LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 17/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
We speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts
First Letter to the Thessalonians 02/01-12:”You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully maltreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us. You remember our labour and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was towards you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you should lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on June 16-17/2019
Elias Bejjani: Blessed & Happy Fathers’ Day to all Fathers
AlRahi lauds building of St. Rafqa's Church in Himlaya: The saints of Lebanon did not and will not abandon a land that paved the way for their sanctity
Zakka visits Mikati, thanks him for his positions
Hariri Warned Aoun over CEDRE Implementation, Sunni 'Anger'
Jumblat, Wahhab Exchange Tirades over Dmit Clash
Sami Gemayel 'Not Afraid to Sleep in Chouf', Slams 'Sectarian Slogans'
Al-Hassan: Cabinet is Right Place to Address Refugee Crisis
Bassil: Return of Syrians to Their Homeland Is a Right, No Need for International Decision
Bassil visits Batroun Hospital, confirms his support
HRH the Countess of Wessex ends a two-day visit to Lebanon
Kouyoumjian: Our state is robbed and we seek to end the series of thefts, waste and corruption
Sami Gemayel from Mukhtara: Political settlement was intended to put a hand on the country
Nabo Chekka Museum opens its exhibition of impactful paintings

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published  on June 16-17/2019
Pompeo: US Does Not Want War with Iran
Pompeo, Iraqi PM Discuss Regional Affairs after Gulf Attacks
Israel moves to name Golan settlement after Trump
Hamas Chief Vows to Investigate Rocket Launch
Abbas Values Aoun’s Rejection of ‘Deal of the Century’
Sudanese Military Council: We Have Popular Mandate to Form Government of Technocrats
Sudan's Bashir to be Sent for Trial Soon
Syria Flare-up Kills 26 Pro-regime Fighters
Wave of Fake News on Egyptian Authorities Shuttering Mosques
ISIS Militants Waging War of Terrain Against US Special Forces
Sistani Scolds Iraqi Politicians for Seeking Personal Gains

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published  on June 16-17/2019
Elias Bejjani: Blessed & Happy Fathers’ Day to all Fathers/June 16, 2019
Avigdor Liberman's democratic revolution/Ben-Dror Yemini/Ynetnews/June 16/2019
The Method in Iran's Oil Tanker Madness/Bobby Gosh/Bloomberg/June 16/2019
Iran Alone Wants War/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/June 16/2019
The US and the 'Two-war' Defense Strategy/Hal Brands/Bloomberg View/June 16/2019
Diplomatic Gesticulations Won't Solve the Iran Problem/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/June 16/2019
Covering Up Our Culture to 'Avoid Giving Offense'/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/June 16/2019
Analysis/Is Netanyahu Grooming His Son to Succeed Him as His Leadership Spins Out of Control/Yossi Verter/Haaretz/June 16/2019
Intelligence Report: The Israeli-Abu-Dhabi Connection/Why MBZ has become a close ally of the Jewish state/Yossi Melman/Jerusalem Post
Full Text Of MBS’S Interview From Al Arabiya/Asharq Al Awsat Sites//Al Arabiya/16 June 2019
The Mullahs Promise "Demise of Israel" and American Civilization/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 16/2019
Court convicts Sara Netanyahu of corruption in plea deal/Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/June 16, 2019
Deaths in Iran’s notorious prisons on the rise/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/June 16/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published  on June 16-17/2019
Elias Bejjani: Blessed & Happy Fathers’ Day to all Fathers
June 16, 2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75816/elias-bejjani-blessed-happy-fathers-day-to-all-fathers/
”Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which The Lord your God gives you.” (Exodus 20:12 ).
“Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old”. (Proverbs 23/22).
Canadians observe Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June. It is a day for people to show their appreciation for fathers, grandfathers, godfathers and fatherly figures. Father figures may include stepfathers, fathers-in-law, guardians, foster parent, and family friends. Hopefully, all men will have the blessed grace of being fathers.
Being a father is a heavenly endowment, a great satisfaction, and a fulfilling Godly obligation as the Holy Bible teaches us: “Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it.”
Almighty God has blessed both parents, fathers and mothers and recommended that they be honoured, respected, cared for, and obeyed by their children. God’s fifth commandment delineates this heavenly obligation and duty.
God is our Holy Father, and we all, men and women, are His beloved children. Fathers on Earth are God’s servants who are entrusted by Him to safeguard, raise, embrace, support, provide and teach their children.
Meanwhile fathers are required to carry their holy duties in raising their children in the fear of God, with the best of their knowledge, with all their resource and means, with full devotion and with all needed sacrifices.
Fathers are the cornerstone of their families upon which children depend on and learn from them how to run, control, and shape their lives.
Caring, devoted and righteous fathers are always given a hand by God and blessed by Him for their rearing duties and erection of ethical and right-wrong boundaries.
Today we are celebrating “Fathers’ Day”, with all those who cherish fathers, appreciate their sacrifices and honour their Godly role.
Best wishes to all fathers hoping they will be shown today all the due respect and gratitude from their sons and daughters.
On this very special day definitely our deceased fathers’ and mothers’ spirits are roaming around sharing with us our joy and happiness. May Almighty God bless their souls and ensure they all are embraced and hosted in His Holy Heavenly dwellings.
Attitudes of gratitude or ingratitude towards fathers on Fathers’ Day, are very sensitive issues that affect and touch the hearts and minds of many people.
These two contradicting attitudes exhibit how much a person is either appreciative or ungrateful.
The majority of people hold on dear to their fathers and do all that they can to always show them their great and deeply felt gratitude, while sadly there are those odd ones out who show no gratitude, abandon their fathers and even at times endeavour to ruin their lives and inflict harm and pain on them.
By doing so and negating God’s commandments that stress an utmost respect for parents, these people make themselves enemies of Christ Himself.
Definitely God shall not be pleased such condemned conduct. This deviation from all human norms occur because of ignorance, selfishness, lack of faith and hope.
These people fall into temptation, become proud of what they should be ashamed of, worship things that belong to this world and forget all about “Judgment Day”.
“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord”.
(Colossians 3/20)
Fathers no matter what must be loved, honoured, dignified and respected. God Himself is a Father and He will not bless those who deny their fathers’ heavenly right of fatherhood and respect.
In this context, Billy Graham says: “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”
The Holy Bible in tens of its verses warns and puts on notice all those with callous hearts and numbed conscience who show no gratitude to their fathers and break their hearts.
“Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” (Isaiah 46/04)
Even when fathers are abandoned by their children and denied their heavenly rights, they never ever hold any grudges, feelings of hatred or hostility against them. No matter what, fathers always wish their children health, prosperity and success.
Meanwhile, the Bible instructs parents to value the Godly delegation to them to raise their children with all means of righteousness, safeguarding, nurturing, protection and provision.
“Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!” (Lydia M. Child, U.S. Author)
Blessed & Happy Fathers’ Day to all Father

AlRahi lauds building of St. Rafqa's Church in Himlaya: The saints of Lebanon did not and will not abandon a land that paved the way for their sanctity
Sun 16 Jun 2019/NNA
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi, affirmed Sunday that "the saints of Lebanon have not and will not abandon a land that paved the way for their holiness."
"Therefore, we ask for their intercession to take care of the land of martyrdom and faith, Lebanon," he added. The Patriarch's words came during his patronage of the building of St. Rafqa's new church in Himalaya earlier today, giving his blessings to underway construction works.Al-Rahi then raised prayers inside the old church of St. Rafqa and visited the hilltop where she used to pray.

Zakka visits Mikati, thanks him for his positions
Sun 16 Jun 2019/NNA
Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati met on Sunday with Lebanese citizen Nizar Zakka, who was recently released from Iranian detention, whereby the latter thanked Mikati for his constant supportive stand and continuous solidarity throughout his ordeal. Mikati, in turn, congratulated Zakka on his safe return to his family and homeland, wishing him all success in resuming his normal life at both the personal and professional levels.

Hariri Warned Aoun over CEDRE Implementation, Sunni 'Anger'
Naharnet/June 16/2019/
Prime Minister Saad Hariri warned President Michel Aoun during their latest meeting in Baabda over the current situation in the country, highly-informed ministerial sources said. “Aoun and Hariri were very frank to each other and the premier told Aoun that should the situation continue as it is, we will face a difficulty in implementing the recommendations of the CEDRE conference, which was aimed at helping us rise from our economic and social crises,” the sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Sunday. Hariri also warned Aoun over “the state of anger that is engulfing the Sunni community.”
“Stability in the country requires making everyone feel that they are equal and that there is neither a defeated or oppressed sect nor another acting as if it has a surplus of power allowing it to intimidate others,” the sources added. The Aoun-Hariri meeting came after a war of words sparked by remarks attributed to Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil, who is Aoun’s son-in-law.

Jumblat, Wahhab Exchange Tirades over Dmit Clash
Naharnet/June 16/2019/
Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat and Arab Tawhid Party chief ex-minister Wiam Wahhab on Sunday traded jab over a clash involving Wahhab’s motorcade in the Chouf town of Dmit. “I wish the Defense Ministry would reduce the number of firearms licenses granted to bodyguards and bullies and I wish the Interior Ministry would revoke the biggest number of permits for tinted-window vehicles in addition to hiking the tax on weapons,” Jumblat tweeted. He also hoped “the culture of respecting people” will spread among “the bodyguards and their masters.”Wahhab was quick to hit back, tweeting that “the problem is not in the presence of bodyguards.”“The problem is in the bandits who attack people’s dignities and appear on the streets with their weapons upon the eruption of any minor incident,” he tweeted, alluding to PSP supporters involved in Saturday’s clash. “We would punish anyone who would ‘throw a rose’ at Taymour (Jumblat), but we only want your men to respect the other opinion and here lies the problem,” Wahhab added, addressing Jumblat. The Dmit standoff erupted as Wahhab’s motorcade, carrying one of his sons, was passing through the town. An altercation between one of the bodyguards in the convoy and a town resident escalated into gunfire after which supporters of the PSP encircled the motorcade.
The convoy was later evacuated with the help of the army.

Sami Gemayel 'Not Afraid to Sleep in Chouf', Slams 'Sectarian Slogans'
Naharnet/June 16/2019/
Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel on Sunday stressed the importance of the Christian-Druze reconciliation during a visit to the Chouf region, as he blasted the rhetoric of the Free Patriotic Movement -- albeit without naming it. “I welcome MP Bilal Abdullah among us today and through him I address a big salute to the pillars of the reconciliation in Mount Lebanon: (Progressive Socialist Party chief ex-MP) Walid Jumblat and (former Lebanese president and Kataeb leader) Amin Gemayel,” the young MP said during the inauguration of a new Kataeb department in the coastal Chouf town of Rmeileh.
“To anyone who says that they’re afraid to sleep in Chouf, we tell them that we’re not afraid,” Gemayel added, in a jab at Minister of the Displaced Ghassan Atallah, who belong to the FPM.
During a TV interview, Atallah had quoted some Christians as saying that they are “afraid to sleep in Chouf.” “We do not fear coexistence or extending our hands for cooperation for the sake of Lebanon… And certainly we are not afraid of our neighbors or town residents,” Gemayel added. “We came to Chouf to stress that nothing can undermine the reconciliation, because it is the reconciliation of people and history, a reconciliation that will build Lebanon’s future. It is the backbone of the country’s future and we won’t allow anyone to harm it,” he went on to say. Warning that some parties are using “sectarian slogans” to “justify all kinds of violations and failure in running the country,” Gemayel urged an end to the attempts to “divide the Lebanese” and what he called “overbidding in the Christian arena.” “I’m speaking in my capacity as the leader of the Kataeb Party, which offered 6,000 martyrs and defended Christian presence in Lebanon,” he added. “Rest assured that had Christians been the ones aggrieved today, you would have seen us at the forefront of those defending them, but those aggrieved today are the state, the decent citizens, the law and the respect for the system,” Gemayel went on to say.

Al-Hassan: Cabinet is Right Place to Address Refugee Crisis
Naharnet/June 16/2019/
Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan on Sunday stressed that “the Cabinet is the right place and competent authority to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis,” in an apparent response to Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil’s remarks at Saturday’s municipal conference. In a statement released by her press office, Hassan said the Cabinet can “devise an integrated strategy that takes into consideration the decisions already taken by the Higher Defense Council, especially in terms of specifying the municipalities’ role in addressing this crisis.”The statement also noted that there is “national consensus” on “the need to shut down illegal shops and showing no leniency towards Syrians practicing any profession on Lebanese soil before obtaining the necessary permits.” “But it is unacceptable to deal with this issue with a partisan and populist agenda and for partisan and personal objectives,” al-Hassan added. She also stressed that the Interior Ministry is the ministry in charge of regulating the work of municipalities and preserving public order. Bassil had announced during a municipal conference on Saturday that municipalities “have jurisdiction to bar the work of Syrians in sectors other than agriculture, cleaning and construction,” urging them to also prohibit “residential overcrowding.”

Bassil: Return of Syrians to Their Homeland Is a Right, No Need for International Decision
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 16 June, 2019
Lebanon's Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Minister Gebran Bassil stressed the need for Syrians to return home. His statements came during the Third Municipal Conference entitled: "Your country needs your return: the crisis of displacement and the role of municipalities," held at Forum de Beirut launched by the Central Municipalities Committee for the "Free Patriotic Movement." "The return issue is, of course, in the interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese, but it is also for the benefit of Syria and the Syrians, because the return of the Syrians to their homeland is a right and does not require an international resolution or an international law," the minister stressed. "In the Syrian refugees' case, there are political conditions that have taken place and today they can return, and for that we affirm that we are with the unity of Syria ... and we will not hesitate to insist on our position without being racists," he added. Meanwhile, Progressive Socialist Party Chief, former MP Walid Jumblatt questioned if the conference is "a conference of racism and the implicit hatred and insults of the ruling party?""We do not blame them, for this is their philosophy...but what is the position of the partner in settlement and in governance?," he added.

Bassil visits Batroun Hospital, confirms his support
Sun 16 Jun 2019/NNA - Free Patriotic Movement Chief, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, visited Sunday the "Emile Bitar Hospital" in Batroun, where he had a closer look at its various sections and checked on the conditions of its staff and administration, in the presence of Batroun Municipalities Head, Marcellino el-Herek and the Hospital's Administrative Board Head, George Rustom. In a brief word during his tour, Bassil stressed on maintaining the Batroun Hospital, promising "continuous support to render it at the highest level of readiness to serve best the people of the region." In turn, Medical Committee Head George Tannous welcomed Bassil's visit, stressing that the Hospital requires the joint efforts and attention of all to ensure its vital presence and continuity. "We are confident that you are working on a future rescue project for the Hospital because its survival under the public sector's management is an urgent need for the people of this region residing both at the coast and in the mountain," added Tannous addressing Bassil.

