English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 16/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews21/english.may16.21.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’
John 13/31-35: “When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.”I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 15- 16/2021
Taef Agreement Is A problem, A trap And Not A Solution. Any International Conference For Lebanon Whose Sole Goal Is To implement This Agreement Is A Definite Recipe For Failure/Elias Bejjani/May 15/2021
Health Ministry: 265 new Corona cases, 16 deaths
Israeli 'Cautions' Lebanon after Border Encounter
Report: Lebanese Army Blocks Access to Southern Border after Palestinian Calls for Protests
President Aoun sends letter to Macron over developments
Aoun Condemns Israeli Shooting at Demonstrators on Lebanon Border
Hezbollah member killed after trying to cross into Israel from Lebanon
Hizbullah Mourns Protester Killed by Israeli Fire
Italian Deputy Foreign Minister visits Lebanon
Report: Kuwait Detains Nephew of Noah Zoaiter
Salam, Bukhari meet
A Sad End to France’s Lebanese Adventure/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/May 15/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 15- 16/2021
Diplomatic efforts focused on UN Security Council meeting Sunday as conflict escalates
Israeli-Palestinian conflict rages as PM Netanyahu says air strikes will continue
Israeli airstrike flattens building housing AP, other media offices in Gaza
Egypt, Saudi Arabia call for Gaza cease-fire
Egypt Sends Ambulances to Evacuate Gaza Wounded
Israel says high voltage power lines supplying Gaza Strip with electricity damaged
Egypt sends ambulances to pick up wounded patients in Israeli strikes on Gaza
Saudi Arabia to host OIC meeting to discuss Israel’s acts of violence
Arab League condemns Israel aggression, war crimes against Palestinians
White House tells Israel safety of reporters ‘paramount responsibility’
Greek police fire water at pro-Palestinian demonstrators in front of Israeli embassy
Explainer: Why is Gaza almost always mired in deadly conflict?
Iranian minister cancels Austrian visit over Israeli flag
Pentagon may delay moving Israel to US CENTCOM area of responsibility after violence
Iran judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi registers to run for presidential election

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 15- 16/2021
The Christian Siege of Muslim Nicaea/Raymond Ibrahim/May 15/2021
Americans Have the Right to Know About Biden's Upcoming Deal with Iran's Mullahs/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 15/2021
US report blasts Turkey for restricting religious minorities/Menekse Tokyay/Arab News/May 15/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 15- 16/2021
Taef Agreement Is A problem, A trap And Not A Solution.
Any International Conference For Lebanon Whose Sole Goal Is To implement This Agreement Is A Definite Recipe For Failure
Elias Bejjani/May 15, 2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/98875/elias-bejjani-taif-agreement-is-a-problem-a-trap-and-not-a-solution-any-international-conference-for-lebanon-whose-sole-goal-is-to-implement-this-accord-is-a-definite/
The Taef Agreement that came into existence in 1989 during the bloody and Stalinist Syrian occupation era of Lebanon has been from day one extremely ambiguous, inapplicable, a trap and a malice recipe for ongoing governance crises.
This Agreement was not implemented, and will never ever be because its main purpose is division and not unity or a stable formula of governance.
That is why a serious, genuine and fruitful review of this inapplicable
Agreement that has become an integrated part of the Lebanese constitution is a must by all Lebanese communities after the liberation of the country, and not while it is still under the Iranian terrorist Hezbollah’s. occupation
Therefore, any international conference for Lebanon whose sole goal is to implement the Taef Agreement is a national disaster and a mere recipe for total failure.
In this context, it is a national, sovereign and moral duty and patriotic obligation for all free, sovereign and sincere Lebanese people, either in Lebanon or Diaspora not to fall in the vicious trap of all those politicians, activists, parties and officials who are malevolently advocating for restricting and limiting the agenda of any International Conference for Lebanon on the heresy of the implementation of this tricky, ambiguous and self defeating Agreement.
Practically, all those leading this inconsistent and wrong headed advocacy, are either blind to the Agreement’s incoherencies, or harboring anti-Lebanese agendas aimed at aborting the efforts aimed at liberating occupied Lebanon and reclaiming its self determination, confiscated independence, sovereignty, freedoms and  free decision making process.
In conclusion, any international conference that is held for Lebanon must not be based on the implementation of the inapplicable Taef Agreement, but aim on the full implementation of the UN Resolutions addressing Lebanon’s occupation and its National Security concerns, which are, the Armistice Agreement with Israel, 1559, 1701 and 1680.
In summary, once Lebanon is again an independent, free. sovereign and democratic country, and after all the UN resolutions are fully implemented, than and only than representatives of all Lebanese communities and under the auspices and umbrella of the UN shall revive the Taef Agreement.

Health Ministry: 265 new Corona cases, 16 deaths
NNA/May 15/2021
Ministry of Public Health announced, on Saturday, the registration of 265 new Corona infections, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 535,446.
The Ministry also indicated that 16 deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours

Israeli 'Cautions' Lebanon after Border Encounter
Naharnet/May 15/2021
In a warning tone, Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraei “advised” Lebanon on Saturday to prevent “sabotagers” from approaching the border between the two countries, after a close border encounter Friday between protesters and Israeli soldiers. “In the wake of the destructive moves to provoke riots on the Lebanese borders, we turn to the Lebanese state with clear advice, which is to put an end to these attempts and prevent the rioters from approaching the borders, we warn against these attempts,”said Adraei. “We will not allow our citizens to be endangered or harmed in any way, Israeli sovereignty is a red line,” he added. He also posted a series of tweets about Friday’s incident, saying the Israeli army "thwarted yesterday a sabotage operation near the security fence with Lebanon."A number of "young demonstrators tried to enter the border town of Metulla" in northern Israel, the National News Agency said Friday. The Lebanese army intervened to remove the dozens of the demonstrators from the scene. A young Lebanese man was struck by Israeli fire while protesting on the border against the Jewish state's assault on the Gaza Strip died of his wounds, said the agency. The 21-year-old protester was one of two men who suffered wounds from Israeli shelling during the protest on the frontier, the official National News Agency said.

Report: Lebanese Army Blocks Access to Southern Border after Palestinian Calls for Protests
Naharnet/May 15/2021
The Lebanese army on Saturday reportedly closed all roads leading to the Marjayoun plain opposite the Israeli settlement of Metulla in the occupied territories, media reports said. They said that the military imposed strict security measures in Marjayoun, one day after young demonstrators tried to enter the border town of Metulla in northern Israel. Moreover, reports said the army erected checkpoints to prevent convoys of Palestinians from heading towards Lebanon’s border with occupied Palestine. Palestinain factions have called on “all Palestinians in Lebanon, and from the refugee camps of Naher el-Bared, al-Beddawi, al-Rashiieh and Ain el-Helweh, to head south in buses to take part in protests at the border in a stand of solidarity with the Palestianins inside the occupied territories.”On Friday, a number of young demonstrators, some carrying Palestinians flags and the yellow colors of Hizbullah, gathered in the Khiam plain and tried to enter the border town of Metulla in northern Israel. The Lebanese army intervened to remove the dozens of young demonstrators from the scene.

