Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah to reply within 48 hours to Lebanese paper after Aoun-Berri talks

2025-07-05

[NAHARNET] President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
and PM Nawaf Salam are yet to receive Hezbollah's response to the Lebanese amendments to U.S. envoy Tom Barrack's paper, which were prepared by a tripartite committee after intensive meetings at the Baabda Palace, al-Jadeed TV said.

Hezbollah is expected to deliver the response on Friday or Saturday to Berri, al-Jadeed added, noting that the joint presidential committee would meet again after receiving the official response in order to finalize Leb
Leb

...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
's formal response.

Informed sources meanwhile told the TV network that Hezbollah is demanding ''real guarantees that Israel would abide by the new paper.''

''It has concerns over Barrack's paper and considers it a capitulation paper based on the previous experiences with Israel, which did not commit to agreements, Resolution 1701 or the ceasefire arrangements,'' the sources added, noting that ''the atmosphere is uneasy and marred by cautious anticipation pending Hezbollah's response.''

Al-Jadeed also revealed that Berri had met with Aoun over a dinner banquet on Wednesday evening and that the discussions tackled Barrack's paper, Hezbollah's response and the file of appointments.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem: 'We will not submit to threats and will not surrender our weapons to the Israeli enemy.'

2025-07-03

[X] That means the hudna is over. Take your mark, IDF. Get set….

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem: “We will not submit to threats and will not surrender our weapons to the Israeli enemy.” pic.twitter.com/AltN66bNzm
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 2, 2025

Or possibly not over yet. Update from An Nahar at 10:45 a.m. EDT:

Lebanon mulls phased disarmament amid 'difficult' debate within Hezbollah

Lebanese officials are racing against time to reach “acceptable formats” for a Lebanese paper responding to a U.S. proposal calling for an end to Israel’s attacks and the withdrawal of its forces in return for Hezbollah’s disarmament, a media report said.

“Hezbollah has partially opened the door to discussions over this topic, which had been a taboo in the past, without giving clear answers on whether or not it accepts the principle,” Lebanese sources informed on the ongoing deliberations told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

“Hezbollah is engaged in a difficult internal debate over the issue, in parallel with another debate within a panel comprising representatives of President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Nawaf Salam, which is tasked with devising the Lebanese response paper,” the sources added.

Revealing that the panel’s discussions are seeking “acceptable formats that comply with the constitution,” the sources added that “the Lebanese response to the proposal is focused on specifying the priorities and phases according to which the agreement will be implemented, seeing as Israel has not committed to the ceasefire decision until the moment, despite Hezbollah’s compliance and its withdrawal from the South Litani area.”

The sources added that in its “preliminary response,” Hezbollah has demanded “real guarantees” in order to implement ant solution that might be reached.

Official Lebanese sources meanwhile revealed to Asharq al-Awsat that “Lebanon is readying a technical response prepared by the Lebanese Army to explain the step-by-step mechanism and what can be achieved if Israel carries out positive steps, such as withdrawal, ending airstrikes and releasing the captives.”

Political leaders are meanwhile seeking “guarantees that would pave the way for a gradual disarmament that would begin with heavy-caliber weapons and end with medium-caliber weapons,” the sources said.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

US gave Lebanon until today to respond to demand Hezbollah relinquish weapons, sources say

2025-07-02

[IsraelTimes] Lebanese officials are drafting a response to US demands for Hezbollah to relinquish its weapons across the country by November in exchange for a halt to IDF operations there, say two sources briefed on the matter.

The deadline has turned up the heat on the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, which was struck hard by Israel during last year’s war, is suffering a financial crunch, and faces pressure in Lebanon to disarm.

Washington’s demands were conveyed by Thomas Barrack, US special envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey, during a trip to Beirut on June 19.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, tell Reuters Barrack had shared a written roadmap with Lebanese officials and told them he expected to hear back by July 1 (today) on any proposed amendments.

The six-page document centers on the disarmament of Hezbollah and other terror groups, and urges Lebanon to improve ties with neighboring Syria and implement financial reforms, they say.

They say Barrack had urged Lebanese officials to seize the opportunity laid out in the roadmap as it “may not come up again.” He is set to return to Lebanon next week.

