Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Who are the Middle East's Druze religious community?

2025-05-07

[NAHARNET] The Druze are a prominent religious community of more than a million people spread mainly across Syria, 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?...
and Israel, who for centuries have sought to preserve a distinct identity.

In Syria, Druze fighters recently clashed with forces loyal to the country's new Islamist rulers, highlighting the struggles they and other minority groups have faced with shifts in regional power dynamics.

"The Druze are a kind of an ultra-tribe which transcends space and geography," said Makram Rabah, assistant professor of history at the American University of Beirut.

Despite being a minority in a majority Sunni Moslem region, the Middle East's Druze have played "a very important role", Rabah said.

Here is a look at the community:

- RELIGION AND CUSTOMS -
The Druze emerged in Egypt in the early 11th century as a branch of the Ismaili sect of Shiite Islam.

They are monotheistic and call themselves "muwahhidun", or unitarians.

The sect is highly secretive and includes mystical elements like reincarnation.

It does not allow new converts and marriage outside the community is strongly discouraged.

A source familiar with Druze rituals, requesting anonymity to discuss matters considered sensitive, said the faith's emergence was influenced by other religious and philosophical teachings, including those of Greek philosopher Plato.

Some Druze religious occasions align with those of other Islamic sects.

Traditional Druze garb is black, with men wearing white caps or turbans and women covering their heads and part of their faces with a flowing white scarf.

- WHERE ARE THEY? -
"The Druze don't really recognize borders," Rabah said.

"You have marriages and you have standing relationships between the Druze across the region," he said, adding that "holy men play a very important role in keeping this relationship alive."

Before Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, the community was estimated at around 700,000 people.

According to "The Druze Faith" by historian Sami Makarem, Druze have been migrating to southern Syria since the 16th century, to an area now known as Jabal al-Druze, meaning Druze Mountain, in Sweida province.

Syria's Druze are now mainly concentrated in their Sweida heartland, as well as nearby Quneitra province, with smaller pockets in the Damascus suburbs, notably Jaramana and Sahnaya, which recently saw sectarian violence.

In Lebanon, an estimated 200,000 Druze are concentrated in the mountainous center as well as in the south near Israel and Syria.

In Israel, some 153,000 Druze are Israeli citizens, living mainly in the north. Unlike other Arab Israelis, Druze serve in the Israeli army.

In the Israeli-annexed Syrian Golan Heights, more than 22,000 Druze hold permanent resident status. Only around 1,600 have become Israeli citizens, while others remain attached to their Syrian identity.

Israel seized much of the Golan from Syria in 1967, annexing the area in 1981 in a move largely unrecognized internationally. The move separated extended families, though Druze in the annexed Golan were often able to cross into Syria to study, attend weddings or sell produce.
[AnNahar] Some Druze from southern Syria also settled in neighboring Jordan, where the community is estimated at 15,000 to 20,000.

Two delegations of Syrian Druze holy men have made pilgrimages to a holy site in Israel this year, even though the two countries are technically at war with each other.

Outside the Middle East, Druze have migrated to regions including the Americas and Australia.

Well-known Druze include prominent human rights
...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you...
lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi.

- LEADING ROLE -
Despite their minority status, Druze "have filled an important and sometimes a leading role in the political and social life" of the Middle East, according to historian Makarem.

In Syria, Druze Sultan Pasha al-Atrash led a nationalist revolt against the French mandatory power which had established a Druze statelet in southern Syria during the 1920s and 1930s.

In Lebanon, Druze leader Kamal Jumblat played a key role in politics from the 1950s until his 1977 liquidation, and his son Walid is a powerful politician.

Jumblat last month urged Syria's Druze to reject "Israeli interference", after Israel warned the Islamist authorities who ousted president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
against harming the minority.

Druze leaders have declared their loyalty to a united Syria, though some have called for international protection following recent sectarian violence.

Israeli Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif has urged Israel to protect Syria's Druze.

Rabah said there was a Druze "power struggle across three states", adding that he believes Syria's community does not aspire to statehood.

The Druze largely stayed on the sidelines of Syria's war after it erupted in 2011, focusing on defending their heartland.

Most Druze gangs have yet to reach a settlement with the new authorities.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Assad remnants launch deadly attacks on Damascus forces in western Syria, 16 HTS turbans toes up UPDATE: Vicious HTS response

2025-03-07

[Rudaw] More than a dozen security personnel affiliated with the new Syrian leadership were killed in Latakia, west Syria, by supporters of the toppled Syrian dictator Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now...
on Sunday, a war monitor reported, anticipating the number of fatalities to rise.

Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told Rudaw that 16 members of the security forces, mostly from the predominantly Sunni province of Idlib were killed in "attacks and ambushes" carried out by Assad loyalists in his former stronghold of Jableh and Latakia countryside.

The UK-based Observatory described the assault as "the deadliest attack on security and military forces since the fall of the [Assad] regime."

Following a swift offensive, a coalition of rebel groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS) on December 8 toppled the regime of Assad, who fled to Russia with his family.

SOHR added on Thursday that "at least three members of the gangs were killed in festivities" as well. It quoted Syrian security forces as stating that they were engaged in festivities with "gangs affiliated with Suhail al-Hassan, a prominent military commander during Assad’s rule."

For its part, the state-run Syrian news agency (SANA) cited the head of Latakia’s General Security Directorate, Mustafa Knaifati as describing the attack as "planned and premeditated." He added that "several" gangs affiliated with Assad "attacked our positions and checkpoints, targeting many of our patrols in the Jableh and its countryside."

