LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 09/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
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http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias18/english.july09.18.htm
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Bible
Quotations
See, I
am laying in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will
make them fall, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame
Letter to the Romans 09/26-33: "‘And in the very place where it was said to
them, "You are not my people", there they shall be called children of the
living God.’And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, ‘Though the number of
the children of Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them
will be saved; for the Lord will execute his sentence on the earth quickly
and decisively.’ And as Isaiah predicted, ‘If the Lord of hosts had not left
survivors to us, we would have fared like Sodom and been made like
Gomorrah.’ What then are we to say? Gentiles, who did not strive for
righteousness, have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but
Israel, who did strive for the righteousness that is based on the law, did
not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why not? Because they did not strive for
it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works. They have
stumbled over the stumbling-stone,as it is written, ‘See, I am laying in
Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’"
Titles For The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on July 08-09/18
Russia has
given Israel what the US could not/Ali Al-Amin/Al Arabiya/July 08/18
Fidaa Itani and Lebanon’s battle for free speech/The Arab Weekly/July
08/2018
Syria: Airstrike Hits T4 Airbase Housing Iranian Forces/Haaretz/July 08/2018
Russian navy missile drill in Med set for dates of NATO summit, Putin’s
talks with Trump, Netanyahu/DEBKAfile/July 08/18
Everything You Need to Know About the West Bank Bedouin Village at the Eye
of a Diplomatic Storm/Yotam Berger/Haaretz/July 08/18
How Qatar Is Warming Ties With Both Trump and Iran - at the Same
Time/Reuters and Haaretz/July 08/18
Iran’s Redundant Threats against Hormuz Strait/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al
Awsat/July 08/18
International Community Ignores Genocide of Christians in Nigeria/Raymond
Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/July 08/18
Analysis Next Stop for Assad: The Golan Heights/Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/July
08/18
How can those who plant mines in Yemen be equated with those who remove
them/Hamdan Alaly/Al Arabiya/July 08/18
Who will reveal the fate of Iraq’s public funds/Adnan Hussein/Al Arabiya/July
08/18
Iranian people’s disaffection with the regime peaking/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/July 08/18
Titles For The
Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
July 08-09/18
Lebanon Bets on Reopening Naseeb
Crossing to Activate Exports to Arab States
Rahi partakes in Middle East peace prayers in Italy
Report: A ‘Technocrat Government’ Could Solve Formation Crisis
Report: Maarab Agreement's ‘Failure, Topples’ Government Formation
Report: 'Three Conclusions Drawn' from Leaked Maarab Agreement
Ibrahim Lauds Hizbullah Refugee Role as New Batch Leaves for Syria
Lebanese Woman Jailed in Egypt after Making Harassment Claim
Raad, Khalil partake in Kansou's memorial ceremony in Doueir, call for
national unity government and reviving official relations with Syria
Clash in Mohamara results in one injury, burning of refugee tents
Okais to Radio Lebanon: We refuse accelerating cabinet formation at our
expense
Roger Feghali wins 41st Lebanon Rally
Lebanese child kidnapped in Syria freed
Russia has given Israel what the US could not
Fidaa Itani and Lebanon’s battle for free speech
Titles For The Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on July 08-09/18
Syria:
Airstrike Hits T4 Airbase Housing Iranian Forces
Tens of Thousands Return Home after South Syria Ceasefire Deal
Syria Regime Pounds South, Rebel Evacuations Postponed
US coalition commander: Iran influences Syria’s security negatively
Iranian official: We will stay in Syria despite Russia’s objections
Iran Threatens to Retaliate after Dutch Expel Two Diplomats
'Qaeda' Lost Control over 50% of its Southern Yemen Land Grabs
Russian navy missile drill in Med set for dates of NATO summit, Putin’s
talks with Trump, Netanyahu
Pompeo Brushes off N.Korea 'Gangster' Tag, Says Sanctions to Stay
Kuwait Jails Lawmakers, Activists for Storming Parliament
At least ten killed, 73 injured in Turkey train derailment
Turkey sacks more than 18,500 state employees in new decree
The Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on July 08-09/18
Lebanon Bets on
Reopening Naseeb Crossing to Activate Exports to Arab States
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 8 July, 2018/Lebanon bets on the reopening
of the Naseeb border crossing with Jordan to reactivate its economic sector
through energizing its exports activities to Gulf and Arab countries by
transforming goods by land and therefore decrease their cost. This week,
Syrian forces captured the Naseeb border, after rebels announced they had
reached an agreement with Russian mediators to end the violence in the
southern province of Daraa and surrender the crossing. The rebels seized
control of the crossing in 2015, disrupting a trade route between Syria and
Jordan, Lebanon and Gulf countries. Before 2015, around 250 trucks left
daily from Lebanon to Jordan by crossing the Naseeb border. Since rebels
controlled the crossing, Lebanon sent half of its usual daily cargo to
Jordan by sea as a temporary means to export its agriculture and industrial
goods. “We are waiting for opposition fighters to withdraw from the crossing
and its surrounding so we can reactivate an old agreement signed with
Damascus and Amman allowing Lebanese trucks cross through Syria and Jordan
towards Gulf countries,” head of the Truck Owners' Union Shafiq al-Qassis
told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday. “We only
received information that the reopening of the crossing would not take a
long time. When measures in this regard are completed, Lebanese trucks will
directly move by land towards Jordan,” al-Qassis said.The head of the Trucks
Owners’ Union said Lebanon considers the Naseeb crossing as “vital,”
asserting that it helps the shipment of Lebanese industrial and agricultural
products. “The transportation of Lebanese good by land allows them to
compete in the Arab markets,” he said. According to several statistics, the
level of Lebanese exports to Gulf markets decreased by half since the Naseeb
crossing was closed by rebels in 2015.
Rahi partakes in Middle East peace prayers in Italy
Sun 08 Jul 2018/Pope Francis: Enough exploitation of the Middle East
NNA - Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutros al-Rahi participated
alongside various heads of Eastern Churches in the ecumenical prayer for
peace and cessation of wars and violence in the Middle East, led by Pope
Francis in the Italian city of Bari. Prayers were raised in several
languages on the city's waterfront, chosen by Pope Francis for its
geographical location overlooking the Middle East. Patriarchs prayed to the
Lord Almighty "to show His mercy and deliver His salvation in true peace to
the peoples of the Middle East who are suffering from war, oppression and
tyranny." Prayers were raised as well for "Christians in the Middle East to
be strong and lively communities, with their contributions to their
societies and the entire Church being well-recognized." The Pope focused in
his prayers on the pressing need to end all exploitation of the Middle East.
"Our day begins with prayer, so that the divine light eliminates the
darkness of the world. In light of Saint Nicolas, we lit the single torch,
the symbol of the one church...for when you raise your hands to heaven in
prayer, and when you reach out to your brethrens without searching for
personal interests, the fire of the Holy Spirit is inflamed and the spirit
of unity and peace shines," said Pope Francis. In a visit to the "Cathedral
of St. Nicholas", the Pope prayed with the heads of the Eastern churches on
the tomb of the Saint coming from the East.
A two-and-a-half hour retreat was then held at the Basilica of St. Nicolas,
during which the participating Patriarchs presented the situation in the
Middle East and the various possible solutions. In a word by Patriarch al-Rahi
during the meeting, he stressed the need to ensure a dignified return of
refugees to their homeland, and that the political crisis in Syria must be
separated from this return. The "Bari Encounter" was organized by the
Council of Eastern Churches, headed by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, in
cooperation with the Pontifical Council of Christian Unity headed by
Cardinal Kurt Koch. Thousands of believers participated in the celebration
of a permanent peace in the Middle East and unity among Christians in the
spirit of the Eastern Churches.
Report: A ‘Technocrat Government’ Could Solve Formation
Crisis
Naharnet/July 08/18/Forming a technocrat government might bring a solution
for the crisis delaying the formation of the new Cabinet, al-Hayat daily
reported Sunday. “A solution for the crisis could be the formation of a
government of technocrats named by the political parties,” a political
source following on the lineup process told the daily. Meanwhile, a
ministerial source told the newspaper that solving the current crisis
requires “a solution, perhaps a return to small slimline governments, which
was adopted decades ago and was very productive.”Several obstacles face the
formation of the government including a conflict between the two Christian
parties, the Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement, over ministerial
shares and the LF’s demand to get the Depuy PM position, which the FPM
categorically rejects. Another obstacles delaying the formation is the Druze
share and the Sunni opposition representation. Latest talks between Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri and President Michel Aoun reportedly agreed
on forming a 30-seat Cabinet.
Report: Maarab Agreement's ‘Failure, Topples’
Government Formation
Naharnet/July 08/18/The outbreak of dispute between the Free Patriotic
Movement and the Lebanese Forces after the “fall” of the Maarab Agreement
“eliminated all hope on the possibility of forming the country’s government
anytime soon,” Kuwait’s As-Siyasah newspaper reported on Sunday.The report
published by the daily came after the LF leaked the highly confidential
Maarab Agreement between the two parties to the media. In remarks to the
daily, senior LF sources accused FPM chief Jebran Bassil of “being
responsible for the collapse of the media truce that was agreed upon between
the Christian parties, and of dragging Lebanon to a civil war if President
Michel Aoun, whom we have full confidence in, does not intervene,” they
said. They stressed “there is no solution to the crisis that Bassil has
created,” and that President Aoun “should put his hand on the file in full.
The escalation came from the side supposed to be the closest to the
President, but the FPM chief has violated the stance of Aoun by targeting
the appeasement he called for.” Continuing to lash out at Bassil, the LF
source added: “Through his spractices, Bassil wants to say he is the one who
forms the government, but things can not go this way. Bassil is only a
political team, he is not entitled to put himself in the position of
President or determine the size of other political parties.” “The actions of
the president's son-in-law (Bassil) are a great insult to the tenure (of
Aoun),” he added, stressing “Aoun is not covering whatsoever for the actions
of his son-in-law. Bassil is trying to picture the Presidency as a formality
which affirms that the Foreign Minister has his own agenda to implement at
the expense of the country and Christians.”The LF leaked the highly
confidential agreement to the media in recent days amid bickering with the
FPM over the share that each of them should get in the new government.
Report: 'Three Conclusions Drawn' from Leaked Maarab Agreement
Naharnet/July 08/18/Bringing the “confidential” Maarab agreement between the
Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement to the media spotlight means one
of the parties has failed to respect the agreement terms. A source following
up closely on the LF-FPM relations, told Saudi al-Hayat daily on condition
of anonymity on Sunday that “leaking” the agreement leads to three
conclusions:
First, the LF’s position as per ministerial representation in the government
“is based on a clear written agreement on the distribution of ministerial
shares,” he said.
Secondly, according to the source, FPM chief Jebran Bassil “does not abide
by his pledges” since the election of President Michel Aoun as president and
his “coup” against the agreement. “While the LF remained keen on
reconciliation and on supporting the tenure of the President,” he said.
Thirdly, Bassil has “double standard positions in dealing with his allies.
