Middle East events and news

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil: We Are Not Opposed To Israel’s Existence Or Right To Security
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil came under fire after a TV interview in which he said that normalization of relations with Israel was “not an ideological issue” and that “we are not opposed to the existence of Israel and to its right to security.” He made the statements on the Lebanese Mayadeen TV channel on December 26. After the ensuing controversy, with several Lebanese officials calling on him to resign, he said that his words had been taken out of context, a claim that the TV channel rejected.
In Towns Across India, Islamic Clerics Lead Anti-America, Anti-Israel Protests After Trump’s Decision Recognizing Jerusalem As Israeli Capital
On December 22, 2017, – after the weekly Friday prayers – Islamic organizations in India held countrywide protests against America and Israel over U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. The religious groups’ protests were coordinated by mosque leaders and held in cities from Mumbai to Kolkata and Agartala in the northeast, and from Delhi to Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai in southern India. (by memri org.)