President Aoun sends letter to Macron over developments
NNA/May 15/2021
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met French Ambassador to Lebanon, Mrs. Anne Griot, today at the Presidential Palace. The President sent a letter to French President, Emmanuel Macron, on Lebanese-French relations and recent developments. --- Presidency Press Office

Aoun Condemns Israeli Shooting at Demonstrators on Lebanon Border
Naharnet/May 15/2021
President Michel Aoun condemned what he called "a crime committed by Israeli forces" after Israeli fire struck a group of protesters on the southern Lebanese border killing a man, the Presidency said on Twitter. “Aoun condemned the crime committed by the Israeli forces by shooting a group of youths who demonstrated at the southern borders in protest against the aggression in Gaza, which led to the death of the young man, Mohammed Tahan, and the wounding of another,” said the Presidency. It added that Aoun had asked caretaker “Minister of Foreign Affairs to inform the United Nations of the attack in preparation for taking the necessary steps.”A young Lebanese man struck by Israeli fire on Friday while protesting on the border against the Jewish state's assault on the Gaza Strip died of his wounds, state media reported. Meanwhile the United Nations peacekeeping force in the border region, UNIFIL, called for "everyone to remain calm and avoid risking more lives".Hizbullah said the man, whom it named as Mohammed Kassem Tahan, was a member of the pro-Iranian group who was taking part in a demonstration. The 21-year-old protester was one of two men who suffered wounds from Israeli shelling during the protest on the frontier, the official National News Agency said. The incident occurred after a number of "young demonstrators tried to enter the border town of Metulla" in northern Israel, said NNA. The Lebanese army intervened to remove the dozens of young demonstrators from the scene. The protesters, some carrying Palestinian flags and the yellow colors of Hizbullah-- arch-enemy of Israel -- had gathered in the Khiam plain opposite Metulla, an AFP photographer said. They later set fire to the area, with the flames spreading all the way to the border, he said. The Israeli army confirmed on Twitter its tanks had "fired warning shots at a number of rioters... who had crossed into Israeli territory". They "sabotaged the fence and set fire to it... before returning to Lebanese territory", it added. Tensions remained high late Friday as two Palestinians tried to cross the barbed-wire border fence, before being repelled by Israeli fire, NNA said. The army fired flares over the nearby Lebanese village of Kfarkila. On Thursday, three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh toward Israel, a Lebanese military source said. Israel's army said the rockets landed in the sea. A source close to Hizbullah said the group had no link to that incident.

Hezbollah member killed after trying to cross into Israel from Lebanon
Jerusalem Post/May 15/2021
Three rockets were fired from Syria as anger continues to boil in the Arab world
A Hezbollah member was killed by IDF fire on Friday when protesters tried to storm the border with Lebanon and Israel as anger boils in the Arab world over the latest violence between Israel and Hamas. Dozens of protesters had approached the border near the town of Metulla several times on Friday and, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency, a number of “demonstrators tried to enter the border town of Metulla.” The protestors had Palestinian, Lebanese and Hezbollah flags with them when they approached the fence. The IDF identified a group of protesters who left objects near the border that they suspected were explosive devices. Three suspects cut the border fence and crossed into Israel where they were joined by another four suspects; they then started a fire inside Israeli territory, which spread to Lebanese territory. “The behavior of the suspects indicated that they were planning to commit a terror attack in Metulla,” the military said in a statement. During the event, the IDF shot one suspect identified by Hezbollah’s news outlet Al-Manar as Mohammad Tahhan in the leg. He later died of his wounds.Residents of Metulla were ordered to stay indoors for fear of infiltration by the Lebanese forces as IDF forces remain deployed along the border to ensure that there are no further incidents. Following the incident, Lebanese President Michel Aoun ordered the country's foreign minister to notify the UN of what had occurred, at the same time as Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri called for the international community to condemn the killing of the Lebanese protestor. Hariri said that the event had violated the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The event came a day after three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon, landing in the sea off of the northern coast of Israel. Hezbollah distanced itself from the rocket fire; it is believed that a Palestinian group fired the rockets. The disturbances along the Lebanese border continued on Saturday evening, when rioters once again approached the fence, damaging it with Molotov cocktails and other items.The IDF have continued to work to maintain order in the area, and shots were fired in the direction of a number of rioters. The riots are occuring at a distance from Israeli civilians. Also on Friday, three rockets were launched from Syria toward Israel. One of the rockets failed to launch, falling on the Syrian side of the border. The other two rockets fell in an open space, leading to only open air sirens being sounded. No injuries were reported. The Palestinian Tahir Brigade stationed in Syria claimed responsibility for the rockets shortly after they were launched them.

Hizbullah Mourns Protester Killed by Israeli Fire
Agence France Presse/May 15/2021
Hundreds of people brandishing Palestinian flags and the yellow colours of Hizbullah gathered in south Lebanon on Saturday for the funeral of a Lebanese protester killed by Israeli fire a day earlier. Mohamad Kassem Tahan, a member of the Iran-backed Hizbullah movement, had been protesting at the Lebanese border against the Jewish state's latest assault on the Gaza Strip when he was hit by Israeli shellfire.  That came after a number of young demonstrators had tried to cross into the northern Israeli border town of Metulla, according to Lebanese state media.
On Saturday, Tahan's hometown of Adloun held a funeral that coincided with the anniversary of the Nakba -- the "catastrophe" of the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during Israel's creation in 1948. Hizbullah fighters in military fatigues carried the 21-year-old's coffin, wrapped in the movement's yellow flag, through a crowd of mourners to the sound of pro-Palestinian chants and sporadic gunfire. "Death to Israel!" they chanted. "To Jerusalem we will go, and the martyrs will be in the millions!" Hizbullah, a key enemy of Israel, had declared Tahan a "martyr" on Friday and Lebanese president Michel Aoun condemned a "crime committed by Israeli forces". Speaking to AFP at the funeral, Tahan's friend Karim called him "a very loving young man.""He was loved in Adloun. He used to help everyone, even if he was busy," the 17-year-old said. Beside him, a group of Tahan's friends cried on a sofa, while outside, copies of his portrait lined roads leading to the funeral venue. The funeral came as dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered along the southern frontier to commemorate the Nakba and denounce Israeli violence in Gaza and Jerusalem. Brandishing flags and wearing chequered Palestinian scarves, they gathered at several locations including the Lebanese border towns of Maroun Al-Ras and Adaisseh, according to AFP correspondents in the area. They were surrounded by Lebanese soldiers who had erected checkpoints and blocked roads leading up to the frontier to avoid any escalation, according to state media. Ahead of Saturday's protest, an Israeli army spokesperson warned Lebanon against allowing "rioters" to approach the frontier. His statement came as the Israeli army claimed it foiled an overnight attempt by a group of Lebanese infiltrators to cross the border near the town of Metulla.
The army said the infiltrators had planted objects believed to be explosives before fleeing back into Lebanon under Israeli fire. Earlier on Thursday, three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh toward Israel, a Lebanese military source said. Israel's army said the rockets had landed in the sea. A source close to Hizbullah said the Shiite group had no link to that incident. Israel occupied much of southern Lebanon from its 1982 invasion until its withdrawal in 2000, seen as a victory for Hizbullah's "resistance".

Italian Deputy Foreign Minister visits Lebanon
Terry Thompson/YDN/May 15/2021
The Italian Embassy in Beirut announced today, Saturday, in a statement, that Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Marina Sereni is visiting Lebanon until Tuesday. The Italian chancellor announced that “the deputy minister will meet, among others, the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, the resigned Prime Minister Hassan Diab, and the outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs, Charbel Wehbe.” She should also meet with the Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi. The Italian embassy added in its press release that “meetings with representatives of civil society, Lebanese political movements and Italian NGOs operating in Lebanon are also included in the program.”Marina Sereni will also tour the country on Sunday to oversee projects supported by Italy: the wastewater treatment plant in Zahle and the Sursock Museum in Beirut.
In the grip of economic and social collapse, Lebanon has been living without a government for more than nine months, after the resignation of Hassan Diab’s government, following the deadly bombings last summer in the Beirut port. Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Mr. Aoun, both involved in personal and political quarrels, accuse each other of obstructing the process. In the face of the continuing impasse, France, which is heavily involved in the Lebanese file, decided to impose entry restrictions on its territory on Lebanese personalities involved in corruption. The European Union is also looking into a sanctions mechanism, as is the case with the United Kingdom. The Italian Embassy in Beirut announced today, Saturday, in a statement, that the Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Marina Sereni, is visiting Lebanon until Tuesday. Prime Minister Hassan Diab and the outgoing minister have resigned …

Report: Kuwait Detains Nephew of Noah Zoaiter
Naharnet/May 15/2021
Kuwaiti authorities said they were able to detain Hussein Zoaiter, whom they identified as “a powerful Lebanese drug trafficker involved in transporting drugs to Kuwait and the Gulf countries,” the Kuwait al-Rai newspaper reported on Saturday. A Kuwaiti security source said that Hussein is the nephew of drug kingpin and hashish dealer Noah Zoaiter, who is also an international convict. He is sentenced to 90 years imprisonment and wanted on the International Interpol list.Police said during a security raid in the area of al-Jabrieh, they arrested the suspect and also arrested his son who is also wanted by Lebanese authorities.