He has signed the Maarab Agreement while remains committed to other
understandings with other parties with conflicting content, including the
Mar Mikhael agreement with Hizbullah in 2006,” he concluded.
Relations have been strained between the two parties over ministerial shares
in the new Cabinet that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri was tasked with
forming since May.
The LF leaked the highly confidential agreement to the media in recent days
amid bickering with the FPM over the share that each of them should get in
the new government.
Ibrahim Lauds Hizbullah Refugee Role as New Batch Leaves for Syria
Naharnet/July 08/18/General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has
welcomed Hizbullah's announcement that it has started accepting applications
from Syrian refugees seeking to return to their war-battered country, as a
new batch of refugees left the border town of Arsal for Syria. In remarks to
al-Akhbar newspaper published Saturday, Ibrahim said that Hizbullah's move
“will eventually contribute to General Security's efforts to settle the
situations of those seeking to return,” hoping the announcement will
“receive the needed response from the refugees.” “The step aids our work on
the file which we are coordinating with the U.N. refugee agency and Syrian
authorities,” Ibrahim added, stressing that any return will only be
“voluntary and safe.”The National News Agency meanwhile reported that a new
batch of refugees had started leaving the town of Arsal through the Wadi
Hmayyed checkpoint towards the border town's outskirts. “448 people
registered on the lists of the Lebanese General Security are expected to
leave for the towns of Flita, Ras al-Maara and Hawsh Arab in the Syrian
Qalamoun region,” NNA said, adding that “the Lebanese Red Cross and medical
and emergency crews are carrying out logistic measures and necessary medical
assistance through medics and a field hospital present at the site, amid
security protection from the Lebanese Army.”
Lebanese Woman Jailed in Egypt after Making Harassment
Claim
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 08/18/A Lebanese woman was jailed for eight
years in Egypt on Saturday for "harming" its people, a judicial source said,
after she claimed in a video to have been sexually assaulted. Tourist Mona
al-Mazbouh was arrested in late May at Cairo airport as she was preparing to
leave Egypt. Mazbouh had published a video on Facebook, which was widely
shared, saying that she had been the victim of sexual harassment in the
streets and accusing Egyptians of thievery and scams. The allegations drew a
strong reaction online, with some Egyptians calling for Mazbouh's arrest and
lodging a complaint against her. Despite releasing a second video insisting
she had not meant to insult the country as a whole, Mazbouh was found guilty
by a Cairo court of "harming the Egyptian people". Initially she was
sentenced to 11 years in prison, but that was amended within hours to eight
years, the judicial source said. A lawyer for Mazbouh lodged an appeal
against the verdict and a hearing will be held on July 29, an official in
the prosecutor's office said.
Raad, Khalil partake in Kansou's memorial ceremony in
Doueir, call for national unity government and reviving official relations
with Syria
Sun 08 Jul 2018/NNA - Caretaker Finance Minister, Ali Hasan
Khalil, and "Loyalty to the Resistance" Bloc Head, MP Mohamad Raad, called
Sunday for forming a government of national unity and for reviving the
Lebanese-Syrian official relations. Partaking in the week's memorial of the
late State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Kansou, organized by the
Syrian National Social Party in the southern town of Doueir earlier today,
both MP's touched on latest hour issues, namely the cabinet formation and
the stalled relations with Syria. "Today, we are called upon to regulate our
relations as Lebanese with our Syrian brethrens on the foundations that
secure the interests of both countries and confirm the centrality of the
Syrian State and the unity of Syrian territories in the face of all plots,"
said Khalil. "We must be aware, as Lebanese officials, of the need to deal
rationally with the issue of opening a serious dialogue between the Lebanese
and Syrian States," he added. Over the government formation, Khalil said,
"We call for the immediate launch of a genuine dialogue and workshop among
those involved in this formation, in order to reach a government of national
unity based on the political results of the recent parliamentary
elections...and one that is capable of addressing the challenges facing our
country at the economic, social and financial levels." In turn, MP Raad
hoped that "the new government would see the light soon, with the adoption
of unified and specific criteria, so that the majority of political forces
would find their wide representation and presence within the cabinet and
participate in carrying the responsibility of managing the country and
addressing all pending dossiers." "Perhaps the time is now convenient for
restoring freedom to the official Lebanese relations with Syria, as
stipulated in the National Reconciliation Accord," Raad added.
Clash in Mohamara results in one injury, burning of
refugee tents
Sun 08 Jul 2018/NNA - A dispute between young Syrians and
Lebanese in the town of Mohamara developed into a clash involving the use of
hands and sticks, resulting in the injury of one Lebanese and the burning of
a number of tents in a Syrian refugee camp in the area, NNA correspondent in
Akkar reported on Sunday. Mayor of Mohamara, Abdul-Men'em Othman,
immediately contacted the security forces who rushed to the scene and began
their efforts to restore calm to the town, while the Civil Defense units
worked to put out the fire.
Okais to Radio Lebanon: We refuse accelerating
cabinet formation at our expense
Sun 08 July 2018/NNA - Member of the "Strong Republic" Parliamentary Bloc,
MP George Okais, voiced rejection Sunday against speeding-up the cabinet
formation at the account of the Lebanese Forces. . Speaking in an interview
to Radio Lebanon, Okais indicated that his Party has offered many
compromises in the past to facilitate matters in the country, and to ensure
progress at the economic and social levels. "From the very start, we have
sought a quick cabinet formation and practically, the mandate team itself
ought to be more in a hurry to form the government...We do not want to
accelerate the formation of the government at our expense," said Okais. He
added that all sides in the country have to sense the seriousness of the
situation and offer concessions, since the LF Party will not accept to be
the only one making compromises. Over the Meh'rab Agreement, Okais
considered that said Understanding has reflected positively on the general
atmosphere in the country. "This is what makes us take our time in adopting
any escalatory move, for we feel the burden of going back to the pre-Meh'rab
Agreement stage," he indicated.
Roger Feghali wins 41st Lebanon Rally
Sun 08 Jul 2018/NNA - Roger Feghali has reaped victory in the 41st
International Lebanese Rally for the 14th time, NNA correspondent reported
on Sunday.
Lebanese child kidnapped in Syria freed
Sun 08 Jul 2018/NNA - Lebanese national, Mustafa Hajj Diab who was kidnapped
in Syria early last month has been released, National News Agency reported
on Sunday. Diab was kidnapped while traveling with his mother and brother to
Idlib to visit his grandparents.
Russia has given Israel what the US could not
Ali Al-Amin/Al Arabiya/July 08/18
The upcoming US-Russia summit on July 12 in Helsinki is an important step
towards shaping relations between the two countries regarding the
Russia-Ukraine crisis and regarding US-Russia relations following
accusations that Russia interfered in the US elections.
Among other issues up for discussion would be the Syrian crisis, which is
undergoing important developments, particularly amidst the Syrian regime,
its Russian allies and Iranian militias’ offensive to regain control of the
opposition’s areas of influence in southern Syria.
This new development can be tackled in the context of the Israeli-Russian
understanding that continues to establish foundations for Israeli security
on the Golan border and that guarantees that Iran and its militias stay 40
km away from these borders.
Meanwhile, Israel has accepted the deployment of the Syrian army under the
terms of disengagement following the 1973 war, which oblige Syrian forces to
deploy according to conditions that specify the number of forces and the
kind of weapons they use.
This time, Russia provided the guarantees which pushed Israel to allow
launching the military campaign against the Syrian opposition. Meanwhile,
Washington lifted the cover off the armed opposition in these areas when it
told them in a message that it would not intervene in their defense if any
attack from the Syrian regime and its allies took place.
Israeli security guides agenda
This Syrian path paves ways to understand the nature of the American
position as it evolves during the summit between US President Donald Trump
and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US-Russian umbrella in Syria is
not just in place; it is in fact the only constant in the Syrian equation
today. The strategic ceiling regarding developments in the battle in
southern Syria confirms that Israeli security is the standard when devising
the equation in this region.
To this day, Russia has been successful in convincing Iran and its militias
to adhere to the requirements of Israeli security, which has led Tel Aviv to
convince Washington of the importance of redrawing the military equation in
southern Syria, despite the Iranian role which both Israel and Russia have
ensured it will stick to the rules of the Israeli-inked game.
It is difficult to understand the US position in southern Syria and its
decision to lift the cover off the Syrian opposition forces that it has
always supported
We can’t understand the reason for the US position in southern Syria and why
it has lifted the cover off the armed opposition forces that it has always
supported, unless we go through the intriguing offer made by Russia on
behalf of Tehran displaying Iran’s commitment to Israeli conditions which
opposition forces could not accept or did not want to comply to.
Many believe that this intriguing offer didn’t just promise commitment to
the military and security conditions imposed by Israel on the Syrian army
but have also promised not to breach the requirements of annexing Golan to
the Hebrew state with Russian guarantees.
US leaves Syrian rebels in the lurch
Another point which confirms the fact that the Syrian regime and its allies
have given guarantees to Israel is the magnitude of the US cover to the
ongoing military operation against the opposition and the Israeli
satisfaction towards this operation although it goes against the agreement
of the de-escalation zones in southern Syria and which was approved by the
American and Russian presidents and which Israel and Jordan contributed to
solidifying.
Developments in southern Syria thus serve Israeli interests while the
Syrians pay the price by ending the Syrian revolution that erupted from
Daraa. This is in addition to the Syrians’ displacement due to Russian
aerial bombardment of cities and towns. The number of the displaced now
stands at over 200,000. Jordan has refused to receive them because it cannot
host any more refugees, but the most important point is that Israel which
gave the green light to launch this military operation, has issued
subsequent statements on how it was helping the displaced Syrians who sought
shelter close to the border of the Golan. It has also confirmed that its
hospitals were giving medical assistance to those civilians injured by the
bombings in more than one area in the south. Israeli media has started
talking confidently on how the refugees have changed their mind about Israel
after the help it provided to them.
In the strategic endgame, and amid the insistence on breaking the will for
political change in Syria by providing all the military conditions to
eliminate the opposition factions particularly on the Jordanian and Israeli
borders and securing the conditions of the regime forces’ control over
southern areas, one can expect a less hostile attitude towards Israel. The
regime has enough experience to prevent any military action against Israel
from Syrian territory, and the Syrian society in these areas now finds in
Israel a less hostile enemy when its aggression is compared with the
aggression of the regime and its Russian and Iranian allies.
Gift of Axis of Resistance to Israel
Israel wouldn’t have been able to attain this precious gift from the
so-called Axis of the Resistance if it hadn’t been for the bloody regime and
its genocidal behavior toward the Syrian people and its displacement of
hundreds of thousands. Iran and its militias’ involvement via a sectarian
approach has also made the Syrian people feel that their number one enemy is
not Israel which occupies Golan but the party that’s taking their lives and
properties.
