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Anxiety As Netanyahu Tells UN To Move Lebanon Peacekeepers Out Of ‘Harm’s Way’

Published

1 year ago

October 13, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday called on the United Nations chief, Antonio Guterres, to move peacekeepers deployed in south Lebanon out of “harm’s way,” claiming Hezbollah used them as “human shields.”

His appeal to Guterres came a day after the UN Interim Force in Lebanon refused to withdraw from the border area despite five of its members being injured amid recent fighting.

“Mr Secretary General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm’s way. It should be done right now, immediately,” Netanyahu said in a video statement issued by his office, in his first comments on the issue.

Speaking ahead of a cabinet meeting, he said Israeli forces had asked UNIFIL several times to leave but it had “met with repeated refusals” that provided a “human shield to Hezbollah terrorists.”

“Your refusal to evacuate the UNIFIL soldiers makes them hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers.

“We regret the harm to UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing our utmost to prevent such harm. But the simplest and most obvious way to ensure this is simply to withdraw them from the danger zone,” the premier said.

UNIFIL has refused to leave its positions in southern Lebanon.

“There was a unanimous decision to stay because it’s important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region, and to be able to report to the Security Council,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP in an interview on Saturday.

He said Israel had asked UNIFIL to withdraw from positions “up to five kilometres (three miles) from the Blue Line” separating both countries, but the peacekeepers refused.

That would have included its 29 positions in south Lebanon.

UNIFIL, a mission of about 9,500 troops of various nationalities, was created following Israel’s 1978 invasion of Lebanon.

It is currently tasked with monitoring a ceasefire that ended a 33-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah.

Forty contributor nations to UNIFIL said on Saturday that they “strongly condemn recent attacks” on the peacekeepers.

“Such actions must stop immediately and should be adequately investigated,” said the joint statement, posted on X by the Polish UN mission and signed by nations including leading contributors Indonesia, Italy and India.

Netanyahu said the criticism of Israel was misplaced and should be directed at Hezbollah.

“Instead of criticising Israel, they should direct their criticism to Hezbollah, which uses UNIFIL as a human shield, just as Hamas in Gaza uses UNRWA as a human shield,” he said of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

“Unfortunately, UNRWA also cooperates with Hamas there,” he added.

In January, Israel accused a dozen Gaza employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees of their involvement in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.

A series of probes found some “neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA, and determined that nine employees “may have been involved” in the attack.

AFP

Related Topics:Benjamin Netanyahu Israel Israeli Lebanon

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Benin Republic Presidency Breaks Silence On ‘Military Takeover’

Published

2 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

Benin Republic military
Military personnel in Benin on Sunday said they had ousted President Patrice Talon, but the Presidency said he was safe and the army was regaining control.

Talon, 67, a former businessman known as the “cotton king of Cotonou,” is due to hand over power in April next year after 10 years in office marked by strong economic growth and rising jihadist violence.

West Africa has seen several coups in recent years, including in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and most recently Guinea-Bissau.

Early on Sunday, soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR) said on state television that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic.”

The signal was cut later in the morning.

Shortly after the announcement, a source close to Talon told AFP the president was safe.

“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure,” they said.

“It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”

A military source confirmed the situation was “under control” and said the coup plotters had not taken Talon’s residence or the presidential offices.

The French Embassy reported on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence in the economic capital and urged French citizens to remain indoors.

Benin has a history of coups and attempted coups.

Talon, who came to power in 2016, is due to end his second term in 2026, the constitutional maximum.

The main opposition party has been excluded from the race to succeed him, leaving the ruling party to compete against a so-called “moderate” opposition.

Talon has been praised for driving economic development but is often accused of authoritarianism.

(AFP)

Headline

JUST IN: Soldiers Announce Military Takeover Of Govt In Benin Republic

Published

3 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Editor

A group of soldiers appeared on Benin’s state television on Sunday to announce the dissolution of the government in what is being described as an apparent coup, marking yet another power seizure in West Africa.

Identifying themselves as the Military Committee for Refoundation, the soldiers declared the removal of the president and all state institutions.

President Patrice Talon, who has been in office since 2016, was scheduled to leave office next April after the presidential election. His party’s preferred candidate, former Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, had been widely viewed as the frontrunner. Opposition candidate Renaud Agbodjo was disqualified by the electoral commission on the grounds that he did not have “sufficient sponsors.”

The takeover comes a month after Benin’s legislature extended the presidential term from five to seven years while retaining the two-term limit.

(AFP)

Headline

EU Fines Elon Musk’s X €120m For Violating Digital Content Rules

Published

1 day ago

December 6, 2025

Editor

Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has been hit with a €120 million ($140 million) fine by European Union tech regulators for violating multiple provisions of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

This marks the first significant penalty imposed under this landmark legislation.

On Friday, the European Commission announced the fine, citing various violations by X, including misleading platform features and a lack of transparency in research practices.

Regulators pointed out that one of the violations involved the misleading design of the blue verification checkmark. This feature is now linked to subscription payments instead of identity validation, which the EU described as “deceptive and potentially harmful.”

The Commission also criticized X for not maintaining transparent advertising records and for restricting researchers’ access to publicly available data on the platform.

This ruling is likely to heighten diplomatic tensions between Brussels and Washington. U.S. officials from the Trump administration had previously condemned Europe’s regulatory approach toward major tech companies, claiming that EU policies unfairly target American firms and restrict free expression.

However, the European Commission defended its stance, stating that enforcement under the DSA is not influenced by nationality. They emphasized that the legislation is designed to promote online accountability, protect users, and ensure transparency in digital operations—standards that are increasingly becoming global benchmarks.

“The DSA does not discriminate by company origin,” the Commission argued, maintaining that the penalties reflect Europe’s commitment to protecting democratic values and responsible digital governance.

The fine marks a significant test case for the EU’s new regulatory regime and could set precedent for similar action against other platforms not in full compliance with the law.