LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 17/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today
For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16/21-28/:"From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.’But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? ‘For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.’"

Stand firm in one spirit, strive side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and do not be intimidated by your opponents
Letter to the Philippians 01/21-30/:"For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 16-17/17
Will arming of YPG help open Kurdish corridor in Syria/Mahmut Bozarslan/TranslatorTimur Göksel/Al Minitor/May 16/17
Trump demands Russia, Iran halt Assad atrocities ahead of any deal/Laura Rozen/Al Minitor/May 16/17
Sinai tribes take up arms against IS/George Mikhail/TranslatorPascale Menassa/Al Monitor/May 16/17
Russia To Become Second-Largest Foreign Owner Of U.S. Domestic Refineries, If Venezuela Defaults/MEMRI/May 16/17
Palestinians: The Threats Trump Needs to Hear/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/May 16/17
Indonesia: U.S. vs. Reality/Jacobus E. Lato/Gatestone Institute/May 16/17
Trump’s policies take extremists by surprise/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/May 16/17
London.. the charming city that never ages/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/May 16/17
Regional consequences of Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia/Talmiz Ahmad/Al Arabiya/May 16/17
Georgia and Iran: A new bridge between the Arabian Gulf and Black Sea/Fuad Shahbazov/Al Arabiya/May 16/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 16-17/17
Lebanon: Berri-Bassil Dispute Deepens Electoral Law Crisis
German neo-Nazi party builds alliance with Assad and Hezbollah
Gemayel Says Govt. Has Failed, Accuses Authority of Seeking Power Gains
Report: FPM, LF Say Berri's Law Proposal Was a 'Maneuver'
Bassil: Orthodox Gathering Law, Qualification System Only Options on Table
Head of STL Defense Office Concludes Working Visit to Lebanon
Hasbani Says Electoral Law Will Soon be Devised
Report: BDL Suspends Electronic Transactions after Global Cyberattck
State Security Arrests Syrian IS Suspect
Hariri receives Austrian ambassador, UNRWA director and Pakistani trade delegation
Army Commander meets Aboul Gheit in Yarzeh
Geagea meets Kenaan tonight in presence of Riachy
Ibrahim, Beary discuss coordination between UNIFIL, General Security
Politics The Head of Defence Office concludes a working visit to Lebanon

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 16-17/17
US, UAE strike new defense accord on US force levels in Emirates
Donald Trump to give speech on Islam in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia launches website detailing upcoming US-Arab Islamic summit
Where has Egypt’s ex-interior minister Habib el-Adly escaped to?
US intel says Iran supplying ‘explosive boats’ to Houthi militias
A statement on the official Saudi Press Agency identified the soldier as Walid Gathian al-Shibani. (SPA)
Saudi Arabia allows Syrians to attain, renew temporary work permits
UAE ministry denies plans to import icebergs from Antarctica
Former Mossad chief: Alleged Trump slip to Russia could be 'grave violation'
Report: Arab states offer Israel improved ties in exchange for peace concessions
Israeli Housing Minister Yoav Galant calls for assassination of Syria's Assad
Trump Defends 'Absolute Right' to Share 'Facts' with Russia
Trump and Erdogan Vow Friendship despite Anger at U.S. Arming Kurds
Damascus Says US Crematorium Claims 'Totally Unfounded'

Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 16-17/17
Lebanon: Berri-Bassil Dispute Deepens Electoral Law Crisis
Paula Astih/Asharq Al Awsat/May 16/17/Beirut – The meetings that have been held in the past 48 hours failed to reach a breakthrough in Lebanon’s crisis over a new parliamentary electoral law.Some circles have even said that discussions have returned to square one after Speaker Nabih Berri’s deadline to adopt the proportional representation law and approve the establishment of a senate ended.Signs indicate that the ongoing dispute between Berri’s AMAL Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) of President Michel Aoun is a main reason that is deepening the crisis. Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil’s failure to attend a meeting at the speaker’s Ain el-Tineh residence on Sunday is evidence of this dispute. The meeting was aimed at addressing the electoral law. The development was seen as a deterioration in ties between Berri and Bassil and consequently Berri and Aoun. Agreement between the two sides has long been difficult to reach even though they belonged to the same political camp in different periods in the past. They have long said that their respective alliances with “Hezbollah” had brought them together. The dispute over the electoral law has suspended efforts to prepare a memorandum of understanding between AMAL and the FPM. The memo was seen as an attempt to tackle the disputes between the two sides over a number of affairs. FPM sources told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The suspension of the efforts will favor the understanding because we are passing through a phase that could completely destroy it.”It revealed that this issue will be brought up again once the electoral law dispute is resolved. Meanwhile, sources following up on efforts to reach an agreement over a new law said: “We cannot speak of any breakthrough.” “We are closer to running around in circles even if a preliminary agreement has been reached to adopt proportional representation,” they told Asharq Al-Awsat. On Monday, head of “Hezbollah’s” parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad reiterated the party’s commitment to adopting proportional representation, saying: “We are approaching a period when this system will be adopted in full in Lebanon.” Aoun had insisted in return that “proportionality be adopted with some amendments to ensure proper representation.”He told his visitors on Monday that there is still time until June 19 for an agreement to be reached on a new electoral law, stressing that he is committed to “fairly and equally ensuring the rights of all the sects in Lebanon.”Prime Minister Saad Hariri said after meeting the president that the two officials are keen on adopting a new electoral law as soon as possible. “I believe that matters will be resolved very soon and this demands that all political powers realize that the interest of the country is more important than their own,” he added.

German neo-Nazi party builds alliance with Assad and Hezbollah
Benjamin Weinthal/Jerusalem Post/May 16/17
The Assad regime has long been a safe zone for Nazi activity and mass murderers. Stronger alliances are growing between the German neo-Nazi party Der Dritte Weg and the Assad regime, as well as the Syrian dictator’s strategic partner Hezbollah in Lebanon. The website of the Der Dritte Weg (The Third Way) published an April 30 report on the right-wing extremist group’s visit to Lebanon to champion Hezbollah’s war against Israel. According to the organization’s website, members of the Der Dritte Weg met with the extremist Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) in Lebanon and representatives of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria. Members of the Der Dritte Weg can be viewed on the website at the Hezbollah propaganda museum called Where the Land Speaks to the Heavens in the village of Mleeta in southern Lebanon. Kai Zimmermann, a senior leader of Der Dritte Weg, posed next to a plaque reading, “No, Israel is not invincible.” The neo-Nazi group labeled Israel a “terror state” on its website. In 2013, Der Dritte Weg announced its formation and outlined a detailed call to boycott Israel. The group, whose goal is the creation of “German socialism,” titled its plan “What every person can do against the Zionist genocide.” The Bavarian news outlet BR24 reported on Sunday that a young Der Dritte Weg activist traveled with a pro-Assad group called European Front for Syria to Syria and met with representatives of the regime and the fragmented country’s information minister. The journalist Jan Nowak – a veteran observer of the alliance between neo-Nazis and the Assad regime – told BR24: “The central unifying moments [between neo-Nazis and the Syrian regime] are hatred of the West and of Israel.” He noted that the antisemitism of Der Dritte Weg manifests itself as praise for the “heroic resistance of Hezbollah against Israel.” Germany’s domestic intelligence agency Verfassungsschutz – the rough equivalent of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) – monitors the extremist activities of Der Dritte Weg. According to a 2016 Bavarian intelligence report, “Antisemitism informs the ideology of the party.”The Assad regime has long been a safe zone for Nazi activity and mass murderers. The Syrian regime once harbored the Austrian Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner. The common denominator of hatred of Israeli Jews and the State of Israel is a growing problem in Germany. A German federal government study revealed last month that nearly 33 million Germans, 40% of the population of 82 million, maintain antisemitic views. The German Left Party – the largest opposition party in the country’s parliament – have members who endorse the antisemitism of Hamas and Hezbollah. The Left Party deputy Christine Buchholz has defended the “legitimate resistance” of Hamas and Hezbollah against the Jewish state. The German-Jewish historian Michael Wolffsohn told a German public radio station (Deutschlandfunk) on Sunday that there is an alliance of antisemites among the far-Left and far-Right. “This alliance, he said, is not new. From 1933-1945, Arab nationalists worked together with Hitler’s Third Reich up until the preparation of the Holocaust,” added Wolffsohn. The German neo-Nazi party NPD praised Buchholz and one of the party’s top leaders – Sahra Wagenknecht – in 2010 for refusing to participate in a standing ovation to Israel’s then-President Shimon Peres during his commemoration speech for the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Gemayel Says Govt. Has Failed, Accuses Authority of Seeking Power Gains
Naharnet/May 17/17/Kataeb Party leader Sami Gemayel on Tuesday, slammed the political authority's incapability to agree on a new electoral law to rule the upcoming parliamentary polls and accused it of 'tailoring a voting system to secure power gains.”“We are only three weeks away from the end of the parliament's term, they are seeking a law that secures power gains,” said Gemayel in a press conference. “Two week earlier, we started hearing about some constitutional amendments about the creation of senate. How can a political class that failed over a period of 8 years from approving a new electoral law succeed in creating a senate in just two week?” he asked. “An electoral law is supposed to serve the Lebanese people and their interests, not that of politicians. Impudence has reached a steep level as some are openly proposing how to take over power in the country for the next four years,” added Gemayel. “The country's fate is at stake. There are refugees and Lebanese youth who are losing hope and migrating. We have important entitlements ahead that cannot be dealt with lightly.” “The whole political authority is responsible for the failure to approve an electoral law. The government is a failure because the country is heading towards an extension of the parliament's term,” Gemayel concluded.

Report: FPM, LF Say Berri's Law Proposal Was a 'Maneuver'
Naharnet/May 17/17/Some Christian political parties have accused Speaker Nabih Berri of “maneuvering” when he first proposed the creation of senate as part of a new parliamentary electoral law, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday. “Berri's suggestion to create a senate was merely a superficial maneuver because he retracted his proposal, under the pretext of expiration of deadlines, after the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces agreed to it,” FPM and LF sources told the daily on condition of anonymity. “The Speaker has also rejected allotting the presidency of the senate to a Christian after we were informed of his approval. He also insisted on maintaining equality between the Muslims and Christians in the parliament without taking sectarian quotas into consideration,” they added. “The introduction of a senate could have been the way out, everyone was ready to go along with it after the introduction of changes,” they added, assuring that the LF and FPM will not backtrack on supporting the creation of a senate, which they “initially agreed on as a prelude to discussing a proportional representation system, being one of the assurances required for parity,” they said. As part of efforts to resolve the electoral law crisis, Speaker Nabih Berri proposed the creation of a senate that calls for forming a body consisted of 32 Muslim senators and 32 Christian senators and for allocating its presidency to the Druze community. Berri's proposal calls for electing a senate under a sectarian voting electoral system and a parliament under an electoral law fully based on proportional representation. However, Berri set a deadline for his offer and said it would become invalid after May 15. The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law.

