LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 11/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen
First Letter of John 04/07-21/:”Let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also”.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 10-11/2019
Bishop Audi's Divine Words Drove Hezbollah In To A tantrum of Fear and Anger
My Almighty God Bless & Safeguard Bishop Elias Audi …He Witnessed For The Truth & For Lebanon
Angry protesters attack Lebanese city’s municipality
Protesters Vandalize Tripoli Municipality after Two Die in Building Collapse
Protesters Block Jounieh Highway, Many Roads as Tripoli Protests Escalate
Clashes reignite in Tripoli after roof collapse kills two people
Saudi Arabia’s FM: Important Lebanon finds way forward for stability
Army Receives Shipment of U.S. Ammunition
Hariri Meets with Caretaker Interior and Finance Ministers
Lebanon: Heavy Rain Causes Floods, Inundates Beirut
Protesters in South Lebanon Stand Up to Attack, Threats
Army: Six Troops Injured in Clashes between Protesters, Karami Supporters
Report: Hariri Insists on ‘Rescue’ Cabinet Composed of Specialists
Berri’s Bloc Slams Israeli Vessel’s Infiltration of Lebanese Waters
HRW Warns of Impact of Financial Crisis on Lebanon Hospitals
Relief Agency: 15 people injured in stampede between protesters and Army in Al-Mina
Jumblatt: Paris conference may be last opportunity for Lebanon to stop decline
Four detainees released from Jounieh Serail

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 10-11/2019
Iran shuts south Syrian command center opposite Golan, consolidates Abu Kamal hub
Israeli lawmakers table bill to dissolve parliament
Israel says defense officials caught in major bribery case
Canada's Statement on Human Rights Day
Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan to Try to Resolve Dam Dispute in January Washington Meeting
Jordan, Israel Share Cold Peace, Very Basic Relations
GCC leaders stress unity in summit final statement
US bars ex-Saudi diplomat in Turkey from entering US over Khashoggi murder
Saudi FM, Al-Zayani stress importance of GCC unity
No breakthrough with Qatar expected at GCC Summit: Sources
Algeria Army Chief Threatens to ‘Confront’ Protesters Obstructing Elections
Greece Lodges Complaint to UN over Turkey, GNA Maritime Deal
Armed men attack presidential residence in Somalia’s capital
Erdogan says Turkey aims to settle one mln refugees in Syria offensive area
Erdogan: Turkey and Libya can conduct joint explorations in eastern Med
Injuries reported amid clashes between protesters, Iraqi forces in Baghdad
Iraq demonstrators set to gather in Baghdad for day of action
Obstruction, Abuse of Power Charges Unveiled in Trump Impeachment
Qatar Emir Skips Riyadh Summit despite Thawing Ties

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 10-11/2019
Bishop Audi's Divine Words Drove Hezbollah In To A tantrum of Fear and Anger/Elias Bejjani/December 10/2019
My Almighty God Bless & Safeguard Bishop Elias Audi …He Witnessed For The Truth & For Lebanon/Elias Bejjani/December 09/2019
Enemies of Lebanon (01 of 03): The Monetary System/Elie Aoun/November 30/2019
Enemies of Lebanon (2 of 3): The Secret Societies/Elie Aoun/December 10/2019
Iran’s threat to destroy Tel Aviv from Lebanon condemned/Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 11, 2019
'This phoenix has to rise': new Beirut sculptures represent the power of the Lebanese people/Laura Mackenzie/The National
A War on Two Fronts/Lynn Abi Raad/Carnegie/December 10/2019
*Iran shuts south Syrian command center opposite Golan, consolidates Abu Kamal hub/DEBKAfile/December 10/2019
Trump Is the Least of NATO's Problems/Bobby Ghosh/Bloomberg/December, 10/ 2019
Europe No Longer Hides Its Hostility to Israel/Alain Destexhe/Gatestone Institute/December 10/2019
Punishing Iran’s Triggermen in Iraq: Opening Moves in a Long Campaign/Michael Knights/The Washington Institute/December 10/19
Trust and transparency missing from Macron’s pension reforms/Ranvir S. Nayar/Arab News/December 11/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 10-11/2019
Bishop Audi's Divine Words Drove Hezbollah In To A tantrum of Fear and Anger
Elias Bejjani/December 10/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/81284/elias-bejjani-my-almighty-god-bless-safeguard-bishop-elias-audi-he-witnessed-for-the-truth-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b7%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%b9%d9%88%d8%af%d8%a9/
Bishop Audi's divine words scared Hezbollah because THE WORD is holy, pure and stronger than missiles. Yes it is the word of truth no more no less. Meanwhile the terrorist Hezbollah instigated all its trumpets, mouthpieces, cymbals, mercenaries, and Trojans to harshly, boldly and impolitely criticize and assault Bishop Audi. This crazy reaction affirms that Hezbollah, despite of all its missiles and huge arsenal is afraid of the  Bishop's words of truth.

My Almighty God Bless & Safeguard Bishop Elias Audi …He Witnessed For The Truth & For Lebanon
Elias Bejjani/December 09/2019
المطران الياس عودة شهد للبنان وللحق وسمى الأشياء بأسمائها
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/81284/elias-bejjani-my-almighty-god-bless-safeguard-bishop-elias-audi-he-witnessed-for-the-truth-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b7%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%b9%d9%88%d8%af%d8%a9/
Lebanon’s Orthodox great Bishop of Beirut, Msgr Elias Audi has overtly, patriotically, and faithfully witnessed for the truth and for our beloved Lebanon, the Land of the Holy Cedars.
In his yesterday’s Homely he called things as they are, and named those forces who occupy Lebanon, as well as those Lebanese puppet officials who instead of serving Lebanon’s interests are siding with the terrorist Hezbollah, the occupier of Lebanon, and serving the Iranian agenda of occupation, expansionism and terrorism.
All those officials, politicians, clergymen and journalist who criticized Audi’s courageous homely are either Iranian mouthpieces, or mere Iranian mercenaries.
Accordingly all their Dhimmitude replies of criticism are valueless.
And yes as Bishop Audi stated, Hezbollah occupies Lebanon, and its leader Hassan Nasrallah is the actual ruler of the country, and yes the Lebanese officials are mere puppets.
Our Prays go to the oppressed and occupied Lebanon that Almighty God shall always guard, protect and safeguard

Angry protesters attack Lebanese city’s municipality
Associated Press/December 10/2019
The attack in the country’s north came as heavy rainfall blocked roads and strained major infrastructure across Lebanon. BEIRUT: Angry protesters attacked the municipality headquarters in Lebanon’s second largest city, Tripoli, on Tuesday, smashing windows and setting a room on fire, in an outburst of violence triggered by the collapse of a house overnight in the area that killed two siblings. The attack in the country’s north came as heavy rainfall blocked roads and strained major infrastructure across Lebanon. The country is already roiled by anti-government protests and a plunging economy.
Many Lebanese hospitals may soon be unable to provide patients with life-saving surgery and urgent medical care amid the worsening financial crisis, an international rights group also warned on Tuesday. For years, the Lebanese state has failed to pay its debts to public and private hospitals, making it more difficult for them to buy medical supplies and pay salaries. “The Lebanese government’s failure to pay its bills to medical facilities seriously endangers the health of the population,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “While politicians horse-trade over a new Cabinet, the government is not responding to the desperate economic situation in the country and the clock is ticking on the ability of many doctors and hospitals to treat patients.”
The economic crisis has led to unprecedented capital controls by lenders. It has also affected imports amid a shortage of U.S. dollars that the Lebanese banking system heavily relies on. Lebanon imports most of its basic needs such as medicine, fuel, wheat and medical products.
Sleiman Haroun, the president of the Syndicate of Private Hospitals, told The Associated Press that the health sector is passing through “a very serious crisis” because doctors are facing a shortage of foreign medication and equipment. Haroun said that importers of medical products have been saying since September that they have not been able to buy new stocks. This is causing shortages in urgently needed material, including stents for hearts, filters for kidney and blood bags, he added. In Tripoli, a large military force was sent to the city to deal with the violence. The cause of the house’s collapse wasn’t immediately clear, but heavy rain appeared to have contributed. The two killed were a 19-year-old woman and her older brother, according to local media.
Tripoli has witnessed some of the largest protests since nationwide demonstrations broke out on Oct. 17 against widespread corruption and mismanagement. The protesters are demanding an end to the rule of the political elite that has run the country following the 1975-90 civil war.
Locals told the local LBC TV station that the collapse was the result of negligence, saying that the municipality has repeatedly ignored calls by the owners to renovate the old house. Their claims could not be immediately confirmed. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said that the angry protesters damaged the office of the mayor as well as a municipality car that was parked outside the building. It added that the army later intervened and prevented further violence.The violence came a day after Lebanese soldiers had to separate protesters and the bodyguards of a lawmaker after scuffles broke near his house in Tripoli.

Protesters Vandalize Tripoli Municipality after Two Die in Building Collapse
Naharnet/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Angry protesters on Tuesday attacked the municipality of the northern city of Tripoli after two individuals died in a residential building collapse in al-Mina neighborhood. Protesters fiercely threw stones at the windows of the municipality after the Lebanese army prevented them from forcing their way into the building. A utility room belonging to the municipality and located outside the main building was set on fire. Civil Defense fireteams intervened immediately to distinguish the blaze. Two people were killed at dawn Tuesday when the roof of a residential building collapsed in al-Mina in Tripoli, the National News Agency reported. NNA said the old building collapsed at dawn in al-Andalos neighborhood in al-Mina killing two brothers from Syria. Rescue teams of the Civil Defense, Lebanese army and Internal Security Forces were at the scene immediately after the incident, said NNA. In response, protesters angered with what they say “ignorance” of the authority blocked the main highway with burning tires and stormed the municipality building setting the trash bins on fire and smashing its outdoor.

Protesters Block Jounieh Highway, Many Roads as Tripoli Protests Escalate
Naharnet/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Protesters on Tuesday blocked the Jounieh highway in both directions for several hours to demand the release of four detained demonstrators. Other protesters meanwhile rallied outside Jounieh's serail for the same purpose. The detainees were held during a road-blocking protest in the morning. The highway was later reopened after the release of the four protesters. Protests meanwhile witnessed an escalation in the northern city of Tripoli, where several people were injured in clashes between army troops and stone-throwing protesters at the entrance of Tripoli's el-Mina district. The confrontation erupted as soldiers sought to reopen a blocked road. Troops fired tear gas during the clash as protesters said rubber bullets were also fired at them. The demonstrators in el-Mina are demanding the resignation of the municipal chief in protest at the collapse of a house overnight in the area that killed two siblings. Protesters had attacked the municipality headquarters in el-Mina earlier in the day, smashing windows and setting a room and vehicles on fire. A large military force was sent to the city to deal with the violence. The cause of the house's collapse wasn't immediately clear, but heavy rain appeared to have contributed. The two killed were a 19-year-old woman and her older brother. Elsewhere, protesters blocked the al-Quntari intersection in Beirut in solidarity with the Tripoli and Jounieh demonstrators. They were later dispersed by riot police.Other protesters meanwhile blocked the vital Jiye highway that links Beirut to the South, the Hamat tunnel in Batroun, the Chekka tunnel, the al-Beddawi highway, the Minieh-Abdeh road, the al-Bireh-Qubayat road, the Akkar Plain road and several roads in the Bekaa and Hasbaya. The Jiye highway and the Chekka tunnel were later reopened.

