English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 08/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.june08.22.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006

Bible Quotations For today
Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 07/37-39:”On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” ’Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 07-08/2022
Reports: Aoun doesn't want to provoke US as Israel sends reassurances
US says 'strongly' supports efforts for Lebanon-Israel border agreement
Berri says Hochstein to visit Lebanon Sunday or Monday
'Change MPs' force elections, not consensus, for parliamentary committees
Report: Israel relieved over border row after Iran reassured it on Hizbullah
Miqati urges keeping sea border file away from domestic bickering
US Envoy Expected to Visit Beirut Next Week over Israel Gas Dispute
Israeli Army: Hezbollah Owns 210-Km Range Missiles
Lebanese Army Arrests 64 Migrants Trying to Sail to Europe
Arab Gulf states sanction IRGC, Hezbollah financiers, proxies
Hezbollah says 'ready' to act if Lebanon says Israel violating water rights
Lebanon has seen the unhappy return of Nabih Berri/Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/June 07/2022
Lebanon’s (Verbal) Threat Against Israeli Gas Exploration/Simon Henderson/The Washington Institute/June 07/2022
Two Middle Easts in Conflict/Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 07/2022

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 07-08/2022
Syria intercepts Israeli missiles
Countries submit motion to censure Iran to UN nuclear watchdog
Iran Court Issues Death Sentence against Man Who Killed Two Clerics
Thai Police on Alert for 'Iranian Spies'
Israel Expects IAEA to Give Iran a Clear Warning over Its Nuclear Program
Blinken and Qatari FM discuss challenges posed by Iran
Ukraine presses to buy Israel's Iron Dome
IAEA Implicitly Backs Western Decision to Censure Iran
Israeli coalition suffers loss, faces uncertain prospects
Syrian, Russian Forces Boosted after Turkey Signals Operation
Israel Mainly to Blame for Conflict, Says UN Report
Turkey Tells Russia it Will Respond to Destabilizing Moves in North Syria
Baghdad, Cairo, Amman Coordinate to Address Common Challenges
Britain Reopens its Embassy in Libya After 8 Years Hiatus
Brother of Algeria’s Bouteflika Jailed for 8 Years
White House defends Biden plans for Saudi meeting

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 07-08/2022
Terrorism Was ‘Created by the West,’ Says Celebrated Muslim Authority/Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
The outlaw settlers of Homesh must face full force of Israeli law/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/June 07/2022
Interim Iran nuclear deal may be a face-saver for all/Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/June 07/2022
Mixed results on Americans’ knowledge of international issues/Kerry Boyd Anderson/Arab News/June 07/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 07-08/2022
Reports: Aoun doesn't want to provoke US as Israel sends reassurances
Naharnet/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
The Americans have relayed an Israeli message to Lebanon saying that Israel does not want to escalate the situation in connection with the latest row over gas drilling in a possibly disputed area, media reports said on Tuesday. President Michel Aoun meanwhile is keen on “refraining from provoking the U.S. mediator,” ad-Diyar newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying. “That’s why he does not see a necessity to hurry up in signing the amended decree, and he prefers to hear what (U.S. mediator Amos) Hochstein has to say in order to act accordingly,” the sources added. The United States has said that it “strongly” supports any efforts aimed at securing an agreement between Lebanon and Israel over the demarcation of their sea border, after the arrival of a gas ship in the Karish offshore field sparked tensions. Speaker Nabih Berri meanwhile announced that Hochstein will visit Lebanon on Sunday or Monday to discuss the latest row and the possibility of resuming indirect negotiations.

