LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 15/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias/english.september15.17.htm 

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Bible Quotations For Today
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him
For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 03/11-21/:"‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’

Through virutes you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature
Second Letter of Peter 01/01-11L:"Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature. For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you..

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 14-15/17
The Future of the IPhone Is Boring/Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg View/September 14/17
Jihadism: The Fear That Dare Not Speak its Name/Dexter Van Zile/Gatestone Institute/September 14/17
Sweden's New Instability/Nima Gholam Ali Pour/Gatestone Institute/September 14/17
A Master's Degree in Whitewashing Islam/The University of Oslo Rewards a Promising Apologist/Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/September 14/17
Intelligence Cell in Saudi Arabia/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17

Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on September 14-15/17
Hariri After Meeting with Putin: We are Partners Against Terrorism
Berri Says Elections Should be Held Earlier than Scheduled
STL Sets Oct. 11 Public Hearing on New Indictment
Lassen Visits Army Outpost in Arsal, Discusses EU Support
Sami Gemayel Invites Political Authority to 'Step Down'
Hariri Holds Talks with Geagea at Center House
Aoun Says Probe into Arsal Incidents 'Targets None', Hariri Briefs Ministers on Russian Visit
Cabinet Appoints Members of Electoral Supervisory Commission
IS Frees Hizbullah Captive after Stranded Convoy Reaches Jihadist-Held Territory
Casino Du Liban Reassures after U.S. Security Warning
Lassen Visits Army Outpost in Arsal, Discusses EU Support
State Security Nabs Top Syrian Militant, Terror Recruiter
Army Ups Security Measures Around Ain el-Hilweh

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 14-15/17
King Abdullah II: ‘Cease-Fire in South Syria Contributes in Finding Political Solution’
Qatar Emir Requests Meetings with Jewish US Leaders
Iraq MPs Sack Kirkuk Governor, Ankara Says Kurdish Referendum will ‘Have a Cost’
Kurdish Businessman Leads Anti-Referendum Campaign
Iranians among 52 Dead in Southern Iraq Attacks Claimed by ISIS
Technical Consultations Precede Astana 6, Washington Participates as Observer
Hamas Considers Dissolving Administrative Committee as Part of Deal with Fatah
U.S. Treasury Announces New Iran Sanctions
Iranians among 74 Dead in Iraq Attacks Claimed by IS
N. Korean Group Demands US be Turned to 'Ashes and Darkness'
Bin Laden's Son Calls Muslims to Syria Jihad
Peres' Friends Salute Him Year after Death

Latest Lebanese Related News published on September 14-15/17
Hariri After Meeting with Putin: We are Partners Against Terrorism
Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17/Moscow- Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed means to consolidate bilateral relations and to expand cooperation between the two countries. Putin received Hariri at his residence in Sochi on Wednesday and expressed confidence that the agreements reached during the Lebanese premier’s talks with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, “will work for the positive development of bilateral relations.”The meeting was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin, Putin’s advisor for international affairs Yuri Ushakov, Hariri’s chief of staff Nader Hariri and his advisor for Russian affairs Georges Chaaban. In remarks following the meeting, Hariri said: “We discussed many issues that interest both the two countries, especially the economic issues,” noting that Wednesday’s talks with Medvedev have also focused on economic cooperation and Russia’s military assistance to Lebanon. Underlining Russia’s support to Lebanon’s neutrality, Hariri said: “Lebanon has been able to protect itself from all the repercussions of what is happening around it. It has shown that the path to stability is political understanding.”Asked about Russian military aid to the country, the Lebanese premier said: “Military cooperation between Russia and Lebanon is important, and there is great collaboration between Lebanese and Russian intelligence.”“We are in the same war against terrorism,” he stressed. “At the same time, we are trying to build up the Lebanese armed forces and security forces. We talked about this with President Putin, and I think this relation will be good between the two countries,” he added. Hariri invited Russian companies to invest in Lebanon. “We hope that Russian companies will invest in projects in Lebanon. Several companies participated in tenders for gas exploration. They have real opportunities of success,” he noted. The Lebanese official also said that he discussed with Putin the situation in Syria and the need to consolidate stability. “For President Putin and me, stability in Syria is going through various stages, and this is the beginning of a stage. It is very important that all countries that are supervising this with Russia be sincere in this regard,” Hariri said. He also expressed the need to commit to the de-escalation zones.“For President Putin, it is important that this continues and it is the responsibility of the countries involved in it, and then the political solution will begin,” he noted.

Berri Says Elections Should be Held Earlier than Scheduled
Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17/Beirut- Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri is calling for moving the date of parliamentary elections forward, by adopting practical measures and rehabilitating the existing electoral mechanism to match the new electoral law. The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), for its part, said elections should be held before their scheduled date in May 2018, with the cancelling of the magnetic card that many believe would complicate the electoral process. In remarks on Wednesday, Berri said parliamentary elections should be held sooner than the agreed-upon date of mid next year if no agreement is reached on a magnetic voting card. “Since there will be no card, then I am with reducing the Parliament’s term and for elections to be held at the soonest opportunity,” he added. The use of the magnetic voting card was stipulated in the new proportional electoral law, which was endorsed by Parliament in June.
Despite the fierce competition between Berri and the FPM on some electoral seats, especially in the Jezzine region (east of Sidon), the party welcomed the idea of bringing the elections closer. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, FPM official and former MP Salim Aoun noted that the postponement of the elections for a relatively long time was made under the pretext of preparing the magnetic cards. “Since this pretext does no longer exist, it is more useful to hold the elections at the earliest opportunity,” he stated, adding that his movement has initially “approved the extension of parliament’s term due to the excuse of magnetic cards, which we considered a fundamental reform.” For his part, member of the Liberation and Development Bloc, MP Michel Moussa, told Asharq al-Awsat that the decision to advance the elections date needed an agreement between the different political blocs.
“This also needs a legislative session to issue a law to shorten the mandate of the current Council,” Moussa said, stressing that no excuses “can hinder the holding of elections.”

STL Sets Oct. 11 Public Hearing on New Indictment
Naharnet/September 14/17/The Appeals Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has scheduled an October 11 public hearing in which the Prosecutor and the Defense will make submissions linked to a confidential indictment filed for confirmation on July 21. In a statement issued Thursday, the STL said the Appeals Chamber’s hearing will provide the Prosecutor and Head of the Defense Office “an opportunity to make oral submissions on the legal questions raised by the Pre-Trial Judge, who is currently reviewing a confidential indictment filed for confirmation.” “During this process, he found necessary that the Appeals Chamber clarifies certain aspects of the applicable law,” it noted. “The questions concern the crime of criminal association as defined in Article 335 of the Lebanese Criminal Code and the criteria for reviewing the indictment,” the STL added. The hearing will start with opening remarks by the President of the Appeals Chamber, Judge Ivana Hrdličková. The Prosecutor will then be invited to make his oral submissions, followed by the Head of the Defense Office. After hearing the parties, the Appeals Chamber will render its interlocutory decision in due course, the STL pointed out. “The content of the indictment remains confidential and will not be discussed during the hearing. Its contents may only become public if the indictment is confirmed by the Pre-Trial Judge,” the STL underlined. Media reports said this week that the new indictment is linked to one of the bomb attacks that targeted Elias Murr, Marwan Hamadeh and George Hawi. The indictment names “a new suspect from Hizbullah,” the reports claimed. The STL was set up in 2007 to try suspects charged with the murder of former premier Rafik Hariri, who was killed with 22 others in a massive suicide truck bombing on the Beirut waterfront on February 14, 2005. The tribunal later established jurisdiction over three attacks relating to Minister Marwan Hamadeh, former Lebanese Communist Party chief George Hawi and former defense minister Elias Murr, deeming them of similar nature to Hariri's assassination. Five suspected members of Hizbullah have been indicted by the court over Hariri's murder. The party has slammed the court as an American-Israeli scheme and vowed that the suspects will never be found. A trial in absentia opened in January 2014, but despite international warrants for their arrest, the Hizbullah suspects are yet to appear in court.

Lassen Visits Army Outpost in Arsal, Discusses EU Support
Naharnet/September 14/17/The Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, Ambassador Christina Lassen, visited on Thursday the 9th Brigade of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) deployed around the northeastern town of Arsal, an official statement said. Lassen also held meetings with the Head of the Municipality of Arsal, Bassel el-Hujeiri, and with UN agencies representatives. "The visit was an opportunity to pay tribute to the LAF for the successful mission conducted against extremist groups in the area and to renew the condolences for the loss of Lebanese soldiers," said the statement. Lassen reiterated the European Union’s full support to the LAF's mission in fighting terrorism and to secure Lebanon's borders. "The EU will step up its long-term support for Integrated Border Management. The EU is and will remain engaged to support the sovereignty, stability, territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon. The EU is supporting Lebanon in its fight against terrorism," Ambassador Lassen said. Following the visit to the 9th Brigade, Lassen met with Head of the Municipality of Arsal, Bassel el-Hujeiri, where she took stock of the situation of the local population and refugees in the town of Arsal and reassured him of EU's support. "I am very glad to visit Arsal at this particular moment. I am aware that the citizens of Arsal have been through very challenging times recently. We hope that with the successful military victory against the extremists a new chapter can begin in this border region,” she was quoted as saying. She also acknowledged the challenges to public services in the town posed by the refugee crisis and reiterated the on-going EU assistance for the rehabilitation of infrastructure and the provision of services.
Ambassador Lassen and Hujeiri were later joined by representatives from UNDP and UNICEF to discuss concrete support measures, particularly for the rehabilitation of waste water networks in the area.

