Daily Archives: 20 June 2026

Lebanese president condemns latest Israeli attacks, urges ‘comprehensive ceasefire’

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Lebanese president Joseph Aoun in Beirut January 9, 2025. [Anwar AMRO / AFP/ Getty Images]

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday condemned Israel’s recent attacks in southern and eastern Lebanon that have expanded, causing more killing and destruction and called for a “comprehensive ceasefire as fast as possible.”

“What we are witnessing today in the south and the Bekaa, the expansion of Israeli attacks and more killing and destruction, constitutes a dangerous and condemned escalation,” Aoun said, according to statement from his office on US social media platform X.

“The attacks have affected dozens of innocent people, including women and children, and were undermining efforts to solidify a ceasefire and end the war, especially after recent developments between the US and Iran,” Aoun said.

“That [recent attacks] will not prevent us from working to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire as soon as possible,” Aoun said.

“There can be no leniency on this issue, because a comprehensive ceasefire is the gateway to discussing the other issues, most importantly Israel’s withdrawal, the army’s deployment and the return of detainees.”

The statement come after at least 31 Lebanese had been killed in southern and eastern Lebanon since early Friday as Israel keeps attacking the country despite US-Iran deal coming into force.

READ: 28 killed as Israel keeps attacking Lebanon despite US-Iran deal coming into force

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide. He berates Palestine Action for upholding international law and prevent his - Labour and Israel's - Gaza genocide. Starmer says that that they've got a genocide to achieve, forced marches like the Nazis did, hospitals to bomb into obliteration, journalists, healthcare workers and starving people queuing for food to mass-murder and that they have to murder all Gazans for Zionism.
Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide. He berates Palestine Action for upholding international law and prevent his – Labour and Israel’s – Gaza genocide. Starmer says that that they’ve got a genocide to achieve, forced marches like the Nazis did, hospitals to bomb into obliteration, journalists, healthcare workers and starving people queuing for food to mass-murder and that they have to murder all Gazans for Zionism.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue ReadingLebanese president condemns latest Israeli attacks, urges ‘comprehensive ceasefire’

28 killed as Israel keeps attacking Lebanon despite US-Iran deal coming into force

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Officials conduct search and rescue operation following Israeli attacks on a farm in the village of al-Jemaliyya, near the city of Baalbek, Lebanon on June 19, 2026. [Suleiman Amhaz – Anadolu Agency]

Arab nations are increasingly viewing Saudi Arabia as their primary diplomatic channel to moderate Donald Trump’s Middle East policies, particularly regarding the Palestinian cause, which has resurged as the region’s paramount concern amidst Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

According to diplomats quoted in the Financial Times, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is positioned as the “key player” in influencing Trump’s approach to the Palestinian issue, once the former president returns to office. “The key player in the region is Saudi Arabia because of their known relations with him, so it will be the linchpin of any regional actions the US might decide to do,” one Arab diplomat told the FT.

Read: What Trump’s second term could mean for the Middle East

The political landscape has shifted dramatically since Trump’s first term. Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic relations with Iran, and the kingdom, along with other Arab and Muslim nations, have been forced to reconsider their relations with a country committing genocide. This realignment was in view at the recent Arab and Islamic summit in Riyadh, where the Crown Prince accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, marking a significant hardening of Saudi Arabia’s position.

The summit, which brought together more than 50 Arab and Muslim nations, sent a clear message to Trump about the region’s unified stance on Palestinian rights. “Trump is somebody who likes to be handed ready-deals he can take credit for,” a senior diplomat reported to the FT, adding that while MBS might present Trump with potential agreements, these would necessarily need to address Palestinian aspirations.

The Palestinian cause has become impossible to sideline, with Arab leaders particularly worried about radicalisation among their youth. As one Arab diplomat explained: “Trump will need to end the war in Gaza, and to do that you need to address the day after. He will need some focus on the Palestinian track or the regional element won’t work. Saudi Arabia has said bluntly that unless there’s a Palestinian state, normalisation is not an option.”

Read: The summit of shame

While Trump and bin Salman maintained warm relations during the former’s presidency, marked by significant financial deals and political support, the Crown Prince has recently positioned Saudi Arabia as the architect of a broader Arab and Muslim consensus on Palestine. “Saudi Arabia could heavily influence how Trump deals with Gaza and Palestine,” another official told the FT. “A lot of the countries in the region are concerned about what comes next.”

The strategic positioning by bin Salman is seen as having provided him with an opportunity to project himself as a regional leader. A second Arab diplomat said that the Crown Prince had found the “password” to the Middle East’s leadership role. “The only issue that unites the Arab world is the Palestinian issue,” the diplomat said, while cautioning about the challenges ahead: “The question is how much Saudi Arabia can invest in this . . . and how much Netanyahu will have the ability to torpedo it.”

