Monthly Archives: June 2026

Lebanese foreign minister hails framework deal with Israel as ‘victory for diplomacy’

Spread the love

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

A view of destruction following Israeli air strikes in the town of Mayfadoun, Nabatieh Governorate, southern Lebanon, on June 23, 2026. [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency]

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi on Saturday described the framework agreement signed with Israel as a victory for diplomacy, Anadolu reports.

During a phone call with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, Raggi thanked Amman for its support, saying the US-brokered agreement “marks a victory for diplomacy and for the authority of the state and its institutions above all else,” according to the Lebanese Foreign Ministry.

For his part, Safadi expressed hope that the agreement would serve Lebanon and its people while helping “restore stability, reinforce the state’s sovereignty over its entire territory, and enable Lebanon to live in peace and security,” the ministry said.

In a separate statement, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said Safadi described the agreement as “an important step” toward supporting Lebanon’s security and stability and enabling the country to extend its sovereignty across all of its territory.

READ: Hezbollah chief rejects Lebanon-Israel deal, demands Israeli withdrawal

The remarks came as Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected the agreement, describing it in a statement on Saturday as “humiliating and nonexistent,” while calling for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in accordance with the US-Iran memorandum of understanding.

The US-brokered framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel was signed on June 26, concluding the fifth round of direct negotiations hosted by Washington that focused on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from parts of southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army.

According to the 14-point framework published by Lebanon’s National News Agency, the Lebanese Armed Forces will gradually assume full and effective security responsibility in “pilot areas” evacuated by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

Since March 2, 2026, Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon has killed 4,243 people, injured 12,186 others, and displaced more than 1 million people, according to official Lebanese figures.

OPINION: Lebanon’s Washington framework entrenches power, not order

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 participating defensively in Trump and Israel's criminal war for Israel's genocidal expansion in Iran and states 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 participating defensively in Trump and Israel’s criminal war for Israel’s genocidal expansion in Iran and states 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/
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ... unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
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 foreign minister hails framework deal with Israel as ‘victory for diplomacy’

Israel’s Ben-Gvir faces US complaint over alleged war crimes: Rights group

Spread the love

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

Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks at the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on 3 June 2024 [Amir Levy/Getty Images]

The Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a complaint with the US Justice Department accusing Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of committing war crimes against Palestinians, including US citizens, the organization said, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the foundation said Ben-Gvir, who is expected to visit New York on July 7-8, had been accused of war crimes against Palestinians, including US citizens, and urged the Justice Department to open an investigation.

The organization said its complaint had been submitted to the relevant US authorities. It alleged that Ben-Gvir had used his authority since taking office in 2022 to implement policies of “systematic torture, murder, abuse and forced displacement” across the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly through the Israeli Prison Service.

The foundation said Ben-Gvir had shaped the policies of the Israeli police, the Israeli Prison Service and the Israeli Firearms Licensing Department under the National Security Ministry.

It said Ben-Gvir had made worsening prison conditions for Palestinian detainees a priority after taking office and that those policies had been implemented and praised by sections of the Israeli public.

READ: Trump subjected Netanyahu, Israel to ‘unprecedented humiliation’, former Israeli minister says

– ‘Network of torture camps’

The foundation said numerous Palestinian and international rights groups had described the Israeli Prison Service under Ben-Gvir as a “network of torture camps.”

It alleged that Palestinian detainees had been subjected to torture, including starvation, sleep deprivation, denial of medical care, sexual violence, and electric shocks.

The statement said at least 46 Palestinians had died in Israeli prisons between October 2023 and August 2025 as a result of those conditions.

It alleged that sexual violence has become routine, including forced public stripping, repeated strip searches, filming detainees while naked, assaults on genitals, rape threats, threats of rape against family members, and, in some cases, rape committed in front of other detainees.

The foundation added that Ben-Gvir had personally attended some incidents of torture and had frequently filmed himself while mistreating Palestinians.

It argued that the alleged war crimes also constituted genocide, saying Ben-Gvir’s objective was to destroy the Palestinian people in whole or in part through torture, abuse, and killings in prisons.

The statement also recalled Ben-Gvir’s remarks that “Lebanon should burn” and that “1,000 Lebanese mothers should cry for every tear shed by an Israeli mother,” alleging that he had made genocidal statements against both Palestinians and Lebanon.

