Netanyahu disbands his inner war cabinet, Israeli official says
The prime minister had faced demands from the nationalist-religious partners in his coalition
Updated 17 June 2024
Reuters
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the six-member war cabinet, an Israeli official said on Monday, in a widely expected move that came after the departure from government of the centrist former general Benny Gantz.
Netanyahu is now expected to hold consultations about the Gaza war with a small group of ministers, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer who had been in the war cabinet.
The prime minister had faced demands from the nationalist-religious partners in his coalition, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to be included in the war cabinet, a move which would have intensified strains with international partners including the United States.
The forum was formed after Gantz joined Netanyahu in a national unity government at the start of the war in October and also included Gantz’s partner Gadi Eisenkot and Aryeh Deri, head of the religious party Shas, as observers.
Gantz and Eisenkot both left the government last week, over what they said was Netanyahu’s failure to form a strategy for the Gaza war.
War-weary villages in Lebanon’s south find hope in Christmas festivities
Despite ceasefire violations, a fragile calm in Lebanon allows Christian-majority villages to celebrate the festive season
Municipalities in war-torn areas bordering Israel pledge to support locals in rebuilding their homes, restoring hope
Updated 10 sec ago
Sherouk Zakaria
DUBAI: After being caught in the crosshairs of the 13-month Hezbollah-Israel conflict, predominantly Christian border villages in southern Lebanon are cautiously optimistic as they celebrate the Christmas season and displaced families return home.
Earlier this month, municipalities adorned the streets of these villages with Christmas lights and decorations, expecting the festive atmosphere and a gradual return to normalcy to encourage more displaced residents to come back.
The economic toll of the war, which began as a spillover from the Hamas-Israel conflict in Gaza, has forced villages to scale back holiday preparations. However, mayors have vowed to preserve the Christmas spirit and pledged support for families recovering from the war’s devastating economic and social tolls.
On Oct. 7, 2023, militants from the Palestinian group Hamas carried out a surprise attack in southern Israel, resulting in 1,200 deaths and the abduction of 240 others. In retaliation, Israel launched a large-scale bombing campaign that has so far killed at least 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health authority.
Cross-border clashes started between the Lebanese group Hezbollah and the Israeli military on Oct. 8, 2023. Within less than a year, Israel launched a barrage of airstrikes across Lebanon. Over more than 13 months, the airstrikes have displaced more than 1.3 million people, according to UN figures, killed at least 4,000 Lebanese, and destroyed entire villages in southern Lebanon.
Workers clear the rubble at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted the Shiyah neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs on November 26, 2024. (AFP)
Ain Ebel, a Christian-majority village in southern Lebanon, is among the hardest-hit areas. Its residents were ordered by the Israeli military to evacuate ahead of the ground invasion on Oct. 1. However, the ceasefire agreement signed on Nov. 27 has offered a glimmer of hope.
Imad Lallous, the village’s mayor, said Ain Ebel is holding Christmas festivities — albeit on a smaller scale than in previous years — to celebrate the community’s resilience and hopes for a brighter future.
“We were worried that we would not be able to celebrate this year,” he told Arab News. “However, after the ceasefire and the return of Ain Ebel’s residents, it was impossible to let this holiday pass without celebrations, decorations, a Christmas tree, and Jesus Christ’s nativity scene.”
“We are working on restoring the joyful spirit in Ain Ebel,” he added.
A man sets up a Christmas tree amidst the rubble of the Melkite Church, which hit by an Israeli airstrike on October 9, in the southern Lebanese village of Derdghaya on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
The village, once alive with street celebrations, bustling church squares, and vibrant Christmas markets showcasing local products, has been overshadowed by the economic hardships of war in a country already grappling with a severe financial crisis since 2019.
Lallous called for community solidarity through donations to restore the spirit of Christmas and support families returning to their war-wrecked homes.
“There is serious damage to the houses, and we will see what we can do to help the owners repair or rebuild them,” he said.
“I hope we can celebrate Christmas and other holidays peacefully. I hope we don’t relive wars, destruction and bombardment anymore. I hope no one loses their home and everything they own. I hope this year’s war will be the last in the region.”
Located just a few miles from Lebanon’s border with Israel, Ain Ebel is currently home to 240 families. Lallous hopes the number will rise to 330 after the festive season. “This will boost the economic activity of shops and businesses,” he said.
He also believes the reopening of schools, a symbol of life returning to normal, could encourage those who relocated to Beirut to return to Ain Ebel.
