Today marks 20 years since the assasination of prominent journalist Samir Kassir, Hamas seeks changes in US Gaza proposal but Witkoff calls response unacceptable, Israel kills dozens of hungry Palestinians at GHF death traps in Gaza, Morgan Ortagus to leave Lebanon and Middle East role amid Trump policy shift on Israel, Israel keeps on violating ceasefire resolution with Lebanon, Iranian Foreign Minister set for Lebanon visit on Monday, President Joseph Aoun visits his counterpart in Baghdad, Journalist Wissam Saadé released after home search and interrogation, Israeli spy device discovered in south Lebanon, Freedom Freedom Flotilla Coalition to launch new voyage to Gaza after drone attack on last aid ship, Israel greenlights 22 new illegal West Bank settlements to block Palestinian state, Thousands of Palestinians mobilize in the Naqab desert as Israel escalates home demolitions, Investigations development over the case of LF Pascal Sleiman's assassination, Lebanese army raids drug manufacturing sites, arrests suspects, Turkish president urges SDF to implement integration deal with Damascus, US envoy meets Syrian president in Damascus to promote dialogue with Israel, Yemen adds Israel's national airliner to target bank, UN nuclear watchdog may formally censure Iran for first time in nearly 20 years
Twenty years ago today, at eleven o’clock in the morning. Not far from his home in Achrafieh, an explosion, a car smashed to pieces, one dead on impact. A journalist, a mind of freedom and truth. The truth that does not compromise itself – truer than the legal truth, which still has not punished the instigators of his murder, truer than the historical truth, which in part persists in covering up the interests of those responsible. Samir Kassir’s truth was that of the intuition that sees, understands, pursues evidence, shares, and loves. He loved freedom and collectivity, and for that he was punished.
With his articles on An-Nahar – collectively published in 2004 into the volume ‘Askar Ala Min?’, Soldiers Against Whom? -, Kassir was at the forefront of the opposition movement against the Syrian military presence in Lebanon. His criticisms of the Syrian regime and the Lebanese government at the time meant that, like many, he would face regular threats and harassments. In April 2001, his passport was confiscated at Beirut-Rafiq Hariri International Airport, sparking a public outcry that returned his passport to his possession. Then, in 2005, Lebanon was crossing a particularly bloody year: on February 14, former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, another opponent of Syria’s 30-year presence in Lebanon, was assassinated in a car bomb in Beirut. His death triggered a huge public protest, the Cedar Revolution, which led to Syria withdrawing all its troops in April 2005. Among the many who were outraged at the assassination was him, the journalist, political activist, writer and historian: Samir Kassir. Only a few months later, on June 2 – one day after the general elections in the country – having closed a regular phone call with a French reporter, Kassir got into his car to go about his work. Seconds after he started the engine of his silver Alfa Romeo, explosives detonated. He was killed instantly.
Nobody has ever been charged or convicted for Kassir’s murder, although the investigation into his assassination directs to Hezbollah’s Unit 121 as part of the party’s policy to eliminate political and journalist threat of those who dared to oppose the Syrian government influence in Lebanon. Rumours and speculation, though, are plentiful when hard facts are in short supply. While accusations, speculation and denials followed his death, yet, it was clear that Kassir’s critical voice had drawn the ire of big power players in Lebanon.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam marked the twentieth anniversary of his assassination with a tribute on the X platform, stating: “On this day twenty years ago, they succeeded in assassinating the body of Samir Kassir, but his word lived on. Today, I recall Samir’s voice, thought, and pen — he who carried the cause of freedom and democracy in the face of tyranny and tutelage, and who wrote with the courage of one who knew that the truth brooks promise.” Salam added: “On your anniversary, I tell you: your words in The History of Beirut and its people still guard our city. The jasmine of Damascus has bloomed again. And Palestine, which you loved, continues to bleed from Gaza to Jenin. Yet hope grows every day through the hundreds of thousands raising her flag across world capitals.”
What’s left of his legacy – now that the Syrian regime has fallen, but another occupation – the Israeli one, which Kassir strongly opposed – assumes frightening genocidal traits, seems more powerful than ever: supported by the great powers that in theory protect freedom and democracies – but in Palestinian blood sink truths, slaughter journalists. What remains of Samir Kassir, beyond the disoriented sighs in trying to answer the question: what would he write, if he were alive today.
