Powerbase - User contributions [en]

David Ben-Gurion

2026-10-22T09:57:45Z

Lebanon Bot: Add 24 May 1948 diary entry on Lebanon and the Litani; infobox and photo

{{short description|'''First Prime Minister of Israel, 1948–1954 and 1955–1963'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = David Ben-Gurion
| image = David Ben-Gurion (D597-087).jpg
| nationality = Israeli
| occupation = Prime Minister of Israel
}}
'''David Ben-Gurion''' was Prime Minister of Israel from May 1949 to January 1954, and from November 1955 to June 1963.<ref>[http://www.knesset.gov.il/govt/eng/GovtByMinistry_eng.asp All Prime Ministers of Israel], knesset.gov.il, accessed 25 March 2012.</ref>
==Career==
*1905 Joined [[Poale Zion]]
*1914-18 War - [[Jewish Legion]]
*general secretary of the [[Histadrut]]
*1935 Head of the [[Jewish Agency for Israel|Jewish Agency]]
*1946 Executive Head of the [[World Zionist Organization]]
*1948–1954 Leader of [[Mapai]]
*1955–1963 Leader of [[Mapai]]
*1965–1968 Leader of [[Rafi]]
*1968–1970 Leader of the [[National List]]

==Lebanon and the Litani, 1948==
On 24 May 1948 Ben-Gurion wrote in his diary that the Carmeli Brigade's "role is to occupy southern Lebanon – assisted by the bombing of Tyre, Sidon, and Beirut". He continued: "Lebanon is the weak link in the Arab coalition. The Muslim government is artificial and easy to destabilize. A Christian state should be established with the Litani [River] as its southern border. We'll form an alliance with it."<ref name="BGDiary1948">David Ben-Gurion, [https://bengurionarchive.bgu.ac.il/en/node/13292 Diary, 24 May 1948] ''The Ben-Gurion Archive'', Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli-side).</ref> In 2026 Israeli ministers called for the [[Litani River]] to be Israel's northern border; see [[Greater Israel]] and [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]].

==External resources==
*Shay Hazkani, [http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/catastrophic-thinking-did-ben-gurion-try-to-rewrite-history.premium-1.524308 Catastrophic thinking: Did Ben-Gurion try to rewrite history?], ''Haaretz'', 16 May 2013.

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Israel|Ben-Gurion, David]]

Yisrael Katz

2026-10-22T09:57:42Z

Lebanon Bot: Update to defence minister; add 2026 Lebanon statements; infobox and photo

{{short description|'''Israeli Likud politician and defence minister, who has said Israel will hold a security zone in southern Lebanon up to the Litani River'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Yisrael Katz
| image = Israel Katz on July 3, 2024 (cropped).jpg
| nationality = Israeli
| occupation = Minister of Defence
| known_for = Israel's security zone in southern Lebanon
}}
'''Yisrael Katz''' (also Israel Katz) is an Israeli [[Likud]] politician and Israel's defence minister.<ref name="Annahar20Oct2026">Annahar, [https://en.annahar.com/en/358756/katz-no-withdrawal-from-southern-lebanon-until-hezbollah-is-disarmed-the-southern-suburbs-are-under-threat Katz says Israel will hold Lebanese security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed] ''Annahar'', 20 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> He was Transport Minister in the Israeli Government formed on 18 March 2013.<ref name="Gov33">Knesset, [http://knesset.gov.il/govt/eng/GovtByNumber_eng.asp Government 33] ''knesset.gov.il'', accessed 18 March 2013 (Israeli government-side).</ref>

== Lebanon ==
On 24 March 2026, during the war with [[Hezbollah]], Katz said that "Israel" would occupy a swathe of southern Lebanon up to the [[Litani River]].<ref name="Reuters24Mar2026">Alexander Cornwell and Nazih Osseiran, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-military-occupy-swathe-southern-lebanon-defence-chief-says-2026-03-24/ Israel's military to occupy swathe of southern Lebanon, defence minister says] ''Reuters'', 24 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> On 31 March he said the army "would control the area up to the Litani River, including the remaining Litani bridges".<ref name="Reuters31Mar2026">Reuters, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-establish-buffer-zone-south-lebanon-up-litani-river-defence-minister-says-2026-03-31/ Israel to establish buffer zone in south Lebanon up to Litani River, defence minister says] ''Reuters'', 31 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> He said that "all homes in villages near the border in Lebanon would be destroyed, according to the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza", and that more than 600,000 displaced residents would not be allowed back south of the Litani until northern Israel was secure.<ref name="AlMonitor31Mar2026">Reuters, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/03/israel-establish-buffer-zone-south-lebanon-litani-river-defence-minister-says Israel to establish buffer zone in south Lebanon up to Litani River, defence minister says] ''Al-Monitor'', 31 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> On 20 October 2026 he wrote on X that "Israel has established a security zone inside Lebanese territory covering 700 square kilometers", and that "the area is now free of residents, armed infrastructure, and houses". He said that the army would not withdraw from its security zone until Hezbollah was fully disarmed. ''Annahar'' reported him as saying that the army was ready to conduct ground operations in additional areas of Nabatieh and the Litani Basin, evacuate their residents and permanently annex them to the zone.<ref name="Annahar20Oct2026" /> See [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]].

==External resources==
*Udi Etzion, [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3745563,00.html Transportation Ministry to Hebraize road signs], ynetnews.com, 13 July 2009.

== See also ==
* [[Bezalel Smotrich]]
* [[Benjamin Netanyahu]]

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Israel|Katz, Yisrael]]
[[Category:Members of the Knesset|Katz, Yisrael]]

Benjamin Netanyahu

2026-10-22T09:57:40Z

Lebanon Bot: Update lead; add Greater Israel and Lebanon sections; infobox

{{short description|'''Prime Minister of Israel and chairman of Likud'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Benjamin Netanyahu
| image = Benjamin Netanyahu.JPG
| birth_date = {{Start date|1949|10|21}}
| nationality = Israeli
| occupation = Prime Minister of Israel; chairman of [[Likud]]
}}
'''Benjamin Netanyahu''' (born 21 October 1949) is Prime Minister of Israel and chairman of the [[Likud]] Party. He became Prime Minister for the second time in 2009.<ref name="ToI2025GI">''The Times of Israel'', [https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-says-hes-on-a-historic-and-spiritual-mission-endorses-vision-of-greater-israel/ Netanyahu says he's on a 'historic and spiritual mission,' also feels a connection to vision of Greater Israel] ''The Times of Israel'', 12 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In 2025 he said he felt "very much" connected to the vision of [[Greater Israel]], and since 2026 he has said that Israeli forces will stay in a security zone in southern Lebanon until [[Hezbollah]] is disarmed.

==On terrorism==
Netanyahu has been credited by former Secretary of State [[George Shultz]] for his central role in effecting a change in American policies on terrorism. <ref>Ashbrooke Centre, [http://www.ashbrook.org/events/memdin/netanyahu/home.html 'Eighteenth Annual John M. Ashbrook Memorial Dinner'], 3 May 2002</ref> In 1979 Netanyahu initiated and organized an international conference against terrorism, under the auspices of the [[Jonathan Institute]] — a private foundation dedicated to the study of terrorism, which was named after his brother Jonathan. A second conference was organised in 1984. Through these conferences the institute espoused its doctrine of "preemptive retaliation" the Israeli policy of killing those designated as terrorists before they can act. [[George Shultz]] pushed this line at the conference and earlier in appearances before the Denton committee. The 1984 conference also produced a widely reviewed book edited by Netanyahu, ''Terrorism: How the West Can Win'', and established Netanyahu as a leading international voice in the war against terrorism. <ref>see [[Jonathan Institute, extract from The "Terrorism" Industry]]</ref>

==Greater Israel==
On 12 August 2025 an i24 interviewer, Sharon Gal, gave Netanyahu an amulet showing "a map of the Promised Land" and asked whether he felt connected to that vision. Netanyahu answered "Very much". When Gal said "It is Greater Israel", Netanyahu replied "If you ask me, we are here" and spoke of his generation's mission. ''The Times of Israel'' reported that the exchange was cut from i24's YouTube versions.<ref name="ToI2025GI" /> ''Middle East Eye'' reported that the vision includes "occupied Palestinian territory as well as parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon".<ref name="MEE2025">MEE staff, [https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/netanyahu-embraces-greater-israel-vision-including-parts-jordan-and-egypt Netanyahu says he backs 'Greater Israel', which includes parts of Jordan and Egypt] ''Middle East Eye'', 13 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> See [[Greater Israel]].

==Lebanon==
In March 2026 his defence minister, [[Yisrael Katz]], said that "Israel" would hold southern Lebanon up to the [[Litani River]].<ref name="AlMonitor31Mar2026">Reuters, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/03/israel-establish-buffer-zone-south-lebanon-litani-river-defence-minister-says Israel to establish buffer zone in south Lebanon up to Litani River, defence minister says] ''Al-Monitor'', 31 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> Visiting troops in the security zone on 30 June 2026, Netanyahu said: "As long as Hezbollah is here, armed, threatening us, we will remain." He called the security zones "a paradigm shift" and said: "We are doing this in Lebanon, [just as] we did it in Gaza."<ref name="JPost30Jun2026">''The Jerusalem Post'', [https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-900983 Benjamin Netanyahu: IDF to remain in Lebanon Security Zone until Hezbollah threat ends] ''The Jerusalem Post'', 30 June 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In October 2026 he told Radio North: "No, I don't trust them to disarm Hezbollah. That's why we said that, as long as it remains armed, we will stay in this zone."<ref name="Kataeb2026">Kataeb, [https://en.kataeb.org/articles/netanyahu-says-israel-will-remain-in-southern-lebanon-until-hezbollah-is-disarmed Netanyahu Says Israel Will Remain in Southern Lebanon Until Hezbollah Is Disarmed] ''Kataeb.org'', 19 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (Lebanese Kataeb party).</ref> See [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]].

==Other Powerbase resources, External links, publications==
===Other Powerbase resources===
[[Netanyahu's Millionaires]] | [[Benzion Netanyahu]] | [[Yair Netanyahu]] | [[Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress]] | [[Daniel Doron]] | [[Uzi Arad]] | [[Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy]] | [[Institute for the Study of Terrorism, extract from The "Terrorism" Industry]] | [[Jonathan Institute, extract from The "Terrorism" Industry]] | [[Jonathan Institute]] | [[Meyrav Wurmser]] | [[Yigal Carmon]] | [[Anna (Anya) Zhuravel]] | [[Jeffrey Gedmin]] | [[David Wurmser]] | [[Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies]] | [[Dore Gold]] | [[Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies]] | [[Moshe Ya'alon]] | [[Saban Center for Middle East Policy]] | [[Haim Saban]] | [[Arthur J. Finkelstein]] | [[David Bar-Illan]] | [[Claremont Institute]] | [[Jeffrey Goldberg]] | [[Poju Zabludowicz]] | [[Allen Roth]] | [[David Goder]] | [[Steven Schneier]] | [[Jewish People Policy Institute]] | [[National Strategy Information Center]] | [[Herzliya Conference]]

===External links===
* [http://www.netanyahu.org.il/ Benyamin Netanyahu's Blog] - Netanyahu's Official Blog and Videoblog.
* [http://www.netanyahu.com/ Netanyahu.com] - Netanyahu's Unofficial Blog.
* [http://www.zionism-israel.com/bio/Benjamin_Nethanyahu.htm Biography of Benjamin Netanyahu] at [http://www.zionism-israel.com/zionist_biographies.htm Zionism and Israel Information Center Biography Section]
* Website of supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu: [http://www.netanyahu.org/index.html Hebrew]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1630000/video/_1631740_mideast_netanyahu06_vi.ram Benjamin Netanyahu on the definition of terror] (BBC)(5 min.)
* [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3064466,00.html Benjamin Netanyahu Profile on Israeli Lexicon] (Ynetnews | Yedioth Aharonoth)
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1123208391474&p=1006953079845 Netanyahu: Pullout will worsen Israel's security] [[The Jerusalem Post]], August 5, 2005
*[http://preview.voicenet.com/~hma63203/BIOS/netanyahu-benjamin.htm Cheltenham High School Hall of Fame Biography]
*[http://www.omedia.org/Show_Article.asp?DynamicContentID=1969&MenuID=608&ThreadID=1014011 Netanyahu’s Fortification Plan]
*Harriet Sherwood, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/20/israel-netanyahu-african-immigrants-jewish?newsfeed=true Israel PM: illegal African immigrants threaten identity of Jewish state], guardian.co.uk, 20 May 2012.
*David Margolick, [http://m.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/07/benjamin-netanyahu-on-israel-mitt-romney The Netanyahu Paradox], ''Vanity Fair'', July 2012.
*[http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-iran-six-to-seven-months-from-nuclear-bomb-capability-1.465333 Netanyahu: Iran six to seven months from nuclear bomb capability], ''Haaretz'', 16 September 2012.
*Maggie Haberman, [http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/09/netanyahu-ad-to-debut-in-florida-136034.html?hp=l7 Netanyahu ad to debut in Florida], ''Politico'', 19 September 2012.
*Jasmin Ramsey, [http://www.lobelog.com/netanyahu-ad-funded-by-hawkish-advocacy-group/ Netanyahu Ad Funded By Hawkish Advocacy Group], ''Lobelog'', 20 September 2012.
*Catrina Stewart, [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/nearly-half-of-benjamin-netanyahus-donors-also-gave-money-to-mitt-romney-or-the-us-republican-party-8191359.html Nearly half of Benjamin Netanyahu's donors also gave money to Mitt Romney or the US Republican Party], independent.co.uk, 30 September 2012.

=== Books and articles ===
====Books====
*''A Durable Peace: Israel and Its Place Among the Nations'' (Warner Books, 2000) ISBN 0-446-52306-2
*''[[Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic And International Terrorism]]'' (Diane Pub Co, 1995) ISBN 0-7881-5514-8
*''A Place Among the Nations'' (Bantam, 1993) ISBN 0-553-08974-9
*''[[Terrorism: How the West Can Win]]'' (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1986) ISBN 0-374-27342-1

====Articles====
*[http://www.netanyahu.org/statofforisp.html "On Terrorism"]

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Terrorologist|Netanyahu, Benjamin]][[Category:Israel|Netanyahu, Benjamin]][[Category:Israel Lobby|Netanyahu, Benjamin]][[Category:Israel Lobby|Members of the Knesset]]

See also
*Sourcewatch [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Benjamin_Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu]

Israel Shahak

2026-10-22T09:57:38Z

Lebanon Bot: Add pointer to the Yinon Plan and Oded Yinon pages

'''Dr. Israel Shahak''' (born '''Israel Himmelstaub''', 28 April 1933 – 2 July 2001) was an 'Israeli' professor of organic chemistry at the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]], a Holocaust survivor, an intellectual of liberal political bent, and a civil-rights advocate and activist on behalf of both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews). For twenty years, he headed the [[Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights]] (1970–90) and was a public critic of the policies of the governments of Israel. As a public intellectual, Shahak's works about Judaism proved controversial, especially the book ''Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years'' (1994).<ref name="Warschawski">Michel Warschawski [http://www.palestine-studies.org/jq/fulltext/78062 The Last Israeli Liberal: Remembering Israel Shahak (1933-2001)] [[Journal of Palestine Studies]] Summer 2001 issue=13 page=32 </ref>

==Biography==
Israel Shahak was born Israel Himmelstaub, in 1933, in Warsaw, Poland, and was the youngest child of a cultured, Zionist family of [[Ashkenazi Jews]].<ref name="Adams">[http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article35445.ece Israel Shahak] Adams, Michael, [[The Independent]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20071001090906/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article35445.ece Archive version] 26 July 2001 | archive-date=1 October 2007</ref><ref name="Ash">[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1987/01/29/the-life-of-death-an-exchange/ Israel Shahak: a voice of controversy] Ash, Timothy Garton [[The New York Review of Books]] 29 January 1987</ref> During the Second World War, the [[Occupation of Poland (1939-1945)|Nazi occupation of Poland]] (1939–1945) interned the Shahak family to the [[Warsaw Ghetto]]; yet his elder brother escaped from Poland to the United Kingdom, where he joined the [[Royal Air Force]]. Life in occupied Poland forced Shahak's mother to pay a Roman Catholic family to hide Israel, whom they returned when she could not afford their safe-keeping him from the Nazis.

In 1943, the Nazis sent the Shahak family to the [[Poniatowa concentration camp]], to the west of Lublin, where his father died. Fortuitously, the ten-year-old boy and his mother escaped from the Poniatowa camp, and returned to Warsaw; yet, within a year, whilst emptying the city of Jews, the Nazis recaptured Israel and his mother, and imprisoned them in the [[Bergen-Belsen concentration camp]], where they survived for 2 years,<ref name="Pallis">Elfi Pallis [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jul/06/guardianobituaries.physicalsciences Israel Shahak Belsen survivor who attacked Israel's treatment of Palestinians] [[The Guardian]] 6 July 2001</ref><ref name="O'Dwyer">Thomas O'Dwyer, [https://www.haaretz.com/scourge-of-everyone-1.63252 Scourge of Everyone], [[Haaretz]] 12 July 2001}}</ref>| until the camp and its inmates were liberated in 1945 by the [[British Army]]. At age 13, in 1946, he re-examined the [[Existence of God|idea of God's existence]] and concluded that evidence for the theory was lacking.<ref name="Pallis"/> As [[Displaced persons camp|displaced persons]], mother and son [[Aliyah Bet|managed to emigrate]] to the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]], where Shahak's application to join a [[kibbutz]] was denied, because he was judged to be physically too slender.<ref name="Pallis"/>

Post-war, the twelve-year-old Israel worked and studied and supported his mother, whose health had deteriorated in Bergen-Belsen. After a religious Jewish education at boarding school in the village of [[Kfar Hassidim]], Israel and his mother moved to the city of Tel Aviv. Upon graduation from secondary school, Shahak served in the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF). After the military service, he earned a doctorate in chemistry, at [[Hebrew University]].<ref name="Pallis"/>

In the course of his professional career as a scientist, Shahak's work in organic chemistry produced science about organic compounds of the element fluorine (F), contributed to cancer research, for which he gained an international reputation<ref name="O'Dwyer"/> and included posting as an assistant to [[Ernst David Bergmann]], the nuclear physicist who was chairman (1952) of the [[Israel Atomic Energy Commission]] (IAEC).<ref name="Pallis"/><ref name="Adams"/> In 1961, Shahak pursued post-doctoral studies at [[Stanford University]], in the U.S.; in 1963, he returned to Israel, where he became a popular lecturer and researcher in chemistry, at Hebrew University; moreover, by 1965, Shahak actively participated in the Israeli politics of the day.<ref name="Hitchens">[[Christopher Hitchens]], [http://www.thenation.com/article/israel-shahak-1933-200 Israel Shahak, 1933-2001] [[The Nation]] |url= 23 July 2001.</ref>

In 1990, the academic Shahak retired from the faculty of Hebrew University, because of poor health (diabetes mellitus) and greater interest in research work in other fields of intellectual enquiry.{{sfn|Mezvinsky|2001}} For most of his adult life, Shahak resided in the [[Rehavia]] neighborhood in [[West Jerusalem]]; at the age of 68 years, he died of diabetic complications, and was buried in the [[Givat Shaul]] cemetery.<ref name="Pallis"/>

Shahak had a deep affinity with [[Spinoza]]

:"He had no heroes and no dogmas and no party allegiances. If he admitted to any intellectual model, it would have been Spinoza."<ref name="Hitchens"/>
He always packed a copy of [[Ethics (Spinoza)|The Ethics]] in his suitcase for reading during his periodic stints of service in the [[Israel Defense Forces]],{{sfn|Cooley|2015|p=217}} and had been writing a book on the philosopher before his death.<ref name="Pallis"/> His activities as a [[intellectual|public intellectual]] fighting for human rights causes and for a secular state earned him a reputation for controversy, and frequent abuse. He was regularly spat on,<ref name="Pallis"/> frequently given death threats,<ref name="Pallis"/> and decried variously as an Israel basher, [[self-hating Jew]], traitor, and [[enemy of the people]].
:He was known by other names: Israel basher, self-hating Jew, traitor, enemy of the people. The entire lexicon of standard if unimaginative Israeli abuse was thrown at him, accompanied by calls to have him dismissed from the university or barred from leaving the country (to prevent him attacking it abroad). […] When he was branded (like many Jewish critics of Israel) with the old cliche of 'self-hating Jew', he always responded with his first-hand knowledge of the price of being a Jew. 'That is a Nazi expression. The Nazis called Germans who defended Jewish rights self-hating Germans.<ref name="O'Dwyer"/>

==Politics==
=== Public intellectual ===
In the late 1950s, as a citizen of Israel, Shahak became politically engaged on hearing a comment of [[David Ben-Gurion]] that, with the [[Suez War]] (29 October 1956 – 7 November 1956), the State of Israel was fighting to achieve "the kingdom of David and Solomon".<ref name="Hitchens"/>
In the 1960s he joined the Israeli League Against Religious Coercion.<ref name="Warschawski"/> In 1965, he began political activism against "Classical Judaism" and Zionism;{{sfn|Mezvinsky|2001}} and wrote a letter to ''[[Haaretz]]'' about having witnessed an Orthodox Jew "refusing to let his phone be used on the Sabbath to help a non-Jew who had collapsed nearby"; in Israel, Shahak's complaint began a long-running debate about the attitudes (religious and cultural) of [[Orthodox Judaism]] towards gentiles.{{sfn|Rickman|2009}}

In 1967, after the [[Six-Day War]] (5–10 June 1967), Shahak ended his membership to the League Against Religious Coercion, because they were "fake liberals" who used the principles of Liberalism to combat coercive religious influence in Israeli society — but did not apply such protections to the Israeli Palestinians living in the IDF-occupied [[West Bank]] and in the [[Gaza Strip]].<ref name="Warschawski"/> In the event, Shahak joined the [[Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights]], and became its president in 1970.<ref name="Adams"/> The League, composed of Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, protested and publicized Israel's restrictive policies against Palestinians and provided legal aid to them. Some settlers in the West Bank city of [[Hebron]] so hated him that in 1971 they had their pick-up truck painted with "Dr. Shahak To The Gallows".{{sfn|Davis|1972|p=66}}

In 1969, Shahak and another member of the faculty of Hebrew University staged a sit-down protest against the Israeli government's policy of jailing politically active Palestinian students, by way of [[administrative detention]] authorised by state-of-emergency laws; likewise, Shahak supported the political efforts of Palestinian students to achieve equal rights, like those granted to Jewish Israelis, at Hebrew University.{{sfn|Mezvinsky|2001}} In 1970, Shahak established the Committee Against Administrative Detentions to formally oppose such legalised political repression.<ref name="Warschawski"/>

To make public what he considered the anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian legalised discrimination, Shahak published English translations of Hebrew-language reportage about illegal and unjust actions of the Israeli government against the gentile citizens of Israel; Shahak's English reports were intended for the Jewish community of the U.S.<ref name="Adams"/>{{sfn|Mezvinsky|2001}} The translated reports featured headlines such as "Torture in Israel," and "Collective Punishment in the West Bank", which Shahak sent to journalists, academics, and human rights activists, and so ensured that the mainstream population of the U.S. would be informed of the religious discrimination practised by the government of Israel.{{sfn|Rickman|2009}}

===Civil rights advocate===
As a public intellectual, Shahak wrote about the Israeli government's actions against the non-Jewish citizens of the State of Israel, such as the suppression of freedom of speech and general political activity; land ordinances, living restrictions, and the confiscation of lands from non-Jews; the destruction of houses; legally-sanctioned unequal pay and work restrictions; emergency-defence regulations allowing the summary arrest, detention, and torture of prisoners (civil and military); the collective punishment of communities; the assassinations of leaders (religious, political, academic); racial discrimination in access to education; and the deprivation of Israeli citizenship.{{sfn|Mezvinsky|2001}} Such political activities earned Shahak much hostility and death threats; after the [[1982 Lebanon War]] (June 1982 – June 1985), Shahak also reported Israeli abuses of the populations of Lebanon.<ref name="Adams"/>

In effort to explain the behaviour of the State of Israel towards their Arab neighbours, Shahak proposed that the Israeli interpretation of Jewish history produced a society who disregard the human rights of the Arab peoples, within Israel and around Israel.{{sfn|Rickman|2009}} That Zionism was a "régime based on structural discrimination and racism".

