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Russia Advises Lebanon for Direct Contacts with Syrian Regime

Putin and Aoun shake hands during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. AP photo
Putin and Aoun shake hands during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. AP photo
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Russia Advises Lebanon for Direct Contacts with Syrian Regime

Putin and Aoun shake hands during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. AP photo
Putin and Aoun shake hands during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. AP photo

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry has stressed that a Russian initiative launched last year to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland remains active amid skepticism about its fate.

“The Russian initiative is still alive and Moscow advised Beirut to directly contact the Syrian regime, because dealing with the regime helps address the financial difficulties arising from the matter,” Amal Abu Zeid, representing Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil in the Russian-Lebanese committee, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday.

Abu Zeid said Russia also recommended that Lebanese parties unify their stances on the Syrian refugee crisis. “This would strengthen the position of Lebanon in any future talks on the matter.”

Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin has said on several occasions that Syria had readied villages and the infrastructure to receive refugees returning from Lebanon.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri rejects any political ties with the regime of Bashar Assad while some parties back such direct contact.

Despite his stance, the PM hasn’t objected to the role played by General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim to handle the return of displaced Syrians in buses after receiving the green light to enter Syrian territories.

Several Lebanese officials have expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the issue, sources said. Among them is President Michel Aoun, who during talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow in March, raised concern over the continued presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Aoun has also brought up the issue with several European officials who have recently visited Beirut, the sources said.

The UN has said that a total of 944,613 Syrian refugees are present in Lebanon.

A diplomatic source in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat that Assad has not heeded Russia’s request for limiting the conditions imposed on Syrians wishing to return home.

Moscow had asked Damascus to grant amnesty to refugees that have avoided military service, and to decrease their resettlement fine from $8,000 to $4,000 because most Syrians are unable to pay such a sum.

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Arab World

Palestinian Official: Israeli Settlers Torched West Bank Mosque

A Palestinian man inspects the damage inside a mosque burnt by Israeli settlers over night, in the Israeli occupied West Bank village of Jiljlia, just north of the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 17, 2026. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP) /
A Palestinian man inspects the damage inside a mosque burnt by Israeli settlers over night, in the Israeli occupied West Bank village of Jiljlia, just north of the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 17, 2026. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP) /
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Palestinian Official: Israeli Settlers Torched West Bank Mosque

A Palestinian man inspects the damage inside a mosque burnt by Israeli settlers over night, in the Israeli occupied West Bank village of Jiljlia, just north of the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 17, 2026. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP) /
A Palestinian man inspects the damage inside a mosque burnt by Israeli settlers over night, in the Israeli occupied West Bank village of Jiljlia, just north of the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 17, 2026. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP) /

Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in a West Bank village on Wednesday, the local mayor said, while AFP journalists at the site saw signs of arson and vandalism.

The incident comes amid an increase in attacks against Palestinian communities by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.

Osama Abdullah, head of the village council in Jiljiliya, north of Ramallah, told AFP that "settlers set fire to the ablution room, caused damage to the village's main mosque, and scrawled hostile slogans on the outer walls.”

Israel's military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

AFP journalists who visited the mosque on Wednesday reported that the ceiling, walls and floors were blackened by smoke and flames.

They said graffiti in Hebrew had been scrawled on the walls, including some reading "vengeance" and "hi from the Hilltop Youth.”

The Hilltop Youth are a group of Israelis in the West Bank who are regularly accused of violence towards Palestinians they seek to evict from areas they wish to take over.

Mayor Abdullah said settlers arrived to burn down the mosque between 2am and 3am but found its door was locked, so instead set fire to a room dedicated to ablutions on a lower floor.

He said Palestinian civil defense crews, along with young men from the village and neighboring areas, extinguished the blaze.

Arab World

Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria Discuss Ways to Secure Shared Borders

Libyans from various regions, along with organizations and activists, gather in front of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to demand that they take action to resettle irregular migrants and refugees, in the capital Tripoli on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Mahmud Turkia / AFP)
Libyans from various regions, along with organizations and activists, gather in front of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to demand that they take action to resettle irregular migrants and refugees, in the capital Tripoli on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Mahmud Turkia / AFP)
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Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria Discuss Ways to Secure Shared Borders

Libyans from various regions, along with organizations and activists, gather in front of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to demand that they take action to resettle irregular migrants and refugees, in the capital Tripoli on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Mahmud Turkia / AFP)
Libyans from various regions, along with organizations and activists, gather in front of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to demand that they take action to resettle irregular migrants and refugees, in the capital Tripoli on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Mahmud Turkia / AFP)

Security officials from Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria have held talks in Tripoli on strengthening cooperation to secure their shared borders.