In Lebanon
Ongoing violations: On Thursday, May 28, two Merkava tanks and an Israeli military bulldozer, accompanied by an infantry unit, crossed the border near Bir Shuaib, east of the town of Blida, entering Lebanese territory with the aim of leveling the land. In response, the Lebanese army dispatched reinforcements to its position near the area of the Israeli breach, as the Israelis carried out a bulldozing operation in an olive grove directly across the border.
Following the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the site of the breach at dawn, it was revealed that Israeli bulldozers had destroyed and uprooted the Lebanese road adjacent to the border, along with the paved area surrounding the Bir Shuaib site, which is hundreds of years old, penetrating 50 meters into Lebanese territory.
In the same day, Khodor Faqih, a paramedic with the Al-Risala Scout Association, was shot and killed by Israeli occupation forces while inspecting his home in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila.
Israel has been carrying out near-daily attacks in Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire agreement it reached with Hezbollah in November of last year, causing mostly civilian deaths and injuries. Last week, the Israeli military launched a wave of air strikes across south Lebanon that it said targeted Hezbollah infrastructure. Israel has also been regularly firing at fields and civilian homes on the Lebanese side of the border.
In an earlier attack on Thursday, an Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade on the southern village of Beit Lif, injuring at least one person, the National News Agency reported
Later on Friday, the Israeli army said it carried out an airstrike on a Hezbollah facility in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley, claiming the site was used to store weapons and had been previously destroyed before attempts were made to rebuild it.
While the Israeli statement did not disclose the precise location, Lebanese media reported that four airstrikes struck the outskirts of Shmestar, a town in the Beqaa region. Local outlets also reported nearly 20 Israeli strikes overnight across southern and eastern Lebanon, targeting what were alleged to be Hezbollah weapons depots and positions.
On Sunday, then, an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle on the road between the towns of Aita al-Shaab and Debl in the Bint Jbeil district, killing one.
Espionage devices found: On Saturday, May 31, the Lebanese army announced that it had discovered an Israeli espionage device and removed two earthen berms erected by the Israeli army in a border area in southern Lebanon, according to a statement issued by the Lebanese Army Command’s Orientation Directorate. “In the course of ongoing engineering survey operations in the southern regions, a specialized military unit discovered an Israeli enemy espionage device camouflaged and equipped with a camera on the outskirts of the village of Blida-Marjayoun in southeastern Lebanon. The unit dismantled the device,” the statement said.
The army added that “the unit also removed two earthen berms that had been erected by the enemy in the villages of Blida and Mays al-Jabal – Marjayoun.” The statement noted that the Lebanese army continues to monitor the situation in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, amid ongoing Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and security, particularly in the south.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency earlier reported that “an Israeli force, accompanied by two bulldozers, had infiltrated the Al-Maraj vineyards on the outskirts of Mays al-Jabal in the eastern sector of the border area, where it erected an earthen berm and encroached on dozens of meters of Lebanese land before withdrawing.”
The President in Baghdad: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun went on an official visit to Baghdad on Sunday, where he met with his Iraqi counterpart Abdellatif Rashid, as well as Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani. During this visit, aimed at showcasing the “brotherly and historical relations” between the two countries, according to the Lebanese presidency, Aoun was also expected to thank Iraq for oil deliveries and discuss security cooperation, particularly in counter-terrorism efforts. In a message posted on his X account, the Lebanese presidency indicated that the head of state is accompanied for his visit by the Director General of the General Security, General Hassan Choucair.
During his meeting with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, President Aoun expressed Lebanon’s gratitude to Iraq for its support during difficult times, whether by hosting displaced people and later facilitating their return or through oil shipments necessary for electricity and energy. President Aoun also highlighted the numerous challenges, especially in the fight against terrorism, which both sides continuously coordinate on.
The Iraqi President confirmed readiness to cooperate with Lebanon in all fields, wishing President Aoun success amid positive developments in the country.
