Israël

Israel Extends Banking Waiver with Palestinian Banks for One Year

Israel extended for one year a waiver allowing Israeli banks to work with Palestinian ones just days before it was due to expire, threatening to paralyse Palestinians financial institutions. The extension was approved Thursday during a security cabinet meeting ahead of expiration of the waiver at the end of the month, a spokesman for far-right ...

West Bank: Hamas Claims Shooting That Injured Eight

A shooting at a bus near an Israeli settlement injured at least eight people on Friday in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli rescue service said. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, claimed responsibility for the attack, which left more than a dozen bullet holes in the windshield of the bus. The attack occurred at an ...

EU: We Will Support LAF, UNIFIL and the Lebanese

The European Union reaffirmed its commitment to mobilizing a wide range of tools to support the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), so that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 can be “effectively and fully implemented on the ground.” The EU viewed the ceasefire agreement as “a major achievement, which the ...

Iran's Nuclear Ambitions "Threaten Us All", Says MI6 Chief

Iran's nuclear ambitions pose a major global security threat even after setbacks dealt to Hamas and Hezbollah, the UK's foreign intelligence chief said Friday. "Iran's allied militias across the Middle East have suffered serious blows," Secret Intelligence Service chief Richard Moore said in a speech in Paris. "But the regime's nuclear ambitions ...

Joumblatt: Justifications for Self-Security Are No Longer Valid

The former head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Walid Joumblatt, praised the important role played by the Lebanese army, intelligence and security services during the war, which helped deconstruct the “absurd and dangerous theories relating to self-security.” Turning to the issue of disputed land between Lebanon and Israel, ...

French Envoy, Le Drian, Urges Lebanon to Elect President

France's special envoy on Friday said it was urgent for Lebanon to elect a president, after a parliamentary vote to end a two-year period without a head of state was announced for January. Jean-Yves Le Drian's visit to Lebanon follows a fragile ceasefire to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah. "I came to Lebanon immediately after the ...

The Legalization of Surrender

We have become accustomed to victory cries, as victory is ultimately a matter of perspective. Yet, the jubilant cheers in the streets, whether amidst destruction or not, fail to capture the true geopolitical landscape. Hezbollah has, in effect, signed a total surrender agreement, irrespective of its public or private statements. By agreeing to ...

Return of Displaced Persons and Reconstruction Prospects: Lingering Uncertainty

“This return is nothing like 2006.” This phrase echoes across regions where residents are cautiously returning to their homes on the second day of the ceasefire. After 14 months of conflict, marked by two months of brutal escalation, the displaced face their return with uncertainty and unease. The scale of destruction is far greater than in ...

Day 3: A Fragile and Breached Ceasefire

The long-awaited ceasefire seems precarious following several violations as displaced people from the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continue to return to their homes in south Lebanon, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Breaches of the Ceasefire Recent events show that the situation remains tense. The Israeli army bombed a ...

Gaza Journalists Win Rory Peck Award for 'Powerful' War Coverage

Gaza video correspondents Belal Alsabbagh and Youssef Hassouna on Thursday won a Rory Peck award for their "powerful" coverage of the brutal war in the Palestinian territory for Agence France-Presse. The prize has been awarded since 1995 in memory of video journalist Rory Peck, who was killed in Moscow in 1993, to highlight the work of freelance ...

Netanyahu Vows 'Intensive War' If Lebanon Ceasefire Violated

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday threatened Hezbollah with an "intensive war" if the Lebanese militant group violates the newly established ceasefire. "If necessary, I have instructed the Israeli army to wage an 'intensive war' in response to any violation," Netanyahu said in an interview with Israeli broadcaster Channel ...

Macron Calls Berri and Mikati

Both Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati received calls from French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday. Berri's conversation with Macron focused on the overall situation in Lebanon, including the recent steps taken in relation to the ceasefire agreement and Israeli violations, as well as preparations for ...