Bassil: Orthodox Gathering Law, Qualification System Only Options on Table
Naharnet/May 17/17/Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Tuesday stressed that “demanding a correction of Christian representation” in state institutions “is not sectarian,” noting that electoral proposals that involve controversial sectarian voting are the only options that remain on the table.“Is it sectarianism or secularism when the Progressive Socialist Party demands that Chouf and Aley be one district?” Bassil asked rhetorically after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc in Rabieh. “Addressing the special status of the country's components requires proportional representation with restraints, and these restraints are the qualification system or the proposed Senate that has been shelved,” Bassil added. “Amid the rejection of extension (of parliament's term), the 1960 law and (parliamentary) vacuum, this means that nothing enjoys approval other than the Orthodox Gathering law, which was approved by Hizbullah, and the qualification system, which has been approved by Hizbullah and the FPM,” the FPM chief said. He also emphasized that “the basis of the electoral law should not be numbers (sizes of sects), but rather the National Pact and consensual democracy.” Under the law proposed by the Orthodox Gathering, each sect would elect its own MPs according to a proportional representation system, whereas the so-called qualification system involves sectarian voting in a first round and inter-sectarian voting in the second.

Head of STL Defense Office Concludes Working Visit to Lebanon
Naharnet/May 17/17/The Head of Defense Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), François Roux, has concluded a visit to Lebanon during which he met with Justice Minister Salim Jreissati, Minister of State for Human Rights Ayman Shuqair, General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim, as well as senior judicial and diplomatic figures, the STL said. He also chaired the Admission Panel which interviewed candidates seeking to be admitted to STL's list of counsel and who fulfill the necessary criteria, the STL added. And as part of the Campus program jointly organized by the Paris and Beirut bar associations, Roux chaired the meeting of the Working Group on Ethics held at the Beirut Bar Association at the invitation of its president, Antonio El Hachem. An offshoot of the International Meetings of the Defense, this group was created with a view to drafting a joint code of ethics for all lawyers practicing before the international criminal tribunals. Roux also gave a lecture on the STL at the Tripoli Bar Association, where he was received by its president, Abdullah al-Shami. Lastly, within the framework of cooperation with the Lebanese universities, Roux gave a lecture at the Islamic University on the issues and challenges of international criminal proceedings. He also signed a memorandum of understanding for a research program with the university's president, Dina al-Mawla. “On behalf of the Defense Office, Mr Roux would like to thank all those who contributed to the success of this visit,” the STL said in its statement.

Hasbani Says Electoral Law Will Soon be Devised
Naharnet/May 17/17/Health Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani said Tuesday that an agreement on an electoral law is making progress, pointing out that discussions are open to various possibilities and are focusing on “particular details,” and al-Joumhouria daily reported. Discussions “on a voting system are making important steps towards an agreement. The atmospheres are positive, discussions are now only focusing on specific details,” Hasbani told the daily in an interview. The Minister remarked that all political parties are showing positivity as for handling discussions on this thorny matter, assuring that possibilities are varied and open. On reports claiming that the Free Patriotic Movement is obstructing an agreement due to insistence on endorsing a proportional representation system, Hasbani denied saying: “Contacts between all political parties are ongoing, an electoral law will soon see the light.”

Report: BDL Suspends Electronic Transactions after Global Cyberattck
Associated Press/Naharnet/May 17/17/The cyberattack that took computer files hostage around the world compelled Lebanon's central bank (Banque Du Liban) on Monday to temporarily suspend electronic transactions as a precaution, media reports said on Tuesday. Al-Joumhouria daily said the cyberattack has failed after thorough measures taken by the central bank. But, it is not yet clear whether BDL will resume its normal activity on Tuesday, or whether freezing its electronic activity and related operations will last longer, it said. The global cyberattack appeared to slow on Monday as authorities worked to catch the extortionists behind it. Thousands more infections were reported with the start of the workweek, largely in Asia, which had been closed for business when the "ransomware" locked up computers Friday at hospitals, factories, government agencies, banks and other businesses. Security researchers in the meantime have been disassembling the malicious software, known as WannaCry, in hopes of uncovering clues to who released it. They are doing the same with the "phishing" emails that helped the ransomware embed itself in computers. Investigators also hope to learn more by examining ransom payments made by computer users via bitcoin, the hard-to-trace digital currency often used by criminals. WannaCry paralyzed computers running mostly older versions of Microsoft Windows in some 150 countries. It encrypted users' computer files and displayed a message demanding anywhere from $300 to $600 to release them; failure to pay would leave the data mangled and likely beyond repair. A cybersecurity researcher in Britain managed to slow down its spread by activating the software's "kill switch," but there were fears that the cybercriminals would release even more malicious versions. Steve Grobman of the security company McAfee said forensics experts are looking at how the ransomware was written and how it was run. WannaCry is a sophisticated piece of work, he said, which helps rule out the possibility it was released by mere pranksters or lower-level thieves. As for anonymous bitcoin transactions, he said, it is sometimes possible to follow them until an identifiable person is found. Experts urged organizations and companies to immediately update older Microsoft operating systems, such as Windows XP, with a patch released by the company.

State Security Arrests Syrian IS Suspect
Naharnet/May 17/17/A patrol from Beirut's State Security department has managed to arrest a 44-year-old Syrian on suspicion of belonging to the extremist Islamic State group, state-run National News Agency reported. “During interrogation, he confessed to undergoing intensive training courses at the hands of IS militants in areas controlled by the group in Syria and that he had entered Lebanon illegally two years ago,” NNA added. The detainee was eventually referred to the relevant judicial authorities following an order from the Deputy State Commissioner to the Military Court.

Hariri receives Austrian ambassador, UNRWA director and Pakistani trade delegation
Tue 16 May 2017 at 21:07/NNA - The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri received this afternoon at the "Center House" the ambassador of Austria to Lebanon, Marian Wrba, who said after the meeting: "We had a very interesting meeting and I got information and a briefing about the situation in Lebanon and the region. I learned a lot because of the interesting and effective views of the Prime Minister. And we also discussed the bilateral relations which are excellent."Hariri also received an expanded Pakistani trade delegation, in the presence of the Pakistani Ambassador to Lebanon Aftab Ahmad Khokher who said after the meeting: "The visit is to promote trade relations between Pakistan and Lebanon. We are very close friends but the trade ties are at a low level so we need to increase the level." He added: "This business delegation is led by the Secretary of Trade and the Vice President of the Chambers of Pakistan and we have 25 businessmen representing the various sectors." He pointed out that the aim of the visit "is not only to promote relations but also to utilize the economic power of Lebanese businessmen in Africa, Latin America and the Gulf", hoping the visit will help to promote trade relationship and strengthen the ties between the two countries. At the end of the meeting, the delegation offered Prime Minister Hariri a number of souvenirs made in Pakistan. Earlier, Hariri received at the Grand Serail the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon Claudio Cordone.

Army Commander meets Aboul Gheit in Yarzeh
Tue 16 May 2017/NNA - Army Commander General Joseph Aoun met on Tuesday at his Yarzeh office with the Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, where they discussed the general situation in Lebanon and the broad region. General Aoun also met with the Commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, Lieutenant General Gessrey Harrigian, on top of a delegation, where they discussed cooperation relations in the field of enhancing the capabilities of the Lebanese Air Force within the US aid program.

Geagea meets Kenaan tonight in presence of Riachy
Tue 16 May 2017/NNA - A meeting will be taking place tonight at 10.00 pm in Meerab between Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, and Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kenaan, in presence of Minister of Information Melhem Riachy.

Ibrahim, Beary discuss coordination between UNIFIL, General Security
Tue 16 May 2017/NNA - General Security head Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim welcomed on Tuesday UNIFIL Commander Michael Beary, with talks between the pair reportedly touching on the current situation along the southern borders, and means of coordination between UNIFIL and General Security. On the other hand, Major General Ibrahim paid an inspection visit to Beirut's International Rafic Hariri Airport, where he toured the various General Security departments and met with the officers there.

Politics The Head of Defence Office concludes a working visit to Lebanon
Tue 16 May 2017/NNA - In a press release by the Defence Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), it said: "the Head of Defence Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), Mr François Roux, has concluded a visit to Lebanon during which he met with the Minister of Justice, Salim Jreissati, the Minister of State for Human Rights, Ayman Choucair and the Director of General Security, Abbas Ibrahim, as well as senior judicial and diplomatic figures.He also chaired the Admission Panel which interviewed candidates seeking to be admitted to STL's list of counsel and who fulfil the necessary criteria.
As part of the Campus programme jointly organised by the Paris and Beirut Bar Associations, Mr Roux chaired the meeting of the Working Group on Ethics held at the Beirut Bar Association at the invitation of the President, Antonio El Hachem. An offshoot of the International Meetings of the Defence, this group was created with a view to drafting a joint code of ethics for all lawyers practising before the international criminal tribunals. Mr Roux also gave a lecture on the STL at the Tripoli Bar Association, where he was received by the President, Abdullah Al Shami. Lastly, within the framework of cooperation with the Lebanese universities, Mr Roux gave a lecture at the Islamic University on the issues and challenges of international criminal proceedings. He also signed a memorandum of understanding for a research programme with the University's President, Ms Dina El Maoula. On behalf of the Defence Office, Mr Roux would like to thank all those who contributed to the success of this visit."

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 16-17/17
US, UAE strike new defense accord on US force levels in Emirates
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 16 May 2017 /The United States and the United Arab Emirates have signed a new, updated defense cooperation agreement that the Pentagon on Tuesday said dictated "the magnitude and conditions" of the US military presence inside the Emirates."This provides the US military with the ability to more seamlessly respond to a range of scenarios in and around the UAE, if necessary," Pentagon spokesman Christopher Sherwood told Reuters, without elaborating.

Donald Trump to give speech on Islam in Saudi Arabia
AFP Tuesday, 16 May 2017/United States President Donald Trump will give a major speech on the Islamic faith during his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, home to the religion's holiest shrines, the White House said Tuesday. "He will meet and have lunch with leaders of more than 50 Muslim countries, where he will deliver an inspiring, direct speech on the need to confront radical ideology and the president's hopes for a peaceful vision of Islam," National Security Advisor HR McMaster told reporters. Trump is set to visit Riyadh next week and meet with Saudi officials, as well as 56 Arab and Muslim leaders to discuss combating extremism and cracking down on illicit financing. According to a senior White House official speaking to Reuters news agency, Trump will discuss how to counter the threat from ISIS militants, the war in Yemen and threats of ballistic missiles and maritime shipping in the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia launches website detailing upcoming US-Arab Islamic summit
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 16 May 2017/Saudi officials have revealed the planned agenda of US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit, which will include him giving a speech on Islam to Muslim leaders, a business forum and a “tweet-up” meeting with Malala Yousafazai and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey. Trump is set to visit Riyadh next week and meet with Saudi officials, as well as 56 Arab and Muslim leaders to discuss combating extremism and cracking down on illicit financing under the summit slogan "Together We Prevail".A website was launched detailing the agenda of the summits, which will include three separate meetings. The first will focus on Saudi Arabia and United States, second will be a joint Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and United States summit and third will bring together at least 55 member states at the Arab Islamic American summit.
“President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia will be his first stop on his first international tour. The Kingdom believes that this will be a historic visit not only because of the unprecedented number of summits taking place – bilateral, the GCC, and Islamic – but because it will show to the world that the United States and Arab-Muslim countries can form a deep and enduring partnership,” a statement on the website read.Separately, Trump will join King Abdullah II of Jordan, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Malala Yousafazai, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed and others for a discussion on fighting extremism and terrorism in the digital age. A Saudi-US CEO forum is also scheduled for May 20, which will bring together business leaders from across the Kingdom and the United States, and the one-day event is designed to strengthen Saudi-US business relationships by providing a platform to enhance bi-lateral trade and investment and break down barriers to enable closer economic ties.