Clashes reignite in Tripoli after roof collapse kills two people
Annahar/December 10/2019
Angered protestors made their way to the Mina municipality building and the residence of Mayor Abdel-Kader Alameddine who they accuse of negligence.
BEIRUT: Clashes broke out in Tripoli since the early hours of Tuesday morning after a house's roof caved in killing two people inside. Angered protestors made their way to the Mina municipality building and the residence of Mayor Abdel-Kader Alameddine who they accuse of negligence.
They threw rocks at the building before storming in and vandalizing the interior before the Lebanese army intervened.  Neighbors told local station MTV that they submitted a request to the municipality to have the building refurbished, citing concerns over its safety only to be rebuffed. The two people, Abdel-Rahman Kakhiyeh and his sister Lama, died after the roof of their house collapsed in the middle of the night following heavy rainfall throughout the day. These renewed clashes come a day after Lebanese soldiers had to separate protesters and the bodyguards of a member of parliament after scuffles broke out under heavy rain Monday evening between the two sides in the northern city of Tripoli, leaving at least one person injured. Tripoli has witnessed some of the largest protests since nationwide demonstrations broke out on Oct. 17 against widespread corruption and mismanagement. The protesters have since transitioned to demand an end to the rule of the political elite that has run the country following the 1975-90 civil war.The scuffles started after protesters threw bags of trash in front of the home of legislator Faisal Karameh. The protesters then started throwing stones at Karameh’s guards, who responded by also throwing stones, prompting troops to split them up.In a video aired live on local TV, at least one person was seen injured in the head and ambulances arrived in the area afterward. Nearly half an hour after the scuffles, troops were able to push the protesters away from Karameh’s home. Karameh is a harsh critic of outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned on Oct. 29. His resignation met a key demand of the protesters. Political disagreements between rival groups have so far delayed the formation of a new Cabinet, worsening the country’s economic and financial crisis.
On Sunday, a possible candidate for prime minister of Lebanon said he was withdrawing from consideration for the post, prolonging the country’s political crisis. Samir Khatib said the country’s top Sunni religious authority told him the community supports the re-appointment of Hariri for the post.

Saudi Arabia’s FM: Important Lebanon finds way forward for stability
Reuters, RiyadhTuesday, 10 December 2019
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said stability in Lebanon, which has been rocked by more than a month of protests that forced the prime minister to resign, was “very, very important” to the kingdom. Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud said he would not “pre-judge” a conference planned this week in Paris to support Lebanon, which is facing its worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. “I’ll wait for the results of the conference.”The Lebanese people and the political system need to find a way forward that guarantees its stability and sovereignty, he told a news conference - following the conclusion of the GCC 40th Summit held in Riyadh - in response to a question regarding aid to Lebanon.

Army Receives Shipment of U.S. Ammunition
Naharnet/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
The Lebanese Army on Tuesday received a shipment of U.S. military assistance, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. NNA said the shipment, delivered at the Port of Beirut, involved sixteen containers of various calibers of ammunition as part of a U.S. grant. The grant is part of the U.S. military assistance program for Lebanon, the agency added. On December 2, U.S. officials said that the Trump administration had released more than $100 million in military assistance to Lebanon after months of unexplained delay.

Hariri Meets with Caretaker Interior and Finance Ministers
Naharnet/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Tuesday evening at the Center House with caretaker Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan and caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil. The meeting was held in the presence of Hariri’s economic advisor Nadim Munla.A statement issued by Hariri’s office said discussions focused on “the financial and economic situation and the 2020 draft state budget.”

Lebanon: Heavy Rain Causes Floods, Inundates Beirut
Paula Astih/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Heavy rains flooded the streets of Beirut again this month, causing major roadblocks and traffic jams across the capital.
People on social media circulated dozens of photos and videos of areas completely inundated and some citizens using kayaks and surfboards to move after their cars were submerged in water and damaged. Many Lebanese expressed their indignation at the renewal of these scenes at every rainstorm, blaming the turmoil on the mismanagement of the concerned ministries and state agencies. The National News Agency (NNA) reported that heavy and torrential rains flooded the Jnah-Saint Simon area, where roads turned into rivers, and water entered homes and shops. Sewage was also mixed with the rainwater, the NNA said. The neighborhoods of Ouzai, Hay el-Selloum, and Laylaki in Beirut’s southern suburb were heavily flooded, and the residents, through personal initiatives, opened some sewers to drain the water amid calls for the municipalities to intervene.
Torrents also submerged several offices at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, as well as the arrival and departure halls. Heavy water swamped the airport's external exit and entrance, impeding the movement of cars for some time. In a news conference, Minister of Public Works and Transport Youssef Fenianos said he understood the suffering of the people and followed up all the road closures, and added that he was “ready to assume full responsibility.”
Fenianos cited difficulties of spending credits allocated to the ministry due to the financial crisis the country is going through. On the other hand, he noted that the neighborhood of Ouzai fell outside the jurisdiction of his ministry, “but we are rushing to help so that citizens don’t drown in the water.” He explained that the ministry was responsible for main highways. More than one ministry and institution exchanged accusations over the street flooding. In this context, expert in public policies Dr. Ola Boutros pointed out that the best solution to avoid the recurrence of these scenes was to establish a supreme Transportation council. In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, she said: “The issues of transportation, works, traffic, and vehicles are scattered among several ministries and bodies, including Public Works, Energy, Interior, Transport, the Council for Development and Reconstruction and municipalities. In addition, we lack a comprehensive policy in this field.”She added that infrastructure was a second factor to be considered, noting that in some areas, it dated back to the French mandate. “The presence of 1.5 million displaced Syrians exacerbates the pressure on this already worn out network, so every year we see this crisis repeating,” Boutros underlined.

Protesters in South Lebanon Stand Up to Attack, Threats
Beirut- Hanan Hamdan/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Five years ago, the former Moukhtar [local head, selected for simple administrative tasks] of the town of Qulaila in South Lebanon, Mahmoud Saleh, could not find anyone to pay for his treatment when he was diagnosed with kidney cancer. This forced him to incur the cost of removing one of his kidneys, which amounted to 18,000 US dollars at the time, although he could not afford it. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Saleh said: “We took to public squares because of the difficult economic situation. Our politicians are responsible for this situation, and we are still here because they refuse to meet a single one of our demands. Those in power have clung to it for many years without even considering giving us our basic rights. We do not even have healthcare or pensions; instead, they have drowned us with debt.” Protesters in Tyre, a city in south Lebanon, have been a vital part of the protest movement since it first erupted in October. They were met with repression, and the most prominent of which was when they were assaulted by partisans and had their tents destroyed at the Al-Alam Square. However, the scene hasn’t changed in the past few days, save the erection of new tents to the square, and the addition of a large tent meant to protect protesters from the rain, allowing them to continue to hold their debates and lectures. The square is also equipped with plastic chairs, mobile mattresses, and stoves to make tea and coffee.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Hassan Darwish, one of the young people who maintain a constant presence in the square, says: “The uprising in Tyre has not changed, and people’s determination has not been shaken. The people of Tyre will not leave the squares just like that, and we will persist until our demands are met”. He points to the fact that internal debates are still being held at the square daily and that civil society initiatives are also ongoing. He also says that a new tent will soon be installed near the square “to support anyone in need by providing them with clothes and food. The basic idea behind it is that it will be accessible to every household and person. We have launched this symbolic initiative because of the difficult living conditions some of us in Tyre arrived at, with the minimum wage standing around 600,000 Lebanese pounds (400$ at the official rate but effectively much less). This isn’t enough for people to secure their basic needs”.

Army: Six Troops Injured in Clashes between Protesters, Karami Supporters
Naharnet/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
The Lebanese army said in a statement on Tuesday that six of its troops were injured while separating between “protesters and house guards of MP Faisal Karami’ in Tripoli a day earlier. The statement said that scores of protesters gathered Monday afternoon “outside the houses of some MPs” in the northern city of Tripoli and that the situation aggravated into “provocations, stone throwing between them and guards of Karami.”Six of the troops were injured while trying to separate between the two, said the statement. “The units deployed to separate them and worked to disperse the demonstrators and prevent them from fabricating riots and setting fire to garbage containers, as well as arresting citizen Mohammed Abdul Aziz Ayoun Al-Soud,” it said. In Sarba, army troops arrested four individuals after attempting to block the highway with burning tyres. They have been referred to investigation, according to the statement. On Monday, protesters rallied outside Karami’s residence. Fierce stone-throwing clashes later erupted between the two sides, which prompted the army to fire tear gas to contain the situation. Several people were injured by the flying rocks and objects. The protesters had thrown trash bags outside the houses of several Tripoli politicians, such as Ashraf Rifi, Najib Miqati, Mohammed Kabbara and Samir al-Jisr.

Report: Hariri Insists on ‘Rescue’ Cabinet Composed of Specialists
Naharnet/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Lebanon’s binding parliamentary consultati ons have been delayed until Monday and outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri “adamantly” insists on forming a cabinet of “specialists” to counter the crisis in Lebanon, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday. Political sources following up on the developments in Lebanon told the daily “the upcoming (binding) parliamentary consultations to name a premier are going to be decisive this time. This has compelled the presidency to allow some time (until Monday) before initiating the consultations.”The sources pointed out that although Hariri is “open” for talks with parties, but he “insists on the formation of a rescue government composed of specialists shall he be chosen to lead the new government.”Hariri is expected to hold talks this week with Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and Progressive Sociaist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat, they said.
After the recent developments "Hariri’s chances to be named a premier have risen,” they said. On Sunday, President Michel Aoun postponed the consultations after Sunni Muslim leaders threw their support behind Hariri returning to the post, and to "allow for more deliberations".
Businessman Samir Khatib had been put forward as a likely contender to succeed Hariri, but he said a visit to the country's highest Sunni Muslim authority had indicated otherwise. Several names had been put forward as potential candidates to replace Hariri, and Khatib was the latest -- despite protesters rejecting him as being too close to traditional circles of power.

Berri’s Bloc Slams Israeli Vessel’s Infiltration of Lebanese Waters
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
The Development and Liberation parliamentary bloc, headed by Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri, underlined the need to speed up the formation of the government and respond to the positive international atmosphere to support Lebanon. The bloc also called on the caretaker cabinet to assume its responsibilities and focus on the management of living conditions, food security and the financial and economic situation. In a statement following a meeting on Monday, the parliamentary bloc said it discussed the political situation and the recent “flagrant Israeli breach of Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone.”
“A hydrographic survey ship arriving from Haifa port of the Israeli enemy carrying the flag of Panama docked at the UN naval operations site,” it revealed. “On 27/11/2019 at 13:19, the enemy vessel entered the Lebanese exclusive economic zone at a distance of five miles and remained in block 9 until 20:37 — a period of seven hours and eighteen minutes,” the statement said. “The infiltration of the vessel to conduct scientific research for the benefit of the Israeli enemy is considered a violation of Articles 56 and 60 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” the bloc stressed.
It also criticized the UN naval force for failing to implement the required procedures, asking the United Nations to assume its responsibilities in this regard.

HRW Warns of Impact of Financial Crisis on Lebanon Hospitals
Associated Press/Naharnet/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Many Lebanese hospitals may soon be unable to provide patients with life-saving surgery and urgent medical care amid the worsening financial crisis, an international rights group warned on Tuesday.
For years, the Lebanese state has failed to pay its debts to public and private hospitals, making it more difficult for them to buy medical supplies and pay salaries. "The Lebanese government's failure to pay its bills to medical facilities seriously endangers the health of the population," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "While politicians horse-trade over a new Cabinet, the government is not responding to the desperate economic situation in the country and the clock is ticking on the ability of many doctors and hospitals to treat patients," he warned. The economic crisis has led to unprecedented capital controls by lenders. It has also affected imports amid a shortage of U.S. dollars that the Lebanese banking system heavily relies on. Lebanon imports most of its basic needs such as medicine, fuel, wheat and medical products. Suleiman Haroun, the president of the Syndicate of Private Hospitals, told The Associated Press that the health sector is passing through "a very serious crisis" because doctors are facing a shortage of foreign medication and equipment. Haroun said that importers of medical products have been saying since September that they have not been able to buy new stocks. This is causing shortages in urgently needed material, including stents for hearts, filters for kidney and blood bags, he added.

Relief Agency: 15 people injured in stampede between protesters and Army in Al-Mina
NNA /Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
The Operations Room of the Emergency and Relief Agency announced in a statement that 15 people have been injured, 3 of them transported to the region's hospitals, as a result of the stampede between the demonstrators and the Army in Al-Mina.

Jumblatt: Paris conference may be last opportunity for Lebanon to stop decline
NNA/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, tweeted this Tuesday: "The Paris conference may be the last opportunity for Lebanon to stop the decline, if not the collapse. We recall in this regard that the first condition for the Paris conference was reform, starting with the electricity sector. The PSP has repeatedly called for reform in this sector, before the outbreak of the revolution, denouncing the merchants of 'ships' and what goes beyond the ships, thus affecting the price of fuel."