HRH the Countess of Wessex ends a two-day visit to Lebanon
Sun 16 Jun 2019/NNA
In a press release by the British Embassy in Beirut on Sunday, it said: "Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex, ended a two day visit to Lebanon accompanied by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Foreign Office Minister, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, and Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Her Royal Highness’s first official visit to Lebanon and the Middle East reflects her commitment to women’s empowerment, promoting tolerance, and addressing gender-based violence in conflict. The Countess of Wessex saw the work of charitable foundations and NGOs in Lebanon offering support to the most vulnerable communities particularly women and children. Accompanied by Lord Ahmad and British Ambassador to Lebanon Chris Rampling, Her Royal Highness met with the President of the Republic Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. These discussions focused on the friendship and strong bilateral relations between Lebanon and the UK. In the Bekaa, the Countess visited an informal tented settlement and met with Syrian female heads of households and heard stories of their living conditions in Lebanon. The UN’s World Food Programme funded by DFID supports the most severely vulnerable families, meeting their most urgent needs of food, household supplies and medication. In Baysour, the Countess of Wessex met with Lebanese and Syrian women taking part in the Mechanism for Social stability programme part of the Lebanon Host Communities Support Programme (LHSP ), run by UNDP and the Ministry of Social of Affairs, aimed at building social peace and stability across communities.
Her Royal Highness and Lord Ahmed met with staff of the British Embassy in Beirut, and visited the memorial olive tree of Rebecca Dykes at the Embassy’s garden.
Her Royal Highness later joined a roundtable discussion with Syrian NGOs working to improve women’s participation in the peace process. They discussed how the UK could help ensure women’s voices are heard in Syria and in the region. In parallel, Her Royal Highness visited a shelter run by Caritas supporting survivors of sexual violence. HRH spoke to the women and listened to their stories, and how the support they are receiving from Caritas and the British Embassy is helping them through legal support an improved access to justice. At the end of the visit Her Royal Highness and Lord Ahmed were warmly received as guests of honour at the Queen’s Birthday Party reception hosted by Ambassador Chris Rampling at the Lebanese National Library. HRH met with a multitude of Lebanese guests and toured the inside of the Library where The Countess saw an exhibition emphasising Lebanon and the UK’s strong friendship looking back into the past, present and future. It included WFP’s iris scanners, MAGs demining devices, beautiful artwork by Tom Young, 1000 year old artefacts from Sidon excavation, the Debbas Collection from the Sursock Museum amongst the exhibitors and more.
Her Royal Highness delivered a message on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen at the Queen’s Birthday Party:
I am delighted that my daughter-in-law is with you this evening. The United Kingdom recognises Lebanon as a symbol of diversity, tolerance and resilience, and I hope that the strong bond of friendship between our two countries will continue for many years.Prince Philip and I send our warmest good wishes to the people of Lebanon, and to all those attending this evening’s reception. At the end of the royal visit to Lebanon, British Ambassador to Lebanon Chris Rampling addressed more than 700 guests and said: I am honoured and thrilled to welcome Her Royal Highness, The Countess of Wessex and Lord Ahmed of Wimbledon to Lebanon. This is a very special moment for the friendship between the UK and Lebanon. It is a testament to the strong bilateral relationships on several levels. I am pleased that HRH and Lord Ahmed saw firsthand how UK aid funding is supporting the most vulnerable communities and refugees across Lebanon: Lebanese, Syrians and others. Lebanon hosts more refugees per capita than any other country in the world. I am greatly honoured to have HRH as the guest of honour at this year’s Queen’s Birthday Celebrations which celebrate the best of Great Britain and Lebanon.
Ambassador Rampling announced that the British Embassy will be making 2019 the ‘Year of Education’, creating a better tomorrow for youth through UKaid and British Council support.
Rampling added:
I want to thank all the sponsors who have made tonight possible. And particular thanks to our hosts the National Library of Lebanon and the Minister of Culture. This is a fantastic venue, and we are looking forward to the partnership that is developing well with the British Library.
The UK’s relationship with Lebanon is stronger than ever – we are spending more in 2019 than we did in 2018.
Of course, Lebanon is today facing many challenges. I pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the terrible attack in Tripoli last week, and commend our partners in the security agencies for the work that they do to keep Lebanon safe. The Economy is on everyone’s mind, and the Government’s recent steps have started the work of reform under CEDRE, which we hope in time will attract more investment, including from the UK. And we know the challenge of refugees for the country: we will continue to support the Lebanese people as well as the refugees themselves.
And so tonight we celebrate what binds together the UK and Lebanon – the richness of our culture, our heritage, our shared history. Our modern, forward-looking, innovative societies. Our shared, exciting future’.
Defence Minister Elias Bou Saab, MP Yassine Jaber and Interior Minister Raya El Hassan represented President General Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri respectively.
About The Countess of Wessex
A full-time working member of the Royal Family, The Countess of Wessex splits her time between her work in support of The Queen and visits to a large number of her own charities and organisations. She is married to Prince Edward, third son of Her Majesty The Queen. She has a wide range of interests which include supporting people with disabilities, the prevention of blindness in developing countries, agriculture and fashion.
Much of the day-to-day working life of The Countess of Wessex is taken up with her roles as Patron of over 70 charities and organisations. Each year, Her Royal Highness undertakes hundreds of visits to schools, universities, military bases and charity headquarters in order to learn more about their work, and to highlight it to the wider world."

Kouyoumjian: Our state is robbed and we seek to end the series of thefts, waste and corruption
Sun 16 Jun 2019/NNA - Minister of Social Affairs, Richard Kouyoumjian, said in an interview with "MTV Station" earlier today that the Lebanese state is robbed, pointing to the efforts exerted by cabinet ministers "to stop the cycle of looting and robbery, corruption and theft."
He added that it is not enough to be non-corrupt, but one should confront various forms of waste expenditure, corruption and theft, referring to essential reform steps that can be sufficiently adopted within the annual budget without having to touch citizens' salaries and burden them with additional taxes. Kouyoumjian emphasized herein the need for the state to close all illegal border crossings with Syria to prevent smuggling. Additionally, he reiterated the importance of boosting customs' control at Beirut Port and border crossings to ensure a rise in revenues and to address the issue of tax evasion to improve tax collection. "I was hoping today to talk about the development of social conditions in Lebanon and the establishment of the social safety net, but unfortunately we are busy with ways to keep social welfare institutions in place," he went on, noting that his Ministry only provides 20% to 30% of the expenses of welfare associations. "The government should be aware of this and contribute more to supporting these associations and institutions," Kouyoumhian asserted. He deemed that the provision of funds is essential for the survival of welfare institutions, the likes of Sesobel and others, especially in light of their vital services that are much needed at a time when there are no official state institutions catering to people with special needs, orphans, disabled, addicts and battered women. Kouyoumjian concluded by confirming that his Ministry shall pursue its comprehensive survey of various social welfare bodies to ensure their legitimacy, calling on anyone in possession of information about any imaginary associations to come forward and alert the Ministry whose employees are working efficiently to carry out their duties in this respect.

Sami Gemayel from Mukhtara: Political settlement was intended to put a hand on the country
Sun 16 Jun 2019/NNA
"Democratic Gathering" Chief, MP Taymour Jumblatt, met this evening with Kataeb Party Head, MP Sami Gemayel, accompanied by his wife Karin and a group of partisans, in the presence of Industry Minister Wael Abu Faour and Deputies Henry Helou, Faisal Sayegh, Bilal Abdullah and Hadi Abul-Hassan.
Following a luncheon held in their honor by Jumblatt, Gemayel expressed his gladness to visit Al-Mukhtara, deeming it "an important opportunity to conclude our Shouf visit and for our cadres to get acquainted with each other.""What matters to us is that the reconciliation of the Mountain is not only between leaders, but also between people in every town and village, within the notion of uniting leadership, coordination and joint action together to maintain said reconciliation, which we consider the cornerstone for preserving Lebanon," Gemayel corroborated. He thanked MP Jumblatt, the Democratic Gathering and the Progressive Socialist Party for the warm reception, hoping for recurrent meetings in the future "so that Lebanon will remain a land of love and openness, preserving its nature and environment." Asked about the possibility of forming a coalition in the face of the Free Patriotic Movement and Minister Gebran Bassil, Gemayel said "the problem is not with Bassil himself but with those who stand behind him and determine the country's fate." "There is a political settlement that took place...Some understood that it was a huge mistake, and we perceive that it was intended to put a hand on the country, whereby it was based on quotas and cannot build a state of law," Gemayel went on. He added: "After three years, I think that people are acknowledging our stance from the beginning." Gemayel concluded by hoping "to reach with the Democratic Gathering, which shares many of our convictions, a day when we will work as one hand to mobilize the nation and get it out of this swamp in which some have plunged it!"

Nabo Chekka Museum opens its exhibition of impactful paintings
Sun 16 Jun 2019/NNA - The Nabo Museum in the region of Chekka-Al-Heri opened Sunday its "Illustrations with an Impact" Exhibition, an anthology of Lebanese art including the works of pioneers and modernists. The opening ceremony was attended by MP Roger Azar representing the President of the Republic, alongside Deputies Enaya Ezzeddine, Georges Atallah and Jean Ogassapian, as well as former Minister Bchara Merhej and former Deputy Fadi Karam, and several other officials and diplomats. "The Nabo exhibition opened on September 22, 2018, and includes paintings and relics from Mesopotamia and the Levant, and this exhibition includes drawings by Lebanese artists," said Mr. Jawad Adra, a Lebanese prominent businessman and co-founder of the Museum. He added: "In line with the objectives of the Nabo Institute, this exhibition seeks to crystallize new concepts on the region's artistic practices by learning from the past and encouraging creative minds in the future."It is to note that the exhibition runs until September 12, opening its doors to the public between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm, displaying more than 250 paintings from the works of around 33 artists.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published  on June 16-17/2019
Pompeo: US Does Not Want War with Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 16 June, 2019
While it is "unmistakable" that Iran was responsible for the attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week, Washington does not want to go to war with Tehran, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday. In an interview with "Fox News Sunday", Pompeo said, "President (Donald) Trump has done everything he can to avoid war. We don't want war." But he added that the US will guarantee free navigation through vital shipping areas. "The United States is going to make sure that we take all the actions necessary, diplomatic and otherwise that achieve that outcome," Pompeo said. US-Iran tensions are high following accusations by the Trump administration that Tehran carried out attacks last Thursday on the two oil tankers. "The intelligence community has lots of data, lots of evidence. The world will come to see much of it," said Pompeo, who headed the Central Intelligence Agency before becoming secretary of state. Pompeo said he did not want to discuss possible next steps the United States might take in response to last week's developments. "Iran will not get a nuke weapon. That's the goal," he said when asked about the possibility of Trump sending more American troops and military hardware to the region. "I made a number of calls to colleagues around the world yesterday. I am confident that we will have partners that understand this threat," Pompeo said

Pompeo, Iraqi PM Discuss Regional Affairs after Gulf Attacks
Asharq Al-Awsat/16 June/2019
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo held a telephone call on Friday with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi following recent attacks against oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Pompeo conveyed to Abdul Mahdi Washington’s assessment that Iran was responsible for attacking the vessels, said a State Department statement. He reiterated the United States’ commitment to upholding freedom of navigation. Pompeo emphasized “our shared desire for a strong, free and sovereign Iraq,” said the statement. He appreciated Abdul Mahdi’s “commitment to protect US personnel in Iraq supporting the Iraqi people and continuing the defeat ISIS campaign, and his continued efforts to counter threats to Iraq’s sovereignty from Iran-backed militias.”The United States will continue to help Iraq build out its security forces.

Israel moves to name Golan settlement after Trump
Associated Press/Ynetnews/June 16/2019
The new settlement, which will be known as Trump Heights, is inaugurated at a special cabinet meeting convened by Netanyahu at the Golan, the Israeli sovereignty of which was recognized by the American president over 2 months ago
The Trump name graces apartment towers, hotels and golf courses. Now it is the namesake of a tiny Jewish settlement in the Golan Heights.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet convened in this hamlet Sunday to announce the inauguration of a new settlement named after President Donald Trump, who acknowledged Israel's rule over the Golan in April, shortly after the recognition was signed in Washington.
"It's absolutely beautiful," said U.S. Ambassador David Friedman, who attended Sunday's ceremony. Noting that Trump celebrated his birthday on Friday, he said: "I can't think of a more appropriate and a more beautiful birthday present."
"Few things are more important to the security of the state of Israel than permanent sovereignty over the Golan Heights," Friedman said. "It is simply obvious, it is indisputable and beyond any reasonable debate."
Addressing the ceremony, Netanyahu called Trump a "great friend" of Israel and described the Golan, which overlooks northern Israel, as an important strategic asset. "The Golan Heights was and will always be an inseparable part of our country and homeland," he said. The settlement will be known as “Ramat Trump,” or Trump Heights. Israel hopes the community will attract a wave of people to what is currently little more than an isolated outpost - known as Beruchim - with just 10 residents.
The community was established in 1991, by then-housing minister Ariel Sharon, who sent a group of new immigrants from the Soviet Union to live there. It was established near Qela and meant to be a thriving extension of it, but failed to live up to the expectations.
Residents of Qela were outraged about the decision to change their existing community's name, and hung signs protesting the move on their entrance gate, apparently under the impression the entire perimeter of Qela and Beruchim will become the new Trump community.
However, it was later clarified that the new settlement will not replace Qela, but rather built on top of Beruchim; a draft plan already exists and offers 110 new homes be built in Beruchim, that will house both religious and secular residents. Rosa Zhernakov, a resident of Bruchim since 1991, said the community was excited by Sunday's decision. "We hope it will benefit the Golan Heights," she said, standing outside her bungalow on one of Bruchim's few streets. She said the revitalization of the settlement will mean "more security" for residents from any possible return of the Golan Heights to Syria as part of a future peace treaty. Vladimir Belotserkovsky , 75, another veteran resident, said he welcomed any move to build up the settlement. "We certainly thank, and I personally, am satisfied by the fact that they're founding the new settlement named for Trump," he said.
Zvi Hauser, an opposition lawmaker who formerly served as Netanyahu's cabinet secretary, called Sunday's ceremony a cheap PR stunt. "There's no funding, no planning, no location, and there's no real binding decision," he said.

Hamas Chief Vows to Investigate Rocket Launch
Gaza/Asharq Al-Awsat/16 June/2019
Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh told the United Nations envoy for the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov that he did not know who in Gaza was responsible for this week’s rocket fire at Israel, sources reported. Haniyeh said the movement was investigating to know who carried out the attacks, asserting that “no faction fired toward Israel” in the past week.“We’re conducting an investigation to find out who fired,” Haniyeh told Mladenov at the meeting in Gaza, adding that all Gaza-based factions had denied firing at Israel. Haniyeh stressed that Hamas does not want the ceasefire deal reached with Israel to collapse.
Recent developments came at a time Hamas and other factions threatened to escalate the situation if Israel did not honor the agreements. Israeli war jets raided Gaza Strip hours after a rocket launched from Gaza slammed into a religious school, causing damage but no injuries. The Israeli military said in a statement that fighter jets and other aircraft attacked “several terror targets, including terror infrastructure in military compounds.”On Thursday morning, the Iron Dome system intercepted a rocket fired from Gaza and Israeli jets shelled an underground Hamas facility in the southern Gaza Strip. Tension in Gaza has risen as Israel imposed a naval blockade on the Gaza Strip. An army spokesman said that in the wake of the firing of incendiary balloons from Gaza, Israel imposed naval blockade on the Gaza Strip. Over the past few days, many balloons were launched from the Strip towards the settlements in a clear shift in Hamas’ policy. Hamas said that demonstrations would see escalations if Israel continued to stall the implementation of the understandings brokered between both parties and sponsored by Egypt, UN, and Qatar. Israeli media said Qatari Ambassador Mohammed al-Emadi was informed by the Israeli government he should not arrive in Gaza for the transfer of money. However, Mladenov promised Haniyeh that the Qatari envoy would enter the Gaza Strip with a monthly cash delivery, and conveyed that Israel was interested in maintaining calm in the south. Top Israeli army generals were expected to push for a much stronger response to rocket fire and arson balloons from the Gaza Strip after the attacks, according to Israeli media. Citing a senior military source, a televised report said Israel was “on the verge of a serious military campaign,” and said the army was considering ending its policy of warning occupants of buildings ahead of airstrikes, even if it causes casualties. “Everything is hanging by a very thin thread and the situation could change dramatically,” a veteran military source told Channel Two. However, political analysts noted that it was unlikely that the government would authorize a major military campaign ahead of the elections set for September. Tensions with Gaza have been steadily rising in recent weeks, with Israel blocking Gazan fishermen from access to the sea in response to multiple incendiary balloons being launched over the border. On Friday, the Israeli army deployed a battery system close to Gaza after a rocket was launched. This week, an Egyptian security delegation is supposed to arrive in order to contain any possible escalation. Cairo had drawn up an agreement last month for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip. The agreement include expanding the fishing zone to 12 miles, improving electricity networks and supplies, facilitating export and import operations and resuming transfers of funds to the Strip. In exchange, Hamas pledged to halt rocket fire and keep border protests under control and far from the separation fence.

Abbas Values Aoun’s Rejection of ‘Deal of the Century’
Beirut/Asharq Al-Awsat/16 June/2019
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun received a message from his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, on recent developments in the Palestinian cause. The letter was conveyed by a member of the Fatah Central Committee, Minister Azzam Al-Ahmad, who met Aoun at the head of a Palestinian delegation, according to a statement issued by the Lebanese Presidency. The Palestinian president expressed appreciation to Aoun’s “historic and courageous stances and to the Lebanese people’s positions in support of the Palestinian Cause.”He also valued Lebanon’s rejection of the so-called “Deal of the Century” and the Manama workshop, during which the US intends to present the economic aspect of its deal plan. Abbas also pointed to the ongoing Israeli expansion and the building of illegal settlements and separation walls in the occupied territories, in addition to Israel’s attempts to Judaize Jerusalem and forcibly displace its inhabitants.He underlined that the Palestinian leadership “has exerted and will continue to exert every effort to reach a just and lasting peace in the region.” Emphasizing the continued joint coordination at all political and security levels to combat terrorism, Abbas expressed appreciation for the united efforts to preserve the security of the Palestinian camps in Lebanon.

