Syria & Middle East News Catch-all | Lebanon Finally Elects a PM

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“Lebanon’s parliament has elected the US-backed army chief to be the country’s next president, ending a years-long political stalemate and presidential vacuum.

Army chief Joseph Aoun was voted president after two rounds of voting. This came after a robust efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United States to rally support for Aoun, who is close to Washington and Riyadh.

Lebanon has been without a president since the end of the tenure of former President Michel Aoun – who is not related to Joseph Aoun – in October 2022. The former president was backed by Iran-supported Hezbollah. Negotiations over his successor were unsuccessful, reinvigorating tensions between the country’s pro-Western and pro-Iranian camps.

Prior to Thursday’s parliamentary sessions, there were 12 failed attempts to elect a president over the last two years.

A US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended a war between Hezbollah and Israel last November appears to have also expedited the long-awaited presidential election. Hezbollah was dealt heavy blows by Israel’s assault, which was shortly followed by the downfall of Iran-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who had opened his territory to the passage of Hezbollah’s weapons from Iran via neighboring Iraq. …”
 
nycfan said:


“Lebanon’s parliament has elected the US-backed army chief to be the country’s next president, ending a years-long political stalemate and presidential vacuum.

Army chief Joseph Aoun was voted president after two rounds of voting. This came after a robust efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United States to rally support for Aoun, who is close to Washington and Riyadh.

Lebanon has been without a president since the end of the tenure of former President Michel Aoun – who is not related to Joseph Aoun – in October 2022. The former president was backed by Iran-supported Hezbollah. Negotiations over his successor were unsuccessful, reinvigorating tensions between the country’s pro-Western and pro-Iranian camps.

Prior to Thursday’s parliamentary sessions, there were 12 failed attempts to elect a president over the last two years.

A US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended a war between Hezbollah and Israel last November appears to have also expedited the long-awaited presidential election. Hezbollah was dealt heavy blows by Israel’s assault, which was shortly followed by the downfall of Iran-backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who had opened his territory to the passage of Hezbollah’s weapons from Iran via neighboring Iraq. …”
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Israeli troops will remain on Syria’s Mount Hernon summit indefinitely, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said yesterday. Israeli officials had previously said the move was limited and temporary. Reutersreports.
 
Russia’s deputy foreign minister and a special envoy to Syria arrived in Damascus yesterday, the first Russian officials to visit the country since the Assad regime’s fall, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.
 


Syrian forces who fought Druze militias leave Sweida province under a ceasefire​


apnews.com

Syrian forces who fought Druze militias leave Sweida province under a ceasefire

Syrian government forces have started withdrawing from the southern province of Sweida following days of vicious clashes with militias from the Druze minority.
apnews.com apnews.com

“
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the country’s post-war transition.

The conflict had drawn airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze before a truce — mediated by the U.S., Turkey and Arab countries and announced Wednesday — halted most of the fighting.

However, Syrian state media said Thursday that Druze militiamen had launched revenge attacks on Sunni Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of their displacement. There were some reports of renewed clashes.

Bedouin clans had fought on the government side, while the Israeli military came to the assistance of the Druze, who form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and where they often serve in the military.

… In a major escalation of its involvement in the conflict, Israel on Wednesday had struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus.

… The Britain-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nearly 600 fighters and civilians were killed on both sides over four days of deadly clashes. The monitor also said at least 86 civilians killed in “field executions” — mostly Druze Syrians killed by government forces and their allies — and that at least three Bedouin civilians were killed in revenge attacks Thursday by Druze militiamen.…”
 
nycfan said:


Syrian forces who fought Druze militias leave Sweida province under a ceasefire​


apnews.com

Syrian forces who fought Druze militias leave Sweida province under a ceasefire

Syrian government forces have started withdrawing from the southern province of Sweida following days of vicious clashes with militias from the Druze minority.
apnews.com apnews.com

“
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the country’s post-war transition.

The conflict had drawn airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze before a truce — mediated by the U.S., Turkey and Arab countries and announced Wednesday — halted most of the fighting.

However, Syrian state media said Thursday that Druze militiamen had launched revenge attacks on Sunni Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of their displacement. There were some reports of renewed clashes.

Bedouin clans had fought on the government side, while the Israeli military came to the assistance of the Druze, who form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and where they often serve in the military.

… In a major escalation of its involvement in the conflict, Israel on Wednesday had struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus.

… The Britain-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nearly 600 fighters and civilians were killed on both sides over four days of deadly clashes. The monitor also said at least 86 civilians killed in “field executions” — mostly Druze Syrians killed by government forces and their allies — and that at least three Bedouin civilians were killed in revenge attacks Thursday by Druze militiamen.…”
Click to expand...

“… The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.…”
 
Damn.


French President Emmanuel Macron has said France will recognize a Palestinian state in an announcement to the United Nations General Assembly in September.

“True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the state of Palestine,” Macron posted to X.

“The urgent need today is to end the war in Gaza and to rescue the civilian population,” he continued, reiterating calls for an immediate ceasefire, access to humanitarian aid for the population of Gaza, the release of all hostages and the demilitarization of Hamas.

Macron added: “We must build the state of Palestine, ensure its viability, and ensure that by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the Middle East. There is no alternative.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the consul in Jerusalem delivered a letter from Macron to the Palestinian Authority stating France’s intention and Barrot said he would confirm France’s commitment at the United Nations on Monday.

Palestinian Authority (PA) Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh posted to X thanking Macron for his letter to PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
 
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