Sami Gemayel Invites Political Authority to 'Step Down'
Naharnet/September 14/17/Kataeb party leader MP Sami Gemayel has called on “Lebanon's authority to step down” after a rally to celebrate the army's eastern border victory against Islamic State jihadists was called off, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday. “Day after day, this authority proves its inability, failure and complicity, and day by day the need for its departure increases in order to save the free national decision and restore national sovereignty and establish the state's reference,” said Gemayel in an interview to the daily. He added lamenting “the cancellation of a popular celebration of the Lebanese army's victory,” adding that “the political authority is depriving the army and Lebanese people of the moral and national enjoyment of victory and sacrifices.”“The official argument that talked about technical reasons is not suitable for a country that has the capacity and potential to organize such a celebration. As for the fear of security breaches, it is part of the continuous attempts to hit the morale of the army and to show it as unable to control the security of the celebration,” added the Kataeb chief. Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil was the first politician to call for such a celebration before his invitation was officially endorsed by the defense and tourism ministers who also belong to the FPM. Defense Minister Yacoub al-Sarraf and Tourism Minister Avedis Guidanian held a joint press conference to invite the Lebanese to take part in the Thursday rally but on Tuesday the defense and tourism ministries issued a statement saying the celebration was “postponed” after “consultations with the three presidents” and for “purely logistical reasons.”Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Wednesday that the event was mainly called off to avoid “conflicting stances” from President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri on the 2014 Arsal clashes, the probe that Aoun has ordered into the kidnap of troops and policemen that year, and Hizbullah's role in the country. “Some reports also said that there were fears that the rally could come under a terrorist attack, not to mention that the participants would have come from different and rival political forces and bringing them together in one place during this period would have been a dangerous move,” the daily added, noting that the Army Command was also not enthusiastic about the event seeing as the families of the slain troops are still grieving over their sons. The developments come after Lebanon recovered the bodies of servicemen abducted and executed by the Islamic State group as part of a Hizbullah-led ceasefire agreement. The ceasefire followed separate but simultaneous anti-IS offensives by the Lebanese and Syrian armies and Hizbullah on both sides of the Lebanese-Syrian border. President Aoun, Army Commander General Joseph Aoun and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah declared victory over the IS group in the wake of the assaults.

Hariri Holds Talks with Geagea at Center House
Naharnet/September 14/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Thursday held talks at the Center House with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. According to Hariri's press office, the talks tackled “the latest local and regional developments.” Talks were then continued over a dinner banquet in honor of Geagea and the attendees. The meeting was attended by Information Minister Melhem Riachi of the LF, Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury of Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement and the premier's aide Nader Hariri.

Aoun Says Probe into Arsal Incidents 'Targets None', Hariri Briefs Ministers on Russian Visit
Naharnet/September 14/17/President Michel Aoun presided over a government meeting at the Baabda Palace on Thursday where he stressed that the probe into the Arsal incidents “does not target anyone but aims to reveal the truth and banish vengeance.”“Investigations into the Arsal incidents do not target anyone. They aim to unveil the truth and banish all the talk about vengeance,” said Aoun at the beginning of the session. The President had ordered a probe into the 2014 kidnap and consequent execution of a number of troops and policemen. His call came after Lebanon recovered the bodies of nine troops who were kidnapped by the Islamic State group in 2014 before being eventually executed. Commenting on Lebanon's economy, Aoun said: “The International Monetary Fund has assured continued support for Lebanon and welcomed a plan against corruption. It has also stressed the importance of adopting a state budget.” The IMF said in a report Wednesday that “Lebanon's economy has showed resilience despite the burden of absorbing refugees from Syria's grinding conflict.”However it cautioned that although “Lebanon has made political progress in recent months, it can improve growth through additional reforms to help the business climate.”For his part Prime Minister Saad Hariri who held a closed -meeting with Aoun before the cabinet congregated, briefed the ministers on his latest meeting with Russian officials in Moscow. “The army leadership would be in contact with the Russian side to discuss cooperation at the military level,” said Hariri, expressing satisfaction with the outcome of talks during his two-day visit to Moscow concluded Wednesday. The PM said the Russian leaders have showed keenness for cooperation with Lebanon in the economic and tourism fields. He also highlighted the Russian “side's eagerness to invest in the field of energy in Lebanon.”

Cabinet Appoints Members of Electoral Supervisory Commission
The Cabinet on Thursday appointed the members of the Electoral Supervisory Commission that will oversee the 2018 parliamentary elections. According to Information Minister Melhem Riachi, the 11-member Commission will be chaired by Nadim Abdul Malek and comprised of Nouhad Jabr, Aouni Ramadan, Philippe Abi Akl, Mouwaffaq al-Yafi, Atallah Ghasham, George Mourani, Carine Geagea, Silvana al-Laqqis, Andre Sader and Arda Ekmekji. Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said the issue of the parliamentary by-elections was not discussed due to “lack of time.”Riachi meanwhile said that the Cabinet will hold an extraordinary session on Sunday evening to continue discussing the remaining items of its Thursday agenda.

IS Frees Hizbullah Captive after Stranded Convoy Reaches Jihadist-Held Territory
Naharnet/September 14/17/Hizbullah party said that the Islamic State group has released captive fighter Ahmed Maatouk early on Thursday as part of a Hizbullah-IS deal. Maatouk arrived at the southern town Nabatieh after crossing into Lebanon at dawn through the Jusi-Qusayr border crossing with Syria, Hizbullah's Media Channel said. Maatouk was released after a convoy of Islamic State fighters, evacuated from Lebanon under a Hizbullah-IS deal, reached their destination in Syria's Deir Ezzor. Busloads of Islamic State fighters stranded in the Syrian desert reached jihadist-held territory after the US-led coalition stopped surveillance of the convoy, a monitor said. Coalition drones had been circling the stranded 11-vehicle convoy for days and periodically picking off IS fighters if they strayed too far from the vehicles. But the convoy, with as many as 200 jihadists and 200 civilians on board, arrived in Deir Ezzor eastern Syria "after the coalition decision to stop their surveillance on the convoy", said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor. A source on the ground told AFP "the operation is done, Daesh (IS) convoy reached Deir Ezzor province". The US-led coalition on Friday pulled aircraft from the skies above the convoy so regime and Russian forces could go past, officials said. "To ensure safe deconfliction of efforts to defeat ISIS, coalition surveillance aircraft departed the adjacent airspace at the request of Russian officials during their assault on Deir Ezzor," the coalition said in a statement. The vehicles left the Lebanon-Syria border region on August 28 under an evacuation deal negotiated between IS and Hizbullah, which has intervened in the war in neighboring Syria to prop up the Damascus government. But the US-led coalition pounded the road to Deir Ezzor with air strikes to prevent the convoy reaching the IS-held town of Albukamal on the Iraqi border.The United States has repeatedly stressed that it was not party to the Hizbullah deal and said the fate of those aboard the buses was not a coalition issue.

Casino Du Liban Reassures after U.S. Security Warning
The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon has issued a security message for U.S. citizens in Lebanon and said it has barred the movement of U.S. government staff to the Casino Du Liban in Jounieh due to “ongoing threats.”“Due to ongoing threats to locations such as the Casino Du Liban in Jounieh, Lebanon, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut has barred any movement of U.S. government staff to that Casino,” said the message which was published on the Embassy's website. “As always, the U.S. Embassy will continue to evaluate the movements of its personnel, and encourages all U.S. citizens to be aware of their immediate surroundings at all times and take appropriate measures to ensure their safety and security,” it added.“Terrorist incidents may occur with little or no warning. In the event of a security incident, avoid the area and monitor the media for the latest developments,” the Embassy cautioned. Casino Du Liban chairman Roland Khoury meanwhile reassured that the Embassy's move is a “routine measure that is not exclusively related to Casino Du Liban.” In remarks to MTV, Khoury noted that the Casino is guarded by “an army intelligence post, an Internal Security Forces post, an army checkpoint at its entrance, in addition to private security guards.”Khoury also revealed that the Casino's administration has taken a decision to bar the entry of cars into the Casino's premises, reassuring that “the customers' safety and well-being are guaranteed.”

Lassen Visits Army Outpost in Arsal, Discusses EU Support
Naharnet/September 14/17/The Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, Ambassador Christina Lassen, visited on Thursday the 9th Brigade of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) deployed around the northeastern town of Arsal, an official statement said. Lassen also held meetings with the Head of the Municipality of Arsal, Bassel el-Hujeiri, and with UN agencies representatives. "The visit was an opportunity to pay tribute to the LAF for the successful mission conducted against extremist groups in the area and to renew the condolences for the loss of Lebanese soldiers," said the statement. Lassen reiterated the European Union’s full support to the LAF's mission in fighting terrorism and to secure Lebanon's borders. "The EU will step up its long-term support for Integrated Border Management. The EU is and will remain engaged to support the sovereignty, stability, territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon. The EU is supporting Lebanon in its fight against terrorism," Ambassador Lassen said. Following the visit to the 9th Brigade, Lassen met with Head of the Municipality of Arsal, Bassel el-Hujeiri, where she took stock of the situation of the local population and refugees in the town of Arsal and reassured him of EU's support."I am very glad to visit Arsal at this particular moment. I am aware that the citizens of Arsal have been through very challenging times recently. We hope that with the successful military victory against the extremists a new chapter can begin in this border region,” she was quoted as saying. She also acknowledged the challenges to public services in the town posed by the refugee crisis and reiterated the on-going EU assistance for the rehabilitation of infrastructure and the provision of services.Ambassador Lassen and Hujeiri were later joined by representatives from UNDP and UNICEF to discuss concrete support measures, particularly for the rehabilitation of waste water networks in the area.

State Security Nabs Top Syrian Militant, Terror Recruiter
Naharnet/September 14/17/State Security on Thursday arrested a top Syrian militant after he made suspicious movements in the Bekaa city of Zahle, the National News Agency said. “He was carrying the ID and documents of a dead person,” NNA added.
Identifying him as Mohammed H., aka Abu Qassem al-Bakhaani, the leader of the al-Sakhra Battalion of the al-Sham Liberation Brigade, the agency said the man was wounded in battles in Syria before joining the Saraya al-Sham group in the outskirts of the Lebanese border town of Arsal. Separately, State Security said it arrested three Syrians after “close monitoring of their suspicious activities.” “They were about to buy assault weapons equipped with silencers and anesthetic drugs with the aim of preparing armed robberies against well-known moneychangers and wealthy individuals,” State Security added.
“During interrogation, it turned out that they had been previously convicted of owning and transporting assault weapons and that one of them belongs to a terrorist group for which he sought to recruit members in Beirut,” the security agency said.