SANA quoted another unnamed security source in Latakia as stating that "the remnants" of Assad’s regime "are targeting personnel and vehicles of the Ministry of Defense near the town of Beit Aana in the Latakia countryside."

The fighting marks a sharp escalation of tensions along Syria’s coast often regarded as the heartland of the Alawite sect, which Assad descends from.

Courtesy of badanov:

Clashes between Assad supporters and police in Latakia
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Clashes between supporters of former President Bashar al-Assad and government forces occurred in Syria's Latakia. The Defense Ministry of the transitional government of Syria sent armed forces to the region, Al Hadath TV channel reported,citing sources.

According to the channel, 28 protesters loyal to Assad were killed in clashes with security forces in Latakia province, while authorities imposed a curfew in the area.

Moreover, according to Al Hadath, at least 16 security personnel were killed in clashes with Assad supporters. It is noted that security forces took control of the clash areas in Jableh, where supporters of the former president attacked one of the checkpoints of the Internal Security Directorate of the new Syrian administration.

As reported by the Regnum news agency, in December 2024, armed groups of the Syrian opposition launched a large-scale offensive against government forces. On December 8, the Syrian army left Damascus, and the militants announced the transfer of power into their hands. Shar Assad resigned and left the country, receiving political asylum in Russia. Ahmed al-Sharaa became the head of the interim government.

On February 12, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephone talks with Ahmed al-Sharaa. They discussed the situation in Syria and issues of cooperation in trade, economic, educational and other areas. The Russian President emphasized that Moscow takes a principled position in support of the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.

On February 25, the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov reported that Russia is in contact with the Syrian authorities on the issue of maintaining Russian bases in Syria. The working process is underway, including the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov visited Turkey, where he also raised this issue for discussion.

What the Times of Israel saw:

Over 70 said killed in fighting between Syrian government forces, Assad loyalists
[IsraelTimes] War monitor describes clashes in coastal province of Latakia as ‘the most violent’ since former regime was toppled, with new authorities reportedly launching helicopter strikes

More than 70 people were killed and dozens more maimed in Syria in fighting between government security forces and ~~bandidos~~ turbans loyal to deposed ruler Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
, a war monitor said Friday.

"More than 70 killed and dozens maimed and captured in bloody festivities and ambushes on the Syrian coast between members of the Ministry of Defense and Interior and ~~bandidos~~ turbans from the defunct regime’s army," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a post on X.

It said earlier that fighting Thursday between government forces and Assad loyalists had killed 48 people in the coastal town of Jableh and adjacent villages, saying they were "the most ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful attacks against the new authorities since Assad was toppled" in December.

The overall toll during this week’s unrest was not immediately clear.

Pro-Assad fighters killed 16 security personnel while 28 fighters aligned with the ousted president and four civilians were also killed, the Observatory said Thursday.

The earlier fighting was in the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia, the heartland of Assad’s Alawite minority who were considered bastions of support during his rule.

Mustafa Kneifati, a security official in Latakia, said that in "a well-planned and premeditated attack, several groups of Assad militia remnants attacked our positions and checkpoints," targeting patrols in the Jableh area.

The attacks resulted in "numerous deaders and injured among our forces," he added without providing the number of casualties.

Kneifati said security forces would "work to eliminate their presence."

"We will restore stability to the region and protect the property of our people," he declared.of our people," he declared.

TOP OFFICER ARRESTED
The UK-based observatory said most of the security personnel killed were from the former rebel bastion of Idlib in the northwest.

During the operation, security forces captured and arrested a former head of air force intelligence, one of the Assad family’s most trusted security agencies, state news agency SANA reported.

"Our forces in the city of Jableh managed to arrest the criminal General Ibrahim Huweija," SANA said.

"He is accused of hundreds of liquidations during the era of the criminal Hafez al-Assad," Bashir al-Assad’s father and predecessor.

Huweija, who headed air force intelligence from 1987 to 2002, has long been a suspect in the 1977 murder of Lebanese Druze leader Kamal Bek Jumblat.

His son and successor Walid Wally Jumblat
...Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
retweeted the news of his arrest with the comment: "Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)."

The provincial security director said security forces clashed with button men loyal to an Assad-era special forces commander in another village in Latakia, after authorities reportedly launched helicopter strikes.

"The gangs that our security forces were clashing with in the Latakia countryside were affiliated with the war criminal Suhail al-Hassan," the security director told SANA.

Nicknamed "The Tiger," Hassan led the country’s special forces and was frequently described as Assad’s "favorite soldier." He was responsible for key military advances by the Assad government in 2015.

HELICOPTER STRIKES
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported "strikes launched by Syrian helicopters on gunnies in the village of Beit Ana and the surrounding forests, coinciding with artillery strikes on a neighboring village."

SANA reported that militias loyal to the ousted president had opened fire on "members and equipment of the defense ministry" near the village, killing one security force member and wounding two.

Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
i broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that its photographer Riad al-Hussein was maimed in the festivities but that he was doing well.

A defense ministry source later told SANA thon the lam military reinforcements were being deployed to the Jableh area.

Alawite leaders later called in a statement on Facebook for "peaceful protests" in response to the helicopter strikes, which they said had targeted "the homes of civilians."

The security forces imposed overnight curfews on Alawite-populated areas, including Latakia, the port city of Tartus and third city Homs, SANA reported.

In other cities around the country, crowds gathered "in support of the security forces," it added.

Tensions erupted after residents of Beit Ana, the birthplace of Suhail al-Hassan, prevented security forces from arresting a person wanted for trading arms, the Observatory said.

