LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 12/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’
Acts of the Apostles 02/29-39:”‘Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, “He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.”This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ “Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on July 11-12/2019
No Salvation or reform under Hezbollah’s Oppression & Occupation
Sanctioned Hezbollah Security Chief Works Closely with Lebanese Authorities
Reaction Shot: Washington Designates Three Hezbollah Officials
Report: Bassil Proposes Dropping Judicial Council Demand in Return for Appointments
Hizbullah Slams 'Spiteful' Sanctions as 'Continued Assault on Lebanon'
Arslan Insists on Judicial Council, Jumblat Slams 'Juvenile Jumping to Conclusions'
Report: Arslan to Hand Over Wanted Bodyguards Thursday
Actor Questioned over Suit Accusing Him of Insulting Religion, Aoun, Nasrallah
Hariri receives Allawi and chairs a meeting on the 2019 budget
Loyalty to Resistance meets in regular session, broaches overall situation
Kataeb meets in session to discuss latest developments
Bou Saab discusses with Rampling preparations for his forthcoming visit to Britain

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 11-12/2019
Iranian ambassador: IAEA meeting did not produce any results for America
IRGC commander says Britain will ‘regret’ detaining Iranian tanker
U.S., UK Will 'Regret' Seizing Tanker Off Gibraltar, Iran Guards Warn
Russia Blames U.S. over Gulf Tanker Incident
U.S. Says Planning Naval Escort for Gulf Tankers with Allies
Trump, Netanyahu Discuss Iran's 'Malign' Acts
Guardian Council chairman: Iran’s ‘great victories’ have ‘angered’ Europe
Gibraltar police arrest captain, officer of detained Iran tanker
US Navy says working with partners to defend freedom of navigation
Car Bomb Hits near Church in Northeast Syria
Clashes Kill 71 Fighters in Northwest Syria
Palestinian Militant Killed by Israeli Fire near Gaza Border
US envoy: Economic plan will not happen without Palestinian-Israeli
Sudan’s ruling military council says coup attempt foiled
Germany must repatriate ISIS fighter’s wife and children: Court
Fire put out in southern Iraqi refinery, operations unaffected
Administrator of Egyptian Pro-Mubarak Facebook Page Detained

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 11-12/2019
No Salvation or reform under Hezbollah’s Oppression & Occupation/Elias Bejjani/July 10/19
Sanctioned Hezbollah Security Chief Works Closely with Lebanese Authorities/Tony Badran/FDD Foundation/July 11/2019
Reaction Shot: Washington Designates Three Hezbollah Officials/Maha Yahya/Carnegie Middle East Centre/July 11/2019
UN Launches All-out War on Free Speech/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/July 11/2019
Why Palestinians Do Not Trust Their Leaders/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/July 11/2019
Reports: Personnel Changes In Top Syrian Security Echelons – Under Russian Pressure/O. Peri and H. Varulkar/MEMRI/July 11/2019
Canada’s election will be deeply shaped by Trump/J.J. McCullough/The Washington Post/July 11/2019
Desperate Iran speeding up nuclear weapons bid/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 11/2019
Europe must pivot away from sanctioning Syria/Nour Samaha/Arab News/July 11/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on July 11-12/2019
No Salvation or reform under Hezbollah’s Oppression & Occupation
Elias Bejjani/July 10/19
الياس بجاني: لا خلاص ولا اصلاح ولا مصلحين بظل احتلال حزب الله للبنان
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74240/elias-bejjani-no-reform-under-hezbollahs-oppression-occupation-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%a8%d8%ac%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a-%d9%84%d8%a7-%d8%a7%d8%b5%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%ad-%d9%88%d9%84%d8%a7/
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated three key Hezbollah political and security figures on its sanctions blacklist.
Specifically, OFAC designated Hezbollah Members of Parliament Amin Sherri and Muhammad Hassan Raad, and Hezbollah security official Wafiq Safa, for acting for or on behalf of Hezbollah.
These three Hezbollah prominent individuals were designated under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.
Hopefully, all the western free and democratic countries, as well as all the Arab States will as soon as possible follow the USA’s courageous decision and designate Hezbollah as an entire entity on their terrorism lists.
Hezbollah, the Iranian military and terrorist proxy is 100% a devastating cancer that is evilly and systematically devouring Lebanon and all that is Lebanese.
Therefore no reform from any kind will take place or be possible as long as this terrorist Iranian army occupies Lebanon, confiscates both its independence and sovereignty, and totally controls by force and intimidation, its decision making process in all domains and on all levels.
In the same context there will be no just and fair reforms or actual liberation from the Iranian occupation as long as the current corrupted and derailed politicians are in power.
In the same realm, the ex 14th of March (coalition) parties and politicians who dismantled the coalition and surrendered to Hezbollah via a humiliating bargain must not be trusted or supported any more.
The surrendering bargain that they forged with Hezbollah, the occupier and its local proxies sold the country and its sovereignty with thirty pieces of silver.
Lebanon is in bad and urgent need for honest, transparent, courageous and patriotic politicians whose main aim is to serve the country and the Lebanese people and not their own selfish agendas.
Therefore, Sadly all the ongoing current reform efforts will go in vain.
In summary, there will be No curing solutions what so ever for any Lebanese current crisis under the auspices of the Iranian occupation and under the umbrella of the current politicians and officials.
Psalm 127/01/(Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.)owever, looking at the Forbes data on billionaires’ wealth—the only source available for the country and many other countries—Lebanese billionaires seem to be doing fine. Their wealth represented on average 20 percent of national income between 2005 and 2016, as opposed to 2 percent in China, 5 percent in France, and 10 percent in the United States.
The fact that Lebanese billionaires’ wealth represents a higher share of total national income than in these three countries not only suggests that wealth is extremely concentrated in Lebanon, but also that the total amount of private capital as a share of national income is probably near or even higher than in France, the U.S., or China, where it is close to 600 percent of national income. In other words, we can assume that it represents between 400–700 percent of national income, which is not surprising given the dynamism of the banking and real estate sectors. If we do the same computations as before, imposing a flat tax on wealth in Lebanon could yield 60–110 percent of national income, that is between 30–60 percent of the total debt (the computations can be made using data available at the World Inequality Database).
Major fiscal reform has several key advantages. For the moment, the Lebanese tax system does a poor job of raising revenues. In recent years, tax revenue represented on average 15 percent of GDP, as opposed to 34 percent in countries from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Taxes on income and wealth represent less than 6 percent of total GDP. Thus, there is significant scope for raising taxes and revenue. This reform would make everyone contribute equally to the debt reduction effort and prevent any further increase in inequality and poverty, which could lead to a major social and political crisis. It should therefore be a key priority for the Lebanese government.
*The Lebanese budget mentioned in the story is for 2019, not 2020. Diwan has corrected the error.

Sanctioned Hezbollah Security Chief Works Closely with Lebanese Authorities
طوني بدران: العقوبات الأميركية على المسؤول الأمني في حزب الله، وفيق صفا، الذي يعمل عن قرب مع السلطات اللبنانية
Tony Badran/FDD Foundation/July 11/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/76585/%d8%b7%d9%88%d9%86%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d8%af%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%82%d9%88%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%b1%d9%83%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%89-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85/
https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2019/07/11/sanctioned-hezbollah-security-chief-works-closely-with-lebanese-authorities/
The Treasury Department designated Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa on Tuesday, along with two Hezbollah members of parliament. Safa’s activities epitomize Hezbollah’s domination of Lebanese state institutions, illustrating that the supposed distinction between the two is fictional.
Treasury’s announcement of the sanctions identified Wafa as “the head of Hezbollah’s security apparatus” and “part of Hizballah Secretary General Nasrallah’s inner circle.” It went on to say that Wafa is “responsible for Hizballah’s coordination with the international community and with Lebanese security agencies.” While true, this description greatly understates his influence.
Safa, who reportedly played a role in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, is now the central figure in Lebanese politics and security. As head of Hezbollah’s Liaison and Coordination Unit, Safa is Nasrallah’s troubleshooter. He manages Hezbollah’s relationship with Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. All of Lebanon’s political barons meet and coordinate regularly with Safa, in recognition of his key position and stature in the Lebanese system.
This includes government ministers. In 2014, for example, then-Minister of the Interior Nouhad al-Machnouk invited Safa to join a senior-level meeting of security officials at the ministry, to discuss the situation on the northeastern border with Syria. The meeting exemplified the ongoing synergy between Hezbollah, the official security agencies, and the Armed Forces. It also reflected Safa’s routine – even obligatory – input, facilitation, and direct involvement in state security operations.
Safa has also met with current Minister of the Interior Raya al-Hassan. Any visit by the minister, or indeed any security official, to Hezbollah-controlled areas such as Beirut’s southern suburbs involves coordination with Safa. The same goes for any policy measures concerning these areas.
But most notable is Safa’s relationship with the head of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate, Abbas Ibrahim. In many ways, Ibrahim, who is close to Hezbollah, is Safa’s counterpart inside the state’s security agencies. Ibrahim is the official troubleshooter, a function he performs hand-in-hand with Safa – a partnership that embodies the synergy between Hezbollah and the state.
In 2017, Ibrahim handled negotiations on behalf of Hezbollah for the return of its abducted fighters in Syria, and he and Safa greeted the returnees at the border together. In fact, the two regularly appear together, including at official events. In April, Ibrahim dedicated a new General Security branch in the southern town of Qana, where the directorate’s personnel paraded under a poster of Ibrahim and Nasrallah that read, “Together, for security and the resistance.” Seated next to Ibrahim at the dedication was Safa.
According to a former senior US government official who spoke to the author, Wafiq Safa is believed to have organized the 2015 kidnapping of five Czech citizens in Lebanon, designed to pressure the Czech government into releasing Lebanese arms procurer Ali Fayad. While Safa orchestrated the abduction, Ibrahim handled the negotiations. The Lebanese state, in other words, serves as the diplomatic and collections arm of Hezbollah.
Lebanese Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt, who regularly coordinates with Safa, described his role well: “He decides what the army and security forces can do.” For that reason, Safa’s designation raises serious questions about the continuation of U.S. security assistance to Lebanon. More broadly, his designation should signal the rejection of a resilient Washington myth: that Hezbollah and the Lebanese state are distinct. They are not. To strengthen the Lebanese state is to strengthen Hezbollah.
*Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @AcrossTheBay. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Reaction Shot: Washington Designates Three Hezbollah Officials
Maha Yahya/Carnegie Middle East Centre/July 11/2019
Spot analysis from Carnegie scholars on events relating to the Middle East and North Africa
On Tuesday, the United States Treasury Department designated two Hezbollah members of the Lebanese parliament, Mohammed Ra‘d, the head of the party’s parliamentary bloc, and Amin Sherri, as well as a third individual, Wafiq Safa, the party’s senior security official who oversees Hezbollah’s relations with Lebanon’s security forces. The designation was made under an executive order that “targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism,” according to the Treasury Department. This is not the first time the United States designates Hezbollah officials. In fact, dozens of individuals and institutions have been targeted so far, mostly belonging to the party’s military and security apparatus, as well as businessmen tied to Hezbollah.
Why Does it Matter?
These new designations signal an escalation of a different kind. First, over the past few months, U.S. officials have been leaking, anonymously, that upcoming designations may target Lebanese politicians who are allied with Hezbollah. While the most recent ones didn’t do that, they did hint that Washington may be edging closer to implementing such a threat. Second, with the new U.S. designations came the demand that the Lebanese government “sever its dealings with these [designated] figures,” even though the same government includes several ministers representing Hezbollah. The message to Lebanese politicians and citizens was clear: Do not deal with Hezbollah, though it is considered a key political representative of the country’s Shi‘a community. In the Lebanese consociational setup, severing relationships with one sectarian component is mission impossible, as it would derail an already delicate and complicated political process. In this case, such a request poses significant dangers for Lebanon’s political stability, especially as Hezbollah is the only armed group in the country. That is why the U.S. announcement was criticized by most Lebanese politicians, notably Lebanese Prime Minister Sa‘d Hariri, who is by no means a Hezbollah ally.
What Are the Implications for the Future? The new designations send a strong signal to the Lebanese banking sector and place Lebanon—which is already struggling with an ailing economy and a mounting public debt—on notice. While targeting individuals associated with Hezbollah will not have a broad impact on the economy, such a step further weakens confidence in Lebanon. However, targeting the banking sector, which is the backbone of Lebanon’s economy, or making demands of the country’s leadership that are impossible to fulfill is likely to undermine Lebanon politically and economically.
From the United States’ perspective, the designations indicate a dangerous readiness to play closer to the edge of the precipice in a conflict-ridden region, just to score another win in its fight with Iran.