US says 'strongly' supports efforts for Lebanon-Israel border agreement
Naharnet/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
The United States has said that it “strongly” supports any efforts aimed at securing an agreement between Lebanon and Israel over the demarcation of their sea border, following tensions sparked by the arrival of a gas ship in the Karish offshore field.
“I don’t have any travel to announce or to preview at this time, but as you’ve heard from us before, the Israel-Lebanon maritime border, that’s a decision for both Israel and Lebanon to make,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday, when asked whether U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein intends to visit Lebanon and Israel. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced Tuesday that Hochstein does intend to visit Beirut on “Sunday or Monday.”“We believe that a deal is possible if both sides negotiate in good faith and realize the benefit to both countries. To that end, we do strongly support efforts to reach a mutually beneficial agreement,” Price said during Monday’s press briefing. Lebanon on Monday invited Hochstein to return to Beirut as soon as possible to work out an agreement amid rising tensions along the border, after reports said that a gas production ship had crossed the so-called Line 29, which is disputed by Lebanon. Israel says the Karish field is part of its U.N.-recognized exclusive economic zone. Lebanon insists it is in a disputed area. The U.S.-mediated indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel have been stalled for months amid disagreement within Lebanon over how big the disputed area is. Hizbullah had previously warned it would use its weapons to protect Lebanon's economic rights. On Sunday, Lebanon warned Israel not to start drilling in the Karish field and President Michel Aoun said maritime border negotiations have not ended, adding that any move by Israel will be considered "a provocation and hostile act."

Berri says Hochstein to visit Lebanon Sunday or Monday
Associated Press/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced Tuesday that U.S. energy mediator Amos Hochstein will visit Lebanon on “Sunday or Monday” to discuss the offshore gas row between Lebanon and Israel. Berri made the announcement in response to remarks in parliament by MP Paula Yacoubian, who said that “the issue related to our maritime resources and Line 29 cannot be postponed,” suggesting that parliament discuss an urgent draft law that it has received in this regard. “We cannot discuss this issue now, seeing as it is not on the agenda. Amos Hochstein will come on Sunday or Monday,” Berri answered.
Lebanon had on Monday invited Hochstein to return to Beirut as soon as possible to work out an agreement amid rising tensions along the border, after reports said that a gas production ship had crossed the so-called Line 29, which is disputed by Lebanon.
Israel says the Karish field is part of its U.N.-recognized exclusive economic zone. Lebanon insists it is in a disputed area. The U.S.-mediated indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel have been stalled for months amid disagreement within Lebanon over how big the disputed area is. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hizbullah has warned it would use its weapons to protect Lebanon's economic rights. On Sunday, Lebanon warned Israel not to start drilling in the Karish field and President Michel Aoun said maritime border negotiations have not ended, adding that any move by Israel will be considered "a provocation and hostile act."Israel's Energy Minister Karine Elharrar said in an interview on Monday with Army Radio that the field was "entirely in undisputed territory" and called on Lebanon to return to indirect negotiations. Elharrar also told the 103FM radio station that the Lebanese claims were "very far from reality" and that "all the relevant forces are involved, and I recommend not trying to surprise Israel." But she said the likelihood of conflict was small. Satellite images on Sunday from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Marshall Islands-flagged Energean Power floating production storage and offloading vessel in the Karish field area of the Mediterranean Sea. Nearby was the Bahamas-flagged platform Arendal Spirit. Ship tracking data from the two vessels analyzed by the AP also confirmed the vessels' presence in the area.
On Monday, the office of Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati said that he had agreed with Aoun to invite Hochstein to return to Beirut for talks on the border dispute and "to work on concluding them as soon as possible in order to prevent any escalation that will not serve the stability that the region is currently witnessing."Israel and Lebanon, which have been officially at war since Israel's creation in 1948, both claim some 860 square kilometers of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon hopes to unleash offshore oil and gas production as it grapples with an economic crisis.
Last year, the Lebanese delegation -- a mix of army generals and professionals -- offered a new map that pushes for an additional 1,430 square kilometers. A Lebanese legal expert said if Israel begins exploration work in Karish, the risk of conflict between Lebanon and Israel will increase, adding that Hizbullah's precision-guided missiles can easily hit the oil rig. "Their missiles are long-range and they are more precise in hitting these targets that are not mobile like ships and fighter jets," said Paul Morcos, founder and owner of Justicia Consulting Law firm in Beirut.
The Israeli military and ministry of defense declined to comment on whether they were taking any specific measures to protect Karish.