Sudanese Military Council: We Have Popular Mandate to Form Government of Technocrats
Khartoum - Ahmed Younes, Mohammed Amin Yassin/Asharq Al-Awsat/16 June/2019
Deputy Head of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council Lieutenant General Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo (Hamidati) said the council enjoys a popular mandate to form a government of technocrats. Hamidati stressed during a press conference in Khartoum on Saturday that they didn't refuse to negotiate and confirmed they are not clinging to power. He accused some parties of trying to provoke sedition in Sudan, affirming that the country is currently stable and expressed the Council's willingness to negotiate. In reference to foreign intervention, he noted that some foreign ambassadors have destructed the country and have returned to Sudan for the time being. He concluded by saying that the Sudanese people contributed to changing the regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir. His remarks come as Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change have put conditions to return to direct negotiations with the Transitional Military Council. It said it would only agree to negotiate after forming an international committee to oversee the investigation of the sit-in in front of the army headquarters and the subsequent events that resulted in the killing and wounding of dozens of protesters. They also refused to review previous agreements. On the other hand, Bashir will stand trial on corruption charges after the one-week period for objections expires, Chief prosecutor Alwaleed Sayed Ahmed Mahmoud said Saturday. He also said that 41 former officials from Bashir's government are being investigated for suspected graft. Separately, Mahmoud said the judiciary had not been consulted ahead of a decision to violently disperse a protest camp in the center of the capital in early June. Dozens of people were killed in the crackdown, which undermined talks on a transition to democracy.The protest camp outside the Defense Ministry became the focal point of protests as demonstrators demanded the military to hand over power to civilians.

Sudan's Bashir to be Sent for Trial Soon
/Asharq Al-Awsat/16 June/2019
Ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will stand trial on corruption charges after a one-week period for objections expires, Chief prosecutor Alwaleed Sayed Ahmed Mahmoud said Saturday.
He also said that 41 former officials from Bashir's government are being investigated for suspected graft. "Forty-one criminal cases have been opened against symbols of the former regime, and measures to capture and investigate will completed next week," he added during a news conference in the capital, Khartoum. Separately, Mahmoud said the judiciary had not been consulted ahead of a decision to violently disperse a protest camp in the center of the capital in early June. Dozens of people were killed in the crackdown, which undermined talks on a transition to democracy. The protest camp outside the Defense Ministry became the focal point of protests as demonstrators demanded the military hand over power to civilians.

Syria Flare-up Kills 26 Pro-regime Fighters
/Asharq Al-Awsat/16 June/2019
At least 35 combatants including 26 pro-regime forces were killed Saturday in clashes and air strikes that erupted at dawn in northwestern Syria, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The flare-up came as Russian-backed regime forces tried to retake two villages seized by militants and allied opposition fighters earlier this month, according to the monitor. "Since this morning, the Syrian regime and allied fighters have launched five failed attempts to regain control of Jibine and Tal Maleh in northwestern Hama province," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. Syrian regime and Russian air strikes killed nine militants and opposition fighters, the war monitor said. Ensuing clashes in the north of Hama province left 26 pro-regime forces dead, including eight who were killed in a mine explosion, the Observatory said. The Idlib region of some three million people is supposed to be protected from a massive regime offensive by a buffer zone deal that Russia and Turkey signed in September. But it was never fully implemented, as militants refused to withdraw from a planned demilitarized zone. In January, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham extended its administrative control over the region, which includes most of Idlib province as well as adjacent slivers of Latakia, Hama and Aleppo provinces. The Syrian government and Russia have upped their bombardment of the region since late April, killing more than 360 civilians, according to the Observatory. Turkey said Friday that it did not accept Russia's "excuse" that it had no ability to stop the Syrian regime's continued bombardments in the last opposition bastion of Idlib. "In Syria, who are the regime's guarantors? Russia and Iran," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told state news agency Anadolu in a televised interview. "Thus we do not accept the excuse that 'We cannot make the regime listen to us'," he said. His comments came as Turkey disagreed with Russia earlier this week after Moscow claimed a new ceasefire had been secured in the province following weeks of regime bombardments -- a claim that was denied by Ankara.

Wave of Fake News on Egyptian Authorities Shuttering Mosques
Cairo - Waleed Abdul Rahman/Asharq Al-Awsat/16 June/2019
The Egyptian government has refuted claims on thousands of mosques being shut as a result of its counter-terrorism plan. A number of false news reports were published on social media and other online platforms had triggered public concerns. The Egyptian government has become the target of allegations after having imposed a plethora of measures to regulate and protect mosques, preachers and religious institutions against the dissemination extremist ideology. Rumors recently claimed that nearly 20,000 Islamic places of worship were shuttered by the Awqaf Ministry, which issued a statement reaffirming that no mosque was closed all over Egypt, and that the raging controversy was baseless. The Awqaf Ministry, on Friday, said it was shutting some platforms on Friday, the day on which a speech is given by Muslim clerics and preachers, but reopening the venue for prayers. This is part of its effort to reign in deviating preachers from spreading a message of extremism and block terror groups from reaching out to the public and susceptible youth. Confirming that it is responsible for regulating more than 198,000 mosques across the country, the ministry noted that this figure still does not cover the undeclared venues political Islamist groups could be exploiting in the name of religion. On another note, Awqaf’s statement also denied rumors on allowing the construction of unlicensed mosques. “The ministry prohibits the construction of mosques without an official license thereof,” it confirmed, adding that licensed mosques are focused on the memorization verses from the Quran, and on serving as medical centers to provide health and community services for citizens and nurseries for children. The Egyptian government also denied other rumors that went viral on social media and online platforms accusing authorities of “imposing new taxes, discriminating against Sinai Peninsula locals when hiring civil servants, and selling off public sector companies to foreign investors.”

ISIS Militants Waging War of Terrain Against US Special Forces
Kabul - Thomas Gibbons-Neff/The New York Times/June 16/2019
Two years ago, Pentagon officials said that American forces in the remote reaches of Afghanistan could defeat ISIS's offshoot here by the end of 2017. This month, American Special Forces in eastern Afghanistan were still fighting, with no end in sight. During a visit by a New York Times reporter to their dusty army outpost, in the eastern province of Nangarhar, the Americans pointed out the ridges and valleys at the foot of the snow-capped Spin Ghar mountains: There, they noted, was the start of the ISIS’s territory, in some of the most forbidding terrain in Afghanistan. The extremist group is growing, able to out-recruit its casualties so far, according to military officials. It is well funded by illicit smuggling and other revenue streams. And in the eastern part of the country, ISIS militants are waging a war of terrain that the United States military can — for now — only contain, those officials said.
Interviews with six current and former American officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, indicated that the group is poised to expand its influence if the United States and the Taliban reach a peace settlement. The officials expressed concern that in addition to destabilizing the Afghan government, the group is becoming connected to terrorist plots beyond Afghanistan’s borders. Deep in Afghanistan, the immediate conclusion has been to try to keep up the pressure through patrols and raids by American and Afghan Special Operations units. But the officials acknowledge that it all amounts to more of a containment effort than anything that could eradicate ISIS loyalists here.
Mission Support Site Jones, on the outskirts of the small village of Deh Bala, is part of the small constellation of Special Forces outposts in Nangarhar. The Special Forces units are falling back on a counterinsurgency strategy that has been used off and on throughout 18 years of war. That means they are juggling between clearing territory alongside Afghan troops, trying to hold it, and building an Afghan force that could take over security for the district — supposedly while keeping ISIS contained — when the Americans eventually leave.
During a recent meeting at his outpost in Nangarhar Province, the team leader of a Special Forces unit pointed to a map of Deh Bala spread out in front of him. “They’re always going to hold those mountains,” he said of ISIS. The team leader spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Pentagon insists that members of Special Operations units not disclose their names.
History supports his view: This corner of eastern Afghanistan has sheltered insurgencies for hundreds of years. Efforts to root out militants in this area are hampered by shifting weather that can quickly close off air support, and by drastic changes in elevation — by thousands of feet — that limit the troops and equipment that can be safely ferried by helicopter. What began in 2015 as a small group of tribes composed mostly of former Pakistani Taliban militants who pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, soon grew into a loosely connected web of militants and commanders spread throughout the country. According to American military officials, militants gradually appeared from all over the region, including Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, as well as a trickle of militants who had fought in Iraq and Syria. In the Afghan offshoot’s early months, ISIS leadership in the Middle East sent money to help it along. But officials say the group has approached self-sufficiency by extorting money from locals along with smuggling timber, drugs and raw earth material, such as lapis lazuli, mined in some of the eastern provinces. ISIS militants in Afghanistan are paid significantly more per month than their Taliban counterparts, in some regions by hundreds of dollars. And they have been able to keep growing. There are an estimated 3,000 ISIS militants in Afghanistan, but their relatively low numbers belie the group’s growing support network of facilitators with unclear alliances and its ability to move with relative ease between Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to the officials. In recent months, ISIS cells have appeared in the northern province of Kunduz and the western province of Herat. But no ISIS cell is more threatening to maintaining stability in Afghanistan than the one in Kabul, the Afghan capital. ISIS groups there have become increasingly skilled in avoiding detection, the officials said, staging high-profile attacks more frequently since 2016. Last year, it carried out an estimated 24 attacks in Kabul, leaving hundreds dead or wounded.

Sistani Scolds Iraqi Politicians for Seeking Personal Gains
Baghdad - Hamza Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/16 June/2019
Marking the fifth anniversary of issuing a fatwa urging to carry arms against ISIS, Iraq’s Ayatollah Ali Sistani fronted a wave of fierce criticism against the country’s politicians for stalling ministerial hires and delaying effective measures to counter institutional corruption. Ahmad Al Safi, Sistani’s representative, delivered a Friday sermon in the central city of Karbala whereby he put internal divisions in Iraq under the spotlight. “Disputes, whether they are overt or hidden, have been renewed among parties in power,” he said, adding that some forces that came to power during the war on ISIS are seeking to “consolidate their presence and achieve certain gains.” “The continuation of conflicts over gains and bounties among those in power and ongoing tribal sectarian, regional and political problems…could enable ISIS remnants to return and exploit aggrieved and indignant people,” Safi warned. He also blasted politicians for perpetuating a logjam stopping the assignment of ministerial portfolios from getting finalized and failing to establish clear measures to counter corruption “plaguing government institutions.”“Delay in resolving vacant ministerial posts is not justified at all,” an Iraqi politician, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat. Reviewing Sistani’s harshly-worded speech, they pointed out that it is unprecedented and raises the alarm for politicians regarding the country’s faltering public services. This, according to the unnamed source, creates urgency to complete the cabinet lineup. Newly-elected lawmaker Naim al-Aboudi, in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, decried the delay in filling all ministerial portfolios and said it threatens political stability in the country. “Today, after the speech, and all the clarity it was delivered with, there is no option left before political parties but to swiftly and decisively move towards filling vacant ministerial posts,” he said, hinting that there could be a breakthrough soon with the justice and education portfolios.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published  on June 16-17/2019
Avigdor Liberman's democratic revolution
Ben-Dror Yemini/Ynetnews/June 16/2019
Opinion: The Yisrael Beytenu leader made waves with his pledge to only join a national unity government; while he may not have as many seats to his name as the ultra-Orthodox, he is more representative of Israeli society, and his recent obstinance in coalition talks proves he keeps his word
This is a revolution, no less. If Avigdor Liberman wins enough seats to be the deciding factor, Israel is facing a dramatic upheaval. No more coalition that represents a minority; no more ultra-Orthodox coercion. No more trampling of the majority, but rather a boost to majority rule and democracy.
During the long weeks in which Benjamin Netanyahu tried to form a coalition government, the political observers and pundits did not take Liberman seriously.
"He did not mean it," they said of his demand that Netanyahu pass legislation on drafting the ultra-Orthodox into the army. "It was an exercise in extortion," they all agreed. After all, it's just politics. But he meant it then and we should take him seriously now.
In a background conversation with Liberman not long ago at all, I heard about the direction he believed Israel was travelling in. I was skeptical, refused to believe it as he listed things that most Israelis were sick of.
It seems that he is enjoying his new-found status of a man whose word is his bond. But what does it matter? If anyone wants to question the purity of Liberman's intentions, they are welcome to do so. But his intentions are less important – what matters is the outcome. And it is a desirable one.
Liberman may have had just five Knesset seats to offer during the coalition negotiations, compared to the 18 held by the ultra-Orthodox parties, but his demands have an absolute majority among the Israel the public – including on the right and in the national-religious camp.
Most of the public is tired of the fact that we live under minority rule and not a democracy. The majority was trampled because the need to include the Haredim in the framework of a coalition became axiomatic. Liberman is trying to prove that there is another way.
This is not about keeping one's election pledges, for Liberman's announcement Saturday evening was a change in tack. There will be no more automatic support for Netanyahu, but rather backing for a unity government led by the party wins the most votes. This change can be only explained by one reason: Liberman feels that the Netanyahu regime is wobbling.
He reads the polls, and he sees that there has been a shift. Now there is disgust with Netanyahu on the right, too. Rightists have also come to the conclusion that a foregone surrender to the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism and Tkuma runs contrary to the national interest. Such a surrender may be good for Netanyahu, but it's bad for Israel.
What Likud bigwigs are saying off the record, other right-wingers are saying on social media: Netanyahu might still be an asset, but his stock is declining.
Make no mistake, Liberman was and still is a right-winger to the bone, and his demands represent the right-wing camp more than most of its MKs. There is a constant gulf between what most Israelis want and the results of the elections.
It is possible for Liberman to narrow this divide, and the prospect of this happening will infuse new energy into the second election campaign of the year. If he manages not to make any mistakes, he could well be the surprise of the elections. More importantly, he represents the national interest and promises to make it a reality. In the meantime, it is all just words, but he has proven it is worth taking him seriously.

The Method in Iran's Oil Tanker Madness
Bobby Gosh/Bloomberg/June 16/2019
Suspicion is now hardening that Iran was behind the attack on the two tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday morning. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has fingered the Islamic Republic, and American officials have released footage of what purports to be an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps speedboat alongside one of the ships. The video shows men apparently removing an unexploded limpet mine from the hull of the vessel. The implication is that the perpetrators were removing evidence of their guilt.
The US also blamed Iran for attacks on vessels in the port of Fujairah last month. An investigation by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Norway pinned them, coyly, on a “state actor,” without feeling the need to name the Islamic Republic. Iran denied responsibility, with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif descending to bazaar-level conspiracy theories involving a false-flag operation by Israel’s Mossad.
If you’re not inclined to believe the Trump administration – and such skepticism is entirely reasonable – most detectives would still tell you that the most obvious culprit is usually responsible for the crime.
To those seeking logic behind the attacks, though, it may be hard to see why Iran would do this – but that assumes that the regime in Tehran is a rational actor.
The Gulf of Oman attacks are especially hard to explain: targeting Japanese shipping on the very day that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a well-publicized peace mission would seem extraordinarily counterproductive, even for a regime with an almost fanatical commitment to self-harm. But Khamenei made very clear his contempt for Abe’s attempt to mediate between the Iranian regime and the White House. He dismissed the offer and took to Twitter afterwards to throw his diplomatic guest under the bus. The most charitable view of this humiliation is that the Ayatollah regarded the prime minister as a proxy for Donald Trump – which, in a sense, he was.
So it’s quite possible to see why Iran would want to attack the tankers, endangering lives as well as the world’s busiest oil route. The first thing to note is that the regime has repeatedly said that it would do exactly that, using the old if-not-us-then-nobody argument. Since the US’s tightening of sanctions has squeezed Iranian oil exports, nobody else’s should be allowed to pass through waters within reach of the IRGC. The Iranians know that these threats, if repeated, can lose their power if not followed with action. The attacks on the tankers, then, can be explained as a demonstration that Khamenei’s attack dogs have some teeth. There is another rationale. If Iran does eventually agree to negotiate with the US, it will want to bring some bargaining chips to the table – something it can exchange for the removal of sanctions. In the negotiations over the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was able to offer the suspension of its nuclear program. It doesn’t have that particular chip now, although Tehran has recently threatened to crank up the centrifuges again.
Meanwhile, the regime may have calculated that the only way to secure some kind of negotiating position is blackmail: End the sanctions, or we take out some more tankers, and send oil prices surging.
In this scenario, the Gulf of Oman attacks offer a peculiar form of optimism: If you squint just enough, you can see that the Iranians are moving toward negotiations. It is a high-risk strategy, more likely to fail than succeed. But that has been the Islamic Republic’s stock-in-trade for 40 years, and we shouldn’t expect good sense to break out in Tehran soon.

