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US to Release Convicted Hezbollah Financier

A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah party marches during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP)
A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah party marches during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP)
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US to Release Convicted Hezbollah Financier

A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah party marches during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP)
A protester holding a flag of Lebanon's Hezbollah party marches during a demonstration in Istanbul, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP)

The United States will release convicted Hezbollah financier Kassim Tajideen three years into his five-year sentence due to his poor health and risks of COVID-19 infection inside the prison, according to court documents, reported AFP.

On May 28, Washington Federal District Court Judge Reggie Walton granted Tajideen's emergency request for compassionate release, which said his age and "serious health conditions" leave him particularly vulnerable as the coronavirus spread through the US prison system.

The decision could see Tajideen, 64, return back to Lebanon as early as July.

According to a June 11 court filing by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he was released from the federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland after a two-week coronavirus quarantine and moved to a county detention center while awaiting departure.

“At this time, a charter flight to Lebanon has been scheduled for July 2020 and Mr. Tajideen is on the manifest,” ICE said in a court filing.

Tajideen’s release and deportation has stirred speculation that it is the US response to Lebanon’s release in March of Amer al-Fakhoury, a naturalized US citizen and former member of a pro-Israel militia said to have presided over torture of thousands of detainees while he was a warden at the notorious Khiam prison.

Fakhoury’s release was explained by his suffering from late-stage cancer and the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

But Tajideen’s US lawyer William Taylor rejected the suggestion that it was a swap.

“This was a straight-up compassionate release, you can see that from the papers,” Taylor said in an email. “Had nothing to do with Fakhoury.”

A wealthy businessman with companies that stretched from Lebanon across central and west Africa and into Belgium, Tajideen was deemed a “specially designated global terrorist” by the United States in 2009 for allegedly providing tens of millions of dollars and other support to Hezbollah.

He was arrested in Morocco in March 2017 and extradited to the United States, where he was charged with violating US sanctions by providing financial support to a “designated terrorist organization.”

His arrest was seen as a major coup by US investigators, who have stepped up their targeting of Hezbollah’s worldwide network of financial resources.

He was charged with multiple counts of violating US terrorism sanctions regulations as well as money laundering.

In December 2018 he pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and was sentence to 60 months in prison.

He also forfeited $50 million that was seized by US officials.

His sentence included time already served in prison, and coupled with a possible “good behavior” recommendation, he was eligible for release in June 2021.

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Arab World

From Gaza to Ramallah, Palestinians See Little Hope in Israeli Vote

Palestinians walk past buildings destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk past buildings destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP)
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From Gaza to Ramallah, Palestinians See Little Hope in Israeli Vote

Palestinians walk past buildings destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP)
Palestinians walk past buildings destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (AP)

In war-ravaged Gaza and the occupied West Bank, many Palestinians were less focused on who would win Israel's election than on whether anything would really change.

Whether Benjamin Netanyahu clings to power with his far-right allies or centrist rival Gadi Eisenkot comes out on top, few see much reason for hope in the Tuesday vote.

"We fear these elections could bring an even worse leader," said Huda al-Houli, a displaced resident of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Such an outcome, she said, would only bring "more destruction and devastation" to the Palestinian territory.

Still, Houli said she hoped a more "human voice" would emerge in Israeli society and demand an end to the conflict, regardless of who forms the next government.

In Ramallah, in the West Bank, Ahmed Awad, 67, was equally skeptical.

"Whatever the result, and even if the politicians change, I don't think there will be any radical or dramatic shift in policies towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," he told AFP.

With 85 percent of ballots counted from Tuesday's vote, Netanyahu's camp remained ahead but without a clear majority, leaving uncertainty over Israel's next government.

The first election since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack comes after years of right-wing and far-right rule marked by the war in Gaza and rising settler violence in the West Bank.

For Netanyahu, fighting for his political survival, several paths remain open: renewing his alliance with the far right, building a broader coalition or facing yet another political deadlock.

Far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has already signaled that, if the current coalition survives, he would seek the defense portfolio and push for the expulsion of Gaza's population.

A Palestinian boy looks at an Israeli outpost on a hill overlooking the village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 27, 2026, following a reported attack by Israeli settlers. (AFP)

- More of the same -

Not everyone has given up hope.

"Whatever happens, it will surely be better than what we've lived through in recent years," said Abdallah Abu Rahma, 54, from Ramallah.

But if Netanyahu remains in office, he added, "any coalition he forms, he will continue down the same path".

A government led by Eisenkot, a former army chief, could rein in the influence of the pro-settlement far right, said researcher Beth Oppenheim of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

It could also ease pressure on the Palestinian Authority and take a more flexible approach on aid and a ceasefire in Gaza.

But she warned against expecting too much.

There would be "nothing transformative", she said, and certainly no major shift on Palestinian statehood or the peace process, issues that have largely disappeared from Israeli political debate since October 7.