Barrack had not yet gotten Israeli approval for the roadmap, the sources say. There was no immediate response from the US State Department, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office, or Israel’s Foreign Ministry to Reuters requests for comment.

How will Lebanon respond to US paper?

[Naharnet] President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Nawaf Salam have made “significant progress” in their deliberations ahead of U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s second visit to Beirut, which is expected before July 10, Lebanese sources said.

Representatives of Aoun, Berri and Salam held a lengthy meeting Monday in Baabda and “unanimously agreed” on a draft paper in response to Barrack’s demands, the sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, noting that the draft won the approval of Aoun, Berri and Salam and was also discussed between the Speaker and Hezbollah’s leadership.

The sources added that Lebanon will ask the U.S. to seriously press Israel in order to reach a real ceasefire, allow Lebanon to pacify the situation and “dispel Hezbollah’s concerns,” ahead of engaging in Barrack-sponsored negotiations that would “certainly lead to unanimity over arms monopolization, seeing as it is unacceptable for the talks to be conducted under Israel’s military pressure.”

“Hezbollah is still opening a window for obtaining guarantees, which is being comprehended by the three presidents, seeing us it needs to justify to its supporters the shift toward the monopolization of arms,” the sources added.

Hezbollah “needs to reassure its environment that giving up its weapons will be the reason behind Israel’s withdrawal and the release of its captives,” the sources went on to say.

Al-Akhbar newspaper meanwhile reported that Aoun, Berri and Salam have agreed that “there is no need to hold a special Cabinet session to discuss the U.S. paper, seeing as PM Najib Mikati’s government had agreed to the ceasefire agreement and its stipulations, and because Lebanon should not present additional commitments before knowing the next steps that will be taken by Israel.”

“The unified Lebanese stance is that Lebanon will inform the U.S. administration that Israel has to withdraw, release the captives and halt its daily attacks in return for a Lebanese commitment to tangible measures to control illegal weapons in the areas south and north of the Litani River,” al-Akhbar added.

But other sources told the daily that the U.S. and Israel “will come up with a lot of excuses to reject the settlement sought by Lebanon.”

Local and foreign parties are meanwhile trying to “intimidate” Lebanon by saying that “Israel is preparing to escalate its attacks with harsh airstrikes that could resemble the ferocity of the strikes that assassinated Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in addition to possible additional land operations,” al-Akhbar said.

Sources close to a top Lebanese leader have, however, expressed optimism that a solution for the issue of Hezbollah’s arms has been put on track, seeing as Iran might have told Hezbollah and Berri to “commit to the requirements of Resolution 1701 with its accurate stipulations,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported.

Hezbollah is meanwhile “inquiring about reconstruction” and Israel’s “withdrawal” ahead of agreeing to a timetable for weapons handover, informed sources told the daily, with presidential sources seeing “unprecedented progress in Hezbollah’s stance that made it agree that its arms be discussed in Cabinet soon despite all its declared stances that are rejecting that.”

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Israel says Hezbollah must disarm before any Lebanon peace talks can advance

2025-07-01

[IsraelTimes] Official says Jerusalem pleased with Lebanese effort to disarm terror group, but ‘it will be very hard’; Beirut says it needs US guarantees Israel will fully withdraw from Lebanon

An Israeli official on Monday said that while talks about potential peace deals with both Leb
Leb

...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
and Syria are taking place, Beirut must "finish the issue" of disarming the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group before any normalization can move forward.

Earlier Monday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that Lebanon and Syria are both prospective candidates to join the Abraham Accords alongside Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020. A deal with Sudan
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
was also announced at the time, but is yet to fully materialize.

Both Syria and Lebanon do not recognize Israel and have been technically at war with it since its creation in 1948.

But before peace with Lebanon can move ahead, the Israeli official said, "We need to finish the issue of disarming Hezbollah. It will be very hard. I don’t know if they will succeed."

Still, the official indicated that the Lebanese Armed Forces have demonstrated they are serious about disarming Hezbollah.

"They definitely have limitations that are both subjective and objective, but we are under the impression that they are trying," the official said. "At least most of the army is trying. We see more-or-less effective enforcement, but you see that we are striking almost every day."

"That should say a lot," they said, adding that contacts with the US-led deconfliction mechanism in Lebanon continue "all the time."