Iran Alone Wants War
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/June 16/2019
In recent statements, China announced “no one wants to see war erupting in the Gulf”, and so did the United States, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and the European Union, as well as the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who said from Tehran that “nobody wants war”.
Similarly, Iran claims it doesn’t seek war as previously announced by its President Hasan Rouhani. It is only natural that no one wants to start a war, given that countries call for it when all diplomatic solutions have failed, and when absolutely necessary. Putting aside all diplomatic statements with their natural course to consider which countries actually call for war and which are trying to avoid it, a question arises: is Iran really among the states that want to prevent war from happening? Through a quick survey, one can see that Tehran's regime is the only administration that wasn’t honest about its intentions to avoid war in the region. Let’s forget about Tehran's regional interventions a little bit, and even ignore its admission to occupying four Arab capitals, and observe the regime’s aggressive behavior over the past few weeks.
Iran-backed Houthi militias targeted civilians in Saudi Arabia and attacked two pipelines that transfer oil from the east to the west of the country. The same militias bombed Abha Airport, south of Saudi Arabia, and deliberately targeted civilians.
In addition, evidence showed that Iran attacked four ships off UAE's coast last month and two oil tankers on Thursday in the Gulf of Oman near the Iranian coastline.
Each and every one of those aggressive attacks prove that Tehran is pursuing war in the region and seeking to ignite it, not its adversaries.
It is not enough to repeatedly say that “no one wants an impending war” unless accompanied by actions that prove it. Instead, it is crucial to redefine the term by saying: Iran is the only country in the region and the world that wants war.
Since its establishment, the Iranian regime has been accustomed to standing on the brink of war. With its various parties, the regime can’t surrender to the suffocating economic sanctions which limit its policy of interventions crucial for its existence.
There are parties within the Iranian regime, led by the Revolutionary Guard of course, that are pushing to raise tensions in the region, even if the dangerous escalation led to war. They believe it is the only solution to relieve internal popular pressures.
There are two choices ahead of Iran: either raise the ceiling of demands in any future negotiations, or stay in a region on the brink of war, which is the final inevitable solution for Tehran's regime; a tense situation of repercussions which Tehran is used to toying with.
Perhaps the most frequently asked question in the midst of serious tensions in the region: is war coming?
The current atmosphere certainly indicates that, however, reaching the war itself depends on whether the Iranian regime will continue with its aggressive behavior. This would bring everyone to the ultimate undesired solution; maybe not a full-scale war, but a military intervention that could put an end to Iran's aggressive behavior. It may be an unhappy ending, but certainly better than waiting in the realm of war for many more years.

The US and the 'Two-war' Defense Strategy
Hal Brands/Bloomberg View/June 16/2019
Over the past 18 months, the Pentagon has been pursuing a radical change in US defense strategy. The Department of Defense has been working to overhaul the “two-war” defense strategy of the past quarter-century, in favor of one that focuses on winning a single high-stakes fight against China or Russia. This one-war strategy is rooted in an entirely correct judgment that defeating a great-power adversary would be far more difficult than anything the US military has done in decades. Yet it also runs the risk that America won’t have enough military power to deal with a world in which it could face two or more major threats at the same time. During the post-Cold War era, the US military had a force-planning construct (a scheme that matches the size and capabilities of the force to the key scenarios it is likely to face) focused on fighting two major regional contingencies more or less simultaneously. The idea was that the US should be able to decisively defeat an adversary in the Middle East - Iraq or Iran - without fatally compromising its ability to take on North Korea. This two-war capability was deemed critical to preventing opportunistic aggression by one adversary while the US was engaged with another, and thereby upholding a grand strategy premised on deterring war in multiple regions at once. The two-war strategy, Pentagon officials wrote in 1997, "is the sine qua non of a superpower."
After the onset of budgetary austerity in 2011, the two-war strategy gradually eroded as defense cuts made it harder to handle two regional adversaries at once. And after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, it was clear that the US was facing a fundamentally different world, in which the country’s foremost adversaries were not inferior rogue states but major powers fielding formidable military capabilities. Add in that any war against Russia or China is likely to occur in their geopolitical backyards, and that both rivals have spent considerable time, money and intellectual effort seeking to neutralize America’s ability to project power, and the US military would have enormous difficulty in winning even a single war against a great-power challenger.
In the 2018 National Defense Strategy and subsequent statements, the Pentagon thus outlined a significantly different force-planning construct. It announced that the fully mobilized American military would be capable of defeating aggression by a great-power adversary, while also deterring (not necessarily defeating) aggression in a second theater. In other words, the US is now building a force not around the demands of two regional conflicts with rogue states, but around the requirements of winning a high-intensity conflict with a single, top-tier competitor — a war with China over Taiwan, for instance, or a clash with Russia in the Baltic region.
There is plenty of serious thinking behind this shift. The new strategy is meant to signal unambiguously — to allies, competitors and the Pentagon bureaucracy — that the US is now focusing squarely on great-power competition and the immense challenges it presents for a force that has been preoccupied with counterterrorism and counterinsurgency for nearly two decades. It recognizes that America’s military advantages vis-à-vis China and Russia have eroded gravely, and that the Defense Department will need new high-tech capabilities and creative operational concepts to defeat either country should war break out.
The new strategy therefore puts a priority on getting right those key concepts and capabilities — which are mostly still nascent — over expanding the force by acquiring more aircraft carriers, Cold War-era fighter jets and other legacy capabilities that would simply get chewed up in a fight against Moscow or Beijing. And it is meant to wrench the Pentagon away from America’s old way of war — one that relied on assembling overwhelming power in a theater and then launching the war at a time of our choosing — and toward a new way of war in which US forces will have to deny adversaries the ability to seize key terrain quickly, while operating in an incredibly deadly environment.
In sum, the Pentagon’s approach is based on the idea that the US has to nail down how to defeat just one great-power rival before it takes on anything more ambitious than that. This is a sensible approach, but one that also entails real risks in war and peace alike.
The major risk in wartime is that the world may throw more at the US than the Pentagon can handle. America faces not one but two great-power rivals, not to mention the lesser threats posed by North Korea, Iran and various terrorist groups. There is a non-trivial chance that the US could find itself dealing with serious military challenges in two or more theaters at the same time.
Indeed, if the US has to throw most of its military at defeating a Chinese bid for dominance in the Western Pacific, another hostile power — perhaps Russia — could decide to roll the iron dice while America is committed elsewhere. And even if that second country doesn’t launch a major war against the US or its allies, it could seek to gain diplomatic concessions by threatening — explicitly or implicitly — aggression at a time when Washington is ill-equipped to deal with it.
To be fair, the Pentagon and key former officials have argued that under a one-war doctrine the US can still “deter” in a second theater, and that the success the military has in handling the first challenger will be critical in determining whether it faces others. Yet as the congressionally mandated National Defense Strategy Commission (which I worked for) has noted, it is not clear how, exactly, the Pentagon plans to deter a second aggressor if it lacks the ability to prevent that aggressor from seizing key territory in the first place.

Diplomatic Gesticulations Won't Solve the Iran Problem
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/June 16/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14381/iran-diplomatic-gesticulations
That leaves the remaining members of the P5+1 with a clear choice: either pronounce the Obama [Iran] "deal" dead and seek a framework for new talks on how to solve the perennial "Iran problem" which, paradoxically, all say they are concerned about, or to unite to neutralize the United States and help Iran carry on as usual.
The present impasse may be breached in two ways.
The first is for actual or wannabe mediators to side with the US and tell the mullahs that they cannot have their cake and eat it. Once the mullahs have understood that putative "mediators" could direct their efforts at finding ways of organizing a retreat that avoids utter humiliation for the Khomeinist regime. That should not be difficult as all the remaining P5+1 nations, including Russia, share Washington's concerns about Tehran's "exporting revolution" and developing long-range missiles capable of carrying yet non-existent nuclear warheads.
The second way to breach the impasse is to admit that the Obama "deal" is a dead horse that will not come back to life no matter how one kicks it.
One way to breach the current impasse with Iran is to admit that the Obama "nuclear deal" is a dead horse that will not come back to life no matter how one kicks it. Pictured: Foreign ministers and other officials from the P5+1 countries, the EU and Iran at the announcement of the
What do politicians do when they cannot do anything but are obliged to pretend that they are doing something?
One answer provided by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, is simple: you organize a meeting.
The meeting that Lavrov is setting up, later this month in Moscow, will bring together junior diplomats from Iran plus Britain, China, France and Germany, that is to say the countries (aside from the US) that formed the notorious P5+1 group created by Barack Obama to give a veneer of legal respectability to the so-called "nuke deal" he concocted with the Iranian mullahs.
For all intents and purposes the "deal' died when the Trump administration in Washington decided to simply ditch it. Lacking an enforceable legal status, the "deal" always depended on the willingness of the participants to implement it. With Americans walking away from it, there is no way the other nations still apparently in the game could put it on a life-support machine.
That leaves the remaining members of the P5+1 with a clear choice: either pronounce the Obama "deal" dead and seek a framework for new talks on how to solve the perennial "Iran problem" which, paradoxically, all say they are concerned about, or to unite to neutralize the United States and help Iran carry on as usual.
Obviously, the choice they face is not easy.
To side with the US in demanding fresh talks would mean inflicting a humiliating retreat on the Iranian mullahs at a time that, facing economic meltdown and social unrest, they could not afford to appear conciliatory.
To side with the mullahs against the US is even more difficult if only because none of the remaining P5+1 group quite trusts the Islamic Republic. Moreover, none of them has the legal, economic and political wherewithal to help Tehran win in a tussle against the American "Great Satan". The problem is that doing nothing is not an option either.
Doing nothing means letting the US increasingly tighten the screws on an already weakened Islamic Republic with unforeseeable consequences. The policy of proximity pressure now in use could lead Iran to a point in which the continuation of the current set-up becomes problematic.
That, in turn, could enable the most radical factions within the Khomeinist movement to claim that the regime's only effective defense is further aggression. Such a stance could, in turn, make regime-change the only realistic option for all those who are convinced the present Khomeinist system is incapable of changing course in a positive manner. And, that could make the cliché "all options are on the table" more ominous than it has ever been in the case of Iran.
In other words, by trying to revive a status quo that has already lost its raison d'être, Russia and other P5+1 nations are paving the way for an even bigger crisis in the region with "the Iran problem" at its explosive core. Playing pseudo-diplomacy with the "Iran problem" is both dishonest and dangerous.
However, Lavrov is not alone in indulging in that game. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, a novice in diplomacy, has already played the game with a futile visit to Tehran partly to heighten his own profile and partly to pretend that Germany, its internal problems notwithstanding, is still determined to act as the leader in the badly shaken European Union.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a much bigger player than the hapless Maas, has also used a visit to Tehran to heighten Tokyo's international diplomatic profile.
An advocate of Japan's return as a major power, Abe is determined to end his nation's traditional quietism in international diplomacy and, some claim, is dreaming of a seat in the United Nations Security Council in the context of an enlargement to include other countries such as India and Brazil. Germany and Japan are not alone in trying to play a role in "easing tension" between the mullahs of Tehran and the Trump administration. Other bit players in this game include the Sultanate of Oman as well as Switzerland that, as often in the past, sees itself as a champion of dialogue among warring nations. Iraq and Qatar have also made noises about "mediation", largely to heighten their profiles.
The problem is that diplomatic gesticulations may only encourage the mullahs to hang onto their illusion of one day forcing the Trump administration to eat humble pie and declare contrite "return" to the Obama "deal".
The present impasse may be breached in two ways.
The first is for actual or wannabe mediators to side with the US and tell the mullahs that they cannot have their cake and eat it. Once the mullahs have understood that putative "mediators" could direct their efforts at finding ways of organizing a retreat that avoids utter humiliation for the Khomeinist regime. That should not be difficult as all the remaining P5+1 nations, including Russia, share Washington's concerns about Tehran's "exporting revolution" and developing long-range missiles capable of carrying yet non-existent nuclear warheads.
The second way to breach the impasse is to admit that the Obama "deal" is a dead horse that will not come back to life no matter how one kicks it. With that admission, the Iran dossier could be returned to the UN Security Council that has already passed seven resolutions trying to deal with it.
The process didn't produce the desired results because the mullahs rejected all those resolutions while Obama tried to please them by circumventing the UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and invented the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as a scheme tailor-made for the Islamic Republic.
A return to the UN, rather than the window-dressing Lavrov is putting up in Moscow, would put the "Iran problem" under the proper limelight as an international concern rather than a duel between Trump and the mullahs. It would also open the path for finding legally binding solutions to a problem that everyone acknowledges is a source of instability, tension and even military conflict in the region.
If the way to end the current crisis is to persuade, or force, the Islamic Republic to begin acting as a normal nation-state, the first step in that direction is to refer it back to the forum designed to deal with problems that normal nation-states have with one another.
*Amir Taheri was the executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan in Iran from 1972 to 1979. He has worked at or written for innumerable publications, published eleven books, and has been a columnist for Asharq Al-Awsat since 1987.
© 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.

Covering Up Our Culture to 'Avoid Giving Offense'
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/June 16/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14363/covering-up-culture
Recently, some major conservative intellectuals have been sacked in the UK. One is the peerless philosopher Roger Scruton, who was fired from a governmental committee...
Then it was the turn of the great Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, whose visiting fellowship at Cambridge University was rescinded...
By refusing to confront the speech police, or to support freedom of expression for Salman Rushdie, Roger Scruton, Jordan Peterson, Charlie Hebdo, and Jyllands-Posten -- just the tip of a huge iceberg -- we have started down the road of submission to sharia law and to tyranny. We all have been covering up our supposedly "blasphemous" culture with burqas to avoid offending people who do not seem to mind offending us.
In 1988, The Satanic Verses was published, written by Salman Rushdie (left), a British citizen. Iran's "Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (right) in 1989 condemned Rushdie to death for writing the book. The Rushdie affair seems to have deeply shaped British society.
Three years ago, the Italian government made a shameful decision. It veiled its antique Roman statues to avoid offending Iran's visiting President Hassan Rouhani. Nude statues were encased in white boxes. A year earlier, in Florence, another statue featuring a naked man in Greco-Roman style had also been covered during the visit of the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. Now, one of the most famous British art galleries has covered two paintings, after Muslim complaints that they were "blasphemous".
At the Saatchi Gallery in London, two works, again featuring nudes, this time overlaid with Arabic script, prompted complaints from Muslim visitors, who requested that the paintings be removed from the Rainbow Scenes exhibition. In the end, the paintings were covered with sheets. "The Saatchi is behaving like Saudi Arabia, hiding from public view artworks that blaspheme against Islam", commented Brendan O'Neill on Spiked. One expert described the paintings as "The Satanic Verses all over again". The reference was to the book by Salman Rushdie, a British citizen, published in 1988. Iran's "Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 condemned Rushdie to death for writing the book. The bounty on Rushdie's head was increased to $4 million in 2016 when a group of Iranians added $600,000 to the "reward" -- with no protest from Britain.
It was after Rushdie's The Satanic Verses that many Western publishing houses began bowing to Islamist intimidation. Christian Bourgois, a French publishing house that had bought the rights, refused to publish The Satanic Verses. It was the first time that, in the name of Islam, a writer was condemned to disappear from the face of the earth -- to be murdered for a bounty.
Rushdie is still with us, but the murder in 2004 of Theo van Gogh for producing and directing a film, "Submission", about Islamic violence toward women; the death of so many Arab-Islamic intellectuals guilty of writing freely, the Danish cartoon riots and the many trials (for instance, here and here) and attempted murders (such as here and here), the slaughter at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the attacks after Pope's Benedict speech in Regensburg, the books and scripts cancelled, the depictions of Muhammad closeted in the warehouses of museums, and the increasing threats and punishments, including flogging, to countless journalists and writers such as Saudi Arabia's Raif Badawi, should alarm us -- not bring us to our knees.
As the Saatchi Gallery's capitulation shows, freedom of speech in Europe is now exhausted and weak. So far, we have caved in to Islamic extremists and Western appeasers. It is the tragic lesson of the Rushdie case 30 years later: no author would dare to write The Satanic Verses today; no large publishing house such as Penguin would print it; media attacks against "Islamophobes" would be even stronger, as would the bottomless betrayal of Western diplomats. Also today, thanks to social media as a weapon of censorship and implicit mass threats, any author would probably be less fortunate than Rushdie was 30 years ago. Since that time, we have made no progress. Instead, we have been seeing the jihad against The Satanic Verses over and over again.
"Nobody would have the balls today to write 'The Satanic Verses', let alone publish it," said the writer Hanif Kureishi. "Writing is now timid because writers are now terrified".
According to the author Kenan Malik, writing in 2008:
"What we are talking about here is not a system of formal censorship, under which the state bans works deemed offensive. Rather, what has developed is a culture of self-censorship in which the giving of offence has come to be seen as morally unacceptable. In the 20 years since the publication of The Satanic Verses the fatwa has effectively become internalised".
The Rushdie affair also seems to have deeply shaped British society. The Saatchi Gallery's surrender in London is not unique. The Tate Britain gallery shelved a sculpture, "God is Great", by John Latham, of the Koran, Bible and Talmud embedded in glass. Christopher Marlowe's "Tamburlaine the Great" was censored at the Barbican Centre. The play included a reference to the Prophet of Islam being "not worthy to be worshipped" as well as a scene in which the Koran is burned. The Whitechapel Art Gallery in London purged an exhibit containing nude dolls which could possibly have upset the Muslim population. At the Mall Galleries in London, a painting, "ISIS Threaten Sylvania", by the artist Mimsy, was censored for showing toy stuffed-animal terrorists about to massacre toy stuffed-animals having a picnic.
At the Royal Court Theatre in London, Richard Bean was forced to censor himself for an adaptation of "Lysistrata", the Greek comedy in which the women go on a sex strike to stop the men who wanted to go to war. In Bean's version, Islamic virgins go on strike to stop terrorist suicide bombers.
Unfortunately, in the name of fighting "Islamophobia", the British establishment now appears to be submitting to creeping sharia: and purging and censoring speech on its own.
Recently, some major conservative intellectuals have been sacked in the UK. One is the peerless philosopher Roger Scruton, who was fired from a governmental committee for saying that the word "Islamophobia" has been invented by the Muslim Brotherhood "to stop discussion of a major issue".
Then it was the turn of the great Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, whose visiting fellowship at Cambridge University was rescinded for posing with a man wearing an "I'm a proud Islamophobe" T-shirt. Professor Peterson later said that the word "Islamophobia" has been "partly constructed by people engaging in Islamic extremism, to ensure that Islam isn't criticised as a structure".
The instances of Scruton and Peterson only confirm the real meaning of "Islamophobia", a word invented to silence any criticism of Islam by anyone, or as Salman Rushdie commented, a word "created to help the blind remain blind". Where is the long-overdue push-back?
Writing in 2008, The Telegraph's Tim Walker quoted the famous playwright Simon Gray saying that Nicholas Hytner, director of London's National Theatre from 2003-2015, "has been happy to offend Christians," but "is wary of putting on anything which could upset Muslims." The last people who did so were the journalists of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. They paid with their lives. By refusing to confront the speech police, or to support freedom of expression for Salman Rushdie, Roger Scruton, Jordan Peterson, Charlie Hebdo and Jyllands-Posten -- just the tip of a huge iceberg -- we have started down the road of submission to sharia law and to tyranny. We all have been covering up our supposedly "blasphemous" culture with burqas to avoid offending people who do not seem to mind offending us.
**Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.
© 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.