Salam, Bukhari meet
NNA/May 15/2021
Former Prime Minister Tammam Salam received on Saturday Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari. Discussions reportedly focused on the general situation in Lebanon and the Israeli aggression on Palestine.

A Sad End to France’s Lebanese Adventure
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/May 15/2021
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian did not let down those who had expected his short “warning” visit to Lebanon to end the way it did. It proved, indeed, that he who has nothing can offer nothing.
What happened has proven beyond any doubt that Paris could offer nothing as long as it has two different sets of definitions for: religious and sectarian extremism, occupation, sovereignty, the people’s right to honest living, corruption and conspiring against coexistence and “institutional state”.
A government policy that deludes itself in defending a militia’s illegitimate arsenal, under the excuse that the said militia “enjoys electoral support” can neither achieve breakthroughs nor prove trustworthy. Actually, it is strange to willfully ignore the relationship between this militia’s exclusive possession of heavy weapons – despite being frequently used inside Lebanon – and its election “victories”, as well as its undermining of state institutions, politicizing its judiciary, opening borders to smuggling and destroying the livelihood of the Lebanese people through ruinous “liberation” adventures.
During the two visits made by the French president Emmanuel Macron to Beirut, after the massive explosion at its port, he presented an “initiative” that was trusted by naïve observers. He also met with “representatives” of all the Lebanese communities, and dealt with them like a stern and decisive schoolmaster.
For a short while after the first visit, those “representatives” took the French president’s initiative seriously for two reasons:
1- They were unsure how decisive Macron would be.
2- How strong was Washington’s support for the French initiative, if there was one.
For these two reasons, they agreed to have a new cabinet headed by a Paris-trusted young diplomat from outside the political establishment. However, things soon unraveled as the “representatives” succeeded in “deflating” and circumventing the initiative once they discovered its fragility, and Washington’s true position towards it. Thus, Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib quit, and the Hassan Diab government – dubbed the “Hezbollah cabinet” – carries on in a caretaker capacity.
Of course, backed by its Christian cover the Free Patriotic Movement (the Aounist movement), Hezbollah, which is the strongest, the most experienced in obstruction, the most dominant and obliterative party, was and is not ready to offer concessions to France.
Indeed, why should it concede to a powerless authority in wake of the US presidential elections? Hezbollah bet, and rightly so, that there was no need to offer painful concessions to Paris if the horizon looks bright in Washington; where the new White House boss cannot wait to mend fences with Iran’s leaders, and overlook the behavior of its surrogates in four Arab states.
Then, in a move that looked as if it was accommodating the French initiative and reassuring the Sunnis, Saad Harari was re-invited to form a new government, almost one year after he resigned to meet the demand the October 2019 popular uprising. And it was noteworthy that the “Shiite duo” wewasre very eager to nominate him.
As a matter of fact, Amal’s support for Hariri was well-known and expected, as it reflects the traditional conciliatory position of its leader Nabil Berri, the parliament speaker. What was new, however, was Hezbollah’s support, keeping in mind that it has different considerations. It basically moves and functions beyond the Lebanese arena; and while it has an interest to look magnanimous to the Sunnis, it would never discard its Aounist Christian cover.
On the other hand, it is well known that Aoun has never ceased his attempts to annul the Taif Accords, undermine the role of the Sunni prime minister, and rebuild Lebanon under a new balance of power effectively under Iran’s military dominance, but with a figurehead Christian Maronite president.
As we recall, follow Biden’s November victory, the new US president handed over the Iranian file to Robert Malley, and appointed William Burns as head of the CIA. Hence, the Middle East scene – including the situation in Lebanon – began to look different.
Later on, the momentum was accelerated with the resumption of the Vienna talks aimed at returning to the Iran nuclear deal, and Washington’s announcement of its new priorities in Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan; in addition, to easing pressure on Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
In parallel, the Aounist demands – tacitly backed by Hezbollah – became more and more insatiable and brazen in undermining Hariri’s efforts to form a non-partisan government as Paris had demanded during Macron’s visits to Beirut.
Again, Hariri gambled on what he regarded as a commitment towards him from the French president. He also felt that his luck was improving as Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai openly called for Lebanon’s neutrality; and thought that as he was fighting President Michel Aoun – who as ever was hell bent on marginalizing him – he was winning a sizeable chunk of Christian Maronite support represented by the patriarch.
On the other hand, Hariri ignored friendly advice to quit because the de facto rulers in Lebanon - Hezbollah and Aoun - would never allow him to govern, and the major world capitals would never fight for him, whether politically or militarily against Iran and its regional subordinates.
But it was only recently that Hariri began to feel that his gamble was floundering. Worse still, Hariri felt - or was made to feel - that while Paris was unwilling to confront and punish Hezbollah, it was ready to punish him and his Mustaqbal movement along with Aoun’s FPM for “hindering effort to form the government”. Then, in recent days, the French foreign minister’s visit, as well as its reverberations, confirmed that impression.
Given the above, it is time now to admit that under Macron, France does not have the much hoped for solution that ends Lebanon’s suffering, and save a country whose “romantics” used to call France “the tender-hearted mother”. It is also time to accept that France’s understanding of the Middle East’s problems, its clear-cut priorities, and how it handles these priorities would encourage no one to expect solutions … not even initiatives.
Failure becomes obvious when we recall how Paris led, during the last four years, Europeans efforts to befriend the Iranian regime, and an unconditional return to the nuclear agreement; and also obvious when Paris has continuously ignored the root cause of Lebanon’s problem and who is responsible for it.
Then comes the guardsman of French diplomacy to admonish a bunch of weak politicians in a country, which is effectively under occupation, overlooking what this occupation means and leads to.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 15- 16/2021
Diplomatic efforts focused on UN Security Council meeting Sunday as conflict escalates
UN, NEW YORK--Diplomatic attempts to reach a ceasefire in the escalating hostilities between Hamas and Israel are focused on a virtual public meeting that the UN Security Council will hold Sunday. The UN chief has appealed on Friday for an immediate halt to fighting between Gaza and Israel. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the conflict could “unleash an uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis and to further foster extremism,” not only in the Palestinian territory and Israel but also elsewhere in the region. A UN spokesman said Guterres is urging the parties to allow mediation efforts to intensify and end the fighting more quickly. Stephane Dujarric says the UN is “actively involved” in those mediation efforts. Guterres also reiterated his commitment to support Palestinians and Israelis in resolving the conflict, including through the so-called Quartet of Middle East mediators — the UN, the US, the European Union and Russia. The United States, which had blocked an originally scheduled Friday session and proposed a meeting early next week, agreed to move the UN Security Council session — requested by Tunisia, Norway and China — to Sunday, the same sources said.
UN Security Council sessions, held by videoconference due to the pandemic, require support of all 15 members. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, asked about the scrapping of Friday’s session, had said the United States was not blocking a meeting but wanted to hold it later. “We are open to and supportive of an open discussion at the United Nations,” Blinken told reporters in Washington. “I think we’re looking at early next week. This, I hope, will give some time for the diplomacy to have some effect,” he said, before the meeting was set for Sunday.
The United States, Israel’s key ally, has defended the Jewish state’s deadly offensive in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian militant movement Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip. But President Joe Biden’s administration has also voiced alarm over civilian casualties and earlier pushed Israel to hold off on evictions of Palestinians in Jerusalem, the immediate trigger for the flare-up.
Blinken spoke Wednesday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. The United States is seeking “an end to the violence which continues to claim the lives of innocent children, women and men,” Blinken said. “We’ve been very clear that rocket attacks must cease,” he said. US Secretary for Israel-Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr has arrived in the region. He was due to meet Israeli leaders in Jerusalem Saturday before heading to the occupied West Bank for talks with Palestinian officials. He wants to encourage a “sustainable calm”, State Department deputy spokeswoman Jalina Porter said. In the meanwhile, the US administration notified Congress on Thursday that it will provide $10 million to Palestinian groups in the West Bank and Gaza to support exchange and reconciliation projects with Israelis. The recipients of the aid were not named. The State Department said Friday that the money is part of more than $100 million that the administration allocated to the Palestinians earlier this year, reversing a near total cutoff in support under former President Donald Trump. Washington has been criticised for not doing more to end the intensifying violence.