Speaking on the issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament, a Lebanese official said Monday that the government seeks guarantees that Israeli forces fully withdraw from Lebanese territory in response to the US’s demand that Beirut formally commit to disarming the terror group.

Lebanese leaders who took office in the aftermath of a war between Israel and Hezbollah last year have repeatedly vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms while demanding Israel comply with a November ceasefire that ended the fighting.

The Lebanese government official told AFP that in a recent visit, US envoy Tom Barrack had presented the demand for Beirut to officially commit to start disarming the Iran-backed group as stipulated in the November agreement, along with a full Israeli withdrawal.

President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and parliament speaker Nabih Knobby Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
— who is a key Hezbollah ally — "are preparing a response," said the official on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.

With Barrack, Washington’s ambassador to ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
and special envoy to Syria, expected back in Beirut by mid-July, the Lebanese leaders "will demand a halt to Israeli violations of the ceasefire, Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the release of prisoners [detained during the war] and the demarcation of the border," said the official.

According to the official, Barrack in his June 19 visit also asked that Lebanon work on securing its border with Syria and pursue economic reforms demanded by international creditors.

Aoun and Salam took power early this year as the balance of power shifted following the Israel-Hezbollah war that left the terror group — long an important player in Lebanese politics — severely weakened.

Lebanese authorities say they have been dismantling Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in the south, near the Israeli border.

Israel has continued to strike Lebanon despite the November ceasefire, claiming to hit Hezbollah targets and accusing Beirut of not doing enough to disarm the group.

According to the ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah is to pull its fighters back north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli frontier.

Israel was to withdraw its troops from all of Lebanon, but has kept them deployed in five points it deems strategic.

Israel has remained at the five points ever since a ceasefire began on November 27, 2024, halting more than a year of hostilities initiated by the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, including two months of full-blown war, during which Israel sent in ground troops across the northern border.

There was no comment from Beirut or Damascus, but the Lebanese government official told AFP normalization was not among the US envoy’s demands.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

US demands govt. decision on Hezbollah arms, report says

2025-06-24

[NAHARNET] The U.S. administration has asked Leb
Leb

...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
to reach ''presidential consensus'' on the decision of monopolizing arms between President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
and PM Nawaf Salam ahead of referring such a decision to Cabinet for formal approval, al-Jadeed TV has reported.

''Washington considers that monopolizing arms is an essential first step that must precede any Israeli withdrawal and border demarcation,'' al-Jadeed added.

''U.S. envoy Tom Barrack has returned to the front burner the files that former U.S. deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus and her team had finalized, putting them on the table for implementation within a specific time frame, topped by an official decision from the Lebanese government on monopolizing arms in the hand of the state,'' al-Jadeed said.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Berri ''200% sure'' Hezbollah won''t join Iran war; Qassem says Hezbollah ''not neutral,'' will act as it sees fit; Israel defense minister warns after 2 Hezbie big turbans and a GI turban killed

2025-06-21

[NAHARNET] Hezbollah will certainly not join the Israel-Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
war, the group's ally Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
has reportedly told his visitors.

Berri's visitors told al-Jadeed, in remarks published Friday, that the speaker is "certain" that Leb
Leb

...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
will not join the war.

On Thursday, Berri said Lebanon will "200 percent" not enter the war. "It has no interest in that and would pay the price if it did," he said, adding that Iran "does not need us."

A Lebanese government source also told al-Jadeed Thursday that Hezbollah will not join the fray after an Iranian official told al-Jazeera that Hezbollah would act if the United States intervened to back up its ally Israel.

- HEZBOLLAH CHIEF SAYS GROUP WILL 'ACT AS WE SEE FIT'-
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem

... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
said on Thursday that the group would "act as we see fit" in response to the ongoing war between Iran and Israel.

In a statement, Qassem said Hezbollah was "not neutral" in the conflict between the two regional superpowers, saying that the group would "act as we see fit in the face of this brutal Israeli-American aggression".

Berri said Qassem's remarks are only aimed at showing "solidarity" with Iran and certainly do not mean that Hezbollah will join the war.

Earlier this week, Hezbollah political bureau member Mahmoud Qmati denied that Hezbollah would get involved and said that "Iran is strong enough and does not need military support from anyone".

