Simon Walid Assaf 🌈 シモンアサフ

Climate activist & revolutionary socialist. At home in Beirut & London. Commissioning editor at The Public Source.

[Sami Al-Arian @SamiAlArian]

From 1982 to 2026: History repeats itself
This was the headline of Al-Safir newspaper on October 1, 1982 (after the June 1982 Israeli invasion). The headline said, "Israel insists on rejecting withdrawal before ending the resistance."
It took 18 years of resisting the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon before the Israelis were pushed out of Lebanon without ending the resistance. Israel is at it again.

Same script, different decade: demand the resistance end first, then talk withdrawal. History already answered that—occupation ends because of resistance, not before it. The lesson hasn’t changed, only the timeline has.

[Lara Bitar @LaraJBitar]

Joseph Aoun is asking the Lebanese people to give the agreement a "chance."

Something similar was tried and tested in 1983, and it plunged the country into deeper chaos and upheaval.

He says the government needs to show outsiders that they're "positive" and let the Israelis implode the agreement if it doesn't work.

Maybe the president is not aware that his new partners also did that in the 1980s.

[Charles Lister @Charles_Lister]

#Israel has launched x3 consecutive artillery strikes on different locations in southwest #Syria tonight.

About 30mins later, #Druze National Guard militiamen launched an attack on the government's primary checkpoint -- al-Matuna -- heading into #Suwayda.

A coincidence? No.

[مصدر عام | The Public Source @ThePublicSource]

The families of 4 Lebanese men who vanished in southern Lebanon demonstrated outside of Beirut's Grand Serail on June 24, demanding the government take action.

On June 26, Lebanon, Israel, and the U.S. signed a framework agreement — only Clause 13 of which mentions abductees.

[مصدر عام | The Public Source @ThePublicSource]

Lebanon, Israel, and the U.S. signed a “framework agreement” on June 26. It is meant to pave the way for the Lebanese state to hold a monopoly on violence, through the disarmament of Hezbollah, to guarantee civil peace.

The long history of armed interventions in Lebanon raises difficult questions today.

Can a state build sovereignty by mobilizing its army against a domestic actor? Or does lasting and legitimate sovereignty require something deeper than military consolidation?

“Arming the State Against the Nation?” — a historical intervention, out tomorrow on https://t.co/o6KBHm6qZv

[AToufayli @TfayliAbbass]

مثل اليوم منذ 56 سنة في 30 حزيران 1970، مظاهرة حاشدة ل أهالي الجنوب في بيروت، مطالبين الدولة والحكومة في دولة لبنان الشقيقة بالتدخل لحمايتهم من القصف الإسرائيلي (حليف السلطة اللبنانية الحالي)
تذكير:وقتها لبنان الرسمي كان مستغني عن الجنوب متل اليوم وكمان برعاية أمريكية…

[مصدر عام | The Public Source @ThePublicSource]

بالتزامن مع توقيع الولايات المتحدة والكيان الصهيوني ولبنان اتفاق إطار ثلاثي جديد في واشنطن، ننشر الترجمة العربية لتحليل المؤرخ والأكاديمي زياد أبو ريش(@ziadaburish )، الذي يقدّم سياقًا تاريخيًا ضروريًا لفهم ما تعنيه هذه اللحظة. ⬇️
https://t.co/sQr7uZyM4U

[Elijah J. Magnier 🇪🇺 @ejmalrai]

What the Israeli-Josep Aoun Secret Security Annex Reveals:

The secret Israel-Lebanon security annex, if revealed as expected, will shake Lebanon because it exposes the real architecture hidden behind the public framework. The public agreement speaks of sovereignty, withdrawal and reconstruction. The annex, however, appears to turn these words upside down.

Israel alone determines the scope of the so-called “pilot zones.” It accepts no fixed timetable and no automatic withdrawal. Everything remains open until Lebanon carries out all the demands imposed on it. Israeli redeployment is therefore not a legal obligation. It becomes a reward granted only when Israel decides that Lebanon has performed satisfactorily.

Israel also defines the security zone. It decides which areas are included, which are excluded, and what the Lebanese army must do inside them. The Lebanese army is not given a sovereign mission; it is handed an Israeli agenda through the American channel. Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army keeps freedom of movement throughout the occupied area under the pretext of confronting threats — a formula that can justify the continued destruction of villages and homes.

Inside the pilot zones, the Lebanese army is expected to act on maps, coordinates, and target lists prepared by Israel and transmitted by the United States. A US military team on Lebanese soil supervises the process directly. Israel then retains the right to verify the results. Even more dangerously, an Israeli military force may accompany the American team to inspect Lebanese territory. Only if Israel declares itself satisfied does it consider taking a withdrawal step.