In the book review of a festschrift in honour of [[Elmer Berger (rabbi)|Rabbi Elmer Berger]] ''Anti-Zionism: Analytical Reflections'' (1988), [[Sheldon Richman]] characterized Shahak's interpretation of Zionism as viewing it as an [[atavistic]] reaction against the European Enlightenment's individualism that strove to revive the suffocating world of the Jewish ghetto. The founders of the movement did not believe Jews could lead a normal existence in democratic societies. In this sense, for Shahak, Zionism can be thought of as "a mirror image of anti-Semitism," in that, in common with antisemites, Zionists considered Jews to be aliens who must be quarantined from the rest of the world, a viewpoint Shahak read as capitulating to European antisemitism. For Richman, Shahak's analysis shed light on the tragic consequences that followed upon the establishment of Israel, as Arabs were swept away to forge a state for Jews alone.{{sfn|Richman|1989}}

In letters published in the ''Ha'aretz'' and ''[[Kol Ha'ir]]'' newspapers, Shahak criticized the political hypocrisy demonstrated by the radical Left in their uncritical support of the Palestinian nationalist movements.<ref name="Warschawski"/> In his obituary of Shahak, [[Christopher Hitchens]] said that Shahak's house was "a library of information about the human rights of the oppressed", and that: Hitchens acknowledged a personal debt to Shahak, one of several people who "had to undergo considerable intellectual trial and evince notable courage, in order to break with the faith of their tribes", for having introduced him to the thinking of Spinoza.<ref name="Hitchens"/>

<blockquote>The families of prisoners, the staff of closed and censored publications, the victims of eviction and confiscation — none were ever turned away. I have met influential "civil society" Palestinians alive today who were protected as students when Israel was a professor of chemistry at the Hebrew University; from him they learned never to generalize about Jews. And they respected him, not just for his consistent stand against discrimination, but also because — he never condescended to them. He detested nationalism and religion, and made no secret of his contempt for the grasping Arafat entourage. But, as he once put it to me, "I will now only meet with Palestinian spokesmen when we are out of the country. I have some severe criticisms to present to them. But I cannot do this while they are living under occupation, and I can 'visit' them as a privileged citizen."</blockquote>

Shahak was also active in protesting the public burning of Christian books such as occurred on 23 March 1980 when [[Yad L'Achim|''Yad Le-akhim'']], a religious organization that was at the time a beneficiary of subsidies from the [[Ministry of Religious Services|Ministry of Religion]], ceremonially incinerated hundreds of copies of the [[New Testament]] publicly in Jerusalem.{{sfn|Shahak|Mezvinsky|2004|p=23}}

==Writings==
Among the books publish by Israel Shahak are ''Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel'' (1994), co-authored by [[Norton Mezvinsky]], ''Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years'' (1994), and ''Open Secrets: Israel's Nuclear and Foreign Policies'' (1997). In the introduction to the 2004 edition of ''Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel'', the historian Mezvinsky said, "We realize that, by criticizing Jewish fundamentalism, we are criticizing a part of the past that we love. We wish that members of every human grouping would criticize their own past, even before criticizing others."{{sfn|Shahak|Mezvinsky|2004|p=xxi}}

===Alleged telephone incident===
In 1965, Shahak wrote a letter to the ''[[Haaretz]]'' newspaper, about an injustice he witnessed; that letter originated "the current major debate within and outside Israel about Orthodox Jewish attitudes to non-Jews."{{sfn|Rickman|2009}} In the letter, Shahak said he witnessed an Orthodox Jew refuse the use of his telephone to call for an ambulance for a non-Jew, because it was the [[Shabbat]].{{sfn|Rickman|2009}}{{sfn|Segev|2007|pp=99–100}}{{sfn|Bogdanor|2006|p=121}}{{sfn|Boteach|2008}} Shahak added that the [[Beth din]], the rabbinical court of Jerusalem, had confirmed that the Orthodox Jew correctly understood ''[[Halakha]]'' law on [[Pikuach nefesh]] regarding non-Jews and the Sabbath, and quoted passages from a recent legal compilation.

Consequently, the cultural matter of a religiously-denied telephone became public political discussion in the Israeli press and the Jewish press abroad, all of which directed attention to Shahak as a [[Intellectual|public intellectual]] in the cultural politics of Israel.{{sfn|Rickman|2009}}{{sfn|Segev|2007|pp=99–100}}{{sfn|Boteach|2008}} ''[[The Jewish Chronicle]]'' in London stated that "The halakha (Jewish law) abounds in such abominations ... in conflict with the humane instincts within which anyone raised in Jewish tradition is imbued."{{sfn|Rickman|2009}} In the ''[[Maariv (newspaper)|Maariv]]'' newspaper, the minister of religious affairs, Rabbi Dr. [[Zerach Warhaftig]] said that the Orthodox rabbinical ruling was correct, but quoted traditional Jewish passages that allowed a Jewish physician to save the life of a non-Jew on the Sabbath, despite not being religiously required to do so.{{sfn|Segev|2007|pp=99–100}}

====Public controversy====
In 1966, Rabbi [[Immanuel Jakobovits]] disputed the veracity of Shahak's story, claiming that Israel Shahak had been compelled to admit that the incident had not occurred.{{sfn|The Times|1999}}{{sfn|Jakobovits|1966|pp=58–65}} He cited a lengthy ''[[responsa|responsum]]'', by [[Isser Yehuda Unterman]], the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, who said that "the Sabbath must be violated to save non-Jewish life no less than Jewish lives", and cited a ruling by Rabbi [[Menachem Meiri]] that Jews ''should'' desecrate the Sabbath to save a gentile's life.{{sfn|Rickman|2009}}{{sfn|Boteach|2008}}{{sfn|Schwartz|2002|p=19}}{{sfn|Jakobovits|1966|p=59}} The opinions of these rabbis derived from the book ''Noda B'Yehuda'' (''Known in Judah''), in which the 18th-century religious authority [[Yechezkel Landau]] said: "I emphatically declare that in all laws contained in the Jewish writings concerning theft, fraud, etc. no distinction is made between Jew and Gentile; that the (Talmudic) legal categories [[goy]], ''akum'' (idolater) etc., in no way apply to the people among whom we live."{{sfn|Schwartz|2002|p=19}}

Despite the controversy, Shahak published his account of the telephone in the first chapter of ''Jewish History, Jewish Religion'' (1994), and said that "neither the Israeli, nor the [[diaspora]] rabbinical authorities ever reversed their ruling that a Jew should not violate the Sabbath in order to save the life of a Gentile. They added much sanctimonious twaddle to the effect that, if the consequence of such an act puts Jews in danger, the violation of the Sabbath is permitted, for their sake."{{sfn|Shahak|2002|pp=4–5}}

===The Jewish religion and its attitude to non-Jews - 1981===
This was a three part article with a long Appendix published in ''[[Khamsin]]'' a magazine published by [[Matzpen]].

===The Yinon Plan===
:''Main article: [[The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties]]. See also [[Oded Yinon]].''

The Yinon Plan was a document written in Hebrew by [[Oded Yinon]]. It was translated into English in 1982 by the anti-Zionist activist [[Israel Shahak]].

Shahak writes in the foreword:

:In an highly revealing article published in the [[World Zionist Organization]] periodical, ''[[Kivunim]]'', [[Oded Yinon]] advocates that Israeli strategy in the 1980s aims to redraw the map of the Middle East, fragment the Arab states, and become, in effect, a regional superpower.<ref>[https://powerbase.info/images/3/35/Shahak-Association_of_Arab-American_University_Graduates%2C_Inc_-_The_Zionist_Plan_for_the_Middle_East-Association_of_Arab-American_University_Graduates%2C_Inc_%281982%29.pdf The Zionist Plan for the Middle East] Translated and edited by Israel Shahak from Oded Yinon's,'A STRATEGY FOR ISRAEL IN THE NINETEEN EIGHTIES'. ASSOCIAIION OF ARAB-AMERICAN UNTVERSTTY GRADUATES, INC.
Belmont Massachusetts, 1982</ref>

It is noted in a prefatory passage:

:This essay originally appeared in Hebrew in KIVUNIM (Directions), A Journal for Judaism and Zionism; Issue No, 14--Winter, 5742, February 1982, Editor: [[Yoram Beck]]. Editorial Committee: [[Eli Eyal]], Yoram Beck, [[Amnon Hadari]], [[Yohanan Manor]], [[Elieser Schweid]]. Published by the Department of Publicity/The World Zionist Organization, Jerusalem.

===''Jewish History, Jewish Religion''===
In 1994, Shahak published ''[[Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years]]'', about Jewish fundamentalism, which history professor [[Norton Mezvinsky]], at Central Connecticut State University, said is a:

<blockquote>Scathing attack upon Classical Judaism and its more modern outgrowth, Orthodox Judaism.... As a lover of prophetic Judaism and as a disciple of Spinoza, Shahak, in a learned and rational manner, condemned the parochialism, racism, and hatred of non-Jews, which too often appeared in the Judaism that developed during and after the Talmudic period, and which, to a goodly extent, still exists.{{sfn|Mezvinsky|2001}}</blockquote>

That the initial history of most nations is [[ethnocentrism|ethnocentric]], and that, in time, by way of a period of critical self-analysis, the nation incorporates the social perspectives of [[Other (philosophy)|the Other]], of the ethnic groups living among them. That, after the [[Age of Enlightenment]], the [[Jewish emancipation]] from legal and religious social subordination was a dual liberation — from Christian [[antisemitism]] and from the rabbinate of conservative [[Judaism]], and their "imposed scriptural control" upon daily Jewish life.{{sfn|Hitchens|1997|p=xi}}

The journalist [[Robert Fisk]] said that the examination of [[Jewish fundamentalism]] is invaluable, because Shahak concludes that:
<blockquote>There can no longer be any doubt that the most horrifying acts of oppression in the West Bank are motivated by Jewish religious fanaticism." He quotes from an official exhortation to religious Jewish soldiers about Gentiles, published by the Israeli army's Central Region Command, in which the chief chaplain writes: "When our forces come across civilians during a war, or in hot pursuit, or a raid, so long as there is no certainty that those civilians are incapable of harming our forces, then, according to the ''[[Halakhah]]'' (the legal system of Classical Judaism) they may and even should be killed... In no circumstances should an Arab be trusted, even if he makes an impression of being civilised.... In war, when our forces storm the enemy, they are allowed, and even enjoined, by the ''Halakhah'' to kill even good civilians, that is, civilians who are ostensibly good.<ref name="Fisk">Robert Fisk [https://web.archive.org/web/20121025194835/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/comment-religion-in-the-middle-east-the-fundamental-problem-740098.html Religion in the Middle East: the fundamental problem], [[The Independent]] 3 December 1997</ref></blockquote>

In his foreword to the second edition (1997), [[Edward Said]] said that Shahak was "one of the most remarkable individuals in the contemporary Middle East" who he credits with doing more to dissipate the "ideological smoke screen" of Zionism than any other single individual. He goes on to describe Shahak as "un- and anti-racist" and emphasizes Shahak's consistency in applying a single standard for infractions against human rights. Said describes Shahak's writing as "rigorous and uncompromising", often at the expense of putting things "'nicely'".<ref name=":0">Shahak, Israel. Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years. United Kingdom, Pluto Press, 1994.</ref>

Said comments specifically about ''Jewish History, Jewish Religion'' as a powerful contribution to the study of Judaism and rabbinical and Talmudic traditions and its associated scholarship. In summary, he describes this work:<blockquote>Shahak shows that the obscure, narrowly chauvinist prescriptions against various undesirable Others are to be found in Judaism (as well of course as other monotheistic traditions) but he also then goes on to show the continuity between those and the way Israel treats Palestinians, Christians and other non-Jews. A devastating portrait of prejudice, hypocrisy and religious intolerance emerges.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>About his other writing, Said also emphasized Shahak's willingness to criticize Palestinian policies, addressing "the PLO's sloppiness, its ignorance of Israel, its inability to resolutely oppose Israel, its shabby compromises and cult of personality, its general lack of seriousness." {{sfn|Said|2002|pp=ix–xiv}}

In his book review, [[Werner Cohn]] said that Shahak was making "grotesque charges" and that specific passages in ''Jewish History, Jewish Religion'' are without foundation:{{sfn|Cohn|1994|pp=28–29}}

<blockquote>Some are just funny. He says (pp. 23-4) that "Jewish children are actually taught" to utter a ritual curse when passing a non-Jewish cemetery.{{efn|"So now, one can read quite freely—and Jewish children are actually taught—passages such as that, which commands every Jew, whenever passing near a cemetery, to utter a blessing if the cemetery is Jewish, but to curse the mothers of the dead if it is non-Jewish."{{sfn|Shahak|1994|pp=23–24}}}} He also tells us (p. 34) that "both before and after a meal, a pious Jew ritually washes his hands....On one of these two occasions he is worshiping God... but on the other he is worshiping Satan..." I did take the trouble to question my orthodox rabbi nephew to find what might be behind such tall tales. He had no clue. If orthodox Jews were actually taught such hateful things, surely someone would have heard. Whom is Dr. Shahak kidding?.{{efn|"Other prayers or religious acts, as interpreted by the Cabbalists, are designed to deceive various angels (imagined as minor deities with a measure of independence) or to propitiate Satan... both before and after a meal, a pious Jew ritually washes his hands, uttering a special blessing. On one of these two occasions he is worshiping God, by promoting the divine union of Son and Daughter; but on the other he is worshiping Satan, who likes Jewish prayers and ritual acts so much that, when he is offered a few of them, it keeps him busy for a while, and he forgets to pester the divine Daughter."{{sfn|Shahak|2002|p=34}}}}</blockquote>

The remark regarding children passing a cemetery occurs in Shahak's discussion of passages modified by rabbis who, under pressure from antisemitic Christian authorities such as those in Tzarist Russia, altered the texts, while keeping private copies of the originals which, according to Shahak were restored as the proper manuscript readings and published in Israel after the founding of the state of Israel.{{sfn|Shahak|2002|pp=23–24}}

[[Samuel Heilman]] writing for the ''[[Middle East Studies Association of North America|Review of Middle East Studies]]'' gave a negative review and proposed to dispose the book "into the same dustbin as the infamous anti-Jewish tract and fraud, [[the Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Heilman|first=Samuel|date=2001|title=Review of Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years, (Pluto Middle Eastern Series)|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23063425|journal=Middle East Studies Association Bulletin|volume=35|issue=1|pages=112–113|doi=10.1017/S0026318400041997 |jstor=23063425 |s2cid=164310024 |issn=0026-3184|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Jewish Fundamentalism===
==Critical reception==
As a public intellectual, Israel Shahak was accused by Zionists of fabricating the incidents he reported, of [[Victim blaming|blaming the victim]], of distorting the [[normative]] meaning of Jewish religious texts, and of misrepresenting Jewish belief and law.{{sfn|Jakobovits|1966}} Paul Bogdanor claimed that Shahak "regaled his audience with a stream of outrageous libels, ludicrous fabrications, and transparent hoaxes. As each successive allegation was exposed and discredited, he would simply proceed to a new invention."{{sfn|Bogdanor|2006|p=119}} Ari Alexander, co-founder of the Children of Abraham Organization for Jewish–Islamic dialogue, said that, despite the use of Shahak's works by neo-Nazis and anti-Israel organisations in Arab countries:

<blockquote>The texts that Shahak cites are real (though Shahak's sporadic use of footnotes makes it difficult to check all of them). Often, the interpretation [by Shahak] of these texts is debatable, and their prominence in Judaism negligible, but, nonetheless, they are part of Jewish tradition, and, therefore, cannot be ignored.{{sfn|Alexander}}</blockquote>

Accusations of being an antisemite were among the responses to Shahak's works about [[Judaism]] and the [[Talmud]].{{sfn|Cohn|1994|pp=28–29}} In that vein, in ''The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics'', the [[Anti-Defamation League]] (ADL) listed Shahak as one of four authors of antisemitic polemics, and Bogdanor said that in his works, Shahak was "recycling Soviet anti-Semitic propaganda".{{sfn|Bogdanor|2006|p=122}} [[Werner Cohn]] said, "without question, he is the world's most conspicuous Jewish anti-Semite.... Like the Nazis before him, Shahak specialized in defaming the Talmud. In fact, he has made it his life's work to popularize the anti–Talmud ruminations of the eighteenth-century German anti-Semite, [[Johann Andreas Eisenmenger|Johann Eisenmenger]]".{{sfn|Cohn|1995|p=18}} [[Emanuele Ottolenghi]], reviewing Alexander and Bogdanor's book, argued that Jews such as Shahak, [[George Steiner]], [[Tanya Reinhart]], [[Tony Judt]], [[Avi Shlaim]], [[Seymour Hersh]] and [[Daniel Boyarin]] act as enablers for antisemites, because the rhetoric of antisemitic Jews plays a "crucial role... in excusing, condoning, and — in effect — abetting anti-Semitism." In his opinion, "Anti-Semites rely on Jews to confirm their prejudice: If Jews recur to such language, and advocate such policies, how can anyone be accused of anti-Semitism, for making the same arguments?... The mechanism through which an anti-Semitic accusation becomes respectable once a Jew endorses it is not limited to Israel's new historians.... Israel Shahak made the comparison between Israel and Nazism respectable — all the while describing Judaism according to the medieval canons of the [[blood libel]]".{{sfn|Ottolenghi|2006}}

The journalist Dan Rickman argues that

<blockquote>Shahak ignores [the dialectical nature and humanist] aspects of the sources. Further, through overstating his case, his analysis fits into anti-Semitic traditions of such accusations against the Talmud. Copies of the Talmud have been burned, and the text of the Talmud that is studied today is still heavily censored. Shahak's view that chauvinism in these sources in any way 'justifies' anti-Semitism is also very troubling. However, I do believe that his trenchant critique of Judaism is, tragically, not without some force. The contemporary situation is that we do see some modern Orthodox rabbis utilise xenophobic sources in modern rulings. Orthodox rabbis in organisations such as [[Rabbis for Human Rights]] are sadly the exception rather than the rule.{{sfn|Rickman|2009}}</blockquote>

==Death==
Shahak died of diabetes in July 2001 and was buried in [[Giv'at Shaul]] cemetery, Jerusalem.{{sfn|Katzman|2001}} His death was the occasion of tribute and criticism; the [[Bar-Ilan University]] historian Haim Genizi, said that "Shahak's extreme anti-Israeli statements were welcomed by the [[PLO]], and [were] widely circulated in pro–Arab circles", in detriment to the interests of the State of Israel.{{sfn|Genizi|2002|p=94}} [[Gore Vidal]] said Shahak was "the latest, if not the last, of the great prophets",{{sfn|Vidal|2002|p=4}} regarding the influence of religion upon the [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] of society. [[Norton Mezvinsky]], said that his friend and collaborator was "a rare intellectual giant and a superior humanist"; in that vein, [[Edward Said]] said that Shahak was "a very brave man who should be honored for his services to humanity."{{sfn|Mezvinsky|2001}} An obituary in ''Haaretz'' called him "the scourge of nationalists".{{sfn|Katzman|2001}}

[[Christopher Hitchens]] considered Shahak a "dear friend and comrade... [who was] a brilliant and devoted student of the archaeology of Jerusalem and Palestine", who, "during his chairmanship of the [[Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights]], set a personal example that would be very difficult to emulate."<ref name="Hitchens"/> [[Alexander Cockburn]], writing in [[Antiwar.com]], described Shahak the intellectual, the "tireless translator and erudite foot-noter... a singular man, an original."{{sfn|Cockburn|2001}} Allan C. Brownfeld, of the [[American Council for Judaism]], recalled a humanist who actively opposed "racism and oppression in any form and in any country"; that Shahak possessed a "genuinely prophetic Jewish voice, one which ardently advocated democracy and human rights."{{sfn|Brownfeld|2001}} In an obituary, the journalist Elfi Pallis called Shahak essentially "an old-fashioned liberal" in principle, thought, and action.<ref name="Pallis"/> Moreover, [[Michel Warschawski]] said that Israel Shahak was "the last Israeli liberal", who was "above all, one of the last philosophers of the eighteenth-century school of enlightenment, rationalism, and liberalism, in the American meaning of the concept."<ref name="Warschawski"/>

==Publications==

===Books===
* Israel Shahak, (ed.), ''The Non-Jew in the Jewish State; a collection of Documents'', Jerusalem, 1975
* Israel Shahak (ed), ''Begin & Co as they really are'', Glasgow 1977
* Israel Shahak and [[Noam Chomsky]], ''Israel's Global Role: Weapons for Repression (Studies in Geophysical Optics and Remote Sensing)'', Association of Arab-American University Graduates, Inc., April 1982, [[paperback]], {{ISBN|0-937694-51-7}}
* Israel Shahak, ''Israel's Global Role : Weapons for Repression (Special Reports, No. 4)'', Association of Arab-American University Graduates, 1982, paperback
* Israel Shahak, ''[https://powerbase.info/images/e/e8/Shahak_-_Jewish_History%2C_Jewish_Religion.pdf Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years]'': [[Pluto Press]], London, 1994, {{ISBN|978-0-7453-0819-7}}; Pluto Press, London, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-7453-2840-9}}
* Israel Shahak, ''Open Secrets: Israeli Foreign and Nuclear Policies'', Pluto Press, London, 1997
* Israel Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky, ''[https://powerbase.info/images/1/15/Shahak-Jewish_Fundamentalism_In_Israel_New_Introduction_by_Norton_Mezvinsky_by_Israel_Shahak%2C_Norton_Mezvinsky.pdf Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel] (Pluto Middle Eastern Series)'', Pluto Press (UK), October, 1999, [[hardcover]], 176 pages, {{ISBN|0-7453-1281-0}}; trade paperback, Pluto Press, (UK), October, 1999, {{ISBN|0-7453-1276-4}}; 2nd edition with new introduction by Norton Mezvinsky, trade paperback July, 2004, 224 pages

