&w=3840&q=100)
US praises Lebanon for backing plan to disarm Hezbollah, envoy to discuss ceasefire with Israel
US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, speaks during a press conference after his meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon. AP
The US special envoy to Lebanon said Monday that his team will negotiate a long-term cease-fire with Israel after Beirut approved a US-backed proposal for the Hezbollah militant organisation to disarm.
Following a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Tom Barrack announced that Washington will seek an economic plan for the country's post-war rebuilding, following months of shuttle diplomacy between the two countries.
Barrack is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri, who frequently negotiates on behalf of Hezbollah with Washington.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
'I think the Lebanese government has done their part. They've taken the first step,' said Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkey. 'Now what we need is for Israel to comply with that equal handshake.'
Lebanon's decision last week to support a plan to disarm Hezbollah enraged the Iran-backed group and its allies, who believe Israel's military should first withdraw from the five hilltops it has occupied in southern Lebanon since the end of its 14-month war with Hezbollah last November and cease launching almost daily airstrikes in the country.
Hezbollah's secretary-general, Naim Kassem, has pledged to defy efforts to disarm the group, raising worries of civil instability in the nation.
Barrack told Hezbollah that it would have 'missed an opportunity' if it would not support calls for disarmament.
Both Aoun and Salam want to disarm Hezbollah and other non-state armed organisations, and they have asked that Israel cease its attacks and leave from the nation.
Aoun said he wants to increase funding for Lebanon's cash-strapped military to bolster its capacity. He also wants to raise money from international donors to help rebuild the country.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The World Bank estimates that Hezbollah and Israel's monthslong war in late 2024 cost $11.1 billion in damages and economic losses as larges swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon were battered. The country has also faced a crippling economic crisis since 2019.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
24 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Israel approves settlement project that could divide West Bank: ‘Palestinian state being erased'
Israel gave final approval Wednesday for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively cut the territory in two, and that Palestinians and rights groups say could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state. More than 700,000 Israelis settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.(AP) Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to U.S. pressure during previous administrations. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank to be illegal and an obstacle to peace. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler leader, cast the approval as a rebuke to Western countries that announced their plans to recognize a Palestinian state in recent weeks. 'The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,' he said on Wednesday. 'Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and has vowed to maintain open-ended control over the occupied West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem, and the war-ravaged Gaza Strip — territories Israel seized in the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for their state. Israel's expansion of settlements is part of an increasingly dire reality for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as the world's attention focuses on the war in Gaza. There have been marked increases in attacks by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns, Israeli military operations, and checkpoints that choke freedom of movement, as well as several Palestinian attacks on Israelis. More than 700,000 Israelis settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The location of E1 is significant because it is one of the last geographical links between the major West Bank cities of Ramallah, in the north, and Bethlehem, in the south. The two cities are 22 kilometers (14 miles) apart, but Palestinians traveling between them must take a wide detour and pass through multiple Israeli checkpoints, spending hours on the journey. The hope was that, in an eventual Palestinian state, the region would serve as a direct link between the cities. 'The settlement in E1 has no purpose other than to sabotage a political solution,' said Peace Now, an organization that tracks settlement expansion in the West Bank. "While the consensus among our friends in the world is to strive for peace and a two-state solution, a government that long ago lost the people's trust is undermining the national interest, and we are all paying the price.' Asked about E1 in an interview with The Associated Press, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said talk of a two-state solution was not a 'high priority' for the Trump administration and that there were too many unanswered questions about what a Palestinian state would look like. The State Department did not immediately respond to requests for further comment. If the process moves quickly, infrastructure work in E1 could begin in the next few months and construction of homes could start in around a year. The plan includes around 3,500 apartments that would abut the existing settlement of Maale Adumim. Smotrich also hailed the approval, during the same meeting, of 350 homes for the settlement of Ashael near Hebron. Israel could, in theory, remove the settlement at some future date, as it did with its ones in Gaza in 2005, but that possibility appears extremely remote at present given strong support for the settlements among Israel's government and even some opposition parties. Israel's government is dominated by religious and ultranationalist politicians, like Smotrich, with close ties to the settlement movement. The finance minister has been granted Cabinet-level authority over settlement policies and vowed to double the settler population in the West Bank.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
26 minutes ago
- First Post
US Judge blocks bid to unseal grand jury records as pressure mounts on Trump for Epstein list