Where has Egypt’s ex-interior minister Habib el-Adly escaped to?
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 16 May 2017 /There have been multiple reports over the past few days regarding the escape of Habib al-Adly, former interior minister during Hosni Mubarak's rule, from Egypt and whether he will serve his seven-year jail sentence after being found guilty over corruption charges. Egyptian media outlets reported that the Central Cairo Prosecution, led by the First Attorney General Samir Hassan, received an official letter from the Interior Ministry stating that Adly was not in his home in 6th of October city. Given his absence, the sentence issued from the Cairo Criminal Court of seven years in the case of the embezzling interior ministry funds, could not be executed. The letter said that a security force went to Adly’s house to arrest him but did not find him there. He is being sought, sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, and that official letters confirm that Adly is not in his residence in Giza. Adly employed a special security team, not one that belongs to the interior ministry, pointing out that after the seven-year prison sentence, the period of house arrest has ended. Mohamed Al Gendy, Adly’s lawyer, denied all reports on Monday and said that his client was in poor health and could not move. Once he recieved the sentence, he health situation deteriorated and he suffered a stroke. His relatives immediately transferred him to one of his houses in the 6th October area to hide from authorities until he recovers, stressing that Adly will hand himself to the court, which will consider his appeal to the ruling on Tuesday and will go to the court in an ambulance accompanied by a medical team. Adly’s lawyer revealed other surprises and said that the former Egyptian politician had no intentions of escaping justice even if he wanted to. He could have done it immediately after the January 2011 uprisings, pointing out that some Arab countries during that time who offered him citizenship, but he refused and decided to stay in Egypt. Cairo's Criminal Court will consider the appeal filed by Adly on Tuesday to postpone carrying out the sentence which obliged him along with others to return the amount of 195,936,000 Egyptian pounds.

US intel says Iran supplying ‘explosive boats’ to Houthi militias
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 16 May 2017/Iran is providing “explosive boat technology”, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and missile support to Yemen’s Houthi militias, US Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats informed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on May 11. The militias are believed to have used an unmanned boat loaded with explosives to attack the Saudi frigate Al-Madina off Yemen in late January. The Saudi Border Guard intercepted a second boat that was approaching a petroleum terminal near the Saudi port city of Jizan two months later.Militias have displayed a UAV that resembled the Iranian-made Ababil 2, according to a report by IHS Jane’s. Saudi officer killed after RPG attack in restive Qatif neighborhood

A statement on the official Saudi Press Agency identified the soldier as Walid Gathian al-Shibani. (SPA)
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 16 May 2017/A Saudi officer working for Saudi’s emergency services has been killed after being attacked by extremists using an RPG, Al Arabiya News Channel has reported. A ministry of interior spokesperson said the solider was part of a patrol unit in the al-Masoura neighborhood, currently undergoing development, when extremists fired on them late on Monday night. A statement on the official Saudi Press Agency identified the officer as Walid Gathian al-Shibani. His patrol unit came under heavy fire from extremists, which also injured five other soldiers.
The attack comes just days after extremists targeted a development project in the same neighborhood, where labor workers carrying out a development project were targeted during a shoot-out. Two people, including an infant, were killed and 10 others wounded in that attack. “The neighborhood has come under heavy attacks in recent days from terrorist elements inside al-Masoura. A lot of the residents though feel safer under the presence of Saudi patrol cars and believe the residential development project must continue,” Al Arabiya correspondent Bader al-Shehri said. Al-Masoura is one of the Qatif’s oldest neighborhoods, with some of its buildings dating more than 100 years since construction. A development project on the neighborhood involves demolishing 488 residential units and the construction of shopping centers, restaurants, residential towers and a cultural center.

Saudi Arabia allows Syrians to attain, renew temporary work permits
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 16 May 2017/The Saudi Ministry of Labor and Social Development has permitted Syrians who live in Saudi Arabia to attain temporary work permits or renew them if they had already been granted one via the Ajeer portal website. The decision complies with the instructions to provide support and facilitations for Syrians considering the current circumstances in their country. The ministry’s spokesperson Khaled Aba Al-Khail said this temporary work permit is a legal document pertaining to the contractual relation between the employee, in this case the Syrian visitor, and the facility and it’s issued by the employer. Aba al-Khail said the service via the e-portal is available for all Syrian male visitors aged between 18 and 60. The visitor must have a valid visa issued by the General Directorate of Passports. He called on owners of facilities and Syrians to benefit from this service by visiting the ajeer portal and following the instructions. Ajeer is an e-portal that helps facilities confront any shortage in the number of required laborers and organizes and documents laborers’ work outside their ordinary workplace.

UAE ministry denies plans to import icebergs from Antarctica
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 16 May 2017/The UAE’s Ministry of Energy has released a statement confirming that no icebergs will be imported from another country in response to recent rumors that icebergs would be brought from Antarctica. An Abu Dhabi based company had announced earlier this month plans to tow icebergs to be used as drinking water to the shores of Fujairah. However, the ministry said that there is no truth to such news. “As the authority in charge of water affairs, it would like to confirm that such news is just a rumour,” the ministry said. The ministry also put reports that water was being imported through a pipeline from another country to rest - state news agency WAM reported.

Former Mossad chief: Alleged Trump slip to Russia could be 'grave violation'
Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/May 16/17/Danny Yatom, the former director of Israel's spy agency, cautions of the impact of revealing classified information after reports of Trump sharing intel with Russia. If Monday night’s Washington Post report that US President Donald Trump recently revealed classified information to Russia is true, it would be a “grave violation” of intelligence sharing protocol and “could lead to harm to the source,” former Mossad director Danny Yatom told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. The Washington Post report said that Trump shared classified information last Wednesday with Russia about a planned ISIS terror attack. The information was reportedly received from a US ally, with some hints that it was a Middle Eastern ally, yet one that had not yielded permission to release the findings. Further, the report said that Trump had revealed to Russia the city from which the information was gathered and a high-level of detail about what the US knew about ISIS's planned attack. Trump administration officials have not specifically denied that the president discussed information about an ISIS terror plot to use a concealed bomb within a laptop on an airplane, but denied that he revealed any means or sources of intelligence collection. Yatom said he did not know if the reports of giving away an ally’s information were true “and I don’t know from where, I don’t know if it was from Israel,” but “if someone gives the US very sensitive information…it is prohibited to give the information to a third party – for sure not to Russia who has ties with Iran and Syria.”
The former Mossad director added that, “if the information is sensitive, it can harm the security of the intelligence source or lead to other damage.”Regarding the Trump administration’s statements denying the sharing any intelligence methods or sources, he said “sometimes damage is caused from the content of the revelation, even if he does not say the methods and sources.”“The fact that you have very high quality sensitive intelligence can lead to revealing the source. Very few people in ISIS may know about this information. Once it is publicized, ISIS can do an investigation and find the source," Yatom said. adding "or Russia can find the source.” Such an event could help Russia prevent the source from giving further information on potential Russia-Syria operations. This would be of concern to all US allies, including Israel, about sharing intelligence with the Trump administration.
Another potentially-damaging scenario from Trump’s alleged disclosure could see ISIS adjust its approach to laptop bomb attack plots that until now had the potential of being uncovered and thwarted. An element of the story which the White House has not denied is that its staff members immediately warned US intelligence agencies after the revelation, which seems to indicate that Trump had not cleared the revelation with them or departed from agreed-upon limits of what to reveal. Yatom said that national leaders like the US president or the Israeli prime minister traditionally get a briefing from their intelligence chiefs or military liaisons about what can and cannot be revealed before meeting with a foreign official. “If there is a debate, and he [the leader] wants to tell something that the head of intelligence is against telling, then there must be a discussion to hear the intelligence head’s reservations - even if the leader decides in the end to tell,” said Yatom. He continued, “It seems this discussion did not occur. From what I read, he departed from the outlines agreed upon with the CIA of what he was not supposed to state and went beyond what they informed him not to say.”While he thought that Trump simply most likely did not fully understand the implications of what he was revealing, he noted that the FBI still has an ongoing probe of Trump and his associates’ relationship with Russia.
Not everyone agreed with Yatom’s perspective.
Multiple former officials, including former IDF intelligence deputy chief and INSS expert Brig.-Gen. (res.) Dr. Meir Elran said that the story was “not very significant” for Israel “unless the information was received from Israel, and there is no indication of that.”Further, he said that intelligence sharing between the US and Israel “is too important, even if there are…glitches” where Trump or others in the US break some of the unwritten rules of the game. Elran said that Israeli intelligence “takes into account always that this could happen” but at the end of the day “intelligence assets are national assets” and they do not get to decide how the political echelon uses their information. He said that intelligence agency gatekeepers "aren’t the only ones with authority.""Even if intelligence professionals don’t like” the political echelon sharing intelligence “it is too bad," he said, adding that "They need to explain how information is sensitive, but the political echelon has the final say.”

Report: Arab states offer Israel improved ties in exchange for peace concessions
Jerusalem Post/May 16/17/Israel would be expected to freeze settlement construction as part of steps toward normalizing ties. Various Arab Gulf nations are reportedly prepared to improve ties with Israel if Jerusalem takes what they deem as significant efforts to relaunch the stagnant peace process with the Palestinians, The Wall Street Journal on Monday cited sources close to the matter as saying. As part of the normalization process, the Gulf states would reportedly be willing to set up telecommunication lines between the countries, allow for Israeli businesses to trade with their Arab counterparts and allow for Israeli planes to fly over their airspace. In return, Israel would have to freeze settlement construction and relax trade restrictions with the Gaza Strip. The report emerged a week before US President Donald Trump is due to make his first visit to the region. Trump's first foreign trip as president will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican. Trump was due to convene Arab world leaders from across the region alongside Saudi royal family members in Riyadh. In Jerusalem, the president was expected to offer details for the first time on his vision for a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace. He will then go on to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican In late March, sources told The Jerusalem Post that members of the Trump administration are exploring whether to host a landmark conference over the summer that would bring Gulf Arab leaders, the Palestinian Authority president and Israel’s prime minister onto the same stage for the first time.No event has been formally planned, and additional sources from both Israel and the US deny that a summit is the purpose of a recent flurry of American diplomatic activity in the region. But several discussed the idea as a concrete goal of an administration seeking a momentous foreign policy victory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent months has alluded to the normalization of ties with moderate Arab states in the region. In March, he spoke of the threat that Iran poses to the region, asserting that efforts to counter Tehran could open doors for Israel to establish relations with more Arab countries other than Egypt and Jordan, with which Jerusalem already has ties. “I believe in nurturing these interests,” he said. “In my opinion, if we act wisely, it could assist us normalizing ties with countries in the region and opening new diplomatic streams – that could be more efficient – between us and the Palestinians.”
**Michael Wilner and Udi Shaham contributed to this report.