===Articles===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110927151340/http://www.ameu.org/printer.asp?iid=194&aid=534 What Are My Opinions?] March - April 1975 The Link - Volume 8, Issue 2
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110927151349/http://www.ameu.org/uploads/vol8_issue5_1975.pdf The Racist nature of Zionism and of the Zionistic State of Israel] The Link, volume 8, issue 5 Winter 1975
* ''The `Historical Right' and the Other Holocaust'', in ''[[Journal of Palestine Studies]],'' 10, no. 3 (Spr. 1981): 27-34
* [https://matzpen.org/english/1981-07-10/the-jewish-religion-and-its-attitude-to-non-jews-part-1-israel-shahak/ The Jewish religion and its attitude to non-Jews: Part 1] – Israel Shahak. Posted online July 10, 1981|''Khamsin'' 8.
* [https://matzpen.org/english/1981-07-10/the-jewish-religion-and-its-attitude-to-non-jews-part-2-israel-shahak/ The Jewish religion and its attitude to non-Jews: Part 2] – Israel Shahak, July 10, 1981,''Khamsin'' 8.
*[https://matzpen.org/english/1981-10-10/the-jewish-religion-and-its-attitude-to-non-jews-part-3-israel-shahak/ The Jewish religion and its attitude to non-Jews: Part 3] – Israel Shahak, October 10, 1981, [[Khamsin]] 9.
*[https://matzpen.org/english/1981-10-10/the-jewish-religion-and-its-attitude-to-non-jews-appendix-israel-shahak/ The Jewish religion and its attitude to non-Jews: Appendix] – Israel Shahak, October 10, 1981, [[Khamsin]] 9.
* ''[https://powerbase.info/images/3/35/Shahak-Association_of_Arab-American_University_Graduates%2C_Inc_-_The_Zionist_Plan_for_the_Middle_East-Association_of_Arab-American_University_Graduates%2C_Inc_%281982%29.pdf The Zionist Plan for the Middle East] (a translation of Oded Yinon’s “[[Yinon Plan|A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties]]” or the "[[Yinon Plan]]"'' , Association of Arab-American University Graduates, Inc., October 1982, paperback, {{ISBN|0-937694-56-8}}
* ''Israeli Apartheid and the Intifada'', in ''Race and Class,[https://web.archive.org/web/20120208142755/http://www.irr.org.uk/publication/raceandclass/index.html]'' 1988: Volume 30, no. 1: 1-13.
*[http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1288/8812017.htm AFL-CIO Pension Funds Invested In Faltering Israeli Institutions] December 1988, Page 17 [[WRMEA]].
* ''A History of the Concept of `Transfer' in Zionism'', in ''Journal of Palestine Studies,'' 18, no. 3 (Spr. 1989): 22-37.
*[http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0031903.html Human Rights in the Occupied Territories: Comparing the Hebrew and US Press] Extra! Summer 1989
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0191/9101006.htm Shamir's Manipulation of American Jewish Groups: A Disaster For All] January 1991, Page 6 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0191/9101027.htm Soviet Immigration Deprives Israelis of Housing and Arabs of Jobs] January 1991, Page 27 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0191/9101067.htm Journalists Link Israeli Financial Woes to Shamir-Bush Confrontation] January 1991, Page 67 WRMEA
* [http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0004332.html Letter from Jerusalem] Lies of Our Times, February 1991, p. 8.
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0391/9103027.htm The Israeli Occupation Three Years After the Intifada] March 1991, Page 27 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0791/9107020.htm Israel Will Withdraw Only Under Pressure] July 1991, Page 20 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0891/9108023.htm Internal Criticism of Racism Would Be Called "Anti-Semitic" Outside Israel] August/September 1991, Page 23 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1091/9110019.htm Israel Uses Increased US Aid to Prepare 1992 Attack on Syria] October 1991, Page 19 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1191/9111017.htm Why Israel Can Never Repay the Loans to be Guaranteed by the US] November 1991, Page 17 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1291/9112011.htm America "No Longer Under Our Rule": Israelis Discuss Collapse of US Lobby] December/January 1991/92, Page 11, WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0293/9302028.htm The Occupied Territories' True Ruler: Israel's Corrupt and Inefficient Shabak] February 1993, Page 28, WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0493/9304015.htm With Iraq Neutralized, Israelis Seek Catalyst for War With Iran] April/May 1993, Page 15 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0793/9307011.htm Can Religious Settlers Scuttle an Israeli-Palestinian Peace?] By July/August 1993, Page 11
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1193/9311007g.htm Oslo Agreement Makes PLO Israel's Enforcer] November/December 1993, Page 7-16 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0194/9401018.htm Israeli Cultivation of Cuba Reflects Contempt for U.S. Policies] January 1994, Page 18 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0294/9402016.htm Israel's State-Assisted Terrorism: "Settlers" as Armed Combatants] February/March 1994, Page 16 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0794/9407019.htm Poverty, Religious Instruction Breed Xenophobia in Israel] July/August 1994, Page 19 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0495/9504015.htm Settling the West Bank and Israeli Domestic Politics] April/May 1995, Pages 15, 108-110 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0395/9503011.htm Downturn in Rabin's Popularity Has Several Causes] March 1995, pgs. 11, 97-98 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0795/9507018.htm Israel's Discriminatory Practices Are Rooted in Jewish Religious Law] July/August 1995, pgs. 18, 119 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1295/9512018.html What Will Likud Do When It Comes to Power in Israel?] December 1995, Pages 18, 82 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0196/9601008.html Rabin's Murder Spotlights Religious Influence in Israeli Police and Army] January 1996, pgs. 8, 97-98 WRMEA
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20010121131000/http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/0796/9607019.htm The Real Israeli Interests in Lebanon], in WRMEA, July 1996, pgs. 19, 11
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1196/9611019.htm Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu] November/December 1996, pages 19, 106 WRMEA
* [http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0398/9803008.html A Practical Look at Settlements From the Israeli Point of View] March 1998, Pages 8, 86 WRMEA
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091115105816/http://www.mepc.org/journal_shahak/shahakmain.asp Israel Shahak Articles], list of articles and interviews with Shahak in Middle East Policy Journal
*[http://www.nybooks.com/authors/2823 Israel Shahak] comments & articles in [[The New York Review of Books]]

===Interviews===
*''An Interview with Israel Shahak'', interview in ''[[Journal of Palestine Studies]]'', 4, no. 3 (Spr. 1975): 3-20.
*''No Change in Zion'', interview in ''Journal of Palestine Studies,'' 7, no. 3 (Spr. 1978): 3-16.

===Sources===

*{{Cite news |title=Israel and Anti-Gentile Traditions |last=Alexander |first=Ari |page=71 |publisher=MyJewishLearning.com |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/israel-and-anti-gentile-traditions/}}
*{{Cite book |title=Anti-Zionism: Analytical Reflections |last1=Berger |first1=Elmer |last2=Shahak |first2=Israel |last3=Tekiner |first3=Roselle |last4=Abed-Rabbo |first4=Samir |last5=Mezvinsky |first5=Norton |author1-link=Elmer Berger (rabbi) |author2-link=Israel Shahak |author5-link=Norton Mezvinsky |year=1989 |publisher=Amana Books |url=https://archive.org/details/antizionismanaly0000berg |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-915-59773-4}}
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*{{Cite news |title=Christopher Hitchens and the racist Jewish court |last=Boteach |first=Shmuley |author-link=Shmuley Boteach |newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |page=71 |url=https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=91011 |date=4 February 2008}}
*{{Cite news |title=With Israel Shahak's Death, A Prophetic Voice Is Stilled |last=Brownfeld |first=Allen C. |magazine=[[Washington Report on Middle East Affairs]] |page=71 |url=http://www.wrmea.com/archives/october01/0110071.html |date=October 2001}}
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==Notes==
<references/>

The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties

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Lebanon Bot: Add infobox, Lebanon section, source labels and categories

{{short description|'''1982 essay by Oded Yinon in a World Zionist Organization journal calling for the break-up of Arab states, translated by Israel Shahak'''}}
{{Infobox book
| name = A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties
| title_orig = אסטרטגיה לישראל בשנות השמונים
| image =
| author = [[Oded Yinon]]
| country = Israel
| language = Hebrew (English translation by [[Israel Shahak]], 1982)
| subject = Israeli strategy; partition of Arab states
| publisher = ''Kivunim'', [[World Zionist Organization]]; English edition: Association of Arab-American University Graduates
| pub_date = {{Start date|1982|02}}
}}
The Yinon Plan was a document written in Hebrew by [[Oded Yinon]]. It was translated into English in 1982 by the anti-Zionist activist [[Israel Shahak]].

Shahak writes in the foreword:

:In an highly revealing article published in the [[World Zionist Organization]] periodical, ''[[Kivunim]]'', [[Oded Yinon]] advocates that Israeli strategy in the 1980s aims to redraw the map of the Middle East, fragment the Arab states, and become, in effect, a regional superpower.<ref name="AAUG1982">Israel Shahak (translator and editor), [https://powerbase.info/images/3/35/Shahak-Association_of_Arab-American_University_Graduates%2C_Inc_-_The_Zionist_Plan_for_the_Middle_East-Association_of_Arab-American_University_Graduates%2C_Inc_%281982%29.pdf The Zionist Plan for the Middle East] Belmont, Massachusetts: Association of Arab-American University Graduates, Special Document No. 1, 1982, accessed 22 October 2026 (critical). Translated from Oded Yinon, "A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties".</ref>

It is noted in a prefatory passage:

:This essay originally appeared in Hebrew in KIVUNIM (Directions), A Journal for Judaism and Zionism; Issue No, 14--Winter, 5742, February 1982, Editor: [[Yoram Beck]]. Editorial Committee: [[Eli Eyal]], Yoram Beck, [[Amnon Hadari]], [[Yohanan Manor]], [[Elieser Schweid]]. Published by the Department of Publicity/The World Zionist Organization, Jerusalem.<ref name="AAUG1982" />

== Lebanon ==
Yinon wrote that "Lebanon's total dissolution into five provinces serves as a precedent for the entire Arab world including Egypt, Syria, Iraq and the Arabian peninsula", and that "the dissolution of Syria and Iraq later on into ethnically or religiously unique areas such as in Lebanon, is Israel's primary target on the Eastern front in the long run".<ref name="Yinon1982">Oded Yinon, [https://ia803102.us.archive.org/18/items/astrategyforisraelinthenineteeneighties/A%20Strategy%20for%20Israel%20in%20the%20Nineteen%20Eighties.pdf A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties] ''Kivunim'', no. 14, February 1982, English translation, Internet Archive copy, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> He described Lebanon as having "no centralized power, but only 5 de facto sovereign authorities", including in the south "up to the Litani river" a PLO-controlled region and "Major Haddad's state of Christians and half a million Shi'ites".<ref name="Yinon1982" /> Haddad's forces later became the [[South Lebanon Army]].

The publisher's note to the English edition argued that the 1982 invasion of Lebanon "aims to effect certain parts of this plan which hopes to see not only Lebanon, but Syria and Jordan as well, in fragments".<ref name="AAUG1982" /> See also [[Litani River]], [[Greater Israel]] and [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]].

== See also ==
* [[Oded Yinon]]
* [[Israel Shahak]]
* [[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Lebanon]]

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Books]]
[[Category:Zionist movement]]
[[Category:Middle East]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]

Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Lebanon

2026-10-22T09:57:34Z

Lebanon Bot: Add 2026 security zone and settlement campaigns sections; see also links

{{short description|'''The Lebanese Jewish community and the Maghen Abraham synagogue, the 1982 invasion and Sabra and Shatila, the occupation and the South Lebanon Army, Israeli espionage, the 2024 pager attack and war, the 2022 maritime deal, the 2025–26 talks, the 2026 security zone and settlement campaigns'''}}

'''Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Lebanon''' are dominated by war and occupation. ''The Guardian'' wrote in 2010 that the two neighbours had "been in a state of war for more than 60 years".<ref name="Guardian2010">Ian Black, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/30/lebanon-arrests-suspected-israeli-spy Lebanese phone firm manager accused of spying for Israel] ''The Guardian'', 30 June 2010.</ref> "Israel" invaded in 1982, occupied a self-declared "security zone" in the south through its proxy, the [[South Lebanon Army]], until May 2000, and has fought repeated wars with [[Hezbollah]], most recently in 2023–24 and again from March 2026.<ref name="CRSSLA">Joshua Ruebner, [https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RS20566.html The South Lebanon Army (SLA): History, Collapse, Post-Withdrawal Status] ''Congressional Research Service'', RS20566, 10 June 2000 (US Congress-side).</ref><ref name="CRS2026">Christopher M. Blanchard, Jeremy M. Sharp, Clayton Thomas and Jim Zanotti, [https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R48887.html U.S. Conflict with Iran] ''Congressional Research Service'', R48887, updated 18 September 2026 (US Congress-side).</ref> A small Jewish community of between 70 and 100 people remains,<ref name="IRFLB">US Department of State, [https://2021-2025.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/lebanon/ 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom: Lebanon] ''US Department of State'', 2024.</ref> nearly all of them in Beirut.<ref name="WJCLB">World Jewish Congress, [https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/about/communities/LB Community in Lebanon] ''World Jewish Congress'', accessed 20 October 2026.</ref>

==Jewish community and religious life==
===History===
The [[World Jewish Congress]] says Jews have lived in Lebanon since ancient times. In the first half of the 20th century the community grew with immigrants from Greece and Turkey, and later from Syria and Iraq. Before 1976 there were two Jewish schools and two synagogues in Beirut, and a school in Sidon. The WJC says that nearly all the remaining Jews are in Beirut and cannot practise Judaism openly, and that a committee represents them.<ref name="WJCLB" /> According to the ''Los Angeles Times'', the community once numbered 22,000, and Judaism is still an officially recognised religion.<ref name="LAT2009">''Los Angeles Times'', [https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/babylon-beyond/story/2009-08-04/lebanon-quietly-jewish-community-begins-synagogue-renovation LEBANON: Quietly, Jewish community begins synagogue renovation] ''Los Angeles Times'', 4 August 2009.</ref> Writing in ''Foreign Affairs'', Adam Rasmi noted that, unlike most Arab states, Lebanon saw its Jewish community grow through most of the 1950s.<ref name="FA2014">Adam Rasmi, [https://www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/lebanons-jewish-revival Lebanon's Jewish Revival] ''Foreign Affairs'', 14 October 2014.</ref>

===Jewish Community Council===
The US State Department cites the Jewish Community Council's estimate of between 70 and 100 Jews. The government has again failed to approve the council's change of name from the Israelite Communal Council, and the Ministry of Interior has delayed verifying its 2020 election. The council has stopped importing religious material because of the ban on Israeli goods. A 2011 lawsuit over the Jewish cemetery in Tripoli is still pending.<ref name="IRFLB" /> In 2014 the council was led by Isaac Arazi.<ref name="FA2014" />

'''How far is it Zionist?''' No source reviewed links the Jewish Community Council to any Zionist body. Lebanon has a national ban on trade in Israeli goods, and the council stopped importing religious material because customs agents were wary of anything in Hebrew script.<ref name="IRFLB" /> [[Hezbollah]] endorsed the synagogue restoration, and a spokesman said, "We have an issue with Israel's occupation of land", not with Jews.<ref name="LAT2009" />

===Maghen Abraham synagogue===
The Maghen Abraham synagogue in Wadi Abu Jamil, Beirut, was built in 1925. It was abandoned in 1976, a year after the civil war began.<ref name="AlMonitor2015">Ash Gallagher, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2015/05/lebanon-israel-beirut-jew-synagogue-coexistence-palestine.html Lebanon's last synagogue] ''Al-Monitor'', 15 May 2015.</ref> ''Foreign Affairs'' reports that in 1982 the [[Israel Defense Forces]] shelled the synagogue, leaving a hole in the roof.<ref name="FA2014" /> Restoration began in 2009. It was funded by private Jewish donors abroad, many of Lebanese descent, and by a $150,000 gift from [[Solidere]].<ref name="LAT2009" /> According to ''Foreign Affairs'', the Lebanese Jewish diaspora, including the [[Safra family]], led the fundraising.<ref name="FA2014" />

===Chabad===
No Chabad emissary or centre was found in Lebanon.
:''Main article: [[Chabad-Lubavitch in West Asia]]''
The [[Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States]] lists no rabbi for Lebanon.<ref name="ARIS">Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, [https://www.rabbisalliance.org/about/the-rabbis/ The Rabbis] ''rabbisalliance.org'', accessed 20 October 2026 (Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States-side).</ref>

==Zionist movement and advocacy==
No Zionist organisation operating openly in Lebanon was found. In 2010 President [[Michel Suleiman]] endorsed calls for the death penalty for anyone convicted of spying for "Israel" (see below).<ref name="Guardian2010" /> The closest Lebanese allies of the Zionist entity were the Christian militias it armed from 1976 and the [[South Lebanon Army]] (see below).<ref name="SIPRILB">Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, [https://armstransfers.sipri.org SIPRI Arms Transfers Database], trade registers, Israel as supplier, 1950–2025, generated 20 October 2026 (library copy).</ref>

==Israeli state and commercial ties==
===1982 invasion===
In June 1982 "Israel" launched "Operation Peace for Galilee", an invasion first meant to destroy the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) in southern Lebanon. According to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS), "Israel" then widened its aims to installing a Lebanese government willing to sign a peace treaty. Heavy casualties and criticism led it to withdraw from most of Lebanon in 1985.<ref name="CRSSLA" />

===Sabra and Shatila and the Kahan Commission===
The Israeli commission of inquiry under [[Yitzhak Kahan]] found that the massacre at the Sabra and Shatila camps in September 1982 was carried out by a [[Phalange|Phalangist]] unit, whose entry into the camps was known to "Israel". It found that no Israeli was directly responsible, but that "Israel" bore indirect responsibility because the IDF held the area. It found that the defence minister, [[Ariel Sharon]], "bears personal responsibility", and recommended that he "draw the appropriate personal conclusions". If necessary, the prime minister should consider using his power to remove a minister under Section 21-A(a) of the Basic Law: the Government. The commission found the prime minister, [[Menachem Begin]], responsible for not being more involved and aware. Citing IDF intelligence, it put the number of victims at between 700 and 800, and noted that the Red Cross counted 328 bodies.<ref name="Kahan">Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, [https://syriaaccountability.org/content/images/wordpress/ISRAELMFA_Commission-Inquiry-Beirut_1983_EN.pdf Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the events at the refugee camps in Beirut, 8 February 1983] ''Israel's Foreign Relations, Selected Documents'', vol. 8, 1982–1984, document 104 (library copy) (Israeli government-side).</ref>

===Occupation and the South Lebanon Army, 1985–2000===
After 1985 "Israel" occupied about 10% of Lebanon, a nine-mile-deep "security zone". According to the CRS, in 1985 "Israel" officially set up the [[South Lebanon Army]] (SLA) there as an allied militia "that it fully funded and equipped". The SLA grew out of [[Saad Haddad]]'s "Free Lebanon" forces, made up of soldiers who broke away from the Lebanese army in 1978. Under General [[Antoine Lahad]] it had between 2,500 and 3,000 fighters. The IDF suffered about 250 deaths in the zone between 1985 and April 2000. [[Ehud Barak]] pledged in 1999 to withdraw within a year. "Israel" withdrew in May 2000, the SLA collapsed, and about 1,500 SLA members and their families, about 7,000 people in all, fled to "Israel".<ref name="CRSSLA" /> On 16 June 2000 the UN Secretary-General, [[Kofi Annan]], said the UN force in Lebanon ([[United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon|UNIFIL]]) had confirmed that "Israel has withdrawn from the country, in full compliance with Security Council resolution 425 (1978)".<ref name="UNIS2000">United Nations Information Service, [https://unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/pressrels/2000/sg2595.html Secretary-General Receives Confirmation from UNIFIL of Full Withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon] ''UNIS Vienna'', SG/2595, 16 June 2000.</ref>

===Arms supplies===
The SIPRI register records second-hand Israeli weapons, mostly given as aid, to two Lebanese clients. Militias that formed the [[Lebanese Forces]] (the Kataeb Regulatory Forces, the Tigers Militia and the Guardians of the Cedars) received 40 M-50 Super Sherman tanks in 1976, and in 1987 18 T-54 tanks, 18 BTR-60P armoured vehicles and 18 BS-3 100mm guns. The SLA received 35 M-50 tanks in 1976 and, between 1985 and 1996, M-113 and BTR-50 armoured vehicles, Tiran tanks, D-30, Model-50 and M-46 guns, and 20 M-66 160mm self-propelled mortars.<ref name="SIPRILB" />

===Espionage===
In 2010 Lebanese security forces arrested Charbel Qazzi, a manager at the mobile network Alfa. Beirut media said he had worked for the [[Mossad]] for 15 years and that his information let "Israel" locate and kill people during the 2006 war. [[Hassan Nasrallah]] called for spies to be hanged.<ref name="Guardian2010" /> ''Al Jazeera'' reported that up to 70 suspected spies were arrested in 2009 and 2010. It said Qazzi confessed to handing network passwords to the Israelis and said the Mossad had first contacted him in the 1990s.<ref name="AJ2011">Nour Samaha, [https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2011/12/2/lebanons-intelligence-war Lebanon's intelligence war] ''Al Jazeera'', 2 December 2011.</ref> No source reviewed documents a specific operation by [[Unit 8200]] in Lebanon. [[Citizen Lab]] listed Lebanon among 45 countries with suspected infections by [[NSO Group]]'s Pegasus spyware, linked to an operator it called KINGDOM, with a Saudi focus, and to one it called MIDDLE.<ref name="CLHide">Citizen Lab, [https://citizenlab.ca/research/hide-and-seek-tracking-nso-groups-pegasus-spyware-to-operations-in-45-countries/ Hide and Seek: Tracking NSO Group's Pegasus Spyware to Operations in 45 Countries] ''The Citizen Lab'', 18 September 2018 (critical).</ref> In 2021 Citizen Lab reported that Microsoft had found at least 100 victims of spyware from the Israeli firm [[Candiru]], in countries including Lebanon. The victims included human rights defenders, journalists, activists and politicians.<ref name="CLCandiru">Citizen Lab, [https://citizenlab.ca/2021/07/hooking-candiru-another-mercenary-spyware-vendor-comes-into-focus/ Hooking Candiru: Another Mercenary Spyware Vendor Comes into Focus] ''The Citizen Lab'', 15 July 2021 (critical).</ref>

