Hezbollah chief warns Lebanon faces chaos if government confronts group
Speaking on Friday, Qassem said the Lebanese government would bear responsibility if the country's internal situation deteriorates, Reuters reported.
There would be "no life" in Lebanon if the government tries to confront the group said Qassem, emphasising the potential for widespread instability if the government continues to attempt to disarm it, as the US and Israel have demanded.
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Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
French MEP questioned by police for praising Palestine 'struggle'
French Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Emma Fourreau was questioned by the Caen judicial police on Wednesday as part of an investigation into "apology for terrorism", French media reported. Fourreau, who is a member of the left-wing La France Insoumise (France Unbowed, LFI) party, is under investigation for her comments welcoming the release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a Lebanese pro-Palestine activist imprisoned for over 40 years in France. "FINALLY! After 41 years in prison, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah will be released on 25 July. He was the oldest political prisoner, and France should be ashamed for keeping him locked up for so long. Long live his struggle, long live Palestine!" she wrote on X on 17 July. The 25-year-old elected official said the investigation was launched by the prosecutor's office after reports of her post were sent via Pharos, the public platform for reporting illegal online content. As per the French criminal code, "apology for terrorism" is defined as "directly inciting acts of terrorism or publicly condoning such acts". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Rights defenders say that France's "apology for terrorism" law is being used to criminalise Palestine solidarity. Since 7 October 2023, French authorities have launched hundreds of investigations against citizens for their remarks about the Israel's war on Gaza, accusing people of promoting terrorism. Those included prominent personalities like French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan and French scholar Francois Burgat. "The criminalisation of voices for Palestine does not weaken, nor does our mobilisation: we will not be silenced!" Fourreau wrote on X on 13 August after she was summoned. French scholar acquitted of 'apology for terrorism' charges after Palestine tweets Read More » The police hearing was on a voluntary basis, which meant that she was allowed to leave the premises at any time, and lasted for 90 minutes. "I believe I can be held accountable for my public statements, so I went," she told France 3 television network. However, she said, the investigation was unjustified. "I believe I had nothing to do in this office for 'apology for terrorism' when we have dozens of tweets every day that truly condone the genocide taking place in Gaza," she said. The MEP indicated that it was the "long live his struggle" part of her tweet that was targeted by the proceedings. "This is a bad-faith interpretation of my tweet... when I talk about [Abdallah's] fight, I'm talking about his commitment to Palestine, which is understandable when we're in the midst of a genocide, with shots aimed at journalists and bombs raining down," she said. 'Political police' The MEP was on board the humanitarian ship Handala that recently attempted to break Israel's blockade of Gaza. The ship was intercepted by the Israeli army on 27 July, after which Fourreau was placed under arrest and eventually deported to France on 29 July. Regarding her support for Abdallah, she said: "It's a just fight, anti-imperialist, pro-Palestinian and against the Israeli government. His voice counts in this fight, and I salute his freedom." Abdallah was one of the longest-serving prisoners in France, where most convicts serving life sentences are freed after fewer than 30 years. A former guerrilla with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for his alleged involvement in the assassinations of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris in 1982. Lebanese pro-Palestine activist to be freed after 40 years in French jail Read More » Abdallah had been eligible for release since 1999 but his requests to be freed had been repeatedly rejected until the Paris Appeals Court ordered the 74-year-old to be released on 25 July, on the condition that he leaves France and never returns. The United States opposed his release. In France, LFI has openly advocated for Palestine, a long-standing position that has led to the party being labeled antisemitic. After Fourreau's police summon, LFI founder and former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon denounced on X "the government's grotesque winks to [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu" and accused the presidential majority of reinventing "the political police" in France. LFI leader and MP Mathilde Panot, who was also summoned for questioning by French police in 2024 for an investigation into suspected "apology for terrorism" over her criticism of Israel, has come out in support of Fourreau. "Full support for Emma Fourreau. Criminalising voices for peace and absolutely refusing any sanctions against Netanyahu, a criminal prosecuted by the International Criminal Court and responsible for the genocide in Gaza. [French President] Macron's France brings us shame!" she wrote on X. Fourreau also received support from Anasse Kazib, an activist in the Marxist organisation Revolution Permanente who was also targeted by an investigation for a series of tweets in support of Palestine. "This is France: in the front, we parachute a few supplies to pretend, but in the backroom, we continue to try to silence those who speak out against the genocide," Kazib wrote on X.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