Report: Bassil Proposes Dropping Judicial Council Demand in Return for Appointments
Naharnet/July 11/2019
Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil has proposed a swap under which Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan and his allies would drop their demand for referring the Qabrshmoun incident to the Judicial Council in return for administrative appointments that “would secure the March 8 Druze and Sunnis the shares that they want,” a media report said. “It seems that ex-MP Walid Jumblat is flexible and might accept such a bargain, but Prime Minister Saad Hariri is rejecting Bassil’s manipulation of the Sunni appointments, seeing as he is fed up and will no longer accept any haggling over his share, role and jurisdiction,” al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Thursday. Hariri “has delivered this message to President Michel Aoun,” the daily added. Two bodyguards of State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh al-Gharib were killed and a third was wounded in a clash with Progressive Socialist Party supporters in Qabrshmoun. The minister escaped unharmed as a PSP supporter was injured. The two parties have traded blame over the incident, with Gharib and Arslan describing it as an ambush and an assassination attempt and the PSP accusing the minister's bodyguards of forcing their way and opening fire on protesters. Arslan has insisted that the case should be referred to the Judicial Council, a top Lebanese court that looks into national security crimes, a demand opposed by the PSP and other forces.

Hizbullah Slams 'Spiteful' Sanctions as 'Continued Assault on Lebanon'
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 11/2019
Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc said Thursday that U.S. sanctions targeting two of the group's members in the Lebanese parliament are spiteful and won't force a change in their ideology or views. The U.S. Treasury Department said it is targeting two Hizbullah lawmakers and a security official suspected of using their positions to further the aims of the militant group and Tehran's "malign activities." Although the U.S. has been cranking up the pressure on the Iran-backed group, it is the first time it has targeted sitting members of parliament. Hizbullah has been gaining seats in Lebanon's parliament since 1992. The group and its allies won a majority in 2018 elections while Hizbullah secured three Cabinet seats, the largest number it has ever controlled. The bloc said targeting its head Mohammed Raad and lawmaker Amin Sherri with sanctions is a "continued assault on Lebanon, its people and their choices."

Arslan Insists on Judicial Council, Jumblat Slams 'Juvenile Jumping to Conclusions'
Naharnet/July 11/2019
Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan has reiterated his insistence on referring the deadly Qabrshmoun incident to the Judicial Council, as Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat has slammed what he called a "juvenile jumping to conclusions.”
“Our stance is clear: the Judicial Council is the key point,” Arslan tweeted. “The attempt to assassinate Minister (Saleh) al-Gharib will not go unpunished… and before some voice viewpoints that have nothing to do with the law, let them read well about the Judicial Council’s tasks and the type of crimes that get referred to it,” he said.“We will not be lenient over the blood of martyrs and wounded… Let the mercenary voices shut up, the voices of those who manipulate the blood of people and innocents, to whichever political party they may belong,” Arslan added. Jumblat hit back, stressing that “only the investigation can decide the course of justice.” “Enough with the disinformation campaign claiming that it was an assassination attempt. The clear attack by the bodyguards in the malign convoy led to the al-Basatin (Qabrshmoun) incident,” Jumblat tweeted. The PSP leader quickly deleted the tweet and replaced it with another. “Only the investigation can decide the course of justice and enough with the juvenile jumping to conclusions by saying that the al-Basatin incident was an assassination attempt,” the new tweet said.

Report: Arslan to Hand Over Wanted Bodyguards Thursday
Naharnet/July 11/2019
Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan has agreed to hand over the wanted bodyguards of Minister Saleh al-Gharib as part of the efforts to resolve the crisis over the deadly Qabrshmoun incident, a media report said. Arslan has told the relevant authorities that the bodyguards will be handed over to the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch on Thursday, Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper quoted informed sources as saying. “This will allow for the resumption of cabinet session as of next week and the demand to refer the incident to the Judicial Council will be dropped,” the daily added. General Security chief Maj. Gen. has been leading a mediation effort to resolve the deadlock. Two of Gharib’s bodyguards were killed and a third was wounded in a clash with Progressive Socialist Party supporters in Qabrshmoun. The minister escaped unharmed as a PSP supporter was injured.
The two parties have traded blame over the incident, with Gharib and Arslan describing it as an ambush and an assassination attempt and the PSP accusing the minister's bodyguards of forcing their way and opening fire on protesters.

Actor Questioned over Suit Accusing Him of Insulting Religion, Aoun, Nasrallah
Naharnet/July 11/2019
Lebanese actor Patrick Moubarak has been questioned by the Central Criminal Investigations Department over a lawsuit accusing him of insulting religion as well as President Michel Aoun and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Acting State Prosecutor Imad Qabalan had initially ordered that Moubarak be remanded in custody for further investigations before deciding to release him over health concerns. The interrogation ended Wednesday evening and the actor was released on Thursday morning after being examined by a forensic doctor, the National News Agency said. “It turned out that he is suffering from a number of illnesses, which prompted the state prosecutor to release him and refer him along with the case to Mount Lebanon’s prosecutor,” NNA added. The lawsuit was filed by the lawyer May al-Khansa over an audio recording that went viral on social networking websites.
Moubarak’s lawyer announced that the actor has been suffering from “various financial, health and judicial crises” over the past months and that he had been under the influence of prescription narcotic pills.

Hariri receives Allawi and chairs a meeting on the 2019 budget
NNA -Thu 11 Jul 2019
The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri received this afternoon at the Grand Serail the Iraqi Vice President Iyad Allawi and the accompanying delegation, in the presence of former Minister Ghattas Khoury. Discussions focused on developments in Lebanon and the region, the situation in Iraq and bilateral relations. Hariri previously chaired a financial meeting, in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani, Ministers Ali Hassan Khalil, Gebran Bassil, Mohammad Fneich, Youssef Fenianos and Wael Abu Faour and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan . The meeting focused on the 2019 draft budget in light of the amendments introduced by the parliamentary finance committee, in anticipation of the debate in parliament next week. Hariri also chaired the meeting of the ministerial committee for the quarries, in the presence of Hasbani, ministers Ali Hassan Khalil, Youssef Fenianos and Fadi Jraissati. At the end of the meeting, Jraissati said that they exchanged ideas related to the quarries master plan, and hoped that the final strategy of this file will be ready next week. Hariri previously chaired the meeting of the ministerial committee on the electricity plan, in the presence of Hasbani, ministers Khalil, Fenianos, Mohammad Fneich, Camille Abu Sleiman and Nada Boustani. It continued the discussion on the amendment to the Electricity Law No. 462 adopted in 2002. The members of the committee made their observations. They will continue their discussions in a coming meeting.

Loyalty to Resistance meets in regular session, broaches overall situation
NNA - Thu 11 Jul 2019
"Loyalty to Resistance" bloc on Thursday held its periodic meeting at its headquarters in Haret hreik, under the chairmanship of bloc head, MP Mohammed Raad. The bloc discussed most recent developments in Lebanon and the broad region. In a statement issued in the wake of the meeting, the bloc deemed the recent Qabrshmoun's incidents and their ramifications as the most evident witness to the shaky political life in the country, as a result of resorting to means other than laws to resolve differences and disparities. "Reconciliation is an internal affair that falls at the heart of the Lebanese traditions and their daily living practices, which we always support and encourage," the bloc said in a statement. The bloc underlined that reconciliation can be stronger and more lasting once based on legal regulations, hoping a reconciliation solution can be reached within the frames of the law, which would strengthen commitment to civil peace, the provisions of the Constitution and the national accord. On the recent US decision against MPs Mohammed Raad and Amin Sherry as well as Hezbollah Security Official Wafiq Safa, the bloc vehemently deplored and condemned this decision as an expanded aggression on Lebanon, its people and its choices."
"This matter is unacceptable and deplorable by all sovereign and ethical standards," bloc said, stressing "this decision will not change anything in our conviction, nor in our resistance to occupation, Israeli terrorism and the American policies supporting and sponsoring them."
The bloc also thanked all those who showed solidarity with the Party, including leaders, officials, dignitaries, bodies and communities. The Party affirmed its commitment to its national and moral constants and to its sovereign approach resisting all forms of dependence and subordination.

