The United States’ Pet General Appointed President of Lebanon 137


Yesterday I did two short video reports from outside the Lebanese Parliament – inside a military cordon that totally sealed off downtown Beirut – on the appointment of General Joseph Aoun, Head of the Lebanese Armed Forces, as President of Lebanon.

There is no other Western source giving any of this detail – not even that it is directly unconstitutional for a present or former Head of the Armed Forces to become President in Lebanon.

This report by William Christou is fascinating because it is a dark image mirror of my report. The facts are the same, but presented in a neoliberal rose-coloured light.

I report that Lebanese politicians were directly threatened by France and Germany that unless General Aoun was appointed, then Israeli troops will not leave Southern Lebanon as stipulated in the ceasefire deal.

The Guardian tells this as “Army commander’s election increases confidence that ceasefire deal will hold”.

I retell the massive pressure put on Lebanon by the United States, France and Saudi Arabia to appoint the General in addition to the Israeli military threat. Special Envoys arrived from Joe Biden (the US envoy being Tel Aviv-born IDF member Amos Hochstein), President Macron and Mohammed bin Salman. The French and Saudis were actually in the room at parliament.

The Guardian sees this as “helpful” international diplomacy.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, as well as external pressure, had seemingly helped finally overcome that gridlock on Thursday. In the days before the election, a series of diplomats visited Beirut to hold talks with the main political figures.

For 13 months and 14 failed elections, Hezbollah and their allies had blocked the appointment of General Aoun. That he is the United States and Israel’s man is not in doubt. Despite Hezbollah attempting to make the most of their having voted for Aoun in the final round, to rescue what credit they could from the inevitable, this is no doubt another defeat for them following the disastrous ceasefire agreement that led to the same-day start of the assault on their ally Assad.

There is one stark and undeniable truth. The United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia have gained massively in the geopolitics of the Middle East. Iran’s position has been very seriously weakened. Panglossian attempts to downplay this by anti-Imperialists, with whom I sympathise, are unhelpful.

Both Syria and Lebanon have in the last month gained new leaders whose chief qualification for office is that they both commanded military forces which did not fire a single shot against Israeli invasion and occupation of their countries.

The Greater Israel project is well underway, with Saudi and Turkish agreement in exchange for the suppression of Shia Islam in the remaining Arab territories. Aoun’s appointed role is as a hammer against Hezbollah.

Finally, and just for fun, if you want to know what the new leadership style feels like:

To be blunt, our two months in Lebanon before Christmas made a slight financial loss. I was delighted with the output of four mini-documentaries and numerous short video reports and articles, some of which individually had millions of viewers. But to date the model of reader-sponsored real overseas journalism is not proven nor stable.

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137 thoughts on “The United States’ Pet General Appointed President of Lebanon

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  • Terence Callachan

    Lebanon has a new president and a new prime minister both are from big well known wealthy families whos parents grandparents sisters brothers etc have all been government ministers or judges etc in Lebanon theyve all initially been educated at the university of america in beirut then gone on to university in paris france or harvard usa we are talking about two families with very close ties to the USA already there is no way that either of them will do anything other than what the USA tells them to do , just like the PA in Gaza the Palestine Authority supposedly a Palestinian policing authority it is now killing Palestinians and being guided by Israeli government traitors or what, they say they have to be tough because Palestinian people are covering for Hezbollah , hiding them .They also say they have to be because Iran is financing and organizing the fight back against Israel .Northern Gaza has been destroyed every building demolished people have to live in tents.The Shia religion peoples are being destroyed.Today Hezbollah is fighting Israelis on the Lebanon border with Syria so its not an end to war in Lebanon or Gaza , the war has just been moved to where Lebanon borders Syria will it also move to where Lebanon borders Jordan ? Lets face it Jordan has been very quiet throughout all this but its location is bang in the middle so if Israel has plans to expand it is likely it will take Jordan or parts of it anyway.Trump wants Israel to release some of the thousands of Palestinians it has in prisons , in exchange for the Israeli women children and older men Hezbollah has in Gaza and he wants it done this week , Netanyahu and his military generals , zionist , have been told by Trump that this will happen , Netenyahu,s generals have said that if it does , they are resigning , they want Gaza destroyed completely and everyone in it, lets see what happens next.

    • Brian Red

      The Abbas regime is a Quisling regime, as everyone in the Middle East knows.

      I don’t know what will happen next, but on several occasions in the past (and not just the recent past) there has been talk of an imminent deal and the Zionists have then carried out a terrorist attack to scupper it.

      Interesting that the Kushner family’s pals known as the oil sheikhs of the UAE are being put forward as possible hosts of a Putin-Trump meeting.

      That all this seems to feature Trump adds to the uncertainty, but I won’t be surprised if there’s a major financial crash before the end of next week. Why? Because markets are where the money is, and if you’ve got the power to do something to decide the timing of the inevitable, there’s a lot of money in that power.

      The Palestinian resistance have signalled their approval of a deal, according to grownup media (PressTV in Iran). But Britain too signalled their approval of a deal on the Chagos islands and appear to have been told to shove it up their backsides.

      Whatever is happening is not the wielding of charisma by Trump, because he’s only got charisma where wrestling fans are concerned.

  • Terence Callachan

    Hamas Fatah and the PA have all caved in , money talks , none of them will risk their existence to save the people in Gaza or Lebanon , we can forget a two state agreement that Norway is trying to broker , Israelis want Palestinians destroyed if they wont leave and as we have seen over many years wave after wave of young Palestinians grow up and fight for their land , THEIR LAND .Israel on its own would have been unable to do what it has done in Palestine Lebanon Syria Egypt Iran thats a fact , so the blame lies with the bullies in the background the deceivers , the liars , the evil axis that has financed these wars , namely USA UK France.