- HEZBOLLAH HAS NOT FIRED A SINGLE ROCKET -
U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack on Thursday warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the war between Iran and Israel, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the entire "Shiite axis" is not responding to Israeli attacks on Iran and that "Hezbollah has not fired a single rocket".

Caroline Rose, a director at the Washington-based New Lines Institute think tank said that "Iran-backed proxies across the region — particularly Hezbollah— just do not have the capacity" to enter the fray. But Israel could still target them, she said.

Geagea tells Hezbollah's Qassem only state ''can act as it sees fit''
[NAHARNET] Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
leader Samir Geagea
....Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005....
said Friday that only the Lebanese state "can act as it sees fit" after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said that the Death Eater group would "act as we see fit" in response to the ongoing war between Iran and Israel.

"Sheikh Naim, you cannot act as you see fit. Only the Lebanese government can do that because it represents the majority of the Lebanese people," Geagea said, adding that it is "absolutely unacceptable" for anyone to allow themselves to act as they like.

"Leb Leb

is a country and a state," Geagea said. "This is absolutely unacceptable, otherwise Lebanon will turn into a chaotic place with no rules or laws."

This comes after the U.S. special envoy for Syria warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the war.

Geagea urged Qassem to propose his ideas through Hezbollah's ministers in the government. "Only there, such matters can be discussed," he said.

FPM calls for ''Lebanon's neutrality'' in Israel-Iran conflict — Naharnet
[NAHARNET] The Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
said Wednesday that Leb Leb

should not take part in the Israeli-Iranian conflict as the arch foes shot it out for the sixth day.

"The war in the region is concerning and is threatening peace and stability in the region and in Lebanon," the statement said, describing the Israeli strikes on Iran as an aggression and condemning it. "The FPM is against any aggression on the illusory sovereignty of any county."

The statement, despite the condemnation, stressed that Lebanon must stay neutral and should not get involved, in order to preserve national interests and the security of the Lebanese people.

"Lebanon's national interests require a full commitment to a policy that keeps Lebanon out of foreign conflicts, fortifies the domestic front, enhances stability, and prevents Lebanon from becoming an arena for regional festivities," the FPM said, as it urged international powers to restart nuclear talks and look for peaceful solutions that "preserve countries' illusory sovereignty and spare people in the region more destruction and divisions."

Israel’s defense minister warns Hezbollah to stay out of Israel-Iran war, IDF killed 2 more Hezbie emirs and a GI turban
[IsraelTimes] ‘If there is terror, there will be no Hezbollah,’ says Katz after leader of Iran-backed terror group says it will ‘act as we see fit’ amid Israeli aerial campaign

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem to tread carefully Friday after the latter said his terror group would "act as we see fit" in the war between Israel and Iran.

"The Hezbollah leader hasn’t learned from his predecessors and is threatening to act against Israel," said Katz, referring to former Hezbollah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
, who was killed by Israel last
September.

"I suggest that the Lebanese proxy be careful, and understand that Israel has lost patience with the murderous Moslems who threaten it," Katz added, warning: "If there is terror — there will be no Hezbollah."

On June 13, Israel launched a campaign of ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s in Iran to decimate the Islamic Theocratic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which Jerusalem characterized as an imminent, existential threat.

Iran has responded with deadly barrages of ballistic missiles at civilian population centers and military targets in Israel.

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed proxy, has largely stayed out of the fray in the recent conflict.

The group was severely weakened by last year’s fighting with Israel and remains under the tight watch of the Lebanese government, which issued a warning to the group not to involve Leb in the war.

But Qassem said Thursday that the Iran-backed proxy is "not neutral" in the conflict between the two regional superpowers, saying that the group would "act as we see fit in the face of this brutal Israeli-American aggression."

The remarks came after US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the war, saying it would be a "very bad decision."

Since a ceasefire agreement went into effect in Lebanon in November 2024, Israel has continued to launch targeted strikes on Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure, claiming violations of the truce by the terrorist organization.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, over 180 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in Israeli strikes since the deal was reached.

The military has continued to attack Hezbollah targets in dronezaps on southern Lebanon since the fighting with Iran broke out.

