Orientul Mijlociu

The KNC demanded the removal of the representative of the al-Amshat faction from the General Authority of the Coalition, according to Enab Baladi.

The Kurdish National Council (KNC) has suspended its involvement with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SOC) following reports of attacks by military groups affiliated with the Syrian National Army (SNA) on Kurdish civilians in Afrin, northern Aleppo.

The 47th Regiment is one of the IRGC’s most significant military formations, DEIR EZZOR 24 says.

Local sources from the countryside of al-Bukamal, under the control of the Syrian regime and Iranian militias, reported that residents demanded the withdrawal of the 47th Regiment of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday.

In recent years, Türkiye has made significant strides in indigenizing its defense industry, emerging as a key arms exporter. The country’s advancements in producing high-quality, cost-effective defense equipment have bolstered its strategic influence in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and the Gulf. Turkish drones, notably the Bayraktar TB2, played a pivotal role in Azerbaijan’s sweeping victory over Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, showcasing the efficacy and sophistication of Turkish defense technology. Coming off a record year for defense exports in 2023, Türkiye is poised to continue its upward trajectory, albeit not without competition or challenges to its market share.

“Before el-Sissi, but also during his tenure, cars, motorcycles, clothes, drugs, medicines, alcoholic beverages, and weapons were smuggled through the Philadelphi Corridor over the years, lots of weapons: improved RPG-29 rockets that killed our soldiers in the Iron Swords War, hidden rocket parts, machine guns, mines, and more.” — Nadav Shragai, Israeli author and journalist, Israel Hayom, July 10, 2024.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult for the Kremlin to maintain equidistance in the Yemen conflict: Moscow’s growing interaction with the Houthis, including at the military level, is making itself felt. We have seen this before in Syria, Libya, and Sudan.

The partnership between Russia and Iran, which is growing stronger as a result of military cooperation in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, is reverberating in various parts of the world. In war-torn Yemen, it is bringing about Moscow’s rapprochement with pro-Iranian Houthi rebels.

Latest Developments

An Israeli air strike on Beirut on September 20 eliminated Hezbollah’s top military commander, Ibrahim Aqil, and 10 other senior commanders belonging to the Iran-backed terrorist organization. Aqil’s death was confirmed by both the Israel Defense Forces and two “security sources in Lebanon” who spoke to the Reuters news agency. The strike came at the close of a week that plunged Hezbollah into disarray after thousands of pagers and hand-held devices carried by the group’s operatives detonated without warning on September 17 and 18.

La situation en Israël devient extrêmement tendue. Non seulement aux frontières, qui sont désormais quasiment sur pied de guerre, compte tenu des choix du gouvernement Netanyahou. À l’intérieur même d’Israël, et peut-être surtout à l’intérieur d’Israël, la tension atteint des sommets. Avec, d’un côté, les oppositions, dont les travaillistes, qui sont désormais à la tête d’une contestation populaire grandissante. D’autre part, le gouvernement de Bibi, de moins en moins populaire, fort de son Likoud et de quelques petits partis influents s’inscrivant dans l’orbite ultra-orthodoxe. Une coalition qui vise directement le conflit non seulement avec le Hamas, mais aussi avec tout le monde arabe qui n’a pas accepté les accords avec Israël. Et qui considère Téhéran comme une référence clé.

The Case for an Israeli-Palestinian Confederation

In July, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the war in Gaza and the future of the Middle East. Afterward, Harris stressed her commitment to a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians—in her words, “the only path that ensures Israel remains a secure Jewish and democratic state, and one that ensures Palestinians can finally realize the freedom, security, and prosperity that they rightly deserve.” She is hardly alone in this sentiment. Across the world, leaders continue to pledge support for a two-state solution, arguing that it provides direction and momentum to efforts to end the war and eventually rebuild Gaza. In a long-awaited cease-fire resolution, passed in June, the UN Security Council again committed itself to “the vision of the two-State solution where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders.”

Walkie-talkies exploded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Wednesday in a second wave of attacks targeting devices a day after pagers used by Hezbollah blew up, state media and officials for the militant group said. At least 20 people were killed and more than 450 wounded in the second wave, the Health Ministry said.

Latest Developments

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah admitted in a televised speech on September 19 that the Iran-backed terrorist organization has suffered a “major and unprecedented blow” during a week in which thousands of communications devices carried by its operatives detonated without warning. Speaking from an undisclosed location, Nasrallah said that an investigation committee had been established to probe the blasts, insisting that the “Israeli effort has largely been thwarted” and that Hezbollah was ready “to face even worse attacks.” Israel has not commented on whether it was responsible for the attacks on September 17 and September 18.