===2024 pager attack===
On 17 September 2024 pagers used by [[Hezbollah]] members exploded across Lebanon. ''Al Jazeera'' reported that among the dead was a ten-year-old girl. Iranian media said the Iranian ambassador was injured.<ref name="AJ2024">Justin Salhani, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/18/chk_exploding-pagers-psychological-warfare-israels-attack-on-hezbollah Exploding pagers, psychological warfare: Israel's attack on Hezbollah] ''Al Jazeera'', 18 September 2024.</ref> A similar attack on walkie-talkies followed. Lebanese officials said the two attacks killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400. In November 2024 the office of [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] confirmed that he had approved the pager operation.<ref name="DW2024">Deutsche Welle, [https://www.dw.com/en/israels-pm-acknowledges-approval-of-hezbollah-pager-attack/live-70756896 Israel's PM acknowledges approval of Hezbollah pager attack] ''DW'', 11 November 2024.</ref>

===2024 war and ceasefire===
After nearly a year of cross-border fire that began after the 7 October 2023 attack, "Israel" stepped up its bombing in late September 2024 and invaded southern Lebanon. A ceasefire announced by "Israel", France and the United States took effect on 27 November 2024. Under its terms "Israel" was to withdraw its troops from the south over 60 days. Hezbollah fighters and weapons were to leave the area south of the Litani River, and the Lebanese army was to replace them.<ref name="BBC2024">Ido Vock, [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mze4pzdnlo Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire comes into effect] ''BBC News'', 27 November 2024.</ref> A week later the Lebanese health minister, Firass Abiad, said 4,047 people had been killed and 16,638 wounded. A US-chaired committee was set up to monitor the truce.<ref name="RTE2024">RTÉ News, [https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/1204/1484649-lebanon-middle-east/ Ceasefire 'holding' in Lebanon as death toll passes 4,000] ''RTÉ'', 4 December 2024.</ref>

===2022 maritime deal===
In October 2022 Lebanon and "Israel" agreed a maritime border, brokered by the US energy envoy [[Amos Hochstein]]. The deal largely follows "Line 23". It gives "Israel" full rights to the [[Karish gas field]] and Lebanon full rights to the Qana prospect, but "Israel" gets a share of royalties from Qana through a side agreement with the Block 9 operator, [[Total]].<ref name="AJ2022">Federica Marsi, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/14/what-to-know-about-the-israel-lebanon-maritime-border-deal The Israel-Lebanon maritime border deal explained] ''Al Jazeera'', 14 October 2022.</ref> The London-based [[Energean]] began production at Karish.<ref name="BBC2022">Raffi Berg, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-63414872 Israel-Lebanon gas field deal staves off war threat] ''BBC News'', 27 October 2022.</ref>

===Talks, 2025–26===
On 3 December 2025 civilian envoys from Lebanon and "Israel" joined the US-chaired ceasefire committee in Naqoura. ''Al Jazeera'' described these as the first direct talks between the two countries in more than four decades. Lebanon named Simon Karam, a former ambassador to Washington, to sit alongside the US envoy [[Morgan Ortagus]]. The prime minister, [[Nawaf Salam]], said the talks were not peace talks and that "normalisation is tied to a peace process". At that time "Israel" still kept troops in five areas of the south and kept up air strikes.<ref name="AJ2025">Caolán Magee, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/3/lebanon-and-israel-hold-first-direct-talks-in-40-years-as-war-fears-rise Lebanon and Israel hold first direct talks in 40 years as war fears rise] ''Al Jazeera'', 3 December 2025.</ref> The US Embassy named Uri Resnick as the Israeli civilian participant.<ref name="USEmb2025">US Embassy Beirut, [https://lb.usembassy.gov/pentalateral-members-convene-for-14th-meeting-civilian-participants-added-to-enhance-stability-and-success/ Pentalateral Members Convene for 14th Meeting; Civilian Participants Added to Enhance Stability and Success] ''US Embassy in Lebanon'', 3 December 2025 (US government-side).</ref>

On 2 March 2026, during the US–Israeli war with Iran, Hezbollah began firing into northern "Israel", which led to large-scale Israeli operations. According to the CRS, a US-brokered "Trilateral Framework" of June 2026 involving "Israel" and Lebanon envisaged "the progressive redeployment of Israeli forces out of Lebanon 'pending the verified disarmament of non-state armed groups'". As of September 2026 "Israel" occupied about 5% of Lebanon. The operations reportedly displaced more than 1 million people, of whom about 360,000 were still displaced in August.<ref name="CRS2026" />

===2026 security zone===
:''Main article: [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]''
On 24 March 2026 the defence minister, [[Yisrael Katz|Israel Katz]], said "Israel" would occupy southern Lebanon up to the [[Litani River]].<ref name="Reuters24Mar2026">Alexander Cornwell and Nazih Osseiran, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-military-occupy-swathe-southern-lebanon-defence-chief-says-2026-03-24/ Israel's military to occupy swathe of southern Lebanon, defence minister says] ''Reuters'', 24 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> On 31 March he said that "all homes in villages near the border in Lebanon would be destroyed, according to the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza", and that more than 600,000 displaced residents would not be allowed back south of the Litani until northern "Israel" was secure.<ref name="AlMonitor31Mar2026">Reuters, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/03/israel-establish-buffer-zone-south-lebanon-litani-river-defence-minister-says Israel to establish buffer zone in south Lebanon up to Litani River, defence minister says] ''Al-Monitor'', 31 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> On 20 October 2026 he wrote that "Israel has established a security zone inside Lebanese territory covering 700 square kilometers", and that "the area is now free of residents, armed infrastructure, and houses". ''Annahar'' reported him as saying that the army was ready to take further areas of Nabatieh and the Litani Basin, evacuate their residents and permanently annex them to the zone.<ref name="Annahar20Oct2026">Annahar, [https://en.annahar.com/en/358756/katz-no-withdrawal-from-southern-lebanon-until-hezbollah-is-disarmed-the-southern-suburbs-are-under-threat Katz says Israel will hold Lebanese security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed] ''Annahar'', 20 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] said in October 2026 that "as long as it remains armed, we will stay in this zone".<ref name="Kataeb2026">Kataeb, [https://en.kataeb.org/articles/netanyahu-says-israel-will-remain-in-southern-lebanon-until-hezbollah-is-disarmed Netanyahu Says Israel Will Remain in Southern Lebanon Until Hezbollah Is Disarmed] ''Kataeb.org'', 19 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (Lebanese Kataeb party).</ref> The US-backed [[Trump economic zone (southern Lebanon)|"Trump economic zone"]] and the 2026 "pilot zones" were proposed for the same area.

===Trade and boycott===
Lebanon bans Israeli goods.<ref name="IRFLB" /> The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics country trade table does not list Lebanon.<ref name="CBS">Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), [https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2026/fr_trade12_2025/td1.pdf Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports] ''CBS'', December 2025 issue (library copy) (Israeli government-side).</ref>

==Settlement campaigns and land==
Calls to annex or settle southern Lebanon run from [[Chaim Weizmann]]'s 1919 claim to the Litani valley and [[David Ben-Gurion]]'s 1948 diary entry on a Christian state "with the Litani [River] as its southern border", to the 1982 essay of [[Oded Yinon]]; see [[Greater Israel]].<ref name="BGDiary1948">David Ben-Gurion, [https://bengurionarchive.bgu.ac.il/en/node/13292 Diary, 24 May 1948] ''The Ben-Gurion Archive'', Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli-side).</ref>

The campaign [[Uri Tzafon]], co-founded in 2024 by [[Anna Sloutskin]], envisages Israel's northern border "extending to at least the Litani river". Sloutskin told AFP: "The idea is that most of the population flees, we move the border, and we do not let that population return."<ref name="AlMonitor2026">Alice Chancellor, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/promised-us-israelis-dreaming-settling-south-lebanon 'Promised to us': The Israelis dreaming of settling south Lebanon] ''Al-Monitor'' (AFP), 13 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> [[Daniella Weiss]] of [[Nachala]] said in June 2026 that all areas conquered in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria "must be dotted immediately with thriving Jewish" settlements.<ref name="INN2026">Israel National News, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/flashes/688123 Daniella Weiss: The response to Trump – Jewish settlements in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria] ''Arutz Sheva'', 19 June 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> Among ministers, [[Bezalel Smotrich]] said in March 2026 that "the new Israeli border must be the Litani", and [[Itamar Ben-Gvir]] said in May that "Israel" had a "settlement plan for Lebanon".<ref name="ReutersSmotrich2026">Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Maya Gebeily, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-annexation-southern-lebanon-2026-03-23/ Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon] ''Reuters'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="LOrient15May2026">L'Orient Today, [https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1506969/ben-gvir-discusses-israels-settlement-plan-for-south-lebanon.html Ben Gvir discusses Israel's 'settlement plan' for south Lebanon] ''L'Orient Today'', 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The US ambassador, [[Mike Huckabee]], said in February 2026 that it "would be fine" if "Israel" took the biblical land from Egypt to the Euphrates.<ref name="Guardian2026Huck">Edward Helmore, [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/20/mike-huckabee-israel-middle-east-tucker-carlson US envoy Mike Huckabee says it would be 'fine' if Israel took all Middle East land] ''The Guardian'', 20 February 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

In September 2026 the Lebanese cabinet approved a bill barring property sales in occupied areas; see [[Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)]].<ref name="LBCI">Maroun Nassif, [https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/news-bulletin-reports/959515/a-new-law-could-reshape-property-sales-in-southern-lebanons-occupied-t/en A new law could reshape property sales in southern Lebanon’s occupied towns] ''LBCI'', 26 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The Beirut daily [[Al-Akhbar]] reported claims about the banker [[Antoun Sehnaoui]], chairman of [[SGBL]], and about [[Solidere]] shares; see those pages.

==Migration and aliyah==
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics records Lebanese-born immigrants to "Israel" as 235 in 1948–51, 846 in 1952–60, 2,208 in 1961–71, 564 in 1972–79, 179 in 1980–89, 87 in 1990–99 and 121 in 2000–2020.<ref name="CBSAliyah">Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), [https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2024/2.ShnatonPopulation/st02_55.pdf Statistical Abstract of Israel 2024, Table 2.55: Immigrants, by period of immigration, country of birth and last country of residence] ''CBS'', 2024 (Israeli government-side).</ref> The [[World Jewish Congress]] gives a total of 4,062 Lebanese Jews who emigrated to "Israel" after 1948.<ref name="WJCLB" /> Many went elsewhere: the ''Los Angeles Times'' put the diaspora that lives between Lebanon and other countries at 2,000.<ref name="LAT2009" /> When the [[South Lebanon Army|SLA]] collapsed in 2000, about 7,000 SLA members and family members fled to "Israel".<ref name="CRSSLA" />

==Political interference==
According to the CRS, "Israel" widened its 1982 war aims to "installing a Lebanese government amenable to signing a peace treaty with Israel".<ref name="CRSSLA" /> The CRS writes that Israeli aims in 2026 may include pressing Lebanon's government and army "to marginalize Hezbollah".<ref name="CRS2026" />

===Jeffrey Epstein===
Emails from the summer of 2010 show [[Peter Mandelson]] encouraging [[Jeffrey Epstein]] to look at Lebanon's financial sector, describing it as a "growing market", and discussing a gala hosted by Lebanese banks in Washington; Epstein replied that "everyone says Beirut is amazing". In a separate thread on 31 July 2010, after the financier Tim Collins raised investment in Middle Eastern banks, Epstein described Lebanon and Syria as "the next two hot spots". ''The New Arab'' found no evidence that Epstein invested in Lebanon.<ref name="EpNA">''The New Arab'', [https://www.newarab.com/news/peter-mandelson-epstein-discussed-lebanese-bank-investments Peter Mandelson, Epstein discussed Lebanese bank investments amid fresh scrutiny] ''The New Arab'', 4 February 2026.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Chabad-Lubavitch in West Asia]]
*[[Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States]]
*[[Lebanese Foundation for Peace]]
*[[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]
*[[Hezbollah]]
*[[Greater Israel]]
*[[The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties]]
*[[Uri Tzafon]]
*[[Nachala]]
*[[Zionist Movement|Zionist movement]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Iran]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Jordan]]

==External links==
*[https://unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/pressrels/2000/sg2595.html UN Secretary-General statement on the Israeli withdrawal, 16 June 2000]

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Zionist movement|Lebanon]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]

UAE-Lebanon Joint Business Council

2026-10-22T09:57:32Z

Lebanon Bot: Correct dating of the council; remove unsourced commentary; formatting

{{short description|'''Bilateral council of the UAE and Lebanese chambers of commerce, launched at the UAE-Lebanon Business Forum in Beirut in August 2026'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = UAE-Lebanon Joint Business Council
| logo =
| founded = {{Start date|2026|08}}
| type = Bilateral business council
| location = Agreed in Beirut
| key_people = [[Abdallah Sultan Al Owais]]; [[Mohamed Choucair]]
}}
The '''UAE-Lebanon Joint Business Council''' is a body agreed in August 2026 between the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Lebanon. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the [[UAE-Lebanon Business Forum]] in Beirut by [[Abdallah Sultan Al Owais]], vice chairman of the UAE federation and chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and [[Mohamed Choucair]], chairman of the Lebanese federation. ''The National'' described it as a revival of a joint council, after years of diplomatic strain. Its stated work is trade, investment and private-sector partnerships. ''The National'' reported the creation of the council during the forum on 26 August; ''Khaleej Times'' reported the signing on 30 August.<ref name="KT">Waheed Abbas, [https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/uae-lebanon-sign-deal-to-launch-joint-business-council UAE, Lebanon sign deal to launch joint business council] ''Khaleej Times'', 30 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="National">''The National'', [https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2026/08/30/uae-and-lebanon-revive-joint-business-council-as-economic-ties-gather-pace UAE and Lebanon revive joint business council as economic ties gather pace] ''The National'', 30 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="TN2">''The National'', [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/08/26/uae-businesses-eye-first-mover-advantage-in-lebanon-as-relations-thaw UAE businesses seek first-mover advantage in Lebanon] ''The National'', 26 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== The signing ==

Al Owais was in Beirut with the official UAE delegation. With him from the Sharjah chamber were [[Waleed AbdelRahman BuKhatir]], second vice chairman, [[Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al Awadi]], director general, and [[Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi]], assistant director general for communication and the business sector. Al Owais said the point was to strengthen the economic partnership and expand business-to-business cooperation, with a focus on trade and investment flows. Al Shamsi said the council would be a platform for investors and entrepreneurs, and a pipeline for partnerships, projects and ventures. The forum also produced four other memoranda. Their subjects were not itemised in the Khaleej Times report. Business leaders told ''The National'' they wanted a first-mover position in logistics, agriculture, energy, aviation and tourism.<ref name="KT"/><ref name="National"/>

== The figures they cited ==

Non-oil trade between the two countries was put at $4.2 billion in 2025, up 35.6 per cent on the year. The UAE was described as Lebanon’s largest Arab direct investor between 2003 and 2016, at $7.8 billion. The diplomatic reset followed the election of [[Joseph Aoun]] as president in January 2025, after which the UAE reopened its embassy in Beirut. The published record describes it as a chamber agreement on trade and investment; no property role has been reported.<ref name="National"/>

== See also ==

* [[Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry]]
* [[Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry]]
* [[UAE-Lebanon Business Forum]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:Companies]]

UAE-Lebanon Business Forum

2026-10-22T09:57:30Z

Lebanon Bot: Fix Choucair link and Adam quote; format refs; add context; formatting

{{short description|'''Beirut business forum of 26–27 August 2026 led by the UAE foreign trade minister, which launched the UAE-Lebanon Joint Business Council'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = UAE-Lebanon Business Forum
| logo =
| founded = {{Start date|2026|08|26}}
| type = Bilateral business forum
| location = Seaside Arena, Beirut
| key_people = [[Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi]]; [[Mohamed Choucair]]
}}
The '''UAE-Lebanon Business Forum''' was held at the Seaside Arena in Beirut on 26 and 27 August 2026. [[Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi]], UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, led a delegation reported as 80-strong and, by the Lebanese organiser, as 87 companies. [[Tarek Mitri]], deputy prime minister, attended for [[Nawaf Salam]]. On the second day Al Zeyoudi met President [[Joseph Aoun]]. The forum produced four agreements, one of them the [[UAE-Lebanon Joint Business Council]], which then held its first meeting in Beirut. [[Mohamed Choucair]], who organised the Lebanese side, said the visitors had not talked politics, had met four ministers and the speaker as well as the president, and that about 50 Emirati companies had sat with 153 Lebanese ones.<ref name="WAM">Emirates News Agency, [https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/279269141/uae-lebanon-business-forum-drives-new-wave-of-private-sector-partnerships-as-joint-business-council-holds-inaugural-meeting-in-beirut UAE-Lebanon Business Forum drives new wave of private-sector partnerships] ''WAM'' (via Big News Network), 27 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (UAE state media).</ref><ref name="Shoucair">Akhbar Al Yawm, [https://www.akhbaralyawm.com/news/571656/ شقير: الوفد الإماراتي لم يتطرّق إلى السياسة أبداً (Choucair: the Emirati delegation never touched on politics)] ''Akhbar Al Yawm'', 29 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (in Arabic).</ref>

== Lebanese ministers who spoke ==

[[Amer Al-Bassat]], economy and trade. [[Fayez Rassami]], public works and transport. [[Joe Issa Al-Khoury]], industry. [[Nizar Hani]], agriculture. [[Kamal Shehadeh]], technology and artificial intelligence. Mitri stood in for the prime minister.<ref name="WAM"/>

== The UAE side ==

Al Zeyoudi led. With him, as named: [[Abdallah Sultan Al Owais]], vice chairman of the Federation of UAE Chambers and chairman of the Sharjah chamber. [[Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei]], undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development. [[Hamad Buamim]], described at the forum as president of the business council on the UAE side. [[Waleed AbdelRahman BuKhatir]], second vice chairman of the Sharjah chamber. [[Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al Awadi]], its director general. [[Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi]], assistant director general. [[Nasser Al Nowais]], chairman of Rotana. [[Abdullah Massaad]], chief executive of RAK Ceramics. [[Issa Al Ghurair]], chairman of Issa Al Ghurair Investment. [[Ismail Al Mazmi]], chief commercial officer of Daleel Technology. Elite Agro Holding signed two of the four memoranda.<ref name="WAM"/><ref name="National">''The National'', [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/08/27/new-wave-of-uae-lebanon-business-ties-after-ministers-visit-to-beirut New wave of UAE-Lebanon business ties] ''The National'', 27 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== The Lebanese side ==

[[Waseem Daher]], described as president of the council on the Lebanese side. [[Wissam Al Ariss]], president of the Union of Lebanese-Gulf Business Councils. [[Mohamed Choucair]] (also spelled Shukair), president of the economic bodies and of the Beirut and Mount Lebanon chamber. [[Mohammed Ali Qabbani]], chairman of the Council for Development and Reconstruction. [[Maroun Al-Helou]], president of the contractors’ syndicate. [[Majed Mouneimne]], chairman of the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon. [[Jack Sarraf]], president of Global Lebanese Investors.<ref name="WAM"/>

== The two panels ==

Infrastructure and reconstruction: Qabbani, Al-Helou, Al Nowais, Massaad. From opportunities to partnerships: Mouneimne, Sarraf, Al Ghurair, Al Mazmi. The sectors named by visitors to ''The National'' were logistics, agriculture, energy, aviation and tourism. Health and artificial intelligence were also represented. Mohamed Yusuf Adam, vice president of the UAE investment group National Pulse, told ''The National'': "I think that if everyone waits until the [economic and security] crisis is over, it will take time."<ref name="WAM"/><ref name="TN2">''The National'', [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/08/26/uae-businesses-eye-first-mover-advantage-in-lebanon-as-relations-thaw UAE businesses seek first-mover advantage in Lebanon] ''The National'', 26 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== The four agreements ==

The council agreement, signed by Al Owais and Choucair. A link between the Abu Dhabi and Beirut chambers. Two memoranda by Elite Agro Holding, one with the American University of Beirut on farming research, one with Georges Daccache & Sons on greenhouses. Daher said the council’s first meeting, held during the forum, was the practical frame for turning the talks into projects.<ref name="National"/><ref name="Daher">Akhbar Al Yawm, [https://www.akhbaralyawm.com/news/571527/ رئيس مجلس الأعمال اللبناني الإماراتي (Head of the Lebanese-Emirati Business Council)] ''Akhbar Al Yawm'', 28 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (in Arabic).</ref>

== Context ==
The forum took place while "Israel" occupied a security zone in southern Lebanon. ''Arab News'' later reported approaches to southern landowners from Emirati or Cypriot companies, none of them named or linked to the forum.<ref name="AN">Najia Houssari, [https://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/who-will-protect-occupied-southern-lebanon-from-controversial-land-sales-3003913 Who will protect occupied southern Lebanon from controversial land sales?] ''Arab News'', 30 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> See [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]] and [[Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)]].

