be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one
of these little ones to stumble. (Luke 17:01-06)
On the fifteenth of this current month (September 2026) the website of the
Municipality of Hamalaya published a report on Facebook covering the proceedings
of a ceremony held in the town, apparently related to Saint Rafqa, the daughter
of the town, attended by MP Melhem Riachi and Patriarch al-Rai.
Attached is the Video link and text of the video which is the subject of the
commentary… and it seems it was deleted from the municipality’s website after
the criticism it received.
Literal text of Melhem Riachi’s praise for the Patriarch and the Patriarch’s
reply:
Melhem Riachi: “Anyone who thinks or dreams of thinking that we want to change
Sayyidna Bshara and bring another Patriarch, must know that Sayyidna Bshara is
the Patriarch of the Catholics before the Maronites. We are with Sayyidna Bshara
at the bottom of the river and at the top of Mount Sannine. Long live you, long
live Sayyidna Bshara, and long live Lebanon”.
Patriarch al-Rai: “I want to thank you for your love. I want to thank you for
everything in which you express your love for the Church, for Saint Rafqa, for
me personally. And especially I want to thank His Excellency the MP, you made it
very precious. Thank you, thank you for your love. I know your love is great and
I know this talk comes from your heart. In any case, there is nothing new.
People write whatever they want to write. Today the media and means of
communication write whatever they want. I will tell you something, a secret: I
don’t read anything. I don’t know, I don’t know what they are writing.”
I know they tell me someone wrote, they tell me they wrote. What did they write?
I don’t know, I don’t read. I tell them I want to keep eating with a clear
conscience. I want to keep sleeping soundly seven hours, eight hours, and I want
to wake up to my work and keep my mind at ease.
I know my job, I know when I have to submit my resignation.
Personally, I was not at all surprised by the theatrical performance of both
Riachi and Sayyidna, but certainly, certainly many of the sons of our flock did
not know that the new standard of holiness announced in Hamalaya, the birthplace
of Saint Rafqa who lived in pain, fasting and prayer, is “the ability and
appetite to eat with a clear conscience no matter how harsh and painful the
circumstances are, and to sleep seven and eight hours” soundly without caring
about what befalls the flock and the nation.
And as shown in the video and its text, MP Melhem Riachi, known for his
Rasputin-like style and specialized in incense-burning, boot-licking, and vulgar
praise, presented us with one of his usual acts of flattery and sycophancy: “at
the bottom of the river and at the top of Sannine.” Words that no politician who
respects himself and his position as an MP for Metn would say, but rather a
doorkeeper at the palace gate would say. An MP of the Lebanese Forces, who is
supposed to represent the project of a state of law and institutions, announces
to us that the Patriarch is the Patriarch of the Catholics before the Maronites,
as if the Patriarchate has become a Vatican province and not an Antiochian See.
As for the major calamity, it came from the mouth of His Beatitude Sayyidna
himself. The Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Beshara al-Rai, informs and
announces to his people and flock with all pride and without shame or fear that
he does not read, does not know, and does not want to know what is written. And
he tells us about his open appetite for eating and his deep sleep soundly.
O Your Beatitude the Patriarch, O Sayyidna al-Rai who does not read, does not
hear, and does not want to know what the flock says, he is not a shepherd, he is
merely a hired hand who sleeps while the wolf devours the sheep.
The Patriarch who boasts of his isolation from people, that is from his flock,
and boasts of his appetite for eating, indifferent to their concerns and their
opinions about his role and practices and that he does not read, insults first
and foremost his own position before insulting the flock. And it seems that due
to lack of faith and despair, it escaped Sayyidna’s mind that the position of
Patriarch is not a restaurant where he fills his stomach with delicious foods,
nor a hotel where he sleeps soundly seven-eight hours, but rather a position of
prayer, fasting, holiness, serious faithful work, preaching, staying awake,
anxiety and responsibility.
From the Holy Bible we borrow the following verses that narrate the concept and
culture of irresponsibility and isolation from the flock and selfishness and
death of conscience as is unfortunately the condition of Sayyidna.
Faith Reflections on the Meanings and
Concepts of Humility
Elias Bejjani/September 21, 2026
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2026/09/157698/
Humility is not weakness, nor artificial brokenness, nor a
garment we wear before people. Humility is truth. The truth that a person knows
himself before God, before himself, and before his fellow human being. And the
truly humble person is the one who knows that everything he has is a free gift,
so he does not boast and become arrogant and tyrannical as if he had not
received all that he has freely from his Creator.
For this reason, Saint Jacob of Serugh distinguishes between two kinds of
humility, saying: "There is a humility that comes from the fear of God, and
there is a humility that comes from God Himself. There is one who is humble
because he fears God, and there is one who is humble because he knows joy.
He who is humble because he fears God finds sweetness in his body, balance of
the senses, and a broken heart at all times. But he who is humble because he
knows joy finds great relief and an open heart and joy, so nothing restrains him
or weighs him down." The first humility is the beginning of the road, a holy
fear of being lost. The second humility is the summit of the road, the joy of
one who has realized that God loves him freely.
The Servant Returning from the Field
At the foundation of the moral theology of humility, the Lord Jesus lays down a
golden rule that demolishes every philosophy of human arrogance. In the Gospel
of Luke He says: "And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep,
will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down
to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper,
and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you
will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that
were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those
things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done
what was our duty to do.’" (Luke 17:7-10).
This parable is shocking to the ethics of this world.
In the logic of the world, he who does his duty we lift up, applaud, thank, and
we may even erect a statue for him. In the logic of the Gospel, he who does his
duty has no special merit. Why? Because duty is not a favor. The servant who
plowed and tended sheep and then prepared supper for his master and waited until
he finished, and then went to eat himself, deserves no thanks because he did
what he was supposed to do. So he said: I am a lowly servant, I have done my
duty and that is enough. And herein lies the dangerous moral and social disease
in our societies: We thank the official because he did not steal, and we thank
the employee because he came to work, and we thank the ruler because he
performed his most basic duties, and we thank the clergyman because he prayed,
and we thank the father because he raised his children. And this is a wrong and
value-destroying human behavior. When we thank someone for doing his duty, we
turn duty into a favor, and right into a gift, and faithfulness into heroism. So
we teach people that the norm is negligence, and that doing one's duty is an
exception that deserves a reward. And this is the very essence of moral
corruption.
The truly humble person does not wait for thanks because he completed his duty.
Rather, he says in his heart: "We are unprofitable servants." Not out of
self-contempt, but out of realization of the truth: that life itself, and
health, and talent, and the opportunity to serve, are all free gifts from God,
so how can I ask for a wage for what was given to me freely? And here comes the
decisive saying of Christ: "Freely you have received, freely give." (Matthew
10:8). We received salvation freely, we received talents freely, we received
gifts freely. So how can we sell what we received freely for the price of
thanks, praise, and power?
The Arrogant and the Humble: Two Opposite Schools
The arrogant lives in a constant argument: Who is the greatest? And this is what
the Lord revealed in Capernaum: "Then He and His disciples came to Capernaum;
and when He was in the house He asked them, 'What was it you disputed among
yourselves on the road?' But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed
among themselves who would be the greatest." (Mark 9:33-34).
This is the arrogant person; even the Apostles before the coming of the Holy
Spirit upon them fell into it. He wants to sit at the right and at the left:
"Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in
Your glory." (Mark 10:37).
The arrogant wants glory before the cup, the chair before the cross, thanks
before work. He lives to be served, not to serve. And the Lord says about the
arrogant rulers of the nations: "Those who are considered rulers over the
Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them."
(Mark 10:42).
To lord over and to exercise authority. This is the language of arrogance. As
for the humble, his school is completely different — the school of the child:
"So Jesus sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, 'If anyone desires to
be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.' Then He took a little
child and set him in the midst of them." (Mark 9:35-36). "Let the little
children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little
child will by no means enter it." (Luke 18:16-17).
The child does not argue about who is the greatest. The child does not ask for
thanks because he breathed or ate or played. The child receives freely and gives
freely with simplicity and joy. Therefore the Lord said: "Yet it shall not be so
among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son
of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom
for many." (Mark 10:43-45).
Practical Humility: Freely Give
The Lord instructs His twelve disciples when He sent them to preach the Bible:
"Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel... Heal the sick, cleanse
the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely
give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts." (Matthew
10:5-9).
This is the ethic of humility: Carry no gold. The humble does not trade with his
service. Heal freely. Do not ask for thanks or reward because you did your human
and evangelical duty. Enter the house and greet it. And if they reject you,
shake the dust off your feet and go on.
The humble does not impose himself, nor does he emotionally blackmail people to
thank him. As for the arrogant, Saint Jude says about him: "There will be
mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts.
These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit." (Jude
1:18-19).
The arrogant causes division because he always seeks the first seat, the thanks,
and the glory. The humble builds, as the Apostle says: "But you, beloved,
building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep
yourselves in the love of God." (Jude 1:20-21).
Conclusion
Humility is not to say with your tongue "I am lowly" while your heart waits for
people to tell you, "No, you are great." Humility is to do your duty in silence,
like the servant returning from the field, preparing the food for your master,
serving, then eating yourself in hiddenness, and saying in your heart with joy:
I have done what I had to do. And that is enough.
When we stop thanking people because they did their duty, we restore to duty its
sacredness. And when we ourselves stop waiting for thanks because we did our
duty, we become free.
So do not ask for thanks if you are a good father, for that is your duty.
And do not ask for thanks if you are a watchful mother, for that is your duty.
And do not ask for thanks if you are a faithful employee or an honest official,
for that is your duty.
Say with the Lord: I am an unprofitable servant, I have done what was my duty to
do.
And live with the joy of one who knows that everything he received freely, he
gives freely.
**The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email:
Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Lebanon's Prisoners Continue Hunger Strike Over
Suspension of Amnesty Law
Beirut: Youssef Diab/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 23/2026
Inmates at Lebanon’s Roumieh Central Prison are on a hunger strike for a 10th
day over an appeal to a general amnesty law, as warnings mounted that
deteriorating conditions could trigger a broader humanitarian and social crisis.
Prisoners in Block B of Roumieh, Lebanon’s largest prison, have refused food,
water and medication while awaiting a Constitutional Council ruling on the
challenge to the law, which hundreds of inmates hope will secure their release.
The strike has coincided with protests outside prisons, including a
demonstration Sunday that drew hundreds to Al-Nour Square in the northern city
of Tripoli at the call of a committee representing prisoners’ families. “The
prisoners remain committed to the strike, but the situation is still under
control and has not yet reached a highly dangerous stage,” a security source
told Asharq Al-Awsat. The main concern was for inmates with chronic illnesses,
particularly those refusing medication, the source added. The prison doctor was
examining strikers daily, prioritizing those with health conditions, while
arrangements were in place to transfer any inmate whose condition deteriorated
to hospital. The source nevertheless warned that tensions could worsen if the
Constitutional Council upheld the appeal and struck down the amnesty law,
potentially prompting prisoners to escalate their protest. Omar al-Atrash,
spokesman for Lebanon’s prisoners, said the health of inmates had started to
deteriorate “one after another,” adding that two prisoners were hospitalized
Sunday. Al-Atrash warned that the action could expand in the coming days into a
general strike across Lebanon’s prisons. He held Free Patriotic Movement leader
Gebran Bassil and his political camp “morally and humanely responsible” because
of its challenge to the amnesty law that was passed by parliament on Aug.