Kataeb meets in session to discuss latest developments
NNA - Thu 11 Jul 2019
Kataeb Party chief, MP Sami Gemayel, on Thursday presided over the meeting of the Party's politburo at the Saifi Central House, to discuss most recent developments on the local and regional arena, especially the recent US sanctions against Hezbollah officials.
In a statement issued in the wake of the meeting, Kataeb politburo called for confronting the repercussions of the US sanctions through returning to what it termed "the full-fledged state." The Phalange Party urged Hizbullah to separate itself from any regional track and not to engage in the international confrontations, in order to spare the Lebanese paying the price of plunging Lebanon into conflicts that they have nothing to do with it. The Party also called on Hizbullah to return to the Baabda Declaration and commit to impartiality, in addition to contribute to the development of a defense strategy to protect Lebanon in order to preserve the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Lebanon.

Bou Saab discusses with Rampling preparations for his forthcoming visit to Britain
NNA -Thu 11 Jul 2019
National Defense Minister, Elias Bou Saab, on Thursday held a meeting with British Ambassador to Lebanon, Chris Rampling, and Embassy Military Attaché Lieutenant Colonel, Alex Hilton, to discuss preparations for his visit to the Kingdom upcoming Saturday. Minister Bou Saab will be accompanied by a military, administrative and media delegation. Bou Saab is scheduled to meet with British Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt, Minister of State for the Armed Forces Mark Lancaster, and Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter. Talks will focus on the Kingdom's support to Lebanon in the implementation and advancement of the land border control plan, and ways of benefiting from the British army's expertise in modernizing and restructuring the military institution.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 11-12/2019
Iranian ambassador: IAEA meeting did not produce any results for America
Reuters, GenevaظThursday, 11 July 2019
An emergency meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday, held at Washington’s request to weigh Tehran’s breach of a nuclear deal, did not produce any results for America, Iran’s ambassador to the body said on Thursday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Washington used the session of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to accuse Iran of extortion after it inched past the deal’s limit on enrichment levels over the past week, while still offering to hold talks with Tehran. Iran says it is reacting to US economic sanctions imposed on Tehran since Trump pulled Washington out of the nuclear deal in 2018 and says all its steps were reversible if Washington returned to the agreement. “The special meeting of the Board of Governors ended without any results for America,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, said on Thursday.

IRGC commander says Britain will ‘regret’ detaining Iranian tanker
AFP, TehranظThursday, 11 July 2019
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Thursday that the United States and Britain will “strongly regret” the seizure of a tanker off Gibraltar, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported. “If the enemy had made the smallest assessment they wouldn’t have done this act,” said Rear-Admiral Ali Fadavi, deputy commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards, referring to the seizure of an oil tanker late last week by Gibraltar’s police aided by British Royal Marines. He added that the seizure of the tanker was “stupidity... a trait the American President has in spades and the British to some extent.”

U.S., UK Will 'Regret' Seizing Tanker Off Gibraltar, Iran Guards Warn
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 11/2019
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Thursday that the United States and Britain will "strongly regret" the seizure of a tanker off Gibraltar, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported. "If the enemy had made the smallest assessment they wouldn't have done this act," said Rear-Admiral Ali Fadavi, deputy commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards, referring to the seizure of an oil tanker late last week by Gibraltar's police aided by British Royal Marines. He added that the seizure of the tanker was "stupidity... a trait the American President has in spades and the British to some extent." The Guards also denied on Thursday that they had in turn impeded a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz in a statement published by the force's Sepahnews site. "There has been no confrontation in the last 24 hours with any foreign vessels, including British ones," the statement said.
Britain's government said Thursday three Iranian boats had attempted to "impede the passage" of a British oil tanker in Gulf waters, forcing UK warship HMS Montrose to intervene. The Guards' statement said that if they were ordered to seize foreign vessels they would do so "immediately, decisively and speedily." Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called reports alleging that the Guards tried to impede the British oil tanker "claims to create tension (in the region,) these claims are worthless," the official state news agency IRNA reported. Referring to last week's seizure of a tanker off Gibraltar, Fadavi said that the vessel had "been leased" to "transfer cargo." Iran condemned the detention as an "illegal interception," but Gibraltar officials said that the cargo was believed to be destined for Syria, which is subject to European sanctions. The 330 meter (1,000 feet) Grace 1 tanker, capable of carrying two million barrels of oil, was halted on July 4. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned Britain on Wednesday of the "consequences" of what he described as "a foolish act." "I point out to the Briish that you initiated insecurity (on the seas) and you shall grasp the consequences of it later on," Rouhani said in comments to the cabinet broadcast by state TV. On Monday Iran's defense minister had vowed to respond to Britain's move, which he called an act of maritime piracy. Brigadier-General Amir Hatami said it "will not be tolerated by us."Iranian-U.S. tensions have spiked in recent weeks, with Washington blaming Tehran for multiple attacks on ships, and the Islamic republic shooting down an American surveillance drone.

Russia Blames U.S. over Gulf Tanker Incident
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 11/2019
Russia on Thursday blamed Washington for the escalation in tensions with Tehran after Britain said Iranian ships had attempted to impede a British oil tanker in Gulf waters. "The situation is very concerning," said Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, quoted by news agency RIA Novosti. "The reasons for this are clear. This is Washington's deliberate, premeditated course to exacerbate tensions."Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists he was aware that "such an incident allegedly took place" but also of Tehran's denial. "As before, we call on everyone to behave with restraint in the Persian Gulf in order not to exacerbate the situation," he said, calling for dialogue. Britain said the confrontation on Wednesday saw three Iranian boats attempt to "impede the passage" of a commercial vessel called British Heritage, which is owned by British energy giant BP. This led a British warship moving between the three boats and warning them off, UK defence ministry officials said. The incident followed Britain's detention off the coast of Gibraltar on July 4 of an Iranian oil tanker allegedly destined for Syria. Ryabkov on Thursday called Britain's actions "outrageous" saying that they violated not only international law but also European Union internal legislation.

U.S. Says Planning Naval Escort for Gulf Tankers with Allies
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 11/2019
The United States and its allies are discussing plans to provide naval escorts for oil tankers through the Gulf, a top U.S. general said Thursday after Iranian military vessels menaced a British tanker. General Mark Milley, nominated to become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate hearing that the U.S. has a "crucial role" in enforcing freedom of navigation in the Gulf. He said the U.S. was attempting to put together a coalition "in terms of providing military escort, naval escort to commercial shipping," he said. "I think that that will be developing over the next couple weeks."

Trump, Netanyahu Discuss Iran's 'Malign' Acts
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 11/2019
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Iran's "malign" actions, the White House said Thursday, as escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington threatened to torpedo a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement. "The two leaders discussed cooperation between the United States and Israel in advancing shared national security interests, including efforts to prevent Iran's malign actions in the region," Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.

Guardian Council chairman: Iran’s ‘great victories’ have ‘angered’ Europe
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishThursday, 11 July 2019
The chairman of the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, said on Thursday that Iran has no expectations from European countries, adding that Iran’s “victories” across the region have “angered” the enemy.
“Everything we have [today] comes from resistance,” the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Jannati as saying.He claimed that Iran has had “great victories” in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, which have left the enemy “angry.”Jannati emphasized the role of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the country, saying: “It is he who knows where we should move forward, and where we should stop.”“There are no expectations of these hypocritical Europeans,” said Jannati, adding: “We must rely on ourselves and do our job in order to reach our goal, and we certainly will.” The Guardian Council, the Iranian government’s most powerful body, is responsible for reviewing legislation and supervising elections.

Gibraltar police arrest captain, officer of detained Iran tanker
AFP, Gibraltar Thursday, 11 July 2019
Gibraltar police have arrested the Indian captain and chief officer of a seized Iranian tanker suspected of breaching EU sanctions by shipping oil to Syria, Royal Gibraltar Police said Thursday. “This follows a protracted search of the vessel where documents and electronic devices have been seized and examined,” police said in a statement. Gibraltar police are interviewing both men, who have “been accorded their legal entitlements and access to consular representation,” it added. Gibraltar forces and British marines boarded the ship, Grace 1, and seized it on July 4 off the coast of Gibraltar, saying they believed it to be destined for Syria to deliver oil, which is subject to European sanctions. Tests have shown the 330 meter tanker which is capable of carrying two million barrels of oil, was “carrying a full load of crude oil”, the government of Gibraltar said Monday. Iran has condemned the detention as an “illegal interception” and said the tanker was not headed to Syria. The arrests come after London said earlier on Thursday that armed Iranian boats tried to “impede” a UK supertanker in the Gulf before being warned off by a British warship. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied involvement but also cautioned both the United States and Britain that they would “strongly regret” the UK Royal Marines’ detention of the Grace 1. Gibraltar police said the investigation was still on-going and the tanker remained detained.

US Navy says working with partners to defend freedom of navigation
Reuters, Cairo/Friday, 12 July 2019
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet said on Thursday it is working closely with the British Royal Navy as well as regional and global partners to preserve and defend the freedom of navigation, a day after three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-flagged tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz.“The United States Fifth Fleet is aware of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy’s unlawful harassment and attempts to interfere with the passage of the UK-flagged merchant vessel British Heritage on 10 July, near the Strait of Hormuz,” Vice Admiral Jim Malloy, Commander US Fifth Fleet, added in a statement.

Car Bomb Hits near Church in Northeast Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 11/2019
A car bomb detonated near a church in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeast Syria on Thursday wounding almost a dozen people, an AFP journalist and state media said. There was no immediate claim for the attack, which Syrian state television said wounded 11 people and damaged several cars. Syria's Kurds have led the U.S.-backed fight in the war-torn country against the Islamic State group, which continues to claim deadly attacks despite its territorial defeat in March.