    • Alyson

      ‘If they won’t leave’ is a non sequitur as they are barricaded into Gaza, and are trying to sustain traditional ways of life in the West Bank. Unless there is agreement for an international rescue plan, to enable Palestinians to uproot and move to other countries, safely, then they appear to be doomed

      • Stevie Boy

        Palestinians belong in Palestine, that is their right.
        Any moral rescue plan should concentrate on removing all the zionist Jews out of Palestine to other genocidally sympathetic countries like the USA, for example.

        • Squeeth

          Zionists aren’t Jews; Jews are decent people with an attachment to a form of superstitious mumbo-jumbo, they don’t steal countries off people and exterminate the rightful owners.

          • Stevie Boy

            Excuse me but, I believe you’ll find every Israeli passport holder is a jew. The overwhelming majority of Israelis support the genocidal policies of their government. Zionists believe in the exceptionalism of Jews, ie. their ultimate superiority over every other person on the planet. Therefore, I’d posit that most zionists are Jews, recognising though that not all Jews are zionists.
            Apologies if you were being ironic and I missed it.

          • zoot

            “Zionists aren’t Jews”

            The overwhelming majority of the members of the Israeli terrorist regime are Zionist Jews, with no other religion significantly represented.

            Approximately 74% of eligible voters in Israel are Jewish Zionists. These individuals directly affect what happens in Israel regarding Palestinians.

            Additionally, 90%-95% of those who are in direct, physical contact with Palestinians in the West Bank are Jews. And of course, it is Jews, not evangelical Christians, who are in direct contact with Palestinians in Israel (those with Israeli citizenship).

          • zoot

            regarding “not all Jews are zionists”..

            there are around 15 million Jews worldwide, with 7 million living in Israel. over 90% of Israeli Jews identify with some form of Zionism. recent surveys indicate that a significant majority of American Jews support the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. For instance, the American Jewish Committee’s 2024 Survey of American Jewish Opinion found that 85% of American Jews believe it is important for the U.S. to support Israel in the aftermath of October 7. additionally, a 2024 survey by the Manhattan Institute revealed that 86% of Jewish voters support Israel.

            based on this, it’s fair to state that at least 80% of Jews worldwide are Zionists. so yes, you could state “not all Jews are not zionists,” but on the other hand, 8 out of 10 Jews are Zionists.

        • Brian Red

          1. Right of return for all Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

          2. De-recognition of Israel and criminalisation of Zionism. (Cf. derecognition of the German Third Reich and criminalisation of Nazism).

          3. Seizure of the assets of former Zionist big players, including all assets formerly held on a “sovereign” basis. Basically Israel must be no more.

          4. Reparations to be paid out of those (enormous) assets, including to help refugees, the wounded, and the bereaved – which is practically the entire Palestinian population.

          5. Peaceful and humanitarian repatriation from Palestine of all former members of the supremacy who hold other citizenships. I don’t know what the % is, but it’s quite high and the spread includes most leading countries – the USA, Russia, Britain, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if the % is as high as 80% or 90%, bearing in mind that many hold citizenship even if they don’t hold a current passport. If there are countries that have removed citizenship from those who have “become recognised as Israelis”, they should return their former citizenships when Israeli citizenship no longer exists. If this is done on a descendancy basis, the problem basically disappears. I.e. if someone’s grandparents immigrated to the supremacy in Palestine from Poland, give them Polish citizenship. If they’re hard up, cover the cost of their learning Polish. For those who wish to become Palestinians – fine – let them. We’re for a secular state after all.

  • Allan Howard

    in a reply he posted at 12.10 this morning to a comment I’d posted earlier GratedApe linked to a piece on the CSTs website from July 2015 about Jeremy Corbyn associating with antisemites (which is well worth reading, although most people who follow Craig have no doubt heard/read articles like it before). And maybe one or two of them are, and others despise Israel for the obvious reasons. And THAT is my point! That but for the Israeli zionists stealing most of historical Palestine by force and fear and subjugating them ever since, it seems highly HIGHLY unlikely to me that this ill-feeling and, in some cases, antisemitism would exist. But, my god, don’t Palestinian people and Arabic people – even before the ongoing genocide – have every reason to hate and despise Israeli Jews/zionists. Of course they do, and I have no doubt that the zionist mafia leadership have for decades thoroughly enjoyed doing whatever to increase such feelings, being the psychopathic sadistic fascist scum that they are.

    Anyway, the above chain of thoughts – triggered by the CTS article GratedApe linked to – led to me doing a search re >are israeli jews indoctrinated to hate and despise palestinians from an early age< and, as such, came across a number of articles in the results, including this one, in Haaretz, from August 3rd, 2023, albeit most of it behind a paywall, but here's what's visible:

    Analysis | From the First Grade to the Grave, Israelis Are Taught to Dehumanize Palestinians

    The Israeli Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace, which brings students together with Israeli and Palestinian bereaved families, is being targeted by the right for daring to offer an alternative to the endless cycle of blood

    The Israeli Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace, a grassroots organization promoting reconciliation, has been experiencing in recent years what Breaking the Silence went through before: a ludicrous branding as enemies of the people, systematic threats, and attempts to sabotage any public appearance, as well as a ban…
    https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-08-03/ty-article/.premium/from-the-first-grade-to-the-grave-israelis-are-educated-to-dehumanize-palestinians/00000189-b817-d821-afdd-bb37927a0000

    And also this on Aljazeera, from December, 2023:

    It’s not shocking to see Israeli children celebrate the Gaza genocide

    Israel has long been indoctrinating its children to believe Palestinians are less than human, and thus not worthy of empathy or compassion.

    In November, Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, uploaded on its official X page a video of Israeli children singing a song celebrating their country’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The broadcaster deleted the video clip after a huge online backlash.