12.Al-Atrash urged state institutions to implement the law, warning that further
delays could lead to “a humanitarian catastrophe and an explosion inside the
prisons” that could rapidly develop into a national and social crisis.One
Roumieh inmate told Asharq Al-Awsat that the strikers’ health was rapidly
deteriorating and that prisoners with chronic illnesses were at particular risk.
The inmates “will not back down until the amnesty law is upheld and published in
the Official Gazette,” he said.A judicial source said prosecutors were
monitoring the strikers’ health in coordination with Roumieh prison authorities.
Courts had already begun preparing cases to implement the amnesty should the
Constitutional Council allow the law to stand, the source said, in an effort to
avoid delays in releasing eligible prisoners.
Israeli detonation in Khiam leaves widespread
destruction across nearby towns
Naharnet/September 23, 2026
An Israeli massive overnight detonation in the southern border town of Khiam
caused widespread destruction in nearby villages, damaging homes, schools, and
infrastructure. The blast resulted in a complete blackout across the Hasbaya,
Shebaa, and Arqoub regions and shattered windows in nearby buildings, including
a school in Marjayoun. Later in the day, Israeli artillery shelled, including
with white phosphorus, Wadi Zebqine, Baraashit, Zawtar al-Sharqiyeh, and
Mayfadoun. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam was meanwhile meeting with Arab and world
leaders in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in a
push to de-escalate tensions in Lebanon and rally support for the war-hit
country.
Macron backs sovereign Lebanese state that ensures
Hezbollah disarmament
Naharnet/September 23, 2026
French President Emmanuel Macron has accused Israel of violating the sovereignty
of all its neighboring states, in a speech at the annual meeting of the U.N.
General Assembly. Macron also affirmed France's support for a sovereign Lebanese
state that ensures the disarmament of Hezbollah. "We are committed to supporting
the replacement of UNIFIL forces in Lebanon," he added, while stressing the
necessity of respecting Lebanon's sovereignty and the rights of its people. Emir
of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad for his part stressed solidarity with Lebanon
and emphasized support for Lebanon's state institutions and their sovereignty
over the entire national territory.
Salam from Washington: International support must
strengthen Lebanon, not create parallel systems
LBCI/September 23, 2026
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said from Washington that international
partners should stand by the Lebanese state and work together to move from
addressing urgent needs toward supporting recovery and reconstruction, enabling
residents of southern Lebanon to return, remain in their communities and rebuild
their lives.Salam said relief, recovery and reconstruction can no longer be
treated as successive stages, arguing that in prolonged crises, they must
proceed in parallel and complement one another. “In the south, some families
remain displaced while others are returning to their towns and villages and need
schools, water, electricity, roads and livelihoods restored,” Salam said. He
added that areas that have suffered extensive destruction cannot wait
indefinitely for reconstruction to begin. Salam said international support
should strengthen the capacity of the Lebanese state and its institutions to
fulfill their responsibilities, rather than create parallel systems. He added
that if relief, recovery, and reconstruction are to proceed in parallel, their
funding cannot remain sequential, warning that the end of emergency funding must
not create a gap in financing for recovery.
Salam seeks Arab and international support for Lebanon at
UN summit
Naharnet/September 23, 2026
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Wednesday with Arab League chief Nabil Fahmy in
New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations summit. The meeting focused on
mobilizing Arab support for crisis- and war-hit Lebanon, to facilitate the
country's recovery and reconstruction.
Salam, alongside leaders and representatives from Lebanon, Gulf states, Egypt,
Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan, participated in a summit hosted and chaired by
U.S. President Donald Trump to address regional security and political
developments. On the sidelines of the U.N. assembly, Salam also held talks with
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. According to local media reports, Salam is
scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday.
US delivers 16 million rounds of ammunition to Lebanese
Army
Naharnet/September 23, 2026
The United States has delivered 16 million rounds of ammunition to the Lebanese
Army, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said on Wednesday. “Over the past 6 years, the
United States has delivered more than $800 million dollars in military
assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces to build their long-term readiness and
capacity,” the Embassy said in a post on X. “This delivery of sixteen million
rounds of ammunition represents another example of that ongoing commitment to
strengthen Lebanon’s sovereignty, secure its borders, counter internal threats,
and disrupt terrorist facilitation,” the Embassy added. “The United States
remains committed to supporting the Government of Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed
Forces in strengthening state authority, protecting civilians, providing
services, and creating conditions that help bring about lasting peace and
stability,” it said.
Raad says Hezbollah kept fighting in Ali al-Taher in order to foil framework
implementation
Naharnet/September 23, 2026
The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, has said that
Hezbollah has conducted a deep review of the course adopted since October 8,
2023, objectively identifying any flaws or shortcomings in its performance. In
an interview with the al-Modon news portal, Raad noted that Hezbollah held its
ground for four months at the strategic Ali al-Taher hill "despite a tight air
and land blockade and exposure to tons of explosives, shells and airstrikes,"
while accusing Lebanese authorities of "betting on dragging the Resistance into
the implementation mechanism of the framework agreement -- an attempt that
failed."“Hezbollah wrote an epic of martyrdom during the most critical and
sensitive phase of confronting the aggression. Even the Israeli media
acknowledged the resonance of Karbala in the battle of Ali al-Taher. There was
an expectation of surrender, yet the gamble taken by the enemy and its
collaborators failed,” Raad added. He pointed out that Israel “exaggerated the
strategic importance of the site to inflate the significance of its achievement,
yet it failed to present a convincing picture of the event.”“The lessons of Ali
al-Taher are significant for the ongoing pattern of confrontation with the
enemy. Undoubtedly, the Israelis will ponder its mysteries at length; however,
as we have no interest in unraveling these puzzles for the enemy or its allies,
we chose to maintain ambiguity at the time. Much of the greatness of the
Resistance fighters at Ali al-Taher -- and the precision with which their
performance was monitored -- will be revealed later,” Raad added. As for the
relationship with President Joseph Aoun, Raad stated that he wants him "to
govern in accordance with the text of the Constitution and the National Accord
Document (Taif Agreement)."
Aoun on amnesty law: Political pressures don't affect me
Naharnet/September 23, 2026
A delegation from the “Sunni MPs bloc” visited President Joseph Aoun on
Wednesday to discuss with him the issue of the suspended amnesty law. “The law
reducing sentences does not apply to criminals and a balance must be struck
between justice and the public interest,” Aoun told the delegation. “Terrorism
has neither sect nor religion. My priority is the public interest, and I am not
affected by media sensationalism or political pressures,” the president said.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, MP Bilal Abdallah said: “We came to thank
President Aoun for signing the law reducing sentences -- a move reflecting a
national and humanitarian stance toward thousands of prisoners and detainees who
have not yet been sentenced.”“Those who object have the right to challenge the
law, and we defer to the judiciary and constitutional institutions,” Abdallah
added. “No one can pit the army against any component of Lebanese society. This
is our Army, and we deeply value its personnel and its martyrs,” Abdallah said.
Lebanon's parliament last month passed the sweeping amnesty law, the first since
1991 after the country's civil war. The legislation is meant to help thousands
of prisoners and wanted people, many of them Islamists. But the Free Patriotic
Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc lodged an appeal with Lebanon's Constitutional
Council seeking to overturn the law, leading to a suspension of its
implementation on September 10.Hundreds of inmates at Lebanon's central Roumieh
Prison have been on hunger strike for 10 days over the stalled implementation of
the law, a judicial official told AFP on Tuesday. The Constitutional Council,
which verifies whether laws are in line with the Lebanese constitution, is
expected to announce its decision next month. For years, Lebanon's parliament
had been trying to pass the amnesty law, largely as a way to reduce overcrowding
in prisons, which has been exacerbated by slow-moving trials and the detention
of suspects for years without judicial proceedings. In a report last year, the
country's National Human Rights Commission said the prison population had
reached 300 percent of capacity, with more than 6,200 inmates by the end of
March. Some Islamist detainees have been held for years, in some cases without
trial.The prospect of granting amnesty to some of these detainees, accused of
carrying out bombings and attacks against the Lebanese Army, polarized the
debate around the law before it was passed. The legislation, which experts say
was the result of political horse-trading, is supposed to also benefit other
factions and religious communities.
Aoun warns UNIFIL withdrawal without replacement would
undermine regional stability
LBCI/September 23, 2026
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Israel is refusing to implement the
“framework agreement” and is therefore not complying with the ceasefire,
including provisions requiring it to refrain from destroying and bulldozing
homes, address disputed points along the Blue Line, and return Lebanese
detainees to their country. Aoun said that failing to extend the mandate of the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, and not establishing
an alternative international force would create a security vacuum that would not
serve security and stability in the region, particularly if Israel’s occupation
of southern villages and towns continues as it does now. Aoun made the remarks
during a meeting with the British government’s senior defense adviser to the
Middle East. He said Lebanon welcomes any alternative force to UNIFIL if its
mandate cannot be extended.
Aoun: Terrorism has no sect or religion, every terrorist
must face justice
LBCI/September 23, 2026
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday that his signing of the law
reducing criminal sentences “does not apply to criminals whose hands are stained
with blood.” Aoun stressed that “terrorism has no sect or religion,” adding that
every terrorist must receive a fair punishment and that injustice against those
subjected to it must be lifted. “What matters to me is the public interest,”
Aoun said, adding: “I am not influenced by media hype or political pressure. I
follow my convictions and conscience.”Aoun also sent a message to Saudi King
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud congratulating him on Saudi Arabia’s National Day.
He reaffirmed Lebanon’s “deep appreciation for the Kingdom and for its continued
support for Lebanon.”
Israel prepares for multiple scenarios, warns of wider regional escalation from
Iran to Lebanon
LBCI/September 23, 2026
Until the final moments before his departure for New York, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the level of security tensions, convening all
security agencies for an assessment of what he described as an impending
regional war centered on Iran.
The move comes against the backdrop of threats issued by U.S. President Donald
Trump. The messaging coincided with remarks by a senior Israeli officer, who
outlined three scenarios that Tel Aviv is preparing for. The first scenario
involves a U.S. attack on Iran, followed by an Iranian response against Israel,
which would then be met with Israeli airstrikes on Iran.The second, dubbed
“Roaring Lion 2,” involves another joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. The third
would see the Israeli military act alone against Iran. Tel Aviv claims that what
it calls “flashpoints” could trigger an escalation stretching from Iran to
Hezbollah in Lebanon, warning that the Middle East is close to a broader
escalation whose repercussions could affect the entire region. Meanwhile, Israel
said its 210th Division, deployed in Syria, is also prepared to launch a rapid
operation once intelligence is received indicating that hostile elements to
Israel are moving in the region. At the same time, Israel’s air and naval
forces, particularly its missile boat fleet and submarines, have been placed on
high alert.
Deadly stone attacks expose gaps in Beirut’s road
surveillance
LBCI/September 23, 2026
A stone killed a man named Mohammad in Beirut, while another nearly killed a
second young man. Behind both incidents was a man who told the Information
Branch that he threw the stones not to rob anyone, but simply to relieve his
frustration when he felt tired.
