Hanine Hassan حنين

It pains me to share the news of the passing of Professor Walid Khalidi. Professor Khalidi is the best teacher one could have; in his class at AUB, “the Arab World and the West” he taught us about the Nakbah and warned us about the pitfalls of emotional polemics in arguing for Palestine and cautioned us sternly against antisemitism. He rebuked a student who invoked the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and explained to the class that this forgery should never be mentioned in discussion about Israel or Zionism. I have been in touch with him more in recent years and saw him twice in Cambridge in the last three years. He had a remarkable memory and wrote his memoirs (in English). He shared with me one chapter dealing with British spy, Kim Philby, who Khalidi befriended when the former was correspondent of the Economist in Beirut. He refuted the notion that Palestinian fled their homeland voluntarily in 1948 in an article about Plan Dalet in 1961–decades before new Israeli historians. Condolences to his family, students, and all who care for Palestine. He devoted his entire life for Palestine and the history of Nakbah. He founded the Institute for Palestine Studies in 1963–the first Arab think tank. Albert Hourani used to say: nobody knows about the Nakbah more than Walid Khalidi. (With Walid Khalidi and dear friend, Hani Salam, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.)

For Lebanon we must act. Everything must be done to prevent this country, so close to France, from once again being drawn into war. The Lebanese have a right to peace and security—like everyone in the Middle East. It is to halt the war and prevent the worst that, following my exchanges with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, I spoke today with Lebanon’s highest authorities in order to establish a plan to bring an end to the military operations currently being carried out by Hezbollah and Israel on either side of the border. Hezbollah must immediately cease its fire toward Israel. Israel must refrain from any ground intervention or large-scale operation on Lebanese territory. The Lebanese authorities have given me their commitment to take control of the positions held by Hezbollah and to fully assume responsibility for security across the entire national territory. I give them my full support. France will strengthen its cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces and will provide them with armored transport vehicles, as well as operational and logistical support. The French detachment within the United Nations Force in Lebanon is also continuing its mission in the south of the country. Concerned about the displacement of tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians currently fleeing the south, I have decided on the immediate dispatch of humanitarian aid for them. Several tons of medicines are being transported, along with shelter solutions and assistance. This is a testament to the friendship the French feel toward the Lebanese. At this moment of great danger, I call on the Israeli Prime Minister not to expand the war to Lebanon. I call on Iranian leaders not to further draw Lebanon into a war that is not its own. Hezbollah must renounce its weapons, respect the national interest, show that it is not a militia taking orders from abroad, and allow the Lebanese to come together to preserve their country.

A graphic the U.S. military is sharing on the operation.

BREAKING: Poland will eventually seek to obtain its own nuclear weapons - Bloomberg

فيديو من العراق لايمكن أن ينساه أحد لعن الله الغزاة

"The civilized have created the wretched, quite coldly and deliberately, and do not intend to change the status quo; are responsible for their slaughter and enslavement; rain down bombs on defenseless children whenever and wherever they decide that their "vital interests" are menaced, and think nothing of torturing a man to death: these people are not to be taken seriously when they speak of the "sanctity" of human life, or the "conscience" of the civilized world." - james Baldwin, The Devil Finds His Work.

Mayor of Tel Aviv: As a result of Iran's attacks, 200 buildings have been destroyed