LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 31.2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18/01-05.10./:”At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January30-31/2020
Report: Lebanon’s New Govt. ‘Denied’ US, Arab Support
Report: $2 Billion Transferred Abroad Since October Uprising
Hitti: No One Can Impose Naturalization on Us
No Coronavirus Cases among Lebanese in China, Ambassador Says
Lebanon Receives Shipment of New Banknotes
President Aoun meets Traboulsi, Boustany, Theological Dialogue Conference delegation
Aoun meets delegation of Association of Industrialist
Diab meets UNIFIL commander
Foreign Minister holds talks with Norwegian Ambassador, other diplomats
Geagea calls Abbas in solidarity: Deal of the Century dead on arrival
Rahi: Deal of Century a sign of war
Rahi meets new Jordan's ambassador, Theological Dialogue Conference delegation
Reuters: Lebanon's government bonds in biggest daily rise since early Dec
Fahmi welcomes Akkar MPs
Hobballah to industrialists: We are working on near solutions to remittances issue
Japan supports Hamza Medical Center run by Al Shifaa for Medical & Humanitarian Services
Moucharafieh, Rampling tackle general situation
Najjar meets WB delegation
Sami Gemayel, Richard tackle latest developments
Senator calls for sanctions about American jailed in Lebanon/Kathy Mccormack/AP/January 30/2020
Japan seeks arrest of Ghosn, Americans suspected of helping/Associated Press/January 30/2020
With jobs scarce, Lebanon's labour minister pushes low-wage work/Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
Israeli Security head: Stifle Hezbollah financially to press Iran/US official: ‘Maximum pressure’ on Tehran has been ‘tremendously successful’/Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/Januiary 30/2020
What Are the Top Three Priorities for Lebanon's New Government in the Coming Weeks?/Michael Young/Carnegie MEC/January 30/2020
Lebanon's protests: The limit of rage/Habib Battahi/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
Trump's Middle East plan leaves Palestinians in Lebanon hopeless/Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January30-31/2020
UN agency declares global emergency over virus from China
China Counts 170 Virus Deaths, New Countries Find Infections
Netanyahu Tells Putin Mideast Deal a 'New Opportunity'
Sirens sound in settlements near Gaza border
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address UN Security Council
Iranian factory makes US and Israeli flags to burn
Iranian regime does not allow negotiations with ‘enemies’ of Soleimani: Official
Swiss humanitarian channel to Iran starts up with trial run
US sanctions Iran’s nuclear organisation, to renew waivers on Iran nuclear work
White House Bars Bolton Book Release over 'Top Secret' Material
Iraq president says parliament has three days to come up with new PM
Iraq resumes anti-ISIS operations with US-led coalition
US awaits Iraq’s okay to deploy patriots to protect troops amid Iran tension
Turkish vessel spotted escorting military shipment to Libya’s Tripoli: Sources
Assault on Syria’s Idlib pushes 700,000 to flee: US envoy
Russian strikes kill 10 civilians in Syria’s Idlib: Monitor

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January30-31/2020
Trump’s peace plan won’t have a chance unless Israel shows restraint on annexation/Dennis Ross and David Makovsky/The Washington Post/January 30/2020
Iran can obtain nuclear weapons far quicker than widely recognized/Andrea Stricker/Al Arabia/January 30/2020
As Wall Street giants prioritize diversity, businesses should follow suit/Oliver Schutzmann/Al Arabia/January 30/2020
Palestinian Reactions to the Trump Plan/Ghaith al-Omari/The Washington Institute/January 30/2020
Reservations about the Trump Peace Plan/Daniel Pipes/Washington Times/January 30/2020
Palestinian Liberation or Islamic Conquest?/Raymond Ibrahim/January 30/2020
Palestinians: Abbas Chooses Hamas Over Peace with Israel/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/January 30/2020
UK: Boris Johnson Must Decide between Washington and Beijing/Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/January 30/2020
Iran vows to crush 'satanic' Trump plan and 'Jewishization' of Jerusalem/Seith Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/January 30/2020
European powers must realize Iran nuclear deal is dead
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/January 30/2020
Trump plan may deal a fatal blow to peace/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/January 30, 2020
Saudi International will tee off investment in KSA leisure sector/Ian James Poulter/Arab News/January 30, 2020
Collaboration key if target of education for all is to be met/Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/January 30, 2020
How caring for wetlands can help curb mass extinction/Martha Rojas Urrego/Arab News/January 30, 2020
Muslim World League's Historic Auschwitz Visit Draws Support From Saudi Arabia, Condemnation From Qatar/By: B. Shanee/MEMRI/January 30/2020

Details Of The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorial published on January30-31/2020
Report: Lebanon’s New Govt. ‘Denied’ US, Arab Support
Naharnet/January 30/2020
The US administration “will not" provide any kind of assistance for Lebanon's new government led by PM Hassan Diab because it considers it an “extension” of Hizbullah’s authority, Nidaa al-Watan daily reported on Thursday. Well-informed sources in Washington told the daily, that the administration of US President Donald Trump is determined to activate all channels of confrontation with Iran along its spheres of influence in the region including Lebanon’s “Hizbulah-led” government. He said the US will deal with Lebanon as part of this confrontation, “now that it has officially fallen into the grip of the ruling majority led by Hizbullah.” Moreover, an Arab source told Nidaa al-Watan that Arab countries are “reluctant” to provide Lebanon with financial assistance because its new government is linked to the March 8 camp “disguised” in a government of technocrats. The source pointed out saying “it is certain that all Arab countries do not want Lebanon’s collapse, but at the same time do not want to support a government closely linked to Hizbullah.”

Report: $2 Billion Transferred Abroad Since October Uprising
Naharnet/January 30/2020
Around two billion dollars were transferred abroad from crisis-hit Lebanon between October 17 and December 31, 2019, Nidaa al-Watan reported on Thursday. Financial sources told the daily that the Special Investigation Commission on fighting money laundering and terrorism financing at BDL has finished preparing a report of “suspicious” funds transferred abroad and is expected to submit it to the Prosecutor General Ghassan Oweidat at the end of the month. However, the report does not mention the names of political depositors who made transfers during that period, according to the sources, noting that the “request to investigate these transfers did not request identifying the names but only determining the amounts and data about them in case of any suspicious cash-flight.”In December, following eruption of nationwide anti-government protests, Central bank governor Riad Salameh ordered a probe into large transfers of money abroad, which if confirmed, would mark a violation of banking restrictions curtailing such transactions. His request came after reports that politicians, senior civil servants and bank owners were reportedly involved in capital flight as the country grapples with an unprecedented economic crisis and protests demanding an overhaul of the entire political class.

Hitti: No One Can Impose Naturalization on Us
Naharnet/January 30/2020
Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti stressed Wednesday that no one can impose the naturalization of Palestinian or Syrian refugees on Lebanon, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited Mideast peace plan, which does not entail the return of Palestinian refugees. “The Arab Peace Initiative, which was unanimously endorsed at the Beirut Arab Summit in March 2002, represents a comprehensive and just approach to achieve permanent peace in the region,” Hitti said in a TV interview. “No one can impose on us the naturalization of anyone,” the minister added. Noting that he would stress commitment to the resolutions of the 2002 Arab Summit during the upcoming emergency Arab League meeting which will be held in Cairo, Hitti said no side has asked Lebanon to “agree to any issue in return for aid.”“The issue is not a real estate deal, we are talking about a people’s national identity,” the minister went on to say.

No Coronavirus Cases among Lebanese in China, Ambassador Says
Naharnet/January 30/2020
The Chinese ambassador to Lebanon assured during a meeting with PM Hassan Diab on Thursday that no cases of the deadly coronavirus were recorded among Lebanese nationals in China, the National News Agency reported on Thursday. “I have assured the PM that so far there are no cases of the virus among the Chinese community in Lebanon or among Lebanese nationals in China,” said Wang Kajian, the Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon.
The ambassador also said he discussed ways of cooperation between Lebanon and China, asserting “China’s continued support for Lebanon’s sovereignty, and unity. We also expressed willingness for cooperation at the political, economic, humanitarian, and cultural levels,” he said. China counted 170 deaths from the new virus Thursday and more countries reported infections, including some spread locally, as foreign evacuees from China's worst-hit region returned home to medical observation and even isolation.

Lebanon Receives Shipment of New Banknotes
Naharnet/January 30/2020
Crisis-hit Lebanon received on Thursday a shipment of new banknotes received by the central bank, the National News Agency said. The shipment arrived in parcels by plane to the Rafik Hariri International Airport on board the Middle East Airlines and were received by BDL representatives, said NNA. Since October 17, Lebanon has been swept by nationwide protests and an unprecedented economic crisis unseen since its 1975-1990 civil war. The country grapples with a financial crisis that has seen shortage in dollar and liquidity. The Lebanese pound, long pegged to the dollar, has lost up to 60% of its value against the dollar and banks have imposed unprecedented capital controls to preserve liquidity

President Aoun meets Traboulsi, Boustany, Theological Dialogue Conference delegation
NNA/January 30/2020
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, stressed that the Lebanese, with their religious and cultural pluralism, are living in a permanent dialogue with each other, hoping that the “Eyes of the Church will remain watchful over Lebanon and assist it politically and culturally, since the Orient lives in constant danger, except that we have psychological resistance which helps us survive”.
President Aoun’s positions came during his reception the head of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, in addition to the assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for the Coptic Orthodox, Monsignor Kyrillos, and the delegate of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Western-Europe, Archbishop Khajak Khajag Barsamian, Patron of the Maronite Diocese, Bishop Paul Rouhana, and Father Hyacinthe Destivelle, on the occasion of the theological dialogue conference between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches in Lebanon, hosted by the Antochian Orthodox Church in Lebanon.
Cardinal Koch thanked President Aoun for his reception, and gave an overview of the work of the committee and its tasks. Koch said “We work to strengthen unity building the churches after their division in the fifth century, and in the first stage we prepared a document related to the church mission, while the second document dealt with communication during the first five centuries, and then we devoted our work to the mysteries of theology”.
Cardinal Koch pointed out that the committee holds two meetings each year, one in Rome and the other in an oriental country. Lebanon has been chosen to be the center of its second meeting for this year.
“Lebanon faces many challenges and difficulties, and we pray and hope that it will overcome them. This country embodies an example of dialogue and enjoys cultural and religious pluralism whichis the focus of attention, and there is no alternative to dialogue. We, in this regard, welcome the presidential initiative to establish the Human Academy for Meeting and Dialogue in Lebanon, and we wish it success and a brilliant future” Koch stated.
President Aoun’s Reply:
The President welcomed the delegation, and wished them success in their tasks, pointing out that “Lebanon brings together various churches that branch out of the Christian religion, the religion which believes in the Gospel and the Lord Jesus”. President Aoun also said that “We, in the Eastern Churches, live a permanent dialogue and this model that we live also interacts with Lebanese Muslims who are formed from all branches of the Islamic religion”.
President Aoun also explained the importance of a permanent dialogue between various Lebanese religions, and hoped that “The eyes of the Church would remain watchful over Lebanon and assist the country politically and culturally, since the Orient lives in perpetual danger. However, in return, we have psychological resistance in order to remain”.
“Because we believe in dialogue and convergence, we submitted an initiative, to the UN, to make Lebanon a center for the Human Academy for Convergence and Dialogue, aiming to acquaint people with different cultures, religions and values, and developing knowledge which would help in consolidating peace” the President added.
“We now are in the process of defining the features of this academy and starting implementation, through those who wish to participate in it. It achieved 165 votes out of 167 in favor, with the US and Israel abstaining in the vote. We hope that you will work to encourage everyone to contribute to the establishment of this academy” President Aoun concluded.
President Michel Aoun received MP, Edgar Traboulsi and discussed with him current political developments.
The President also reviewed, with Traboulsi, the work of the Parliamentary committees, in addition to educational and social affairs, the demands of the people of Miyye w Miyye town, and the difficulties they face in determining their properties.
President Aoun received MP, Farid Boustany, and deliberated with him a number of issues, including the need of the “Chouf” District.
The Head of the National Authority for Lebanese Women Affairs, Claudine Aoun Roukoz, informed the President about the start of implementation of the “National Action Plan for the Implementation of Resolution 1325” (Issued by the UN Security Council), and mechanisms established for this implementation.
Mrs. Aoun Roukoz indicated that the Resolution 1325 highlighted the role which women play in achieving peace and security conditions in human societies. This recognizes their full capacity to participate in the same way as men in building societies and leadership. Aoun Roukoz noted that the authority is working on implementing this plan.
*Presidency Press Office

Aoun meets delegation of Association of Industrialists
NNA/January 30/2020
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, stressed on the importance of supporting the establishment of small and medium Lebanese enterprises, to manufacture materials for local consumption and achieve self-sufficiency in a manner which positively reflects our payments’ balance. The President noted that “Lebanon is working to direct national production to be industrial and agricultural, after achieving it impressively on the tourism level, before the events of last October 17 began”. President Aoun also expressed interest in addressing the difficulties experienced by industrialists, in this period of Lebanese history.
President Aoun’s stances came after receiving a delegation of members of the Board of Directors of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, headed by Dr. Fadi Gemayel, today at Baabda Palace.
Dr. Gemayel delivered a speech in which he presented the reality of the industrial sector and the difficulties it encounters, especially in the current circumstances. Gemayel said:
“We are today facing a crucial challenge, we are suffering from the inability to transfer the value of our needs from raw materials to industries that do not export. We do not at all understand these measures which even affect deposit holders, whom are even denied their payments.
We present this simple equation to you, as we need 3 billion dollars annually in order to produce up to 13 billion USD, including 10 billion USD for domestic markets and 3 billion USD for export. If we bring scarce cash to Lebanon through our exports and its capacity is greater, reaching 4.5 billion in 2011, and if we are deprived of raw materials for the local market, then these 10 billion USD will be threatened. In other words, we will put more pressure on imports. We are responsible for food security, consumer security, and social security. We demand securing our needs of raw materials which amount annually to 3 billion USD, but there is an urgent need to pump about 300 million USD as soon as possible. We must take advantage of the state of affairs, as we are all confident that if the industry’s requests and suggestions were met in the past, then we would have avoided the fierce unemployment that we are experiencing, and the economic hardship. As you have repeatedly stressed that a productive economy is alone capable of developing economic and social solutions, this issue has been also confirmed by the Mackenzie study. Therefore, we also demand that the current Government addresses the industrial demands as soon as possible, limiting it as follows:
- Preventing smuggling.
- Stopping dumping and completing the related measures.
- Addressing additional costs, especially costs of energy, of the intensive energy sectors, according to the project submitted by the Ministry of Industry, with an annual investment of 35 million USD, benefitting 7000 families, and enhancing the value of our energies in the production cycle of glass and paper recycling factories, plastics, and a number of other basic products.
We are with a free economic system, but this system never prevents the activation of self-energies. We consider Lebanon a country of great opportunities. Enough of exporting our youth, let us export our products”.
President Aoun’s Reply:
President Aoun welcomed the delegation, and affirmed his follow-up to the difficulties experienced by industrialists in this difficult period which Lebanon is passing through, in light of the financial and banking measures taken whichreflect on their ability to import materials.
The President said that he views industrialists’ demands on the financial level, as one of the needs which must be secured, stressing that he will follow-up with the Governor of the Central Bank,and would do everything he could to reduce the burden of industrialists, who in turn provide employment opportunities for the Lebanese.
In addition, President Aoun stressed that he supports the establishment of small and medium enterprises in Lebanon, to manufacture materials for local consumption and achieve self-sufficiency. “This will positively reflect on the balance of payments”, the President stated indicating that he will also pursue the issue of taxes on some imported goods to secure all facilities to encourage the Lebanese industry.
The President revealed that Lebanon is working to direct national production to industrial and agricultural, after achieving brilliant results on the tourism level, whose revenues reached around seven and a half billion USD, until last October. President Aoun assured that the amount would have reached 9 billion USD if the situation remained as it was during the holiday period, and encouraged the members of the delegation to move forward in working for the advancement and prosperity of Lebanon’s industry.
*Presidency Press Office

Diab meets UNIFIL commander
NNA/January 30/2020
Prime Minister, Dr Hassan Diab, welcomed this afternoon at the Grand Serail Head of the UNIFIL mission, General Commander Stefano del Col, with whom he discussed the current situation in South Lebanon and the tasks of the Interim Peacekeeping force.

Foreign Minister holds talks with Norwegian Ambassador, other diplomats
NNA/January 30/2020
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Dr. Nassif Hitti, on Thursday kicked off his Bustros Palace activities with a meeting with Norwegian Ambassador to Lebanon, Lenny Stansett, who said in the wake of the meeting that she conveyed to the Minister her country's strong support for Lebanon, especially amidst the difficult times it endured.
"We broached a number of bilateral cooperation dossiers, which cover many topics and have our support; we also dwelt on the need to continue cooperation in various issues, especially where we share similar values and interests. Being the two small countries that we are, we rely on the international law as a basis for us," the Norwegian diplomat said, stressing the necessity to implement resolution #1701 and support the work of UNIFIL. Moreover, she affirmed her country's keenness on the need to continue efforts to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine, based on UN decisions and the outcome of negotiations.
Separately, Hitti had an audience with the ambassadors of Egypt, Cuba, China, and the Charge d'Affair of Kazakhstan. He also met the Ambassador of Bangladesh, Abdul Mutalib Sarker, who paid him a farewell visit marking the end of his diplomatic mission in Lebanon.

Geagea calls Abbas in solidarity: Deal of the Century dead on arrival
NNA/January 30/2020
Lebanese Forces party leader, Samir Geagea, telephoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to utter support for the Palestinian leadership and express the party's solidarity with the Palestinian brothers in their stance on the Deal of the Century. Geagea told Abbas: "There is no place in history for plans, proposals or illogical matters. From the start, we deemed the Deal of the Century dead on arrival, and that is confirmed now."
He stressed "the need for the Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate rights by establishing an independent state with Al-Quds as its capital."
Abbas thanked Geagea for his sympathy, assuring that "the Palestinian people cling to their rightful position, and will not be discouraged by any difficulties, hardships or pressures."He also praised the Lebanese sympathy towards the Palestinian people.

Rahi: Deal of Century a sign of war
NNA/January 30/2020
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Rahi on Thursday deplored the so-called "Deal of the Century," which he deemed as "a sign of war, hatred and destruction.""We shall neither accept nor tolerate this [deal]," Rahi said before the commencement of a spiritual meditation session in Bkerki.
"We cannot surrender to the will of a man who has decided to put aside the entire history," he added. "This land cannot bear the political decision made by the US administration or president," he stressed.
Rahi meets new Jordan's ambassador, Theological Dialogue Conference delegation

Rahi meets new Jordan's ambassador, Theological Dialogue Conference delegation
NNA/January 30/2020
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rahi on Thursday welcomed in Bkerke the newly accredited Jordanian Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Al Hadid, who came on a courtesy visit. Discussions reportedly touched on the general situation in Lebanon and the broader region.
Both also discussed the significant relations between Jordan and the Maronite patriarchate. This afternoon, Patriarch Rahi met with an ecclesiastical delegation partaking in the Theological Dialogue Conference between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches in Lebanon. The delegation listened to the Patriarch's viewpoint over of the general situation in Lebanon and the region, in addition to his vision about ecumenical work for unity among the churches.

Reuters: Lebanon's government bonds in biggest daily rise since early Dec
NNA/January 30/2020
Lebanon’s sovereign dollar bonds climbed on Thursday, with several notching up their biggest daily rise since early December amid increased hopes among investors for a plan to fight the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. Market sentiment was boosted by meetings on Wednesday between ministers and banking officials to discuss how to ease the crisis, said Nafez Zouk, lead economist and emerging markets strategist at Oxford Economics. "The general mood was ‘reassuring’ as everyone was trying to send positive vibes, suggesting that we aren’t yet at the edge of crisis, and that we still have time," Zouk said in an emailed comment. "I think markets are taking that to mean that March will be paid."Investors are waiting on a government decision about how it will deal with its debt pile, including a $1.2 billion Eurobond maturing in March. ----Reuters

Fahmi welcomes Akkar MPs
NNA /January 30/2020
Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Mohammad Fahmi, on Thursday welcomed a delegation of Akkar MPs which included deputies Hadi Hbeich, Walid al-Baarini, and Osman Alameddine. Discussions focused on matters related to the development of the Akkar region. Later during the day, Fahmi met with MP Mario Aoun, with whom he discussed the general situation in the country.

Hobballah to industrialists: We are working on near solutions to remittances issue
NNA /January 30/2020
"We are here to help the productive sectors," Minister of Industry, Imad Hobbalah, confirmed on Thursday during his meeting with a delegation from the Association of Industrialists.
"The Prime Minister and all the other ministers are very cooperative," he added. "We are working on near solutions with the Central Bank to the issue of transfers in a bid to be able to secure and purchase raw materials," he added.