He would walk from the Sabra area to the airport road, carry out the act, and
then leave, disappearing from sight. This is an isolated case that warrants
particular attention, but it also raises a broader question: What protects
Lebanon’s roads, particularly the airport road and the roads leading to it, from
similar dangers, and who is responsible for that protection?Following Mohammad’s
death, Lebanon’s interior minister called for enhanced security measures and
increased patrols along the airport road. But patrols alone are not enough.
Along the road from the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium toward the Kuwaiti
Embassy, there are no surveillance cameras connected to the Internal Security
Forces’ operations room. Instead, there are only cameras belonging to security
or official institutions, such as embassies. That is where the search for the
cameras and what remains of the traffic control center began.The center was
originally established as part of an urban transport development project funded
by the World Bank. Its operations were supposed to be financed through the
parking meter project, which fell apart. First, because of a dispute between the
state and the company operating it in 2019. Second, because of the 2019 uprising
and the damage inflicted on the parking meters. Then came the Aug. 4, 2020,
Beirut Port explosion, which damaged the traffic control center in Corniche al-Nahr
and disabled its server. Six years later, the control center remains without
funding or development, leaving Lebanon’s roads without a centralized
surveillance camera system. Currently, a committee has begun assessing the
condition of the cameras and related infrastructure in preparation for
determining the cost and seeking funding, under the supervision of Interior
Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar.Six years later, the scene resembles so much else in
Lebanon: responsibilities being passed around, chaos and deadly bureaucracy,
while the solution requires nothing more than a decisive political decision to
get the work done.
Lebanon’s Pretend Peace with Israel Revives Arafat’s
Playbook
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/This Is Beirut/September 23/2026
What is the point of strengthening the LAF if internal dialogue is the only tool
Beirut intends to use to restore state sovereignty? By signing the Trilateral
Framework agreement while failing to disarm Hezbollah, Lebanon has adopted the
late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s “pretend peace” playbook. In this Oslo
Model, a defeated regime seeks Washington’s favor by signing a preliminary peace
pact. Under this strategy, Lebanon’s leadership claims it is merely calling
Israel’s bluff, arguing that Jerusalem is too malicious to ever want true
coexistence. Beirut then fails to fulfill its core obligation to dismantle rogue
militias. When Israel responds in self-defense, Beirut blames Jerusalem for the
failure and demands international pressure against its neighbor. The cycle
repeats until Lebanon’s credibility on the world stage is entirely exhausted,
much like the boy who cried wolf. This strategy of theatrical diplomacy and
strategic paralysis is a direct inheritance from Arafat, who decades ago
mastered the art of using peace processes not as vehicles for reconciliation,
but as shields against accountability. By engaging in high-profile summits and
speaking the language of Western diplomacy, Arafat secured international
legitimacy and financial aid while maintaining tactical flexibility. For him, a
signed document was never a binding destination but a temporary pause to
regroup, leaving violent factions unhindered under the guise of avoiding civil
war. Today, Beirut applies the same calculus to the Trilateral Framework
agreement, transforming a potential breakthrough for peace into an exercise in
diplomatic evasion. When Washington demands that Lebanon uphold its promise to
disarm Hezbollah, a prerequisite for Israeli withdrawal under the agreement,
Lebanese officials offer a well-rehearsed plea: the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF)
lack the capability to enforce disarmament and require foreign military aid.
Yet, when support arrives, Beirut claims that disarming Hezbollah through force
would trigger a catastrophic civil war. If forcible disarmament was always a
nonstarter, why has Lebanon spent years blaming the international community for
its army’s weakness? What is the point of strengthening the LAF if internal
dialogue is the only tool Beirut intends to use to restore state sovereignty?
This glaring contradiction exposes a fundamental lack of political will.
After initially celebrating Beirut’s peaceful rhetoric, Washington routinely
crashes back to reality as Lebanon drags its feet and shifts blame to Israel.
Historically, this frustration has led American policymakers to give up on
Lebanon entirely, outsourcing the management of this ungovernable nation to
regional capitals, whether by contracting Hafez al-Assad as a mandatory power in
1991, or by allowing Iran to inherit Syrian influence after 2008. Now, there is
a golden opportunity to break this cycle. After Israel eliminated Hezbollah
chief Hassan Nasrallah in 2024, the Lebanese people were handed a historic
chance to wrest their sovereignty back from Iran and its proxy militia.
Washington enthusiastically jumped on board to help Beirut reach the finish
line. But as the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make
it drink. The U.S. offered Lebanon a once-in-a-generation window to
forcibly disarm a weakened Hezbollah and restore the state’s monopoly on power.
Instead, the Lebanese state opted to stick to issuing empty statements, behaving
more like a passive political pundit than a sovereign government. The
consequence of Lebanon’s deliberate inaction is continued Israeli policing of
Hezbollah and a depopulated security zone that prevents half a million Lebanese
from returning to their villages. By permitting Hezbollah to retain its military
infrastructure, Lebanon ensures that the peace agreement remains dead on
arrival. When Hezbollah attacks Israel, Jerusalem must respond forcefully to
protect its citizens. At this precise moment, the second phase of the Arafat
playbook is triggered. Beirut immediately pivots from a passive observer to an
aggrieved victim, flooding international forums with condemnations of so-called
Israeli aggression. The narrative is flipped: the original provocation is
erased, and Israel’s self-defense is framed as unprovoked belligerence designed
to sabotage regional stability, on the premise that Israel is inherently evil.
This inversion serves a dual purpose. Domestically, it unites disparate
political factions against an external adversary while temporarily distracting
the public from systemic state failure and economic ruin. Internationally, it
attempts to shift the diplomatic burden back onto Jerusalem. Alarmed by the
prospect of an escalating regional conflict, Washington inevitably steps in to
urge restraint, not from the Lebanese state that failed to police its territory,
but from Israel as it defends itself. To end the cycle of “pretend peace”
Washington must strictly condition international recognition and economic
assistance for Lebanon on measurable, verifiable steps to assert state
sovereignty. Washington must also design an escalating ladder of sanctions
targeting Hezbollah, its allies, and, ultimately, the Lebanese state itself.
Beirut, weak or not, should ultimately be held accountable for Hezbollah’s rogue
actions. Until the cost of reneging on its promises outweighs the benefits of
playing the victim, Lebanon will continue to repeat this cycle, ensuring renewed
war and continued misery.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense
of Democracies and a columnist focusing on Lebanon and broader Arab affairs.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on September 23-24/2026
Iran will not ‘bend at the knee’ to
US pressure, Pezeshkian tells UN
Yaghoub Fazeli/Al Arabiya English/23 September ,2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that Iran would not
surrender to US pressure and defended Tehran’s restrictions on the Strait of
Hormuz, striking a defiant tone in his first address to the UN General Assembly
since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in February.
The US delegation walked out as Pezeshkian began his speech. Pezeshkian said
sanctions and increased pressure from Washington would only strengthen Iranian
resistance. “(US President Donald Trump) must know that the resistance of the
Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure,
increased bullying. We will never bow our head or bend at the knee,” he said.
His remarks came a day after Trump used his own UN address to threaten Iran with
further military action if a peace agreement was not reached, while also
expressing optimism that a diplomatic settlement could eventually be achieved.
Vital chokepoint
Pezeshkian also defended Tehran’s position on the Strait of Hormuz, saying Iran
would not allow the strategic waterway to be used to facilitate attacks against
the country. “We cannot let some have free access and bolster their interests
from the waterway, while at the same time using that waterway to impose their
aggression upon us,” he said. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant
share of global oil and gas supplies normally passes, has become a central point
of contention in efforts to end the conflict. Iran has indicated that it could
reopen the waterway if Washington eases military pressure and lifts its blockade
of Iranian ports. Pezeshkian insisted that Iran had not initiated the conflict
and remained committed to diplomacy despite the fighting. “Iran has never ever
been an aggressor, has never started a war and has always shown her commitment
to the negotiating table,” he said. “They imposed the war on us, but we proved
that we’re not afraid of fighting.”The Iranian president also rejected Trump’s
accusations that Tehran had engaged in terrorism, instead portraying Iran as a
victim. “We have been the victims of terrorism,” Pezeshkian said, citing the
killing of Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei and an attack on a school
during the war. Pezeshkian displayed photographs of Khamenei and Iranian
schoolchildren killed during the conflict as he addressed world leaders.
Pezeshkian’s speech came a day after US and Iranian officials held indirect
talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, with mediators
shuttling between the two delegations. US special envoy Steve Witkoff said the
two sides had completed a round of discussions through mediators that he hoped
would prove “constructive and promising,” adding that the mediators would
continue their work.
Iranian state television said Tehran used the meeting to convey its conditions
for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including the immediate lifting of
Washington’s naval blockade, the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to
the war on “all resistance fronts.”
Araghchi engaged with Witkoff without authorization, IRGC-affiliated
agency claims
Yaghoub Fazeli /Al Arabiya English/23 September ,2026
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s engagement with US special envoy Steve
Witkoff in New York took place without authorization from the country’s relevant
policymaking bodies, including the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s
Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday. Tasnim, which is affiliated with
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), cited information obtained by its
reporter as saying that claims Araghchi’s actions had been coordinated with the
relevant authorities were incorrect. The agency described the engagement with
Witkoff as a “mistake” and said it took place without prior coordination or
approval. The report came after US and Iranian officials held indirect talks on
the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, with mediators
shuttling between the two delegations. Tasnim pointed to comments by Supreme
National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, who said Araghchi had been
tasked with conveying Tehran’s seven conditions to mediators. The IRGC-affiliated
outlet interpreted Rezaei’s comments as indicating that Araghchi had not been
authorized to go beyond communicating Iran’s demands through intermediaries and
engage with Witkoff. Rezaei himself, however, did not explicitly say in the
remarks cited by Tasnim that Araghchi had acted without authorization. Jason
Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), expressed
skepticism about Tasnim’s report, saying Rezaei’s remarks suggested that the
talks were known to and coordinated with the Supreme National Security Council.
The Tasnim report “could be an attempt by some factions within the IRGC to muddy
the waters and cause political problems at home for Araghchi and (President
Masoud) Pezeshkian,” Brodsky told Al Arabiya English. “In sum, I doubt Araghchi
and Pezeshkian are freelancing,” he said. Tasnim sharply criticized the foreign
minister, saying he should explain to the relevant authorities and the Iranian
public why he had taken the step, which the agency described as a “major
mistake” that ran counter to Iran’s national interests.
Rubio doubles down on US commitment to Saudi defense
agreement
Al Arabiya English/23 September ,2026
The top US diplomat said Wednesday that Washington remained committed to its
defense agreement with Saudi Arabia. “We have a very strong defense agreement
with Saudi Arabia, and we will live up to our commitments in that agreement,”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Speaking to reporters in New York, Rubio
said the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the Yemen war were “very
disturbing.”Rubio slammed Iran and the proxies it backs and arms throughout the
region, pointing to strikes against Saudi Arabia launched from Yemen and Iraq.
“Let's just be clear here: the Iranian system, the Iranian regime, actively
supports organizations in the Middle East who target infrastructure, energy
infrastructure, and civilians,” he said.Nevertheless, Rubio called Saudi Arabia
a strategic defense partner. “The US made commitments to them. We will live up
to those commitments. We are living up to those commitments now,” he said,
adding that President Donald Trump has “many options available” when it comes to
potential military action against Yemen’s Houthis.
