Greece confirms commitment to maintaining ceasefire agreement despite Israeli violations

Special Greece confirms commitment to maintaining ceasefire agreement despite Israeli violations
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati address a joint press conference at the government palace in Beirut. (AP)
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Updated 16 December 2024
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Greece confirms commitment to maintaining ceasefire agreement despite Israeli violations

Greece confirms commitment to maintaining ceasefire agreement despite Israeli violations
  • Popular dissatisfaction grows over delay in compensation distribution by Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities

BEIRUT: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized in Beirut on Monday that implementing the ceasefire agreement to halt hostilities between Israel and Lebanon is crucial for the well-being and stability of the region.

The visiting prime minister also said Greece “and the international community are taking all necessary measures to uphold the ceasefire in southern Lebanon and to implement UN Resolution 1701, which safeguards Lebanese sovereignty.”

His statement came as the Israeli military once again violated the ceasefire by launching a drone to target a valley in the towns of Musayleh and Najariyah in the Sidon district of southern Lebanon, resulting in three injuries, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Mitsotakis met with Lebanese officials and welcomed the fall of the regime of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, stressing the importance of upholding human rights.

He said that the political process must encompass all groups and address all disparities and issues.

Mitsotakis expressed hope for “the return of millions of refugees to Syria with the stabilization of the country.”

The Israeli army, however, demolished homes in Naqoura following the incursion of its forces into the area with tanks.

An infantry unit conducted a sweep of Naqoura using heavy machine guns.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee reiterated a warning to Lebanese residents against returning to the border area where Israeli forces are present until further notice.

The Israeli army is expected to withdraw from the border area, which includes more than 50 towns, within 60 days from the commencement of the ceasefire that began 19 days ago.

Israeli forces continued to demolish homes and facilities, hindering the deployment of the Lebanese army, which entered the border town of Khiam in southern Lebanon.

In a meeting on Monday, a gathering of Lebanese Christians known as the Lady of the Mountain advanced the position that the region, including Lebanon, had entered a new era and that implementing the approved resolution on the cessation of hostilities is a crucial step toward building the state.

“The Lebanese people will no longer accept the coexistence of the Lebanese republic and illegitimate weapons,” the group said.

Meanwhile, areas hit by Israeli airstrikes in the south, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and the Baalbek-Hermel region are facing unrest as Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah are being blamed for delays in the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure.

The Nabatieh Traders Association demanded compensation for the region’s workers and businesses.

The traders will hold a demonstration on Thursday in the city’s public square.

The association said a wide range of people were affected by the “Hezbollah-initiated war on the southern front, which escalated into an extensive and destructive Israeli war across various regions.”

Compensation for demolished and damaged homes, institutions, and agricultural lands represents one of the most urgent issues requiring attention, as estimated damages are significantly greater than those recorded following the 2006 war.

Damage assessment committees from Jihad Al-Bina — affiliated with Hezbollah — and the Council of South Lebanon, mandated by the Lebanese government, are surveying towns and villages in southern Lebanon to evaluate the extent of damage.

Those whose homes were destroyed entirely have received specific financial aid, including a rental allowance of $4,000 per year and a furniture allowance of $8,000.

However, Hezbollah is facing criticism for delaying the start of reconstruction efforts. Instead of taking immediate action, the party has requested that citizens with partially damaged homes repair them at their own expense. They can then submit invoices for compensation to Jihad Al-Bina, along with photographs documenting the damage.

During a meeting held in the south with engineers and surveyors, Jihad Al-Bina’s restoration coordinator, Hussein Kheir Al-Din, said that the initial compensation would cover repairs for glass, aluminum, solar panels, bricks, and exterior stones.

In far-eastern Lebanon, the town of Hermel has begun to bear the burden of new Syrian refugees who fled after the fall of Assad’s regime.

Hezbollah facilitated the entry of thousands of Syrians into Lebanon through illegal crossings, with many taking refuge in religious buildings.

Additionally, Lebanese families who had lived in Syria since Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian war in 2012 also returned.