District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan ruled on Wednesday that the grand jury records – around 70 pages of testimony – were 'merely a hearsay snippet' compared with the government's 100,000 pages of investigative files Commuters walk past a bus stop near Nine Elms Station as activists put up a poster showing President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein near the US Embassy in London. AP A US judge has denied a Justice Department attempt to release grand jury records from the sex-trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein, saying the sealed materials are far less significant than the wider trove of government files on the disgraced financier that remain withheld from the public. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan ruled on Wednesday that the grand jury records – around 70 pages of testimony – were 'merely a hearsay snippet' compared with the government's 100,000 pages of investigative files. He argued that if the administration was serious about transparency, it should release the broader cache of documents rather than seeking an exception to rules protecting the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump's promise collides with legal barriers The decision adds to the political pressure on Donald Trump, who has faced mounting criticism from his conservative base over his administration's handling of the Epstein files. During his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to make public all material connected to Epstein and accused Democrats of covering up the truth. But in July, the Justice Department announced it would not release any further material, dismissed claims of a hidden client list, and insisted much of the evidence could not be disclosed. The stance infuriated supporters who had expected sweeping disclosures. Following Trump's instruction, Attorney General Pam Bondi had asked the court to approve the release of Epstein's grand jury testimony. The filing revealed that the panel had heard from just one witness – an FBI agent – before handing down Epstein's indictment. Wider legal push stalls across jurisdictions The latest ruling follows similar setbacks for the administration in other courts. Earlier this month, Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan rejected a bid to unseal grand jury materials from the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime associate, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls. Engelmayer wrote that the evidence presented to her grand jury was already aired at her trial and contained no indication of others having sexual contact with minors. In July, a Florida judge also refused a request to release grand jury records from Epstein's earlier federal investigations in 2005 and 2007. Those probes culminated in a controversial 2008 plea deal that saw Epstein serve just 13 months in jail on a state prostitution charge. Epstein's legacy and lingering conspiracy theories Epstein, who pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking charges, died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019. His death, officially ruled a suicide by hanging, fuelled conspiracy theories that he was murdered to protect powerful associates. His connections with influential figures across politics, business and royalty have continued to stoke public interest in the case and demands for transparency. With inputs from agencies
Indian Express
26 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Israel says it has taken first steps of military operation in Gaza City, ‘IDF holding positions on the outskirts'
Israel's military on Wednesday announced that it has taken the first steps in the planned operation to take over Gaza City. 'We have begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and already now IDF forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City,' Brigadier General Effie Defrin, Israel's military spokesman, said. Following a clash with Hamas south of Khan Younis in the strip on Wednesday, he said: 'We will deepen the attack on Hamas in Gaza City, a stronghold of governmental and military terror for the terrorist organization.' 'While operating in Gaza, we are also continuing offensive and defensive activities on the Lebanese border, in Syria and in Judea and Samaria. We continue to monitor developments in Iran,' Defrin said further. Earlier in the day, the Israeli military said that Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had approved plans for a new phase of operations and 60,000 reservists would be called up. According to the military, the reserve soldiers would not report for duty until September, an interval that was expected to give the mediators some time to bridge gaps between Hamas and Israel over truce terms. However, after Israeli troops clashed with Hamas fighters in the Palestinian enclave on Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Prime Minister sped up the timeline for taking control of Hamas strongholds and defeating the militant group. Israel has been under increasing international criticism, including from some of its closest allies, over its plan to seize Gaza's biggest urban centre, an operation likely to force the displacement of many more Palestinians. Israel currently holds about 75% of the Gaza Strip and Netanyahu has said that his country was not looking to occupy the region, but to 'free it from Hamas'. Before the war broke out, the Gaza Strip was home to about 2.3 million Palestinians, including many who were displaced in previous conflicts. Israel has accused Hamas of operating from within civilian infrastructure in Gaza including including homes, schools, hospitals and mosques, many of which have been destroyed since the conflict started nearly two years ago. The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, as a retaliation for the Hamas cross-border terror attack in Israel that left around 1,200 people dead. Over 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground war in Gaza since then, according to Gaza health officials. Various international efforts, including those by Israel's close allies and Arab nations, have so far failed to end the killings and free around 50 hostages, who are still being held in Gaza by Hamas. On Monday, Hamas accepted a proposal put forward by Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar for a 60-day ceasefire that would involve releasing some of the remaining hostages and freeing Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The Israeli government, which insists on the release of all the 50 remaining hostages at once, has not commented on the ceasefire deal, saying it is studying the proposal. Israeli authorities believe that 20 hostages are still alive.