Senior IRGC commander killed in operation in southeast Iran
Al Arabiya English/23 September ,2026
A senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed during
an operation in the country’s restive southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan,
the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday. Tasnim, citing the
IRGC Ground Forces’ Quds Base, identified the commander as Brigadier General
Hossein Zarifi, who headed the Shahid Sajjad operational base in Saravan, near
Iran’s border with Pakistan. The statement did not provide details about the
circumstances of Zarifi’s death or identify who IRGC forces were fighting during
the operation. Zarifi had served in southern Sistan-Baluchistan for more than a
decade, according to the statement.Sistan-Baluchistan has for years been the
scene of deadly clashes between Iranian security forces and armed groups,
including Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group that has repeatedly targeted the
IRGC and police. The province, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan and is
predominantly home to Iran’s Sunni Baluch minority, is also one of the country’s
poorest and least-developed regions.
'Nothing new' in latest talks with US, Iran says
Associated Press/23 September ,2026
A spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday Iran had maintained
its negotiating stance in talks with U.S. officials, demanding the United States
end its blockade on Iranian ports and release Iran's frozen assets. Esmail
Baghaei said the indirect talks took place via Qatari mediators on the sidelines
of the U.N. General Assembly. "This was not anything new," Baghaei said of
Iran’s conditions. The unscheduled meeting — the first indirect talks between
U.S. and Iranian officials since a June ceasefire unraveled — came as
intermittent attacks continue in the Strait of Hormuz off Iran's coastline,
where commercial shipping remains below prewar levels.
Saudi FM attends Trump-convened meeting in New York on sidelines of UNGA
Al Arabiya English/23 September ,2026
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan took part in a multilateral
meeting in New York on Tuesday at the invitation of US President Donald Trump,
on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. The
meeting was attended by heads of delegations from Gulf Cooperation Council
countries, as well as Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.
Participants discussed the latest developments in the Middle East, particularly
the regional escalation and its implications for security and stability, as well
as challenges related to the security and freedom of navigation through the
Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb.The meeting also reviewed efforts to contain
tensions and prevent the conflict from expanding across the region, while
strengthening political and diplomatic efforts to address ongoing crises.
US Energy Secretary Wright says diesel export ban
‘definitely doesn’t work’
Reuters/23 September ,2026
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday said a US ban on diesel exports
would not work and could push up gasoline and jet fuel prices, putting him at
odds with President Donald Trump, who is backing the idea. Diesel prices have
surged to record highs due to the US-Israeli war with Iran and the conflict in
Ukraine, angering farmers and other users of the fuel ahead of the midterm
elections in November that will decide control of Congress. “The blunt tool of
banning diesel exports definitely doesn’t work,” Wright said at an event in New
York. Average US diesel prices were $6.52 a gallon on Wednesday, up 76 percent
from a year ago, according to AAA, a motorist advocacy group. “If you can’t
export the diesel that comes out of our refineries, you run out of places to
store it, and you have to reduce US refining, which would put upward pressure on
gasoline prices and jet fuel prices,” he added. Wright’s comments stand out
because public disagreement with Trump from a cabinet member is relatively
uncommon in an administration in which senior officials have generally aligned
themselves closely with the president’s positions. Record fuel prices are a risk
for Trump as his fellow Republicans seek to maintain narrow control of both
chambers of Congress in the November 3 elections. With global diesel supplies
tight and few obvious ways to quickly bring prices down, the administration is
facing calls from Republicans in competitive races for action, putting fuel
costs at the center of a broader political challenge for the party. While US
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has also raised the issue of high diesel
prices with the president, other top US officials have opposed an export ban. US
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said such a ban could lead to retaliatory action
from countries that export fuel to the US, which could hurt states like
California. Many energy analysts agree that a ban would risk boosting fuel
prices, as a resulting domestic glut would force a slowdown at refineries.“The
loss of export abilities would force many plants to cut run rates, and reduce
their output of gasoline (and numerous other products) as well, which becomes
counterproductive,” analysts for TACenergy wrote in a note on Wednesday. A White
House official said Trump “wants to see gas prices at the pump fall and is
evaluating all the options on the table.”Wright praised Trump’s policy in
Venezuela where the US is urging companies to expand production and return to
operations there after US special forces in January captured the South American
country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, and left his deputy Delcy Rodriguez in charge.
“A number of companies have already gone into Venezuela, but a larger US
presence in a country for sure is a little bit of increased security,” Wright
said.
Golan will remain Syrian, vows President al-Sharaa at UN
Associated Press/23 September ,2026
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa insisted at the U.N. Wednesday that the Golan
Heights region will remain Syrian after Colombia last month recognized Israeli
sovereignty over the strategically important territory. "Any attempts that
violate our sovereignty, violate international law, will be stopped. Golan will
remain Syrian territories. Any other attempts will be thwarted according to
Security Council Resolution 497," al-Sharaa said at the U.N. meeting of world
leaders in New York.
Yemen's factions battling Houthis share a common enemy but
not common goals
Associated Press/23 September ,2026
Yemeni factions fighting the Iran-backed Houthis are united mainly in one thing
— their opposition to the rebels who control the country's north and have
recently advanced along its Red Sea coastline. But beyond that, the groups
fighting under the banner of Yemen's internationally recognized government are
divided by geography, foreign patronage and competing visions for what their
country should look like if the Houthis are pushed back. In a month of intense
fighting that saw the Houthis' biggest land grab in years, factions of the anti-Houthi
coalition lost their hold of Mokha, a strategic city on the Red Sea, and islands
in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait further south. The advance ended a truce that had
been in place since 2022 and had calmed a devastating civil war. Neighboring
Saudi Arabia is trying to weld the factions — amounting to thousands of fighters
— into a more unified force, but their divisions have raised questions about
their ability to halt the Houthi offensive that now has the rebels perched on
one of the world's busiest waterways. The Houthis' unified command and goals
have helped their swift expansion, rather than any single military advantage,
said Adam Baron, a fellow at New America, a Washington-based think tank. "For
the Houthis, that makes it so much easier to fight this battle: one coherent
movement on one side, and a loosely linked umbrella group on the other," he
said. Here is what we know about the anti-Houthi factions:
The factions have been shaped by Saudi-Emirati rivalry. Saudi Arabia formed a
coalition to fight the Houthis in 2015, a year after the rebels overran the
Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and much of the country's north, driving the government
into the south. In the south, an array of militias and armed groups arose over
the years, ostensibly to back the government against the rebels. Over the years,
rivalries grew between Saudi-backed factions and others backed by the United
Arab Emirates, as the two regional powerhouses competed for control over the
coalition as well as Yemen's coastal regions overlooking strategic shipping
lanes. The factions repeatedly clashed on the ground. After Emirati-backed
southern separatist factions intensified clashes last year, Saudi Arabia carried
out airstrikes against a suspected Emirati weapons shipment to southern Yemen.
In January, the UAE said it pulled out of Yemen's war, ending its support for
factions on the ground. Bringing fighters under one umbrella is proving
difficult. Now as a single patron, Saudi Arabia is trying to absorb under its
command and funding structure the factions that spent years operating with other
loyalties. Some commanders have been reluctant to give up autonomy and their own
revenue sources. A main faction is the National Resistance Forces, established
in 2017 and long backed by the UAE. With an estimated 30,000 fighters, it has
been considered one of the best-armed factions, according to the
Washington-based Middle East Institute.
It was the main group holding Yemen's Red Sea coast but not the only one. The
Giants Brigades was also part of the command overseeing the coast. Also once
funded by the UAE, it broke with other Emirati allies last year and is now
backed by the Saudis. Mistrust between the two runs deep. The National
Resistance Forces is made up largely of Yemenis from the north, led by a
commander related to the country's former autocrat, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who died
at the hands of the Houthis in 2017. The Giants Brigades is dominated by
tribesmen from the south who are mostly Salafis — an ultraconservative movement
within Sunni Islam — and who hold bitter memories of Saleh's rule. Officials say
leadership disputes and lack of coordination between the factions were a major
factor in their defeat by the Houthis as they moved along the coast.
The Saudis are trying to build a new Yemen command
Saudi Arabia also has been trying to build an umbrella group to unify Yemeni
factions, called the National Shield. Established in January 2023, it reports to
Rashad al-Alimi, the Saudi-based chairman of the Presidential Council, the
leadership body of Yemen's internationally recognized government. The National
Shield is dominated by Salafi fighters with close ties to Saudi Arabia. It also
includes tribal fighters, with some absorbed from the previously UAE-backed
separatists. Composed of three divisions with tens of thousands of fighters, it
operates in the sprawling central province of Hadramawt and areas in southern
and eastern Yemen. The group also controls Yemen's main land borders with Saudi
Arabia and Oman. The National Shield is not yet trying to bring the National
Resistance and Giants into its forces. There is also an official Yemeni
government military. But it was weakened for years by the UAE, which saw it as
too close to Yemen's branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islah party. Instead,
the UAE built a network of other groups as proxies. Now, army forces as well as
Islah-connected armed groups are stationed in the oil-rich region of Marib, one
of the current front lines with the Houthis.
Southern separatists have threatened government forces
For years, one of the strongest forces against the Houthis was the Southern
Transitional Council, an umbrella group of armed factions that sought to restore
southern Yemen as an independent country, as it was from 1967-1990. The UAE
funded and armed the council, which fought the Houthis but also frequently
clashed with the government, based in the southern port city of Aden. The
council's leadership was dismantled in January when the UAE quit Yemen. But its
cause still has supporters, and earlier this month, a group of them attacked a
convoy of the Yemeni defense minister, Lt. Gen. Taher al-Aqili, in the southern
province of Dhale. The minister was unhurt. Overall, the renewed fighting risks
a full-scale return to the civil war that killed more than 150,000 people and
forced millions from their homes. Already, nearly 130,000 people have been newly
displaced and hundreds killed.
White House denies report US is considering
a diesel export ban
LBCI/23 September ,2026
A White House official on Wednesday denied a news report that said the U.S. is
preparing a 90-day ban of diesel exports in an attempt to control record prices
for fuel widely used by farms, trains and trucks. Diesel prices have shot to
records over $6.50 a gallon as the wars in Iran and Ukraine constrain deliveries
of oil and fuel products, a political risk for President Donald Trump ahead of
the midterm elections. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said earlier that such
a ban would not work and could boost gasoline and jet fuel prices, and that
the U.S. was discussing voluntary measures. After the Politico report said the
U.S. was preparing a 90-day ban on the exports, Wright said nobody is
considering a flat ban on shipments of the fuel. "What's being discussed is
what's the most efficient way to get more diesel into the United States of
America, and continue maximum flows of gasoline and jet fuel," Wright said
without offering more details.
Indian sailor killed in attack on vessel in Hormuz: Indian, Omani authorities
LBCI/23 September ,2026
An attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz killed an Indian sailor, Omani
and Indian authorities said on Wednesday, with the latter condemning the ongoing
attacks in the vital shipping lane."One Indian national tragically lost his
life," an Indian foreign ministry statement said. Oman's Maritime Security
Centre said the attack caused a fire in the engine room "and the death of one
crew member," while 27 others were evacuated. AFP
Four killed in Gaza in strikes, Israel says it killed a Hamas finance chief
Reuters/23 September ,2026
Israeli airstrikes killed at least four Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on
Wednesday, local health officials said, and Israel said one of the attacks
targeted a Hamas finance chief. Medics said two of the Palestinians, Osama Abu
Khater and Mohammad Abu Elwan, were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a
vehicle in western Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave. Two other people
were wounded, they added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense
Minister Israel Katz, in a joint statement, described Mohammad Abu Elwan as a
senior Hamas finance official. “We will not allow Hamas to rebuild its strength,
and we will not stop until Hamas no longer exists in Gaza,” the joint statement
said. Hamas did not immediately comment. Later on Wednesday, Palestinian health
officials said two people had also been killed in two separate Israeli
airstrikes in Gaza City and in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, taking
Wednesday’s death toll to at least four. The Israeli military did not
immediately comment on the last two strikes. Palestinian authorities say more
than 73,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, launched after
Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel in October 2023.