Four detainees released from Jounieh Serail
NNA/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
The four detainees -- Elie Haikal, Gilbert Asseili, Carlos Zogheib and Jad Bou Nasser Eddin -- held at the Jounieh Serail against the backdrop of bandits this morning have been released.

Enemies of Lebanon (01 of 03): The Monetary System
أعداء لبنان (01من03): النظام النقدي
Elie Aoun/November 30/2019
The Lebanese government does not own the Lebanese Pound (or Lira). If it owned the currency, it would not borrow it and pay interest on it.
One main reason why the monetary system is an enemy because the Lebanese government abandoned its exclusive privilege to issue money and vested that privilege in the Bank of Lebanon (Decree 13513, Article 47).
In other words, the government gave the Bank the right to issue money, loan that money back to the government, and then charge it interest – at a time when the government could have issued its own money without paying any interest.
The “Bank of Lebanon” was created pursuant to Lebanese Law Decree 13513 of August 1, 1963 (Code of Money and Credit).
The Decree was signed by President Fouad Chehab and Prime Minister Rachid Karameh (who was also acting as a Finance Minister).
The Lebanese Parliament did not vote on or approve the creation of the Bank.
Not only does the Bank charge interest on the Bank’s loans to the State, the Bank does not pay interest to the State on the State’s deposits in the Bank (Article 86).
Not only has the government abandoned to the Bank its exclusive authority to print money, the government has also exempted the Bank from all taxes, imposts and rates whatsoever, already enforced or likely to be enforced for the benefit of the State, municipal corporations or other organizations (Article 118).
WHO OWNS THE LEBANESE CURRENCY?
The name “Republic of Lebanon” is not printed on any of the Lebanese currency notes. What is printed is the name “Banque du Liban” (Bank of Lebanon). Some may ask, is not the Bank owned by the Lebanese government? The answer is no.
Firstly, Decree 13513 does not say that the Bank is a branch of the Lebanese government. Instead, the Decree’s Article 13 states that the Bank is a juridical person of public law (a legal entity similar to a corporation) vested with financial autonomy.
Secondly, the Decree is written in a manner that reflects a relationship between two independent entities (rather than the Bank being a branch of the government).
For example, Article 74 requires of the government to provide a protection (military guard) for the Bank’s establishment free of charge. No such language would have been used in the Decree if the Bank is a branch of the government.
Thirdly, Article 113 dictates how net profits are shared between the Bank and the government – such as 50/50 basis on certain occasions and even 80/20 (80% to the Treasury; 20% to the Bank) under some other conditions. It is doubtful that this profit-sharing formula has been properly implemented. If the Bank is a part of the government, all the net profits would have been the government’s share, not divided with the Bank.
The questions are: If the Bank is a legal entity, who owns that entity?
In what manner has its profits been used or distributed since 1963 until now? Would the government revoke Article 47 and restore its exclusive privilege to issue money without paying interest for it?
Why opening a new bank requires applying for registration with the Central Bank (Article 135) and not with the Ministry of Finance?
Apparently, no politician would have the courage to discuss these issues.

Enemies of Lebanon (2 of 3): The Secret Societies
ايلي عون: اعداء لبنان – الجزء الثاني
Elie Aoun/December 10/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/81328/elie-aoun-enemies-of-lebanon-2-of-3-the-secret-societies-%d8%a7%d9%8a%d9%84%d9%8a-%d8%b9%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a7%d8%b9%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%a1-%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%86/
In a speech on press freedom, U.S. President John F. Kennedy stated that the responsibility of the press is not to amuse or entertain but to educate, to state the dangers and opportunities. In that same speech, he spoke in opposition “to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings.”
He added: “We are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy … It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific, and political operations.”
President Kennedy was not a conspiracy theorist. What he stated was a fact, not a theory. His assassination was the price he paid for his courage – for rejecting the rule of those who rule behind the scenes.
It is against this “highly efficient machine” that both the U.S. and Lebanon struggle.
During the 2004 presidential election, both George W. Bush and John Kerry were members of “Skull and Bones.” Regardless for whom of the two candidates the Americans voted, they were voting for the same secret society.
During the 2016 U.S. election, the vice presidential candidates on both sides were Jesuits. Regardless for whom Americans voted, they were voting for a Jesuit vice president.
Many view the Jesuit Order as a religious or educational institution, but that is not the complete story. According to the CIA’s E. Howard Hunt, “the Jesuits form the greatest intelligence service in the world, and always have.” Anyone who investigates their true history would know of their criminality and involvement in the usurpation of nations.
Whether in the U.S. or in Lebanon, often an individual is selected for a certain position based on that person’s affiliation – not patriotism or qualification.
The secret societies do not reward honest patriotic individuals, but rats who are willing to sell their soul and country for the sake of political advancement. Where is the benefit and logic in undermining the country where those who lead the secret societies and their descendants live? For money and power that will eventually vanish?
The Jesuit-educated leaders of the Kataeb and Lebanese Forces along with the freemason leaders of FPM and Al Marada do not and cannot achieve any constructive measure for the country. The same can be said of the Jesuit/Freemason Saad Hariri and Druze leaders, and the Freemason Shiite leadership.
These “leaders” are neither Christians nor Muslims. Their political logos and hand-signs have no basis in either the Bible or the Quran. They know exactly their pagan and “dark” source.
The fact that all these politicians have the same affiliation could not have been a mere coincidence. This fact proves that Jesuitism and freemasonry play a role in ruling and destroying Lebanon. Their loyalty is to their agenda, not a country. It is a waste of time to expect from them anything different than the “fruits” that have already been given.
The Jesuit educational system is not the means through which positive improvements can take place. Whether the reader wishes to believe or not, national independence and wellbeing are not a part of the Jesuit agenda. A good Jesuit/Freemason politician, who decides to become patriotic, gets assassinated.
Our objective is not to fight them. Rather, it is to know the truth and then focus on our strengths and that which we can do ourselves – focus on what we can build, rather than what we oppose. Eventually, evil carries the seed of its own defeat.
What type of cabinet Lebanon needs? A cabinet with no Jesuits and no freemasons.
The heads of the Jesuit intelligence network and freemasonry are guilty in undermining Lebanon. If they wish to “redeem” the names of their secret societies, they must remove their “dirty” stooges from power. The “prestige” of Jesuitism and freemasonry is down the drain, along with other undesirable objects.

Iran’s threat to destroy Tel Aviv from Lebanon condemned
Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 11, 2019
Lebanon is not an arena for external use by any country, says information minister
BEIRUT: A statement by a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has triggered a series of condemnations in Lebanon, after he claimed the country could be used for military strikes.
Maj. Gen. Morteza Qorbani told Mizan News: “If the Zionist regime makes the smallest mistake toward Iran, we will reduce Tel Aviv to ashes from Lebanon,” according to Russia Today, adding he claimed his words were “a response to Israeli statements about launching military action against Tehran.”
“Iran is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons and Israel is too small to make any mistake toward Iran. If the Supreme Leader orders a missile attack against Israel, all Zionists will raise their hands and surrender.
“The hearts and souls of the people of Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq are with Iran, and the recent events in Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran aim to strike the unity of the resistance front, including the Islamic Republic.”
In response to the statement, Lebanon’s Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab said: “If what is attributed to (Qorbani) is correct, it is unacceptable and it is a violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon, which has a relationship of friendship with Iran.”
The minister, who belongs to the Free Patriotic Movement allied to Hezbollah, stressed: “The independence of the Lebanese must not be affected in any way.”
Farid Al-Bustani, a member of the parliamentary bloc affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement, said: “If this is true, it is a violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon on the one hand and the status and immunity of the resistance on the other.”
FASTFACTS
● Iran’s Gen. Morteza Qorbani told Mizan News: ‘If the Zionist regime makes the smallest mistake toward Iran, we will reduce Tel Aviv to ashes from Lebanon.’
● Lebanon’s Minister of Information Jamal Al-Jarrah described the words as ‘irresponsible and arrogant, constituting an affront to the sovereignty of Lebanon, the people and the state.’
Minister of Information Jamal Al-Jarrah described the words as “irresponsible and arrogant, constituting an affront to the sovereignty of Lebanon, the people and the state.
“Iran can defend itself however it wants, but Lebanon is not a mailbox for the IRGC and is not an arena for external use by any country. These words are completely unacceptable.”
The president of the Independence Movement, Michel Moawad, criticized Qorbani’s statement, while member of Parliament Nadim Gemayel demanded a “clear position on these words from Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, President of the Republic Michel Aoun and from (Prime Minister) Saad Hariri.” Hezbollah’s Ibrahim Al-Moussawi tweeted: “In light of the enemy’s (Israeli) occupation of Palestine, parts of Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, the threat against Egypt, and the Zionist appetite open to our oil, gas and water, any call to neutrality is misleading and suspicious, and it is a betrayal of the homeland, right and justice, and meets the enemy’s goals intentionally or unintentionally. “Neutrality is at best a delusion and at its worst is treachery. Reject it.”

'This phoenix has to rise': new Beirut sculptures represent the power of the Lebanese people/
Laura Mackenzie/The National
Sculptures of a phoenix and a revolutionary woman have been erected by protesters and artists in Beirut's Martyrs' Square
First, there were the martyrs. Then, the phoenix. Then, the revolutionary woman. In the past two weeks, the famed bronze statue in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square that was built in honour of Lebanese nationalists executed by the Ottomans in 1916 has been joined by two neighbours – two sculptures that are decades younger than the civil war-scarred statue, but which are arguably just as powerfully symbolic.
One of the new sculptures, a giant phoenix, positioned as if about to take flight, was pieced together by anti-government protesters out of the remains of protest tents destroyed by government supporters. “It was really a collaboration of all Lebanese people – of all religions, all sects, all areas,” says Hayat Nazer, the Beirut-based artist who had the idea for the piece. “There were even old men with white hair working on it. And there were several who had blood coming out of their hands because the metal pieces (from the tent frames) were broken and had sharp, ragged edges.”
Nazer, who had originally gone down to the protest site, just south of Martyrs’ Square, on Lebanese Independence Day to build the phoenix alone and was quickly joined by a hundred people wanting to help, says she begged the men with bleeding hands to stop. “But they would not,” she says. “They were like, ‘No, no, we have to finish. This phoenix has to rise.’” And within only a few hours, rise, it did. Work continued on the sculpture for a few more days, though, with engineers and architects offering their technical knowledge, another person donating LED lighting to give the creature fiery eyes and blazing feathers at night and one man even voluntarily waking up before dawn every morning to go and check that nothing had happened to the sculpture overnight – and then messaging Nazer with an update.
Such determination seems representative of the very message that Nazer was trying to convey in the first place. As the artist, 32, explains, she had wanted to build the phoenix – a mythical bird that is born again from the ashes of its predecessor – to show that “we [the Lebanese people] will not burn, we will not break, we will be victorious”.
“While the idea of the phoenix on its own is very strong, and it coming from the burnt tents is very strong, for me, what’s even stronger is that, on the day of independence, the Lebanese people built it”, says Nazer, sitting in the protest site at night, raising her voice to be heard above the revolutionary songs being blasted out from a speaker as passers-by stop at regular intervals to take photos of the bird. Lebanese protesters gather around Martyrs Square monument in Lebanon's capital Beirut during ongoing anti-government demonstrations on October 28, 2019. Demonstrators set up barricades and parked cars across key roads today to protest corruption and press their demands for a radical overhaul of their country's sectarian political system. / AFP / ANWAR AMRO
Lebanese protesters gather around Martyrs Square monument in Beirut. AFP
The second new sculpture to appear in this part of downtown Beirut in recent days is also as powerful. Titled Revolution is a Woman, the figure of a woman waving a Lebanese flag is made out of rubbish collected from the protest sites in the area, including water bottles, cans and even the plastic tips used to smoke shisha – a common activity for many of those protesting.
Pierre Abboud, 47, the Dubai artist and interior designer behind the work, says he was inspired to fly back to his home country to build it after witnessing the strength of the Lebanese women who have taken part in the countrywide protests since October 17, including the wife of Alaa Abou Fakhr, the protester killed by a soldier in front of his family last month. “When this young man was shot and his wife was kissing his hand [at the funeral], I was really touched by the scene and I did a drawing. And then I saw all the women on the street trying to make peace between the men,” he says, referring to the female protesters who have deliberately stood between their male counterparts, the security forces and government supporters to prevent bloodshed (one of whom, incidentally, has been Nazer, the artist behind the phoenix).
epa08051121 A tourist from Hungary looks at a sculpture made of soft drink cans depicting a girl carrying a Lebanese flag with Arabic words at the ground reading 'Revolution is a woman' by Lebanese artist Pierre Abboud on display at Martyr's Square in Beirut, Lebanon, 07 December 2019. Demonstrations in Lebanon are continuing as protesters aim to apply pressure on the country's political leaders over what they view as a lack of progress following the prime minister's resignation on 29 October. Lebanese President Aoun called for formal consultations on 09 December with lawmakers to designate a new prime minister. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
A tourist looks at the sculpture made of soft drink cans. EPA
“The women are still keeping this revolution very moderate, very decent, very creative … I want to tell the women, thank you – to my mother, to my sister, to my wife. The women are keeping it peaceful, while they [the politicians] want to make it bloody.”
The recycled materials from which Abboud’s revolutionary woman is made of, meanwhile, are a nod to another central theme of the recent Lebanese protests: recycling and the environment. With the country long having grappled with waste crises, protesters have made it a point to clean up after themselves and to recycle as much rubbish as they can from the protest sites, including in downtown Beirut where Abboud sourced his sculpture’s materials from a specially designated recycling site.
“The trash that we have is gold,” says Abboud, who describes “trash art” as his passion and who was involved in a record-breaking effort in Lebanon last year to create the world’s largest recyclable material mosaic.
“Let’s think ‘environment’ through the whole country. Let’s make use of the trash. Let’s be creative and arrange our environment versus art … Lebanon should be the country of beauty and art. And the sculpture is a small message to show how we can do that – using the trash, using the bad things.”
Though Abboud’s sculpture was designed and financed by him, however, like the phoenix, it is the work of many people. The artist employed the help of many friends, contacts and colleagues. And when Abboud and his team were working on the sculpture at the protest site, as Nazer also experienced, passers-by kept offering to help. “People were amazing … There is a vibe I never saw. They helped me all day long.”
Abboud, who moved to the UAE in 2005 after finding that he kept running into obstacles with the authorities in Lebanon as a young artist, added that he had never before dreamed of being able to put a sculpture in a square in Beirut.
“And today, I don’t own it anymore,” he says. “It’s for the streets.”

