Rubble litters the surroundings of a damaged house following Israeli bombardment in Lebanon’s southern village of Markaba amid ongoing cross-border tension with the Hezbollah militia. (AFP)
French foreign minister heads to Beirut in diplomatic push to contain Middle East conflict
Updated 15 December 2023
NAJIA HOUSSARI
BEIRUT: France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna will travel to Lebanon on Saturday as part of diplomatic efforts to contain the Middle East conflict.
“We must avoid a regional eruption,” ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said ahead of Colonna’s visit.
The French minister is expected to call for “restraint” and “responsibility” in an effort to avoid a new front line on the Israeli-Lebanese border, Lemoine said.
His comments came as daily exchanges of fire along the border added to fears of a widening war.
Israeli officials have also stepped up their warnings to Hezbollah.
During a visit to forces deployed along the border last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “If Hezbollah chooses to go into a full-scale war, Beirut and southern Lebanon — not far away from here — will turn it into Gaza and Khan Younis.”
The Israeli military dropped leaflets in southern Lebanon on Friday, warning residents against assisting Hezbollah as the conflict between the group and Israeli forces entered its 69th day.
Eyewitnesses in Kfarchouba and Kfarhamam saw a drone drop the leaflets in the morning, some taking photos and sharing them on social media.
Hundreds of people, including women, children and the elderly, were forced to leave their homes near the border and head to safety at the beginning of the confrontation.
In a statement, the Kfarchouba municipality described the Israeli leaflets as “a prelude to justify aggressive acts intended against our defenseless civilians, who are safe and peaceful in their homes, preserving their property, and clinging to their homeland and land.”
The municipality said that there are “no weapons, armed individuals, or armed manifestations in the town, except the Lebanese army and UNIFIL.”
Kfarchouba, which has a Sunni majority, is located in the Arqoub area of the Hasbaya district, 120 km from Beirut.
The town is situated on the triangle of the Lebanese-Syrian-Israeli border, making it a strategic location.
Although Israel withdrew from Kfarchouba under the Blue Line, vast agricultural areas, known as the Kfarchouba Heights and belonging to the town, remain under Israeli control.
Four houses in the town have been destroyed by Israeli shelling since hostilities erupted on Oct. 8.
The municipality has asked UNIFIL and the Lebanese army to protect the town by defining a neutral area, preventing Israel from carrying out any hostile actions.
Several people were hurt when an Israeli drone targeted a house in the Lebanese border town of Yarin on Friday.
Ambulances took the wounded to hospitals in Tyre for treatment, according to media reports.
Israeli shelling has escalated in recent days, shifting from targeting forests and valleys to striking civilian homes.
Warning sirens sounded on Friday in Arab Al-Aramshe in western Galilee on the Israeli side as Hezbollah targeted the Israeli military outposts of Yaara and Arab Al-Aramshe. Sirens also sounded in the Hanita border settlement.
Hezbollah said that it struck the Israeli Al-Jardah military outpost with Burkan missiles, and also targeted a group of Israeli soldiers entering the Intelligence Battalion headquarters in Mitat.
The group also hit the Israeli Bayad Blida military outpost.
Israel shelled the Labbouneh region on the outskirts of Naqoura using internationally prohibited phosphorus bombs.
Israeli artillery shelling also targeted the outskirts of Alma Al-Shaab and Tallat Hamames in Sarda, as well as the Tayr Harfa and Yarin villages and the outskirts of Houla.
It also hit Wadi Qatmun on the outskirts of the Rmaych village.
Israeli shells struck Kfarkila village and Tallat Al-Awayda on the outskirts of the border village of Al-Tayba.
Israeli artillery also targeted several houses in Ras Al-Dhaher and Al-Tarash in the Mays Al-Jabal village.
Iraq PM says Syria security key to Middle East stability
“Sudani emphasized that Syria’s security and stability are closely linked to Iraq’s national security and play a crucial role in regional security
Updated 01 December 2024
AFP
BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani told Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday that his country’s security was key to the stability of the whole region.
“Sudani emphasized that Syria’s security and stability are closely linked to Iraq’s national security and play a crucial role in regional security and efforts to establish stability in the Middle East,” his office said.
Will shaky ceasefire hold in Lebanon as tensions simmer in the neighborhood?
Arab American Institute founder James Zogby and international law expert Brad Roth share their insights on the Ray Hanania Radio Show
Events in Syria suggest non-state actors taking advantage of weakness of Axis of Resistance alliance after setbacks in Gaza and Lebanon
Updated 14 min 18 sec ago
RAY HANANIA & GABRIELE MALVISI
CHICAGO/LONDON: As a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon meant to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah enters its fifth day, experts have cast doubt on its sustainability, the region’s future stability and the role of international justice in holding leaders accountable for alleged war crimes.