Security forces subsequently launched a campaign in the area, resulting in festivities with button men, it added.

Tensions erupted after at least four non-combatants were killed during a security operation in Latakia, the monitor said on Wednesday.

Security forces launched the campaign in the Daatour neighborhood of the city on Tuesday after an ambush by "members of the remnants of Assad militias" killed two security personnel, state media reported.

Salafist tough guys led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else

...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
launched a lightning offensive that toppled Assad on December 8.

The country’s new security forces have since carried out extensive campaigns seeking to root out Assad loyalists from his former bastions.

Residents and organizations have reported violations during those campaigns, including the seizing of homes, field executions and kidnappings.

Syria’s new authorities have described the violations as "isolated incidents" and vowed to pursue those responsible.

NEW -- a day of *very* serious hostilities in #Jableh, #Latakia, triggered by attacks by #Assad loyalists.

13 interim gov't forces killed, plus loyalists. A helicopter gunship deployed & DMO forces dispatched from #Damascus tonight as fighting continues. pic.twitter.com/lbvf9wFQOG
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) March 6, 2025

Sarah Adam’s twitter/X feed is blowing up with ugly tweets on the viciously thorough HTS response to Assad remnant rebelliousness here. Those of you who happily swim in those waters might want to bring back some key tweets to help us keep up with events — it’s beyond my ability.
My thanks in advance.

— tw at 1:55 a.m. ET

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Clashes between Assad supporters and police in Latakia

2025-03-07

Direct Translation via Gogle Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Clashes between supporters of former President Bashar al-Assad and government forces occurred in Syria's Latakia. The Defense Ministry of the transitional government of Syria sent armed forces to the region, Al Hadath TV channel reported,citing sources.

What the Times of Israel saw:

NEW -- a day of *very* serious hostilities in #Jableh, #Latakia, triggered by attacks by #Assad loyalists.

13 interim gov't forces killed, plus loyalists. A helicopter gunship deployed & DMO forces dispatched from #Damascus tonight as fighting continues. pic.twitter.com/lbvf9wFQOG
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) March 6, 2025

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

'David's Corridor': What Role Do the Druze Play in Israel's Plans to Dismember Syria

2025-03-04

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kirill Semenov

[REGNUM] The Israeli leadership would like to use the Syrian Druze as its “fifth column” in Syria, but so far the bet on this ethno-confessional minority has not paid off.

Despite the provocative statements of the Israeli leadership, the Syrian Druze continue to claim that their "qibla" (i.e. point of attraction) is Damascus, and they intend to remain Syrians, although tensions in relations with the transitional government continue to mount.

On Saturday, following an incident in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, in which two militants from local Druze groups killed an employee of the Syrian government's Public Security Service (PSS - police), the town was blocked by government forces.

Israel decided to intervene in the situation, presenting itself as a "defender of the Druze." The Minister of Defense of the Jewish state, Israel Katz, then said that he had instructed the military to prepare for a march on Jaramana and to support the Druze if Syrian troops began to clear the suburbs.

"We will not allow the radical Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, we will strike at it," Katz said.

The head of the military department also assured that he “commits to our Druze brothers in Israel” to do everything possible to prevent harm from being caused to “their Druze brothers in Syria,” and intends to take all necessary steps to ensure their safety.

"DAVID'S CORRIDOR"
Israel is trying to take advantage of the unstable situation in Syria to finally destroy the country, which in the future could pose a threat to the Jewish state.

The events of October 7, 2023 have changed Israel greatly, primarily in its assessment of its own security and measures to ensure it. And now, perhaps, maintaining chaos in neighboring countries instead of stability seems to be the best option for Tel Aviv to mitigate any future challenges.

The Israeli leadership was not interested in the fall of the Assad regime, believing that this would lead to dangerous turbulence at the borders. Now it is doing everything to ensure that the new Syrian authorities are unable to stabilize the situation, and even wants Syria as a state to cease to exist in principle, disintegrating into several entities hostile to each other.

Of course, in such a scenario, individual “splashes” of these conflicts may also affect Israel, but these will definitely not be waves like the “Al-Aqsa flood,” and it will be much easier to counteract them.

Israel speaks about these plans openly and without embarrassment.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has publicly voiced the Netanyahu government's preference for a fragmented Syria. In a speech at the EU-Israel summit, Saar called for the country to be divided into separate autonomous states along perceived ethnic and religious lines. This, he said, is important to protect the country's minorities, who are under threat from the new government.

The plan to dismember Syria has already received the unofficial name “David’s Corridor” in Israel.

It proposes, at the first stage, the creation of a security zone in southern Syria in the provinces of Daraa and Quneitra bordering Israel. The Druze in the neighboring province of Suwayda, where they constitute the majority, would be able to rely on this zone. This would create a continuous strip of Israeli control in southern Syria, and the Druze would become a local support for Israel, just as the Lebanese Christians - the Maronites - once did in the puppet state of southern Lebanon before 2000.

The reality of the launch of the first stage of the scenario is indicated by the ultimatum demands voiced by the Netanyahu government regarding the withdrawal of all armed forces of the new Syrian government from the southern regions of Syria.

In the second stage, the "David Corridor" is planned to be extended through the desert areas along the border with Iraq, relying on the American base at At-Tanf. This security belt should be provided by Arab tribes that were part of the pro-American "Free Syrian Army" based at At-Tanf, and be extended to the territories controlled by the Kurdish formations of the "Syrian Democratic Forces" in northeastern Syria.