Clashes Kill 71 Fighters in Northwest Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 11/2019
Regime and jihadist-led forces were locked in clashes Thursday on the edge of an opposition bastion in northwest Syria after a jihadist-led advance that killed 71 fighters overnight, a monitor said. Russian and regime aircraft have ramped up their deadly bombardment of the Idlib region -- administered by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and home to some three million people -- since late April, despite a months-old international truce deal. Clashes have also raged on the edges of the region, including in the north of Hama province. Late Wednesday, HTS and allied rebels took control of Hamameyat village and hilltop, in clashes that killed 41 regime fighters and 30 fighters within the insurgents' own ranks, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "The fighting is ongoing as regime planes and artillery pound the area," the head of the Britain-based monitor Rami Abdel Rahman said on Thursday morning.
HTS spokesman Abu Khaled al-Shami said the jihadist and rebel fighters attacked after dark, taking control of the "heavily fortified" hill from fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Naji Mustafa, a spokesman for the allied National Liberation Front rebel grouping, said: "The hill is very strategic because it overlooks... supply routes to enemy forces." Russian air strikes killed one civilian in the town of Latmaneh and rebel artillery fire took the life of one woman in the regime-held area of Karnaz, the Observatory said. A September deal between Russia and rebel backer Turkey was supposed to avert a massive regime offensive on Idlib, but it was never fully implemented and HTS took full administrative control in January. More than 560 civilians have been killed in regime and Russian air strikes on northwest Syria since the end of April, according to the Observatory. Rebel fire during the same period has killed more than 40 civilians in adjacent government-held areas, it has said. The United Nations says 25 health facilities in the region have been hit, while the fighting has forced 330,000 people to flee their homes. Syria's war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

Palestinian Militant Killed by Israeli Fire near Gaza Border
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 11/2019
A Palestinian militant was killed by Israeli fire near the border fence in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the enclave's Islamist rulers Hamas said.Mahmoud al-Adham, 28, was shot by Israeli forces in northern Gaza, a statement from Hamas's armed wing said, claiming him as a member. It said in a statement it would not let the death go "unpunished" and Israel "would bear the consequences of this criminal act." An Israeli army spokesman confirmed forces fired on two "armed suspects approaching the fence in the northern Gaza Strip." Hamas's armed wing has observation points close to the border fence. At least 295 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since major Hamas-backed protests began along the border fence in March 2018. Most were killed during the protests but others were killed by air strikes or tank fire. Six Israelis have been killed. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.

US envoy: Economic plan will not happen without Palestinian-Israeli
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 11 July 2019
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Jason Greenblatt, told Al Arabiya that Kushner’s economic plan “will not move forward” without a political agreement, reiterating his criticism of the Palestinian Authority's unwillingness to discuss the plan.
“Jared Kushner and a very skilled team from the US government put forth this $50 billion plan to help Palestinians, Jordanians, Egyptians, and the Lebanese. But none of it will work unless there’s a political plan that both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians agree to,” Greenblatt said.
The US envoy also said that he thinks people are manipulating answers given by officials about the Bahrain conference. “There are spoilers out there that are saying that this is nothing other than a bribe to the Palestinians.” In the interview with Al Arabiya’s Nadia Bilbassy, Greenblatt wanted to send a message to the audience: “I want to reiterate for your audience that we understand there is no economic peace alone, but we also want to drive home the point that there is no political peace without making sure the Palestinian lives are improved economically.”
Speaking about the US peace plan, Greenblatt said that it is roughly 60 pages which will be handed to the Palestinians and Israelis, calling on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to make any preconditions just to come back to the discussion table. Greenblatt was also opposed to the description of the US as a “mediator”, saying that his country is rather a “peace facilitator”. Asked about his criticism of the Palestinians on Twitter, Greenblatt said that he does not criticize ordinary Palestinians.
“When I sit with ordinary Palestinians, they may disagree with our US policy, they may disagree with certain things that I say, but they are very realistic and warm and welcoming to the discussion. The PA (Palestinian Authority) unfortunately is not welcoming to the discussion. You can’t create peace based on that attitude,” he said.

Sudan’s ruling military council says coup attempt foiled
AFP, Khartoum/Friday, 12 July 2019
Sudan’s ruling military council has foiled a coup attempt, a top general announced on state television Thursday, saying that 12 officers and four soldiers had been arrested. The announcement came as the ruling military and civilian protesters had agreed to end a political impasse after the army in April ousted longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir on the back of a popular uprising. “Officers and soldiers from the army and National Intelligence and Security Service, some of them retired, were trying to carry out a coup,” General Jamal Omar of the ruling military council said in a statement broadcast live on state television. “The regular forces were able to foil the attempt,” he said, but did not say when the attempt was made. Omar said of the 12 officers arrested, five of them were retired, and that security forces were looking for the mastermind of the attempted coup. “This is an attempt to block the agreement which has been reached by the Transitional Military Council and the Alliance for Freedom and Change that aims to open the road for Sudanese people to achieve their demands,” Omar said. The late Thursday announcement came as legal advisors of the ruling military council and protest leaders were going through the details of their agreement at a luxury hotel in Khartoum. The landmark agreement that aims to form a joint transitional civilian-military ruling body was reached last week after intense mediation by African Union and Ethiopian envoys. The forming of the new governing body is the first step towards installing an overall transitional civilian administration in Sudan as demanded by demonstrators. Sudan has been rocked by a political crisis since protests first erupted against Bashir’s rule in December. The protests finally led to the army ousting him on April 11, but the generals who seized power have so far resisted demonstrators’ demands to hand it over to a civilian administration. Tension had further soared between the two sides after a brutal raid on a longstanding protest camp outside army headquarters in the capital Khartoum that killed dozens of demonstrators and wounded hundreds on June 3. The raid came after talks between the generals and protest leaders collapsed in May over who should lead the new governing body -a civilian or soldier. Intense mediation by African Union and Ethiopian mediators finally led to the agreement reached on the new joint governing body on July 5. The agreement proposes a little more than a three-year transition period, with the president of the new ruling body to be held by the military for the first 21 months and a civilian for the remaining 18 months. The ruling body would comprise of six civilians, including five from the protest movement, and five of the military.

Germany must repatriate ISIS fighter’s wife and children: Court
Reuters, Berlin/Thursday, 11 July 2019
A Berlin court has ruled that the Foreign Ministry should repatriate from Syria the German wife and three children of a suspected ISIS fighter, a spokesman said on Thursday, adding that it was the first such ruling against the government. The family had sued the Foreign Ministry after its diplomats declined a request to help the mother return to Germany with her three children from a Kurdish-controlled area in northern Syria, the court spokesman said. Germany had wanted to repatriate the children but not the mother. The court said the Foreign Ministry should first verify the identity of the mother and her children before proceeding with their repatriation.

Fire put out in southern Iraqi refinery, operations unaffected
Reuters, Basra/Thursday, 11 July 2019
Firefighters have put out a small fire at Shuaiba, one of Iraq’s largest oil refineries, within 30 minutes of it starting and operations were not affected, two refinery officials told Reuters on Thursday. The fire was due to leakage from one of the pipelines which caused a small pool of crude oil waste that was ignited by a spark, the officials said. Located near the southern city of Basra, Shuaiba refines more than 200,000 barrels per day of crude. Iraq relies on Shuaiba, one of its three main refineries, especially as another of the three, Baiji, was damaged in the war with ISIS militants.

Administrator of Egyptian Pro-Mubarak Facebook Page Detained
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 11/2019
The administrator of a Facebook page supporting Egyptian ex-president Hosni Mubarak was detained for 15 days for "spreading false information," a judicial source said Thursday. Karim Hussein is the administrator of a page named "I'm sorry Mr President", which was created in February 2011 and is followed by more than three million people. Mubarak was overthrown that month after almost 30 years in power, amid a popular uprising that shook Egypt at the height of the Arab Spring. Egypt's prosecutor general put Hussein "in detention for 15 days for the purpose of the investigation", the judicial source told AFP. "The prosecutor general accused him of spreading false information, misleading public opinion with misinformation, misuse of social media and harming public security," the source added.  The team behind the Facebook page said in a statement that Hussein "had been taken away by security services to answer questions related to the page". The team's statement added that it did not know what content the investigation was focusing on, but noted that the authorities were exercising their inherent right "to question any citizen."Hussein was detained several days after an archive video was shared on his page in which Mubarak said he refused to cut state subsidies in order to safeguard "the poor citizen." The video was shared more than 1.5 million times. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government has implemented unpopular austerity policies since 2016, at the insistence of the International Monetary Fund. The measures involve drastic cuts to state subsidies and have sparked an outcry by Egyptians. Sisi, in power since 2014, has been accused by NGOs of cracking down on dissent.In September 2018, he passed a law that permitted close surveillance of social media accounts with mass followings.  The charge of "spreading false information" is regularly used against dissidents or human rights defenders in the country. Authorities say they are preserving the security and stability of the country.

 Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 11-12/2019
UN Launches All-out War on Free Speech
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/July 11/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14516/united-nations-free-speech
Translations of this item:
German
In other words, forget everything about the free exchange of ideas: the UN feels that its 'values' are being threatened and those who criticize those values must therefore be shut down.
Naturally, the UN assures everyone that, "Addressing hate speech does not mean limiting or prohibiting freedom of speech. It means keeping hate speech from escalating into something more dangerous, particularly incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, which is prohibited under international law".
Except the UN most definitely seeks to prohibit freedom of speech, especially the kind that challenges the UN's agendas. This was evident with regard to the UN Global Compact on Migration, in which it was explicitly stated that public funding to "media outlets that systematically promote intolerance, xenophobia, racism and other forms of discrimination towards migrants" should be stopped.
In contrast to the UN Global Migration compact, the UN's action plan against hate speech does contain a definition of what the UN considers to be "hate" and it happens to be the broadest and vaguest of definitions possible: "Any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor". With a definition as broad as this, all speech could be labelled "hate".
The new action plan plays straight into the OIC's decades-long attempts to ban criticism of Islam as 'hate speech'. In the wake of the launch of Guterres' action plan, Pakistan has already presented a six-point plan "to address the new manifestations of racism and faith-based hatred, especially Islamophobia" at the United Nations headquarters. The presentation was organized by Pakistan along with Turkey, the Holy See and the UN.
In January, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commissioned "a global plan of action against hate speech and hate crimes on a fast-track basis," and said that governments and institutions need "to mobilize solutions that respond to people's fears and anxieties with answers..." One of those answers, Guterres appeared to suggest, is shutting down free speech. Pictured: Antonio Guterres.
In January, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, tasked his Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, to "present a global plan of action against hate speech and hate crimes on a fast-track basis". Speaking at a press conference about the UN's challenges for 2019, Guterres maintained, "The biggest challenge that governments and institutions face today is to show that we care -- and to mobilize solutions that respond to people's fears and anxieties with answers..."
One of those answers, Guterres appeared to suggest, is shutting down free speech.
"We need to enlist every segment of society in the battle for values that our world faces today – and, in particular, to tackle the rise of hate speech, xenophobia and intolerance. We hear troubling, hateful echoes of eras long past" Guterres said, "Poisonous views are penetrating political debates and polluting the mainstream. Let's never forget the lessons of the 1930s. Hate speech and hate crimes are direct threats to human rights..."
Guterres added, "Words are not enough. We need to be effective in both asserting our universal values and in addressing the root causes of fear, mistrust, anxiety and anger. That is the key to bring people along in defence of those values that are under such grave threat today".
In other words, forget everything about the free exchange of ideas: the UN feels that its 'values' are being threatened and those who criticize those values must therefore be shut down. Not only that, but -- disingenuously -- the UN is comparing dissent from its agendas with the rise of fascism and Nazism in the 1930s. Now the action plan that Guterres spoke of in January is ready. On June 18, Guterres presented the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech:
"Hate speech is...an attack on tolerance, inclusion, diversity and the very essence of our human rights norms and principles," Guterres said. He also wrote in an article on the subject, "To those who insist on using fear to divide communities, we must say: diversity is a richness, never a threat...We must never forget, after all, that each of us is an "other" to someone, somewhere".
According to the action plan, "Hate is moving into the mainstream – in liberal democracies and authoritarian systems alike. And with each broken norm, the pillars of our common humanity are weakened". The UN sees for itself a crucial role: "As a matter of principle, the United Nations must confront hate speech at every turn. Silence can signal indifference to bigotry and intolerance...".
Naturally, the UN assures everyone that, "Addressing hate speech does not mean limiting or prohibiting freedom of speech. It means keeping hate speech from escalating into something more dangerous, particularly incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, which is prohibited under international law".
Except the UN most definitely seeks to limit freedom of speech, especially the kind that challenges the UN's agendas. This was evident with regard to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in which it was explicitly stated that public funding to "media outlets that systematically promote intolerance, xenophobia, racism and other forms of discrimination towards migrants" should be stopped.
Whatever constitutes intolerance, xenophobia, racism or discrimination was naturally left undefined, making the provision a convenient catchall for governments who wish to defund media that dissent from current political orthodoxy on migration.[1]
In contrast to the UN Global Migration compact, the UN's action plan against hate speech does contain a definition of what the UN considers to be "hate" and it happens to be the broadest and vaguest of definitions possible:
"Any kind of communication in speech, writing or behaviour, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender or other identity factor". With a definition as broad as this, all speech could be labelled "hate".
The action plan, "aims to give to the United Nations the room and the resources to address hate speech, which poses a threat to United Nations principles, values and programmes. Measures taken will be in line with international human rights norms and standards, in particular the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The objectives are twofold: Enhance UN efforts to address root causes and drivers of hate speech [and] enable effective UN responses to the impact of hate speech on societies".
The UN makes it clear in the plan that it "will implement actions at global and country level, as well as enhance internal cooperation among relevant UN entities" to fight hate speech. It considers that "Tackling hate speech is the responsibility of all – governments, societies, the private sector" and it envisages "a new generation of digital citizens, empowered to recognize, reject and stand up to hate speech". What a brave new world.
In the plan, the UN sets up a number of areas of priority. Initially, the UN will "need to know more to act effectively" and it will therefore let "relevant UN entities... recognize, monitor, collect data and analyze hate speech trends". It will also seek to "adopt a common understanding of the root causes and drivers of hate speech in order to take relevant action to best address and/or mitigate its impact". In addition, the UN will "identify and support actors who challenge hate speech".
UN entities will also "implement human rights-centred measures which aim at countering retaliatory hate speech and escalation of violence" and "promote measures to ensure that the rights of victims are upheld, and their needs addressed, including through advocacy for remedies, access to justice and psychological counselling".
Disturbingly, the UN plans to put pressure directly on media and influence children through education:
"The UN system should establish and strengthen partnerships with new and traditional media to address hate speech narratives and promote the values of tolerance, non-discrimination, pluralism, and freedom of opinion and expression" and "take action in formal and informal education to ... promote the values and skills of Global Citizenship Education, and enhance Media and Information Literacy".
The UN is acutely aware that it needs to leverage strategic partnerships with an array of global and local, governmental and private actors in order to reach its goal. "The UN should establish/strengthen partnerships with relevant stakeholders, including those working in the tech industry. Most of the meaningful action against hate speech will not be taken by the UN alone, but by governments, regional and multilateral organizations, private companies, media, religious and other civil society actors" the action plan notes. "UN entities," it adds, "should also engage private sector actors, including social media companies, on steps they can take to support UN principles and action to address and counter hate speech, encouraging partnerships between government, industry and civil society". The UN also says that, "upon request" it will "provide support to Member States in the field of capacity building and policy development to address hate speech."
The action plan also reveals that the first concrete initiative is already planned. It is an "international conference on Education for Prevention with focus on addressing and countering Hate Speech which would involve Ministers of Education".
The new action plan plays straight into the decades-long attempts of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to ban criticism of Islam. In the wake of the launch of Guterres' action plan, Pakistan has already presented a six-point plan "to address the new manifestations of racism and faith-based hatred, especially Islamophobia" at the United Nations headquarters. The presentation was organized by Pakistan along with Turkey, the Holy See and the UN.
According to news reports, the plan was proposed by Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi at a session titled "Countering terrorism and other acts of violence based on religion or belief".
"A particularly alarming development is the rise of Islamophobia which represents the recent manifestation of the age-old hatred that spawned anti-Semitism, racism, apartheid and many other forms of discrimination," the ambassador said in her speech. She added, "My Prime Minister Imran Khan has recently again called for urgent action to counter Islamophobia, which is today the most prevalent expression of racism and hatred against 'the other'".
"We are fully committed to support the UN's strategy on hate speech," said the Pakistani ambassador, "This is a moment for all of us to come together to reverse the tide of hate and bigotry that threatens to undermine social solidarity and peaceful co-existence."
In 2017, Facebook's Vice President of Public Policy, Joel Kaplan, reportedly agreed to requests from Pakistan's Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, to "remove fake accounts and explicit, hateful and provocative material that incites violence and terrorism" because "the entire Muslim Ummah was greatly disturbed and has serious concerns over the misuse of social media platforms to propagate blasphemous content".
At the UN, Pakistan's Ambassador Lodhi called for government interventions to fight hate speech, including national legislation, and reportedly "called for framing a more focused strategy to deal with the various expressions of Islamophobia. A 'whole of government' and a 'whole of society' approach was needed. In this regard, the Pakistani envoy urged the secretary-general to engage with a wide range of actors, including governments, civil society and social media companies to take action and stop social media users being funneled into online sources of radicalization".
The UN's all-out war on free speech is on.
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
[1] According to Objective 17 of the UN Global Compact on migration, member states commit to: "Promote independent, objective and quality reporting of media outlets, including internet-based information, including by sensitizing and educating media professionals on migration-related issues and terminology, investing in ethical reporting standards and advertising, and stopping allocation of public funding or material support to media outlets that systematically promote intolerance, xenophobia, racism and other forms of discrimination towards migrants, in full respect for the freedom of the media." [Emphasis added.]
© 2019 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.

Why Palestinians Do Not Trust Their Leaders
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/July 11/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14520/palestinians-leaders-trust
Evidently, Palestinian leaders do not grasp that the Palestinian public cares a great deal more about being treated like human beings by their own leaders than about anti-Israel and anti-US rhetoric.
This incitement is Palestinian leaders' way of distracting attention from problems at home. They want their people to be busy hating someone else – in this case Israel, the US and pro-US Arab leaders. Otherwise, these people might wake up one fine morning and demand reform, transparency and democracy from their leaders in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
If Palestinian leaders spent a fraction of the time that they waste on condemning Israel and the US, on bringing good government to their people, the Palestinians would be in a much better situation. It seems that some senior Palestinian leaders cannot go to sleep at night without having disgorged fiery statements against Israel and the US. Needless to say, this does not make for particularly constructive governance.
When fighting an unseen peace plan becomes a greater priority than bettering the lives of your people, one can only say that, with failed leaders such as these, the time has come for the Palestinian public to raise its collective voice and demand its rights from its unelected leaders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Until this happens, Palestinian leaders will continue to enjoy the good life on the extremely burdened backs of its people.
A recent opinion poll showed that half of the Palestinian public believes that the new government headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh will not be able to improve economic conditions or organize long-overdue presidential and parliamentary elections. Pictured: Mohammed Shtayyeh. (Image source: United Nations)
While Palestinian leaders continue to dedicate their time to vilifying Israel and the US administration, the Palestinian public seems to have more pressing matters on its mind. Take, for example, the debilitating and dangerous lack of public freedoms and the corruption under the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian leaders, however, appear oblivious to the urgent concerns of their people. Evidently, Palestinian leaders do not grasp that the Palestinian public cares a great deal more about being treated like human beings by their own leaders than about anti-Israel and anti-US rhetoric.
Thus, the gap between Palestinian leaders and their people appears to widen by the moment, and the Palestinians' dissatisfaction with the performance of these leaders grows at a parallel pace.
The number of Palestinians who heeded the Palestinian Authority's call to take to the streets in protest against the recent US-led "Peace to Prosperity" economic conference in Bahrain was relatively small.
Although the Palestinian leaders were hoping that tens of thousands of people would participate in the rallies against the US and Israel, it was evident that the number of participants was much lower than expected. In fact, most of the protesters in the West Bank were members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah faction or employees of his government.
Similarly, the number of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who are heeding Hamas's call to head to the border with Israel for the weekly protests is in steady decline. The protests, which began in March 2018, are organized by Hamas and other Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip under the title: "Great March of Return."
The decreasing number of Palestinians who are willing to go to the border and endanger their own lives by catapulting stones, firebombs and other lethal objects at Israeli soldiers is a positive sign; it is possible that the Palestinian public in the Gaza Strip is getting fed up with Hamas's empty arguments and rhetoric.
Two recent public opinion polls have revealed the depths of Palestinians' mistrust for their leaders.
Both polls, conducted in March and June 2019 by the West Bank-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR), showed that an overwhelming majority of 80% of the Palestinian public believes that Palestinian institutions are infested with corruption.
The results of the polls also showed that nearly 60% of Palestinian respondents want Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resign, and that most people are not satisfied with his performance.
The June poll, covering 1,200 Palestinians, showed that 67% believe that financial corruption is deeply rooted in Palestinian institutions.
The results of the poll also showed that most Palestinians living under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are afraid to criticize their leaders.
The March poll, also published by PSR, produced similar findings regarding the Palestinian public's perception of corruption and dissatisfaction with the performance of their leaders.
It showed that half of the Palestinian public believes that the new government headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh will not be able to improve economic conditions or organize long-overdue presidential and parliamentary elections.
Sixty-five percent of respondents living under Abbas's Palestinian Authority said they cannot criticize their leaders, as opposed to only 32% who said they could do so, the results of the poll showed.
In the Gaza Strip, 53% of surveyed Palestinians said they could not criticize their Hamas rulers, as opposed to only 41% who said they could.
The findings of the polls do not surprise those who have been monitoring Palestinian affairs for the past two decades. Financial and administrative corruption, as well as human rights violations, have long been an integral part of Palestinian government. The polls provided an accurate reflection of life under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas – two regimes that devote enormous energy to inciting their constituents against Israel and the US rather than dealing with their actual problems.
This incitement is Palestinian leaders' way of distracting attention from problems at home. They want their people to be busy hating someone else – in this case Israel, the US and pro-US Arab leaders. Otherwise, these people might wake up one fine morning and demand reform, transparency and democracy from their leaders in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian leaders seem to be aware of the growing rage among the Palestinian public towards corruption and human rights violations. Indeed, this knowledge explains why these leaders are so keen on blaming everyone but themselves for the miseries of their people. All the same they continue to finger Israel and the US for the abuses they perpetrate on their own people.
If Palestinian leaders spent a fraction of the time that they waste on condemning Israel and the US, on bringing good government to their people, the Palestinians would be in a much better situation. It seems that some senior Palestinian leaders cannot go to sleep at night without having disgorged fiery statements against Israel and the US.
Needless to say, this does not make for particularly constructive governance.
Of course, there is always a breath of hope that Palestinians will one day realize that it is their very leaders who are betraying them, by denying them free and fair elections, good government and democracy. Such a realization will wait until Palestinians gather the courage to stand up to their corrupt leaders and demand an end to corruption.
A handful of Palestinians, meanwhile, have shown that they do have the courage publicly to discuss issues that are considered taboo and "treacherous" by Palestinian leaders. One of these Palestinians is the deputy speaker of the dysfunctional Palestinian parliament, Hassan Khreisheh, who warned this week that corruption was leading to a "breakdown in Palestinian society."
Noting that the parliament has been paralyzed since Hamas's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Khreisheh said: "The absence of the parliament has encouraged governments and influential and non-influential figures to practice more corruption at all levels."
Voices such as Khreisheh's are not of any concern to Abbas and other Palestinian leaders, including the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip. For them, the Palestinians' top priority these days should be to scuttle US President Donald Trump's plan for peace in the Middle East, also known as the Deal of the Century.
When fighting an unseen peace plan becomes a greater priority than bettering the lives of your people, one can only say that, with failed leaders such as these, the time has come for the Palestinian public to raise its collective voice and demand its rights from its unelected leaders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Until this happens, Palestinian leaders will continue to enjoy the good life on the extremely burdened backs of its people.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on Twitter
© 2019 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.

