Can Lebanon’s ancient cultural heritage be protected from war damage?

Destruction is seen in front of the UNESCO World Heritage site in Baalbek. Israeli military has repeatedly targeted the Lebanese city and the surrounding Bekaa Valley. (Getty Images)
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Updated 26 November 2024
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Can Lebanon’s ancient cultural heritage be protected from war damage?

  • Countless historical landmarks face existential threat amid escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah
  • Preserving heritage fosters resilience, identity, and post-conflict recovery, say UNESCO and heritage advocates

LONDON: Towering above the fertile Bekaa Valley, the Temple of Jupiter and Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek stand as monumental symbols of Roman power, while the ruins of Tyre echo the splendor of the Phoenician civilization.

Today, these UNESCO World Heritage sites, along with countless other historical landmarks, face a grave threat as the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters encroaches on Lebanon’s unique and ancient heritage.

After nearly a year of cross-border exchanges that began on Oct. 8, 2023, Israel suddenly escalated its campaign of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets across Lebanon.




Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike that targeted the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbeck on November 3, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

In recent weeks, Baalbek’s famed Roman temples, celebrated for their architectural sophistication and cultural fusion of East and West, have come dangerously close to being hit.

Although these structures have so far been spared direct strikes, adjacent areas have suffered, including a nearby Ottoman-era building. The city’s ruins, which have survived the test of time and the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, are now at significant risk.

The ancient city has suffered multiple airstrikes since evacuation orders were issued on Oct. 30 by Israel, which has designated the area a Hezbollah stronghold.

FASTFACTS

• UNESCO World Heritage sites in Baalbek and Tyre are at risk of direct hit or secondary damage under Israeli strikes.

• ALIPH has allocated $100,000 to shelter museum collections and support displaced heritage workers in Lebanon.

• Preserving heritage fosters resilience, identity, and post-conflict recovery, say UNESCO and heritage advocates.

The proximity of these airstrikes has left archaeologists and local authorities fearing that damage, whether intentional or collateral, could be irreversible. Even indirect blasts pose a serious risk, as reverberations shake these ancient stones.

“The threats come from direct bombing and indirect bombing,” Joanne Farchakh Bajjaly, a Lebanese archaeologist and founder of the non-governmental organization Biladi, told Arab News. “In both ways, cultural heritage is at huge risk.”

Reports indicate that hundreds of other Lebanese cultural and religious sites have been less fortunate. Several Muslim and Christian heritage buildings have been reduced to rubble in southern towns and villages under shelling and air attacks.




United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (L) and Director of the UNESCO Office in Beirut Costanza Farina (C) visit the Roman citadel of Baalbeck, in the Bekaa valley, on November 21, 2024. (AFP)

“Some of them are known and already registered in the inventory list and some of them unfortunately we know about them when they are destroyed and inhabitants share the photos of them,” said Farchakh Bajjaly.

Many of these sites carry irreplaceable historical value, representing not only Lebanon’s heritage but also that of the broader Mediterranean and Near Eastern regions.

Baalbek’s origins stretch back to a Phoenician settlement dedicated to Baal, the god of fertility. Later known as Heliopolis under Hellenistic influence, the city reached its zenith under the Roman Empire.




The six columns of the Temple of Jupiter at the Roman citadel of Baalbeck, in the Lebanese Bekaa valley, on November 21, 2024. (AFP)

The Temple of Jupiter, once adorned by 54 massive Corinthian columns, and the intricately decorated Temple of Bacchus, have attracted pilgrims and admirers across millennia.

Tyre, equally revered, was a bustling Phoenician port where the rare purple dye from Murex sea snails was once crafted for royalty. The city is home to ancient necropolises and a Roman hippodrome, all of which have helped shape Lebanon’s historical identity.

Israel’s war against Hezbollah, once the most powerful non-state group in the Middle East, has thus far killed more than 3,200 people and displaced about a million more in Lebanon, according to local officials.

Cultural heritage is a key reason people visit Lebanon. The cultural heritage of Lebanon is the cultural heritage of all humanity.

Valery Freland, ALIPH executive director

The Israeli military has pledged to end Hezbollah’s ability to launch rocket and other attacks into northern Israel, which has forced around 60,000 people to flee their homes near the Lebanon border.

On Oct. 23, the Israeli military issued evacuation orders near Tyre’s ancient ruins, and began striking targets in the vicinity.

The cultural devastation in southern Lebanon and Bekaa is not limited to UNESCO sites. Across these regions, many cultural heritage sites of local and national significance have been reduced to rubble.




Valery Freland, ALIPH executive director

“Cultural heritage sites that are located in the south or in the Bekaa and that are scattered all over the place … were razed and wiped out,” said Farchakh Bajjaly.

“When you can see the demolition of the villages in the south of Lebanon … the destruction of the cultural heritage is coming as collateral damage. The historical sites, the shrines or the castles, aren’t being spared at all.”

As a signatory to the 1954 Hague Convention, Lebanon’s heritage should, in theory, be protected from harm during armed conflict. However, as Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada has appealed to UNESCO, these symbolic protections, like the Blue Shield emblem, have shown limited effectiveness.




Children displaced by conflict from south Lebanon play in the courtyard of the Azariyeh building complex where they are sheltering in central Beirut on October 15, 2024. (AFP)

In response to the escalation, the Geneva-based International Alliance for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Areas, known as ALIPH, has provided emergency funding to Lebanon, working alongside Biladi and the Directorate General of Antiquities.

With $100,000 in initial funding, ALIPH is sheltering museum collections across Lebanon and providing safe accommodation for displaced heritage professionals.

“We are ready to stand by our partners in Lebanon, just as we did after the 2020 Beirut explosion,” Valery Freland, ALIPH’s executive director, told Arab News.

“Our mission is to work in crisis areas… If we protect the cultural heritage now, it will be a way (to stop this becoming) another difficulty of the peacebuilding process.”




Tebnin/Toron castle in southern Lebanon (Shutterstock)

Documentation has also become a critical tool for preservation efforts, particularly for sites at risk of destruction. Biladi’s role has been to document what remains and, where possible, secure smaller objects.

“Unfortunately we are not able to do any kind of preventive measures for the monuments for several reasons,” said Farchakh Bajjaly.

“One of the most obvious ones is due to the weapons that are being used. If the hit is a direct hit then there’s no purpose of taking any action. Nothing is surviving a direct hit.

“The only measures that we can do, as preventative measures … (are) to secure the storage of museums and to find ways to save the small items and shelter them from any vibrations and make sure storages are safe and secure.”




Joanne Farchakh Bajjaly, a Lebanese archaeologist and founder of the non-governmental organization Biladi.

Farchakh Bajjaly describes a “dilemma of horror” arising from the conflict. When the IDF issued its evacuation order for Baalbek, around 80,000 residents fled, with some seeking refuge within the temples themselves.

“The guards closed the gates and didn’t let anyone get in,” she said, explaining that, under the 1954 Hague Convention, using protected sites as shelters nullifies their protected status. “If people will take refuge in the temples, then it might be used by the Israeli army to target temples. Thereby killing the people and destroying the temples.”

The displacement of Baalbek’s residents has added to Lebanon’s swelling humanitarian crisis. With more than 1.2 million people displaced across the country due to the conflict, the city’s evacuation order has compounded local instability.




A man checks the destruction at a factory targeted in an overnight Israeli airstrike in the town of Chouaifet south of Beirut on September 28, 2024. (AFP)

Despite the harrowing reality, Farchakh Bajjaly insists that preserving cultural heritage is not at odds with humanitarian goals. “Asking to save world heritage is in no way contradictory to saving people’s lives. They are complementary,” she said.

“It’s giving people a place to find their memories, giving them a sense of continuity when in war, usually, nothing remains the same.”

UNESCO has been actively monitoring the conflict’s impact on Lebanon’s heritage sites, using satellite imagery and remote sensing to assess visible damage.




Map of Lebanon showing the number of people who have fled their homes by district as of October 13, according to the International Organization for Migration. (AFP)

“UNESCO liaised with all state parties concerned, reminding (them of their) obligations under the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage,” Nisrine Kammourieh, a spokesperson for UNESCO, told Arab News.

The organization is preparing for an emergency session of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property to potentially place Lebanon’s heritage sites on its International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection.

The importance of cultural preservation extends beyond mere aesthetics or academic interest. “It’s part of the resilience of the population, of the communities and it’s part of a solution afterward,” said ALIPH’s Freland.




Historic ancient Roman Bacchus temple in Baalbek, Lebanon. (Shutterstock)

Elke Selter, ALIPH’s director of programs, believes “protecting heritage is essential for what comes after. You cannot totally erase the traces of the past.”

Indeed, the preservation of Lebanon’s cultural heritage is as much about safeguarding identity and memory as it is about recovery.

“Imagine that your town is fully destroyed and you have to go back to something that was built two weeks ago; that is very unsettling in a way,” Selter told Arab News, noting that studies have shown how preserving familiar landmarks fosters a sense of belonging after displacement.

In the broader context of Lebanon’s recovery, cultural heritage can play a key role in economic revitalization, particularly through tourism.




Arch of Hadrian at the Al-Bass Tyre necropolis. UNESCO world heritage in Lebanon. (Shutterstock)

“For Lebanon’s economy, that’s an important element and I think an important one for the recovery of the country afterwards,” said Selter. “Cultural heritage in Lebanon was one of the key reasons why people would visit Lebanon.”

The tragedy facing Lebanon’s heritage is also a global concern. “The cultural heritage of Lebanon is the cultural heritage of all humanity,” said Freland.

For Biladi and other heritage organizations, Lebanon’s current crisis offers a test of international conventions that aim to protect heritage in times of conflict.

“If the conventions are being applied, then cultural heritage will be saved,” said Farchakh Bajjaly. “Lebanon has become in this war a sort of a field where it’s possible to test if these conventions work.”

 


Israeli opposition leader fears political violence over Shin Bet affair

Updated 21 April 2025
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Israeli opposition leader fears political violence over Shin Bet affair

  • The supreme court froze the government’s initial attempt to sack Bar, and earlier this month it gave the cabinet and the attorney general’s office until the end of the just concluded Passover holiday to work out a compromise

TEL AVIV: Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said he feared an outbreak of political violence connected to what he called a campaign of hate against the country’s internal security chief, whom the government has moved to sack.
“The red line has been crossed. If we don’t stop this, there will be a political murder here, maybe more than one. Jews will kill jews,” Lapid said at a press conference in Tel Aviv, adding that “the most serious threats are directed at the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar.”
Bar’s dismissal as head of the internal security agency has been challenged in court by the opposition, which decried it as a sign of anti-democratic drift on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government.
Bar has suggested his ouster was linked to investigations into Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack “and other serious matters,” while Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has warned of “a personal conflict of interest on the part of the prime minister due to the criminal investigations involving his associates.”
The supreme court froze the government’s initial attempt to sack Bar, and earlier this month it gave the cabinet and the attorney general’s office until the end of the just concluded Passover holiday to work out a compromise.
Bar could resign soon, according to media reports, which would bring the matter to a close.
Lapid, leader of the center-right Yesh Atid party, argued that Bar should resign over his agency’s failure to prevent the October 7 attack, and acknowledged the government had the legal authority to dismiss him, provided it was done through due process and “approved by the court.”
But he also held Netanyahu responsible for a campaign of threats levelled at Bar.
Lapid presented screenshots of social media posts containing death threats against the security chief, telling Netanyahu: “Stop this.”
“Instead of supporting incitement (to hatred), support the Shin Bet, the security forces, the systems that keep this country alive,” he added.
In 1995, the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish extremist after a campaign of violent rhetoric against him sent shockwaves through Israel.
Some accused then-opposition leader Netanyahu of not doing enough to discourage incitement to violence at the time.
 

 


Israel cancels visas for French lawmakers

Updated 21 April 2025
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Israel cancels visas for French lawmakers

  • The delegation included National Assembly deputies Francois Ruffin, Alexis Corbiere and Julie Ozenne from the Ecologist party, Communist deputy Soumya Bourouaha and Communist senator Marianne Margate

PARIS: Israel’s government canceled visas for 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials two days before they were to start a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Sunday, the group said.
The action came only days after Israel stopped two British members of parliament from the governing Labour party from entering the country.
It also came amidst diplomatic tensions after President Emmanuel Macron said France would soon recognize a Palestinian state.
Israel’s interior ministry said visas for the 27 had been canceled under a law that allows authorities to ban people who could act against the state of Israel.

French left-wing lawmaker Francois Ruffin was among lawmakers who had their visas cancelled by Israel. (AFP file photo)

Seventeen members of the group, from France’s Ecologist and Communist parties, said they had been victims of “collective punishment” by Israel and called on Macron to intervene.
They said in a statement that they had been invited on a five-day trip by the French consulate in Jerusalem.
They had intended to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories as part of their mission to “strengthen international cooperation and the culture of peace,” they added.
“For the first time, two days before our departure, the Israeli authorities canceled our entry visas that had been approved one month ago,” they said.
“We want to understand what led to this sudden decision, which resembles collective punishment,” said the group.