Thus, Israel will be cut off from Iraq with its numerous Shiite pro-Iranian groups by a continuous strip of forces allied to it and the US, and the “Islamist” government in Damascus will be isolated.

For this purpose, the Alawites in the provinces of Tartus and Latakia, according to this plan, must also separate from Syria, forming their own quasi-state.

In connection with this, there have already been rumors in the Western press that Israel would like Russian bases to remain in Syria, and is negotiating this not only with Russia itself, but also with the United States.

Obviously, this is a hint that the Russian side should become the curator of the “Alawite state,” while the United States will continue to look after the Kurdish state, and Israel will look after the Druze state, connected by the “David Corridor.”

But the aim of these information provocations is also to present Russia as an accomplice in the division of Syria and to spoil the background of Moscow’s relations with Damascus, as well as with other Arab states, as well as Turkey.

However, the large number of publications in support of the separation of the Alawites from the Syrian state in the Russian-language segment of various social networks adds credibility to this rumor.

DRUZE BETWEEN THE HAMMER OF TEL AVIV AND THE ANVIL OF DAMASCUS
Israel's far-reaching plans have met a serious obstacle in the form of the Syrian Druze themselves.

The Druze of the southern provinces and the forces of Jaramana quickly rejected any external assistance, reaffirming the unity and indivisibility of Syria. Later, demonstrations under Syrian flags were held in Druze areas against the statements of Netanyahu and Katz.

As Alain Saab, a Russian researcher of the Druze community with Druze roots, told Regnum news agency, it is noteworthy that it was the Druze groups and influential political figures from the As-Suwayda region that acted as mediators in resolving the conflict between the population of Jaramana and the Public Security Service (PSS) of the transitional government.

In particular, a significant role was played by Laith al-Balous, an influential Druze political figure and leader of the Forces of the Sheikhs of Dignity (Rijal al-Karama) group, who became a de facto mediator between Damascus and Jaramane.

Thus, according to the expert, constant contacts between the Druze leaders and the GSS helped to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and escalation: now there is silence in the Jaramana area, the GSS units have fully entered the center of the area and set up checkpoints, and local forces and Damascus are taking further steps to resolve the conflict.

In turn, the leader of the Druze in Lebanon, Walid Jumblatt, who also has great influence among the Druze communities in Syria and Israel, said on Sunday that he would soon visit Syria to meet with its interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and help ease tensions in the Druze community in that country and help resolve all disputes between it and Damascus.

"Free Syrians must be careful of Israeli plots," he told a news conference on Sunday, accusing Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu of creating sectarian division and chaos in Syria.

On the other hand, as Alain Saab noted, the Druze-populated province of As-Suwayda is indeed playing its own game, enjoying the political support of the Israeli Druze when necessary. The nature of this “game” is to systematically pressure Damascus to obtain some autonomous privileges in the overall Syrian context.

However, the connection between the Syrian Druze and the Israelis should not be equated with the connection between the Syrian Druze and Israel itself.

Many Syrian Druze do have relatives in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which Tel Aviv has announced its annexation of. However, it is important to note that the Druze of that part of the Golan Heights retain a Syrian national identity. To this day, the Druze from the Golan do not serve in the Israeli army and most do not have Israeli citizenship.

At the same time, one cannot underestimate the activities of the Israeli intelligence services, primarily the Mossad, which uses some Israeli Druze to create pro-Israeli networks among the Druze community in Syria.

Obviously, the so-called “Military Council” of Suwayda, created back in December, can be considered an Israel-oriented structure, but it made its presence known most loudly after the announcement of Israel’s plans to divide Syria.

However, the influence of this group among the Syrian Druze is insignificant, although its ranks include highly qualified military personnel who were trained at the American base at Al-Tanf back in 2023.

The "Mountain Brigade" and "Karam Sheikh Forces" significantly outnumber this faction. Despite its active PR (not without the help of Israeli information resources), at the moment this structure, according to official statements, is supported by four villages and a number of virtually unknown groups.

The Military Council also has no support from large armed groups or religious leaders.

THE KEY TO THE PROBLEM IS IN DAMASCUS
However, which side the Druze end up on will largely depend on the new Syrian authorities themselves.

On the one hand, Sunni Arabs and Druze do not have the same antagonism as Sunnis and Alawites, and one can speak of much greater mutual understanding.

Most Druze did not support the regime of Bashar al-Assad and did not participate on his side in the civil war. Quite the contrary, in the last stage of the conflict, Druze armed groups openly opposed Assad, advancing towards Damascus, disarming parts of the collapsed government.

On the other hand, the Druze certainly remain distrustful of the “Islamist” government in Damascus.

The Druze already had negative experiences with the Jabhat al-Nusra* group even before it became Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)*.

Thus, under pressure from jihadists, the Druze communities in Idlib were forced to accept Islam (although, by the way, a statement from their leaders was enough for this and no evidence was required from each Druze). And several Druze units fighting in the ranks of the opposition in southern Syria were surrounded and captured by radicals after they were declared “apostates,” and only the intervention of other rebel factions allowed them to save their lives and be free again, but after that the Druze no longer joined the ranks of the armed opposition.

Now many problems between the new authorities and the Druze have been resolved.

In particular, in January, the Public Security Forces (PSF) of the transitional government were deployed in the province of Suwayda, although the Druze had previously prevented their entry into the region.

The Military Operations Department forces are also present in Suwayda, including separating warring Druze factions from local Bedouin tribes. But it is the Druze factions that are still the key guarantor of security in the province, although Damascus is not opposed to some factions helping the security services, as this can speed up their integration and create a barrier to threats from Israel.