Army Ups Security Measures Around Ain el-Hilweh
Naharnet/September 14/17/Lebanon’s army stepped up security measures on Thursday outside the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh, the National News Agency reported. The military intensified precautions and conducted security checks at the camp's main entrances, NNA said. Long queues of cars were forming outside the camp's entrances as the army conducted thorough inspection. The increased measures come after a burst of intense clashes in said camp that coincided with the army's battle on the outskirts of the country's eastern border. General Security chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim had linked Ain el-Hilweh's clashes with the battles in the outskirts saying “they were not innocent.” NNA also said that the Joint Palestinian Security Forces in Ain el-Hilweh have handed over to the Lebanese Army Intelligence is Sidon a wanted Palestinian national. The defendant was handed to a military checkpoint near Sidon Governmental Hospital. By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, leaving the factions themselves to handle security. Ain el-Hilweh -- the most densely populated Palestinian camp in Lebanon -- is home to some 61,000 Palestinians, including 6,000 who have fled the war in neighboring Syria. Several armed factions including extremist groups have a foothold in the camp which has been plagued for years by intermittent clashes.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 14-15/17
King Abdullah II: ‘Cease-Fire in South Syria Contributes in Finding Political Solution’
Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17/Amman- Jordan’s King Abdullah II said he is “deeply concerned” with the situation in southern Syria and that his country’s border with Syria would only reopen “when the right security conditions materialize on the ground.” The King told the state news agency Petra in an interview that the military campaign against ISIS in Syria “could push it south toward Jordan” and that Jordan’s top priority is to protect its borders. “There has been substantial progress in the fight against ISIS, which could push it south towards Jordan, and we are fully ready and capable of decisively dealing with them and with any escalation that could threaten us, be it by ISIS, any foreign group fighting in Syria or operations that target civilians near our border and cause new waves of refugees,” King Abdullah was quoted as saying. “Jordan will continue to play an active role within the global coalition against terrorism,” he said. He also said that the ceasefire agreement in southwest Syria, secured recently by Jordan, Russia and the United States, achieves common interests. It can be replicated elsewhere in Syria, thus creating an environment conducive to reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis through the Geneva process. “After seven years of destruction, killing, and displacement, it is high time that a political solution accepted by all parties in Syria was reached to end the crisis, guaranteeing the country’s territorial integrity and the safety of its citizens and securing a future of peace and decent living for all Syrians,” the monarch stressed. “This has been and remains our firm position since the beginning of the crisis. It is possible to pursue the reopening of border crossings when the right developments and security conditions materialize on the ground.” The King pointed out that the fight against extremism and terrorism is a global, long-term fight, and the recent positive developments in the war on terrorism have been the result of improved multilateral coordination. He noted that the areas liberated from ISIS in Iraq and Syria are not the endgame, adding that ISIS may resurface “if we do not provide fundamental solutions to the various crises that some Arab countries are currently going through. We must also give hope to the peoples of the region, who have been weighed down by the ongoing cycle of war and violence. It is the time we opened horizons of hope for the present and future generations.”“We must not let the developments in the Middle East overshadow other forms of killing, violence, and displacement perpetrated against Muslims, such as what is taking place in Myanmar,” noted the King while condemning the crimes and brutal massacres committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, which have killed and displaced tens of thousands of innocent Muslims.

Qatar Emir Requests Meetings with Jewish US Leaders
Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17/London and Tel Aviv – Qatar is reportedly seeking to arrange meetings between Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and leading members of US Jewish organizations as part of an effort to improve its standing with the US and ending its isolation, according to US Jewish sources in Tel Aviv. Doha is under regional pressure and isolation for supporting terrorist organizations, attempts to destabilize the Middle East, and using its influential satellite channel al-Jazeera to encourage revolutions in other countries. Qatar is trying to arrange meetings between the Emir and Crown Prince Abdallah and the heads of major Jewish US far right organizations during next week’s UN General Assembly. Qatar’s campaign is led by Nick Muzin, a public relations adviser whom Doha recently hired to improve its image in Washington and within the Jewish community. Muzin is known for his strong ties with Republican Senator Ted Cruz. He defended the campaign, saying engagement with Qatar can only be in the best interests of the United States and the Jewish community. “We cannot allow Qatar to be ostracized by its neighbors and pushed into Iran’s sphere of influence,” Muzin reiterated. Israeli sources stated that this campaign is opposed by several US Jewish far right leaders especially the Zionist Organization of America and its leader Mort Klein who refused to meet with the Qataris. Klein described Qatar’s request a public relations attempt to moderate its image as a country that supports and funds terrorism.
Klein added that “it’s wrong to meet with them without seeing that they’ve made serious movement toward reform and change. They need to stop funding Hamas. They need to change the format of Al Jazeera, their TV station, which incites against Israel.”“If they did some of those things, at least started, I would be interested in meeting them,” Klein said, adding they must provide first serious proof that they really are changing. Klein stated that Qatar is too close to Iran and is useless to meet with them if they don’t change. In related news, US President Donald Trump resumed his calls to the region on Tuesday in a phone conversation with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. The White House announced that Trump called Sheikh Mohammed to discuss efforts to resolve the ongoing dispute with Qatar which reached the 100 day mark on Wednesday.Trump underscored the importance of unity among US partners in the region and the need for all countries to do more to cut off funding for terrorist groups, discredit extremist ideology, and defeat terrorism.

Iraq MPs Sack Kirkuk Governor, Ankara Says Kurdish Referendum will ‘Have a Cost’
Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17/Iraqi lawmakers sacked on Thursday the governor of Kirkuk over a referendum on Kurdish independence set for September 25 as Turkey warned the vote would “have a cost.”The sacking of Najmaldin Karim came upon a request made by Prime Minister Haider Abadi after Kirkuk – an oil-rich province claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq – decided to take part in the referendum. Iraq’s parliament on Tuesday voted down the plan in a session which prompted a walkout by Kurdish lawmakers. The Turkish foreign ministry warned in a statement that the Iraqi Kurdish leaders’ call for the referendum was “worrying.” The Iraqi Kurdish government’s “insistence on the referendum despite all friendly advice will definitely have a cost”, the ministry said, urging Erbil to return from their “erroneous approach.”The ministry said it welcomed the decision made by the Iraqi parliament, adding that their vote was a “clear indicator of importance attached to Iraq’s political unity and territorial integrity.”Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani has vowed to press ahead with the vote, calling it “a natural right”. “Barzani’s referendum decision is a historic mistake. Turkey will follow policies that take Iraq’s territorial integrity as a basis,” Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said. “The northern Iraq referendum must be canceled, if not it will have a cost and retribution,” he said, adding the move would erode the region’s peace and bring security risks.

Kurdish Businessman Leads Anti-Referendum Campaign
Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17/Al-Sulaimaniya – Few days before the holding of the independence referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, a Kurdish businessman is leading a “No for Now” campaign, fearing that the announcement of an independent Kurdish state would fuel tensions in the Middle East. With five million Kurds in Iraq entitled to vote and share the dream of statehood, the outcome of the referendum on September 25 in the region of northern Iraq is already known. However, some voters fear now is not the right time to break away from Iraq, amid concerns that such separation would bring about further chaos in the region. A rich Kurdish businessman has launched a “No for now” campaign to explain the economic and political risks of a “Yes” vote. “A ‘No’ vote is better for our people, better for Kurdistan’s future,” Shaswar Abdulwahid Qadir, 39, told Reuters after a rally on Saturday in a soccer stadium in Sulaimaniya, Iraqi Kurdistan’s second largest city. He warned against the consequences of an independence declaration, saying: “It will bring to our people an unstable situation after the referendum.”Qadir said his goal was not to resist independence forever. He explained, however, that a vote in favor of the referendum now would “unleash the wrath of governments” in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria which could see it as a precedent that could encourage separatist-minded Kurds in those countries. Reuters reported that during a rally in Sulaimaniya, the businessman was welcomed into the stadium by dancers in colorful traditional dress and by a crowd chanting his name. But he preferred to delay the start by an hour to allow the stadium to fill up with supporters, which never happened, as around 2,500 people attended, occupying only one third of the arena. Relations between Baghdad and Erbil saw a severe deterioration over the past years, culminating in a decision by the Iraqi government to cut funding to Iraqi Kurdistan in 2014 in protest at its construction of a pipeline to export oil to Turkey. Such measures have fueled feelings of bitterness among the Kurds, who suffered under late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
However, several persons interviewed by Reuters in many cities across Kurdistan have expressed their concerns over the possible fallout of the referendum even though they favor independence. “This referendum is not for the country, it’s for the dictators in power,” said Ahmed Nana, a 22-year-old barista at a coffee shop in Sulaimaniya, as quoted by Reuters. “Nothing has polarized Kurdish society as much as this vote,” said Bahra Saleh, an analyst at the American University of Iraq in the Kurdish city.