In Beirut, senior official Hamid Al-Khafaf announced that he had visited several Syrian shelters in the Beqaa region, including those in Al-Qasr, Hermel, the Sayyida Khawla Shrine in Baalbek, and other centers in the Zahle district.

“We learned about their needs and listened to their problems. We have already addressed some of them and decided to provide food aid vouchers in the coming days,” he said.

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah commented: “We are facing a difficult period, but we know how to overcome it.

“Israel is exploiting the opportunity that the 60 days present to carry out attacks and assassinations.

“At this stage, we say there are state and international resolutions.

“We also tell those who used to talk about the ability to protect Lebanon without the resistance to try their luck in this regard,” he said.

The MP stressed that Hezbollah was following up on the issue of Israeli violations with the government for it to assume its role through the institutions, the army, UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL, and the monitoring committee.

“All concerned parties bear this responsibility. Efforts are being exerted, but without leading to the desired result. Israel is taking advantage of the tense situation and the state of worry,” he added.

“We are monitoring the events and how they will stabilize. We want Syria to remain united and for its people to determine its fate and safety without it being under US hegemony and Israeli occupation.”


Zelensky meets Turkiye’s Erdogan amid US shift on Ukraine

Zelensky meets Turkiye’s Erdogan amid US shift on Ukraine
Updated 9 sec ago
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Zelensky meets Turkiye’s Erdogan amid US shift on Ukraine

Zelensky meets Turkiye’s Erdogan amid US shift on Ukraine
  • Volodymyr Zelensky flew into the Turkish capital from the UAE late on Monday
  • Kyiv seeks to shore up its position in response to US-Russia talks
ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara on Tuesday, as Kyiv seeks to shore up its position in response to US-Russia talks.
Zelensky flew into the Turkish capital from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) late on Monday, saying on Telegram he would discuss prisoner exchanges and other issues with Erdogan.
The talks at Erdogan’s presidential palace, which began around 1115 GMT, came several hours after top US and Russian diplomats met in Saudi for their first high-level talks since Moscow invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago.
Zelensky, who last visited Turkiye in March 2024, is himself due in Riyadh for a visit on Wednesday.
Top Erdogan aide Fahrettin Altun on Monday said the pair would discuss how to “further strengthen cooperation” between their two nations.
NATO member Turkiye has sought to maintain good relations with its warring Black Sea neighbors, with Erdogan pitching himself as a key go-between and possible peacemaker between the two.
Ankara has provided drones for Ukraine but shied away from Western-led sanctions on Moscow.
Alongside Saudi and the UAE, Turkiye has played a role in brokering several prisoner swap deals between Russia and Ukraine which have seen hundreds of prisoners returning home despite the ongoing conflict.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Riyadh with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as part of what the Kremlin says is a bid to re-open ties with Washington.
US and Russian officials are eyeing a summit between their two leaders, with Europe and Kyiv worried they will try to end the war in Ukraine without them.

Calls mount for lifting of Western sanctions on Syria

Calls mount for lifting of Western sanctions on Syria
Updated 18 February 2025
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Calls mount for lifting of Western sanctions on Syria

Calls mount for lifting of Western sanctions on Syria
  • Human Rights Watch: Country ‘in desperate need of reconstruction and Syrians are struggling to survive’
  • Current sanctions were imposed on regime of Bashar Assad who was deposed in December

LONDON: Sanctions imposed on the regime of former Syrian President Bashar Assad by the West are harming the country’s recovery, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

Sanctions put in place by the US, the UK, the EU and others are “hindering reconstruction efforts and exacerbating the suffering of millions of Syrians,” and have no clear removal mechanism, HRW added.

Hiba Zayadin, HRW’s senior Syria researcher, said the country “is in desperate need of reconstruction and Syrians are struggling to survive. With the collapse of the former government, broad sanctions now stand as a major obstacle to restoring essential services such as health care, water, electricity, and education.”

HRW said the country’s long-running civil war has left its economy and infrastructure devastated, with millions of people having fled and 90 percent of the remaining population living in poverty.

Around 13 million are unable to access sufficient food, and 16.5 million are reliant on humanitarian aid.