A US-brokered ceasefire agreed last year calls for the eventual reconstruction
of the territory, but little progress has been made as negotiators have failed
to agree terms for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw its troops. Israeli
airstrikes have continued. At least 1,400 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. Israel and Hamas trade blame over responsibility for
violations of the ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu rebukes Macron's remarks on Hamas
Naharnet/23 September ,2026
Netanyahu’s office called Macron’s remarks at the United Nations a "grotesque
absurdity," objecting to his claim about the Palestinian militant group Hamas'
activity in the West Bank. Macron decried the situation in Gaza. He also
criticized the escalating Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, saying
Israel could not invoke Hamas to justify its actions in the territory. He used
terminology in his French-language remarks that could mean Hamas has either
never governed or operated in the West Bank. A French diplomatic source,
speaking on condition of anonymity to be able to speak to the media, said Macron
meant Hamas had never governed the West Bank.The U.N. has not released an
official translation. Hamas has long maintained support in the Israeli-occupied
West Bank and claimed responsibility for attacks there, though it has never
governed in the semiautonomous territory. During the war in Gaza, Israel has
intensified military operations in the West Bank, launching an offensive in
early 2025 that targeted refugee camps it described as bastions of Palestinian
militancy. The dispute adds to tensions since France recognized a Palestinian
state in September 2025. Earlier this month, France joined Canada and several
European countries in announcing steps to restrict trade from Israeli
settlements. France has long opposed Israeli settlements as contrary to
international law and put out a statement Sunday saying it "firmly condemns the
terrorist attack" that killed a French-Israeli over the weekend.
Son of Israel’s US envoy injured in West Bank ramming attack
AFP/23 September ,2026
Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said his son was the soldier injured
in a car-ramming attack on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank. Israeli police
said earlier a Palestinian man drove a car at high speed toward a policewoman
and a soldier who were conducting vehicle searches at an intersection near the
Israeli settlement of Beit Horon west of Ramallah.“As a result, the soldier was
wounded and is currently receiving medical treatment. The attacker was killed by
the forces,” the police added. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said
its teams had evacuated a man in serious condition to hospital. Ambassador
Leiter said his son was the injured soldier, adding: “Neria needs a
miracle.”“Neria continued to serve in the reserves after losing his older
brother, Moshe Yedidya Leiter,” he added on X, referring to another son who was
killed in action in Gaza in November 2023. Israeli politicians responded with
words of support. “My wife Sara and I, together with all the people of Israel,
are praying for a miracle,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on
X. Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported that the ambassador was meant to
attend Netanyahu’s speech at the UN General Assembly on Thursday, but is instead
flying back to Israel to see his son. The Palestinian health ministry said it
had been informed of the death of 29-year-old Mahmoud Mohammad Mahmoud Suleiman,
“who was shot by Israeli forces near the village of Beit Ur al-Tahta, west of
Ramallah.” It added that Israeli authorities were withholding his body. Israel
has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence there has surged since Hamas’
October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war. On Sunday, an
Israeli settler was shot dead in the West Bank with the military saying it had
arrested the suspected gunman.
That same day, Israel’s military also reported an attempted car-ramming in the
West Bank, in which the perpetrator was killed. According to an AFP tally based
on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have
killed 1,110 Palestinians in the territory since the start of the Gaza war.
Israeli figures show at least 49 Israelis, including civilians and security
personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military
operations during the same period.
Israeli bulldozers smash Palestinian olive trees ahead of
annual harvest
Reuters/23 September ,2026
Palestinian villagers wailed over the mangled remains of their olive trees on
Wednesday after Israel’s military uprooted them with bulldozers, days ahead of
the annual olive harvest, normally a source of joy for Palestinians in the
occupied West Bank. Abd Alfattah Tamimi, who owns an olive grove on village land
near Ramallah city, watched as a military bulldozer smashed the top of one of
his trees and then tore its roots from the ground. “All our olive trees,
including the newly planted ones, were uprooted. Also our neighbors’, they
uprooted them all,” Tamimi said, adding that he and his neighbors own nearly 9
acres of land filled with olive trees.“They left us with nothing,” he said.
Israel’s military said it was checking Reuters’ request for comment but had not
responded by Wednesday evening. In the past, the military has cited the need to
clear land of olive trees to prevent security threats or ambushes on troops.
Palestinian human rights groups reject this, saying the destruction in effect
deprives Palestinian farmers of income from the sale of olives and olive oil
while uprooting trees they view as a symbol of their connection to the land. The
olive harvest usually begins in the first week of October. Olives are the
backbone of Palestinian agriculture, a sector that accounts for around 8% of GDP
and more than 60,000 jobs, according to the Palestinian Authority’s agriculture
ministry. Palestinian activists and farmers expect this year’s harvest to be
particularly volatile, amid a record surge in Israeli settler attacks on
Palestinians and Palestinian resources in the territory.Nather Tamimi, another
landowner in the area of Deir Nizam village near Ramallah, said the loss of the
trees was particularly painful in that it came so close to the start of the
harvest. “From this land, my brothers and I produce 120 drums of olive oil. Our
neighbours produce the same,” said Tamimi, speaking while looking over his olive
grove. “They uprooted trees everywhere, even between the houses,” he said.
Car ramming injures Israeli soldier, attacker dead:
Officials
AFP/23 September ,2026
A car-ramming at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank seriously injured an
Israeli soldier on Wednesday, with troops killing the attacker, officials said.
The assailant drove at a police vehicle which had a policewoman and a soldier
inside near the Israeli settlement of Beit Horon west of Ramallah, Israeli
police said. “As a result, the soldier was wounded and is currently receiving
medical treatment. The attacker was killed by the forces,” Israeli police said
in a statement. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services said its teams were
evacuating a man in serious condition to hospital. The Palestinian health
ministry said it had been informed of the death of 29-year-old Mahmoud Mohammad
Mahmoud Suleiman, “who was shot by Israeli forces near the village of Beit Ur
al-Tahta, west of Ramallah.”It added that his body was being withheld by Israeli
authorities.
Turkey and Iraq agree Turkey will turn over military
camp in northern Iraq
Reuters/24 September ,2026
Turkey and Iraq agreed on Wednesday for Turkish forces to hand over a military
camp in northern Iraq to the Iraqi government gradually, they said after talks
in New York, adding they also agreed to end the presence of “outlawed armed
elements” in northern Iraq.
After Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the sides
said in a joint statement they had agreed to deepen security cooperation.
“Within this framework, they reached an agreement on fully establishing state
authority in Sinjar and ending the presence of outlawed foreign armed elements,”
they said, referring to Kurdish militants, some of whom are based in the
mountainous Sinjar area of northern Iraq. Turkey is continuing a peace process
that it hopes will result in the disarmament of those militants from the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and end a decades-old conflict. The
statement on Wednesday added that “in accordance with the agreed-upon mechanism
and timeline” and security measures taken by Iraq, Turkish forces would
gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zelikan base, a military installation in
northern Iraq near Mosul, to the Iraqi government. An Iraqi military commander
familiar with the talks said the phased withdrawal of Turkish troops from the
Bashiqa camp and another small base near Mosul was expected to be completed by
the end of this year. There was no immediate comment from Turkey on the
timeline. Ankara deployed troops near Mosul in 2015, saying they were there to
train and protect Iraqi forces and local Sunni Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish
fighters preparing to fight ISIS, which seized Mosul in 2014. The deployment
sparked a dispute with Baghdad, which demanded the troops’ withdrawal, while
Ankara said they were supporting the anti-Islamic State training mission. Turkey
still has several bases in the region, which it says are there to protect
Turkey’s national security. The joint statement said the two leaders also
discussed bilateral ties and trade, stressing the need to urgently implement
previously signed agreements and speed up “strategic projects.”
Russia's Lavrov tells UN Moscow will not 'pause' Ukraine
ops
LBCI/23 September ,2026
Moscow will not "pause" its more than four-year war against Ukraine, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. "We
are not going to have a pause in our special military operation," Lavrov said,
accusing Europe of wanting to use a halt to the fighting to "pump the Kyiv
regime with weapons."AFP
The Latest LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on September 23-24/2026
Disarming Hamas Will Not Disarm the Muslim Brotherhood
Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/September 23, 2026
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22842/disarm-the-muslim-brotherhood
Hamas is being offered political survival in exchange for its guns.
There is little reason to believe the movement that built Hamas, the Muslim
Brotherhood, regards this trade as a defeat.
Hamas has never disguised its parentage. Its 1988 founding charter describes the
group as "one of the wings of [the] Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine." Britain
reached the same conclusion after a two-year internal review whose findings
Prime Minister David Cameron laid before Parliament in December 2015. The review
found that the Brotherhood's foundational texts call for the moral purification
of Muslim societies and their eventual unification in a caliphate under Islamic
sharia law. The movement itself is "deliberately opaque, and habitually
secretive."
The Brotherhood's opacity is deliberate.... Every Western government that has
since tried to act against the Brotherhood has collided with this ethereal
architecture.
Israel's Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism published a
survey of the Brotherhood's European wing in February, identifying five
organizations at the core of its continental structure: an umbrella council of
national federations, a body issuing religious rulings for Muslims living in
Europe, a youth and student federation that has received more than a million
euros from Qatar since 2016, a seminary, and a property trust whose real estate
holdings finance the others.
American campuses supplied their own measure of how far the movement had already
traveled. On the October 7, 2023, as Hamas was still massacring Israelis and
before Israel had fired a shot into the Gaza Strip, 34 Harvard student
organizations signed a statement holding "the Israeli regime entirely
responsible for all unfolding violence...." The speed is the point. A
declaration drafted, circulated and signed by three dozen organizations within
hours of a massacre draws on arguments assembled long beforehand, in seminars
and student unions and advocacy campaigns that no air force can reach.
Jordan, which understands the movement better than any European parliament,
moved only when weapons could be seen. On April 23, 2025, its interior ministry
outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood outright and confiscated its property eight days
after security services arrested 16 men trained and financed in Lebanon who had
planned rocket and drone attacks inside the kingdom. The Brotherhood had
operated openly in Jordan for decades through charities, professional syndicates
and the largest party in parliament. None of that produced a ban. Explosives
did.
Conflating violence and religion has always been the Brotherhood's most
dependable shield. The movement's earliest victims were Muslims who opposed it:
Egyptian journalists, Syrian professionals, and Jordanian reformers who watched
their own unions taken over from the inside.
The verification committee established under the Board of Peace's roadmap for
Gaza will count what can be counted. Rifles carry serial numbers. Tunnels have
entrance shafts. Weapons production lines occupy floor space and can be
photographed before and after they are destroyed. Nothing in the framework
obliges anyone to inventory a fatwa council, a property portfolio or a student
federation in Brussels receiving Qatari subsidies. Hamas will sign for the
rifles. The buildings, the trusts and the curricula will appear on no one's
list.