The foundation called for an investigation to be opened, for Ben-Gvir to be prevented from leaving the US until the investigation was completed, and for Washington to fulfill its obligations under the Geneva Conventions.

Ben-Gvir is expected to lead an official delegation to the Police Chiefs Summit scheduled to be held at the UN headquarters in New York on July 7-8.

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 participating defensively in Trump and Israel's criminal war for Israel's genocidal expansion in Iran and states 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 participating defensively in Trump and Israel’s criminal war for Israel’s genocidal expansion in Iran and states 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/
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ... unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone … unless he gets distracted or falls asleep.
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 ReadingIsrael’s Ben-Gvir faces US complaint over alleged war crimes: Rights group

Personal Gift? He owned the party

Spread the love

Crypto, peerages, or political self-sacrifice – why did Farage gift Boris the 2019 election?

…

The quid pro quo allegation

Two weeks ago, the Nerve published its first story in this series, in which we forensically examined how the pattern of Harborne’s donations closely tracked Farage and Johnson’s public statements about cryptocurrency policy reform, specifically so-called stablecoins. Harborne’s wealth derives in large part from Tether, a stablecoin.

This week, the Nerve’s new evidence shines a new light on the sequence of events that preceded Britain’s exit from the EU, and Harborne’s relationship with Farage and later Johnson.  

But those relationships with Farage and Johnson are now a matter of both intense public interest and legal jeopardy. Mr Harborne’s lawyers, Schillings, repeatedly declined to answer any of our questions or requests for comment. 

We are publishing these new revelations two weeks after Harborne filed a defamation claim in the High Court against a former leading member of Reform, Ben Habib.

In an interview last month with the YouTuber Maximilien Robespierre, Habib claimed that Harborne’s £5m gift to Farage had been part of a deal that saw the 2019 election “sewn up between Nigel Farage, Christopher Harborne and Boris Johnson”. He alleged that the election that led to Brexit was “a monetary deal” and that individual £1m payments were made to both Johnson and Farage to secure a Brexit pact.

Harborne did gift £1m to Johnson but not until three years later, in 2022, after Johnson had left office. There is no evidence to suggest any connection to Habib’s claim. It has also now been revealed that Farage received £5m from Harborne. Farage initially claimed it was to pay for a lifetime’s security but subsequently said it had been a “reward for campaigning for Brexit”. He denies Habib’s claim and wrote on X last month that his lawyers had written to him to demand an apology. Neither Farage nor Johnson responded to our requests for comment.

We have carefully weighed the public interest but believe that fresh evidence raises new questions about the events of November 2019, contemporaneous reporting of a possible pact between Johnson and Farage, and the relevance of Harborne’s donations to Britain’s departure from the EU. 

…

Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes' concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country's economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Orcas discuss Donald Trump and the killer apes’ concept of democracy. Front Orca warns that Trump is crashing his country’s economy and that everything he does he does for the fantastically wealthy.
Continue ReadingPersonal Gift? He owned the party

Iranian lawmaker says US strikes during talks will lead to ‘retreat and regret’

Spread the love

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

U.S. and Iran flags frame a symbolic diplomatic handshake. [Photo/AA]

A senior Iranian lawmaker said Saturday that US strikes on Iran during talks exposed Washington’s lack of commitment to diplomacy and ceasefire understandings, Anadolu reports.

Ibrahim Azizi, the head of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said the US “once again attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations.”

“The failed US president has shown he has no commitment to the principles of negotiation or a ceasefire,” said Azizi.

READ: US strikes Iran following attack on ship in Strait of Hormuz: CENTCOM

He said the “reckless violation” of the ceasefire would, “as always, lead to retreat and regret” for the US.

“The blame game does not work anymore,” he added.

His remarks came hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its naval forces targeted US military positions across the region in response to American strikes on the country’s south.

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said late Friday that American forces struck an Iranian missile, drone and radar sites after accusing Tehran of being behind an attack on a commercial vessel crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

READ: IRGC says it targeted US military positions in region after strikes in south

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won. He's challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace

Continue ReadingIranian lawmaker says US strikes during talks will lead to ‘retreat and regret’