A War on Two Fronts
Lynn Abi Raad/Carnegie/December 10/2019
Lebanese protestors seek change in established syndicates while creating new ones not controlled by politicians.
Since October 17, the Lebanese have risen up against their ruling elite, whom they accuse of having failed to provide economic prosperity, liberty, and stability. Early on, the protestors recognized the role of institutions in any reform process. However, in the absence of early elections, the protest movement has shifted its attention toward advancing their goals through professional syndicates and labor unions, which have been largely coopted by the political class since the 1990s. In this battle for syndicates and unions, the protest movement has advanced on two fronts. In the elections to certain syndicates, it has run against candidates backed by the traditional political class. In parallel to this, it has sought to establish independent syndicates or unions to better embody the demands and spirit of the uprising.
The battle for the presidency of the Beirut Bar Association was the first clear institutional win for the uprising. In elections on November 17, the independent candidate Melhem Khalaf defeated a rival backed by the political parties. This represented a shift in the association, which in recent years has been presided over by politically-backed members. To be sure, the growing desire among professionals to back independents had started well before the uprising, notably in April 2017. At the time another independent, Jad Tabet, had been elected head of the Beirut Order of Engineers. However, Tabet had enjoyed the support of a traditional political party, the Kataeb Party, and only won by a margin of 21 votes, much smaller than the 800-vote difference in favor of Khalaf.
Khalaf’s win also held more meaning as it came at a critical time when the ability of the protest movement to translate its street power into an electoral victory was being questioned. Andrea Makary, a young graduate who worked with Khalaf on his campaign and who recently passed the exam to join the Beirut Bar Association, described the atmosphere during the runoff with the candidate backed by the parties. “When the results were posted, you can’t imagine the amount of joy that filled the Palace of Justice! We literally burst into tears,” she told me. With the odds against Khalaf, the win was especially emotional for his supporters.
Khalaf has become known as the uprising’s candidate. Following his win, lawyers in the Palace of Justice held up their fists, shouting “Revolution! Revolution!” and sang the national anthem, echoing the chants of protestors around the country. Since then, Khalaf has taken a stance in defense of the uprising, marking a significant departure from his predecessor, Andre Chidiac, who had been backed by the Free Patriotic Movement of President Michel Aoun. Under Chidiac, the Beirut Bar Association had failed to support the demonstrators, remaining silent while arbitrary arrests and detentions took place. In fact, the association upheld a rule banning lawyers from protesting in their robes without permission. Making good on his promise to represent anyone in need of a lawyer, Khalaf took to the streets on November 20 when a dozen protestors were arrested in Riad al-Solh Square and he played a crucial role in securing their release. The independents’ win symbolized hope for the many young lawyers disillusioned with the ruling parties. Lawyers in Lebanon, like many other professionals, often affiliate themselves with political parties to get ahead in their careers. A recent law school graduate, Romy Boulos, recounted her experience to me of interviewing with a major law firm. After she told her interviewer that she had no political affiliation, that person said, “You have to be politically affiliated to succeed as a lawyer in Lebanon. You have to choose a party or else you’ll fail.” Refusing to go against her beliefs, Boulos took a job abroad. However, the independents’ victory gave her hope for a career at home.
Makary also described a clear generational gap at play, which she experienced while acting as Khalaf’s representative in one of the polling stations. Young lawyers were moving away from traditional politics, while middle-aged lawyers were still clinging to their political patrons and dismissing the uprising. Yet what was striking was the number of retired lawyers who support the independent wave, after years of experiencing the dominance of the parties.
Aside from scoring electoral wins in established syndicates, independents are creating alternative syndicates and associations that are actively partaking in the uprising. One notable example is the Association of Professionals (Tajammu‘ al-Mehaniyyat wal Mehaniyyin), which describes itself on its Facebook page as “a gathering of professionals from different sectors … that took an active part in the October 17, 2019, uprising against the ruling class.” It acts as an umbrella organization for independent professional associations, such as the Association of Independent University Professors (Tajammu‘ al-Asatizah al-Mustaqileen fi al-Jami‘at), the Alternative Press Syndicate Group (Tajammu‘ Naqabat al-Sahaafa al-Badila), and the Gathering of Independent Employees (Tajammu‘ al-Muwazafine al-Mustaqileen), and also promotes their activities and initiatives. The Association of Professionals also holds its own public discussions and organizes marches and protests related to the independence of syndicates and unions and their role in the current uprising. It hailed Melhem Khalaf’s win as “a victory for the revolution and a loss for the ruling parties” and the beginning of the process of liberating syndicates and unions from the dominance of ruling parties and their system of clientelism.
The battle for independent, representative, and democratic syndicates and labor organizations is a microcosm of the larger struggle in Lebanon’s streets. The electoral victories of independent candidates symbolize small wins on the road toward bigger ones in future parliamentary elections. Syndicates and unions have the potential to play a larger role in the uprising. They can unify members, rally support, and show their force in the streets, as they have done historically and have been doing during the current protests.
Most important in the coming weeks, they can take on more of a leadership role and channel the demands of the uprising to any new government, which may be especially necessary as the economic situation deteriorates. Time and time again, history has shown the power and value of united and independent professional and labor movements in demanding and enacting change.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 10-11/2019
Iran shuts south Syrian command center opposite Golan, consolidates Abu Kamal hub
DEBKAfile/December 10/2019
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Iranian Revolutionary Guards Al Qods Brigades have just finished emptying out and shuttering Al Kiswah, their main command center in southern Syria. Our military sources report that this command post, situated 15km south of Damascus, was the Iranian military’s nearest point to Israel’s Golan border. In 2017, the IRGC invested substantial resources in expanding the facility to accommodate 500 combatants with covered sheds for vehicles and ammo stores. Some of those structures recently stood empty, apparently for fear of Israeli air strikes. In the last six months, an Al Qods unit was deployed to Al Kiswah armed with medium-range surface rockets. The base was targeted by the Israeli air force when the first rockets were fired against the IDF’s Mt. Hermon outposts. According to our sources, the pullout from Al Kiswah takes place amid Iran’s overall troop drawdown from Syria, in response to the pressure to economize on funds that are sharply depleted by U.S sanctions. Around 50 percent of Iran military manpower in Syria has been sent home, reducing the total to the unprecedented level of 2,300-2,500. Shutting down Al Kiswah is also part of a revised strategy by Tehran to pull its forces back from proximity to the Syrian-Israeli border and focus instead on concentrating its limited resources on deployment in the eastern regions near the Iraqi border. Our military sources report that the strategists in Tehran stand by their decision to build up the IRGC complex near Abu Kamal, regardless of continuous air attacks. They are also planning to augment this hub of operations with small air bases for different types of drones for use by the Iraqi Shiite militias posted there.

Israeli lawmakers table bill to dissolve parliament
The Associated Press, Jerusalem/Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Israeli legislators submitted a bill on Tuesday that would dissolve Parliament and trigger an unprecedented third national elections in less than a year. Israel has been mired in political deadlock for months. With the two largest parties, Likud and Blue and White, unable to form a power-sharing agreement ahead of a Wednesday deadline, lawmakers from the rival sides together tabled the bill. It is expected to go to a vote in Parliament on Wednesday, setting the date for the next election on March 2. “Under the exceptional circumstances that have emerged, and after two adjacent election campaigns in which no government was formed, the dissolution of the 22nd Knesset is being proposed,” the bill reads. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main rival Benny Gantz have been able to form a coalition government after two inconclusive elections. Polls have predicted the third vote is unlikely to produce dramatically different results. The legislation is something of a formality. The allotted period for forming a government following September’s election expires at midnight on Wednesday. Without a coalition deal, elections would have been automatically triggered later in March. Each of this year’s elections, and their subsequent coalition jockeying, have largely been a referendum on Netanyahu, who was recently indicted for bribery, breach of trust and fraud in three corruption affairs. Blue and White’s Gantz has refused to sit in a Netanyahu-led coalition, citing the long-serving leader’s legal troubles. Netanyahu has refused to step down, still overwhelmingly backed by his Likud party and his adoring base.

Israel says defense officials caught in major bribery case
The Associated Press/Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Israel’s Justice Ministry said on Tuesday it plans to prosecute suspects involved in a “serious corruption affair” in one of the country’s defense bodies. Most details of the case, including the names of the suspects, were unavailable because of a gag order. But a statement by the ministry said public servants working in the unnamed defense body allegedly received millions in bribes from companies with the aim of promoting sales deals with Israel’s defense establishment. The suspects are to be charged with bribery, fraud, breach of trust and money laundering, among others offenses, pending a hearing.
The announcement comes after the ministry said last week it would serve indictments for corruption charges in a $2 billion German submarine deal that roped in close associates of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the country’s former navy chief. The justice ministry claims those accused in the submarine case personally benefited from the purchase. Netanyahu was questioned, but not named as a suspect, in the submarine probe, known as “case 3000.”Netanyahu has been indicted in three other graft cases for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He has denied wrongdoing on all charges.

Canada's Statement on Human Rights Day
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, today issued the following statement:
“December 10 marks Human Rights Day, which commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“Following the horrors of the Second World War, the world came together in recognition of the fact that human rights are a prerequisite for peace. Based on this notion, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written—with Canadian John Humphrey generally credited as having authored the first draft. In the years since, the declaration has served not only as a powerful statement on the universality of human rights, but also as the foundation of the international system’s efforts to protect the dignity of all people.
“Human rights are at the core of who we are as Canadians. We are proud to defend the rights of the poorest, most vulnerable and marginalized, whether that means advancing women’s rights around the world, standing up for LGBTQ2 people, pursuing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, advocating for the rights of children, or seeking equality for racial, ethnic and religious minorities.
“At a time when more and more leaders are challenging the premise that human rights are universal, Canada remains committed to working within the rules-based international system to uphold the fundamental rights of each and every person and to build a more just and more equal world.”

Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan to Try to Resolve Dam Dispute in January Washington Meeting
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan plan to meet in Washington on Jan. 13 to resolve their dispute over a massive dam project on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, according to a joint statement issued by the US Treasury Department on Monday. The foreign ministers and water ministers of the three African countries met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and World Bank President David Malpass on Monday to work out differences over the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the second such meeting in Washington since early November. Egypt fears the filling of the dam reservoir on the Blue Nile tributary will restrict already scarce supplies of water from the Nile, on which the country is almost entirely dependent. Sudan is also downriver from the project. Ethiopia says the hydroelectric dam, which will be Africa’s largest, is crucial to its economic development.
“The Ministers of Foreign Affairs look forward to reconvening in Washington, DC on January 13, 2020 to review the results of the upcoming technical meetings in Khartoum and Addis Ababa with the goal of finalizing an agreement,” the statement said. It said the ministers agreed that the technical meetings should try to develop rules and guidelines for the filling and operation of the dam, the definition of drought conditions, and drought mitigation measures.

Jordan, Israel Share Cold Peace, Very Basic Relations
Amman- Mohammed Kheir Alrawashdeh/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Jordan’s politicians agree that relations with Israel are “bad”, as described by King Abdullah II. But they add that the relationship has in fact deteriorated to become a “cold peace”, due to the “continuous provocations of Israel” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s confirmation of his intention to annex the Jordan Valley. While well-informed Jordanian sources excluded any escalation steps towards Israel, in response to Netanyahu’s declarations regarding the annexation of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea, they left the door open to using legal and diplomatic options to publicize the seriousness of Israel’s intentions, specifically its aim to torpedo the two-state solution. Jordan appears to be suspending its statements regarding Israeli provocations, hoping for the formation of a less extreme Israeli government. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Netanyahu’s use of US support might end with the expiration of his chances to form a government, if the political map changes after a third election in a year, or when he leaves the race because of a number of corruption files before the Israeli judiciary. In this context, former Jordanian Prime Minister, Taher Al-Masri, said he saw the US support for Israel regarding the recognition of the legality of the settlements and the annexation of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea as a promise similar to the Balfour Declaration. Frustration is increasing among public institutions, trade union and parliamentary blocs against Israeli policies. The various political and party circles declared their full support for the stance expressed by the king, while calling for the need to stop all forms of normalization, including the Israeli gas project. The Jordanian monarch had made a series of statements and moves that showed his discontent with Israel’s unilateral policies and its approach to undermining the chances of a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

GCC leaders stress unity in summit final statement
Tamara Abueish, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Any aggression against any country in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is an attack against the whole council, Secretary-General Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani said in his speech on Tuesday at the conclusion of the 40th Summit held in Riyadh. Al-Zayani called for strengthening military and security cooperation between member states to maintain regional security, as well as financial and monetary unity by 2025. He added that the main goal of the GCC is to achieve unity and cooperation among members and called on them to work with friendly states to face any military threats. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz announced the end of the GCC Summit following al-Zayani’s speech. Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said that a positive attitude was prevalent during the summit, adding that the countries are “satisfied with the positive and constructive steps that were made.”King Salman welcomed the delegates of the GCC earlier on Tuesday for the annual summit. During his opening speech, the Saudi King stressed that the Gulf countries must unite against the Iranian regime’s aggression in the region. “The Iranian regime has continued its aggressive policies in the region that undermine the stability of neighboring countries,” King Salman said.Since its establishment, the Saudi King said, the GCC has been able to overcome several crises that have hit the region. He also called on the international community to take the necessary measures to ensure energy supplies and the freedom of maritime navigation is secured. Ahead of the summit, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the Gulf countries arrived in the capital on Monday to hold a preparatory ministerial council meeting to set the agenda for the following day.

US bars ex-Saudi diplomat in Turkey from entering US over Khashoggi murder
Reuters, Washington/Tuesday, 10 December 2019
The United States on Tuesday barred from entering the country Mohammed al Otaibi, the former Saudi consul general in Istanbul in October 2018, when Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed there, the US State Department said. “The murder of Jamal Khashoggi was a heinous, unacceptable crime,” the Department said in a statement. Khashoggi was was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, where he was to receive papers ahead of his wedding. His body was reportedly dismembered and removed from the building, and his remains have not been found. The killing caused a global uproar. Eleven Saudi suspects have been put on trial over his death in Riyadh. “We will continue to seek all relevant facts, consult Congress, and work with other nations to hold accountable those involved in the killing,” the State Department said. Otaibi previously was the subject of a US asset freeze for his alleged role in Khashoggi’s death. The designation also bars his family members from entering the United States.

Saudi FM, Al-Zayani stress importance of GCC unity
Tamara Abueish, Souad El Skaf, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday, 10 December/2019
The Gulf leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining unity between members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council during the 40th Summit, Secretary-General Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani said during a joint press conference with Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud on Tuesday. During the Summit, the Gulf countries welcomed the opening of the International Center for the Protection of Maritime Navigation in the Kingdom of Bahrain, al Zayani said. He added that the next GCC Summit - the 41st - will be held in Bahrain.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal said that threats from the Iranian regime affect all the countries in the region, adding that Iran must change its behavior before it calls for peace. Replying to a question, Prince Faisal said “It is difficult for Iran to be part of a security council in the region.”He said that the Gulf leaders stressed the importance of the cohesion of the GCC countries. Prince Faisal said that the quartet is continuing its support for Kuwait’s mediating efforts with Qatar. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, known as the quartet, cut all diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017 over Doha’s support for extremist groups. Qatar denies the charges.

No breakthrough with Qatar expected at GCC Summit: Sources
Tamara Abueish, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 10 December 2019
A summit of Gulf Cooperation Council heads of state to be held on Tuesday is not expected to produce a breakthrough in the stand-off with Qatar despite recent reports of exploratory talks, diplomatic sources and analysts said. GCC foreign ministers held a preparatory meeting in Riyadh on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s summit, which is expected to focus on regional issues including maritime security, Iran’s interference in the region, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Syrian crisis and the war in Yemen. Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz extended an invitation to the leaders of the six-nation alliance, including Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, last week. However, Sheikh Tamim traveled to Rwanda on Monday and is expected to be represented in Riyadh by Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani. Held under the chairmanship of King Salman, the summit is also expected to see the attendance of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Oman’s Sultan Qaboos is not expected to attend in person due to his undergoing medical checks in Belgium. The UAE’s Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed was invited to attend. The long-standing rift with Qatar broke into the open in June 2017, when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade links with Doha, accusing the emirate of building close ties with Iran, befriending the outlawed terrorist group the Muslim Brotherhood, interfering in the internal affairs of the GCC states and funding militant groups across the region. “We are not expecting this summit to resolve the dispute,” said one GCC diplomatic source, asking not to be named.
The allies have detailed several conditions for restoring relations including cutting ties with Iran, severing ties with terrorist groups and closing the Al Jazeera media house. Qatar has denied wrongdoing and has accused its neighbors of seeking to curtail its sovereignty. In September, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir told the Council on Foreign Relations: “Qatar continues to fund extremists and terrorists and continues to involve itself in our internal affairs.” Kuwait has been leading efforts within the GCC to engineer a reconciliation. There have been reports of exploratory talks between Qatar and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, with some optimistic comments reported by Qatari officials. This year’s summit comes amid heightened regional tensions following the September 14 attacks on two Saudi oil facilities and a spate of attacks on shipping in the Gulf, which have been widely blamed on Iran.
The GCC has supported Washington’s policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran through sanctions, and the region is at a heightened state of alert for further backlashes. GCC member states Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain have all joined a US-led maritime security construct that aims to protect merchant ships and ensure freedom of maritime navigation and international trade. The alliance also includes the United Kingdom and Australia. Its operation covers the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab, the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Gulf. GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani said during the preparatory meeting with foreign ministers on Monday that the summit reflects the GCC leaders’ desire to bolster relations and ensure the region’s security and stability.

Algeria Army Chief Threatens to ‘Confront’ Protesters Obstructing Elections
Algiers - Boualem Goumrassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Algeria’s army chief has threatened to “confront” demonstrators who are opposed to holding the presidential elections, scheduled for Thursday, and are trying to prevent people from voting.
Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gaid Salah said he ordered all military officials, soldiers and security forces to be at their utmost vigilance and preparedness and secure the elections to allow all citizens to exercise their right and electoral duty in a calm atmosphere. Speaking during a visit to the gendarmerie headquarters in the capital, Algiers, he stressed that the army has always warned against conspiracies plotted against Algeria and its people. He was implicitly referring to scuffles between pro- and anti-elections Algerian immigrants in France when voting for expatriates in the presidential elections kicked off on Saturday. The defense ministry published Salah’s speech, in which he said the army will use the force of law to confront whoever tries to target and disrupt Thursday’s elections. “Gendarmerie forces, military units and all security services are required to take all measures necessary to secure poling stations across the country,” he noted. Algerians are being asked to vote in a presidential election bitterly opposed by the country's nine-month-old protest movement, which sees it as a regime ploy to cling to power. While no opinion polls have been published, observers expect high levels of abstention, in keeping with previous elections in a political system seen by voters as rigid and unaccountable. Aging president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's February announcement that he would seek a fifth term in office sparked an unprecedented mass protest movement that by April forced him to resign. Protesters continued with their weekly rallies, demanding the total dismantling of the military-dominated system that has ruled Algeria since independence in 1962. The military high command, which has long wielded power from behind the scenes, was forced to take a front-line role in government -- but rejected the demands of protesters and civil society for sweeping reforms. A caretaker government, appointed by Bouteflika two days before he quit, remains in post, led by his longtime ally Noureddine Bedoui. The five candidates in the poll have run low-key campaigns. All are considered "children of the system", having either supported Bouteflika or participated in his government -- two as ministers and two as prime ministers. Protesters accuse them of protecting the regime by standing for election.

Greece Lodges Complaint to UN over Turkey, GNA Maritime Deal
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Greece has lodged objections to the United Nations over an accord between Turkey and Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) mapping out maritime boundaries as a violation of international law, a Greek government spokesman said on Tuesday. Greece expelled the Libyan ambassador in response to the deal last week, infuriated at a pact which skirts the Greek island of Crete and infringes, in Athens's view, its continental shelf. "This agreement was compiled in bad faith," government spokesman Stelios Petsas told reporters. "It violates the (UN) Law of the Sea. The sea zones of Turkey and Libya do not meet, and nor is there a sea border between the two states," Petsas said. A row over eastern Mediterranean gas reserves offshore has become increasingly shrill with countries in the region jostling to stake their claims. Turkey has had a long-running disagreement with ethnically split Cyprus over reserves around that island. Greece and Turkey are at loggerheads over mineral rights in the Aegean Sea, and Greece has accused the GNA of deceiving Athens by negotiating the deal with Ankara signed last month. It carves out a slanting sea corridor of maritime boundaries at the closest points between Libya and Turkey, potentially clearing the way for oil and gas search there. The deal also sparked uproar by the Libyan National Army, Cyprus, Egypt and the European Union. Last week, Cyprus petitioned the International Court of Justice at The Hague to safeguard its offshore mineral rights. President Nicos Anastasiades said Cyprus is committed to protecting its sovereign rights with every legal means possible. Head of the Libyan parliament in the east, Aguila Saleh has launched a regional tour to rally support against the accord. “The signing of this agreement without ratification by the Libyan House of Representatives aims to cede the sovereignty of the Libyan State and its legitimate rights to the Republic of Turkey to enable it to invest in this area, which is null and void by all standards,” he said. On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the accord would also allow Ankara to carry out drilling on Libya’s continental shelf with Tripoli’s approval, and that the deal was in line with international law.