Regional efforts
Egypt was leading regional efforts to secure a ceasefire. Cairo pushed for both sides to cease fire from midnight on Friday pending further negotiations, two Egyptian security sources said, with Egypt leaning on Hamas and others, including the United States, trying to reach an agreement with Israel. Its efforts did not however bear fruit. An Egyptian intelligence official said Israel had turned down an Egyptian proposal for a one-year cease-fire that Hamas had accepted. The official, who was close to Egypt’s talks with both sides, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the internal negotiations. The foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan discussed efforts to end the Gaza confrontation and to prevent “provocations” in Jerusalem, Egypt’s foreign ministry said. “The talks have taken a real and serious path on Friday,” a Palestinian official said. “The mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations are stepping up their contacts with all sides in a bid to restore calm, but a deal hasn’t yet been reached.”
Tunisian and Egyptian foreign ministers held talks Friday. Tunisia hold a non permanent seat at the UN Security Council. The United Arab Emirates on Friday called for a ceasefire and negotiations while offering condolences to all victims of the fighting, citing the promise of September accords that made the UAE and Bahrain the first Arab states in a quarter century to establish formal ties with Israel. Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Friday ordered 40 tonnes of aid for Palestinians to be shipped to the West Bank and Gaza following recent violence. The aid includes food, medicine and blankets and will be carried by military aircrafts, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Morocco also denounced “the violent acts perpetrated in occupied Palestinian territories,” and reiterated support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Escalating violence
Eleven Palestinians were killed in clashes in the occupied West Bank on Friday and there were fears of worse violence Saturday as Palestinians commemorate the Nakba, the “catastrophe” of Israel’s creation in 1948, which turned hundreds of thousands into refugees. Despite intensifying diplomatic efforts to ease five days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, Israel’s air force struck several sites in the coastal enclave overnight, while rockets again tore towards Israel. The overall death toll in Gaza since Monday now tops 130, more than 30 of them children. Around 950 people have been wounded.
Egypt opened its Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Saturday to allow in 10 ambulances carrying seriously injured Palestinians for treatment in Egyptian hospitals, medical officials said. Israel, which is also trying to contain an outbreak of internal Jewish-Arab violence, is facing its bloodiest conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza since a 2014 war. Its bombardment began on Monday after the territory’s Islamist rulers Hamas fired rockets towards Jerusalem in response to a bloody Israeli police action at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem. More than 2,000 rockets have been fired at Israel since then, killing nine people, including a child and a soldier. More than 560 people have been wounded.
Between 7 pm Friday and 7 am Saturday, some 200 rockets were fired at southern Israel, over 100 of which were intercepted by air defences, the Israeli military said. Israel’s response has seen it hit nearly 800 targets, including a massive assault Friday on a Hamas tunnel network dug under civilian areas. Tower blocks and other multi-storey buildings have been levelled. Some 10,000 Palestinians have fled homes near the Israeli border for fear of a ground offensive, the United Nations said. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave no indication that Israel was ready to ease its campaign. “I said we’d deliver heavy blows to Hamas and other terror groups, and we’re doing that,” Netanyahu said.
“They’re paying and will continue to pay dearly for that. It’s not over yet.”Israel estimates that more than 30 leaders of Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have been killed. It has hit sites it describes as military targets such as Hamas bomb-making facilities and the homes of senior militant commanders.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict rages as PM Netanyahu says air strikes will continue
Reuters/16 May ,2021
Israel pounded Gaza on Saturday, destroying a tower block that housed news media organizations, while Palestinian rocket salvoes hit Tel Aviv. It came on a sixth day of hostilities in which Palestinians say at least 145 people, including 41 children, have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began. Israel has reported 10 dead, including two children. The 12-storey block in Gaza City brought down by Israeli air strikes housed the US Associated Press and Qatar-based Al Jazeera media operations. However, the Israel military said it was a legitimate military target, containing Hamas military offices, and that it had given warnings to civilians to get out of the building before the attack. The strike was condemned by the AP and Al Jazeera, and the US told Israel “that ensuring the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a paramount responsibility,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. US President Joe Biden later spoke to both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an effort to restore calm. But both Israel and Hamas insisted they would pursue their campaigns, leaving no end to the hostilities in sight despite a UN Security Council meeting scheduled for Sunday to discuss the worse outbreak of Israel-Palestinian violence in years. “The party that bears the guilt for this confrontation is not us, it’s those attacking us,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech. “We are still in the midst of this operation, it is still not over and this operation will continue as long as necessary.”
Netanyahu said Israel’s air and artillery barrage had eliminated dozens of Hamas militants and taken out “hundreds” of the Islamist militant group’s sites including missile launchers and a vast tunnel network. Hamas began its rocket assault on Monday after weeks of tensions over a court case to evict several Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, and in retaliation for Israeli police clashes with Palestinians near the city’s Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest site, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Speaking to crowds of protesters in the Qatari capital of Doha, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Saturday the fighting was primarily about Jerusalem. “The Zionists thought ... they could demolish Al-Aqsa mosque. They thought they could displace our people in Sheikh Jarrah,” said Haniyeh. “I say to Netanyahu: do not play with fire,” he continued, amid cheers from the crowd. “The title of this battle today, the title of the war, and the title of the intifada, is Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” using the Arabic word for ‘uprising’.
Air war
On Saturday, the Israeli military said around 2,300 rockets had been fired from Gaza since Monday, with about 1,000 intercepted by missile defenses and 380 falling into the Gaza Strip. Israel has launched more than 1,000 air and artillery strikes into the densely populated coastal strip, saying they were aimed at Hamas and other militant targets. The bombardments have sent columns of smoke above Gaza City and lit up the enclave’s night sky. Earlier this week the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, told Reuters the court was “monitoring very closely” the latest escalation of hostilities, amid an investigation now under way into alleged war crimes in earlier bouts of the conflict. Netanyahu accused Hamas of “committing a double war crime” by targeting civilians, and using Palestinian civilians as “human shields.” The New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said on Saturday it had “serious concerns that the attacks caused disproportionate destruction of civilian property” in Gaza.
Failed diplomacy
Biden’s envoy, Hady Amr, arrived in Israel on Friday, before a meeting on Sunday of the UN Security Council. But diplomacy has so far failed to quell the worst escalation in fighting between Israel and Palestinians since 2014. The White House said Biden updated Netanyahu on “high-level” contacts with regional partners to restore calm, and raised concerns about the safety of journalists. Biden also spoke with Abbas, for the first time since the US leader took office in January. Both sides said Biden reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution to the conflict, and the White House said Biden was committed to “strengthening the US-Palestinian partnership”, which reached a nadir under the Trump administration. But diplomatic efforts are complicated by the fact the US and most western powers do not talk to Hamas, which they regard as a terrorist organization. And Abbas, whose power base is in the occupied West Bank, exerts little influence over Hamas in Gaza. In Israel, the conflict has been accompanied by violence among the country’s mixed communities of Jews and Arabs. Synagogues have been attacked, Arab-owned shops vandalized and street fights have broken out. Israel’s president has warned of civil war.Hamas said the latest strikes on Tel Aviv were in response to Israel’s overnight strikes on Gaza’s Beach refugee camp, where a woman and four of her children were killed in their house. Five others died, medics said. Israel said it targeted an apartment used by Hamas.