In Helsinki, the US and Russian presidents will be present and so will
Israel since it has played an active role in promoting Russian measures in
Syria. The Russian president, who is aware that in just a few years he has
provided to Israel what Washington hasn’t provided in decades in terms of
strategic protection and safe channels towards the Syrian people, along with
the ability to adapt the Iranian policy in the Lebanese and Syrian fields in
order to ensure Israeli security for years to come, is expecting in return
an Israeli reward from Washington’s vaults. The Russian-Israeli relationship
has not witnessed cooperation to the extent seen in recent years. No Israeli
official has expressed any concern over the Russian role in Syria and all
factors point to the fact that Russia has become a highly respected state by
the Israeli government.
This respect and relationship are now in competition with the close
relationship of Tel Aviv and Washington. Putin expects that his friend,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plays a vital role in softening
the position of Trump on issues related to ending or decreasing sanctions
against Russia, as well as softening the US intervention in the vital
Russian sphere.
Fidaa Itani and
Lebanon’s battle for free speech
Makram Rabah/The Arab Weekly/July 08/18
For Itani, the prospects of free speech and civil liberties in Lebanon are
worse than during the days of the Syrian occupation.
Journalist Fidaa Itani was sentenced in absentia to four months in prison
and fined 10 million Lebanese pounds ($6,550) because of a Facebook post
criticising Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Gebran Bassil.
Itani had called out Bassil over his alleged racist policies towards
Lebanon’s Syrian refugees. Bassil’s response was draconian and marked a
further darkening of the skies over Lebanon.
That Itani was the subject of official ire is hardly new. The journalist’s
investigative reports have uncovered numerous possible cases of corruption
in Lebanon and implicated Bassil and other members of the ruling
establishment. Itani was detained and questioned in July 2017 after he
accused Lebanese Army intelligence of torturing and killing refugees under
interrogation.
Bassil, the son-in-law of Lebanese President Michel Aoun leads the Free
Patriotic Movement, which supports Hezbollah in its mission to return
Lebanon’s 1.5 million, predominantly Sunni, refugees to the supposed
security of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Bassil has encountered much opposition in this mission. He ordered a freeze
on the renewal of residency permits for the staff of the UN refugee agency,
accusing it of intimidating refugees from returning by asking them about
compulsory military service, security conditions and whether they have a
place to live. The United Nations strongly denied the allegation.
Speaking to The Arab Weekly from London, where he is a political refugee,
Itani said this crackdown on free speech was the government’s attempt to
distract attention from the administration’s failure and corruption.
Itani said the administration began an offensive against two main groups,
including “the international community, which it blackmails for funds to
maintain its feeble economy, like [it] did at the recent Cedre conference,
while at the same time accusing them of being responsible for Lebanon’s
difficult state of affairs.”
The other group is made up of “normal people, particularly secular
individuals who do not subscribe to any of the struggling sects; these
voices of opposition (journalists and activists) to the status quo are
swiftly suppressed and their trials expedited to ultimately silence them,”
he said.
Itani said the prospect of free speech and civil liberties in Lebanon are
worse than during the days of the Syrian occupation. “The recent indictment
issued against me includes charges of defaming President Aoun,” Itani said.
However, Itani said, anyone participating in the elite’s sectarian
rivalries “can go as far as to promote violence against others, as long as
they are demanding a bigger piece of the pie.” Conversely, “anyone who, like
myself, is exposing corruption and defending the Syrian refugees is treated
as a sinner,” he added.
This violation of the freedom of the press is not restricted to Itani but
has become a norm under Aoun, a former general at pains to present himself
as a patriarchal figure, exempt from any kind of criticism. However, reports
issued by the Samir Kassir Foundation, a group that monitors violations of
freedom of the press, stated that, since his election in November 2017, Aoun
has allowed more than 20 documented cases against civil society figures to
proceed, including the detention and trial of journalists and political
activists.
One of the casualties of the government’s unflinching line on silencing
public criticism is journalist Michel Kanbour, the publisher of the news
website Lebanon Debate. He was sentenced to six months in jail and fined 10
million Lebanese pounds in a defamation lawsuit filed by Customs Department
Director-General Badri Daher. The jail sentence was suspended.
Kanbour said Itani’s indictment speaks to the heart of the freedom of the
press and marks a clear departure from Lebanon’s legacy of liberalism.
“Nothing justifies sending a journalist to jail regardless of what position
they take, as it sends a clear message to both journalists and activists
that anyone who dares cross the red line of exposing corruption or objects
to any aspect to bad governance will end up in jail like Itani and myself,”
he said.
Above all, Kanbour warned, such autocratic measures introduced a dangerous
element to Lebanon’s political culture, “which is self-censorship which
drives people to think twice before daring to write or act.”
Itani is not merely a Lebanese journalist who dared to stand up to a
degenerate political class that takes its citizens for granted, he is a
vivid reminder that the Lebanese can no longer take the moral high ground
and claim that their so-called nation is a true democracy.
*Makram Rabah is a lecturer at the American University of Beirut,
Department of History. He is the author of A Campus at War: Student Politics
at the American University of Beirut, 1967-1975.
The Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News
published
on July 08-09/18
Syria: Airstrike Hits
T4 Airbase Housing Iranian Forces
Haaretz/July 08/2018/
Reports say Syrian air defense systems
fired at planes, coming in from Jordan, and heading towards the T4 airbase
used by Iran.
Reports in Syria say an airstrike hit the site of a known Iranian airbase in
Syria's Homs region.According to the official Syrian news agency SANA,
Syrian air defense systems were fired as warplanes, purportedly coming into
the country from Jordan, approached the T4 base near Tiyas. The planes,
which reports said were flying low to avoid detection, passed through the
al-Tanaf area where U.S. forces have a base. Syrian military air defences
thwarted the act of "aggression", state media said. The origin and nature of
the attack was not immediately clear. An army officer in the southern Syrian
desert said the air defence system shot down missiles coming from south of
the Tanaf region towards the Homs air base. The T4 airbase, also known as
the Tiyas Military Airbase, has been reported to have been used by Iranian
forces. This April, a senior Israeli official confirmed to the New York
Times that Israel had hit the base. “It was the first time we attacked live
Iranian targets — both facilities and people,” said the Israeli military
official. The official said that the armed Iranian drone that entered
Israeli airspace a few days prior "opened a new period," and that “this is
the first time we saw Iran do something against Israel — not by proxy."
During the attack, Israel killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds
force members, including Colonel Mehdi Dehghan, who led the drone unit
operating out of T4, east of Homs. Two weeks ago, two Israeli missiles
struck a target near Damascus International Airport, Syrian state-run media
said overnight on Monday, adding that no casualties or damage were reported.
The target was an arms depot belonging to the Lebanese Shi'ite movement
Hezbollah, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. According to the
Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV, a source said Syrian air defense systems had
intercepted two missiles in addition to the ones fired at the airport.
Tens of Thousands
Return Home after South Syria Ceasefire Deal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 08/18/Tens of thousands
have returned to their homes in southern Syria since a ceasefire deal
between regime ally Russia and rebels to end more than two weeks of deadly
bombardment, a monitor said Sunday. The deal was largely holding despite air
strikes on two areas that killed four civilians, the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights monitoring group said, as rebel evacuations under the deal were
postponed. President's Bashar al-Assad regime is determined to retake
control of the key southern province of Daraa bordering Jordan and the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, seven years after protests there sparked
Syria's civil war. Since June 19, a deadly regime bombardment campaign on
the province had caused more than 320,000 people to flee their homes,
according to the United Nations, many to the sealed border with Jordan. On
Friday, rebels and the regime announced a ceasefire deal, providing for
opposition fighters to hand over their heavy weapons and paving the way for
a regime takeover of the province. More than 60,000 people have since hit
the road from the Jordanian frontier, heading back to their homes in the
east or west of the province, the Britain-based Observatory said.
- Evacuations postponed -On Sunday, the returns were continuing, the
Observatory said, even as regime warplanes pounded two areas of the
province. Three civilians were killed in air strikes on Um al-Mayazeen, just
five kilometres (three miles) north of the Jordanian border, said the
Britain-based monitor. "Regime forces launched an assault on the village,"
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said, two days after they retook
control of the key border crossing of Nassib to its south. Earlier, rebel
fire on a regime convoy travelling near Um al-Mayazeen on the highway from
the border had killed several soldiers, Abdel Rahman said, without providing
a toll. A regime air strike on the rebel-held half of the provincial capital
of Daraa also killed one civilian, he said. On Friday, regime forces retook
control of Nassib, near which thousands of families had set up makeshift
tents for shelter. Under the ceasefire deal, regime forces were to deploy
along the frontier with Jordan, while rebels were to hand over their heavy
weapons.
Opposition fighters were also given the option of being bused out to
rebel-held areas in northern Syria. But a rebel official said the evacuation
of opposition fighters and their families planned for Sunday was temporarily
put on hold. "A hundred buses were supposed to arrive but (the operation)
has been postponed to a later date, in around two days," the official said.
"There was an exchange of fire between both sides and the first (wave) has
been postponed." - Sealed border -An Islamic State jihadist group affiliate,
which holds a small pocket in the southwest of Daraa, is excluded from the
ceasefire deal. The regime bombardment campaign on rebel-held areas in Daraa
since June 19 had killed more than 160 civilians, the Observatory says.
Before the deal was announced, the advance by Russia-backed regime forces
had doubled their control of territory in the province to more than 60
percent.
Since Russia intervened on Assad's side in Syria's conflict in 2015, the
Damascus regime has notched up a series of victories against rebels and
jihadists in the country. Regime forces, who secured the capital Damascus
earlier this year, now control more than 60 percent of the country,
according to the Observatory. The deal between rebels and Russia announced
for Daraa is the latest in a string of such accords to see Damascus regain
control of rebel-held areas. These often come after blistering military
offensives or crippling sieges, which effectively force the rebels into the
so-called "reconciliation" deals. Syria's war has killed 350,000 people and
displaced millions of others since it started with the brutal repression of
anti-Assad protests in 2011. Many Syrians have sought refuge from the war in
neighbouring countries, including Jordan, which says it has taken in around
1.3 million Syrian refugees. Amman last month said its frontier, which has
been closed since 2016, would remain so to any more Syrians fleeing the
conflict.
Syria Regime Pounds South, Rebel Evacuations Postponed
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 08/18/Regime forces
bombarded southern Syria on Sunday, as the evacuation of rebel fighters
under a ceasefire deal for the region was postponed, a monitor and an
opposition official said. Opposition fighters in the southern province of
Daraa announced a ceasefire deal late Friday with regime ally Russia to end
more than two weeks of deadly regime bombardment. Under that deal, rebels
who wished to do so were to leave areas in the strategic southern province
to be retaken by President Bashar al-Assad's regime. But on Sunday morning,
regime air strikes killed four civilians, said the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights. Syrian warplanes pounded Um al-Mayazeen just five kilometres
(three miles) north of the Jordanian border, killing three civilians, said
the Britain-based monitor. "Regime forces launched an assault on the
village," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said, two days after they
retook control of the key border crossing of Nassib to the south. Earlier,
rebel fire on a regime convoy on the highway near Um al-Mayazeen had killed
several soldiers, Abdel Rahman said, without providing a toll. A regime air
strike on the rebel-held half of the provincial capital of Daraa also killed
one civilian, he said. A rebel official said the evacuation of opposition
fighters and their families to rebel-held areas in northern Syria was
temporarily put on hold. "A hundred buses were supposed to arrive but (the
operation) has been postponed to a later date, in around two days," the
official said. "There was an exchange of fire between both sides and the
first (wave) has been postponed."The regime bombardment campaign on
rebel-held areas in Daraa since June 19 had killed more than 160 civilians
and displaced tens of thousands of people. Many had fled the violence south
towards the closed border with Jordan, setting up makeshift tents for
shelter in the arid fields along the frontier. After the deal announcement
on Friday, thousands headed home towards their towns and villages, according
to the Observatory. Since Russia intervened by Assad's side in Syria's
conflict in 2015, the Damascus regime has notched up a series of victories
against rebels and jihadists in the country. Regime forces, who secured the
capital Damascus earlier this year, now control more than 60 percent of the
country, the Observatory says. Syria's war has killed 350,000 people and
displaced millions since it started with the brutal repression of anti-Assad
protests in 2011.