    Even after the video was silently erased from social media, however, the song remained a subject of discussion and controversy. Many across the world were shocked to see children sing happily about “eliminating” an entire people “within one year”. Yet a closer look at Israeli literature and curricula shows this open celebration of genocide was the only natural outcome of Israel’s persistent indoctrination – or brainwashing to be more blunt – of its children to ensure that they do not view Palestinians as human and fully embrace apartheid and occupation…
    https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/12/13/its-not-shocking-to-see-israeli-children-celebrate-the-gaza-genocide

    Personally I would rephrase the bit about 'Israel's persistant indoctrination', and replace it with 'the zionist mafia leadership's persistant indoctrination'. Anyway, there were a couple more articles that came up in the results, but they all say essentially the same thing, like this piece by Asa Winstanley in the Middle East Monitor from July, 2019:

    How Israel teaches its children to hate
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190726-how-israel-teaches-its-children-to-hate/

    And my MAIN point is this: That you can be absolutely certain that anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab hate speech is rife among many Israeli Jews, along with Islamophobia of course.

    NB When I did the search, most of the results that came up were about antisemitism and Palestinians, which obviously gets a lot more press. And needless to say, there are many good caring empathetic Israeli Jews who empathise with the plight of the Palestinians.

    • Allan Howard

      Also came across this abhorrent piece of propaganda in the results, from October 26th, 2023. Here’s a taster:

      ‘Why My Generation Hates Jews’

      My peers have been indoctrinated to believe that Jews are oppressors. And so even our mass slaughter is seen as justifiable revenge.

      I am 21 years old and Jewish. Apparently, 48 percent of my peers want people like me dead.

      As of October 23, 64 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds think what happened on October 7 was a terrorist attack. Seventy-seven percent of us think “it’s true that Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israeli civilians by shooting them, raping and beheading people including whole families, kids and babies.”
      https://www.thefp.com/p/why-my-generation-hates-jews

      • Brian Red

        It’s just pure hasbara. “48% of my peers want people like me dead” came up on this card-carrying partisan fighter’s smartphone.

    • Brian Red

      Dehumanisation of Palestinians is an issue. Anti-semitism is not an issue, any more than “rights for whites” is in Britain.

    • GratedApe

      I linked to that Corbyn article in looking for the first concerns raised about his possible leadership, as you had brought up as you know.

      “zionists stealing most of historical Palestine by force and fear”

      Wasn’t most of it passed from Muslim Ottomans to Christian Brits to Zionist Jews? Did the Turkish and British empires steal it first? If so how is that to be rectified?

  • Allan Howard

    Just checked out Stop the War’s website and the march on the 18th is going ahead, only assembling in Whitehall instead:

    Palestine Coalition statement in response to Met Police ban – 13 January 2025

    Last week, the Metropolitan Police publicly confirmed its intention to prevent our planned protest at the BBC on Saturday 18 January, by imposing an exclusion order banning Palestine solidarity protestors from entering the area surrounding the BBC throughout the day. We will not be silenced.
    Since the Police announced their imposing of orders to prevent a protest at the BBC, nearly 200 MPs, trade union and civil society leaders and groups including Amnesty International UK and Akiko Hart, Director of Liberty, Holocaust survivors and their descendants, lawyers, journalists and prominent cultural figures have spoken out in support of the right to protest. Today, they have been joined by over 700 members of the Jewish community…
    We are calling on all those who support an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as well as everyone who believes in the democratic right to protest, to join us in London at 12 noon on Saturday 18 January. We will assemble in Whitehall, which will allow us to form up in massive numbers, and we will march in an orderly fashion towards the BBC. We call on the Metropolitan Police to drop these repressive restrictions and accept our right to demonstrate at the BBC.
    https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/we-will-march-against-israels-genocide-and-bbc-bias/

    This was posted the same day:

    A Jewish statement against police ban on Palestine protest

    The Palestine Solidarity marches are no threat to jews

    Prominent legal, cultural and academic figures are among more than 660 British Jews calling on the Metropolitan Police to reverse a ban on a pro-Palestine protest assembling at the BBC in London next Saturday.
    The statement below, signed by senior lawyers Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC and Sir Stephen Sedley KC, author Gillian Slovo, actress Miriam Margolyes and singer/songwriter Leon Rosselson, criticises the ban as bowing to “partisan campaigning aimed at preventing peaceful and lawful assembly.”
    The Met had faced strong pressure from pro-Israel organisations opposed to demonstrations against the genocide going on in Gaza, claiming that Palestine solidarity protests pose a threat to synagogue congregations. This evidence-free claim is robustly contradicted by the large Jewish Bloc visible on every major demonstration since the genocide began in October 2023.
    Other members of the Jewish community opposing the police decision include Rabbi Jeffrey Newman, writer and director Adam Gantz, Professors Moshe Machover and Jacqueline Rose, writer/comedian Alexei Sayle, Stephen Kapos and other Holocaust survivors and descendants…
    https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/a-jewish-statement-against-police-restrictions/

    And there was also another article consisting mainly of the text to an EDM, along with a link to it. Here’s the actual EDM, and the first part of the motion, so far signed by just 29 MPs, and not a single Tory or LibDem in sight. Or any of Starmer’s stasi of course:

    Motion text
    That this House is alarmed by attempts by the Metropolitan Police to prevent an agreed march for Palestine from protesting at the BBC on 18 January 2025; notes the route for the march was confirmed with the police nearly two months ago and as agreed with them was publicly announced on 30 November 2024; believes that the BBC is rightly accountable to the public and that police powers should not be used to shield it from democratic scrutiny; rejects the Metropolitan Police’s claim the march could cause disruption to a nearby synagogue …
    https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/62984#tab-supporters

    • Allan Howard

      OMW, just came across this on the JC, posted yesterday:

      Vast majority of Jews support police march ban

      Community leaders representing the overwhelming majority of British Jewish opinion have applauded the Metropolitan Police’s decision to prevent an upcoming pro-Palestine march from starting near a central London synagogue [albeit 500m away from BBC HQ, and the route of the march went no-where near it].
      It comes after the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Stop the War Coalition, the organisers behind the Gaza march on January 18, tried to co-opt fringe, anti-Israel Jewish voices to back their campaign [there’s at least three falshoods in that one sentence alone, but we all know how talented and proficient the zionist psychopathic fascists are at lying and fabricating and smearing, and misleading and manipulating people, as such].