Japan supports Hamza Medical Center run by Al Shifaa for Medical & Humanitarian Services
NNA /January 30/2020
Japan supports the delivery of accessible medical care in El Buss Refugee Camp, and to achieve this objective, on January 29, 2020, Ambassador OKUBO Takeshi signed a grant contract, which amounts to 87,270 U.S. dollars, with Dr. Majdi Krayem, Executive Manager of Al Shifaa for Medical & Humanitarian Services. The NGO has long provided medical services for both Lebanese and the host communities of refugees through its medical centers across Lebanon. Hamza Medical Center in El Buss Refugee Camp, without an adequate equipment for an X-ray examination, has had no choice but to refer their patients to other medical centers, where such examination is not available at an affordable cost. Through its Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Program (GGP), Japan will donate a new digital X-ray machine for the center, so that it will be able to provide accessible medical services annually to more than 160 individuals. At the signing ceremony, Dr. Majdi Krayem expressed the center's appreciation, detailing the depth and magnitude of Japan's support for individuals in El Buss Refugee Camp spanning Palestinian refugees to the financially marginalized Lebanese and Syrians. Ambassador Okubo-former Ambassador for the Palestinian Affairs and Representative of Japan to Palestine-expressed his hope that the project would be a milestone for the continuous Japanese support for the Palestinian and their host communities. ----Embassy of Japan in Lebanon

Moucharafieh, Rampling tackle general situation
NNA/January 30/2020
Tourism and Social Affairs Minister, Professor Ramzi Moucharafieh, welcomed on Thursday in his office at the Social Affairs Ministry the British Ambassador to Lebanon, Chris Rampling. Discussions reportedly touched on the general situation and means of cooperation between the two countries.

Najjar meets WB delegation
NNA/January 30/2020
Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Michel Najjar, met Thursday at his office with a delegation of the World Bank, chaired by Ibrahim Dajani. Talks reported touched on an array of projects funded by the World Bank in the field of public transportation and road rehabilitation.
"The meeting was positive," Dajani said, highlighting the WB readiness to help Lebanon.

Sami Gemayel, Richard tackle latest developments
NNA/January 30/2020
Lebanese Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel, welcomed on Thursday at the Kataeb's Central House in Saifi the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, in the presence of former Minister Alain Hakim and the Party's Foreign Relations' Coordinator Marwan Abdullah. Discussions reportedly touched on most recent developments.

Senator calls for sanctions about American jailed in Lebanon
Kathy Mccormack/AP/January 30/2020
العضو في مجلس الشيوخ الأميركي جين شاهين تطالب بفرض عقوبات على لبنان بسبب خطفه واحتجازه اللاقانوني لعامر الفاخوري الذي يعاني من مرض مميت
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/82763/82763/
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is drafting sanctions legislation to hold Lebanese officials accountable for jailing an American citizen without any charges as his health takes a turn for the worse.
“Time is of the essence and the Lebanese government needs to understand there will be consequences for his continued detention,” Shaheen, a Democrat and member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said in a statement this week.
Amer Fakhoury, 57, a restaurant owner in Dover, New Hampshire, who became a U.S. citizen last year, has been jailed since Sept. 12 in his native country. He went on vacation to visit family he hadn’t seen in nearly two decades.
Fakhoury was once a member of the former Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army and worked at a former prison described by human rights groups as a center for torture. His lawyer and family say he fled Lebanon in 2001 through Israel and eventually to the United States, because of death threats he and other SLA members received after Israel ended its occupation of Lebanon in 2000.
Before Fakhoury went back, he received assurances from government officials in Lebanon that there were no legal matters that might interfere with his return. But days after he arrived, an article in a newspaper linked to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah accused him of torture and murder at the former Khiam Prison. He has been detained since then.
Fakhoury’s lawyer and family say he was never involved in the interrogation or torture of prisoners and was never accused when the prison was investigated years ago. They said Fakhoury, who has been hospitalized, has now been diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma and has developed a new infection. They recently learned that medical records show he is suffering from a broken rib cage.
Lebanon itself has been in the middle of an unprecedented economic and political crisis amid nationwide protests since October, leading to the prime minister’s resignation. A new government was formed Tuesday. It was unclear who could address Fakhoury’s case.
Even before that announcement, protesters took to the streets, closing major roads in the capital of Beirut and other parts of the country in protest.
Guila Fakhoury, the oldest of Fakhoury’s four daughters, said doctors cannot always reach her father because of the road closures. She said he has missed chemotherapy treatments.
“It’s a life and death situation right now,” she said. “I’m just frustrated we’re not able to get him home. We’re talking about a sick, innocent U.S. citizen.”
Shaheen was part of the effort to bring sanctions against Turkey in the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was eventually freed in 2018. She raised the idea of sanctions against Lebanon in December, saying that U.S. officials have been unable to persuade the Lebanese government to release Fakhoury on humanitarian grounds. She said then that sanctions should include ones that would make any involved officials and their family members ineligible for entry into the United States.
In her statement, Shaheen said she is drafting the legislation “to hold those accountable who are complicit in Mr. Fakhoury’s arrest, beating and prolonged detention.”
She added, “Whenever an American is held unjustly by a foreign government, we as a nation need to do everything we can do bring them home. All options are on the table to secure Mr. Fakhoury’s freedom, reunite him with his family and provide the care he urgently needs.”
Shaheen’s office said she has been in frequent contact with the State Department and White House.
A State Department spokesperson said Wednesday that consular officers from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut most recently visited Fakhoury on Jan. 16.
“We are concerned about his welfare, as doctors report his health is failing and he requires urgent specialized medical treatment,” the spokesperson said a statement. “We have raised these concerns at all appropriate levels with the Lebanese government. We will continue to follow his case closely, and to provide him and his family all appropriate consular assistance.”
Picture Enclosed/In this June 2016, photo provided by Guila Fakhoury, her father Amer Fakhoury holds his granddaughter, Kira, in King of Prussia, Penn. At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said Fakhoury, an American citizen jailed in his native Lebanon since September 2019 on no charges is very ill and if he dies there, then Lebanon should be subject to sanctions. The 57-year-old restaurant owner was once part of the South Lebanon Army and worked at a former prison described by human rights groups as a center for torture. His family says he’s innocent. (Guila Fakhoury via AP)
https://apnews.com/027a3222e330c7aa4b34153a351ca5f8

Japan seeks arrest of Ghosn, Americans suspected of helping
Associated Press/January 30/2020
Japan has no extradition treaty with Lebanon, so he’s unlikely to be arrested. Lebanon has indicated it will not hand over Ghosn.
TOKYO: Tokyo prosecutors issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Nissan’s former chairman Carlos Ghosn, who skipped bail while awaiting trial in Japan and is now in Lebanon. Japan has no extradition treaty with Lebanon, so he’s unlikely to be arrested. Lebanon has indicated it will not hand over Ghosn. Tokyo prosecutors also issued arrest warrants for three Americans they said helped and planned his escape, Michael Taylor, George-Antoine Zayek and Peter Taylor.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Takahiro Saito declined to say where the three men were thought to be staying. He said Michael Taylor and George Zayek are suspected of helping Ghosn flee by hiding him in cargo at a Japanese airport and getting him into a private jet to leave the country.
Saito would not say if Japan has asked U.S. authorities for help, though he said all options were being explored. Japan and the U.S. have an extradition treaty. Michael Taylor is a former Green Beret and private security specialist. Peter Taylor appears to be his son. Security footage released earlier showed Zayek and Taylor transiting Istanbul Airport at the same time Ghosn allegedly passed through Turkey on his way to Beirut.
Prosecutors suspect Peter Taylor met several times with Ghosn in Tokyo, starting in July last year, to plot his escape. Saito said Ghosn was given a key to a hotel room in Osaka near the Kansai Airport that Ghosn left from. Prosecutors say Ghosn broke the law by violating bail conditions that required him to stay in Japan, mostly at his Tokyo home. “We want to stress that the act of fleeing was clearly wrong,” Saito told reporters. “We need to erase the misunderstanding.”Separately, Saito said prosecutors on Wednesday forced open a lock to search the Tokyo office of Ghosn’s former defense lawyer Junichiro Hironaka for records of people Ghosn met with while out on bail, and other materials. Prosecutors are asking a judge for help in accessing the contents of a computer Ghosn used at Hironaka’s office that the lawyer has refused to hand over, citing attorney-client privilege.
Ghosn has said he is innocent of allegations he under-reported his future income and committed a breach of trust by diverting Nissan money for his personal gain. He says the compensation was never decided on or received, and the Nissan payments were for legitimate business purposes. Ghosn has lashed out at the Japanese judicial system, saying he fled because he could not expect a fair trial, was subjected to unfair conditions in detention and was barred from meeting his wife under his bail conditions. He contends others at Nissan Motor Co., which he led for two decades, drove him out to prevent a fuller merger with its French alliance partner Renault. Ghosn’s dramatic escape, while under the watch of surveillance cameras inside and outside his home is an embarrassment for Japanese authorities. He is believed to have traveled by train to Osaka and then left via Kansai Airport, reportedly by hiding in a box for audio or musical equipment. Ghosn has not shared specifics of his escape. The maximum penalty under Japanese law for illegally leaving the country is one year in prison or 300,000 yen ($2,750) in fines, or both. The maximum penalty for hiding a criminal or helping a criminal escape is three years in prison or 300,000 yen ($2,750) in fines.

With jobs scarce, Lebanon's labour minister pushes low-wage work
Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
Lamia Yammine says the unemployed should take restaurant and other low-paying jobs they 'usually wouldn't work in'.
Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanon's new Labour Minister Lamia Yammine on Thursday said Lebanese citizens will have to take on low-skilled jobs traditionally filled by migrant workers to cope with the effects of the country's worst economic crisis in a generation.
"It's difficult to create job opportunities in this economy, that will be up to a comprehensive government plan," Yammine told Al Jazeera in a phone interview. "But what we can do is encourage Lebanese, via a campaign, to take jobs they wouldn't usually work in - for example in restaurants, at fuel stations and at the airport."This means many employees accustomed to salaried jobs with benefits could find themselves taking low-skilled jobs with hourly or low pay - a sign of the large social shift that the country's crisis may force upon the population.
Lebanon's mismanaged economy has been stagnant for nearly a decade. The crisis has deepened in recent months with an acute dollar shortage leading banks to restrict foreign currency withdrawals in the heavily dollarised economy, crushing imports.
The Lebanese pound has been pegged to the United States dollar since 1997 at 1500 to one greenback. That generous valuation gave locals a relatively high standard of living even as the country produced little and lived off imports. But on parallel markets, the Lebanese pound is now worth at least 25 percent less than the official exchange rate, and the currency's value could fall even further, along with living standards.
Scores of business have closed down and thousands of employees have been laid off or had their working hours and wages slashed. Meanwhile, prices of everyday goods have gone up.
The World Bank last year estimated that up to half of Lebanon's population could fall into poverty, up from 30 percent in 2018. Unemployment, "especially among youth, is already high and could further rise sharply", the development bank cautioned.
Lebanon is also suffering from a political crisis. Thousands have been taking to the streets for more than 100 days to demand a productive economy, an end to corruption and the ouster of sectarian leaders who have ruled the country since its civil war ended in 1990.
Those protesters brought down the government of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on October 29. Yammine is part of a new government of 20 ministers - most of them technocrats - formed last week by former education minister and new Prime Minister Hassan Diab. "We are working on an emergency plan to deal with people being laid off, to mediate between employer and employee," Yammine said. "We can't prevent companies from taking this step, but we can exert pressure to get the best results possible."
Stopgap initiative
Some people in Lebanon, like 24-year-old Marc Darido and 22-year-old Rudy Hanna, are coping with layoffs in a creative manner, albeit only with the short-term fix in mind. Darido said he was laid off from a salaried job as a sales manager due to his participation in the Lebanese uprising. Hanna was let go soon afterwards, due to financial troubles at his previous employer, where he worked in business development. Like most highly-educated Lebanese, Darido and Hanna both hold degrees - in hospitality management and computer science, respectively.
But with jobs scarce, Darido soon found himself unable to pay rent. He was ready to head back to his hometown of Zahle in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley when he and Hanna came up with a plan. The duo headed down to Beirut's Martyrs' Square - the epicentre of the protest movement - with a juicer and a traditional Lebanese saj, a large, gas-fired stove used to make flatbread with cheese or zaatar. Dressed in suits and ties, they plastered their degrees on the front of the stove, along with a sign reading "we got fired but won't give up" and their business - Thawra Saj (Revolution Saj) - was born.
"There is no shame in work," Darido told Al Jazeera, though he is the first to admit he doesn't see a future for himself making flatbread. "We also want to point out that Lebanese people have so much potential, but the country's leaders have trashed the economy and now we're here," he said. "I still see a lot of hope as long as we can get jobs that provide insurance and Lebanese realise we don't need foreign workers to do everything for us," Darido said.
Crackdown on foreign labour
As part of her plan for the labour ministry, Yammine said she would continue a process that began under her predecessor to have foreigners apply for work permits, rather than work without proper documentation. "The priority has to be for Lebanese - foreign workers are here and have rights - but we need to organise them better," she said. In Lebanon, "foreign workers" mostly refers to Palestinian and Syrian refugees, of which there are roughly 175,000 and one million, respectively. The vast majority of Palestinians in Lebanon were born in Lebanon but do not have work permits due to restrictive conditions and a lack of personal documentation. Meanwhile, only a couple thousand Syrians have work permits even though around half a million of them work in Lebanon, former Labour Minister Camille Abousleiman said last year. Inspectors have issued thousands of fines and warnings and closed businesses since the crackdown was launched in July of last year. Palestinians in particular have vehemently rejected it and launched a series of protests and strikes over the summer. Abousleiman insisted he was simply implementing Lebanese laws, which ban Palestinian refugees from working in roughly 70 professions and from owning property. Palestinians, meanwhile, have argued they are unjustly targeted by the campaign because, as refugees, many don't possess the basic documents necessary to obtain labour permits.
Reforming the kafala system
Lebanese and foreign activists have long demanded that Lebanon reform its kafala system for migrant workers, which has repeatedly been shown to facilitate employer abuse. Under the system, workers can only terminate their contracts with employer approval, which can foster forced labour conditions.
Abousleiman had likened the system to "modern-day slavery" and brought in top rights groups and the International Labour Organization to reform it. Just as the Lebanese uprising began last fall, he had been set to launch the first phase - a new contract that would extend the labour protections that are granted to Lebanese citizens and give them to migrant workers. Yammine said she was taking the torch from Abousleiman on the issue, including on the new labour contract that she said is part of the ministry's emergency plan. "I'm obviously totally against slavery of these people, we need to treat them well," she said.

Israeli Security head: Stifle Hezbollah financially to press Iran/US official: ‘Maximum pressure’ on Tehran has been ‘tremendously successful’
Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/Januiary 30/2020
US President Donald Trump is missing an opportunity to change Iran’s behavior by pressuring Hezbollah financially as a weak link, former National Security Council chief Brig.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland said on Thursday.
Speaking from the INSS Annual International Conference in Tel Aviv, Eiland said the new Lebanese government is racing around the world to foreign governments and banks to obtain enough aid to avoid a broad financial default.
“This is exactly the time that the answer from all American and EU institutions should be to tell the Lebanese government: we will give you loans based on certain economic conditions, and… you must be committed to at least two modest moves,” said Eiland.
The former national security council chief said that his two conditions would be: “1) sign and commit that there will be no production of precision missiles on Lebanese land, and; 2) whatever arms Hezbollah already has, is yours, but a commitment not to import more weapons from Syria and Iran.
“If the Lebanese people understand that this is the only way their economy will recover… that Hezbollah agree to these conditions, then Iran will need to comply,” he stated.
“Hezbollah is a political movement and it depends on internal legitimacy among the people of Lebanon. This is the right way to push Iran – not directly against Iran, but to do it in another area.”
Earlier at the conference, INSS Iran expert Raz Zimmt pressed US State Department sanctions official David Peyman about whether the Trump “maximum pressure” campaign has succeeded or failed.
Zimmt pointed out that some are saying that as of January, Iran is now closer to a nuclear bomb and more aggressive in the Middle East than it was before the pressure campaign started.
Peyman responded: “We only reimposed sanctions fully 14 months ago and additional waivers only expired about eight months ago. That is a short amount of time. In that short amount of time, it has been tremendously successful.”
“Iran is now telling Iraqi Shi’ite militias ‘we won’t fund you anymore. Iran has cut its defense budget by 29%. The IRGC has been cut by 17%. Hezbollah is looking for donations. 17 out of 18 Iranian pension funds are failing,” stated Peyman.
Further, Peyman asserted that the EU was now threatening Iran with potential snapback sanctions and that the Islamic Republic’s killing of 1,500 of its own people showed that the ruling regime is more isolated and shaken than ever before.
“Iran has a choice: it can continue its malign activities or continue on life support,” said Peyman, implying that Tehran may be able to continue in its current condition, but that it is taking a heavy toll on the regime.
In contrast, French Ambassador to Israel Eric Danon said, “Iran knows how to suffer. They will outlast the Trump sanctions… They are incredibly resilient,” adding also that it would be hard to force Iran to change its policies as long as China and Russia still backed it.
When Zimmt raised the possibility of France’s compromise of a partial Iranian return to nuclear compliance in return for a partial sanctions’ waiver by the US, followed by talks, Peyman rejected it out of hand.
In terms of deterrence, former senior Mossad analyst and current INSS expert Sima Shine said she believed that Trump had restored a favorable balance not only by killing IRGC Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani, but also by his threat to strike 52 Iranian targets.
After the US killed Soleimani in early January, Iran and the US each issued threats, and Trump threatened a major escalation of striking 52 Iranian targets if Tehran’s retaliation led to additional dead US troops.
Ultimately, Iranian affiliated forces fired missiles on US bases in Iraq, injuring dozens of troops, but killing none. Trump declared the crisis over, and while many estimate that the Islamic Republic may clandestinely carry out additional proxy revenge attacks, there has been no additional public retaliation.
Going forward, Eiland said he expects Iran will try to wait out Trump, hoping that a more friendly Democrat will beat him in the November presidential election.
In the event Trump wins, Eiland said Iran might seek a compromise if it could at least declare in public that it only made minor concessions as a gesture of goodwill.
Summing up the Trump administration’s Iran strategy, Iran expert Holly Dagres said it was “like a Jackson Pollock painting” in being chaotic and inconsistent. She predicted he would eventually need to agree to a deal not much different from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal he pulled out of.
Former Bush administration official Michael Doran credited Trump with realizing that, “the US is a hell of a lot more powerful than Iran,” and that if Tehran uses proxies to hit US forces in Iraq, he can draw blood in a way that is more painful to the Islamic Republic in order to bring it to heel.