Israeli Housing Minister Yoav Galant calls for assassination of Syria's Assad
Anna Ahronheim/Jerusalem Post/May 16/17
Housing Minister Yoav Galant also charges that the rule of the Assad regime is the worst since the Nazis in WWII.
Housing Minister Yoav Galant called for the assassination of Syrian President Bashar Assad following the reports of the regime using a crematorium to hide their atrocities outside Damascus. “The reality in which people are executed in Syria, being hit deliberately by chemical weapons, their bodies being burned, something we haven’t seen in 70 years, we are crossing a red line and it is time to eliminate Assad, literally,” Galant, a former major-general in the IDF and a current member of the National Security Council, said on Tuesday at the Second International Ground Warfare and Logistics Conference at Latrun outside of Jerusalem. Earlier on Tuesday, in an interview with Army Radio, Galant charged that the rule of the Assad regime was the worst since the Nazis led by Adolf Hitler in Germany during WWII. What is happening in Syria is defined as genocide, under all its classifications," he told Army Radio. The Kulanu minister added that Israel wants to see the Assad and his Alawite regime fall from power and be replaced by a moderate Sunni ruler. The US State Department on Monday accused the Assad regime of having constructed a crematorium at the notorious Sednaya military prison near Damascus to burn the bodies of prisoners that continue to be executed inside. "Beginning in 2013, the Syrian regime modified a building within the Saydnaya complex to support what we believe is a crematorium," said Assistant Secretary of State Stuart Jones, adding that “we believe that the building of a crematorium is an effort to cover up the extent of mass murders taking place in Sednaya prison.”“These atrocities have been carried out seemingly with the unconditional support from Russia and Iran,” the main backers of the Assad regime. According to Galant, while it is unclear whether or not the crematorium was in use for all those years, it is imperative that something must now be done. The Obama administration made a “strategic mistake” Galant said by “deviating” from the course of supporting Sunni countries in order to try to come closer to Shi'ite countries, something which Galant said is different in the Trump administration. Up until a year-and-a-half ago, Syria looked like it was heading towards a Sunni rule, but following the Russian intervention, who used methods first used in Chechnya such as blockading cities while continuing aerial bombardments, the will of the rebels to fight was broken and the tides turned. But while the Russians are currently backing Assad, they realize the importance of the region and understand who they are aligned with, Galant said. “They realize that once the war is over there will still be 20 million Sunnis in Syria who will be wanting to avenge their dead and the Russians know they will be a target,” Galant said adding that the Russians will “seek avenues to make relations better with the Sunnis, including sacrificing Assad.” The major threat to Israel remains Iran, which wishes to open up a Shiite land bridge from Tehran through Iraq to Damascus in order to get to Israel. ·
“What is behind Syria is Hezbollah who is backed by Iran. Iran is a danger to the security of the entire world. Iran is the problem, not the solution.” By getting to Assad, Galant said, we get to Tehran.
“When we get the tail of the snake we can get the head in Tehran too.”
Jpost.com Staff contributed to this report.

Trump Defends 'Absolute Right' to Share 'Facts' with Russia
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 17/17/Embattled U.S. President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to rebut bombshell allegations that he divulged highly classified intelligence to Russian diplomats in the Oval Office, arguing he acted within the law. Trump took to Twitter to address reports that he passed ultra-sensitive classified information about the Islamic State group -- gleaned by a foreign intelligence partner -- to Kremlin emissaries. The scandal has engulfed Trump's presidency and could corrode trust among allies who had been willing to share intelligence with the United States on the understanding it would be properly handled. White House aides refused to say whether the information pertaining to the group's bomb-making capabilities was classified.
But the president insisted he had the "absolute right" to share "facts pertaining... to terrorism and airline flight safety" with Russia. The Washington Post reported on Monday that Trump disclosed revealing details about the origin of the threat to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Moscow's man in Washington Sergey Kislyak during a controversial meeting last week. The New York Times reported that the information was provided, at least in part, by Israel -- which had allegedly urged Washington be careful in handling it.In defending his disclosures to the Russian officials, Trump cited "humanitarian reasons" and an effort to get the Kremlin to "greatly step up" its fight against the Islamic State group.
"We had a very successful meeting with the foreign minister of Russia," Trump later said. "We're going to have a lot of great success over the next coming years and we want to get as many to help fight terrorism as possible."
Extinguishing crises
The president's National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, who entered the administration after a stellar military career, was tasked with cleaning up a scandal that has further called the future of Trump's presidency into question. McMaster denied the president had caused a "lapse in national security," saying it was "wholly appropriate for the president to share whatever information he thinks is necessary to advance the security of the American people." McMaster also indicated that Trump could not have revealed sensitive sources or methods. "The president wasn't even aware where this information came from," said McMaster. "He wasn't briefed on the source or method of the information either." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday dubbed the news "nonsense," saying it was not worth confirming or denying.
Latest crisis
The Post, citing unnamed officials, said Trump went off script during the meeting, describing details about an Islamic State terror threat related to the use of laptop computers on airplanes, and revealing the city where the information was gathered. The Trump administration recently barred the use of laptops in the passenger cabin from several countries in the Middle East and is mulling the expansion of that ban to cover jets originating in Europe. The Post report sparked the latest in a wave of firestorms to engulf the White House, leaving aides frantically trying to douse the flames and determine the source of such damaging leaks. "I have been asking Director Comey & others, from the beginning of my administration, to find the LEAKERS in the intelligence community," Trump tweeted Tuesday. Since coming to office in January, Trump has lurched from crisis to crisis, lampooning the intelligence services, law enforcement and the media along the way.
Trump's meeting with top Russian diplomats last week came one day after he threw his administration into turmoil by taking the rare step of firing his FBI director James Comey.
Comey had been overseeing investigations into possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia to skew the 2016 election.
Ryan wants 'full explanation' -
But political and legal experts said this latest misstep is among the most egregious so far of Trump's presidency. For Trump's already weary allies in Congress, it brought more headaches and demanded yet more explanation from an administration that is struggling to leave its legislative mark. "The White House has got to do something soon to bring itself under control and in order. It's got to happen," said Republican Senator Bob Corker.
"Obviously, they're in a downward spiral right now, and they've got to figure out a way to come to grips (with) all that's happening," Corker said.
Meanwhile, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer accused Trump of potentially putting American lives at risk. "If the report is true, it is very disturbing. Revealing classified information at this level is extremely dangerous and puts at risk the lives of Americans and those who gather intelligence for our country," the New York senator said. "The president owes the intelligence community, the American people and Congress a full explanation."

Trump and Erdogan Vow Friendship despite Anger at U.S. Arming Kurds
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 17/17/Presidents Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan stood side by side at the White House on Tuesday and promised to work through strained ties despite the Turkish leader's stern warning about Washington's arming of a Kurdish militia. Fresh from securing his grip on Turkey with a referendum to enhance his powers, Erdogan came to Washington with a list of complaints about U.S. support for Kurdish fighters and its harboring of the alleged mastermind of a failed coup. But both leaders also wanted to put a brave face on their differences and to renew a key alliance between NATO's leading power and its biggest Muslim member, partners in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. "It is absolutely unacceptable to take the YPG-PYD into consideration as partners in the region, and it's going against a global agreement we reached," Erdogan said, referring to the the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) in Syria. "In the same way, we should never allow those groups who want to change the ethnic or religious structures in the region to use terrorism as a pretext," he added, suggesting that the Kurds are using the anti-IS fight as cover for separatist nationalism. Trump was one of the first leaders to congratulate Erdogan on winning the April 16 vote to strengthen his office, and his Turkish counterpart repaid the compliment on Tuesday by hailing his host's "legendary victory" in the U.S. presidential race. "Of course Mr Trump's victory has led to an awakening of new expectations for Turkey and the region it is in. We know the new US administration will not let these hopes be in vain," Erdogan said.The U.S. leader paid tribute to Turkey's historical contributions to the Western alliance's Cold War battles and promised: "Today we face a new enemy in the fight against terrorism and again we seek to face this threat together."
Attempted coup
Washington and Ankara are bitterly at odds over U.S. support for the YPG, a Syrian armed faction that acts as the main ground force in the Pentagon's plan to defeat the Islamic State group but that Turkey deems a front for the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). And Erdogan remains angry that the United States continues to host Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, a former ally who chose exile in Pennsylvania and who has now been accused of masterminding last year's bloody attempted coup in his homeland. While the pair shared warm words at their joint public appearance, Erdogan again made it clear that he would never accept an autonomous YPG-led Kurdish area in Syria, and that he had "frankly communicated" his expectation that Washington hand over Gulen. After their appearance, the pair headed into meetings and a working lunch with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to dig deeper in to the issues. "We look forward to having a long and productive discussion," Trump said. "We've had a great relationship and we will make it even better."Trump hopes to secure at least grudging Turkish agreement not to oppose the U.S.-led drive by YPG fighters to oust the Islamic State from their Syrian stronghold of Raqa.
Sinjar offensive
In return, Trump will have to give Erdogan assurances that Gulen will be closely monitored while the U.S. courts examine an extradition request and that Washington will eventually endorse a Turkish offensive against PKK bases in Sinjar, northern Iraq. "That's the main ask," said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish research program at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy. "He's going to want U.S. support for a Turkish operation against Sinjar." Turkish officials had spoken enthusiastically about Trump's election as a chance to turn a new page. But hopes could have been dashed last week when the Pentagon confirmed that it has increased its support for the YPG by directly arming its fighters ahead of the battle to oust the Islamic State from its de facto capital in Syria. Ankara regards the YPG as simply the Syrian arm of the "terrorist" PKK, which has waged a deadly insurgency inside Turkey since 1984, and Erdogan is worried his deadly enemy will find itself in charge of a U.S.-armed statelet on his southern frontier.