Israeli airstrike flattens building housing AP, other media offices in Gaza
The Associated Press/15 May ,2021T
An Israeli airstrike has flattened a high-rise building housing the Associated Press and other media offices in Gaza City. All Associated Press employees and freelancers evacuated the building safely, according to a statement released by President and CEO Gary Pruitt. “We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza,” Pruitt said. “This is an incredibly disturbing development. We narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life… The world will know less about what is happening in Gaza because of what happened today.”The owner of the building says he had received a call from the Israeli military that the building would be targeted. Jawwad Mahdi said he was told to go into the building to make sure all residents have evacuated. He was told he had an hour to make sure everyone has left the building. The Associated Press said it is seeking information from the Israeli government and is engaged with the US State Department to try to learn more about what happened. Staffers and residents of the building fled in a panic after being told of the warning.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia call for Gaza cease-fire
The Associated Press/15 May ,2021
The foreign ministers of Egypt and Saudi Arabia are calling for an immediate cease-fire in the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. That’s according to a statement on Saturday carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. It says that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan had spoken to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. It said the two both agreed that an immediate cease-fire was needed. Egypt has been trying to negotiate a stop to the fighting. The Saudi statement also said the two diplomats called on “the international community to confront the aggressive Israeli practices against the brotherly Palestinian people.”

Egypt Sends Ambulances to Evacuate Gaza Wounded
Agence France Presse/15 May ,2021
Egypt opened its Rafah border crossing with Gaza Saturday to allow 10 ambulances to transport Palestinians seriously wounded in Israeli air strikes to Egyptian hospitals, medical officials said. Egypt "exceptionally opened the Rafah crossing to allow 10 Egyptian ambulances into the Gaza Strip to transport wounded Palestinians... to be treated in Egypt," a medical official said. An official at the Gaza border said the opening was "exceptional" because it is usually closed during public holidays including Eid al-Fitr, this year running from Wednesday to Sunday in Egypt. The Egyptian public health authority said Friday that the holiday was being suspended for some Egyptian doctors and nurses in preparation to receive "those coming from the Gaza Strip". The Rafah border crossing is usually open on working days. Medical officials in Gaza say Israeli strikes have killed 139 people, including 39 children, since Monday. Around 950 people have been wounded. Rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups have killed nine people in Israel, including a child and a soldier. The strikes were retaliation for Palestinian group Hamas launching rockets on Israel, after Israeli police moved in on Palestinian worshippers in the Al-Aqsa mosque and cracked down on protests against planned Israeli expulsions of Palestinians from their homes in annexed east Jerusalem. The grand imam of Egypt's famed Al-Azhar mosque and university, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, late Friday launched a campaign on social media in "support the Palestinian people". "Stop the killing," he said. "Enough with silence and double standards if we are really working towards peace."

Israel says high voltage power lines supplying Gaza Strip with electricity damaged
The Associated Press/16 May ,2021
Israel’s Electric Company says that high voltage lines supplying the Gaza Strip with electricity were damaged by rocket fire by Palestinian militants. The company released a statement on Saturday saying five of the 10 lines have been damaged, in the latest escalation of fighting and that the company cannot fix them because there is no access to the area. Damage to the power lines came amid days of intense fighting between Palestinian militants and Israel in the Gaza Strip. Gaza’s only other source of electricity — besides the power provided by Israel — is its single power plant, which has been working only partially due to fuel shortages. However, both sources are insufficient to cover Gazans’ needs. Outages of at least eight hours have long been a daily occurrence in the strip and with the power plant not working at regular capacity, rolling blackouts have increased to 12-15 hours per day recently. With the latest hits on the power line, more outages are expected.

Egypt sends ambulances to pick up wounded patients in Israeli strikes on Gaza
Reuters, Cairo/15 May ,2021
Egypt sent 10 ambulances into Gaza on Saturday to pick up casualties of Israeli bombardments for treatment in Egyptian hospitals, medical and security sources said. The ambulances entered Gaza at the Rafah crossing, which is otherwise closed for five days over the Eid al-Fitr holiday and the weekend and is due to reopen on Monday. A further five ambulances have been deployed to enter Gaza later and three Egyptian hospitals have been readied to provide treatment, the sources and local health officials said.

Saudi Arabia to host OIC meeting to discuss Israel’s acts of violence
The Associated Press, Dubai/15 May ,2021
Saudi Arabia has called for foreign ministers of the world’s largest body of Muslim nations to hold a meeting Sunday. The gathering is to discuss Israeli acts of violence against Palestinians and the Israeli police’s use of force against protesters at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. The Kingdom will host the virtual summit, gathering ministers of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) “to discuss the Israeli aggression in the Palestinian territory,” particularly acts of violence in the vicinity of al-Aqsa Mosque, the body said Saturday. The Saudi-headquartered OIC includes countries Iran, Turkey, Indonesia and a range of Muslim majority nations. The sanctity of al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites, is a sensitive and emotive issue for Muslims around the world. The OIC was formed 51 years ago in response to a Jewish extremist arson attack on the al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem. The hilltop on which the mosque stands is also sacred to Jews, who revere it as the Temple Mount because it was the site of the biblical temples. Some Jews and evangelical Christians support building a new Jewish temple on the site, an idea that Muslims find alarming because they fear it would lead to the mosque being partitioned or demolished.

Arab League condemns Israel aggression, war crimes against Palestinians
Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/15 May ,2021
The Arab League strongly condemned the war crimes and Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and Gaza Strip, and all plans and measures of ethnic cleansing practiced by the Israeli authorities, especially in the city of Jerusalem and its neighborhoods, according to a statement released by Saudi Press Agency. “On the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba, the Arab League held the occupation authorities fully responsible for these aggressive practices and the dangerous escalation in the Palestinian territories, calling on the international community, the international quartet, regional organizations and the UN Security Council to assume its responsibility and immediately and decisively intervene to end this tragedy that began since 1948,” the statement added. The Arab League also called on the International Criminal Court to play its role to expedite its investigations and to bring all Israeli officials responsible for these massacres and crimes that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity to trial, to enforce international law, and to achieve justice that has been absent for decades.

White House tells Israel safety of reporters ‘paramount responsibility’
Reuters/15 May ,2021
The White House said Saturday it has cautioned Israel about the importance of protecting independent media after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza destroyed a building housing the bureaus of the Associated Press and Al Jazeera. “We have communicated directly to the Israelis that ensuring the safety and security of journalists and independent media is a paramount responsibility,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted.

Greek police fire water at pro-Palestinian demonstrators in front of Israeli embassy
Reuters/15 May ,2021
Greek police fired tear gas and water cannon on Saturday to disperse pro-Palestinian demonstrators protesting in Athens against Israeli attacks on Gaza. Hundreds of people shouting “Freedom to Palestine” and waving Palestinian flags marched to the Israeli embassy, which was cordoned off by police buses. The demonstration in the Greek capital follows similar protests in cities around the world following days of intense conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.