What Are the Top Three Priorities for Lebanon's New Government in the Coming Weeks?
Michael Young/Carnegie MEC/January 30/2020
A regular survey of experts on matters relating to Middle Eastern and North African politics and security.
Nasser al-Saidi | President of Nasser Saidi & Associates, former Lebanese economy minister
The Lebanese government must focus, first, on a macro-fiscal-financial-banking program. Lebanon’s key macroeconomic indicators point to a severe economic, financial, banking, currency, and current account crisis: a fiscal deficit of 15 percent of GDP and climbing; a sovereign debt equivalent to 160 percent or more of GDP; inflation nearing 30 percent; a depreciation of the Lebanese pound in the parallel market of around 40 percent; and officially declared international reserves of $31.5 billion, while Morgan Stanley estimated net reserves at $11.5 billion at the end of 2019.
The immediate step required is for a ministerial crisis task force (not another “committee”) tasked to prepare a macro-fiscal-financial-banking reform plan, in coordination with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to include sovereign and central bank debt restructuring. The aim is to rapidly, within the next four weeks, establish an Economic Stabilization and Liquidity Fund for Lebanon, multilaterally funded by the IMF and World Bank, along with the Paris IV participants amounting to some $25 billion in order to stabilize the economy, support growth promoting infrastructure investment (in partnership with the private sector), fiscal reform, balance of payments support, banking sector (including the central bank) restructuring and debt restructuring, by providing guarantees of principal of restructured, longer maturity debt.
Second, the government must provide a social safety net. The sharp drop in economic activity (given the lack of government, business, and consumer confidence amid growing protests) has led to growing layoffs and unemployment, business closures and bankruptcies, falling incomes, a severe decline in household consumption, thereby pushing more people into poverty. The World Bank estimates the extreme poverty rate, that is people below the food poverty level, at 20 percent of the population (760,000)*, while 41 percent of the population (1,500,000) is below the poverty line. The government needs to set-up a targeted social safety net (via cash transfers mainly) to provide support for the elderly and most vulnerable segments during the painful reform process, with the aim of lowering inequality and reducing poverty in the medium term.
Third, the government must introduce an anti-corruption and stolen asset recovery program. Endemic corruption, bribery, nepotism are a cancer eating and destroying Lebanon’s economy and its social and political fabric. Lebanon is the 37th most corrupt nation out of total 180 countries. Protestors have, justifiably, focused on high-level corruption. The new government must prioritize combating corruption at all levels by appointing and empowering a special anti-corruption prosecutor and unit and implementing an anti-corruption program with respect to taxation and revenue collection as well as reforming government procurement law and procedures. In addition, the state must recover assets that have illicitly and criminally appropriated by politicians and their associates.
Recovering stolen assets can be a wealth-generating strategy if implemented properly with complete transparency. Lebanon will require international cooperation and building appropriate capacity to support asset recovery. It must abolish the Banking Secrecy Law of 1956, lifting the veil on the misappropriated monies and assets of politicians, their cronies, and civil servants.
Mona Alami | Senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council and Trends Research covering Middle East politics and economic issues
The new Lebanese government faces major challenges in the months ahead. Its three main priorities are undoubtedly addressing the economic crisis, adopting a foreign policy more reassuring to the international community and Gulf Arab states, as well as reconciling competing political agendas within the cabinet to avoid paralysis.
Addressing the economic collapse requires that the new government secure much needed liquidity to finance Lebanon’s basic needs in the coming year, estimated by economists at a minimum of $5 billion. The cabinet will also have to take measures to limit the devaluation of the Lebanese pound, reduce the country’s debt liability, with a possible restructuring, as well as create a clear legal framework for capital controls—so far applied haphazardly and illegally by the banking sector. Unlocking international donor funds will also require the implementation of reforms envisioned by the CEDRE conference held in Paris in April 2018 to assist Lebanon, including ones linked to fighting corruption.
Adopting a more appeasing foreign policy is thus of the utmost importance in the next phase, as the new government needs all the help it can get, more specifically from Arab countries. Finally, the government will have to harmonize dissonant voices within its ranks to avoid paralysis. Government deadlock would only accelerate the collapse of the economy and increase political instability.
Daniel Azzi | Retired chairman and CEO of a Lebanese bank
The government should immediately pass a clear and transparent capital controls law to replace the capricious practices currently being imposed by banks, which are decentralized to the branch level and riddled with favoritism. The cherry on top would be to apply this retroactively to politically exposed persons, or those connected with them, going back to October 17, 2019, when the uprising began.
Do not default on Eurobonds. In the future, when we rebuild from the carnage of this period, we will need those foreigners who loaned us money in the past. Come clean with the Lebanese people about the reality of their deposits, among other things. Announce a specific plan of action to remove uncertainty, which is causing a great deal of instability in the market and the street. Once people are clear on the extent of the bad news, they can deal with it much more easily than today, when rumors and guesswork are driving reactions.
Pass and announce a haircut law that primarily limits the damage to 0.3 percent of depositors—circa 6,000 people with an average wealth of over $10 million, proportional to the excess interest received above a reasonable amount (say 7 percent). Ultimately this interest was not created from a legitimate cash-producing enterprise, but, like a Ponzi scheme, from the principal of newer investors.
Maha Yahya | Director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut
Three actions must be taken in parallel. First, the government must form an empowered economic emergency crisis team that would include key ministries and top Lebanese experts willing to serve. The role of this commission would be to put in place a rescue plan focused on a policy mix most suitable for Lebanon, but based on equitable burden sharing and the preservation of the wealth especially of the middle and lower middle class. The aim would be to stem a deepening recession that could reach double digits if nothing is done and slow the debilitating repercussions on the Lebanese, including expanding poverty. This would include controlling currency devaluation, addressing ad hoc capital controls, and calling for a debt moratorium. It would also include preserving remaining financial reserves to support the purchase of basic goods and other primary spending and putting in place a social protection plan and an efficient, environmentally sound plan to address the electricity sector.
Second, Lebanon must seek external support based on an economic rescue and reform plan. It needs an immediate dispersal of cash so that the downward spiral of the economy doesn’t spin completely out of control. Such funding is most likely to come from the International Monetary Fund and Western donors.
Third, the government must close the trust gap with the Lebanese. To do so, it can support the independence of the judiciary and commence work on a new electoral law. The pain the Lebanese will need to bear for decades of mismanagement of their country’s resources can only be softened if there is a credible political process that tells them never again.
* The figure has been corrected, as the original figure of 250,000 was wrong.

Lebanon's protests: The limit of rage
Habib Battahi/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
A zero-sum approach to Lebanese politics will undermine the protest movement.
As a group of protesters tore down the iron gates outside the prime minister's office in downtown Beirut last weekend, battling riot police, water cannon and tear gas for the third time in a week, I wondered what would happen if the police simply stood back and let them inside.
Would they bash through the ornately carved wooden doors of the 200-year-old Ottoman palace, spray painting its luxurious interiors with anarchist signs and graffiti cursing politicians' mothers as they had done throughout the upscale downtown district? Would they shatter the stained glass windows and gilded chandeliers or stain its shiny Italian marble floors and fountains?Gutted by the civil war, the seat of government known as the Grand Serail was burned and looted, only to be restored in the late 1990s at a cost of millions of dollars. This came at a time when many Lebanese were still reeling from the war, waiting in long lines for water or sitting in the dark because basic infrastructure had not been repaired.
Tarnishing this symbol of state power and elitism would surely help blow off steam having endured so much pain and suffering and police brutality. But then what?
The last three months of street protests have been relatively peaceful, drawing women, men and children of all ages from towns and villages that had never before witnessed protests. But this has changed over the past two weeks as much smaller numbers of mostly young men have turned to rioting in central Beirut amid an uptick in police assaults and arrests. The masked protesters have destroyed ATMs, broken shop windows, and peeled granite tiles off the facades of buildings to crush and hurl them at police.
But how will destroying public and private property set the country on a path towards a brighter future? Will it solve the problem of continuing electricity and water shortages, rampant poverty, pollution and high unemployment? Will it stem the rapidly devaluing Lebanese currency, alleviate a crippling national debt or lift capital controls issued by local banks that have prevented the average citizen from withdrawing more than a few hundred dollars per month?
While the protests have already resulted in some important changes, it is increasingly difficult to imagine how all of their demands can be met. Beyond a reasonable call for a change in government leadership and a vague fight against corruption, these demands also include a far less realistic call for abolishing the country's entire political system and preventing any previously elected political party from participating in government.
Meanwhile, the increasingly violent tactics on the part of a group of a few hundred rioters - whose small numbers pale in comparison to the tens of thousands that once filled the streets - are clearly unpopular with many, if not most of the Lebanese people, as they remain at home, watching the destructive scenes unfold on television.
In the first two weeks of the uprising, the fall of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was a major victory. This came after hundreds of thousands of people filled public squares and blocked highways. It was an unprecedented euphoric moment in the history of Lebanon, where only political elites have had a say in who runs the country.
The resignation proved that there was power in the streets, a power outside the political system that could compete in elections.
This incredible new phenomenon was reinforced when crowds filled the streets once again after two well-connected businessmen were successively suggested as Hariri's replacement and eventually forced aside.
Now after weeks of delays, a new government has finally been formed consisting mostly of college professors, almost none of whom has ever served in government. Some have pointed out that at least half of the new ministers served as advisers or supporters of past politicians, mostly tied to the party of the president and his allies.
But it would be a mistake to assume this latest government is no different than the previous ones. In line with protesters' demands, it is one third smaller, contains far more women, no familiar faces and even a few ministers who have a proven track record of experience in their fields, a rarity in Lebanese politics.
Nevertheless, some have responded to the formation of the government with the most popular slogan of the revolution, "All means all!", ie any new government should be completely free from the influence of the dozen or so political parties that have ruled Lebanon for the past several decades, the only political parties the country has ever known. In their street rallies, protesters have lambasted the entire political class as thieves and thugs.
Most Lebanese may partially agree with this sentiment out of frustration. But such sweeping generalisations also obscure the peculiar arrangement that is post-war power-sharing in Lebanon: a delicate "no victor, no vanquished" system where no party or administration is completely in control of the state.
Owing to this arrangement, government projects and services are regularly halted, not just because of incompetence or negligence, but also due to ruthless competition and sabotage between rival parties over lucrative infrastructure contracts. They are left to battle each other in a vacuum of any central arbitration or regulatory organisation that would have a final say. This means Lebanon is not really a failed state, as many foreign observers like to claim, but barely a state at all.
The argument that banning any person or party that has ever served in a country's politics will alleviate its myriad of dysfunctions fails to address deeper structural problems. These include an unproductive economy that generates few products or jobs beyond services and tourism frequently beset by wars and instability; a lack of long-term planning due to the short-lived nature of Lebanese governments, often dissolved within a year over competing foreign interests; and broken, underfunded and understaffed state institutions never rebuilt after the war.
The "all means all" mentality also discounts the views of a significant portion of the population that has repeatedly elected the current parties to power, dependent upon their well-established patronage networks that provide social services where the state is absent.
The language many activists use in rallying against "the corrupt" and for "the clean" is not entirely new or revolutionary behaviour. It is similar to the zero-sum rhetoric of Lebanese politicians castigating their opponents on talk shows. What this superficial discourse and deliberate ambiguity always lacked were the details of a political alternative that could ensure meaningful accountability.
Most of the young protesters battling riot police in the streets of Beirut today were born after the civil war. While some claim they are fighting to feed their families and pay their rent, others come from more privileged backgrounds, donning sophisticated gear and gas masks.
They are just waking up to the difficult reality Lebanon has faced for its entire existence as a weak, post-colonial proxy state with few resources and very powerful, manipulative neighbours. They should know that the ruling parties they loathe also came to power through a belief in violent confrontation.
Many of them were militia leaders who also saw themselves as revolutionaries. Many did not come from wealthy, well-connected families - they seized what they felt was owed to them by the feudal landowning class or other militias.
These parties now seem to be looking for a way to capitalise on the chaos in the streets. Some militant protesters have admitted that they have seen party loyalists join the confrontations. This is not to say that others have come of their own will and out of sheer frustration.
But if protesters want to see meaningful political and social change, they should resist the urge to fall into simplistic explanations and demagoguery, which will only undermine the protest movement and its impressive gains. It is distressing to hear that some are willing to destroy all state structures to meet their objectives, which has led to the violent and tragic downfall of so many opposition movements across the region.
It will take research and steady dedication to pinpoint problems and put forward concrete proposals to gain the support of the majority of the population. Some are already working on this and have been for years. Their efforts should be encouraged, not discarded as weak or even treasonous.
One of the greatest assets of the revolution has been a renewed sense of defiance towards ruling elites and demands for their accountability. But who can be held accountable if there is no one in office?
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
*Habib Battah is an investigative journalist and founder of the news site beirutreport.com.

Trump's Middle East plan leaves Palestinians in Lebanon hopeless
Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
Palestinian refugees in Lebanese camps pessimistic as Trump's 'deal of the century' includes no right of return.
Beirut, Lebanon - Abu Khaled has never been to his hometown of Jaffa. His parents were expelled from the port city along with about 120,000 other residents when it came under Israeli control following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. They eventually settled in Beirut, in what is today the Shatila Palestinian Refugee Camp, where Abu Khaled was born in 1959.
The father of two said he would die a happy man if he could one day see the town of his ancestors. But under the "Peace to Prosperity" plan released by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, that prospect appears remoter than ever.
Under the plan, also referred to as the "deal of the century", the majority of the territory that is now Israel and the occupied West Bank would formally become part of the Israeli, with illegal settlements and the Jordan Valley annexed. The occupied Golan Heights would also be annexed to Israel.
A second entity, referred to as the "future state of Palestine", appears on a conceptual map as an archipelago of disjointed territories connected by a number of roads and tunnels. It is wholly surrounded by Israel, except for a small sliver of territory in Gaza that borders Egypt.
The proposed Palestinian state does not include Jaffa, one of the oldest port cities in the world, to which roughly 15 percent of Palestinian refugees trace their heritage. Palestinians would have no right of return there under the plan.Instead, Abu Khaled could remain in Lebanon, go to the new Palestinian state, or apply to resettle in a number of undisclosed countries that are part of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation.
He said the humiliation the proposal entails is too great for it to be taken seriously. "I'm very pessimistic, I don't think we'll ever go back in my lifetime," he told Al Jazeera.
"Neither is Palestine going to be liberated by force - that's all nonsense - nor will we go there as free people via airplane," he said.
"This plan is rejected by everyone, all we can do is wait for something better."In response to the announcement of the plan, Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon announced a general strike on Wednesday. Schools and shops were closed in at least two, including the biggest Palestinian camp, Ain al-Hilweh in southern Sidon.
There, protesters burned American and Israeli flags while local Palestinian security forces brandished weapons.
"The US-Israeli conspiracy led by Trump and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will not pass, and will fail due to Palestinian opposition and the clear stance from Jerusalem and refugees," Maher Shabaita, the local secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a televised statement from Ain al-Hilweh.
Demonstrators set fire to a makeshift Israeli and U.S. flag during a protest against U.S. President Donald TrumpÕs Middle East peace plan, in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, near Sidon
Restrictions in Lebanon
While there were at one point roughly half a million Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, a 2018 survey found there were just some 175,000 living there now. Conditions have long been difficult for Palestinians in a country that has imposed restrictions on everything from place of residence to the types of jobs they can perform, under an official policy that sees them as short-term guests even though most were born and raised in Lebanon.
"I feel more Lebanese than Palestinian - this doesn't mean I would let Palestine go, but of course my life would change if I could get Lebanese citizenship," 29-year old Abu Hasan told Al Jazeera.
Abu Hasan is ancestrally from the Palestinian town of Saffuriyeh, which was all but destroyed after it came under Israeli control in 1948.
Because he does not have Lebanese citizenship, Abu Hasan said he was fired from his job at a glass factory after his bosses feared being fined during a labour ministry crackdown on foreign workers.
Trump's Middle East plan denies Palestinians right of return (2:42)
Palestinians are prevented from working in dozens of professions, ranging from engineering and medicine to driving a taxi and fishing.
These restrictions forced Abu Khaled's son, an engineer, to travel to Germany for work, while his daughter, who studied to be a pharmacist, has been unable to find a job. "As soon as they see 'Palestinian' on the CV, they decline," he said.
Making matters worse, Lebanon is in the midst of its worst economic crisis in a generation, with scores of businesses closing down, hundreds of workers losing their jobs and thousands of salaries slashed.
"There is no mercy for Lebanese in Lebanon, so how do you think it is for us?" Abu Hasan said. "We're stuck here as the country collapses, and I have no hope we'll be able to leave. I will die here just like my father and grandfather."
The restrictions on Palestinian participation in political and economic life in Lebanon have long been justified by successive governments on sectarian grounds. Palestinians are mostly Sunni Muslim, while Lebanon is roughly a third Sunni, a third Shia Muslim and a third Christian, and has a political system based on the representation of sects.
Christian groups have long opposed permanent Palestinian settlement in the country over fears it would curb their political influence.
This means the majority of Palestinians in Lebanon are forced to live in cramped camps with poor sanitation and public services, much like Beirut's Shatila camp. Inside, a thicket of electricity wires hangs between crumbling, pock-marked concrete buildings, many several-storeys high despite having no foundations. Tarpaulins are draped over the electricity wires to shield the streets below from rain. The camp's shallow sewage system overflows, putrid water spilling into alleyways crowded with stalls, motorcycle traffic and pedestrians.
Billion-dollar 'bribe' Aside from its political dimension, the Trump proposal also includes an economic plan that offers tens of billions of dollars in funds to Palestinians and nations in the region that host Palestinian refugees, including Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.
Half of the funds would come in the form of grants, the rest in subsidised loans and private investment. A total of $6.3bn is earmarked for Lebanon, approximately $4.6bn in loans, $1.2bn in private investment and $450m in grants. The proposal does not specify the conditions under which this money would be unlocked. The bulk of the money would go on improving Lebanon's crumbling highways and building a rail network - with the potential for a "regional railway network" - collectively priced at $5bn, mostly in loans.
A further $1bn would go to expanding Beirut's airport and seaports in Beirut and Tripoli. Lebanon is badly in need of foreign help. It is the third-most indebted nation in the world as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) and a dollar shortage have made it increasingly likely Beirut will soon default on debt repayments.Experts have said the country may need a $20-25bn bailout to emerge from the crisis.
Still, Lebanese leaders unanimously rejected the Trump plan, with House Speaker Nabih Berri likening it to a "bribe".
President Michel Aoun called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to personally convey his opposition to it, while new Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti told Sky News Arabia: "No one gives up their national identity in exchange for material temptations. The Palestinian people cannot be dispossessed in exchange for financial aid."

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January30-31/2020
UN agency declares global emergency over virus from China
Associated Press/January 30/2020
The U.N. health agency defines an international emergency as an “extraordinary event” that constitutes a risk to other countries and requires a coordinated international response.
GENEVA: The World Health Organization declared the outbreak sparked by a new virus in China that has been exported to more than a dozen countries as a global emergency Thursday after the number of cases spiked more than tenfold in a week.
The U.N. health agency defines an international emergency as an “extraordinary event” that constitutes a risk to other countries and requires a coordinated international response.
China first informed WHO about cases of the new virus in late December. To date, China has reported more than 7,800 cases including 170 deaths. Eighteen other countries have since reported cases, as scientists race to understand how exactly the virus is spreading and how severe it is.
Experts say there is significant evidence the virus is spreading among people in China and have noted with concern instances in other countries — including the United States, France, Japan, Germany, Canada, and Vietnam — where there have also been isolated cases of human-to-human transmission.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted the worrisome spread of the virus between people outside China. The main reason for this declaration is not because of what is happening in China but because of what is happening in other countries, he said. “Our greatest concern is the potential for this virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems that are ill-prepared to deal with it.”
“This declaration is not a vote of non-confidence in China...on the contrary, WHO continues to have the confidence in China’s capacity to control the outbreak,” he said.
On Thursday, France confirmed that a doctor who was in contact with a patient with the new virus later became infected himself. The doctor is now being treated in an isolated room at a Paris hospital. Outbreak specialists worry that the spread of new viruses from patients to health workers can signal the virus is becoming adapted to human transmission.
A declaration of a global emergency typically brings greater money and resources, but may also prompt nervous governments to restrict travel and trade to affected countries. The announcement also imposes more disease reporting requirements on countries.
China raised the death toll to 170 on Thursday and more countries reported infections, including some spread locally, as foreign evacuees from China’s worst-hit region returned home to medical tests and even isolation.
Russia announced it was closing its 2,600-mile border with China, joining Mongolia and North Korea in barring crossings to guard against a new viral outbreak. It had been de facto closed because of the Lunar New Year holiday, but Russian authorities said the closure would be extended until March 1. Train traffic between the countries was halted except for one train connecting Moscow and Beijing, but air traffic between the two countries continued, at least for now. Russia has not confirmed any cases of the virus.
Meanwhile, the United States and South Korea confirmed their first cases of the person-to-person spread of the virus. The man in the U.S. is married to a 60-year-old Chicago woman who got sick from the virus after she returned from a trip to Wuhan, the Chinese city that is the epicenter of the outbreak.
There have been cases reported of the infectious virus spreading to others in a household or workplace in China and elsewhere. The case in South Korea was a 56-year-old man who had contact with a patient who was diagnosed with the new virus earlier.
The new virus has now infected more people in China than were sickened there during the 2002-2003 outbreak of SARS, a cousin of the new virus.
The latest figures for mainland China show an increase of 38 deaths and 1,737 cases for a total of 7,736 confirmed cases. Of the new deaths, 37 were in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, and one was in the southwestern province of Sichuan. Outside China, there are 82 infections in 18 countries, according to WHO.
China extended its Lunar New Year holiday to Sunday to try to keep people home, but the wave of returning travelers could potentially cause the virus to spread further. Transport ministry spokesman Wu Chungeng outlined a series of rigorous temperature checks and other “severe measures” to detect possibly infectious passengers. Transport restrictions such as those isolating Wuhan and suspending inter-provincial bus services would remain in place, Wu said. “It’s definitely very challenging, but we’re confident we can exert effective control,” Wu told reporters at the briefing.
To date, about 99% of the cases are in China. Ryan estimated the death rate of the new virus at 2%, but said the figure was very preliminary. With fluctuating numbers of cases and deaths, scientists are only able to produce a rough estimate of the fatality rate and it’s likely many milder cases of the virus are being missed. In comparison, the SARS virus killed about 10% of people who caught it. The new virus is from the coronavirus family, which includes those that can cause the common cold as well as more serious illnesses such as SARS and MERS. Chinese authorities have demanded anyone who traveled from or through Wuhan report to health authorities and self-quarantine themselves for 14 days, the maximum incubation period during which patients can be infectious even if they don’t show symptoms.
China has been largely praised for a swift and effective response to the outbreak, although questions have been raised about the police suppression of what was early on considered mere rumors — a reflection of the one-party Communist state’s determination to maintain a monopoly on information in spite of smartphones and social media.
That stands in stark contrast to the initial response to SARS when medical reports were hidden as state secrets. The delayed response was blamed for allowing the disease to spread worldwide, killing around 800 people.