Lebanese and Palestinian children gather in Martyrs Square in central Beirut to send a message of love to the children of Gaza on the occasion of Christmas, on December 26, 2023. (AFP)
“Classes resumed this week for attending students, but most of those receiving an education in Beirut will return to Ain Ebel’s school — College des Sœurs des Saint Coeurs — to continue their studies here.”
Christian-majority villages near the Israeli border have been badly affected by the hostilities, including Debel, Ain Ebel, Rmeich, and Al-Quzah in Bint Jbeil; Alma Shaab in Tyre District; and Deir Mimas and Qlayaa in Marjeyoun.
Several of these, namely Ain Ebel, Deir Mimas, Qlayaa, and Alma Shaab, were among the 27 areas ordered to evacuate.
And while some residents, including priests, refused to leave their homes, most fled north or to Beirut.
Since the ceasefire was announced on Nov. 27, more than 900,000 people have begun returning to their areas of origin, but nearly 179,000 remain displaced, according to UN figures.
Smoke billows in the background from Israeli bombardment as children pick olives during the harvest season in Rmeich in southern Lebanon on October 23, 2024. (AFP)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri urged people to return to their homes in the south, even if it means having to “live on the rubble,” he said in a televised speech.
The 13-month war has partially or fully destroyed around 100,000 homes across Lebanon. The World Bank estimates the damage at approximately $8.5 billion, further deepening the country’s financial crisis.
Despite both Hezbollah and Israel accusing each other of violations, the ceasefire also represents a hopeful step toward a permanent cessation of hostilities and the enforcement of UN Resolution 1701, which called for a demilitarized zone, free of armed personnel except for the Lebanese army.
The US-brokered ceasefire agreement requires Israel to gradually withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, to be replaced by Lebanese troops over 60 days. Hezbollah must also pull its forces north of the Litani River and dismantle its military infrastructure in the south.
Mayor Lallous said Christmas offers an opportunity to emphasize the solidarity and unity of the Lebanese people, countering fears of sectarian divisions sparked by mass displacement and the targeting of Christian villages.
This picture shows destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil, on November 27, 2024. (AFP)
“We have always lived peacefully together in our region and have not seen any divisions,” he said. “I hope the war we have experienced has not left any consequences here. We deal with our neighbors in a civilized way, and we wish we could always remain like this.”
He added: “We must be convinced that we need to seek our community’s well-being rather than society’s suffering.
“I hope the experience we have gone through will be a lesson for everyone so that we can move toward peace and family and keep our young people here instead of seeing them leave. I hope we won’t have to rebuild our homes in 10-15 years.”
Among the Christian areas that displayed deep solidarity during the war was Rmeich. The village, neighboring Ain Ebel, sheltered hundreds of displaced Lebanese — both Shiite Muslims and Christians — from other villages in the region at a local monastery.
Others, including those who fled from Ain Ebel, found refuge in fellow villagers’ homes.
This picture shows destruction in the southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil, on November 27, 2024, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
Miled Alam, mayor of Rmeich, said: “Lebanon cannot rise without the participation of all its sects, communities and religions.
“Since its establishment, Lebanon has been made up of several sects, and nobody can eliminate the other,” he told Arab News. “All its components can, together, build a new Lebanon that relies on hope, its culture, state, institutions, and judiciary.”
Emphasizing the importance of celebrating Christmas this year, Alam expressed hope that all of Rmeich’s more than 8,000 residents would attend the festivities, along with those from the nearby villages of Ain Ebel and Debel.
“The occurrence of war does not mean we will not carry out customs, traditions, and religious rituals,” he said. “Last year, we celebrated amidst the war and bombardment.”
“We also organized an event for the children in the church square, rang the bells, prayed and held masses.”
Rmeich, while maintaining a sense of safety with its schools remaining open, still felt the effects of war. Commercial activities came to a halt, and residents faced severe shortages of food and essential resources.
Smoke from an explosion due to Israeli bombardment rises in the hills of Rmeich in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, on October 22, 2024. (AFP)
“People were left without work for 14 months and zero productivity. Those who had small sums of money had to spend them,” Alam said.
Rmeich is known for its red-tiled houses, nestled among green hills renowned for tobacco cultivation.
Alam noted that Christian festivities aim to bring hope and joy to families who have suffered and lost during the war. He promised to find ways to support those in pain.
“Despite all these circumstances, we will identify means through which we can help them and stand by them,” he said.
“We will bring joy to their hearts, as this is the least we can do after the resilience they demonstrated over the course of 14 months.”
