English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 25/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews21/english.may25.21.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 04/21-24:”Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 24- 25/2021
Health Ministry: 150 new Coronavirus cases, 7 deaths
Dr. Abdel-Rahman El-Bizri says Lebanon gradually reaching herd immunity
Aoun meets Dib, chairs meeting for delegation of Southern Maritime Boundary Demarcation Committee
Berri on Resistance and Liberation Day: Government predicament purely domestic
Army Commander begins visit to France
Cabinet formation up in the air after Hariri’s response to Aoun’s letter
Wazni signs urgent draft to endorse and fund ration card
International Soprano Tania Kassis releases English version of “Land For All” song in collaboration with UNIC Beirut
Akar from Foreign Ministry: Lebanon's foreign policy is a faithful translation of consensus among its nationals
Najm discusses with UK Chargé d'Affaires bilateral cooperation projects
Inaugural U.S.-Lebanon Defense Resourcing Conference
Iran and Hezbollah are establishing a foothold in Canada/Alireza Nader/FDD/May 24/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 24- 25/2021
Israel seeks assurances that foreign aid won’t reach Hamas
Blinken to travel to Middle East amid Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Ahmadinejad wants to run for president of Iran, again
Iran agrees to inspections extension with IAEA until June 24
Iran's Quds Force chief tells Islamic Jihad it defeated 'Zionist pride'
Aviation piracy': EU leaders mull response to forced diversion of plane to Belarus
At least 115,000 health workers have died from Covid: WHO
'We are at war' against Covid, UN chief says

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 24- 25/2021
Iran thinks Hamas 'victory' will lead to new attack on Israel/Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/May 24/2021
Can Yemen once more be a united nation?/Mohammed Sayers/The Media Line/May 24/2021
The Palestinian Voices Blinken Won't Hear/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 24/2021
Hamas violence meets Gulf silence/Jonathan Schanzer and Varsha Koduvayu/The Hill/May 24/2021
AOC says she's in therapy due to 'trauma' of Capitol riot/Jonathan Schanzer/Washington Examiner/May 24/2021
Israel and Biden administration after Gaza - comment/Jacob Nagel/The Jerusalem Post/May 24/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 24- 25/2021
Health Ministry: 150 new Coronavirus cases, 7 deaths
NNA/May. 24, 2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced, on Monday, the registration of 150 new Corona infections, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 538668.
It added that 7 deaths were also recorded during the past 24 hours.

Dr. Abdel-Rahman El-Bizri says Lebanon gradually reaching herd immunity
NNA/May. 24, 2021
In light of the continuous decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in Lebanon, the arrival of more vaccines, as well as the increasing number of vaccinated people, the questions that keeps repeating itself is whether Lebanon still needs to strictly adhere to preventive measures, such as social distancing and wearing masks. Despite the fact that fully vaccinated people in the US have been informed that it was no longer compulsory to wear a face mask in public, bacterial diseases specialist and head of the National Committee for the Administration of the Coronavirus Vaccine, Dr. Abdel-Rahman El-Bizri, told the NNA this this did not apply to Lebanon. To the contrary, he highly recommended continuing to wear face masks and adhering to social distancing measures. “US and European scientific bodies, including the American Society for Bacterial Diseases, have refused the recommendation that allows vaccinated people to remove their face masks,” he added. “We cannot implement this recommendation or decision in Lebanon, especially at this stage,” Bizri said, adding that vaccinated people in Lebanon are still obliged to wear their face masks and practice social distancing measures.
He went on to stress the need to keep sticking to preventive measures pending the achievement of greater herd immunity. “Lebanon is currently in a critical stage, where the epidemiological signs and indicators are positive; this urges us to continue practicing preventive measures in line with an increasing rate of vaccination,” he added. Bizri then explained that Lebanon has moved from the fourth to the third stage stage of the pandemic, which is less dangerous. “If we continue on this track, epidemiological indicators say that we will reach the second stage within a few weeks. This matter helps reduce restrictions in Lebanon and facilitates the travel movement of Lebanese abroad, provided that we remain careful and committed to preventive measures,” he added.  “The proportion of those vaccinated in Lebanon has reached 10%, and within a week or two the frequency of vaccination will increase dramatically with the arrival of large quantities of the Pfizer vaccine,” Bizri added, hoping to raise the rate of immunization in June and July to 30%.

Aoun meets Dib, chairs meeting for delegation of Southern Maritime Boundary Demarcation Committee
National News Agency/24 May 2021
President Michel Aoun received MP Hikmat Dib on Monday at the Presidential Palace and discussed with him current developments and needs of Baabda region. MP Dib indicated that the meeting tackled the government formation developments, after the last Parliament session, and considered that a big difference occurred between the positive call for cooperation and dialogue and the negative speech of the Prime Minister-designate. MP Dib said that this issue raises questions about the existence of a real desire to form a new government, or to remain in this direction which obstructs solutions instead of facilitating. The President also chaired a meeting which included head of the Lebanese delegation of indirect negotiations to demarcate southern maritime borders, Pilot Brigadier General Bassam Yassin, and members: Marine Colonel Mazen Basbous, Engineer and member of the Petroleum Sector Administration Wissam Chbat, and expert Najib Masihi. The Military and Security advisor of the President, Brigadier Paul Matar, also attended the meeting. Latest developments related to indirect negotiations, and steps which must be adopted in light of President Aoun’s directives in this regard, were deliberated in the meeting.

Berri on Resistance and Liberation Day: Government predicament purely domestic
NNA/May. 24, 2021 
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Monday highlighted the necessity to admit that the current governmental crisis is absolutely domestic, urging all sides to make sacrifices for the sake of Lebanon away from narrow considerations. "Parties must remove all personal obstacles preventing the formation of a new government, today before tomorrow," said Berri in a word delivered in commemoration of the Resistance and Liberation Day. "If the current issues remain unsolved, they will overthrow Lebanon," he warned. "We must admit that the governmental predicament is purely domestic," he added, calling all sides to resort to the Constitution and to reach common ground. Moreover, Berri underlined the obligation to free Lebanon from sectarianism, liberate the judicial system from political interventions, release depositors' money, and fight corruption.

Berri meets ‘Association of Depositors’ Cry’ delegation, discusses situation with Aridi
NNA/May. 24, 2021
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Monday received at his Ain Al-Tineh residence a delegation of the “Association of Depositors’ Cry”, which presented the association's demands and legal rights. Speaker Berri also met with former Minister Ghazi Al-Aridi, with whom he discussed the general situation and the latest political developments. On the other hand, Berri sent a congratulatory cable to his Georgian counterpart, Kakha Kuchava, on the occasion of his election as Speaker of Parliament. Berri also received congratulatory cables on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr namely from: His Holiness Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, and Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah.

Army Commander begins visit to France
NNA/May. 24, 2021
The Lebanese Army announced in a tweet on Monday that Commander General Joseph Aoun had begun a visit to France upon the invitation of Chief of the French Defense Staff, General Francois Lecointre, to discuss the means of bolstering the relations between the two armies."This visit reflects the determination of France to stand by the Lebanese army and the response to the needs recently announced by the Army Commander," the tweet read.

Army Commander issues Order of the Day upon Resistance and Liberation Day
NNA/May. 24, 2021
 Upon the occasion of the Resistance and Liberation Day, Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun issued Monday the Order of the Day, which read the following:
"Fellow troops
The Resistance and Liberation Day is upon us this year, reminding us of all the sacrifice and heroism that the Lebanese have shown in the face of the Israeli enemy over the years, during which many of them fell martyrs and wounded, and they were able to defeat the occupier and destroy its myth of supremacy, so as to achieve the liberation of a large part of our land. This liberation will not be completed without returning what remains of our land, especially the Shebaa Farms, Kfarshouba hills and the northern part of the town of Ghajar.
Fellow troops
Despite the severe economic crisis and its ill effects on all of our society, as well as the Corona pandemic repercussions on the citizens’ lives and its impact in all sectors, our primary goal remains at the Israeli enemy and its bloody expansionist schemes. What we are witnessing in terms of events in occupied Palestine confirms this entity's aggressive practices and racism, just as terrorism and dormant cells remain among our top priorities, for they seek to sow discord among the Lebanese components. These challenges will only increase our will and determination to confront these two enemies, and do anything to preserve our country’s stability and civil peace and the continuity of the Lebanese entity.
Fellow troops
No matter how hard difficulties become, LAF remains committed to its right to face any assault and defend the borders against the Israeli enemy, and to bring an end to its violations of our country’s sovereignty and protect our firm rights in our national wealth, by land and sea, with the commitment to resolution 1701 and all of its components. The liberation legacy is a great responsibility that we are honored to bear, and a precious achievement entrusted to us, and we will never neglect it."