US coalition
commander: Iran influences Syria’s security negatively
Staff Writer, Al
Arabiya English/Sunday, 8 July 2018/The commander of special operations for
the US-led coalition, James Jarrard, told Al Arabiya English that
international forces will remain in Syria until a political process has been
recognized in the country to establish peace and security. Iran’s ongoing
activities in the country are not helpingin normalizing the situation in the
war-torn country, he said. Jarrard warned about the role played by Iran ,
saying that it is not helping create stability and are supporting activities
that create violence. Jarrard also hinted at parties seeking to disrupt the
alliance’s relationship with Syria’s Democratic Forces (SDF). Speaking to Al
Arabiya reporter Huda al-Saleh, he said: “The SDF are very close to
liberating all of the terrain in north-east Syria. The world owes them
gratitude for that accomplishment.”With 77 organizations, “this is the
greatest coalition that has been formed in the history of the world to
defeat the evils of ISIS, but we have a small number of those countries
helping here in northern Syria, and so any assistance from these countries
will be helpful,” he said. Jarrard added that the US-led coalition will
provide internal security force training so that the ISIS will never return
to this part of the country. “There is no confrontation with the Russians
but there is deconfliction to make sure the forces are working separately
but together for the goal of defeating ISIS,”he said. With regards to the
disputes between the United States and NATO allies, Jarrard said there is no
reason for disagreements as the countries work towards the same goals. He
added that he believes that the way forward between Turkey and the US in
north-east Syria is in political discussion.
Iranian official: We
will stay in Syria despite Russia’s objections
Saleh Hameed, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 8 July 2018/Iran on
Sunday said it will keep its military forces in Syria despite appeals from
its ally Russia to withdraw its Revolutionary Guard Corps and other
militias. Special Assistant to Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Hussein Amir
Abdullahian, said that the presence of Iran’s “military advisors” in Syria
will continue to “combat terrorism” despite the lack of reasonable grounds
for its army to stay following ISIS’s defeat. During his meeting with Salah
al-Zawawi, the Palestinian ambassador in Tehran, Sunday, Abdullahian said
his country would “continue its firm support of the resistance,” a term Iran
has used to describe its militias in the region. A number of Revolutionary
Guard officers were killed in Syria in the past few days, including
explosives expert Mohamed Ibrahim Rashidi, 32, who was killed by a landmine
on a road to Syria’s Deir Ezzor province. Two weeks ago, Iran lost another
Revolutionary Guard commander, Shahrukh Daypur, who was responsible for
Iran’s forces in Aleppo, as well as its suburbs and neighboring northern
provinces. His death raised questions about the presence of Iranian forces,
especially in light of growing disputes between Russia and Iran. Following
Russia’s announcement pushing for a withdrawal, Iranian forces have become
targets of the US-led coalition and Israel’s air force. In recent weeks,
Iranian forces were subjected to several raids in different areas, where
more than a dozen of its militia members were killed as Iranian media
continued to be silent. “Leave Syria… Focus on us”Demonstrators in Iran
continued to protest against the regime’s policies that have resulted in
deteriorating living conditions and the currency’s collapse as a result of
the country spending money to support terrorism and militias in the region.
Protestors loudly chanted: “Leave Syria… Focus on us.” Iran continues to
deploy its revolutionary guard members to Syria, and funds the Assad regime
with $6 billion a year, as well as provide aid, such as oil and credit loans
of $5.6 billion, as it faces an economic crisis at home that has lead to
rising prices and living costs.
Iran Threatens to Retaliate after Dutch Expel Two
Diplomats
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 08/18/Iran protested on
Sunday against the Netherlands' expulsion of two of its diplomats and
threatened to retaliate for the "unfriendly and destructive move". A
spokesman for the Dutch intelligence service AIVD told AFP on Friday that
two employees of Iran's embassy had been expelled on June 7, without
providing further details. The Dutch ambassador to Tehran was subsequently
summoned to express Tehran's "severe protest" at the move, Iran's foreign
ministry said in an online statement. "As earlier announced to the
ambassador of the Netherlands, the Islamic Republic reserves the right to
retaliate," foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said in the statement.
The expulsion was "illogical and illegitimate" and Qassemi called on "Dutch
officials to refrain from levelling baseless and absurd accusations".
Qassemi also called on the Dutch government to explain "its move to shelter
the criminal and terrorist members" of Iranian opposition group, the
People's Mujahedeen. Tehran banned the People's Mujahedeen in 1981 and the
European Union put the group on a terror blacklist between 2002 and 2009.
The two Iranian diplomats were expelled long before arrests announced on
Monday by French, Belgian and German authorities of six people -- including
an Iranian diplomat based in Vienna -- on suspicion of involvement in an
alleged plot to attack a Mujahedeen rally in a Paris suburb on June 30.
Tehran has said the alleged plot was a "false flag ploy" to harm Iran and
that two people arrested in Belgium were members of the Mujahedeen.
'Qaeda' Lost Control over 50% of its
Southern Yemen Land Grabs
The Washington Post/July 08/18/Mohammed Salim al-Buhar, left, commander of
the Shabwani Elite Forces, walks outside a grocery in liberated Azzan. via
Washington Post
South Yemen, Sudarsan Raghavan
The land mines had been planted. As hundreds of U.S.-backed forces
approached in pickup trucks mounted with machine guns, the al-Qaeda
militants watched and waited in their redoubt, tucked into the jagged
mountains of southern Yemen. The first explosion shattered one vehicle, but
the convoy pushed forward. Then came a second blast. Within minutes, five
trucks were destroyed and the militants began firing with heavy weapons from
their perches, recalled five witnesses to the May 10 ambush. “There were
many traps,” said Raoof Salim Ahmed, 28, a fighter who was shot by an
al-Qaeda sniper in the thigh and testicles, and spoke from a hospital bed.
“They weren’t afraid. If they were, they wouldn’t have fought so
ferociously.”Over the past year, the shadow war between al-Qaeda and local
Yemeni fighters has intensified, largely out of sight and out of the
headlines. While much attention has been paid to a separate Yemeni civil war
pitting northern rebels against the internationally recognized government,
the battle being waged by U.S.-backed Yemeni forces against al-Qaeda
militants has escalated.
In the first year of President Trump’s term, the United States conducted far
more airstrikes against al-Qaeda militants in Yemen than it had in previous
years. While the pace so far this year has slowed significantly, it remains
well above the rate of President Barack Obama’s administration. U.S. Special
Forces are on the ground here advising the anti-al-Qaeda fighters and
calling in American airstrikes, a role that has grown as the air campaign
has escalated. Pentagon officials have said this effort is successfully
rolling back al-Qaeda’s franchise in Yemen, considered to be the militant
group’s most lethal affiliate.
But while the militants have been expelled from some of their strongholds,
Yemeni forces acknowledge that their recent gains against al-Qaeda are
precarious. Yemeni fighters combating the group in the hinterlands of Shabwa
and Abyan provinces say al-Qaeda has weathered this pounding and remains a
fierce opponent. In recent months, militants have pressed their campaign of
hit-and-run attacks and strategic retreats, and have carried out a wave of
bombings and assassinations, targeting government officials, security forces
and others.
The intense clashes that lasted two days in the eastern Al Khabr mountains
of Abyan province in May pitted some 500 local fighters against three dozen
militants, witnesses said.
For nearly a decade, U.S. intelligence officials have considered al-Qaeda’s
Yemen branch, known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula or AQAP, as the
most dangerous of all its affiliates. In 2009, AQAP tried to bomb an
airliner headed to Detroit and send parcel bombs via cargo planes to Chicago
the following year. AQAP also took credit for the 2015 assault on the Paris
office of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that killed 11
people. In 2011, AQAP took advantage of the political chaos that followed
the Arab Spring populist revolt that eventually ousted President Ali
Abdullah Saleh. Within months, AQAP seized large swaths of southern Yemen. A
U.S.-backed Yemeni government offensive in the middle of 2012 drove the
militants from many towns. But three years later, the civil war erupted,
drawing in a U.S.-backed Sunni regional coalition led by Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates that is trying to restore the government and weaken
the influence of Iran, which is supporting the Shiite rebels. AQAP exploited
the vacuum created by the civil war to seize territory, weapons and money.
Al-Qaeda militants retook control over Jaar and Abyan’s provincial capital,
Zinjibar, and swept into Mukalla, Yemen’s fifth-largest city and a major
port. Meanwhile, over the past four years, the rival Islamic State has
spawned its own modest affiliate in Yemen with at most a few hundred
members, mostly al-Qaeda defectors. Against this backdrop, the Trump
administration has given the U.S. military more latitude to launch air and
ground attacks without White House approval. The week after Trump’s
inauguration, a U.S. Navy SEAL was killed in a botched raid north of Abyan
that was anticipated by al-Qaeda. Last year, the U.S. military carried out
131 airstrikes, more than six times the tally in 2016, according to the
Pentagon’s data. The vast majority targeted AQAP, although 13 of the
airstrikes were against the nascent ISIS affiliate. So far this year, there
have been at least 30 airstrikes, all but one targeting AQAP.
Russian navy missile
drill in Med set for dates of NATO summit, Putin’s talks with Trump,
Netanyahu
DEBKAfile/July 08/18
The Russian navy has announced cruise missile-firing drills off the Syrian
coast starting on July 11 and 12. The area between the Syrian coast and
Cyprus will be off-limits to air and shipping traffic on those dates and on
July 18,19, 25 and 26, according to a Notice to Airmen issued by the Russian
Black Sea Fleet. The drills of Kalibr-NK cruise missiles will be conducted
by around 10 warships of the Russian Navy’s Mediterranean Sea task force.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the Russians have timed their drill
to coincide with the two-day NATO summit in Brussels this week. Syria’s
skies and shores will be closed to traffic in those days, which also fall
four days before the July 16 Helsinki summit between Presidents Donald Trump
and Putin, which will certainly cover the Syrian crisis. This closure will
remove any outside obstacle for impeding the Russian-backed Syrian
government takeover of Quneitra opposite Israel’s Golan border, after they
wind up their ongoing operation for gaining control of the Daraa province
and the Syrian-Jordanian border.
