The Levant Files

For eighty-two years, the execution of the “200 of Kaisariani” lived in Greece as a story carried by witnesses, poems, and names carved on stone, but never in images. On May 1, 1944, two hundred political prisoners—mostly communists and resistance fighters—were taken from the Haidari camp to the shooting range in the Athens suburb of Kaisariani and executed by a German firing squad in reprisal for a partisan ambush in the Peloponnese. The event became one of the central symbols of the Greek Resistance: a Labour Day turned into a mass sacrifice, with the men allegedly singing as they were driven to their deaths, refusing to bow their heads to the occupier. Yet for generations, the moment itself—the faces, the posture, the walk toward the wall—remained unseen, imagined only through words and silence. An Ebay Listing That Shook A Nation All  that changed in mid‑February 2026, when a small auction listing appeared on eBay, posted by a Belgian seller dealing in Second World War memorabi...

Seksen iki yıldır “Kesaryani’deki 200 direnişçinin” infazı, Yunanistan’da tanıkların anlattıkları, şiirler ve belleklere kazınmış isimler aracılığıyla yaşayan bir hikâyeydi; fakat bu trajedinin görüntüsü-vesikası mevcut değildi. 1 Mayıs 1944’te, çoğu komünist ve direnişçi olan iki yüz siyasi tutuklu Haydari kampından alınıp Atina’nın Kesaryani banliyösündeki atış poligonuna götürüldü ve Mora’daki bir gerilla pususuna misilleme olarak Nazi Almanyası mangası tarafından kurşuna dizildi. Bu olay, Yunanistan Direniş Hareketi'nin en güçlü sembollerinden birine dönüştü: İşçi Bayramı’nın toplu bir fedakârlığa çevrildiği, anlatılara göre ölüme götürülürken direnişçilerin şarkılar ve marşlar söyledikleri, işgalci karşısında baş eğmeyi reddettikleri bir gün olarak tarihe geçti. Ne var ki kuşaklar boyunca asıl an/vesika—bakışlar, duruşlar, duvara doğru yürüyüş—su yüzüne gelmedi; yalnızca sözler ve sessizlik içinde hayal edildi. Bir Ulusu Sarsan eBay İlanı Her şey 2026 Şubat’ının ortasında, eBa...

  Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Abdi said the agreement reached with Damascus on Jan. 30 remains the framework for all next steps, stressing that the unification of military and civilian institutions is essential to stabilizing northeast Syria. Speaking at a large gathering of tribal leaders and community notables in Hasakah, Abdi outlined the implementation process of the Jan. 30 agreement and plans for integration, according to Rudaw Turkish Service. Abdi said the SDF and Syria’s Defense Ministry have agreed in principle that SDF forces will be incorporated into the ministry’s structure as “brigades,” adding that technical work is ongoing. He noted that while there has been an issue finalizing a representative at the level of deputy defense minister, the SDF will have official representation within the ministry and an announcement is expected soon. He also said security institutions operating in the region since 2012 would not be dismantled but integrated, with...

Iranian officials are approaching the prospect of Iran–U.S. negotiations with growing suspicion, viewing mixed signals from Washington as evidence that the White House may not be fully committed to diplomacy and could be keeping the military option on the table. An analysis by Iran’s Nour News argues that recent "anti-Iran" remarks by U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham in Tel Aviv are part of a broader effort to steer U.S. decision-making away from talks and toward confrontation, by portraying complete alignment between Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and framing war as an inevitable next step.  Graham’s Tel Aviv Messaging And The “Unity” Narrative According  to the Nour News assessment, Graham has sought in recent years to present himself not merely as a senator but as a key channel for influencing—or “managing”—Trump, an image it says he is now extending from domestic politics into foreign policy. His appearance in Tel Aviv and supportive rhet...

The Vatican will not take part in U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Gaza Board of Peace” initiative, the Holy See’s top diplomat Cardinal Pietro Parolin said on Tuesday, adding that efforts to address international crises should be handled by the United Nations. “The Holy See will not participate in the Board of Peace because of its particular nature, which is evidently not that of other States,” Parolin said. The Vatican’s decision comes after Pope Leo — the first U.S.-born pope and a critic of some of Trump’s policies — was invited in January to join the board. Italy and EU to attend only as observers Italy and the European Union have indicated they will send representatives to the Washington meeting as observers, stopping short of joining the board. Parolin’s remarks underscored the Holy See’s longstanding position that international crises and peace initiatives should be managed through established multilateral institutions, particularly the United Nations, rather than ad hoc structur...

  Israel’s right‑wing government has moved ahead with a controversial construction plan north‑east of Jerusalem that critics say effectively extends the city’s borders into the occupied West Bank for the first time since 1967, igniting Palestinian outrage and international warnings over creeping annexation.  The project, advanced through an agreement between the Housing Ministry and the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, is officially billed as a major expansion of the Adam (Geva Binyamin) settlement, but is planned, marketed and serviced as if it were a new Jerusalem neighborhood.  Roughly 2,800 to 3,000 housing units are slated to be built on around 500 dunams of land between the Palestinian towns of Hizma and a‑Ram, in a corridor just beyond the current municipal line yet directly adjacent to Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood.  Under the deal, the state will invest about 120 million shekels in infrastructure, public institutions and roads for the new neighborhood...

Tehran underscores full-spectrum military oversight of key global energy chokepoint amid sensitive negotiations   Iran has sent a pointed strategic message to the United States during ongoing negotiations by launching a major military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Nournews. The drill, titled “Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz,” is being described not merely as a routine maneuver, but as a calculated demonstration of Iran’s defensive capabilities and geopolitical leverage in one of the world’s most vital waterways. The exercise, led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy under the supervision of Major General Mohammad Pakpour, focuses on assessing operational readiness, rehearsing counter-threat scenarios, and leveraging Iran’s strategic advantages in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Why Now — and Why Hormuz? The Strait of Hormuz, through which more than 20 percent of the world’s oil supply passes, has long been at the heart of...

Iran appears to be standing at a historic crossroads. Renewed nationwide protests, deep economic hardship, and the advanced age of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have fueled speculation about whether the Islamic Republic can endure. Yet while debates rage over whether the regime will collapse—and what might replace it—the decisive factor is not the regime’s weakness but the opposition’s strength. As long as Iran’s opposition remains fragmented, mistrustful, and organizationally incoherent, the Islamic Republic is likely to survive, not because it enjoys widespread support, but because no unified alternative exists. In their mew article, Sanam Vakil, Director of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Program, and Alex Vatanka, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, argue that the Iranian opposition’s deep internal fractures are the primary obstacle to meaningful political change. They contend that only a broad, inclusive coalition built around a minimal shared plat...

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday urged Lebanon’s government to halt efforts to place all weapons under state control, as army commanders briefed the cabinet on the next phase of a national disarmament plan. In a televised address marking the assassinations of three senior Hezbollah figures by Israel, Qassem accused the government of making “continuous concessions” to Tel Aviv, despite ongoing Israeli strikes on Lebanese territory following a ceasefire agreed in November 2024. “If you want to surrender, amend the constitution, because the constitution’s essence is confrontation and defence for the sake of liberation,” Qassem said. He argued that the government’s approach had emboldened Israel and made it complicit in advancing “the goals of the Israeli enemy” by pursuing Hezbollah’s disarmament. Qassem, who assumed leadership of the Iran-backed group in October 2024 after the killing of longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah, maintained that the Lebanese state bears responsibility for re...