China Counts 170 Virus Deaths, New Countries Find Infections
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 30/2020
China counted 170 deaths from a new virus Thursday and more countries reported infections, including some spread locally, as foreign evacuees from China's worst-hit region returned home to medical observation and even isolation. India and the Philippines reported their first cases, in a traveler and a student who had both been in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the new type of coronavirus first surfaced in December. South Korea confirmed a case that was locally spread, in a man who had contact with a patient diagnosed earlier.
Locally spread cases outside China have been a worrying concern among global health officials, as potential signs of the virus spreading more easily and the difficulty of containing it. The World Health Organization is reconvening experts on Thursday to assess whether the outbreak should be declared a global emergency.
The new virus has now infected more people in China than were sickened there during the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak.
Thursday's figures for mainland China cover the previous 24 hours and represent an increase of 38 deaths and 1,737 cases for a total of 7,711. Of the new deaths, 37 were in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, and one was in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
Three of Japan's confirmed cases were among a group of evacuees who returned on a government-chartered flight from Wuhan on Wednesday. Japan's foreign ministry said a second flight carrying 210 Japanese evacuees landed Thursday at Tokyo's Haneda airport. Reports said nine of those aboard the flight showed signs of cough and fever.
India's health ministry said a student in Kerala state who had been studying in Wuhan was confirmed to have the virus after returning home during the Lunar New Year break. Philippine health officials say a woman who traveled to the country from Wuhan via Hong Kong had tested positive.
The United States evacuated 195 Americans from Wuhan who are being tested and monitored at a Southern California military base. A statement from the Embassy in Beijing said additional evacuation flights were being planned for Monday or surrounding days.
France, New Zealand, Australia, India, Singapore and other countries are also trying to get out their citizens. Taiwan, the self-governing republic China considers its own territory, has also asked to be able to repatriate its passport holders from Wuhan, but it, and the United Kingdom, said they were awaiting approval from Beijing.
In South Korea, residents in two cities where quarantine facilities are being prepared threw eggs and water bottles at government officials to protest plans to isolate in the neighborhood 700 South Koreans the government plans to evacuate from China. Amid reports of shortages in food and daily necessities in hot-spot areas, Chinese authorities are "stepping up efforts to ensure continuous supply and stable prices," the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
It cited Ministry of Commerce data showing current reserves in Wuhan can ensure a secure supply of rice and cooking oil for more than 15 days, pork and eggs for more than 10 days and vegetables for about five days.
China's highly developed online shopping and home delivery businesses were important in ensuring those confined to home by choice or by order could get food and other essentials.
"I'd just like to ask that folks don't order anything other than the daily necessities," Hou Yanbo, deputy director of market supervision from the National Post Administration, told reporters at a daily briefing.
China extended its Lunar New Year holiday to Sunday to try to contain the virus, but the wave of returning travelers could potentially cause the virus to further spread. Transport ministry spokesman Wu Chungeng outlined a series of rigorous temperature checks and other "severe measures" to detect possibly infectious passengers. Transport restrictions such as those isolating Wuhan and suspending inter-provincial bus services would remain in place, Wu said. "It's definitely very challenging, but we're confident we can exert effective control," Wu told reporters at the briefing.
School openings in Hong Kong, Beijing and other regions have been extended by at least two weeks.
The WHO emergencies chief, Michael Ryan, spoke in Geneva after returning from Beijing. He said China was taking "extraordinary measures in the face of an extraordinary challenge" posed by the outbreak.
To date, about 99% of the cases are in China. Ryan estimated the death rate of the new virus at 2%, but said the figure was very preliminary. With fluctuating numbers of cases and deaths, scientists are only able to produce a rough estimate of the fatality rate and it's likely many milder cases of the virus are being missed. In comparison, the SARS virus killed about 10% of people who caught it. The new virus is from the coronavirus family, which includes those that can cause the common cold as well as more serious illnesses such as SARS and MERS. Scientists say there are many questions to be answered about the new virus, including just how easily it spreads and how severe it is.
Chinese authorities have demanded anyone who traveled from or through Wuhan report to health authorities and self-quarantine themselves for 14 days, the maximum incubation period during which patients can be infectious even if they don't show symptoms.
China has been largely praised for a swift and effective response to the outbreak, although questions have been raised about the police suppression of what were early on considered mere rumors — a reflection of the one-party Communist state's determination to maintain a monopoly on information in spite of smart phones and social media.
That stands in stark contrast to the initial response to SARS, when medical reports were hidden as state secrets. The delayed response was blamed for allowing the disease to spread worldwide, killing around 800 people.
This time, in addition to working with WHO, China's health minister Ma Xiaowei has been in touch with foreign colleagues, including U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar.

Netanyahu Tells Putin Mideast Deal a 'New Opportunity'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 30/2020
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday hailed US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan as a new opportunity after flying to Moscow to discuss it with President Vladimir Putin. "I think there's a new and perhaps unique opportunity here," said the Israeli premier, who stood alongside Trump at the White House when the plan was announced Tuesday and called it a victory for Israel. Trump's plan angered Palestinians by proposing Israel retain control over Jerusalem as its "undivided capital" and giving the green light to annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank. "I'd like to speak to you and hear your insights and see how we can combine all our forces for security and peace," Netanyahu told Putin at the start of their Kremlin meeting. "You're actually the first leader I'm speaking with after my visit to Washington about President Trump's Deal of the Century," he added. The Russian leader did not mention the peace plan in his public remarks. Netanyahu, facing graft charges, is contesting March elections and hoping the proposal will boost his re-election chances. The March 2 vote is Israel's third in less than a year, with polls suggesting the prime minister's rightwing Likud is again neck-and-neck with the centrist Blue and White party led by ex-military chief Benny Gantz. Netanyahu was visiting Russia on the same day that it released a young US-Israeli woman jailed for drug trafficking over a small amount of cannabis found in her luggage as she transited a Moscow airport.
Her case caused an outcry in Israel and her release came after Netanyahu pleaded her case with Putin, who issued a pardon.

Sirens sound in settlements near Gaza border
Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 30 January 2020
Sirens sounded on Thursday in settlements near the border of Gaza city, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent. The sirens were not activated as a result of the launch of rocket-propelled grenades, the correspondent cited the Israeli army as saying. This comes a day after Israel’s army said it was deploying reinforcements in the West Bank and near the Gaza border, amid Palestinian anger over US President Donald Trump's peace plan. “Following the ongoing situation assessment, it has been decided to reinforce the Judea and Samaria and Gaza Divisions with additional combat troops,” the army said, using the biblical terms for the West Bank. (With AFP)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address UN Security Council
AFP/Thursday, 30 January 2020
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit the UN within two weeks to address the Security Council on his rejection of the new US Mideast plan, his ambassador to the body said Wednesday. At that time a draft resolution will be submitted to the council, Riyad Mansour told reporters, without specifying a date for the visit. He said Abbas would take part in an Arab League meeting on Saturday and an African Union summit in February. Before coming to the UN the president might also meet with European Union officials, Mansour said. The diplomat expressed hope that by then an agreement would have been reached on a draft resolution. Palestinians have rejected the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan unveiled Tuesday by President Donald Trump. Among other concessions to Israel, it would give the Jewish state control over Jerusalem as its “undivided” capital and let Israel annex the settlements it has built on Palestinian land in the West Bank.

Iranian factory makes US and Israeli flags to burn
Reuters, Khomein, IranThursday, 30 January 2020
Business is booming at Iran’s largest flag factory which makes US, British and Israeli flags for Iranian protesters to burn. At the factory in the town of Khomein, southwest of the capital Tehran, young men and women print the flags by hand then hang them up to dry. The factory produces about 2,000 US and Israeli flags a month in its busiest periods, and more than 1.5 million square feet of flags a year. Tensions between the United States and Iran have reached the highest level in decades after top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3, prompting Iran to retaliate with a missile attack against a US base in Iraq days later. In state-sponsored rallies and protests in Iran, demonstrators regularly burn the flags of Israel, US and Britain. Ghasem Ghanjani, who owns the Diba Parcham flag factory, said: “We have no problem with the American and British people. We have (a) problem with their governors. We have (a) problem with their presidents, with the wrong policy they have.”“The people of America and Israel know that we have no problem with them. If people burn the flags of these countries at different rallies, it is only to show their protest.”Rezaei, a quality control manager, who declined to give her first name, said, “compared to the cowardly actions of the United States, such as General Soleimani’s assassination, this (burning an American flag) is a minimal thing against them. This is the least that can be done.”For hardliners, anti-American sentiment has always been central to Iran’s Islamic revolution, and Iran’s clerical rulers continue to denounce the United States as the Great Satan. Last November, however, many Iranians took to the streets to protest against the country’s top authorities, chanting “our enemy is not the US, our enemy is here.”During protests this month that erupted after Tehran belatedly admitted shooting down a passenger plane by mistake, young demonstrators in Tehran refused to step on the American flag painted on the street.

Iranian regime does not allow negotiations with ‘enemies’ of Soleimani: Official
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 30 January 2020
Iran will not allow anyone to enter negotiations with the “enemies” of slain military commander Qassem Soleimani, according to a representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. “We do not negotiate with the enemies of Qassem Soleimani and do not allow anyone to do so,” said Ali Shirazi, the Supreme Leader’s representative in Iran’s elite Quds Force – the overseas arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Shirazi’s remarks came in response to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s interview with German news outlet Der Spiegel last week, during which Zarif stated that Iran does not rule out negotiations with the US, even after killing Soleimani. Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad on January 3. “Neither the regime nor the people of Iran, and not even the Resistance Front, allow negotiations with the enemies of General Soleimani,” Shirazi, who was visiting Soleimani’s grave in the city of Kerman, said. The “Resistance Front” is a term used by Iran to refer to its regional allies and proxies. Other top IRGC figures have also voiced their displeasure at Zarif’s remarks. Iran is “doomed to defeat” if it enters negotiations with the “enemy” in the current situation, the head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization Hossein Taeb said on Tuesday, while senior IRGC commander Mohammad Reza Naqdi said that Soleimani’s killing was a consequence of past negotiations with the US.

Swiss humanitarian channel to Iran starts up with trial run
Reuters, Zurich/Thursday, 30 January 2020
A humanitarian channel to bring food and medicine to Iran has started trial operations, the Swiss government said on Thursday, helping supply Swiss goods to the struggling population without tripping over US sanctions. The project, in the works since late 2018, has begun as a trial run with an initial payment for a shipment of cancer drugs and drugs required for organ transplants to Iran worth 2.3 million euros ($2.55 million), the government said. Swiss and US officials had told Reuters last month that the humanitarian channel could be up and running within months. Food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are exempt from sanctions that Washington reimposed last year after US President Donald Trump walked away from a 2015 international deal over Iran’s nuclear program. But the US measures targeting everything from oil sales to shipping and financial activities have deterred several foreign banks from doing business with the Islamic Republic - including humanitarian deals - just as Iran grappled with major protests.

US sanctions Iran’s nuclear organisation, to renew waivers on Iran nuclear work
Reuters/January 30/2020
WASHINGTON: The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on Iran's nuclear entity and its top official, the Treasury Department said, but sources said it will allow Russian, Chinese and European firms to continue work at Iranian nuclear sites to make it harder for that country to develop a nuclear weapon.
The Trump administration, which in 2018 pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran, will let the work go forward by issuing waivers to sanctions that bar non-US firms from dealing with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
The waivers’ renewal for 60 days will allow nonproliferation work to continue at the Arak heavy-water research reactor, the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Tehran Research Reactor and other nuclear cooperation initiatives. "There was a difference of opinion between the US Treasury and State Department. The Treasury won," said a Western diplomat familiar with the issue. "There is an appetite for more sanctions, so this was a surprise; but others argue that these waivers are vital to ensure nonproliferation." A US official confirmed the waivers. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and the organization itself have been placed under US sanctions, according to the Treasury's website. The US special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, is scheduled to hold a news briefing on Thursday afternoon, the State Department said. He is expected to talk about the waivers and fresh sanctions.
Washington in November terminated the sanctions waiver related to Iran’s Fordow nuclear plant after Tehran resumed uranium enrichment at the underground site. There had been a great deal of lobbying in Washington to stop the latest waivers as President Donald Trump seeks to exert more pressure on Iran. It was not immediately clear why Washington had decided to extend the waivers. Under the 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear program in return for the lifting of economic sanctions that had crippled its economy. Trump unilaterally abandoned the deal in May 2018, and reimposed U.S. sanctions in a “maximum pressure” campaign designed to force Iran to return to the negotiating table. The decision to sanction Salehi and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran would have an impact on Iran's nuclear civilian program because it has operational control over the program, including purchasing parts for nuclear facilities. The diplomat said the US had likely opted to extend the Bushehr waiver because the Russian company targeted also provides nuclear fuel to US facilities, causing a potential sanctions headache for the administration.

White House Bars Bolton Book Release over 'Top Secret' Material
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 30/2020
The White House told former national security adviser John Bolton that a book reportedly containing damaging evidence for President Donald Trump cannot be published because it breaks secrecy laws. The warning was made in a letter to Bolton's lawyer dated January 23 but only made public on Wednesday as Trump's impeachment trial intensified in the Senate. The National Security Council said after preliminary review of the manuscript -- a vetting process applied to any White House employees writing books -- that it contained "significant amounts of classified information.""Some of this information is at the TOP SECRET level," the NSC said in a letter to Bolton's lawyer Charles Cooper, adding that "the manuscript may not be published or otherwise disclosed without the deletion of this classified information." Democrats are pressing for the Senate to subpoena Bolton after reports that his White House memoir "The Room Where it Happened" corroborates the abuse-of-power impeachment charge against Trump. Bolton reportedly writes that the president personally told him in August a freeze in military aid to Ukraine was directly linked to Trump's demand that Kiev announce investigations into Joe Biden, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Several hours before the NSC letter went public, Trump lashed out at Bolton on Twitter, saying he had written a "nasty & untrue book. All Classified National Security." Despite the formal review process of Bolton's book, drafts have already circulated around Washington, where the passages describing Trump's relationship with Ukraine caused a sensation. At a news conference in Davos last week, Trump indicated he was worried about Bolton, whom he fired in 2019. Trump said the veteran foreign policy adviser "knows some of my thoughts. He knows what I think about leaders. What happens if he reveals what I think about a certain leader and it's not very positive?"

Iraq president says parliament has three days to come up with new PM
AFP/Thursday, 30 January 2020
Iraq’s president on Wednesday threatened to unilaterally name a successor to the country’s premier, who resigned in December, if parliament did not nominate a candidate within three days. “If the concerned blocs are unable to resolve the nomination issue by no later than Saturday, February 1... I see an obligation to exercise my constitutional powers by tasking whomever I find most acceptable to parliament and the people,” Barham Saleh wrote in a letter seen by AFP. Prime Minister Adil Abdel Mahdi resigned in December after two months of deadly protests against his government, but he has stayed on in a caretaker role, as deeply divided political parties have failed to agree on a replacement. According to Iraq’s constitution, parliament’s largest bloc must nominate a prime minister within 15 days of legislative elections. The candidate is then appointed by the president and tasked with forming a government within one month. But Iraq is in uncharted waters, as the constitution makes no provisions for the prime minister’s resignation and the 15-day period since Abdel Mahdi stepped down has long expired. Any candidate would need stamps of approval from not only the fractured political class but also the Shia religious authority, neighboring Iran, its rival the US and the anti-government civil campaign that has gripped Iraq since October. In late December, Saleh formally declined to nominate the governor of the oil-rich province of Basra, Assaad al-Aidani, saying he would be too “controversial.”

Iraq resumes anti-ISIS operations with US-led coalition
Reuters/Thursday, 30 January 2020
Iraq’s military said on Thursday it was resuming operations with the US-led coalition against ISIS, which it had halted after the killing of Iranian General Qassim Soleimani by US forces and Iran’s retaliatory attacks on bases hosting those forces. The coalition battling ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria suspended most of its operations on January 5 to focus on protecting coalition forces and bases, as tensions with Iran grew. Iraq’s parliament also passed a resolution telling the government to end the presence of foreign troops in the country and ensure they not use its territory for any reason. “In order to exploit the time that remains for the international coalition before the new relationship is set up... It was decided to carry out joint actions,” an Iraqi military statement said. The joint operations include aerial backing for the Iraqi forces depending on their needs, the statement said. Baghdad condemned both the killing of Soleimani and Iran’s missile attacks on two Iraqi bases housing US troops as acts of aggression on Iraq and a breach of its sovereignty. Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi has asked Washington to prepare for a US troop withdrawal in line with the request by Iraq’s parliament. So far, the US government has rebuffed the call to withdraw. However, Washington has said it is exploring a possible expansion of NATO’s mission in Iraq, a plan to “get burden-sharing right in the region.”

US awaits Iraq’s okay to deploy patriots to protect troops amid Iran tension
AFP, Washington/Thursday, 30 January 2020
The United States is awaiting a green light from the Iraqi government to deploy Patriot missile defense systems to protect US troops from Iranian missile attacks, Pentagon chief Mark Esper said on Thursday. Iran launched 11 missiles at a US air base at Ain al-Assad and another at a base in Erbil on January 8 in retaliation for the killing days earlier of Iranian General Qassim Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad. No US troops were killed but dozens suffered traumatic brain injuries from the explosions, and Washington wants to deploy Patriot missiles to better protect the bases, which house some of the 5,200 US military personnel deployed in Iraq. The Patriot systems are composed of high performance radars and interceptor missiles capable of destroying incoming ballistic missiles in flight. Questioned Thursday about the delay in deploying the system, Esper told reporters the Iraqi government, which apparently is divided over the US military presence in the country, has yet to give it the go-ahead. “We need the permission of the Iraqis,” he said. “That’s one issue. There may be others with regard to placement and things like that.”General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that a Patriot battalion is a relatively large organization, and the mechanics of deploying one to Iraq “will have to be worked out. And that is, in fact, ongoing.”Iraq denounced Soleimani’s killing as an assault on its sovereignty and charged that the international coalition in Iraq had overstepped its mandate. The US-led coalition was formed in 2014 to fight ISIS, which at the time had seized control of a third of Iraq’s territory and large swaths of Syria. The coalition includes troops from 76 countries. On January 5, the Iraqi parliament voted in favor of the withdrawal of US forces from the country. Coalition operations have been suspended since then.

Turkish vessel spotted escorting military shipment to Libya’s Tripoli: Sources
Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 30 January 2020
France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier this week spotted a Turkish frigate escorting a cargo ship delivering armored vehicles to the Libyan capital Tripoli in defiance of a UN embargo, a French military source said on Thursday. The cargo ship Bana docked in Tripoli port on Wednesday, said the source, who asked not to be named, a day after President Emmanuel Macron angered Ankara by accusing his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan of failing “to keep his word” to end meddling in the north African country. The Libyan National Army (LNA) detected the Turkish shipment which was unloaded in Tripoli’s port on Tuesday evening, according to the spokesperson Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Mismari. The spokesperson published a video of what appears to be the Turkish armored vehicles inside the cargo ship on their Facebook page. In a related development, France is to send war frigates to the eastern Mediterranean to oppose Turkey’s recent moves in the region, a decision that has been welcomed by Greece’s prime minister, according to the Guardian on Wednesday. On January 19, International leaders who met in Berlin for a peace summit on Libya had vowed to form a multilateral follow-up committee to continue coordination on developments in Libya, according to the conference’s final communique. Since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that killed longstanding dictator Muammar Qaddafi, Libya has been plunged into chaos. It is now divided between the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj based and rival authorities in the eastern city of Benghazi whose forces, the Libyan National Army (LNA) is headed by commander Khalifa Haftar. Haftar launched an offensive to capture the Libyan capital of Tripoli in April vowing to end the rule of militias that include hardline groups linked to al-Qaeda and others. General Haftar has reportedly received support from international allies opposed to extremism and the Muslim Brotherhood. (With AFP)

Assault on Syria’s Idlib pushes 700,000 to flee: US envoy
Reuters/Thursday, 30 January 2020
An assault on opposition-held northwest Syria by government forces in recent days has pushed some 700,000 people to flee toward the Turkish border, raising the specter of an international crisis, US Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey said on Thursday. Backed by Russian air power, government forces have rapidly advanced on Idlib since last week, upending an area where millions have taken refugee since the start of Syria’s nearly nine-year war. Jeffrey told a news briefing that Syrian government and Russian warplanes had hit Idlib with 200 air strikes “mainly against civilians” in the past three days. He said the assault had set “700,000 people who are already internally displaced on the move once again toward the Turkish border, which will then create an international crisis.”Moscow and Damascus say they are fighting extremist militants who have stepped up attacks on civilians in Aleppo, but rights groups and rescue workers say airstrikes have demolished hospitals, schools and hit other civilian areas. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Ankara was losing patience with the Idlib assault and would retaliate against any attack on its 12 observation posts in the area.
Turkey already hosts more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees and fears millions more could soon cross the frontier.