On July 30, the Board of Peace announced an agreement for the staged
decommissioning of Hamas weapons in the Gaza Strip. Heavy arms and tunnel
networks are to be surrendered under international verification while Israeli
forces are to withdraw in phases.
Now, however, Hamas says it will hand over nothing until Israel first pulls
back. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu notes that Israel never accepted
those terms. The sequencing is unresolved and may remain unresolved for months.
The shape of the deal is not. Hamas is being offered political survival in
exchange for its guns.
There is little reason to believe the movement that built Hamas, the Muslim
Brotherhood, regards this trade as a defeat. The Muslim Brotherhood, which has
given up armed branches before, has outlived every government that forced it to.
Its Syrian insurrection ended in the ruins of Hama in 1982, and the organization
spent the following four decades rebuilding everywhere except Syria. In 2013,
when the Egyptian army deposed President Mohamed Morsi (a member of the Muslim
Brotherhood) and began mass arrests, the network dispersed abroad rather than
dissolved. Weapons have always been the part of the enterprise it could afford
to lose.
Hamas has never disguised its parentage. Its 1988 founding charter describes the
group as "one of the wings of [the] Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine." Britain
reached the same conclusion after a two-year internal review whose findings
Prime Minister David Cameron laid before Parliament in December 2015. The review
found that the Brotherhood's foundational texts call for the moral purification
of Muslim societies and their eventual unification in a caliphate under Islamic
sharia law. The movement itself is "deliberately opaque, and habitually
secretive." London recommended no proscription. It settled on the formula that
association with the Brotherhood should be treated as a possible indicator of
extremism -- the language of a government that has located something it cannot
quite reach.
The Brotherhood's opacity is deliberate. Muhammad Akef, the movement's "General
Guide" in Egypt from 2004 to 2010, explained:
"We do not have an international organization; we have an organization through
our perception of things (ideology). We are present in every country – wherever
there are people who believe in the message of the Muslim Brotherhood."
Muhammad Habib, the former first deputy chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood in
Egypt, said in 2008:
"There are entities that exist in many countries across the world. These
entities share the same ideology, principles, and objectives, but they operate
under different circumstances and contexts... each entity operates in accordance
with its own circumstances and the challenges it faces, and within its own
framework."
Every Western government that has since tried to act against the Brotherhood has
collided with this ethereal architecture.
Washington ran into it in January 2026. Acting under an executive order signed
the previous November, the US State Department on January 13 designated the
Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization, while the Treasury
Department listed the Egyptian and Jordanian chapters as global terrorists for
providing Hamas with material support.
The evidence in every instance was military. Lebanon's branch, reactivating its
al-Fajr Forces after the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, fired rockets into
northern Israel. Jordanian elements had been implicated in the production of
rockets, explosives and drones. Egyptian networks had moved foreign fighters
into Gaza and kept Hamas informed of their arrival times. Three chapters of the
Brotherhood -- in Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon -- proved reachable because three
chapters had picked up weapons.
France collided with the movement nine days later. The National Assembly adopted
a resolution on January 22, by 157 votes to 101, asking the European Commission
to place the Muslim Brotherhood and its leaders on the EU terrorist list. The
most instructive remark of that five-hour session came from a deputy who voted
in favor. Maud Petit warned that the absence of a unified chain of command could
weaken any such listing before the Court of Justice of the European Union. She
was describing the movement's actual defense. Decades of deliberate
decentralization have produced an adversary that European law is not equipped to
name.
What that law would have to reach is now on paper. Israel's Ministry for
Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism published a survey of the
Brotherhood's European wing in February, identifying five organizations at the
core of its continental structure: an umbrella council of national federations,
a body issuing religious rulings for Muslims living in Europe, a youth and
student federation that has received more than a million euros from Qatar since
2016, a seminary, and a property trust whose real estate holdings finance the
others.
Austrian intelligence had already reached the operative conclusion in 2021. It
found the Muslim Brotherhood's activities legal but not legitimate. The Israeli
report names Jewish communities as the exposed party, which is the reason the
file sits on a Jerusalem desk at all.
American campuses supplied their own measure of how far the movement had already
traveled. On the October 7, 2023, as Hamas was still massacring Israelis and
before Israel had fired a shot into the Gaza Strip, 34 Harvard student
organizations signed a statement holding "the Israeli regime entirely
responsible for all unfolding violence." Several signatories withdrew their
names within days, some pleading that they had not read the text before
endorsing it. The speed is the point. A declaration drafted, circulated and
signed by three dozen organizations within hours of a massacre draws on
arguments assembled long beforehand, in seminars and student unions and advocacy
campaigns that no air force can reach.
Jordan, which understands the movement better than any European parliament,
moved only when weapons could be seen. On April 23, 2025, its interior ministry
outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood outright and confiscated its property eight days
after security services arrested 16 men trained and financed in Lebanon who had
planned rocket and drone attacks inside the kingdom. The Brotherhood had
operated openly in Jordan for decades through charities, professional syndicates
and the largest party in parliament. None of that produced a ban. Explosives
did.
The distinction that makes this argument possible is also the one most easily
surrendered. Éric Pauget, who carried the French resolution, told the Assembly
that France is not at war with a religion. Conflating violence and religion has
always been the Brotherhood's most dependable shield. The movement's earliest
victims were Muslims who opposed it: Egyptian journalists, Syrian professionals,
and Jordanian reformers who watched their own unions taken over from the inside.
The verification committee established under the Board of Peace's roadmap for
Gaza will count what can be counted. Rifles carry serial numbers. Tunnels have
entrance shafts. Weapons production lines occupy floor space and can be
photographed before and after they are destroyed. Nothing in the framework
obliges anyone to inventory a fatwa council, a property portfolio or a student
federation in Brussels receiving Qatari subsidies. Hamas will sign for the
rifles. The buildings, the trusts and the curricula will appear on no one's
list.
**Pierre Rehov, who holds a law degree from Paris-Assas, is a French reporter,
novelist and documentary filmmaker. He is the author of six novels, including
"Beyond Red Lines", "The Third Testament" and "Red Eden", translated from
French. His latest essay on the aftermath of the October 7 massacre " 7 octobre
- La riposte " became a bestseller in France. As a filmmaker, he has produced
and directed 17 documentaries, many photographed at high risk in Middle Eastern
war zones, and focusing on terrorism, media bias, and the persecution of
Christians. His latest documentary, "Pogrom(s)" highlights the context of
ancient Jew hatred within Muslim civilization as the main force behind the
October 7 massacre.
**© 2026 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute.
Journalist admits: Anti-Israel narrative driving
protests is based on Hamas lies
Ahmad Sharawi/New York Post/September 23/2026
Journalist Motaz Azaiza’s new revelations exposing “SMART,” a Hamas-controlled
group of reporters used to manage the media narrative about Gaza, reveal
uncomfortable but important truths about nearly two decades of journalism. The
world has relied on a media ecosystem that forced journalists to operate within
red lines set by Hamas — under threat of punishment if their coverage ever
crossed the terror group. That reality was too often lost by the time Gaza’s
stories reached Western TV screens and newspaper pages — and it drove
college-campus protests and breathless claims by so-called activists, as false
allegations emerging from the coastal enclave were repeated as unquestioned
facts. But Azaiza’s revelation should come as no surprise: Ever since its
violent takeover after Gaza’s 2007 civil war, Hamas has tightly controlled the
narrative to influence the story that reaches the outside world.
Its goal has been to shape positive coverage of its iron-fisted rule and to
legitimize its narrative of “resistance” — that is, violence against Israel. In
2013, Hamas’ Interior Ministry brought Gazan journalists and social-media
activists together for a workshop, coaching them on how to report news in Gaza.
Among the attendees was Abu Ubayda, Hamas’ infamous military spokesman and one
of its most prominent propagandists, who was eliminated by Israel in 2025.Hamas
made it clear during the session that the press’ role is “no less important than
that of the resistance on the ground.”
But the message was not only one of encouragement: The terror group made it
clear that reporters would pay a steep price if they did not adhere to the Hamas
line.
In 2016, Hamas arrested Mohammed Othman, a journalist working for al-Monitor,
for exposing medical errors occurring in Gaza’s hospitals. Hamas later barred
him from entering those facilities. In 2019, Hamas detained 12 journalists for
covering protests against Hamas’ rule and the economic situation in Gaza. The
repression of reporters hasn’t eased after Oct. 7, 2023, or during the war that
followed. In at least three cases during the war, Gazan journalists said Hamas
fighters beat them or threatened them after they reported on locals who blamed
the terror group for bringing destruction to Gaza. The journalists said Hamas
explicitly ordered them to stop reporting on local discontent. It was intended
to keep those voices from reaching international audiences, to preserve Hamas’
narrative that Israel alone was to blame for all Gaza’s problems, and to silence
any Gazan saying otherwise.
That is what makes Azaiza’s account significant. Beyond shaping the media
reality in Gaza, reporters’ self-censorship distorted the picture the outside
world saw.
Western media outlets relied heavily on local journalists for on-the-ground
reporting, while often missing a crucial reality: Any criticism of Hamas was
unlikely to make it on camera, and who feared crossing the terror group meant
basic facts became hard to document.
By the time their material reached international newsrooms, the intimidation and
coercion that shaped the information-gathering the information had all but
vanished.
And the self-censorship hasn’t been limited to Gazan journalists: Regional
Arabic outlets have done the same. Al Jazeera has repeatedly cut off Gazans who
criticized Hamas on air — hardly a surprise, given that Qatar, a financial
sponsor of Hamas, owns Al Jazeera.
Israel has since revealed that several Al-Jazeera employees in Gaza were Hamas
fighters masquerading as journalists. The Qatari-funded network has long taken
guidance from Hamas on how to cover Gaza.
A 2022 document showed how Hamas instructed Al Jazeera to lie about a failed
rocket launch that killed Palestinian civilians, telling the network to avoid
the word “massacre” and steer clear of criticism of Hamas. A 2023 document
further showed that Hamas moved to create a secure line for classified
communications between the network and the terror group.
For nearly two decades, Hamas has operated a media ecosystem based on fear.
Journalists learned what they could say and what they could film. Western
audiences rarely saw those constraints, and some ended up absorbing Hamas’
preferred narrative.
That should force a reckoning among the activists and celebrities who swallowed
claims out of Gaza whole, without asking who controlled what could be reported.
And a looming question remains: How many US and international media outlets rely
on SMART “fixers” — locals who arrange for meetings and translate Arabic to
English — in their reporting?
An audit is long overdue.
**Ahmad Sharawi is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of
Democracies.
The Shiites in Lebanon – 3
Colonel Charbel Barakat/September 24/2026
The late Mamluk period had opened up horizons for the Siyyad (religious
notables) and Imams to cooperate with the Safavid dynasty in Iran, driven by the
latter's need for scholars to formulate and articulate a doctrine distinct from
that of the Ottomans. Indeed, several Shiite jurists and scholars migrated from
Jabal Amel to explain the Twelver Shiite doctrine that Shah Ismail had adopted
as the official state religion. Among the most prominent were Al-Muhaqqiq al-Karaki,
Kamal al-Din Darwish Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Amili, and others.
