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Lebanon Asks UNIFIL to Coordinate With Army

Prime Minister Hassan Diab with UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col at the UNIFIL headquarters, South Lebanon (NNA).
Prime Minister Hassan Diab with UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col at the UNIFIL headquarters, South Lebanon (NNA).
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Lebanon Asks UNIFIL to Coordinate With Army

Prime Minister Hassan Diab with UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col at the UNIFIL headquarters, South Lebanon (NNA).
Prime Minister Hassan Diab with UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col at the UNIFIL headquarters, South Lebanon (NNA).

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that the presence of the international peacekeepers operating in the South (UNIFIL) “is still necessary and urgent”, reiterating “Lebanon’s commitment to implementing Security Council Resolution 1701 and maintaining the number of international forces without any amendment.”

He also stressed the importance of UNIFIL’s continued coordination and close cooperation with the Lebanese army “to prevent any confusion.”

Diab visited on Wednesday the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, following a number of incidents over the past few days between peacekeepers and residents of southern villages. He was accompanied by Defense Minister Zeina Akar and Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun.

On Tuesday, residents of the southern village of Blida accused a UNIFIL military vehicle of hitting two cars and a motorbike, the state-run National News Agency reported. UNIFIL said it was investigating the incident.

“The need for UNIFIL troops is still necessary and urgent, in light of the Israeli attempts to destabilize south Lebanon and the continued violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty by land, sea and air,” the Lebanese prime minister said in a televised conference before his meeting with UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col.

Del Col, for his part, said he was looking forward to “working with the Lebanese government and particularly the Lebanese Army on implementing UNSCR 1701 in full, and addressing any unresolved cases.”

The prime minister’s visit also came in the wake of statements made by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, in which he responded to what he said were US demands to amend the mission of UNIFIL and grant it the right to search civilian homes.

“Since 2006, UNIFIL has been working in coordination with the Lebanese Army. Israel and the US want to give it free rein to raid and search private properties,” Nasrallah said in a radio interview on Tuesday.

“They want to reduce UNIFIL numbers? Go ahead. Increase them? Go ahead,” Nasrallah said, adding if they also want to leave it will be no problem. “But we consider expanding its mandate an infringement on Lebanese sovereignty.”

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Arab World

Netanyahu to Discuss Iran, Next Phase of Gaza Plan with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (L) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) hold a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, 22 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN / POOL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (L) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) hold a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, 22 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN / POOL
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Netanyahu to Discuss Iran, Next Phase of Gaza Plan with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (L) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) hold a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, 22 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN / POOL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (L) and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) hold a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, 22 December 2025. EPA/ABIR SULTAN / POOL

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he will discuss Iran's nuclear activities during his visit next week with US President Donald Trump.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said Israel was aware Iran had been conducting "exercises" recently, without elaborating. Earlier on Monday, Iranian state media reported Iran had held missile drills in various cities during the day, the second such reported exercise in a ‌month.

Western powers regard ‌Iran's ballistic missile arsenal as both a conventional ‌military ⁠threat to Middle ‌East stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them. It denies any intent to build atomic bombs, Reuters reported.

Relations between eastern Mediterranean neighbors Israel, Greece and Cyprus have grown stronger over the past decade, with shared concerns over Türkiye’s influence in the region.

ISRAEL NOT SEEKING CONFRONTATION: NETANYAHU

Despite "great achievements" during a 12-day war with Iran in June, Netanyahu said basic Israeli and US ⁠expectations of Iran were unchanged, including lowering its uranium enrichment level.

"Obviously it will be an item ‌in our discussions," he said of his meeting ‍with Trump next week, adding, "We are ‍not seeking confrontation with" Iran but rather, "stability, prosperity and peace."

Still, Netanyahu said the ‍focus of his discussions with Trump in Washington will be on moving to the next phase of Trump's Gaza plan as well as dealing with Lebanon's Iran-based Hezbollah militants.

He cited Israel's "desire to see a stable sovereign Lebanon" and efforts to prevent the blocking of international shipping by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi forces.

Netanyahu, Mitsotakis and Christodoulides agreed to deepen security cooperation, while Netanyahu said the three ⁠countries intended to advance an initiative to connect India to Europe via the Middle East by sea and rail.

Christodoulides described the projects as offering a "southeastern gateway connecting Europe with the Middle East and beyond."

The three countries said they would seek to advance an undersea power cable project to integrate their electricity grids with Europe and the Arabian Peninsula.

Mitsotakis said Greece was a gateway for liquefied natural gas. "(It) is a new energy hub in southeastern Europe." Interconnection projects, he said, remained a key priority for the three countries.

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Reuters after the press conference the trilateral meeting was important since it comes ‌when there are “countries that are working to uproot regional stability." He did not identify the countries.