To complicate matters, a surprise attack on Aleppo, a city in neighboring Syria, by militant groups on Thursday breached a five-year-long truce, reigniting a long-running civil war with an intensity not seen in years.
The most serious challenge to the government of President Bashar Assad in years, the assault has raised questions about whether non-state actors are trying to take advantage of weakness of the so-called Axis of Resistance alliance resulting from setbacks suffered by Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Appearing on “The Ray Hanania Radio Show” this week, Arab American Institute founder James Zogby and international law expert Brad Roth offered insights into the Lebanon ceasefire agreement and its broader geopolitical implications.
Arab American Institute founder James Zogby and international law expert Brad Roth. (Supplied photos)
The ceasefire, announced earlier this week, comes after months of intense fighting in southern Lebanon and Gaza. While it has brought temporary relief, the terms appear to favor Israel, with critics warning of its instability as the two factions “remaining fully equipped” to strike.
Zogby described the deal as “one-sided,” noting that Israel retains significant freedom to act unilaterally. “The US and France were pushing (for the ceasefire), but the terms of the deal are Israel’s terms,” Zogby said.
The truce, brokered by the US and France, revisits the framework of UN Resolution 1701, enacted 18 years ago. According to US President Joe Biden, the agreement is intended to establish a “permanent cessation of hostilities.” It calls for Israel to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and limits armed groups in the area to the Lebanese military and UN peacekeeping forces.
UN peacekeepers patrol in the southern Lebanese city of Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, on November 29, 2024. (AFP)
However, the updated terms grant Israel extensive leeway. A “reformulated and enhanced” mechanism, chaired by the US, allows Israel to strike Hezbollah arms shipments, a clause that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as ensuring “full freedom of military action” with Washington’s backing.
Meanwhile, the US has pledged to rearm Israel, restoring its military capacity to pre-war levels.
“I don’t think we have a ceasefire in the real sense of a ceasefire. It’s not two teams agreeing to stop. There’s one team saying: ‘we gotta stop.’ That’s Lebanon. The other team is saying: ‘We’re going to continue if we need to and the way we want to’,” Zogby said, suggesting that Israel’s insistence on the ceasefire was partly driven by internal challenges.
“I think there’s another reason why Israel wanted this now, and that is that their troops are exhausted,” he said. “They’ve been fighting new fronts. Israel’s never fought a war this long. They’re already experiencing suicides and other forms of post-traumatic shock syndrome.”
Israeli tanks are seen near the border with Lebanon on November 28, 2024. James Zogby believes Israel has agreed to a ceasefire with the Hezbollajh largely because its troops are exhausted, (AFP)
Yet, Zogby warned that Israel’s military dominance remains unchecked. “The US has created a monster which has incredible offensive capability and no restraint. None. I used to compare Israel and the Palestinians to the spoiled child and the abused child. Israel’s the spoiled child with unlimited destructive capability, and that’s dangerous.”
In his Tuesday night announcement of the ceasefire, Netanyahu described Israel’s military campaign as “victorious” on all seven fronts — Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Iran — claiming it aimed to weaken adversaries and reshape the region. However, experts view his push to expand the war as a strategy to bolster his hold on power amid a corruption trial in which he is set to testify on Dec. 10, and to obscure the true focus of the conflict: Gaza.
“Lebanon never was the main arena. It’s always been about the conquest of the land of Palestine for them,” Zogby said, criticizing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks on Hezbollah’s role in Gaza, who claimed the war in Gaza lasted so long because “Hamas was counting on Hezbollah’s cavalry.
Lebanese army soldiers manning a checkpoint use a military vehicle to block a road in southern Lebanon's Marjayoun area on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
“And I thought, ‘how dumb, how blindsided, how short-sighted, rather, can he be that he thinks that what’s going on in Gaza is Hamas holding out for Hezbollah to rescue them. This has always been about Israel destroying Hamas and the US supporting them in that. There’s never been a desire for a ceasefire or a peace agreement,” he said.
Zogby also highlighted Lebanon’s internal struggles following the conflict. With more than 1.2 million Lebanese displaced, primarily Shiite Muslims, tensions have escalated as they relocate to areas dominated by other sectarian groups. “The country, after all, has been on the brink for a long time,” Zogby said, pointing to the ceasefire’s terms, which critics say works in Israel’s favor.
Hezbollah’s decision to open a southern front in support of Gaza had drawn significant criticism within Lebanon. Many argued it exacerbated the nation’s economic and political crises, deepening divisions and compounding the devastation. While the ceasefire has provided a fleeting sense of relief, displaced Shiite residents, unable to return to their ruined homes, question what, if anything, was gained from the war.