EU warned that starvation in Gaza will increase exponentially
Palestinian President Abbas stresses need to bring Gaza war to an end Marwan Barghouti seen in video as Israeli minister Ben Gvir threatens him Israeli army carries out raids across occupied West Bank 'No life' for Lebanon if government confronts us, Hezbollah chief warns Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed and UK PM Starmer discuss Gaza At least 61,776 Palestinians killed and 154,906 wounded in Gaza since war began
Dubai Eye
6 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Trump will seek to squeeze Ukraine ceasefire deal out of Putin at Alaska summit
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will hold talks in Alaska on Friday, focused on the US president's push to seal a ceasefire deal on Ukraine but with a last-gasp offer from Putin of a possible face-saving nuclear accord on the table too. The meeting of the Russian and US leaders at an air force base in Alaska will be their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was not invited to the talks, and his European allies fear Trump might sell Kyiv out and try to force it into territorial concessions. Trump is pressing for a truce in the 3-1/2-year-old war that would bolster his credentials as a global peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. For Putin, the summit is a big win before it even starts as he can use it to say that years of Western attempts to isolate Russia have unravelled and that Moscow has been returned to its rightful place at the top table of international diplomacy. He has also long been keen to talk to Trump face-to-face without Ukraine. The White House said the summit will take place at 11 am Alaska time (1900 GMT). Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, conceded on Thursday that the conflict, Europe's biggest land war since World War II, had proven a tougher nut to crack than he had thought. He said that if his talks with Putin went well, quickly setting up a subsequent three-way summit with Zelenskyy would be even more important than his encounter with Putin. One source close to the Kremlin said there were signs that Moscow could be ready to strike a compromise on Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a veteran of Russian diplomacy and part of its Alaska delegation, said Moscow never revealed its hand beforehand. Ukraine and its European allies were heartened by a call on Wednesday in which they said Trump had agreed Ukraine must be involved in any talks about ceding land. Zelenskyy said Trump had also supported the idea of security guarantees for Kyiv. Putin, whose war economy is showing some signs of strain, needs Trump to help Russia break out of its straitjacket of ever-tightening Western sanctions, or at the very least for him not to hit Moscow with more sanctions, something the US president has threatened. The day before the summit, the Russian president held out the prospect of something else he knows Trump wants - a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last surviving one, which is due to expire in February next year. TRUMP SAYS PUTIN WILL DO A DEAL ON UKRAINE Trump said on the eve of the summit that he thought Putin would do a deal on Ukraine, but he has blown hot and cold on the chances of a breakthrough. Putin, meanwhile, praised what he called "sincere efforts" by the US to end the war. The source close to the Kremlin told Reuters it looked as if the two sides had been able to find some common ground. "Apparently, some terms will be agreed upon... because Trump cannot be refused, and we are not in a position to refuse (due to sanctions pressure)," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. They forecast that both Russia and Ukraine would be forced to make uncomfortable compromises. Putin has so far voiced stringent conditions for a full ceasefire, but one compromise could be a truce in the air war. Analysts say Putin could try to look like he's giving Trump what he wants while remaining free to escalate. "If they (the Russians) are able to put a deal on the table that creates some kind of a ceasefire but that leaves Russia in control of those escalatory dynamics, does not create any kind of genuine deterrence on the ground or in the skies over Ukraine... that would be a wonderful outcome from Putin's perspective," said Sam Greene, director of Democratic Resilience at the Center for European Policy Analysis. TRUMP SUGGESTS LAND TRANSFERS WILL BE NEEDED Zelenskyy has accused Putin of playing for time to avoid US secondary sanctions and has ruled out formally handing Moscow any territory. Trump has said land transfers could be a possible way of breaking the logjam. Putin, whose forces control nearly one fifth of Ukraine, wants to start reviving the shrunken economic, political and business ties with the US and, ideally, for the US to decouple that process from Ukraine. But it is unclear whether Putin is willing to compromise on Ukraine. In power for a quarter of a century, the Kremlin chief has staked his legacy on securing something he can sell at home as a victory. Chief among his war aims is complete control over the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which comprises the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Despite steady advances, around 25 per cent of Donetsk remains beyond Russian control. Putin also wants full control of Ukraine's Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions; NATO membership to be taken off the table for Kyiv; and limits on the size of Ukraine's armed forces. Ukraine has said these terms are tantamount to asking it to capitulate.