Damascus Says US Crematorium Claims 'Totally Unfounded'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 17/17/US claims that Syria's regime is using a prison crematorium to destroy the remains of thousands of murdered detainees are unfounded and disconnected from reality, Damascus said on Tuesday. "These allegations are totally unfounded, they are nothing but the product of the imagination of this administration and its agents," state news agency SANA quoted the foreign ministry as saying. "Successive US administrations have repeatedly fabricated lies and allegations to justify their aggressive and interventionist policies in other sovereign countries," the ministry said. "Yesterday the US administration pulled out a new Hollywood screenplay disconnected from reality, accusing the Syrian government of having, according to the administration, built a crematorium at the Saydnaya prison." The State Department on Monday released satellite images that it said backed up reports of mass killings at the Syrian jail north of Damascus. "Beginning in 2013, the Syrian regime modified a building within the Saydnaya complex to support what we believe is a crematorium" built in "an effort to cover up the extent of the mass murders taking place in Saydnaya," said Stuart Jones, the top US diplomat for the Middle East.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 16-17/17
Will arming of YPG help open Kurdish corridor in Syria?
Mahmut Bozarslan/TranslatorTimur Göksel/Al Minitor/May 16/17
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Armored vehicles flying American flags, American soldiers posing for photos with Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants and incessant reports on US-YPG relations have been the top news in Turkey in recent days, all suggesting that the United States was heading toward an alliance with the Kurds on the Syrian battlefield.
The US decision to provide heavy weapons to the YPG for the Raqqa operation provides hope to Kurds in Syria, but Turkey worries that the arms will be used to establish a Kurdish corridor.
Turkish officials reacted sometimes harshly, sometimes more guardedly, to this alliance in the making. The US administration finally said the last word with statements from their officials that Washington had decided to give direct weapons assistance to the Kurds. Although American officials tried hard to explain that the weapons will be going to the Syrian Democratic Forces, everyone knows that the backbone of that force is the YPG. This radical decision by the Trump administration has naturally become a topic of international politics. But what impacts will this decision have on the ground in Syria? The YPG is the sole military force of the Kurdish region called Rojava. How will the YPG’s access to heavy weapons alter the power balances in the region?
According to Salih Gedo, the secretary-general of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Left Party, the weapons will pave the way to federalism for the Kurds. He told Al-Monitor that the decision to supply guns to the YPG has uplifted the spirits of all Kurds; he also called for there to be political support for Kurdish space in a federal Syria.
“No doubt this will have a resounding effect in the region. The spirits of our fighters and people alike have risen meteorically. This major step will bring success to the Kurds. The project we have is federalism. If we are also supported politically, we will succeed. Guns by themselves are not enough for the Kurds. Fighting by our fighters is not enough; they must also have political gains. We need political backing for federalism, which is the centerpiece for all Kurds. US support, coming from a superpower, is very important for us,” Gedo said.
He said the weapons will affect the Kurds' relationships with other ethnic and religious groups as well as Turkey. “When you look at Syria as a whole, you will see that the only group that has good relations with everyone is the Kurds. Kurds can coexist with all. Regional powers, particularly Syria, have hatched many plots to poison the Kurds' relationships with others. Turkey has tried the same,” he said. “We don’t want to be enemies with Turkey and want to have good neighborly relations with it. We tried hard for that, but Turkey won't accept any requests from the Kurds. They are treating us as the enemy. This animosity will have no benefits for Turks and Kurds. Turkey has reacted very strongly to the decision to give us guns. I think this US decision will also have a bearing on Turkey’s policies.”
Turkey is greatly worried about the transfer of these weapons to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and their potential use against Turkey. Is this a realistic fear? Aldar Halil — a member of the executive council of the Movement for a Democratic Society, the political body that groups together the Syrian political parties and civil society organizations closest to the dominant Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Rojava — said these weapons only suffice for the defense of the region. Halil told Al-Monitor that the United States has thus declared that it is officially an ally of the Kurds.
“New weapons will mean a stronger YPG. The political meaning of the US decision to give guns means acknowledging the YPG as an ally, a partner and a friend of the United States. It will be a support for our autonomy. Other peoples living here will see the YPG getting stronger with new weapons and will adopt it as their own force. Everyone will identify with it, not only the Kurds. A federalist system will make headway. The guns will suffice only for the war in Syria. We won’t know where the PKK gets its weapons. Our guns are only for the defense of the region and to defeat Daesh [Islamic State],” he said.
Journalist Hemin Xosnaw is among those who say the guns will not get into the PKK’s hands. Xosnaw, who lives in Iraqi Kurdistan and knows the region well, says neither the guns given earlier nor the new ones to be delivered will reach the PKK. But Xosnaw pointed to another major concern of Turkey: a Kurdish corridor. Such a corridor would symbolize the success of Kurdish aspirations. Xosnaw told Al-Monitor that weapons assistance to the YPG would pave the way for the Kurdish corridor. He added, “For the first time, the US is giving [heavy] weapons to a nonstate force. It has given light weapons to other nonstate forces, but this is the first time it will be giving heavier weapons, tanks, missiles. Militarily, the US is trying to upgrade the YPG to the level of the Syrian army. That support will not be confined to the Syria battlefield. The YPG is becoming the regional force of the US, which wants to implement its entire agenda with the YPG, which has become its sole dominant force of the region. Turkey has been excluded from the game in Syria. Other organizations are not important for the US. The YPG has won the confidence of the US. Of the weapons and ammunition the US has given to the YPG, not a single bullet has gone to the PKK. The PKK for 40 years saw the US as an enemy. Now they are aware of what the US wants, how its politics work and how the PKK should behave. The weapons will not go to the PKK, but they have altered the balances in the region. I believe the US decided to provide the guns after reaching an understanding with Russia. If needed, Russians themselves will give out guns at Afrin. This means opening the corridor to the Mediterranean. Gulf countries also want this.”Most Kurds are pleased that the guns are going to the YPG. But the Syrian Patriotic Assembly, made up of parties close to the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party, is worried.
Syrian Patriotic Assembly Chairman Ibrahim Biro, in a press conference at Erbil, said military assistance to only one party has caused problems in Rojava. He said there is concern that the weapons might be used as pressure on other Kurdish groups.
Still, heavy weapons assistance to the YPG has truly boosted Kurdish self-confidence. When these weapons are deployed in the field, the Syrian war and the status of Kurds will enter a new phase. If the Kurds can overcome their internal problems, they will undoubtedly be winners. Otherwise, Kurds will again be waiting for another spring.

Trump demands Russia, Iran halt Assad atrocities ahead of any deal
Laura Rozen/Al Minitor/May 16/17
The Donald Trump administration on May 15 accused Bashar al-Assad's regime of building a crematorium at the Saydnaya prison complex outside Damascus in an effort to destroy evidence of mass murder. In pointed comments just days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with the president at the White House, US officials said Moscow and Tehran must rein him in before the United States can support their diplomatic efforts in Syria.
The Donald Trump administration accuses Bashar al-Assad's regime of building a crematorium to cover up evidence of mass murder.
“The Assad regime has sunk to a new level of depravity, and it has done so with seemingly unconditional support from Russia and Iran,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told journalists at his White House press briefing.
In a shift, the Trump White House suggested it was willing to work not only with Russia but also with Iran to try to end the killing in Syria and advance a political transition if they helped bring an end to Assad’s atrocities. Trump has previously lambasted the nuclear deal with Iran and supported calls for additional sanctions over the country's ballistic missile program.
“The United States remains open to working together with both Russia and Iran to find a solution that leads to a stable and united Syria,” Spicer said. “But in order for us to work together to bring an end to the violence in Syria, Russia and Iran need to acknowledge the atrocities of the Assad regime and use their influence to stop them.”
The comments followed a uniquely horrifying briefing by the State Department’s top Middle East diplomat, who laid out a devastating list of alleged regime atrocities over the past six years of the Syrian civil war. Most shockingly, acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Stuart Jones said the United States believes that the Assad regime has built a crematorium to burn the bodies and destroy the evidence of the mass murder of thousands of detainees at the regime’s Saydnaya military prison 45 minutes outside of Damascus. Jones said the Syrian regime is believed to have detained between 65,000 and 117,000 people since the war began in 2011 and until 2015.
“The regime is responsible for killing as many as 50 detainees per day at Saydnaya,” Jones told journalists at a State Department press briefing May 15. “Credible sources have believed that many of the bodies have been disposed of in mass graves.”
“We now believe that the Syrian regime has installed a crematorium in the Saydnaya prison complex that could dispose of detainees’ remains with little evidence,” Jones said. “Although the regime’s many atrocities are well documented, we believe that the building of a crematorium is an effort to cover up the extent of mass murders taking place in Saydnaya prison.”
Jones, who had to pause several times during the briefing, said Russia had to use its influence over the Assad regime to halt the atrocities and attacks on civilians that have killed the vast majority of the more than 400,000 people estimated to have been killed in six years of war.“We are appalled by the atrocities carried out by the Assad regime,” he said. “And these atrocities have been carried out seemingly with the unconditional support of Russia and Iran.”“The regime must stop all attacks on civilians and opposition forces,” Jones said. “And Russia must bear responsibility to ensure regime compliance.”
The State Department distributed satellite photos of the Saydnaya military prison complex and suspected crematorium building during the briefing. They offered a stark contrast with the photos of a smiling Trump and Lavrov meeting at the Oval Office last week that were distributed by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Trump told the press pool after his May 10 meeting with Russian diplomats that he’d had a "very, very good meeting" with Lavrov. Both sides, he said at the time, want to end the “the horrible, horrible killing in Syria as soon as possible, and everybody is working toward that end.”The unusually direct and graphic State Department case laying out the horrors committed by the Syrian regime was intended to bolster Washington’s appeal to the Assad regime’s chief foreign sponsors to use their influence to rein him in, officials and experts said.
“We want Russia to guarantee that the Assad regime will comply with its obligations … and do everything they can to cease the hostilities against civilians,” a State Department official, speaking not for attribution, told Al-Monitor. “Once again, we provide this as [an] indication that the Russian government is not abiding by its responsibilities … and is enabling and complicit in the Syrian regime’s crimes against the Syrian people."
The Trump administration is trying to use the Russian government’s desire to work with it on Syria to try to ramp up pressure on Russia to use its leverage on Assad to advance a Syria political solution, said Aaron Stein, a Middle East expert at the Atlantic Council.
“I think this is a part of a broader effort to put pressure on Russia to try to put meaningful pressure on the regime to make concessions,” Stein told Al-Monitor. “Whether or not it will work, I have no idea.”
The Trump administration has considerably hardened its stance against Assad since the chemical weapons attack in Idlib province on April 4, Stein said.
“We have seen Trump speak in multiple interviews about the imagery of children being killed with chemical weapons being very powerful on him,” Stein said.
“I think the question is what about sequencing,” Stein said. “Can [Assad] go at the end of negotiations, or does he have to go as a precursor to negotiations. … I still think the [United States] would be flexible on this issue.”
The question, he added, is whether or not Russia will deliver the regime.
The White House said May 15 that it is “unimaginable” Syrians will choose to keep Assad. UN-mediated political transition talks in Geneva could eventually lead to new Syrian elections.
“The Trump administration believes that Syria’s political future should be decided by Syrians in a free, credible and transparent process,” the White House’s Spicer said May 15. “However, we also believe that in a free process, it is unimaginable that Syrians will choose to continue under Assad’s leadership.”
“Syria will never be stable and secure as long as Assad is in power,” Spicer said.
UN-mediated talks between the Syria regime and opposition are due to resume in Geneva on May 16.UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, speaking to reporters in Geneva on May 15, said he was glad to see the new US administration get more involved in Syrian peace efforts.“I am encouraged by the increasing engagement, increasing interest by the US administration in finding a de-escalation, a reduction of violence,” de Mistura said.