Armed men attack presidential residence in Somalia’s capital
Souad El Skaf, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Somali security forces evacuated officials from a hotel near the presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu, after a failed attempt by gunmen to storm the heavily fortified residential and office complex, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent. Security forces who repelled the assault on the presidential palace, killed the five heavily armed attackers in a shootout that spread from the heavily fortified government complex to the nearby hotel, police said. At least three people were killed in the firefight at the SYL hotel, which lasted about two hours and was marked by sustained gunfire punctuated by grenade blasts, said Ahmed Ali, a Somali police officer. He said 20 others, including government officials, have been rescued from the hotel. Security forces and guards fought off the attackers, denying them access to the hotel, frequented by government officials and Mogadishu’s elite, he said. Police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said that soldiers shot dead three attackers near the entrance to the presidential residence and then killed the last two near the parking lot of the nearby hotel after they took positions by the kitchen area, close to the first gate of the hotel compound. Somalia’s extremist militant group al-Shabab, have claimed responsibility for the attack, according to an announcement on their Andalus radio station. The attack appears to be a new tactical shift by the extremist group. Previously they have used car bombs at heavily fortified targets to blow openings for gunmen to enter on foot. This assault was carried out completely by gunmen on foot. Security officials said new security measures, including multiple checkpoints across Mogadishu, have made it difficult for the extremists to sneak car bombs into the capital city and have forced them to stage attacks on foot.with The Associated Press

Erdogan says Turkey aims to settle one mln refugees in Syria offensive area
Reuters, AnkaraTuesday, 10 December 2019
Turkey aims to settle one million Syrian war refugees in the area of northern Syria where it carried out a military offensive in October, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. He told state broadcaster TRT that Ankara would finance the resettlement on its own if allies did not provide support.
Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies launched the offensive against the Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara views as a terrorist group. After seizing a strip of land inside Syria 120 km (75 miles) long and around 30 km (18 miles) wide running from the town of Ras al Ain to Tel Abyad, Turkey signed separate deals with the United States and Russia to halt its assault. Last month, the Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria accused Turkey of changing the demographics of Syria’s Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain, and called for international intervention to halt Turkish plans to change the makeup of the population. Turkey had previously said it could settle up to 2 million Syrian refugees in a 444-km (275-mile)-long “safe zone” it aimed to form in northeastern Syria, and repeatedly urged NATO allies to provide financial aid for the plans. Turkey currently hosts more than 3.5 million refugees from neighboring Syria’s 8-1/2-year-old war. Turkish officials have not indicated when any resettlement of refugees would begin. “The Turkish nation can carry out an exemplary step between Ras al Ain and Tel Abyad,” Erdogan said in his TRT interview, holding up a map of the region with markings on it. “Settling one million people between Tel Abyad and Ras al Ain, that is our aim in the safe zone, that is our plan.”Last week, Erdogan met his German, French and British counterparts on the sidelines of a NATO summit in London to hold talks on developments in Syria and his “safe zone” plan. After the summit, Erdogan said one country, which he did not name, had pledged support for the plan but that Germany, France and Britain had not done so. He had previously said that Qatar could back it. The European Union and Turkey’s allies in NATO have rejected its calls for financial assistance and condemned the Turkish offensive, which they said might hinder the fight against ISIS in Syria. Turkey has dismissed the concerns.

Erdogan: Turkey and Libya can conduct joint explorations in eastern Med
Reuters, Ankara/Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Turkey and Libya can carry out joint exploration operations in the eastern Mediterranean after the two sides signed a deal on maritime boundaries, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday after the move sharpened disputes over the area. Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Fayez al-Sarraj and Turkey clinched the natural gas drilling accord last month in a step Ankara said aimed to defend its rights in the region, but that has infuriated Greece. Tensions were already running high between Greece and Turkey because of Turkish gas explorations in the eastern Mediterranean off the coast of the divided island of Cyprus. The European Union has readied sanctions against Turkey in response. Speaking in an interview with state broadcaster TRT Haber, Erdogan said the accord would also allow Turkey to carry out drilling on Libya’s continental shelf with Tripoli’s approval, and that the deal was in line with international law. The area where Turkey and Libya have drawn their maritime borders in the accord is not far south of the large Greek island of Crete. “With this new agreement between Turkey and Libya, we can hold joint exploration operations in these exclusive economic zones that we determined. There is no problem,” Erdogan said. “Other international actors cannot carry out exploration operations in these areas Turkey drew (up) with this accord without getting permission. Greek Cyprus, Egypt, Greece and Israel cannot establish a gas transmission line without first getting permission from Turkey,” he said. Greece and Turkey are at odds over a host of issues, ranging from mineral rights in the Aegean Sea to Cyprus, which is divided into a breakaway Turkish republic in the north and the Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state, in the south. Greece does not recognize the north of Cyprus. Aside from the maritime accord, Turkey and Libya also signed an expanded security and military cooperation agreement. Erdogan said the military accord granted Turkey the right to deploy troops in Libya if the Tripoli government so asked, and added this would not violate a United Nations arms embargo on Libya, which is plagued by factional conflict. “In the event of such a call coming, it is Turkey’s decision what kind of initiative it will take here. We will not seek the permission of anyone on this,” he said. “We do not want Libya to be a second Syria. We will provide defense support to Tripoli,” Erdogan added.

Injuries reported amid clashes between protesters, Iraqi forces in Baghdad
Souad El Skaf, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 10 December 2019
Iraqi protesters defiantly turned out on Tuesday in the capital Baghdad, amid reports of injuries following clashes with security forces who used live bullets and tear gas, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent. A security source said that some protesters suffered injuries from gunfire and suffocation from tear gas near al-Wathba square and al-Ahrar bridge in Baghdad. The Protest in Baghdad came in response to a call for Iraqis to head to the capital on Victory Day. Images had been circulated on social media calling on Iraqis from across the country to gather in Baghdad on December 10, which is a public holiday commemorating the Iraqi government’s victory over ISIS. Protesters from several cities in the south on Tuesday joined thousands of demonstrators gathered for more than two months in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, which is the epicenter of the demonstrations in the capital. “We came to support our brothers in Baghdad,” said an activist in the movement from Nassiriya, Haydar Kazem. Since October 1, Iraq’s capital and its Shia-majority south have been gripped by rallies against corruption, poor public services, a lack of jobs and Iran’s perceived political interference. More than 450 people have been killed and more than 20,000 wounded during the unprecedented protest movement demanding an overhaul of the political system. with AFP

Iraq demonstrators set to gather in Baghdad for day of action
Tommy Hilton, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Protesters were set to gather in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on Tuesday in response to a call for Iraqis to head to the capital on Victory Day. Images had been circulated on social media calling on Iraqis from across the country to gather in Baghdad on December 10, which is a public holiday commemorating the Iraqi government’s victory over ISIS. “Since the beginning of the week we have seen reports of buses arriving with ten to a few dozen protesters at a time from southern governorates,” said Elexer Palko-Schraa at Aldebaran Threat Consultants.
However, it is not clear to what extent visitors from outside Baghdad would turn up, Palko-Schraa added, explaining that Iraqi police would likely attempt to prevent protesters from reaching the capital. According to an unverified local source, police in the Babil governorate are intending to block the southern road into Baghdad. The call for the demonstration has used the hashtags #White_Shirt_Revolution and #Martyr’s Blood. Iraq has been in a state of unrest since October, with anti-government protests challenging the status quo and calling for new elections. Hundreds of protesters have been killed so far, with security forces and unidentified armed men continuing to use violence against protesters despite the resignation of Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi being approved by parliament on December 1.

Obstruction, Abuse of Power Charges Unveiled in Trump Impeachment
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Democrats unveiled two impeachment charges against U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday, accusing him of abuse of power and obstruction in pressuring Ukraine to help him attack his 2020 election rivals. The charges, if approved by the House of Representatives in a vote expected next week, would make Trump only the third U.S. president to be impeached and placed on trial in the Senate. "Our president holds the ultimate public trust. When he betrays that trust and puts himself before country, he endangers the constitution, he endangers our democracy and he endangers our national security," said Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Qatar Emir Skips Riyadh Summit despite Thawing Ties
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/Tuesday, 10 December, 2019
Qatar's emir skipped a Gulf summit in Riyadh on Tuesday that had been pilled as a potential "reconciliation conference" amid signs of a thaw between Doha and a Saudi-led bloc. Despite the no-show, Saudi Arabia's King Salman and the Qatari prime minister exchanged smiles and pleasantries when the Doha delegation arrived in Riyadh. "The people of Qatar, welcome, to your second country," said the commentator on Saudi state television, in warm words that could still bode well for regional diplomacy. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut all diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar in June 2017 over allegations it backs radical Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and seeks closer ties with Saudi arch rival Tehran. Qatar vehemently denies the allegations. The emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, sent Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani in his place to the annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Hopes of reconciliation have been raised by indications of a detente between Qatar and its former allies despite Doha's refusal to heed demands put forward by the boycotting countries. Following Saudi King Salman's invitation to the emir, Qatar's foreign minister said there had been "some progress" in talks with Riyadh. In a U-turn last month, three of the boycotting countries sent teams to a regional football tournament hosted by Qatar, leading to speculation of an imminent diplomatic breakthrough. Some Gulf watchers had anticipated that Tuesday's summit would blossom into a "reconciliation conference", leading to concrete steps to end the crisis. But many Saudi observers remained skeptical, saying the king was only following protocol and had invited the Qatari leader to last year's summit as well.
'Incremental progress'
The Qatari emir spurned that invitation and sent a representative instead, as he had to other summits since the crisis erupted in 2017. Even though the emir will not attend the summit, negotiations to end the impasse are expected to continue, analysts say. "Ending the Gulf rift is an incremental process of engagement and dialogue rather than something resolvable at a single summit meeting alone," said Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute in the United States. The Riyadh-led bloc has repeatedly said the crisis will not end until Qatar accepts its list of 13 demands, including that it shut down Al Jazeera, downgrade ties with Iran and close a Turkish military base on its territory. Doha has so far refused. "Saudi Arabia's normalization with Qatar is likely to occur without major concessions from Doha," said Samuel Ramani, a doctoral researcher at Oxford University. "It is possible that Qatar could scale back its links with the Muslim Brotherhood, but it is certainly not planning on reducing its diplomatic ties with Turkey and Iran as trust between Doha and other GCC countries has been severely damaged." Analysts say the spat has hurt the blockading countries more than Qatar. Saudi Arabia now appears to be taking a more conciliatory approach after adopting a combative foreign policy under de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that has spooked investors. But some of the other blockading countries are not as eager to step back.Two sources familiar with the negotiations, including an Arab diplomat, told AFP that hardliners in Abu Dhabi -- Riyadh's principal ally -- are opposed to a restoration of ties. Qatar's prime minister attended a series of talks in Saudi Arabia in May, one of the first high-level contacts of the two-year boycott. But even before the Saudi-led blockade, relations had been rocky, in part because of Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera's critical coverage of the region's affairs and Doha's support for the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. The rift has seen the two sides trade barbs on everything from access to the Muslim holy city of Mecca to alleged Twitter hacking. It has also seen families divided and Qatari businesses face increased costs as well as complicated regional travel and diplomacy.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 10-11/2019
Trump Is the Least of NATO's Problems
Bobby Ghosh/Bloomberg/December, 10/ 2019
It was meant to be a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. But the mood at a gathering of the alliance’s leaders this week in London was anything but celebratory. There was no disguising the fact that NATO is in deep — even existential — trouble.
Nothing illustrated this unease more than the brief elation among NATO hands over Donald Trump’s surprising defense of the alliance. If the American president, previously a NATO skeptic, had had a change of heart, perhaps things were not so dire after all.
Except Trump hadn’t had a change of heart. His defense of the alliance was little more than a rhetorical stick with which to beat French President Emmanuel Macron, who had previously bemoaned the institution’s “brain death.” Credit must also go to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who has done a masterful job of managing Trump, calming the president’s tantrums and stroking his ego. Witness Stoltenberg’s eagerness, at a joint press conference, to credit Trump for increased military spending by many members. “Your leadership on defense spending is having a real impact,” he purred, as the president preened. But Trump’s skepticism was soon on display once again. He carped about Germany’s paltry defense spending, threatened trade penalties against members who don’t pony up and refused to commit to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the all-for-one clause that requires the group to defend any member under attack.
Trump is Trump: There’s every possibility that he’ll arrive at the next NATO summit brandishing a flame-thrower, instead of the pea-shooter he has wielded in London. And not even Stoltenberg’s diplomatic skills can mask the fundamental problems — both philosophical and practical — that bedevil the alliance. These go beyond the previous spasms of disunity NATO has endured, such as the 1966 French withdrawal from the integrated military command or Turkey’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus and showdown with Greece.
An important reason NATO has held together for 70 years is the common perception of the threat posed by the Soviet Union and, more recently, Russia. But core members of the alliance no longer agree on this. Turkey is buying arms from Moscow, including missile systems that endanger NATO defenses; President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is more suspicious about America’s intentions than Russia’s. Trump has been cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin at every opportunity, against the advice of his entire military and intelligence community. Macron is ambivalent at best.
Nor is there consensus over the other threats to the West: terrorism, cyberwarfare, China. Turkey and France have accused each other of harboring terrorists. The divisions over Russia compromise the alliance’s ability to defend against online attacks. And some NATO members see China more as a source of money than menace.
Even if most member states were to agree on what constitutes a threat, it doesn’t automatically follow that NATO is the best shield. Cyberwarfare requires subtler, more secretive approaches than the alliance is capable of deploying, and counterterrorism calls for swift, supple responses — not the kind of thing you leave to a giant multinational bureaucracy. Taking on China may require a North Pacific Treaty Organization, in which European militaries would play only a small part. This doesn’t mean NATO is no longer relevant. It is relevant for the same reason it was at its founding: the potent threat of Moscow. Getting all the members to recognize this, and to act accordingly, will require much more than Stoltenberg’s diplomatic guile — it will take political leadership of a high order from the most powerful members. Nothing said or done in London this week suggested such leadership is at hand.