However, this opportunity was short-lived. Sultan Selim I of the Ottoman Empire
defeated Shah Ismail and subsequently gained control over the region following
the Battle of Marj Dabiq, which marked a major shift in the balance of power.
During the battle, Emir Fakhr al-Din Ma'n I—who commanded a force of Ma'anids
and Tanukhids summoned by Jan bardi al-Ghazali, the Governor of Damascus, to
support the Mamluk army like other local factions—defected and joined the
Ottoman forces on the orders of the governor. Leading those who defected was
Khayr Beg the Circassian, the governor of Aleppo and his associated troops, who
had established contact with the Ottomans and was supposed to lead the left wing
of the Mamluk army during the battle.
On the other hand, the Turkmen Assaf family—who had settled in Lebanon since the
Mamluk campaigns against Keserwan in 1305 AD and were tasked with preventing
settlement in that area and barring the return of displaced residents—had
aligned themselves from the beginning with their Ottoman kin, contacting Sultan
Selim prior to the battle to coordinate their stance. These calculated moves
contributed to Sultan Selim's swift victory over the Mamluks in a battle heavily
and precisely dominated by Ottoman artillery. The battle resulted in the death
of the Mamluk Sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri, who, according to historians, fought
valiantly. These events had a direct impact on Lebanon later on, as the Ma'anids
officially received the Emirate of Mount Lebanon in Chouf and Metn, along with
tax farming (iltizam) rights and internal administrative privileges, laying the
groundwork for their central role in Lebanon's future independence.
When the Ottomans took control of the region, the Maronites were still living in
isolation in the northern regions between Byblos (Jbeil), Batroun, and Bsharri,
while the Druze who returned after the Mamluk campaigns organized themselves in
the Chouf region. Meanwhile, Jabal Amel and Belad Beshara remained caught
between the authority of the Siyyad—who provided no martial reliability—and
several local feudal Sheikhs, such as the families of Ali al-Saghir, Munkar, and
Sa'b. These families later emerged to handle tax collection and remit payments
to Ottoman governors in Damascus, Sidon, or Beirut depending on the empire's
shifting administrative structures. Nevertheless, they occasionally supported
the Emir of Chouf and coordinated with him on issues of general Lebanese
concern, particularly when he expanded his tax collection jurisdiction toward
the southern regions.
Following the Ottoman victory at Marj Dabiq in 1516 AD, Kurds affiliated with
Commander "Jamal al-Din," known as "Saifa" (a remnant of the Circassian Mamluks),
entered the Akkar
plain and settled among its peaceful local population. They took over tax
collection (iqta') and extended their influence to Tripoli between 1528 and 1640
AD.
In the Beqaa Valley, the Harfush family rose to prominence under Emir Ali ibn
Musa al-Harfush and later Emir Yunus al-Harfush, both belonging to the Shiite
faith. They held the tax farming rights for the eastern and northern Beqaa (the
Baalbek region), known as such to distinguish it from the Western or Southern
Beqaa (sometimes called "Al-Azizi"). The latter fell under the authority of Emir
Mansur Ibn Furaykh, who was directly tied to the Governor of Damascus and held
open hostility toward other Lebanese factions—including both the Harfush family
and the Ma'anids—in an effort to assert his dominance and monopolize control
over the Beqaa.
Once security stabilized, the Assaf family requested permission from the Ottoman
Sultan to reconstruct Keserwan in order to boost tax revenues, which at the time
amounted to less than a fifth of what was levied on the Bsharri region in the
Maronite Mountain. Consequently, the reconstruction decree allowed for the
return of displaced residents who had fled northward (from Byblos to Bsharri).
Having acquired extensive agricultural expertise due to overpopulation and harsh
living conditions in the north, many moved back to settle and work in Keserwan.
When an incident occurred involving the theft of the "Egyptian Miri" tax funds
bound for Istanbul in Jun Akkar, suspicion fell upon the Druze. A punitive
expedition was dispatched in 1585, led by Ibrahim Pasha, the Governor of Egypt,
commanding a large force of Janissaries supported by a naval fleet, the Governor
of Damascus, and Emir Mansur Ibn Furaykh. This campaign led to the death of Emir
Qurqmaz Ma'n (father of Emir Fakhr al-Din II) after he took refuge in the Tyron
Castle in Niha, Chouf. His family was forced to flee to Ballouneh in Keserwan,
seeking shelter under the protection of the Al-Khazen sheikhs until the Ottoman
military's retaliatory campaign subsided. It is reported that the campaign
resulted in the massacre of 600 Druze elders (Uqqal) who had come to seek peace
with the governor, as well as the deaths of thousands of fighters and civilians,
the burning of over 500 villages, and the destruction of all crops in the Chouf
region—a catastrophe reminiscent of the Mamluk campaigns.
However, when the Ottomans found no trace of the stolen funds nor any evidence
proving Druze involvement, they deemed the accusation groundless. Some
historians argue that no theft had taken place at all and that the treasury
funds from Egypt had arrived intact in Istanbul. Instead, Sultan Murad III
intended through this campaign to eliminate the threat of rebellion that could
sever trade routes between Damascus and the coast, especially given the
widespread proliferation of European firearms among local fighters. These
weapons were being smuggled in exchange for silk, oil, and soap via Venetian
ships docking at the ports of Tyre and Sidon, which had encouraged the Emir to
withhold tax payments. The Ottoman army confiscated a vast quantity of rifles
during the campaign. Satisfied with these results as a stern warning against
rebellion, the Sublime Porte restored recognition to the children of Emir
Qurqmaz, acknowledging Fakhr al-Din's right to the Emirate. Since Fakhr al-Din
was still young, his maternal uncle, Emir Saif al-Din al-Tanukhi, assumed
guardianship over him and managed the Emirate until he reached eighteen. This
period laid the foundation for alliances and friendship between the Emir and the
Maronites, fueled by the need for technical expertise, fighters, and labor. This
led to an increase
in the Maronite population in the Chouf, contributing to its reconstruction,
prosperity, and security.
During this era, the Ottomans sought to encourage Sunni tribes to expand their
control over fertile lands, particularly in northern Syria. This led to the
harassment of the Shiite "Hamadeh" clan, which had settled in the Aleppo region
after migrating from Hauran during the Mamluk period. Seeking refuge, the clan
moved toward the mountains of Lebanon—historically a sanctuary for the
oppressed. Some settled in the upper reaches of Belad Jbeil at a time when local
inhabitants were relocating to Keserwan under the sponsorship of the Assaf
family for better farming conditions and milder weather. Thus, the Hamadeh clan
initially established themselves in the upper regions of Byblos and Keserwan,
coexisting and harmonizing with the local Maronite and other populations.
After Fakhr al-Din secured his rule and organized the administration of the
Emirate with the help of the Keserwan sheikhs, he resolved to avenge his
father's death. His primary target was Ibn Furaykh, who had participated in the
campaign against the Chouf. Fakhr al-Din began forging counter-alliances,
notably with the Shiite Harfush family—enemies of Ibn Furaykh who resided in the
Beqaa and competed with him for power. Meanwhile, Ibn Furaykh escalated his
tyranny; it is related that while tasked with protecting the Hajj caravan to
Mecca, he robbed and killed several wealthy pilgrims. This angered the Ottoman
governor and reached the Sublime Porte, which issued an order for his execution,
thereby relieving Fakhr al-Din of one of his fiercest rivals.
As for "Ibn Saifa," who held the tax farms of Akkar and Tripoli, he was an ally
of Ibn Furaykh, earning the Emir's hostility. During Fakhr al-Din's exile in
Tuscany, the Saifa family exploited his absence to attack Deir al-Qamar and
destroy the Ma'anid palaces. Upon his return, the Emir decided to retaliate,
eventually securing the tax farming rights for Akkar and Tripoli and
establishing his control over the Saifa family's properties.
Accordingly, the geographical distribution of Shiites in Lebanon during the
Ma'anid Emirate was confined to Belad Beshara (Jabal Amel), the northern Beqaa,
and parts of the upper Byblos region. Their rivalry—if not outright
hostility—with local or Ottoman-aligned Sunni powers led them to seek
understandings and alliances with the Ma'anids. This dynamic contributed to the
emergence of a multi-component Lebanese Emirate that brought together Maronites
and other Christians alongside the Druze, their Sunni Shihab allies (inhabitants
of Wadi al-Taym), and the Shiites distributed across the South and the Beqaa.
Throughout these political realignments and shifts, the Siyyad faded from the
political arena, and their role within the Shiite community became marginal,
restricted primarily to religious affairs. They retained their landholdings to
sustain themselves, even as the collection of the Khumms tax declined due to the
heavy tax burden imposed by the Ottoman authorities.
(To be Continued)
We Stand on the Threshold of Another Era
Dr. Abdel Monem Said/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 23/2026
There are periods in the history of nations and peoples, and indeed of
individuals and the world as a whole, that are marked by a profound sense of
uncertainty about the great objectives tied to destiny, survival, and the
conduct of life.
In such times, calculations become extraordinarily difficult because information
is insufficient, intentions are often concealed, and those leaders upon whose
shoulders the future rests experience deep turbulence.
The matter becomes even more complex when crucial issues involve decisions of
war and peace, where the margin for error is exceedingly small and forgiveness
scarce. At that point, only one question remains: to be or not to be.
Such a condition rarely emerges in its full form except when the global,
regional, and national dimensions become intertwined with the standing and
decisions of leaders and statesmen. In short, it is a historical moment that
demands documentation and reflection.
Reflection requires understanding how we arrived at this difficult-to-diagnose
situation and identifying the causes that brought us to this decisive juncture.
Thinking, meanwhile, concerns how to escape the impasse: whether it is possible
to develop a grand strategy for dealing with a changing and evolving reality in
which each moment differs from the next, and whether such a strategy will simply
offer salvation or serve as the foundation for a great future yet to come.
The preceding observations describe the current state of the Middle East, which,
for the purposes of analysis, may be referred to as the “Iranian war” in all its
manifestations: across the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea; through Iran’s actions
toward Arab states in the Gulf; and around the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab
Strait, both of which have been used to unsettle the world economically and
politically.
Added to this is the proliferation of weapons, from missiles to drones that are
advancing rapidly in range, speed, and effectiveness. This conflict is linked to
another war in Europe, centered on Ukraine, which also affects the global
economy, particularly energy markets and drone supply chains. What makes
strategic thinking so difficult is the speed of events and the rapid pace of
change, which confront decision-makers and research centers with increasingly
complex dilemmas and sometimes revolutionary shifts in the course of history
itself.
These developments bring to mind three particularly consequential moments in
history.
The first was Europe’s era as the center of the world following the French
Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars that engulfed the continent. It was a period
of nearly twenty-five years characterized by revolutionary ideas, industrial and
technological transformation, and the intensive use of military force.
The second came in the aftermath of the two World Wars, when the global balance
of power was fundamentally altered and two superpowers emerged from the first
conflict: the United States and the Soviet Union.
Neither was content merely to halt Nazi Germany’s advance or Japan’s imperial
expansion. Both sought to implement global visions, leading to the establishment
of the United Nations as a symbol of the possibility of international justice.
Yet at the same time, the system ensured that certain powers remained above
challenge through the creation of a Security Council whose five permanent
members possess veto power.
The third moment was the end of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union and its
allies collapsed, ushering in an era of globalization under American leadership.