The IDF announced Thursday morning it had killed Yassin Izz a-Din, commander of Hezbollah’s rocket artillery unit in the Litani River sector, in a strike on Barish, in southern Lebanon, the night before.

The IDF said he had advanced numerous rocket attacks on northern Israel during the war, and was involved in "attempts to restore Hezbollah’s artillery forces."

Northeast of Harish that same night, in Nabatieh, the IDF said it killed Mohammad Ahmad Khreiss, who it said was the commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank unit in the Shebaa area.

"During the war, the terrorist advanced numerous attacks against the State of Israel," including an anti-tank missile attack on Mount Dov on April 26, 2024, which killed Sharif Sawaed, an IDF civilian contractor, the military said.

The IDF on Thursday killed a third Hezbollah operative in a strike, saying he had been involved in efforts to restore the terror group’s infrastructure in the Houla area.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Salam meets Berri in Ain el-Tineh, says his doors ''always open'' for Hezbollah

2025-06-03

[NAHARNET] Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Monday that his "doors are always open" for Hezbollah after he met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
<span class=Inverse>Nabih</span> <q>Knobby</q> Berri

<span class=Inverse>Nabih</span> <q>Knobby</q> Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
in Ain el-Tineh, as the gap between Salam and Berri's ally Hezbollah seemed to widen over the group's disarmament.

"I am leaving plenty of room for cordiality with (Hezbollah MP) Hajj Mohammad Raad and my doors are always open for him and Hezbollah," Salam said.

Raad had recently criticized Salam for recently omitting the word "Resistance®" from the "Resistance® and Liberation Day" holiday in one of his statements, but said he would not respond to Salam's comments on Hezbollah's disarmament "to preserve what's left of cordiality."

Berri on Friday told local al-Joumhouria newspaper that "if Salam escalates, we will escalate and if he chooses to calm things down, we will calm them down," after Salam said in recent comments that the era of "exporting the Iranian revolution has ended" and that the state "will not remain silent over any arms outside the state's control".

In his interview with al-Joumhouria, Berri also urged the government to prioritize the construction of war-hit regions, saying it's the government's responsibility "whether it likes it or not."

Berri had met last Friday with President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Palace, in talks he described as "excellent."

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Berri voices support for UNIFIL after recent clashes with locals

2025-05-31

[NAHARNET] Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
voiced support for United Nations
...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense...
peacekeepers after recent festivities between the peacekeepers and locals in south Leb
Leb

...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
, the latest in the southern town of Yater.

"I support the UNIFIL peacekeepers whether they are wrong or right. Locals, even if they are supporters of Amal or Hezbollah, should try not to overreact," Berri told local al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Friday. "We know that Israel is against the UNIFIL's presence in south Lebanon and has targeted them many times. This alone is enough for us to support their presence," he said, adding that "their presence has also made a positive impact on the economy in southern villages."

Clashes have increased in recent weeks, with residents insisting that any UNIFIL patrol should be accompanied by Lebanese Army troops.

The U.N. mission was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel's 1978 invasion and today UNIFIL operates in southern Lebanon at the request of the Lebanese government and under a mandate from the U.N. Security Council, but Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon frequently accuse the U.N. mission of collusion with Israel. Israel meanwhile accuses the peacekeepers of turning a blind eye to alleged Hezbollah military activities in southern Lebanon.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah’s post-war popularity is tested as southern Lebanon holds local elections

2025-05-25

[IsraelTimes] Residents of southern Lebanon voted Saturday in the country’s municipal elections that will test support for Hezbollah in the predominantly Shiite areas, nearly six months after the ceasefire that ended Israel’s war with the Iran-backed terror group, whose leadership was decimated.

Hezbollah is running in an alliance with the Amal group of Lebanon’s powerful Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Both are expected to win mayoral races and the majority of seats in municipal councils, and have already won many municipalities uncontested.

South Lebanon is the fourth and last district to vote in the elections since May 4. Among those who voted Saturday were Hezbollah members wounded on September 17, 2024, when Israel blew up thousands of booby-trapped pagers it had covertly sold to the terror group.

The attack, which Israel claimed in November, killed at least a dozen people, including at least two children, and wounded some 3,000 people, crippling Hezbollah’s fighting force ahead of an Israeli invasion some two weeks, which sought to end the terror group’s near-daily rocket fire.