Relations between the two countries date back to Lebanon’s independence and have been largely stable. The first agreement between them was signed in 1951. Iraq has been Lebanon’s largest importer over the past decade, reaching $125 million in 2021. Without Iraq, Lebanon would not have enjoyed electricity in recent years. Since 2021, Iraq has provided fuel valued at more than $1.2 billion. The platform for payments to Iraq — through selling agricultural and industrial products and services in exchange for these funds — has not yet been completed.
During his meeting with President Aoun, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani pledged noninterference in Lebanon’s internal affairs, condemned Israel’s continued violation of international law, and called on the world to apply United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 without selectivity. President Aoun emphasized the importance of the conference called by France and Saudi Arabia in New York to discuss establishing an independent Palestinian state within a just and comprehensive peace. He drew inspiration from Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Ali al-Sistani, in resolving regional crises.
The departure of Morgan Ortagus: Morgan Ortagus — deputy to US envoy Steve Witkoff and lead on the Lebanese dossier within the Trump administration — should soon leave her post, according to reports from Israeli Channel 14. As the diplomat is due to visit the region soon, the media described her departure as “bad news for Israel” due to her support for efforts to disarm Hezbollah, which does not favor Ortagus. This decision could be linked to Ortagus’ remarks last month, when she indicated from Doha that resorting to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to pull Lebanon out of crisis “is not the only solution,” but merely an “option,” at a time when many in Lebanon are seeking to avoid an agreement with the IMF to maintain their own interests.
According to Israel’s Channel 14, the changes form part of a wider shake-up initiated by President Donald Trump to reduce the US National Security Council (NSC)’s influence and centralize foreign policy control. As the report notes, “there is currently no formal National Security Advisor in office; instead, the role is temporarily held by current Secretary of State Marc Rubio.” Also dismissed from the NSC recently were Merav Ceren, an Israeli-American official responsible for the Iran file, and Eric Trager, who handled Middle East and North Africa affairs. Both were seen as strong supporters of Israeli policy positions.
They were initially appointed under former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and removed by his successor Marco Rubio after Waltz’s nomination as US ambassador to the UN.
The Channel 14 report concluded that the cumulative effect of these changes “does not bode well for Israel,” as the White House loses figures who had been instrumental in shaping Washington’s positions on Iran, Lebanon, and broader Middle East policy.
Ortagus’s departure also marks the end of a controversial tenure in relation to Lebanon. During her time in office, she drew criticism for remarks perceived as provocative, including a statement thanking Israel for what she described as the “defeat of Hezbollah” during a trip to Lebanon, failing to mention the hundreds of Lebanese civilians killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. The comment was widely condemned by Lebanese political figures and analysts as a breach of diplomatic protocol and an inappropriate interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs.
Saadé searched and released: Journalist and writer Wissam Saadé, summoned Friday morning by General Security after a search of his home the day before and the confiscation of several of his personal belongings, was released in the afternoon ‘in exchange for proof of residence’, local news media reported. Mr. Saadé was questioned about phone calls made to Israel by his former domestic worker – supposedly to contact his sister, who works for a Russian family in Tel Aviv – and a message he allegedly received in 2019 from a Cambodian number, asking the journalist to “call him immediately,” and General Security initially suspected that the author of the message was Israeli.
In addition, the alleged call was reported by the journalist himself in October, and he terminated his employee’s contract. In Lebanon, any contact with Israeli individuals or entities is strictly prohibited by the 1955 Boycott of Israel Law and the Lebanese Penal Code. These laws prohibit any form of direct or indirect communication, including online, and violations can result in severe penalties, such as imprisonment or fines. The military court has jurisdiction over such cases, and enforcement of the law has already led to interrogations for even very limited digital contact.
The search and interrogation took place at the request of the government commissioner at the military court, Judge Fadi Akiki. In Lebanon, release upon proof of residence means release conditional upon the provision of proof of residence, which serves as a guarantee of the released person’s availability for further legal proceedings.
Araghchi’s trip to Lebanon: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is scheduled to arrive in Lebanon on Monday, according to a statement issued by Iran’s Foreign Ministry. The visit marks a high-level diplomatic engagement at a time when internal Lebanese debates and international negotiations involving Iran are drawing increased attention. The timing of Araghchi’s visit is notable as it aligns with intensifying political discourse within Lebanon regarding the future of Hezbollah’s armed presence.