Cabinet formation up in the air after Hariri’s response to Aoun’s letter
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/May. 24, 2021
BEIRUT: The stalled Cabinet formation process appeared Sunday up in the air a tension-filled Parliament session that saw Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri accuse President Michel Aoun of deliberately blocking the government formation and seeking to remove him and change the Constitution.
Hariri’s tough speech in response to Aoun’s letter to Parliament over the obstacles hindering the formation of a new government reflected spiraling tensions and a deepening crisis of confidence between the two leaders, dashing hopes for any imminent breakthrough in the Cabinet formation crisis that has entered its ninth month with no solution in sight.
Aoun and Hariri have refused to budge on their conflicting positions on the Cabinet issue. They remain at odds over the distribution of key ministerial seats, namely the Justice and Interior ministries, and the naming of Christian ministers. The two leaders have not been on speaking terms for more than two months since their last meeting at Baabda Palace on March 22 that failed to resolve their differences over the size and makeup of the government.
“Aoun’s letter to Parliament in which he accused Hariri of stalling on the Cabinet formation and the premier-designate’s scathing response have indicated that the two leaders are not ready or willing to soften their positions,” a political source familiar with the matter told The Daily Star.
After a two-day session devoted to reading and discussing Aoun’s letter, Parliament Saturday called on Hariri to press ahead with his attempts to quickly form a new government, in what appeared to be a rebuff to the president’s bid to revoke Hariri’s designation.
In his letter to Parliament, Aoun asked lawmakers to discuss and take the “appropriate position, measure or decision on it for the benefit of the people who are anxiously waiting for a new government.” Aoun blamed Hariri for the Cabinet crisis and claimed that he was unable to form a government to rescue the country.
Future Movement MP Mohammad Hajjar said Parliament’s recommendation announced by Speaker Nabih Berri Saturday upheld Hariri’s designation and called for the quick formation of a new government.
“Everyone knows that the Aoun-Bassil team is the one obstructing the Cabinet formation. Through his letter, the president wanted to push Parliament to find a way to strip the premier-designate of his designation. But of course he could not achieve this because Parliament’s response was clear and compelling,” Hajjar told The Daily Star Sunday, referring to MP Gebran Bassil, Aoun’s son-in-law and the head of the Free Patriotic Movement.
“Everyone knows that the president, even before Hariri’s nomination, did not want Hariri to be designated to form a new government and he worked to postpone the binding consultations for this purpose and even threatened the MPs not to nominate Hariri as premier-designate,” he said.
Since Hariri’s designation on Oct. 22 with a parliamentary majority of 65 MPs to form a new government, Hajjar said, “the president has been trying to put obstacles in the way of the formation using different pretexts.”
“Now, if the president wants to respond to the MPs’ desire, he must facilitate the government formation. Or he has another option which is to sign the decrees of the Cabinet lineup he already has. Afterward, the Cabinet will go to Parliament to seek a vote of confidence. It will then be up to Parliament to either grant or withhold confidence and Prime Minister Hariri will bow to Parliament’s will,” Hajjar added.
So far, Aoun has not commented on Hariri’s speech. “The aim of the presidential letter to Parliament was to inform the MPs of the situation to which the Cabinet formation process has reached and ask the MPs to take what they deem fit,” an official source familiar with the matter told The Daily Star Sunday.
The source said Parliament’s call on the premier-designate to form a government in agreement with the president “must push Hariri to present a new Cabinet formula that takes into account the president’s remarks on the first lineup which did not respect the [National] Pact requirements, balance and specialization.”
“Hariri must stop obstructing the Cabinet formation by sticking to his position and upholding the lineup he presented which the president has rejected,” the source said. He added that Aoun has called on Hariri to come to Baabda Palace to consult on the Cabinet formation.
“The president adheres to the Constitution which states that the government is formed in agreement between the president and the premier-designate and not as Hariri says that he is the one who forms and that the president signs and after which the [Cabinet formation] decree is issued,” the source said.
In announcing Parliament’s position, Berri said: “... Out of Parliament’s keenness not to enter into new constitutional and [National] Pact-related crises and out of keenness on stability in a complex and dangerous stage economically, financially and socially that requires giving priority to the work of institutions, Parliament stresses the need for the premier-designate to press ahead according to constitutional rules to quickly form a new government in agreement with the president.”
After the session, Berri met separately at his office with Hariri and Bassil in an attempt to defuse rising tensions between the two sides that would definitely further complicate the Cabinet formation process.
In his speech, Hariri vowed not to step down in the face of what he called Aoun’s deliberate obstruction of the Cabinet formation, saying he would not form a government under Aoun’s demands.
“In form, we are before a president who is exercising a constitutional right in sending a letter to Parliament asking it to discuss it and take what it deems appropriate on it. But in reality, we are before a president who tells the MPs: You have nominated a prime minister whom I don’t want and I will not allow him to a form a government. Please act to rid me of him. This is the reality,” Hariri said.
“We are before a president who wants to amend the Constitution. If we don’t do it, he wants to change the Constitution by practice without amendment. Until he achieves what he wants, he is disrupting the Constitution and political life in Lebanon,” he added.
Hariri accused Aoun of having a “great experience” in obstructing the formation of successive governments for long months.
“Therefore, the decision was and is still the obstruction of the government formation and using the time to push Saad Hariri into stepping down just because his excellency the president does not want to recognize the Parliament’s will,” Hariri said. “I want to be clear like the sun: I will not form a government as the team of his excellency the president wants it, nor as any other political group wants it. I will only form the government that stops the collapse and prevents the great crash that threatens the Lebanese in their food, health, lives and their state.”
Hariri has long accused Aoun of demanding a blocking one-third, which would grant him and the FPM veto power, something the premier-designate has vowed not to grant to any side.
“For my part, I am committed before your honorable Parliament, before the Lebanese people and before God, that I will not give up, nor get tired and I will continue working to attract the support to halt the collapse and open a glimmer of hope for our country and our good people in all its parts and in diaspora,” Hariri said. Speaking at the Parliament session ahead of Hariri’s speech, Bassil defended Aoun’s letter, saying it was aimed at urging the premier-designate to speed up the formation of a new government to implement reforms rather than calling on Parliament to revoke Hariri’s designation. Although they sat in the front row at the UNESCO Palace, Hariri and Bassil did not shake hands or speak to each other.
“The aim is to urge Hariri to form [a government] and nothing else ... The aim of my speech and President Michel Aoun’s letter is not for the premier-designate’s designation to be withdrawn from Parliament,” he said.

Wazni signs urgent draft to endorse and fund ration card
NNA/May 24/2021
Caretaker Minister of Finance, Ghazi Wazni, on Monday signed an urgent draft prepared by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, aimed to endorse the ration card and to open exceptional credits to fund it.

International Soprano Tania Kassis releases English version of “Land For All” song in collaboration with UNIC Beirut
NNA/May 24/2021
Lebanese International Soprano Tania Kassis released today an English song entitled “Land For All” in collaboration with the UN Information Centre in Beirut. This song, which is the English version of her Arabic song “Al Ardou Lil Jami3”, is a blend of both western and eastern tunes and was written by Tania Kassis herself and composed and arranged by Michel Fadel with an adaptation of a small part of the famous "O Fortuna" from Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. It revolves around promoting humanitarian values and combating violence and war. It also calls for working on achieving peace and security, eradicating poverty and helping the most vulnerable. The song was recorded by the Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra, with the participation of a choir composed of more than 100 singers. Tania sang the Arabic version of the song for the first time as a "World Premiere" at Le Palais Des Nations in Geneva.
UNIC Beirut Director Margo Helou thanked Kassis for releasing the English version of the song at this critical time of unrest in Lebanon and the region. “Land For All is very timely and needed to advocate for peace and security, humanity and non-violence,” Helou said. She emphasized the meanings the song holds with respect to opening up to others and helping the most vulnerable, “and those are principles upheld by the United Nations.” “Land For All is a call for international solidarity that we hope will touch the heart of thousands of people all around the world though this collaboration with the United Nations, as it revolves around promoting humanitarian values and fighting violence and war” said Tania Kassis. "It calls for working on achieving peace and security, eradicating poverty and helping the most vulnerable."
You can watch the video clip of the song on the following link: https://youtu.be/vms9A4XfA2Q — UNIC

Akar from Foreign Ministry: Lebanon's foreign policy is a faithful translation of consensus among its nationals
NNA/May 24/2021 
Deputy Prime Minister, Caretaker Minister of National Defense and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Zeina Akar, on Monday met with diplomats and ministry employees upon assuming her caretaker duties at the Ministry. Marking the occasion, she delivered a speech in which she shared her action plan to manage the tough phase that Lebanon currently endures. “One of the top priorities that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants should work on is it’s openness to all brotherly and friendly countries in a way that preserves Lebanon's friendships, and the dignity of its citizens, whilst adhering to the national constants that all the Lebanese diplomatic missions must endeavor to affirm in a bid to restore the confidence and partnership of regional and international institutions,” Akar said. She went on to stress the need to kick off the ministry’s action plan with Lebanon’s Arab brothers “with whom we have common covenants, language, belonging, and other common interests.”Akar then called for the adoption of a foreign policy that sets Lebanon’s interests as a top priority. “Lebanon's foreign policy is a faithful translation of consensus among its nationals; it should never be a source of disagreement and estrangement among them,” she affirmed.
Akar also capitalized on Lebanon’s full awareness of the Israeli danger, stressing the need to deal with it firmly. She also called for mobilizing Arab and international public opinion to support Lebanon's rights to its land and waters — in accordance with the international laws in force.
“Lebanon adheres to the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland and has refused resettlement in accordance with the preamble of the Lebanese constitution. Lebanon is also committed to Resolution 1701, in all its provisions, and to UNIFIL’s mission, as approved by the recent renewal resolution issued by the Security Council. Akar went on to stress the importance of communicating with the Lebanese diaspora, which has shown unprecedented solidarity with Lebanon during its successive crises.
“We cannot forget the support of the Lebanese diaspora in the wake of the ill-fated Beirut Port blast,” she added. Akar finally called for attention to the administrative and organizational situation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, as permitted by the scope of her caretaking mission. She also highlighted the need to start preparations for expatriate elections in the forthcoming round of parliamentary elections.

