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Family of Former Palestinian Ambassador Urge Lebanon to Not Extradite Him

Former Palestinian ambassador to Beirut Ashraf Dabbour (circulated)
Former Palestinian ambassador to Beirut Ashraf Dabbour (circulated)
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Family of Former Palestinian Ambassador Urge Lebanon to Not Extradite Him

Former Palestinian ambassador to Beirut Ashraf Dabbour (circulated)
Former Palestinian ambassador to Beirut Ashraf Dabbour (circulated)

The family of former Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon Ashraf Dabbour urged Lebanese authorities on Monday to not extradite him after authorities in Ramallah requested his transfer over corruption allegations.

Lebanon's public prosecutor ordered the arrest of Dabbour, ambassador from 2012 to 2025, last week after questioning him based on a warrant from the Palestinian Authority over corruption and embezzlement during his tenure, a judicial official told AFP at the time.

The judiciary then recommended in a letter to the justice ministry that Dabbour be extradited as his case involves "Palestinian funds", another official said on Monday, on condition of anonymity.

The request must be signed by the justice minister, president and prime minister before security forces can hand him over.

"We are not asking for his protection from the judiciary, nor are we asking for charges to be dropped," Dabbour's daughter Israa said in a press conference in Beirut.

"Why should our father be moved from the country where he lived, and from the place where the alleged crimes took place, in order to be tried somewhere else?" she said, calling on the Lebanese judiciary to look into the case instead of sending him to Ramallah.

Dabbour has a "critical health condition and is in intensive care", according to his daughter, who appealed to Lebanon to "provide him with the necessary care".

In April, Lebanese authorities detained Dabbour over the same case before releasing him with a travel ban.

He has repeatedly denied the accusations on social media, accusing Yasser Abbas, son of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of leading a campaign against him.

Israa Dabbour said "the file includes political accusations seeking to settle personal scores" without elaborating.

Lebanon's National Human Rights Commission asked the cabinet last week to "refrain from approving the extradition" due to "reliable information that raises serious reasons to believe that (Dabbour) is at risk of being subjected to torture, ill-treatment or arbitrary detention".

The organization also pointed to legal loopholes that could prevent the handover due to the lack of "an effective treaty between Lebanon and the State of Palestine that regulates extradition".

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Arab World

Lebanon Revokes Bank Saderat Iran’s License amid US Pressure

The Banque du Liban headquarters in Beirut (Banque du Liban). 
The Banque du Liban headquarters in Beirut (Banque du Liban). 
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Lebanon Revokes Bank Saderat Iran’s License amid US Pressure

The Banque du Liban headquarters in Beirut (Banque du Liban). 
The Banque du Liban headquarters in Beirut (Banque du Liban). 

Lebanon’s central bank has revoked the local license of Bank Saderat Iran, one of Iran’s largest banks, as Washington intensifies pressure on countries to sever commercial ties with Tehran.

Banque du Liban Governor Karim Souaid told Bloomberg that the decision, taken this week, was intended to demonstrate Lebanon’s determination to protect its banking sector from institutions that could expose it to financial and regulatory risks.

The move follows tighter restrictions imposed on Iran’s financial system by other regional central banks and coincides with mounting US pressure worldwide, according to the governor.

Bank Saderat is one of Iran’s oldest commercial banks, with several branches overseas. In Lebanon, however, it did not operate as a full-scale commercial bank serving the general public or offer the extensive retail banking services typically provided by major Lebanese lenders.

Its operations were largely confined to facilitating certain transfers and financial activities linked to specific networks or entities.

Sanctions targeting Iranian institutions had effectively isolated the bank from major international banking messaging networks, including SWIFT, and global payment systems.

Washington is pursuing a campaign to isolate Iran economically in an effort to force Tehran to accept US terms for ending the war.

Last month, Britain announced it would reject new license applications from Iranian banks subject to US sanctions, including Bank Saderat, which operates a branch near the Bank of England in London’s financial district.

Avoiding financial risks

Speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, Souaid noted that larger economies, including the United Arab Emirates and Türkiye, had complied with similar demands to preserve their banks’ ties to the international financial system".

He stressed that Lebanon could not afford the risks associated with failing to take such measures.

The governor acknowledged that some decisions could be politically sensitive but maintained that protecting Lebanon’s banking sector from foreign sanctions and external pressure must take priority.

Souaid also emphasized the need for Lebanon to secure its removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) gray list, where it was placed over shortcomings in combating illicit financial flows.

He called for eliminating illicit funds and money-laundering proceeds from the Lebanese economy.

The central bank has hired a specialized US firm to map Lebanon’s cash economy and identify suspicious financial activity, according to the governor.