Sinai tribes take up arms against IS
George Mikhail/TranslatorPascale Menassa/Al Monitor/May 16/17
A number of tribes in northern Sinai have taken up arms in the battle launched by the Egyptian military against Wilayat Sinai, the Islamic State's (IS) Sinai affiliate. Their involvement followed an April 29 statement by the Tarabin tribe in which it called on the tribes in the northern Sinai governorate to unite against the extremist organization.
Tribes in northern Sinai have joined the fight against Wilayat Sinai, raising questions about the state’s monopoly on weapons.
In its statement, the Tarabin proclaimed, “Facing the terrorist and immoral invasions of the Islamic and Arab nation, targeting our people and the entity of our state and violating all human and moral standards and traditions of Islam, strife is knocking on our doors that were once safe, and deceit is stealing the lives of our youths and depriving our tribes of their financial and moral assets in [northern] Sinai.”
Days later, on May 3, the Tarabin announced the killing of eight members of Wilayat Sinai in clashes in the area of Ajraa and the capture of three others, including Asaad al-Amarin, a non-Egyptian leader in the organization. Amarin had been responsible for the organization's supplies and funding and had recruited a number of people to the group.
Sameh Eid, an independent researcher focusing on Islamic movements, told Al-Monitor, “It is dangerous that tribes in Sinai are carrying arms. This will have momentary gains only. In the long run, civilians bearing arms will jeopardize the state’s stability. Arms should only be in the hands of the army and police.
“If the tribes want to face Wilayat Sinai with arms, they must join the Egyptian army rather than acting independently. If the state approves of tribes using arms, it would be legalizing killing outside the law.”
Eid also stated, “The international community supports Egypt in its war on terrorism, but civilians taking up arms gives the impression that crimes are being committed in Sinai. The state must reject this and allow youths in the tribes to enlist in the army.”
Moussa al-Dalah, spokesperson for the Tarabin, asserted in a May 4 interview on the Masa DMC television show, “Not one person from Sinai tribes has raised his weapons against the state or the army. Sinai tribes have faced injustice, but none of them used their weapons against the state.”
Dalah also remarked, “Eighty percent of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis militants are foreigners, and only a few hail from Sinai, and they are the worst of people.” In November 2014, some members of the extremist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis pledged allegiance to IS under the banner of Wilayat Sinai.
Discussing part of the danger posed by Wilayat Sinai, Dalah claimed, “We have confessions from people planting bombs. They receive $1,000 to carry out this mission, and if a policeman is injured, the mercenary is paid more.”
Hussam al-Rifai, member of parliament from northern Sinai, told Al-Monitor, “The tribes in Sinai did not want to carry arms at first, but the violations of Wilayat Sinai against them … increased. So, the Tarabin tribe picked up its weapons against the group, and the other tribes followed suit.
“The tribes are well aware of the danger of carrying arms and believe that the army and police are the only ones who should bear arms to face outlaws. But the savageness and spread of infidels pushed the tribes to face the terrorist group in coordination with the army.”
Rifai emphasized, “The tribes will not take up arms against the state because they want to restore the stability that IS shook.”
Arms possession is permitted with a license in Egypt, but tribes in Sinai typically have unlicensed weapons. The army has demanded that they hand them over, but only a few tribes have complied.
On May 5, the united Sinai tribes, some 30 of them according to Rifai, called on youths who had joined Wilayat Sinai to reconsider their actions. “I warn all men who are being lured by IS to be careful and run away,” a statement by the tribes read. “Return to your families, tribes and loved ones before it is too late. The person who hands himself in before being caught red-handed will be safe. But the deceivers have only themselves to blame. God willing, we will watch you like hawks, and only those who learn from others’ fate will be satisfied.”
Mohammad Nour el-Din, former deputy interior minister, told Al-Monitor, “Civilians are not allowed to carry arms. This is a crime that tribes should avoid if they want to cooperate with the state to defy Wilayat Sinai in a lawful manner.
“The tribes in Sinai coordinated with local armed forces, but the retaliatory measures of Wilayat Sinai and the killing of tribal sheikhs and members for cooperating with the army pushed the tribes to step back from their support for the state. But due to the violent and erratic blows of Wilayat Sinai against the tribes, the Tarabin tribe announced armed confrontation against the terrorist organization.”
Wilayat Sinai has conducted several operations against tribes and others in Sinai. Among them, members of the group abducted a woman from her house in April 2015, claiming that she had cooperated with the Egyptian army. In November 2016, Wilayat Sinai announced the execution of two tribal sheikhs. Media outlets revealed that one of them was Suleiman Abu Haraz, a Sufi from the Sawarka tribe. The organization published photos of Abu Haraz's execution, further angering the tribes. The group has also recently targeted Christians, leading to mass displacements as Copts flee their homes to save their lives.
Underlining the importance of forcing the tribes to hand their weapons over to the police or armed forces, Nour el-Din, agreeing with Eid, remarked, “Egypt is a sovereign state, and security institutions are the only ones that should carry weapons.”
The Egyptian military has not officially commented on the Tarabin’s call to arms and announcement of killings. If the tribes continue to challenge Wilayat Sinai, it could encourage other civilians to do likewise, and in the long run that would also make it more difficult for the state to control the situation should the battle between the tribes and Wilayat Sinai worsen.

Russia To Become Second-Largest Foreign Owner Of U.S. Domestic Refineries, If Venezuela Defaults
MEMRI/May 16/17
Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), has owned Citgo, an American refiner with headquarters in Houston, Texas, since the 1980s. At the end of 2016, cash-strapped Venezuela, in the throes of a combined economic and political crisis,[1] put up a large stake (49.9%) in Citgo as collateral in exchange for a loan from the Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft. Should PDVSA default on the loan, Rosfnet will gain control over Citgo. It is noteworthy that the U.S. imposed sanctions on Rosfnet following Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014.
On May 3, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced a wide-ranging bill calling for sanctions against the Venezuelan government and demanding President Donald Trump to prevent a deal struck by PDVSA and Rosfnet. CBS News reported: "The bill calls for the [U.S.] State Department to coordinate an international response to the crisis in Venezuela… In addition, a section of the bill highlights a Nov. 30 loan given by Russia's state-owned oil company, Rosneft, to Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA. The deal would allow the Russian company to take control of nearly half of the U.S. oil company Citgo, which PDVSA owns, if Venezuela defaults on its debts.
"Influential senators from both parties sponsored the bill, including Senators Ben Cardin, D-Md.; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; John Cornyn, R-TX; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; John McCain, R-Ariz.; Bill Nelson, D-Fla.; Tim Kaine. D-Va.; Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. and Bob Menendez, D-NJ."[2]
Earlier, Republican Congressman Jeff Duncan and Democratic Congressman Albio Sires sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, asking him to undertake an "immediate review of a recent asset transfer between Venezuela's state-owned oil company. PDVSA, and Rosneft, which is under U.S. sanctions. The situation, if left unchecked, could severely undermine U.S. national security and energy independence."[3]
On April 14, the Russian media outlet Vestifinance.ru, published an article titled "Rosneft And Citgo: Risk Or Anti-Russian Hysteria?" The article stated that U.S. lawmakers' actions against The PDVSA-Rosneft deal are prompted by anti-Russian "hysteria." Vestifinance.ru wrote: "By an amazing coincidence, a letter to Mnuchin was written just before U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to Moscow. And as long as relations between Moscow and Washington are not improved significantly, politicians will keep finding new pretexts to incite fears."
Below are excerpts from the Vestifinance.ru article:[4]
PDVSA Still Owes Russia $62 billion
"PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, has paid off its [Russian] loan along with interest in the amount of $2.2 billion. This is good news as PDVSA avoided a default. However, the Vice President [of Venezuela] Tarik El Aissami characterized the situation as 'a merciless economic war' being waged against the Maduro government. The bad news is that PDVSA still owes [Russia] $62 billion.
"It is well-known that some members of the U.S. Congress are quite concerned about a possible default by Venezuela, since Russian-owned Rosneft can then get access to the American company Citgo. Citgo owns 48 oil terminals in 20 U.S. states as well as 3 oil refineries. It is the control of Rosneft over the American refineries that worries lawmakers the most.
"'The Russian government could readily become the second-largest foreign owner of U.S. domestic refinery capacity. Such a development would give the Russians more control over oil and gas prices worldwide, inhibit U.S. energy security, and undermine broader U.S. geopolitical efforts', [U.S. congressmen] wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. 'We remain deeply concerned over the implications for U.S. national security.'
How Rosneft Can Take Over CITGO
"Venezuela has been desperate for cash lately. Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, has owned Citgo since the 1980s. In exchange for obtaining a loan from Rosneft in December, the Venezuelan oil company put up a large stake (49.9%) in Citgo as collateral. If PDVSA is unable to pay off the loan on time, Rosneft will almost certainly gain control over Citgo. All Rosneft would need for a majority share would be to buy a few more PDVSA bonds, thus clearing the 50% threshold of ownership.
[Rosneft] Is Not Going To Waste Money For The Illusory Opportunity To Harm The U.S.'
"The concerns expressed by [the U.S] congressmen are rather strange. What exactly is Rosneft going to do with three oil refineries? U.S. politicians believe that the Russian company will be able to take part in a conspiracy that will lead to a restriction of gasoline production, raise gas prices and thus cause damage to the U.S. national security or the American economy. This is plain silly. Even though Rosneft is a state-owned company, its purpose is still making profit, and it is not going to waste money for the illusory opportunity to harm the U.S. And the scenario offered by congressmen has no bearing on reality whatsoever. "Three refineries is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the rest of the U.S. oil assets. Even assuming that production could be reduced at these refineries, this may at most affect one region in the short term, but then other producers will quickly capture the market and stabilize it. And so if Rosneft takes over Citgo, it will simply produce and sell gasoline in the U.S., making money on it, rather than making insane plans to threaten the U.S. national security.
"Reports in the U.S. media treat the lawmakers' letter with a healthy dose of irony and that is why it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the congressmen are deliberately trying to incite anti-Russian fears. By an amazing coincidence, a letter to Mnuchin was written just before U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to Moscow. And as long as relations between Moscow and Washington are not improved significantly, politicians will keep finding new pretexts to incite fears.
"As far as Venezuela is concerned, yielding control of Citgo is a good way to reduce its debt burden. Most likely, this will happen no later than in the fall of 2017, since there is very little chance its economy will stabilize. Most likely, Venezuela will default and begin to restructure its debt this year. According to the credit-default swaps market, investors estimate the chances of Venezuela's default in the next six months at 41%. And in March that indicator was below 34%."
PDSVA Rosneft
(Source: Latinamericapost.com)
[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch N. 6903, Russia's Support For The Venezuelan Regime – An Update, May 2, 2017.
[2] Cbsnews.com, May 3, 2017.
[3] See letter sent by Congressmen Jeff Duncan and Albio Sires.
[4] Vestifinance.ru, April 14, 2017.