Najm discusses with UK Chargé d'Affaires bilateral cooperation projects
NNA/May 24/2021
Caretaker Minister of Justice, Marie-Claude Najm, on Monday received UK Chargé d'Affaires in Lebanon, Dr. Martin Longden, with whom she discussed means to bolster the existing cooperation between the Ministry and the Embassy, especially Britain’s support for projects undertaken by the Ministry, including reform projects related to the judiciary.

Inaugural U.S.-Lebanon Defense Resourcing Conference
NNA/May 24/2021
The Office of the Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State issued the following:
"The U.S. Department of State and the Lebanese Armed Forces held their inaugural Defense Resourcing Conference on May 21, 2021. Senior Official for Arms Control and International Security C.S. Eliot Kang headed the U.S. delegation and Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Commander General Joseph Aoun headed the Lebanese delegation. Other U.S. participants included Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Mara Karlin, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Regional Security and Security Assistance Mira Resnick, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Levant Affairs Aimee Cutrona, and representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. In this virtual conference, the delegations highlighted the strength of the U.S.-LAF partnership and discussed ways to deepen security cooperation. Participants commemorated the completion of a non-binding five-year security assistance roadmap that aligns anticipated annual U.S. support to the LAF with shared priorities in counterterrorism, border security, and defense institution building, which will enable effective joint planning for future defense requirements. The delegations discussed the deteriorating economic, political, and humanitarian conditions affecting the Lebanese people and military. The U.S. Department of State renewed its commitment to the LAF by announcing $120 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) assistance to Lebanon for fiscal year 2021, subject to Congressional notification procedures, representing a $15 million increase over prior-year levels. Lebanon is one of the largest recipients globally of U.S. Department of State security assistance. The delegations also discussed ways to leverage the full range of authorities under U.S. law through which the United States can provide additional assistance to the LAF as it grapples with the economic crises in Lebanon. Earlier this month, for instance, the U.S. Department of Defense notified Lebanon of the planned transfer of three Protector-class patrol boats to the Lebanese Navy, which, upon delivery in 2022, will enhance the Lebanese Navy’s ability to counter external and regional threats, and protect freedom of navigation and commerce in the maritime domain. The U.S. Department of State looks forward to reviewing progress on the U.S.-LAF partnership at the next Defense Resourcing Conference in 2022."

Iran and Hezbollah are establishing a foothold in Canada
Alireza Nader/FDD/May 24/2021
علي رضا نادر/موقع مؤسسة الدفاع عن الديموقراطيات: إيران وحزب الله يعملان على إيجاد موطئ قدم لهما في كندا
ترجمة: الياس بجاني
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/99159/%d8%b9%d8%a8%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d8%ba%d8%aa%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d9%86%d9%83%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%b2%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%8a-%d8%b1%d8%b6/
في حين يجب الثناء على الحكومة الكندية لإتخاذها العديد من الإجراءات، لكن لكي تكون كندا أكثر فعالية، يجب عليها معالجة جذور المشكلة وتصنيف الحرس الثوري الإيراني كمنظمة إرهابية.
While the government should be commended for taking action, to be more effective, Canada should address the root of the problem and designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization
بسبب العقوبات الأمريكية على إيران ، وتدخلها المفتوح في الصراع السوري والانهيار الاقتصادي في لبنان، يعتمد حزب الله أكثر فأكثر على تجارة المخدرات العالمية لتمويل أنشطته السياسية والعسكرية. ويبدو أن كندا هي جزء مهم بشكل متزايد من جهوده لتعزيز موارده المالية من خلال الأنشطة غير المشروعة التي يمارسها، مثل تهريب المخدرات وغسيل الأموال.
Battered by American sanctions on Iran, its open-ended involvement in the Syrian conflict and Lebanon’s economic collapse, Hezbollah is relying more and more on the global drug trade to finance its political and military activities. And Canada appears to be an increasingly important part of its efforts to boost its finances through illicit activities, such as drug smuggling and money laundering.
على الرغم من أن كندا كانت بطيئة في الرد على أنشطة إيران وحزب الله على أراضيها ، إلا أنها بدأت الآن تحقيقًا في عمليات غسيل الأموال الكندية المتعلقة بإيران وحزب الله. وبينما يجب الإشادة بالحكومة الكندية لاتخاذها إجراءات في هذا الشأن، لكن لكي تكون أكثر فعالية، يجب عليها معالجة جذور المشكلة وتصنيف فيلق الحرس الثوري الإسلامي في طهران (IRGC) كمنظمة إرهابية، لتسمح قانونياً لوكالات إنفاذ القوانين الكندية اتخاذ إجراءات أكثر فاعلي بحق الحرس الثوري الإيراني.
Though it has been slow to react to Iranian and Hezbollah activities on Canadian soil, Ottawa has now reportedly launched an investigation into their Canadian money-laundering operations. While the government should be commended for taking action, to be more effective, Canada should address the root of the problem and designate the Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, as it would allow law-enforcement agencies to take aggressive action against it.
الحرس الثوري الإيراني مسؤول عن قيادة وتنسيق أنشطة حزب الله العالمية، بما في ذلك تهريب المخدرات وغسيل الأموال، لذلك من المنطقي أن يستهدف التحقيق الكندي كلا المنظمتين. ولدى كندا أسباب عديدة لمعاقبة الحرس الثوري الإيراني، خاصة أنه مسؤول عن إسقاط طائرة الخطوط الجوية الأوكرانية رقم 752 ، والتي أسفرت عن مقتل 176 شخصًا، بينهم 55 مواطنًا كنديًا و30 مقيمًا دائمًا ىفي كندا.
The IRGC is responsible for commanding and co-ordinating Hezbollah’s global activities, including drug smuggling and money laundering, so it makes sense for the investigation to target both organizations. And Canada has many reasons to sanction the IRGC, especially as it is responsible for shooting down Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752, which resulted in the death of 176 people, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
رفض الحرس الثوري الإيراني وكبار المسؤولين الإيرانيين تقديم إجابات حول حادث اسقاط الطائرة الأوكرانية ، حيث قالت محققة الأمم المتحدة أغنيس كالامارد إن “التناقضات في التفسير الرسمي والطبيعة المتهورة للأخطاء دفعت الكثيرين، وأنا من ضمنهم” ، إلى التساؤل عما إذا كان إسقاط الطائرة (الرحلة PS752) كان مقصوداً “.
The IRGC and senior Iranian officials have refused to provide answers about the incident, with United Nations investigator Agnes Callamard stating that, “Inconsistencies in the official explanation and the reckless nature of the mistakes have led many, including myself, to question whether the downing of Flight PS752 was intentional.”
صنفت كندا حزب الله كمنظمة إرهابية، لكن رئيس الوزراء جاستن ترودو رفض وضع الحرس الثوري الإيراني على نفس قائمة التصنيف الإرهابية نفسها، على الرغم من اقتراح عام 2018 الذي أقره مجلس العموم، وبدعم من الليبراليين ، دعا الحكومة إلى القيام بذلك. لم يقدم ترودو حتى الآن أي سبب منطقي لعدم تحرك حكومته بشأن هذا الملف “.
Ottawa has designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, yet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to give the IRGC the same designation, despite a 2018 motion passed by the House of Commons, and backed by the Liberals, calling on the government to do so. Trudeau has so far provided no rationale for his government’s lack of action on this file.
ما يجعل نشاط حزب الله أكثر خطورة هو استعداده للعمل مع عصابات المخدرات الدولية والعصابات الصينية وهناك تقارير تفيد بأن النظام الإيراني يوفر الأمن والحماية للعصابات الصينية في كندا، والتي تهتم في الغالب بإثراء نفسها.
What makes Hezbollah’s activities even more dangerous is its willingness to work with international drug cartels and Chinese gangs. The Iranian regime reportedly provides physical security to Chinese gangs in Canada, which are mostly interested in enriching themselves.
لقد سمح تهريب المخدرات وغسيل الأموال للنظام الإيراني بإنشاء شبكة في أمريكا الشمالية يمكن استخدامها لمهاجمة المصالح الأمريكية في حالة نشوب صراع عسكري بين البلدين. استخدم حزب الله في السابق كندا كقاعدة لعمليات محتملة ضد الولايات المتحدة ، بما في ذلك نشر “عملاء نائمين” للبحث عن أهداف أمريكية محتملة في المطارات الأمريكية والكندية.
Drug smuggling and money laundering have allowed the regime to establish a North American network that could be used to attack American interests, in the event of a military conflict between the two countries. Hezbollah has previously used Canada as a base for potential operations against the United States, including deploying “sleeper agents” to scour potential U.S. targets at American and Canadian airports.
حتى إذا عادت الولايات المتحدة إلى الاتفاقية النووية الإيرانية، فمن غير المرجح أن تغير ايران هدفها بالعداء الأساسي تجاه الولايات المتحدة، أو للغرب بشكل عام، مما يجعل كندا قاعدة عمليات مناسبة دائمًا ليس فقط لحزب الله، ولكن للحرس الثوري الإيراني كذلك.
Even if the U.S. returns to the Iran nuclear agreement, it is unlikely to change the Islamic republic’s fundamental hostility toward the U.S., or the West in general, making Canada an ever-opportune base of operations — not just for Hezbollah, but for the IRGC, as well.
*Alireza Nader is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington, D.C.-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. Follow Alireza on Twitter @AlirezaNader. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 24- 25/2021
Israel seeks assurances that foreign aid won’t reach Hamas
Defense Minister Gantz admitted it would be impossible to completely stop Hamas from confiscating some materials for military use.
By LAHAV HARKOV, TOVAH LAZAROFF MAY 24, 2021 14:46
The international community must actively work to weaken Hamas while rebuilding Gaza, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi has told his counterparts in the region in recent days. Ashkenazi spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and with foreign ministers of the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in the days preceding Thursday’s ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and afterwards, and set out four points on which aid arrangements for Gaza must be based.
The efforts must include weakening Hamas and preventing the group from arming itself by smuggling in and making its own weapons.
In addition, the rehabilitation of Gaza must be monitored closely by international supervisors, with the aid going directly to specific projects and kept away from Hamas. The final point Ashkenazi made was that the Israeli civilians captured by Hamas – Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed – as well as the soldiers whose bodies Gaza's rulers continue to hold – Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul – must be returned to Israel. The families of the Israelis held captive in Gaza have long insisted that Israel should prevent all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza until the captives are released.Ashkenazi emphasized that all four points must be implemented.