== See also ==

* [[UAE-Lebanon Joint Business Council]]
* [[Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry]]
* [[Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi]]
* [[Mohamed Choucair]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:Companies]]

Solidere

2026-10-22T09:57:28Z

Lebanon Bot: Cite original Al-Akhbar article; remove unsourced commentary; link SGBL; formatting

{{short description|'''Lebanese company set up in 1994 to rebuild central Beirut, in which Antoun Sehnaoui's SGBL group is a major shareholder'''}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Solidere
| logo =
| type = Public company
| founded = {{Start date|1994}}
| founder = Established under law sponsored by [[Rafic Hariri]]
| hq_location = Beirut
| industry = Property
}}
'''Solidere''' (the Lebanese Company for the Development and Reconstruction of Beirut Central District) is the company set up in 1994 to rebuild the centre of Beirut. It was given the power to pool thousands of fragmented plots into one real-estate company, to compensate the former owners in shares, and to carry out the reconstruction. The law was the project of [[Rafic Hariri]]. The municipality of Beirut is a shareholder and has said for years that it is shut out of the governance. [[Antoun Sehnaoui]]'s [[SGBL]] group has been one of the largest shareholders since 2018. In October 2026 the Beirut daily [[Al-Akhbar]] raised the possibility that a stake of that size could be sold on to companies registered to people holding a foreign nationality and an Israeli one. No such sale has been published.<ref name="NA">''The New Arab'', [https://www.newarab.com/news/lebanon-debates-solideres-future-beirut-considers-extension Lebanon debates Solidere's future as Beirut considers extension] ''The New Arab'', 6 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="OJIM">Observatoire du journalisme, [https://www.ojim.fr/antoun-sehnaoui-magnat-iconoclaste-de-la-presse-libanaise/ Antoun Sehnaoui, magnat iconoclaste de la presse libanaise] ''OJIM'', 26 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (in French).</ref>

== The company ==

The centre had been destroyed in the civil war. The 1994 law did not buy the owners out in cash. It made them shareholders in the company that now held their land. Because ownership is held as shares, a buyer acquires shares rather than named buildings. In 2026 the cabinet considered extending the company’s mandate. Municipal officials said they had not been consulted. A critic of the extension, Safa, told The New Arab that once a bloc owns more than 51 per cent it sets the policy, and that there were no safeguards for the public or for the other shareholders.<ref name="NA"/>

== Sehnaoui ==

From 2018 the [[SGBL]] group of [[Antoun Sehnaoui]] became one of the principal shareholders. Lebanese reports in 2026 said Sehnaoui had sought greater influence over the company. The size of the holding is disputed. The New Arab described him as one of the largest shareholders, and noted that the scrutiny came days after a search and investigation notice over his Washington dinner with [[Benjamin Netanyahu]]. [[Al-Akhbar]], in the reporting that accompanied the ban on sales in the occupied south, said a large shareholder could sell property stakes in Solidere to companies registered in the names of people holding a foreign nationality alongside an Israeli one. The paper presented this as a possibility; no such transfer has been published. See [[Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)]].<ref name="NA"/><ref name="Akhbar">Al-Akhbar, [https://www.al-akhbar.com/NewspaperArticles/lebanon/906071 لماذا مُنعت البيوع العقارية على الحدود؟ وثيقة أمنية فرنسية تشرح تاريخ التغلغل اليهودي (Why were property sales on the border banned? A French security document explains the history of Jewish penetration)] ''Al-Akhbar'', 3 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (in Arabic; Hezbollah-aligned).</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Antoun Sehnaoui]]
* [[SGBL]]
* [[Rafic Hariri]]
* [[Uri Tzafon]]
* [[Al-Akhbar]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:Companies]]

Uri Tzafon

2026-10-22T09:57:26Z

Lebanon Bot: Fix Sloutskin link; add AFP-reported aims, 2026 crossings and ministers; remove unsourced commentary; formatting

{{short description|'''Israeli campaign, founded in 2024, for the annexation and Jewish settlement of southern Lebanon'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Uri Tzafon
| logo =
| type = Settlement campaign
| founded = {{Start date|2024|03}}
| location = Israel
| key_people = [[Anna Sloutskin]], [[Yaakov Socol]], [[Amos Azaria]]
}}
'''Uri Tzafon''' (עורי צפון, "Awake, O North", also translated "Awaken the North") is an Israeli settlement campaign, set up in March 2024, which calls for the annexation and settlement of Lebanon south of the [[Litani River]], and more recently south of the Zahrani. It publishes maps of Lebanese towns under Hebrew names and has advertised plots it does not own, from about 300,000 shekels, as "future settlements". The slogan on the maps is "head north".<ref name="AN">Najia Houssari, [https://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/who-will-protect-occupied-southern-lebanon-from-controversial-land-sales-3003913 Who will protect occupied southern Lebanon from controversial land sales?] ''Arab News'', 30 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="Roya">Roya News, [https://en.royanews.tv/news/64907 Israeli extremist publishes updated map promoting land sales in southern Lebanon] ''Roya News'', accessed 22 October 2026 (Jordanian).</ref> In August 2026 the army detained 17 of its activists who had crossed into Lebanon.<ref name="JPost5Aug2026">Amir Bohbot and Esther Davis, [https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-904709 Uri Tzafon activists detained after breaching Lebanon border] ''The Jerusalem Post'', 5 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== The people ==
The three co-founders named in accounts of the movement are [[Anna Sloutskin]] (also spelled Slutskin), a biologist, [[Yaakov Socol]], and [[Amos Azaria]], a university professor. Sloutskin and Socol are siblings of [[Yisrael Socol]] (also given as Israel Sokol), a Givati Brigade soldier whose death is described as the inspiration. A WhatsApp forum reached about 3,000 members in a month. Roya News reported talk on it of kayaking trips in southern Lebanon, Hebrew names for Lebanese cities, and complaints that Israeli policy in the north was docile, and that some members describe a [[Greater Israel]] from the Nile to the Euphrates. The campaign's own published aim is to settle south of the Litani and to "Judaize" it.<ref name="Roya"/>

== Stated aims ==
Sloutskin told AFP in May 2026: "The idea is that most of the population flees, we move the border, and we do not let that population return, and it remains a part of the State of Israel by declaration." Another member, Ori Plasse, told AFP that he and others had driven into Lebanon through an open border gate to set up a tent and plant trees: "You feel like you're home, you feel it's your country." AFP reported that the government had given "no public political support" to the movement, though Sloutskin said there was backing from lawmakers and ministers.<ref name="AlMonitor2026">Alice Chancellor, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/promised-us-israelis-dreaming-settling-south-lebanon 'Promised to us': The Israelis dreaming of settling south Lebanon] ''Al-Monitor'' (AFP), 13 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== The claimed outpost, December 2024 ==
On 7 December 2024 the movement said families had crossed into southern Lebanon, set up tents, planted trees and made a memorial corner for [[Yehudah Dror Yahalom]], a soldier from a West Bank settlement killed in combat in southern Lebanon that October. It placed the act at [[Maroun al-Ras]], a Shia village less than a mile from the border, in ground then held by the Israeli army under the ceasefire. The military spokesman said the activists never crossed, that the encampment was inside "Israel" near a border community, and that soldiers dispersed them because the area was a closed military zone. [[Nachala]] used the same moment to call for settlement in Lebanon, Gaza and the Syrian Golan, and said the land "must not be abandoned to foreigners". ''The Times of Israel'' noted then that no minister had called for settlement in Lebanon, while [[Bezalel Smotrich]] and [[Itamar Ben-Gvir]] had called for it in Gaza and [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] had denied an intention to resettle Gaza.<ref name="TOI">''The Times of Israel'', [https://www.timesofisrael.com/settler-group-claims-to-have-entered-lebanon-and-established-outpost-idf-denies/ Settler group claims to have entered Lebanon and established outpost; IDF denies it] ''The Times of Israel'', 8 December 2024, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Border crossings, 2026 ==
AFP reported that the movement organised a tree-planting trip to the border in February 2026, during which the army said two civilians crossed the fence.<ref name="AlMonitor2026" /> On 5 August 2026 the army detained 17 activists who had crossed into Lebanon.<ref name="JPost5Aug2026" />

== Ministers and Lebanon, 2026 ==
By 2026 senior ministers had taken up parts of the campaign's demand. In March [[Bezalel Smotrich]] said "the new Israeli border must be the Litani".<ref name="ReutersSmotrich2026">Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Maya Gebeily, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-annexation-southern-lebanon-2026-03-23/ Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon] ''Reuters'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In May [[Itamar Ben-Gvir]] spoke of a "settlement plan for Lebanon".<ref name="LOrient15May2026">L'Orient Today, [https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1506969/ben-gvir-discusses-israels-settlement-plan-for-south-lebanon.html Ben Gvir discusses Israel's 'settlement plan' for south Lebanon] ''L'Orient Today'', 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> Uri Tzafon published a photo of Sloutskin meeting the environmental protection minister, [[Idit Silman]], captioned: "During the meeting with the minister, the issue of taking the territory was raised."<ref name="AlMonitor2026" /> See [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]].

== The maps ==
The maps cover communities from the mouth of the Litani east to Kfarkila, including the western Bekaa, Hasbaya and the Shebaa Farms, and the cities of Tyre, Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun and Hasbaya. Towns are given Hebrew names, often biblical. Plots are advertised from about 300,000 shekels, about $80,000. Earlier material invited buyers to purchase homes with a view of the mountains while Israeli operations in the same area were still running. [[Riad Al-Asaad]], director general of the South Reconstruction Company, cited the advertisements in calling for a Lebanese ban on sales. About 82,000 people remained displaced in the south at the time of the later map. The land advertised belongs to Lebanese owners, in villages under occupation.<ref name="AN"/><ref name="Roya"/>

== Other approaches to owners ==
''Arab News'' reported approaches to southern owners from a US law firm and from Emirati or Cypriot companies; these have not been linked to Uri Tzafon, and the parties behind them have not been named. Al-Asaad separately accused Israeli forces of bulldozing land-registry offices and taking property records, and of a scorched-earth policy in Shia villages to stop return.<ref name="AN"/> In September 2026 the Lebanese cabinet approved a bill to bar sales in occupied areas; see [[Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)]].

== See also ==
* [[Anna Sloutskin]]
* [[Nachala]]
* [[Daniella Weiss]]
* [[Antoun Sehnaoui]]
* [[Solidere]]
* [[Gush Emunim]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:Israeli settlements]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]

Nachala

2026-10-22T09:57:24Z

Lebanon Bot: Add Daniella Weiss, sanctions and 2026 statements; update ministers' positions; logo; formatting

{{short description|'''Israeli settlement movement led by Daniella Weiss, campaigning for Jewish settlement in the West Bank, Gaza, southern Lebanon and Syria'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Nachala
| logo = Nachala logo.png
| type = Settlement movement
| location = Israel and the occupied West Bank
| key_people = [[Daniella Weiss]] (director)
| website = https://www.nachalaisrael.org/
| remarks = Assets frozen by the UK, May 2025<ref name="UKSanc2025">Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-sanctions-hit-west-bank-violence-network UK sanctions hit West Bank violence network] ''GOV.UK'', 20 May 2025, accessed 22 October 2026 (UK government-side).</ref>
}}
'''Nachala''' (נחלה, "inheritance") is an Israeli settlement movement, directed by [[Daniella Weiss]], that calls for Jewish settlement in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.<ref name="EUOJ2026">Council of the European Union, [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ%3AL_202601177 Official Journal of the European Union, L 2026/1177 (EU global human rights sanctions regime: listing of Daniella Weiss)] ''EUR-Lex'', listed 28 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (EU-side).</ref><ref name="INN2026">Israel National News, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/flashes/688123 Daniella Weiss: The response to Trump – Jewish settlements in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria] ''Arutz Sheva'', 19 June 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> On 8 December 2024, after [[Uri Tzafon]] said families had set up an outpost at [[Maroun al-Ras]] in Lebanon, Nachala said the answer to the war in Syria was "the taking of territory", that "Jewish settlement is the only thing that will bring regional stability", and that "the land of Israel is the property of our ancestors and it must not be abandoned to foreigners". The army said the Uri Tzafon encampment had not crossed the border.<ref name="TOI">''The Times of Israel'', [https://www.timesofisrael.com/settler-group-claims-to-have-entered-lebanon-and-established-outpost-idf-denies/ Settler group claims to have entered Lebanon and established outpost; IDF denies it] ''The Times of Israel'', 8 December 2024, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The UK froze Nachala's assets in May 2025.<ref name="UKSanc2025" />

== West Bank outposts ==
The EU describes Nachala as aiming to promote "Jewish settlements and illegal outposts in the West Bank". It says outposts linked to the movement, including Evyatar, Maoz Esther, Oz Zion and Ramat Migron, "have been persistent sources of settler violence", and that several were built on privately owned Palestinian land.<ref name="EUOJ2026" />

== Lebanon, Gaza and Syria ==
''The Times of Israel'' reported in December 2024 that [[Bezalel Smotrich]] and [[Itamar Ben-Gvir]] had called for settlement in Gaza, while [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] had denied any intention to resettle it; no minister in that report had called for settlement in Lebanon.<ref name="TOI" /> Since then Smotrich has called for the [[Litani River]] to be Israel's border, and Ben-Gvir has spoken of a "settlement plan for Lebanon".<ref name="ReutersSmotrich2026">Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Maya Gebeily, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-annexation-southern-lebanon-2026-03-23/ Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon] ''Reuters'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="LOrient15May2026">L'Orient Today, [https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1506969/ben-gvir-discusses-israels-settlement-plan-for-south-lebanon.html Ben Gvir discusses Israel's 'settlement plan' for south Lebanon] ''L'Orient Today'', 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

In April 2026 Weiss told ''NBC News'' at the Gaza border: "Now I'm going to settle Gaza and Lebanon and Syria."<ref name="NBC2026">Shira Pinson and Matt Bradley, [https://www.nbcnews.com/world/gaza/extremist-jewish-settlers-gaza-expel-palestinians-enclave-rcna341575 Extremist Jewish settlers eye Gaza] ''NBC News'', 17 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> On 19 June 2026 she said that "all areas conquered by Israel, in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria, must be dotted immediately with thriving Jewish" settlements.<ref name="INN2026" /> See [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]].

== Sanctions ==
On 20 May 2025 the UK sanctioned Weiss and froze Nachala's assets.<ref name="UKSanc2025" /> The EU listed Weiss on 28 May 2026, holding her responsible "in her capacity as Director" of Nachala.<ref name="EUOJ2026" />

== See also ==
* [[Daniella Weiss]]
* [[Uri Tzafon]]
* [[Greater Israel]]
* [[Bezalel Smotrich]]
* [[Itamar Ben-Gvir]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:Israeli settlements]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]

Antoun Sehnaoui

2026-10-22T09:57:22Z

Lebanon Bot: Wanted notice rather than arrest order; Barak Ravid; replace unsourced ref; memorial dinner wording; photo; formatting

{{short description|'''Lebanese banker, chairman of SGBL, subject of a 2026 Lebanese wanted notice after a dinner with Benjamin Netanyahu'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Antoun Sehnaoui
| image = Antoun Sehnaoui PP.jpg
| birth_date = {{Start date|1972|11|03}}
| birth_place = Beirut
| nationality = Lebanese
| occupation = Banker
| known_for = Chairman of [[SGBL]]; praised by [[Morgan Ortagus]] as a Zionist; named in Al-Akhbar's report on southern land sales
}}
'''Antoun Sehnaoui''' (أنطون الصحناوي, born 3 November 1972) is a Lebanese banker, chairman of the [[SGBL]] group since October 2007, when he succeeded his father [[Nabil Sehnaoui]]. The group includes Société Générale de Banque au Liban, Société Générale de Banque in Jordan, and Fidus Wealth Management. In April 2026 [[Morgan Ortagus]], then a US Middle East envoy and reported as his partner, called him a committed Zionist from a family of “Lebanese Christian Zionists.” In July 2026, after photographs showed him at a Washington dinner with [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], Lebanon's public prosecutor issued a 30-day wanted notice against him for "dealing with the Israeli enemy".<ref name="National30Jul2026">Fatima Al Mahmoud, [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/07/30/lebanon-issues-wanted-notice-for-antoun-sehnaoui-after-dinner-with-netanyahu/ Lebanon issues wanted notice for Antoun Sehnaoui after dinner with Netanyahu] ''The National'', 30 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In October 2026 the Beirut daily [[Al-Akhbar]] reported claims, attributed to people working with him, that he was seeking with Israelis to buy back large estates in the south; the paper also raised the possibility of a sale of [[Solidere]] shares to foreign-registered companies. These are the paper's claims; no sale has been published.<ref name="AJ">Al Jazeera, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/17/controversy-as-lebanese-banker-sehnaoui-is-praised-for-supporting-israel Controversy as Lebanese banker Sehnaoui is praised for supporting Israel] ''Al Jazeera'', 17 April 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="Akhbar">Al-Akhbar, [https://www.al-akhbar.com/NewspaperArticles/lebanon/906071 لماذا مُنعت البيوع العقارية على الحدود؟ وثيقة أمنية فرنسية تشرح تاريخ التغلغل اليهودي (Why were property sales on the border banned? A French security document explains the history of Jewish penetration)] ''Al-Akhbar'', 3 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (in Arabic; Hezbollah-aligned).</ref>

== Family and the bank ==

He was born in Beirut. His mother is May Chehab Sehnaoui. He went to the Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour and then to the University of Southern California. He took the chair of SGBL in October 2007. In 2011 the bank acquired most of the assets of the Lebanese Canadian Bank. In 2017 it opened a subsidiary in the Abu Dhabi Global Market and bought Pikes Peak National Bank in Colorado. Cousins include [[Nicolas Sehnaoui]] and [[Khalil Sehnaoui]]. He has two children. He also produces film, through Ezekiel Film Production.<ref name="AJ"/>

His father, Nabil, chaired the bank before him. Ortagus, at the April 2026 event, described Nabil as one of the principal funders of the [[Lebanese Forces]], which allied with Israel in the 1982 invasion and took part in the massacres at Sabra and Shatila. That is her characterisation of the family, made in his presence, at a museum he had given money to.<ref name="AJ"/>

== The 2026 speeches and the dinner ==

On 17 April 2026 he was at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, at an event he had funded. Ortagus praised him for backing a US-Israeli opera project, which she said was “technically illegal in Lebanon,” and said he had been “trained to be a supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish people” by his family. Annahar and Ynet had already reported, in January 2026, that the two were in a relationship.<ref name="AJ"/> Sehnaoui announced on X in April that he had attended the Holocaust remembrance ceremony with Ortagus.<ref name="AlMonitorJul2026">Reuters, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/07/lebanese-lawyers-seek-probe-banker-over-netanyahu-dinner Lebanese lawyers seek probe of banker over Netanyahu dinner] ''Al-Monitor'', 29 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

On 27 July 2026 Sehnaoui and Ortagus hosted a dinner at the Four Seasons hotel in Washington in memory of the Republican senator [[Lindsey Graham]], who had died on 11 July. Netanyahu's office said that he attended; an Israeli official said Sehnaoui and Ortagus had organised it.<ref name="AlMonitorJul2026" /> The Israeli journalist Barak Ravid of ''Axios'' published photographs showing Sehnaoui at Netanyahu's table.<ref name="ArabNews2026">Najia Houssari, [https://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/lebanon-opens-probe-into-banker-sehnaoui-over-netanyahu-dinner-2652717 Lebanon opens probe into banker Sehnaoui over Netanyahu dinner] ''Arab News'', 29 July 2026, updated 31 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

Lawyers filed a complaint at the Court of Cassation accusing him of "communicating with the Israeli enemy".<ref name="AlMonitorJul2026" /> Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj then ordered the security services to locate and question him within 30 days, from 30 July, on suspicion of breaching the boycott law.<ref name="ArabNews2026" /> ''The National'' described the order as a 30-day wanted notice, which could lead to his detention if he returns to Lebanon. He has lived outside the country for several years and has publicly called for diplomatic relations with "Israel". He also faces separate money-laundering charges linked to currency trading at SGBL during the 2019 financial crisis.<ref name="National30Jul2026" />

== The south ==

After the Israeli occupation of villages south of the Litani was consolidated, owners of large plots along the coast from Mansouri and Bayada to Naqoura reported calls from lawyers in the United States offering above the current market. The finance minister, Yassine Jaber, then froze registration of sales in the occupied towns and sent parliament a bill to void them until the occupation ends. In the same report, [[Al-Akhbar]] said information was circulating that Sehnaoui, described there as a Zionist banker, was working with Israelis to “restore Christian ownership” of large southern estates sold to Muslims under duress, according to people working with him. The paper noted the Israeli use of Palestinian front buyers in Jerusalem, and the possible use of property companies. It also raised [[Solidere]]: a large shareholder, it said, could sell stakes to companies registered to people holding a foreign nationality as well as an Israeli one. No completed sale has been published. The bill is the state’s response to the calls; the claims about Sehnaoui are the paper's, attributed to unnamed people around him. See [[Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)]].<ref name="Akhbar"/><ref name="LBCI">Maroun Nassif, [https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/news-bulletin-reports/959515/a-new-law-could-reshape-property-sales-in-southern-lebanons-occupied-t/en A new law could reshape property sales in southern Lebanon’s occupied towns] ''LBCI'', 26 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== See also ==

* [[SGBL]]
* [[Solidere]]
* [[Morgan Ortagus]]
* [[Lebanese Forces]]
* [[Uri Tzafon]]
* [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Lebanon|Sehnaoui, Antoun]]
[[Category:Companies|Sehnaoui, Antoun]]
[[Category:Zionist movement|Sehnaoui, Antoun]]

Société Générale de Banque au Liban

2026-10-22T09:57:03Z

Lebanon Bot: Redirect to SGBL

#REDIRECT [[SGBL]]

Yinon Plan

2026-10-22T09:57:01Z

Lebanon Bot: Redirect to The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties

#REDIRECT [[The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties]]

Israel Katz

2026-10-22T09:56:59Z

Lebanon Bot: Redirect to Yisrael Katz

#REDIRECT [[Yisrael Katz]]

Anna Slutskin

2026-10-22T09:56:57Z

Lebanon Bot: Redirect to Anna Sloutskin

#REDIRECT [[Anna Sloutskin]]

Chaim Weizmann

2026-10-22T09:56:55Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Chaim Weizmann, with sources

{{short description|'''Zionist leader and chemist, president of the World Zionist Organization and first President of Israel, who claimed the Litani valley for Palestine in 1919'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chaim Weizmann
| image = Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - President Chaim Weizmann (retouched).jpg
| birth_date = {{Start date|1874|11|27}}
| birth_place = Motol, Russian Empire (now Belarus)
| death_date = {{Start date|1952|11|09}}
| death_place = Rehovot, Israel
| nationality = Israeli
| occupation = Chemist; Zionist leader; President of Israel 1949–1952
| known_for = Negotiating the Balfour Declaration; president of the [[World Zionist Organization]]
}}
'''Chaim Weizmann''' (27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a chemist and Zionist leader. He negotiated with the British government before the Balfour Declaration of 2 November 1917, was president of the [[World Zionist Organization]] from 1920 to 1931 and from 1935 to 1946, and became the first President of "Israel" in 1949.<ref name="WeizmannHouse">Weizmann House, [https://www.chaimweizmann.org.il/en/chaim-weizmann Chaim Weizmann: Timeline] ''Yad Chaim Weizmann'', accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli-side).</ref>

== Life ==
He was born in Motol and received a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Fribourg. He moved to England in 1904 to work at the University of Manchester. In 1919 he led the Zionist delegation at the Paris Peace Conference and signed the Feisal–Weizmann agreement. In 1929 he became president of the expanded [[Jewish Agency for Israel|Jewish Agency]]. He was elected President of the Provisional State Council in 1948 and President of "Israel" in 1949. He died at Rehovot on 9 November 1952.<ref name="WeizmannHouse" />

== Lebanon and the Litani ==
In 1919 Weizmann wrote to the British prime minister, David Lloyd George, that "the whole economic future of Palestine is dependent upon its water supply" from Mount Hermon, the Jordan and "the Litany [sic] river". He asked that "the Northern Frontier of Palestine should include the Valley of the Litany, for a distance of 25 miles above the bend", and wrote that "our claims to the north are imperatively demanded by the requirements of modern economic life".<ref name="Palcit1919">PALCIT, [https://palcit.net/article-713-our-claims-to-the-north-are-imperatively-demanded-by-the-requirements-of-modern-economic-life Quotation from Chaim Weizmann "Our claims to the north are imperatively demanded by the requirements of modern economic life" – 1919] ''PALCIT'', citing ''Jewish Observer and Middle East Review'', 16 November 1973, p. 22, accessed 22 October 2026 (critical).</ref> See [[Litani River]] and [[Greater Israel]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Zionist movement|Weizmann, Chaim]]
[[Category:Israel|Weizmann, Chaim]]

Al-Akhbar

2026-10-22T09:56:53Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Al-Akhbar, with sources