This diplomatic trip also takes place as discussions between Tehran and Washington show signs of movement. The indirect talks concerning Iran’s nuclear program have reportedly made headway in recent weeks. These negotiations are centered on efforts to restore commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 agreement which placed limits on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Progress in these talks could reshape diplomatic dynamics in the region and may influence Iran’s engagement with its allies, including Hezbollah.
Lebanon remains under significant economic and political strain, and foreign influence continues to shape internal power balances: in this context, Araghchi’s visit is likely to include discussions with senior Lebanese officials and potentially with Hezbollah representatives, focusing on regional cooperation, strategic alliances, and current geopolitical tensions.
The Pascal Sleiman case: In April 2024, a case shook Lebanese public opinion: Pascal Sleiman, the Lebanese Forces party official in Jbeil, was kidnapped, and his car was stolen in Haqel, in the Jbeil district, after his vehicle was intercepted by a gang. His body and car were later found in Syrian territory near the Lebanese border. Following news of the kidnapping and theft, security agencies began tracking leads in the case.
The Lebanese army’s Intelligence Directorate arrested most members of the gang: Bilal Dello (whose wife is Nour Mahmoud Sleiman), Jaafar Mohammad Jahjah, Ismail Mohammad Jihad Mahfouz, as well as Mohammad Khaled, Nour Sleiman and Moujahed Ghazal. Testimonies from the detainees revealed that the gang specialized in stealing cars and selling them to a network in Syria, whose prominent member is Ahmad Noun.
The vehicle used in the Sleiman operation had been stolen from Rabieh. According to the directorate’s investigation, there was no technical evidence that the gang had tracked or monitored Sleiman prior to the incident. Testimonies also indicated that the gang had attempted to steal two other cars shortly before targeting Sleiman’s. Statements further revealed that Dello, Firas Mimo, and Khaled beat Sleiman on the head, causing his death, according to the forensic report.
More than a year later, a new development emerged: the Intelligence Directorate received the gang’s mastermind, Ahmad Noun, from Syrian authorities. During the investigation, Noun denied any prior knowledge of Sleiman or any intent to kill or kidnap him. Noun confessed to running a car theft operation and transporting vehicles into Syria through multiple associates, one of whom is known as Abou Karim.
After Sleiman’s car was stolen, Abou Karim contacted Noun and informed him that they had taken a luxury vehicle and brought its owner with it. He asked Noun to meet him at the border to receive the stolen vehicle. When the thieves arrived at the border, they went to Noun’s house, where they discovered that Sleiman had died. A verbal altercation broke out among the group, and they decided to dispose of the body in the Nasriyah area.
Fighting drugs: As part of ongoing efforts to combat drug manufacturing and trafficking, a unit of the Lebanese army, supported by an intelligence patrol, raided Captagon pill factories in the Harf al-Samaqa area of Hermel near the Lebanon-Syria border.
The army seized raw materials used to produce the pills and demolished the manufacturing sites.
In parallel with security operations, army units backed by intelligence patrols conducted raids on the homes of wanted individuals, making several arrests. Investigations into the suspects are underway under the supervision of the competent judiciary.
In The Region
The Witkoff plan: In response to a new US ceasefire proposal – which gives Tel Aviv the option to resume the war after captives are exchanged – Hamas has demanded a permanent cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. US envoy Steve Witkoff said Hamas’s response is “totally unacceptable and only takes us backward.” “Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” he continued in a post on X.
According to a draft obtained by Drop Site News, Hamas accepted the framework and added key concessions – including relinquishing control of Gaza to an independent technocratic committee, a term Netanyahu had once demanded but later removed. The response also reaffirmed a mutual truce, reconstruction, aid access, free movement through Rafah, and a phased release of Israeli captives. It practically envisages a 60-day truce and the exchange of 28 of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza for more than 1,200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, along with the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
Hamas restated that the ceasefire would automatically continue beyond 60 days if talks were ongoing – a term Netanyahu had already agreed to in January, before later stripping it from the deal.