A renewed Netanyahu coalition with far-right partners would likely mean more of the same, including settlement expansion and impunity for settler violence, Oppenheim added.

"I think we need to have quite low expectations when it comes to seeing any major changes in policy from a different government," she said.

Israeli right-wing settlers stand at a polling station in the settlement of Adora in the occupied West Bank on October 27, 2026, amid Israel's legislative election. (AFP)

- Fears of escalation -

Even a Netanyahu defeat could leave Palestinians worse off in the short term, argued Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine-Israel program at the Arab Center Washington.

"There is every reason for Palestinians to be concerned," he said.

Eisenkot himself served in Israel's wartime cabinet during the Gaza offensive, Munayyer noted.

A fragile alternative coalition under constant attack from Netanyahu and the right could try to prove it was tough enough by taking a harder line on Palestinian issues.

In the West Bank, violence could rise if the far right loses power, with settlers potentially acting out against a new government, he explained.

"It's important to understand that most settler violence in the West Bank is structural. It's not about the government in charge," Munayyer said.

"Settlers live in places that surround the Palestinian population. The Palestinian population is vulnerable to the settlers, who are armed, whereas the Palestinians overwhelmingly are not."

In Gaza, Adnan Al-Assar said he harbored few illusions.

"Netanyahu may win," he said. "But whatever happens, they all follow the same overarching policy, directed against the Palestinian people."

Arab World

What Has Lebanon So Far Implemented in its Ban on Hezbollah’s Military Activities?

A supporter of Hezbollah holds a placard reading in Arabic "We will not leave the weapon" during a gathering held to mark the 2nd anniversary of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's death at the site where he died in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2026. (EPA)
A supporter of Hezbollah holds a placard reading in Arabic "We will not leave the weapon" during a gathering held to mark the 2nd anniversary of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's death at the site where he died in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2026. (EPA)
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What Has Lebanon So Far Implemented in its Ban on Hezbollah’s Military Activities?

A supporter of Hezbollah holds a placard reading in Arabic "We will not leave the weapon" during a gathering held to mark the 2nd anniversary of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's death at the site where he died in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2026. (EPA)
A supporter of Hezbollah holds a placard reading in Arabic "We will not leave the weapon" during a gathering held to mark the 2nd anniversary of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's death at the site where he died in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2026. (EPA)

The seizure of a Hezbollah explosives shipment in eastern Lebanon has reignited questions over the government's enforcement of a ban on the group's military and security activities, imposed after its rocket attacks on Israel triggered a new war on March 2.

The explosives were intercepted in Dahr al-Baidar, and Hezbollah acknowledged they belonged to the Iran-backed party and were intended for use against Israel.

The March 2 ban orders Hezbollah to surrender its weapons to the state and to confine its activities to politics within constitutional and legal frameworks. It also instructs military and security agencies to act immediately to enforce the ban, prevent rocket and drone launches from Lebanese territory and arrest violators.

The most significant enforcement measures came in mid-to-late March, as Hezbollah fought Israel. Several armed members were arrested while heading to the battlefronts in southern Lebanon. A handful faced trial, but most were released on bail.

'Ink on paper'

Hezbollah rejects the ban outright, arguing that it serves Israel's interests while it continues to occupy Lebanese territory. The group maintains that liberating the occupied land remains part of its duty.

Its opponents say the government has not gone nearly far enough. They want tougher enforcement of the ban to ensure that decisions of war and peace rest exclusively with the Lebanese state.

Ghada Ayoub, a lawmaker from the Lebanese Forces' Strong Republic parliamentary bloc, said the ban "remains ink on paper, with none of it implemented."

That failure does not diminish the decision's political and legal weight, she told Asharq Al-Awsat.

"It marked a fundamental shift in the Lebanese state's position, clearly declaring Hezbollah's military and security activities illegitimate and stripping them of any official cover," she explained.

"It is no coincidence that Hezbollah keeps demanding its reversal. The group fully understands the decision's significance and its implications for its military and security project."

Waiting on developments abroad

Ayoub said that the Dahr al-Baidar explosives case underscored the importance of the ban, providing grounds to demand its referral to the Judicial Council because it involved prohibited military and security activities and posed a threat to the state and its citizens.

But she blamed the lack of enforcement on a failure of political will.

"The political leadership is still betting on regional and international developments, waiting to see how the confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah unfolds instead of assuming its responsibilities," she remarked.

"It is as though the authorities have chosen to let Hezbollah bear the consequences of refusing to surrender its weapons and abandon its military project, without confronting the group itself."

The result is a state that makes sovereign decisions but leaves their enforcement hostage to developments abroad, she went on to say.

She pointed to a cabinet decision on August 5, 2025, to impose state monopoly over weapons, saying its implementation remained incomplete. The government then banned Hezbollah's military and security activities on March 2 but failed to follow through with concrete action.