Reports: Personnel Changes In Top Syrian Security Echelons – Under Russian Pressure
تقرير من موقع ميمري يتاول خلفيات وأسباب التغييرات الأخيرة في قادة المسؤولين الأمنيين الكبار بضغط من روسيا
O. Peri and H. Varulkar/MEMRI/July 11/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/76565/%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%85%d9%86-%d9%85%d9%88%d9%82%d8%b9-%d9%85%d9%8a%d9%85%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d9%8a%d8%aa%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%88%d9%84-%d8%ae%d9%84%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d9%88%d8%a3%d8%b3%d8%a8/
Introduction
In recent days, Facebook pages identified with the Syrian regime have reported on personnel changes in the upper echelons of the Syrian security and intelligence apparatuses. Among those replaced were the chiefs of the general intelligence, political security, criminal security, and Air Force intelligence apparatuses. It was also reported that National Security Bureau director 'Ali Mamlouk, who is known to be close to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, has been replaced and appointed vice president.
The Facebook reports on the personnel changes, which were cited later by the Arab press in other countries, have not been confirmed by the Syrian regime or the Syrian state press, but have also not been denied. The only exception is the reports on Mamlouk's vice presidency, which were denied by associates of the regime.
This paper will review the reports of the personnel changes in the top Syrian security echelons, and how they were interpreted by Arab media.
Facebook Pages Identified With Assad Regime: New Appointments In Top Security Echelons; Mamlouk Appointed VP
As noted, on July 7, 2019, Facebook pages which support the Assad regime reported on a series of new appointments in the country's intelligence and security apparatuses. The pages included one belonging to Bahjat Suleiman, formerly Syrian Ambassador to Jordan, and the "Homs News Network" and "Tartous News Network" pages. According to their reports, the personnel changes included:
Appointment of Gen. Nasser Ali as head of Syrian state security
Appointment of Gen. Hussam Luka as head of general security
Appointment of Gen. Nasser Dib as head of criminal security
Appointment of Gen. Ghassan Jaoudat Ismail as head of Air Force security.[1]
Left to right: Gen. Ghassan Ismail (Source: Zamanalwsl.net, March 8, 2018); Gen. Hussam Luka (Source: Shaamtimes.net, July 8, 2019)
Additionally, on July 8, several Facebook pages reported on two more important appointments: Gen. Muhammad Dib Zaytoun, formerly head of general security, as director of the National Security Bureau, replacing 'Ali Mamlouk, who was appointed vice president.[2]
However, this report on Mamlouk's appointment as vice president was denied by affiliates of the regime, among them former Ambassador to Syria Bahjat Suleiman, and also by the Facebook page of the regime-affiliated Al-Watan daily.[3]
On July 11, several days after these personnel changes, the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported that as part of them a new security body, Branch 801, had been established, to protect public facilities. Branch 801, said the report, is subordinate to general intelligence, and had been created in accordance with a Russian recommendation. It is tasked with protecting government buildings and facilities, including important sites such as embassies and diplomatic missions, banks, and the building housing the radio and television authority. These responsibilities were now consolidated under it, instead of distributed among several security apparatuses as had previously been the case.[4]
The New Appointments Are Further Personnel Changes In Top Security Echelons Over Recent Months, Under Russian Pressure
If these reports are indeed true, the personnel changes aren't happening in a vacuum, and the reports are more in a series of many previous ones in recent months on Syrian opposition websites and in the Arab press, on personnel changes in the top Syrian military echelons, including the appointment of the new chief of staff.
According to the reports published in recent months, the personnel changes made during that period are one manifestation of the power struggle underway between Russia and Iran over control of Syria's centers of power, including the Syrian military and security apparatuses. Each country is working to establish its control over them, and is pressuring the Syrian regime to appoint people loyal to it. This struggle may be why these recent reports on personnel changes in the ranks of the military and the security apparatuses were not covered by Syrian state media.
The reports state that Russia has increased its influence over the Syrian security forces, and is making certain that its affiliates are appointed to posts in the intelligence and security apparatuses. For example, it was reported that the early April 2019 personnel changes in the upper Syrian security apparatus echelons, including the appointment of Salim Harba as Syrian chief of staff, were carried out as the result of Russian pressure aimed at weakening President Assad's brother Maher Al-Assad who is considered close to Iran, and his associates, and to put in his place men loyal to Russia.[5]
Furthermore, on May 21, Al-Modon reported that Russia had ordered Ghassan Bilal, director of Maher Al-Assad's office, placed under house arrest; Ghassan is considered close to Iran. This move, the paper said, was aimed at preventing him from being appointed chief of Syrian military intelligence, after the Iranians had recommended him for the post.[6] Also, on June 19, new appointments in Syrian special forces and the Syrian Republican Guard were reported; these bodies are considered loyal to President Assad. Al-Modon noted that these appointments were also ordered by Russia.[7]
Iran, on the other hand, intervened in the appointment of former military intelligence chief Muhammad Mahla to the post of security advisor to President Assad, in an attempt to preserve its influence in the presidential palace. Mahla's replacement as military intelligence chief, Kifah Melhem, is also considered to be close to Iran.[8]
Russia's influence is also manifested in the round of current appointments. According to Al-Modon, although new intelligence chiefs Gen. Nasser Ali, Hussam Luka, and Ghassan Ismail are in favor of the Iranian presence in Syria and coordinate with officers of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and with the Hizbullah leadership, they understand that Russia can expel them or even have them killed if they do not follow its instructions, and that they must refrain from coordinating with the Iranians.[9] Likewise, according to the newspaper, Ali Mamlouk's replacement at the National Security Bureau, Gen. Muhammad Dib Zaytoun, who is thought to be Assad's personal friend, won his new job as a reward from the Russians for his contribution to strengthening the relationship between Syrian general intelligence, which until then he had helmed, and the Russians.[10]
The Syrian opposition website Orient News quoted experts who also thought it likely that the personnel changes were executed at Russia's instructions. This, they said, was due to Russia's desire to control Syrian intelligence and security apparatuses, and to distance them from the Syrian officers accused of war crimes, enabling Russia to promote political proposals for the Syria crisis and improving the image of the Assad regime in the international arena.[11]
According to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, the recent decision to establish Branch 801 and charge it with protecting public facilities came at Russia's recommendation, and was intended to limit Iran's power and prevent it from trying to take control of important government institutions.[12] Moreover, Orient News reported that Syria's aim in establishing it was to prevent a military coup against the Syrian regime by Syrian officers within the Syrian government who are loyal to Iran and bitter about what they perceive as Russia's control of Syria's decision-making.[13]
Contradictory Reports On The Background To The Replacement Of Air Force Intelligence Chief
As noted, the latest round of personnel changes included the replacement of the Air Force intelligence chief for the past decade, Jamil Al-Hassan, with Ghassan Ismail, his former deputy. Under Al-Hassan, Air Force intelligence had for years been depicted in the Arab media as playing a prominent role in human rights violations in Syria and in the torture and deaths of political prisoners. Al-Hassan himself was said by the Arab press to have directed the use of explosive barrels to bomb civilians, and was nicknamed "the barrel godfather." It should be noted that in July 2018 an international warrant was issued for Al-Hassan's arrest, and he is on the EU list of sanctioned individuals.[14]
Al-Hassan's removal may be connected to his failing health. According to various reports, in the past six months then-deputy Ismail served as acting commander of Air Force intelligence, after Al-Hassan suffered a stroke.[15]
However, other reports stated that Russia was behind Al-Hassan's removal. Al-Modon reported that several days after he left his position, on June 30, Russia had coordinated a meeting between him and Israeli intelligence officers, near the Golan Heights border. At the meeting, according to the report, the Israelis proposed that Al-Hassan withdraw the Iranian militias in Syria to 55 kilometers away from the Israeli border and that in exchange Israel, with Russian support, would fund an operation against the Iranian militias that refused to withdraw.[16] Also according to Al-Modon, Russia had told Al-Hassan that if he accepted an Israeli offer he would remain in his post for another year, and if he rejected it, he would be removed. Al-Hassan rejected the offer.[17] A similar report was published by Orient News.[18]
The Saudi Al-Arabiya news outlet suggested that Al-Hassan's removal was due to his visit several days previously to the rural regions of Idlib and Hama, where there has been fighting between Syrian regime forces, backed by the Russian Air Force, and armed opposition factions. According to this report, Al-Hassan's visit caused concern among the Russians who, as part of their efforts to resolve the Syria crisis, consider officers wanted internationally for war crimes personae non grata.[19]
Another report published July 10, 2019 by the Al-Arabiya website stated that Air Force intelligence commander Al-Hassan was considered to be close to Iran, and that commentators viewed his removal as an attempt to restrict Iran's power and influence in the army and in the circles surrounding Assad.[20]
Ali Mamlouk's Vice Presidential Appointment – Removal Or Promotion?
If the reports about the appointment of Ali Mamlouk as vice president, and his removal from his post as National Security Bureau head are true, this is a highly significant change in Syria's security institutions, because he is a central and very senior figure in the regime.
Mamlouk, born 1946 in Damascus, has for years been considered a central figure in the Syrian regime. As head of the National Security Bureau, he oversaw all the security apparatuses, and was privy to most of the information known to the intelligence apparatuses. He would leave Syria regularly on diplomatic missions in Europe and Arab countries, despite the sanctions and arrest warrants against him.[21] It was reported that during the Syria crisis he had visited Jordan,[22] Egypt,[23] and even Saudi Arabia, where he met with Crown Prince and then-defense minister Mohammed bin Salman.[24] He also is said to have held meetings in Italy[25] and Germany,[26] and also to have met with U.S. security and intelligence officers in Damascus.[27]
Several reports in the past have even presented Mamlouk as a candidate for replacing President Assad who is acceptable to Russia.[28] Mamlouk may also be acceptable to intra-Syrian elements who are not Assad supporters, as reflected by his meetings with representatives of the Kurdish self-administered region in northeastern Syria that is not under regime control,[29] with Druze elements from Suwayda district in southern Syria that the regime does not fully control,[30] and with former representatives of the Syrian opposition in Dera'a in southern Syria, which has recently been the site of anti-regime activity.[31]
The report of Mamlouk's appointment as Syrian vice president and his replacement as National Security Bureau head by Muhammad Dib Zeytoun was interpreted and assessed in various ways in the Arab media. Some Arab websites called it a promotion that further increased his chances of one day replacing Assad as Syrian president, while others saw it as a demotion from his senior role and as his being sidelined in a post where he is a mere figurehead with no authority.
For example, the London-based Qatari Al-Quds daily cited a source that hypothesized that Mamlouk's appointment as vice president was aimed at "changing the regime that Hafez Al-Assad handed down to his son Bashar" and called it another step aimed at removing Assad from the scene as the presidential election set for 2021 neared. The paper also cited a political researcher, Abd Al-Wahhab Aasi, who raised the possibility that Mamlouk's appointment was aimed at easing him into the role of Bashar Al-Assad's replacement.[32]
On the other hand, Syrian political commentator Darwish Khalifa hypothesized that Mamlouk's appointment was aimed at distancing him from Syria's military and security institutions, and, effectively, from all important regime positions. This, he said, was because the vice presidency was of little political or social importance.[33] The website of the Syrian Aleppo Today channel also discussed the appointment, in an item headlined "Ali Mamlouk's Removal from His Post..."[34]
*O. Peri is a Research Fellow at MEMRI; H. Varulkar is Director of Research at MEMRI.
[1] Facebook.com/tartous19, Facebook.com/HomsNetowrkLive, Facebook.com/General.Dr.Bahjat.Suleiman, July 7, 2019.
[2] Facebook.com/Sawa.masyaf, July 8, 2019; Facebook.com/531630663682585, July 8, 2019; Facebook.com/ALI0MAHFOOD, July 8, 2019. It should be noted that in April, the Lebanese Al-Modon daily had already raised the possibility that Mamlouk would be appointed vice president. Almodon.com (which is solely an online publication), April 5, 2019.
[3] Facebook.com/General.Dr.Bahjat.Suleiman, Twitter.com/Rahmon83; Facebook.com/alwatan.sy, July 8, 2019.
[4] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), July 11, 2019.
[5] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), June 7, 2019; Zamanalwsl.net, April 17, 2019; Almodon.com, April 5, 2019; Orient-news.net, April 8, 2019.
[6] Almodon.com, May 21, 2019.
[7] Zamanalwsl.net, Almodon.com, June 19, 2019.
[8] Almodon.com, April 5, 2019.
[9] Almodon.com, July 8, 2019.
[10] Almodon.com, July 8, 2019.
[11] Orient-news.net, July 11, 2019.
[12] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), July 11, 2019.
[13] Orient-news.net, July 11, 2019.
[14] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), July 8, 2019.
[15] Almodon.com, July 8, 2019; Zamanalwsl.net, December 25, 2018.
[16] Almodon.com, July 6, 2019.
[17] Almodon.com, July 8, 2019.
[18] Orient-news.net, July 11, 2019.
[19] Alarabiya.net, July 8, 2019.
[20] Alarabiya.net, July 10, 2019.
[21] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), Mena-monitor.org, July 8, 2019.
[22] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), November 25, 2015, February 8, 2017.
[23] Alqabas (Kuwait), December 19, 2016; Sana.sy, December 23, 2018. See also MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1284, Growing Egypt-Syria Rapprochement Includes Al-Sisi Statement In Support Of Syrian Army, Reports On Egyptian Military Aid To Syria, November 30, 2016.
[24] Al-Hayat (London), August 7, 2015. Al-Hayat is currently published in Dubai.
[25] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), February 26, 2018.
[26] Aljoumhouria (Lebanon), February 26, 2019.
[27] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 7658, Lebanese Daily: The U.S. Negotiated Secretly With The Assad Regime Over The Terms For Its Withdrawal From Syria, September 6, 2018.
[28] Zamanalwsl.net, December 15, 2017.
[29] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), October 29, 2017; Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), January 22, 2019.
[30] Suwayda24.com, December 16, 2018.
[31] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), April 3, 2019. See also MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1446, As Syria War Enters Ninth Year, Anti-Regime Protests And Armed Operations Resume In Daraa Governorate, March 18, 2019.
[32] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), July 8, 2019.
[33] Mena-monitor.org, July 8, 2019.
[34] Halabtodaytv.net, July 8, 2019.