Blinken to travel to Middle East amid Israeli-Palestinian conflict
NNA/Reuters/May 24/2021
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart on Monday for the Middle East to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, amid a ceasefire following the worst outbreak in fighting between Israel and Hammas in recent years, the White House and the U.S. State Department said.
Blinken will travel to Jerusalem, Ramallah, Cairo and Amman through Thursday, and will meet with other regional leaders, the State Department said.

Ahmadinejad wants to run for president of Iran, again
Jerusalem Post/May 24/2021
The former president is remembered fondly by some Iranians for his populism and for offering loan programs. He was often portrayed as a modest 'Mr. Clean' but this is disputed by others. A decade ago, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared to be the nemesis of Israel. His questioning of the Holocaust and threats against Israel appeared perfectly timed to go along with Iran’s nuclear threats. He was everything that was bad about the Iranian regime.Now, tempered by time, he wants to run for president. But the Iranian regime may not let him. Ahmadinejad has changed his tune from the old days. He now speaks about freedom and poses as an outsider, a “man of the people.” He hosts discussions on Clubhouse, and tens of thousands have tuned in. Iranian law-enforcement officials are warning candidates such as Ahmadinejad to be careful, according to Iran International, a Persian-language television station headquartered in London. The authorities “drew attention to some would-be candidates making claims illustrating ‘nothing but treason’ and showing they were ‘servants and mercenaries’ of foreign powers,” the report said. “The high-ranking police official’s veiled references are likely to refer to former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the reformist former minister Mostafa Tajzadeh.”Iran has had low voter turnout in recent elections. Ahmadinejad, if he is disqualified, could cause June’s poll to be even lower. The Guardian Council must approve all candidates, and some have hit the ground running already. But according to Fereshteh Sadeghi, an Iranian journalist and social-media activist based in Tehran, Ahmadinejad has faced obstacles. “Ahmadinejad today went to a town near the city of Qazvin,” she wrote. “City officials had blocked the road to the town, cutting water, electricity and phone services for hours. He, however, walked part of the road, circumvented the obstacles and attended the gathering.”Ahmadinejad reportedly has been blocked from other cities, including Urmia. His flights have been mysteriously canceled to stop him from campaigning, according to other reports. The former president is remembered fondly by some for his loan programs and populism. He was often portrayed as personally modest and not corrupt. But that is disputed by reports going back to his second term of office, and authorities have sought at times to place him under house arrest. A popular photo of him several years ago portrayed Ahmadinejad as a modest villager, even though he lived in Tehran in Narmak, according to reports. He is a professor at Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran. He has a PhD from the university in civil engineering and transportation planning and has apparently owned, or regularly used, a Macbook Air computer, a luxury item in Iran.

Iran agrees to inspections extension with IAEA until June 24
Jerusalem Post/May 24/2021
The US, Iran and the world powers have had five rounds of negotiations in Vienna in recent months to try to resolve the nuclear standoff.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi on Monday afternoon announced that he had reached a deal with Iran to extend inspections of its nuclear program until June 24 to give negotiations between world powers over Iran’s nuclear program a chance.
In addition, he said that a deal for Tehran to save electronic data from its nuclear facilities since February, but postponing giving access to that data, was also extended. Grossi told a press conference that, “if this understanding was important in February… it was even more important now,” due to Tehran’s recent increased enrichment of uranium. In dramatic fashion, the Monday afternoon press conference had been delayed three times since Sunday afternoon, as Grossi resolved certain unspecified last-minute concerns from the Islamic Republic. All of the developments were even more significant because the IAEA’s right to inspect Iran’s nuclear program had expired on May 21 and some senior Iranian officials had suggested it would not be extended – a potential prelude to a major crisis.
Grossi warned that there could be negative implications for inspections if a nuclear deal is not reached by the world powers by the new deadline. At the same time, he said he was not concerned that a new Iranian president after June 18 would undermine cooperation with the IAEA.
Earlier Monday, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi appeared to double-down on a tough negotiating position with the US as time ran out on IAEA-Tehran cooperation and with June 18 presidential elections creeping closer. The US, Iran and the world powers have had five rounds of negotiations in Vienna in recent months to try to resolve the nuclear standoff. According to Iran’s Mehr media outlet, “the US must first provide verifiable sanctions lifting. Iran will then resume full implementation,” said Araghchi in response to interviews given by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken late Sunday.
“Yesterday I spent 4hrs before our Parliament’s NatSec/FP Commission to brief MPs on Vienna talks. Very tough. But useful,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs Araghchi wrote on his Twitter account. Araghchi added: “Bottom line is same: Having left JCPOA, US must first provide verifiable sanctions lifting. Iran will then resume full implementation.”
“Is the US ready?” he added.
Also, late Sunday in reaction to Blinken, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that lifting US sanctions against Iran is a legal and moral obligation and not negotiating leverage.In a tweet on Sunday, Zarif wrote, “Lifting Trump’s sanctions, @SecBlinken, is a legal & moral obligation. NOT negotiating leverage.”
“Didn’t work for Trump—won’t work for you,” the foreign minister added. “Release the Iranian people’s $Billions held hostage abroad due to US bullying,” Zarif said, stressing, “Trump’s legacy is past its expiration date. Drop it, @POTUS.”Blinken on Sunday reiterated the US position that the US would lift sanctions simultaneously to Tehran ending its violations of the 2015 nuclear deal. The US secretary of state said, “Iran, I think, knows what it needs to do to come back into compliance on the nuclear side, and what we haven’t yet seen is whether Iran is ready and willing to make a decision to do what it has to do. That’s the test and we don’t yet have an answer.” It was still unclear early Monday whether Iran’s doubling down was a last-minute saber rattling before it agrees to a mutual return to the 2015 deal or whether a real crisis was about to hit. Another possibility is that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei does not want the deal finished until after the June 18 presidential election. The theory would be that this way he can deny the pragmatist camp, which is pro negotiating with the West, a victory which might bring it more votes on election day against his preferred hard-liner candidates. Also, on Sunday Mehr reported that Iranian national security sources were entertaining the idea of extending cooperation with the IAEA for one more month to allow negotiations between the US, Iran and the world powers to continue. Iran’s parliament passed a law last year demanding that the US lift sanctions by February 21 or IAEA inspections could be ended. A deal was reached extending that cooperation until May 21 this past weekend and the situation was up in the air until Grossi’s announcement.

Iran's Quds Force chief tells Islamic Jihad it defeated 'Zionist pride'
Jerusalem Post/May 24/2021
The comments made by Esmail Ghaani, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, praised death and martyrdom and said fighters welcome death with 'longing and passion.' The recent war against Israel “destroyed the pride of the Zionist army,” Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Commander Esmail Ghaani told his Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) counterpart, Akram al-Ajouri, in a letter, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported. His comments came after Hamas reportedly thanked Iran for its support in the war. Iran backs Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which has offices in Damascus.
Ajouri was reportedly targeted in an airstrike in Damascus in November 2019 during Israel-PIJ tensions. Ghaani’s macabre letter praised death and martyrdom, adding that while the killing of pro-Iran operatives is a threat, they look forward to death with longing and passion, according to Al-Mayadeen, a Beirut-based pan-Arabist satellite television channel. Ghaani’s predecessor, Qasem Soleimani, was killed by the US in 2020 and is revered as a great martyr. The letter to Ajouri, one of several letters and memos of support that have been sent from Iran to Hamas and PIJ recently, said: “We believe that every drop of blood that falls on the way to Jerusalem brings us closer to liberating it from the filth of the occupier.” The term “filth” is used in anti-Israel protests in the West in which Jews have been described as “filth.” It may be that Iran’s messaging uses Islamist terminology so that terms such as “filth” can being applied to Israel and Jews, much as the Nazis used such terminology. These terms were also used in recent anti-Israel protests in Germany. The support for PIJ includes more imagery about martyrdom and calls for Palestinians to be “steadfast.” It calls on “all the mujahideen in the land of Palestine. I kiss your striving hands, which God throws at his enemy, and which pave the way to making the clear conquest, God willing.”This was similar to a message sent to Mohammed Deif, supreme commander of Izzadin al-Qassam, the so-called “military” wing of Hamas.Clearly, Ghaani is trying to bolster the “resistance” axis and thank them for fighting Israel on Iran’s behalf. It appears that Iran timed this war to coincide with Quds Day on May 7, ordering Hamas to begin the battle on May 10. It has put Palestinians and Hamas back on the agenda, with Hamas now being treated normally by international media, rather than as a terrorist group. Iran is pleased.Ghaani also called the head of Islamic Jihad, Ziad Nakhaleh, a frequent guest of the Iranian regime, and he called Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. “We will offer everything we can to achieve the goal of liberating all of the Palestinian land,” he was quoted as saying.