Israel has previously rejected Hamas’ conditions, instead demanding the complete disarmament of the group and its dismantling as a military and governing force, along with the return of all 58 remaining hostages. Yet Trump said on Friday he believed a ceasefire agreement was close after the latest proposals, and the White House said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to the terms.
On the other side, Senior Hamas official Basem Naim denied any rejection of Witkoff’s proposal but said Israel’s response was incompatible with what had been agreed. He accused the US envoy of acting with “complete bias” in favor of Israel.
Death traps: Dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks on aid seekers near distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Sunday, June 1st. Israeli drones opened fire at crowds of Palestinians gathered to receive aid at the GHF site near the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza. At least one was killed and around 18 others injured, including children. A few hours earlier, at least 30 Palestinians were killed and 120 wounded when Israeli army forces opened fire on a group of people heading towards the aid distribution site in the southernmost city of Rafah.
According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, the latest attacks have raised the death toll among aid seekers to 49 in under a week since the launch of the deadly GHF initiative, run by US military contractors in coordination with the Israeli army.
Emergency, surgery, and intensive care units are witnessing severe overcrowding due to the large number of casualties, and there is severe shortage of surgical, operational, and intensive care supplies, the Gaza Health Ministry said. There are dozens of extremely critical injuries among the casualties. “This bloody scene clearly reveals that these areas have been transformed into mass death traps, not points for providing humanitarian relief,” the media office said in a statement on Sunday.
The new aid plan has been repeatedly condemned by the UN and other international humanitarian groups for being designed to reinforce further displacement of the Palestinian population in Gaza. Most of the distribution centers are located in southern Gaza, with one in the center near the Netzarim Corridor. Palestinians are forced to travel long distances under bombardment and gunfire, before being crammed into extremely tight spaces and subjected to intensive restrictions.
GHF says it has distributed 3,834,022 meals to Palestinians over the past five days since the initiative was launched. However, nowhere near enough aid is entering the strip due to a continued Israeli blockade on Gaza. The entire population of Gaza, over two million people, is at risk of famine, the UN stated on May 30. Meanwhile, Israel’s new operation – dubbed Gideon’s Chariots – continues to kill dozens and displace thousands across Gaza on a daily basis.
To give an idea of the impact of Israel’s ongoing onslaught in Gaza, the carbon emissions generated during the first 15 months of war are projected to exceed the yearly climate-warming output of over 100 individual nations, which is comparable to the emissions from charging 2.6 billion smartphones or operating 84 gas-fired power plants for an entire year. The long-term environmental impact of Gaza’s destruction, debris removal, and reconstruction could surpass 31 million tones of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e): a figure higher than the total greenhouse gas emissions for 2023 from both Costa Rica and Estonia combined.
The impossible aid: At the same time, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition announced that its next vessel, the Madleen, set sail from Catania, Sicily, on Sunday, in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza. Named after Gaza’s only known fisherwoman in 2014, the Madleen will carry activists, including Greta Thunberg and Liam Cunningham, despite what organizers describe as ongoing threats and international inaction. The announcement follows a recent drone attack on the coalition’s previous ship, the Conscience, in international waters.
Arab ministers, not allowed: The foreign ministers of five Arab countries who had planned to visit the occupied Palestinian West Bank this weekend condemned Israel’s decision to block their plans. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on May 31 saying the ministers condemned “Israel’s decision to ban the delegation’s visit to Ramallah on Sunday to meet with the president of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas.”
The Israeli army controls all borders and entry points to the occupied West Bank, including from neighboring Jordan, making entry to and exit from the Palestinian territories contingent on Israeli authorities.
Ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE had been expected to enter the West Bank to take part in a meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) officials concerning the establishment of a Palestinian state. Earlier on Saturday, Israeli officials said they would not allow a planned meeting in the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, to go ahead. The move came ahead of an international conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, planned for June 17-20 in New York, whose delegates are expected to discuss the issue of Palestinian statehood.
An Israeli official claimed the ministers intended to take part in ‘a provocative meeting’ to discuss promoting the establishment of a Palestinian state. “Such a state would undoubtedly become a terrorist state in the heart of the land of Israel,” the official said. “Israel will not cooperate with such moves aimed at harming it and its security.