      And further on in the article:

      But leaders in the Jewish community have urged the Met not to give into pressure from the protesters. The Jewish Leadership Council, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Community Security Trust released a joint statement on Tuesday in support of the Met’s position.
      “This Saturday’s National March for Palestine must not take place in the vicinity of BBC given its proximity to a synagogue and the impact on worshippers,” the statement said. “We support the right to peaceful protest and are not asking for this march to be banned….”

      Oh, well that’s good to hear, cos it’s these same organisations along with some really obnoxious people who have been calling for the marches to be banned since last year. That said, they are lying about people needing protection, as they say in their statement:

      “However, we support the Metropolitan Police in imposing conditions to protect those who are attending Central London synagogues..”

      And a little further on it says the following:

      .Two-thirds of British Jews said they would avoid city centres where pro-Palestine protests were taking place for fear of their safety, according to an Institute for Jewish Policy Research survey published last October.

      Well if that’s legit, then how did this fear come about. Not through the marchers or anything they’ve done, of course, but through the lies and falsehoods and fear-mongering of fascist scum, including the MSM and Jewish newspapers. And how evil is that!

      And needless to say, these people don’t give a flying fuck about antisemitism!

      • Allan Howard

        There was also this on the JC, posted yesterday:

        Ben-Gvir claims credit for blocking hostage deal multiple times since summer

        The far-right minister said he would quit the coalition if deal was reached with Hamas
        https://www.thejc.com/news/israel/ben-gvir-outrage-blocked-hostage-deal-k9jw9ia8

        I have no doubt that BN was doing his utmost as well, and for a number of obvious reasons, one of them being that he just totally lurves murdering and maiming and nightmaring Palestinian babies and todlers and children and women and pregnant women and the elderly and non-combatant men. The guy is a mega-sadistic inhuman monster, as are the rest of the zionist fascist leadership.

        AND Biden and Blinken and Starmer and Lammy et al.

        • Jack

          Speaking on the children, last month there was a survey put out that said:

          “Death feels imminent for 96% of children in Gaza, study finds”
          “The findings are harrowing: 96% of children surveyed feel their death is imminent, while 49% have expressed a desire to die.”

          “The survey found that 92% of children were “not accepting of reality”, 79% suffered from nightmares, and 73% displayed symptoms of aggression. Other psychological responses included fear, anxiety, social withdrawal, and difficulty concentrating”.
          https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/death-feels-imminent-96-children-gaza-study-finds

          The cruelty by Israel/West is unfathomable. And when just 1 one these children grow up and do this or that act in retaliation against Israel, that palestinian will be framed as an irrational, fanatical terrorist.
          It is absurd that there is no understanding whatsoever what kind of blowback there will be from this mass carnage by Israel.
          You have atleast some 50000 killed, that mean you have some 50000 people wanting to seek revenge against Israel.

          • Brian Red

            The Zionists understand that point very well, Jack.
            It relates to why they say for example they don’t want Jewish mothers in the same maternity wards as Palestinian mothers, because “Your baby’s going to grow up to want to kill us”.
            And at this point one can see the connection between the Zionist state-focused mentality and the traditional dehumanising racism of the religion, as has been astutely observed by among others the writer Israel Shahak.

      • Brian Red

        Basically someone’s looking for some fighting in London between British regime forces and supporters of the Palestinians before presidential inauguration day in one of the North American countries next Monday.

  • AG

    Moon of Alabama with an assessment today.

    Quoting media reports on how Witkoff apparently forces Netanyahu’s hand:

    “Last Friday evening, Steven Witkoff, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, called from Qatar to tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides that he would be coming to Israel the following afternoon. The aides politely explained that was in the middle of the Sabbath but that the prime minister would gladly meet him Saturday night.

    Witkoff’s blunt reaction took them by surprise. He explained to them in salty English that Shabbat was of no interest to him. His message was loud and clear. Thus in an unusual departure from official practice, the prime minister showed up at his office for an official meeting with Witkoff, who then returned to Qatar to seal the deal.”

    MoA ending on this note:

    “The genocide enablers of the Biden administration are on their way out. The new administration will probably have stopped the genocide even before it enters its office. In this case elections did matter.

    But stopping the genocide does not make a Trump administration less friendly to Israel’s greed for extension. In whatever may follow a ceasefire we can be sure that Trump will (again) take Israel’s side.”

    https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/01/trumps-action-demonstrates-bidens-failure-in-stopping-the-genocide.html#more

    None of this, as he correctly predicts changes the structures of power. And the consequences for the populations. Such a shift – just as with “the empire” as a whole – will most likely take decades. Either by some bigger war or economic exhaustion. Both – at least the second option – by a time, Trump has long been out of office.

    As Iran is concerned, there were reports that the Bidens did discuss to try taking out the facility for building nukes and the major command centers. The question here too will be if the revolution in military affairs which we have witnesses will alter the behaviour of the Israelis e.g.
    They did call back an air attack when their planes were locked on by Iranian AD.

    I wonder in how far diplomacy will ever be able to influence anyhting. If the Israelis have managed one thing it’s shattering the trust in human decency and agreement on universal conduct towards other humans. Force as potentially the only lingua franca. That by people who claim to come from Judaistic traditions!

    • Brian Red

      Netanyahu doesn’t keep kosher and couldn’t give a monkey’s for the Sabbath.
      Even if he could, this is just chaff.
      What I would like to know is whether Steven Witkoff is close to Chabad.
      Those who control “Forward”, formerly the Jewish Daily Forward, seem to think Trump’s cabinet is ZOG to the core:

      https://forward.com/news/674101/trump-cabinet-israel-rubio-huckabee-jewish/

      (This is from 13 Nov 2024.)