Iranians among 52 Dead in Southern Iraq Attacks Claimed by ISIS
Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17/Gunmen and suicide car bombers on Thursday killed at least 52 people including Iranians near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, in an attack claimed by terror group ISIS. The attackers struck at midday, opening fire on a restaurant before getting into a car and blowing themselves up at a nearby security checkpoint, officials said. Security sources said the attackers were disguised as members of the Hashed al-Shaabi. The toll from the attacks was 52 dead and 91 wounded, said Abdel Hussein al-Jabri, deputy health chief for the Dhiqar province of which Nasiriyah is the capital. Jabri told AFP that many of the wounded were in serious condition. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement carried by its Amaq propaganda arm. It said several suicide bombers had staged the assault on a restaurant and a security checkpoint. The toll makes it the deadliest ISIS attack in Iraq since pro-government forces drove the extreists out of second city Mosul in July. The Sunni extremist group regularly stages attacks in Iraq, where it has also lost swathes of territory to US-backed pro-government forces. Thursday’s attacks come as Iraqi forces backed by tribal fighters close in one of the last ISIS bastions in the country: the Al-Qaim area on the border with war-ravaged Syria. The group’s only other stronghold is Hawija, in Kirkuk province some 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of Baghdad. ISIS has suffered a string of defeats on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria, leaving in tatters the cross-border “caliphate” it declared in 2014. But any military offensive in Hawija is expected to be postponed due to a planned referendum on Kurdish independence.

Technical Consultations Precede Astana 6, Washington Participates as Observer
Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17/Moscow – Experts from the guarantor states held a round of consultations on Wednesday in the Kazakh capital to prepare for the 6th round of talks on Syria, which will be officially launched on Thursday and is expected to witness the signing of an agreement on the establishment of a de-escalation zone in Idlib governorate. The United States confirmed its participation as an observer in this meeting, but expressed concern over Iran’s presence in Astana as a guarantor state. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif arrived in Moscow on Wednesday, on an unannounced visit, to discuss the Syrian file with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin. Delegates from countries and parties involved in the Astana negotiations will take part in the talks, including the Guarantor States (Russia, Turkey and Iran), representatives of the Syrian regime and the Syrian opposition factions, the United Nations represented by International Envoy Staffan de Mistura, as well as Jordan and the United States as observers. David Satterfield, the US acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, will head the US delegation. In a statement, the US State Department said Satterfield would “reinforce US support for all efforts to achieve a sustainable de-escalation of violence and provision of unhindered humanitarian aid.” But it said Washington “remains concerned with Iran’s involvement as a so-called ‘guarantor’ of the Astana process.”
The State Department went on to say that Iran’s “activities in Syria and unquestioning support” for President Bashar al-Assad’s government “have perpetuated the conflict and increased the suffering of ordinary Syrians.”The Kazakh foreign ministry said that Thursday’s talks were expected to focus on the establishment of a de-escalation zone in Idlib and the strengthening of the cease-fire in other areas. The Kremlin said in a statement that talks between Putin and Zarif have touched on the situation in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Iraq and the Gulf region, and the fight against terrorism. For his part, the Russian foreign minister said following his meeting with Zarif that discussions have focused on the situation in Syria and Iraq, expressing hope that the current round of Astana negotiations would be successful.

Hamas Considers Dissolving Administrative Committee as Part of Deal with Fatah
Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17/Ramallah- Fatah stated that it will need further clarifications regarding Hamas’ latest statements on ending the division between the two movements. At a press conference in Ramallah, Fatah spokesman Nasser al-Qudwa said that it is imperative to hold an effective and honest dialogue to reach the desired outcomes. Qudwa determined the movement’s three demands to end the separation, saying Hamas must truly accept those fair requests. The three demands include dissolving the administrative committee formed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, enabling the Palestinian consensual government to function in the territory and commit to holding legislative and presidential elections. Qudwa also praised efforts exerted by Egypt to end division between the two movements and restore national unity. A Fatah delegation will arrive in Cairo on Friday or Saturday and is scheduled to meet with Egyptian officials following talks with Hamas members, which were described as positive. Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad announced that there will be no meetings or dialogues until Hamas announces the dissolution of its governing body in the Gaza Strip and enable the Palestinian Authority government to assume responsibility in its place. He added that Hamas must approve to holding legislative and presidential polls. Ahmad reiterated that while Fatah considers Hamas’ statements “positive,” it wants the organization to dissolve its governing body in Gaza rather than merely announce its readiness to do so.Qudwa and Ahmad’s statements confirm Fatah’s commitment to the roadmap set by President Mahmoud Abbas to end the division. A Fatah source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the movement wasn’t informed about any Egyptian initiative and would like to listen what Cairo has to suggest and then decide. He added that Fatah’s stance is known and hasn’t change, elaborating that the solution is simple and that Hamas must comply in order to proceed with the Egypt-backed dialogue. A Fatah delegation will arrive in Egypt shortly after the Hamas delegation led by head of political bureau Ismail Haniyah held several meetings in Cairo. Following its meetings, Hamas announced it was ready to comply with the three conditions given that an expanded conference for Palestinian factions be held in Cairo to form a national unity government. Fatah Member Ahmad was doubtful about Hamas’ statement. However, Hamas sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the movement is somehow angered by Ahmad’s position adding that it had informed Egyptian officials about its readiness to meet the agreement immediately and had asked for guarantees in return. Yet, Hamas source rejected Fatah’s condition to dismantle the committee prior to the dialogue and stated that Hamas is willing to do that after agreeing with Fatah and not before. He added that Abbas must end his measures against Gaza. Few months ago, Abbas began a series of procedures against the Gaza strip including taxation and public servants salary cuts. Egypt’s intervention to end the separation is considered the strongest in years. Haaretz recently mentioned that Russia is also pressuring to reconcile Hamas and Fatah. The newspaper stated that only two days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that reconciliation must be achieved, Hamas announced it was prepared to dissolve the committee. The newspaper added that if Russia can bring about such a reconciliation, it will achieve a double victory. It will be seen as the only country capable of solving disputes in the region, especially given its recent “success” in Syria and it will have made an important declarative contribution to blocking Iranian influence. A Hamas delegation led by Moussa Abu Marzouk is expected to visit Moscow in the coming days. Marzouk met with Russian Ambassador to Egypt Sergei Kirpichenkov and discussed recent political developments concerning the reconciliation, according to Hamas’ statement. Kirpichenkov welcomed Hamas’ visit to Russia and reiterated his country’s full support to the just Palestinian cause and the importance of national unity among Palestinian powers.

U.S. Treasury Announces New Iran Sanctions
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/17/The United States on Thursday imposed economic sanctions on 11 individuals and companies accused of supporting Iran's Revolutionary Guards or engaging in hostile cyber-attacks on U.S. banks, the Treasury Department announced.
The move to toughen sanctions for Iran's alleged destabilization of the Middle East contrasted with an expected decision by the White House to continue to exempt Iran from sanctions imposed on its nuclear program which America undertook to remove as its part of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
Trump's administration has criticized this deal, negotiated by the prior Obama administration, but has so far continued to waive the nuclear-related sanctions. The new sanctions announced Thursday targeted an engineering company, two air transport firms and an IT company accused of carrying out denial-of-service attacks on at least nine American financial institutions, including major banks and stock exchanges between 2011 and 2012. "Treasury will continue to take strong actions to counter Iran's provocations, including support for the IRGC-Qods Force and terrorist extremists, the ongoing campaign of violence in Syria, and cyber-attacks meant to destabilize the U.S. financial system," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.Speaking on condition of anonymity, senior administration officials told reporters on Thursday the U.S. was pursuing sanctions on Iran in areas beyond its nuclear program but that the Trump administration would hold Tehran to its obligations under the 2015 agreement. The sanctions effectively freeze their targets out of much of the global financial system and block them from accessing assets within the United States. The alleged cyber-attacks occurred between December 2011 and December 2012, according to the Treasury Department, which said the company in question, ITSec Team, was working at the time for the Revolutionary Guards, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2007. Other firms designated by the Treasury included the Sadid Caran Saba Engineering Company, which Treasury said had been under contract since as early as 2014 to install explosion-proof crane systems for the Guards' Research and Self-Sufficiency Jehad Organization, which develops ballistic missiles for Iran and is already subject to U.S. sanctions. The Khors Aircompany, based in Ukraine, and Dart Airlines were also designated by the Treasury for allegedly helping provide U.S. aircraft, as well as crew and services to Iran's Caspian Air and Iraq's al-Naser Airlines, companies that are themselves already under U.S. sanctions for supporting the Revolutionary Guards. Additionally, the Treasury Department named seven Iranian nationals currently under indictment by a federal grand jury in New York for their alleged roles in the ITSec attacks.

Iranians among 74 Dead in Iraq Attacks Claimed by IS
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/17/Gunmen and suicide car bombers on Thursday killed at least 74 people, including Iranians, near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. The attackers struck at midday, opening fire on a restaurant before getting into a car and blowing themselves up at a nearby security checkpoint, officials said. Abdel Hussein al-Jabri, deputy health chief for the mainly Shiite province of Dhiqar, said at least 74 people had died, including seven Iranians, and another 93 people were wounded.
That was up from the previous toll of 52 dead and 91 wounded in what was already the deadliest IS attack in Iraq since pro-government forces drove the jihadists out of second city Mosul in July. Security sources said the attackers were disguised as members of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a mainly Shiite paramilitary alliance which has fought alongside the army and police against IS in northern Iraq. Rescue workers and members of the security forces placed bodies in ambulances and cleared away rubble and the carcasses of burnt-out cars from the site. Burned bodies and vehicles including buses and trucks testified to the violence of the attack. Shelters built of corrugated metal were reduced to scraps of metal, twisted by heat.The area targeted is on a highway used by Shiite pilgrims and visitors from neighboring Iran to travel to the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala further north, although Dhiqar has previously been spared the worst of Iraq's violence.IS claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement carried by its Amaq propaganda arm.
- IS claim -
It said several suicide bombers had staged the assault on a restaurant and a security checkpoint, killing "dozens of Shiites."The Sunni extremist group regularly stages attacks in Iraq, where it has lost swathes of territory to U.S.-backed pro-government forces. Adding to the pressure on the jihadists, Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Tal Afar and the surrounding region from IS on August 31. Thursday's attacks come as Iraqi forces backed by tribal fighters closed in one of the last IS bastions in the country: Al-Qaim area on the border with war-ravaged Syria. On Wednesday, an AFP correspondent in that area saw several artillery units positioning themselves around the towns of Rawa and Anna, 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the border with Syria. The group's only other stronghold is Hawija, in Kirkuk province some 300 kilometers north of Baghdad. IS has suffered a string of defeats on the battlefields of both Iraq and Syria, leaving in tatters the cross-border "caliphate" it declared in 2014. But despite these setbacks, the extremist group still has hundreds of fighters ready to carry out suicide attacks .In addition, any military offensive in Hawija is expected to be postponed due to a planned referendum on Kurdish independence on September 25. Acting at the request of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the Iraqi parliament on Thursday sacked the governor of Kirkuk over his decision for the northern province to also take part in the Kurdish referendum.