{{short description|'''Beirut Arabic daily newspaper founded in 2006, edited by Ibrahim al-Amine and generally described as pro-Hezbollah'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Al-Akhbar
| logo =
| type = Daily newspaper
| founded = {{Start date|2006|08|14}}
| location = Beirut, Lebanon
| key_people = Ibrahim al-Amine (editor-in-chief and chairman); Joseph Samaha (founding editor, 2006–2007)
| website = https://www.al-akhbar.com
}}
'''Al-Akhbar''' (The News) is an Arabic daily newspaper published in Beirut by Akhbar Beirut. Its first issue appeared on 14 August 2006, at the end of the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon. It uses the licence of an earlier paper of the same name founded in 1953.<ref name="AkhbarAbout">Al-Akhbar, [https://www.al-akhbar.com/aboutus من نحن (About us)] ''Al-Akhbar'', accessed 22 October 2026 (in Arabic; publisher-side).</ref><ref name="MOM">Media Ownership Monitor Lebanon, [https://lebanon.mom-gmr.org/en/media/detail/outlet/al-akhbar-2/ Al-Akhbar] ''Media Ownership Monitor'', accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Editors and politics ==
The paper was founded by the journalist Joseph Samaha (1949–2007). Ibrahim al-Amine is its editor-in-chief and chairman.<ref name="AkhbarAbout" /> The Media Ownership Monitor describes it as "a pro-Hezbollah and pro-Syrian regime daily".<ref name="MOM" /> ''The New York Times'' wrote in 2010 that it "wholeheartedly supports Hezbollah" while backing feminist and gay-rights causes, and quoted al-Amine: "We wanted the U.S. ambassador to wake up in the morning, read it and get upset."<ref name="NYT2010">Robert F. Worth, [https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2010/12/29/rarity-in-region-lebanese-paper/26407850007/ Rarity in Region, Lebanese Paper Dares to Provoke] ''The New York Times'' (republished by ''The Ledger''), 29 December 2010, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In 2006 ''Le Commerce du Levant'' reported that the paper's director denied rumours of Iranian capital, saying that shareholders were Lebanese businessmen, none holding more than 18%.<ref name="CdL2006">Sibylle Rizk, [https://www.lecommercedulevant.com/article/10685-al-akhbar-parat-en-pleine-tempte Al-Akhbar paraît en pleine tempête] ''Le Commerce du Levant'', 1 September 2006, accessed 22 October 2026 (in French).</ref>

== Reporting on southern land ==
On 3 October 2026 the paper reported that owners of land in occupied southern villages had received offers from lawyers in the United States. It also reported claims about the banker [[Antoun Sehnaoui]] and [[Solidere]] shares.<ref name="Akhbar2026">Al-Akhbar, [https://www.al-akhbar.com/NewspaperArticles/lebanon/906071 لماذا مُنعت البيوع العقارية على الحدود؟ وثيقة أمنية فرنسية تشرح تاريخ التغلغل اليهودي (Why were property sales on the border banned? A French security document explains the history of Jewish penetration)] ''Al-Akhbar'', 3 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (in Arabic).</ref> See [[Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Newspapers]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:Journalism]]

South Lebanon Army

2026-10-22T09:56:51Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: South Lebanon Army, with sources

{{short description|'''Lebanese militia created, funded and armed by Israel in its southern Lebanon "security zone", 1985–2000'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = South Lebanon Army
| logo =
| type = Militia
| founded = {{Start date|1985}}
| location = Israeli "security zone", southern Lebanon
| key_people = Saad Haddad; Antoine Lahad (commander)
| remarks = Disbanded on Israel's withdrawal in May 2000
}}
'''The South Lebanon Army''' (SLA) was a Lebanese militia that "Israel" set up in its occupied "security zone" in southern Lebanon. A 2000 report by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) says that "Israel created the South Lebanon Army (SLA), composed of local Lebanese, in order to advance its political and security objectives in Lebanon".<ref name="CRS2000">Joshua Ruebner, [https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RS20566.html The South Lebanon Army (SLA): History, Collapse, Post-Withdrawal Status] ''Congressional Research Service'', RS20566, 10 June 2000, accessed 22 October 2026 (US Congress-side).</ref>

== History ==
According to the CRS, after the 1982 invasion and the partial withdrawal of 1985, "Israel" held about 10% of Lebanon through a nine-mile-deep "security zone". In 1985 it "officially established the South Lebanon Army (SLA) in the 'security zone' as an allied militia that it fully funded and equipped". The SLA grew out of Major Saad Haddad's "Free Lebanon" forces, soldiers who broke from the Lebanese army in 1978 and worked closely with "Israel".<ref name="CRS2000" />

The SLA was commanded by General Antoine Lahad and had 2,500 to 3,000 fighters. Most commanders were Christian, but about half the members were Shia, Druze or Sunni. "Israel" paid members $500–800 a month and spent an estimated $35 million a year on the militia. The CRS cites Human Rights Watch as saying that the SLA also conscripted residents of the zone, including children.<ref name="CRS2000" />

== Collapse ==
"Israel" withdrew from the zone on 24 May 2000. The SLA could not hold the positions handed to it and disbanded. The CRS writes that [[Hezbollah]], and "nearly all Lebanese", regarded it "as an extension of the Israeli military occupation".<ref name="CRS2000" />

== Relevance in 2026 ==
[[David Ben-Gurion]] wrote in 1948 of a Christian state with the Litani as its southern border, allied with "Israel".<ref name="BGDiary1948">David Ben-Gurion, [https://bengurionarchive.bgu.ac.il/en/node/13292 Diary, 24 May 1948] ''The Ben-Gurion Archive'', Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli-side).</ref> [[Oded Yinon]] in 1982 described "Major Haddad's state of Christians and half a million Shi'ites" in the south.<ref name="Yinon1982">Oded Yinon, [https://ia803102.us.archive.org/18/items/astrategyforisraelinthenineteeneighties/A%20Strategy%20for%20Israel%20in%20the%20Nineteen%20Eighties.pdf A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties] ''Kivunim'', no. 14, February 1982, English translation, Internet Archive copy, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> See [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]].

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:IDF]]
[[Category:Occupied territories]]

Alma Research and Education Center

2026-10-22T09:56:48Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Alma Research and Education Center, with sources

{{short description|'''Israeli research centre on security on Israel's northern border, founded and led by Sarit Zehavi'''}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Alma Research and Education Center
| logo =
| type = Research and education centre
| location = Northern Israel
| key_people = Sarit Zehavi (founder and president); Tal Beeri
| website = https://israel-alma.org
}}
'''The Alma Research and Education Center''' is an Israeli research centre focused on security on Israel's northern border, [[Hezbollah]] and Lebanon. ''The Media Line'' describes Sarit Zehavi as its founder and president.<ref name="MediaLine2026">Gabriel Colodro, [https://themedialine.org/top-stories/alma-center-head-asks-is-lebanon-brave-enough-to-disarm-hezbollah/ Alma Center Head Asks, Is Lebanon 'Brave Enough' To Disarm Hezbollah?] ''The Media Line'', 21 April 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Proposals on southern Lebanon ==
In a March 2026 policy paper, Zehavi and Tal Beeri argued that "Israel" should hold southern Lebanon as a buffer, and wrote that "the humanitarian questions arising from the need to create a civilian-free buffer zone cannot be ignored". They said the return of Lebanese civilians "will only be possible if and when it becomes clear that the concept of the 'Resistance Society' hosting Hezbollah and its weapons no longer exists". They also described the displacement of about one million people as "a window of opportunity".<ref name="Alma2026">Sarit Zehavi and Tal Beeri, [https://israel-alma.org/policy-paper-what-is-israels-endgame-in-the-campaign-in-lebanon/ Policy Paper – What Is Israel's "Endgame" in the Campaign in Lebanon?] ''Alma Research and Education Center'', 15 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli-side).</ref>

In April 2026 Zehavi told ''The Media Line'' that "we are going to control there", but said: "I don't accept the word occupation, because we have no interest in keeping lands of Lebanon."<ref name="MediaLine2026" />

== See also ==
* [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]
* [[Trump economic zone (southern Lebanon)]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Israeli Think Tanker]]
[[Category:Think Tanks]]
[[Category:Lebanon]]

Mike Huckabee

2026-10-22T09:56:33Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Mike Huckabee, with sources

{{short description|'''US ambassador to Israel and former governor of Arkansas, who said in 2026 it "would be fine" if Israel took the land from the Nile to the Euphrates'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mike Huckabee
| image = Mike Huckabee, official portrait (2025).jpg
| nationality = American
| occupation = US Ambassador to Israel
| known_for = Former governor of Arkansas; support for annexation of the West Bank
}}
'''Mike Huckabee''' is the US ambassador to "Israel", appointed by [[Donald Trump]], and a former governor of Arkansas.<ref name="Guardian2026">Edward Helmore, [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/20/mike-huckabee-israel-middle-east-tucker-carlson US envoy Mike Huckabee says it would be 'fine' if Israel took all Middle East land] ''The Guardian'', 20 February 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The BBC reports that he "has frequently expressed his support for Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, contradicting decades of US policy".<ref name="BBC2026">Maia Davies, [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5gkkgdzkyo US ambassador's Israel comments condemned by Arab and Muslim nations] ''BBC News'', 22 February 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Tucker Carlson interview, 2026 ==
In an interview released on 20 February 2026, [[Tucker Carlson]] asked Huckabee about God's promise to Abraham of land "from the wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates", which Carlson said would cover "Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon" and parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Huckabee replied: "It would be fine if they took it all."<ref name="Guardian2026" /> He then said "Israel" was "asking to at least take the land that they now occupy", and that his remark had been somewhat "hyperbolic".<ref name="BBC2026" />

Fourteen governments, including Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, together with the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council, called the comments "dangerous and inflammatory".<ref name="BBC2026" />

== See also ==
* [[Greater Israel]]
* [[:Category:Christian Zionists]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:United States|Huckabee, Mike]]
[[Category:Diplomats|Huckabee, Mike]]
[[Category:Christian Zionists|Huckabee, Mike]]

SGBL

2026-10-22T09:56:31Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: SGBL, with sources

{{short description|'''Lebanese bank, Société Générale de Banque au Liban, controlled by the Sehnaoui family and chaired by Antoun Sehnaoui'''}}
{{Infobox company
| name = SGBL
| logo =
| type = Bank
| founded = {{Start date|1953}}
| location = Beirut, Lebanon
| key_people = [[Antoun Sehnaoui]] (Chairman and CEO); Tarek Chehab (Deputy CEO)
| website = https://www.sgbl.com
}}
'''SGBL''' (Société Générale de Banque au Liban) is a Lebanese bank chaired by [[Antoun Sehnaoui]].<ref name="SGBLBoard">SGBL, [https://www.sgbl.com/english/corporate-profile/corporate-governance/board-of-directors Board of Directors] ''SGBL'', accessed 22 October 2026 (company-side).</ref> According to the bank, it was founded in 1953 as Banque Belgo-Libanaise, a partnership between Michel Sehnaoui & Sons and two Belgian banks. The French bank Société Générale took a 25% stake in 1969 and 50% in 1991. The bank took its present name in 2001, and in 2006 the Sehnaoui Group raised its holding from 50% to 81%.<ref name="SGBLHistory">SGBL, [https://www.sgbl.com/english/who-we-are/history-and-timeline History] ''SGBL'', accessed 22 October 2026 (company-side).</ref>

== Management ==
The board appointed Antoun Sehnaoui chairman and CEO in 2007. In 2011 SGBL took over certain assets and liabilities of the Lebanese Canadian Bank.<ref name="SGBLHistory" /> The board lists Antoun Sehnaoui as chairman and Nabil Sehnaoui as a member.<ref name="SGBLBoard" />

== Controversy ==
In July 2026 ''The National'' reported that Sehnaoui faced money-laundering charges linked to currency trading at SGBL during the 2019 financial crisis, as well as a wanted notice over his dinner with [[Benjamin Netanyahu]].<ref name="National30Jul2026">Fatima Al Mahmoud, [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/07/30/lebanon-issues-wanted-notice-for-antoun-sehnaoui-after-dinner-with-netanyahu/ Lebanon issues wanted notice for Antoun Sehnaoui after dinner with Netanyahu] ''The National'', 30 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Solidere]]
* [[Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:Companies]]

Morgan Ortagus

2026-10-22T09:56:28Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Morgan Ortagus, with sources

{{short description|'''US diplomat, Trump's deputy special envoy to the Middle East and Lebanon envoy in 2025, partner of the Lebanese banker Antoun Sehnaoui'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Morgan Ortagus
| image = Official portrait of Deputy Special Presidential Envoy Morgan Ortagus, 2025.png
| nationality = American
| occupation = Diplomat; former State Department spokesperson
| known_for = US envoy on Lebanon, 2025; praise of [[Antoun Sehnaoui]] as a Zionist
}}
'''Morgan Ortagus''' is an American diplomat. She was State Department spokesperson in [[Donald Trump]]'s first administration and deputy special presidential envoy to the Middle East in his second.<ref name="NOW2026">NOW, [https://nowlebanon.com/ortagus-lebanon-must-dismantle-hezbollahs-parallel-state/ Ortagus: Lebanon Must Dismantle Hezbollah's Parallel State] ''NOW Lebanon'', 28 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In 2025 she led the administration's work on Israeli–Lebanese relations.<ref name="JPost2026">Amichai Stein, [https://www.jpost.com/international/article-908858 The weakening of Hezbollah and the fragile path to Israel-Lebanon normalization] ''The Jerusalem Post'', 17 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> ''Axios'' reported that she left the government in January 2026.<ref name="Axios2026">Axios, [https://www.axios.com/2026/03/09/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-peace-talks Lebanon asks U.S. for direct peace talks with Israel to end fighting] ''Axios'', 9 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> She is the partner of the Lebanese banker [[Antoun Sehnaoui]].<ref name="National30Jul2026">Fatima Al Mahmoud, [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/07/30/lebanon-issues-wanted-notice-for-antoun-sehnaoui-after-dinner-with-netanyahu/ Lebanon issues wanted notice for Antoun Sehnaoui after dinner with Netanyahu] ''The National'', 30 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Envoy to Lebanon ==
On 7 February 2025, after meeting President Joseph Aoun in Beirut, Ortagus said: "Hezbollah was defeated by Israel and we are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah." She said the US had "clear red lines" that [[Hezbollah]] would not be part of the government. Aoun's office replied that her remarks expressed "her point of view, and the Presidency is not concerned with it".<ref name="National2025">''The National'', [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/02/07/joseph-aoun-morgan-ortagus-us-envoy/ Hezbollah must not be in Lebanon’s government, says US envoy] ''The National'', 7 February 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="AlMonitor2025">''Al-Monitor'', [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2025/02/us-envoy-visits-lebanon-says-us-grateful-israel-defeating-hezbollah US envoy visits Lebanon, says US 'grateful' to Israel for defeating Hezbollah] ''Al-Monitor'', 7 February 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> She told ''The Jerusalem Post'' that after March 2025 she revived the military "mechanism" set up under the November 2024 ceasefire, bringing Israeli and Lebanese officers together every two weeks, which "eventually helped lead to civilian negotiations".<ref name="JPost2026" />

== Sehnaoui ==
On 17 April 2026, at an event at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum funded by Sehnaoui, Ortagus praised him as a supporter of "Israel" from a family of "Lebanese Christian Zionists".<ref name="AJ2026">Al Jazeera, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/17/controversy-as-lebanese-banker-sehnaoui-is-praised-for-supporting-israel Controversy as Lebanese banker Sehnaoui is praised for supporting Israel] ''Al Jazeera'', 17 April 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> On 27 July 2026 she and Sehnaoui hosted a dinner in Washington in memory of Senator [[Lindsey Graham]], attended by [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], according to an Israeli official cited by ''Reuters''.<ref name="AlMonitorJul2026">Reuters, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/07/lebanese-lawyers-seek-probe-banker-over-netanyahu-dinner Lebanese lawyers seek probe of banker over Netanyahu dinner] ''Al-Monitor'', 29 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> Lebanon's prosecutor then issued a wanted notice against Sehnaoui.<ref name="National30Jul2026" />

== Later statements ==
In September 2026 she said that Israel and Lebanon were "halfway down the aisle" towards peace.<ref name="JPost2026" /> She told Iran International that Hezbollah's "parallel state within a state" would take time to remove.<ref name="NOW2026" />

== See also ==
* [[Trump economic zone (southern Lebanon)]]
* [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:United States|Ortagus, Morgan]]
[[Category:Diplomats|Ortagus, Morgan]]
[[Category:Lebanon|Ortagus, Morgan]]

Trump economic zone (southern Lebanon)

2026-10-22T09:56:26Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Trump economic zone (southern Lebanon), with sources

{{short description|'''US proposal for an economic zone in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border, and the 2026 "pilot zones"'''}}
'''The "Trump economic zone"''' is a US proposal, first announced in Beirut in August 2025, to turn the area of southern Lebanon near the border with "Israel" into an economic and industrial zone after [[Hezbollah]] is disarmed. In 2026 a related model of "pilot zones" was launched in three southern villages.

== The 2025 proposal ==
On 26 August 2025 the US envoy, Tom Barrack, said in Beirut: "We bring in the Gulf countries simultaneously and a new economic zone, which will have some depth to it in the next few weeks." ''The National'' reported that Lebanese media said the idea had first been raised in Paris at a meeting between Barrack and Israel's strategic affairs minister, [[Ron Dermer]]. According to media reports the zone would be an "industrial buffer" near the border, hosting factories, to prevent Hezbollah from returning. ''The National'' noted that Israeli experts saw it as a way to meet "Israel"'s security concerns "without involving a reoccupation".<ref name="National2025">''The National'', [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/08/26/trump-economic-zone-between-lebanon-and-israel-what-we-know/ 'Trump economic zone' between Lebanon and Israel: What we know] ''The National'', 26 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> Analysts told ''Al Jazeera'' the plan was "far-fetched and poorly thought-out".<ref name="AJ2025">Justin Salhani, [https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/9/1/will-us-backed-economic-zone-incentivise-lebanon-to-disarm-hezbollah Will a US-backed economic zone incentivise Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah?] ''Al Jazeera'', 1 September 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== The 2026 pilot zones ==
According to ''Mada Masr'', Lebanon and Israel signed a US-mediated trilateral framework on 26 June 2026. On 21 July the US announced pilot zone operations in Froun, Srifa and Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, where the Lebanese army deployed and residents could return. Two months later, ''Mada Masr'' reported, only 16 of 263 requested prefabricated homes had arrived, and Israeli troops were 300–400 metres from Zawtar al-Gharbiyah behind an earth berm. A local official told the paper that the Trump economic zone, spanning "more than two dozen towns", focused on "development and investment — not the Lebanese people's return".<ref name="MadaMasr2026">Lana Harb, [https://www.madamasr.com/en/2026/10/19/feature/politics/lebanons-pilot-zone-experiment-the-case-of-zawtar-al-gharbiyah/ Lebanon's 'pilot zone' experiment: The case of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah] ''Mada Masr'', 19 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Israeli positions ==
The [[Alma Research and Education Center]] argued in March 2026 that "Israel" needed a "civilian-free buffer zone" in southern Lebanon, and that Lebanese civilians should return only when the "Resistance Society" hosting Hezbollah no longer exists.<ref name="Alma2026">Sarit Zehavi and Tal Beeri, [https://israel-alma.org/policy-paper-what-is-israels-endgame-in-the-campaign-in-lebanon/ Policy Paper – What Is Israel's "Endgame" in the Campaign in Lebanon?] ''Alma Research and Education Center'', 15 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli-side).</ref> See [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]].

== See also ==
* [[Donald Trump]]
* [[Morgan Ortagus]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Occupied territories]]

Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)

2026-10-22T09:56:24Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026), with sources

{{short description|'''Lebanese government bill of September 2026 to bar property sales in areas of southern Lebanon occupied by Israel'''}}
{{Infobox event
| name = Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas
| type = Draft legislation
| date = {{Start date|2026|09|10}} (approved by cabinet)
| location = Lebanon
| participants = Lebanese cabinet; Ministry of Finance; Parliament of Lebanon
| cause = Reported offers to buy land in Israeli-occupied southern villages
}}
'''The Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas''' is a bill approved by Lebanon's cabinet on 10 September 2026, at the request of the finance minister, Yassine Jaber. It would bar the sale of land and buildings in Israeli-occupied towns in southern Lebanon until the occupation ends, and has been sent to parliament.<ref name="LBCI">Maroun Nassif, [https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/news-bulletin-reports/959515/a-new-law-could-reshape-property-sales-in-southern-lebanons-occupied-t/en A new law could reshape property sales in southern Lebanon’s occupied towns] ''LBCI'', 26 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="Aawsat">Soubhi Amhaz, [https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5317379-lebanon-moves-protect-land-ownership-occupied-south Lebanon Moves to Protect Land Ownership in Occupied South] ''Asharq Al-Awsat'', 12 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (Saudi-owned).</ref>

== Provisions ==
''LBCI'' reported that under the bill, owners of land, buildings or shares in the occupied towns could not sell until the occupation of Lebanese territory ends. Any power of attorney, promise of sale or notarised contract made between 8 October 2023 and the law's publication could not be completed or registered without approval from a committee of judges and experts appointed by the justice minister. Its decisions could be appealed once, to the civil Court of Appeals. Contracts made before 8 October 2023 and properties offered by developers and contractors are excluded.<ref name="LBCI" />

== Stated purpose ==
Jaber told ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' that the aim was to prevent sales "to fictitious individuals or companies" and to stop ownership passing "indirectly to undisclosed parties".<ref name="Aawsat" /> He told ''LBCI'' that the law was meant to preserve the south's identity and demographic make-up, stop the war being used to buy land cheaply and, "most importantly", prevent land passing to Israelis using real estate companies as a front. ''LBCI'' reported that some Lebanese had been contacted by people abroad interested in buying land in areas such as Naqoura.<ref name="LBCI" /> MP Abdel Rahman al-Bizri pointed to "repeated visits and tours of Lebanese territory by extremist groups from within Israeli society" and recalled "what happened historically in Palestine before the Nakba".<ref name="Aawsat" />

== Al-Akhbar's account ==
On 3 October 2026 the Beirut daily [[Al-Akhbar]] reported that, after the occupation had settled in, lawyers in the United States had offered owners of large plots on the coast from Mansouri and Bayada to Naqoura more than market value. It wrote that these contacts led Jaber to stop land registries completing sales and to send the bill to parliament. In the same report it said information was circulating that the banker [[Antoun Sehnaoui]] was working with Israelis to "restore Christian ownership" of large southern estates, according to people working with him, and raised the possible sale of [[Solidere]] shares to foreign-registered companies. The paper also published a 1934 French intelligence report on brokers buying coastal land between Tyre and Sidon.<ref name="Akhbar">Al-Akhbar, [https://www.al-akhbar.com/NewspaperArticles/lebanon/906071 لماذا مُنعت البيوع العقارية على الحدود؟ وثيقة أمنية فرنسية تشرح تاريخ التغلغل اليهودي (Why were property sales on the border banned? A French security document explains the history of Jewish penetration)] ''Al-Akhbar'', 3 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (in Arabic; Hezbollah-aligned).</ref> No completed sale to Israeli interests has been published.

== Context ==
The bill followed calls by Israeli ministers and settler groups such as [[Uri Tzafon]] and [[Nachala]] for settlement in southern Lebanon. See [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]].

