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Israeli Intelligence Warns of PA Collapse

Members of Palestinian Hamas security forces wear protective gear as precaution against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (Reuters)
Members of Palestinian Hamas security forces wear protective gear as precaution against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (Reuters)
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Israeli Intelligence Warns of PA Collapse

Members of Palestinian Hamas security forces wear protective gear as precaution against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (Reuters)
Members of Palestinian Hamas security forces wear protective gear as precaution against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (Reuters)

Iran and the possible collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA) are two threats facing Israel, according to Brigadier General Dror Shalom, head of the Research Division of Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate.

Shalom told Yedioth Ahronoth daily that the threat of terrorism is increasing especially that the youth in Judea and Samaria, in the West Bank, can’t earn a living amid the coronavirus pandemic and its economic repercussions.

He highlighted three main reasons that contributed to maintaining stability including the Israeli army, the “somehow acceptable” economic situation, and the security coordination with the Palestinians before it was suspended.

The official indicated that despite signing two peace treaties with the UAE and Bahrain, the Palestinian cause is a “ticking bomb”.

He explained that the Palestinian cause brings Arab states together, and the two peace treaties were signed because the plans to annex parts of the West Bank were postponed.

“Empowering the Palestinian Authority is within the interest of Israel’s security," said Shalom, warning that Arabs still hate Israel and “the situation in the region should be improved."

Asked about the situation in the Gaza Strip, Shalom said it remains a challenge even if it is a “secondary front" now.

The official admitted that the situation could escalate, noting that four years ago, the Israeli intelligence issued a strategic alert on the Strip.

Studies showed there is a civil-economic crisis in Gaza, which would push Hamas to change its policy, noted Shalom.

He also said Hamas chief in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar is a different kind of leader who is interested in showing his success in reconstructing Gaza, adding that Sinwar does not seek a war in the Strip and Hamas is fully aware of the strength of the Israeli army.

Shalom indicated that Tel Aviv managed to push Hamas into “rock-bottom” without engaging in a war, adding that maintaining the current situation in Gaza is favorable so that Israel can focus on Iran.

On Iran, Shalom said that so far, the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal has not served Israel's interests. He supports a strategy of pressuring Tehran, noting that Iran as a superpower has weakened.

The future US strategy includes exerting maximum pressure until reaching a deal.

Iran is capable of possessing a nuclear bomb within two years of its decision to build one, which worries Shalom, given that the duration is not long.

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Arab World

Arab Interior Ministers Council Condemns Iran’s Heinous, Repeated Aggression Against Arab States

Smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defenses, according to the Fujairah media office, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Staff
Smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defenses, according to the Fujairah media office, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Staff
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Arab Interior Ministers Council Condemns Iran’s Heinous, Repeated Aggression Against Arab States

Smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defenses, according to the Fujairah media office, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Staff
Smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defenses, according to the Fujairah media office, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Staff

The General Secretariat of the Arab Interior Ministers Council (AIMC) condemned and denounced Iran’s repeated and unlawful aggression against Arab states, as well as its deliberate hostile actions targeting civilian sites and vital energy and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and other Arab countries.

The AIMC General Secretariat said such actions constitute a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions and the principles of good neighborliness, warning that they represent a serious escalation that could expose regional and global economic interests to significant risks and threaten international peace and security, SPA reported.

In a statement issued from its headquarters in Tunis, the AIMC General Secretariat said it strongly condemns the ongoing terrorist aggression and systematic acts of sabotage by Iran, reaffirming its full solidarity with Arab states and its absolute support for all measures taken to repel such attacks and defend their security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

The general secretariat also commended the heroic roles of Arab armed forces, security services, and civil defense agencies in confronting these threats and countering attempts to undermine the security and stability of Arab countries, as well as the safety of their facilities, citizens, and residents.

Arab World

'War Has Aged Us': Lebanon's Kids Aren't Alright

Theater helps displaced Lebanese children overcome the pain of war. Anwar AMRO / AFP
Theater helps displaced Lebanese children overcome the pain of war. Anwar AMRO / AFP
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'War Has Aged Us': Lebanon's Kids Aren't Alright

Theater helps displaced Lebanese children overcome the pain of war. Anwar AMRO / AFP
Theater helps displaced Lebanese children overcome the pain of war. Anwar AMRO / AFP

Forced by yet another war in Lebanon to flee his home for the second time in just two years, and mourning lost relatives and friends, Hassan Kiki said he feels much older than 16.

"War has aged us... We have lived through what no one else has," the tall teen from south Lebanon told AFP in Beirut.

"I miss my school, my friends... I lost two cousins and two friends in a massacre in Shehabiyeh," he added, referring to a deadly Israeli strike in his town that killed at least seven people on March 11.

Kiki is among more than a million people Lebanese authorities have registered as displaced since the country was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2.

On that day, the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel to avenge the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Israel, which never stopped bombing Lebanon despite a 2024 truce that sought to end the last war with Hezbollah, responded with widespread strikes, ground operations along the border, and an evacuation warning for swathes of the country.

For many young Lebanese caught in the crossfire, their formative years have been jeopardized by repeated conflicts and crises.

"My childhood is gone," said Kiki.

"Material losses can be made up for, but people do not come back."

Since 2019, Lebanese have been battling a financial crisis that has locked them out of their bank deposits, while the Covid pandemic made life even harder for everyone.

Beirut's port exploded the following year in one of the world's largest non-nuclear blasts, destroying swathes of the Lebanese capital, and killing more than 220 people.

- 'Dreams on hold' -

The first time Zahraa Fares experienced war was in 2024, when she was just 14.