Russian strikes kill 10 civilians in Syria’s Idlib: Monitor
AFP, BeirutThursday, 30 January 2020
Air strikes by government ally Russia hit near a bakery and a medical clinic in Syria’s opposition-held Idlib region early on Thursday, killing 10 civilians, a war monitor said. However, Russia later denied boming the locations, AFP reported. “The Russian aviation did not carry out any combat tasks in this area of Syria,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. At least five women were among the dead in the town of Ariha in Idlib province, where Russian-backed government forces are conducting an offensive against the country’s last major opposition bastion, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
A dust-covered doctor ran out of the Al-Shami clinic screaming following the attack, which partially damaged the facility’s walls, an AFP correspondent reported. Nearby, three entire buildings had collapsed. The wailing of women and children rang out as rescue workers searched for corpses beneath the rubble, the correspondent added. The latest deaths brings the total number of civilians killed by Russian air strikes in Idlib over the past 24 hours to 21, the Observatory said. Earlier this month, Russia denied launching any combat operations in the Idlib region since a ceasefire it agreed with opposition supporter Turkey went into effect on January 12. But the truce has since become a dead letter and the number of reported Russian raids has risen sharply. Thousands of Russian troops are deployed across Syria in support of the army, while a contingent of Russian private security personnel also operates on the ground. Moscow’s military intervention in 2015, four years into the Syrian conflict, helped keep President Bashar al-Assad in power and started a long, bloody reconquest of territory lost to rebels in the early stages of the war. The fierce bombardment coincides with a ground push by government forces in the south of Idlib province, where they captured the strategic highway town of Maaret al-Numan on Wednesday. They are now pushing on towards the town of Saraqib, whose residents have mostly fled in recent days in the face of heavy bombardment. Both towns lie on the key M5 highway connecting the capital Damascus to second city Aleppo. The road has been in the sights of the government for some time as it seeks to revive a moribund economy ravaged by almost nine years of war.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January30-31/2020
Trump’s peace plan won’t have a chance unless Israel shows restraint on annexation
Dennis Ross and David Makovsky/The Washington Post/January 30/2020
Israeli security forces during a protest against President Trump's Middle East
The Trump administration has now unveiled its Mideast peace plan. While we should expect plenty of debate about its terms, which represent a sharp departure from past U.S. peacemaking efforts, another development has essentially pushed the plan into the background. Israeli officials have announced that they plan to annex all West Bank settlements next week. If they do, this new phase of the process will be dead before it really starts.
The peace plan was supposed to take the interests of both sides into account. But the annexation move essentially makes any agreement superfluous, since Israel is already helping itself to the rewards that it’s supposed to gain from future negotiations over the plan. Any benefits for the Palestinians are left for the four-year period ahead designated by the Trump administration when both sides are to consider the plan. Israel has complained in the past that it is yielding tangible territorial assets for the intangible promise of peace. Now, Israel would be adding land immediately while the Palestinian land would be conditional on other benchmarks. The sudden urgency of the annexation plans seems designed to unite Israel’s right on the eve of an election, which might otherwise fracture the prospects of ceding territory to the Palestinians.
The annexation plans also have the effect of alienating the Arab states, who initially reacted to the new peace plan without their usual stance of lining up behind the official Palestinian position. This reflects a recent seismic shift that has taken place in Arab attitudes about Israel. Many of the region’s leaders now believe that, if the United States retreats from the Mideast, Israel is not only a necessary bulwark against the threats Arab states face but also a potentially useful ally. Unfortunately, the willingness of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push annexation for his near-term political benefit could damage the emerging alignment between Israel and the Arab states. Arab leaders certainly won’t want to look as though they are even indirectly helping Israel take what they consider to be Palestinian territory.
Consider the irony: Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, has so far been unable on his own to mobilize the Arabs behind his campaign of rejection. On the contrary, their initial responses have been low-key, emphasizing not comments on the plan but calls for direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis. And some have even complimented the administration for making a positive contribution. But Netanyahu pushing annexation immediately, perhaps as soon as next week, will rescue Abbas, possibly forcing Arab leaders to respond to Israel’s unilateral moves and make the Abbas campaign of rejection a reality. Once they, too, go on record rejecting the Trump plan, we should expect Abbas to take his case to the U.N. Security Council, hoping to provoke a U.S. veto to show how isolated the United States and Israel are.
If there is to be any hope for the Trump plan — even in a modified form that would result from any direct negotiations between the parties — President Trump should use his good relationship with Netanyahu to tell him that he opposes any move to annex the territories now. Trump can stress that his aim is to create the possibility of a negotiation, not to preempt it. He has already stated that he expected an initial Palestinian rejection but was buying time so that Palestinians could reflect and see what could be gained by negotiating. How is there any such time if the Israelis move to annex now?
Moreover, think of the effect on Jordan if an annexation of the Jordan Valley goes ahead now. Did the president intend his plan to endanger Israel’s peace treaty with Jordan, the country with which Israel shares its longest border?
If Trump does not want his plan to be stillborn, and if the Israelis hope to salvage its most important parts (especially on security), it is essential that the Israelis postpone their annexation of the territories designated for them in the plan. The last thing that both the administration and the Israelis should want is to drive Arab leaders into adopting Abbas’s uncompromising posture.
Undifferentiated annexation of settlements will inevitably undermine Israel’s ability to separate from the Palestinians, making a one-state outcome more likely. By adding 62 settlements currently to the east of Israel’s security barrier, the plan makes separation into two entities more difficult, especially because these settlements are outside the blocs and the security barrier and will effectively shrink the size of the later Palestinian state. (Seventy-seven percent of the Israeli settlers live in the blocs.) Altogether, under the peace plan, Israel would be annexing as much as 40 percent of the West Bank.
Israel does not have an interest in having the Palestinians give up on their dream of statehood and aspiring instead to becoming voting citizens of Israel. This would undermine the Zionist rationale for Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
Trump knows annexation can doom his prospects, and he should urge Israel to demonstrate restraint so the plan has a chance.
*Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama, is the counselor and William Davidson distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute.
*David Makovsky, a former senior adviser on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in the Office of the Secretary of State, is director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. They are the co-authors of “Be Strong and of Good Courage: How Israel’s Most Important Leaders Shaped Its Destiny.”

Iran can obtain nuclear weapons far quicker than widely recognized
Andrea Stricker/Al Arabia/January 30/2020
After infiltrating a Tehran warehouse two years ago, agents from Mossad, Israel’s spy agency, seized a massive collection of old plans, blueprints, electronic files and documents related to Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Material from this hidden archive demonstrated how the Islamic Republic had achieved far more in the area of nuclear weapons development, particularly the process of weaponization, than previously thought.
The extent of its progress has worrying implications as the regime scales back its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As Iran reduces the amount of time required for it to build nuclear weapons, US and allied governments should urgently push the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to fully characterize and account for Iran’s nuclear weapons activities.
The cache of top secret documents from Iran’s clandestine archive show the Islamic Republic had a structured, full pace effort called the Amad Plan, which sought by mid-2003 to make five nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. As international inspectors encroached in 2003, the regime decided to disperse the most damning of its illicit activities and experiments to non-civilian sites.
Materials from the archive add significantly to a previous body of evidence gathered by the IAEA and governments about covert weaponization-related experiments and processes in Iran.
The Israeli government released archival materials to private research institutes, whose assessments provide a public accounting of Iran’s weaponization prowess, and therefore, its abbreviated timeline to a nuclear weapon. Iran previously denied that it ever had a nuclear weaponization program, but the archive’s materials show these claims to be a clear exercise in disinformation.
Iran in fact had a weaponization program, which it called the Amad Plan’s “Project 110.” This included high explosives manufacture and testing; nuclear weapons design; production of a shock wave generator to initiate nuclear explosions; work on a neutron source for the warhead core; and creation of other necessary nuclear weapons components. The archive also provided locations of previously unknown sites.
Nuclear weaponization is an obscure and complicated procedure. It draws on physics, chemistry, metallurgy, engineering and other applications to assemble weapons-grade fissile material inside a warhead and create its explosive capability. To calculate how long it would take Tehran to produce a functional nuclear weapon, it is essential to evaluate the success of its weaponization efforts.
The length of time required for a country to produce just the fissile material for an atomic weapon – in this case, highly enriched uranium – has become known as its “breakout time.” However, a holistic assessment of breakout time ought to include the critical step of weaponizing this fissile material. This kind of comprehensive estimate helps governments to develop better responses and countering actions.
Prior to the nuclear deal, governments and independent experts generously estimated that Iran would need up to a year or more to make a warhead after it produced the requisite weapon-grade material.
Now, the nuclear archive’s contents make clear that Iran’s weaponization timeline may be much shorter – as little as a few months. Moreover, Iran’s recent actions have compressed the timeline for it to produce enough fissile material, from seven to 12 months to just four or five months. The weaponization clock, contrary to previous beliefs, does not add on much more.
The IAEA has never got to the bottom of Iran’s past nuclear weapons work, and the JCPOA required only a perfunctory IAEA investigation before the deal’s parties would allow it to go into effect.
Predictably, Iran stonewalled and provided incomplete or false answers to the IAEA’s queries. Even though the contents of the nuclear archive have shown that prior investigations were deficient, the IAEA has been hesitant to push for complete answers out of concern that this would further weaken the deal.
As Iran works to reduce its breakout time, governments should urge the IAEA to hasten and deepen its probe into the nuclear archive. This will entail investigating the full range of Iran’s past nuclear weapons work, including, for example, visiting the people, sites and equipment named in the archive or elsewhere. The IAEA will also need to review paper and electronic documentation in-country that may corroborate the archive and other materials. It will also be necessary to visit and inspect research institutions and restricted-access sites, as well as follow any new information where it leads.
Iran, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, is subject to comprehensive safeguards. This gives the IAEA a mandate and a duty to establish the absence of work on nuclear weapons within Iran’s territory.
With the JCPOA’s future unclear and a replacement nuclear deal seemingly far off, it is more crucial than ever to account for what the regime achieved in the area of weaponization and under the Amad Plan more broadly. The risks are too great to ignore.
*Andrea Stricker is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies where she conducts research on nonproliferation, Iran, North Korea, and other security policy topics. She is an expert on nuclear weapons proliferation and illicit procurement networks. She tweets @StrickerNonpro.

As Wall Street giants prioritize diversity, businesses should follow suit
Oliver Schutzmann/Al Arabia/January 30/2020
David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, used the high-profile forum of the World Economic Forum at Davos to announce a startling new policy: Starting July 1st, Goldman will only underwrite initial public offerings (IPOs) for US and European companies with at least one “diverse” board member in 2020, and two from 2021.
Defining diverse as female, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, or a minority ethnicity, Solomon explained: “From a governance perspective, diversity on boards is very important.”
But Goldman’s new policy is not driven by diversity for its own sake.
“When I look back at IPOs over the last four years, the performance of those with a woman on the board has been significantly better than those without a woman on the board,” Solomon continued.
The policy will initially only apply to the US and Europe, but the bank later clarified that Asia, Latin America and the Middle East would follow in due course.
Coming from the world’s leading IPO arranger, this is a radical departure. Analysis by Bloomberg shows that if this policy had been enacted in 2019, Goldman would have foregone $101 million in fees, since some 21 percent of the American IPOs it arranged that year had no female board representation.
Solomon has made a strategic calculation: the risks of being on the wrong side of history outweigh the short-term gains to be made from bringing laggards to market.
In a related development, State Street Global Advisors, which manages $3.1 trillion of assets, announced that it would begin voting against boards of listed companies that fail to adopt and accelerate environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.
As one of the world’s largest investors this is a warning shot to companies in every country, every sector and of every size. It is a good indicator of the new mood among passive investors: while the investment approach may remain passive, their scrutiny of ESG standards will be most definitely active.
In a third development - this time focused on the Gulf region – US bank Morgan Stanley published research showing just how far the region has still to travel in order to meet the most basic ESG norms.
Boardroom diversity is included in Morgan Stanley’s analysis:
“Boards in Saudi Arabia and the UAE exhibit little diversity, often exclusively comprising Saudi or Emirati males. Seen through an ESG lens, lack of diversity not only limits opportunity for minority/ under-represented groups, it may also lead to ineffective decision-making if diversity of background and experience at board level is a prerequisite for well informed and robust discussion. In addition, it is hard for investors to evaluate whether board members collectively have the requisite expertise given lack of disclosure.”
Morgan Stanley sees progress in Saudi Arabia – on gender equality, female board representation and disclosure levels – but concludes “We expect that investor pressure for improved disclosure and performance on governance factors will increase over the coming years.”
Three Wall Street giants making public and very clear statements, policies and analyses that together form a clear indicator of the direction of travel.
If any company in the Middle East was under the impression that ESG was a fad that could be ignored, Goldman, State Street and Morgan Stanley have all signaled otherwise. Business leaders in the Middle East would be well advised to take heed.
*Oliver Schutzmann is CEO of Iridium Advisors, a Dubai-based consultancy.

Palestinian Reactions to the Trump Plan
Ghaith al-Omari/The Washington Institute/January 30/2020
The PA will likely limit itself to quick diplomatic thrusts in order to preempt Arab support and isolate Washington, but any Israeli annexation moves could trigger more drastic action.
Since the Palestinian Authority severed all contacts with Washington in 2017 following the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly declared that he will not accept any peace plan presented by the White House. PA officials repeated this position in recent days following word that the plan would finally be announced in one form or another amid visits by Israeli leaders. Since this will almost certainly remain their stance once the plan is released, how might the PA operationalize their position at home and internationally?
DIPLOMATIC APPROACH
In the near term, the aim of Palestinian diplomacy will be to isolate the American position and paint the Trump peace plan as a bilateral U.S.-Israeli move that is opposed by the bulk of the international community. In addition to thwarting the plan’s immediate momentum, the PA also hopes to prevent its contents from becoming a new frame of reference that outlives Trump’s presidency. In practice, this likely means pursuing a threefold strategy following the same pattern used after the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem.
The first target of Palestinian diplomacy will be the Arab world. An Arab reaction that falls short of outright rejection of the plan would be seen as a victory for the Trump administration, even if no Arab leaders actually endorse it. In all likelihood, then, the PA will seek to define the narrative from the outset by formally rejecting the plan as soon as it is announced. By doing so, Palestinian officials would hope to preempt their regional counterparts from expressing a willingness to engage with any of the plan’s proposals.
In this vein, the PA will also likely call for an emergency Arab League meeting in order to build on previous statements to the effect that Arab leaders will not accept anything the Palestinians do not accept. Although this would not have much practical impact, it would lock Arab governments into formally rejecting the plan or at least supporting the Palestinian position. In particular, the PA will be keen on securing Egyptian, Jordanian, and Saudi support. Palestinian officials are acutely sensitive to Riyadh’s position and will put considerable effort into getting a clear Saudi statement, including direct outreach from President Abbas to King Salman. The PA’s second diplomatic target will be Europe. Palestinian officials will likely ask the Europeans to reaffirm their commitment to a two-state solution, reject any unilateral Israeli annexations in Palestinian territory, and implicitly reject key components of the Trump plan. In parallel, they will also engage European states individually in the hope of gaining bilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood. These entreaties will focus on states whose parliaments have previously supported recognition, even in a nonbinding fashion; moreover, they will intensify if Israel moves ahead with annexing the Jordan Valley or parts of the West Bank.
Third, PA leaders will aim to mobilize the UN. If they are confident of winning support from the other fourteen Security Council members besides the United States, they will likely put forth a resolution that reaffirms traditional parameters for resolving the conflict—namely, a two-state solution along the 1967 lines, with a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. Although a U.S. veto is a foregone conclusion, swaying the rest of the council could further the Palestinian objective of isolating Washington on these issues. The PA seems sure of Russian and Chinese support in this regard, but less certain about Britain and France. It is unclear how flexible the Palestinians would be in drafting the terms of such a resolution, as their history on this matter is checkered.
The PA is also likely to seek a UN General Assembly resolution. Since overall adoption of such a measure is guaranteed, Palestinian efforts will probably focus on ensuring that key states in Europe and elsewhere back it. Further, the PA will try to get a multitude of relevant resolutions passed in various specialized agencies, contradicting the Trump plan in substantive ways even if not necessarily referencing it.
CHANCES OF SUCCESS
Arab reactions will be the most important variable in determining the effectiveness of the PA’s strategy. Substantively, the Arab states need the plan to have two key components if they are to engage with it in even minimal fashion: (1) a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem with robust Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim control over Islamic holy sites on the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif (the actual meaning and logistics of this control would have to be worked out later), and (2) a credible promise of a Palestinian state.
Again, the PA will try to preempt other actors from engaging with the plan by defining a robust oppositional narrative from the outset. Once the official Palestinian position is made public, Arab states are unlikely to contradict it—traditionally, they have preferred to influence the PA in private, and have been more effective (up to a point) in that mode rather than trying to wield public pressure. Unless Washington or other actors consult with Arab officials before releasing the plan and brief them about its contents in a meaningful, high-level fashion, the PA’s strategy of immediate rejection will have a good chance of achieving its objectives.
IMPLICATIONS ON THE GROUND
Besides this flurry of diplomatic activity, the mere announcement of the U.S. plan is unlikely to prompt the PA to undertake any drastic action on the ground. PA officials may allow some protests to occur away from Israeli friction points, but they have little interest in instability at this point. Of course, developments can occur outside their control. Palestinian factions have unanimously rejected the plan, and some—especially Hamas—do have an interest in destabilizing the West Bank. Moreover, the public has already formed a negative view of the plan following years of regional media speculation casting it in a very negative light. Yet West Bank residents have shown little appetite for mass mobilization around diplomatic issues in recent years, and the PA has proven capable of controlling the ground in analogous situations. If, however, Israel proceeds with annexing any territory after the White House announces its plan, the PA or the Palestinian public will almost certainly take more drastic steps. Most significantly, PA officials would look to sever security cooperation with Israel, which is already deeply unpopular with the Palestinian public and has been threatened with cancelation many times during periods of high tension. Given the crucial role this cooperation plays in maintaining stability, such a breakdown could lead to a highly volatile situation.
*Ghaith al-Omari is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute.

Reservations about the Trump Peace Plan
Daniel Pipes/Washington Times/January 30/2020
Along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all my friends are delighted with Donald Trump's plan to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I agree that, in contrast with prior presidential plans, this one has much to commend it; unlike the Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush proposals, it takes Israeli security concerns seriously. Most of all, it indicates an unprecedented and emotionally wonderful level of U.S. support for Israel.
That said, I am not delighted with the plan, and for two main reasons. First, who needs it? Israel does best when it acts independently on its interests, not following the U.S. lead. All Israeli leaders since 1948 have wisely resisted plans imposed from the outside, implicitly asking, "Who assigned you to solve our problems?" But this time, the country's top two politicians dashed to Washington to endorse just such a plan. I predict that these same leaders or their successors will rue ceding such authority to Americans.
Second, I worry that, like every previous and failed scheme to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Trump plan is based on giving the Palestinians hope. That sounds nice but it is profoundly counterproductive.
To understand why, consider the Oslo Accords of 1993, the most important plan until now; it was premised on rewarding the Palestinians for good behavior. It promised autonomy and hinted at independence. It aspired to a misty "New Middle East" in which economic cooperation serves as the basis to reconcile historically hostile peoples. It attempted to reach this goal via such mundane efforts as a Housing and Construction Program, a Small and Medium Business Development Plan, a Human Resources Plan, and an Infrastructure Development Program for water, electricity, transportation, and communications. Twenty-seven years later, all sides agree on Oslo's utter failure.
George W. Bush presented the last Republican Middle East peace plan in 2002 as (from left) Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld stood by.
The Trump plan also depends on a mix of sovereignty and economic advancement, and it posits even grander ambitions. Forget autonomy; it projects full-fledged independence for the "State of Palestine," a term mentioned an astounding 1,397 times in the course of a 180-page document. Surely, anyone concerned with Israel's security shudders at this imminent prospect.
As the plan's title ("Peace to Prosperity") and subtitle ("A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People") suggest, it has gaudy economic aspirations. Noting that Gazans "suffer from massive unemployment, widespread poverty, drastic shortages of electricity and potable water, and other problems that threaten to precipitate a wholesale humanitarian crisis," it promises to usher them into "a prosperous future" with the help of over $50 billion in new investment over ten years.
Peace to Prosperity estimates that its prescriptions could cause the Palestinian GDP to "double in 10 years, create over 1 million new jobs, reduce the unemployment rate below 10 percent, and reduce the poverty rate by 50 percent." In this spirit, the word electricity occurs 116 times in the plan and prosperity 303 times.
The plan goes into minute details. For example, it calls for the establishment of a "Dead Sea Resort Area," demanding that Israel allow Palestine to develop it to the north of the Dead Sea along with a road allowing Palestinians "to travel from the State of Palestine to this resort area, subject to Israeli security considerations." Or it foresees raising and spending $25 million over a two-year period to provide "robust technical support to the Palestinian public sector to develop a new trade regime and framework."
My response: Does a single person out there actually believe any of this chimera will be implemented?
Rather than – once again – attempt to lure Palestinians into accepting their Israeli neighbor by pretending they will attain a better life, Palestinians need to hear the unvarnished truth:
Their century-long rejection of Jews, Judaism, Zionism, and Israel is the one and only problem preventing a solution; it must end, immediately, completely.
They will gain no resort area, no new trade regime, no vast financial aid, much less sovereignty and prosperity until they unequivocally accept the Jewish state of Israel and do so over a protracted period.
My reservations about the Trump plan concern its repeating and heightening the old, failed approach of promising the Palestinians benefits. No, they need to hear the deep truth that nothing good will happen until they give up their foul rejectionism. Rather than hold out hope, it should paint a picture of despair. Failing this, the plan will end up as irrelevant as every prior presidential initiative.
*Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) is president of the Middle East Forum. © 2020 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved.

