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US Seeks to Halt Escalation in West Bank

Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian youth during clashes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank (AFP)
Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian youth during clashes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank (AFP)
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US Seeks to Halt Escalation in West Bank

Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian youth during clashes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank (AFP)
Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian youth during clashes in Hebron in the occupied West Bank (AFP)

The US administration has launched talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel in an effort to contain the escalation in the West Bank.

The US urged officials from both sides to de-escalate.

Channel 12 reported that American, Israeli, and Palestinian security officials held talks to reach a de-escalation in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinians responded that Israel should first stop its raids against the cities to give them a chance to negotiate with the armed men and reach an agreement. They confirmed that they are seeking to de-escalate but the Israelis are hindering their work, the Israeli report added.

Eleven armed men were arrested including Palestinian security officers who had links with the “Lion’s Den” group in Nablus.

Israel's Channel 12 said that the PA negotiated with the Lions' Den group and other armed men in Nablus and Jenin, with the aim of disarming them in return for a pardon.

This measure had been previously used by the PA with the Fatah party's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade at the end of the 2nd intifada. This was a success back then and the armed men were integrated in the Palestinian security bodies.

Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that there are intensive talks to stop security from deteriorating in the West Bank. Egypt, Jordan, and the UN take part in them.

The PA also demanded that Israel halt its accusations of the authority being weak.

Israel killed five Palestinians in Nablus on Tuesday including the leader of the group.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Israel aims to dismantle the Lion’s Den after it killed a soldier in Nablus in the past weeks and carried out other operations.

“Despite the organization’s relatively low membership, any claim as to its elimination heard in the near future will sound unreliable, as there is no actual organizational background or clear-cut hierarchy,” said Amos Harel, in his Op-ed for Haaretz.

“The Lions’ Den is more of an idea than an organizational structure, and as such it is harder to stop it from spreading,” he added.

Israeli forces stormed the city of Nablus on Wednesday and arrested activists of ties with the group including the brother of Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, whom Israel assassinated.

Meanwhile, an Israeli military drone crashed in Nablus Old City on Wednesday morning, the army said.

The drone crashed due to a technical malfunction, it added. There did not appear to be a risk that classified information could have been retrieved from the fallen device, the army said.

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Will Lebanon Finally Elect a President after a 2-year Vacuum?

A ballot box is displayed inside the parliament building, a day ahead of Lebanon's parliament's attempt to elect a new head of state in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A ballot box is displayed inside the parliament building, a day ahead of Lebanon's parliament's attempt to elect a new head of state in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Will Lebanon Finally Elect a President after a 2-year Vacuum?

A ballot box is displayed inside the parliament building, a day ahead of Lebanon's parliament's attempt to elect a new head of state in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A ballot box is displayed inside the parliament building, a day ahead of Lebanon's parliament's attempt to elect a new head of state in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanon's parliament is set to convene Thursday to attempt to elect a head of state for the 13th time during a presidential vacuum that's lasted over two years. This time, analysts said, they might succeed.
The session comes weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and as Lebanon's leaders seek international assistance for reconstruction, The Associated Press said.
The primary contenders for the presidency include the Lebanese army's commander, Joseph Aoun, who is widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States and Saudi Arabia. The candidate previously supported by Hezbollah, Suleiman Franjieh, on Wednesday announced he was pulling out of the race and endorsed Aoun.
The Lebanese military has a key role in sustaining the ceasefire, as its forces are tasked with ensuring that Hezbollah pulls its fighters and weapons out of southern Lebanon.
Here's why the vacuum has dragged on for so long and what to expect Thursday:
Why has it taken so long to elect a president? Lebanon's fractious sectarian power-sharing system is prone to deadlock, both for political and procedural reasons. The small, crisis-battered Mediterranean country has been through several extended presidential vacancies, with the longest lasting nearly 2 1/2 years between May 2014 and October 2016. It ended when former President Michel Aoun was elected.
Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement party was at the time the main Christian ally of the Shiite political party and Hezbollah, although their alliance has since fractured.
After Aoun's term ended in October 2022, Hezbollah backed Franjieh, leader of the Marada Movement, a political party with a strong influence in northern Lebanon. Frangieh also had close ties with former Syrian president Bashar Assad.
While Joseph Aoun — no relation to the former president — never officially announced his candidacy, he was widely understood to be the main rival to Franjieh. Meanwhile, political factions opposed to Hezbollah put forward a series of candidates.
The last presidential vote in parliament in June 2023 broke down after the bloc led by Hezbollah withdrew following the first round of voting, where Franjieh came in behind the opposition candidate, Jihad Azour. The withdrawal broke the quorum in the 128-member house.
Michael Young, a senior editor at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said the current election “has taken a long time simply because parliament, reflecting the reality of the country, is very divided, and actually did not respect the constitutional provisions to hold electoral session open until a president was elected.”
The situation was exacerbated because parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, used parliamentary rules “more as an instrument of blockage than an instrument of consensus,” lifting sessions whenever he “did not want a majority to develop around the candidacies he did not support,” Young said.
Imad Salamey, a political science professor at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, noted that “Lebanon’s dependence on foreign support means external agreements often determine presidential outcomes.”
During the current impasse, a five-member committee consisting of the United States, France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar has held a series of meetings aimed at negotiating an end to the presidential vacuum.
Who are the main contenders? — Army commander Joseph Aoun, 60, is widely seen as the frontrunner to become Lebanon’s next president, particularly since Franjieh's withdrawal.
Aoun was appointed to the current post in March 2017 and had been set to retire in January 2024, but his term was extended twice during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
Aoun, who has kept a low profile and avoided media appearances, never formally announced his candidacy but is widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States, which provides significant financial support to the Lebanese army.
Lebanon’s constitution technically bars a sitting army chief from becoming president. The ban has been waived before, but it means that Aoun faces additional procedural hurdles.
Under normal circumstances, a presidential candidate in Lebanon can be elected by a two-thirds majority in the first round of voting or by a simple majority in the second round if there is no winner in the first round. But because of the constitutional issues surrounding his election, Aoun would need a two-thirds majority even in the second round.
— Jihad Azour, who has been backed by factions opposed to Hezbollah, is a prominent economist who has served as the director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund since 2017. As finance minister from 2005 to 2008, he led some reforms including modernizing the tax and customs systems.
— Elias al-Baysari is the acting head of Lebanon's General Security agency, which is responsible for border control and historically seen as close to Hezbollah. His career in national security began in 1986 when he joined the Lebanese army. His early roles included key positions within Beirut’s port security and the army’s intelligence division. In 2005, al-Baysari joined General Security. He also holds a doctorate in law.
What are the chances a president will be elected Thursday? The withdrawal of Franjieh likely means “the deal is done” and Aoun will likely be elected, Young said.
The dynamics have changed since the last failed parliamentary vote.
“Hezbollah is in a weaker position due to escalating tensions with Israel, challenges in Syria and domestic discontent,” Salamey said. “It now needs the protection of a functioning state to rebuild and attract international aid.”
According to Young, “Lebanon today is effectively under some sort of foreign trusteeship.”
Lebanon needs American support to “contain Israeli actions” and ensure that Israel withdraws its forces from southern Lebanon as stipulated in the ceasefire, he said, while Saudi Arabia is “the key to Gulf funding for Lebanon’s reconstruction, particularly of Shiite areas. Iran does not have the means to rebuild what was destroyed by Israel in the recent conflict.”