Are we, as human beings, witnessing another historical process, one that
typically begins with a devastating and ruthless war that exposes the weaknesses
of the existing order and its inability to maintain the balance necessary for
survival and stability? Such processes often end only after profound shifts in
power balances and alliances, and after wartime and peacetime technologies
advance to levels never before experienced by humanity.
The reality before our eyes is that the leader of the current international
order, under US President Donald Trump, differs greatly from what we have known
in the past, whether in dealing with adversaries or allies. In one way or
another, the United States itself is confronting major historical
transformations.
After decades of pride in being a destination for global immigration,
immigration issues now occupy the docket of the Supreme Court. And after
US-Canadian relations long stood as a model of enduring peace based on mutual
interdependence, tariff disputes have now ushered in a period of tension,
culminating in Washington warning the European Union against any move to admit
Canada as a member.
Yet none of the three historical examples mentioned above ended in perpetual
war. Rather, each was ultimately resolved through alliances characterized by
determination and decisiveness. Napoleon could only be defeated through the
European Concert, which united Russia, Britain, Prussia, and Austria.
A century later, the League of Nations failed because of the American
withdrawal, despite President Wilson’s advocacy of the principle of national
self-determination. During the Second World War, the US-Soviet alliance helped
bring global warfare to an end, particularly after the world witnessed the
destructive power of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Today, however,
we stand on the threshold of another era, one marked by a different kind of war,
and perhaps a far more astonishing one.
Targeting Makkah… An Old Aim Renewed
Bakir OweidaAsharq Al-Awsat/September 23/2026
It is neither frivolous nor without a long-range strategic aim that the
decision-makers in the Iranian operations room directing Yemen's Houthi militias
should decide to target Makkah. No; there are several aims behind a matter of
this gravity. And there are reasons- which can be placed within the course of
the war under way for seven months- that required Tehran to take the decision
for the trial run that took place on the fifteenth of this month: sending a
drone toward the Grand Mosque in Makkah, which Saudi defense forces intercepted
and destroyed before its operators could bring it into the airspace of the
holiest place for Muslims in the whole world. The purpose was to gauge the
reactions to this audacity- Islamic reactions in particular, and international
ones in general.
Of course, to anyone who has followed closely the upheavals the Middle East has
passed through since Khomeinism took power in Iran, it is no secret what dreams
of dominion over the Islamic world haunted the leaders of the so-called "Islamic
Revolution." They sought to realize them by every means within reach, some of
them not free of domination over minorities of every confession inside Iran and
beyond it, quite apart from raising the banner of exporting the method of their
"revolution" to neighboring states. It was within this scheme that the First
Gulf War broke out, after the pressure of Iranian provocation exceeded every
limit the Iraqi government of the time could tolerate. So came the eight-year
confrontation that ended with Khomeini compelled to "drink the poison
chalice."The reality is that no one invited the rulers of Khomeinist Iran to
drink any poison. They were the party that refused to respond seriously to the
attempts of the neighboring states around them to lay foundations for relations
resting on a dialogue aimed at resolving points of difference in any field,
choosing instead Khomeini's insistence on imposing the program of the "Islamic
Revolution," even by force. Within this context of coercion, more than one
provocative event took place in execution of Tehran's instructions- among them,
for instance, the organizing of riots by Iranian pilgrims in Makkah during the
Hajj season of 1407 AH, corresponding to 1987, despite the decisive divine
command forbidding all lewdness, wrangling, and wickedness during the
performance of the rites of the obligation. But none of the Iranian provocations
was frivolous or mere chance.
No; Makkah is the target. The Ancient House is the direction of prayer for the
multitudes of Muslims in every prayer, and it is the place whose people- the
custodians charged with serving it- the Creator distinguished, answering the
prayer of Abraham, peace be upon him, that He make the hearts of people from
every corner of the world incline toward them, and provide them abundantly with
fruits. Is it any wonder, then, that they should be a target? No. The methods
have varied, and the approaches multiplied. Despite the sectarian difference and
the vast distance in time between the drone of the Houthi militias and the
Juhayman seizure of the Grand Mosque in 1979, the aim of targeting Makkah
remains one and the same. And it must be said, too, that Palestinian voices
standing in the Iranian-Houthi ranks- beyond being a fundamentally mistaken
position- are a painful matter, with nothing to justify them, whatever their
proponents claim, whatever the content of those claims, and whatever the
platforms from which they launch them.
Selected Face Book & X tweets
on September 23/2026
Nadim Koteich
A Gulf pivot is emerging from the Iran war, but it is not a
unified one. The novelty is the growing insistence that Gulf states should shape
the regional security order themselves.
Yet Qatar and the UAE are proposing different things. Qatar’s approach is more
accommodationist: bring Iran inside a regional framework built around mutual
reassurance and non-aggression. The UAE’s approach is tougher: Arab states must
have a seat at the table in shaping any regional settlement, using diplomacy
backed by deterrence to constrain destabilizing Iranian behavior and prevent
another US-Iran bargain from defining their security.
That distinction matters because there is still no single Gulf strategy toward
Iran, nor a common theory of regional order, beyond a shared desire for greater
agency.
GCC members also lack strategic coherence on Yemen, Sudan, Israel, political
Islam and even the reliability of Washington, making any postwar architecture
deeply uncertain.
So while the pivot is real, it remains embryonic: more Gulf agency, without yet
a unified Gulf strategy.
Nadim Koteich
One of the most revealing moments in Ahmad al-Sharaa’s @AtlanticCouncil
Council appearance, last evening in NY came when @brett_mcgurk
twice asked him directly whether he renounced his 2013 pledge of allegiance to
al-Qaeda. Sharaa declined to do so. He described that period as belonging to
another age, another regional context and another version of himself, while
insisting that the original impulse had been to confront injustice. That refusal
is worth noting, though it should not automatically be read as evidence of a
hidden jihadist agenda. His conduct since taking power points in a very
different direction: state-building, centralized authority, diplomacy,
negotiations with Israel and an insistence that armed groups operate under the
state. The more interesting question is whether Sharaa has abandoned jihadism
politically without fully repudiating the moral narrative that once led him into
it. This matters a lot in a pluralistic Syria as much as it does for the whole
region.
His transformation appears profound, but deliberately evolutionary, and that
ambiguity will remain part of how he is judged.
https://x.com/AtlanticCouncil/status/2102518152915533994/video/1
Nadim Koteich
A Gulf pivot is emerging from the Iran war, but it is not a unified one. The
novelty is the growing insistence that Gulf states should shape the regional
security order themselves.
Yet Qatar and the UAE are proposing different things. Qatar’s approach is more
accommodationist: bring Iran inside a regional framework built around mutual
reassurance and non-aggression. The UAE’s approach is tougher: Arab states must
have a seat at the table in shaping any regional settlement, using diplomacy
backed by deterrence to constrain destabilizing Iranian behavior and prevent
another US-Iran bargain from defining their security.
That distinction matters because there is still no single Gulf strategy toward
Iran, nor a common theory of regional order, beyond a shared desire for greater
agency.
GCC members also lack strategic coherence on Yemen, Sudan, Israel, political
Islam and even the reliability of Washington, making any postwar architecture
deeply uncertain.
So while the pivot is real, it remains embryonic: more Gulf agency, without yet
a unified Gulf strategy.
Mount lebanon Nexus
We strongly condemn what happened at the Our Lady of Lebanon
Shrine in Harissa, including the public insult directed at the religious
sanctities of the Christian people of Mount Lebanon.
Our Christian and Druze sacred sites are an integral part of Mount Lebanon’s
memory, identity, and shared history. Respecting them is not a courtesy. It is a
duty owed by everyone.
We reject any disrespect toward the Our Lady of Lebanon Shrine and reaffirm that
it is a sacred place of worship and prayer, not a tourist attraction for content
creators.
The dignity of Christian sacred sites cannot be separated from the dignity of
Druze sacred sites.
An attack on the sacred sites of our Christian brothers and sisters in Mount
Lebanon is an attack on a fundamental part of our shared identity. Our sacred
sites are a red line.
Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Houthi leader sets his sights on taking Mecca, taking the world back to 570,
when Abraha, the Ethiopian leader of Yemen, besieged the city. A pestilence
might have infected his troops, who retreated to Yemen. Islam attributes the
defeat to God sending birds from heaven that hurled fiery rocks at the invaders.
Islamic tradition teaches that Prophet Muhammad was born that year.
MEMRI
https://x.com/MEMRIReports/status/2102316919437058525/video/1
Yemeni-Houthi Leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi: Mecca Is Not a “Saudi Emirate” but
an Islamic Site Belonging to All Muslims; Mecca and the Kaaba Are Under Saudi
Occupation; We Are More Loyal to the Holy Places Than the Treacherous,
Collaborating Saudis
Roman Baber
Despite 2.2 million Canadians at food banks, @MarkJCarney will give another
$100 million Canadian tax dollars "to Palestinians".After Hamas leaders steal
their cut, the rest will be used to buy weapons & dig tunnels to kill Jews.
Hamas wants a 1 state solution - The Caliphate.
Karmel Melamed
Dear @StateDept Why the hell did you give these Islamo-Nazi terrorists who
slaughtered 50K innocents in January a visa to come to NY?! Why is US taxpayer
$$ being used to provide these murderers with secret service security?! STOP
THIS B.S. CLOWN SHOW ALREADY!
Yair Lapid
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “I have never seen killing and
destruction like Gaza in all my years as Secretary-General.”According to even
the most critical reports, Guterres, 70,000 people were killed in the war in
Gaza, a large proportion of them Hamas terrorists. During your years as
Secretary-General: more than 600,000 people were massacred or starved to death
in Ethiopia. 377,000 died in Yemen — that figure appears in reports issued by
your own organization. 150,000 were killed in Sudan and 12 million were
displaced.
Hundreds of thousands have been buried in Ukraine. You didn’t see it? They died
before your eyes. You simply looked the other way, because the Jews couldn’t be
blamed.
Gideon Sa'ar
President of Austria @vanderbellen should be ashamed! Someone who represents a
country that was complicit in the most heinous crimes against humanity and the
Jewish people dares to hurl a blood libel against the Jewish state, which is
still fighting against a jihadist axis that relentlessly seeks to destroy it. Of
course, no responsibility should be placed on any other Austrian citizen for the
vile nonsense of their president.
Sarah Adams
Our government is allowing al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Mohammad al-Julani to return
to U.S. soil. This is the very definition of suicidal empathy. We fought
al-Qaeda to now watch our leaders bent a knee to them. Thankfully, there are
still some people willing to stand up and protest this insanity. Someone needs
to.
Bechara Gerges
https://x.com/beirutwire/status/2102449326987284803/video/1
The rejection of peace has no justification other than ignorance or appeasement
of the IRGC axis.
Quote
Beirut Wire
Deputy PM Tarek Mitri: “A segment of the Lebanese population goes too far in
illusions and fantasies, dreaming that a peace agreement and normalization will
bring Lebanon prosperity on a silver platter.”Is it too much for the young
generations to hope for a future defined by
Proud Kafir
https://x.com/lastkafir/status/2102701598996599074/video/1
Remember your lovely daughter at home
Remember your lovely sister at home
Remember your female friends
This is what they will go through when islam takes over.
They will be abused and tortured in the name of Islam
Ban Islam from your countries