Colonization in expansion: Israel’s far-right government approved 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank on Friday, May 29, as part of its ongoing effort to expropriate, colonize, and annex Palestinian lands. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that they will establish the 22 new settlements “as a strategic step to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.” Katz added that the settlement decision “strengthens our hold on Judea and Samaria,” using the biblical term for the occupied West Bank.
Writing on X, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called the decision historic. “The next step – sovereignty!” he stated, referring to annexing the West Bank. Smotrich earlier stated that Israel was expanding its borders as part of the Greater Israel project.
“We are being blessed with the opportunity, thank God, of seeing an expansion of the borders of the Land of Israel on all fronts. We are being blessed with the opportunity to blot out the seed of Amalek, a process which is intensifying,” he said, referring to the ancient inhabitants of Palestine who were exterminated by the Hebrews entering the region from Egypt, according to the Torah.
Israeli media cited the Defense Ministry as saying that among the new settlements, existing “outposts” would be legalized, and new settlements would also be built.
Israeli outposts and settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law, which bars the conquest of new territory through war. Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967, and since then has been systematically stealing Palestinian land to build Jewish settlements there. Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
After the announcement, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem accused the government of advancing “Jewish supremacy through the theft of Palestinian land and the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank.” In a statement, B’Tselem also criticized the international community for “enabling Israel’s crimes.”
To respond, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the decision was part of “the war led by Netanyahu against the Palestinian people,” which includes Israel’s ongoing destruction of Gaza and efforts to ethnically cleanse its inhabitants to make way for Jewish settlement.
Archaeology as annexation: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked outrage across the region after publishing a video of himself walking through a massive underground tunnel beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday. The tunnel, part of the ‘City of David’ project, stretches from the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan to the area directly underneath the mosque.
The project has been widely condemned as an attempt to reshape Jerusalem’s identity through politicized archaeology and illegal settler expansion. It promotes a narrative that prioritizes Jewish biblical claims while erasing Islamic and Palestinian heritage, with carefully curated tours and infrastructure designed to appeal to Jewish and international tourists.
Backed by the settler organization Elad, the project has led to home demolitions and forced evictions in Silwan to make way for archaeological digs and Jewish settlement growth. The project emphasizes biblical archaeology to substantiate Jewish claims to Jerusalem, often highlighting discoveries tied to King David and ancient Israelite civilization. Critics argue that it selectively interprets archaeological findings, downplaying non-Jewish or later Islamic and Christian histories of the area.
Netanyahu’s appearance in the tunnel was seen as a deliberate provocation. The video was released on the so-called ‘Jerusalem Day’, the anniversary of Israel’s 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem, a date routinely marked by settler incursions, racist slogans, and violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. It also coincided with a cabinet meeting in Silwan, where Netanyahu pledged to “preserve a united and complete Jerusalem.”
In the Naqab desert: Thousands of Palestinians rallied in the city of Bir al-Saba’ in one of the largest demonstrations witnessed in the Naqab desert in recent years. The mass mobilization, dubbed the national “Dignity Demonstration,” was organized in protest of Israel’s intensifying campaign of home demolitions and forced displacement targeting Arab Bedouin communities.
Protesters converged near the so-called “Bedouin Resettlement Authority,” denouncing what they view as state-led efforts to uproot and erase indigenous presence under the guise of ‘unlicensed construction.’
The demonstration, which drew an estimated 15,000 people from across the Negev and other Arab towns, was marked by black flags, powerful chants, and signs rejecting demolitions, displacement, and erasure. Slogans like “Stop the demolitions and displacement” and “We will not be uprooted” highlighted the community’s unwavering demand for recognition, dignity, and the right to remain on their ancestral lands. The protest coincided with a region-wide general strike that shut down schools, municipal offices, and public services in a sweeping act of civil disobedience.
Organized by the High Steering Committee for Arabs and other local bodies, the protest was hailed by political groups like the National Democratic Assembly as a turning point. The party emphasized that the demonstration shattered fear and reasserted Palestinian political presence in the street. It called for a unified grassroots strategy to resist Israeli colonial policies in the Naqab and beyond, linking the struggle for housing and recognition to the broader fight against displacement, apartheid, and systematic violence across all of Palestine.