Canada’s election will be deeply shaped by Trump
تقرير من الواشنطن بوست: الأنتخابات في كندا سوف تتشكل بعمق بواسطة ترامب
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/76588/%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b4%d9%86%d8%b7%d9%86-%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%b3%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%86%d8%aa%d8%ae%d8%a7%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d9%83/
By J.J. McCullough/The Washington Post/July 11/2019
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/07/11/canadas-election-will-be-deeply-shaped-by-trump/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.151ac0aea551
Canadian politics always occurs in response to events in the United States, with some causing bigger ripples than others. Today, virtually everything in Canadian politics overtly exists in the background of Donald Trump’s presidency, as Canadian politicians attempt to determine what lessons his unanticipated rise can teach a country so similar.
Everyone’s a free-trader now
Progressive Canadians once relied on the predictable trope of casually scorning free trade with the United States. Such was the long shadow of conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s divisive victory in the 1988 general election fought over the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement — the precursor to the North American Free Trade Agreement — which the Canadian left uniformly opposed to what it called a sell-out of national sovereignty.
Trump’s own NAFTA skepticism now seems to have radicalized much of these same people in the opposite direction. Since Trump’s election, Canadian progressives have become born-again free-traders, deeply invested in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ability to salvage the deal his party once strenuously opposed. The notion of using high tariffs as a means of demonstrating left-wing Canadian nationalism now feels too uncomfortably close to Trump’s own use of protectionism to demonstrate his “America First” bona fides. Instead, open trade now signifies open-mindedness.
Progressives’ late conversion to the free-trade cause brings another irony: Partisan contrarianism might now be pushing Mulroney’s successors in a more protectionist direction. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer — who has made pandering to Canada’s protected dairy interests part of his political brand — has taken to attacking Trudeau for having “backed down to Donald Trump” on trade and being insufficiently defensive of Canada’s milk, auto and pharmaceutical sectors.
Entitlement reform is off the table
Trump’s reputation as an “unideological” Republican is overrated, but his success in the 2016 primaries nevertheless helped consolidate a narrative that a conservative politician can safely ignore a lot of right-wing dogma. Trump happily rejected the assumption of the Paul Ryan wing of the GOP that reforming America’s costly, but popular, entitlement programs should be any sort of priority. As Matthew Yglesias recently put it in Vox, Trump “ditched a couple of unpopular GOP positions that were much cherished by party elites, like cutting Medicare benefits, delivered victory, and is beloved by the rank and file for it.”
Trump’s indifference to entitlement reform was treated as strategic genius in some circles — an example of the underrated virtue of running as a “social conservative and fiscal liberal.” In Canada, where debate on pension and health-care reform is even more timid, Trump’s example seems to have dried up any lingering sense that Conservatives have much to gain from embracing such unpleasant topics. Entitlements in both countries may be on a path to insolvency, but let someone else run on that.
Everyone wants to be the anti-Trump
Trudeau’s political brand has obviously enjoyed a bump in the Trump era, as progressive voters, egged on by a sympathetic global press, gain a useful context in which to judge their prime minister. No longer a cheap Obama knock-off, Trudeau has upgraded to “anti-Trump.”
Scheer, the mild-mannered Tory leader, meanwhile gains an opportunity to demonstrate that his kinder, gentler flavor of conservatism is ultimately a safer bet than Trump’s brash populism. The GOP’s midterm drubbing among suburban voters will certainly be seen as ample evidence in support of the Tory party’s long-standing suburb-centric electoral strategy.
Scheer may also hope to learn something from the precedent of Hillary Clinton: If the 2016 U.S. election is fundamentally understood as a rejection of her as much as an affirmation of Trump, then Scheer has every incentive to make 2019 a similar referendum on his opponent. Like Clinton, Trudeau is regarded by many as a deeply grating, obnoxious figure in a way that clearly transcends his policy positions alone. Polls certainly suggest he’s every bit as polarizing.
The Bernier factor
Trump’s unexpected election validated the idea that party politics is more fluid than it seems and that even the most unorthodox candidates may enjoy better odds than expert opinion assumes. Dismissing any candidate as “unelectable” now feels unjustifiably arrogant.
People’s Party leader Maxime Bernier, who once scorned a fellow politician’s campaign as “karaoke Donald Trump,” now hopes his platform of immigration cuts and opposition to “political correctness” will propel his fringe party to power on a Trump-style populist wave. Like Trump, Bernier has already amassed a loud and devoted online following fluent in memes and trolling and intends to appeal to disillusioned conservatives craving a harsher course correction to their country’s current path.
In pre-Trump times, it’s easy to imagine the press confidently dismissing Bernier’s platform as the sort of thing liberal, multicultural Canada would never tolerate. These days, however, the Canadian media is awash in panic stories about “foreign influence campaigns” and the political power of white-nationalist subcultures. The implication is that in the era of Trump, no electoral outcome should be beyond anyone’s imagination.