Analysis/Is Netanyahu Grooming His Son to Succeed Him as His Leadership Spins Out of Control?
تقرير مفصل ومطول من الهآرتس بقلم يوسي فرتر عنوانه: “هل نيتنياهو يحضر ابنه ليخلفه في رئاسة حزب الليكود فيما موقعه في القيادة يهتز وآيل للسقوط؟”
التقرير يكشف مشاكل نيتنياهو في الحكم ويحكي تصرفات زوجته وسطوتها
Yossi Verter/Haaretz/June 16/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75849/%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%b1%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%85%d9%81%d8%b5%d9%84-%d9%88%d9%85%d8%b7%d9%88%d9%84-%d9%85%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%87%d8%a2%d8%b1%d8%aa%d8%b3-%d8%a8%d9%82%d9%84%d9%85-%d9%8a%d9%88%d8%b3%d9%8a-%d9%81/
Netanyahu may not get another chance to form a government ■ The only voice of reason in the Prime Minister's Office quits
It’s amusing to watch efforts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to beef up and broaden the shoulders of the transition government that was created by the dissolution of the Knesset. One meeting, then another with Rafi Peretz and Bezalel Smotrich, the duo from the Union of Right-Wing Parties, in an attempt to find compensation and dispensation and pacification for them – though it’s not clear for what.
Instead of occupying himself with the threatening hearing that he is facing or with the election that looms, Netanyahu is playing at creating a government, scattering promises and leaks about the promotion and upgrading of five or six Likud figures, all of them his flunkies, of course. Maybe this fulfills some sort of personal need for him.
Let him enjoy it while he can. In a certain scenario, not in the least impossible, he’s liable to find himself kicked off the playing field in 100 days or so.
The election is set for September 17, and a few days later the official results of it will be known. If the Likud-Haredi-rightist bloc doesn’t garner 61 seats without Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party, it’s far from certain that President Reuven Rivlin will assign Netanyahu the task of forming the government again. And that’s even if the rival candidate, Benny Gantz (Kahol Lavan), has fewer MKs to recommend him and undertake to serve in his government – 48-50, let’s say (without the joint Arab slate now being cobbled together) – and Netanyahu has 60.
Well, that was our situation after the last round, following the April 9 vote. And Netanyahu wasn’t able to form a government even after using up the entire period available to him under the law: 28 days and then another 14. Rivlin, whose discretionary powers are unlimited, might well ask himself whether he should give Netanyahu the nod again, knowing that his prospects are middling, if not nonexistent. After all, Lieberman won’t back down from the conditions he set last time.
Or the now-forgotten “scheme of the century” might be implemented, in one guise or another. Maybe someone else in Likud will want to try to form a government – a national unity government, naturally, with Kahol Lavan, which will persist in its refusal to cooperate with Netanyahu, on the eve of the hearing, which is expected to produce a decision to put him on trial.
Who might that Likudnik be? The names are known: Gideon Sa’ar, Yisrael Katz, maybe Yuli Edelstein, who’s aiming to become the next president but might get a green light to serve as a temporary prime minister – until June 2021, when the next president will be elected (by the Knesset). Kahol Lavan is also deploying for the events to come.
A senior personage in the latter party to whom I put this speculation this week responded thus, “First we will ask for the mandate [to] form a government for ourselves. But if we don’t succeed, we will go back to the president and tell him precisely that: Any Likud candidate who is not Netanyahu or Miri Regev and her ilk is acceptable to us.”
Forbidden city
In 2009, Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu returned to the official residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem, after having vacated it courtesy of the Israeli voters. This time they were also the proud owners of a villa in Caesarea, bought seven years earlier. The law stipulates that the state will bear the upkeep expenses of the prime minister’s private home, as he might hold working meetings there, host foreign leaders and the like. The villa in Caesarea’s so-called Cluster No. 8 is a forbidden city. No one enters or leaves other than the family and technicians.
Over time, the villa became the center of the world, the work and the nightmares of whoever held the position of director general of the Prime Minister’s Office. The demands to get state funding to cover every expense, whether negligible or gigantic, multiplied like the Ebola virus and became ever more wild and uninhibited. All of them, by law, require the director general’s authorization. Rejection of a “request” from the Lady triggers an outburst of shouts, rampaging and tantrums in mythic proportions at Balfour, compared to which the background to Iceland’s song at the recent Eurovision Song Contest looks like a Monet landscape. It’s a day-to-day thing, and tends to escalate.
From an unimportant subject that until 2009 was barely noticeable among the director general’s duties, what the PMO calls “the house” morphed into a nonstop nightmare. In May 2018, the former director general, Eli Groner, announced his resignation, apparently after Sara Netanyahu tried to attack him with a pen (as reported in Haaretz by Chaim Levinson) following his refusal to green light another of her off-the-wall monetary demands.
Since no one leaped at the chance to hold the prestigious job (undoubtedly for the reasons described above), the chief of staff in the Prime Minister’s Bureau since 2015, Yoav Horowitz, was appointed acting PMO director general and held both posts. After taking over as director general, he discovered that the horror stories making the rounds in the “Aquarium” (as the office is dubbed) about the world outside the glass door were not fake news. If anything, they were too understated. This week Horowitz announced his resignation. Ministers, heads of economic institutions, senior figures in the defense establishment and top-ranking government functionaries were aghast.
When I requested a comment from the outgoing director general about his departure, he referred me to a joint statement issued by the prime minister and himself about the matter.
Over the past three days I’ve spoken to people who are knowledgeable about the life of the PMO: present and past officials, ministers from Likud and other parties, and acquaintances of Horowitz from the political arena. All of them, including bitter political rivals of Netanyahu, describe the outgoing director general as the only positive, “sane,” moral and responsible person in the area. His departure, they say, is a disaster for the country.
They pass on what they heard from him that Horowitz is forbidden to tell: that in the past year or year and a half, he has asked to resign several times. He has no strength left, he’s utterly disgusted with what went on in the office. The growing involvement of Sara and Yair Netanyahu in the state’s affairs has gone beyond all limits.
Yair’s pals, who were put in charge of communications and the social media in both his father's office and in Likud, have accumulated disproportionate power and influence. A subculture of lies, manipulation, disinformation, contempt and vilification of everyone at whom the family looks askance have become the bon ton of the Prime Minister’s Office.
If the prime minister showed occasional signs of reservation or slight dissatisfaction with what’s gone on, he got an immediate brush-off from son Yair and wife Sara. They control him, they are managing him.
A bridge too low
The fact that Horowitz stayed on until now is a wonder in itself. He didn’t hide his opinion; he said what he thought to political friends and in working meetings in Netanyahu’s presence. He always found himself in the minority. A lone voice in the darkness. Netanyahu absorbed his criticism, which was aimed both at him and his family. Without Horowitz, he realized, the PMO would collapse.
The wonder is even greater given the fact what Sara heard for the most part from Horowitz was: no, no and again no. His stubborn refusal to accede to her requests, many of which exceeded the bounds of proper administration, drove her mad. As with others, she marked him. The poison she dripped into her husband’s ear about him finally had its effect.
In the past year, particularly since his appointment as director general and the frequent clashes with the Lady, he was excluded from the prime minister’s close circle. In the 2015 election Horowitz headed campaign headquarters, but in the election in April he was totally left out of the decision-making circle.
Horowitz’s problem, which finally tipped the balance, did not stem only from “the house.” He considered Netanyahu’s ongoing campaign against the judicial system and law enforcement, especially in the past two years, to be a recipe for the destruction of democracy. The damage already caused in a situation in which the country’s leader attacks and reviles the judicial system, personally or via flunkies such as Justice Minister Amir Ohana, Likud MK Miki Zohar and others – this damage could turn out to be irreversible. Time after time, Horowitz tried to exercise a moderating, calming influence, to explain the issues, but was rebuffed with scorn.
Appointments such as Ohana to the Justice Ministry or Ayoub Kara (Likud) as communications minister, were beyond his comprehension. A brutal trampling of every governmental norm. Horowitz is a professional who formerly managed large companies, and skills and excellence and proper qualifications are for him a necessary foundation for every system. In the reality in which he found himself, he saw that the sole criterion for promotion is sycophancy, a long tongue and abnegation in the face of the Family. If in the past Netanyahu urged his ministers to “be Kahlons” – referring to Moshe Kahlon when he was communications minister and still in Likud – as an index of accomplishment, today he expects them to be “Ohanas”: worms groveling at the feet and licking the soles of his shoes after drooling on those of Yair and Sara.
Horowitz was appointed director general last June, but signs that he was cracking were apparent even before that. He shared his thoughts with quite a few people. Last December, when the election to the 21st Knesset was moved up, he was heard saying that he would leave immediately afterward.
That information reached this column in mid-February, about two months before the election. I sent him a WhatsApp message requesting his response. Horowitz denied it. “Continuing and will continue to serve the prime minister and the State of Israel as long as I am asked to. There is no greater privilege!” he wrote me. Not very accurate, to put it mildly, but under such complex circumstances he can be forgiven.
In the meantime, Ronen Peretz has been appointed acting director general. Readers of this column may remember the name; it first appeared here on the weekend during which the list of candidates for the position of state comptroller was finalized. Netanyahu looked high and low for people who think like him to fill that spot. An hour before the deadline for submitting names, he came up with Peretz, the deputy cabinet secretary, who is mainly his gopher and – obviously – is very loyal to Sara.
Netanyahu seriously intended to submit Peretz’s name to the Knesset secretariat (the state comptroller is elected by the Knesset), but someone warned him that even by his grass-high standards, that was a bridge too low. Peretz was dropped the way he had been raised and the name of Matanyahu Englman was submitted.
Now, as compensation for having the coveted post wrenched from him, Peretz, a Likud activist and a nice guy who is as far away from being able to handle a job of such incomprehensible dimensions as Amir Ohana is from being able to handle the post of justice minister, will serve as director general of the Prime Minister’s Office.
What a fascinating place the PMO is in the Netanyahu era. On the one hand it’s a godforsaken place, a grinder that crushes its staff, a black hole of insanity and wackiness; on the other hand, it’s a land of unlimited opportunities. The more meager your qualifications and the more supple your backbone, but the more total your loyalty – well, the sky’s the limit.
Animal instincts
So the PMO’s director general is leaving and the country’s most important ministry is running at a substandard level. But, hey! We have an animal rights adviser! With non-coincidental timing, the day Horowitz’s departure became known, Netanyahu chose to appoint Tal Gilboa, an animal rights activist, as his personal adviser.
“I was influenced by my family” was one reason he cites on his Facebook page. You could say that, but the decision was apparently dictated. Yes, it was a productive week for Yair Netanyahu. He finagled two personal appointments. The first most important is that of his good friend Amir Ohana, who was generously rewarded for years of groveling and parachuted into the Justice Ministry as temporary minister. The second is Gilboa, who recruited the young Netanyahu to assist her in her struggle. They share veganism and a sincere concern for animals. Now Bibi’s involved. No doubt he’ll devote lots of time to this issue, meet frequently with Gilboa and study the documents she sends him. Yeah, right.
This week part of the interview the heir apparent of the House of Netanyahu gave to Blaze, an ultra-conservative U.S. news site, was aired here. On a home field of fans, he was all smiles, exuding charm, and flattered President Donald Trump. “He’s a real rock star in Israel,” he told his hosts in the TV studio.
Probably viewers in America who aren’t familiar with the fellow thought: What a pleasant and affable young man the son of Israel’s prime minister is. Civilized, speaks fine English, knows history. They got Dr. Yair, while we, the subjects, are forced to suffer Mr. Netanyahu. There, he’s a blue-eyed darling. Here, he’s the “ugly Israeli” racist – a thug and militant nationalist who shares every obscenity that surfaces on the web. (This week he did it with a despicable post about the widow of Israel’s sixth president, Aura Herzog, who’s 91.)
The Blaze interview was part of Yair’s much-photographed encounters with Republican journalists and public opinion molders. It’s not clear what’s behind this exposure, which comes at a tricky time for his family. The Matriarch was compelled to admit to a criminal offence in the case of the residences. She will be convicted on the basis of her confession and do what for her is pure torture: write a check (or checks) to the state – the same state she’s accustomed to viewing as a dairy cow whose udders are full and available to her, with the authorization of the PMO director general or the special panel that deals with exceptional cases.
The Patriarch has lost control. His hearing will take place as scheduled, two weeks after the election. The Knesset’s dissolution thwarted the plan for a legislative blitz to hamstring the state prosecution and Supreme Court, and prevent him from being brought to trial. His ability to navigate matches that of a sailor in a boat without oars in rapids, hurtling toward a waterfall.
Are the couple, who undoubtedly understand the gravity of the Patriarch’s legal situation, preparing their son for public life? From their perspective there’s no worthier and more appropriate successor than him. With them nothing is random.
Now or never
This week, on the last working day of the 21st Knesset before the election break, rumors circulated among Likud ministers and MKs that the prime minister was examining with the state prosecution the possibility of a plea bargain. I couldn’t find confirmation of this. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, stemming in part from a disillusioned view of the suspect’s legal situation in Cases 1000, 2000 and 3000.
The state prosecution made it clear to Netanyahu’s lawyer that the hearing ahead of the final decision of whether to indict, will not be postponed. It will take place on October 2 and 3, with a possible additional session on October 10. Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit and State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan must make their final decision by December 16, when Nitzan’s term ends.
All rivers run to the sea and all avenues of escape the suspect planned for himself were blocked with the Knesset’s dissolution. If Netanyahu hoped that by catapulting Amir Ohana into the Justice Ministry, he would derail experienced jurists, he got an appropriate answer Thursday from the president of the Supreme Court, Justice Esther Hayut. She called Ohana’s remarks in a Channel 12 interview in which he criticized the justice system “an unprecedented and irresponsible worldview.”
Netanyahu knows that he’s facing a trial that could end in imprisonment, if there’s an absolute conviction. “At this stage, every responsible lawyer who wants to help his client, sits down and explains his situation, the immense risks he’s taking and the implications of losing,” a very experienced criminal lawyer told me this week. “I find it inconceivable that attorney Amit Hadad, who learned everything he knows from the late Dr. Jacob Weinroth, would not be doing that with Netanyahu. This is the moment you have to focus on conditions for a plea bargain that will keep him out of jail but also out of the Prime Minister’s Bureau.”
In other words, what’s expected of Hadad is to tell Bibi: Take the money and run (with all the irony that entails). The year before his death, Weinroth tried mightily to persuade his client and old friend to cut his losses before it was too late. If Netanyahu had listened to him, it’s possible that Case 4000, the most serious of all – involving a suspicion of bribery – would never have been born.
So far, the prime minister has balked at taking that route. Maybe now, after his wife agreed to admit to wrongdoing, something will break in him, too.
Lessons learned
Avi Gabbay was a curiosity when he joined the Labor Party. He morphed into a promise, continued as a disappointment and is ending as an episode. He had the privilege of leading the party to a catastrophe in the last election. From 18 seats in 2015 (24, together with Tzipi Livni’s Hatnuah, in the framework of Zionist Union), to six seats in the outgoing Knesset.
Part of it is his fault. Also to blame are historical and demographic processes accompanying the emergence of Kahol Lavan, which grabbed many traditional Labor votes. Gabbay finally acknowledged responsibility and did the right thing. Several MKs will contest the paltry inheritance he left: Itzik Shmuli, Amir Peretz and Stav Shaffir. Ehud Barak is still trying to figure things out; he’s examining the possibility of forming an independent party, possibly with Tzipi Livni and others, which will seek to join Labor later.
Livni’s name was mentioned this week in Labor in the same breath as Isaac Herzog, presently chairman of the Jewish Agency. Together they garnered the 24 seats. Quite a few despairing Laborites asked Herzog to consider running again with Livni and reviving Zionist Union, which Gabbay demolished when he kicked Livni out. Herzog confirmed that he has been approached, but said he is firm in his refusal.
Netanyahu has offered Minister Gilad Erdan the post of Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations; Danny Danon is concluding a lengthy term there at the end of July. The annual General Assembly session begins in late September. Erdan is contemplating the offer. For years he’s dreamed of taking a break from political activity, which has sometimes been brutal to him, in favor of a senior diplomatic post.
He has no illusions: As long as Bibi is in power, heading the embassy in Washington – the appropriate promotion for a cabinet minister – is the exclusive preserve of Ron Dermer, who can pull strings in the White House. What’s left? The United Nations. A respectable, comfortable refuge that doesn’t wear you down.
But what was self-evident after the April election – when Netanyahu seemed to be en route to forming a coalition and to a full term in office without standing trial – became a tricky dilemma two weeks ago. As mentioned, a scenario in which Netanyahu hits a dead end in another 90-something days and the peons in Likud discover they have a backbone and show him the door to Caesarea, is not impossibile.
Erdan wants to be in Israel when the changing of the guard, which looked as though it would never happen, takes place. He plans to run for the Likud leadership in the new era. Obviously he can’t come back three months after moving to New York with his family. When Likud chooses a successor to Netanyahu, refreshes itself and gets the blood in its veins flowing again, should he be attending cocktail parties?
These are the very horns of a dilemma. To go in July and miss a possible party contest? To request a delay until after the September election in order to see what will happen? But maybe the offer will no longer be relevant. Meanwhile, the Erdans, Gilad and Shulamit, took two weeks to decide where they’re headed: into a pampered exile, or into another grinding term in the coalition, the opposition or whatever’s in between.