Europe No Longer Hides Its Hostility to Israel
Alain Destexhe/Gatestone Institute/December 10/2019
The European Union seems deliberately to fail to recognize that Israel, a sovereign state, is regularly under threat -- even extreme continuous rocket fire from Gaza and Syria -- and, for that reason alone deserves its full support.
The statement [by the European Union]... fails to mention that Israel had killed a terrorist belonging to an extremist group about to launch another attack. The statement also fails to mention the number of rockets fired on the country, or the right of Israel to defend itself.
Four hundred and fifty rockets in under 48 hours is not a skirmish or a minor attack; it is a large-scale military attack. Any similar attack on France or Germany -- if they received even a single missile -- would have sparked a major crisis.
By comparison, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman tweeted: "Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an Islamist terrorist org backed by Iran, is again attacking Israel with 100's of missiles aimed at civilians. We stand w our friend & ally Israel at this critical moment & support Israel's right to defend itself & bring an end to these barbaric attacks."
The contrast speaks for itself. The United States is a friend of Israel. The European Union is not.
In other words, the EU, which is officially committed to fighting terrorism, supports the Palestinian Authority (PA), which supports terrorists and their families. Just try making sense of that.
The European Union, for its part, is proud to be "the biggest donor of external assistance to the Palestinians". Since February 2008, more than €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion) have been disbursed. The EU provides core financial support to the Palestinian Authority, even though part of the PA budget is earmarked for terrorists and terrorists' families, thereby actually incentivizing terrorism.
Many Europeans governments pretend to be friends with Israel, but the European Union has, over the years, become increasingly hostile towards Israel. Pictured: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a press conference in Jerusalem, Israel, on October 4, 2018.
The European Union has, over the years, become increasingly hostile towards Israel. That attitude was confirmed in early November when the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that food products made in the so-called settlements of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan Heights must be labeled as such and may not carry the generic label "Made in Israel."
As rightly argued by the strategic studies expert Soeren Kern, there are many territorial conflicts all over the world, but the European Court singles out only Israel. Examples of the EU's bias against Israel are numerous, particularly compared to the United States.
The EU seems deliberately not to recognize that Israel, a sovereign state, is regularly under threat -- even extreme continuous rocket fire from Gaza and Syria -- and, for that reason alone deserves its full support. No country in the world, especially one roughly the size of Vancouver Island, undergoes military attacks as perpetually as Israel does. On November 12 and 13, in under 48 hours, more than 450 rockets and mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli towns. Rockets fired from Gaza caused countless damage, injuring at least 63 persons, and reached as far as the Tel Aviv area.
Four hundred and fifty rockets in under 48 hours is not a skirmish or a minor attack; it is a large-scale military attack. Any similar attack on France or Germany -- if they received even a single missile -- would have sparked a major crisis.
The official EU response was, to say the least, underwhelming:
"This morning, Israel conducted an operation inside Gaza targeting a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In response, rockets were fired from Gaza on southern and central Israel. The firing of rockets on civilian populations is totally unacceptable and must immediately stop. A rapid and complete de-escalation is now necessary to safeguard the lives and security of Palestinian and Israeli civilians. As the EU has consistently reiterated, only a political solution can put an end to these continuing cycles of violence".
The statement is revealing for many reasons. It fails to mention that Israel had killed a terrorist belonging to an extremist group about to launch another attack. The statement also fails to mention the number of rockets fired on the country, or the right of Israel to defend itself. There are no words about the consequences for the civilian population of Israel. There is no mention of who launched the rockets, or who is fueling this supposed "continuing cycle of violence", and there is no empathy whatsoever for the bombarded people of Israel.
By comparison, a US State Department spokesperson tweeted:
"The United States stands in solidarity with Israel as Israeli families and cities shelter from rockets fired by Iranian-sponsored Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Israel has every right to defend itself and its citizens."
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman tweeted:
"Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an Islamist terrorist org backed by Iran, is again attacking Israel with 100's of missiles aimed at civilians. We stand w our friend & ally Israel at this critical moment & support Israel's right to defend itself & bring an end to these barbaric attacks."
In addition, Avi Berkowitz, Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations, tweeted:
"The U.S. fully supports our partner & ally Israel in their fight against terrorism and the terrorist group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)."
The disparity speaks for itself. The United States is a friend of Israel. The European Union is not.
When, in 2003, Israel's prime minister at the time, Ariel Sharon, proposed withdrawing all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and leaving the Palestinians to rule the enclave themselves, he apparently thought that giving the Palestinians independence would be positive move for the security of his country. Instead, as mapped out clearly in the Palestine Liberation Organization's 1974 "phased plan " -- to use whatever territory it gets as a launchpad to get more -- the Jewish State has been under constant attack from missiles fired from Gaza and has no choice but to retaliate. The Palestinians in Gaza, for their part, are no longer "occupied"; rather, they now struggle under the rule of Hamas' totalitarian terrorist regime, whose priority remains not the well-being of the people it controls, but the destruction of the State of Israel.
On December 6, 2017, President Donald J. Trump announced the United States' recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and, consequently, the relocation there of the US Embassy. European governments and the European Union sharply criticized the US decision and, in a move seemingly both laughable and hypocritical, continue to refuse to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Still, when European heads of state, ministers or ambassadors meet Israeli officials, they go to Jerusalem.
Two years ago, during an official meeting, this author was sitting in a room in the Knesset in Jerusalem beside European ambassadors who, according to their government, should not have been there but in Tel Aviv. Whether European governments like it or not, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Why should every country in the world be free to choose its capital except Israel? How would a European country react if the international community said that Paris was not the capital of France or Brussels not the capital of Belgium?
By denying this reality, the EU has not only failed to bring any "peace" to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, it also continues to wreck the lives of the Palestinians living there. If the EU's excuse is that it is backing the Palestinians, then why does it remain totally silent about the mistreatment of the Palestinians in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan? The EU's crocodile moral outrage seems only to surface when it can be used as a weapon against Israel.
President Trump was careful to leave open the question of the future boundaries of Jerusalem, saying:
"We are not taking a position of any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, or the resolution of contested borders. Those questions are up to the parties involved."
It is a reasonable position. Are the Europeans governments challenging even the fact that west Jerusalem belongs to Israel? Why would the EU wait for a "final settlement" -- which might never happen -- to recognize that Jerusalem is Israel's capital?
By the end of August 2018, President Trump decided to stop funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, better known as UNRWA. The European Union immediately rushed to fill the gap. The EU called the US decision "regrettable" and increased its support. In 2018, 50% of the UNRWA's total pledges -- of $1.27 billion -- came from the contributions of EU member states', amounting to $643 million.
Officially, UNRWA is a humanitarian agency that professes to provide education, health care and social services to needy Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. UNRWA, however, has regularly been accused of not sticking to a strictly humanitarian role but, instead, of cooperation, if not complicity, with Hamas. UNRWA also gives Palestinians the false hope that they one day will be able to return to family homes in Israel that were left in 1948 before most of the "refugees" were even born. Only a few thousand who were displaced from their homes that year are still alive. Most inhabitants in the Palestinian territories are third- or fourth-generation descendants of displaced people from that war.
The EU, however, in its official statements, maintains the fiction that Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere are "refugees":
"For over four decades, the European Union has established itself as a key strategic partner for the Agency, supporting UNRWA in its efforts to help Palestine refugees achieve their full potential in human development despite their difficult circumstances (...) Building on decades of commitment and partnership, the EU has maintained its generous level of support to assist Palestine refugees." [Emphasis added]
UNRWA is a politically-oriented organization that contributes to perpetuating the Palestinian refugee problem and the narrative of the so-called "right of return," the goal of which is, in fact, the destruction of Israel. UNRWA should be shut down and its work carried out by other agencies of the UN system, such UNDP and UNICEF.
The European Union, in fact, seems proud to be "the biggest donor of external assistance to the Palestinians". Since February 2008, more than €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion) have been disbursed. The EU provides core financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA), even though part of the PA budget is earmarked for terrorists and terrorists' families, thereby actually incentivizing terrorism.
The EU is also a major contributor to helping the PA pay the salaries of civil servants, which could not be accomplished without its support, thereby not only making the PA the world biggest welfare state, but also disincentivizing the PA from becoming more self-sufficient. With the EU's funds, the PA pays the families of imprisoned terrorists in Israel as well as families of terrorists who have been killed, including kamikazes. When the PA had to make cuts in its budget, it stressed that reductions would not apply to salaries "paid to pensioners and families of martyrs, wounded or prisoners." Many Palestinians view these prisoners and those killed while carrying out terror attacks as heroes in their conflict with Israel and venerate them as martyrs. According to the Israeli press, the PA's stipends to imprisoned terrorists each year come to some $138 million.
In other words, the EU, which is officially committed to fighting terrorism, supports the Palestinian Authority, which supports terrorists and their families. Just try making sense of that.
The Dutch parliament passed a motion on November 19, objecting to providing funding to the Palestinian Authority when some of its budget is earmarked for Palestinian terrorists imprisoned by Israel. By doing so, it not only saved some of Europe's honor, it also sets an example for other European countries.
Many Europeans governments pretend to be friends with Israel. They should stop accepting EU policies based on minimum consensus among 28 countries and show more support for Israel, a country surrounded by many enemies and the only democracy in the region. Their support starts by recognizing Jerusalem as its capital.
*Alain Destexhe, a columnist and political analyst, is an honorary Senator in Belgium, former secretary general of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders, and former President of International Crisis Group.
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Punishing Iran’s Triggermen in Iraq: Opening Moves in a Long Campaign
Michael Knights/The Washington Institute/December 10/19
Some of the worst perpetrators of the murderous crackdown against Iraqi protestors have finally been sanctioned, but follow-on actions need to be taken more quickly in coordination with Britain and other allies.
On December 6, the U.S. government designated four Iraqis for human rights abuses and corruption under Executive Order 13818, which implemented the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and blocks the property of individuals involved in those violations. This is the second time in 2019 that the Magnitsky authority has been used to target Iraqi perpetrators of serious abuses, and will not be the last time. Yet it is crucial to glean lessons from each tranche of designations in order to fully exploit the leverage they grant, particularly in nudging other members of the Iraqi elite to avoid harmful actions, whether against protestors, other citizens, or national institutions.
WHAT EFFECTS WILL THESE SANCTIONS HAVE?
Magnitsky designations have the following repercussions on targeted individuals:
Blacklisted by banks. When individuals are added to the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), their U.S. assets are blocked. Moreover, their names are added to automated screening systems used by banks in the United States and many foreign countries, making it difficult for them to open or hold accounts, transfer monies, or transact property internationally.
Shunned by investors. Foreign investors often abandon sanctioned persons and their companies, resulting in the collapse of businesses. Their involvement in profitable economic ventures (e.g., licensing a new bank) is often made impossible by designation.
Travel restrictions. Magnitsky designations prevent entry to the United States, can complicate visa issuance by other countries, and may be flagged by airline screening systems.
Isolation from the U.S. government. A designation often caps the political career of the target, since no U.S. person or entity—including government officials and aid agencies—will normally meet with persons on the SDN list.
In addition, no Iraqi SDN has ever been appointed as a minister or provincial governor after being designated—a notable point since it may deter violations by actors who have longer-term political ambitions.
WHO WAS TARGETED?
The December 6 designations were issued against four individuals:
Qais al-Khazali. A senior Shia politician and head of the militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Khazali has fully supported the recent crackdown on protestors, which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has aided. He also led the public vilification of the protests as a foreign-backed conspiracy against Iraq. A decade ago, he was in U.S. custody for his role in the murder of five U.S. soldiers.
Laith al-Khazali. Brother to Qais and a key militia enforcer, he is being sanctioned for suppressing protestors and engaging in sectarian cleansing against Sunnis in Diyala province. A widely feared figure, he has taken part in operations aimed at murdering U.S. soldiers and, more recently, attacked critics of his brother, even senior religious figures appointed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Abu Zainab al-Lami (real name Hussein Falih al-Lami). A member of U.S.-designated terrorist organization Kataib Hezbollah and head of the Central Security Directorate (CSD) within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Lami has coordinated sniper operations against unarmed protestors.
Khamis al-Khanjar. A key Sunni member of the Bina bloc in Iraq’s parliament, he has been sanctioned for bribery and corruption in support of Iran. Specifically, he was the primary mover (alongside the previously sanctioned Ahmed al-Jubouri, aka Abu Mazen) in bribing Sunni politicians to support Bina, a faction aligned with Tehran.
FOLLOW-ON SANCTIONS
Past U.S. designations of Iraqi politicians and militia leaders have sent shockwaves through the country’s elite, who often shelter their corrupt income in overseas jurisdictions where it is vulnerable to sanctions. This was the case with the May 5, 2018, designation of Iraqi financier Aras Habib and his al-Bilad Islamic Bank as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) pursuant to Executive Order 13224, based on their role in transferring money from the IRGC-Qods Force to Lebanese Hezbollah. Shock was also the response that greeted the first tranche of Magnitsky sanctions this July. Yet Washington was unprepared to follow up with subsequent sanctions packages, thus undermining any chance of building on the initial shock and creating overwhelming psychological pressure on other offenders.
Accordingly, U.S. officials should bolster the December 6 sanctions with a steady stream of new Magnitsky packages, possibly one every few months for the next year. Iraqi politicians and militia leaders would become keenly aware of the need to amend their behavior, even if their only goal is to slip further down the prioritized list of U.S. targets. Meanwhile, the Iraqi people would see the U.S. government acting consistently and regularly to protect their human rights and support anti-corruption efforts.
There is no shortage of deserving targets for follow-on designations and actions. Each package of sanctions should focus on one senior target and three mid- or lower-level targets, including the following:
High-profile politicians. In the next sanctions package, Iraqis should rightly expect a senior politician to be designated, and the most deserving target is national security advisor and PMF chairman Faleh al-Fayyad, who has facilitated the shooting of protestors and attacks on television stations.
Top militia leaders who ordered protestor killings. Another high-priority target should be Abu Turab (real name Thamir Mohammed Ismail), a long-term fighter with the Iran-aligned Badr faction and current head of the Interior Ministry’s Rapid Response Division, in which capacity he ordered troops to shoot protestors. Also worth targeting is Abu Muntadher al-Husseini, the advisor for PMF affairs in the prime minister’s office, due to his involvement in the crisis cell that ordered killings and attacks on television stations.
Working-level Iran-backed murderers and torturers. Junior targets involved in protestor deaths include Lami’s assistants, Abu Bakr (the CSD director for Rusafa, where many protest sites are located) and Haji Ghalib (CSD head of interrogations). Militia leaders worth targeting include: Hamid al-Jazayeri, commander of the Iran-backed militia Saraya Ṭalia al-Khurasani (the PMF’s 18th Brigade), who coordinated attacks on television stations; and Abu Ala al-Walai (real name Hashim Bunyan al-Siraji), commander of the Iran-backed militia Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada (the PMF’s 14th Brigade), who provided shooters for the crackdown.
To ensure that an open-ended pipeline of sanctions packages can be built, Washington needs to devote more intelligence, legal, and administrative personnel to the specific mission of sanctioning Iraqi human rights violators and corrupt officials—in other words, a permanently operating task force. The boost in intelligence capabilities could help officials spot the vulnerabilities of sanctions targets: for instance, if a senior Iraqi figure is planning to open a bank and enter the licensing process for such a lucrative enterprise, he may be very vulnerable to not only sanctions, but even strong rumors of sanctions.
The new task force should also keep an updated list of immediate family members of sanctioned individuals. On September 25, the White House proclaimed that it would use the wide authorities of the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny entry to immediate family members of senior Iranian officials. The same method could be selectively used with Iraqis, to make sure that family members are not exploiting America’s hospitality and educational system at the same time that their sanctioned kin are murdering and stealing back in Iraq. Following the U.S. example, they would likely be selectively banned by other countries as well.
MAKING SANCTIONS BITE DEEPER
As part of the process of refining their tactics, U.S. officials need to coordinate more effectively with allies before each tranche of sanctions, particularly Britain. Corrupt Iraqis use the United Kingdom more than any other Western country to shelter wealth, hold property, obtain medical care, and educate their children. Yet U.S. and British actions against Iraqi violators are currently out of sync. Earlier this fall, for example, the previously mentioned Ahmed al-Jubouri is strongly believed to have visited London despite being under Magnitsky sanctions, an incident that upset officials on both sides of the pond.
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office is keen to do more on the specific issues of Iraqi corruption and human rights abuses, and supporting London’s actions on this front could further shake the morale of violators. What the British need is advance notice of sanctioned names, protected sharing of evidence, clarity on the potential reversibility of Magnitsky sanctions, and a basic explanation of how the targets are selected to feed into a broader deterrence campaign.
If brought into the effort, Britain has many tools that would terrify Iraqi offenders. For instance, on December 10, it seized 190 million pounds sterling worth of assets (including a 50-million-pound luxury mansion) from a Pakistani property tycoon who had been targeted by the National Crime Agency with an “unexplained wealth order” and subsequent “dirty money” investigation. The seized money will be returned to Pakistan. If a similar ruling were issued against a senior offender in Iraq, the elite would be rocked to their core, and many citizens would be quite pleased to see the return of stolen money.
EXPOSING THE ROLE OF IRAN AND HEZBOLLAH
Finally, further sanctions can help the United States reveal the machinery of Iran’s influence over Iraqi politics and society. Tehran’s powerbrokers have moved into high gear now that Iraq is confronting the task of selecting a new prime minister to replace the resigned Adil Abdulmahdi. Two individuals on the SDN list—Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani and Hezbollah official Abu Zainab al-Kawthrani (brother of U.S.-sanctioned businessman Adnan Hussein Kawtharani)—were key to the formation of Abdulmahdi’s Iranian-aligned government, and they are back in Baghdad today to do the same thing.
Accordingly, the United States should work with Iraqi officials to expose whoever holds meetings with Soleimani and Abu Zainab al-Kawtharani. Such action could move the needle in two ways: by making Iraqis uncomfortable about openly meeting with these players, and perhaps tempting some to seek public approval by rejecting such meetings. This may in turn slowly reverse a status quo in which it has become completely normal for the IRGC and Hezbollah to midwife new governments in Baghdad. Given that Iraqi citizens have been burning down Iranian consulates and attacking billboards of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the time may be right to impose a public reputational cost on any official who meets with representatives of these organizations at this sensitive time.
*Michael Knights, a senior fellow with The Washington Institute, has profiled Iran-backed militias and politicians in Iraq since 2003.