      President-elect Donald Trump has filled much of his cabinet, rolling out nominations that feature people deeply connected to the Jewish and pro-Israel communities, including Mike Huckabee, Steve Witkoff, and Marco Rubio.

      His first national security picks are die-hard Israel supporters, some of whom have denied the existence of the Palestinian people and back the annexation of the occupied West Bank. These loyalists are set to advance his “America First” and hardline populist agenda in a second term. They could signal some shifts in longstanding U.S. policy, especially regarding a possible conflict with Iran and resolving conflicts in the Middle East.

      Could Binyamin Netanyahu be about to go into Zionazi history as a moderate who was too soft on the Palestinians, the same way not only Yitzhak Rabin did but also the butcher Ariel Sharon did?

      FFS! But it could happen.

      • Steve Hayes

        I’d say what we’re seeing is just the return to something resembling normal service in the US-Israel relationship. The US always allowed Israel to go so far but when its actions started adversely affecting US interests they would be forced to stop. But Biden seems to have been away with the fairies for who knows how long. When Israel crossed that line, he would bleat. But he’d never actually pick up the phone and order the Treasury to tear up the cheques and the arms supply flights to turn round. Netanyahu knew this and took full advantage. Whether the resulting damage to the US itself at this critical point where global power is shifting or to Israel, which has quite likely destroyed itself as residents and investors flee, can ever be undone remains to be seen.

  • nevermind

    All this talking up of a cease fire, whilst Napoleon Satanyahu assures his right wing pals that the war will continue whatever agreent is reached, is more of the same shiningly dark news fodder to confront the daily kills, cold, diseases and hunger in the rightful populus of occupied Palestine.
    I am fed up with this crap.
    Renewed my Palestinian flag on our house for a bigger one and also raised one in the back garden for all to see from the road.

    All business transactions of the occupied forces and inside Israhell should now be sanctioned with steep tarifs, arms sales should be stopped, and personal sanctions on Likud cabinet members enacted.

  • Stevie Boy

    Two related reports, highlighting an essential commodity under the control of zionists :
    “Israel’s incursion into southern Syria highlights its ongoing water ambitions. Reports indicate that Tel Aviv now controls 40 percent of Syria and Jordan’s shared water resources. Following its takeover of the Al-Wehda Dam in the Yarmouk Basin in December, Israeli forces then advanced to the Al-Mantara Dam. ”
    https://thecradle.co/articles/stealing-water-israels-covert-war-on-syria-lebanon-and-jordan
    “In 1994, Stewart and Lynda Resnick, a billionaire couple, gained control over nearly 60% of an important California water resource, built with hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money. …
    Through their foundation, the Resnicks have donated substantial sums annually to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), … Beyond direct military support, the Resnicks have funded educational institutions closely linked to Israel’s military and intelligence sectors. … Additionally, they have been involved with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank that originated as an extension of AIPAC”.
    https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2025/01/13/the-resnicks-la-california/

  • Jack

    Pathetic to read about the alleged ceasefire, the fifth-columnist Anthony Blinken already put the onus on palestinians if the deal is to be upheld, that is after Israel breached the lebanese “ceasefire” from day one and will of course breach this one too and unleash hell since they know no israelis are left in Gaza and the blame for the breach will of course be blamed on the palestinians.

    The released palestinians prisoners will of course be arrested, killed as soon as possible by Israel. The phoney arab world have made it again, been the facilitator for the same regime that despise and kill their ethnic group right in front of them. Obviously we are talking about imbeciles. Jesus these people are stupid.

    And the disgraceful Palestinian Authority keep their resistance up, but not against Israel but against their own people, when palestinians face the most critical time in their history the PA instead see a power struggle against other palestinian groups. To be frank, what a heinous pack of people:
    Palestinian Authority must run Gaza after war, prime minister says
    https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-authority-must-run-gaza-after-war-prime-minister-says-2025-01-15/

  • Republicofscotland

    I’m pretty confident, that as soon as the (Israeli) hostages are free and safe – that the Zionists will break any ceasefire – like they have done with the previous one, how could Hamas be so gullible to believe that ANY ceasefire will hold.

    “Israel and Hamas have struck a deal that secures the release of all hostages held by the Palestinian militant group, US President-elect Donald Trump has announced

    “We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East,” Trump posted on his TruthSocial platform on Wednesday. “They will be released shortly.”

    According to multiple media outlets, the agreement approved in Qatar involves a 42-day ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners, including all Israelis taken captive in the October 7, 2023 Hamas incursion from Gaza. “

  • Republicofscotland

    Key Terms, of the Ceasefire – the Zionists will never live up to them.

    “Israeli forces are required to fully withdraw from all areas of the Gaza Strip and return to the pre-war borders.
    The Rafah crossing must be reopened, with Israeli forces withdrawing entirely from the area.

    “Israel” is mandated to ease the travel of injured individuals for treatment abroad.

    “Israel” must permit the daily entry of 600 aid trucks, as per a humanitarian protocol backed by Qatar.

    “Israel” must facilitate the entry of 200,000 tents and 60,000 caravans for immediate shelter.

    A large-scale prisoner exchange will occur, including the release of 1,000 prisoners from Gaza and hundreds of detainees serving lengthy sentences.

    “Israel” is to release all women and children under the age of 19 from its prisons.

    Israeli forces must gradually withdraw from the Netzarim corridor and the Philadelphi Route.

    Displaced residents must be allowed to return to their homes, with guaranteed freedom of movement throughout the Gaza Strip.

    Hostile aircraft must vacate Gaza’s airspace for 8 to 10 hours daily.

    All hospitals in Gaza must be rehabilitated. Field hospitals, medical equipment, and surgical teams must be permitted entry.”