Intelligence Report: The Israeli-Abu-Dhabi Connection/Why MBZ has become a close ally of the Jewish state.
تقرير مهم من الجيرازالم بوست بقلم الكاتب والمحلل السياسي يوسي ملمن عنوانه: “تقرير مخابراتي يلقي الضوء على علاقة ولي عهد الإمارات محمد بن زايد مع دولة إسرائيل
Yossi Melman/Jerusalem Post
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The New York Times recently published an elaborate profile of Mohammed Bin Zayed, the crown prince known as MBZ and the de facto ruler of Abu Dhabi. MBZ contrasts starkly with the notorious and controversial MBS – Mohammed Bin Salman – the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
In the article, Israel is mentioned only briefly, including that Israel had sold intelligence equipment and upgraded US-made F-16 fighter jets to the principality, which is a dominant part of the federated entity known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Nevertheless, in the Times piece, an entire portion of the clandestine world of Israeli-UAE relations is unveiled. Together with previous stories, the report sheds light on the extent, depth and nature of the secret relations between Israel and Abu Dhabi. But it also provides a wider perspective on the special developing relations between Israel and other Sunni states.
The article claims that over the last quarter of a century, the 58-year-old prince has turned his tiny fiefdom into a dominant force in the Middle East, but also a source for stirring instability in the region.
The basis for Israeli-Abu Dhabi cooperation emanates from two sets of common interests: one is the animosity toward Iran, and the second is the loathing and fear of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.
To achieve his goals, MBZ over the years has purchased weapons and other military equipment worth hundreds of billions dollars, mainly from the US but also from Israel.
His father, the illiterate Sheikh Khalifa, is in poor health, but is officially still the ruler of the country carrying the title of president of the UAE. He appointed as tutor to his son a radical Islamist preacher who tried to brainwash him with militant notions.
The young MBZ rejected the tutor’s sermons, which traumatized him. Instead he acquired a Western education and developed a never-ending hatred of the Muslim Brotherhood. These feelings inform his diplomatic and military policies, and his involvement in creating regional alliances.
He is a bitter rival of Qatar and Turkey, whose leaders support Muslim Brotherhood branches all over the Arab world. But he is a friend of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and to a lesser degree Saudi Arabia, all of which oppose the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, who is a strong opponent of Hamas, which is the Palestinian extension of the Egyptian branch of the Muslim brotherhood, considers MBZ a strong ally. In that sense so does Israel, although Israeli policy, as designed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in regard to Hamas, is not straightforward rivalry but rather more complicated.
For Netanyahu, Hamas is a sort of “frenemy” – a combination of enemy but also friend. This is because Hamas, which controls Gaza and challenges the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), unwittingly serves Netanyahu’s ultimate goal: to undermine Palestinian national aspirations, and along the way “kill” the notion of two states, Israel and a united Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Times story didn’t say which Israeli company upgraded Abu Dhabi’s F-16 fighter planes – both Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems are actively involved in upgrading Russian and US-made warplanes.
In the past, the two companies competed against each other using smear campaigns in their efforts to obtain international tenders. By doing so, they reduced their own chances to win contracts. After an incident in a bidding to upgrade Colombian fighters, the Defense Ministry stepped in and forced them to work together and cooperate on some sensitive cases, such as selling weapons to Arab and Muslim nations – thus making this kind of security and weapons deal less private and more government-to-government (G2G).
One can assume that upgrading Abu Dhabi’s F-16 is a similar case in which the Defense Ministry not only approved it but also imposed a joint venture on IAI and Elbit. No doubt that the deal had to be approved also by the US government. In every deal that involves US-made military systems, Israel needs to receive a license from the Pentagon and the White House. In the case of Abu Dhabi, it was easy to obtain approval since successive US administrations and especially the Donald Trump presidency consider the UAE, Abu Dhabi and MBZ, in particular, friends and allies.
As for the intelligence ties, it was reported in the past that NSO and Verint – two companies based in Herzliya with international subsidiaries – sold their systems to Abu Dhabi. Verint, which defines itself as “a leader in actionable intelligence,” manufactures and sells software for bugging equipment to intercept phone, fax, radio communication and computers as well as analyzing the data obtained.
NSO sold to MBZ – who is also deputy commander of the UAE armed forces – its notorious Pegasus software. The software enables its operators to stealthily infiltrate all kinds of smartphones, steal data, and put the user under constant surveillance, without anyone noticing. Human rights groups around the world have criticized MBZ and his government, police and security services for using the Israeli-made equipment to spy on political opponents and harass human rights activists and abuse dissidents.
NSO was connected, time and again, to aggressive cyber warfare, by selling Pegasus to numerous security services, including tyrannical regimes such as Myanmar, enabling them to persecute human rights activists and political dissidents.
In Mexico, the company name was even linked to the death of a local investigative journalist. One of NSO’s founders and current owner, Julio Shiloh, tries to cleanse his conscience and name by granting interviews to sympathetic interviewers. Yet despite NSO damaging the already deteriorating Israeli image as an unscrupulous supplier of lethal weapons, the Defense Ministry keeps supporting him by approving his request for export licenses.
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The ties with Abu Dhabi began under the radar, benefiting from determined efforts by the Israeli security establishment to conceal them and prevent publication in the media. It was Mati Kochavi, an Israeli businessman, who opened the gates for Israeli technology and military products to the small Emirates. Embarking on an ego trip to glorify himself, Kochavi revealed in a speech in Singapore more than a decade ago that he was selling Israeli hardware and software to Abu Dhabi.
Via his Swiss-based firms and his local Israeli company, Logic, he sold homeland security equipment to protect the principality’s maritime oil and gas installations, providing them with both cyber defense shields and physical security for drones.
Kochavi employed senior Israeli military experts and former chiefs of its intelligence and military, such as General Amos Malka, former head of Military Intelligence, and General Eitan Ben-Eliyahu, former commander of the Israel Air Force.
For this heady venture, Kochavi chartered a private passenger plane and ferried dozens of Israeli experts from Tel Aviv circuitously via Cyprus to conceal his dealings with Abu Dhabi. His employees stayed in a secluded posh neighborhood, and worked in rotating shifts of a week to two weeks.
Around 2012, Kochavi’s charm and luck began to run out. Slowly but steadily he, his businesses and influence were dwindling. Avi Leumi, the controversial founder and CEO of Aeronautics Defense System (ADS), an Israeli manufacturer of drones, entered into the vacuum he had created.
Leumi worked with Kochavi, but though Abu Dhabi’s security establishment wasn’t happy with his drones’ performance, he somehow managed to stay in the game. The professional and financial crisis between the two states threatened to damage their strategic cooperation against Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Mossad, Israel’s foreign espionage agency, moved in to salvage the relations.
One of the traditional assignments of the Mossad is to operate as an alternative foreign ministry and manage the secret ties between the Jewish state and the Arab and Muslim world.
Tevel is the special Mossad department in charge of this mission. At the time, the head of Tevel was David Meidan. Nowadays he and Leumi, who moved his business to Cyprus, are partners representing IAI and other Israeli security producers in the emirates.
The big money dazzled some Israelis involved in the deals, and they found themselves fighting each other in legal battles in courts and arbitration, some of which are still taking place.
Another byproduct of the special Israel-Abu Dhabi ties, which is not a coincidence, is that the Emirate’s F-16s, alongside their Egyptian counterparts, have bombed ISIS positions in the Sinai Peninsula.
The IDF, too, is involved in this war on terrorism, according to many reports, by providing the Egyptian military and its allies with intelligence data and sending its air force for air operations.
Further east, the UAE air force is also operating together with Egypt in the civil war in Libya, helping the forces of General Khalifa Haftar, who is trying to take over the entire country and is supported by the US, France and Russia.
Is it another coincidence that the French newsletter, Intelligence on Line, reported a few months ago that Israeli intelligence representatives met with General Haftar?
Netanyahu has repeatedly boasted that Israel has managed to form an anti-Iranian coalition with some Arab states known as the “Sunni Alliance,” together with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan.
While this is true, it is also true that the Israeli contribution to the alliance, which is run under the radar, is mainly selling intelligence and other military hardware. But the chances that the relations will one day surface into the open are very slim, as long as there is no movement on the Israeli-Palestinian front. And such a probability is very low, as long as Netanyahu remains in power.
Yet one has to admit that the secret ties with Abu Dhabi and other Sunni countries have given Netanyahu at least one important dividend, for himself and his ideology. In return for Israeli military technology and equipment, the Sunni states have turned a blind eye to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, neglected the Palestinian question, and practically allowed Israel to do whatever it wishes there.
IAI, Elbit and the Defense Ministry declined to comment. David Meidan said that he is a private citizen, and does not share information about his business with the public.■
*Yossi Melman is co-author of Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel’s Secret Wars. He tweets at @yossi_melman