Israeli warplanes will also find it hard to operate over Syria during the
second half of July, starting from the 11th when Israeli Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu sits down with President Putin in Moscow. Putin is
planning to counter Israel’s complaints with a demand for Netanyahu’s
acceptance of the forcible Russian-Syrian takeover of the Quneitra region on
its border from rebel control, an arrangement the Russians hope to model on
the still unfinished Daraa formula.
The ground for an Israeli concession on this point was laid on Saturday,
when Israeli military sources tried deprecating the presence of Iranian and
Hizballah troops fighting with the Syrian army in southwestern Syria by
claiming there were just a few scattered among Syrian soldiers, not
organized combat units. DEBKAfile challenges this claim. According to our
military sources, Hizballah’s elite commando Radwan Force as well as
pro-Iranian Shiite militias are fighting in Daraa under the command of
Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers. It is not clear which high-placed
Israeli sources are putting out this false narrative which could have the
effect of weakening Netanyahu’s negotiating position at his meeting with
Putin.
The Americans appeared to be in conciliatory mode ahead of the Trump-Putin
summit: The US Navy command ordered the USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier
and strike force to sail out of the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, after
conducting a joint exercise with the French Navy’s air force. French Rafale
M Fighters landed on the Truman’s decks for joint drills with US F/A-18/F
Super Hornets. As of Sunday, July 8, not a single US warship is to be seen
between Syria and Cyprus. US jets can only now reach Syrian air space from
Iraq or the Gulf.
Pompeo Brushes off N.Korea 'Gangster' Tag, Says
Sanctions to Stay
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 08/18/US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
on Sunday shrugged off North Korean accusations of "gangster-like" behaviour
and said sanctions on Pyongyang would only be lifted with "final"
denuclearisation. Speaking in Tokyo after two days of intense discussions in
Pyongyang, Pompeo insisted the talks were making progress and were being
conducted in "good faith." In stark contrast, Pyongyang's take was
overwhelmingly negative, with the North warning that the future of the peace
process was being jeopardised by overbearing US demands for its unilateral
nuclear disarmament. Speaking privately, US officials suggested the
harshly-worded North Korean reaction was a negotiating tactic. But after two
days of theatrical amity in Pyongyang it illustrated the gulf that remains
between the two sides. In Tokyo, Pompeo briefed his Japanese and South
Korean counterparts on the talks, and sought to reassure them that the
dialogue with North Korea would continue. His trip to Pyongyang had been
aimed at fleshing out denuclearisation commitments made during last month's
historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un. North Korea has long trumpeted a denuclearisation goal, but one
that it sees as a lengthy process of undefined multilateral disarmament on
the entire Korean peninsula, rather than a unilateral dismantlement of its
nuclear arsenal. Speaking in Tokyo, Pompeo said his efforts to push the
North on disarmament had the backing of the entire international
community."If those requests were gangster-like, the world is a gangster,
because there was a unanimous decision at the UN Security Council about what
needs to be achieved," he said. While insisting again that the talks were
moving forwards, he stressed that nothing had happened to merit a relaxation
of the tough sanctions imposed on the North over its nuclear missile
programme.
"Sanctions will remain in place until final, fully verified denuclearisation
as agreed to by Chairman Kim (Jong Un) occurs," Pompeo said, adding that the
US would seek to smooth the path by providing security guarantees requested
by Pyongyang. - 'No-one walked away' -In practical terms, Pompeo mentioned
only that officials from both sides would meet on July 12 to discuss the
repatriation of the remains of some US soldiers killed during the 1950-1953
Korean War. North Korea's angry reaction to the talks with Pompeo came in a
Foreign Ministry statement that berated the Secretary over his "unilateral
and gangster-like" demands and for offering no constructive steps on the US
side. "It seems the US misunderstood our goodwill and patience," the
statement said. Pyongyang noted that it had already destroyed a nuclear test
site -- a concession that Trump has publicly hailed as a victory for peace
-- and lamented that Pompeo had proved unwilling to match this with US
concessions. It dismissed Trump's unilateral order to suspend joint US and
South Korean war games as a cosmetic and "highly reversible" measure and
criticised US negotiators who "never mentioned" the subject of bringing the
1953 Korean War to a formal end with a peace treaty. "We thought that the US
side would come with a constructive proposal... But this expectation and
hope of ours was so naive as to be gullible," the statement said. Professor
Yang Moo-Jin at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul said
Pyongyang's criticism was aimed at driving a wedge between Trump and his top
officials. "The North is trying to get an upper hand in further
negotiations," Yang said. And Pompeo was adamant that those further
negotiations would go ahead. "We talked about what the North Koreans are
continuing to do and how it's the case that we can get our arms around
achieving what Chairman Kim and President Trump both agreed to," he said.
"No-one walked away from that."And he said some progress had been made
towards agreeing "the modalities" of North Korea's destruction of a missile
facility. Pompeo, who has now made three visits to Pyongyang, began the
outreach when he was still Trump's CIA director and remained the pointman on
negotiations after the process became public and he became secretary of
state.
Kuwait Jails Lawmakers, Activists for Storming
Parliament
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 08/18/Kuwait's top court
on Sunday sentenced two serving opposition lawmakers and six former
legislators to 42 months in jail after convicting them of storming
parliament and assaulting police in 2011. The Supreme Court sentenced five
opposition activists to the same term for the same offences, according to
the ruling seen by AFP. The nighttime storming of parliament in November
2011 came after a protest against then prime minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed
al-Sabah over corruption allegations. The premier -- from the ruling
Al-Sabah family -- resigned later that month. Another former lawmaker and
two other activists were sentenced to two-year terms and 17 activists were
acquitted. Some of those convicted were done so in absentia. The court found
34 other activists guilty of storming parliament but decided not to punish
them, without immediately explaining why. Former lawmaker Mussallam al-Barrak
-- and serving Islamist parliamentarians Waleed al-Tabtabai and Jamaan al-Harbash
-- were among those handed the 42-month jail term in one of the most
publicised court cases in Kuwait's history. Barrak was released from prison
in April 2017 after serving a two-year sentence for insulting Kuwait's Emir
Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. The convicted parliamentarians and former
lawmakers cannot run for public office again. The oil-rich Gulf state's
parliament has been dissolved seven times since 2006 due to frequent feuds
between the government and opposition. The Supreme Court's ruling is final.
At least ten killed,
73 injured in Turkey train derailment
AFP, IstanbulSunday, 8 July 2018/Ten people were killed and 73 injured on
Sunday when a train packed with weekend passengers derailed in northwest
Turkey, sate-run TRT Haber television said, quoting the health ministry. The
train, with 360 people on board, was travelling from Kapikule on the
Bulgarian border to Istanbul when six of its carriages derailed in the
Tekirdag region. Over 100 ambulances have been sent to the scene, TRT Haber
said, quoting Health Ministry Undersecretary Eyup Gumus. The Turkish army
said in a statement that it had sent helicopters to the scene. Television
pictures showed several train carriages laying on their sides, and shocked
injured being taken away on stretchers. “There are a large number of injured
and we have fatalities,” Tekirdag governor Mehmet Ceylan told the NTV
channel. “The accident happened because of adverse weather conditions,” he
added. Reports said the surrounding area was muddy due to recent rains.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been informed over the accident and
expressed his condolences over those who lost their lives, state-run Anadolu
news agency said. Turkish authorities under Erdogan have over the last years
sought to modernize Turkey’s once ramshackle rail network, building several
high speed inter-city lines. The train involved in the accident appeared to
be one of the slower passenger trains travelling on a single track railway.
Turkey sacks more than 18,500 state employees in new
decree
AFP, AnkaraSunday, 8 July 2018/Turkish authorities ordered
the dismissal of more than 18,500 state employees including police officers,
soldiers and academics, in a decree published on Sunday. The Official
Gazette said 18,632 people had been sacked including 8,998 police officers
in the emergency decree over suspected links to terror organizations and
groups that "act against national security".Some 3,077 army soldiers were
also dismissed as well as 1,949 air force personnel and 1,126 from the naval
forces. Another 1,052 civil servants from the justice ministry and linked
institutions have been fired as well as 649 from the gendarmerie and 192
from the coast guard. Authorities also sacked 199 academics, according to
the new decree, while 148 state employees from the military and ministries
were reinstated. Turkey has been under a state of emergency since the July
2016 attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish media
dubbed the decree as the "last" with officials indicating the state of
emergency could end as early as Monday. The emergency has been renewed seven
times and the latest period is officially due to end on July 19.Over 110,000
public sector employees have been removed previously from their jobs via
emergency decrees since July 2016 while tens of thousands more have been
suspended in a crackdown criticized by Ankara's Western allies. Turkey
accuses US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the
attempted coup. The majority of those fired under the emergency are accused
of links to Gulen. The government refers to the movement as the "Fethullah
Terrorist Organization". Gulen strongly denies any coup links and insists
his movement is a peaceful organization. Sunday's decree shut down 12
associations across the country as well as three newspapers and a television
channel. Human rights defenders including Amnesty International have
lambasted the purges as arbitrary but Turkey says they are necessary to
remove the Gulen movement's infiltration of state bodies.Earlier this year,
the government said more than 77,000 people had been arrested over alleged
links to Gulen.
The Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published
on July 08-09/18
Everything You Need to
Know About the West Bank Bedouin Village at the Eye of a Diplomatic Storm
كل ما عليك معرفته عن قرية خان
الأحمر التي تسعى اسرائيل لإفراغها من سكانها وتسبب عاصفة سياسية
Yotam Berger/Haaretz/July 08/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/65894/haaretz-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-west-bank-bedouin-village-at-the-eye-of-a-diplomatic-storm-%D9%83%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%83-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%B9/
Who lives in Khan al-Ahmar, why is the West Bank village slated for
demolition considered 'illegal' and what does the High Court say about it?
Who lives in Khan al-Ahmar?
This Bedouin village is close to Route 1 in the area of Kfar Adumim. It is
home to a few dozen families from the Jahalin tribe, which was expelled from
its home in the Negev to the West Bank in the 1950s. Aerial photographs and
testimony by villagers show that the residents wandered within the
Jerusalem-Jericho region before gradually establishing permanent residence
in Khan al-Ahmar, apparently in or around the 1970s. Khan al-Ahmar is just
one of a number of villages that are home to the Jahalin.
Which buildings are slated for demolition?
Most of the village’s structures are tin shacks, tents or permanent tents
that are used to shelter the residents and their livestock. Khan al-Ahmar is
also home to the Tire School, a more durable structure, established with
European support.
What is the village’s zoning status?
Khan al-Ahmar is not legal according to Israeli planning law. Members of the
Jahalin tribe have been living in the area since before the Six-Day War. Its
permanent buildings were erected without the required permits from the Civil
Administration and without an urban master plan. They were built on land
that is defined as state land.
Can the buildings be legalized retroactively?