== See also ==
* [[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Lebanon]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:Occupied territories]]

Oded Yinon

2026-10-22T09:56:23Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Oded Yinon, with sources

{{short description|'''Israeli journalist and author of the 1982 Kivunim essay known as the Yinon Plan'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Oded Yinon
| image =
| nationality = Israeli
| occupation = Journalist
| known_for = "A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties" (the [[The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties|Yinon Plan]])
}}
'''Oded Yinon''' is an Israeli journalist and the author of "A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties", published in Hebrew in ''Kivunim'' in February 1982 and known as the Yinon Plan. [[Israel Shahak]] translated it into English. The publisher's note to Shahak's edition says that Yinon "is an Israeli journalist and was formerly attached to the Foreign Ministry of Israel".<ref name="AAUG1982">Israel Shahak (translator and editor), [https://iircf.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kivounim-document.pdf The Zionist Plan for the Middle East] Belmont, Massachusetts: Association of Arab-American University Graduates, Special Document No. 1, 1982, accessed 22 October 2026 (critical).</ref>

== The 1982 essay ==
The essay appeared in ''Kivunim'' (Directions), "A Journal for Judaism and Zionism", issue 14, published by the Department of Publicity of the [[World Zionist Organization]] in Jerusalem.<ref name="AAUG1982" /> Yinon wrote that "Lebanon's total dissolution into five provinces serves as a precedent for the entire Arab world including Egypt, Syria, Iraq and the Arabian peninsula". He argued that "the dissolution of Syria and Iraq later on into ethnically or religiously unique areas such as in Lebanon, is Israel's primary target on the Eastern front in the long run".<ref name="Yinon1982">Oded Yinon, [https://ia803102.us.archive.org/18/items/astrategyforisraelinthenineteeneighties/A%20Strategy%20for%20Israel%20in%20the%20Nineteen%20Eighties.pdf A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties] ''Kivunim'', no. 14, February 1982, English translation, Internet Archive copy, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

On Lebanon, he described a state with "no centralized power, but only 5 de facto sovereign authorities": a Christian north under the Franjieh clan supported by Syria, an east under Syrian control, a Phalangist Christian enclave in the centre, and in the south "up to the Litani river" a PLO-controlled region and "Major Haddad's state of Christians and half a million Shi'ites".<ref name="Yinon1982" /> The publisher's note, by the Association of Arab-American University Graduates, argued that the 1982 invasion of Lebanon "aims to effect certain parts of this plan".<ref name="AAUG1982" />

== Other writing ==
Shahak's notes cite an earlier article by Yinon, "Egypt's Population Problem", in ''The Jerusalem Quarterly'', no. 15, spring 1980.<ref name="AAUG1982" />

== See also ==
* [[The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties]]
* [[Israel Shahak]]
* [[Greater Israel]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Israel|Yinon, Oded]]
[[Category:Zionist movement|Yinon, Oded]]

Litani River

2026-10-22T09:56:21Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Litani River, with sources

{{short description|'''River in southern Lebanon that Zionist leaders since 1919 have sought as a northern border, and the 2026 limit of Israel's declared security zone'''}}
'''The Litani River''' runs through southern Lebanon and reaches the Mediterranean north of Tyre, about 30 kilometres north of the border with "Israel".<ref name="AJSmotrich2026">Al Jazeera, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/23/smotrich-urges-israel-to-annex-southern-lebanon-as-assault-intensifies Smotrich urges Israel to annex southern Lebanon as assault intensifies] ''Al Jazeera'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> From 1919 to 2026 Zionist and Israeli leaders have named it as a desirable northern frontier, for its water and as a security line. Under the 2024 ceasefire it marked the zone that [[Hezbollah]] was to leave.<ref name="BBC2024">Ido Vock, [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mze4pzdnlo Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire comes into effect] ''BBC News'', 27 November 2024, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Zionist claims, 1919–1948 ==
In 1919 [[Chaim Weizmann]] wrote to David Lloyd George that "the whole economic future of Palestine is dependent upon its water supply… from the slopes of Mount Hermon, from the headwaters of the Jordan and from the Litany [sic] river", and that the "Northern Frontier of Palestine should include the Valley of the Litany, for a distance of 25 miles above the bend".<ref name="Palcit1919">PALCIT, [https://palcit.net/article-713-our-claims-to-the-north-are-imperatively-demanded-by-the-requirements-of-modern-economic-life Quotation from Chaim Weizmann "Our claims to the north are imperatively demanded by the requirements of modern economic life" – 1919] ''PALCIT'', citing ''Jewish Observer and Middle East Review'', 16 November 1973, p. 22, accessed 22 October 2026 (critical).</ref> On 24 May 1948 [[David Ben-Gurion]] wrote that the Carmeli brigade's role was "to occupy southern Lebanon", and that "A Christian state should be established with the Litani [River] as its southern border. We'll form an alliance with it."<ref name="BGDiary1948">David Ben-Gurion, [https://bengurionarchive.bgu.ac.il/en/node/13292 Diary, 24 May 1948] ''The Ben-Gurion Archive'', Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli-side).</ref>

== 1982 ==
[[Oded Yinon]]'s 1982 essay described southern Lebanon "up to the Litani river" as "a mostly Palestinian region controlled by the PLO and Major Haddad's state of Christians and half a million Shi'ites".<ref name="Yinon1982">Oded Yinon, [https://ia803102.us.archive.org/18/items/astrategyforisraelinthenineteeneighties/A%20Strategy%20for%20Israel%20in%20the%20Nineteen%20Eighties.pdf A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties] ''Kivunim'', no. 14, February 1982, English translation, Internet Archive copy, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== 2024 ceasefire ==
Under the ceasefire of 27 November 2024, Hezbollah fighters and weapons were to be removed from the area south of the Litani, "a boundary established at the end of the last Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006", and replaced by Lebanese government forces.<ref name="BBC2024" />

== 2026: a security zone and a border ==
On 23 March 2026 the finance minister, [[Bezalel Smotrich]], said: "The new Israeli border must be the Litani."<ref name="AJSmotrich2026" /> The next day the defence minister, [[Yisrael Katz|Israel Katz]], said "Israel" would occupy the south up to the river.<ref name="Reuters24Mar2026">Alexander Cornwell and Nazih Osseiran, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-military-occupy-swathe-southern-lebanon-defence-chief-says-2026-03-24/ Israel's military to occupy swathe of southern Lebanon, defence minister says] ''Reuters'', 24 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> On 31 March he said the army "would control the area up to the Litani River, including the remaining Litani bridges".<ref name="Reuters31Mar2026">Reuters, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-establish-buffer-zone-south-lebanon-up-litani-river-defence-minister-says-2026-03-31/ Israel to establish buffer zone in south Lebanon up to Litani River, defence minister says] ''Reuters'', 31 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> ''The National'' counted at least eight Litani bridges destroyed or damaged by 23 March.<ref name="National23Mar2026">''The National'', [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/03/23/israel-hits-seven-lebanese-bridges-as-smotrich-calls-for-litani-river-border/ Israel hits eight Lebanese bridges as Smotrich calls for Litani River border] ''The National'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In October 2026 ''Annahar'' reported Katz as saying that the army was ready to conduct ground operations in additional areas of Nabatieh and the Litani Basin, evacuate their residents and permanently annex them to the security zone.<ref name="Annahar20Oct2026">Annahar, [https://en.annahar.com/en/358756/katz-no-withdrawal-from-southern-lebanon-until-hezbollah-is-disarmed-the-southern-suburbs-are-under-threat Katz says Israel will hold Lebanese security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed] ''Annahar'', 20 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The settlement campaign [[Uri Tzafon]] envisages Israel's northern border "extending to at least the Litani river", according to AFP.<ref name="AlMonitor2026">Alice Chancellor, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/promised-us-israelis-dreaming-settling-south-lebanon 'Promised to us': The Israelis dreaming of settling south Lebanon] ''Al-Monitor'' (AFP), 13 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Greater Israel]]
* [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:Water]]
[[Category:Occupied territories]]

Greater Israel

2026-10-22T09:56:19Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Greater Israel, with sources

{{short description|'''Zionist territorial vision of a Jewish state in expanded, often biblical, borders, including parts of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt'''}}
'''Greater Israel''' is a term for a Jewish state in borders larger than those of "Israel" before 1967, usually defined by biblical or historical claims. ''The Times of Israel'' notes that it "has many versions, some of which include parts of today's Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia". After the 1967 war it was used for "Israel" together with the territories it had just occupied: East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, Sinai and the Golan Heights.<ref name="ToI2025GI">''The Times of Israel'', [https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-says-hes-on-a-historic-and-spiritual-mission-endorses-vision-of-greater-israel/ Netanyahu says he's on a 'historic and spiritual mission,' also feels a connection to vision of Greater Israel] ''The Times of Israel'', 12 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The maximal version, "from the Nile to the Euphrates", rests on God's promise to Abraham in Genesis.<ref name="Guardian2026Huck">Edward Helmore, [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/20/mike-huckabee-israel-middle-east-tucker-carlson US envoy Mike Huckabee says it would be 'fine' if Israel took all Middle East land] ''The Guardian'', 20 February 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Early Zionist statements ==
Israel Shahak's 1982 edition of the [[The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties|Yinon Plan]] opens with two quotations. It cites Theodor Herzl's ''Complete Diaries'' (vol. II, p. 711) as saying that the Jewish state stretches "From the Brook of Egypt to the Euphrates". It also quotes Rabbi Fischmann of the [[Jewish Agency for Israel|Jewish Agency]] telling the UN Special Committee on Palestine on 9 July 1947: "The Promised Land extends from the River of Egypt up to the Euphrates, it includes parts of Syria and Lebanon."<ref name="AAUG1982">Israel Shahak (translator and editor), [https://iircf.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Kivounim-document.pdf The Zionist Plan for the Middle East] Belmont, Massachusetts: Association of Arab-American University Graduates, Special Document No. 1, 1982, accessed 22 October 2026 (critical).</ref> ''The Times of Israel'' writes that Ze'ev Jabotinsky, forerunner of the [[Likud]], used the phrase for present-day Israel, Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan.<ref name="ToI2025GI" />

=== Lebanon and the Litani ===
In 1919 [[Chaim Weizmann]] wrote to the British prime minister, David Lloyd George, that "the Northern Frontier of Palestine should include the Valley of the Litany [Litani], for a distance of 25 miles above the bend".<ref name="Palcit1919">PALCIT, [https://palcit.net/article-713-our-claims-to-the-north-are-imperatively-demanded-by-the-requirements-of-modern-economic-life Quotation from Chaim Weizmann "Our claims to the north are imperatively demanded by the requirements of modern economic life" – 1919] ''PALCIT'', citing ''Jewish Observer and Middle East Review'', 16 November 1973, p. 22, accessed 22 October 2026 (critical).</ref> On 24 May 1948 [[David Ben-Gurion]] wrote in his diary: "Lebanon is the weak link in the Arab coalition… A Christian state should be established with the Litani [River] as its southern border. We'll form an alliance with it."<ref name="BGDiary1948">David Ben-Gurion, [https://bengurionarchive.bgu.ac.il/en/node/13292 Diary, 24 May 1948] ''The Ben-Gurion Archive'', Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli-side).</ref> See [[Litani River]].

== The Yinon Plan, 1982 ==
In February 1982 [[Oded Yinon]] argued in ''Kivunim'', a journal of the [[World Zionist Organization]], that "Lebanon's total dissolution into five provinces serves as a precedent for the entire Arab world" and that the break-up of Syria and Iraq was "Israel's primary target on the Eastern front in the long run".<ref name="Yinon1982">Oded Yinon, [https://ia803102.us.archive.org/18/items/astrategyforisraelinthenineteeneighties/A%20Strategy%20for%20Israel%20in%20the%20Nineteen%20Eighties.pdf A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties] ''Kivunim'', no. 14, February 1982, English translation, Internet Archive copy, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Recent statements ==
=== Netanyahu, 2025 ===
On 12 August 2025 an i24 interviewer, Sharon Gal, gave [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] an amulet showing "a map of the Promised Land" and asked if he connected to the vision. Netanyahu answered "Very much". When Gal stressed "It is Greater Israel", Netanyahu replied "If you ask me, we are here" and turned to his generation's mission. The exchange was cut from i24's YouTube versions.<ref name="ToI2025GI" /> ''Middle East Eye'' reported that the vision includes "occupied Palestinian territory as well as parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon".<ref name="MEE2025">MEE staff, [https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/netanyahu-embraces-greater-israel-vision-including-parts-jordan-and-egypt Netanyahu says he backs 'Greater Israel', which includes parts of Jordan and Egypt] ''Middle East Eye'', 13 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

=== Smotrich, 2023 and 2026 ===
In March 2023 [[Bezalel Smotrich]] spoke in Paris at a podium draped with a map of "Israel" that included the West Bank, Gaza "and most of Jordan".<ref name="CNN2023">Hadas Gold, Amir Tal and Abeer Salman, [https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/03/21/middleeast/israel-smotrich-palestinians-intl/index.html Israeli minister says there's 'no such thing as a Palestinian people,' inviting US rebuke] ''CNN'', 21 March 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In March 2026 he said "the new Israeli border must be the Litani".<ref name="ReutersSmotrich2026">Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Maya Gebeily, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-annexation-southern-lebanon-2026-03-23/ Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon] ''Reuters'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

=== Huckabee, 2026 ===
In February 2026 the US ambassador, [[Mike Huckabee]], told [[Tucker Carlson]] that "it would be fine if they took it all", when asked about the land from "the wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates".<ref name="Guardian2026Huck" /> He then said Israel was "asking to at least take the land that they now occupy", and called his remark somewhat "hyperbolic".<ref name="BBC2026Huck">Maia Davies, [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5gkkgdzkyo US ambassador's Israel comments condemned by Arab and Muslim nations] ''BBC News'', 22 February 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

=== Settler movements ===
In May 2026 [[Itamar Ben-Gvir]] called for the lines between areas A, B and C of the West Bank to be erased, saying "All the Land of Israel belongs to us", and said that "Israel" had a "settlement plan for Lebanon".<ref name="LOrient15May2026">L'Orient Today, [https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1506969/ben-gvir-discusses-israels-settlement-plan-for-south-lebanon.html Ben Gvir discusses Israel's 'settlement plan' for south Lebanon] ''L'Orient Today'', 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The [[Uri Tzafon]] campaign envisages Israel's northern border "extending to at least the Litani river", according to AFP; ''Roya News'' reported that some members of its online forum describe a Greater Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates.<ref name="AlMonitor2026">Alice Chancellor, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/promised-us-israelis-dreaming-settling-south-lebanon 'Promised to us': The Israelis dreaming of settling south Lebanon] ''Al-Monitor'' (AFP), 13 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="Roya">Roya News, [https://en.royanews.tv/news/64907 Israeli extremist publishes updated map promoting land sales in southern Lebanon] ''Roya News'', accessed 22 October 2026 (Jordanian).</ref> [[Daniella Weiss]] of [[Nachala]] said in June 2026 that all areas conquered in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria "must be dotted immediately" with settlements.<ref name="INN2026">Israel National News, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/flashes/688123 Daniella Weiss: The response to Trump – Jewish settlements in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria] ''Arutz Sheva'', 19 June 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Reactions ==
After the Netanyahu interview, Egypt "demanded clarifications" and Saudi Arabia rejected "the settlement and expansionist plans adopted by the Israeli occupation".<ref name="CNN2025">''CNN'', [https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/14/middleeast/israel-palestinians-gaza-displaced-intl Israel says it is in talks with several countries about taking in displaced Palestinians] ''CNN'', 14 August 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> More than a dozen Arab and Muslim governments called Huckabee's comments "dangerous and inflammatory".<ref name="BBC2026Huck" />

== See also ==
* [[The Yinon Plan - A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties]]
* [[Litani River]]
* [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Zionist movement]]
[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:Occupied territories]]

Anna Sloutskin

2026-10-22T09:56:17Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Anna Sloutskin, with sources

{{short description|'''Israeli research biologist and co-founder of Uri Tzafon, a campaign to settle southern Lebanon'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Anna Sloutskin
| image =
| nationality = Israeli
| residence = Occupied West Bank
| occupation = Research biologist
| known_for = Co-founder of [[Uri Tzafon]]
| siblings = Israel Sokol
}}
'''Anna Sloutskin''' (also spelled Slutskin) is an Israeli research biologist who co-founded [[Uri Tzafon]] ("Awake, North Wind"), a campaign to annex and settle southern Lebanon up to at least the [[Litani River]]. AFP described her in May 2026 as 37 years old and living in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. She formed the movement in 2024 in memory of her brother, Israel Sokol, an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza.<ref name="AlMonitor2026">Alice Chancellor, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/promised-us-israelis-dreaming-settling-south-lebanon 'Promised to us': The Israelis dreaming of settling south Lebanon] ''Al-Monitor'' (AFP), 13 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Stated aims ==
Sloutskin told AFP: "The idea is that most of the population flees, we move the border, and we do not let that population return, and it remains a part of the State of Israel by declaration." She described the Israeli army's campaign as "the first stage": "The IDF goes in, conquers, and clears. And afterwards we must not withdraw, but settle."<ref name="AlMonitor2026" />

== Political contacts ==
AFP reported that the Israeli government had given "no public political support" to the movement. Sloutskin nevertheless said there was backing from lawmakers and ministers: "Some say it openly, some say it under the table, but there is definitely support." Uri Tzafon published a photo of her meeting the environmental protection minister, [[Idit Silman]], captioned: "During the meeting with the minister, the issue of taking the territory was raised."<ref name="AlMonitor2026" /> In March 2026 the finance minister, [[Bezalel Smotrich]], called for the Litani to become Israel's border.<ref name="ReutersSmotrich2026">Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Maya Gebeily, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-annexation-southern-lebanon-2026-03-23/ Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon] ''Reuters'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Border crossings ==
AFP reported that the movement organised a tree-planting trip to the border in February 2026, during which the army said two civilians crossed the fence.<ref name="AlMonitor2026" /> On 5 August 2026 the army detained 17 Uri Tzafon activists who had crossed into Lebanon.<ref name="JPost5Aug2026">Amir Bohbot and Esther Davis, [https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-904709 Uri Tzafon activists detained after breaching Lebanon border] ''The Jerusalem Post'', 5 August 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Uri Tzafon]]
* [[Nachala]]
* [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Israel|Sloutskin, Anna]]
[[Category:Israeli settlements|Sloutskin, Anna]]
[[Category:Zionist activists|Sloutskin, Anna]]

Daniella Weiss

2026-10-22T09:56:15Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Daniella Weiss, with sources

{{short description|'''Israeli settler leader, founder and director of the Nachala settlement movement, sanctioned by the UK and the EU'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Daniella Weiss
| image = Daniella Weiss (cropped).jpg
| birth_date = {{Start date|1945|08|30}}
| birth_place = Bnei Brak, Mandatory Palestine<ref name="EUOJ2026">Council of the European Union, [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ%3AL_202601177 Official Journal of the European Union, L 2026/1177 (EU global human rights sanctions regime: listing of Daniella Weiss)] ''EUR-Lex'', listed 28 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (EU-side).</ref>
| nationality = Israeli
| occupation = Director of [[Nachala]]
| known_for = Campaigns to settle Gaza, Lebanon and Syria
}}
'''Daniella Weiss''' (born 30 August 1945) is an Israeli settler leader and the founder and director of the [[Nachala]] settlement movement.<ref name="EUOJ2026" /><ref name="NBC2026">Shira Pinson and Matt Bradley, [https://www.nbcnews.com/world/gaza/extremist-jewish-settlers-gaza-expel-palestinians-enclave-rcna341575 Extremist Jewish settlers eye Gaza] ''NBC News'', 17 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> Since the Gaza war began she has called repeatedly for Jewish settlement in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.<ref name="INN2026">Israel National News, [https://www.israelnationalnews.com/flashes/688123 Daniella Weiss: The response to Trump – Jewish settlements in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria] ''Arutz Sheva'', 19 June 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The UK sanctioned her and Nachala in May 2025, and the EU listed her in May 2026.<ref name="UKSanc2025Weiss">Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-sanctions-hit-west-bank-violence-network UK sanctions hit West Bank violence network] ''GOV.UK'', 20 May 2025, accessed 22 October 2026 (UK government-side).</ref><ref name="EUOJ2026" />

== Nachala and the West Bank ==
The EU describes Nachala as aiming to promote "Jewish settlements and illegal outposts in the West Bank". It says Nachala's outposts, including Evyatar, Maoz Esther, Oz Zion, Ramat Migron, Nachalat Zvi and Haeitam Farm, "have been persistent sources of settler violence", and that several were built on privately owned Palestinian land. It holds Weiss responsible "in her capacity as Director" for facilitating and encouraging abuses including forced displacement.<ref name="EUOJ2026" />

== Lebanon, Gaza and Syria ==
In an interview with Israel's Channel 14, reported by ''Al Mayadeen'', Weiss called for the "settlement of Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria" as "the goal of the next phase", saying "there is nothing in Zionism but settlement".<ref name="AlMayadeenWeiss">Al Mayadeen English, [https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/leader-of-settler-mvt--calls-for-settling-in-lebanon--syria Leader of settler movement calls for settling in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza] ''Al Mayadeen English'', accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> At the Gaza border in April 2026 she told ''NBC News'': "Now I'm going to settle Gaza and Lebanon and Syria", and said of Gaza's population: "They will not live here."<ref name="NBC2026" /> On 19 June 2026 she said that "all areas conquered by Israel, in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria, must be dotted immediately with thriving Jewish" settlements.<ref name="INN2026" /> When the [[Uri Tzafon]] campaign claimed an outpost in Lebanon in December 2024, Nachala said that "Jewish settlement is the only thing that will bring regional stability".<ref name="TOI2024">''The Times of Israel'', [https://www.timesofisrael.com/settler-group-claims-to-have-entered-lebanon-and-established-outpost-idf-denies/ Settler group claims to have entered Lebanon and established outpost; IDF denies it] ''The Times of Israel'', 8 December 2024, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Sanctions ==
On 20 May 2025 the UK placed Weiss under an asset freeze, travel ban and director disqualification, and froze Nachala's assets. Foreign Secretary [[David Lammy]] said: "The sanctioning of Daniella Weiss and others today demonstrates our determination to hold extremist settlers to account".<ref name="UKSanc2025Weiss" /> The EU listed her on 28 May 2026.<ref name="EUOJ2026" />

== See also ==
* [[Nachala]]
* [[Uri Tzafon]]
* [[Greater Israel]]

== External links ==
* [https://www.nachalaisrael.org/ Nachala website]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Israel|Weiss, Daniella]]
[[Category:Israeli settlements|Weiss, Daniella]]
[[Category:Zionist activists|Weiss, Daniella]]

Itamar Ben-Gvir

2026-10-22T09:56:13Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Itamar Ben-Gvir, with sources