Palestinian Liberation or Islamic Conquest?
Raymond Ibrahim/January 30/2020
Palestinian preacher Nidhal Siam calls for the Islamic conquest of the world near al-Aqsa Mosque
What drives Muslim animus for Israel: brotherly love for “oppressed” Palestinians or religious hatred for “infidel” Jews?
A recent incident in Jerusalem goes a long way in answering this question. Hizb al-Tahrir—the “Liberation Party”—held a large, outdoor event near al-Aqsa mosque to commemorate the anniversary of the Islamic conquest of Constantinople (May 29, 1453). There, as he had done before, Palestinian cleric Nidhal Siam made clear that, from an Islamic perspective, liberation and conquest are one and the same.
After all the takbirs (chants of “Allahu Akbar”) had subsided, Siam spoke:
Oh Muslims, the anniversary of the conquest [fath/فتح, literally, “opening”] of Constantinople brings tidings of things to come. It brings tidings that Rome will be conquered in the near future, Allah willing…. We are approaching the fulfillment of three prophecies, and we pray that Allah will fulfill these prophecies by our hands. The first prophecy is the establishment of the rightly-guided Caliphate in accordance with the way of the prophet. The second prophecy is the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the establishment of Jerusalem as the capital of the state of the Caliphate. The third prophecy is that Islam will throw its neighbors to the ground, and that its reach will span across the east and the west of this Earth. This is Allah’s promise, and Allah does not renege on his promises.
He and the assembled throng then repeatedly chanted, “By means of the Caliphate and the consolidation of power, Mehmed the Conqueror vanquished Constantinople!” and “Your conquest, oh Rome, is a matter of certainty!”
Consider for a moment the significance of these assertions—coming as they are from Palestinians, who, when speaking to and seeking sympathy from the international community, often present themselves as an oppressed people whose land is unjustly occupied.
First of all, the Islamic conquest of Constantinople was just that—a brutal and savage conquest the sole legitimacy of which was the might of arms. As Muslims had done for centuries earlier in North Africa and the Middle East, they invaded and conquered “New Rome”—not because it had committed some injustice, but because Islam commands the subjugation of non-Muslims, as Siam made clear. Moreover, Islam had long seen and targeted Constantinople—beginning with its prophet, Muhammad, who desired its women—as the “ultimate prize.”
Which leads to Rome: what does it have to do with the Arab-Israeli conflict that it too deserves to be conquered? Absolutely nothing—except that, since the conquest of Constantinople, Islam has seen Rome as the symbolic head of the Christian world, and therefore in urgent need of subjugating. Or, in the words of the Islamic State, “We will conquer your Rome, break your crosses, and enslave your women, by the permission of Allah… [We will cast] fear into the hearts of the cross-worshipers.”
Most telling is Siam’s “third prophecy”—delivered to thundering applause: “that Islam will throw its neighbors to the ground, and that its reach will span across the east and the west of this Earth.” In other words, no non-Muslim is safe from the sword of jihad.
Surely all this must seem surreal when placed in context? How can Muslims seek to present the Palestinians as a conquered and oppressed people whose land was stolen—while, in the very same breath, praising former and hoping for future conquests, replete with oppression and land grabbing from other peoples, only because they were/are non-Muslims?
Further underscoring the idea that the “liberation of Palestine” is intimately connected with the conquest of the non-Muslim world, Siam called on Muslims to work towards fulfilling the “three prophecies,” that is, “[1] to establish the Caliphate, [2] to liberate the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and [3] to conquer Rome.”
Note how, while the “liberation of al-Aqsa” may seem to revolve around notions of universal justice and the elimination of oppression, the establishment of a caliphate is, as it was all throughout history, about conquest and expansion—to say nothing of the open wish to subjugate Rome, let alone conquer all “across the east and the west of this Earth.” Yet all three goals are presented as part of Islam’s selfsame vision.
The message is clear: for too many Muslims, desires to “liberate Palestine” are actually desires to “conquer Israel”—not because Israelis are unjust, but because they are infidels.
Note: See the author’s Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, for much more on the fall of Constantinople and other themes related to this article.

Palestinians: Abbas Chooses Hamas Over Peace with Israel
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/January 30/2020
Hamas and Iran have no plans to boost the economy in the Gaza Strip. They also have no intention of creating jobs for thousands of unemployed Palestinians.
"After years of no progress, the donor community is fatigued and reluctant to make additional investments so long as the governance structure in Gaza is run by terrorists who provoke confrontations that lead to more destruction and suffering." — From the "Peace to Prosperity" plan.
In fact, the wording of Trump's plan is quite compatible with the position of Abbas and his PA officials in the West Bank.
By forging an alliance with Hamas, a terror group that does not recognize Israel's right to exist, Abbas is already signaling his readiness to join forces with those who oppose any peace process with Israel. Such an alliance effectively places Abbas on the side of Iran and its Hamas and PIJ proxies.
Abbas and Hamas may renew their relations in the near future, but it will be the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip who will suffer, condemned by their leaders to poverty and misery.
In their response to the "Peace to Prosperity" plan, Palestinian leaders have once again succeeded in what they do best: taking any hope for the wellbeing of their people and driving it straight into the ground.
Instead of welcoming President Donald Trump's peace plan, designed to give the Palestinians a prosperous future, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected and denounced it as the "deal of shame" and "slap of the century." Pictured: Abbas denouncing the peace plan in Ramallah on January 28, 2020.
US President Donald Trump's "Peace to Prosperity" plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians offers hope to the two million Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, which has been ruled by Hamas for more than a decade.
Instead of welcoming the plan, designed to give the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip a prosperous future, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected and denounced it as the "deal of shame" and "slap of the century."
Worse, Abbas has chosen to renew his ties with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the two Iranian-backed groups that are opposed to his policies and have regularly condemned his policies and decisions.
Abbas, in other words, is acting not only against the interests of his people in the Gaza Strip, but also against himself by engaging the same groups that have long been seeking to undermine his rule.
By rejecting Abbas Trump's plan, Abbas is denying the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip the chance of improving their living conditions.
Hamas and Iran have no plans to boost the economy in the Gaza Strip. They also have no intention of creating jobs for thousands of unemployed Palestinians. The only plan Hamas, PIJ and their patrons in Tehran have is one that will bring more suffering and bloodshed to the Palestinians. That, however, does not seem to bother Abbas, who is now seeking to appease Hamas and PIJ.
As the Peace to Prosperity plan accurately points out:
"The people of Gaza have suffered for too long under the repressive rule of Hamas. They have been exploited as hostages and human shields, and bullied into submission. Hamas has failed the people of Gaza and has diverted money belonging to the Palestinians of Gaza, including funds provided by international donors, to attack the State of Israel, instead of using these funds to improve the lives of the people of Gaza. Under the leadership of Hamas, the residents of Gaza have suffered extreme poverty and deprivation. After years of no progress, the donor community is fatigued and reluctant to make additional investments so long as the governance structure in Gaza is run by terrorists who provoke confrontations that lead to more destruction and suffering."
The plan further requires Hamas and PIJ to disarm and calls for the return of Abbas's PA to rule the Gaza Strip.
In fact, the wording of Trump's plan is quite compatible with the position of Abbas and his PA officials in the West Bank.
In 2014, Abbas held Hamas responsible for the failure of the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of Israel's Operation Protective Edge, which was in response to the launching of rockets towards Israel.
In 2018, Abbas held Hamas responsible for the bombing of the convoy of former PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in the northern Gaza Strip and threatened to take punitive measures against the terror group. He also repeated his demand that Hamas allow the PA to assume its full responsibilities over the Gaza Strip -- exactly as Trump's plan envisages.
Last year, Abbas stepped up his attacks against Hamas by accusing it of working for Israel, and not the Palestinians. He also accused Hamas of obstructing Egyptian efforts to achieve reconciliation with his ruling Fatah faction and end the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Abbas's animosity to Hamas has even prompted him to oppose Israeli gestures to help the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by initiating various projects to improve the infrastructure there and create job opportunities.
Senior Abbas advisers such as Azzam al-Ahmed have also been launching scathing attacks on Hamas. Ahmed even used the same words as the Trump plan when he accused Hamas of "kidnapping" the Gaza Strip and holding its people hostage.
Abbas evidently shares the same views of the Trump plan regarding the Gaza Strip and Hamas. He too has endorsed an Egyptian proposal to disarm Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip to pave the way for the return of his PA there.
Yet, Abbas now seems to be moving in the opposite direction of his declared policy. On the day Trump released his peace vision, Abbas invited Hamas representatives to an "emergency" meeting of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah to discuss ways of thwarting the plan.
The Hamas representatives invited by Abbas included Ayman Daraghmeh, Nasser Eddin al-Shaer, Samir Abu Eisheh, Ahmed Atoun, Omar Abdel Razek and Ali al-Sartawi.
Hamas leaders have welcomed Abbas's move and invited him to visit the Gaza Strip as soon as possible to discuss ways of working together to foil Trump's "plot."
Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, said in response to Abbas's initiative that the Palestinians are "united in confronting Israel with one rifle and one revolution."
Shortly before the unveiling of the Trump vision, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh phoned Abbas and offered to cooperate in efforts to foil the plan.
Abbas has also decided to dispatch a delegation of his Fatah faction to the Gaza Strip next week to hold talks with Hamas and other Palestinian groups about devising a joint strategy to thwart the Trump plan.
Abbas has threatened to renounce all signed agreements with Israel in response to the Trump plan, which he claims is aimed at "liquidating the Palestinian cause."
By forging an alliance with Hamas, a terror group that does not recognize Israel's right to exist, Abbas is already signaling his readiness to join forces with those who oppose any peace process with Israel. Such an alliance effectively places Abbas on the side of Iran and its Hamas and PIJ proxies.
In addition, Abbas's repeated threats to halt security coordination with Israel is tantamount to committing suicide. The security coordination benefits Abbas much more than it benefits Israel. Abbas knows that without Israel's presence in the West Bank, he and his government would be eaten alive by Hamas.
Abbas and Hamas may renew their relations in the near future, but it will be the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip who will suffer, condemned by their leaders to poverty and misery.
Remarkably, without showing a trace of irony, Abbas is rejecting a plan to disarm his own enemies who expelled his government from the Gaza Strip in 2007 and have since been killing, arresting and persecuting his loyalists.
In their response to the "Peace to Prosperity" plan, Palestinian leaders have once again succeeded in what they do best: taking any hope for the wellbeing of their people and driving it straight into the ground.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

UK: Boris Johnson Must Decide between Washington and Beijing
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/January 30/2020
Mr Johnson would be well-advised to heed Mr Pompeo's advice and reconsider allowing Huawei access to Britain's telecoms systems, irrespective of the restrictions the British authorities claim they will impose on the firm's access to sensitive installations.
In an age when the foremost challenge of the Western democracies is to defend their interests against Beijing's long-term goal of achieving global dominance, it is vital that they present a united front against the Chinese threat.
Mr Johnson needs to understand that Britain's interests are best served by maintaining strong ties with Washington, rather than by indulging in dubious business deals with Beijing.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson would be well-advised to heed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's advice and reconsider allowing Huawei access to Britain's telecoms systems, irrespective of the restrictions the British authorities claim they will impose on the firm's access to sensitive installations. Pictured: Johnson (left) and Pompeo on May 7, 2018, in Washington, DC.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to allow the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei access to Britain's new 5G network has placed unnecessary strain on the transatlantic alliance at a time when it needs to show a united front against Beijing's global ambitions.
Mr Johnson's decision to allow Huawei to build parts of the 5G network has been taken in the face of fierce opposition from the Trump administration, which regards the Chinese company a security risk because of its historic links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Donald Trump personally called Mr Johnson to urge the British prime minister not to allow Huawei continued access to Britain's 5G infrastructure, warning that to do so risked causing a split in transatlantic relations, and might raise questions about Britain's continued involvement in the elite Five Eyes intelligence-gathering alliance that London has shared with the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand since the end of World War Two.
Instead, following a meeting of Britain's National Security Council, Mr Johnson announced that Huawei would be allowed to continue working on the development of the 5G infrastructure, albeit with strict conditions being applied on the company's ability to access those parts of the network linked to Britain's military, nuclear and intelligence installations.
Mr Johnson has sought to reassure Washington by offering to work closely with the US to develop 5G technology that would "break the dominance" of Huawei, with the aim of ultimately squeezing the Chinese giant out of Britain's infrastructure.
The depth of Washington's disappointment with the British decision, however, was reflected in comments made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who, prior to arriving in London for a two-day visit, said there was still time for Mr Johnson to "relook" at the decision.
American objections about allowing Huawei access to sensitive communications networks in the West stem from ongoing concerns about the company's ties to the CCP, as well as China's People's Liberation Army.
Huawei has been accused of developing sophisticated surveillance technology that has been used in China's Xinjiang province as part of Beijing's crackdown against the country's oppressed Uighur Muslim minority.
Hundreds of thousands of Uighurs are reported to have been detained in makeshift prison camps and subjected to "re-education" programmes by the Chinese government.
Concerns over Huawei's activities have already persuaded a number of countries, such as India, New Zealand and Australia, to join the US in banning the Chinese firm from their 5G networks. Indeed, Washington's concerns over Huawei mean the company's mobile phones are not even allowed onto American military bases.
Mr Johnson's decision, therefore, will be regarded as a victory for Beijing, and a vindication of its claims that Washington's campaign against Huawei is driven more by commercial rivalry than genuine concerns about any security threat the firm might pose.
It is for this reason that Mr Johnson would be well-advised to heed Mr Pompeo's advice and reconsider allowing Huawei access to Britain's telecoms systems, irrespective of the restrictions the British authorities claim they will impose on the firm's access to sensitive installations.
In an age when the foremost challenge of the Western democracies is to defend their interests against Beijing's long-term goal of achieving global dominance, it is vital that they present a united front against the Chinese threat.
Mr Johnson needs to understand that Britain's interests are best served by maintaining strong ties with Washington, rather than by indulging in dubious business deals with Beijing.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Iran vows to crush 'satanic' Trump plan and 'Jewishization' of Jerusalem
Seith Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/January 30/2020
Tehran's plan to undermine Trump's deal may involve political, religious and military means, including a push for Palestinian unity and attempts to undermine Gulf states that support the US
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei slammed the Trump administration’s peace plan as “satanic” and evil on Wednesday. “It will never bear fruit” he wrote, claiming that Jerusalem must not be “in the hands of the Jews.” Khamenei’s comments went out as his advisors scrambled to work on a full-court press against Israel and the plan, leveraging regional anger over it to Iran’s benefit. Iran may now work with Palestinian groups and seek to thwart the plan through political and military means, hoping to use the plan as a way to jump-start Iran’s stalled influence peddling operations in the Middle East.
Towards that end Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that Iran will work throughout “West Asia” to confront the Deal of the Century. “It threatens the Islamic community,” he said. Iran refers to the Middle East as “West Asia.” While Iran’s Foreign Minister bashed the plan as a “so-called vision for peace” and a “nightmare for the region,” the foreign ministry in Tehran said that it would work with other countries in the region “at all levels to unite the Muslim world to confront the great conspiracy.”
Iran wants to make this an “Islamic” issue by emphasizing Jerusalem. A survey of Iranian media and political reactions, as well as reactions of Iran’s IRGC, illustrate this. An article at Iran’s IRNA media noted that while Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and even Qatar may be considering normalization with Israel, that Tehran will be working with other countries to undermine the deal. Qatar is usually considered close to Iran, and the linking of Qatar and other Gulf states represents a new trend in Tehran.
A deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps told Tasnim News in Iran that this deal marks a “new chapter in the struggle of the Palestinian people.” Yadollah Javani, a Brig. Gen. and member of the political bureau of the IRGC, said the plan was one-sided and that it was the “betrayal of the century.” He argued that the Palestinians were not included and that such a plan would fail. “This great treachery of Trump has been unveiled, but when we look at the history of the plans given for Palestine we see that the past plans by the Zionists and reactionary Arab governments in the region are supported by Zionists against Palestinian groups.” He hoped the Palestinians would unify in the face of the plan. Iran backs Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas and now wants to bring them to Ramallah to work more closely with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
“Painful and embarrassing,” was how a professor described the plan to ISNA media in Iran. The report slammed Bahrain, the UAE and Oman for appearing to endorse the plan and noted that even France and Germany had not supported it. “These countries are in a sensitive area in the Gulf and the plan will increase hostility to the US and the region will experience anew level of insecurity.” The article asserted that the Gulf states that support the US plan could be undermined by popular or regional anger against it. Iran launched a drone and cruise missile attack on Saudi Arabia in September and the article appears to insinuate that Iran could stir up trouble in Bahrain or neighboring states to punish them. “Those who choose Israel will be left with damaging consequences.” ISNA media was more careful with Qatar, noting that Qatar had released a statement arguing the plan must be in an international framework to be legitimate.
Mehr News highlighted a speech by Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi, interim imam and Friday prayer leader of Tehran who has argued against the US and the deal. “Palestine is on the way to returning to its Islamic identity. The US president unveiling his plan for the Palestinians has caused support for Al-Aqsa.” He argued that today pro-Iranian forces were working more closely together and referenced the Hashd al-Shaabi in Iran, Hassan Nasrallah’s Hezbollah in Lebanon and their opposition to the “mercenary governments like the United States.” This was the “fruit” of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979 finally growing and Iran must fulfill its potential now, apparently a plea to leverage the new US policy to gather pro-Iranian forces against the US and Israel. The Hashd al-Shaabi are pro-Iranian militias in Iraq that are part of the security forces, such as the Badr Organization. They work with the IRGC and have been suppressing protesters and oppose the US presence in Iraq. The US targeted one of their leaders on January 3 alongside IRGC general Qasem Soleimani.
Iran is clearly preparing a larger push against Israel and the US in the context of Trump’s push for a “Deal of the Century” and also because Iran wants “hard revenge” for the killing of Soleimani. The speeches on Wednesday reveal that Iran will use its proxies in Iraq, Lebanon, and among the Palestinians. It will work to undermine Gulf states that appeared to support the plan. It will also push a religious crusade that will seek to argue that Trump’s plan is “anti-Islamic.” Through its various organs, from the Foreign Ministry to Friday prayers and the IRGC, Iran will oppose the plan. This is in line with Iran’s usual rhetoric against Israel and the US. But Tehran wants to seize this opportunity to make itself seem more relevant.

