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Lebanon’s Army Chief Elected President, Showing Weakened Hezbollah
Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun walks after being elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanon’s parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who has US support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah after its devastating war with Israel.
In a speech to the chamber, Aoun, 60, vowed to work to ensure the state has the exclusive right to carry arms, drawing loud applause as lawmakers from Hezbollah — which runs its own military forces — sat still.
He promised to rebuild south Lebanon and other parts of the country he said had been destroyed by Israel, and also to prevent Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which was mired in deep economic and political crises even before the latest conflict. “Today, a new phase in the history of Lebanon begins,” he said.
His election reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Shi’ite Muslim Hezbollah badly pummeled from last year’s war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
It also indicated a revival of Saudi influence in a country where Riyadh’s role was eclipsed by Iran and Hezbollah long ago.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar congratulated Lebanon, saying on X he hoped Aoun’s election would contribute towards stability and good neighborly relations.
US Ambassador Lisa Johnson, attending the session, told Reuters she was “very happy” with Aoun’s election.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament.
Joseph Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in a first round vote, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in a second round, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shi’ite ally the Amal Movement backed him.
Hezbollah lawmaker Mohammed Raad said that by delaying their vote for Aoun, the group had “sent a message that we are the guardians of national consensus.”
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah‘s long preferred candidate, Suleiman Frangieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French and Saudi envoys shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
A source close to the Saudi royal court said French, Saudi, and US envoys had told Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally, that international financial assistance — including from Saudi Arabia — hinged on Aoun’s election.
“There is a very clear message from the international community that they are ready to support Lebanon, but that needs a president, a government,” Michel Mouawad, a Christian lawmaker opposed to Hezbollah who voted for Aoun, told Reuters.
“We did get a message from Saudi of support,” he added.
The Saudi king and crown prince congratulated Aoun.
FRANCE URGES FORMATION OF STRONG GOVERNMENT
His election is a first step towards reviving government institutions in a country which has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon, its economy still reeling from a financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of aid to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates cost the country $8.5 billion.
Much of the damage is in majority Shi’ite areas where Hezbollah draws support. Hezbollah has urged Arab and international support for Lebanon.
Lebanon’s system of government now requires Aoun to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.
France said the election opened a new page for Lebanon.
“This election must now be followed by the appointment of a strong government” capable of “carrying out the reforms necessary for Lebanon’s economic recovery, stability, security, and sovereignty,” French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.
Lebanon’s international bonds, which have been in default since 2020, rallied after Aoun’s victory was announced.
Aoun has played a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese army to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Opponents of his candidacy said his election was the result of foreign pressure. Lawmaker Gebran Bassil, leader of one of the biggest Christian factions, told the session that many lawmakers had received “instructions from abroad.”
But Melhem Riachi, a Christian lawmaker who voted for Aoun, said the election marked the end of the previous era with “an Iranian face.” “This is the era of Lebanon’s harmony with the international community,” he said.
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Ousted US Reps. Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush to Star in New Show on Anti-Israel Zeteo Network
US Reps. Cori Bush (left), Jamaal Bowman (right), and Rashida Tlaib (center). Photo: Reuters
Former US Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush are set to launch a new show on the controversial anti-Israel Zeteo network.
On Thursday, Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan, a prominent anti-Israel journalist, announced that Bowman and Bush have agreed to star in a new monthly show on his network.
Let’s go baby! https://t.co/dgoMhBVYRW
— Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (@JamaalBowmanNY) February 20, 2025
In the trailer, the former lawmakers say that their show “Bowman & Bush” will expose the shady inner-workings and backroom dealings of the federal government.
“We’ll be breaking down what’s really happening in Washington, DC,” Bowman says.
Bush, one of the most strident opponents against Israel during her term in office, laments in the trailer that “outside groups, including AIPAC, spent millions and millions of dollars to unseat me, to try to silence me.”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most prominent pro-Israel lobbying group in the US, spent millions of dollars last year in the Democratic primary races of Bush and Bowman, both progressive firebrands, successfully unseating them.
Bush explains in the trailer that her show will deliver an unvarnished look into the
the corruption, the lobbying, the big money” that influences federal politics, “and how it could all be working better for you.”
Following Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, both Bush and Bowman issued intense criticism of the Jewish state’s defensive military efforts in Gaza.
The progressive former lawmakers called for a “ceasefire” between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group less than a month removed from the Oct. 7 massacre. They each falsely accused Israel of engaging in an array of war crimes in Gaza, including “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing,” and imposing a “famine.” The duo also dismissed Israel’s counterterrorism initiatives in the West Bank as “apartheid.”
Bowman specifically, declared the mass rapes of Israeli women on Oct. 7 a “hoax,” before walking back his comments following widespread backlash. He has accused Israel of advancing “white nationalism” and “settler colonialism” and also suggested he may no longer support Israel’s unequivocal right to exist or defend itself.