"Now, with the Dahr al-Baidar case, this approach is no longer acceptable," Ayoub stressed.

"Failing to refer the case to the Judicial Council raises serious questions about the government's commitment to its own decision."

Ayoub urged the state to demonstrate that it was serious about enforcing its decisions rather than waiting for Israel or the United States to carry out responsibilities that belonged to Lebanon itself.

"We cannot keep moving from one regional development to another while sovereign decisions remain on hold, using the need to preserve civil peace as a pretext for allowing violations of the law to continue," she demanded.

"Fear of confrontation cannot become a permanent surrender of state sovereignty."

'Arrest every armed Hezbollah member'

Retired Brigadier General George Nader echoed Ayoub's criticism, saying the government's decisions to establish state control over weapons and curb Hezbollah's military activities had yielded nothing.

"The slogans have proved hollow and the decisions remain on paper. It is a major blow to a state that issues decisions it cannot enforce," Nader told Asharq Al-Awsat.

"After the decision to bring weapons under state control, we went into Palestinian refugee camps and came back with truckloads of scrap metal," he said.

"Even after identifying those responsible for the Dahr al-Baidar explosives, we arrested only the people transporting them, not those behind them."

Nader said enforcing the cabinet's decisions would require arresting every armed Hezbollah member, not just those stopped at checkpoints.

"If we genuinely want to implement the cabinet's decisions, every armed Hezbollah member is breaking the law and must be arrested," he added.

"Arrests should not be limited to checkpoints. The authorities should go to where these members are and arrest them."

Nader placed responsibility squarely on the government, saying the army operates under the political leadership's instructions.

"What is needed today is a clear, explicit order to the Defense Ministry, directing it to instruct the army to arrest every armed Hezbollah member, wherever they may be," he urged.

Arab World

Lebanese Judiciary Identifies Seven Suspects in Hezbollah Explosives Case

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receives Justice Minister Adel Nassar at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday. (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receives Justice Minister Adel Nassar at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday. (Lebanese Presidency)
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Lebanese Judiciary Identifies Seven Suspects in Hezbollah Explosives Case

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receives Justice Minister Adel Nassar at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday. (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun receives Justice Minister Adel Nassar at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday. (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanon's judiciary is nearing the end of its preliminary investigation into Hezbollah explosives seized in Dahr al-Baidar, setting the stage for charges against suspects as Justice Minister Adel Nassar pushes to refer the case to the Judicial Council.

Nassar said the case went far beyond the transportation and storage of explosives, warning that it posed a threat to national security and civil peace.

Judge Claude Ghanem, the government commissioner to the Military Court, is expected to receive the findings of investigations conducted by Lebanese Army Intelligence and the Internal Security Forces' Information Branch within hours.

He will review the evidence before deciding on charges against those implicated.

Seven suspects

Despite reports of a third arrest, a judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that only two suspects remained in custody: A.K. and H.A., who were aboard the truck carrying the explosives.

Investigators have identified five other suspects linked to the case, the source said.

Among them is a man known as "Sajed," a Hezbollah security operative suspected of handing over the explosives in Baalbek, and another known as "Zulfiqar," who also holds a security role and was allegedly designated to receive the shipment in Beirut's southern suburbs.

The suspects also include H.A.'s wife and the truck's owner.

While the government weighs whether to refer the case to the Judicial Council, proceedings are expected to continue before the Military Court.

Ghanem will examine investigation records, confessions and evidence to determine which criminal offenses apply to each suspect before filing charges against those detained and those still at large, the judicial source said.

Charges are expected on Thursday against suspects whose roles have been established.

The investigation has also uncovered the suspects' real identities, the source said, adding that warrants to bring in suspects and search notices had been issued against some of them and were being executed.

‘National security threat’

Even as the case moves toward the military judiciary, which has jurisdiction over such crimes, Minister Nassar remained adamant that it should go before the Judicial Council.

He stressed that his demand did not cast doubt on the investigators, particularly Ghanem.

"This is not simply a case of transporting explosives. It has broader implications that threaten national security and civil peace," Nassar told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Nassar said he had submitted a legal memorandum to the president and prime minister during the latest cabinet meeting, arguing that receiving explosives of such a dangerous nature was a breach of national security.

Their storage and transportation, he said, also endangered Lebanese lives.

He argued that Hezbollah's acknowledgment that it possessed the explosives and intended to use them in a "new support front" amounted to an admission that it was contributing to threats against Lebanon's internal security.

The case has intensified a dispute involving Lebanese officials who accuse Hezbollah of endangering the country's security, both through its activities at home and its repeated threats to open a new front against Israel.

Nassar said the acknowledgment by an armed security and military organization that it imports explosives for use in warfare outside state control is a major threat to Lebanon's internal national security.

For Nassar, pursuing the case through state institutions and upholding their authority would mark "a victory for legitimate authority over illegal weapons."