Aviation piracy': EU leaders mull response to forced diversion of plane to Belarus
NNA/May 24/2021
Furious European Union leaders were set to consider a joint response on Monday after Belarusian authorities diverted a plane travelling between EU member states in order to arrest a prominent opposition journalist. Roman Protasevich, who ran a popular messaging app that played a key role in helping organise mass protests against Belarus' authoritarian president, was on board the Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius when it was diverted to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, while flying over Belarus. Belarusian flight controllers had warned the plane crew of an alleged bomb threat and ordered it to land in Minsk, and a Belarusian fighter jet was scrambled to escort the Ryanair airliner. Shortly after the landing, the 26-year-old Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend were led out of the plane. The jet was eventually allowed to continue its flight and landed in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, hours behind schedule.
The 27 European Union leaders were set to open a two-day summit later Monday and the issue immediately shot to the top of the agenda amid united condemnation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Many in Europe have called for tough new sanctions on Belarus.—AFP

At least 115,000 health workers have died from Covid: WHO
NNA/AFP/May 24/2021
At least 115,000 health and care workers have died from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, the WHO chief said Monday, calling for a dramatic scale-up of vaccination in all countries. At the opening of the World Health Organization's main annual assembly, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the sacrifices made by health workers around the world to battle the pandemic. "For almost 18 months, health and care workers all over the world have stood in the breach between life and death," he said. "They have saved countless lives and fought for others who, despite their best efforts, slipped away. "Many have themselves become infected, and while reporting is scant, we estimate that at least 115,000 health and care workers have paid the ultimate price in the service of others."
"Today, I'm calling on member states to support a massive push to vaccinate at least 10 percent of the population of every country by September," he said, calling for the coverage to be expanded to 30 percent by the end of the year.--

'We are at war' against Covid, UN chief says
NNA/AFP/May 24/2021
The world is "at war" against Covid-19, the UN chief said Monday, urging the international community to adopt a war logic to halt the pandemic. "We are at war with a virus. We need the logic and urgency of a war economy to boost the capacity of our weapons," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the opening of the World Health Organization's main annual meeting of member states.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 24- 25/2021
Iran thinks Hamas 'victory' will lead to new attack on Israel
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/May 24/2021
Iran helped push the war with Gaza but was concerned that Hamas and its other proxies would lose badly. Instead, they perceive a surprising victory. The fuse lit by Hamas will become the “fire” for a new operation in the future, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency. The report, reflecting the Iranian regime’s thinking, details how Hamas won the recent war by not losing. Indeed, Iran helped push this war, but it was concerned that Hamas and its other proxies in Gaza would lose badly. Instead, they see a surprising victory. There are indicators to determine defeat or victory in war, the report said. Iran has weighed them and believes Hamas won. This matters because it means Iran and Hezbollah are not deterred in the next round against Israel.
Here is why:
We must begin at the starting point of the war to see the “achievements and failures that occur for each side during its days,” Tasnim wrote. The “aggressor” must achieve military goals to have victory, “otherwise, the side on which the war was imposed will win.”
The report admits “a reading of the recent war in occupied Palestine suggests that Palestinian groups fired rockets at Jerusalem to provoke the conflict.” But “the Palestinian resistance’s rocket attack on Zionist positions in occupied Jerusalem came after widespread aggression and the crimes of settlers and Zionist militants against Palestinians living in Jerusalem and worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque. Even the resistance had set a deadline for the enemy before any military action to end the persecution of the Palestinians.”
What were the goals of both sides? “As mentioned, the Palestinian resistance groups entered the war with the aim of defending the people of Jerusalem and the holy places and preventing the completion of the project of Judaization of this city, with a focus on the unity of all Palestinians,” the report said.
Important here is the unity of all Palestinians. Iran thinks Israel’s goal was to “kill civilians in Gaza in the first place, with the aim of pressuring the Palestinian resistance to surrender, or grant concessions to the Israelis in any negotiations for a ceasefire, and second, to destroy the command centers of the Palestinian resistance groups,” Tasnim wrote.
In fact, we know Israel only sought the second aspect. Iran says Israel targeted rocket launchers and Hamas commanders. This is true. Israel hit some 650 rocket launchers and 25 commanders. However, Hamas’s top military commander, Mohammed Deif, survived. What was the performance of the “resistance in achieving its goals in the 12-day war?”Iran’s analysis is more interesting than those found in Western media and pro-Palestinian accounts. “First, we must evaluate the goals of the Palestinians and the degree of success in achieving them and the performance of these groups in the days of war,” Tasnim wrote.
Iran calls Israeli airstrikes hasty and that they caused Israel to lose support among global public opinion. But Hamas faced unprecedented precision attacks, the report said. Hamas rockets also led to “unprecedented fear and terror that had taken root in the hearts of the Zionist settlers following the rocket attacks on Israeli cities and towns,” Tasnim wrote.
This is not accurate.
The report also said Israel was “forced to resort to Arab and international mediators for a ceasefire by unofficially admitting their inability to continue the war. Despite the Zionist army’s boasting about a ground attack on Gaza, which turned out to be a major scandal for Israel in the media after it was revealed to be false, the Zionists did not dare to attack Gaza and relied only on their Air Force’s aggression.”Iran now sees that the “striking achievement of the Palestinian resistance in this war was the unprecedented unity of all Palestinians throughout occupied Palestine and beyond. In the previous three Gaza wars in 2008-09, 2012 and 2014, the resistance entered the battle with the enemy solely for the purpose of defending Gaza and breaking the siege of the city, but this time it came out in support of the Palestinians living in Jerusalem,” Tasnim, wrote.
This is important. It shows the regional and global context and thought and planning by Hamas. For a period, Hamas and Iran planned this war. After the Palestinian Authority postponed elections on April 29, war planning went into high gear.
Iran’s media reads Israeli media and relies on it for facts.
“Hamas has succeeded in thwarting the efforts of [Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas,” Tasnim quoted an Israeli media outlet as reporting. Activists from Fatah and Hamas clashed in Jerusalem on May 23 after the PA-affiliated mufti of Jerusalem was expelled from al-Aqsa Mosque.
“Since the lack of unity and division among the Palestinians is one of the biggest factors in the continuation of Zionist aggression and occupation in the Palestinian territories, the unity of the people of this land from Jerusalem to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and refugee camps in other countries can pave the way for their liberation,” Tasnim wrote.
Hamas accepted the ceasefire without concessions, the report said. “The military blow inflicted on the positions of the resistance and its commanders in this war was much less than expected,” it said. Hamas won by not losing badly, the report said, adding: “The fire will start, and we will be exposed to another operation.” Apparently, Iran reads Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman’s criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back up its theory. Indeed, Iran and Hezbollah are currently plotting. They know that even under blockade, Hamas performed well for 12 days. “They kept Israel under fire,” Tasnim wrote. Next, the report quoted Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin and journalist Ron Ben-Yishai to say Israelis have been critical of the recent conflict. “Israel’s defeat in the military, media, social, intelligence and economic dimensions of this war is also discussed in detail,” Tasnim wrote.
Israel is the loser of this war because “despite having abundant military capabilities that are not comparable to the Palestinians, it could not prolong the war,” the report said. “They did not even dare to attack Gaza by land. Thus, [Israel] was eventually forced to accept the ceasefire unconditionally and at least save their positions in occupied Palestine from resistance missiles.”
The Palestinians achieve several things, according to Tasnim. First, “in this war, the Palestinians, unlike the previous three periods, targeted the entire occupied territories with their missile attacks,” it wrote, citing the continual fire on Tel Aviv. Palestinians have “moved beyond a purely defensive position and, with a systematic strategy, focus on the enemy’s strategic goals, including economic infrastructure and critical positions,” the report said. A total of 4,360 missiles and rockets were fired in 11 days. In the 51-day battle that took place in 2014, about 4,600 rockets were fired into Israel, the report said, adding that twice as many Israelis were killed this time. “In the early days of the war, the Palestinians unveiled several advanced missiles and drones,” Tasnim wrote. These include a new “Qassam” missile and new drones, as well as the Ayyash long-range rocket and the Badr-3 short-range rocket. Drones are a major milestone for Hamas, and they are based on an Iranian design. Hamas increased the accuracy of its missiles, the report said. The big victory was tapping into the support from abroad and mobilizing protests across the world, Tasnim wrote. It “put the Arab nations and all the free people of the world in a single position to defend the Palestinian nation and its cause,” it said. Now, “public opinion and the countries that wanted to compromise with the enemy will retreat from this decision for at least a long time,” the report said. That means the real victory may have been slowing down the process of normalization. Turkey and Iran are reaching out to Saudi Arabia to prevent normalization, for instance. “In general, the fourth war in Gaza, despite the material and human damage and pain it inflicted on the Palestinians, proved a fact: While the hopes of reviving the Palestinian cause have recently been dashed by the treacherous stances of the compromising regimes [the Abraham Accords] and the Palestinian Authority, the realities of this war have shown that all Palestinians are ready to make any sacrifice to defend their cause and land and raise the flags of resistance in unison,” Tasnim wrote. This is important because it means Iran’s real goal was to sabotage Israel-Gulf ties and isolate the PA. Hamas may be more popular now than when it first came to power in Gaza. “Hamas will be a definite winner if elections are held,” the report said.