Palestinians: The Threats Trump Needs to Hear
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/May 16/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10369/palestinians-trump-visit
The warning by Hamas and Islamic Jihad is directed not only against Trump and his new administration, but also against Abbas and any Arab leader who dares to "collude" with the U.S.
A new policy document recently published by Hamas says that the Islamic terror movement accepts a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, but without recognizing Israel's right to exist. Translation: Hamas seeks a Palestinian state that would be used as a launching pad to destroy Israel.
The electoral showing demonstrates with excruciating clarity that Hamas could easily take over any Palestinian state that the U.S. and the Europeans help create in the West Bank.
Abbas is a weak leader with precious little legitimacy among Palestinians. He would never survive any kind of real peace deal with Israel -- a reality that, ironically, he has done his very best to create.
As U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to hold his second meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem next week, two Palestinian terror groups have announced that the new U.S. administration is planning to "liquidate the Palestinian cause." The warning by Hamas and Islamic Jihad is directed not only against Trump and his new administration, but also against Abbas and any Arab leader who dares to "collude" with the U.S.
The two Palestinian terror groups, which control the Gaza Strip and its two million residents, also renewed their pledge to pursue the armed fight against Israel; they said they would not give up one inch of Palestine, from the (Mediterranean) sea to the (Jordan) river.
Trump and his administration would do well to heed the warning issued by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, especially in the wake of Abbas's recent statements concerning a two-state solution and peace with Israel. Abbas controls only parts of the West Bank, and how he intends to establish a Palestinian state when he cannot even set foot in the Gaza Strip is anyone's guess. Recently, Hamas announced that if and when the 82-year-old Abbas shows up in the Gaza Strip, he will be hanged in a public square on charges of "high treason."
The warning by the Palestinian terror groups was made during a joint rally in the Gaza Strip on May 14. Leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad vowed to "preserve the Palestinian rifle and Palestinian rights in the face of any schemes and attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause."
Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar stated that Palestinian "principles are part of our [Islamic] religion, and we cannot make any concessions on them. We will not give up one inch of our land and holy sites. We will continue to work until the liberation of each inch of Palestine."
Zahar also warned Abbas against signing any agreement with Israel that includes relinquishing Palestinian rights. "Anyone who gives up our rights and holy sites will betray Allah and his Prophet Mohammed," Zahar cautioned.
Notably, Zahar's statement to "liberate every inch of Palestine" comes amid false claims in the Western media to the effect that Hamas has abandoned its dream of eliminating Israel.
The claims are based on a new policy document recently published by Hamas; it says that the Islamic terror movement accepts a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, but without recognizing Israel's right to exist. Translation: Hamas seeks a Palestinian state that would be used as a launching pad to destroy Israel.
Zahar and other Hamas leaders have taken advantage of every available platform to clarify that their acceptance of a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines does not mean abandoning their plan to eliminate Israel.
They have also explained, at length, that the new policy document does not replace Hamas's original charter, which explicitly calls for the destruction of Israel.
Hamas's honesty with respect to its true intentions stands in utter contrast to the deceit with which the policy document is being treated by others.
For instance, some Western media outlets and Palestinian affairs "experts" and "analysts" deceptively describe the document as a sign of moderation and pragmatism on the part of Hamas.
While Hamas leaders proudly proclaim that there is no real change in their ideology and charter, some Westerners seem to have a sort of hearing disability when it comes to the truth of the terror movement.
Another Hamas leader, Ahmed Bahr, said at the rally that his movement remains strongly opposed to security coordination between Abbas's Palestinian Authority and Israel in the West Bank.
Bahr described the security coordination and the crackdown on Hamas supporters in the West Bank as a new Palestinian "Nakba" (Catastrophe) -- the term used by Palestinians and Arabs to describe the establishment of Israel in 1948.
Referring to Trump's upcoming visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and reports that the U.S. administration was seeking to revive stalled peace talks between the PA and Israel, the top Hamas official said that Palestinians remain committed to the "resistance to liberate Palestine despite the conspiracies that are being concocted against them."
For Hamas and its allies, Trump's peace efforts are nothing less than a plot designed to force Palestinians to make unacceptable concessions to Israel. They will accept nothing but the elimination of Israel and its replacement with an Islamic state governed by Islamic sharia law.
Islamic Jihad leaders, for their part, said that Trump's upcoming visit to the Middle East was aimed at "forming a new alliance to preserve" Israel's interests. They believe that the purported alliance will consist of Israel, Abbas's PA and some Arab countries.
In the view of Islamic Jihad leader Mohammed al-Hindi, the Trump-engineered alliance would "create a new Nakba" for the Palestinians. "Palestine is the land of all Palestinians and part of our history," he declared. He too warned Abbas against any agreement that includes concessions to Israel.
Ignoring such threats issued by Palestinian terror groups is done only at one's extreme peril. These are not marginal factions with a limited following among Palestinians. Rather, the ideology of Hamas and Islamic Jihad is widespread among the Palestinians and lives in the hearts and minds of many of them. These terror groups are popular not only in the Gaza Strip, but also among large sectors of Palestinians in the West Bank.
Just last week we received yet another reminder of Hamas's increased popularity in the West Bank when its supporters won -- for the third straight year -- the student council elections at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah. Hamas's victory in the university election has once again left Abbas and his loyalists bewildered.
The electoral showing is anything but confusing: it demonstrates with excruciating clarity that Hamas could easily take over any Palestinian state that the U.S. and the Europeans help create in the West Bank.
No one is more aware of this than Abbas -- in a situation that accounts for why he has spent the past decade blocking parliamentary and presidential elections. Above all, Abbas wishes to avoid his mistake of 2006, when Hamas won the parliamentary election.
For a start, Trump might ask Abbas precisely how he plans to cope with the threats by Hamas and Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian groups to destroy Israel and thwart any "treacherous" peace agreement with Israel. Under the current circumstances, when Palestinians are radicalized against Israel on a daily basis and Hamas's popularity is skyrocketing, the talk about a two-state solution and peace sounds downright delusional.
Abbas is a weak leader with precious little legitimacy among Palestinians. He would never survive any kind of real peace deal with Israel -- a reality that, ironically, he has done his very best to create.
Trump and his advisors might put aside the sweet talk of Abbas and his spokesmen, and listen instead for the unsettling truths voiced by other Palestinians such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Alternatively, the West can continue to fantasize about a new Middle East in which Arabs and Muslims accept Israel's right to exist -- while in reality many of them are totally consumed by their attempts to raze it to the ground.
At his scheduled meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem next week, U.S. President Donald Trump might put aside the sweet talk of Abbas, and listen instead for the unsettling truths voiced by other Palestinians such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Pictured: Trump and Abbas give a joint statement on May 3, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Image source: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)
*Bassam Tawil is a scholar based in the Middle East.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Indonesia: U.S. vs. Reality
Jacobus E. Lato/Gatestone Institute/May 16/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10369/palestinian
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10355/indonesia-pence-visit
Ironically, Vice President Mike Pence was delivering his message of harmony on the day that Ahok, the Christian governor of Jakarta, was ousted in a heated election marked by violent Islamist demonstrations.
Pence's assertion that "religion unifies" might, in fact, have been interpreted by those who voted for the candidate favored by militant Muslims to replace Ahok, to mean that the Trump administration was giving a stamp of approval for Islam to serve that role exclusively.
The Trump administration and the rest of the West needs to pay closer attention to what is going on in Indonesia: its future as a tolerant democracy is being rapidly threatened by a strengthening Islamist presence.
When U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Indonesia on the night of April 19 for his first state visit abroad, he clearly did not intend for his positive gestures and kind words to be construed as controversial by the very people at whom they were aimed.
"In your nation, as in mine, religion unifies, it doesn't divide," Pence said to Indonesian President Joko Widodo the following morning at the Jakarta Palace. Pence lauded Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country, for "its tradition of moderate Islam," which he called "an inspiration to the world."
He also toured the Istiqlal Mosque, designed by North Sumatran Christian architect Frederich Silaban for Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, who insisted it be built near the Jakarta Cathedral and Immanuel Church as a symbol of religious harmony.
Ironically, Pence was delivering his message of harmony -- to allay concerns in Indonesia over what was perceived as the Trump administration's anti-Muslim rhetoric and stress strategic, political and economic ties -- on the day that the Christian governor of Jakarta was ousted in a heated election marked by violent Islamist demonstrations. While millions of supporters of Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, familiarly known as Ahok, were mourning the defeat of their candidate -- tried for blasphemy against Islam and found guilty on May 10 -- Pence was pointing to the "common values [of] freedom, rule of law, human rights and religious diversity" shared by the United States and Indonesia.
Under other circumstances, such a statement from the U.S. vice president might have been uplifting to the moderates behind Ahok, who is not only a Christian, but ethnically Chinese. However, due to the victory of the radical Muslims decrying the incumbency of a Christian on the grounds that the Quran forbids it, Pence's timing was problematic. His assertion that "religion unifies" might, in fact, have been interpreted by those who voted for former Education Minister Anies Baswedan, the candidate favored by militant Muslims to replace Ahok, to mean that the Trump administration was giving a stamp of approval for Islam to serve that role exclusively.
"That Pence should be saying this after the most divisive and sectarian election in Indonesian history is flabbergasting," Australian National University associate professor Greg Fealy said.
The outcome of the Jakarta gubernatorial election that day was the result of a hate-campaign waged against the very pluralistic ideals that Pence was praising.
The Trump administration and the rest of the West needs to pay closer attention to what is going on in Indonesia: its future as a tolerant democracy is being rapidly threatened by a strengthening Islamist presence.
As a paternalistic society, Indonesia has a public that can be easily manipulated by its leaders. When Indonesia's leaders include hardline clerics backed by scholars who insist that Muslims, by virtue of Quranic decree, must have all the power, unity is elusive, both in theory and in practice.
*Jacobus E. Lato is a writer based in Surabaya, Indonesia.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Trump’s policies take extremists by surprise
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/May 16/17
I believe nothing has angered extremists, be them regimes or organized radical groups, as much as the policies of US President Donald Trump has done. Trump surprised them with his policies and speed of movement in the Middle East, and that is quite the opposite of what his predecessor did; the former president’s approach was to keep his government passive and neutral, and later on, he tried to reconcile with extremists. Since his first day in the White House, Trump chose government officials who agree with his intention to target extremism, including governments, such as the Iranian. The other surprise is that the president has immediately embarked on the missions in Iraq and Syria, as well as Yemen; thus it was not just an election speech. When analyzing the new US policy, some believed that Trump would be controlled by the nuclear deal binding his country, and that he would be against Muslim countries without distinguishing between them. However, his Government had accepted to respect the deal and insisted that Tehran should abide by its strict implementation.
Obama rule
Trump did not want to be controlled by the deal, unlike Obama who has been silent on the serious abuses that Iran has done, whether through its military expansion in Iraq and Syria, by the oppression in the waterways when it fired at US naval forces and others, or by smuggling arms across the sea to Yemeni or Bahraini militias. Washington considers that all of the above are unacceptable and will be dealt with accordingly. Thus, Tehran’s regime did not use the nuclear deal as an advantage in imposing its interests and programs at the expense of others. Since his first day in the White House, Trump chose government officials who agree with his intention to target extremism, including governments, such as the Iranian. On the other hand, President Trump is determined to deal with terrorism, not only as a security issue but as an integral political movement. He surprised everyone with his project and actions that began when he met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the White House; a program was drawn up to determine the allies he plans to cooperate with. He decided later on to send an important message when he said that his first visit would be to Riyadh and he decided to come to the Islamic world to hear from and listen to their leaders. They will consequently begin joint actions to control extremism and terrorism. The relations project, in which the Emirates played an important role, within the bilateral Saudi-Emirati cooperation on all levels, is unprecedented and very important in terms of type and size. The visit of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, to the White House comes also in line with these actions.
Trump’s approach
Now Trump is taking his first step towards his grand project: eradicating terror in terms of ideology, organization and networks. At the Riyadh Islamic summit, which will be attended by 50 Islamic countries, almost all of them agreed to attend and dialogue with the US president. This is a serious step that cannot be compared to what former President Obama did; he made a couple of speeches to urge the cooperation with the Muslim world and that was it. There is no doubt that Obama’s speech was beautiful, but the mistake was that he did nothing else. He thought that neutrality was the best policy for his country. During the long absence of the US, ISIS grew stronger and more dangerous than al-Qaeda. Violence spread throughout the world, threatening everyone. We are witnessing a collective project, Muslim governments and individuals are involved in it, and that is the difference. Trump’s policy lies in transferring responsibilities to the international community, especially to Muslim countries. This is the right step, instead of dropping the accusations through the media and be limited to security pursuits.