But mistrust not only remains, but is generally growing.

Thus, according to expert Alain Saab, the Druze initially treated HTS* with some apprehension, but also with hope.

“Now, in my opinion, everyone is increasingly afraid of HTS,” the expert noted, “

but Julani (al-Sharaa) is perceived as being separate (from the group he led. — Ed.) and more positive.”

In general, as Saaba notes, there is still cautious support for the new Syrian authorities among the Druze, but after the creation of the “Military Council” and the conflict in Jaramana, calls for a forceful solution to the Druze issue can be heard from the most radical elements of HTS*, “and this is seriously damaging support for Damascus among the Druze.”

According to the expert, if the new government can somehow stop all this disinformation and fakes, then a warming will occur.

If not, then on one side Israel, and on the other the radicals themselves will “construct a conflict.”

But in any case, Israel will continue to put pressure on Syria, using the information space to incite hatred towards the Druze on the part of Sunni Arabs and, conversely, with the aim of expanding the ethno-confessional conflict and further dividing Syria.

Update from Rudaw, with a local perspective, at 11:30 a.m. ET:

Syrian forces enter Damascus suburb, situation stable: Source

Members of Syria's new authorities security forces deploy in the mostly Druze and Syrian forces have entered a majority Druze and Christian suburb on the outskirts of Damascus and stabilized the situation, a local source said on Monday, after deadly clashes with Druze gunmen.

“The situation in Jarmana is stable. Yesterday, the General Security Forces and police entered the city with the cooperation of the city’s people, and there is good cooperation between the people and the police,” Rabie Munther, a member of the Jarmana Civil Action Group, told Rudaw’s Nalin Hassan.

He said that Syrian forces entered the town on Sunday night following 48 hours of tensions and following mediation between dignitaries and Syrian government authorities.

Security is now being maintained jointly by the police and the area’s residents, according to Munther.

“We have not stopped basic services and institutions for even a second since the fall of the regime until now,” he stressed.

Jaramana, a mostly Druze and Christian suburb of the capital Damascus, has witnessed tensions for days following a fatal shooting at a checkpoint. Clashes ensued between security forces and local gunmen, resulting in another death and nine others injured.

Munther explained that what happened was a “personal matter,” where unknown gunmen attacked a car.

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led the rebel coalition that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in early December. Its then leader and now Syria’s interim President, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has repeatedly pledged to protect the rights of all Syrians. In December, the rebel coalition, including the HTS, agreed to merge into the Syrian defense ministry.

The international community has expressed concern that the new Islamist authorities in Damascus may impose strict Islamic rule in Syria, threatening the country’s minority groups such as Kurds, Druze, Christians, and Alawites.

On Saturday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned the Damascus administration to “not harm the Druze,” stressing that Syrian authorities would “suffer the consequences” if they harmed the community.

In Syria’s southern Druze-majority Suwayda province, both armed and political factions have refused to disband their forces.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanese remember bloody past after Assad fall — Naharnet

2024-12-10

[NAHARNET] Across Leb
Leb

...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. 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. 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? It is the 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 Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
, the Middle East, and beyond, the fall of Syria's authoritarian government at the hands of Islamist-led rebels set off waves of jubilation, trepidation and alarm.

Many Lebanese exulted at the overthrow of the Syrian leader while others worried about more instability rocking a region in turmoil.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for a strict control of the border with Syria and for distancing Lebanon from the developments there. He urged the Lebanese "of all affiliations" to be "wise" and "avoid emotional reactions."

Mikati also asked Secretary-General of Council of Ministers Judge Mahmoud Makiya to communicate with the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons in Lebanon and with the relevant authorities regarding the release of Lebanese prisoners from Syrian prisons.

- LEBANESE IN SYRIAN PRISONS -
During 15 years of civil war in Lebanon, an estimated 17,000 people went missing. Many were held captive or were killed in detention centers operated by Syrian forces in Lebanon and Syria, but their fates remain unknown.

Since a Lebanese man, who was missing for 40 years, was freed by Syrian rebels from a prison in Hama last week, many Lebanese families are demanding to know the fate of their loved ones who are thought to be detained in Syrian prisons since Lebanon's civil war when Syrian troops were in Lebanon.

- GEAGEA SAYS 'NOTHING WORSE THAN ASSAD' -
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....
congratulated all Lebanese on the fall of Bashir al-Assad's regime, saying that "over the past 50 years, the regime of Hafez and Bashir al-Assad was the biggest obstacle to the building of a state in Lebanon."

"It's impossible for the situation in Syria to be worse than Assad. There is noting worse," Geagea said.

- JUMBLAT SAYS 'JUSTICE ACHIEVED' -
Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Wally Jumblat
...Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
saluted the Syrian people and celebrated Assad's ouster "after a lengthy wait."

Jumblat also called former PM Saad Hariri
...Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too....
and told him that by Assad's fall "justice was achieved" for his slain father Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and other March 14 figures.

Al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...

... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
Movement, founded by Hariri, for its part, congratulated the Syrian people in a statement and called on the Lebanese to preserve national unity.

- ASSASSINATIONS BLAMED ON SYRIA -
Hariri was assassinated in 2005 by a bomb in Beirut, blamed on Syria and Hezbollah. His liquidation sparked protests that ousted Syrian troops from Lebanon. Following Hariri's killing, several anti-Syrian figures were assassinated, including Samir Qassir, George Hawi, Gebran Tueni, Pierre Amine Gemayel, Antoine Ghanem and Walid Eido. Others escaped liquidation attempts including Elias Mur, May Chidiac, and Samir Shehade.