Erdogan, the Kurds and Damascus: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is “stalling” its implementation of an agreement reached with Syria’s government to integrate its forces into the country’s new army. Speaking to reporters on a flight from Azerbaijan, Erdogan reaffirmed Turkiye’s “position calling for the preservation of Syria’s unity and territorial integrity” and “the necessity of implementing the agreement between the SDF and Damascus within the agreed-upon and planned timeframe.” “We had said before we welcomed the agreement. But we see that the Syrian Democratic Forces are still continuing their stalling tactics. They must stop this,” the Turkish president added, according to a statement from his office.
In March, Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s government made a deal with the SDF to integrate the Kurdish group into state institutions, including the army. However, this has yet to take place, and there are disagreements between Damascus and the SDF over the group’s demand that it remain under Kurdish command and integrate into the Syrian army as a military bloc.
The SDF has for years been at bitter odds with several Turkish-backed extremist groups, which have recently been incorporated into the Syrian army. Moreover, the Kurdish group has said that the newly formed government in Syria is not inclusive enough, after in late March – when Sharaa announced the government formation – no representatives of the SDF or the affiliated Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) were appointed to the government.
Negotiations between Kurdish authorities and the Syrian government are expected to take place in the coming days. AANES official Badran Ciya Kurd told AFP this week that its delegation will demand “a decentralized, pluralistic, democratic Syria.” “The mosaic of Syrian society cannot be governed by a political system that monopolizes all powers and does not recognize the distinctiveness of regions and components,” he added.
Earlier this month, clashes broke out between the SDF and Syrian government forces near Aleppo’s strategic Tishreen Dam. The dam had long been under Kurdish control before an agreement between the SDF and the government in April saw the establishment of a joint force aimed at overseeing the site, as well as a deployment of Damascus’s troops to the area.
Barrack in Syria: Syria’s transitional president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, received US envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, at the People’s Palace in Damascus on Thursday, May 29, marking the first official visit by a US official to the US embassy in Damascus since it was closed in 2012, a year after the outbreak of the war. Barrack, who also serves as the US ambassador to Turkiye, said that Washington “wants peace between Syria and Israel and that the problem between them is solvable, but a dialogue must begin.” He expressed his belief that there is a “need to start with a non-aggression agreement, followed by a dialogue about borders.”
After the fall of the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel carried out a mass bombing campaign to destroy the country’s military capabilities and occupied additional Syrian territory in the Golan Heights, Quneitra, and Deraa.
Barrack also stated that US President Donald Trump “intends to remove Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism,” adding that “the intention of the United States and the President’s vision is that we must give this young government a chance by not interfering.”
In March, members of Syria’s new security forces massacred some 1,700 Alawite civilians over the course of three days in the coastal regions of the country. Since that time, Alawite men continue to be regularly abducted and murdered, while Alawite women are abducted and taken as sex slaves.
The US envoy to Syria previously stated that “Syria’s rebirth must come through dignity, unity, and investment in its people,” adding that this “begins with truth and accountability, and working with the region, not around it.”
In a post on his X account on Sunday, Barrack stated that “the door to peace has opened” with the fall of the Assad government. He added that by lifting the sanctions – imposed starting in 2011 to crush the Syrian economy, driving millions into poverty and destitution -, the US “has enabled the Syrian people to finally open this door and discover the path to renewed prosperity and security.”
Warning of a ‘hot’ summer: The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) and Ansarallah movement are planning to begin operations targeting Israel’s national airline, sources in Sanaa told Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar. “The upcoming operations will differ in quantity and quality from previous operations carried out deep inside the Israeli entity,” the sources said, adding that the operations “will include Israeli civilian aircraft on the target list.”
This comes after the destruction of Yemenia Airways planes in Israeli airstrikes targeting Sanaa International Airport, the last of which took place on Wednesday, May 28. Israel said the plane was being used by Ansarallah and the YAF to “transport terrorists.” However, Yemeni authorities said their civilian aircraft are used for medical evacuations and pilgrimages.
