Nobly giving it to Lebanon, which is not nearly strong enough to keep it out of Hezbollah’s hands — and all involved know it.
[IsraelTimes] Sum raised at Paris conference nearly double figure requested to help cash-strapped Beirut deal with effects of war, as UN official warns Lebanese economy starting to crumbleA Gay Paree conference on aid for conflict-stricken Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
raised around $800 million for humanitarian assistance and millions more to bolster the country’s army Thursday, but saw little diplomatic progress toward ending fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group.
The total far outstripped both La Belle France’s target of 500 million euros and the $426 million originally requested by the UN for Lebanon, where French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said over 2,500 people had been killed and "almost one million" displaced in fighting since late September.
"In total, we have jointly gathered $800 million in humanitarian aid
," Barrot told participants as the conference closed.He added that there was a further "$200 million for the security forces" bringing the total to "almost a billion, even more than a billion... with the latest contributions."
Israel launched an air offensive and limited ground incursion in southern Lebanon last month aimed at ending a year of cross-border attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah meant to support the Hamas
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
terror group following the devastating October 7, 2023 attack. The attacks have killed dozens of civilians and soldiers and forced some 60,000 residents of northern Israel to evacuate their homes, with millions more under constant threat of bombardment from Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies in the region.
The Gay Paree conference had gathered over 70 nations and international organizations to boost aid for Lebanon, which has largely failed to rein in Hezbollah, with United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
Secretary-General António Guterres
...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years...
calling on participants to "strengthen their support to state institutions, including the Lebanese armed forces."
"We have risen to the occasion," Barrot told participants. Major pledges included about $300 million from the United States, 100 million euros ($108 million) from La Belle France, 95 million euros ($103 million) from Germany and at least 15 million pounds ($20 million) from Britannia.
But while there were repeated calls for a ceasefire, diplomatic progress in Gay Paree was limited, with neither Israel nor Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for
spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
present and the US represented only by a deputy to Secretary of State Antony Blinken
...71st United States secretary of state and a leading light of the corrupt and inept Biden administration. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under the corrupt and inept Obama administration. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008. He was a foreign policy advisor for the Biden 2008 presidential campaign. During his tenure in the Obama administration, Blinken helped craft B.O.'s policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran. We all saw how well each of those worked. After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a lobbying firm....
La Belle France, which has historic ties to Lebanon and hosts a large Lebanese diaspora, is pushing alongside the US for a 21-day ceasefire to give space to find a more lasting truce.
Gay Paree wants a return to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which requires that the Lebanese Armed Forces be the only force with arms in southern Lebanon.
The resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed following Israel and Hezbollah’s last major engagement in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither the peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL nor the LAF challenging the Iran-backed terror group.
Opening the confab, Macron condemned Israel for continuing its military operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, "in the south, in Beirut, elsewhere, and that the number of civilian victims continues to rise," and reiterated his call for a ceasefire.
Although Israel has eliminated Hezbollah leaders over recent weeks, it "knows from experience that its military successes do not necessarily represent victory in Lebanon," Macron said.
He added that Hezbollah must "stop its provocations... and indiscriminate strikes" against Israel.
In recent weeks, Macron has appeared to toughen his stance against Israel while repeatedly calling for a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
, condemning the "unbearable human toll." He reiterated his call on Monday while speaking by phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said.
There have been recent tensions between the French and Israeli leaders, especially after Macron called for a halt to arms exports for use in Gaza. Macron has also strongly condemned what he says is the "deliberate" targeting by Israel of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, which Israel has denied.
Conference participants discussed how to support the 10,500-soldier-strong UNIFIL. European nations including La Belle France, Italia and Spain provide a third of its troops.
Italia, which has over 1,000 troops in UNIFIL, is pushing for the peacekeeping force to be strengthened to "be able to face the new situation" on the ground, an Italian diplomat said, speaking anonymously to discuss ongoing talks.