Gaza Christians pray for end of ‘death and destruction’
The Square of the Unknown Soldier, once alive with the spirit of the season, now lay in ruins, reduced to rubble by relentless Israeli air strikes
Updated 2 min 23 sec ago
AFP
GAZA CITY: Hundreds of Christians in war-ravaged Gaza City gathered at a church on Tuesday, praying for an end to the war that has devastated much of the Palestinian territory.
Gone were the sparkling lights, the festive decorations, and the towering Christmas tree that had graced Gaza City for decades.
The Square of the Unknown Soldier, once alive with the spirit of the season, now lay in ruins, reduced to rubble by relentless Israeli air strikes.
Amid the rubble, the faithful sought solace even as fighting continued to rage across the coastal strip on Tuesday.
“This Christmas carries the stench of death and destruction,” said George Al-Sayegh, who for weeks has sought refuge in the 12th century Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius.
“There is no joy, no festive spirit. We don’t even know who will survive until the next holiday.”
A part of the church itself was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in October last year, in which 18 Palestinian Christians were killed, according to the territory’s health ministry.
About 1,100 Christians live in Gaza, a community that has also faced the brunt of the war since October 7 last year, when fighting between Israel and Hamas broke out.
Israel’s recent air strikes, including one that killed several children according to the territory’s civil defense agency, have come under severe criticism from Pope Francis.
“With pain I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty, of the children being machine-gunned, of the bombings of schools and hospitals. What cruelty,” the pope said after his weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar had slammed the pontiff’s comment, saying they showed “double standards.”
But the pain and sorrow are visible in Gaza, and for Gaza City resident Kamal Jamil Caesar Anton, the festive season of Christmas is marred by profound grief.
Last December, his wife Nahida and daughter Samar were killed by Israeli sniper fire within the compound of the Holy Family Church, he said.
“We pray for peace, for the war to end so that the people can live safely,” Anton said.
His sentiments were echoed by resident Ramez Al-Souri who also suffered a bitter tragedy during the air strike that hit the Church of Saint Porphyrius.
His three children were among those killed in that attack.
“We are still suffering. We didn’t celebrate last year because of the destruction,” Souri said.
“This year we hoped for an end to the war, but every day we lose loved ones.”
Local Christian community leader George Anton hoped the warring sides would end the fighting soon.
“We call on all parties to end the war and to seek a true path to peace,” he said.
“We hope both peoples can live in harmony and security.”
‘Many have had their eyes opened for the first time’ to Palestine’s occupation, Bethlehem’s Rev. Munther Isaac tells Arab News/node/2584219/middle-east
‘Many have had their eyes opened for the first time’ to Palestine’s occupation, Bethlehem’s Rev. Munther Isaac tells Arab News
Pastor shares his enduring faith in Palestinian resilience as a second subdued Christmas is marked amid the Gaza conflict
Isaac says he would like to show Trump’s pick for US ambassador to Israel Huckabee the realities of West Bank occupation
Updated 37 sec ago
Daoud Kuttab
BETHELHEM: Amid the ongoing suffering in Gaza, Rev. Munther Isaac, the Palestinian pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, told Arab News that his enduring source of hope is his “faith in God and the resilience of our Palestinian people.”
Isaac, who last Christmas drew global attention after his church displayed a nativity featuring the baby Jesus draped in a keffiyeh amid a heap of rubble, representing the war in Gaza, said he had been taken aback by the worldwide response to his imagery.
“It has been a year since we installed Christ in the rubble in our church here in Bethlehem, and honestly I am shocked and horrified to my core that this war is still going on and that all our efforts, demonstrations around the world, the cries and the images of people, children killed didn’t stop this war,” he said.
Israel mounted a devastating military operation in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which killed some 1,200 people, most of them Israeli civilians, and saw around 250 taken hostage, including scores of foreign nationals.
The bombardment of Gaza and strangulation of aid flows into the embattled territory has resulted in more than 43,000 deaths, some 70 percent of the women and children, according to health ministry officials, leading to accusations of genocide.
Isaac said the widespread revulsion inspired by the conflict had created a worldwide movement in support of the Palestinian cause, with several churches around the globe copying the imagery of Jesus in the rubble to show their support.
“I still receive these days, a year on, images of churches around the world that have created something similar, whether in their churches or church leaders carrying signs with the image of Jesus in the rubble or using that metaphor that if Jesus was born today he would be found in the rubble,” he said.
The Palestinian pastor said he has been “overwhelmed” by that response and the media attention.
“I am grateful that this has enabled us to speak about the suffering of our people, that it enabled us to try as much as we can to humanize our message that this is about children, about real people,” he said.
“We are seeing people united together in churches and sometimes in synagogues with the aim of convincing the warlords, which they called them, to stop this war.”