Can Yemen once more be a united nation?
Mohammed Sayers/The Media Line/May 24/2021
The future of Yemen is being decided on the battlefield rather than through political dialogue.
Unity Day, a public holiday commemorating the unification of North Yemen and South Yemen 31 years ago, fell on Saturday, amid a bitter civil war that began six and a half years ago.
Asked about the prospects for a return to that unity, Muhammad Hussein, a 59-year-old Yemeni businessman, told the Media Line, “There are already two governments, two banks and two banknotes between Sanaa and Aden, and you are still talking about unity.”
Iran-backed Houthi rebel forces control Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, and all of northern Yemen except Marib Governorate.
Aden is run by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), which controls most of and advocates for the separation of southern Yemen from the rest of the nation, restoring the pre-1990 status.
The oil-rich eastern governorates (Hadramaut, Shabwah and Marib) remain loyal to the internationally recognized government and support Yemen’s unity, on the condition of implementing a federal system and that they are allowed to utilize their wealth for their own interests.
In the far west, near the Bab el-Mandeb strait connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, the forces of Tareq Saleh, a nephew of the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh and a former commander of the Presidential Guard, control parts of the governorates of Hudaydah and Taiz, which are loyal to the former regime.
The north and south of Yemen were more tolerant of each other before the unification of Yemen in 1990, and, unlike today, rejected violence.
“After the unification, we in the north did not face any harassment when we worked or visited the southern regions. However, after 2015, and after the civil war between the southern forces and the Ansar Allah forces [the Houthis), the story changed,” Hussein said. “We became afraid of visiting the south to travel [through Aden International Airport] or to work; we became outcasts and we could place ourselves at risk just by disclosing that we are from the north.”
Hussein explained that his job in the south was suspended many times due to hate campaigns against northerners, and many northerners were forced to employ intermediaries to be able to do work in the south.
During the period 2017-2020, some northern workers in southern cities were harassed or deported. Also, some properties were vandalized or demolished by armed groups affiliated with the Southern Transitional. Many travelers were prevented from entering the southern regions.
‘Three parties seek to destroy Yemen’s unity’
President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, in a speech on Friday ahead of Unity Day, said, “Yemen’s unity has been gnawed on and shattered. Turning against the state, and having it subjected to racial violence and sectarian prejudices, as well as the Iranian agenda, has harmed Yemen’s unity at its core, and has reproduced the stereotypical image of imamate [i.e., Houthi] racism.”
The president held three parties responsible for the threat facing Yemen’s unity, which could lead to its destruction: the “former regime,” meaning that of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was president from 1990 to 2012; Ansar Allah; and the STC.
The “Southern Issue” began in 2007 with the establishment of the Southern Movement and the demand for an equitable division of the country’s wealth and of prestigious positions in state institutions. It changed after the establishment of the STC on April 4, 2017, which later became a political faction with a military wing outside state institutions and called for separation from the north and for the right to self-determination. In April 2020, the STC declared autonomous rule in the south and entered into armed confrontations with the Yemeni Army, in what many analysts saw as a prelude to secession.
‘Separation is a reality on the ground’
Journalist Samah Lotf said Ansar Allah forces took control of most of the north and so enabled the STC, militarily and politically, to control the southern and eastern regions. In addition, there is the complete absence of the internationally recognized government, which is based outside Yemen.
In light of the deteriorating economic and development conditions in the southern regions, to the extent that the currency collapsed, electricity and water were cut off and diseases spread, the return of Yemeni unity would be a “miracle,” Lotf said.
“Separation has become a reality on the ground, waiting to be announced,” she said. “We are already living the reality of separation in everything. In addition to the existence of central institutions in both the north and the south, such as the Central Bank of Yemen, the House of Parliament, as well as separate government and financial transactions, the social fabric has become separated, especially in the southern regions. Everything has come to produce the separation scenario.”
‘The right to self-determination’
In 1994, four years after unification, southern forces declared a war of secession. A two-month civil war ended with the exile of many southern military and political leaders. The impact on the deterioration of the political situation between the north and the south can still be felt today.
Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, head of the STC and the commander in chief of the southern armed forces, spoke on the 27th anniversary of the Separation Declaration, saying, “The Unity project was aborted by the forces of the Sanaa regime by declaring war on the south and occupying it, choosing to turn it into an occupation that usurps the land and kills the people.
“Since then, our people have made enormous sacrifices in a continuous, legendary national struggle toward the restoration of their state. We are still walking on the same path for which our martyrs gave their lives, and we will not hesitate or deviate from our path until our people regain and build their independent, federal and fully sovereign southern state,” Zoubaidi said.
‘The Southern issue is a people’s cause’
Some people from the south believe the unity project has ended and that the solution lies in the establishment of two states within the borders of Yemen as they were in May 1990. Many blame the deterioration of the social and economic situation in the south and the deterioration of the health and security situation throughout the country on northern actors and their leaders.
Bassam al-Qadi, a southern activist, told the Media Line, “The rectitude of the southern people’s cause and the legitimacy of its legal and human rights, and the injustices inflicted on the southerners, are the only guarantor of the re-establishment of the southern state and the return to the two-state solution within the borders of May 1990.
“The issue of the south is a people’s issue and the southerners’ rights to regaining their state will be given to them sooner or later,” he said.
“The reality today proves the existence of two states, one in the south and another in the north, despite the conditions of war and the country’s placement under Chapter VII,” Qadi said.
Security Council Resolution 2140, approved under Chapter VII of the UN Charter in 2014, provides for the use of sanctions against those seeking to derail Yemen’s “political transition.”
“There is no just peace, nor a comprehensive solution to the crises and war in Yemen, except through a two-state solution and the involvement of the south in the current negotiations,” Qadi said, adding that the international community knows full well there will be no peace and no cessation of war except through a south-north dialogue.
The 2-state solution has become a dream
*Radwan Jawar, a political scientist, agrees that separation is inevitable, in light of the “clinical death” of the unity project and the division into political and military components and alliances that reject the legitimacy of the internationally recognized government.
“The Federal Yemen and six regions proposal that was devised during the National Dialogue Conference in 2013 was the last hope for Yemen to be a unified state with a federal administration, but after this war, maintaining the two-state solution has become a dream as opposed to the alternative, which is the formation of many states within Yemen,” Jawar said.