    • Jack

      And of course no control mechanism that the deal will be upheld at all, no mechanism to note possible ceasfire violations – just like Israel wants. This is a joke, but do not blame the gazans, this is the Arab leaders fault that are always eager to appease the americans/israel.

      The rotten Arab League should, if they were humans, put forwards demands in the deal along the lines like: confiscation of israeli means all over the world and making sure Israel pay for the destruction and for everyone they killed. A deal should include real efforts to put the responsible in Israel in charge and stopping any arab/israeli normalization before every one of these demands are met.

      Now, the equally rotten West will have to pay, once again, for Israel’s destruction.

    • Brian Red

      Out of interest, have the Israelis ever claimed to treat Palestinian prisoners well and with respect, the way that Hamas have claimed to treat occupation prisoners?

      Or would the Zionist mentality view such a claim as humiliating and tantamount to accepting that the Arab man (or child) is holding the whip hand over the Jewish man, to use the notorious words of the British white supremacist Enoch Powell? (Although to be fair to Powell, I don’t think he ever raped any prisoners, stole their credit cards, or said it was cool to shoot unborn children in the womb. Any Zionist makes Powell look like a liberal. Many forget, even now, just how extreme the Zionist mentality is.)

      • Stevie Boy

        IMO. Enoch Powell was a realist, certainly not a white supremacist, and most of what he warned would happen has happened. There’s a lot of BS around his ‘rivers of blood’ speech, with lots of misinformation about what he actually said as opposed to what some people believe he said. He was a political football for the likes of Heath and the lefty liberals of that time. We are now living the reality of what he prophesied, only worse.
        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivers_of_Blood_speech

        Funny how people never mention the actual racist speeches of the likes of Churchill.

        • Brian Red

          @Stevie – How can you say Powell wasn’t a white supremacist when he wanted Britain to be a white country?
          Churchill was undoubtedly a racist, but I’m not sure what he’s got to do with it.
          You talk about all the BS about Powell’s speech, in which the actual words “rivers of blood” do not appear, but then link to a Wikipedia article, whereas the actual speech itself is online:

          https://anth1001.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/enoch-powell_speech.pdf

          Never forget the context of his speech, namely his opposition to the bill that became the second Race Relations Act (the 1968 one), which criminalised racial discrimination in housing and employment. He was in favour of racial discrimination in housing and employment remaining legal, e.g. “Room to let – no blacks, no dogs, no Irish”. The man was a racist gutternsnipe for all his classical scholarship, skill with rhetoric, and undoubted command of the English language.

          The Race Relations Act had nothing to do with subsequent immigration. It was to do with equal rights in this country.

          • Stevie Boy

            We’ll have to agree to disagree on this, discrimination against the WASP community is today a real thing.

  • Republicofscotland

    I can’t say I’m surprised by this – nor am I surprised that EU bigwigs have not only turned a blind eye to the Zionists genocide, but in some cases actually aided and abetted them.

    “An eye opening episode of the investigative journalism show, Report, aired on Sunday January 12, 2025, by Italy’s state broadcaster Rai TV, exposed the high level of lobbying activity by Israeli groups inside the European institutions over the past two decades.”

    “The show revealed how more than 20 Israeli lobbying entities, including the Transatlantic Institute, the Brussels-based EU office of the American Jewish Committee, have been increasingly active in luring more than 200 high-ranking EU figures and lawmakers to unconditionally support Israel in exchange for luxurious trips to Tel Aviv and al-Quds and other in kind benefits.”

    https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/01/15/740939/Italian-TV-show-exposes-how-Israeli-lobby-manipulates-EU-institutions

  • Andrew Nichols

    Of equally interesting and ominous note is the news that Aoun has invited the head judge of the ICJ to be the new Lebanese PM. The ICJ … deliberating the Genocide will need a new Chief Judge…. Well you know what follows…

    • Jack

      That is interesting, perhaps the lebanese was bribed to step down from ICJ by the west and being offered to become the PM instead?
      Regardless, what a stupid move by the lebanese – under his helm ICJ were likely to judge according to what South Africa claimed – that Israel commit genocide – because look who is likely to become his successor:
      “First African female ICJ judge Julia Sebutinde, who rejected South Africa’s genocide claims, poised for presidency”.
      https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/01/14/dramatic-shift-at-icc-as-pro-israel-judge-poised-for-presidency/

      There seems to be no end in of the shadowy machinations by Israel/US and the clueless arab leaders take the bait every single time.

      • Brian Red

        Could be part of the “deal”, if “deal” there is to be.

        Of which I am somewhat sceptical, because it would be an enormous case of an incoming government leader – Trump – making what seemed to be quite a wild promise, backed by a huge threat, and with a very short time-scale, and then actually keeping it. There aren’t many examples of that happening in the history of the world.

        • Jack

          Could perhaps also be part of bigger deal where Trump/Israel is going to focus on Iran. By pacificing Hamas, through the ceasefire, they cut off a possible second front if Israel/US plan to attack Iran.

          • Brian Red

            @Jack – Yes, it could be that. How do Trump’s business interests and those of his appointees and their owners (Kushners, Adelman, Witkoff, Rubio’s owner Braman, Waltz, Stefanik, Huckabee) align with the plan of shifting the genocide to Iran?

            A genocidal assault on the West Bank would probably be part of the same plan. That NATO office in Jordan scares me a lot.

            See what they say here:
            https://forward.com/news/674101/trump-cabinet-israel-rubio-huckabee-jewish/

            In 2017, (Mike Huckabee) said, ‘There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s no such thing as a settlement.’

            Expression of hatred against the UN could be an indicator.

  • MR MARK CUTTS

    All happening just in time for Inauguration Day for the West’s New Commander in Chief.

    Looks good on his CV no doubt temporarily, but just like Biden’s Regime it’s a cynical manoeuvre.