European powers must realize Iran nuclear deal is dead
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/January 30, 2020
Seven countries were involved when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aka the Iran nuclear deal, was completed in 2015: The Islamic Republic and the P5+1 (the US, China, Russia, the UK, France, and Germany). But two of the most important players, who led the negotiations and finalized the deal, were the US and Iran.
The Trump administration subsequently withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and Tehran abandoned its commitments under it this month. With the two major state actors having withdrawn from the JCPOA, one would assume that it ought to be officially considered null and void.
But the E3 (the UK, France and Germany) still appear to be reluctant to abandon the deal. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said last week that the three European powers have “reconfirmed their determination to preserve the agreement, which is in the interest of all,” and they agreed that “more time is needed due to the complexity of the issues involved.” He added that: “The timeline is therefore extended.”
However, since Tehran is not adhering to the terms of the JCPOA anymore, it is hard to imagine there is actually any “complexity” in the issue. The truth is that, since the Trump administration withdrew the US from the deal, the flawed agreement has been kept on life support by the European signatories. Still Tehran has consistently pushed for the E3 to do more — more than they are capable of delivering, many would argue.
The European nations are still working to improve the special purpose vehicle known as INSTEX, which they hope will allow businesses to continue trading with Iran despite US sanctions. Its implementation, however, has been fraught with difficulties. It seems that the more the Iranian regime becomes defiant, the more the European officials make efforts to ensure that sanctions reliefs are in place and INSTEX is viable and can provide some protection for the regime’s economy. This is precisely the reaction that Iranian leaders look for.
The E3 are undermining their diplomatic initiatives and leverage by submitting to Iran’s demands and cowering to its extortion.
Britain did recently raise the possibility of a new “Trump deal” to replace the JCPOA, but Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi rejected the possibility of any alternative agreement. Of course, the regime would not mind returning to the flawed JCPOA if the US lifted all of its sanctions. After all, the terms of the nuclear deal were heavily in favor of the Islamic Republic: The sunset clauses would have removed the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program after the expiration of the deal, while military sites such as Parchin, which is reportedly where the regime’s nuclear development and research is conducted, were out of the reach of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors. There was also no reference to Iran’s ballistic missile program, which is a core pillar of its foreign policy and appears to be linked to the nuclear program. And Iran’s breakout time — the amount of time needed to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for one nuclear bomb — was set at only one year.
In addition, instead of removing the UN Security Council’s sanctions gradually in order to ensure Iran’s compliance, all sanctions were lifted on day one of the agreement, giving the ruling mullahs significant leverage and billions of dollars of extra revenue, which helped the regime pursue its military adventurism in the region more forcefully. The European powers did impose some pressure on the Iranian regime, such as leveling minor sanctions on sectors of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and on Saeid Hashemi Moghadan, the deputy intelligence minister, in light of revelations last year concerning Iran’s assassination plots on European soil. Nevertheless, these moves do not go nearly far enough, particularly if the E3 are inclined to continue their support for the JCPOA. The E3 are undermining their diplomatic initiatives and leverage by submitting to Iran’s demands and cowering to its extortion.
After Iran decided to pull out of its nuclear deal commitments, the only rational and realistic actions that the UK, France and Germany can pursue are to take a tougher stance toward the ruling mullahs, reimpose sanctions on the theocratic establishment, and refer Iran’s nuclear file to the UN Security Council. The last of these is one of the regime’s biggest concerns, as it could potentially bring back crippling sanctions against Tehran. That is why Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif recently threatened that, if the Europeans sent Iran’s nuclear file to the Security Council, Tehran would also withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The UK, France and Germany must come to the realization that the Iran nuclear deal is finished because the regime has abandoned it. They now need to take appropriate measures to counter Iran’s nuclear defiance.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is an Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Trump plan may deal a fatal blow to peace
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/January 30, 2020
At last it is now out in the open and US President Donald Trump’s so-called “deal of the century” can be discussed and debated. However, before we dwell on the details — the bad, the good and the ugly — it was the announcement of the plan itself that was disturbing in its complacent and self-congratulatory nature. For a major policy declaration dealing with the lives and future of the Palestinians and the Israelis, it was inappropriate, arrogant and on the verge of embarrassing to the very idea of a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Delivered by Trump and hailed by one of the most mortifying displays of disingenuous flattery by the Israeli prime minister to his American host, there was not a single Palestinian in attendance. The very people who are going to be most influenced by every detail of this plan were not consulted, while their fate is dictated by stronger powers, who, in their “generosity,” allowed them four years to go and think about it. Well, as long as they do the right thing and surrender to the wishes of the US and Israel. Equally disturbing is the notion that, in the 21st century, a superpower grants an ally the right to annex territories that are, according to international law, illegally occupied. Is this something that should be acceptable in the post-colonial era?
All along there was something unsavory about the urgency and hastiness of announcing Trump’s deal. After all, it was slow cooking for most of the three years of the current White House occupant’s presidency. Let us not be fooled by the fanfare of the announcement of this plan. It had more to do with the domestic predicament of the impeached and the indicted, pandering to their voters as they will soon need them at the ballot box, and less to do with any genuine attempt to bring this tragic conflict to an end.
However, it is not all bad news with this Israel and US-concocted peace plan. Considering Israel is governed by the most right-wing government in its history, acknowledging a two-state solution as the answer to settling the conflict is progress, even if one doubts its sincerity about ever implementing it. Moreover, there is recognition that the capital of a Palestinian state will be in East Jerusalem. Needless to say, what was outlined by Trump and reinforced by Benjamin Netanyahu falls short of the minimum that any Palestinian would ever accept, as this plan comes straight from the Israeli hymn sheet of obstructing peace and grabbing land. However, with the principals of Palestinian self-determination and East Jerusalem as their capital being agreed by Netanyahu, the details now remain open for future negotiations.
These are the sole benefits one can see in this plan, and even this pushes optimism and positive thinking to the limits — the rest is bleak, very bleak. To begin with, the plan represents a flagrant violation of international law by unilaterally annexing occupied territories and is in complete disregard of the Fourth Geneva Convention. It is not for the US to absolve any country for their annexation of occupied territory, let alone to legitimize moving hundreds of thousands of people to live and build communities there, and illegally confiscate land, including privately owned land. If, as was suggested by Netanyahu, he intends to bring a bill to the government by next week, allowing the jurisdiction of Israeli law to apply to all Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including the outposts, this can only be seen as a blatant provocation of the Palestinians, the international community and the role of international law.
Consequently, both settlements built by the government and outposts that are illegal also by Israeli law, will be part of Israel. If the Hebron model is about to be applied to these isolated settlements, this is not a proposal of peace, coexistence and reconciliation, but one of never-ending, explosive friction. This is not a case of whether Jewish Israelis and Palestinians should or should not live in the same neighborhoods, as settlers claim, rather it is about living as equals. I don’t see the Israeli government inviting Palestinians to live in Jewish neighborhoods inside Israel proper anytime soon.
Furthermore, by proposing the annexation of the Jordan Valley — as opposed to previous plans that concentrated on ensuring security arrangements around it — this plan leaves a future Palestinian state surrounded on all its borders by Israel, lacking contiguous territory. This would leave a Palestinian state at the mercy of its more powerful neighbor, militarily, politically and economically.
The recognition of some part of Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestine, established in Abu Dis, a neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, means that most East Jerusalemite Palestinians would remain inside Israel and with apparently no rights to equal citizenry. Moreover, this idea excludes an independent Palestine from any role in the holy places, which could hardly be acceptable not only to the Palestinians, but also to the rest of the region and the Muslim world.
This is not a proposal of peace, coexistence and reconciliation, but one of never-ending, explosive friction. In the hullabaloo of mutual admiration between Trump and Netanyahu, once again the bait of economic prosperity was thrown to the Palestinians, insultingly suggesting that they would give up on their sense of integrity, national aspirations and pride in exchange for economic investment. It adds to the unpleasant colonial flavor of the “launch” of the deal but, even more poignantly, the $50 billion promised is mere pie in the sky with no actual plan as to where it will come from. Considering that the sum promised is to be allocated over 10 years and is aimed not only at building the newly established Palestinian state, but also at settling and compensating the refugee diaspora, it is hardly a real incentive. The most conservative of estimates for resolving the predicament of the Palestinian refugees is at least three times this amount, and probably more. This plan was born in sin, conceived for the wrong reasons, and it won’t live beyond Trump and Netanyahu’s time in office. It is more likely to spread apprehension across the region, especially Jordan, and might possibly lead to the resumption of an active Palestinian resistance of the occupation, rather than anything resembling peace.
*Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations at Regent’s University London, where he is head of the International Relations and Social Sciences Program. He is also an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House.

Saudi International will tee off investment in KSA leisure sector
Ian James Poulter/Arab News/January 30, 2020
The new European Tour season kicked off in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, with my good friend, Lee Westwood winning the first of three consecutive tournaments in the Middle East.
The game has grown so much since I turned pro 20 years ago. The European Tour isn’t just played in Europe now, we play all over the world. Six great tournaments in the GCC alone serve as a reminder of how important the region has become to the interests of the Tour and the Players over the past two decades. The Saudi International Golf Tournament now joins the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Oman Open, the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and the DP World Tour Championship, now the richest first prize in tournament golf, in a run of events that stretch from January to November. More than $ 13 million in prize money and 15,000 ranking points are on offer during the “Desert Swing” alone, the three-week period in January and February which represents half of the European Tour tournaments now played in the region.
As a global ambassador for DP World, it’s great to see the investment they are putting into growing the game of golf in this region. Since they have started championing the sport, the number of tournaments being held in the Middle East has grown tenfold and is evidence of how accessible the game now is for so many people. In recent years, a new wave of golf course development has come to fruition across the region, too, with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, all adding to their portfolios. This growth in new courses has matched the growth in professional tournaments.
Innovation is key; companies like DP World use new technology to look at efficiency on levels that I never could imagine. As a global trade enabler, they make it so much easier to import golfing goods and equipment into territories that, 30 years ago, would never have even entertained the idea of building a golf course. The more accessible we make the sport, the more people we can get into golf and the more affordable it can be made for everyone.
DP World is a business that is characterized by economic and trade development, where you see wealth creation and an emerging middle class, golf naturally becomes a more accessible activity and continues to flourish, evidenced by a continued investment in new courses and concepts across the region, this is why it is so exciting to see Saudi Arabia start on a path of becoming a new golfing market. With the inception of the European eTour — golf’s first e-sport series — occurring this month, we can expect the region’s influence on the sport to expand further. The virtual series, featuring six events across the year, cements the European Tour’s commitment to innovation and provides a pathway to attracting a new demographic of fans.
The Middle East, once again, will be at the heart of the action.
The eTour began at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championships and will climax with a season-ending finale in Dubai, in November, giving a newer, younger community a glimpse into what the region has to offer. With Saudi Arabia opening its doors to the outside world, while at the same time investing huge amounts in sports, entertainment and health, it can only be beneficial to the game.  It’s fantastic to see local companies such as Saudia Cargo get behind the game and I hope that more Saudi-based firms see the benefits and do the same moving forward.
In 2020, the Kingdom will play host to both a European Tour and Ladies European Tour tournament, while both Jeddah and Riyadh are now home to new world-class courses, with more on the horizon. It is this geographical and commercial growth that underpins the strategic importance of the Middle East to the European Tour — where the golf leisure industry flourishes, so the professional game follows. As the world’s best descend on the region this month, we will be only too aware of the Middle East’s progress, and we are likely to see even more growth on the tee in the region over the next decade.
• Ian James Poulter is an English professional golfer who is a member of the world's top two professional golf tours.

Collaboration key if target of education for all is to be met
Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/January 30, 2020
Education should be an inalienable right for every child and adult. So says the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, which stipulates that countries must “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” It stands alongside other SDGs such as ending poverty and hunger, and promoting good health and gender equality. All in all, they are 17 core goals, underlined by a universal set of values, which aim to make the world a better place for everybody. The UN’s target for achieving the 17 SDGs is 2030 — a tall order indeed.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed Jan. 24 as the International Day of Education. To mark that day, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) held a half-day conference at its headquarters in Jeddah. The gathering highlighted the role education plays in achieving peace and development. The author of this column had the honor of chairing a panel at the event that was entitled “Challenges Towards Achieving SDG 4.”
The IsDB is dedicated to improving the status of education in its 56 member countries, alongside other multilateral development banks (MDBs), development institutions, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector.
Two things highlight the IsDB’s commitment to education. For one, the IsDB is, with $5 billion, the second-largest funder of education projects among its sister institutions. The only MDB contributing more is the International Development Association, which is the World Bank’s arm for concessional financing earmarked for the world’s poorest countries. Money is one thing the IsDB offers, leadership is the other. IsDB President Dr. Bandar Al-Hajjar, a former educator and professor himself, gave the opening remarks at the conference.
The nexus between lack of education and poverty has been widely discussed and is self-evident. Not all uneducated people are poor, but the vast majority of poor people in the developing world are uneducated, as one panelist pointed out. There is a clear relationship between human capital development, eradicating poverty, and addressing environmental and health issues in a society. The education of women particularly matters in terms of lowering birth rates, which is crucial to ending the cycle of poverty in many developing countries.
The statistics say it all: 264 million children globally have inadequate access to education, with two-thirds of these being in IsDB member countries. A further breakdown of this statistic is disconcerting: 39 percent of these children will attend school late, 20 percent will drop out, and 41 percent will never attend school at all. Girls are particularly affected. An estimated 131 million girls remain out of school worldwide. They face multiple barriers to education. Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia have the worst track record in education for girls, with 41 percent and 34 percent, respectively.
Many countries lack both the hard and soft infrastructure and funding to provide education for all. The challenges include conflict, rural access, poverty, and gender inequality. These challenges are particularly evident in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which is a laggard in education indicators. UNESCO produced a chart that highlights the degree to which SDG 4 has been achieved so far, with the degree of compliance illustrated in a sliding color scale starting from green, which denotes that SDG 4 has been achieved, to yellow, orange and dark red, with the last denoting a complete failure of the education system. MENA is a sea of orange and red, with only two exceptions in yellow. The only other region that is painted in similar colors is Sub-Saharan Africa.
Education really matters and the task of achieving SDG 4 cannot be left to development banks alone. Governments need to be engaged if they want to break the vicious cycle of poverty and conflict. This is particularly important now that a technological revolution is bringing us industry 4.0, artificial intelligence and other innovations. The jobs of tomorrow will require an educated workforce. Those without education will be left behind, as will countries that cannot provide adequate education systems for their people. An adequate system does not only consist of primary, secondary and university education. Good, integrated systems for vocational training are important too. The dual education systems in Germany and Switzerland can serve as good examples for developing countries. Vocational training is a very effective tool for professional development — a country’s economy needs carpenters, plumbers and people who can fix things just as much as it needs expensive, highly trained doctors and lawyers.
Those without education will be left behind, as will countries that cannot provide adequate education systems for their people.
Looking at the challenges ahead, it is vital that MDBs work with other development institutions, NGOs and the private sector to build the hard and soft infrastructure required to achieve education for all. Co-financing has a multiplier effect. A good example is the cooperation between the IsDB and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which have collaborated on a program aimed at eradicating polio in Pakistan. While this is a project in the health sector, it can serve as an example in other sectors too.
International bodies like the Organization of Islamic Cooperation can support the IsDB’s goal of achieving the SDGs by 2030 by working with governments at the political level, which is where they set their priorities.
SDG 4 has to be a top priority in places as riddled with conflict and afflicted by poverty as many of the OIC’s member countries are. This underscores the importance of collaboration between governments, developmental institutions, civil society and the private sector. Uneducated, unemployed young men roaming the streets do not make for stable societies. The IsDB has its work cut out and it knows it.
Cornelia Meyer is a business consultant, macro-economist and energy expert. Twitter: @MeyerResources

How caring for wetlands can help curb mass extinction
Martha Rojas Urrego/Arab News/January 30, 2020
It’s called the “extinction wing.” Located in a dark corner of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, it houses a haunting collection of species that have long since vanished from the natural world. With biodiversity declining faster than at any time in human history, what size museum will future generations need? We now face a sixth mass extinction, in which an estimated 1 million species are predicted to disappear. Does it matter? We survived the dodo’s demise and, though tragic, will the imminent extinction of the northern rhino really affect our lives?
In fact, it will. All living things on our planet depend on healthy and diverse ecosystems for air, water, and nutritious food. These same ecosystems regulate the climate and provide the raw materials and resources on which our economies — and lives — depend. The annual global value of natural services each year is estimatedto be $125 trillion.
Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse are among the biggest risksto economic prosperity and global development, according to the World Economic Forum. For many, it is a matter of life or death. For all of us, it is an existential threat as far-reaching, complex and urgent as climate change.
The world’s failure to meet almost all of its biodiversity goals highlights how we have underestimated that threat. Humanity wonders at the natural world but fails to value it. We pollute ecosystems, exploit their resources with abandon, and make them inhospitable. Too often, we fixate on the threatened extinction of iconic species — the polar bears and koalas whose suffering makes headlines — while ignoring the vast range of organisms we may never see, but which are essential to sustaining the habitats that support and shelter all life, including us.
The most endangered ecosystems are wetlands, including freshwater rivers, lakes, paddies, marshes and peatlands, and saltwater estuaries, mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and lagoons. We have lost 87 percent of our wetlandsin the past 300 years, and 35 percent since 1970. Today, they are disappearing faster than any other ecosystem — three times faster than even forests. As they vanish, so does the life within them. More than 25 percent of wetland plants and animals, which compriseup to 40 percent of the world’s species, are at risk of extinction, and stocks of other remaining species are declining rapidly.
The implications of this trend are sobering, given that wetlands are our most valuable ecosystem. Economically, they provide an estimated $47 trillion-worth of services annually and a livelihoodfor about 1 billion people.
More fundamentally, wetlands clean and store water. At a time when one in three people worldwide lacks accessto safe drinking water, and water-related conflictis on the rise, protecting these ecosystems saves lives. It also saves money: Protecting a natural watershed providing clean water to New York City, for example, eliminatedthe need for a $10 billion water treatment plant that would have cost $100 million per year to run.
Wetlands are also a major source of nutrition, including fish and rice — a staple food on which 3.5 billion people depend. The world’s largest mangrove restorationproject in Senegal shows how conserving and restoring wetlands can be a valuable strategy to tackle hunger and poverty. The restoration led to increased biodiversity, higher rice yields, and increased fish, oyster and shrimp stocks. Along with improved food security, surplus catches continue to bring valuable income for villagers.
Wetlands are also among the planet’s most effective carbon sinks, and thus play a central role in climate regulation. That is why some countries — such as Scotland, Denmark, and others— have embarked on large-scale peatland restoration, with positive knock-on effects for wildlife.
However, despite the clear evidence, wetlands are largely sidelined in national and global policymaking. To redress this anomaly, the parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will this year adoptan ambitious global roadmap to avoid mass species extinction while redefining a future where humans genuinely live in harmony with nature.
Proposed goals— including zero net loss and integrity of ecosystems by 2030 and a 20 percent increase in that area by 2050 — are essential. This is a critical opportunity to embed specific, measurable targets for protecting wetlands, and it must not be lost.
Despite the clear evidence, wetlands are largely sidelined in national and global policymaking.
Commitments already exist to protect and better manage wetland biodiversity, such as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.But mainstreaming wetlands’ compelling role in global and national solutions concerning biodiversity would provide the impetus for the transformative action needed. It would also help deliver multiple international goals on climate change and sustainable development. Future generations should not have to wander around vast extinction museums imagining lost worlds and mourning missed opportunities. They should not have to struggle to access the vital natural services that our planet is supposed to be able to provide. Unless we take urgent action to curb the next mass extinction, that will be the future that awaits them.
*Martha Rojas Urrego is Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2020.