But the native of the Bethlehem district town of Beit Sahour, where the biblical story of the Shepherds watching their flock by night occurred, called on supporters and those who can show solidarity with Palestinians to visit the occupied territories.
Isaac, who is also the academic dean at the Bethlehem Bible College, oversaw an international conference in May titled “Christ at the Checkpoint,” which drew hundreds of attendees from across the globe.
“It was great to see people come from around the world to express their support and solidarity, to stay in our hotels and cater to our restaurants and shops,” said Isaac.
Bethlehem’s tourism industry has been badly hit by the dramatic fall in visitor numbers since the outbreak of war in Gaza in October 2023. Prior to the conflict, well over a million pilgrims and tourists would visit the birthplace of Jesus every year.
Isaac has become a global voice for Christians and Palestinians, attending meetings with national security officials at the White House, participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London, and recently speaking in a South Africa mosque.
He was damning in his assessment of the US President-elect Donald Trump’s new cabinet picks, including the new US ambassador to Israel, Michael Huckabee, who has said he does not believe there is an Israeli occupation.
“When you look at what they are saying, that there is no occupation, that it is Judea and Samaria (rather than the West Bank), it clearly shows their imagined reality of Palestine from their biblical understanding, Trump’s (understanding), (removed from) any reality on the ground, whether it is international law or the reality we are living in,” said Isaac.
“When he says there is no occupation, I want to take him with me when we take our kids to school every day, and we pass by a checkpoint with (Israeli) soldiers pointing their guns at us.”
Isaac said the most dangerous thing about the holders of this ideology is that they “have a totally different sphere or reality to them. It is the imagined biblical times. God has given the land to Israel, and it does not matter what international law says.
“It does not matter that Palestinians have lived on this land for generations. To them, the only reality that matters is the way they understand the Bible.
“I find it strange that these are the very same people that preach to the world about the separation of state and religion, yet here they are imposing their own religious beliefs on me and our people, and they want all of us in the Middle East to accept not only their religion but to accept the way they interrupt the Bible, which is something not all Christians agree on.
“And they want to impose it on Arabs, on Palestinians, even on Palestinian Christians with a total disregard for reality or international law.”
However, Isaac said he is seeing changes, or what he called “cracks in the wall,” in how Christians are responding. “I receive lots of messages and I begin to see this change, and the crimes that Israel is committing are so hard to ignore,” he said.
In his Christmas sermon last year, Isaac said the conflict in Gaza had divided the world. Now he says Gaza “has created a division also among Christians in how they see the world.”
“Some still believe and continue with the narrative in the West that Israel is defending itself and that this is a legitimate war or the Christian Zionist brand that says that this is Israel’s land to begin with, while others who are more concerned about justice and human rights are beginning to speak out,” he said.
“Many have had their eyes opened for the first time. Let us not forget that many in the West do not even realize Palestinian Christians exist. So, when they see and hear from pastors that even the church in Gaza was attacked and that Christians in Gaza are killed, women were shot dead in the church yard, it challenges their perspectives that this change is not enough to stop the war.”
Isaac says there are many parallels between the Christmas story and what Palestinians are living through today.
“Jesus was born under occupation, became a refugee, and survived the massacre of children,” he said. “All these are stories in the gospel. When we look at Jesus, we find hope. When we look at God, who is good and just, we have hope.
“That is why, this Christmas season, our hope comes from our faith. We will continue to pray.”
Like last year, Bethlehem’s festive decorations will again be more muted in a sign of respect to those killed and suffering in Gaza. “Yes, we will not light Christmas trees and Santas,” said Isaac. “That enables us to talk about the true meaning of Christmas.”
The heads of the various churches of Jerusalem have also called on church leaders to share messages of hope during this year’s Christmas celebrations. “Our faith is being tested and we need to keep the faith,” said Isaac.
“This is the place that Christianity started, there has been an ongoing Christian presence in Bethlehem in Jerusalem and in Nazareth for 2,000 years, and I believe there will be Christian presence after this.
“As long as we are committed to keep the witness from the place where it all started, I think we can survive this period.”
Palestinian Authority clashes with Al Jazeera over Jenin coverage
Palestinian Authority security forces have battled Islamist fighters in Jenin, as they try to control one of the historic centers of militancy in the West Bank ahead of a likely shakeout in Palestinian politics after the Gaza war
Updated 12 min 52 sec ago
Reuters
JERUSALEM: Al Jazeera television has clashed with the Palestinian Authority over its coverage of the weeks-long standoff between Palestinian security forces and militant fighters in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
Fatah, the faction which controls the Palestinian Authority, condemned the Qatari-headquartered network, which has reported extensively on the clashes in Jenin, saying it was sowing division in “our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular.” It encouraged Palestinians not to cooperate with the network.