The return of Lebanese civilians to their villages, and the beginning of reconstruction are also made conditional on this process. Residents cannot return before Israel, through the American mechanism, is satisfied with the implementation. Reconstruction is no longer a right. It becomes a tool of pressure.

The annex goes further by opening the Lebanese army itself to external scrutiny. A US-supervised mechanism is to examine the army from within, based on Israeli intelligence files listing officers and soldiers accused by Israel of being under Hezbollah’s influence or acting under its direction. The Lebanese state would be required to dismiss anyone who refuses to cooperate with this mechanism, potentially reaching the removal of the army command itself if it refuses to implement the agreement fully.

Finally, the annex creates a financial control system targeting Hezbollah’s networks, supporters and alleged affiliates. Under an Arab and international legal cover, Lebanon would be required to pursue money transfers to Hezbollah through institutions and individuals, open the entire financial-transfers file, and block funds justified as reconstruction support if they are suspected of benefiting Hezbollah. A financial fund under Lebanese authority but American supervision is also proposed, to audit money flows and ensure that no funds reach any entity connected to Hezbollah.

This is not a security annex. It is a mechanism for placing Lebanese sovereignty under Israeli judgment and American supervision. Israel decides the zones, the threats, the verification, the timing of withdrawal and the conditions for return. The United States supervises the army, the maps, the financial system and the implementation. Lebanon is left to execute.

If this document is made public, the earthquake in Lebanon will not come from surprise. It will come from recognition: the public framework was only the diplomatic cover. The real concessions were buried in the secret security annex.

[شبكة قدس الإخبارية @qudsn]

مواجهات بالحجارة بين شبان قرية عابدين بريف درعا الغربي وقوات الاحتلال المتوغلة في المنطقة، اليوم.

[MintPress News @MintPressNews]

🚨BREAKING: Lebanese Protesters Surround PM Nawaf Salam’s Office Calling Him A Zionist

There are demonstrations across Beirut against the government signing an agreement recognising Israel & permitting Israel to occupy the south.

[MintPress News @MintPressNews]

🚨The Lebanese Government Has Handed Over The Following Villages To Israel Under Its Normalisation Agreement

Lebanese citizens can no longer return to their homes & are experiencing a Nakba like event if they are from:

•Al-Bayyada
•Shemaa
•Majdal Zoun
•Al-Mansouri
•Naqoura
•Alma Al-Shaab
•Teir Harfa
•Al-Jibbeen
•Shehin
•Al-Zahira
•Yarin
•Marwahin
•Al-Bustan
•Umm Al-Tout
•Al-Zalloutiya
•Al-Sulhani
•Aita Al-Shaab
•Ramya
•Al-Qawzah
•Debel (inhabited)
•Ain Ebel (inhabited)
•Rmeish (inhabited)
•Sarbin
•Al-Tayri
•Hanin
•Rshaf
•Yaron
•Maroun Al-Ras
•Bint Jbeil
•Ainata
•Aitaroun
•Kounin
•Beit Yahoun
•Hadatha
•Al-Ghandourieh
•Zoter Al-Sharqiya
•Zoter Al-Gharbiya
•Kfartabnit
•Yohmor Al-Shaqif
•Meifadoun (outskirts)
•Arnoun
•Doha Kfarreman
•Blida
•Mohaybib
•Meiss Al-Jabal
•Houla
•Markaba
•Adaisseh
•Kfarkila
•Al-Khiam
•Al-Taybeh
•Deir Siryan
•Talousa
•Al-Qantara
•Rab Thalathin
•Al-Qusayr
•Aadchit Al-Qusayr
•Debbin
•Al-Abbasiya Al-Hududiya
•Al-Majidiya
•Ain Arab
•Kfar Shouba
•Shebaa

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

🇱🇧🇮🇱 Chaos in Beirut right now

Crowds have completely taken over the streets, burning tires and blocking roads in fury over the Lebanese authorities signing an agreement with Israel.

They say it legalizes Israel's occupation of South Lebanon and gives Netanyahu immunity for war crimes.

This could escalate fast.

Writer: Sol

[مصدر عام | The Public Source @ThePublicSource]

Across southern Lebanon, Israel destroyed 11,095 buildings, damaged 17,891 housing units, according to a UNDP assessment.

Photojournalist Marwan Bou Haidar documents the scale of destruction in Srifa, Bir el-Salasel, and Tebnine.

[مصدر عام | The Public Source @ThePublicSource]

We’re proud to announce that journalists Habib Battah (@habib_b) & Christina Cavalcanti (@cavalcantich), & editor Annia Ciezadlo (@annia), won The National Press Club’s (@PressClubDC) 2026 Arthur E. Rowse Award for Examining the News Media for their investigative feature produced by The Public Source last year titled, “Israel's Willing Propagandists: What the Media Won't Tell You When it Embeds with the Military.”