According to Libya’s Interior Ministry of the Tripoli-based government, Tuesday’s meeting discussed ways to enhance cooperation in border security, combat cross-border organized crime, tackle terrorism, and curb illegal migration.

Security authorities in the three countries are working along their shared borders to counter irregular migration from sub-Saharan African countries, as well as smuggling operations and the risks of militant infiltration.

The Libyan ministry said in a statement that the three countries are keen to strengthen joint security cooperation and to develop operational mechanisms to be highly ready in confronting cross-border security threats and challenges, thus contributing to enhanced security and stability and protecting the shared interests of the region’s peoples.

The ministry explained on its Facebook page that the meeting “addressed ways to enhance cooperation among the three countries in securing borders and combating cross-border organized crime, in a way that strengthens security and stability in the region.”

It stressed that the meeting comes within the framework of ongoing efforts by the three countries to consolidate security and stability, strengthen partnership and security integration, and help protect shared borders while combating various forms of organized crime.

The joint Libyan-Algerian-Tunisian task force responsible for securing the shared borders was established in January 2025.

Its formation came as part of an agreement between the interior ministers of the three states to raise the level of security coordination, unify efforts to control the borders, combat cross-border organized crime, and address illegal migration.

Arab World

Egyptian Program to Develop Abrams Tanks Alarms Israel

The M1A1 Abrams tank. (Egyptian Ministry of Military Production)
The M1A1 Abrams tank. (Egyptian Ministry of Military Production)
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Egyptian Program to Develop Abrams Tanks Alarms Israel

The M1A1 Abrams tank. (Egyptian Ministry of Military Production)
The M1A1 Abrams tank. (Egyptian Ministry of Military Production)

Former military officers have confirmed that Egypt is working with the United States to boost its armored forces by introducing technological upgrades and modern combat specifications to a large number of M1A1 Abrams tanks, raising alarm in Israel.

According to Israel’s Nziv.net platform, there are major Israeli concerns about a shift in the regional balance of power after Washington recently approved a huge deal to upgrade 555 Abrams tanks out of 1,130 American tanks in the Egyptian army.

The military factory in the Abu Zaabal area north of Cairo, the only facility authorized outside the United States to produce components of this model, will oversee the development project at a cost of around $4.69 billion.

The M1A1 Abrams tank is the Egyptian army’s main battle tank, with a top speed of 20 miles, according to data from the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production.

National security expert Mohamed Abdel Wahed told Asharq Al-Awsat that this was not the first time Egypt develops these tanks. It did so in the 1980s through a joint military production agreement with the United States.

The latest agreement to develop the tanks was signed in 2024. It called for refurbishing the existing vehicles instead of replacing them with new ones that would have come at a higher cost.

“Egypt is developing this tank and capitalizing on its global reputation. The development involves incorporating modern technology to boost its capabilities,” Abdel Wahed explained.

Former Egyptian intelligence official Gen. Mohammed Rashad told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The upgrades include installing a higher-caliber gun to increase the firing range to 105 mm, upgrading the aiming and targeting systems to use lasers, reinforcing the tank’s armor against close-quarters combat and anti-tank weapons, installing a recoil suppressor on the tank’s gun to maintain stability and aiming accuracy, and fitting the tank with a high-powered engine to boost speed and maneuverability.”

“These capabilities make the Egyptian Armored Corps one of the most advanced and lethal armies in the region, with high combat capabilities in all circumstances, which is a direct cause for concern in Tel Aviv,” he explained.

Abdul Wahed added: “Egypt is manufacturing 90 percent of the components for this tank. Localizing military technology and industries in Egypt is very important.”

Israeli media has over the past two years frequently reported about Tel Aviv’s concern over what it described as “the detection of the construction of massive logistical infrastructure and fuel depots in the Sinai Peninsula.”

They alleged that these measures would allow Egyptian forces to move rapidly and extensively eastward, forcing Israel to maintain close and continuous monitoring of the deployment and movement of Egyptian forces despite the peace treaty between them.

Egypt has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying its work in Sinai has development purposes and any deployment of the military aims to protect the border and national security.

Rashad said the Israeli concerns over the Egyptian military’s upgrades and tanks program stem from its “fear that the Egyptian armored forces will become capable of matching Israel’s.”

Tel Aviv constantly boasts about its capabilities that are a result of continuous upgrades to weapons and combat equipment, he added, noting that its military ranks seventh globally in the manufacture and export of weapons and combat equipment.