Moustafa Rizk was detained by the Israeli army for three days when he attempted to return to Houla, his village near the border with Israel, in late January. Under the terms of the November Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement, Israeli troops were supposed to withdraw from south Lebanon that day.
Instead, Israeli forces remained in position, killing 22 Lebanese civilians attempting to return to their homes and arresting seven others, including Moustafa.
The ceasefire, extended until mid-February, has long since expired. Yet Israeli troops still occupy five locations in south Lebanon – including an outpost near Houla that lies more than 100 metres inside Lebanon, beyond the UN-demarcated Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon.
“They’re a two-minute drive away from my house,” Mr Rizk told The National bitterly. “It was a residential area, not unused land. My uncle’s house was there. But now they’ve blocked off the road. We can’t access the area.”
His anger echoes a broader frustration in Lebanon: the ceasefire required both an Israeli withdrawal and Hezbollah’s disarmament. Yet while Hezbollah has largely stood down and allowed the Lebanese army to deploy in its place in southern Lebanon, Israel continues to occupy and bombard Lebanese territory.
Hezbollah, once a powerful paramilitary force, is now constrained by a truce it cannot afford to break. The Lebanese army has so far dismantled more than 90 per cent of the group’s military infrastructure south of the Litani River.
Israel has refused to relinquish its foothold, undermining Lebanon's sovereignty. Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces will stay “indefinitely”. It also continues to launch near-daily attacks, including on areas well north of the Litani, in what analysts say is a pressure campaign to force Lebanon to fully disarm Hezbollah.
The US is also pressing Lebanon for a deadline to completely disarm not only Hezbollah but allied militias across the country – a demand Lebanese leaders say cannot happen under fire.
“We’re trying to ‘convince’ the American administration of our point of view over how to deal with this [disarmament] in the most pragmatic and reasonable way,” a political source close to talks with the US and Hezbollah told The National.
“We are trying to explain that there are limits to pushing in Lebanon.”
Hezbollah has shown co-operation with the Lebanese army in handing its weapons and military sites south of the Litani. Military sources told The National that the army is absorbing viable Hezbollah weapons and ammunition.
But Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has refused to consider the group's complete disarmament while Israel continues to launch attacks.
"Does anyone expect us to discuss a national defence strategy as warplanes fly over our heads and there is occupation in south Lebanon," Mr Qassem asked in an April speech. "Let Israel withdraw first."
Former intelligence chief Abbas Ibrahim, who maintains ties with both the US and Hezbollah, doubts diplomacy alone can shift Israel’s stance.
“At the political level, Lebanon has taken a decision to use diplomatic channels. It’s not because we’re generous – it’s because we don’t have the [military] capability to deter Israel,” he told The National.
For now, Lebanese officials can do little more than accuse Israel of violating Lebanon’s sovereignty. But many fear that this fragile moment mirrors a dark chapter of the country’s past.
The end of the Israel-Hezbollah war was a decisive defeat for Hezbollah that ruptured a years-long power struggle in Lebanon between pro-Iran players and the pro-Western bloc. Hezbollah’s waning political and military dominance has exposed Lebanon to unchallenged American and Israeli pressure.
Suddenly, after years of state paralysis, the country had a new President, new Prime Minister, and a fully empowered cabinet. President Joseph Aoun, formerly the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), has committed to disarming non-state actors, but not at the expense of national stability.
Yet US policy risks undercutting that goal. Analysts, military officials, and political insiders familiar with continuing talks with Washington told The National that American pressure to disarm Hezbollah fails to consider Lebanon's complicated history.
With the LAF chronically underfunded and under-equipped, officials warn that fully disarming Hezbollah and allied militias while Lebanon endures daily Israeli attacks and a military occupation could deepen instability and provoke renewed conflict.
“The [US] needs to understand Lebanon’s history, and they have to trust how we can achieve the goal of restoring sovereignty and stability,” the political source close to the talks said.
Grim history
Lebanon’s history is littered with failed foreign-led disarmament efforts.