'Change MPs' force elections, not consensus, for parliamentary committees
Naharnet/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
The so-called ‘change MPs’, or the lawmakers who emerged from the October 17 uprising, on Tuesday imposed elections – rather than the traditional consensus – in choosing the members of the parliamentary committees. The election of the members of the finance and justice committees took a lot of time, the National News Agency said, as Speaker Nabih Berri decried the absence of “consensus.”“Without consensus, we cannot finish even if we take a week, and I hope there will be less of this. Committees are the real kitchen” of parliament, Berri added. MP Waddah al-Sadek of the “change forces” meanwhile suggested the creation of two new committees – one for abolishing political sectarianism and another for modernizing parliament’s by-laws. Elections were later held to choose the members of the finance and justice committees as the members of the foreign affairs; information and telecommunications; youth and sport; human rights; and women’s and children’s affairs won uncontested. Below are the names of the elected members of the Finance & Budget and Administration & Justice Committees: - Finance & Budget: Ibrahim Kanaan, Raji al-Saad, Ali Hassan Khalil, Ayyoub Hmayyed, Alain Aoun, Jihad al-Samad, Hassan Fadlallah, Michel Mouawad, Salim Aoun, Ghada Ayyoub, Jean Talouzian, Fouad Makhzoumi, Ghazi Zoaiter, Ali Fayyad, Ghassan Hasbani, Ihab Matar and Ibrahim Mneimneh - Administration & Justice: George Adwan, Ibrahim Kanaan, Qabalan Qabalan, George Okais, Ashraf Baydoun, Ali Hassan Khalil, Marwan Hamadeh, Ghada Ayyoub, Hassan Ezzeddine, Ghazi Zoaiter, Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, George Atallah, Ali Khreis, Imad al-Hout, Osama Saad, Bilal Abdallah and Nadim Gemayel

Report: Israel relieved over border row after Iran reassured it on Hizbullah
Naharnet/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Israel has expressed relief that the gas row with Lebanon will be resolved through a U.S. mediation after it received Iranian “reassurances” that Hizbullah does not intend to escalate the situation in south Lebanon during this period, diplomatic sources said.
“In light of this, the status quo will be maintained on the southern front until further notice,” the sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper in remarks published Tuesday.
“Should the Vienna negotiations reach a critical point that obliges the Iranians to flip the table in a dramatic way, a decision might be taken to blow up the situations on the fronts surrounding Israel, whether in Gaza or Lebanon,” the sources added.Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Monday that the offshore gas dispute with Lebanon will be resolved through a U.S. mediation, after the arrival of a gas ship in an area disputed by Lebanon sparked tensions. Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem meanwhile said, also on Monday, that his group is ready to take action, "including force," once Lebanon’s government adopts a clearer policy towards the border dispute. "When the Lebanese state says that the Israelis are aggressing against our waters and our oil, then we are ready to do our part in terms of pressure, deterrence and use of appropriate means, including force," Qassem said in an interview.

Miqati urges keeping sea border file away from domestic bickering
Naharnet/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Tuesday stressed the importance of keeping the sea border demarcation file “away from domestic bickering and political calculations,” seeing as it “concerns all Lebanese.”In a statement, Miqati emphasized that “the Lebanese state is following up on this sovereign par excellence file,” adding that “it is being addressed through diplomatic means in order to reach positive results.” The premier also said that Lebanon wants to resume the indirect negotiations with Israel and to preserve its own “waters, natural resources and stability.”Lebanon had on Monday invited U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein to return to Beirut as soon as possible to work out an agreement amid rising tensions along the border, after reports said that a gas production ship had crossed the so-called Line 29, which is disputed by Lebanon. Israel says the Karish field is part of its U.N.-recognized exclusive economic zone. Lebanon insists it is in a disputed area. The U.S.-mediated indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel have been stalled for months amid disagreement within Lebanon over how big the disputed area is. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hizbullah has warned it would use its weapons to protect Lebanon's economic rights.On Sunday, Lebanon warned Israel not to start drilling in the Karish field and President Michel Aoun said maritime border negotiations have not ended, adding that any move by Israel will be considered "a provocation and hostile act."