Explainer: Why is Gaza almost always mired in deadly conflict?
The Associated Press/15 May ,2021
The Gaza Strip was pounded this week by hundreds of Israeli strikes from sea, land and air, while the enclave’s militant Hamas rulers fired hundreds of rockets into Israel. It’s the fourth round of major conflict between Israel and Hamas since 2008, with the tiny enclave’s more than 2 million Palestinian residents bearing the brunt of the deaths and the destruction. The latest eruption of violence has raised the specter of another devastating war and once again drawn international attention to the impoverished, densely populated strip. Here’s a look at the Gaza Strip and its place in the Middle East conflict.
A narrow coastal strip
Gaza, sandwiched between Israel and Egypt, is just 25 miles (40 kilometers) long and six miles (10 kilometers) wide. It was part of the British-ruled Palestine Mandate before the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation, when it came under Egypt’s control.
Large numbers of Palestinians who fled or were driven from what is now Israel ended up in Gaza, and the refugees and their descendants now number 1.4 million, accounting for more than half of Gaza’s population. Israel captured Gaza, along with the West Bank and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories to form their future state. The first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, erupted in Gaza in 1987 — the same year Hamas was founded — and later spread to the other occupied territories. The Oslo peace process in the 1990s established the Palestinian Authority and gave it limited autonomy in Gaza and parts of the occupied West Bank.
The Hamas takeover
Israel withdrew its troops and Jewish settlements from Gaza in 2005, after a second and far more violent intifada. The following year, Hamas won a landslide victory in Palestinian elections. That triggered a power struggle with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, culminating in a week of clashes in 2007 that left Hamas in control of Gaza. Hamas has done little in the way of imposing Islamic law on Gaza, which was already very conservative. But it has shown no tolerance for dissent, arresting political opponents and violently suppressing rare protests against its rule. The militant group has remained firmly in power through three wars and a 14-year blockade. Israel and Egypt imposed the crippling blockade after the Hamas takeover. Israel says it’s needed to keep Hamas and other militant groups from importing arms. Rights groups say the blockade is a form of collective punishment. The closures, along with years of misrule and Hamas’ long-running feud with the Palestinian Authority, have devastated Gaza’s economy. Unemployment hovers at around 50 percent, power outages are frequent and the tap water is badly polluted. Palestinians face heavy movement restrictions that make it difficult to travel abroad for work, study or to visit family, and often refer to Gaza as the world’s largest open-air prison.
The wars
Hamas and Israel have fought three wars and several smaller battles. The worst so far was the 2014 war, which lasted for 50 days and killed some 2,200 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians. Seventy-three people were killed on the Israeli side.
Israel’s airstrikes and incursions into Gaza have left vast swaths of destruction, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble and thousands forced to shelter in UN schools and other facilities. Israel says it makes every effort to avoid civilian casualties and accuses Hamas of using Gazans as human shields. Palestinian militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel. The vast majority are intercepted by Israeli missile defenses or land in open areas, but they sow widespread fear and can bring life to a standstill. Their range has steadily increased in recent years, with some striking as far as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, major metropolitan areas. Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court launched an investigation into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories. It is expected to scrutinize the actions of both Israel and Palestinian militants in the 2014 war.
The ICC has also expressed concern about the latest violence.

Iranian minister cancels Austrian visit over Israeli flag
Reuters/16 May ,2021
Iran's foreign minister cancelled a visit with his Austrian counterpart to show displeasure that Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's government had flown the Israeli flag in Vienna in a show of solidarity, the Austrian foreign ministry said on Saturday. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was supposed to meet Alexander Schallenberg but had called off the trip, a spokeswoman for Schallenberg said, confirming a report in newspaper Die Presse. "We regret this and take note of it, but for us it is as clear as day that when Hamas fires more than 2,000 rockets at civilian targets in Israel then we will not remain silent," the spokeswoman said. Hamas is the Islamist group that runs Gaza. Israel has pummelled Gaza with air strikes and Palestinian militants have launched rocket barrages at Israel in the worst escalation of violence in years. In Tehran, foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told the semi-official news agency ISNA: "Mr Zarif did not consider the trip beneficial in these circumstances, and therefore the travel arrangements were not finalised." The dispute comes during talks in Vienna to try to revive a 2015 accord with western powers in which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for relief from sanctions. Former U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in 2018, prompting Iran to begin violating its terms. Kurz, who is firmly pro-Israel, had called flying the Israeli flag over the federal chancellery on Friday a mark of solidarity amid the violent clashes. But Abbas Araqchi, who heads the Iranian delegation at the Vienna talks, criticised the move. "Vienna is the seat of (nuclear watchdog) IAEA & UN, and (Austria) so far been a great host for negotiations," Araqchi wrote on Twitter. "Shocking & painful to see flag of the occupying regime, that brutally killed tens of innocent civilians, inc many children in just few days, over govt offices in Vienna. We stand with Palestine."

Pentagon may delay moving Israel to US CENTCOM area of responsibility after violence
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/14 May ,2021
The United States is putting the brakes on plans to include Israel in the US Central Command’s (CENTCOM) area of responsibility as Arab states move to distance themselves from Tel Aviv after the recent violence between Palestinian factions and Israel, sources familiar with the matter said. Initially announced in January, the move to shift Israel to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility from the US European Command (EUCOM) was recently undergoing part of the Biden administration’s Global Posture Review. But as of last month, CENTCOM Commander Gen. Frank McKenzie spoke of his optimism in shifting Israel from EUCOM to the US military’s Middle East and Central Asia command. “The normalization of relations between Israel and a number of Muslim-majority Arab states in 2020 and the realignment of the Unified Command Plan (UCP) moving Israel from US European Command to USCENTCOM provide new opportunities for enhancing regional stability and security cooperation,” McKenzie told the Senate Armed Services Committee in April. Now, sources tell Al Arabiya English the Pentagon wants to distance itself from the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. “The Pentagon wants nothing to do with what’s going on in Israel right now,” one of the sources said. “And a number of Arab states, including those who made peace deals with Israel last year, are reluctant for it to be in CENTCOM at this moment,” the source added. The Pentagon and CENTCOM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Lebanon are a few of the countries included in CENTCOM’s AOR. On Friday, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan blasted the “Israeli occupation’s illegal practices,” during a call with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki. Despite repeatedly voicing support for Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens, the Biden administration has used a noticeably different tone towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in recent weeks. UAE-based The National reported earlier this week that the Biden administration ignored warnings from at least two Arab governments that the situation in Jerusalem was deteriorating. And as the toll of civilian deaths continues to increase, Washington faces a difficult position as it has attempted to make human rights a pillar of its foreign policy. Gaza’s Health Ministry has said that more than 100 Palestinians have been killed, including 31 children and almost 20 women. Meanwhile, the White House refuses to issue a public answer of whether it will replenish Israel’s so-called Iron Dome air defense system with missiles. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki did, however, say condemn the Hamas militant group for firing over 1.500 rockets at Israel.