N. Korean Group Demands US be Turned to 'Ashes and Darkness'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/17/A North Korean organization demanded Thursday that the United States be "beaten to death" like a "rabid dog" for spearheading fresh U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang over its latest nuclear test, adding ally Japan should be "sunken into the sea." The U.N. Security Council unanimously imposed an eighth set of sanctions on the North Monday, banning it from trading in textiles and restricting its oil imports, a week after Pyongyang tested what it said was a hydrogen bomb small enough to fit onto a missile, raising tensions on the peninsula. A spokesman for the North's Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee (KAPPC) denounced the "heinous sanctions resolution" and said there were mounting calls for strong retaliation against the U.S. and its allies. "The army and people of the DPRK are unanimously demanding that the Yankees, chief culprit in cooking up the 'sanctions resolution', be beaten to death as a stick is fit for a rabid dog," he said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency. "Now is the time to annihilate the U.S. imperialist aggressors. Let's reduce the U.S. mainland into ashes and darkness," it said. North Korea has a long history of issuing dramatic threats against the US and its allies but not carrying them out. According to the South's unification ministry, the KAPPC acts as "a window for improving relations with countries like the U.S. and Japan... while campaigning to change North Korea's closed and negative image."But the KAPPC statement accused Tokyo of "dancing to the tune of the U.S." and warned of a "telling blow" against Japan, noting the missile test that overflew the Asian island nation last month. The North's launch of an intermediate range missile over Hokkaido triggered alarm bells, sparking emergency sirens and mass text alerts in northern Japan. "The four islands of the archipelago should be sunken into the sea by the nuclear bomb of Juche," KAPPC warned, referring to the North's national philosophy of "Juche" or self-reliance. North Korea says it needs nuclear weapons to protect itself from "hostile" U.S. forces. Experts believe Pyongyang's weapons programme has made rapid progress under leader Kim Jong-Un, with previous sanctions having done little to deter it.

Bin Laden's Son Calls Muslims to Syria Jihad
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 14/17/Hamza bin Laden, son and would-be heir of late al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, has urged Muslims around the world to join the jihad in Syria against "crusaders" and Shiites. "The cause of Syria is the cause of the entire worldwide Muslim community," he said in an undated audio recording released on jihadist networks Thursday. "In order for the people of Syria to resist the Crusader, Shiite and international aggression, Muslims -- all Muslims -- must stand with them, support them and give them victory," he said."Wakefulness is essential, as is quick, serious and organized movement, to support the people of blessed Syria before it is too late."Hamza, who is in his mid-20s, has become active as an al-Qaida propagandist since his father's death at the hands of U.S. special forces in May 2011. Syria has been devastated by a six-year war and given an opening to jihadists including the Islamic State group and the Fateh al-Sham Front. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Sunni extremist group that last month seized control of the northern Syrian city of Idlib, is dominated by the al-Qaida offshoot, which officially broke ties with the network founded by Osama bin Laden.
But experts say the name change was little more than a re-branding. Many believe the group is positioning itself as more moderate than the Islamic State group in hopes of a resurgence. The United States added Hamza bin Laden to its terrorist blacklist in January. The U.S. Treasury estimates that he was born in 1989 in the Saudi city of Jeddah. His mother was Khairiah Sabar, one of the al-Qaida founder's three wives. Last year, the fifth anniversary of the death of the man who ordered the 9/11 attacks on the United States, experts began to note his son's increasing prominence in the movement. The State Department has designated him a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist", freezing any assets he holds in areas under U.S. jurisdiction. In an undated audio message released in August, Hamza bin Laden urged his Saudi supporters to rebel and overthrow the kingdom's rulers. Experts believe he is preparing to take over the leadership of al-Qaida and exploit the Islamic State group's defeats in Syria and Iraq to unify the global jihadist movement under the banner of al-Qaida.

Peres' Friends Salute Him Year after Death
Friends including Tony Blair joined with old political rivals Thursday in saluting Israel's Nobel laureate Shimon Peres and his dream of peace, on the first anniversary of his death. In a state ceremony at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl national cemetery, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin paid a warm tribute, along with British former premier and Middle East peace envoy Blair. "It's sad without you, even for those who didn't always agree with you," said Rivlin, a former lawmaker in the right-wing Likud party, who lost to Peres in the 2007 presidential race but won the post in 2014. Peres, a Labor party stalwart, served twice as prime minister and held senior cabinet posts during a public career spanning 70 years, predating Israeli statehood. He shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for his role in negotiating the Oslo peace accords, which envisioned an independent Palestinian state. But attempts to resolve the dispute have been at a standstill since a U.S.-led initiative collapsed in 2014. "The dream of peace which you wove is still far, far off," Rivlin said Thursday, addressing his remarks to "My dear Shimon.""You taught us that the world, including our neighborhood, can be a friend, not just a predator," he said. "That peace and security are two sides of the very same coin."Peres died aged 93 on September 28, 2016. His funeral in Jerusalem was attended by a gallery of world leaders including then U.S. president Barack Obama. The anniversary according to the Hebrew calendar falls on Saturday. Blair, who became envoy of the Middle East Quartet of peacemakers after leaving the British prime minister's office in 2007, said that Peres always stayed true to his vision. "He never gave up on peace with the Palestinians or on his belief that peace was best secured by an independent state of Palestine alongside a recognized state of Israel," he said. Chemi Peres, one of the late president's three children, said that in his biography, published in English on Tuesday, his father shows that he knew his life was coming to an end. He quoted from the final chapter of the book, "No Room for Small Dreams: Courage, Imagination and the Making of Modern Israel.""I was given about two and a half billion seconds and I decided to make use of each one of them in order to make a difference," he read. "I don't regret any of my dreams," Simon Peres wrote. "My only regret is not having dreamed more."

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 14-15/17
The Future of the IPhone Is Boring
Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg View/September 14/17
There are objective reasons why some of Apple’s new smartphones, to be unveiled on Tuesday, will sell for more than $1,000. The iPhones, including the top-of-the line X model — the 10th anniversary edition — will have some cutting-edge components, which are expensive and rare. Prices are increasing for all leading smartphones that come ever closer to combining computer and camera in one perfect device. But Apple also needs the higher margin to meet the enormous expectations of an increasingly competitive market.
To differentiate itself, a modern phone, especially a flagship one, needs an impressive screen, a processor able to handle some relatively advanced gaming, and a camera that can take pictures comparable to those of the best amateur cameras. It’s getting increasingly difficult — even for Apple, with its superior supply chain management and ability to make or break suppliers — to source the right components in the necessary quantities. That drives up the cost of producing phones. According to IHS-Markit, the iPhone 6s cost $188 to manufacture, and the 32 GB iPhone 7 cost $220. The manufacturing cost of iPhone-X is expected to rise to a hefty $387.
Manufacturing costs are also going up for Samsung — to $307 for the Galaxy S8 from $264 for the S7 — and for the makers of cheaper phones, such as Huawei, Lenovo and other Chinese manufacturers. Even though less is expected from their products, they cannot afford to lag too far behind in terms of features. But while the average prices of a phone sold by Apple and Samsung have held steady in the last couple of years, the makers of cheaper handsets, which have less of a profitability cushion, have noticeably increased prices.
Apple, however, is not just trying to keep its admittedly wide profit margins stable. If it made $550 on every iPhone 7 it sold (with only production cost, and not the company’s other expenses, taken into consideration), a price of $1,000 for the X will bring in $613. Is Apple actually getting greedier, figuring its customers, hooked on the company’s closed ecosystem and constantly improving services, can’t go anywhere?
I doubt it. This is a difficult environment for greed. Apple knows that its installed base is getting older; according to one estimate, by mid-2018, 35 percent of working iPhones will be at least two years old. There are two reasons people aren’t upgrading to the new model as fast as they used to: Mobile operators in the US and Europe have stopped subsidizing handsets, and the annual changes to the smartphones have ceased to make a difference to many users.
A 2015 phone can pretty much do the same things as a 2017 one. Apple managers understand they are running a risk with a $1,000-plus price tag: People will wonder whether any phone, no matter how advanced — even one that’s all screen, even one that’s equipped with facial recognition like a Microsoft Surface and wireless charging like a Samsung — is worth that much money.
The decision to market an ultra-expensive device likely stems from necessity. Apple needs to keep showing growth in order to maintain its lofty valuation. The iPhone is still the mainstay of Apple’s business, steadily generating about two-thirds of the company’s revenue in the quarter immediately after a new model is released, and it’s important to shore up its sales.
eIncreasing prices is the only way to post significant growth in a mature, relatively slow-growing market where your market share is stagnating. According to IDC, Apple’s market share by value, 27.6 percent in the last full quarter, was slightly lower than at the same point in the product cycle last year. That’s also been a pattern for the other market leader, Samsung. The only big manufacturers showing market share increases are Chinese ones — Huawei, Xiaomi, and BBK Electronics brands Oppo and Vivo.
Apple, ever the crafty marketer, is trying to maintain sales volume by releasing its usual incremental update, the iPhone 8, along with the $1,000 iPhone X. Only the biggest admirers of the brand and those who like to show off their wealth will go for the anniversary model — and their purchases should give the whole line a revenue boost. The end result may well prove euphoric to markets. It’s already impressive that Apple has avoided steep revenue drop-offs everywhere except China, where the trend has been negative for quite some time. There’s really no good reason for anyone to indulge the company’s fat profit margins in the absence of operator subsidies. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has done a stellar job of maintaining the brand’s cachet and expanding the model range to appeal to a range of incomes.
The Apple services ecosystem, which Cook has worked hard to expand, gives the company a long-term edge over Samsung, whose software efforts keep falling flat. It’s much harder for the Korean company to push prices over the $1,000 line, and it needs to do that for the same reasons as Apple — rising costs and stagnating market share.
But the Chinese threat to both leaders remains: The option of not paying for familiar logos, just for the actual phone, is there for consumers to pick until the leaders come up with something that truly adds value. That, most likely, won’t be a brighter screen, a better camera, a slightly faster processor or even the ability to graft one’s facial expressions onto emojis — one of iPhone X’s probable features. The incremental game, even if played with Cook’s mastery, is increasingly boring and harder to buy into.
 