“The will of life is stronger than death and the will of construction is stronger than destruction,” Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said during a tour of southern Lebanon on Saturday. He told reporters in his hometown of Aaishiyah that he voted for the first time in 40 years.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Palestinian official says Lebanon camps to keep light weapons

2025-05-21

[NAHARNET] The issue of Paleostinian arms in Leb
Leb

...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
might be the ''last'' topic on the agenda of Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....>
during his visit to Lebanon this week, a Beirut-based Paleostinian official said on Tuesday.

''This topic is new and is not the priority for the Lebanese and Paleostinians,'' Haitham Zuaiter, a member of the Paleostinian central and national councils, told al-Jadeed television.

''There is no proposal for removing Paleostinian arms in Lebanon,'' Zuaiter said, reminding that the national dialogue sessions chaired by Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
had called for ''removing Paleostinian arms outside the camps and controlling them inside the camps'' and that ''President Joseph Aoun has called for the removal of heavy-caliber arms.''

''We support bringing Paleostinian arms under control inside the Paleostinian camps within the framework of serious discussions and a drastic solution,'' Zuaiter went on to say.

He added: ''Honestly we cannot talk about the issue of Paleostinian arms without resolving the Paleostinian issue in the Lebanese arena in a comprehensive way.''

Warning that Israel might target Paleostinian camps in Lebanon the same it has targeted refugee camps in the Paleostinian territories, Zuaiter said Abbas will tell Lebanese officials that ''the Lebanese Army should not enter the Paleostinian camps by force.''

''Paleostinian security forces are in charge of security inside the camps and would coordinate with Lebanese authorities,'' the Paleostinian officials added, noting that ''arms must be under the authority of the Lebanese state.''

''What's needed is to prevent a repetition of the (1982) Sabra and Shatila massacre and had there been light weapons (in the hands of the Paleostinians at the time), this massacre would not have happened,'' Zuaiter added.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Ortagus to visit Beirut in a week, says occupation doesn't justify Hezbollah arms

2025-05-17

[NAHARNET] U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus will return to Leb
Leb

...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
in around a week, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday.

In an evening interview with LBCI television, Ortagus confirmed the imposition of new U.S. sanctions targeting three Hezbollah ''financiers'', stressing Washington's commitment to cutting off illicit financing to Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and its proxies in the Middle East.

She added that the U.S. administration has revived the "maximum pressure" campaign originally launched during President Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
's first term, particularly targeting Iran and affiliated groups like Hezbollah.

"These sanctions aim to identify and expose individuals and networks facilitating illicit financing for Hezbollah. This is part of our broader strategy to ensure that terror proxies throughout the region, especially those funded by Iran, are held accountable," Ortagus said.

She emphasized that this effort would continue with additional sanctions on the way.

When asked whether Israel's occupation of five strategic sites in south Lebanon offers Hezbollah justification to keep its weapons, Ortagus firmly rejected the notion.

"Hezbollah has dragged Lebanon into wars twice in the past two decades -- wars the Lebanese people did not choose. They destroy the south every time," she said. "There is no justification for Hezbollah to keep its arms," she added.

Ortagus also reiterated the United States' desire to work with Lebanese leaders, including President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
, to create a new economic future for Lebanon.

"But that future is only possible when the Lebanese state, through the Lebanese Armed Forces, has the exclusive authority over weapons," she noted.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Berri reportedly warns that ''residents'' may act to liberate 5 points — Naharnet

2025-05-05

[NAHARNET] In his latest meeting with the ambassadors of the five-nation group for Leb
Leb

...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
, Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri

...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
asked U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson and French Ambassador Herve Magro about their countries' pledges regarding the ceasefire in Lebanon, reiterating that ''Hezbollah has committed to the agreement while Israel is carrying out with its attacks,'' a media report said.

''Johnson responded that Washington would carry out the necessary contacts, prompting Berri to tell her, 'Don't embarrass us any further,''' An-Nahar newspaper reported on Friday.

''Israel must first withdraw from the five points and residents cannot be prevented from heading to these sites to work on liberating them as long as they have not returned to their towns, especially the border towns,'' Berri reportedly added.

Civilians engaging in combat are combatants and can be treated as such.

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