Jumblat's father, Kamal Jumblat was assassinated in 1977 in his car near Baakline by unidentified button men suspected to be members of the pro-Syrian faction of the Lebanese Syrian Social Nationalist Party, in collaboration with the Ba'ath Party.

In 1982, President Bashir Gemayel was killed with 26 other politicians by a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party who detonated a bomb from a few miles away using a remote detonator. He said he killed Gemayel because of his collaboration with Israel, which invaded Lebanon in 1982.

- GEMAYEL HAILS 'TYRANT FALL' -
Kataeb leader and Bashir's nephew Sami Gemayel wrote on X that "the criminal tyrant has fallen". "But Lebanon remains and the Kataeb remains."

He added that the names of his uncle Bashir, his brother Pierre Gemayel, and other deaders "stand tall, pulsating with freedom, illusory sovereignty and independence."

- BASSIL HOPES IT'S FOR THE GOOD OF LEBANON AND SYRIA -
Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
leader Jebran Bassil hoped that the developments would be for the good of Syria and Lebanon and lead to a swift return of displaced Syrians to their country and to "positive and balanced relations" between the two countries.

- SYRIA STABILITY IMPACTS LEBANON -
Son of Hezbollah's presidential candidate and Assad's friend Suleiman Franjieh, Marada MP Tony Franjieh hoped, in a statement posted on the X platform, for a peaceful transfer of power that would preserve the country's stability and protect the rights of all Syrians.

"The stability of Lebanon has always been deeply affected by the stability of Syria," Franjieh said.

- BLOW TO HEZBOLLAH -
For Hezbollah, who had long used Syria as its key conduit for weapons and supplies from Iran, Assad's fall could further weakens the group, after the staggering losses it suffered in its own recent war with Israel.

"What's happening in Syria is a major, dangerous and new transformation," Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said.

"No one can downplay its impact but we draw our presence and strength from God, from our faith before anything else, and from our people — and the existence, presence, formations, capabilities and high competencies of the resistance, despite everything that has been inflicted on it in this war," Fadallah added.

Early in Syria's civil war, when it appeared Assad might be tossed, 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 ally, Hezbollah, rushed fighters to support him. Russia later joined with a scorched earth campaign of ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s.

For Israel, breaking Iran's regional network has been a major goal, though it is wary over jihadi fighters among the hard boyz who toppled Assad. Israel on Sunday moved troops into a demilitarized buffer zone with Syria by the Israel-held Golan Heights in what it called a temporary security measure.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Assad's fall a "historic day," saying it was "the direct result of our forceful action against Hezbollah and Iran, Assad's main supporters."

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Jumblat ridicules Biden's 'fictitious' Gaza pier plan

2024-03-10

[An Nahar] Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. 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. 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? It is the 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 Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
’s Druze leader Walid Wally Jumblat
...Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
on Friday criticized U.S. President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created ... by the — you know — you know, the thing...
’s aid plans for the embattled Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip.

"President Biden. Nothing will prevent the starvation and the death of the people of Gaza if you are delaying the immediate ceasefire," Jumblat said in an English-language post on the X platform.

"It is useless to improvise fictitious harbors or drop meager food rations amidst the continuous bombardment of Gaza," Jumblat added.

Biden ordered the U.S. military Thursday to set up a temporary port off the coast of Gaza, joining international partners in trying to carve out a sea route to deliver food and other aid to desperate Paleostinian civilians cut off by the Hamas
Hamas

...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
-Israel war and by Israeli restrictions on humanitarian access by land.

The U.S. says it airdropped 36,000 meals into northern Gaza on Tuesday in coordination with Jordan, the second such joint mission in recent days. It came a day after the World Health Organization said children were dying of starvation in northern Gaza, where an estimated 300,000 Paleostinians are living with little food or clean water.

But the strategy has sparked considerable discussion, with humanitarian organizations saying it cannot meet the soaring needs.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hariri meets US ambassador, Grand Mufti Daryan in Beirut

2024-02-14

[NAHARNET] Ex-PM and al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
Movement leader Saad Hariri
...Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too....
met Tuesday at the Center House in Beirut with American Ambassador Lisa Johnson and Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan.

Johnson told news hounds as she left the Center House that the meeting with Hariri was "excellent".
"I didn't get blown up. So there's that"
Hariri, who had withdrawn from political life two years ago, arrived Sunday night in Beirut to prepare for the 19th anniversary of the martyrdom of his father Rafik Hariri and his ~~lover~~ companions on February 14.

Hariri had resigned as prime minister after unprecedented nationwide protests broke out in 2019 to demand the wholesale overhaul of Leb
Leb

...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. 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. 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? It is the 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 Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
's political class.

He was designated the following year to form a technocratic government that would implement much-anticipated reforms, but he failed to broker a consensus and threw in the towel.

Media reports said Hariri will also meet with Parliament Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...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 will seek to bring him together with ex-PSP chief Walid Wally Jumblat
...Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

'They have no influence.' Words at the 'peace summit' on Gaza did not turn into actions

2023-10-23

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Mikhail Zakharov

[REGNUM] On October 21, a summit on the Palestinian-Israeli issue was held in Cairo. The event, initiated by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi , was dedicated to discussing ways to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and reduce tension in the Gaza Strip.

Representatives of 34 countries and three international organizations - the UN, the League of Arab States and the African Union - arrived in the Egyptian capital. Russia was represented at the summit by Deputy Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry and Presidential Representative for the Middle East and African Countries Mikhail Bogdanov.