The last Israeli strikes on Yemen came as a response to continued Yemeni missile strikes targeting Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv – on which Sanaa has imposed a blockade, causing several major international airlines to suspend flights to Israel.
The YAF said on Thursday night that it targeted Ben Gurion airport with a hypersonic ballistic missile, causing millions of usurping Zionists to rush to shelters and bringing the airport to a standstill.” The Israeli army said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen. In early May, a Yemeni ballistic missile made a direct impact inside the airport, creating a large crater and injuring several people.
Following the new Israeli strikes on Sanaa Airport, Yemeni President Mahdi al-Mashat warned Israel: “You should wait for a hot summer. I say to all companies that continue to arrive at the Ben Gurion Airport that they are at risk at any moment. I call on all travelers around the world to avoid traveling with companies that continue to fly there, as they are subject to our sanctions and are not safe,” he said.
Reporting Iran’s non-compliance: The UN nuclear watchdog has produced two reports regarding Iran’s nuclear program, which western diplomats plan to use to pressure the Islamic Republic at the UN Security Council and in negotiations with Washington, Reuters reported.
A report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and sent to member states on Saturday said Iran’s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity had grown by roughly half to 408.6 kg. That is enough uranium, if enriched to the 90 percent purity level, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA estimate. The second report claims that Iran carried out secret nuclear activities with material not declared to the UN nuclear watchdog at three locations decades ago.
The IAEA is expected to distribute its quarterly reports on Iran to member states ahead of the board meeting scheduled to begin on June 9. One of these will be a more detailed, “comprehensive” report addressing issues such as Iran’s level of cooperation, as required by a board resolution passed in November. “We expect the comprehensive report to be tough, but there were already no doubts over Iran not keeping its non-proliferation commitments,” one European official said.
Following the release of the report, the United States is set to draft a resolution declaring Iran in violation of its safeguards obligations. The draft will be discussed with other board members in the coming days before being formally introduced by the four Western powers during the quarterly session.
Iran has not been formally found in non-compliance with the NPT in nearly twenty years. A previous IAEA board resolution passed in February 2006 referred Iran’s non-compliance to the UN Security Council, which later imposed sanctions on Iran.
While Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, including producing medicines and electricity, Israel and the US claim the Islamic Republic seeks to produce a nuclear weapon. Yet Iranian officials have stated that acquiring nuclear weapons is un-Islamic because, if used, they would indiscriminately kill civilians. Israel itself has an undeclared nuclear weapons program and has long urged the US to go to war against Iran to stop its nuclear activities.
What We’re Reading
Spotlighted: Is Lebanon IMF relationship put under doubt? Lebanon’s relationship with the International Monetary Fund has a long history dated back to the 1950s. Since Lebanon was among the first countries to join the IMF, it benefited from the liberal policies advocated by the Fund. In 1951, the IMF approved its first Stand-By Arrangement with Lebanon and its second one in 1974, prior to the civil war. The Fund envisaged the first two schemes as part of temporary support for a benign macroeconomic and external environment, on the condition that Lebanon would monitor closely the effects of its monetary policy on rival interest rates and price stability. The IMF’s support is a new quiproquo of lebanon politics. The article of Maan Barazy.
Abu Mazen in Lebanon: Abbas’s visit comes at a critical and exceptional moment, especially given the recent developments in Lebanese-Palestinian relations over the past months, Rodayna Raydan reported.
Saint Levant: At 24, Saint Levant is undoubtedly a success story for many of his fans. “But it’s worth interrogating his words, rather than applauding out of Pavlovian reflex,” wrote Makram Rabah in his opinion.
The new Sykes-Picot: A few days ago, the US Ambassador to Syria, Tom Barrack, made a statement that quickly made waves across policy circles and social media alike. “A century ago, the West imposed maps, mandates, penciled borders, and foreign rule”, he said. “Sykes-Picot divided Syria and the broader region for imperial gain not peace. That mistake cost generations. We will not make it again”. The opinion of Ramzi Abou Ismail.
Disarming Hezbollah: On Hezbollah’s military arsenal, the disarmament efforts of Nawaf Salam’s government, and the shadows of a possible interference of the Israeli intelligence: what will be the future of the ‘Party of God’? Valeria Rando analyzed.