[David Harvey | @davidharvey.org on Bluesky @profdavidharvey]

My new book, The Story of Capital: What Everyone Should Know About How Capital Works, published by @VersoBooks is also available as an audio book.

https://t.co/9797wveCBg

[Mazen Ezzi مازن عزي @MazenEzzi]

My new piece for @the_amargi looks at Syria’s transition through neoliberal state retreat: a state returning around assets, investment, and coercion, while retreating from social protection and credible justice. The result is growing social fragmentation and punitive disorder.

https://t.co/kQBa0WRUrq

[Lara Bitar @LaraJBitar]

The government that is 'negotiating' a unilateral ceasefire allegedly agreed to exile over 2,000 southerners from their land, granted the Israelis the 'freedom' to bomb with impunity, planned to co-run 'pilot zones' of occupation and establish joint operations rooms with the enemy, quietly observed as the 'mechanism' facilitated the slow death of targeted individuals, and reportedly acquiesced to a boundless list of Zionist demands should not only resign at the earliest -- but be prosecuted for treason.

Several cabinet members spent months persecuting, vilifying, and criminalizing large segments of the Lebanese population, going as far as justifying and applauding their murder.

The reckless decisions taken by this government also caused countless people to lose their lives, most notably the students killed on their way home from examinations the minister of education stubbornly insisted on holding despite widespread objection and the family killed while returning to the south after the Lebanese delegation proudly announced said ceasefire.

The dust hasn't yet settled, but these crimes shouldn't go unpunished.

[Elijah J. Magnier 🇪🇺 @ejmalrai]

I spoke until 2 a.m. with resistance fighters and commanders currently deployed in their villages where they grew up in southern Lebanon, and here are the facts from the field:

The fighters see with their own eyes the Israeli terrorist occupation forces re-establishing their positions, repairing infrastructure, reinforcing their defences and consolidating their presence, yet the resistance is respecting the ceasefire and is not opening fire.

They see occupation soldiers observing resistance positions with binoculars, and they are not allowed to shoot or to send any drones.

Decisions that were once made instantly on the battlefield now require higher-level approval. Because of these restrictions, even when resistance fighters observe occupation soldiers moving between positions, they do not engage because the objective is to preserve the ceasefire.

The enemy understands these limitations and exploits them to strengthen its positions and maintain its occupation of Lebanese territory. This enemy has wide experiencer in committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The Lebanese resistance has significantly reduced the legitimate activity because of the Iranian pressure and the new realities imposed on the battlefield.

Every attempt by the occupation forces to move, reinforce or extract personnel now requires extensive precautions because the resistance remains present and capable.

This is the reality on the ground today.

This is not freedom of action.

There is no such thing as maintaining an occupation while being unable to impose your will on these terrorists, dictate the terms of the battlefield or achieve the liberation of Lebanon.

https://t.co/OrfUglZOgU

[Shaiel Ben-Ephraim @academic_la]

The Trump administration has announced a massive diplomatic push to sell the Iran deal. It will include visits to the Gulf by Rubio, but not to Israel, which has been bypassed completely:

1) This is a sign for Israel that even the man they consider their ally is working for the deal and not helping Israel.

2) Israeli officials are terrified by this prospect, the most explicit sign yet Israel and its concerns are being ignored. Former advisor to several Prime Ministers Shalom Lipner said, "It speaks volumes that Israe, which looks to Rubio as the administration principal most sympathetic to its interests, is not on this itinerary. Trump keeping him away at this time?"

3) Sources in the Netanyahu government have expressed exasperation that Rubio is traveling to pitch a $300 billion reconstruction fund and a framework that leaves Iran's ballistic missilles intact and actively reassuring Gulf states that accommodation won't hurt their survival, while completely ignoring Israeli concerns about the deal.

4) Instead of a face-to-face bilateral meeting with a visiting Secretary of State, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to accept a remote phone briefing from Rubio. A procedural demotion and a genuine snub.

5) This comes as Israel has been forced by the US to stop advancing in Lebanon. The New York Times and Ynet published accounts of how the IDF has been given orders just to defend under extreme American pressure.

A source I talked to in the Israeli Foreign Ministry told me, "this may be the worst case of abandonment Israel has experienced by the US in its history." There is a sense that everything is aligning against Israel right now.

[🔻أرشيف لبنان Lebanon Archives @booklebanon]

في "الزمن الجميل" و "سويسرا الشرق" بشرّي كانت تعاني الحرمان:
مستوصف بدائي والوعد الذي لم ينفّذ لسنوات: سيارة اسعاف و6 أطباء