Jihadism: The Fear That Dare Not Speak its Name
Dexter Van Zile/Gatestone Institute/September 14/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10993/jihadism-fear
Anti-Zionism delays having to face the threats to world peace and human rights presented by Muslim supremacism.
"One girl had boiling water held over her throat: another had her tongue nailed to a table." — Peter McGloughlin, Easy Meat: Inside Britain's Grooming Gang Scandal.
Muslims who spoke in opposition to the grooming behavior learned that no one outside their community had their back. Clearly, some form of displacement is going on. Jews are safe to criticize; jihadists are not.
One of the most troubling aspects about "peace and justice" activism in the current era is that the very same institutions that condemn Israel so vociferously have had a difficult, if not impossible time confronting the terrible misdeeds of the Assad regime in Syria, ISIS in Iraq and Boko Haram in Nigeria with the same force with which they assail the Jewish state.
Yes, they issue condemnations, but their statements are lamentations that really do not approach in ferocity of the ugly denunciations these institutions target at Israel. In the United States, the problem is most pronounced in liberal Protestant mainline churches such as the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church USA and the United Methodist Church, denominations that have to varying degrees of intensity support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that singles Israel out for condemnation -- in a transparent effort to eradicate the country by economic means -- while remaining shamefully silent about the genocide of Christians in the Middle East.
We also see a tendency in institutions such as the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches and to my dismay as a Catholic, the Vatican and other parts of the Roman Catholic Church, to assail Israel while remaining silent about the problem of jihad.
The Catholic Church, which has condemned anti-Semitism in a document called Nostra Aetate in 1965, also has a difficult time dealing with the problem of Muslim anti-Semitism and anti-Christian hostility in Muslim communities and the religious sources they hold dear.
One source of the problem is that it is simply a lot easier and safer to speak out about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians than it is to confront the violence against Christians in the rest of the Middle East.
If you fly to Israel, you can participate in a protest against the IDF at the security barrier in the morning and be eating in a nice restaurant in Tel Aviv that afternoon without having to worry about getting shot. Protesting against ISIS or the misdeeds of the Iranian government, which puts Westerners in jail, is another, rather more courageous, thing altogether.
The Arab-Israeli conflict has a theme park for many peace activists: Israel. American clergy go on a tour organized by an anti-Israel group like Sabeel then go back home and give PowerPoint presentations about how they protested the security barrier.
Another factor is fear -- fear of Islam. The threat of violence that comes with confronting the impact of Sharia law and jihadism on human rights and national security has been significant, but it has remained doggedly unstated in the witness of churches in the United States. Condemn Israel unfairly or engage in Jew-baiting and you get a letter from CAMERA, the ADL or the local Board of Rabbis. Offend the sensibilities of jihadists and you might get killed.
On this score, it is important to note that anti-Zionism really started to manifest itself in the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) -- the church where the anti-Israel divestment movement got its start in the U.S. -- with the election of a former missionary by the name of Benjamin Weir as moderator of the denomination's General Assembly in 1986.
Prior to his election as moderator, Weir, kidnapped while working as a missionary, spent a year as a hostage held in Lebanon by Hezbollah.
What did he do when he was freed and returned to the U.S.? He used his newfound fame and influence to encourage the PCUSA to pass resolutions condemning, you guessed it -- Israel.
While he did offer some criticism of Hezbollah, his heart really was not in it. It never translated into overtures presented to the denomination's General Assembly. If you read his book about his exploits carefully, you can see that he links his kidnapping to American support for Israel.
Israel was a safe target for the rage he felt over being kidnapped and having a year of his life stolen from him. The jihadists who kidnapped him were not a safe target.
Anti-Zionism delays having to face the threats to world peace and human rights presented by Muslim supremacism.
The failure to come to grips with Muslim supremacism, however, has real consequences that can be seen in the book Easy Meat: Inside Britain's Grooming Gang Scandal, by the English writer Peter McGloughlin. His book details how British political leaders and law enforcement officials turned a blind eye to -- and even suppressed coverage of -- a tremendous scandal that went on for decades: The grooming and rape of thousands of British girls at the hands of Muslim gangs in England.
In short, schoolgirls in England were groomed, raped and forced into prostitution by Muslim men who regarded them as "easy meat." When some girls went to the police, they were ignored; others remained silent because of physical threats and intimidation. "One girl had boiling water held over her throat: another had her tongue nailed to a table," McGloughlin writes.
McGloughlin quotes one source as follows:
Social workers and journalists helped conceal the problem from the general public and as a result of this conspiracy of euphemism and silence, young Muslim men living in a non-Muslim country were able to rape thousands of young girls with impunity for decades.
Thousands. It was not until 2009 that British law enforcement started to prosecute and convict the perpetrators, and British society started to come to grips with the problem of the jihadist mistreatment of women in a number of cities. It was rooted in sharia law, which enshrines Muslim supremacism over non-Muslims, the dominance of men over women and codifies slavery. It has also been used to legitimate Muslim-on-Muslim violence throughout the world.
In the English town of Rotherham (population ca. 258,000), at least 1,400 children were sexually abused by grooming gangs. Schoolgirls were groomed, raped and forced into prostitution by Muslim men who regarded them as "easy meat." (Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
What prompted the silence on the part of responsible elites in England? What made thought leaders in England unable to admit that young British girls were being groomed, raped and forced into prostitution by young Muslim men who waited for them as they left school? Part of it, apparently, was the fear of being called a racist or an Islamophobe.
There was also apparently the fear that publicizing the event might cause riots in the Muslim community and promote the rise of extremism in British politics. The police used this fear to justify their efforts to suppress coverage of the scandal in the media. McGloughlin writes that when a documentary aired in 2004, "The Police, the very group under the spotlight for failure to prosecute these grooming gangs, were able to use the threat that Muslims might riot as an excuse to put pressure on Channel 4 not to show its documentary" about the gangs.
What signal did journalists, activists and government officials send to reform-minded Muslims in Britain when they suppressed open discussion of the problem? Muslims who spoke in opposition to the grooming behavior learned that no one outside their community had their back. They had to endure threats from their fellow Muslims with little support from British elites.
At the same time, it is crucial to note, while this grooming scandal was unfolding in Britain, protesters regularly took to the streets to condemn Israel as it was struggling to defend itself from thousands of rocket attacks from Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since 2005, 11,000 rockets have been fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
During the conflicts between Israel and Hamas, Jews were harassed and bullied by so-called human rights activists in England who largely remained silent about the grooming scandal in England. People had no problem speaking about Israel as a genocidal nation; speaking about the grooming gang crisis was apparently harder.
Clearly, some form of displacement is going on. Jews are safe to criticize; jihadists are not.
The fear that dare not speak its name -- the fear of jihadism -- is one of the primary sources of unrelenting hostility directed at Israel by the churches and human rights activists in North America and Europe.
The same churches here in the United States that have been so critical of Israel and which have supported the BDS movement against the Jewish state have been largely silent about the mistreatment of women and the genocide of religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East, especially Christians.
In sum, we are behaving like dhimmis -- non-Muslims who have already submitted to Muslim rule. When European leaders work to keep a discussion of Muslim misdeeds out of the papers for fear of offending Islamic sensibilities, they are behaving like dhimmis, just as all-too-many of our church leaders in the U.S. are behaving like dhimmis when they condemn Israel while remaining silent atrocities perpetrated by ISIS. Ironically, it is precisely this failure to respond that has inspired a number of attacks in the United States and Europe.
To understand what is going on, we need some background. Under Shariah, or Islamic law, which was codified in the years after Muhammad's death, Christians and Jews were accorded a second-class status, which in the modern era has been described as dhimmitude.
Dhimmitude is derived from the word dhimmi which is itself derived from the Arabic word dhimma, which describes a pact that was thrust upon Christians and Jews who wished to maintain their faith practices when the countries they lived in came under Muslim rule.
As part of this dhimma pact, non-Muslims agreed to pay jizya (a special "protection" tax) -- and live under a separate set of laws to remind them of their inferiority -- for the privilege of practicing their faith in a Muslim jurisdiction. Often, the jizya tax was collected in a ceremony that included a ritualistic blow to the head or the neck to remind dhimmis that they were paying for the privilege of keeping their head on their shoulders. The goal was to humiliate non-Muslims into submission.
Other rules associated with dhimmitude varied from one location to another but included a prohibition of building homes or houses of worship higher than that of their Muslim neighbors.
Dhimmis were also prohibited from riding horses, and were deprived of the right to defend themselves against Muslims when physically attacked. Public displays of religious symbols (such as the ringing of church bells or singing of hymns) was prohibited. In some instances, Jews and Christians were required to wear a colored patch -- from which was derived the mandatory yellow Star of David stitched onto the clothes of Jews during the Nazi era -- to indicate their religious identity.
Dhimmi testimony was not accepted in Muslim courts, rendering them vulnerable to mistreatment and oppression. Criticizing Islam or agitating for one's liberty and equality was out of the question. The first line of enforcement for these rules was the leaders of the dhimmi communities themselves. Jewish and Christian leaders were obligated to make sure that the people in their communities did not offend Muslim sensibilities.
The governing classes in Europe, particularly in Germany and England, have worked to keep non-Muslims in line by suppressing media coverage of the mistreatment of women in their respective countries in the past few years. The national assemblies of mainline churches have played a similar role by ignoring the genocide of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East. The violence we have seen on the internet and on our televisions has terrorized us into remaining silent about these outrages. It is a conspiracy of fearful silence -- convenient to maintain in the short run, but fatal over of the long term.
Obsession with Israel allows activists to ignore another reality about jihadism -- that numerically speaking, most of its victims are in fact, Muslim.
Shia Muslims have been the targets of suicide bombings perpetrated by Sunni extremists in Afghanistan, and where Sunnis are the minority, they are the victims of violence perpetrated by Shia Muslims.
In 2011, the National Counterterrorism Center issued a report that estimated that Muslims comprised "between 82 and 97 percent of terrorism-related casualties over the past five years," an assessment that makes perfect sense giving most of the terror attacks that have taken place in recent history were perpetrated in Muslim-majority countries.
Our so-called intellectuals seem to have been trained to turn a blind eye to the anti-Israel incitement, hostility and violence that has been a problem in the Middle East for decades. These so-called intellectuals were trained by a small number of Palestinian Christians living in the West Bank and elsewhere in the Middle East who told us the problem was not jihad, and not Muslim supremacism, rooted as they are in Islamic sources, but in the Jewish people, rooted as they are in the land of Israel.
As journalists, intellectuals, religious leaders and politicians were intimidated into remaining silent about the misdeeds of the jihadists, they were given an alternative target to attack, toward which to redirect their guilt and overcome their feelings of powerlessness. To prove how courageous they were and how serious they were about human rights, they libeled Israel.
This is a good way to sooth a guilty conscience, but as a strategy to protect our civilization and actually promote human rights, it simply does not work. In the globalized world that we live in, the problems that have afflicted the Middle East for so long -- the hostility toward Jews, lack of respect for human rights, hostility toward religious freedom and contempt for women -- are now making their way west through both immigration and the internet.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for example, recently reported a threefold increase in the number of women at risk for female genital mutilation (FGM) in the United States. One factor contributing to this problem is an increase in the number of immigrants from countries where FGM is practiced. To be sure, Muslim-majority countries do not have a monopoly on the practice of FGM, but Muslim religious belief and practice help maintain a critical mass of people who engage in this mutilation.
Mohammad did apparently declare it an honorable practice, and this statement has had real consequences. The increase of this practice in the United States is terrible news for human rights activists; sadly, some commentators will be reluctant to address the issue for fear of being accused of "Islamophobia."
In sum, Western efforts to formulate a response to jihadism have been hindered by the journalists, intellectuals and religious leaders on whom we counted to inform us about these problems in the Middle East. Instead of telling us the truth about Islamism and jihadism and its impact on life in the Middle East, Western journalists, human rights activists and religious leaders have encouraged us to view Israel as the problem, and not the other, truly antagonistic, model in the region.
Here is how I think Pastor Martin Niemöller would characterize the events of the past few years in the West:
First they attacked Israel, but I didn't live in Israel and everyone around me said Israel maybe deserved it, so I did not speak up.
Then they attacked Jews in Europe, but I was not a Jew, so I did not speak up. Then they attacked Christians and Yazidis in Iraq and Syria, but I did not live in Iraq and Syria and I did not want to offend Muslims, so I did not speak up. Then they assaulted our wives, sisters and daughters and me in Europe, but by then there was no one left to help us.
In this time of trial, during which the very foundations of our moral and intellectual order are under assault, it is time we find our voice to address this problem while we still can. We must speak up, loudly, and soon; if we do not, deliverance may not arise from another place. Dexter Van Zile is Christian Media Analyst for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America.
© 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.