The state can grant legal status retroactively to unlawful construction on
state land, but is not doing so in Khan al-Ahmar. The state has legalized
settlement outposts in the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, whose
jurisdiction includes the Ma’aleh Adumim settlement — the community that
petitioned the High Court to demolish Khan al-Ahmar. Among the outposts it
legalized are Rahelim and Harsha, even though the access road to Harsha was
constructed on privately owned Palestinian land. Steps have also been taken
to legalize the Adei Ad outpost. Mateh Binyamin includes some 30
unauthorized Israeli outposts. Admittedly, in regard to Khan al-Ahmar there
is a certain difficulty in granting legal status to a community built from
tents and tin shacks, adjacent to a highway and lacking any organized
infrastructure.
The village’s proximity to a settlement and a highway are among the reasons
cited for not legalizing it. But there are also arguments, grounded in
international law, according to which it is illegal for an occupying force
to displace a local population. These arguments are generally not accepted
in Israeli law.
Where does the state want to resettle the Khan al-Ahmar Bedouin?
Authorities plan to move residents to Al Jabel, a village in the Azariya
area, situated between the Abu Dis garbage dump and a chop shop for stolen
vehicles. Bedouin from other Jahalin communities are already living there,
but there is a long-running feud between the two groups. The residents of
Khan al-Ahmar, who already live under dire conditions, claim that the
permanent site designated for them would leave them significantly worse off.
Each family is supposed to receive an area of around 300 square meters in
the permanent site.
What were the previous High Court rulings?
Demolition orders were issued for the structures used to shelter the
residents and their flocks as well as the school. There have been a number
of legal proceedings. Residents of nearby settlements, in particular Kfar
Adumim, have sought to have the demolition orders carried out, while the
Bedouin have fought the orders. The state informed the High Court that it
intended to evacuate all residents of Khan al-Ahmar by June. In the end, the
court ruled that the state is authorized to carry out the demolition orders
without setting a date. In previous evacuations of Israeli outposts built on
private Palestinian land, the High Court explicitly ruled that the state
must carry out the demolition by a particular date.
What was the latest High Court ruling?
On Thursday the Palestinians petitioned the court, arguing that the
legalization proposals they submitted to the Civil Administration were not
examined. The High Court issued a temporary restraining order freezing the
demolition and ordered the state to respond to the Palestinians’ claims by
Wednesday. After the state submits its response, the High Court can decide
to reject the petition and allow the state to resume the demolition process.
Alternatively, the court can conduct deliberations that could delay or
prevent the demolitions.
Explained/How Qatar Is Warming Ties With Both Trump and
Iran - at the Same Time
تقرير عن طرق اقامة قطر علاقات حميمة مع ترامب وإيران في نفس الوقت
Reuters and Haaretz/July 08/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/65889/reuters-and-haaretz-explained-how-qatar-is-warming-ties-with-both-trump-and-iran-at-the-same-time-%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%B7%D8%B1%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A9/
Several Qatari lobbyists said the aggressive strategy, which has cost the
small OPEC member tens of millions of dollars, has been about reaching
people close to Trump as well as lobbying on Capitol Hill
There was much fanfare as a few dozen people, including members of Congress
and U.S. administration officials, gathered last week for dinner in a posh
Washington neighborhood in honor of Qatar's foreign minister. Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin sat next to the minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin
Abdulrahman al-Thani.
"You have been a great friend to the United States," Mnuchin told Thani,
praising Qatar for its cooperation on counter-terrorism financing efforts.
The scene was a stark contrast from just a year ago. Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar in June
2017, accusing it of fomenting regional unrest, supporting terrorism and
getting too close to Iran, all of which Doha denies. At the time, a dinner
with Qatari officials at a Washington steakhouse to garner support from
members of Congress was a muted affair, without anyone with influence in the
Trump administration at the event, according to a person who attended. U.S.
President Donald Trump followed the boycott with tweets suggesting Qatar
funded terrorism, even though other U.S. officials emphasized it was an
ally.
"When the blockade happened they (Qatar) had no presence on the Hill," said
Joey Allaham, a former adviser to Qatar who was paid $1.45 million,
including costs, for his advocacy work. A year later the boycott remains in
force, as the rivals have failed to resolve their dispute. But Qatar has
managed to persuade certain lawmakers and influential Americans that it is a
U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism and victim of an unfair boycott,
interviews with advisers on both sides show. Several Qatari lobbyists said
the aggressive strategy, which has cost the small OPEC member tens of
millions of dollars, has been about reaching people close to Trump as well
as lobbying on Capitol Hill. The country has also hired some people seen as
close to Trump, pledged billions of dollars in U.S. investments or business
and sponsored Doha visits, according to its advisers and public filings.
Simmering tensions
Qatar's boycott followed long simmering tensions in the region, with
countries such as Saudi and the UAE angry about the tiny but rich Gulf
nation’s outsized role in regional affairs, sponsoring factions in revolts
and civil wars and brokering peace deals across the Middle East. The United
States, closely allied to countries on both sides, has found itself in the
middle and tried unsuccessfully to mediate. Qatar hosts the Middle East
headquarters for U.S. air forces. An administration official said the United
States fears the rift could allow Iran to enhance its position in the
Gulf if Tehran supported the Qataris.
Trump wants "the dispute eased and eventually resolved, as it only benefits
Iran," a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said. Indeed, since the boycott
Iran and Qatar ties have improved. Tehran opened its airspace to Qatar
Airways when Saudis and others closed theirs, while Qatar restored full
diplomatic relations with Iran. This boycott violates the "right of an
independent country like Qatar to choose its allies," said an Iranian
official, who previously served as ambassador to the UAE. Iran's foreign
ministry declined to comment. Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the
United States, said: "Rather than hoping for Washington to enforce a
solution to the crisis, Qatar should establish a dialogue directly with the
UAE and its neighbors."
The Saudi embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
Lobbying battle
Rich from large natural gas reserves, Qatar has lavished at least $24
million on lobbying in Washington since the start of 2017. That compares
with a total of $8.5 million Qatar paid in 2015 and 2016 for lobbying,
Justice Department filings show. It has hired people close to Trump. Former
New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, for example, said he worked for the
Qataris on an investigation and visited Doha just weeks before becoming
Trump's personal lawyer in April. Giuliani declined to give details, telling
Reuters that he has not spoken to Trump about his Qatar work. Qatar's
opponents have a formidable offensive of their own. The UAE and Saudi Arabia
shelled out about $25 million each over the same period and had allies such
as Elliott Broidy, a Republican fundraiser also close to Trump.
In May last year, Broidy bankrolled a conference about Qatar and the Muslim
Brotherhood, an Islamist group that Egypt and other Doha rivals have accused
of terrorism, according to Mark Dubowitz, head of the Foundation for the
Defense of Democracies, a think-tank that organized the conference.
It was at this conference that Ed Royce, chairman of the powerful House
Foreign Affairs Committee, disclosed plans for a bill naming Qatar a sponsor
of terrorism. Royce introduced the bill two days after the conference.
Royce's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Qatar "swarmed the Hill" to oppose the bill, including appealing to House
Speaker Paul Ryan's office, two lobbyists said. The bill has stalled in
Congress.
Ryan's office referred questions on the bill to Majority Leader Kevin
McCarthy, who did not respond to a request for comment. "Understandably, the
Qataris called in all their lobbyists and favors to try to derail the bill,
though the final chapter on these issues has yet to be written," said Broidy,
who has sued Qatar for allegedly hacking his emails. Qatar denies his
allegations. When asked by Reuters what, if any, his role was regarding the
bill, Broidy said, "I wish the bill was my idea but the reality is it wasn't
and I never had anything to do it."
Unlikely allies
Qatar has also reached out to unlikely allies. In January, Qatar's lobbyists
flew Morton Klein, head of the Zionist Organization of America, first class
on Qatar Airways and put him up at the five-star Sheraton Grand Doha Resort
for meetings with the country's leaders.
That included a two-hour, one-on-one palace meeting with Emir Sheikh Tamim
bin Hamad al-Thani. Klein said Qatari officials promised to kill an Al
Jazeera documentary critical of Israel supporters in the United States,
eliminate anti-Semitic books from a Doha book fair, and work to release
kidnapped Israelis.
Klein remains critical of Qatar but said in an interview last week that he
is encouraged by some steps taken to address his concerns. He said the
documentary has not aired and he continues to work with officials on other
issues. Last fall, Trump met Sheikh Tamim on the sidelines of the United
Nations General Assembly. A Qatari lobbyist said Doha's message to the
United States was they would spend more money on the American base in the
country and buy aircraft from Boeing Co .
Within a week of the meeting, state-owned Qatar Airways said it would buy
six Boeing aircraft, valued at $2.16 billion. Boeing declined to comment.
Sheikh Tamim met Trump again this April at the White House. "It took time
and resources to replace the blockading states' lies with the truth,
including inviting delegations to visit Qatar and investigate the blockade
for themselves," said Jassim al-Thani, spokesman for the Qatar embassy in
Washington.
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/how-qatar-is-warming-ties-with-both-trump-and-iran-at-the-same-time-1.6247714?utm_campaign=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=smartfocus&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.haaretz.com%2Fmiddle-east-news%2Fhow-qatar-is-warming-ties-with-both-trump-and-iran-at-the-same-time-1.6247714
Iran’s Redundant Threats against Hormuz Strait
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/July 08/18
Countless are the times post-1979 when Iran threatened to close the globally
vital Hormuz Strait. It is the Tehran regime officials’ go to whenever a crisis
occurs, which take place often. Over the course of four decades of successive
threats, Tehran did not carry through with its promise once, even during the
eight-year war against Iraq and that was dubbed the tanker war. In that time the
US Navy attacked Iranian ships, destroying two Iranian warships.
In return, Iran vowed it would close the strait, but did not dare do so.
Today, the same threat is being reiterated by the ultra-hardline Iranian
Revolutionary Guard, which launched its latest threat yet against the Strait of
Hormuz, saying that the waterway is “either for everyone or no one.”Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani also on Tuesday hinted his country's ability to block
freights leaving neighboring countries should the global community heed US
demands to refrain from buying Iranian oil. Right after, the US said that its
partners provide security for the region. Playing down Rouhani’s hints on
blocking Hormuz, Iran’s head of the parliamentary national security and foreign
policy committee said that the president’s statements did not mean that oil
could not be exported if Iran faces inhibitions on its own oil market share.
Iran's trend of making unrealized loud threats, that soon are rolled back, shows
that Tehran is completely aware of consequences that may result from its
decision to cut off transport and freight going through this highly strategic
spot. Reality is that Iran is actually capable of closing the strait, but it
goes without saying that it is impossible for it to bear the consequences of
undertaking such action. Tehran knows this well and cannot afford the risk of
implementing its threats--not only because closing off the strait, through which
30 percent of the world’s oil supply passes, but also because such action
represents suicide for Iran. A global energy crisis caused by shutting down
Hormuz Strait activity will see the pricing on oil shoot up as high as $400 a
barrel.
Taking down such a vital route is a declaration of war not only against
oil-exporting countries (oil tankers daily transport about 17 million barrels of
oil from Iran, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq) using the strait, but also
against the major importers.