    42 days is a long time in politics so we’ll see how the other madmen Smodrich and Givir take the bad news.

    They could possibly bring Netanyahu’s coalition down.

    Unless Trump has done a deal with them?

    Then – what/whom replaces it?

    Same tune – different piano?

    I just hope that food and water can get in just for temporary relief.

    The Hostages have a home and family to go to.

    Where do the Gazans go?

    One for Jeremy Bowen and the staff at the Guardian that.

    They represent the Liberal Democracies.

    It will stop them having to lie for 42 days maybe?

    A relief for them no doubt – bit of a rest from lying all day.

      • joel

        It would be high risk for Israel to abandon the ceasefire after phase 1. Trump has attached his name to this deal. Can the Israelis afford to defy and humiliate a man as unpredictable, thin-skinned and petulant as Trump, especially as he is no longer seeking Jewish money? He could turn on them, cut arms and, critically, turn most of the American right and Republicans against Israel. That’s a risk that would pose a genuine existential threat for Israel.

        • Jack

          If there is ceasefire violations it will be framed that Hamas breached it so it is risk free for Israel to initiate hostilities. Just watch how the lebanese “ceasefire” played out.
          And after all Trump is 100% zionist just like the rest of his incoming administration.

        • Stevie Boy

          The Israelis are incapable of going 42 days without killing a Palestinian. Any ceasefire will not hold, I’d put money on that, and let’s not forget this is a ceasefire not a cessation of hostilities. Gaza has been destroyed, it is not going to be allowed to rebuild.
          It will indeed be interesting to see how Trump can get out of this mess.

    • Brian Red

      I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Netanyahu leaves office in the next six weeks, nor if he gets painted in Zionist history as some kinda conciliationist race traitor.

      The real capital of Israel is in any case New York.

  • Allan Howard

    Tony Greenstein posted a great piece on his blog earlier:

    ‟Led By the Jewish Bloc We Will Be Marching on Saturday March 18 to the BBC Whatever the Institutionally Racist Metropolitan Police Say

    As we celebrate the ceasefire in Gaza, a ceasefire that despite his claims, Genocide Joe Biden has nothing to do with, we see the Metropolitan Police giving a veto to the Genocidal ‘Chief Rabbi’ Mirvis, a settler-trained rabbi who is an out and out racist, having participated in the ‘Death to the Arabs’ flag marches in Jerusalem.

    The Police’s decision to try to ban Saturday’s march against Genocide in Gaza because the ‘proposed route would have caused serious disruption to a central London synagogue’ is a lie. Lying comes as easily to the Met as a duck to water.

    Laughably the Met also said ‘our role is not to take sides’. The fact that the Met have raised disruption to a synagogue, that is not even on the route, as a pretext to prevent a demonstration proves that they have taken sides. The side of the supporters of Genocide in Gaza.”
    https://azvsas.blogspot.com/2025/01/led-by-jewish-bloc-we-will-be-marching.html

    In a statement on X/twitter reproduced in the article the Met Police actually tell a massive great big porkie in respect of the original march saying that ‘Their proposed route would have caused serious disruption to a central London synagogue’. This of course gives the impression that the march would have passed by the synagogue, or close to it. But the route of the march didn’t go anywhere near the synagogue, and the nearest the marchers would have been to it is the BBC HQ where they were to assemble and demonstrate against BBC bias re Gaza before setting off on the march. And BBC HQ is 500m away from the synagogue.

    As per usual with the zionist fascist scum, it’s just one fucking lie after another after another… just one lie on top of another on top of another. Just about everything they do is built on deceit, as with the founding of Israel itself. But then so do the likes of Starmer and Lammy and Biden and Blinken etc., etc., etc., who all have the blood of millions on their hands. Yep, the planet is run and controlled by the most evil people on it, who have been creating our fucked-up reality for thousands of years. The goddam psychopaths, that is.

  • Jack

    Trump’s security advisor recently said that Israel/Saudi normalization deal is a top priority for the region. The focus seems to be to get rid of Hamas political power in Gaza and install a pro-israel saudi/sunni regime:

    “Gaza War Is Over, an Impediment to Trump’s Truly Lucrative Prize: Israeli-Saudi Normalization”
    “..incoming U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Dan Senor’s podcast. He called Saudi-Israeli normalization “a huge priority,”

    “…the hope is that Hamas, in the name of Arab unity, will relinquish control in Gaza and will claim to have given the reins to a “unity government.”

    “This government is expected to made up of puppets acceptable to the West, some constellation or another with the Palestinian Authority and great influence by Saudi, Qatari and UAE funds. A resolution to the situation in Gaza will pave the way to peace with Saudi Arabia”.

    https://archive.is/Xr86T#selection-1442.0-1442.1

    The saudis already showing their true colors:
    “Saudi-Led Talks on Syria’s Future Exclude Iran and Russia”
    https://iranwire.com/en/politics/138107-saudi-led-talks-on-syrias-future-exclude-iran-and-russia/
    “Saudi Arabia says it executed six Iranians for drug trafficking”
    https://www.iranintl.com/en/202501019912

  • Alyson

    According to Asa Winstanley the agreement with Hamas, which has been accepted by them, is the same one they accepted in May, and constitutes defeat for Israel if it actually goes through.

    This is a very dangerous time….

    https://www.asawinstanley.com/

    Asa Winstanley’s journalism newsletter about October 7th shows through its photographs that most of the deaths of Israelis came from plasma flame throwing helicopter gunships or tanks. The flamethrowers are indeed formidable leaving just charcoal statues. The Hamas attack was on the IDF military position 4 miles from the border, which is where most of the hostages were taken from

    • Alyson

      And the itv headline reads that hours after the ceasefire came into effect Israel has carried out deadly air strikes. Nothing is as it seems. Is Trump complicit or just being ignored? Is this still under Biden’s watch because the handover hasn’t happened yet?