London.. the charming city that never ages
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/May 16/17
The British philosopher and critic Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) said: “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”. History may not always repeat itself, but it undoubtedly does repeat itself in London, as the city revolves around itself within a 40 kilometers perimeter. The river continues to flow as it did before, slow paced and indifferent towards the bridges that divided the city... Cafes are still offering 5 o’clock tea and people still arriving on time; the most famous clock in the world that is also nearby is always accurate, with no delays. Tourists come and others go, but London remains the same; As Ghazi al-Gosaibi who passed away 15 years ago – may he rest in peace – said on the pages of this newspaper: “London does not know anyone: it neither loves or hates anyone; it does not rush to meet anyone nor is afraid to abandon anyone.” His piece at that day was entitled as the Gulf comic play: Bye Bye London.
British authority
I agree with Ghazi – as I always do – and I remember what the Iron lady Thatcher had said 30 years ago about the European unity, and this is what Teresa May also confirmed earlier this year: “We have not successfully maintained the limits of the state authority in Britain, so that we see a new authority being imposed on us from Europe, through a state being controlled from Brussels! So, this is how they tell the British people about the decrease of their influence. They do not pay attention to colonies that have faded, but they smile wisely like those who brought the world’s treasures to their homes through an elegant retirement; they point to the mayor of London: In a country ruled by the church, the city’s mayor is Muslim, those who win the medals and make record numbers are Muslims, the world’s strongest league is still ours, but 2 teams might go into a match with no British players on the field.
History may not always repeat itself, but it undoubtedly does repeat itself in London, as the city revolves around itself within a 40 kilometers perimeter. The river continues to flow as it did before, slow paced and indifferent towards the bridges that divided the city
You may have heard the question asked to French coach Arsene Wenger about the absence of British players from Arsenal’s squad. His answer was that “Arsenal is a French island in a British city.” The river continues to flow, many travel and many others arrive; every newcomer has his own island, of which he may not go out, believing he is now a Londoner. Politicians have always met here, also money exchangers, tea vendors and clock sellers. Every buyer will find what he is searching for and he will think that he coincidentally went shopping on sales day, forgetting that this is London, which Ghazi said after 30 years that it won’t rush towards anyone and won’t stand up to welcome to anyone.
The city of law
The old democratic country was home for free writers. Many intellectuals have resorted to it in the days of the church’s dominance, and this is where Jean-Luc wrote his great book: “A Letter of Tolerance” in Latin; it was printed in the Netherlands and translated into English in the same year (1689).
It was translated from Latin by Dr. Abdul Rahman Badawi, with an extensive introduction summarizing Jean Luc’s call for tolerance, saying: “No one has the power to impose on another person what he must believe in or what to do for the salvation of his soul because this is a personal matter that does not have to do with someone else.”London has set the foundations of the philosophy of law, the first political literature and the social contract systems; its laws were known as “the laws of the world.” The world arranges its rhythm according to the steps of London as it is the city of law, the source of regulations and the provider of social and political contracts. Terrorism forgets that the old clock has always been accurate, unaware of the seriousness of the British people that is derived from the stability of the river. Terrorists blow themselves up, trying to interrupt the dialogue of the parliamentarians… London washes away the dust, newcomers continue to arrive and the river continues to flow... like all Gulf people, I reiterate what Ghazi has said smiling: Bye Bye London... and I add: Goodbye to the beautiful city... that does not age!

Regional consequences of Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia
Talmiz Ahmad/Al Arabiya/May 16/17
In a historic gesture, President Donald Trump has announced that Saudi Arabia will be the first foreign country he will visit as president when he begins his tour to West Asia and the Vatican on 19 May. He will thus become the first US president to make his inaugural foreign tour to an Arab or Muslim country.
Official sources have said that the administration picked Saudi Arabia as the first stop on the tour in a bid to counter the widespread impression that the president is Islamophobic, given that he spent the campaign promising a ban on Muslims’ entry into the US and then twice tried to implement a version of the ban through administrative order, though he was thwarted by courts that blocked both efforts.  In Riyadh, besides the bilateral summit with King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Trump will be meeting with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as well as selected members of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, minus Iran and Syria.
US-Saudi alliance
The Trump visit to the Kingdom will be underscoring both the success of the Saudi outreach to the new administration, and the determination of the president himself to recommit to the Saudi-led regional alliance that he believes is providing stability in a region facing turmoil and terror. An Arab daily has said that the talks with GCC leaders will focus on “confronting the antagonistic behaviour of Iran in the region”.Commentator Ali Shihabi sees this visit as a solid US commitment to defending the Gulf monarchies from Iran, ISIS and al-Qaeda that are making a determined effort to bring down the monarchies that “constitute the front line in the battle against terrorism.” The ground for the anti-Iran alliance has already been put into place by Trump’s senior officials who visited the region recently. Thus, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis declared in Riyadh that the “United States wants to see a strong Saudi Arabia,” and added that “there is disorder wherever Iran is present.”  Shortly thereafter, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made clear US’s attitude towards Iran, when he said: “Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and is responsible for intensifying multiple conflicts and undermining US interests . . . A comprehensive Iran policy requires that we address all of the threats posed by Iran, and it is clear there are many.”
Defense deals
In the run-up to the Trump visit, contracts worth tens of billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia are in the pipeline, some of whom are new. Items under discussion include the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile defence system with several batteries, valued at about $1 billion, and a C2BMC software system for battle command and control and communications.Other items being negotiated are combat vehicles and a $11.5 billion package of four multi-mission surface combatant ships and accompanying services and spares. Also under discussion are more than $1 billion worth of munitions including armour-piercing Penetrator Warheads and Paveway laser-guided bombs, whose sale the Obama administration had suspended on humanitarian grounds. These defense deals will certainly sweeten the run up to the visit to Riyadh.
Uncertainties
Saudi Arabia is keen to obtain US support in Yemen and has so far been able to persuade Trump and his senior officials that this is one more area in West Asia where Iran is seeking to expand its influence. Here the kingdom has come up against bipartisan Congressional opposition. In early May, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers urged Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to reconsider his support for a seemingly imminent assault by a Saudi-led coalition on the crucial Yemeni port city of Hudaydah. Across West Asia there is widespread hope that Trump will be able to move the Israel-Palestinian peace process forward. In his recent meeting with Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, Trump had assured the latter by saying: “We will get it done.” Though most regional observers are skeptical, mainly because of near-total absence of interest on the part of Israel’s politicians to make any concessions to move the process forward, commentators believe that Trump, with his unorthodox approach, might just pull off a deal. National security adviser H.R. McMaster described Trump’s foreign policy approach as “disruptive,” saying his unconventional ways could create an opportunity to help stabilize West Asia. We will know soon enough.

Georgia and Iran: A new bridge between the Arabian Gulf and Black Sea?
Fuad Shahbazov/Al Arabiya/May 16/17
In the end of April 2017, Georgia and Iran held several join events, and round table meetings aimed at deepening of bilateral strategic cooperation between two regional countries. Even though, there are certain obstacles for growing cooperation, Iranian and Georgian officials have conducted two vis-a-vis meetings in the end of April.
Firstly, Iranian delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Tbilisi on April 18. Simultaneously, on the same day, Tbilisi host the Georgian – Iranian Business Forum, where about 100 companies from both countries were represented. “Iran is a country with one of the most serious economic potentials” in the region, said Minister of Economy Giorgi Gakharia, during the opening ceremony.
Seemingly, by hosting the business forum for a number of Iranian companies, Georgia seeks to encourage them to invest more in various spheres of the country such as tourism, telecommunication, city infrastructure, and so on.
It is not fully clear whether Iran and Georgia will start the implementation of the new transit corridor soon or not, but one point is clear that the project will increase the importance of Iran and the Caucasus region as a safe bridge between East and West.
Fuad Shahbazov
Eventually on April 23, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili paid an official visit to Tehran. Such an unexpected turning point in bilateral relations between Georgia and Iran raises a question, how long will this strategic cooperation last?
During the official meeting both in Tehran, and Tbilisi, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering agricultural, industrial production, transport, energy fields has been signed. In addition to the MoU, Georgian and Iranian delegations in Tehran signed a deal for Iran to export of 4 million cubic meters of gasto Georgia. “Iran is ready to export natural gas to Georgia from Iran through Azerbaijani territory”, said Iranian vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri.
Although a wide range of topics were on the table during Tehran meeting, the transport issue appeared to be on the top of agenda for both of sides, since Minister Javad Zarif previously has underlined the necessity of development of cooperation in this field in Tbilisi.
Obviously, Tehran does not hide its intention to launch new transit corridors in order to diversify transit routes. Since 2014, Iran has done a lot to modernize its transportation system, while the volume of goods transiting through Iranian railways has doubled. Yet despite this increasing interconnectivity, Iranian officials say the country is still using only half of its total transit capacity, which is around 10 million tons per year.
Considering the current geopolitical challenges in the region, Tehran has sped up efforts to establish new routes to Europe. Notwithstanding the fact that Iran is directly connected to Europe via Turkey, the recent political challenges in this country had prompted Tehran to seek alternative routes to Europe. For years, Turkey has been the best conduit for the transportation of Iranian goods to reach Europe. Supposedly, the new transit corridor will not minimize the role of trans-Turkish route. Simply to say, Iran seeks for additional routes to increase the volume of trade with Europe.
The Arabian Gulf – Black Sea, which involves road, rail and sea transport would serve as a suitable platform to deliver Iranian goods to European markets through the Caucasus region. The route begins from the Arabian Gulf to the south of Iran, stretches to the north of the country and then goes to Azerbaijan, from where it reaches the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi in the Black Sea.
Azerbaijan as a reliable partner?
Nevertheless, the problem is that currently there are no direct land connections between Georgia and Iran. Therefore, Iran proposed the construction of a new railway connection between two countries passing through Azerbaijani territory. It should not come as a surprise that the choice of Tehran as a reliable partner has fallen on Azerbaijan. Tehran fully apprehends the importance of Azerbaijan as an important and trustworthy regional player, which also maintains good relations with Russia, unlike neighboring Georgia.
“Iran can serve as a linkage for Georgia and other regional countries to the Arabian Gulf, Sea of Oman and Indian Ocean, while Georgia is able to facilitate Iran’s access to the Black Sea. Today, regional transit has special importance”, said President Rouhani during the press conference with Prime Minister Kvirikashvili. Iran has been negotiating the abovementioned corridor with Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Italy and Greece over the past several months. In the case of Armenia, the country authorities are still have not taken any serious steps towards the implementation of early phase of the new transit corridor. Therefore, further participation of Yerevan in this project is under question.
The Arabian Gulf – Black Sea transit corridor gives a number of benefits to participating countries as it enables them to diversify transportation system. Moreover, the project is seemingly beneficial for European countries as well, since it gives a direct access to the Arabian Gulf, which is the shortest route to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Yet it is not fully clear whether Iran and Georgia will start the implementation of the new transit corridor soon or not, but one point is clear that the project will increase the importance of Iran and the Caucasus region as a safe bridge between East and West.