It is worth mentioning that it isn’t only the US, Iran’s arch foe, which imports
oil, but also China and Europe. About 80 percent of oil export passing
through the strait heads over to China, Japan, India, South Korea and Singapore.
China, one of Tehran’s most important economic allies, sent a strong message
advising Iran to reserve from making threats on closing the strait, and call for
it to devote itself into becoming a good neighbor, and learn means to coexist
peacefully. The closure of the strait is the most serious threat posed to the
region and is a declaration of war against all countries which import oil from
the Gulf, said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong. Had Tehran been
realistically capable of controlling the strategic strait, it would have done so
since the first day after its 1979 revolution. But instead, it has only been
making verbal threats, that don’t echo in reality, to relieve pressures it faces
from sanctions and international policy. Today, Iran is sending a message to
remaining partners in the nuclear agreement after the US exit, in order to help
itself escape a disastrous political and economic crisis. Gulf states rest
assured that Iran cannot close down the strait, because it is simply a
declaration of war against the world, and the Iranian regime is unable to do so
and is unlikely to push for giving world countries an opportunity to unite
against it.
International Community Ignores Genocide of Christians in
Nigeria
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/July 08/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/65886/raymond-ibrahim-international-community-ignores-genocide-of-christians-in-nigeria-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%84/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12645/christians-genocide-nigeria
This brings the death toll of Christians to more than 6,000 since the start of
2018.
"The Islamists of northern Nigeria seem determined to turn Nigeria into an
Islamic Sultanate and replace Liberal Democracy with Sharia as the National
Ideology. The object of course, is to supplant the Constitution with Sharia as
the source of legislation." — National Christian Elders Forum, a wing of the
Christian Association of Nigeria. The Nigerian government and the international
community, however, have from the start done little to address the situation.
This lack of participation is not surprising: they cannot even acknowledge its
roots, namely, the intolerant ideology of jihad.
In what the Christian Association of Nigeria is calling a "pure genocide," 238
more Christians were killed and churches desecrated by Muslims last week in the
west African nation. This brings the death toll of Christians to more than 6,000
since the start of 2018.
According to a joint statement by the Christian Association, an umbrella group
of various Christian denominations, "There is no doubt that the sole purpose of
these attacks is aimed at ethnic cleansing, land grabbing and forceful ejection
of the Christian natives from their ancestral land and heritage."
The statement condemned the recent attacks, "where over 200 persons were
brutally killed and our churches destroyed without any intervention from
security agencies in spite of several distress calls made to them."
The statement adds that the majority of those 6,000 Christians massacred this
year were "mostly children, women and the aged... What is happening in ...
Nigeria is pure genocide and must be stopped immediately."
The details of the murder of these thousands, though seldom reported, are often
grisly; many were either hacked to death or beheaded with machetes; others were
burned alive (including inside locked churches or homes); and women are often
sexually assaulted or raped before being slaughtered.
Both the Nigerian government and the U.S. government have long sought to present
this protracted jihad as territorial clashes between the haves (apparently
always Christians) and haves-not (apparently always Muslims).
In 2012, for instance, President Bill Clinton said that "inequality" and
"poverty" are "what's fueling all this stuff" (the "stuff" being a reference to
the ongoing Muslim slaughter of Christians in Nigeria). Former U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, said after an Easter Day
bombing in 2012 of a Nigerian church left 39 worshippers dead, "I want to take
this opportunity to stress one key point and that is that religion is not
driving extremist violence". The Obama administration reportedly agreed to spend
$600 million in a USAID initiative launched to ascertain the "true causes" of
unrest and violence in Nigeria -- which naturally lay in the socio-economic,
supposedly never the religious, realm.
In its recent statement, however, the Christian Association of Nigeria denied
these claims. After saying that those responsible for slaughtering Christians
are always allowed to "go scot free" by the Nigerian government—which further
portrays the attacks as "farmers/herdsmen clashes"—it inquired:
"How can it be a clash when one group [Muslims] is persistently attacking,
killing, maiming, [and] destroying, and the other group [Christians] is
persistently being killed, maimed and their places of worship destroyed? How can
it be a clash when the herdsmen are hunting farmers in their own
villages/communities and farmers are running for their lives?" On May 2, the
National Christian Elders Forum -- a wing of the Christian Association, the
members of which average the age of 75 and come from Nigeria's six geopolitical
zones -- met with the British High Commission in an effort to receive support.
(Days before the meeting, around 30 Muslim herdsmen had stormed a church during
early morning Mass and murdered nearly 20 parishioners and two clergymen.) The
group's executive summary of issues included:
It is clear to the Christian Elders that JIHAD has been launched in Nigeria by
the Islamists of northern Nigeria led by the Fulani ethnic group [the
"herdsmen"]. This Jihad is based on the Doctrine of Hate taught in Mosques and
Islamic Madrasas in northern Nigeria as well as the supremacist ideology of the
Fulani. Using both conventional (violent) Jihad, and stealth (civilization)
Jihad, the Islamists of northern Nigeria seem determined to turn Nigeria into an
Islamic Sultanate and replace Liberal Democracy with Sharia as the National
Ideology. The object of course, is to supplant the Constitution with Sharia as
the source of legislation.
The current 1999 Constitution is plagued with dual conflicting ideology of
Democracy and Sharia. There are certain values which are non-negotiable in a
pluralistic society and it seems the advocates of the Caliphate do not respect
this. A dual-ideology-driven Nigeria cannot be the Nigeria of our dream. We want
a Nigeria, where citizens are treated equally before the law at all levels....
Bearing in mind that Christians constitute over 50% of the Nigerian population,
the goal of the Islamists is bound to create serious conflicts which if not
checked is capable of escalating into another civil war. Already, the Islamists
are murdering Christians with impunity and destroying vulnerable Christian
places of worship and communities at an alarming and inhuman rate.
That 6,000 Christians, "mostly children, women and the aged," have been
butchered in just the first six months of this year is a reminder of how
violence only escalates when left unchecked. That is the story of the Muslim
persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
It took three times as long (a year-and-a-half, between December 2013 to July
2015), for example, for the same Muslim herdsmen to slaughter a total of 1,484
Christians (532 men, 507 women, and 445 children), critically wound 2,388
Christians (1,069 men, 817 women, and 502 children), and burn or destroy 171
churches. The Nigerian government and the international community, however, have
from the start done little to address the situation. This lack of participation
is not surprising: they cannot even acknowledge its roots, namely, the
intolerant ideology of jihad. As a result, the death toll of Christians has only
risen -- and will likely continue to grow exponentially -- until such time that
this reality is not only acknowledged but addressed. The governor of Nigeria's
Anambra State, Willie Obiano (center), visits a wounded survivor of a deadly
attack on St. Philip Catholic Church in Ozubulu, August 11, 2017. (Image source:
Channels TV video screenshot)
**Raymond Ibrahim is the author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on
Christians (published by Regnery with Gatestone Institute, April 2013).
© 2018 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Analysis Next Stop for Assad: The Golan Heights
زفي برال من الهآررتس: محطة الأسد الثانية ستكون مرتفعات الجولان
Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/July 08/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/65897/zvi-barel-haaretz-analysis-next-stop-for-assad-the-golan-heights-%D8%B2%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D8%A2%D8%B1%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%B3-%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%B7/
Israel is preparing for the next stage, in which Assad forces will deploy in
positions they held before the war, determined by the disengagement lines agreed
upon by Israel and Syria in 1974
Russian police units, which accompanied Russian forces moving towards the Naseeb
border crossing between Jordan and Syria, have set up their positions there and
in some parts of the town of Daraa, the capital of the southern region of the
same name. Rebel militias have begun handing over their heavy equipment to the
Syrian army and if there are no new developments Assad can claim that eastern
Daraa is in his hands.
Amman is starting to examine the possibility of repatriating hundreds of
thousands of refugees who fled to Jordan during the war and Israel is preparing
for the next stage, in which Assad forces will deploy in positions they held
before the war, determined by the disengagement lines agreed upon by Israel and
Syria in 1974. Between these two stages a local battle still awaits Syria in the
western areas of Daraa and along its border with Jordan up to the Yarmouk River
basin, where the Nusra Front forces, as well as some ISIS units, are positioned.
This campaign may take many days, postponing the complete takeover of the south
by Assad.
According to reports coming from Syria, Russia only partly kept its commitment
to Jordan and Israel, by which Iranian and Hezbollah forces would not take part
in the fighting in Daraa. Hezbollah fighters and several Iranian officers were
spotted in combat areas, but overall the combat and deployment of forces in the
area consisted of only Syrian and Russian forces. In the meantime, the
cease-fire agreement has not kicked in yet in western Daraa. It hinges on a
reply by local militias, which should arrive within the next day.
Israel is considered the party that gave the green light for the entry of Assad
forces into southern Syria, following negotiations held between the commander of
Russia’s policing forces, a representative of the Russian administration,
Jordanian and Israeli officials. These were based on a Russian commitment to
remove Iranian forces from the area, to an initial distance of 40 kilometers
from the Jordanian border. Further negotiations regarding the depth of Iranian
deployment in the Golan Heights will be held at a meeting between Netanyahu and
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, six days before the Putin-Trump
summit meeting, which will deal among other issues with the nuclear accord and
the situation in Syria. Israel insists that Syrian forces not cross the
agreed-upon disengagement lines, but without doing so, Syria will not be able to
dislodge militia units situated in the Syrian Golan area. Israel, Syria and
Russia will need to find a creative solution which will prevent the entry of
Syrian forces while removing the militias. One possibility is that Israel
instruct the militias to leave the Golan Heights in exchange for a
Syrian-Russian commitment not to harm them. Another option is that Israel agree
to mixed Russian-Syrian policing units setting up a safe transit corridor for
the militias and thousands of refugees who’ve recently arrived in the Golan
after fleeing the fighting in Daraa.
The cease-fire agreement lays out the deployment of the Assad regime’s forces in
southern Syria, completing Assad’s resumption of control over most of Syria.
This agreement joins other similar ones reached in other parts of Syria, such as
the negotiations between the regime and Kurdish forces and agreements made with
the Druze minority in southern Syria. Military control of these areas still
leaves key issues that need to be resolved before Russia can continue with the
diplomatic moves it is planning, which include the establishment of a new Syrian
government and the implementation of a revised constitution, formulated by
Russia together with the regime, as well as the holding of elections.
In Russia’s hands
Thus, in addition to the issue of deployment of forces in the Golan, Russia will
have to persuade Turkey to withdraw its forces from northern Syria, which it
invaded as part of its campaign against Kurdish units and its effort to prevent
Kurdish territorial contiguity in Syria. Russia will also try to create a
formula for the evacuation of American troops, some of whom are in northern
Syria, others in the border triangle between Jordan, Syria and Iraq, along with
the evacuation of Iranian troops. This now seems to be unlikely, since Iran does
not intend, at least according to its declarations, to withdraw all its forces
from Syria. Tehran received support for this stance from Russia’s foreign
minister Sergei Lavrov, who said this week that it was unrealistic to demand a
complete withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria. This contrasts with earlier
statements, including some by Putin, according to which all foreign forces would
leave Syria.