The organization said sanctions, some of which have been in place for almost half a century but which were ramped up by the West in 2011 after the outbreak of the conflict, are making it harder to alleviate this suffering and to deliver aid despite humanitarian exemptions.

HRW said sanctions should be lifted to allow “access to basic rights,” including “restoring Syria’s access to global financial systems, ending trade restrictions on essential goods, addressing energy sanctions to ensure access to fuel and electricity, and providing clear legal assurances to financial institutions and businesses to mitigate the chilling effect of overcompliance.”

US sanctions hinder nearly all trade and financial transactions with Syria, while the Caesar Act sanctions foreign companies doing business with the government, “particularly in oil and gas, construction, and engineering,” HRW said.

EU and UK sanctions focus largely on Syrian crude oil exports, investments, and the activities of Syrian banks.

Western powers have proposed changes to the sanctions regime since Assad’s ouster in December, but the head of the Syrian Arab Republic’s Investment Agency, Ayman Hamawiye, said earlier this year that the only concrete changes — tweaks to US sanctions affecting energy remittance payments — were “inadequate” so far. 

“Rather than using broad sectoral sanctions as leverage for shifting political objectives, Western governments should recognize their direct harm to civilians and take meaningful steps to lift restrictions that impede access to basic rights,” Zayadin said.

“A piecemeal approach of temporary exemptions and limited waivers is not enough. Sanctions that harm civilians should immediately be lifted, not refined.”

HRW said Syria requires at least $250 billion to begin its reconstruction, focusing on essential infrastructure.

It highlighted the crumbling water network and overwhelmed healthcare system as two examples in desperate need of financial help, as well as the education sector, with around 2 million Syrian children out of fulltime school.

HRW said sanctions should not “have a disproportionately negative impact on human rights or create unnecessary suffering,” and “should not be punitive, but should instead be designed to deter and correct human rights abuses.”

It added: “To be effective, sanctions must be tied to clear, measurable, and attainable conditions for their removal, with regular monitoring to assess progress.

“The Caesar Act in the United States was designed to punish the Assad government, but in a post-Assad world, its broad and indefinite restrictions risk harming civilians without advancing clear human rights objectives.”


Arab League summit on Gaza postponed to March 4: Egypt

Arab League summit on Gaza postponed to March 4: Egypt
Updated 18 February 2025
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Arab League summit on Gaza postponed to March 4: Egypt

Arab League summit on Gaza postponed to March 4: Egypt
  • The meeting was called in response to US President Donald Trump’s proposal to take over the war-battered Gaza Strip

CAIRO: An extraordinary Arab League meeting on Gaza, initially set for next week, has been postponed to March 4, host Egypt said on Tuesday.
The Egyptian foreign ministry said the new date was agreed with Arab League members as part of “substantive and logistical preparations” for the summit.
The meeting was called in response to US President Donald Trump’s proposal to take over the war-battered Gaza Strip and move its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere, including to Egypt and Jordan.
On Thursday, Saudi Arabia is set to host the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to present their own plan for Gaza’s reconstruction while ensuring that Palestinians remain on their land.
Trump’s Gaza plan has sparked outcry across the Arab world, prompting a rare show of unity among Arab nations to block it.


UN says delay in Israel’s Lebanon withdrawal ‘violation’ of resolution on ending war

UN says delay in Israel’s Lebanon withdrawal ‘violation’ of resolution on ending war
Updated 18 February 2025
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UN says delay in Israel’s Lebanon withdrawal ‘violation’ of resolution on ending war

UN says delay in Israel’s Lebanon withdrawal ‘violation’ of resolution on ending war
  • UN: ‘Another delay in this process is not what we hoped would happen, not least because it continues a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006)’

BEIRUT: The UN’s Lebanon envoy and peacekeeping force on Tuesday warned Israel’s delayed withdrawal from the country violated the UN resolution that ended the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel war and formed the basis for a recent truce.

“Today marks the end of the period set for the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces... and the parallel Lebanese Armed Forces deployment to positions in southern Lebanon,” the joint statement said, adding: “Another delay in this process is not what we hoped would happen, not least because it continues a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006).”

Israeli troops withdrew from all but five points in south Lebanon on Tuesday, allowing displaced residents to return to border villages largely destroyed in more than a year of hostilities.