For years, Bank Saderat and its operations had faced scrutiny from international financial authorities, particularly the US Treasury Department, which regarded it as a potential financial conduit for regional groups such as Hezbollah.

Despite that pressure, its Lebanese branch maintained a legal presence under a longstanding license issued by Banque du Liban, even as Washington repeatedly called for its closure and the complete severing of its financial channels.

IMF negotiations

Lebanon is seeking to revive its economy after a financial collapse that led it to default on approximately $30 billion in international bonds in 2020.

The country is holding talks with the IMF over a potential loan, seen as a crucial step toward economic recovery.

Souaid described efforts to clean up the financial sector as an important issue in those negotiations.

Although such measures are not among the IMF’s formal conditions for a potential support package, he explained that international lenders and donors participating in any program would nevertheless expect Lebanon to maintain a financial sector free of illicit activity.

 

 

 

 

Arab World

China Says Israel Should Stop Its 'Forced Establishment' of West Bank Settlements

Cattle gather in an enclosure at a farm run by Israeli settlers near the Palestinian town of Duma in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 13, 2026. (Photo by Ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)
Cattle gather in an enclosure at a farm run by Israeli settlers near the Palestinian town of Duma in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 13, 2026. (Photo by Ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)
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China Says Israel Should Stop Its 'Forced Establishment' of West Bank Settlements

Cattle gather in an enclosure at a farm run by Israeli settlers near the Palestinian town of Duma in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 13, 2026. (Photo by Ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)
Cattle gather in an enclosure at a farm run by Israeli settlers near the Palestinian town of Duma in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 13, 2026. (Photo by Ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Israeli President Isaac Herzog that Israel should stop and reverse its "forced establishment" of West Bank settlements, China's foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.

China has consistently held that the Palestinian question is the greatest historical injustice of this ‌century, Wang ‌told Herzog during a meeting ‌in ⁠Azerbaijan, the ministry ⁠added.

Wang had earlier said that promoting peace and reconciliation in the region is the "cornerstone" of China's Middle East policy

China believes that the "two-state solution" is the right path ⁠to a resolution and the ‌immediate priority ‌is to fully open access to the ‌Gaza Strip so a humanitarian "catastrophe" ‌is not allowed to spread, Wang added

At the same time, Israel should stop and reverse its forced establishment of ‌settlements in the West Bank, he said

China is ⁠willing ⁠to work with the international community to push all parties to return to dialogue and consultation as soon as possible and seek a political settlement of the conflict, Wang added

China has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause and Beijing also has close ties with Israel's main regional foe, Iran.

Arab World

Jbessa Gas Export Pipeline Targeted in Northeastern Syria, Fire Erupts, SANA Reports

File: Flames rise at Tishreen thermal power plant following an explosion, near Otaybah, Syria, September 30, 2026, in this screengrab from video obtained from social media. Social Media/via REUTERS
File: Flames rise at Tishreen thermal power plant following an explosion, near Otaybah, Syria, September 30, 2026, in this screengrab from video obtained from social media. Social Media/via REUTERS
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Jbessa Gas Export Pipeline Targeted in Northeastern Syria, Fire Erupts, SANA Reports

File: Flames rise at Tishreen thermal power plant following an explosion, near Otaybah, Syria, September 30, 2026, in this screengrab from video obtained from social media. Social Media/via REUTERS
File: Flames rise at Tishreen thermal power plant following an explosion, near Otaybah, Syria, September 30, 2026, in this screengrab from video obtained from social media. Social Media/via REUTERS

The Jbessa gas export pipeline in northeastern Syria was targeted in the al-Arabidi area, causing a fire, state news agency SANA reported on Thursday citing the director of the Syrian Petroleum Company's media office.

The company said in a statement that the 16-inch ‌pipeline exploded at ‌5.15 p.m. in an ‌area ⁠about 60 km ⁠from the city of Shaddadi. It did not specify the cause of the explosion, according to Reuters.

Technical teams isolated the damaged section by closing valves at the Jbessa gas plant and the ⁠Deir Ezzor gas station ‌in the al-Bughailiya area, ‌while firefighting and safety crews headed to ‌the site to secure the area, ‌the company said.

The extent of the damage and whether gas supplies had been disrupted were not immediately clear.

The explosion ‌followed a separate incident on Thursday morning in which the Baniyas-Homs ⁠oil ⁠products pipeline was damaged near the village of Hudeida in the western Homs countryside in what the company described as sabotage aimed at stealing fuel.

That incident caused a gasoline leak, the company said, adding that work was continuing to repair the damage and restore the line to service.