Iran judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi registers to run for presidential election
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English/15 May ,2021
Iran’s powerful judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi registered on Saturday to run in the country’s presidential election next month. Raisi, a prominent cleric who is frequently mentioned as a possible successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said in a statement he is joining the presidential race to “bring about change in [how the country is managed] and to relentlessly fight against poverty, corruption and discrimination.” Raisi, who was appointed head of the judiciary by Khamenei in 2019, is expected to have the backing of the supreme leader and most conservative groups in the election. Raisi’s name is tied to Iran’s mass execution of political prisoners in the 1980s. He was allegedly a leading member of what came to be known as the “death committee,” a group of Iranian judiciary and intelligence officials put together by former Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini in 1988 to oversee the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners at the time. Raisi, 60, ran for president in 2017, losing to incumbent President Hassan Rouhani. A second unsuccessful run would strike a major blow to his chances of succeeding Khamenei. Former speaker of parliament Ali Larijani also registered to run on Saturday. ni attends a news conference in Damascus, Syria February 16, 2020. (Reuters) The election will be held on June 18 and will see Rouhani, who has served the maximum two consecutive terms allowed, step down. Registration for presidential hopefuls opened on Tuesday and will close on Saturday. Candidates will then be vetted by the Guardian Council, an unelected body responsible for overseeing elections. The council is largely seen as a tool for Khamenei to control elections, as half of the 12-member vetting body are appointed by him. Over 300 people have registered to run, according to election officials. The final list of those qualified will be announced by May 27, according to the interior ministry, after which campaign begins.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 15- 16/2021
The Christian Siege of Muslim Nicaea
Raymond Ibrahim/May 15/2021
Today in history, May 14, 1097, witnessed the first clash between Western Crusaders and Muslim Turks: the siege of Nicaea.
Context: In the years following the decisive Battle of Manzikert (1071), which saw the Seljuk Turks defeat the Eastern Roman Empire and conquer that ancient bastion of Christianity, Anatolia (modern day Turkey), mindboggling atrocities were committed. Whether an anonymous Georgian chronicler tells of how “holy churches served as stables for their horses,” the “priests were immolated during the Holy Communion itself,” the “virgins defiled, the youths circumcised, and the infants taken away,” or whether Anna Comnena, the princess at Constantinople, tells of how “cities were obliterated, lands were plundered, and the whole of Anatolia was stained with Christian blood”—the same scandalous tale of woe reached the West.
As a result, what came to be known as history’s First Crusade was launched. Paraphrasing Pope Urban II’s famous call at Clermont in 1095, Crusades historian Thomas Madden writes, “The message was clear: Christ was crucified again in the persecution of his faithful and the defilement of his sanctuaries.” Both needed rescuing; both offered an opportunity to fulfill one of Christ’s two greatest commandments: “Love God with all your heart,” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).
Christians from all around Europe hearkened to the call and took the cross. By 1097, the major lords and knights had reached Constantinople, whence they were ferried into the lion’s den, Turkic-controlled Asia Minor. By May they reached Nicaea, site of Christendom’s first ecumenical council (325), where the Nicaean Creed, which is still professed by all major Christian denominations, was articulated. Now the capital of the Seljuk sultanate and occupied by the “enemies of the cross,” the Crusaders quickly laid siege to Nicaea, 924 years ago on this date, May 14.
It was long and brutal, but the Turks held their own; from their high walls, the Muslims “shouted their war-like battle-cry in the horrible tones of their language”—the contemporary chronicler, Albert of Aachen, could not decipher the shrill cries of “Allahu Akbar!”—and “fired poisoned arrows so that even those lightly wounded met a horrible death.” Moreover, in order to defend their walls from being “struck and shaken repeatedly by the battering ram, the Turks created a combustible mixture and poured it over the walls, which torched the battering ram.” Smoke and fire rose as the siege went on.
On May 20, Kilij Arslan, the Seljuk sultan and supreme head of the Turks, appeared with a massive Muslim army to deliver Nicaea, his capital. A wild battle ensued. Albert continues:
Duke Godfrey and Bohemond did not curb their horses but let them have their heads and flew in the midst of the enemy, piercing some with lances, unsaddling others, and all the while urging on their allies, encouraging them with manly exhortations to slaughter the enemy. There was no small clash of spears there, no small rings of swords and helmets heard in this conflict of the war, no small destruction of Turks.
But it was the greater force of the crusader army under the command of Raymond of Toulouse with aid from Robert of Flanders that gave the Muslim army its death stroke, routing them.
In this, the inaugural battle of the First Crusade,
The Arabs, Persians, and ferocious Turks soon fled; the savage people showed their backs to the Christians. It was a rout… Prodigious was the slaughter of the fleeing army…. From the third until the ninth hour the destruction, or rather Arabian slaughter, of this battle raged.
This triumphant description is not so much invention and bias on the part of Guibert of Nogent as it is a reflection of the fact that this vast Muslim army was not made of professional soldiers but largely consisted of “peasants, scum herded together from everywhere.” Later Turkish armies would be more formidable.
Having slaughtered countless Muslims, the bloodstained Westerners resumed the siege of Nicaea. As a stark and material reminder to its inhabitants not to hope for deliverance from their coreligionists, the Crusaders “lobbed the severed heads of the slaughtered Turks from their throwing-machines and catapults into the city,” writes Robert the Monk.
There was, of course, a reason that the Crusaders behaved so ruthlessly. Earlier, on first landing in Anatolia, they encountered a horrific sight: “Oh, how many severed heads and bones of the dead lying on the plains did we then find beyond Nicomedia near the sea!” wrote Fulcher of Chartres. “Moved to compassion by this, we shed many tears there.” They had come upon the remains of all those European peasants—men, women, and children—that were too impatient to wait for the professional knights at Constantinople and crossed into Asia alone. Soon after landing in the Nicaean inland in 1096, they “fell into the Turkish ambuscade and were miserably slaughtered,” recollected Princess Anna Comnena:
So great a multitude of Kelts and Normans died by the Ishmaelite sword that when they gathered the remains of the fallen, lying on every side, they heaped up, I will not say a mighty ridge or hill or peak, but a mountain of considerable height and depth and width, so huge was the mass of bones.
Those captured underwent another trial: “Some of the prisoners were challenged about their faith, and ordered to renounce Christ, but they proclaimed Christ with steady heart and voice, and were decapitated,” writes Guibert. The fate of those kept alive—as usual, the young and comely—was often worse:
The Turks divided up among themselves some of the captives, whose lives they had spared—or rather reserved for a more painful death— and submitted them to dismal servitude at the hands of cruel masters. Some were exposed in public, like targets, and were pierced by arrows; others were given away as gifts, while others were sold outright . . . [and taken to Khorasan and Antioch where] they would endure wretched slavery under the worst masters imaginable. They underwent a torture much longer than that endured by those whose heads were severed swiftly by the sword.
How the Islamic lords of Asia Minor must have laughed then! Having annihilated the indigenous Christian population of Anatolia, now European Christians were marching in for the same exact treatment.
But they were not laughing now. Along with the many Muslim heads the Crusaders had lobbed into Nicaea, another “one thousand of these heads were sent to the emperor, a present which won his hearty favor”—unsurprisingly so, as these were the same men who had sacked and taken Nicaea from Emperor Alexios in 1092. He responded by sending more supplies, including much needed boats for the Crusaders to cut off Nicaea’s only supply route. These the Crusaders, “during the course of one night, by ropes placed on the shoulders and necks of men and horses,” dragged to Nicaea, “a distance of seven miles or more,” says William of Tyre.
Soon thereafter, on June 19, 1097, the now overly traumatized Turks—these longtime scourges of Eastern Christendom—surrendered Nicaea, on condition that they capitulate, not to the heavily armored newcomers from the West who had so terrorized them, but to Alexios, who had followed the Crusaders with his own army.
And so, the First Crusade began with a victory over the Muslims, just as it would conclude. But that is another story.