In 1982, following a series of cross-border clashes with the Palestine Liberation Organisation – which was operating in southern Lebanon and Beirut as a state-within-a-state – Israel invaded Lebanon and besieged Beirut. Under a US-brokered deal, the PLO was forced to disarm. Just weeks later, one of the deadliest massacres of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war unfolded, when Israeli forces facilitated the Christian Phalangist militia’s slaughter of more than 1,200 civilians in the Shatila refugee camp for Palestinians.
Israel withdrew from Beirut shortly after, and another US-brokered 1983 agreement promised full Israeli withdrawal pending the Lebanese army’s deployment throughout the country. But the Lebanese army was too fractured to enforce it.
Instead, Israel maintained its occupation of south Lebanon until the year 2000, when it was forced to withdraw following guerrilla resistance from Hezbollah – itself born from the 1982 Israeli invasion.
Today, on the heels of yet another war, Lebanese leaders are warning the US and Israel not to make the same mistake again.
Lebanese officials have already reached an agreement with the Palestinian Authority to disarm factions – among them Hezbollah ally Hamas – and allow the Lebanese state to extend its control into Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps. And with Hezbollah largely dismantled in the south, the Lebanese army is preparing to extend its control north of the Litani River.
How that happens will be decisive.
The LAF’s Limits
Since taking office, Mr Aoun has actively campaigned to bolster Lebanon’s national army.
To do that, the LAF needs funding, equipment and sustained foreign support. But it also needs strength, according to retired general Mounir Shehadeh, who previously led the Lebanese government's co-ordination with Unifil, the UN peacekeeping force between Lebanon and Israel.
“The Lebanese army does not have the kind of weapons necessary to defend itself from or even deter external threats,” he said. “Even if it had the finances, the army wouldn’t be allowed to have weapons that could break the current balance of power.”
The LAF was not involved in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Still, “during the war, Israel deliberately attacked clearly visible Lebanese army positions,” he added.
Two soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire, and over 40 others were killed during the war, according to Lebanese security sources.
Active military occupation
US envoy Morgan Ortagus is expected in Beirut in June to push for an accelerated timeline for disarming Hezbollah and its allies, illustrating the disconnect between US policy and Lebanon's political reality.
Avoiding a repetition of history will require convincing the US to pressure Israel into withdrawing and halting its attacks on Lebanon – including three on Beirut since the ceasefire.
“If Israel continues to strike, for example, Beirut, it will be impossible to proceed with reforms,” said the Lebanese political source. “It would be as if they’re trying to topple the new government.”
Maj Gen Ibrahim put it more bluntly: “The Americans are reading the situation badly. First, you have to free the country from [Israeli] occupation. After that, you can oblige Hezbollah to disarm,” he told The National.
He warned that Israel’s continued presence “legitimises Hezbollah’s claim that resistance is necessary”.
“There is no way to solve any problem in Lebanon by force. Our history proves that. And if we can’t learn from history, then nothing will ever teach us.”
‘What sovereignty?’
When Mr Rizk finally returned to Houla, he found his home – and most of the village – destroyed.
He scoffs at the notion that the army’s presence guarantees sovereignty when an Israeli military outpost sits less than two kilometres away.
“What sovereignty?” he asked. “When they put soldiers on the border, but they don’t have the power to deter attacks? When Israeli missiles strike wherever they want, where’s the sovereignty? A sovereignty of prostration and subservience?”
His frustration illustrates what Lebanese leaders are warning their Western counterparts.
“As long as there’s occupation, there will be resistance,” he said. “The resistance isn’t about Hezbollah or any political party. It comes from the people. We’re the people.”
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MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 1 (Carroll 82')
Leicester City 2 (Maddison 55', Tielemans 72')
Man of the match James Maddison (Leicester)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29 – Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30 - UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1 - UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2 – Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4 - Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6 – Final
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
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Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
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• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
57%20Seconds
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Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30
Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong
Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China
Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March
Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February
South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights
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6 UNDERGROUND
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Engine: Duel electric motors
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ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
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May 13, v Malaysia
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)
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Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)
Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)
Middleweight:
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Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)
Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)
Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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