نص مقابلة ولي العهد السعودي الأمير محمد بن سلمان من موقعي العربية
والشرق الأوسط باللغتين العربية والإنكليزية
Full Text Of MBS’S Interview From Al Arabiya/Asharq Al Awsat Sites
Saudi Crown Prince: We don’t want war but we won’t hesitate to deal with threats
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 16 June 2019
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In an interview with Asharq al-Awsat, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the Kingdom does not want war but will not hesitate to deal with any threat.
“The kingdom does not want war in the region … but we will not hesitate to deal with any threat to our people, our sovereignty and our vital interests,” he said in the interview.
“The Iranian regime did not respect the presence of the Japanese Prime Minister as a guest in Tehran. During his presence, they responded to his efforts by attacking two tankers, one of which belongs to Japan,” the Saudi Crown Prince added.
During the interview, the Saudi Crown Prince added that Iran’s recent attacks in the region required a firm stance from the international community.
“Iran reaped the economic benefits of the nuclear deal in order to support its hostile acts in the region and to spread chaos and destruction,” he said.
On the situation in Yemen, the Saudi Crown Prince said that Saudi Arabia supports “all efforts in reaching a political solution to the Yemeni crisis, but unfortunately, the Houthi militias are advancing Iran’s agenda instead of the interests of Yemen and its people.”
“We in the Kingdom cannot accept the presence of militias who operate outside of state institutions on our borders,” the Crown Prince said while adding: “We recently saw the malicious Houthi terrorist attacks on the oil facilities and Najran airport and the arrogance of the Houthi leaders who claimed the attacks. This proves once again that these militias do not care about the interests of the Yemeni people and in any political process to resolve the Yemeni crisis. Their actions reflect Tehran’s priorities and needs, not Sanaa’s.”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Asharq al-Awsat that Riyadh sees the importance for strategic relations with the United States as “a key factor in achieving security and stability in the region.”
“Our strategic relations with the United States will not be affected by any media campaigns or positions from here and there,” he said.
Regarding Sudan, the Saudi Crown Prince said the Kingdom cared about Khartoum’s security and stability and “will continue to support our Sudanese brothers in various fields until Sudan reaches what it deserves in prosperity, growth, and progress.”
The Saudi Crown Prince also spoke to Asharq al-Awsat regarding the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, describing the killing as a “very painful crime.”
“We seek full justice and accountability. Any party seeking to exploit the issue politically should stop and provide to the court in the Kingdom any evidence which will contribute toward achieving justice,” he said.
Here is the full text of the interview:
Asharq al-Awsat: The region has recently witnessed dangerous developments that threaten the security and stability of the region and world. What is Saudi Arabia’s stance towards these developments and how does the Kingdom deal with this escalation?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi Arabia’s stance is clear as stipulated in its official statements. It does not want a war in the region, but we will not hesitate in dealing with any threat against our people, sovereignty and vital interests. Our priority is our national interest and achieving the aspirations of our people through the economic and social goals of the Kingdom’s vision 2030 and through development, and economic and social reform. This demands a stable and enabling environment within the Kingdom and region. This is why you will find that the role of the Kingdom, whether in the Arabian Gulf, North Africa, Horn of Africa or other regions, is supporting stability and peace. This is a policy that the Kingdom has adopted since its establishment whereby it has always sought to shun division, sectarianism and extremism and instead preserve unity and stability in the region and international peace.
The Kingdom also plays an important role in the international community through its efforts to ensure that oil supplies pass through vital routes that surround it with the aim of protecting the stability of the global economy. The world witnessed how we dealt with the Iranian tanker in the Red Sea. It was handled based on what our morals and principles and what international treaties and norms demand. In return, we see how the Iranian regime and its proxies have carried out sabotage operations against four oil tankers near Fujairah port. Two of the tankers were Saudi. This confirms the approach followed by this regime in the region and entire world. Plenty of evidence supports this and which has accumulated over many years.
We must not forget that this regime had openly declared since 1979 that its priority and main goal is to export the revolution. It seeks to achieve this at the expense of the aspirations of its people and the peoples of the region. This explains the behavior of the Iranian regime. The export of the revolution and Wilayat al-Faqih principle demand the destabilization of countries and the region, stoking sectarianism, spreading extremism and dedicating the resources of the Iranian people towards financing and arming terrorist militias.
Despite this, the Kingdom has constantly extended its hand for peace with Iran to avoid the horrors of wars and destruction on the region and its people. Saudi Arabia even supported the nuclear deal with Iran because the Kingdom has throughout history never spared an effort to resolve any crisis through diplomatic and peaceful means. We had hoped that the Iranian regime would have taken advantage of this initiative to change its behavior towards the countries in the region and see it as a first step towards Iran’s return to the international community as a normal state. Unfortunately, Iran misused the economic benefits of this deal to support its hostile acts in the region. It continued to violate international resolutions. It was better off dedicating the economic benefits in improving the lives of the Iranian people, developing infrastructure and achieving economic development instead of continuing its destructive behavior in the region.
Iran’s recklessness has reached unprecedented levels. After the nuclear pact, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ budget increased and it intensified its support for sectarian militias in the region and even the whole world. We have all seen how terrorist and hostile Iranian operations were recently thwarted in Europe. This is why the Kingdom supported the re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran. It did so out of our belief that the international community needed to take a decisive stance against Iran. It must also take the necessary measures to limit the regime’s ability to spread chaos and destruction in the whole world.
Recent developments in the region, including the targeting of Aramco oil pumping stations by the Iran-backed Houthi militias, underscores the importance of our demand for the international community to take a decisive stance against an expansionist regime that has supported terrorism and spread death and destruction over the past decades not only in the region, but the whole world.
The choice is clear before Iran. Does it want to be a normal country that plays a constructive role in the international community or does it want to be a rogue state? We hope that the Iranian regime would opt to become a normal country and cease its malign behavior.
Asharq al-Awsat: You have pointed to the American stance on Iran, which coincides with the Saudi stance, as is the case with the majority of strategic issues. Recent months have, however, seen criticism directed at the Kingdom from within the United States over a number of issues, especially the Jamal Khashoggi case. Has this criticism affected the strategic cooperation between the two countries?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: The Kingdom places great importance on the strategic ties with the US. They are relations that extend to more than 70 years during which this strategic partnership has defeated several challenges that have targeted the security, stability and sovereignty of our countries. Our ties with the US are important and pivotal, not only for achieving joint interests, whether economic, on the security level or others, but they are a main factor in achieving regional security and stability. Together with the US, and in cooperation with several countries in the region and world, we seek to achieve sustainable stability in the region that would establish the necessary environment to meet the aspirations of its people to live in dignity and real development. We do so by confronting the forces of chaos, destruction and instability embodied in terrorist organizations and their state-sponsors, starting with the Iranian regime, and confronting all forms of extremism.
As for media campaigns or some stances in the US, they certainly do not serve the joint interests of our countries. Throughout the Kingdom’s history, however, we have previously faced such campaigns that are often biased and not based on accurate information. We constantly seek to clarify facts and misconceptions by some parties in the US and other countries. We listen to various views and we welcome constructive and rational advise, but ultimately our priority is our national interest. Our priority is the citizen in Riyadh, Jeddah, Jazan, Tabuk, Dammam and other regions in the Kingdom, not the beliefs or views of others about the Kingdom. Throughout the Kingdom’s history, we have managed to work with our main allies, despite natural differences that exist between all countries, by respecting the sovereignty of nations and avoiding meddling in their internal affairs. We expect nothing less than reciprocal treatment when it comes to our sovereignty and internal affairs. I am confident that our strategic relations with the US will not be affected by media campaigns or arbitrary stances.
As for the murder of citizen Jamal Khashoggi, as I have previously said, this is a very painful crime that is unprecedented in the history of the Kingdom. Such acts are alien to our culture and contradict our principles and values. The Kingdom has taken the necessary measures, whether through the judiciary to hold the perpetrators to account or through taking procedural measures to prevent such unfortunate crimes from taking place again in the future. These measures stem first and foremost from the importance we place, in the Kingdom, on the lives of every Saudi citizen, irrespective of their views. These measures have not and will not be affected by any other factors. We are a state governed by the rule of law and it is unacceptable for the life of a citizen to be violated in such a painful way under any circumstance. Unfortunately, the suspects are government employees and we seek to achieve full justice. Any party seeking to politically exploit the case must cease doing so and present whatever evidence it has to the courts in the Kingdom to help achieve justice.
Asharq al-Awsat: Does the agreement with the US on Iran apply to the situation in Syria, especially in wake of the American decision to withdraw from the country?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: We are in agreement on the objectives in Syria, which are the defeat of the ISIS, preventing the re-emergence of terrorist organizations, dealing with the destabilizing Iranian influence in Syria and using all possible means to achieve political transition according to Resolution 2254, in a manner that preserves Syria’s unity. We are working with friendly countries to achieve these goals.
Asharq al-Awsat: How do you interpret the Japanese Prime Minister’s recent visit to Iran and his meeting with the supreme leader?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: We thank the (Japanese) prime minister for his good intentions and the Kingdom’s hand is always extended for peace to achieve security and stability of the region.
The Iranian regime, however, did not respect the (Japanese) prime minister as a guest (in Iran) during his visit and in effect responded to his efforts by attacking the two oil tankers in the Gulf, one of which was apparently Japanese. It also employed its militias to carry out a heinous attack against Abha Airport. This is clear evidence of the Iranian regime’s policy and intentions to target the security and stability of the region. Iran is the party that is constantly escalating tensions in the region. It carries out terrorist attacks and immoral acts of aggression directly or through its militias. The problem lies in Tehran, not anywhere else. As I have previously stated, Iran must choose between becoming a normal country that plays a constructive role in the international community or remain a rogue state and assume the international consequences of its choice.
Asharq al-Awsat: The Turkish president and other Turkish officials have recently escalated their rhetoric in questioning the credibility of the Kingdom’s judiciary and held the Kingdom and its leadership responsible in Khashoggi’s case. How do you respond to such accusations?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Jamal Khashoggi is a Saudi citizen and there is no doubt that what happened to him was painful and unfortunate. The Kingdom has taken all measures to hold the perpetrators accountable and the accused have been referred to the judiciary. The judiciary in the Kingdom is an independent authority and no one can meddle in its affairs. We confront any development firmly and without hesitation, by taking the steps that are necessary to achieve justice, rectify any flaw and prevent mistakes from taking place again, while disregarding any claims and accusations.
As for the statements by some Turkish officials towards the Kingdom, the Kingdom, as the home of the two holy mosques, seeks strong ties with all Islamic countries, including Turkey. This is important for the interest of the region and joint Islamic work in particular. In the Kingdom, we work in service of the holy mosques and their visitors. We work on achieving the security and stability of our nation, not becoming embroiled in disputes that harm the interests of our nation and Islamic world. We will forge forward in achieving these goals, without getting distracted by positions taken by some for their own domestic considerations that are known to everyone.
Asharq al-Awsat: Four years have passed since the Arab Coalition kicked off its operations in Yemen. How do you assess the political and military progress that has been achieved and what are the prospects for resolving the crisis in Yemen, especially in wake of the Stockholm deal and terrorist Houthi attacks on Saudi oil pumping stations and its Najran and Abha airports?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Many parties forget or claim to forget how the crisis in Yemen first broke out. The coalition operations began after the international community had exhausted all political solutions between Yemeni parties and the Houthi militias. One must be reminded that the Kingdom is the pioneer of the political solution. It presented the GCC initiative and worked on achieving peaceful political transition in Yemen in 2011. It supported the national dialogue and presented over 7 billion dollars in economic support for Yemen between 2012 and 2014. Since 2011, the Kingdom’s efforts have sought to achieve smooth political transition in a manner that preserves the country’s independence and sovereignty and unity of its political and security institutions to prevent it from slipping into chaos.
Indeed, the Yemeni parties met in Riyadh and signed the GCC initiative and its implementation mechanism. All Yemeni parties, including the Houthis, were present at the comprehensive national dialogue.
Unfortunately, Iran obstructed the political process in Yemen through its proxy houthi militias, which started to occupy Yemeni cities and seize the state’s various resources and capabilities. The Kingdom offered all possible opportunities to resolve the situation through peaceful means, but Iran was following a policy of imposing a new reality in Arab countries by force of arms. Unfortunately, the international community at the time did not confront Iran’s expansionist and sectarian agenda. Iran therefore, continued to try, through its militias, to impose its control in Yemen. The Yemeni people and leadership, however, made a historic stand against this Iranian interference. Along with our brothers in the coalition, we responded immediately to the appeal of the legitimate government to protect Yemen and its people and our national security. The Kingdom cannot accept the presence of militias operating outside the apparatus of states on our borders.
Most Yemeni territories have been liberated and we have supported all efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis. Unfortunately, the Houthi militias prioritize Iran’s agenda over the interests of Yemen and its people. We have recently witnessed the terrorist attack on oil facilities and Najran airport, which the Houthis boasted of claiming. This once again demonstrates that these militias do not care for the interests of the Yemeni people or any political process to resolve the crisis. Their actions reflect the priorities of Tehran, not Sanaa.
The Arab Coalition’s stance is very clear about resolving the crisis. We support efforts to reach a political solution based on UN Security Council resolution 2216, the GCC initiative and its implementation mechanism, and national dialogue outcomes. We accept the participation of all Yemeni parties in the political process, but according to the three references. The Kingdom will not accept the militias to remain outside state control. We will pursue this ultimate goal and maintain our operations and continue on offering support to the Yemeni people in their effort to protect their independence and sovereignty despite our sacrifice. The Kingdom will also maintain its humanitarian and economic relief in Yemen. We not only seek to liberate Yemen from the Iranian militias, but achieve prosperity and stability for all of the people of Yemen.
Asharq al-Awsat: You have spoken of a dream to transform the Middle East into the new Europe. How do you confront obstacles in reaching this dream given the major regional political upheaval and economic and development challenges?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: We must not become hostages of temporary conditions that prevent us from fulfilling our primary duty, as leaders in the region, of reviving our states. Today’s challenges must also not prevent us from working promptly to achieve a better future for the coming generations.
You mentioned political upheaval. This is undoubtedly taking place in the region. At the same time, however, we must look at the overall Arab region and realize that the majority of the countries are unanimous in prioritizing a dignified life for the people and achieving security and stability. The people do not want to be hostages to ideological conflicts that waste their potential. We are before a precedent in that everyone shares one goal. Competition between the majority of our countries focuses on reaching the best standard of living for the people, attracting investment and achieving development in all fields.
The source of political upheaval is well known. They are terrorist groups, such as ISIS, al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and policies of the Iranian regime, the top sponsor of terrorism and extremism. We will not waste our time in offering partial solutions to extremism as history has proven the futility of such efforts. God willing, we will continue to forge forward in our unwavering approach in confronting all forms of extremism and sectarianism, and the policies that support them.
The Kingdom is the home of the Two Holy Mosques. It has been blessed with natural resources, a strategic location, and wise leadership since the days of its founder and until the present reign of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. It is also blessed with its great and innovative people. Today, it is living in security, stability and prosperity. It is unbecoming for this great nation not to occupy leading positions in all fields regardless of the conditions and challenges. We will not rest until we first achieve this goal for our nation and then our brothers in the region.
Asharq al-Awsat: How do you assess the upheaval in Sudan and the political changes?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: We are greatly concerned with the security and stability of Sudan, not only due to the strategic importance of its location and danger of the collapse of its state institutions, but also the strong brotherly ties that bind us. Our brothers and sisters in Sudan have been and continue to be a part of our social fabric, they have contributed greatly to our progress in all fields. We will not spare any effort to achieve the security and stability for Sudan and its people. The Kingdom has taken measures to support the brotherly people of Sudan, including an economic aid package and depositing 250 million Dollars in its Central Bank. We will continue to support our brothers in all fields until Sudan achieves the prosperity and progress it deserves.
Asharq al-Awsat: Three years after launching Saudi Vision 2030, where are we at?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: We moved from the planning and design phase to implementation on all levels, and started seeing results on the ground. On developing the financial sector, for example, we have seen noteworthy progress after the launching of the Vision as the Saudi market joined three global indices, the FTSE, the Morgan Stanley (MSCI) Emerging Markets Index, and S&P Dow Jones Indices. This will pump capital worth billions into the market. The Kingdom has seen a 40 % increase in investors in investment funds, a first since 2006. The Kingdom has recently achieved the greatest leap among some of the world’s most competitive countries in the IMD World Competitiveness Rankings 2019, ranking 26th, moving up 13 ranks compared to last year, and ranking 7th among G20 member states.
In the telecommunications and information sector, we witnessed remarkable development. The contribution of the digital economy to the GDP increased both directly and indirectly, with the Kingdom becoming one of the top 10 fastest e-commerce growing countries worldwide with a rate of 32%. Simultaneously, Internet speeds have improved fourfold to accelerate digital transformation. The Kingdom was also the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to roll out 5G network services back in 2018 in the Eastern Province for trial. Today, we have 1,000 communication towers in the Kingdom that are offering this new service and expanding.
In the field of energy and industry, non-oil exports increased by 22% in 2018 compared to 2017, and we launched many industrial cities in different regions across the Kingdom.
This confirms the keenness of the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to achieve balanced and comprehensive development in various cities and regions, including the King Salman Energy Park (Spark), Jizan, and Waad Al Shamal where the first phase of the production of phosphates and phosphate fertilizers has been achieved, laying down the foundation for the second phase, which will make the Kingdom, God willing, the second largest producer of phosphate fertilizers globally.
I would like to note that what is happening in the Kingdom is not simply a set of financial and economic reforms aiming to realize specific figures, but a comprehensive restructuring of the Kingdom’s macro-economy aimed at improving economic and development performance in the medium and long terms. We have undertaken major economic and structural reforms that contribute to fiscal balance and financial control and the diversification of income sources, while maintaining a continuing macroeconomic growth, sustaining public finances, supporting social expenditures, raising government spending efficiency and stimulating the private sector, which is considered a key partner in growth and development, and achieving the Vision’s objectives.
Asharq al-Awsat: But there are claims about setbacks in some of Vision 2030’s initiatives?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: What is happening in the Kingdom is a comprehensive structural change in the economy aimed at creating a shift in medium- and long-term economic performance. The Vision 2030 and its programs, like all strategic plans has to be reviewed and updated according to circumstances that may arise during implementation, without compromising its foundation or objectives and with the aim of achieving top results, especially at a time we have gained a higher quality of decision-making based on studies, analyses, figures, facts and data.
Responding to your question about some Vision-related initiatives that might be in decline: We do not expect this. The Vision’s programs are effectively contributing to the economic transformation process and we are now shifting from a rentier economy to one that is characterized by productivity and global competitiveness.
Asharq al-Awsat: Some may argue that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) is giving the private sector a run for its money with its direct investments and mega projects. What role does it play in achieving the Vision and how can negative effects be avoided?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: In line with Vision 2030 and in order to achieve its objectives, it was important to review the role of the PIF and transform it into a state sovereign fund. In 2015 we re-launched PIF with a new vision and mission aimed at developing new sectors in Saudi Arabia, investing in leading international partnerships and the formation of a new board of directors under my leadership. Between 2016 and 2018, the number of staffers increased from 40 to nearly 500 employees. Meanwhile, PIF assets have increased from SR500 billion to SR 1 trillion, nearly doubling within two years.
The PIF is now a vital state instrument for economic diversification, and targets both domestic and international investments. Domestically, it targets major project investments that the private sector alone cannot finance, such as NEOM, the Red Sea project and Qiddiya, that will offer dozens, if not hundreds, of good investment opportunities for the private sector.
For PIF and the government, it is of utmost importance to involve the private sector. We have earmarked 13 programs for privatization, giving the private sector a greater opportunity to participate in investment, achieve profitable returns and improve spending efficiency and services.
In terms of foreign investments, apart from achieving attractive returns on its assets, PIF will play an important role in establishing economic partnerships that will help boost knowledge exchange, stimulate high-efficiency investments and enhance local content, generating long-term returns for future generations. The PIF also targets new strategic sectors such as tourism and entertainment. These sectors have an important dimension in stimulating foreign investment, regional development, creating a large number of jobs and improving overall quality of life.
The PIF operates under an outstanding level of corporate governance and transparent investment strategy, which were approved after completing its reform and governance process in 2015. It operates within a system that includes a board, executive committee and investment committee that play clear roles in guaranteeing distinguished levels of professionalism in performance. The PIF also has investment portfolios distributed according to development priorities, such as in Saudi companies, promising sectors and major projects.
Asharq al-Awsat: What are the latest developments in the privatization program?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: We now have an exceptional and global center specialized in privatization that is built on the best practices drawn from experiences of more than 20 countries that have undertaken privatization in the past. When establishing the center, it was taken into account that it contains a legal structure ensuring the rights of both the state and investors. We have identified promising opportunities for privatization in 12 sectors. Our goal from the privatization program is for it to strengthen the effectiveness of the role of government and to maximize the contribution of the private sector to GDP.
In 2019, the National Center for Privatization (NCP) supported the signing of five agreements with a total value exceeding SR 12.5 billion, inked by local and international companies in various fields and with 70% foreign financing from six countries. These agreements include projects that focus on sewage treatment, desalination plants and health services, through dialysis centers.
The NCP is currently working on finalizing agreements totaling over SR2 billion and that cover flour mills and medical and shipping services. These agreements are expected to be completed by the end of 2019. Work is also underway for privatizing education sector projects, expected in 2020 with investments adding up to about SR1 billion.
In the future, the private sector will also have the largest investment share in electricity sector projects, especially power generation plans and including major renewable energy projects previously announced.
Asharq al-Awsat: Amidst such economic transformation, what is your Highness’s message to citizens?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: I am proud that Saudi citizens are driving change at a time many feared the Vision will face resistance due to the size of the change it entails. Many have told me that the most difficult part I will face in realizing this strategic transformation is resistance. But I saw this as a very small factor when looking at Saudi youth that is now leading change.
I would like to pay tribute to the role of young people in the transformation currently taking place in the Kingdom. It is a young Vision with a young spirit.
Discussions have shifted from a change desired from the state to the change we all make together.
Asharq al-Awsat: When following news about the anticipated Saudi Aramco’s IPO in global markets, we find there is a lack of information about the issue and the timeline. Where are matters now? And what actions have been taken in this regard?
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman: We are committed to the initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, but under the appropriate circumstances and in a timely manner. As I mentioned previously, I expect that it will happen between 2020 and the beginning of 2021, and setting the location of the IPO now is premature. Much of the work has been successfully completed, and the timeframe for the offering will depend on several factors including: market conditions for the IPO, given its size, and Aramco’s acquisition of a majority stake in SABIC from PIF.
The latter is a deal which would create a stellar transformation through establishing a fully integrated national energy and petrochemical company that will lead the global energy sector and further enhance Saudi Aramco’s growth potential and profitability in volatile oil markets.
As for preparations for Aramco’s IPO, several important actions have been taken, including the issuance of the hydrocarbon tax system, the re-issuance of an exclusive franchise agreement, the appointment of a new board of directors and the first-ever releasing of Aramco’s annual financial report and audit of its oil reserves. All these measures reinforce transparency, which is a core principle of Saudi Vision 2030, which is committed to protecting the Kingdom’s interests and those of potential investors.
Saudi Aramco, for its part, has also logged several achievements within its internal program in preparation for the IPO. One of the most important features of the program was amending internal rules and regulations, the transformation into a joint stock company and releasing its financial report, meeting requirements of potential financial markets for the IPO.
This has left investors satisfied worldwide, as we have seen through the recent bond offering.