Mourners carry the coffins of Hezbollah fighters killed in the fighting against Israeli troops as they pass by a destroyed building in Maarakeh village, southern Lebanon, on Nov. 29, 2024.(AP)
For Hezbollah, this raises existential challenges. Critics contend that its ability to mobilize support — long reliant on weapons, financial sway and promises of deterrence — has been severely weakened, leaving its future influence in the region uncertain.
The ceasefire coincides with the International Criminal Court’s move to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, the likelihood of these leaders facing justice remains slim, given Israel’s refusal to recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction.
INNUMBERS
• 3,900+ People killed in Lebanon in Israeli strikes since October 2023.
• 76+ Israeli soldiers killed in war with Hezbollah over same period.
• 44,000+ Estimated Palestinian deaths in Gaza during the same period.
Brad Roth, a professor of law at Wayne State University and an expert on international justice, outlined the challenges confronting the ICC. “In principle, if US forces commit war crimes or plausibly alleged to commit war crimes within the territory of a state that is either party to the ICC statute or has conferred specialty jurisdiction over the situation, then US forces can be subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC,” he said.
“The US has always objected to that, but they have never had very good grounds for objecting to it. And, of course, Israel as well is not a party and denies that Palestine is a state and, therefore, denies that Palestine has the legal capacity to confer jurisdiction over these territories to the ICC.”
He added that most legal experts agree Palestine satisfies the criteria for ICC jurisdiction.
Palestinian boys share a plate of food in their displacement tent at the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 24, 2024. Of the estimated Palestinian deaths in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, at least 11,000 children were killed in Gaza by the Israeli military over the last 12 months. (AFP)
The ICC, established through the Rome Statute in the late 1990s and operational since 2002, was designed to prosecute individuals for crimes such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, its jurisdiction excludes major powers like the US, Israel, Russia and China, creating significant gaps in its authority. “It’s a sort of Swiss cheese here in terms of what it covers,” Roth said.
He highlighted that ICC member states are legally obligated to enforce arrest warrants, though enforcement often hinges on domestic politics rather than legal principles. “Then the question of whether the problem is that a state may be bound by the treaty to engage in the arrest and may be bound by customary international law to not engage in the arrest. And those domestic courts would have to deal with that question, and how that would come out is anyone’s guess,” he said.
Adding to the complexity, French officials reportedly agreed to oversee the ceasefire’s implementation only after securing assurances that ICC warrants against Israeli leaders would not be enforced. Roth attributed this to the ICC’s reliance on US funding and support, which complicates its willingness to pursue cases against US allies.
“For that, you can draw your own conclusions about why it is that a body, so heavily dependent on US support and funding and assistance with investigation and so forth, might be reluctant to take action against the US,” he said.
The US role in shielding Israel from international accountability has drawn criticism, particularly during the Gaza war. While the Biden administration has framed its unwavering support for Israel as essential for regional security, critics argue this stance exacerbates instability.
Zogby cautioned that continued backing of Israel’s military campaigns risks undermining long-term peace efforts, as evidenced by the resurgence of fighting in Syria.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, the militants, mainly from the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, took control of “more than half of Aleppo” within hours on Friday without encountering any resistance from Syrian government forces. The official Syrian media challenged this narrative and claimed to have captured groups of “terrorists.”
While the ceasefire has brought a temporary halt to the violence in Lebanon, the road ahead remains uncertain, particularly on issues related to justice and accountability.
To Roth, the ICC’s efforts to hold Israeli leaders accountable may exemplify the broader difficulties of navigating international law amid powerful political interests. A lasting resolution, he suggested, requires a robust international response addressing the root causes of the conflict.
“The Ray Hanania Radio Show” is broadcast every Thursday in Michigan on WNZK AM 690 Radio at 5 p.m. on the US Arab Radio Network and is sponsored by Arab News. To watch the full episodes and past shows, visit ArabNews.com/RayRadioShow.
Ex-minister Yaalon accuses Israel of ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Gaza
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said it was a “shame” for Israel to “have had such a figure as army chief and defense minister”
Updated 30 November 2024
AFP
JERUSALEM: Israel’s former defense minister Moshe Yaalon on Saturday accused the Israeli army of “ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip, sparking an outcry in the country.
“The road we are being led down is conquest, annexation and ethnic cleansing,” Yaalon said in an interview on the private DemocratTV channel.
Pressed on the “ethnic cleansing” appraisal, he continued: “What is happening there? There is no more Beit Lahia, no more Beit Hanoun, the army intervenes in Jabalia and in reality the land is being cleared of Arabs.”