Trust and transparency missing from Macron’s pension reforms
Ranvir S. Nayar/Arab News/December 11/2019
With thousands of flights and trains canceled and traffic jams exceeding 600 km just in the capital Paris, France has seen its worst lockdown in more than 25 years, as millions of workers — in both the public and private sectors — began a strike last week against the pension reforms planned by the government. Though initially it was meant to be a day-long affair, the unions have since declared they will carry on the strike for at least a week, or for as long as the government does not pay heed to the “voice of the people from the street.”
The matters will come to a head when Prime Minister Edouard Philippe this week introduces the pension reform legislation, which is a flagship project of President Emmanuel Macron. The unions have threatened to intensify their action if the government goes ahead with the move. The dispute is critical for France, its government and definitely the people. Macron has spent three years talking of this move, saying that France offers by far the most generous pensions in the developed world and that these are no longer sustainable as society ages and the economy changes.
On the face of it, the government does have a point. Certain public sector workers, notably train drivers, fire fighters and policemen, can retire as early as 52 years of age and public utility workers at 57, compared to most private sector workers only retiring at 62. In all, France has about 42 different pension systems, with a fair bit of variation in the terms as well as benefits. With an aging population, the French pension system — already the most generous in the EU — costs about 14 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product and is likely to hit an annual shortfall of €19 billion ($21 billion) within the next five years. Macron says he wants to create a unified system that would be fair to all and not have special treatment for certain public sector jobs. The unions are opposing the reforms, saying that applying any change to the working conditions of employees retrospectively would be a violation of the worker’s rights. The workers also accuse the government of trying to push through the reforms while keeping them in the dark about the details.
Public opinion is very curiously placed on the issue. More than half of the French agree that the current system is economically unviable. However, more than 74 percent blame the government for the current stalemate and disturbances, saying it has failed to communicate its plans for the pension reforms in a clear and transparent manner and that workers are right to be worried about their future. The unions also accuse the government of not coming clean with the details of the proposed reforms and instead trying to rely on the brute force of the majority that Macron’s La Republique En Marche party enjoys in the French Parliament to push the reforms through. They say the government should instead hold broad consultations with the people who would be most affected by the reforms.
If poor communication is the main factor behind the large public support for the striking workers, then this would not be the first time Macron has stood accused of being in an ivory tower and out of touch with the people that put him in the Elysees Palace in the first place. Right from the time he was elected in May 2017, Macron’s missteps and insensitive remarks have earned him the reputation of being the bankers’ and businessmen’s president, instead of the people’s president he promised to be.
The same charges were hurled at Macron and stuck to him when the “Yellow Vest” movement began last year. This movement was opposed to his style of governing and taking decisions or making comments that smacked of being elitist, against the interests of the common French, while his rich banker friends stood to benefit by his largesse — for example, removing wealth tax and cutting other taxes for big businesses.
Macron is not the first French president to struggle in pushing through pension reforms. These have been pursued, with varying degrees of commitment and intensity, by several of his predecessors, but all had to throw in the towel in the face of strong opposition. Though the power of unions across the developed world, including France, has declined, the current strikers can take heart from the fact that the first day of the current walkout saw more workers on the streets than the biggest strike in postwar French history, which took place in 1995.
The workers accuse the government of trying to push through the reforms while keeping them in the dark about the details.
Macron and his right-hand man, Philippe, have tried to allay fears about a radical drop in the pensions of public sector employees, but their reassurances have so far failed to cut much ice. The French president ought to take a lesson from neighbor Germany, which enjoys much better labor relations thanks to its unique system of having union representatives on the supervisory boards of large and very large firms, with nearly a third of the total seats on these boards reserved for the workers’ representatives.
Moreover, Germany had already taken the first steps toward pension reform way back in 1992, barely two years after a rather painful merger with the communist East Germany. Since then, the system has been tweaked frequently, including once last year, but the moves passed almost unnoticed as the workers and the government, as well company executives, have built a relationship based on a fair degree of trust and transparency.
Both the Elysees Palace and the French corporate boardrooms could do with a healthy dose of both these elements — trust and transparency — in order to undertake the reforms that are badly needed.
*Ranvir S. Nayar is the editor of Media India Group, a global platform based in Europe and India that encompasses publishing, communication and consultation services.