Arab World

Lebanon: Salam Urges Swift Approval of Law Aimed at Paying Back Depositors amid Objections

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. (Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. (Reuters)
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Lebanon: Salam Urges Swift Approval of Law Aimed at Paying Back Depositors amid Objections

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. (Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. (Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged cabinet to swiftly approve a draft law allowing depositors to gradually recover funds frozen in the banking system since a financial collapse in 2019, a move critical to reviving the economy.

The collapse - the result of decades of unsustainable financial policies, waste and corruption - led the state to default on its sovereign debt and sank the Lebanese pound.

The draft law marks the first time Beirut has put forward legislation aimed at addressing a vast funding shortfall - estimated at $70 billion in 2022 but now believed to be higher.

LAW AIMS TO BRING JUSTICE TO DEPOSITORS SAYS PM

The cabinet approved several articles on Monday. Discussions would continue on Tuesday, Information Minister Paul Morcos said. Lebanon's divided parliament must pass the law after cabinet approval.

Salam said the law is realistic and its goal is to ‌do "justice to depositors", ‌also spurring recovery in the banking sector.

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber told Reuters ‌implementation of ⁠the law would ‌boost the economy, pumping deposits of $3-$4 billion annually into the system.

REPAYMENTS DIFFER FOR SMALL, LARGE DEPOSITS

The draft, published on Friday, foresees repayments to small depositors – those with deposits valued at less than $100,000 – in monthly or quarterly instalments over four years.

Deposits larger than $100,000 will be repaid via tradable, asset-backed securities to be issued by the central bank or Banque du Liban (BDL), with no less than 2% of the value paid annually.

The maturity period will be set at 10 years for deposits valued at up to $1 million, at 15 years for deposits valued from $1 million to $5 million, and ⁠at 20 years for deposits valued at more than $5 million.

The securities will be backed by the income, revenues and returns of BDL-owned assets and ‌any proceeds from the sale of assets, if any occur. The ‍draft mentions precious metals, which have soared in value ‍this year, as one possible source of income.

It says commercial banks will bear 20% of the responsibility for ‍payments for the asset-backed securities. It says BDL and commercial banks will jointly finance the payments of the small deposits, with BDL's share not exceeding 60%.

Debt owed by the state to BDL will be converted into a bond whose maturity and interest rate would be agreed between the finance ministry and BDL.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon has objected to the draft, saying on Sunday that the proposals do not reflect banks' ability to meet "their obligations towards depositors" and that the state was not "fulfilling its outstanding debts to BDL".

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Mike Azar, an ⁠expert on the financial system, said the law appeared to be intentionally vague on politically sensitive but critical questions.

"For example, what happens if the BDL or the banks can’t pay what they owe to depositors," he said.

Swapping deposits for asset-backed securities issued by BDL could imply a big "contingent state debt," he said. The government has yet to provide quantitative analysis underpinning the plan, including deposit repayment amounts, sources of funding, and bank recapitalization needs, he added.

Jaber noted that the value of BDL's gold assets had risen with the price of gold since 2020, which would help provide confidence in the asset-backed securities.

The law requires an international auditing firm to evaluate BDL's assets within one month to determine the size of the funding shortfall. Banks must also conduct an asset quality review and recapitalize.

The law would write off some dollar deposits.

These would include deposits that resulted from funds being converted into dollars from pounds at ‌the official exchange rate long after it had collapsed as well as deposits containing illicit funds, in accordance with a law to counter money-laundering and financing for terrorism.

Arab World

Syria State Media Says Kurdish Force Shelling Kills One Person in Aleppo City

A view of Aleppo, Syria in February 2018. (AFP)
A view of Aleppo, Syria in February 2018. (AFP)
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Syria State Media Says Kurdish Force Shelling Kills One Person in Aleppo City

A view of Aleppo, Syria in February 2018. (AFP)
A view of Aleppo, Syria in February 2018. (AFP)

Syrian state media said Kurdish force shelling in Aleppo killed one person on Monday, after clashes with government forces erupted in Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of the city, with both sides trading blame over who started the violence. 

"A civilian was killed in SDF bombardment with mortar shelling and rocket launchers on a number of neighborhoods of Aleppo," state news agency SANA said, referring to the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. 

Syria's interior ministry had said Kurdish forces attacked government personnel at joint checkpoints in the Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods of the northern city of Aleppo. 

Authorities had earlier reported two members of the government forces, three civil defense personnel and several civilians were wounded. 

The SDF instead accused "factions affiliated with the interim government" of carrying out an attack. 

It reported two Kurdish-led security personnel and five civilians wounded in an "ongoing attack" on Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh involving "mortars and heavy weapons". 

In October, Syria announced a comprehensive ceasefire with Kurdish forces following deadly clashes in the districts, which have repeatedly witnessed heightened tensions. 

Aleppo has been governed by Syria's new authorities since the toppling of former leader Bashar al-Assad in December last year. 

But Sheikh Maqsud and Ashrafiyeh have remained under the control of Kurdish units linked to the SDF and the Kurds' Asayish domestic security forces, despite the SDF having officially withdrawn in April under a disengagement agreement reached with the government.