"We were still discovering what we like to do, what activities we enjoy, how we like to spend our days, then we were displaced... and could not do anything", said the now-16-year-old, who escaped the southern city of Nabatiyeh.

Fares, who said she now feels "mentally crushed", found relief in an acting workshop in Beirut's Lebanese National Theater intended to support war-affected youth like herself.

Wassim al-Halabi, a 20-year-old Syrian who fled the war in his country nine years ago and is still living in Lebanon, has found himself stuck in another conflict.

Working in a restaurant since the 2024 war forced him out of university, Halabi said he was "starting from zero to be able to stand on my two feet again, but war started again".

"Our dreams are now on hold until the war ends."

Lebanese authorities on Thursday said Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people since March 2.

The toll includes 118 children.

"Cumulative trauma, cumulative adverse experiences and ongoing instability and unpredictability certainly put these children at higher risk... of developing psychiatric disorders and negative mental health outcomes," Evelyne Baroud, a child and adolescent psychiatrist told AFP.

"Witnessing violence, physical assaults, killings, forced displacement, losing one's home, loss of a parent, all of these carry a very high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder."

- Generational trauma -

Lebanon has been mired in conflicts and crises for decades, the worst of which was the 15-year civil war that erupted in 1975 and which divided the country into warring sectarian fiefdoms.

For many years since the end of that war, which killed 150,000 people and left 17,000 more missing, bitter political divisions continued to plague Lebanon.

The war also saw an Israeli invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon until 2000.

While young Lebanese grew up hearing stories of war from their parents, they never expected to have to live through one themselves.

"My mother used to tell us about how they would be displaced, hear airstrikes, but I was not able to properly imagine it," Fares said.

"I used to ask myself 'how could they shelter in a school?' but now I see it with my own eyes."

At a gathering in Beirut to express solidarity for victims of the war, 18-year-old Laura al-Hajj wondered: "Why do I have so many concerns at my age?"

"We carried burdens that are much bigger than us, and beyond our age... I now just worry about being alive tomorrow."

Hajj said she feels like "from generation to generation, we are all living through wars".

"No child should have to go through what we went through."

Arab World

In ‘Solidarity’ Visit to Beirut, French FM Vows to Pursue Lebanon Truce Efforts

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot during his visit to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot during his visit to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (AP)
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In ‘Solidarity’ Visit to Beirut, French FM Vows to Pursue Lebanon Truce Efforts

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot during his visit to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (AP)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot during his visit to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (AP)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Friday expressed solidarity with Lebanon and pledged to press ahead with diplomatic efforts to halt escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah.

Barrot’s visit came as Lebanon faces mounting security and humanitarian problems resulting from ongoing hostilities.

Lebanese officials said the French minister stressed Paris’s determination to find “common ground” to launch serious negotiations, reaffirming full support for an initiative by President Joseph Aoun to open direct talks with Israel.

France “will continue its efforts despite the difficulties,” Barrot told Lebanese leaders, according to official sources.

He added that he had spoken ahead of his trip with his US counterpart as well as Israel’s Ron Dermer, who has been tasked with representing his government in any negotiations with Lebanon.

Barrot also underscored the “vital role” of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, stressing that France intends to maintain its presence even after the current mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expires at the end of the year.

In a statement, Lebanon’s presidency said Barrot briefed Aoun on ongoing diplomatic contacts aimed at halting Israeli strikes.

The French minister voiced readiness to work towards ending the escalation through proposals under discussion with relevant parties, describing Aoun’s initiative as “courageous” and backed by the international community.

He also highlighted the central role of the Lebanese army in any future settlement, including in the event of a UNIFIL withdrawal, and discussed coordination with neighboring Syria following a recent call involving Aoun, French President Emmanuel Macron and Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Aoun, for his part, reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire and guarantees to ensure its durability, warning that continued escalation was blocking the launch of negotiations.

He said a halt to hostilities was essential to create the conditions for talks, pointing to widespread destruction in southern Lebanon, hundreds of casualties and more than one million displaced.

“Once the fire stops, negotiations can take place anywhere,” Aoun said, according to the statement, stressing that de-escalation remains the priority.

He also reaffirmed Lebanon’s desire for international forces to remain in the south to oversee any future agreement, or for European contingents to continue peacekeeping duties under any framework.

On the domestic front, Aoun said the government remains committed to enforcing the state’s monopoly on arms, including plans to disarm Hezbollah, though implementation has been hindered by the ongoing conflict.

He added that key infrastructure — including Beirut’s airport, seaport and border crossings — remains under state control, with the army conducting patrols nationwide to curb armed activity. Decisions on war and peace, he stressed, rest solely with the state.

Lebanese divisions, US role

Barrot also met Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who reiterated his refusal to name a Shiite representative to a negotiating delegation before “an end to Israeli aggression and the return of displaced persons.”

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, for his part, told CNN Lebanon was ready to “immediately” enter direct negotiations with Israel.

“This war was imposed on us,” Salam said, noting that around 20 percent of the population has been displaced.

He described the United States as a strategic partner and said Donald Trump was “the most capable of playing a decisive role in ending the war.”

EU warns of ‘catastrophic’ situation

The European Union meanwhile voiced “grave concern” over the Israeli offensive in Lebanon, warning of severe humanitarian consequences and the risk of a prolonged conflict.

In a statement, the EU called on Israel to halt its operations, saying the humanitarian situation in Lebanon was already “catastrophic.”

It also criticized Hezbollah for drawing Lebanon into the conflict, refusing to disarm and continuing attacks on Israel.

Attacks on civilians, infrastructure, healthcare workers and UN peacekeepers are “unjustifiable and unacceptable and must stop immediately,” the statement said.