US Envoy Expected to Visit Beirut Next Week over Israel Gas Dispute
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
A US mediator will visit Beirut next week to discuss a dispute over a maritime border with Israel, Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Tuesday, according to a parliament source and local media. US envoy Amos Hochstein will visit on Sunday or Monday, Berri told a parliamentary session in Beirut. Asked about Berri's remark, a US Embassy spokesperson referred Reuters to comments on Monday by State Department spokesperson Ned Price who said there were no travel plans to announce. Lebanon said on Monday it would invite Hochstein to Beirut to continue negotiations over the issue to prevent any escalation, after accusing Israel of encroaching on contested waters. On Sunday a vessel operated by London-based Energean arrived at a gas field which Lebanon says falls within the contested waters. Israel says the Karish field, about 80 km (50 miles) west of the city of Haifa, is part of its exclusive economic zone. Israel said on Monday the dispute was a civilian issue to be resolved diplomatically with US mediation. The United States began mediating indirect talks on the issue in 2020. Lebanon has yet to respond to an undisclosed proposal by Hochstein earlier this year. In a media briefing on Monday, Price said that a deal on the maritime border is possible "if both sides negotiate in good faith and realize the benefit to both countries. To that end, we do strongly support efforts to reach a mutually beneficial agreement."

Israeli Army: Hezbollah Owns 210-Km Range Missiles
Tel Aviv/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Lebanon’s Hezbollah owns more than 100,000 rockets and missiles of various types, the Israeli Army said in a report published on Sunday. It revealed that the Lebanese party has expanded its rocket arsenal since the 2006 war and remains the closest threat to the Israeli regime's internal front. The report was published at the end of Israel’s largest military drills, dubbed Chariots of Fire, and which simulate a scenario of war operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including a ground invasion. It said the number of missiles in Hezbollah's missile arsenal has increased dramatically since the second war against Lebanon in 2006, when the group possessed around 15,000 rockets and missiles, firing nearly 4,000 at Israel over the 34-day conflict. The report revealed that most of Hezbollah's rockets and missiles arsenal consists of Katyusha missiles, weighting 20 kg with a range of 40 km, adding that on the eve of the 2006 war, the Shiite party owned between 6 and 7 thousands similar missiles, mostly provided by Iran. Also, the group owns the Fajr 3 missile, with a range of 43 km and a warhead weighing 45 kg, and the more advanced Fajr 5 missile, with a range of 75 km and a warhead weighing 90 kg. The report added that the Lebanese party possesses the "Raad-2" and "Raad-3" missiles, which are the Iranian version of the Russian "FROG-7" missile, capable of targeting the depths of Israel. It said Hezbollah and Iran are trying to increase the accuracy of advanced missiles, such as the Zelzal-1 missile, which has a range of 125 to 160 kilometers and a warhead weighing 600 kg, and the Zelzal-2, with a range of 210 km and a warhead weighing 600 kg. Hezbollah's missile arsenal also includes the Fateh-110 missile, a short-range ballistic missile that appears to be a different version of Zelzal-2, with a range of 250 to 300 km and a warhead weighing 500 kg. The Israeli Maariv newspaper said on Sunday that Hezbollah is preparing for the next war with 1,500 missiles landing in Israel per day, estimating that 300 Israelis are likely to be killed in the first nine days of fighting. The report came while the Israeli army revealed that its soldiers stationed on the northern border fired warning shots and drove away a group of Lebanese who approached the joint border fence. A military source said that the Lebanese were seen suspiciously approaching the security fence separating the two countries, with the intention of crossing the border. It added that the Lebanese then stopped and returned back.

Lebanese Army Arrests 64 Migrants Trying to Sail to Europe
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
The Lebanese military arrested 64 migrants as they were trying to set sail from northern Lebanon on Tuesday in an attempt to get to Europe, the army command said. According to an army statement, the migrants - Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians - were all detained and were being questioned, except for one pregnant woman who was bleeding and was taken to hospital. The migrants were apparently taken into custody before their boat was able to set sail. They were apprehended near the Sheikh Znad area, a few kilometers (miles) from the northern city of Tripoli. The attempt came weeks after a boat carrying more than 60 migrants capsized on April 23 off the coast of Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-largest and most impoverished city. Seven bodies were recovered in that disaster, with 47 people rescued and some still missing. Survivors at the time blamed the Lebanese navy of causing the accident by ramming into the migrants' boat. For years, Lebanon had been a country where refugees fled to, but since its economic meltdown began in late 2019, thousands of people have left the country by sea, seeking a better life in Europe. Lebanon is a small nation of 6 million people, including 1 million Syrian refugees who fled the war in their country which erupted in 2011. Lebanon is also home to tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of them descendants of people displaced after Israel was created in 1948. Migrants usually pay thousands of dollars for smuggles who promise to take them on boats to European Union member states such as Cyprus, Greece and Italy.

Arab Gulf states sanction IRGC, Hezbollah financiers, proxies
The Jerusalem Post/June 07/2022
The sanctioned entities include a number of people and groups associated with and supported by the IRGC. The Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), consisting of six Gulf states, issued sanctions against a number of individuals, entities and groups affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, Hezbollah and the Saraya al-Ashtar and Saraya al-Mukhtar groups. The TFTC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).The sanctions targeted Ali Qasir, Meghdad Amini and Morteza Hashemi, members of two networks directed by and supporting the Quds Force and Hezbollah. The networks allow the Quds Force to cover up its involvement in selling Iranian oil, according to a statement by the US Treasury Department. Qasir, Amini and Hashemi also launder money for Hezbollah officials and front companies. Amini and Qasir are in charge of a network of nearly 20 people and front companies in multiple countries that works to move and sell tens of millions of dollars worth of gold, electronics and foreign currency for the IRGC and its proxies.
Hashemi, meanwhile, runs a number of companies based out of Hong Kong and mainland China and uses his access to the international financial system to launder large sums of money for the Quds Force and Hezbollah. Citizens of the People's Republic of China established bank accounts and served as straw owners for Hashemi's companies. They also purchased dual-use products from the US for Iran on Hashemi's behalf.
Pro-IRGC groups in Bahrain sanctioned
Saraya al-Mukhtar and Saraya al-Ashtar, two IRGC-affiliated groups based in Bahrain, were also designated by the TFTC on Monday.
Pro-IRGC groups in Bahrain sanctioned
Saraya al-Mukhtar reportedly receives financial and logistic support from the IRGC. According to the US Treasury, the group's self-described goal is to "pave the way for Iran to exert greater influence in Bahrain and beyond." The group has also plotted attacks against US personnel in Bahrain and offered cash for the assassination of Bahraini officials.
Saraya al-Ashtar is an "Iran-directed terrorist organization aimed at destabilizing the region," according to the US Treasury. It has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks against police and security targets in Bahrain and calls for violence against the Bahraini, British, Saudi Arabian and US governments on social media. The group receives equipment and training from the IRGC.
“Over the past five years, TFTC member states have addressed a broad range of terrorist financing activity in the Arabian Peninsula, with the goal of strengthening regional defenses and capabilities to counter terrorist financing,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson. “The TFTC’s actions today signal the determination and commitment of TFTC member states to continue to work towards these goals, as well as unity in the commitment to root out the full scope of terrorist financing activity. The TFTC is a clear demonstration of the Biden-Harris Administration’s multilateral approach to strengthening the reach of our sanctions through coordination with key partners.”
Additional sanctions were issued against entities associated with ISIS and Boko Haram on Monday as well.

Hezbollah says 'ready' to act if Lebanon says Israel violating water rights
Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily/Reuters/June 07/2022
Hezbollah is ready to take action "including force" against Israeli gas operations in disputed waters once the Lebanese government adopts a clearer policy, the heavily armed movement's deputy leader told Reuters on Monday. Sheikh Naim Qassem's comments came a day after a vessel operated by London-based Energean (ENOG.L) arrived off the coast to develop a gas field known as Karish. Israel says the field is part of its exclusive economic zone while Lebanon has begun to claim it lies within its territory. Lebanon's president and premier in statements both warned Israel against operations in Karish, prompting fears of a violent escalation over the issue. Hezbollah, which possesses an arsenal which some experts say rivals that of the Lebanese army, said on Monday it would act only if Lebanon's government formally accuses Israel of violating maritime rights. "When the Lebanese state says that the Israelis are assaulting our waters and our oil, then we are ready to do our part in terms of pressure, deterrence and use of appropriate means - including force," Qassem said. "The issue requires a decisive decision from the Lebanese state," he added, saying that Hezbollah "urged the government to hurry up, to set a deadline for itself".
Qassem said the Iran-backed group would act "no matter the responses" even if it led to a broader conflict. Lebanon said on Monday it would invite a U.S. mediator to Beirut to resume indirect negotiations with Israel over the disputed maritime boundaries, which have been stalled since last year. Beirut is hoping to reach an agreement that could then help it unlock valuable gas reserves to ease its worst-ever financial crisis. In late May, Lebanon's cabinet passed a long-awaited recovery roadmap, despite objections by Hezbollah ministers.
On Monday, Qassem hinted that a fresh plan would have to be negotiated since Lebanon's parliamentary elections last month had triggered a new government formation process. Hezbollah and its allies lost the parliamentary majority in the vote, but have retained control over the roles of parliament speaker and deputy speaker. "The most important step that we must take as soon as possible is forming a government, because the country without a government will collapse towards an even worse situation," he said. He declined to comment on whether Hezbollah would approve a new term for caretaker premier Najib Mikati or if it had suggested names as a successor to President Michel Aoun, a key ally of Hezbollah whose term ends in late October. Qassem said the next priority would be focusing on financial recovery. While Hezbollah has expressed skepticism about Lebanon's preliminary relief agreement with the International Monetary Fund, he said such a deal was a "necessary bridge" to access other funding.