Bush ultimately lost her reelection campaign to St. Louis attorney Wesley Bell in August while making her opposition to Israel a key talking point of the race. Bowman came up short against Westchester County executive George Latimer.
Zeteo, the network on which “Bowman & Bush” is set to air, has positioned itself as a major source of anti-Israel content creation. Hasan, the network’s founder and main host, has declared the ongoing war in Gaza a “genocide” and repeatedly pressured US lawmakers to implement an arms embargo against the Jewish state.
Moreover, Zeteo’s high production value and elaborate sets have raised questions surrounding its funding sources, with critics alleging it has received money from Qatar. In response, Hasan has denied receiving “any money from foreign governments or foreign citizens,” adding that “every investor in Z is an American citizen [who] has nothing to do with Qatar.”
The post Ousted US Reps. Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush to Star in New Show on Anti-Israel Zeteo Network first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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EU and Israel Resume Dialogue With Focus on Gaza’s Future
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks next to High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, and EU commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica as they hold a press conference on the day of an EU-Israel Association Council with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called for a constructive dialogue but braced for criticism from some European countries as he arrived for talks on Monday in Brussels.
The Israeli minister is meeting senior European officials, reviving a dialogue with the European Union as the bloc considers a role in the reconstruction of Gaza following last month’s fragile ceasefire deal.
“I’m looking for a constructive dialogue, an open and honest one, and I believe that this is what it will be,” Saar told reporters on arrival.
“We know how to face criticism,” he said, adding “it’s okay as long as criticism is not connected to delegitimization, demonization, or double standards … but we are ready to discuss everything with an open mind.”
Saar will co-chair a meeting of the EU–Israel Association Council with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in the first such session since 2022. Talks are set to focus on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israeli-Palestinian relations, and changing regional dynamics.
The Israeli foreign minister said that within the EU “there are very friendly countries, there are less friendly countries,” but that Monday’s meeting showed a willingness to renew normal relations.
The Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel‘s response, exposed sharp divisions within the EU. While all members condemned the Hamas attacks, some staunchly defended Israel‘s war in Gaza as others condemned Israel‘s military campaign and its toll on civilians.
COMPROMISE
In February 2024, the leaders of Spain and Ireland sent a letter to the European Commission asking for a review of whether Israel was complying with its human rights obligations under the 2000 EU–Israel Association Agreement, which provides the basis for political and economic cooperation between the two sides.
But ahead of Monday’s meeting, the bloc’s 27 member countries negotiated a compromise position that praises areas of cooperation with Israel while also raising concerns.
At the meeting, the EU will emphasize both Europe’s commitment to Israel‘s security and its view that “displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes in Gaza,” according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump shocked Arab nations and Western allies by proposing the United States “take over” Gaza, displacing its Palestinian inhabitants and creating the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The war started when Hamas-led terrorists launched a cross-border attack on Israeli communities that killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
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Merz Says He Will Find Way for Netanyahu to Visit Germany Without Being Arrested
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader Friedrich Merz speaks at the party headquarters, after the exit poll results are announced for the 2025 general election, in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth
Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit and would find a way for him to do so without being arrested under a warrant by the International Criminal Court.
“I think it is a completely absurd idea that an Israeli prime minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany,” Merz said at a press conference, a day after his conservatives won the largest share of the vote in a national election.
Merz said he had told Netanyahu by phone “that we would find ways and means for him to visit Germany and leave again without being arrested.”
Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli leader had congratulated Merz. It also said Merz had told Netanyahu he would invite him to Germany “in defiance of the scandalous International Criminal Court decision to label the prime minister a war criminal.”
The Hague-based ICC has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister as well as Hamas officials for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.
All 27 EU countries including Germany are signatories of the founding treaty of the court, the only permanent international tribunal for war crimes and crimes against humanity, which requires members to arrest its suspects on their territory.
The ICC said that states have a legal obligation to enforce its decisions, and any concerns they may have should be addressed with the court in a timely and efficient manner.
“It is not for states to unilaterally determine the soundness of the court’s legal decisions,” said the ICC.
Israel rejects the jurisdiction of the court and denies war crimes, noting its military forces in Gaza have been targeting Hamas terrorists, who hide their weapons, operations centers, and other military infrastructure within and underneath civilian sites.
Germans feel a special responsibility towards Israel due to the legacy of the Holocaust, and Merz has made clear he is a strong ally. But Germany also has a strong tradition of support for international justice for war crimes.
The Left party called Merz’s invitation a “disaster” and accused him of “double standards.”
Germany has always insisted that international arrest warrants must be implemented, said Left co-leader Jan van Aken.
“If Vladimir Putin comes to Germany, then this arrest warrant must be implemented. The same applies to Netanyahu,” said Aken, referring to an ICC arrest warrant issued for the Russian leader over the deportation of children from Ukraine.
The war in Gaza started when Hamas-led terrorists launched a cross-border attack on Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages.
Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
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