      • Stevie Boy

        Doesn’t come into effect until Sunday the19th. Hasn’t been ratified by isreal yet. Plenty of time to kill lots more Palestinians.

    • Allan Howard

      Alyson

      Yes, they – the presenter – were saying THAT on the news last night (on the BBC News channel) – ie saying it to different people they were interviewing (and getting their response). And saying that it’s a big talking point amongst Israelis. And there was one guy he interviewed, a spokesperson for Israel, who was undoubtedly British – who was saying at one point that the agreement isn’t finalised yet because there are things that Hamas haven’t agreed to yet. And the presenter then said ‘Are you saying that whoever (I can’t remember who it was that made the announcement) was wrong to announce that an agreement has been reached and agreed upon?’, to which the guy mumbled something or other. And then the penny dropped that the lying, conniving Israelis want for people to think and believe that Hamas are prevaricating and making demands about this and that and holding things up. And obviously did so because THAT is what the Israelis have done before – ie blamed Hamas – and the idea of course was to reinforce that in peoples’ minds (by saying what he said).

      It’s convoluted, but I’m sure you know what I mean.

  • Madison

    Many independent observers currently make the same conjecture: if Netanyahu finally agrees today to a ceasefire he’s been rejecting for over a year, it’s probably not as an inauguration present for Trump and a farewell humiliation for Biden.
    There’s got to be a deal. And presumably “an offer he just can’t refuse”. What can be Netanyahu‘s final goal before he surrenders his position as a PM, what achievement would keep him from harm’s way in the Israeli public opinion?
    The answer is obvious: ELIMINATE THE IRANIAN THREAT. This done, no more axis of resistance, the way towards Greater Israel is wide open, and Netanyahu no longer a renegade but a national hero. So Trump must have said: “Just do it, but on your own”.
    Trump main objective is to tell Americans “ I don’t fight wars “, but he doesn’t object to others doing so. He doesn’t care if Israel brings Iran back to the stone age, or if his buddy Putin swallows half of Ukraine and another few neighboring countries. It’s good for business at the end of the day.
    And co-president Elon is enthusiastic. He can make the EU collapse like a failed souffle cake, reduce Britain to a 52nd state, and impose Starlink and X as the only global channels of influence.
    What could go wrong?

    • Madison

      Incidentally, as a hideaway from British law enforcement, Tehran is probably even better than Beirut. So, should Craig Murray decide to relocate in Iran, it would certainly be a wise move, both for security and reporting convenience…

  • JohnnyOh45

    Can someone clarify this point ?

    Given that UNRWA have the mandate to provide relief to the Palestinian Refugees ( from 1948- till the present). Does the Gaza ceasefire agreement maintain UNRWA’s role in providing these relief functions to the Palestinian refugees in Gaza ?

    Thanks.

    • Brian Red

      @Johnny – “Does the Gaza ceasefire agreement maintain UNRWA’s role in providing these relief functions to the Palestinian refugees in Gaza?

      From what’s been published:

      “Humanitarian aid procedures under the agreement will be done subject to the humanitarian protocol agreed upon under the supervision of the mediators.”

      The mediators are the governments of the United States, Qatar, and Egypt.

      (That’s not a “Yes” or “No” answer, but it’s the best I could find. It seems the answer is probably “No”.)

  • Brian Red

    Of the Palestinian prisoners whom the occupation have agreed to release, 1000 are hostages captured by occupation forces on 8 October 2023, the day after the resistance breakout operation.

    *If* the agreement is implemented, it seems at least some resistance soldiers will be allowed to Egypt for medical treatment.

    The policy of the Egyptian government has been an absolute f***ing disgrace since the beginning of this slaughter, but if they allow resistance soldiers to receive medical treatment that is of course welcome. Hopefully they won’t want especially big bribes to allow this.

    • Allan Howard

      Talking of the Egyptians, it’s catastrophic that they didn’t think to put it in the public domaine that they had warned Israel several times that Hamas were planning something big BEFORE the attack happened. Surely they must have realised after warning Israel the first time and seeing they were doing nothing to counter or prevent an attack, and then warning them a second time precisely because they weren’t, that Netanyahu and Co wanted the attack to happen – ie wanted it to happen so that he/they could justify bombing Gaza and its inhabitants back into the stone age, and killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of them.

  • Allan Howard

    How weird! I just went to close a tab that I could see (in the tab) was a search I did at some point recently, and just quickly opened it to check what the search was in relation to before deleting it, and Shami Chakrabarti sort of sprung out at me for a split second as I opened it and then disappeared. But her name was no-where to be seen in the top results – ie the results that were initially visiable, so I scrolled down the page a bit, and then some more, and there it was, and the article was about her investigation and subsequent report in 2016, and there was a link to the report, so I clicked on it so as to have a quick gander. And came across the following passage:

    I am in no way suggesting that bad taste metaphors and comparisons should ever be a matter for the
    criminal law any more than say ill-judged and incendiary cartoons. I am told that they are frequently
    used in Israel. However, they are all too capable, not only of bringing the Labour Party into disrepute,
    but of actively undermining the cause of peace, justice and statehood for the Palestinian people which
    forms part of Labour’s current “two-state” foreign policy and which so many Jewish people (including
    in the Labour Party) actively support.

    I make no comment on past, present or future foreign policy in this report. Such discussion is well
    beyond my remit. Suffice to say that insensitive and incendiary language, metaphor and comparison is
    of no help to constructive debate, in general, and discourse around the future of Israel-Palestine, in
    particular.

    – I recommend that Labour members resist the use of Hitler, Nazi and Holocaust metaphors,
    distortions and comparisons in debates about Israel-Palestine in particular.
    _________________

    I wonder if she’s now changed her mind?!

    And as for the cause of peace, justice and statehood for the Palestinian people which forms part of Labour’s current “two-state” foreign policy….. Yes, Sir Keir and David and Co have been doing a wonderful job in that respect.

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