Arab officials believe Trump’s success in any regional agreements will depend on his ability to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make concessions regarding Palestinian statehood – something Netanyahu currently “vociferously rejects.”

The devastating toll of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has forced Arab states to reconsider their relationships with Israel, with normalisation efforts now firmly tied to progress on Palestinian statehood. The unified stance of Arab and Muslim states suggests that despite Trump’s personal rapport with bin Salman, any future dealings would need to accommodate the broader Arab and Muslim consensus on Palestinian rights, marking a significant shift from his first term in office.

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide. He berates Palestine Action for upholding international law and prevent his - Labour and Israel's - Gaza genocide. Starmer says that that they've got a genocide to achieve, forced marches like the Nazis did, hospitals to bomb into obliteration, journalists, healthcare workers and starving people queuing for food to mass-murder and that they have to murder all Gazans for Zionism.
Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide. He berates Palestine Action for upholding international law and prevent his – Labour and Israel’s – Gaza genocide. Starmer says that that they’ve got a genocide to achieve, forced marches like the Nazis did, hospitals to bomb into obliteration, journalists, healthcare workers and starving people queuing for food to mass-murder and that they have to murder all Gazans for Zionism.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue Reading28 killed as Israel keeps attacking Lebanon despite US-Iran deal coming into force

Olmert: Israel is running a state-funded campaign of settler terrorism in West Bank

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Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert. [Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images]

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has accused the Israeli government of directly organising, funding and protecting Jewish terrorism in the West Bank. Writing in Haaretz yesterday, Olmert — who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009 — issued what he called “unprecedented and harsh accusations against an Israeli government and the defence establishment.” 

“The fight against Jewish terrorism in the West Bank must advance to the next stage and be waged with greater determination,” said Olmert. “The daily terrorism that is managed, directed, encouraged and supported by the Israeli government can no longer be tolerated.”

Olmert dismissed the Israeli government’s attempts to portray settler violence as the work of isolated individuals. “What is happening across the West Bank today is not the work of ’70 kids from broken homes’,” he wrote, in a direct rebuke of a claim previously made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Nor are these the crimes of a small, anomalous minority among settlement residents, as some leaders of the settler movement often contend.”

According to Olmert, “The State of Israel is conducting an organised, systematic, state-funded campaign of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.”

READ: Israeli opposition leader warns country’s foreign relations being damaged amid tensions with allies

Olmert named the architects of the Israeli terror campaign directly. “At the forefront of this campaign are the prime minister, Defence Minister Israel Katz and the rest of the cabinet.” He identified ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich as driving forces, describing their pursuit of “full annexation of the West Bank without their Palestinian inhabitants remaining there” as tantamount to a policy of expulsion.

The former prime minister documented the daily texture of this violence: “pogroms, children and adults injured in and outside their homes, fields and property set ablaze, and large-scale theft — especially of cattle and sheep, the primary source of livelihood for many residents.”

Most strikingly, Olmert implicated Israel’s security apparatus as an active participant in terrorism campaign against Palestinians: “The Israel Police are, in practice, partners in what is taking place in the West Bank. They do not attempt to prevent these acts, despite their duty to do so. In many cases, security forces actively assist Jewish terrorists — and, remarkably, it is almost always the Palestinian victims who are arrested, rather than the perpetrators.” 

Olmert added that IDF soldiers, both conscripts and reservists, had been directly involved in violent attacks on Palestinians, reducing the army’s standard denial to “a hollow ritual.”

Olmert also turned his fire on the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service, which he said possessed the tools to confront Jewish terrorism but had chosen not to deploy them, a failure he described as “longstanding” and unacceptable. “There is no convincing explanation for why the Shin Bet is not using the tools at its disposal to confront the rampant Jewish terrorism in the West Bank,” explained Olmert.

READ: Illegal settler violence against Palestinians in occupied West Bank rises by 25% in 2025:

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel's genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism "without qualification". Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
Keir "I support Zionism without Qualification" Starmer supporting genocide. He berates Palestine Action for upholding international law and prevent his - Labour and Israel's - Gaza genocide. Starmer says that that they've got a genocide to achieve, forced marches like the Nazis did, hospitals to bomb into obliteration, journalists, healthcare workers and starving people queuing for food to mass-murder and that they have to murder all Gazans for Zionism.
Keir “I support Zionism without Qualification” Starmer supporting genocide. He berates Palestine Action for upholding international law and prevent his – Labour and Israel’s – Gaza genocide. Starmer says that that they’ve got a genocide to achieve, forced marches like the Nazis did, hospitals to bomb into obliteration, journalists, healthcare workers and starving people queuing for food to mass-murder and that they have to murder all Gazans for Zionism.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says Sundown Syndrome is a dead givaway and he wishes someone would Lock Him Up

Continue ReadingOlmert: Israel is running a state-funded campaign of settler terrorism in West Bank