Sweden's New Instability
Nima Gholam Ali Pour/Gatestone Institute/September 14/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10992/sweden-instability
If the United States in 2015 had received the same proportion of asylum seekers as Sweden, in relation to its population, the US would have taken in 5.2 million of them.
The survey covered the period 2011 to 2016 and concerned more than 10,000 reported crimes relating to sexual offenses.
That traditional Swedish bathhouses in Sweden today are associated with rape and sexual abuse was something unthinkable before the migration crisis in 2015. Both the Boston Globe and alternative media should please stick to statistics and facts.
Recently, The Boston Globe's Astead W. Herndon wrote an article criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump's ways of gathering support for his statements and proposals. While it is basically true that politicians should not only rely only on the media, Herndon's understatement Sweden's problems is dishonest at best.
If one mentions problems in Sweden relating to migration, it is important to describe what is really happening. Sadly, Sweden's refugee policy has made Sweden less secure. In 2015, Sweden received 163,000 asylum seekers. The same year, the United States received about 70,000 asylum seekers. Sweden, however, has a population of ten million, while the United States has approximately 323 million. If the United States in 2015 had received the same proportion of asylum seekers as Sweden, in relation to its population, the US would have taken in 5.2 million. Would it have threatened U.S. security to host 5.2 million new asylum seekers in one year? Probably. That is what happened in Sweden.
The US already has a rigorous vetting process, but Sweden has a weak one -- only slowly improving. In addition, because many "unaccompanied refugee children" lie about their age when they reach Sweden, the National Board of Forensic Medicine ("Rättsmedicinalverket") has been instructed by the government to do medical age-assessments. These are made at the request of the Swedish Migration Agency ("Migrationsverket"), this, after the asylum seekers' consent. The National Board of Forensic Medicine began performing these age-assessments in March; reporting on their activities on September 4, they found that in 83% of cases, the investigated person was not a minor, but 18 or older.
The problem of asylum seekers lying about their age is that these adults of unknown backgrounds have been sent to primary schools and high schools with children and placed in different homes with them. Sweden's liberal migration policy has jeopardized the safety of Swedish children.
As a result of the migration crisis, since 2015 Sweden has been forced to introduce border controls. This activity, along with deporting illegal migrants and violent disputes in asylum accommodations, has claimed a large part of the resources of the police. In June 2016, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, surveying fires at asylum accommodations, found that only 11% of the fires were started from outside the asylum home. The resource-crisis of the Swedish police has resulted in more municipalities forced to hire private security companies. In spring 2017, Radio Sweden sent a survey to Sweden's 290 municipalities. 200 responded, and of these, 140 stated that their security costs had increased, and of these, 35 responded that their costs had increased directly because of the lack of police officers.
In 2005, Sweden enacted a new law concerning sexual offenses, that broadened, under Swedish law, what was considered rape. In 2013, this law was extended even further to include even a passive response as a rape.
While the increase in the number of reported rapes should not be interpreted as Sweden having a "rape epidemic," in June 2017, for example, Sweden's public broadcasting television reported that in just a little over a year, 15 unaccompanied migrant boys from Afghanistan were convicted of gang-rapes of other boys in Sweden. In a police report published in 2016, dealing with sexual assaults, the police stated that:
"In cases where the crimes were committed by perpetrators in a larger group in public places and in swimming pools, the perpetrators were mainly young people seeking, or recently receiving, asylum in Sweden".
In the same report one can also read that:
"All investigations in Stockholm and Kalmar from 2014 and 2015 have been closed down due to difficulties with identification or lack of evidence."
Another scary fact is that in 80% of the reported sexual assaults in the traditional Swedish bathhouses where Swedes go during the harsh winters, the offenders were of foreign origin and most lacked a Swedish national identity number.
The survey covered the period 2011 to 2016 and concerned more than 10,000 reported crimes relating to sexual offenses.
Certainly, one should criticize articles that exaggerate how insecure it is in Sweden, but it is equally wrong to minimize the extent to which unvetted mass-immigration has created an insecure situation for women, especially at bathhouses, swimming pools and gymnasiums.
That Sweden has not managed to handle migration properly, and that the conditions for conflicts exist, is not something that alternative media or Donald Trump have made up. Nearly one-fifth, or 18%, of Sweden's population are now foreign-born. At the same time, unemployment in July 2017 among Swedes born in Sweden was 3.9%, while unemployment among foreign-born Swedes was 21.8%. This disparity creates conflicts within Sweden's civil society that should not be neglected. The reason many foreigners do not get jobs in Sweden is because often a person needs to be highly educated. Those who come to Sweden through asylum immigration are simply not well-educated enough to meet the demands of its labor market. The question soon becomes: how much asylum immigration can Sweden manage before spending gets too big and social problems become too heavy?
The Boston Globe is making a mistake when it minimizes the enormous crisis through which Sweden is going.
That traditional Swedish bathhouses in Sweden today are associated with rape and sexual abuse was something unthinkable before the migration crisis began in 2015. Both the Boston Globe and alternative media should please stick to statistics and facts.
That traditional Swedish bathhouses in Sweden today are associated with rape and sexual abuse was something unthinkable before the migration crisis began in 2015. Pictured: The Varberg open-air bathhouse, in Varberg, Sweden. (Image source: Henrik Johansson/Flickr)
Nima Gholam Ali Pour is a member of the board of education in the Swedish city of Malmö and is engaged in several Swedish think tanks concerned with the Middle East. He is also editor for the social conservative website Situation Malmö, and is the author of the Swedish book "Därför är mångkultur förtryck"("Why Multiculturalism is Oppression").
© 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.