The delegation included National Assembly deputies Francois Ruffin, Alexis Corbiere and Julie Ozenne from the Ecologist party, Communist deputy Soumya Bourouaha and Communist senator Marianne Margate.
The other members were left-wing town mayors and local lawmakers.
The statement denounced the ban as a “major rupture in diplomatic ties.”
“Deliberately preventing elected officials and parliamentarians from traveling cannot be without consequences,” the group said, demanding a meeting with Macron and action by the government to ensure Israel let them into the country.
The group said their parties had for decades called for recognition of a Palestinian state, which Macron said last week could come at an international conference in June.
Israeli authorities this month detained British members of parliament Yuan Yang and Abtisam Mohamed at Tel Aviv airport and deported them, citing the same reason. Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the action “unacceptable.”
In February, Israel stopped two left-wing European parliament deputies, Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan and Lynn Boylan from Ireland, from entering.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reacted with fury to France’s possible recognition of a Palestinian state. He said establishing a Palestinian state next to Israel would be a “huge reward for terrorism.”
 

 


Palestine Red Crescent says Israel army probe into medics’ killing ‘full of lies’

Updated 20 April 2025
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Palestine Red Crescent says Israel army probe into medics’ killing ‘full of lies’

  • Eight Red Crescent personnel, six Civil Defense workers and a UN staffer were killed in the shooting before dawn on March 23 by troops conducting operations in Tel Al-Sultan, a district of the southern Gaza city of Rafah

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: The Palestine Red Crescent rejected the findings of an Israeli military investigation that blamed operational failures for the killing of 15 Gaza emergency service workers, denouncing the report as “full of lies.”
“The report is full of lies. It is invalid and unacceptable, as it justifies the killing and shifts responsibility to a personal error in the field command when the truth is quite different,” Nebal Farsakh, spokesperson for the Red Crescent, told AFP.
 

 


Moroccans protest ship said to be carrying US fighter jet parts to Israel

Updated 20 April 2025
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Moroccans protest ship said to be carrying US fighter jet parts to Israel

  • The protesters in Tangier also called for the severing of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel, which were normalized in 2020 as part of the US-led Abraham Accords

TANGIERS, Morocco: More than 1,000 people protested in the Moroccan port city of Tangier on Sunday against the planned docking of a ship said to be carrying fighter jet parts to Israel.
Dockworkers and organizations supporting Palestinians in Gaza said in separate statements that the Maersk vessel was transporting spare parts for F-35 warplanes from the United States to Israel, and was due to dock in Tangier on Sunday.
A crowd of around 1,500 people chanted, “The people want the ship banned,” and “No genocidal weapons in Moroccan waters” as they marched down a road alongside the Tanger Med container port, according to AFP correspondents at the scene.

Protesters wave Palestinian and Moroccan flags as they march towards the port of Tanger-Med against the planned docking of a ship said to be carrying fighter jer parts to Israel in Tangiers on April 20, 2025.  (AFP)

Contacted by AFP, port authorities and Maersk did not comment on the vessel.
The Danish company has said it does not transport weapons or ammunition to conflict zones, though it has a contract with the US government and has previously acknowledged shipments that “contain military-related equipment” derived from “US-Israeli security cooperation.”
The protesters in Tangier also called for the severing of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel, which were normalized in 2020 as part of the US-led Abraham Accords.
There have been several large-scale demonstrations in Morocco demanding ties with Israel be cut since the start of its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
The North African kingdom has officially called for “the immediate, complete and permanent halt to the Israeli war on Gaza,” but has not publicly discussed reversing normalization.
 

 


Frankly Speaking: The view from within the Palestinian Authority

Updated 20 April 2025
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Frankly Speaking: The view from within the Palestinian Authority

  • Varsen Aghabekian, Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs and expatriates, says Israel enjoys immunity, has no intention of stopping war in Gaza
  • Warns of regional escalation if lack of accountability persists, insists the Arab League’s peace and reconstruction plan remains the best path forward

RIYADH: As Gaza reels from an unrelenting conflict that has killed tens of thousands and left its infrastructure in ruins, Dr. Varsen Aghabekian, Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs and expatriates, says Israel has no intention of stopping what she describes as a genocidal war — and continues to act with impunity. 

Speaking on the Arab News weekly current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Aghabekian urged the international community to step in and halt the offensive, which she said has turned Gaza into a killing field.

“What can be done is a stopping of this genocidal war,” she said. “This impunity, which Israel has been enjoying for a long time, only begets more violence. And today, we see only destruction and killing of more civilians in Gaza.”