Speaking at the summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict zone. “It is necessary to apply international humanitarian law and protect the civilian population of the Gaza Strip,” the UN Secretary General said, emphasizing that “every effort must be made to stop the bloodshed and achieve a two-state solution.”

The Egyptian side insisted on reviving the peace process in the Middle East. “I called on you to work together to reach consensus on a roadmap to end the current humanitarian tragedy and revive the peace process,” said President al-Sisi.

King Abdullah II of Jordan also noted the importance of immediately ending the war in the Gaza Strip and delivering humanitarian supplies to the Palestinian enclave. “An immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip is necessary... continuous delivery of aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip is necessary,” the Jordanian monarch said.

The leader of the Palestinian people, Mahmoud Abbas, spoke out against the forced displacement of the Arab people from the Gaza Strip. “We warn against attempts to move our people from Gaza beyond its borders. We will not leave, we will remain on our land ,” he said. “There is no other place for the Palestinians other than their land,” Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani supported him.

During the summit, senior officials also spoke about the need to free the hostages and condemned the indiscriminate use of force through bombing , which is a violation of international law.

In a conversation with Regnum news agency , Deputy Chairman of the Association of Russian Diplomats, HSE professor Andrei Baklanov noted that the summit could help resolve several issues that are significant for the Arab states and Palestinians.

Firstly, for the organizers of the event, the Egyptians (and not only for them), it is important to block the idea of expelling Palestinians from the territory where they lived to the territory of neighboring Arab countries. The Palestinian problem “cannot be eliminated without a fair solution, and this will not happen at the expense of Egypt , ” al-Sisi explained during the opening of the summit. Amman also rejects the idea of moving Palestinians: “No refugees in Jordan,” Abdullah II previously noted.

The second important issue for the assembled politicians is preventing the possible expansion of confrontation to other territories of the Middle East, in particular to the West Bank and Lebanon, Baklanov notes.

Finally, the expert says, politicians can agree on restoring the system of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, which has been experiencing funding problems for several years now. “The question will be about restoring in full the activities of UNRWA (the UN agency involved in helping Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. - Ed. ) to finance support programs, food and other, for Palestinians, primarily Palestinian refugees,” explains IA Regnum’s interlocutor.

... AND MODEST RESULTS
In fact, based on the results of the summit, it can be said that its Arab participants limited themselves to statements, demonstrative condemnations and general agreement on the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip. They failed to reach consensus, take a stronger position and collectively resort to serious action to achieve the goals of the event.

In addition, there are also significant differences between the Arab countries and Western representatives who took part in the summit, in particular on the issues of a ceasefire and condemnation of the actions of Israel and Hamas. Some European leaders had previously refused to participate in the summit due to disagreements over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Israel itself, by the way, did not take part in the event. “Israeli politicians have made it clear that Israel will not participate in a regional summit on the ongoing war, which is due to take place on Saturday in Cairo,” local newspaper Haaretz previously wrote.

Andrei Baklanov notes that the presence of the UN and the organization’s secretary general there played an important role in Tel Aviv’s refusal to participate in the summit. “The Israelis have always been very skeptical about this structure,” the expert explained.

The absence of Iranian representatives at the summit , as well as high-ranking US officials , also does not work in favor of the event organized by Egypt. “The United States and Iran are the two main external actors that may in the future be involved in this conflict. This is another factor that this summit is unlikely to bring any fundamental change in the situation,” says Boris Dolgov, senior researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with IA Regnum.

According to Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt, whose words are quoted by Politico , the diplomats who came to Cairo would not have been able to achieve a major breakthrough. “They are not players,” said Jumblatt. - They have no influence. Three players - Israel, Iran and America."

Earlier, Reuters, citing diplomatic sources, reported that the parties were unlikely to be able to make a full-fledged joint statement. Such pessimism was justified: in the evening , Sky News Arabia reported that participants in the Cairo summit on Palestine did not accept the final statement due to the above-mentioned disagreements.

This suggests that the event is unlikely to have a chance to seriously influence the further course of events in the Middle East. “The specific further dynamics of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict now depend to a large extent on what decision the Israeli leadership makes,” notes Dolgov.

PREPARING FOR THE WORST
At this time, judging by the events taking place against the backdrop of the meeting, the conflict is not subsiding, and the warring parties continue to prepare for the worst outcome of events.

On Saturday evening, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Avichai Adri announced that Israel was implementing a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip. He explained that currently “nothing comes to the Palestinian enclave from Israeli territory,” including water, electricity and medicine. As Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi reported, the Israeli leadership does not currently see an agenda for negotiations on Palestine.

The surprise attack by Hamas was devastating for Tel Aviv's reputation. “This is our September 11th,” admitted Major Nir Dinar, IDF spokesman. “They took us by surprise.”

“In order to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of Israeli public opinion, the Israeli leadership, it seems to me, will go for a military ground operation, despite attempts to find some other methods of resolving the conflict,” says Boris Dolgov.

In turn, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement continues to strike IDF military targets in northern Israel, and the Palestinian Hamas movement shells Israeli cities. In the Gaza Strip itself, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate.

Israel's neighbors prioritize their own problems. In particular, both the Egyptian President and the King of Jordan are concerned about the security of their countries due to the possible displacement of the population of Gaza, which they opposed at the summit.

Yes, the Egyptian authorities, of course, very, very condemn Israel for attacks on civilians, but they are not willing to open corridors for the movement of refugees from the Gaza Strip . So do the Jordanian authorities . Arab countries are not going to intervene more actively on the side of the Palestinians. Protests and remarks on social networks hardly bother Tel Aviv.