The Mullahs Promise "Demise of Israel" and American Civilization
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 16/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14328/iran-threats-israel-us
Iran recently produced a program on its state television channel demonstrating that the government is currently practicing missile attacks, with the purpose of carrying out actual attacks on Israel.... The video excerpt included in the television broadcast showed how the operations the Iranians are striving to put into action will bombard Tel Aviv.
From the perspective of the Iranian leaders, if they continue to increase their threats against Israel, the United States will be pressured to change its strategy and lift pressure that has been placed on the clerical establishment, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and its elite branch, the Quds Force.
It is an unacceptable double-standard that the United Nations and the international community have been, and continue to be, silent about Iran's threats against Israeli citizens. If the situation were reversed and if Israel threatened to annihilate Iran, the international community would be up in arms, and quick to defend Iran. Through political and economic pressure, the ruling mullahs of Iran should be held accountable by the international community for endangering global security and regional stability.
The Iranian government continues to defy international standards, as it refuses to act as a rational and constructive state, even apart from its repeated malign behavior in the Gulf of Oman this week. Pictured: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a June 13, 2019 press conference in Washington, DC, where he said, "It is the assessment of the US government that Iran is responsible for today's attacks [on oil tankers] in the Gulf of Oman. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The Iranian government continues to defy international standards, as it refuses to act as a rational and constructive state, even apart from its repeated malign behavior in the Gulf of Oman this week. Iran's Supreme Guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who enjoys the final say in all of Iran's domestic and foreign policies, recently proclaimed to the youth in Iran that they will soon witness the demise of Israel and all of American civilization. This announcement was confirmed on the Supreme Leader's official website.
Khamenei made Iran's intentions clear while meeting with students. "You young people," he declared, "should be assured that you will witness the demise of the enemies of humanity, meaning the degenerate American civilization, and the demise of Israel".
Iran also recently produced a program on its state television channel demonstrating that the government is currently practicing missile attacks, with the purpose of carrying out actual attacks on Israel. The video excerpt included in the television broadcast showed how the operations the Iranians are striving to put into action will bombard Tel Aviv. The video concludes with images of Israeli citizens covered in white sheets, indicating great tragedy for Israel, and a victory for the Islamic Republic.
The Deputy Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, also recently threatened on Iran's Channel 2 TV that Israel is "vulnerable and bringing itself closer to death".
Salami made the strategy of the Iranian government vehemently clear by stating, "Our strategy is to erase Israel from the global political map. And, it seems that, considering the evil that Israel is doing, it is bringing itself closer to that." In addition, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently posted a Twitter tirade attacking Israel. It stated that "the Zionist regime will perish in the not so far future."
Why are the Iranian leaders ratcheting up threats against Israel and the Jews at these critical times? There seem to be two major reasons.
Aside from their proclaimed hatred of the country, there is, behind these increased threats, a political motive. From the perspective of the Iranian leaders, if they continue to increase their threats against Israel, the United States will be pressured to change its strategy and lift pressure that has been placed on the clerical establishment, the IRGC, and its elite branch, the Quds Force.
Since its establishment in 1979, the modus operandi of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been to pursue aggressive violent policies instead of attempting diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East.
Since US President Donald J. Trump withdrew from the flimsy nuclear deal, the Iranian leaders have been under significant economic pressure, and are seeking ways to escape it. Sanctions leveled against the Iranian government's military institutions -- the IRGC and its affiliates -- as well as the banking system and the oil sector, are placing financial and geopolitical pressure on the Islamic Republic. Iran's oil exports have declined by more than half, and its national currency, the rial, continues to lose value. As the squeeze continues on both political and economic dynamics within Iran, the government will grow more and more desperate.
It is not only inside the country that the Iranian leaders are feeling economic losses and pressure; Tehran's financial influence, investments and assistance to other countries, particularly Syria, are also being negatively impacted.
As the pressure continues, it is becoming extremely difficult for the Iranian authorities to continue funding, sponsoring and supporting its militias, proxies and terror groups across the Middle East.
According to the latest reports, Iran's reduced oil revenues have already caused Tehran to cut funding to its militias in Syria. As Iran's militias are not getting their salaries and benefits, their ability to continue to fight is being limited.
When these militias do not receive the required funds to operate and advance Iran's interests, some will begin to lose their power, erode, and even fall apart altogether. The Islamic Republic will likely lose the loyalty of other militias as they attempt to find new paymasters.
The second reason behind Iran's increasing threats against Israel is linked to one of the core pillars and revolutionary ideals of the Islamic Republic: destroying the Jewish state. It is also one of the religious prophecies of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and his successor, the current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that Israel will be eventually erased from the face of the earth.
As Iran's theocratic establishment believes that the Supreme Leader is Allah's representative on earth, whatever words or desires the Supreme Leader utters are considered wishes, which must be brought to life by Allah's true believers. With this religious drive, the undercurrent of hatred toward Israel is only amplified: each attack against the country is considered a holy act.
It is an unacceptable double-standard that the United Nations and the international community have been, and continue to be, silent about Iran's threats against Israeli citizens. If the situation were reversed and if Israel threatened to annihilate Iran, the international community would be up in arms, and quick to defend Iran. Through political and economic pressure, the ruling mullahs of Iran should be held accountable by the international community for endangering global security and regional stability.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US foreign policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
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Court convicts Sara Netanyahu of corruption in plea deal
جيرازلم بوست: المحكمة تدين زوجة نيتنياهو سارة
By Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/June 16, 2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75868/%d9%85%d8%ad%d9%83%d9%85%d8%a9-%d8%a5%d8%b3%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%a6%d9%8a%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%aa%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%b2%d9%88%d8%ac%d8%a9-%d9%86%d8%aa%d9%86%d9%8a%d8%a7%d9%87%d9%88-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a7/
Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister’s wife, was convicted of corruption in the “Prepared Food Affair” as part of a plea bargain on Sunday, which ended a four-year legal battle.
A deal was pressed heavily by Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court President Avital Chen, who approved the deal, making the conviction final and giving Sara Netanyahu a criminal record, though as part of the agreement the charges were reduced.
Netanyahu was sentenced to pay NIS 55,000 broken into 11 payments of NIS 5,000, all of which was reduced from the original charge of NIS 359,000.
Under the deal, the prime minister’s wife confessed to a reduced charge of intentionally exploiting another person’s error in the misuse of state funds, in lieu of the original more serious charge of fraud.
The state has also reserved the right to sue Netanyahu in civil court for an additional NIS 175,000.
The last point of allowing the state to sue her in civil court may have been what caused contradictory indications last week about whether her plea bargain was in doubt.
Despite concerns that Sara might walk away from the deal at the last second as had happened for over a year of negotiations, the prime minister’s wife stuck to the deal on Sunday, confessing briefly and quietly, though publicly.
Yet, even in the courtroom there was jousting between the sides over the significance of the plea deal and conviction.
State prosecutor Erez Padan told Judge Chen that it was not easy for the state to compromise on a reduced charge, but kept the focus on getting the prime minister’s wife to confess to a crime and pay a substantial fine.
Netanyahu lawyer, Yossi Cohen, attacked the state, the police and the media for “hunting” and “crusading” after Sara merely because she was married to the prime minister.
The accusations continued later in the day when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a long statement on Facebook lashing out at law enforcement and acting as if Sara had not confessed to a crime.
“Today an ongoing and disgraceful four-year-long hunt relating to tiny packaged meals came to an end. This hunt cost millions in taxpayer funds,” said the prime minister.
He continued, “The judge said that ‘Sara is a stranger to the criminal world’ and determined that she did not commit fraud. The judge said that everything needed to be viewed proportionately… he confirmed in his conclusion that there was no doubt that the events [where Sara had caused prepared food to be illegally ordered] were state events” with foreign dignitaries and not just for her personal benefit.
“Sara endured four years of hell about accusations of which nothing remains… if she was not my wife, there would not have even been a criminal probe,” he concluded.
In fact, when Sara was in court on Sunday, one of the few statements she made was saying she understood what she was admitting to in the criminal indictment when asked by the judge.
In a rare event, a top legal official counterattacked the prime minister within hours of his Facebook post and highlighted her confession.
The legal official said, “Despite the fact that Mrs. Netanyahu appeared in court today and confessed to committing a crime during which she received NIS 175,000 of state funds through her exploitive actions, and was formally convicted of this, immediately after, the prime minister denied these facts and acted as if she was being hunted.”
Continuing, the official said that the prime minister referred to “tiny packaged meals” even though Sara had admitted that she had ordered expensive takeout food totaling NIS 175,000.
Further, the official said that the prime minister’s “appreciation” of the court was tongue and cheek as he had “completely ignored the conviction verdict of the court.”
Such a message from the prime minister was “improper to send to the public and showed a contempt for the court,” and was unexpected after Netanyahu only days ago said he would always respect the rulings of the courts. The official concluded that “Sara Netanyahu was no Dreyfus” and knew very well that her actions were criminal.
Meanwhile on Sunday, the High Court of Justice rejected a petition to veto the plea deal as too lenient. The petition had called the plea bargain caving into political pressure and treating Netanyahu far too leniently, which would lead to a loss of public faith in the legal system and the rule of law. The state convinced the High Court that the deal was within its discretion and that the rule of law was being validated, since it had compelled Netanyahu to confess to a crime after years in which she adamantly refused to admit any wrongdoing.
Last June, Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit filed an indictment against the prime minister’s wife for fraud with aggravated circumstances and breach of public trust. The attorney-general alleged that from September 2010 until March 2013, Netanyahu acted in coordination with the other defendant in the case, former Prime Minister’s Office deputy director-general Ezra Seidoff, to falsely misrepresent that the Prime Minister’s Residence did not employ a chef.
According to the allegations, Netanyahu and Seidoff made misrepresentations to circumvent and exploit regulations that stated: “In a case where a cook is not employed in the [prime minister’s] official residence, it is permitted to order prepared food as needed.”
The two hoped to obtain state funding both for the chef at the residence and for prepared food orders. In this way, the two allegedly obtained from the state NIS 359,000 for hundreds of prepared food orders.
However, Netanyahu’s lawyers appear to have reduced the NIS 359,000 sum to NIS 175,000, using various defenses. In addition, the revised indictment made it sound like Netanyahu did not actively act falsely, but merely passively did not tell some of the office staff that there was a cook and that having a cook meant she needed to limit prepared food orders. Furthermore, in 15 instances, invoices to chefs who were brought in from outside were falsified in order to circumvent limits on how much could be paid toward outside chefs. Seidoff directed the chefs, the house managers and Netanyahu’s secretaries to falsify the invoices in these instances.
Charges against Netanyahu for these 15 instances were previously closed by Mandelblit, as there was insufficient evidence to prove that she knew about the actions of Seidoff and the others. Seidoff’s plea deal includes admitting to the same crime as Sara Netanyahu, with a fine of NIS 10,000 as well as community service hours, which will be set by the court. Originally there were six other probes of Mrs. Netanyahu, but Mandelblit closed the other cases without an indictment.

Deaths in Iran’s notorious prisons on the rise
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/June 16/2019
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani continues to project himself as a defender of human and women’s rights, while evidence on the ground points to the opposite being true.
The number of political prisoners being found dead in suspicious circumstances in Iran’s prisons is on the rise. The latest incident was the case of political prisoner Alireza Shirmohammadali, who was reportedly stabbed to death in the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary last week. A source told the Center for Human Rights in Iran that “prisoners in the ward said he had been stabbed so many times that he died before the prison guards got to the scene.”
He was arrested on July 15, 2018, over messages he had posted on social media. Ambiguous charges were brought against him, including “insulting sacred religious beliefs,” “insulting the supreme leader” and “propaganda against the state.” The charge of insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei can carry the death penalty. The Iranian authorities use such harsh penalties to inspire fear in society and deter people from criticizing the regime and its officials.
Shirmohammadali was only 21 years old and was on a hunger strike when he was killed. Prior to his death, he detailed the conditions of the prison in a letter written in Persian. He wrote: “We went on a hunger strike because of the lack of facilities and threats to personal safety inside the prison… The safety of our lives is of no concern to the prison authorities… Just yesterday, Reza Haghverdi, one of the prison officers, told us very directly that our hunger strike is going to end with death certificates… We have asked the authorities to look into our requests many times but they have not done so.”
The Islamic Republic is obliged to keep prisoners in different sections based on the severity of their crimes and their prior records. Article 69 of the prisons organization’s regulations states that: “All convicts, upon being admitted to walled prisons or rehabilitation centers, will be separated based on the type and duration of their sentence, prior record, character, morals and behavior, in accordance with decisions made by the Prisoners Classification Council.” But Shirmohammadali was with inmates who had been convicted of severe violent crimes, such as murder.
The regime generally brushes off the deaths of detainees and prisoners as suicides without providing any credible evidence.
Shirmohammadali’s case is not an isolated one. During last year’s widespread anti-regime protests, Vahid Heydari, a street peddler, was arrested. According to state-owned media outlets, the 22-year-old died in police custody. His death stirred anger among many Iranians, who expressed their feelings on social media. Later, the authorities announced that Heydari had killed himself in prison.
Another young prisoner to die in 2018 was Sina Ghanbari, a 23-year-old student. According to the Iranian regime, Ghanbari hanged himself in a bathroom in Evin Prison, which is the country’s most notorious jail.
Saru Ghahremani, a 24-year-old Iranian Kurd, was found dead in the city of Sanandaj. His death prompted Iranian actress Bahareh Rahnama to write on Twitter: “This kid was neither political nor a protester, nor a rebel, nor an outlaw, he had simple but big wishes for himself: Like making his mother happy! Why should he be killed?”
The regime generally brushes off the deaths of detainees and prisoners as suicides without providing any credible evidence. Such deaths in police custody or prison appear to have become the norm in Iran. Another individual who faced the same tragedy was Iranian-Canadian environmentalist Kavous Seyed-Emami, who allegedly committed suicide in prison due to the evidence of spying against him.
It should be noted that these are only the cases of deaths and suicides that have been reported by the Iranian authorities. The actual number of people dying in Iranian prisons is most likely much higher.
The regime claims that its prisons are kept in good condition in order to protect the prisoners’ human rights. The authorities also often give prison tours to foreign politicians and diplomats, but these are mainly PR stunts because the locations shown off on the tours are cherry-picked. According to Amnesty International and other human rights organizations, Iran’s prisons are overcrowded, unhygienic and violent.
Prisoners generally do not have access to safe drinking water, medical care, food or fresh air, and they are exposed to infectious disease. Denying access to lawyers, being forced to confess, and being subjected to systematic torture are among the other methods practiced across Iran’s prisons.
In a nutshell, more and more people are being killed in Iran’s prisons. This should cause alarm in the international community and particularly the UN Human Rights Council, whose duty it is to prevent such atrocities and promote human rights. Instead of appeasing the Iranian regime, the EU must also hold Tehran accountable.
*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