Muslim World League's Historic Auschwitz Visit Draws Support From Saudi Arabia, Condemnation From Qatar
By: B. Shanee/MEMRI/January 30/2020
Introduction
The January 23, 2020 visit to the Nazi Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp in Oświęcim, Poland by a delegation from the Mecca-based Muslim World League (MWL), comprising 25 senior Muslim clerics and headed by its secretary-general, Mohammad Al-'Issa, was unprecedented. Taking place in advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, it was the first visit by a senior Muslim delegation to the camp, and was in conjunction with delegations and representatives from the American Jewish Committee (AJC). The visit, along with Al-'Issa's statements condemning the Holocaust during the visit, prompted a range of reactions in the Arab and Islamic world.
Saudi intellectuals and media figures expressed support for the visit on social media, emphasizing that the Holocaust was a mark of shame for humanity as well as history's most loathsome crime, that it should be acknowledged and condemned as such, and that it should be taught in schools. They added that the visit itself was an expression of tolerance and a positive move that would advance peace in the region. The Saudi press also published articles in support of the visit and of Al-'Issa, clarifying that it expressed condemnation of the crime against the Jews but was not an expression of support for Israel since Jews and Zionists are not the same.
Al-'Issa, the MWL delegation, and members of other groups in joint Auschwitz visit (Source: Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, January 23, 2020)
Aside from the delegation's Auschwitz visit, this year International Holocaust Remembrance Day received special mention in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. The Bahraini and UAE foreign ministers expressed solidarity with Holocaust victims and condemned racism on Twitter, with the Bahraini minister tweeting: "Together, we will remember those who were annihilated, [to ensure] that these crimes against humanity will not recur."[1]This was retweeted and expanded by his Emirati counterpart. Likewise, Saudi media published articles on International Holocaust Remembrance Day recognizing its importance.[2]
On the other hand, pro-Qatar elements leveraged the visit to protest against the MWL and its home base, Saudi Arabia. Condemnation of the visit appeared in the Qatari media, and the Qatar-backed International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) also condemned it, calling it an expression of unacceptable normalization with Israel. The position taken by the IUMS was in line with the antisemitic statements made over the years by its senior officials. IUMS founder Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi has for years promoted an extremist antisemitic and anti-Christian discourse, even saying in a sermon that Hitler was Allah's punishment for the Jews and calling for another Holocaust but this time at the hands of the Muslims.[3] This year, the organization's current leader, Dr. Ahmad Al-Raissouni wrote that it is a right and an obligation to question the Holocaust, and that details about it could not be confirmed because the narrative consists of claims that are "politically biased and questionable."[4]
This report will present details of the Auschwitz visit and sample reactions to it from the Saudi media as well as condemnations from Qatar and the Qatar-backed IUMS.'
Muhammad Al-'Issa And Other Delegation Members: "The Atrocities Perpetrated Here Were Heinous Crimes"; "We Have Come Here To Draw A Lesson [From These Events] "
The Muslim delegation that visited Auschwitz together with an AJC delegation included MWL representatives and other clerics from across the Muslim world. The visit included a tour of the camp, and the clerics also held public prayers in front of the memorial for the victims of the Holocaust at the site. After leaving Poland, the Muslim delegation also visited Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were massacred in July 1995.[5]
Among the members of the Muslim delegation that visited the camp were Poland Mufti Ahmad Tomasz Miśkiewicz, the secretary-general of the Morocco-based League of Mohammedan Scholars,[6] Dr. Ahmed Abbadi, and the secretary-general of the Lebanese Shi'ite Arab Islamic Council, Dr. Sayyed Muhammad Ali Al-Husseini, a Lebanese Shi'ite living in Lebanon and, a known opponent of Hizbullah. Together with AJC representatives, they also visited the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Tatarska Street Mosque, and the Nozyk Synagogue, and held a celebratory interfaith Shabbat dinner.[7]
The Auschwitz visit was an additional milestone for Dr. Al-'Issa, who in recent years has conveyed, on behalf of Islam, messages of pluralism and of the need for interfaith dialogue, particularly in Europe and in the U.S. Two years ago, on January 22, 2018, in advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, he sent a letter to Sara Bloomfield, director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, harshly and unprecedentedly condemning the crimes of the Holocaust and calling it "an incident that shook humanity to the core."[8] Several months later, on May 2, 2018, he visited the museum.[9]
Prior to the Auschwitz visit, the MWL wrote on its Facebook page that the visit was aimed at "stressing condemnation of those foul crimes without exception, since the Muslims condemn all crime, no matter the source or the victim, because these are Islamic values." It added that the visit was also meant to emphasize that Islam "is a religion of forgiveness and justice, and opposes all evil deeds," adding that "this position applies not only to the Islamic world but includes everyone, because Islam's justice and compassion are comprehensive."[10]
During the visit, Al-'Issa said: "Here, in Poland, we emphasize that we see those barbaric horrors, whoever perpetrated them and whoever was their victim, as a grave crime, since Islam is a religion of justice, with solid principles that have no double standard."[11] He also said: "I came here and met with grandchildren of those who survived the slaughter at Auschwitz. At these sites, ugly crimes against all humanity were committed... Today we honor not only the memory of the dead, but honor the living as well. The terrifying stories we heard from the survivors are proof of our shared humanity. There were Muslims who made an effort to save Jews from the Holocaust, placing themselves at great risk. They represent the true values of Islam. Our visit is aimed at spreading brotherhood, peace, and friendship worldwide."[12]
Al-'Issa and delegation members pray near the memorial at Auschwitz (Source: Al-Quds Al-Arabi, London, January 23, 2020)
The delegation at Auschwitz (Source: themwl.org, January 23, 2020)
Lebanese Shi'ite sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Husseini, secretary-general of the Arab Islamic Council and known for his anti-Hizbullah sentiment, tweeted after his visit: "We call for turning over a new leaf with the entire human race, with an open and moderate approach, in order to stress the brotherhood of humanity and our shared fate... [My] presence at Auschwitz is part of the humane stand to ponder the history of mankind, where the most terrible massacres and of all [types] of annihilation due to religious affiliation occurred. The visit provides an opportunity to remember what man has done to his fellow man... We are here to learn a lesson and to stress that the burning of human beings, particularly Jews, that happened on this piece of land is condemned by all the monotheistic religions, by the UN, and by the human race. There must be no murder because of religious affiliation..."[13]
Prior to the visit, Al-Husseini tweeted: "We have left for Poland as part of the Muslim World League delegation, and there we will meet with representatives of the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish religions, and with senior [Polish] state and EU officials. The visit will include a tour of the Auschwitz camp, as a clear Islamic expression of [the delegation's] condemnation of this crime of the Holocaust as a crime against humanity, and of our opposition to all forms of religious persecution."[14]
Dr. Ahmad Abbadi, secretary-general of the Moroccan League of Mohammedan Scholars, said in an interview with Al-Arabiya that no one in the family of man was immune [to contracting] the "virus of hatred" and that "this lesson must be learned so that we will not repeat this tragedy anywhere on the face of the Earth."
View Abbadi's statements on MEMRI TV here or below:
Following the visit, leaders of Muslim organizations in Europe, among them the World Council of Muslim Societies director Muhammad Bishara, North Macedonia Cultural and Justice Association director Nasrat Ramadan, and Islamic Council of Germany secretary-general Abd Al-Samad Yazidi, also expressed their support.[15]
Saudi Support For The Visit On Social Media: This Is Tolerance; The Holocaust Is Humanity's Mark Of Shame; We Should Teach About The Holocaust In Schools
Prominent on social media were tweets by well-known Saudi intellectuals and media figures who supported the visit of the delegation to Auschwitz and emphasized condemning the Holocaust.
Saudi intellectual Turki Al-Hamad tweeted in response to the visit: "This is tolerance. Regardless of [our] feelings towards the Israelis and the Jews in general, and [our] relations with them, the Holocaust and what happened to the Jews and others at the hands of the Nazis is a mark of shame on the forehead of mankind. Fanaticism will not blind us or distance us from our humanity. If we want the world to identify with our problems, we must identify with its problems."[16]
Turki Al-Hamad's tweet
Saudi intellectual 'Abd Al-Hamid Al-Hakim, former director of the Middle East Center for Strategic and Legal Studies in Jeddah, who has visited Israel in the past and tends to express support for the country,[17] tweeted the following in advance of the delegation's visit to Auschwitz: "A wonderful trend, which is in keeping with [the objective] of achieving peace. The time has come for the Arabs to understand that the thinking which led them to avoid acknowledging and condemning of the most heinous crime in history, [the crime] of the burning of the Jews, is the same [thinking] which transformed their countries into arenas of civil war. I propose teaching about heinous crime in our educational curricula so as to produce mature people who believe in and support peace." Al-Hakim also shared the video testimony of a Holocaust survivor from Auschwitz published on the "Israel in Arabic" Twitter account, along with a message expressing similar sentiments.[18]
Saudi media figure 'Abd Al-Hamid Al-Ghabin, also known for his support for Israel, tweeted a link to an interview he gave on "Makan,"an Israeli channel in Arabic, in advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In the accompanying message he wrote: "The position of the Muslim world and of the Gulf on the massacre which the Nazis perpetrated against the Jews has changed, [and now considers it a] crime unlike any other in all of history. The participation of the Muslim World League in the Berlin Forum [the AJC Global Forum in Berlin in June 2020] is paving the way for a change in perception, not only of the Jews but [also] of Israel, a country with which we must coexist on the basis of peace and the denunciation of hatred."[19] It should be noted that in December 2019, Al-Ghabin confirmed that Saudi authorities had revoked his citizenship, for reasons unclear to him.[20]
Loay Al-Shareef, another Saudi media figure who lives in Bahrain and is likewise known for his sympathetic stance toward Israel, and who was a member of the delegation to Auschwitz led by Sheikh Mohammed Al-'Issa, published the following tweet, in Hebrew, on the day of the visit: "Exclusive – historic visit of the Muslim World League in Poland with Sheikh Mohammed Al-'Issa. The true Islam condemns the Holocaust and every other crime against the Jewish people. May there be peace, with God's help."[21] In another tweet the same day, he attached a video of Al-'Issa and other members of the delegation praying inside Auschwitz, an act that had drawn criticism from various Twitter users, and wrote: "Important clarification with respect to this clip, from an eyewitness [who was present at the event]. During the visit of the Muslim World League at the Auschwitz camp, when the time came for the midday and afternoon prayers, those responsible for the camp, in a humane and civilized gesture, quickly prepared a place for the sheikh and others to pray, after which the program for the visit was completed."[22]
Loay Al-Shareef 's tweet
Support For The Visit In The Saudi Press: It "Shattered The Bonds Of Extremism" Yael okayed it… But "Was Not A Recognition Of The Occupation"
The Saudi press published several articles about the visit to Auschwitz. These articles praised the "necessary" visit to Auschwitz as well as Muhammad Al-Issa personally for having "shattered the bonds of extremism," while stressing that the visit did not indicate support for Israel or Zionism.
'Abdallah Al-Tayer, a columnist for the Saudi Al-Jazirah daily, wrote: "By visiting the Auschwitz [concentration] camp, Sheikh Mohammed Al-'Issa actively implemented the law of divine justice, as mentioned in the words [of Allah]: 'Oh you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just' [Quran 5:8]. He thereby emphasized that Islam does not recognize such acts of massacre, and that anyone who is killed by tyranny and aggression deserves that his fellow human should do him justice by remembering his suffering and taking every precaution to ensure that these humanitarian disasters do not recur...
"[Muhammad Al-'Issa] shattered the bonds of extremism by means of proofs and evidence, and opened the doors which have been locked so long due to various political desires or fanatical interpretations of religion. Every objective scholar of shari'a texts, unfettered by the influence of social and political elements and by the demagoguery which has piled up [over the years], will reach the same conclusion as Al-'Issa, if he is courageous. The late Sheikh 'Abd Al-'Aziz bin Baz arrived at the same realization about three decades ago, when he ruled that it is permitted to have diplomatic relations with Israel for mutual economic gain and if this benefits the Islamic countries. This is because such relations in no way signify recognition of the occupation or consent to what Israel does to the Palestinians..."[23]
In an article on the Saudi website Elaph,com, former Jordanian information minister Saleh Al-Qallab, who frequently writes in the Saudi media, rejected the criticism that had been voiced against the visit, emphasizing that the it was meant to condemn the massacres against the Jews, but certainly not to express support for the Zionists. He wrote: "There is absolutely no need for the uproar that some people made over the visit of Muslim World League secretary-general Dr. Muhammad Al-'Issa to Auschwitz, Poland, at the head of a delegation of 25 Muslim clerics. [This was] the place where, during World War II, the Nazis, under the orders of Adolf Hitler, carried out immense massacres against Jews as Jews. [These victims] had nothing to do with the 'Zionist Movement,' founded by the Austrian Theodor Herzl in the late 19th century and early 20th century as a colonialist nationalist movement...
"The Nazis carried out their crimes in Auschwitz and Srebrenica [sic] out of racist motives, against the Jews as Jews, not against the Zionists and the Zionist Movement. That is probably what prompted Dr. Muhammad Al-'Issa... to head the delegation and visit Auschwitz in Poland, and Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina. [His aim was] to stress to the entire world that the Muslims condemn these massacres perpetrated against the Jews just because of their religion, and that they distinguish between Judaism and Zionism, treating [only] Zionism as a nationalist, racist and colonialist movement...
"The objective of this good and necessary visit was to emphasize to the whole world, and to the members of the Jewish faith, in Palestine and everywhere else in the world, that the Muslims treat the Jewish faith as a divine faith, like Islam and Christianity; that they distinguish between Judaism and Zionism; that they oppose the massacres perpetrated by the Nazis in Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina [sic], and that they demand that the world condemn the massacres perpetrated against the Palestinians out of racist, Zionist motives..."[24]
Qatar-Backed International Union Of Muslim Scholars: We Oppose And Condemn The Visit
The Muslim delegation's visit to Auschwitz and the holding of a public prayer there sparked condemnation from Saudi Arabia's rivals, especially from Qatari and Qatar-supported elements, chief among them the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS). This organization, headed by Dr. Ahmad Al-Raissouni and supported by Qatar and Turkey, issued an official statement condemning the visit and the holding of the public prayer in front of the memorial at the camp, which it claimed were expressions of "normalization with the Zionist occupier." This position is not surprising; since its inception, the IUMS, founded by Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi and headed by him until recently, has been promoting antisemitic and anti-Christian rhetoric and also encouraging jihad and martyrdom. In fact, last May, Dr. Al-Raissouni published an article claiming that doubting the Holocaust was not only a right but a duty.[25]
The IUMS statement condemning the visit to Auschwitz said:
"The Muslims followed [the events] with puzzlement and disapproval as a delegation of sheikhs, organized by the Muslim World League and headed by its secretary-general and former Saudi justice minister Muhammad bin 'Abd Al-Karim Al-'Issa, paid a bizarre visit to the Nazi camp Auschwitz in Poland, to take part in the Israeli events marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the prisoners incarcerated there. The visit included a public prayer in front of [one of] the monuments commemorating the Holocaust, and ceremonial meetings with figures from the global Zionist movement.
"In light of this visit and its content, the International Union of Muslim Scholars
Condemns every injustice that was perpetrated or will be perpetrated against any individual or nation, regardless of its religion;
[Declares that] this visit is actually a chapter in [the process of] normalization with the Zionist occupier and the various arms [of the occupation]. Calling for just coexistence and peace did not require making this biased visit, with all its symbolic ceremonies. On this basis, the union opposes this normalization visit and condemns it, while supporting every [kind of] peace and coexistence that grant every [side] its due rights.
The union warns against the implications of exploiting clerics [as part of] the Zionist plans and the efforts of some Arab regimes to promote these [plans] with the aid of clerics.
[The union] condemns the holding of public prayers in front of the cameras and amid the monuments that are symbols of Zionism, and [condemns] the exploitation of the Jewish tragedy in propaganda that serves the Zionist entity and justifies its crimes against Palestine, the Palestinian people and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. [Holding] this prayer was [an act of] deceiving the Muslims and distorting their faith."[26]
Qatari Media Figure: Muslim World League Wept In Submission At The Holocaust Memorial
Condemnation of the visit came also from the Qatari media. Media figure Jaber Al-Harmi, who tweeted: "The Muslim World League wept in submission at the Holocaust memorial and its secretary-general led worshippers facing [the monument to the] Holocaust, but we saw none of this weeping over the wounds of the Uyghur Muslims [in China], the Rohingya [in Myanmar], in India or in Kashmir; we saw no serious activity for Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, or the wounds [sustained] by the peoples in Syria, Libya, and Yemen."[27]
Al-Harmi's tweet (Source: Twitter.com @jaberalharmi, January 24, 2020)
Article In Qatari Daily: The Quran Teaches Us Not To Follow In The Footsteps Of The Jews – So Why Are We Thronging To Auschwitz To Lament Them?
Muhammad Saleh Al-Musafir, lecturer in political science at Qatar University and columnist for the Al-Sharq daily, likewise condemned the delegation's visit and the statements of its members, claiming that the Arab states had nothing to do with the Holocaust. He added that, instead of praying for the souls of the Jewish Holocaust victims, they should have prayed for the martyrs of Gaza, Iraq and Syria. He wrote:
"I understand the position of Europe with respect to this human tragedy of Holocaust and genocide, but I cannot understand the position of several Arab countries with respect to this tragedy, since they have nothing to do with it. They took no part in it, and, from a historical perspective, they are not required to relate to it publicly. Seventy years have passed, and the subject of the Holocaust has not been [part of] our culture or our educational curricula. Seventy years have passed, and we repeat in our educational curricula that the Jews, [or in other words] Israel, stole Palestine [as part of] a European-American plot, and it was planted in the heart of the Arab and Islamic world as an obstacle to its unity and territorial contiguity.
"I don't want to remind you of the words of Quran 5:82, for you are familiar with them ['You will surely find the most intense of the people in animosity toward the believers [to be] the Jews and those who associate others with Allah']. Moreover, Quran 2:120 teaches us, 'And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion. Say, 'Indeed, the guidance of Allah is the [only] guidance.' If you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allah no protector or helper.' If so, why flock to [visit] the graves of Jewish victims of the European Nazism, to pray for their souls and mourn for them?
"The imam of the Muslim World League, [Mohammed Al-'Issa], stood there with a group of Muslims behind him and they prayed for the souls of the Jewish victims of Nazism. Would it not be preferable to pray for the souls of the martyrs of Gaza, Iraq and Syria who were killed by European and Israeli gunfire, and for [the souls of] the martyrs of Egypt who were killed in defense of Palestine [?]...
"Oh our fortunate leaders, Israel will not be pleased with you, no matter what you do, and the U.S. won't be pleased with you until you bow down and your noses touch the ground. It's a vicious circle. Therefore, return to your people; they are your assurance, if you will attain justice and equality for them."[28]
[1] Twitter.com/ABZayed, Twitter.com/khalidalkhalifa, January 25, 2020.
[2] For example, Elaph.com, January 23, 2020.
[3] See MEMRI TV clip No. 2005, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradhawi: Allah Imposed Hitler Upon The Jews To Punish Them – "Allah Willing, The Next Time Will Be At The Hand Of The Believers," January 28, 2009.
[4] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 8083, Dr. Ahmed Al-Raissouni, Head Of The International Union Of Muslim Scholars Which Was Founded By Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradawi In Dublin: Questioning The Holocaust Is Not Just A Right But An Obligation, May 23, 2019; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 8000, International Union of Muslim Scholars, Which For Years Has Encouraged Jihad, Calls On The West To Prohibit The Discourse Of Hate, April 15, 2019.
[5] The delegation's visit to Auschwitz was an outcome of cooperation between the MWL and the AJC, and was part of a memorandum of understandings signed by the sides on April 30, 2019. The MoU specifies additional activities planned for late this year: an AJC visit to Saudi Arabia in early 2020, and Dr. Al-'Issa's participation in an AJC conference in Berlin in June 2020 (Ajc.org, January 25, 2020), themwl.org, January 23, 2020.
[6] The League of Mohammedan Scholars is a public organization established by Muhammad VI in 2006.
[7] Ajc.org/news/american-jewish-committee-muslim-world-league-commit-to-combat-hate-deepen-ties, January 25, 2020.
[8] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No.7368, On Social Media, Criticism Of Muslim World League Secretary-General's Condemnation Of Holocaust – But In Saudi Press, Support For It, March 6, 2018.
[9] Twitter.com/holocaustmuseum, May 2, 2018.
[10] Facebook.com/mwlorg, January 21, 2020.
[11] Themwl.org, January 23, 2020.
[12] Themwl.org, January 24, 2020.
[13] Twitter.com/sayidelhusseini, January 24, 2020.
[14] Twitter.com/sayidelhusseini, January 21, 2020.
[15] Al-Yawm Al-Saba' (Egypt), January 26, 2020.
[16] Twitter.com/TurkiHAlhamad1, January 25, 2020.
[17] For more on Al-Hakim's support for Israel, see MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1399: Shift In Saudi Media's Attitude To Israel – Part II: Saudi Writer Who Visited Israel: We Want An Israeli Embassy In Riyadh; We Should Make Peace With Israel, Uproot Culture Of Hatred For Jews, May 29, 2018.
[18] Twitter.com/hakeem970, January 21, 2020.
[19] Twitter.com/Abdullhameeds, January 22, 2020.
[20] Twitter.com/Abdullhameeds, December 16, 2019.
[21] Twitter.com/lalshareef, January 23, 2020.
[22] Twitter.com/lalshareef, January 23, 2020.
[23] It appears that Al-Tayer is referring to a group of rulings made by former Saudi mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz on the subject of reconciliation with the Jews, which was published in a collection of his rulings on January 21, 1995. In his rulings bin Baz wrote that every country is free to reconcile with the Jews if this serves its interests, and that the relationships between the Jews and the PLO do not obligate the other Arab countries. Al-Jazirah (Saudi Arabia), January 27, 2020.
[24] Elaph.com, January 27, 2020.
[25] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 8083, Dr. Ahmed Al-Raissouni, Head Of The International Union Of Muslim Scholars Which Was Founded By Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradawi In Dublin: Questioning The Holocaust Is Not Just A Right But An Obligation, May 23, 2019.
[26] Iumsonline.org, January 26, 2020.
[27] Twitter.com/jaberalharmi, January 24, 2020.
[28] Al Sharq (Qatar), January 28, 2020.