The north of the Gaza Strip, which includes the areas Yaalon mentioned, has been the target of an Israeli offensive since October 6 aimed at preventing the Palestinian militant group Hamas from regrouping.
Yaalon, 74, was the head of the Israeli army between 2002 and 2005, just before Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza.
He served as defense minister and deputy premier before resigning in 2016 over disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
There was immediate anger in Israel at his comments.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said it was a “shame” for Israel to “have had such a figure as army chief and defense minister.”
Netanyahu’s Likud party, to which Yaalon once belonged, slammed his “empty and dishonest remarks,” calling them “a gift to the ICC and to the camp of Israel’s enemies.”
The statement was a reference to the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his ex-defense minister Yoav Gallant on suspicion of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.
The war in the Palestinian territory erupted after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in 1,207 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 44,382 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
Earlier this month, a UN special committee pointed to “mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians.”
Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza was “consistent with the characteristics of genocide,” the committee said, in the first use of the word by the UN in the context of the current war in Gaza.
Israel has rejected the United Nations assessment as “anti-Israel fabrications.”
Hamas military arm releases new video of Israeli hostage in Gaza
The family of hostage soldier Edan Alexander, 20, declined to comment but permitted the 3-1/2 minute video to be published
The video shows a pale-looking Alexander sitting in a dark space against a wall
Updated 30 November 2024
Reuters
JERUSALEM: Palestinian militant group Hamas published a video of an Israeli-American hostage on Saturday, in which he pleads for US President-elect Donald Trump to secure his release from captivity.
The family of hostage soldier Edan Alexander, 20, declined to comment but permitted the 3-1/2 minute video to be published. Alexander was abducted to Gaza during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel.
The video shows a pale-looking Alexander sitting in a dark space against a wall, identifying himself, addressing his family, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump. It is unclear whether his statement was scripted by his captors.
Netanyahu said in a statement that the video was cruel psychological warfare and that he had told Alexander’s family in a phone call that Israel was working tirelessly to bring the hostages home.
Around half of the 101 foreign and Israeli hostages still held incommunicado in Gaza are believed to still be alive.
Hamas leaders were expected to arrive in Cairo on Saturday for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials to explore ways to reach a deal that could secure the release of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners.
The fresh bid comes after Washington said this week it was reviving efforts toward that goal.
The Hostages Families Forum urged the administrations of both outgoing US President Joe Biden and Trump — who takes office in January — to step up efforts in order to secure a hostage release.
“The hostages’ lives hang by a thread,” it said.
World Central Kitchen says pausing Gaza operations after Israeli strike
WCK in a statement said it “had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7 Hamas attack“
“All three men worked for WCK and they were hit while driving in a WCK jeep in Khan Yunis,” Bassal said
Updated 30 November 2024
AFP
GAZA: US charity World Central Kitchen said Saturday it was “pausing operations in Gaza at this time” after an Israeli air strike hit a vehicle carrying its workers.
The Israeli military confirmed that a Palestinian employee of WCK was killed in a strike, accusing the worker of being a “terrorist” who “infiltrated Israel and took part in the murderous October 7 massacre” last year.
WCK in a statement said it “had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7 Hamas attack,” and did not confirm any deaths.
Earlier Saturday, Gaza civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that five people were killed, including “three employees of World Central Kitchen,” in the strike in the main southern city of Khan Yunis.
We are heartbroken to share that a vehicle carrying World Central Kitchen colleagues was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
At this time, we are working with incomplete information and are urgently seeking more details.
“All three men worked for WCK and they were hit while driving in a WCK jeep in Khan Yunis,” Bassal said, adding that the vehicle had been “marked with its logo clearly visible.”
WCK confirmed a strike had hit its workers, but added: “At this time, we are working with incomplete information and are urgently seeking more details.”
The Israeli army statement said representatives from the unit responsible for overseeing humanitarian needs in Gaza had “demanded senior officials from the international community and the WCK administration to clarify the issue and order an urgent examination regarding the hiring of workers who took part in the October 7 massacre.”
It also said its strike in Khan Yunis had hit “a civilian unmarked vehicle and its movement on the route was not coordinated for transporting of aid.”
In April, an Israeli strike killed seven WCK staff — an Australian, three Britons, a North American, a Palestinian and a Pole.
Israel said it had been targeting a “Hamas gunman” in that strike, but the military admitted a series of “grave mistakes” and violations of its own rules of engagement.
The UN said last week that 333 aid workers had been killed since the start of the war in October of last year, 243 of them employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
Palestinian militants’ October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,207 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed 44,382 people in Gaza, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.