Lebanon has seen the unhappy return of Nabih Berri
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/June 07/2022
The recent Lebanese Parliamentary elections brought a whiff of hope as the forces of change, those who rose out of the October 17, 2019, popular protest, were able to clinch 15 seats in parliament, threatening the political elite’s monopoly and confirming that the Lebanese, at least part of them, are wagering on a new political system. While the political establishment has survived the elections rampage, they are certainly less powerful than before. Numbers confirmed that many of the traditional political parties and leadership lost a considerable hold on their voting constituency, as some opted to vote for reformist platforms and individuals while other refrained from voting altogether. Many who wrote the voting phenomenon as a fluke have downplayed the limited success of the opposition. These progressive forces of change will fail to unite, or if they do, they will not be able to stand against the sectarian elite. Yet the vote on the Speaker of Parliament last week confirmed the opposite, as this bloc’s votes will not be unnoticed nor inconsequential in the future. The Lebanese constitution stipulates that the new parliament’s first act of business should be the election of its speaker and their deputy and five members of the parliament, which forms the cabinet of the assembly. The incumbent speaker Nabih Berri, head of the Shiite Amal Movement, was reelected for the seventh time. It’s a position he has held since 1992, becoming the longest to ever serve in this capacity. While the Lebanese constitution does not indicate the sect of any of the elected officials, custom and the power-sharing formula supposes that the speaker should be a Muslim Shiite and his deputy a Christian Greek Orthodox.
Berri’s reelection was always a certainty because the 27 Shiite seats in parliament are held by what is commonly referred to as the “Shiite Duo”- the Amal Movement and Hezbollah. Coincidently, an ally of the Assad regime, Berri’s previous tenures as speaker were an extension of Syrian hegemony, which started with the Taef agreement and lasted until 2005 when former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated. Following 2005, Berri became a pillar of the Iranian axis as he provided political legitimacy to Hezbollah, which through a series of political alliances with Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement was able to control the critical functions of what remained of the state. For over three decades, Nabih Berri has survived as the high priest of the Lebanese archaic client list system. It’s one which saw the warlords who fought through the civil war (1975-1990) claim legitimacy through elected office and freely abuse the resources of the state. It has resulted in its total collapse.
Yet this time around, Berri did not have enough leverage or votes to be elected by an absolute majority. His win is frail as he was only able to garner 65 votes which is embarrassing for this veteran politician who in the past was able to win by a landslide. In addition, many opposition MPs used their voting ballots to send a clear message to Berri and the establishment he protects, by writing symbolic statements such as Justice to the victims to the Beirut port explosion and justice to the slain activists including Lokman Slim, confirming that they won't accept to be silenced anymore.
This symbolic win for the anti-establishment faction will pave the way for the next crucial democratic showdown, which is slated in September when the term of President Michel Aoun is set to expire. In the past, Berri has violated the constitution by refusing to convene the parliament for over two and a half years, until the Iran axis were able to broker a deal with Aoun elected President. Thus, the humiliating vote for Berri has weakened the chances of repeating the aforementioned scenario. Hezbollah as always will again need to use its weapons to derail the election of a president that can lead the Lebanon political and economic resurgence. Voting a speaker and a President who vividly resembles the new members of parliament is no longer farfetched. Yet, it will require a common vision and above all a die-hard conviction that these oligarchs will not relinquish power easily, or are willing to play by the rules. The Beirut port explosion and the ongoing economic crisis stands testament to this.

Lebanon’s (Verbal) Threat Against Israeli Gas Exploration
Simon Henderson/The Washington Institute/June 07/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109207/%d8%b3%d8%a7%d9%8a%d9%85%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%87%d9%86%d8%af%d8%b1%d8%b3%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%87%d8%af-%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%b4%d9%86%d8%b7%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa%d9%87%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84/
Production from Israel’s Karish offshore natural gas field is scheduled to start later this year.
A simmering row between Lebanon and Israel over their mutual maritime border has returned to a boil with the arrival in the East Mediterranean of a specialized vessel to produce gas from Israel’s Karish field, which is located more than fifty miles off the country’s northern coast. The Energean Power is a floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) that has been towed by two tugs all the way from Singapore, where it was built; last week, it passed through the Suez Canal.
Lebanon regards the Karish field as being in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the area coastal countries can claim stretching up to two hundred nautical miles beyond the normal twelve nautical miles of territorial waters. As yet, there is no agreed line between either the territorial or the EEZ claims of Israel and Lebanon, despite months of U.S.-mediated talks. Lebanon warned Israel on June 5 against any “aggressive action” and on June 6 invited American special energy envoy Amos Hochstein to restart his involvement although he had previously given up, apparently frustrated with Lebanese intransigence.
The Energean Power would be very vulnerable to hostile military action, and the Israeli media is reporting that the country’s navy is preparing to defend its operations against Hezbollah attacks with naval ships including submarines, as well as a seaborne Iron Dome antimissile battery.
The key to the so far unsuccessful maritime talks is an agreement on where the land border would extend once it reaches the sea. Israel was prepared to compromise on the EEZ claim it had filed more than a decade ago with the United Nations, but in 2020 Lebanon increased the scope of its claim. Instead of calling for a line close to the unexploited Karish field, Beirut argued for one farther south that encompassed the field, a demand Israel could not accept.
Another source of difficulty is Beirut’s desire for an agreement with the United Nations rather than with Israel, with which it is still theoretically at war. Lebanon also argues a legalistic point on the effect of a maritime line dividing small islands, even though it uses the reverse argument on its own northern maritime border with Syria. To compound the problem, the land border between Israel and Lebanon is not formally agreed, preventing a sense of definition on the point where it hits the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, although Beirut has granted licenses to foreign companies to explore offshore areas, little activity has occurred and no substantial reserves have been discovered. Additionally, Lebanon is in dire need of energy to fuel power generators. Many Lebanese rely on oil-fueled local private generators, which offer only a few hours of electricity per day. A scheme for Egyptian gas to go via Jordan to Syria, and thereby generate electricity for Lebanon, has yet to become operational.
The newly arrived FPSO is due to start producing gas in the third quarter of this year, and the London-based Energean company already has contracts to supply Israel power stations. The Karish field, along with two others for which Energean has licenses, is much smaller than Israel’s current Leviathan and Tamar producing fields, but by using an FPSO all three are commercially viable.
Although this latest row remains for now at the diplomatic level, a significant danger exists of terrorist attack or larger military action. The increased tensions are perhaps a partial consequence of the news of the FPSO reaching the East Mediterranean. Its operations will be well out of sight of the coast, potentially allowing renewed U.S. efforts to calm or even resolve the tensions without the glare of publicity.
*Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute.
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/lebanons-verbal-threat-against-israeli-gas-exploration