One of the questions now being posed is whether Putin can tie an Iranian
withdrawal from Syria to the nuclear accords. In other words, will Trump agree
to soften his positions regarding this agreement in exchange for an Iranian
retreat from Syria? This could pose a serious dilemma for Israel in which it has
to decide which is the more concrete threat: a valid nuclear agreement, which
Iran is abiding by meticulously but one which raises doubts about what happens
once that accord expires, or the continued presence of Iranian forces on Syrian
soil. For now this is a theoretical question but in just over a week Israel may
be facing a new Russian-American honeymoon, which will force it to find an
alternative strategy.
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/.premium-next-stop-for-assad-the-golan-heights-1.6247041
How can those who plant mines in Yemen be equated with
those who remove them?
Hamdan Alaly/Al Arabiya/July 08/18
Yemen has a long history with mines. During the North-South conflict in the
1970s, armed groups situated in the central regions planted hundreds of
thousands of mines they got from Libyan leader Muaamar Kaddafi as support for
the National Front. Over the decades, some of these mines have been removed
while a vast majority remains unearthed to this day, according to government
statements. When the Houthi rebellion began in 2004 in the Saada governorate,
mines were one of the most important weapons the Houthis relied on during their
wars against the state. The Houthis have had a penchant for obtaining and
manufacturing mines of various types and sizes. In fact, the militia set up a
mines’ factory in the city of Saada, which was targeted by Arab coalition forces
in May 2015. A few weeks ago, I visited Midi city in the province of Hajjah,
which was recently fully emancipated from Houthi control. We had only one way to
reach the city and we couldn’t take different routes. Mines were heavily planted
in every corner within and around the city, except for areas that the
engineering teams had cleared of mines. Those who visit the city and adjoining
areas where the Houthis were must move in a restricted, narrow and known path in
order to remain safe from the mines the Houths left behind and which has made
those who resided there refrain from returning to their homes.
Mines planted by Houthis have claimed 639 lives and injured 704 others in Yemen
between July 2014 and March 2018.
Hamdan Alaly
Some of the inhabitants of the city said that “many people have been killed by
these mines. Even though war has ended in these areas, landmines still surround
them and suffocate (their movement). There are no exceptions as (the Houthis)
planted mines on roads, in heavily populated neighborhoods, farms, beaches and
even inside houses.” The Houthis produced all kinds of mines, ranging from large
mines that target tanks and big vehicles to small-sized ones that target
individuals and which are internationally-prohibited.
Midi is not the only city riddled by the bane of Houthi mines. The Houthis have
planted internationally banned mines everywhere they passed, such as in cities
of Taiz, Marib, Al Bayda, Sanaa, Hodeidah, Saada, Aden, Lahij, Dhale and the
rest of Hajjah. All of these areas are filled with mines. Mines are the friends
of Houthi fighters wherever they set foot and Abdulmalik al-Houthi’s gift to the
children and women of Yemen!
According to the latest report by the Yemeni Coalition for Monitoring Human
Rights Violations, mines claimed the lives of 639 Yemenis and injured 704 people
between July 2014 and March 2018. By the way, only the Houthi militias have
planted mines in Yemen since the first war in 2004.
Statistics reveal that Yemen, which signed the Ottawa treaty that forbids the
use of anti-personnel mines in 1997, has been booby-trapped by more than half a
million mines planted by the Houthi militia in the past few years. Director of
Yemen’s Executive Mine Action Center Brigadier General Amin al-Ogaili said:
“Yemen has been affected by the largest mine-laying action since the end of the
World War II, and today it is the foremost country in the Middle East and North
Africa region that has been affected by the disasters of these widespread
mines.”
Mines are the Houthis’ gift to the people. On the other hand, the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia is making great efforts to confront this disaster which threatens
the Yemenis’ future and present, and it’s doing so via the MASAM project that
was launched by King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid and that aims
to remove all forms and shapes of mines that were planted by the militias in
Yemeni territories, especially in the governorates of Marib, Aden, Sanaa and
Taiz. This project will be implemented with Saudi human resources and
international expertise. This abundant Saudi generosity makes me, as a Yemeni,
wonder whether those who plant mines and those who remove them can be deemed
equal by the world.
Who will reveal the fate of Iraq’s public funds?
Adnan Hussein/Al Arabiya/July 08/18
Oil prices are rising, and they may keep going up at least until the end of the
year. This means that Iraq’s budget, which was facing major deficit and which
was going to be covered via foreign debts, may be able to overcome the earlier
shortfall and come into surplus.
This year’s budget was based on the estimate that the price of oil will not
exceed more than $46 per barrel, while the price currently stands at about $70.
As US sanctions against Iran and which focus on boycotting Iran’s oil exports
intensify and as the Libyan civil war continues to affect the production and
export of oil, prices are expected to rise further. Moreover the level of our
oil exports is also rising every month.
This is of course good news when it comes to overcoming this year’s budget
deficit or even possibly making a significant surplus, in addition to the
prospect of setting up a non-deficit budget for the next year. The rule is that
the unspent amount should be returned to the Treasury, but we never come to know
how much was not spent and how much was returned to the Treasury. What is more
important though is how the Iraqi government (the current and future one) will
handle this huge increase in oil revenues. It is logical that the government
would inject this money into major projects that could help in getting rid of
oil dependency. This government, as well as previous governments, failed to
properly and correctly invest in the country’s resources.The last two
governments squandered hundreds of billions of dollars on failed projects. This
is in addition to increased administrative and financial corruption that greatly
affected oil revenues for years thus contributing to the failure of economic
projects and in further corruption and lack of transparency in governmental
work, particularly in terms of expenditure. The clearest example is that the
constitution stated that when the government submits its draft budget, it must
submit an account’s statement for the previous year’s budget. However, no
government committed to this. The issue is that the Parliament, which is
supposed to represent the people, never fulfilled its duty in this regard and
did not address the issue and handle it. The reason is clear and well-known; it
is because most MPs were only concerned with their parties and their privileges.
It is for this reason that the Iraqi public opinion stood firmly against
renewing the term of the last parliament.
In addition, it is known that the governorates and the state institutions
usually do not spend all of their financial allocations. The rule is that the
unspent amount should be returned to the Treasury, but we never come to know how
much was not spent and how much was returned to the Treasury and how much was
squandered due to the huge administrative and financial corruption. Like
previous governments, Haider al-Abadi’s government did not have an honorable
record on the level of economy and services. It will thus do good if it
concludes its term by revealing the fate of the people’s money.
Iranian people’s disaffection with the regime peaking
الدكتور مجيد رفيع زاده: استياء الشعب الإيراني من نظام الملالوي هو في ذروته
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 08/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/65903/dr-majid-rafizadeh-iranian-peoples-disaffection-with-the-regime-peaking-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%83%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B9-%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87/
The Iranian people’s frustration and the protests against the clerical
establishment have taken on a new and distinct character.
When the widespread uprising erupted in 2009, people mainly asked the government
to count their votes. They did not chant for regime change, but demanded fair
and free elections. The regime did not adequately address people’s concerns.
The vast protests in late 2017 and early 2018 reached a new level. People,
particularly farmers and workers, began publicly criticizing both the moderates
and hard-liners, and many Iranians demanded that the ruling clerics step down
from power.
The most recent protests, which took place over the last two weeks, shared
several commonalities with the demonstrations that erupted at the beginning of
the year, specifically when it came to people’s economic, political, social and
economic grievances, and their disenchantment with the mullahs. Chants such as
“strike, strike,” “we are all together,” “let go of Syria, think about us,”
“close your stalls,” and “No Gaza, No Lebanon, my life for Iran” were heard on
the streets of Tehran and across several other cities and towns.
But it is worth noting that the latest protests also brought a new character to
the unrest, which can be perceived as a threat to the Iranian regime.
First of all, the middle class is joining the lower socio-economic class of
Iranian society. In the latest protests, many of the protesters and merchants
were considered to be from the middle class. As a result, although some policy
analysts and scholars may argue that only Iran’s labor class has grievances
against the political system, it is evident that it is not only the poor that
are suffering and are fed up with the clerical establishment.
It is also important to point out that the social and economic classes are
extremely important in uprisings due to their power in directing unrest. Many
historians, political scientists and social theorists agree with the notion that
one of the major prerequisites for a fundamental social or political change
(such as a revolution or major reform) is the rise of the middle class against
the ruling political establishment.
In other words, when the middle class is economically and socially blocked from
progress by the state’s apparatuses — due to political repression and the
state’s controlled, monopolized and stagnant economy — vital and potentially
fatal challenges will sooner or later arise against the ruling political and
religious establishment, no matter how powerful the regime is.
The second significant issue is that the latest protests are concentrated in the
capital, Tehran. These were the second large protests in Tehran following the
2009 Green Movement, which saw Ayatollah Ali Khamenei side with the hard-line
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against the people’s complaints that the election
was rigged at the expense of moderate candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. Iranian
leaders fear any protests in Tehran due to the fact that, historically, any
fundamental change in Iran occurred when people from the capital rose up against
the regime.
Iran's leaders ought to be extremely wary that the people’s disaffection with
the authorities has reached perilous levels.
Third, the recent protests in the Grand Bazaar are critical because it is home
to conservative and religious people, who have been the critical support and
social base for the clerical establishment since 1979.
Fourth, the United States and many countries in the region, which have been
negatively impacted by the Iranian regime’s aggressive and militaristic
policies, are politically and economically putting pressure on Tehran, as well
as sympathizing with the Iranian people’s grievances and cause.
Furthermore, many dissidents in exile are joining hands and urging the
international community to hold the Iranian regime accountable and responsible
for human rights violations and the suppression of basic freedoms — the freedoms
of speech, assembly and the press, and cracking down on its own citizens.
For example, Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the National Council of Resistance of
Iran, saluted the brave protesters for their uprising against high prices,
corruption and the looting of Iran's assets by the mullahs’ regime, and called
on all shopkeepers, tradesmen and merchants throughout the country to support
and join the protesters. “The currency crisis and unprecedented high prices,
which has imposed a burdensome pressure on the overwhelming majority of the
people of Iran, is the outcome of the policies of the ruling religious fascism,”
she said. “From the beginning, they have wasted the assets of the Iranian
people, either by spending on domestic repression, nuclear projects, export of
terrorism and fundamentalism and warfare in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and
other countries in the region, or have been looted by the regime’s corrupt
leaders.”
In conclusion, the Iranian leaders ought to be extremely wary that the people’s
disaffection and disenchantment with the authorities have reached perilous
levels. The unrest is taking on a new character with the inclusion of various
socio-economic classes, including the middle and labor classes. People from
cities and towns, as well as the capital, are fed up with the system. All these
signs point to the potential that the hold on power of Iran’s ruling clerics is
at a dangerous crossroads if the leaders don’t adequately and immediately
address the people’s demands and grievances.
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political
scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman
and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh