During a conversation with US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked for his help in securing a pardon for Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Axios reports. Netanyahu has been on trial for corruption since 2019.
Following the recent significant increase in the recruitment of Israeli agents for Iran, the Shin Bet General Security Service has contacted several local authorities to give “those who have begun talking with hostile elements the opportunity to end their ties and thus avoid serious criminal proceedings against them.”
Tensions with Syria continue, the Israeli Ambassador to the UN: “Israel” will not return to the 1967 borders and will not give up the Golan Heights… not now, not ever.”
Tensions also escalate with Egypt: Egyptian intelligence denies coordinating with “Israel” to open the Rafah crossing to Gaza residents. From an Egyptian official: “If an agreement is reached to open the crossing, it will be a two-way crossing for entry and exit from the sector, as stated in the Trump plan.” An Israeli official responds: “Israel opens the crossings for the exit of Gaza citizens, and if Egypt refuses to accept them, that’s their problem.”
The Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council sends a message to Israel: “Our position on the Palestinian issue is firm, and we affirm the need for an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.”
Entering the political arena is the On December 3, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine also welcomed the statements made by the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Badr Abdul-Ati, and the Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, calling for an end to Israeli violations of the ceasefire resolution in the Gaza Strip and an accelerated transition to the second phase of the Trump plan, which would lead to the completion of the Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, according to the October 7, 2023, guidelines, the opening of crossings, the flow of aid, the start of reconstruction, the formation of the Palestinian administration of the Strip, and the deployment of a stabilization force on the contact lines, as well as Palestinian security agencies within towns, camps, and residential gatherings.
The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development reports that: “The volume of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip remains critically low, averaging only 287 trucks per day in recent weeks, while the sector needs of at least 1,000 trucks per day to meet minimum humanitarian needs. According to Operations Room data, the total number of trucks entering the sector from October 1 to November 29 this year through the Karm Abu Salem crossing and the “Zikim” and “Kisufim” crossings has reached 17,259, after a long interruption.
The Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity says the final text of the Caesar sanctions amendment will be published today, with Congress expected to vote next week. The group says recent developments on Capitol Hill could pave the way for the first complete lifting of Caesar sanctions. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa held a meeting with the Syrian Petroleum Company and the US energy giant Chevron to discuss possible cooperation in offshore oil and gas exploration along the Syrian coast.
Simon Karam has been appointed to head the Lebanese delegation for indirect negotiations. It is worth noting that the border demarcation negotiations between 2020 and 2022 also included a delegation. Civilian technology. This is nothing new, as has emerged on social media.
At the end of the Mechanism meeting, the committee issued a brief note: “Instructions to the Lebanese negotiator include intensifying security measures, demanding Israeli withdrawal, the return of prisoners, and a cessation of attacks.” UNIFIL stated: “We have not recorded any military movements by Hezbollah in our deployment areas or by non-state armed groups within our deployment area, emphasizing that we have not observed the reconstruction of military sites or the introduction of unauthorized weapons. It indicated that the reduction in the number of international forces in the south by approximately six hundred personnel is the result of budget cuts allocated to UNIFIL.”
The Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry stated: “We will evaluate the opportunity to establish economic relations with Lebanon in a positive manner, but the priority is to ensure the removal of the security threat.”
Finally, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam took the stand on the issue of indirect agreements and clarified: “We are ready for military negotiations with Israel; the addition of a former Lebanese diplomat to the committee is politically motivated and has a national dimension. Netanyahu went too far in describing our decision to add a former Lebanese diplomat to the committee. We are not engaged in peace negotiations with Israel, and normalization is linked to the peace process. We have received Israeli messages about a potential escalation, but it is not related to a timeline. The assessment of the delegates who visited Beirut is that the situation is dangerous and prone to escalation. Hezbollah must surrender its weapons, and this is one of the most important guarantees of its participation in the state-building project. Hezbollah’s weapons have not deterred Israel and have not protected Lebanon, and the state has resumed its decision to wage war and peace. We will not allow adventures that lead to a new war, and we must learn from the experience of supporting Gaza.”
Hezbollah expressed its views on negotiations with the enemy in an open letter to the presidents: “Eager to ensure national security understanding, protect sovereignty, maintain security and stability in Lebanon, and help strengthen and support the united Lebanese position against Israel’s aggression and violations, and its continued violation of the ceasefire declaration that resulted from the efforts of US Envoy Hochstein following indirect negotiations between Lebanon and the Zionist entity […] The ceasefire declaration of November 27, 2024, agreed to halt Israeli aggression against Lebanon, constitutes an implementing mechanism for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, issued in 2006, which defined a specific operational area limited to the south of the Litani River in Lebanon. The resolution mandated that this area be cleared of weapons and armed men and that Israeli forces withdraw behind the so-called Blue Line. As stated in the introduction, its provisions constitute measures to implement Resolution 1701. Article 1 states: Israel and Lebanon will implement a ceasefire starting at 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, in accordance with the commitments detailed below. Article 2 further states: Starting at 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, Lebanon will prevent Hezbollah and all other armed groups present on Lebanese territory from conducting operations against Israel. Israel will not conduct military operations against Lebanese territory, including civilian or military targets, by land, air, or sea. And so on, up to Article 13. “Although the facts have confirmed the commitment of Lebanon and Hezbollah, which has strictly adhered to its contents from its enactment until today, the Israeli enemy has continued to violate it by land, sea, and air, disregarding the demands for cessation that persist to this day. Not only that, but it has acted against these demands, extorting conditions from Lebanon.” […] “Let it be clear that all Lebanese enemies target not only Hezbollah, but all its components, targeting the Strip’s capacity, rejecting extortion demands, imposing policies and regional interests, demanding a strong and united national position, respectful of the people, and protecting sovereignty and dignity.”
The Al-Quds Brigades and the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, as part of the Al-AqsaFlood prisoner exchange agreement, will hand over the body of an Israeli prisoner found on December 3 in the northern Gaza Strip.
And now a look at the military scenarios updated at 3:30 PM on December 3.
Emirati coup in Yemen, Aden area, Emirati-backed forces in Yemen enter the presidential palace in Sayun, southern Yemen.
Local Syrian sources report an IDF patrol infiltrating the village of Umm al-Adham, in the Quneitra countryside. And a second Israeli patrol infiltrating the village of Breika, in the southwestern countryside of Quneitra.
A loud explosion was heard in the direction of Sidon and the Iqlim al-Kharroub region. On the morning of December 3, Israeli drones flew over the southern suburbs of Beirut, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, and Jebchit. According to local sources, at the same time as the delegations’ meeting in Ras al-Naqoura, drones breached the airspace of more than 100 villages and towns in the south. One of the enemy planes dropped a stun bomb near workers of a power company in the city of Adisa.
Recorded Israeli air traffic flying over: Baalebek – Ain Bourday – Douris – Brital – Taybeh – Majdeloun, Ash Sharqiyah – Ad Duwayr – Al Ghunduriyah – Al Qantarah – Zuatar Ash Sharqiyah and Al Gharbiyah. Yohmor – Arnoun – Kafr Tibnit – Tulin – Kherbet Salim – Qabrikha – Burj Khalaweh.
Mahmoud Saber Bassal, Civil Defense spokesperson in Gaza: “In less than 24 hours, the IDF has carried out a series of attacks in Gaza, resulting in seven deaths, including children and journalists, and dozens of injuries. Civil defense teams are working in nearly impossible conditions due to the lack of equipment and safe routes. Gaza is under bombardment, and the civil defense is struggling to save what remains. Israeli airstrikes on the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, the IDF carried out a bombing operation in Harat Al-Damj, in the Jenin camp. The center of the city of Birah was attacked. News sources report: “Occupation forces attacked the city of Al-Bireh and several camps in the southern West Bank and arrested a group of citizens.” Settlement settlements were established in Sarta, west of Salfit.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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