Дата публикации: 13-08-2026 11:47:38

Israel moves against West Bank settlers after Huckabee criticism
Welcome back to the Daily Briefing.This is Ezgi Akin, filling in for Gabrielle. In today’s edition:Israel moves against West Bank settlers after Huckabee criticismWho benefits from Lebanon’s amnesty law and why it's so controversialFidan heads to Egypt amid questions over Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan pactLibya’s oil revival faces new test as violence returns amid US peace pushIran to join BRICS Development BankThanks for reading,Ezgi (ezgi_akin)Israel moves against West Bank settlers after Huckabee criticismIsraeli soldiers stand guard next to settlers in front of Palestinian houses in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank — Zain JAAFARUS Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticized Israeli settlers besieging Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, calling their actions “thuggish behavior” as Israeli forces moved against the group at Washington’s request.Since Sunday, settlers have blocked access to three houses in Qusra near Nablus, cutting electricity and water and preventing residents from receiving food and other supplies. One house belongs to a US citizen.The Israeli military said it sent additional forces overnight, dismantled two settler outposts and detained one Israeli. However, residents said settlers remained nearby and access was still blocked.The United Nations said around 15 Palestinians including two children remained trapped amid a broader surge in settler violence and settlement expansion across the West Bank.Listen to a breakdown of the top headlines on today’s episode of the Middle East Minute podcast with Adam Lucente.Who benefits from Lebanon’s amnesty law and why it's so controversialLebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri heads a parliamentary session in Beirut on March 9, 2026. — FADEL itani / AFP via Getty ImagesLebanon’s parliament passed a sweeping general amnesty law on Wednesday that could release or reduce the sentences of thousands of prisoners, despite controversy over provisions affecting Islamist detainees and Lebanese citizens who fled to Israel after 2000.The law, designed to ease the country's severe prison overcrowding, would reduce life sentences and commute death sentences while excluding offenses including premeditated murder, espionage, corruption and major drug crimes.Some 79 Islamist detainees are expected to be released, while others, including Salafist cleric Ahmed al-Assir, could receive reduced sentences. The legislation could also allow some Lebanese exiles in Israel to return, a provision fiercely opposed by critics who view them as former collaborators. Beatrice Farhat reports from Beirut.Fidan heads to Egypt amid questions over Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan pactTurkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends a press conference in Moscow on June 16, 2026. — SERGEI ILNITSKY / AFP via Getty ImagesTurkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is due in Cairo on Thursday as questions mount over Egypt’s absence from the new Turkey-Saudi Arabia-Pakistan defense pact. Fidan will meet Egyptian officials for talks on bilateral political, economic and defense ties as well as Gaza, Syria, Sudan and Libya, but the Mecca Agreement is expected to loom over the visit. Fidan said Sunday that there were “technical reasons” for Egypt’s exclusion and predicted Cairo could join later. Egypt has not publicly addressed the pact, whose NATO-style mutual defense clause may complicate Cairo’s ties with Israel, the UAE, India, Greece and Cyprus. Amberin Zaman has details.Libya’s oil revival faces new test as violence returns amid US peace pushLibyan firefighting teams attempt to extinguish a fire at the Zawiya refinery, the second-largest oil refinery in Libya, with a refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, after a tank belonging to the state-owned Libyan Brega Oil Company was attacked by unknown perpetrators, in Zawiya, Libya, on Aug. 11, 2026. — Mahmud Turkia / AFP via Getty ImagesA drone strike destroyed a power substation in Zawiya on Wednesday, the latest attack on critical infrastructure in western Libya as renewed violence threatens the country’s energy recovery. Libya’s National Oil Corporation has reported five recent explosive-drone attacks on the Zawiya oil complex, including fuel storage facilities, and a nearby desalination plant was also struck. No group has claimed responsibility. The attacks come as Libyan oil output has rebounded and foreign interest grows amid disruption from the US-Iran war. They also coincide with intensified US efforts to broker a political agreement between Libya’s rival eastern and western administrations. Samuel Wendel has details.Iran to join BRICS Development BankAbdolnaser Hemmati speaks with journalists before the start of the last election debate, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2021. Ayoub Ghaderi/YJC/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS Iran will soon join the BRICS-backed New Development Bank, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said, as Tehran seeks alternative financial channels. The country remains under sweeping Western sanctions amid its conflict with the United States and Israel.The Shanghai-based NDB was established in 2015 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa as a multilateral lender for infrastructure and sustainable-development projects in emerging economies, positioning itself as an alternative source of development finance alongside institutions such as the World Bank.Iran joined BRICS in 2024 and has since sought membership in the bank. Hemmati said joining would support greater use of national currencies in trade and reduce dependence on the US dollar. The NDB told Reuters it could not confirm Iran’s impending membership.
eakin@al-monitor.com
Thu, 08/13/2026 - 07:47



Ezgi Akin



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