Aid to Gaza has been blocked for over a month and a half, and more than 60,000 children face malnutrition, according to international aid agencies. “It’s time to say enough is enough and halt this aggression — this genocidal war with the increasing brutality by the day on Gaza,” she said.

Aghabekian believes the collapse of the ceasefire agreement earlier this year was inevitable, given that Israel’s political and military leadership has made no secret of its broader intentions.

“The ceasefire deal will continue to fall apart because Israel has no intention of stopping this war,” she said. “Its defense minister, Israel Katz, said the other day: ‘We don’t intend to even leave Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria.’ These are very clear messages that this war will continue and will only bring more disaster to the Palestinians in Gaza — and probably the region at large.”

In the face of proposals from foreign powers such as the Trump administration to resettle Palestinians or repurpose Gaza for tourism, Aghabekian maintains that only plans rooted in justice and dignity will succeed.

“We know that the US has unwavering support for the Israelis,” she said. “Any plan for Gaza or the Palestinians must respect the dignity and the rights of the Palestinian people. Any other plan will not work and it will not bring peace to the region.”

Varsen Aghabekian says Israel has no intention of stopping the Gaza war and continues to act with impunity. (AN Photo)

A sustainable peace, she says, depends on international recognition of Palestinian rights. “These rights, as I said, are enshrined in the division plan in 1948. The plan set two states. One state is on the ground today. Now it’s time to materialize the second state,” she said.

She added that the Palestinian state has already gained recognition from 149 countries and has UN observer status. “This is not a contested land; this is an occupied land,” she said. “It is the land of the State of Palestine.”

During his last administration, US President Donald Trump championed normalization agreements between Arab states and Israel under the Abraham Accords. Despite acknowledging the widespread pessimism about his return to the White House, Aghabekian said she remains cautiously optimistic.

“If President Trump wants to forge peace and he wants to leave a legacy of peace, then that peace has a framework and it entails the respect and the rightful rights of the Palestinians,” she told Katie Jensen, host of “Frankly Speaking.”

“So, I remain hopeful that this will get to the table of President Trump and the ears of President Trump, and he sees that the future of the Middle East includes the rights of the Palestinians on their state as enshrined in international law.”

Her comments come as Israeli strikes on Gaza continue to spark international outrage. A recent attack on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital on Palm Sunday forced patients into the streets. Israel claimed the site was being used as a Hamas command center.

“The genocidal war in Gaza is not justified in any way you look at it,” Aghabekian said. “And bombing a hospital that is partially operating and part of a system that has been devastated in the last 19 months is not justified by any means. Bombing a Christian hospital on a Palm Sunday is extremely telling.”

Israel’s military campaign in Gaza came in retaliation for the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people and saw another 250 taken hostage.

In 18 months, the war has killed at least 51,065 people, according to Gaza health officials. Last week, Hamas formally rejected Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal, saying it was ready to negotiate a deal that would see the release of all 59 hostages it is still holding, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, in return for an end to the war. Israel had offered a 45-day ceasefire in return for the release of 10 hostages.

Aghabekian said the continued killings of Palestinian civilians — including aid workers — in Gaza are a stark indicator of unchecked brutality. “Even after the ceasefire, we have seen that over 2,000 Palestinians have been killed, and these Palestinians are civilians; they have absolutely nothing to do with Hamas,” she said. “Today, nothing has been done because everything passes with impunity.”

Smoke rises from Gaza after an air strike, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, April 20, 2025. (Reuters)

Efforts to establish peace through regional diplomacy are ongoing. Aghabekian pointed to a three-stage Gaza reconstruction plan presented by the Arab League and backed by the Islamic world and parts of Europe. But she acknowledged the resistance it faces, particularly from the US and Israel.

“We have to continue using our diplomatic efforts,” she said. “We know that this military route is getting us nowhere. And our military efforts are directed at mobilizing the international community with several ventures today on ending occupation. We have the forthcoming international conference, spearheaded by France and Saudi Arabia, to take place in New York mid-year. And we have the global alliance on the materialization of the State of Palestine. And we will continue our efforts on the recognition of Palestine and the full membership efforts, as well as our efforts with international organizations, such as the Human Rights Council and UNESCO.”

Despite the challenges, she sees momentum building. “We’ve seen that in the latest summit, and we are seeing support and unity from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). We’ve seen unity from European countries and others giving us positive vibes about the plan and the possibility of sustaining that plan in the future,” she said. “This is the only plan today on the table that may move us forward. It is very much — there’s a consensus on it, and it is in line with the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002.”