Americans Have the Right to Know About Biden's Upcoming Deal with Iran's Mullahs
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 15/2021
Is the effective US news blackout about the negotiations with Iran meant to keep the allies and American public in the dark to prevent an outrage that may scuttle the administration's effort to revive the 2015 nuclear deal -- which Iran by the way never signed?
If the Biden administration, like the Obama administration, suddenly surprises everyone that a deal has been reached, will it then be too late for the public to act? Is a return to the nuclear deal the price Biden agreed to for Obama's support before the November 3, 2020 election?
The American public has the right to know what sanctions the Biden administration are planning to lift because this regime has been killing Americans and taking hostages for almost four decades.
"Last week, Iran's chief diplomat allegedly admitted the IRGC calls the shots in Tehran. Now, Iran releases a fake video of the IRGC blowing up our Capitol. The Biden admin's priority should be ensuring Iran cannot carry out such an attack, not capitulating by removing sanctions." — US Senator Pat Toomey, Twitter, May 2, 2021.
Since the nuclear talks began in Vienna between the Iranian regime and P5+1, the Biden administration has avoided being transparent about what is going on with the negotiations and what exactly is being offered to the Iranian regime. Pictured: Kazem Gharib Abadi, Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, leaves the Grand Hotel in Vienna, Austria on May 7, 2021, the day the nuclear talks resumed. (Photo by Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images)
Since the nuclear talks began in Vienna between the Iranian regime and P5+1, the Biden administration has avoided being transparent about what is going on with the negotiations and what exactly is being offered to the Iranian regime -- the one that the US Department of Justice has called the "the world's worst state sponsor of terrorism.
Ironically, it has been easier to get information about the talks from the Russian and Iranian leaders than from the Biden administration. While Iran and Russia, for example, have been saying for weeks that they are progressing towards a deal, the Biden administration, at home and in front of the allies such as Israel, has continued to downplay the possibility of a deal with Iran. Is the effective US news blackout about the negotiations with Iran meant to keep the allies and American public in the dark to prevent an outrage that may scuttle the administration's effort to revive the 2015 nuclear deal -- which Iran by the way never signed? Or is it meant to keep the public and the Congress's guard down to later surprise them with a deal? If the Biden administration, like the Obama administration, suddenly surprises everyone that a deal has been reached, will it then be too late for the public to act? Is a return to the nuclear deal the price Biden agreed to for Obama's support before the November 3, 2020 election?
After the Europeans admitted around May 1 that a deal is close to being finalized, the Biden administration finally had no option other than to reveal the truth on May 8 and acknowledge that a deal is in fact on the way.
The Biden administration has also declined to disclose exactly which sanctions it intends to remove against the Tehran regime. Perhaps the Iranian leaders can tell us? Iranian President Hassan Rouhani surprisingly revealed that "We've reached a point where the Americans and the Europeans are saying openly they have no choice but to lift sanctions and return to the [nuclear deal], and that almost all main sanctions have been lifted and talks continue on some details."
When the Iranian president is saying that the Biden administration is going to lift "main sanctions", they will most likely include sanctions on Iran's banking and financial systems, sanctions on some Iranian leaders and organizations that were blacklisted under the Trump administration, sanctions on Iran's exports including oil and metals, sanctions on Iran's shipping sector, sanctions on trading and doing business with the Iranian regime, sanctions on Iran's commercial airlines which have been engaged in smuggling weapons, sanctions which were linked to Iran's terrorist activities, and sanctions on Iran's human right violations.
President Biden also previously said that he would lift sanctions on Iran to get new nuclear deal, and that he will work with allies to reach a good deal. But it appears now that he is planning to lift sanctions to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. Furthermore, it appears that allies such as Israel or other regional powers have not been included in the negotiations.
In spite of President Biden's having previously pointed out that he wants a longer and stronger deal with Iran compared to the 2015 one, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the potential new deal will likely be the same. Reaching a deal within such a short time frame suggests that no new issues have been incorporated into the negotiations. In addition, the Iranian authorities have been clear that they will not accept a different deal, which might include curbs on its ballistic missile program or address its aggressive foreign policy in the Middle East.
The potential new deal between Iran and the six world powers would most likely include the previous sunset clauses, which set a firm expiration date for restricting Iran's nuclear program, after which the country's leaders would be free to spin centrifuges and enrich uranium at any level they desired. The potential new deal would most likely make Iran's military sites exempt from inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Resurrecting the 2015 nuclear deal would also assist the Iranian regime in rejoining the global financial system and gaining more legitimacy – as well as billions of dollars flowing into the treasury of the regime and its militia groups.
The American public has the right to know what sanctions the Biden administration are planning to lift because this regime has been killing Americans and taking hostages for almost four decades. This is a regime that, while the Biden administration is offering it sanctions reliefs, recently released a video showing the IRGC blowing up the US Capitol.
"Last week, Iran's chief diplomat allegedly admitted the IRGC calls the shots in Tehran," US Senator Pat Toomey tweeted in response to the footage. "Now, Iran releases a fake video of the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] blowing up our Capitol. The Biden admin's priority should be ensuring Iran cannot carry out such an attack, not capitulating by removing sanctions."
*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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US report blasts Turkey for restricting religious minorities
Menekse Tokyay/Arab News/May 15/2021
ANKARA: A new report released Wednesday follows a trend from the US State Department in criticizing Turkey for restricting the rights of non-Muslim religious groups in the country.
The latest report focused on the challenges non-Muslim religious groups have faced in operating houses of worship, holding board elections for their foundations, and obtaining exemptions from mandatory religion courses in schools, which are in violation of the European Court of Human Rights’ 2013 ruling.
The US also expressed concerns when Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reconverted the historic Chora Church, one of Istanbul’s most celebrated Byzantine buildings, and the famed Hagia Sophia into mosques last summer.
In 2020, religious minorities had difficulties in obtaining exemptions from mandatory religion classes in schools while the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary remained closed, the report noted.
“The government continued not to recognize Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I as the leader of the world’s approximately 300 million Orthodox Christians, consistent with the government’s stance that there was no legal obligation for it to do so,” the report said.
According to the report, the US criticized the difficulties that Protestant communities faced in training indigenous Turkish clergy in their congregations as “they relied on foreign volunteers to serve them in leadership capacities.”
However, “they could not operate training facilities in-country,” the report added.
Another annual report for 2021 released last month by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom found that an independent government panel urged Ankara to address longstanding religious freedom issues. It said the religious freedom conditions in Turkey were on a “troubling trajectory.”
The commission, which criticized the vandalism of places of worship in Turkey, also recommended that the US State Department include Turkey on the special watch list for religious freedom violations, and criticized the Turkish government for being “divisive and hostile” against its own religious minorities.
The trial of an Assyrian priest, Sefer Bilecen, who was sentenced to two years in jail on terrorism charges, was also described by the commission as a politically motivated move.
Anna Maria Beylunioglu-Atli, a lecturer at MEF University in Istanbul, said the problems that Turkey’s religious minorities have been facing are directly linked with the authoritarianism trend in the country.
“What the religious minorities experienced over the past year is the inevitable continuation of the general trend of hate speech and discrimination in line with the rising Islamic rhetoric within the society,” she told Arab News.
She added: “Since the foundation of the republic, there was a similar trend in Turkey to restrict the religious freedoms of minorities. But, the recent Islamist rhetoric in the overall politics consolidated it further.”
Such international reports do not have a transformational effect on Turkish domestic politics anymore, Beylunioglu-Atli said.
“What Turkey needs is an indigenous transformation by providing its religious minorities with citizenship rights,” she said. “Otherwise, such reports do not push the rulers to change the living conditions of the minorities in the country.”
US President Joe Biden and his administration have put the fight against all forms of religious discrimination at the center of their agenda. It also reflects the effort of the US State Department in highlighting the status of religious freedom in several countries around the world, including Turkey.
Dr. Mine Yildirim, head of the Freedom of Belief Initiative and Eurasia Civil Society Program at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, said measures taken by the authorities in relation to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had an impact on the religion or belief communities in interesting ways.
“Our observations and interviews indicated that in 2020 some communities felt that when the public authorities took measures related to curfews and lock-downs, the functioning and use of mosques were taken into account whereas the days of worship of other places of worship were not considered,” she told Arab News.
Yildirim said that there have been fewer attacks or vandalism against churches in 2020, mainly due to the fact that churches have been closed, and as such Christians were less visible.
“Some Alevi and Christian religious leaders have observed that the pandemic has also exasperated the inequalities in the context of public funding for religious services which is solely provided for such services provided through the Presidency of Religious Affairs,” she said.
“As they were not being able to come together in their places of worship some communities received fewer donations whereas their costs for rent and utilities and salary of religious leaders continued.”