A Master's Degree in Whitewashing Islam/The University of Oslo Rewards a Promising Apologist
Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/September 14/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10970/norway-whitewashing-islam
I routinely find the website Document.no to be more reliable on the facts than the state-owned TV and radio stations or any of the big private (but, in many cases, state-supported) dailies.
The idea that there are Muslims who seek to turn Europe into an Islamic colony is, of course, no "conspiracy theory." Jihad and the caliphate are core Islamic doctrines. For over a decade, however, Norwegian academics and intellectuals have accused those commentators, who face up to the reality of these doctrines, of "peddling paranoia."
I wonder if anyone asked how a statement of opinion can violate "fundamental human rights."
In Norway, where the mainstream media systematically bury or whitewash news stories that might reflect badly on the nation's misguided immigration policies, its failed integration policies, or on Islam, a handful of small but heavily trafficked websites serve a vital function: getting out information that is being suppressed and providing a forum for opinions that are being silenced.
Perhaps the most prominent of those websites is Document.no, founded in 2003 by Hans Rustad, who still serves as editor and publisher. It is an intelligent, serious, and responsible site, whose contributors tend to know more about the above-mentioned subjects -- and to be better writers -- than the staffers at the major Oslo newspapers. I have yet to read a bigoted word by a contributor to Document.no, and I routinely find the site to be more reliable on the facts than the state-owned TV and radio stations or any of the big private (but, in many cases, state-supported) dailies.
For countless Norwegian citizens, Document.no is essential reading. For the nation's cultural elite, however, it is anathema -- a major chink in an otherwise almost solid wall of pro-Islam propaganda.
So it is no surprise to learn, via Universitetsavisa, the student newspaper at the University of Oslo, that a Religious Studies student there, Royer Solheim, has written a master's thesis on Document.no, in which he describes it as a locus of "hate rhetoric," "Islamophobia," and "conspiracy theories." Nor is it a surprise that he was graded an A.
Solheim describes the thesis itself as "a qualitative study based on a critical discourse analysis of a Norwegian Islamophobic website, document.no." His conclusion:
"The Eurabia conspiracy theory permeates the Islamophobic discourse on the website. The Eurabia theory is based on an idea that Arabs or Muslims are increasing their influence and are in the process of turning Europe into an Islamic colony."
The idea that there are Muslims who seek to turn Europe into an Islamic colony is, of course, no "conspiracy theory." Jihad and the Caliphate are core Islamic doctrines. For over a decade, however, Norwegian academics and intellectuals have accused those commentators, who face up to the reality of these doctrines, of "peddling paranoia." Their useful shorthand for this is "Eurabia theory," a term derived from the title of Bat Ye'or's 2005 book Eurabia.
Universitetsavisa reports that after last year's terrorist attacks in Nice and Berlin, reader comments on Document.no were "thoroughly marked by anti-Muslim prejudice, hate rhetoric, and aversion to Islam and Muslims." I am very familiar with the comments field at Document.no. Its level of discussion is quite high. What Solheim is plainly reacting to here is the fact that the readers of Document.no have no illusion about the motives for terrorist acts such as those that took place last year in Nice and Berlin. The readers are simply not shy about acknowledging that there is a clear, straight line connecting core Islamic doctrines with repeated mass murders of infidels. If these murders sometimes lead those readers to express even outright anger at Islam, and at the reckless European governmental policies that have rendered the continent vulnerable to these atrocities, who can blame them?
In any event, the editors of Document.no are not responsible for statements made by their readers -- although, as even Solheim admits, they do make an effort to "moderate the debate and do not tolerate racism." The fact is that the opportunity Rustad's website affords citizens to sound off on matters vital to their own (and their children's) future is becoming increasingly valuable. Why? Because more and more Norwegian news media are closing down comments fields on their websites when the topic is Islam -- precisely because they do not want to host honest, vigorous debates about this most forbidden of issues. There is a good reason why Document.no has more than 200,000 unique readers per month -- which, as Solheim acknowledges, makes it bigger in this regard than the country's newspaper of record, Aftenposten.
"Within a discourse there are certain norms as to what is acceptable to say," scolds Solheim. The debates on Document.no, he pronounces with dismay, are heavy on "skepticism toward authority." Some of the contents, he insists, violate "fundamental human rights." Well, isn't he a good little policeman-in-training. Unfortunately, knifings, car-rammings, and abusing women, children and homosexuals would also seem to violate "fundamental human rights." The Universitetsavisa article briefly recounts Solheim's defense of his thesis, at which he answered questions. I wonder if anyone asked him how a statement of opinion can violate "fundamental human rights."
I also wonder if anyone asked him any questions about basic Islamic theology. His thesis adviser, Asbjørn Dyrendal, is apparently an expert in Christianity, Satanism, Wicca, and in -- surprise! -- "conspiracy theories." In his work, Dyrendal has sounded the alarm about the supposed dangers of evangelical Christianity in America -- all the while dismissing as "conspiracy theorists" those who dare to sound the alarm about the dangers of Islam. In other words, he is a prototypical member of the European academic establishment.
Fortunately, Universitetsavisa, like Document.no, has a comments field for readers. One of the readers of the article about Solheim wondered what he thinks of born-and-bred Muslims who, writing for sites like Document.no, agree with pretty much everything that Rustad and others say there about the "religion of peace." Another asked how Solheim distinguishes "between Islamophobia and entirely legitimate Islam criticism" and whether his "research" had included checking the supposedly "hateful" claims made by Document.no's contributors against the facts about Islam. A third wondered if Solheim was familiar with the frequent references, in the works of the popular Islamic theologian Yusuf al-Qaradawi, to a future and fondly hoped-for Islamic conquest of Europe. As yet another reader of Universitetsavisa put it: "It stops being a conspiracy theory when you have evidence that it's happening."
Bruce Bawer is the author of the new novel The Alhambra (Swamp Fox Editions). His book While Europe Slept (2006) was a New York Times bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
© 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.

Intelligence Cell in Saudi Arabia
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/September 14/17
The year 2010 was a turning point in Saudi Arabia. That year saw the spark of the so-called “Arab Spring”, the riots in Awamiya, which later turned into terrorist acts before they too faded and came to end, and Saudis began using the most popular social networking site in the Kingdom, Twitter.
From 2010 onward, internal and external parties realized the importance of the site and attempted in any way possible to control the Saudi Twitter, which has become a remarkable phenomenon in the world as social media is considered a powerful mean through which one can, negatively or positively, influence tweeters. Thus, it wasn’t surprising to discover later that this account, which is followed by hundreds of thousands of users, did not operate from Saudi Arabia, but from Turkey, or those who participate in local discussions and tweet through organized cells located outside the Kingdom.
It appeared that the greatest hashtags related to domestic issues originated from abroad.
Within this context, Saudi Arabia suddenly found itself at a different stage compared to those preceding it where its people found an outlet where they can express their views freely and without any censorship.
The new platform gave rise to new celebrities and also revived old ones, who date back from the cassette tape era. These figures have a long history of contributing to the suspicious activities and through this platform, they found the means to, unfortunately, create incitement on the street, hit national cohesion and try to create chaos in any way under several labels.
There is no doubt that the best description that these people hid behind to market their agendas is “reform.” Of course, no one asks since when reform has been achieved through inciting a revolution, for example, or creating a violent public opinion on all issues. Or, how can reform be achieved through challenging and doubting the credibility of all state institutions?!
On Monday, an official source said that Saudi Arabia’s Presidency of the State Security was able to uncover and monitor the intelligence activities of a group of people who worked for external parties against the security of the Kingdom and its interests. “The cell worked to disturb the interests, methodology, capabilities and social safety of the Kingdom in order to stir up sedition and destabilize national unity.”
In my opinion, it is significant that the majority of the names of the members of the intelligence cell did not surprise any of the observers. The only real surprise was the delay in holding them accountable and bringing them to trial because their impact, harm and incitement was known to all.
Of course, no country that accepts that someone use his fame, status or means of communication, such as Twitter, to incite civil peace. The Saudi government however gave them many chances, hoping that they would go back on implementing their agendas and sense the danger of their scheming.
However, they did not get the message and they continued to pursue their agendas and contacts with sides working on fragmenting Saudi society from the inside. They continued to strike national unity for long years, in means that appear to be gentle, but were extremely volatile in reality.
Notably, the Saudi security services have evidence and proof that condemn the members of the intelligence cell when they are brought to trial.
The issue, as some people argue, is not because of their peaceful views, as they claim, since there are thousands of Saudis who have their own views that are inconsistent with the general policy of the Kingdom, yet no one has come near them for a simple reason: they did not promote their views in a dangerous and chaotic way, and they did not use these views to harm their country and its citizens.
I recall that I once asked a senior Saudi security official about the measures taken in case someone incited against the country or if someone has stances that are contrary to the state’s. He answered: “We do not care what people say or what they think. We do not hold people accountable for their opinions and stances as long as they do not turn into harmful acts that affect the people’s security.”
In all the countries there are destabilizing forces that deal with foreign countries for several purposes. This is the nature of good and evil in humans. Saudi Arabia also has one of these destabilizing forces and states are responsible before their people to prevent these forces from causing instability regardless of their excuses, whether they are religious or social, to carry out their heinous acts.

Posted on our LCCC site 5 Must Read pieces from Israeli Newspapers addressing Hezbollah and any Future war..Links below

The Day After Defeat; From The Islamic State's Caliphate To Hezollahstan
Jerusalem Post/September 14/17
يوم ما بعد الهزيمة: من دولة الخلافة الإسلامية إلى حزب الله ستان
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=58685


Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Damascus, Tehran for anti-ISIS driveوزير الدفاع الروسي في دمشق وكهران من اجل
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 13, 2017
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=58685

Israel To Occupy Parts Of South Lebanon In Next Conflict With Hezbollahإسرائيل سوف تحتل أجزاء من جنوب لبنان في أي حرب مقبلة مع حزب الله
Jerusalem Post/September 12/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=58694

Hezbollah Sends Reassuring Messages to Israel Amid Syria Strike, IDF Drills Near Lebanonحزب الله يبعث رسائل تطمين لإسرائيل
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=58696
Amos Harel and News Agencies/Haaretz/September 12/17

Hezbollah Leader Boasts: We Defended ISIS in Syriaحزب الله يعلن النصر ونصرالله يتباهي ويقول انتصرنا على داعش
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=58689
Jerusalem Post /September 13/17

Hezbollah Declares Victory in Syria: 'We Have Won the War'نصرالله يعلن النصر ويقول ربحنا الحرب
Haaretz/Reuters/September 12/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=58689