On the eve of the summit, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that “if it is not possible to ensure lasting peace, then the alternative will be very bad - large-scale war and instability in the region . ” And the past “peace summit” failed to cope with the task of containing the situation.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Jumblat hopes Iran-KSA deal leads to Lebanese president before June

2023-03-15

That certainly would be helpful.

Maybe by doomsday.

[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Wally Jumblat
...Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
on Tuesday described the Iranian-Saudi reconciliation agreement as a "major event," hoping it will lead to a "settlement" in ~~Lebanon~~ Hezbollahstan
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years. It produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. That's three statements. Only the first is subjective....
and the "election of a president before June."

"No camp can impose a provocation candidate on the other," Jumblat said in an interview with Radio Voice of Lebanon (100.5-100.3), saying he prefers "a consensual president who has an economic aspect."

As for the list of candidates that he raised with Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...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...
, Jumblat said: "I had proposed three names -- General Joseph Aoun, Jihad Azour and Salah Honein -- and in the list I proposed to Speaker Berri I added the name of the candidate May Rihani."

"The regional Saudi-Iranian consensus is a major event that surpasses my proposal and the proposal of Speaker Berri and (Hezbollah chief) Sayyed Hassan (Nasrallah)," Jumblat added, noting that the KSA-Iran
Iran

...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979...
deal will have a "huge impact on the region."

"I don’t have any answer about the date of the president’s election, but let the (Saudi-Iranian) agreement be a motive for ending major analyses and attempting to reconcile viewpoints. Enough with the wars of elimination from all sides," the PSP leader went on to say.

Noting that "boycotting dialogue would be a mistake," Jumblat pointed out that dialogue would "contribute to a common nomination of a president, similarly to a Doha 2 scenario, but in Lebanon and not anywhere else."

MTV meanwhile reported that Jumblat will travel to Kuwait on Wednesday for a political visit.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Bassil meets Jumblat after delay caused by 'Abu Faour's Maarab visit'

2022-12-24

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Bassil meets Jumblat after delay caused by 'Abu Faour's Maarab visit' https://t.co/jIQ4K4rI0b
— Naharnet (@Naharnet) December 23, 2022

FPM chief Jebran Bassil met with PSP leader Walid Jumblat at the house of the latter’s daughter Dalia followin... https://t.co/V6ggLnkQUr
— Naharnet (@Naharnet) December 23, 2022

Italian foreign minister meets with Berri, Mikati https://t.co/VuquLIJDzr
— Naharnet (@Naharnet) December 23, 2022

Jumblat decries 'presidential blackmail' in chief of staff file https://t.co/tur2NECEj7
— Naharnet (@Naharnet) December 23, 2022

Jumblat to meet Bassil after talks with Mouawad https://t.co/mGWmuIAAIn
— Naharnet (@Naharnet) December 23, 2022

Macron urges Lebanon to 'get rid' of leaders blocking reforms https://t.co/6LS8xCPkqS
— Naharnet (@Naharnet) December 23, 2022

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Druze politician says Iran gains in Lebanon as Arabs abandon it

2022-01-28

[JPost] "Give us money, or we'll become Iranian Proxies...because we've done so well under their thumb so far"
Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said on Thursday that Iran had gained more power in Lebanon because Arab states had abandoned the country, and that nobody could replace Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri after his decision to step away from politics.

In an interview with broadcaster MTV, Jumblatt also stepped up his criticism of the Iran-backed Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, the country's dominant party, saying Lebanon was not a rocket-launching platform, in reference to its vast arsenal.

Jumblatt said that he had agreed with Russian officials during a recent visit to Moscow that what he described as the Arabs' abandonment of Lebanon had given more power to Iran.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Jumblat Says Lebanese Decision 'Usurped' by Hizbullah, 'New System' Needed

2021-12-08

[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Wally Jumblat
...Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
has decried that "today, more than ever, we are living in another ~~Lebanon~~ Hezbollahstan
<del>Lebanon</del> Hezbollahstan

...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers, a practice dating back to the heady days of human sacrifice to Baal Moloch...
.""The Lebanese decision has been completely usurped by a party that extends from here to the Islamic Theocratic Republic" of Iran, Jumblat said in an interview with the PSP’s al-Anbaa news portal, referring to Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
"At the same time, there is the enormous economic crisis, which is the result of bad behavior, or the exacerbation of the class of bankers and traders and those in the political class who are benefitting from the discrepancy in the exchange rate," Jumblat added.

He accordingly called for "a new political system that emerges from a new electoral system."

"The current system is a system of splitting shares between the Shiite duo and the Christian duo, and the biggest loser in this system was al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
Movement chief Saad Hariri
...Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too....
as well as us as a minority party and the general and national parties that call for abolishing political sectarianism," Jumblat explained.

He, however, said that it is not possible to build a new electoral system under the current political equation.

As for the controversy over the port blast investigations, the PSP leader said recusing Judge Tarek Bitar from interrogating former ministers is "not the appropriate solution," seeing as it would fragment the investigation.

He added that Bitar "should have questioned the judge who ordered the confiscation of the ship and the unloading of its cargo, seeing as the ship was full of ammonium nitrate."

Separately, Jumblat said "regaining Lebanon from the Iranian axis requires international circumstances that would allow the country to be present."

As for the upcoming presidential election and the possibility of extending the term of President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
, the PSP leader said: "Constitutionally, President Michel Aoun cannot have his term extended. This matter contradicts with the constitution and he must hand over his post when the final moment comes."

Link

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