The Palestinian Voices Blinken Won't Hear
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 24/2021
The renewed talk about a "two-state solution" comes amid a significant increase in the popularity of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group whose charter openly calls for replacing Israel with an Islamic state. It also comes at a time when Abbas's popularity is at its lowest ebb.
The Palestinians are telling Blinken that he is wasting his time if he thinks that they would accept "so-called peaceful solutions" or "renounce any part of Palestine." They are also sending a warning to Abbas that recognition of Israel's right to exist and acceptance of the "two-state solution" is tantamount to treason, a crime punishable by death.
Abbas is afraid that Hamas will try to stage a coup against the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.... Abbas, however, does not feel comfortable talking about the Palestinians' two rival entities, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and prefers to continue pretending that the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is still a realistic option.
As long as Israel maintains overall security control over the West Bank, Abbas can feel safe sitting in his office or at home in Ramallah. It is only Israel's presence in the West Bank that is keeping him in power and preventing Hamas from extending its control beyond the Gaza Strip.
A recent public opinion poll showed that 57% of the Palestinians are opposed to the two-state solution. Another 57% said they support the "armed struggle" and "popular resistance" against Israel. According to the poll, 68% of the Palestinians want Abbas to resign.
Blinken needs to go out and talk to ordinary Palestinians. There, he will get a good grasp of the Palestinians' profound anti-Israel sentiments and their deep support for Iran's proxies and others who wish to wipe Israel off the map.
In the past few weeks, thousands of Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank have been demonstrating in support of Hamas, especially after it fired thousands of rockets and missiles at Israel
On the eve of his first official visit to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed support for a two-state solution as the only way to provide hope to Israelis and Palestinians that they can live "with equal measures of security, of peace, and dignity."
During his visit to Israel and the West Bank, Blinken is expected to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has been urging the Biden administration to work toward "achieving a just and lasting peace that would ensure the Palestinian people's right to freedom and independence" and the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.
The renewed talk about a "two-state solution" comes amid a significant increase in the popularity of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group whose charter openly calls for replacing Israel with an Islamic state. It also comes at a time when Abbas's popularity is at its lowest ebb.
In the past few weeks, thousands of Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank have been demonstrating in support of Hamas, especially after it fired thousands of rockets and missiles at Israel.
The demonstrators have been chanting slogans praising Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Iran's Palestinian proxies) for targeting Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities during the 11-day battle with Israel. The demonstrators have been raising Hamas flags and posters of its leaders even in areas controlled by Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, including Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinians.
At the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, thousands of Palestinians have been praising Hamas for firing rockets at Israel and chanting, "We are the men of Mohammed Deif!"
Deif, the supreme commander of Hamas's military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, is Israel's most wanted terrorist, ever since his direct involvement in a series of terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings and kidnapping Israelis.
During some of the demonstrations, Palestinians chanted slogans denouncing Abbas as a "traitor," a "US agent" and an "Israeli collaborator."
Last Friday, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, who was appointed by Abbas, was attacked by Muslim worshippers at the al-Aqsa Mosque.
The assailants, believed to be Hamas supporters, expelled the mufti from the mosque after accusing him of failing to support the rocket and missile attacks on Israel. As he was being whisked away from the mosque, the protesters shouted at the mufti: "The dogs of the Palestinian Authority must go away!"
The expulsion of the mufti is a sign of the declining popularity and influence of Abbas among Palestinians. It is also a sign of the growing popularity of Hamas, which states in its charter that "Allah is its goal, the Prophet (Mohammed) its model, the Quran its Constitution, Jihad (holy war) its path and death for the cause of Allah its most sublime belief."
The Palestinians who took to the streets to voice support for Hamas were saying that they share its belief that "the land of Palestine has been an Islamic Waqf throughout the generations and until the Day of Resurrection; no one can renounce it or part of it, or abandon it or part of it. No Arab country nor the aggregate of all Arab countries, and no Arab king or president, be they Palestinian or Arab, have that right."
The Palestinians, in addition, are saying that they share Hamas's view that "[peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion."
The Palestinians are telling Blinken that he is wasting his time if he thinks that they would accept "so-called peaceful solutions" or "renounce any part of Palestine." They are also sending a warning to Abbas that recognition of Israel's right to exist and acceptance of the "two-state solution" is tantamount to treason, a crime punishable by death.
It is not clear how the Biden administration expects Abbas to work toward establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel when the Palestinian leader is being besieged by his people because of his supposed belief in peace with Israel.
It is also not clear how the Biden administration expects Abbas to deliver on anything when he cannot even visit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, home to nearly two million Palestinians.
In 2007, Abbas accused Hamas of trying to assassinate him just before the terrorist group seized control of the Gaza Strip. Abbas said that he had seen videotapes of Hamas men digging a tunnel under a road, where his car was to pass, and trying to fill it with 250 kilograms of explosives.
Hamas leaders have in the past warned that if Abbas sets foot in the Gaza Strip, he will be executed by hanging in a public square for betraying the Palestinian people and collaborating with Israel.
Abbas has even greater reason for worry now, as Hamas's reputation among Palestinians has risen dramatically, due to its firing thousands of rockets and missiles throughout Israel during the last round of fighting.
As long as Israel maintains overall security control over the West Bank, Abbas can feel safe sitting in his office or at home in Ramallah. It is only Israel's presence in the West Bank that is keeping him in power and preventing Hamas from extending its control beyond the Gaza Strip.
Blinken's visit to Ramallah also comes on the heels of Abbas's controversial decision to delay the Palestinian parliamentary elections, which were supposed to take place on May 22. The postponement of the elections has angered many Palestinians, who accused Abbas of depriving his people of the right to elect new leaders.
Instead of admitting that he was afraid that Hamas was going to defeat his Fatah faction in the elections, Abbas chose to blame Israel for hindering the elections on the pretext that it did not respond to his request to hold the vote in Jerusalem. In 2006, Hamas won the parliamentary elections mainly due to divisions in Fatah and rampant corruption in the Palestinian Authority.
Abbas is afraid of going back to the Gaza Strip. He is afraid of a Hamas victory in Palestinian elections. Abbas is afraid that Hamas will try to stage a coup against the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
Abbas knows that the "two-state solution" is already here, albeit not the one that the Biden administration has in mind. Since 2007, the Palestinians have two separate mini-states, one in the West Bank and the second in the Gaza Strip. Abbas, however, does not feel comfortable talking about the Palestinians' two rival entities, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and prefers to continue pretending that the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is still a realistic option.
A recent public opinion poll showed that 57% of the Palestinians are opposed to the two-state solution. Another 57% said they support the "armed struggle" and "popular resistance" against Israel.
According to the poll, 68% of the Palestinians want Abbas to resign. In late 2020, 66% of the Palestinian public said they want Abbas to quit.
So, the Palestinians are saying that they are opposed to the "two-state solution" and want to oust Abbas. They are also saying that they consider Hamas leaders as the true heroes of the Palestinians and seek to engage in an armed struggle against Israel.
These are the voices that Blinken will not hear during his visit to Ramallah. If he is serious about gauging the mood on the Palestinian street, Blinken needs to go out and talk to ordinary Palestinians. There, he will get a good grasp of the Palestinians' profound anti-Israel sentiments and their deep support for Iran's proxies and others who wish to wipe Israel off the map.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
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Hamas violence meets Gulf silence
Jonathan Schanzer and Varsha Koduvayu/The Hill/May 24/2021
Eight months since the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain shocked the world by announcing formal relations with Israel, diplomatic ties are facing their most severe test after the eruption of war in Gaza. The Gulf states were relatively muted in their criticism of Israel. Some might see that as a step forward. But their refusal to condemn Hamas, not to mention the terrorist group’s sponsors in Tehran, shows that more work is needed to strengthen this nascent alliance.
At the onset of the crisis, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan — all of which normalized relations with the Jewish state last year — criticized Israel. Sudan rebuked Israeli moves as “coercive action,” the UAE called on Israel to “take responsibility for de-escalation” at the Al-Aqsa mosque, and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI noted that Israeli “violations” could “fuel tensions.” Bahrain punched the hardest, asking the Israeli government “to stop these rejected provocations against the people of Jerusalem.”
Gulf states that did not normalize with Israel also weighed in. Saudi Arabia “rejected” Israel’s plan to evict Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem. The kingdom also called for Israel to return to its pre-1967 borders. Oman and Qatar, one of Hamas’ top financial patrons, did the same. Kuwait, interestingly, issued a second statement after public outcry over its original, somewhat milder stance; Kuwaitis subsequently staged a sit-in outside the parliament to protest normalization with the Jewish state and evince support for the Palestinians. Such condemnation is par for the course, after seven decades of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Moreover, criticism of Israel’s military response to Hamas rockets is within reason — as is criticism of Israel’s social media messaging. But there was no condemnation of Iran, the Gulf states’ most determined foe. Iran provided Hamas with the rockets, training, cash, and other assistance that it required to prepare for this conflict.
Moreover, there was no condemnation of Hamas, the terrorist group in Gaza that single-handedly sparked the war. The group cynically wielded Al-Aqsa tensions to win political points, and began barraging Israel with rockets earlier this week. The group has launched more than 4,000 rockets — and even drones — one of which set ablaze an oil facility in Ashkelon.
Certain Gulf states’ silence on Hamas’s violence is particularly puzzling given their mutual animosities. For Saudi Arabia and the UAE especially, this Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood has long been an object of their ire. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi both designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization in 2014. And Hamas is certainly not chasing these countries’ approval. The group has set up headquarters in Qatar — the Gulf state that was singled out by these states for the last four years for supporting terrorism. In a direct shot at the UAE and Bahrain, Khaled Meshaal, former head of Hamas’ politburo and current diaspora director, called countries that normalized with Israel “worthless scum,” “people who have lost their conscience,” and no longer belong to the Islamic nation.
The silence of the Gulf states can most likely be attributed to their fears of provoking anti-government sentiments at home, or perhaps even extremists in other countries around the region. Protests against Israel have recently taken place in Morocco, Bahrain, and Sudan. A sign at a protest in Bahrain stated “Jerusalem is ours, liberating Palestine is our duty,” while the hashtag “Jerusalem_is_my_cause” trended on Moroccan social media.
Interestingly, the hashtag “Palestine is not our cause” trended in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This reflects the driving force of the normalization agreements signed last year. Indeed, these agreements came about because Arab states increasingly reject the Palestinian issue as a core national interest after years of needless conflict in the Middle East.
De-prioritizing the Palestinian cause doesn’t mean that these countries must embrace every Israeli policy. And it certainly doesn’t mean that they should stop supporting the idea of Palestinian nationalism. But these states have no reason not to call out Hamas, or the regime in Iran, for launching this latest conflict. The militant group and its patron are as much, if not far more, responsible for the current violence as Israel. Moreover, Hamas’ disregard for civilian lives, ruthless and unwarranted escalation, and selfish co-optation of the conflict to serve its political goals deserve to be highlighted by all the stakeholders in the region.
Such condemnations from the Gulf would carry significant political weight, given the Gulf’s — especially Saudi Arabia’s — standing in the Muslim world. They would also convey the Gulf’s commitment to securing a more peaceful Middle East — which, after all, was the primary reason for the Abraham Accords. Silence, however, is also a gift to Iran, these states’ arch-rival, and for extremist groups across the region.
*Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is senior vice president at Foundation for Defense of Democracies (@FDD), where Varsha Koduvayur is a senior research analyst specializing in Gulf Arab affairs. Follow them on Twitter @JSchanzer and @varshakoduvayur.

