https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-energy-minister-hopes-lebanon-accepts-maritime-borde

Israeli energy minister hopes Lebanon accepts maritime border accord

The Israeli occupation, according to Energy Minister Karin Elharrar, hopes that an offer it made to Lebanon "successfully" brings to an end the indirect maritime border demarcation talks between Beirut and "Tel Aviv".

"We submitted a proposal, a good, serious proposal for Lebanon," that US mediator Amos Hochstein will present during his visit to Beirut on Sunday, Elharrar said.

The Israeli occupation has been depriving Lebanon of its right to much of its energy resources in the Mediterranean sea, as "Tel Aviv" claims that the Karish field falls under its "sovereignty" while Beirut argues otherwise. Meanwhile, Lebanon has been involved in US-mediated, indirect talks with the Israeli occupation on the matter since 2020.

Hochstein came to Beirut on Sunday with the aim of "discussing sustainable solutions to Lebanon's energy crisis, including the Biden Administration's commitment to facilitating negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on the maritime boundary," the United States Department of States said in a statement. "Reaching a resolution is both necessary and possible, but can only be done through negotiations and diplomacy."

Elharrar said she was hopeful that Lebanon would accept the Israeli proposal, though the latter has made it clear that it would not give up an inch of the gas fields that fall in its territorial waters.

The occupation's minister refused to share any details about the proposal, saying it could harm the indirect talks.

Israeli i24news reported Monday that officials in the Israeli security establishment told Lebanon through the US mediator that if "Hezbollah does not take control of its fighters, the Israeli army will respond."

Meanwhile, Walla! reported that the United States regards as highly important the indirect talks on the demarcation of the maritime borders in order to avoid a military escalation between the two parties, as well as to show Arab states that Washington has an influence on the region.

"If the United States is unable to reach a settlement before the [Karish] gas starts extracting gas in September, then the security situation will be assessed and in that framework, there will be talks about raising the level of alert in the North," Israeli occupation forces officials said.

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon military media unit published a video that displayed the coordinates of the Israeli occupation's gas rigs off the coasts of occupied Palestine in a clear message to "Tel Aviv".

The video was titled: "[You are] in our crosshair… stalling is not beneficial."

The video showed footage of the drillship and the floating production unit alongside information pertaining to the specifics of their geolocation, giving their coordinates and information regarding the origin and details of the ships at sea based on the flags they bear. Moreover, the video displayed the exact distance of each ship from Lebanese shores.

A military expert told Al Mayadeen that the video was published by the military media of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon and said that these scenes were captured with an advanced thermal camera.

The expert highlighted that "the video proves that the resistance does not need drones to take pictures of the occupation forces' naval vessels" and that the Israeli naval vessels were and still are in the Resistance's crosshairs and on its radars.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in mid-July that “when things reach a dead-end, we will not only stand in the face of Karish… Mark these words: we will reach Karish, beyond Karish, and beyond, beyond Karish."

He also warned the Israeli occupation against provoking Lebanon, telling "Tel Aviv" that there were no Israeli targets beyond the ranges of the resistance's missiles and highly-sophisticated drones.

>>Anyone paying attention already figured out the answer.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-ready-to-negotiate-new-treaty-to-replace-new-start-in-202

>> Just for the picture. Making it obvious it's not the real Biden.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-media:-meeting-on-jewish-agency-ended-with-no-result

Israeli media: Meeting on Jewish Agency ended with no results

Israeli media agencies said Monday that the meeting that was held today between the Israeli occupation's delegation and representatives from the Russian Ministry of Justice in Moscow to discuss the Jewish Agency file ended without reaching any results.

Israeli journalist and commentator in Walla! Barak Ravid said in a tweet:

Ravid added that no other meeting was scheduled between the two parties, mentioning that the Israeli occupation source said that "the solution to the crisis can only be political."

Earlier, Israeli media reported that the Israeli occupation's delegation charged with handling the issue of the Jewish Agency for "Israel's" activity in Moscow will meet today with representatives of the Russian Ministry of Justice regarding the issue and will convey two messages to the Russians, Israel Hayom reported. The first one is: "We are playing by the rules, and we respect [Russia's] legal measures."

The second, however, says that "Tel Aviv," too, is involved in the issue, and it is not only about the Jewish Agency. "It is clear that the issue is a premeditated diplomatic crisis; therefore, it is unlikely that a solution to the issue could be found by negotiations between the legal teams."

The Basmanny District Court in Moscow adjourned on Thursday a session to consider the request of the Russian Ministry of Justice to liquidate the Jewish Agency in Russia.

After leaving the court building, one of the defense lawyers said the session had ended, advising to address the Ministry of Justice for comments, at a time when no decisions are expected at today's meeting.

As stated in a communication posted on the court’s website, the two parties to the case were summoned to a preparatory conversation session before considering the case on the merits, and according to judicial authorities, “the talk at the current stage is about preliminary hearings and pretrial verification.”

An Israeli newspaper had revealed that the Russian government had sent a letter to the Jewish Agency, asking the latter to stop all its operations in the country, saying that "the Russian decision could undermine the ability of Russian Jews to immigrate to Israel."

On July 15, Israeli media reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed a new Russian law to "paralyze Jewish and Israeli organizations," commenting that "the fear is that the new law will create an impossible situation for Jewish and Israeli organizations to operate in Russia."

Israeli media then reported on there being "great tension between Russia and Israel," against the background of reports from Moscow that the Jewish Agency had been suspended, noting that this matter was linked to "Prime Minister Yair Lapid's statement regarding the war in Ukraine," describing the suspension of the agency as "political punishment".

On July 25, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister clarified that the investigation was not a political move against the occupation. However, Israeli officials fear that it might be a sign of Moscow's dissatisfaction with "Tel Aviv's" foreign policy toward Ukraine, Israeli media said.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/art-culture/iraq:-receding-euphrates-levels-unravel-underwater-ancient-a

Iraq: Receding Euphrates levels unravel underwater ancient areas

After the Euphrates River's water level dropped, the city of Anah in Anbar province, located in western Iraq, saw the emergence of historical and ancient sites, including the jails and cemetery of the city of "Talbes", which dates back before Christ.

There are hundreds of historical cities and localities in Iraq, as well as a vast number of ancient areas under water or soil that have yet to be uncovered.

Ancient places

Mohammed Jassim, the person in charge of the reconstruction of Anah city's ancient minaret in Anbar, stated, "The appearance of ancient places at this time of year is due to the decrease in the water level of the Haditha Dam lake due to Turkey's decrease in the release of water from the Euphrates River."

Mohammad Jassim said, “The decrease in the water level in the Euphrates catchment area, like before the construction of the Haditha Dam, has led to the emergence of at least 80 ancient and historical sites from underwater.”

He said, “Talbes prison” is actually a collection of graves belonging to the Assyrian period, which this empire conquered.

Jassim stressed that "the appearance of these ancient sites is temporary and as a result of the water level of Haditha Dam decreasing, so we cannot be sure that the water will continue to decrease until excavation and archeology activities are carried out. Before draining Haditha Dam, an Italian archaeological team have excavations in this area. Some small rooms have been carved in the heart of the rocks, which are most likely the tombs of important people of that period.”

Lowering water levels, revealing the Telbas prison

The ancient city of Anah, located 350 kilometers west of Baghdad on the banks of the Euphrates River, is considered one of the oldest cities in the world, with a lifespan of more than 4 thousand years, and is mentioned in Babylonian and Assyrian writings, as well as historians such as Ammianus Marcellinus.

Hassan Al-Jama’ah, professor of history, says in this regard, “The residents of Anah sent a delegation to meet Ahmed Hassan Al-Bakr, the President of Iraq at the time, and asked the government officials to delay the construction of the dam so as not to have a negative impact on this ancient city. Devat insisted on its construction and believed that the positive points of building the dam are more than its negative points, so he did not pay attention to the flooding of this ancient area.”

He said, “This city submerged in water contains many historical buildings and monuments, even Sumerian and Babylonian peoples lived there, and Roman works were also visible before sinking.”

The ancient city of Telbas

Yahi Abdul Majeed” the director of the Archaeological Department of Anah city, stated that the catchment area of ​​the Haditha Dam hosts more than 80 ancient sites, which are often submerged.

Abdul Majeed said, “The decrease in the water level in Anah city is one of the old natural phenomena so that the river water decreases in the summer season and the ancient places rise above the water, then it goes underwater again in other months of the year, especially in winter.”

He added, “These ancient places can be used to attract tourists during the summer season. There are cuneiform manuscripts in the rocks of Telbas region which is home to Babylonian, Assyrian, Roman, Sassanid and Islamic civilizations.”

>> Euphrates hid this. What is lake Mead hiding?