Israel closed down Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel in May, saying it threatened national security. In September, it ordered the network’s bureau in Ramallah, to close for 45 days after an intelligence assessment that the offices were being used to support terrorist activities.
“Al Jazeera has successfully maintained its professionalism throughout its coverage of the unfolding events in Jenin,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
Palestinian Authority security forces have battled Islamist fighters in Jenin, as they try to control one of the historic centers of militancy in the West Bank ahead of a likely shakeout in Palestinian politics after the Gaza war.
Forces of the PA, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, moved into Jenin in early December, clashing daily with fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both of which are supported by Iran.
The standoff has fueled bitter anger on both sides, deepening the divisions which have long existed between the Palestinian factions and their supporters.
Al Jazeera said its broadcasts fairly presented the views of both sides.
“The voices of both the Palestinian resistance and the Spokesperson of the Palestinian National Security Forces have always been present on Al Jazeera’s screens,” Al Jazeera said.
Kurdish-led forces push back Turkish-backed Syrian rebels in a tense offensive
The Britain-based opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says since the SNA’s offensive in northern Syria against the Kurds started earlier this month, dozens from both sides have been killed
Updated 27 min 1 sec ago
AP
QAMISHLI, Syria: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Tuesday they have launched a counter-offensive against the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army to take back areas near Syria’s northern border with Turkiye.
The SDF is Washington’s critical ally in Syria, targeting sleeper cells of the extremist Daesh group scattered across the country’s east.
Since the fall of the totalitarian rule of Bashar Assad earlier this month, clashes have intensified between the US-backed group and the SNA, which captured the key city of Manbij and the areas surrounding it.
The intense weekslong clashes come at a time when Syria, battered by over a decade of war and economic misery, negotiates its political future following half a century under the Assad dynasty’s rule.
Ruken Jamal, spokesperson of the Women’s Protection Unit, or YPJ, under the SDF, told The Associated Press that their fighters are just over seven miles away from the center of Manbij in their ongoing counter-offensive.
She accused Ankara of trying to weaken the group’s influence in negotiations over Syria’s political future through the SNA,
“Syria is now in a new phase, and discussions are underway about the future of the country,” Jamal said. “Turkiye is trying, through its attacks, to distract us with battles and exclude us from the negotiations in Damascus.”
The Britain-based opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says since the SNA’s offensive in northern Syria against the Kurds started earlier this month, dozens from both sides have been killed.
Ankara sees the SDF as an affiliate of its sworn enemy, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which it classifies as a terrorist organization. Turkish-backed armed groups alongside Turkish jets for years have attacked positions where the SDF are largely present across northern Syria, in a bid to create a buffer zone free from the group along the large shared border.
While the SNA was involved in the lightning insurgency — led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham — that toppled Assad, it has continued its push against the SDF, seen as Syria’s second key actor for its political future.
On Monday, the SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami said the group’s forces pushed back the Turkish-backed rebels from areas near the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates, a key source of hydroelectric power. He said the SDF also destroyed a tank belonging to the rebels southeast of Manbij.
The British-based war monitor said on Tuesday that the Kurdish-led group, following overnight fighting, has reclaimed four villages in the areas near the strategic dam.
Turkish jets also pounded the strategic border town of Kobani in recent days.
During Syria’s uprising-turned-conflict, the Kurds carved out an enclave of autonomous rule across northeastern Syria, never fully allying entirely with Assad in Damascus nor the rebels trying to overthrow him.
Even with the Assad family out of the picture, it appears that Ankara’s position won’t change, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s landmark visit to Syria maintaining a strong position on the Kurdish-led group in his meeting with de facto leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa of HTS.
“It has turned the region into a cauldron of terror with PKK members and far-left groups who have come from Turkiye, Iraq, Iran and Europe,” Fidan said in a news conference after the meeting. “The international community is turning a blind eye to this lawlessness because of the wardenship it provides (against Daesh).”
With the ongoing fighting, SDF Commander Mazloum Abdi has expressed concern about a strong Daesh resurgence due to the power vacuum in Syria and the ongoing fighting, which has left the Kurdish-led group unable to carry out its attacks and raids on the extremist group’s scattered sleeper cells.
Tens of thousands of children, family members, and supporters of Daesh militants are still held in large detention centers in northeastern Syria, in areas under SDF control.