AOC says she's in therapy due to 'trauma' of Capitol riot
Jonathan Schanzer/Washington Examiner/May 24/2021
The word Hamas means “zeal” in Arabic and “violence” in Hebrew. The group lived up to its name, zealously firing thousands of rockets into Israel over the course of the latest Gaza conflict. If it were not for the miraculous Iron Dome missile defense system deployed by the Israelis, the rockets could have killed hundreds or even thousands of innocents. Yet, somehow, the group has found a small but obstreperous gaggle of congressional apologists in Washington. The very existence of a “Hamas caucus” is beyond odd given how positively Americans typically view Israel and how much terrorism is reviled by both Democrats and Republicans alike.
If you read the accounts of how this most recent round of fighting began, many reporters have parroted the line that Israel was evicting Arab residents from their home in Jerusalem. This, in turn, was said to trigger Hamas. The group began firing rockets at Israel, Israel responded, and all hell broke loose.
A few additional facts about Hamas are useful here. First, Hamas is a designated terrorist group in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere around the world. In the United States, Hamas was designated in 1997, after carrying out a gruesome campaign of suicide bombings designed to disrupt the Palestinian-Israeli peace process that had gathered momentum at the time. The group has molted over the years. It has received a large amount of cash, weapons, and training from the Islamic Republic of Iran. So, whereas it was once a domestic Islamist group driven by an amalgam of domestic and Islamist ideas, it is now a full-fledged proxy of Tehran. And it launches wars against Israel every few years, usually with new weapons and new deadly tactics. Israel has bested the group each time.
During this latest conflagration, the decision to pick a fight was once again pursued by Hamas. The group watched all the way from Gaza as tensions simmered in Jerusalem. Amid the typically tense month of Ramadan, Israel’s judicial system was expected to rule against Arab residents of Jerusalem in a property dispute. Hamas had recently been blocked from taking part in the Palestinian elections. It was looking to reassert its political primacy.
A conversation with Douglas Holtz-Eakin of the American Action Forum
So, it launched a war in the name of defending Jerusalem. On May 10, Hamas issued an ultimatum, demanding that Israel remove its security forces from the sites of tension in Jerusalem and release Palestinian prisoners. If Israel did not meet these unrealistic demands by 6 p.m., Hamas and other terrorist groups would attack. And they did.
In the course of nearly two weeks, Hamas and a handful of allied Palestinian terrorist groups launched more than 4,000 rockets at Israeli population centers, killing a dozen people. Because the projectiles were rockets, not missiles, they were mostly unguided — meaning that the group was firing blindly into Israel, with the hope of killing civilians. Around one-fifth of Hamas’s rockets landed in Gaza, causing death and destruction among its own people. Even more appalling, many of those rockets were fired in or near civilian areas of Gaza. Using human shields is a war crime.
While these facts are hard to ignore, legislators nonetheless have effectively shrugged and instead condemned Israel for defending itself with too much force. Rep. Ilhan Omar attempted to cast doubt on Hamas’s usage of human shields. She later accused Israel of “crimes against humanity” and “human rights abuses” stemming from its response to Hamas’s rocket onslaught. Rep. Rashida Tlaib accused Israel of killing babies even though all loss of life came as a result of Hamas’s first decision to begin launching rockets into Israel. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also lashed out at Israel, tweeting, “Apartheid states aren’t democracies.” It was unmitigated animus on display.
Such displays are undoubtedly designed to signal support for the Palestinian cause. But shrugging off the deleterious impact of Hamas is anything but “pro-Palestinian.” Ever since the group seized the Gaza Strip by force in 2007, in a brutal civil war with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Hamas has given the coastal enclave’s 2 million Palestinian residents nothing but misery. The group knows it is picking an asymmetric fight with a well-armed and trained regional power that is essentially unwinnable. This is the fourth round of senseless fighting the group has brought to Gaza in recent years. Each time, more innocents are killed and more homes are destroyed.
It’s also odd for American lawmakers to ignore Hamas’s crimes against their own countrymen. Indeed, Hamas has killed at least 25 Americans in Israel since 1993. Some of these attacks were drive-by shootings on teenagers; others were suicide bombers who detonated their explosives in crowded buses and cafes. One was a car-ramming of a 3-month-old in Jerusalem in 2014.
President Joe Biden got it right, at least for most of this recent conflict. As the fighting dragged on, he pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wrap up Israeli operations. But to his credit, for more than a week, he let the Israelis defend themselves as they saw fit. It was a green light to fight terrorism.
This should not be surprising. Biden as a senator helped spearhead the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, which prohibits American assistance to the Palestinian Authority if it is “effectively controlled by Hamas.” In other words, he understood the deadly nature of Hamas when he was a legislator and sought to deprive it of American aid.
Of course, this raises questions as to why Biden appears so eager to return to the horrendously flawed 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. America’s role in that agreement will yield billions of dollars of sanctions relief to Tehran.
One can only hope that the White House reverses course. But if it doesn’t, Hamas will eventually benefit from Tehran’s financial windfall. Cash will flow to Gaza. This will enable the group to develop new ways to attack Israel during the next round of conflict.
Perhaps in the next round, we’ll see a new fleet of armed drones, or unmanned underwater vehicles — two weapons seen on this most recent battlefield. This would put Israel under threat, and the Middle East on tilt. Just as Iran likes it. Perhaps a few legislators like it that way, too.
*Jonathan Schanzer is senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where David May is a research analyst.

Israel and Biden administration after Gaza - comment
Jacob Nagel/The Jerusalem Post/May 24/2021
Israelis, while confronting the Hamas terror organization, are watching the talks in Vienna and the clash between left and right inside Israel that will determine the next leader of the Jewish state.
The United States is preparing to repeat its past mistakes as the Biden administration and Tehran negotiate a return to the flawed 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Talks in Vienna are ongoing, but the end result looks clear: another victory for the clerical regime in Iran, and another bad deal for the United States, Israel, and other American allies. A tough road lies ahead for US-Israeli relations, but the two allies can and must work together to manage their differences.
Israelis, while confronting the Hamas terror organization, are watching the talks in Vienna and the clash between left and right inside Israel that will determine the next leader of the Jewish state. Regardless of who prevails, official Israel will have to work with a Democratic administration in the US that is hastening the arrival of an existential threat to Israel, a nuclear Iran. This will make it very hard for Jerusalem to focus on preserving strong relations with Washington, but their partnership is indispensable. So how can it be done?
The first step is to understand Washington’s mindset. In order to check the Iranian problem off its “to-do list,” the Biden administration continues to offer concessions to get Tehran to resume compliance with the JCPOA, the deal’s fatal flaws and Iran’s ongoing nuclear extortion notwithstanding.
Biden does not seem to understand how this empowers Tehran. Sensing they have the upper hand, the regime’s negotiators are playing hard to get, tacking on demand after demand. Tehran insists that Washington pay a premium for the “privilege” of lifting sanctions and re-entering an agreement that grants the clerical regime in Iran a patient pathway to atomic weapons.
By returning to the JCPOA, the regime can legally install advanced centrifuges, build up Iran’s enrichment capabilities, and wait for key restrictions to sunset over the next two to nine years. After 2030, there will be no prohibitions on the Islamic Republic’s ability to produce weapons-grade uranium, and Iran’s advanced centrifuges will enable it to do so faster and more covertly. Nor does the deal check Tehran’s weaponization activities. As a result, Iran’s “sneak out time”, the interval necessary to produce a nuclear weapon, will soon be almost zero.
All of America’s Middle Eastern allies, including Israel, are rightly concerned about the US policy. Beyond the existential threat of a nuclear Iran, Jerusalem does not relish the thought of the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism fueling Lebanese Hezbollah, Gaga Hamas, Yemen Houties and other terrorist proxies with billions of dollars in US sanctions relief.
This will make things very difficult for Israel. How can Israel act decisively against the Iranian nuclear program when that program has been legitimized by an agreement with United States? How will Washington react if Israel must take military action, covert or not, against Iran’s nuclear program, given Israel does not accept the US request for prior consultation?
First, US-Israeli diplomacy can help limit the damage. Several high-ranking Israeli officials visited Washington last month to reiterate Jerusalem’s concerns about the Biden administration’s Iran policy, while pursuing deeper military, intelligence, and technology development cooperation. On Iran, however, the meetings produced little more than an agreement to disagree.
The American goal was to drag the Israelis into the process, to create the impression the administration’s policy was acceptable to Jerusalem.
Some irresponsible Israelis even suggested cooperating with this American gambit, but that would have been a serious mistake. The Israeli delegations, led by NSA Ben-Shabbat and Mossad director Cohen, under strict orders from Jerusalem, declined to engage in substantive talks on a “longer and stronger” agreement with Iran so long as a US return to the JCPOA is on the table. The Israelis understand that Tehran will have no incentive to return to the negotiating table after receiving sanctions relief. If Tehran proves them wrong and enters talks for a new deal, the Israelis would be willing to offer input on what that deal should include. But no one in Israel will be holding their breath.
Rightly, the Israeli delegation also sought to convey to its American allies that Israel will not be bound by any US-Iran agreement reached during the Vienna talks. Israel must retain freedom of action to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons by whatever means necessary. The White House’s post-meeting readout “underscored President Biden’s unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself,” indicating this goal was accomplished.
The other objective Israel should pursue is to persuade the Biden administration that
the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) must complete its investigations of the Iranian nuclear program and publish its reports and findings, even if the United States returns to the JCPOA. As part of the conclusion of the 2015 nuclear deal, Washington prodded the IAEA to close its investigation into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program, despite continued stonewalling by Tehran.
That was a serious mistake. The secret nuclear archive Israel’s Mossad spirited out of Iran, along with the IAEA’s discoveries from its subsequent visits to Iranian nuclear sites, demonstrated that the Islamic Republic was much closer to weaponization than was previously believed and has been hiding undisclosed nuclear materials. Under pressure from Tehran, IAEA until recently failed to submit reports outlining those findings. The JCPOA’s lack of an enforcement mechanism to compel Iranian transparency represented one of the deal’s biggest flaws.
During the current round of talks in Vienna, the Iranians are believed to have demanded that the IAEA close all current investigations and recant its previous findings. The IAEA deputy director general just returned from Teheran with zero answers to questions concerning Iran’s noncompliance, probably because the Iranians believe they will receive further US concessions.
Washington must not prove them right. Despite the tensions between Washington and Jerusalem, the Israeli government should emphasize that this concession would be unacceptable. Failing to insist on full Iranian transparency with the IAEA for the sake of restoring the flawed JCPOA would jeopardize the IAEA’s continued efficacy and undermine the deal’s very purpose of preventing Tehran from achieving a nuclear weapon.
Despite disagreements over the JCPOA, the Biden administration should work to safeguard its alliance with Israel. American support for Israel has always been bipartisan and should remain so. The two allies should pursue opportunities to deepen military-technology and security cooperation, counter shared regional threats, and build on warming Israeli-Arab ties.
US-Israel relations are approaching a very challenging point. It will take a lot of hard work to get over the hill. It would help if the Biden administration realized the error of its ways dealing with Iran nuclear threat. Either way, the United States and Israel must find a way to maintain and strengthen their alliance.
*Jacob Nagel is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a visiting professor at the Technion Aerospace faculty. He previously served as acting national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and as head of the National Security Council.