{{short description|'''Israeli national security minister, convicted in 2007 of incitement to racism, who has spoken of a "settlement plan for Lebanon"'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Itamar Ben-Gvir
| image = Itamar Ben Gvir 3 (cropped).jpg
| birth_date = {{Start date|1976|05|06}}
| birth_place = Mevaseret Zion, Israel<ref name="UKNotice2025">Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68482ca5860362efc8e787f2/Notice_Global_Human_Rights_100625.pdf Financial Sanctions Notice: Global Human Rights] ''HM Treasury'', 10 June 2025, accessed 22 October 2026 (UK government-side).</ref>
| nationality = Israeli
| residence = Kiryat Arba, occupied West Bank<ref name="UKNotice2025" />
| occupation = Minister for National Security
| known_for = 2007 conviction for incitement to racism and support for a terrorist organisation; call for settlement in Lebanon
}}
'''Itamar Ben-Gvir''' (born 6 May 1976) is an Israeli politician and Minister for National Security.<ref name="UKSanc2025Min">Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-partners-unite-to-sanction-ministers-inciting-west-bank-violence UK and partners unite to sanction ministers inciting West Bank violence] ''GOV.UK'', 10 June 2025, accessed 22 October 2026 (UK government-side).</ref> He lives in the settlement of Kiryat Arba in the occupied West Bank.<ref name="UKNotice2025" /> In 2007 a Jerusalem court convicted him of incitement to racism and of supporting a terrorist organisation.<ref name="Ynet2007">Ynetnews, [https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3417226,00.html Extreme rightist convicted of supporting terror group] ''Ynetnews'', 25 June 2007, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In May 2026 he said that the government had a "settlement plan for Lebanon".<ref name="LOrient15May2026">L'Orient Today, [https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1506969/ben-gvir-discusses-israels-settlement-plan-for-south-lebanon.html Ben Gvir discusses Israel's 'settlement plan' for south Lebanon] ''L'Orient Today'', 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Lebanon ==
On 14 May 2026, at a Jerusalem Day event in a yeshiva attended by [[Bezalel Smotrich]], Ben-Gvir said: "We have more plans to encourage migration from Gaza, encourage migration from Judea and Samaria, and settlement in Lebanon".<ref name="AA15May2026">Abdel Raouf Arnaout, [https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/-israeli-minister-announces-illegal-settlement-plans-in-lebanon-displacements-in-gaza-west-bank/3938434 Israeli minister announces illegal settlement plans in Lebanon, displacements in Gaza, West Bank] ''Anadolu Agency'', 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> ''L'Orient Today'' reported that he spoke of a "settlement plan for Lebanon" while talks between the two countries were under way, called for the annexation of the whole West Bank, and declared: "All the Land of Israel belongs to us." The paper noted that Israeli authorities "officially claim not to have expansionist aims in southern Lebanon".<ref name="LOrient15May2026" /> A member of the [[Uri Tzafon]] settlement campaign showed AFP a certificate of appreciation for Gaza settlement activists signed by Ben-Gvir.<ref name="AlMonitor2026">Alice Chancellor, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/promised-us-israelis-dreaming-settling-south-lebanon 'Promised to us': The Israelis dreaming of settling south Lebanon] ''Al-Monitor'' (AFP), 13 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== 2007 conviction ==
On 25 June 2007 the Jerusalem Magistrates Court convicted Ben-Gvir of incitement to racism, for carrying a sign reading "Expel the Arab enemy", and of supporting a terrorist organisation, for a poster reading "Rabbi Kahane was right, the Arab MKs are the fifth column". He was acquitted on two other charges. He said he would appeal and called some judges "two-faced leftists".<ref name="Ynet2007" /> A 2008 Supreme Court decision records an indictment alleging that in 2002 he ran offices used by the banned [[Kach]] and Kahane Chai movements.<ref name="BSP2008">Supreme Court of Israel, [https://judgments.org.il/judgments/%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%A4-4190-07-%D7%90%D7%99%D7%AA%D7%9E%D7%A8-%D7%91%D7%9F-%D7%92%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A8-%D7%A0-%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%AA-%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C/ BSP 4190/07 Itamar Ben-Gvir v. State of Israel] (Hebrew), 16 March 2008, accessed 22 October 2026 (Israeli government-side).</ref>

== Sanctions ==
On 10 June 2025 the UK, with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, imposed an asset freeze, travel ban and director disqualification on Ben-Gvir in his personal capacity, for "inciting, promoting and/or supporting" violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.<ref name="UKSanc2025Min" />

== See also ==
* [[Bezalel Smotrich]]
* [[Uri Tzafon]]
* [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Israel|Ben-Gvir, Itamar]]
[[Category:Israeli settlements|Ben-Gvir, Itamar]]
[[Category:Far Right|Ben-Gvir, Itamar]]
[[Category:Members of the Knesset|Ben-Gvir, Itamar]]

Bezalel Smotrich

2026-10-22T09:56:09Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Bezalel Smotrich, with sources

{{short description|'''Israeli finance minister and leader of the Religious Zionism party who has called for the Litani River to be Israel's border with Lebanon'''}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bezalel Smotrich
| image = Bezalel Smotrich.jpg
| birth_date = {{Start date|1980|02|27}}
| birth_place = Haspin, occupied Golan Heights<ref name="UKNotice2025">Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68482ca5860362efc8e787f2/Notice_Global_Human_Rights_100625.pdf Financial Sanctions Notice: Global Human Rights] ''HM Treasury'', 10 June 2025, accessed 22 October 2026 (UK government-side).</ref>
| nationality = Israeli
| residence = Kedumim, occupied West Bank<ref name="UKNotice2025" />
| occupation = Minister of Finance; Additional Minister in the Ministry of Defence
| known_for = Leader of the [[Religious Zionist Party|Religious Zionism]] party; calls to annex southern Lebanon up to the [[Litani River]]
}}
'''Bezalel Yoel Smotrich''' (born 27 February 1980) is an Israeli politician, Minister of Finance and an additional minister in the Ministry of Defence, and the leader of the Religious Zionism party.<ref name="UKSanc2025Min">Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, [https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-partners-unite-to-sanction-ministers-inciting-west-bank-violence UK and partners unite to sanction ministers inciting West Bank violence] ''GOV.UK'', 10 June 2025, accessed 22 October 2026 (UK government-side).</ref><ref name="ToISmotrich2026">Agencies and ToI Staff, [https://www.timesofisrael.com/smotrich-says-litani-river-should-be-israels-new-border-with-lebanon/ Smotrich says Litani River should be Israel's new border with Lebanon] ''The Times of Israel'', 24 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> He lives in the West Bank settlement of Kedumim.<ref name="UKNotice2025" /> In March 2026 he called for the [[Litani River]] to become Israel's border with Lebanon; Reuters called the remarks "the most explicit yet by a senior Israeli official on seizing Lebanese territory".<ref name="ReutersSmotrich2026">Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Maya Gebeily, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-annexation-southern-lebanon-2026-03-23/ Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon] ''Reuters'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The United Kingdom and four other states sanctioned him in June 2025 for inciting violence against Palestinians.<ref name="UKSanc2025Min" />

== Lebanon: "The new Israeli border must be the Litani" ==
On 23 March 2026, as Israeli forces bombed Lebanese bridges, Smotrich said in a radio interview that the war "needs to end with a different reality entirely, both with the Hezbollah decision but also with the change of Israel's borders. I say here definitively… in every room and in every discussion, too: the new Israeli border must be the Litani".<ref name="AJSmotrich2026">Al Jazeera, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/23/smotrich-urges-israel-to-annex-southern-lebanon-as-assault-intensifies Smotrich urges Israel to annex southern Lebanon as assault intensifies] ''Al Jazeera'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> ''Reuters'' called the comments "the most explicit yet by a senior Israeli official on seizing Lebanese territory".<ref name="ReutersSmotrich2026" /> At a meeting of his Knesset faction the same day he added that the Litani "must be our new border with the state of Lebanon, just like the 'Yellow Line' in Gaza and like the buffer zone and peak of the Hermon in Syria".<ref name="ToISmotrich2026" /> ''The National'' quoted him: "Just as we control 55 per cent of Gaza, we must do the same in Lebanon."<ref name="National23Mar2026">''The National'', [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/03/23/israel-hits-seven-lebanese-bridges-as-smotrich-calls-for-litani-river-border/ Israel hits eight Lebanese bridges as Smotrich calls for Litani River border] ''The National'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> An Israeli military official told ''Reuters'' he could not comment on politicians' remarks or the government's long-term plans.<ref name="ToISmotrich2026" /> The next day the defence minister, [[Yisrael Katz|Israel Katz]], announced that the army would hold southern Lebanon up to the Litani as a "security zone".<ref name="Reuters24Mar2026">Alexander Cornwell and Nazih Osseiran, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-military-occupy-swathe-southern-lebanon-defence-chief-says-2026-03-24/ Israel's military to occupy swathe of southern Lebanon, defence minister says] ''Reuters'', 24 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

In May 2026 Smotrich attended the Jerusalem Day event at which [[Itamar Ben-Gvir]] spoke of a "settlement plan for Lebanon".<ref name="LOrient15May2026">L'Orient Today, [https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1506969/ben-gvir-discusses-israels-settlement-plan-for-south-lebanon.html Ben Gvir discusses Israel's 'settlement plan' for south Lebanon] ''L'Orient Today'', 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Gaza and the West Bank ==
In April 2026, according to ''NBC News'', Smotrich told a synagogue audience that Gaza should be "all ours, entirely Jewish, through Israeli settlement. The enemy should leave it and find their luck elsewhere."<ref name="NBC2026">Shira Pinson and Matt Bradley, [https://www.nbcnews.com/world/gaza/extremist-jewish-settlers-gaza-expel-palestinians-enclave-rcna341575 Extremist Jewish settlers eye Gaza] ''NBC News'', 17 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== The Paris speech and the "Greater Israel" map, 2023 ==
In March 2023, at a memorial service for a Likud activist in Paris, Smotrich said: "There is no such thing as a Palestinian people." ''CNN'' reported that his podium was draped in a flag "displaying an enlarged map of Israel that included the occupied West Bank, Gaza and most of Jordan". His spokesperson called the flag "set decoration" put up by the organisers. Jordan summoned the Israeli ambassador.<ref name="CNN2023">Hadas Gold, Amir Tal and Abeer Salman, [https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/03/21/middleeast/israel-smotrich-palestinians-intl/index.html Israeli minister says there's 'no such thing as a Palestinian people,' inviting US rebuke] ''CNN'', 21 March 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The Jordanian foreign ministry condemned his use of what it called a "Greater Israel" map.<ref name="WAFA2023">WAFA, [https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/133978 Jordan Foreign Ministry slams Israeli minister over "Greater Israel" map] ''WAFA'', 20 March 2023, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Sanctions ==
On 10 June 2025 the UK, acting with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway, imposed an asset freeze, travel ban and director disqualification on Smotrich in his personal capacity, for "inciting, promoting and/or supporting" violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.<ref name="UKSanc2025Min" />

== See also ==
* [[Itamar Ben-Gvir]]
* [[Greater Israel]]
* [[Litani River]]
* [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Israel|Smotrich, Bezalel]]
[[Category:Israeli settlements|Smotrich, Bezalel]]
[[Category:Far Right|Smotrich, Bezalel]]
[[Category:Members of the Knesset|Smotrich, Bezalel]]

Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)

2026-10-22T09:56:07Z

Lebanon Bot: New page: Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present), with sources

{{short description|'''Israel's military occupation of a "security zone" in southern Lebanon after the 2024 and 2026 wars with Hezbollah'''}}
{{Infobox event
| name = Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)
| image =
| type = Military occupation
| start_date = {{Start date|2024|10}}
| location = Southern Lebanon, from the coast to the slopes of Mount Hermon
| participants = [[Israel Defense Forces]]; [[Hezbollah]]; Lebanese Armed Forces
| cause = Israel–Hezbollah wars of 2023–24 and 2026
| other = Israel's defence minister put the zone at 700 km² in October 2026<ref name="Annahar20Oct2026">Annahar, [https://en.annahar.com/en/358756/katz-no-withdrawal-from-southern-lebanon-until-hezbollah-is-disarmed-the-southern-suburbs-are-under-threat Katz says Israel will hold Lebanese security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed] ''Annahar'', 20 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>
}}
The '''Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)''' is the presence of the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) in a "security zone" inside Lebanon, first held after the 2024 ground invasion and greatly enlarged after fighting with [[Hezbollah]] resumed in March 2026. According to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS), "Israel" had occupied about 5% of Lebanon's territory by September 2026.<ref name="CRS2026">Christopher M. Blanchard, Jeremy M. Sharp, Clayton Thomas and Jim Zanotti, [https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R48887.html U.S. Conflict with Iran] ''Congressional Research Service'', R48887, updated 18 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (US Congress-side).</ref> Israeli ministers have given shifting accounts of its purpose and duration, and some have called for annexation and settlement.

== 2024 invasion and the five points ==
"Israel" invaded southern Lebanon in late 2024. Under the ceasefire of 27 November 2024 it was to withdraw within 60 days, while Hezbollah left the area south of the [[Litani River]].<ref name="BBC2024">Ido Vock, [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mze4pzdnlo Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire comes into effect] ''BBC News'', 27 November 2024, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> ''Al Jazeera'' reported in September 2025 that "Israel" still occupied at least five points in the south and was "destroying villages in the area".<ref name="AJ2025EZ">Justin Salhani, [https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/9/1/will-us-backed-economic-zone-incentivise-lebanon-to-disarm-hezbollah Will a US-backed economic zone incentivise Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah?] ''Al Jazeera'', 1 September 2025, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== 2026: "up to the Litani" ==
After Hezbollah resumed fire on 2 March 2026, Defence Minister [[Yisrael Katz|Israel Katz]] said on 24 March that "Israel" would occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani. ''Reuters'' wrote that this spelled out "for the first time Israel's intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a tenth of the country".<ref name="Reuters24Mar2026">Alexander Cornwell and Nazih Osseiran, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-military-occupy-swathe-southern-lebanon-defence-chief-says-2026-03-24/ Israel's military to occupy swathe of southern Lebanon, defence minister says] ''Reuters'', 24 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> On 31 March Katz said: "At the end of the operation, the IDF would control the area up to the Litani River, including the remaining Litani bridges".<ref name="Reuters31Mar2026">Reuters, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-establish-buffer-zone-south-lebanon-up-litani-river-defence-minister-says-2026-03-31/ Israel to establish buffer zone in south Lebanon up to Litani River, defence minister says] ''Reuters'', 31 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> The day before Katz's first statement, the finance minister, [[Bezalel Smotrich]], said that "the new Israeli border must be the Litani".<ref name="ReutersSmotrich2026">Tamar Uriel-Beeri and Maya Gebeily, [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-annexation-southern-lebanon-2026-03-23/ Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon] ''Reuters'', 23 March 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== The Yellow Line and demolitions ==
A US-brokered framework agreement signed on 26 June 2026 provided for phased Israeli withdrawal through "pilot zones" handed to the Lebanese army.<ref name="MadaMasr2026">Lana Harb, [https://www.madamasr.com/en/2026/10/19/feature/politics/lebanons-pilot-zone-experiment-the-case-of-zawtar-al-gharbiyah/ Lebanon's 'pilot zone' experiment: The case of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah] ''Mada Masr'', 19 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> ''Al Jazeera'' reported in October 2026 that "Israel" still held a zone up to 10 km deep, marked by a "Yellow Line", behind which it "continues to detonate homes"; about 50 frontline villages, including Khiam and Bint Jbeil, had been destroyed. The analyst Mohamad Bazzi told the channel that Israel's goal was to "empty, depopulate, and make those dozens of frontline villages and towns uninhabitable".<ref name="AJYellowLine">Justin Salhani, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/14/how-israels-yellow-line-is-reshaping-southern-lebanon How Israel's 'Yellow Line' is reshaping southern Lebanon] ''Al Jazeera'', 14 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

On 20 October 2026 Katz wrote that "Israel has established a security zone inside Lebanese territory covering 700 square kilometers, from the western coast to Shaqif Castle and the southern slopes of Mount Hermon". He said about 200,000 Shia residents had been evacuated, that more than 60 villages including 23,000 homes had been demolished, and that the area "is now free of residents, armed infrastructure, and houses". He said the army would not withdraw until Hezbollah was disarmed, and that it was ready to take more of Nabatieh and the Litani basin, evacuate it and permanently annex it to the security zone, according to Annahar.<ref name="Annahar20Oct2026" />

== Stated aims and settlement advocacy ==
The official Israeli justification is security: Katz said the zone was "aimed at preventing infiltrations and direct fire on northern settlements".<ref name="Annahar20Oct2026" /> ''L'Orient Today'' noted in May 2026 that "Israeli authorities officially claim not to have expansionist aims in southern Lebanon".<ref name="LOrient15May2026">L'Orient Today, [https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1506969/ben-gvir-discusses-israels-settlement-plan-for-south-lebanon.html Ben Gvir discusses Israel's 'settlement plan' for south Lebanon] ''L'Orient Today'', 15 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> Yet the national security minister, [[Itamar Ben-Gvir]], said on 14 May 2026 that Israel had a "settlement plan for Lebanon".<ref name="LOrient15May2026" /> Settler groups, including [[Uri Tzafon]] and [[Nachala]], campaign openly to settle the zone. The Uri Tzafon co-founder [[Anna Sloutskin]] told AFP: "The IDF goes in, conquers, and clears. And afterwards we must not withdraw, but settle."<ref name="AlMonitor2026">Alice Chancellor, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/05/promised-us-israelis-dreaming-settling-south-lebanon 'Promised to us': The Israelis dreaming of settling south Lebanon] ''Al-Monitor'' (AFP), 13 May 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== Land and property ==
Lebanese officials fear that displaced owners will be pressed to sell. In September 2026 the Lebanese cabinet approved a draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (see [[Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)]]). Riad Al-Asaad of the South Reconstruction Company accused Israeli forces of bulldozing land-registry offices and taking property records.<ref name="ArabNews30Sep2026">Najia Houssari, [https://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/who-will-protect-occupied-southern-lebanon-from-controversial-land-sales-3003913 Who will protect occupied southern Lebanon from controversial land sales?] ''Arab News'', 30 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[South Lebanon Army]] (the 1985–2000 occupation)
* [[Litani River]]
* [[Trump economic zone (southern Lebanon)]]
* [[Greater Israel]]
* [[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Lebanon]]

== Notes ==
<references/>

[[Category:Lebanon]]
[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:Occupied territories]]

File:Nachala logo.png

2026-10-22T09:55:47Z

Lebanon Bot: Logo of Nachala from its website, for identification

Logo of [[Nachala]], used for identification in its infobox.

* Source: https://www.nachalaisrael.org/ (site icon: https://static.wixstatic.com/media/faa8f2_ab050902d5424230b0361e1781cd267d~mv2.png)
* Copyright: Nachala. Used for identification only (logo of the organisation described).

File:Israel Katz on July 3, 2024 (cropped).jpg

2026-10-22T09:55:30Z

Lebanon Bot: Photo of Yisrael Katz from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Photograph of Yisrael Katz, used in the infobox of [[Yisrael Katz]].

* Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Israel_Katz_on_July_3,_2024_(cropped).jpg
* Original file: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Israel_Katz_on_July_3%2C_2024_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original (800px version)
* Author: U.S. Embassy Jerusalem
* Licence: CC BY 2.0 (as given on Wikimedia Commons)

File:David Ben-Gurion (D597-087).jpg

2026-10-22T09:55:26Z

Lebanon Bot: Photo of David Ben-Gurion from Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Photograph of David Ben-Gurion, used in the infobox of [[David Ben-Gurion]].

* Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:David_Ben-Gurion_(D597-087).jpg
* Original file: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/David_Ben-Gurion_%28D597-087%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original (800px version)
* Author: Fritz Cohen</bd
* Licence: Public domain (as given on Wikimedia Commons)

File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - President Chaim Weizmann (retouched).jpg

2026-10-22T09:55:21Z

Lebanon Bot: Photo of Chaim Weizmann from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photograph of Chaim Weizmann, used in the infobox of [[Chaim Weizmann]].

* Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_Government_Press_Office_(GPO)_-_President_Chaim_Weizmann_(retouched).jpg
* Original file: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Flickr_-_Government_Press_Office_%28GPO%29_-_President_Chaim_Weizmann_%28retouched%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original (800px version)
* Author: Hugo Mendelson<
* Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 (as given on Wikimedia Commons)

File:Mike Huckabee, official portrait (2025).jpg

2026-10-22T09:55:17Z

Lebanon Bot: Photo of Mike Huckabee from Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Photograph of Mike Huckabee, used in the infobox of [[Mike Huckabee]].

* Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mike_Huckabee,_official_portrait_(2025).jpg
* Original file: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Mike_Huckabee%2C_official_portrait_%282025%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original (800px version)
* Author: United States Embassy in Israel
* Licence: Public domain (as given on Wikimedia Commons)

File:Antoun Sehnaoui PP.jpg

2026-10-22T09:54:58Z

Lebanon Bot: Photo of Antoun Sehnaoui from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Photograph of Antoun Sehnaoui, used in the infobox of [[Antoun Sehnaoui]].

* Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antoun_Sehnaoui_PP.jpg
* Original file: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Antoun_Sehnaoui_PP.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original
* Author: Antoun Sehnaoui
* Licence: CC BY 4.0 (as given on Wikimedia Commons)

File:Official portrait of Deputy Special Presidential Envoy Morgan Ortagus, 2025.png

2026-10-22T09:54:54Z

Lebanon Bot: Photo of Morgan Ortagus from Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Photograph of Morgan Ortagus, used in the infobox of [[Morgan Ortagus]].

* Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Official_portrait_of_Deputy_Special_Presidential_Envoy_Morgan_Ortagus,_2025.png
* Original file: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Official_portrait_of_Deputy_Special_Presidential_Envoy_Morgan_Ortagus%2C_2025.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original
* Author: U.S. Department of State
* Licence: Public domain (as given on Wikimedia Commons)

File:Daniella Weiss (cropped).jpg

2026-10-22T09:54:52Z

Lebanon Bot: Photo of Daniella Weiss from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Photograph of Daniella Weiss, used in the infobox of [[Daniella Weiss]].

* Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daniella_Weiss_(cropped).jpg
* Original file: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Daniella_Weiss_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original
* Author: <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:%D7%99%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%95%D7%98&action=edit&redlink=1" class="
* Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (as given on Wikimedia Commons)

File:Itamar Ben Gvir 3 (cropped).jpg

2026-10-22T09:54:51Z

Lebanon Bot: Photo of Itamar Ben-Gvir from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photograph of Itamar Ben-Gvir, used in the infobox of [[Itamar Ben-Gvir]].

* Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Itamar_Ben_Gvir_3_(cropped).jpg
* Original file: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Itamar_Ben_Gvir_3_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original
* Author: אלון נוריאל
* Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 (as given on Wikimedia Commons)

File:Bezalel Smotrich.jpg

2026-10-22T09:54:49Z

Lebanon Bot: Photo of Bezalel Smotrich from Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photograph of Bezalel Smotrich, used in the infobox of [[Bezalel Smotrich]].

* Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bezalel_Smotrich.jpg
* Original file: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Bezalel_Smotrich.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=original
* Author: Avi Ohayon</b
* Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 (as given on Wikimedia Commons)