Still, the obstacles remain formidable. Israel’s latest ceasefire proposal reportedly calls for the disarming of Hamas and the release of all living hostages. Aghabekian warned such conditions are unrealistic given the devastation Palestinians have endured.

“A durable ceasefire entails, of course, meeting the demands of both parties, but today, the Palestinians have been crushed for the last 19 months,” she said. “A durable peace should bring them an opening of the borders, feeding the people, starting immediate relief on the ground, and doing whatever it takes to have this genocidal war stop. We hope that reason prevails on all sides, and we reach the stage today before tomorrow.”

Addressing criticism about the Palestinian Authority’s legitimacy, especially in Gaza, she acknowledged that ongoing hardships and political stagnation have eroded public trust.

“If we see something moving on the political track, people will start realizing that there is a hope for the future,” she said. “And today, whoever is responsible or who has the mandate on the occupied State of Palestine is the Palestinian Authority. And that authority needs to be empowered to be able to meet the needs of its people.”

The Palestine Liberation Organization, she said, remains the umbrella under which all factions must gather if unity is to be achieved. “Anyone can join the PLO, but you need to accept what the PLO stands for, accept agreements signed by the PLO, and accept the political vision of the PLO,” she said.

Asked whether ordinary Palestinians still have confidence in the PLO, Aghabekian said that trust is conditional. “I think that confidence can fluctuate based on what is happening on the ground,” she said. “And, as I said earlier, if people see something moving in terms of the vision of the PLO on a free Palestine, a sovereign Palestine, the liberation of the Palestinian people, bringing people a better future soon, then people will rally behind the PLO, and the PLO can look inwards and think of reform of the PLO.”

Speaking on the Arab News weekly current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Aghabekian urged the international community to step in and halt the offensive in Gaza. (AN Photo)

Turning to the West Bank, she expressed alarm at the scale of ongoing settlement expansion. “We’ve seen more and more land grab, we’ve seen increased brutality, we’ve been seeing increased violations on the ground, withholding of our tax money, displacement of people, attacks on UNRWA and refugee camps, grabbing of more land for agricultural herding — and this is something new for the Palestinians,” she said.

“There is entrenchment and emboldening of occupation on all levels.”

She called for greater pressure on Israel to comply with international law. “Statements are void if no actual measures are taken on the ground,” she said. “What needs to be done is holding Israel to account.”

Citing hundreds of UN resolutions and a landmark International Court of Justice opinion calling for the end of Israel’s occupation, she said enforcement mechanisms are long overdue.

“There are steps that are doable now in terms of what do we do with settler violence, with the settlers who are sitting on occupied stolen land. What do we do with settlement products? How do we deal with settlers who have dual citizenship. How do we deal with arms sent to Israel or sold to Israel?” Aghabekian said, adding that it was time for the international community to show its teeth.

While warning of the risk of a third intifada, she said the PA leadership is focused on avoiding further civilian casualties. “We do not want to transfer what is happening in Gaza to the West Bank, and partly it is already being transferred,” she said. “So, the leadership needs to spare the lives of the people.”

 

 

Aghabekian said the ICJ ruling provides a legal basis for action. “It has told the whole world that this is not a contested territory, this is an occupied territory, and this Israeli belligerent occupation needs to be dismantled,” she said. “There are steps that are doable.”

The PA is also preparing for governance in Gaza, should the violence end. “The Palestinian Authority is doing its homework and it is preparing and ready to shoulder its responsibilities in Gaza,” Aghabekian said. “There is a plan accepted by 57 countries for Gaza’s rehabilitation, immediate relief and reconstruction. And we hope that we are enabled to start working on that plan.”

However, she said implementation hinges on external support. “Those plans need billions of dollars, they need the empowerment of the Palestinian Authority in terms of actually practicing governance on the ground.”

Asked whether Israel or its allies might eventually accept a modified version of the Arab League’s plan, Aghabekian said all parties must be willing to talk. “It’s a give-and-take thing,” she said. “In the final analysis, what we want is to reach the goal of stopping this genocidal war and letting aid move in and for us to be able to start our relief and construction efforts. If this needs further discussion, I think we’re open for discussion.”

But the human toll continues to mount. “Palestinians will continue to lose their lives because Israel has no intent on stopping this war,” she said. “There is no justification for the continuing of the war, and an agreement can be reached if there is genuine intent.”