Desperate Iran speeding up nuclear weapons bid
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 11/2019
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1524186
The Iranian leaders have become extremely desperate both economically and geopolitically as the US continues to tighten the screws on Tehran’s major sources of revenue.
Several US sanctions on the Iranian regime — including the latest targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, and the reimposition of primary and secondary sanctions on Iran’s banking, financial, shipping and energy sectors — are exerting an unprecedented level of pressure on the Islamic Republic.
Even President Hassan Rouhani has admittedthat the regime is encountering its worst economic crisis since its establishment in 1979. Iran’s national currency, the rial, has droppedto historic lows: One US dollar, which equaled approximately 35,000 rials in November 2017, can now buy you nearly 130,000 rials.
Iran’s oil revenues and exports continue to decline. Before the US pulled out of the nuclear deal and began taking a tougher stance toward the ruling clerics, Iran was exportingmore than 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd). Its oil exports have since droppedto 300,000 bpd or less, according to Reuters. Refinitiv Eikon data suggests that Iran is exporting about 240,000 bpd, which represents a decline of more than 90 percent.
Domestic pressure also continues to rise due to the increasing rate of unemployment, high inflation, soaring prices, officials’ widespread financial and political corruption, economic mismanagement, human rights violations, detentions and imprisonments, and the lack of freedom of speech, press and assembly.
Meanwhile, the Iranian regime is feeling the pressure outside of its borders. Accordingto reports, the US sanctions have caused Tehran to cut its funding to militias and allies. Iran’s militants are not getting their salaries and benefits, making it extremely difficult for them to continue fighting and destabilizing the region. One militant fighting with an Iranian-backed militia in Syria told the New York Times in March: “The golden days are gone and will never return. Iran doesn’t have enough money to give us.”
Iranian proxy Hezbollah is feeling the pressure of sanctions so much that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has calledon his group’s fundraising arm to “provide the opportunity for jihad with money and also to help with this ongoing battle.”
In addition, the Iranians cannot support the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad as they used to.
From the regime’s perspective, the only path that can ensure its survival is to obtain nuclear weapons.
More importantly, the Iranian leaders have finally come to the realization that the international community, particularly the EU, is incapable of shielding it from the US sanctions.
The EU’s mechanism for avoiding sanctions, the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (Instex), has proven to be futile when it comes to generating revenue for Tehran. This is due to the fact that Instex is only dealing with pharmaceuticals, medical devices and food products, while Iran’s main revenues come from the energy sector, notably the export of oil and gas.
In addition, European firms and corporations are generally not willing to deal with Iran because they would run the risk of being sanctioned and losing their business with the US. The American sanctions are applicable to non-US citizens and entities, as the Treasury Department previously stipulated: “Non-US, non-Iranian persons are advised to use these time periods to wind down their activities with or involving Iran that will become sanctionable at the end of the applicable wind-down period.” That is why the conservative Iranian newspaper Javan wrote: “Instex, another ‘almost nothing’ for Iran.”
The hard-line members of the country’s Majlis (parliament) have consequently bashed Rouhani and his administration. Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, a member of the Majlis presiding board, statedthat Instex is a disgrace. “It is not clear until when the administration wants to continue this disgrace,” he said.
Iran’s new approach to Europe can be seen with the IRGC’s apparent attempt to impedea British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz this week.
Considering all this pressure, the Iranian regime feels that its hold on power is in grave danger. From the regime’s perspective, the only path that can ensure its survival is to obtain nuclear weapons.
In fact, Khamenei has, in the past, clearly expressedthat countries that give up their nuclear programs are irrational. Khamenei, who has the final say on major matters of state, blamed Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi for giving up his nuclear program, pointing out that Qaddafi’s decision was the paramount factor in his eventual overthrow. He said after Qaddafi’s fall that the deposed dictator had “wrapped up all his nuclear facilities, packed them on a ship and delivered them to the West and said, ‘Take them’.”
As a result, Iranian leaders have long viewed North Korea as a real example of how and why a country must possess nuclear weapons — not only as a deterrent against “enemies,” but also as a powerful tool to help pursue the country’s hegemonic ambitions. The Iranian regime has thus confirmed that it is increasing uranium enrichment beyond the limits set by the 2015 nuclear deal.
In a nutshell, as the Iranian regime feels that its hold on power is in danger, it is speeding up its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. This is to ensure the survival of its theocratic establishment and the export of its revolutionary and fundamentalist ideals.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated 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

Europe must pivot away from sanctioning Syria
Nour Samaha/Arab News/July 11/2019
It is time for Europe to re-examine how it chooses to treat Syria. After eight years of a brutal conflict that has ripped apart a society, destroyed a country and forced millions to flee their homes, the outcome the West was hoping for — the downfall of the regime — has not yet materialized. And nor will it. Rather, the Syrian government, headed by Bashar Assad, has survived, albeit battered and scathed.
So far, Europe’s approach toward Syria has been limited to the imposition of sanctions, as a policy rather than a tool, and little else. This has allowed Europe to feel it is doing something — anything, really — to punish the regime, first for the brutality employed during the war and then for winning the war. This it has done at a low cost, without engaging practically with the reality on the ground.
The fact that EU policymakers still hope the application of sanctions and increasing economic pressure will either pressure the regime to offer concessions at Geneva talks, bring the regime to its knees or force the population into mass protests displays a woeful misunderstanding of the Syrian government’s ability to survive. Much like it survived the war due to its “long breath” — the ability to withstand the pressure of war longer than its enemies — coupled with the unwavering military and financial support of its allies, the regime is determined to survive this new war. And it will do so at any cost. This will not result in a stable outcome, but it will equally not result in the regime’s reform or dislodgement.
Meanwhile, Europe’s areas of concerns — broadly speaking, refugees, migration, security and terrorism — persist. And even among EU states there is a divergent set of views on what to do with Syria based on their own interests and priorities.
The situation today inside Syria is grim. Entire neighborhoods remain devastated. The Western-imposed crippling economic siege and fuel embargo, which brought the country to a standstill over the winter months, is very painfully suffocating a population that is still suffering from the wounds of war. Inflation has skyrocketed to rates not witnessed even during the worst months of fighting, and today more than 80 percent of the population live below the poverty line.
The West has no entry points for leverage. Its resilience and stabilization programs in nongovernment-controlled areas are failing, and it has no confidence in the UN or other actors on the ground. This gridlock is, thus, fueling the only option: Sanctions.
Sanctions are carpet-bombing the economy; civil society is suffering; social services are being degraded; and assassinations in the south are on the rise. The government, for its part, is diligently working on cultivating relationships with other countries to extract investments, while also further solidifying its dependence on its allies, Russia and Iran, to survive this phase. It is relying on both the resilience and the fear of the population to remain in place. Meanwhile, corruption and government mismanagement continue unabated, war profiteers are flourishing and reconstruction remains elusive as luxury development projects are, mind-bogglingly, prioritized over infrastructure.
The Western-imposed economic siege is very painfully suffocating a population that is still suffering from the wounds of war.
The EU and US are piling on sanctions to force economic stagnation to the maximum in an effort to create better negotiating conditions. But, because of the staying power of the regime, they won’t achieve that aim. Worse, they are exacerbating the security conditions.
A collapsed state would lead to the “Somalization” of Syria: A broken country run by competing militias occupying different pockets of the country. With no central state, any semblance of a social contract would disappear, a new migration crisis would ensue and Syria would face another catastrophic humanitarian disaster.
EU diplomats are concerned that removing sanctions effectively rewards Assad and the regime. But, if Europe wants to address its own areas of concern, it should recognize that applying sanctions — in lieu of a pragmatic strategy that takes account of the reality on the ground — will only yield counterproductive results. Refugees are not returning to Syria, and will not as long as the government remains under siege and cannot provide economic stability. In fact, those who chose to remain in the country and who endured eight years of war are now looking to leave as economic conditions worsen — a situation that will have a direct impact on the future of Europe as Syrians look beyond the nation’s hostile neighbors for the promise of economic stability and settlement.
A stable Syria is in Europe’s best interest. This means a strong central state, an effective government, a stable economy and working infrastructure that can support the millions of civilians. Europe can still calibrate an approach that would facilitate stabilization in Syria, protect and promote the wellbeing of Syrians and tackle its own concerns, without necessarily compromising its moral argument against the regime. It should engage with Syrian civil society, guilds, nongovernmental organizations, trade unions and local administrations.
Just as importantly, the EU should seek out Syrian parliamentary politicians who can help create space for economic and civil reform while also ensuring their own interests are addressed. Rather than block and vilify international and local nongovernmental organizations that are working to support the basic needs of the most vulnerable in government-controlled areas, donors and EU member states should instead extend their support to these groups to prevent any further deterioration in the already perilous condition of the population. The alternative is to further impoverish the Syrian people, forcing them to turn to the regime just to survive.
As it stands, Europe has little negotiating power with the regime. Not now and not in any conceivable future. But it is within its powers to change that. And, to do so, it must pivot away from imposing sanctions from afar and engage on the ground.
• Nour Samaha is a researcher and analyst based between Beirut and London. As a journalist, she has covered the Middle East for over a decade. She has also produced policy briefs for institutions such as the European Council of Foreign Relations.
*Copyright: Syndication Bureau