“The entire village has been reduced to rubble. It’s a disaster zone,” said Alaa Al-Zein, back in Kfar Kila after the delayed withdrawal deadline expired Tuesday morning under an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal.

Unable to reach Kfar Kila by car because of the rubble and army restrictions, residents had parked at the entrance of the village and returned on foot.

Many were returning to destroyed or heavily damaged homes, farmland and businesses, after more than a year of clashes that included two months of all-out war an ended with a November 27 ceasefire.

Israel had announced just before the pullout deadline that it would keep troops in “five strategic points” near the border, and on Tuesday its defense minister, Israel Katz, confirmed the deployment and vowed action against any “violation” by militant group Hezbollah.

On Tuesday, Lebanon said any Israeli presence on its soil constituted “occupation,” warning it would refer to the UN Security Council to push Israel to withdraw and that its armed forces were ready to assume duties at the border.

Lebanon’s army announced it had deployed in 11 southern border villages and other areas from which Israeli troops have pulled, starting Monday evening.

In a joint statement, UN envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and the UNIFIL peacekeeping force said that at “the end of the period set” for Israel’s withdrawal and the Lebanese army’s deployment, any further “delay in this process is not what we hoped would happen” and a violation of a 2006 Security Council resolution that ended a past Israel-Hezbollah war.

Jonathan Conricus, a senior fellow at US think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former Israeli army spokesman, said that once Lebanon’s army was “fully deployed” in the south, the Israeli army “will likely complete its withdrawal... as long as Hezbollah continues to adhere to the agreement.”

In Lebanon, the cost of reconstruction is expected to reach more than $10 billion, while more than 100,000 people remain displaced, according to the United Nations.

But despite the devastation, Zein said villagers were adamant on returning.

“The whole village is returning, we will set up tents and sit on the ground” if needed, he said, striking a defiant tone.

Others were going south to look for the bodies of their relatives under the rubble.

Among them was Samira Jumaa, who arrived in the early hours of the morning to look for her brother, a Hezbollah fighter killed in Kfar Kila with others five months ago.

“We have not heard of them until now. We are certain they were martyred,” she said.

“I’ve come to see my brother and embrace the land where my brother and his comrades fought,” she added.

Further south, dozens of cars were waiting at a Lebanese army checkpoint to be allowed into the southern villages of Taybeh and Odaisseh, an AFP photographer saw.

Nearby, women were carrying pictures of relatives who died fighting for Hezbollah in the war, while others raised the Iran-backed group’s yellow flag.

Hezbollah strongholds in south and east Lebanon as well as Beirut suffered heavy destruction during the hostilities, initiated by Hezbollah in support of ally Hamas in the wake of the Gaza war.

Under the ceasefire, brokered by Washington and Paris, Lebanon’s military was to deploy alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was extended to February 18.

Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle remaining military infrastructure there.

Since the cross-border hostilities began in October 2023, more than 4,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the health ministry.

On the Israeli side of the border, 78 people including soldiers have been killed, according to an AFP tally based on official figures, with an additional 56 troops dead in southern Lebanon during the ground offensive.

Around 60 people have reportedly been killed since the truce began, two dozen of them on January 26 as residents tried to return to border towns on the initial withdrawal deadline.

On Monday, Lebanon’s government said the state should be the sole bearer of arms, in a thinly veiled message on Hezbollah’s arsenal.

Calls for the group’s disarmament have multiplied since the end of the war that has weakened the group.


Lebanese government to seek new IMF program, policy statement says

Lebanese government to seek new IMF program, policy statement says
Updated 18 February 2025
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Lebanese government to seek new IMF program, policy statement says

Lebanese government to seek new IMF program, policy statement says

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s new government will negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a new program and will work to deal with the country’s financial default and public debt, according a policy statement approved by the cabinet late on Monday.
The statement, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, said the government would work for an economical revival that could only be achieved through restructuring the banking sector.
The statement did not include language used in previous years that was seen to legitimize a role for the Iran-backed Hezbollah in defending Lebanon, saying instead “we want a state that has the decision of war and peace.”