Two Middle Easts in Conflict
Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al-Awsat/June 07/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109213/%d9%86%d8%af%d9%8a%d9%85-%d9%82%d8%b7%d9%8a%d8%b4-%d8%b4%d8%b1%d9%82%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a3%d9%88%d8%b3%d8%b7%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%aa%d8%b5%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%b9%d8%a7%d9%86-nadim-koteichtwo-middle-easts-i/
With the Greek company Energian’s LNG extraction and storage vessel entering the Karish field, going past what Lebanon calls Marine Line 29 and anchoring itself in the zone “disputed” by Israel and Lebanon, the latter has become embroiled in the massive hot struggle to shape the new Middle East.
This development cannot be isolated from an array of others tied to the tug of war between the “two Middle Easts.” One is led by Iran, and another by the moderate Arab states, who are either directly or indirectly allied with Israel, and it comes at a moment when everyone feels that the US retreat from the Middle East demands a new regional security framework that the players of the region will form themselves, depending on their own tools and strengths.
In the Middle East of peace and economy, the announcement of a free trade agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel was the first of its kind with an Arab state, which gives us an idea about just how much has changed and continues to change in the region and its relations.
Remarkably, this agreement, which took four rounds of talks between the two countries since last November, unofficially began in Egypt on March 21 and 22, when Israeli President Naftali Bennett met with Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. This course makes evident that we are in the midst of a wave of transformations remaking the region that go beyond the choices of a particular capital or its immediate interests.
Also in the Middle East of peace and economy, as American and Israeli media revealed, Washington responded positively to Saudi demands that international monitors in the islands of Tiran and Sanafir in the Red Sea withdraw and that Riyadh assume responsibility for securing the two islands, which it regained control of from Egypt years ago. The reports, which have yet to be confirmed by officials in any of the concerned capitals, show that the US administration is making secret contacts with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel through veteran American diplomat Brett McGurk, whereby Israel is regarded as an important party in any agreement, especially since Tiran is its maritime gateway to the Red Sea.
Pending official confirmation in this regard, we should keep Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s interview with The Atlantic in mind. He described Israel as a “potential ally,” and this statement is the most prominent on strategic trends in the region and Saudi Arabia’s place in it.
The historic conclusion of the agreement between Israel, Jordan, and the UAE to exchange energy for water comes within this context. Signed in Dubai last November, it is considered the most advanced agreement signed between Jordan and Israel, whose peace between them has remained cold since it was signed in 1994.
The agreement stipulates that Jordan will provide 200 megawatts of electricity generated from solar panels to Israel, while the latter will desalinate 200 cubic meters of water annually for Jordan, which is suffering from drought.
The news from Lebanon comes from the other side of the Middle East, which Iran is leading to “hell” as President Michel Aoun once admitted unwittingly.
There is no rational reason preventing Lebanon and Israel from reaching a peaceful solution on the disputed territories in land and sea, or for Lebanon not to join the countries partially or fully normalizing relations with Israel. That would allow Lebanon to join the energy market bloc of Eastern Mediterranean countries currently taking shape instead of continuing to rot.
The real impediment is that Lebanon follows Iran and another Middle East that rivals the one discussed above. Indeed, this small country has become the crown jewel of the Middle East of hell and collapse, which also includes Syria and parts of Iraq and Yemen.
For this reason, if the Lebanon of resistance had indeed been resisting, it would stand up to the “incursion into the Karish reservoir” instead of standing idly by. Actually, a leading Hezbollah official was threatening the Lebanese army, giving it deadlines, and warning of dire consequences if it did not stop its raids on the drug dealers and outlaws in the Baalbek and Hermel regions.
And from Iraq, Iran sent other messages in the form of an Iraqi piece of legislation criminalizing normalization with Israel and the establishment of relations with it. Penalties range from execution to prison terms, either temporary or for life. Although this law was proposed by prominent Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose relations with Iran have been hot and cold for a while, it confirms the extent to which Iran controls the political and national narrative in Iraq.
Iran’s hegemony leaves all the players in Iraq, as in Lebanon, taking moral posturing to its peak and competing over who opposes Israel the most to protect themselves from moral assassination at the hand of its enemies, the Iranian groups. It is another manifestation of the radioactive effects that Iran’s propaganda has had on political rhetoric in Iraq and Lebanon; it prevents any serious and realistic discussion about the peace process being led by the axis of moderation.
It seems that there is little cause for confusion in assessing each of the two Middle Easts.
In Iran’s Middle East, we see influence being built on the misery of everyone tied to this power. Its glory is embodied only in warehouses storing weapons, missiles and drones that are revealed from time to time.
In the Middle East of peace and economy, we see huge investment opportunities, job opportunities, and partnerships that create a bulwark against the contemporary risks of food insecurity and climate change and allow for future cooperation in medical sciences, technology, cybersecurity and others.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 07-08/2022
Syria intercepts Israeli missiles
Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Syrian air defiance intercepted Israeli missiles south of Damascus overnight, with no casualties reported, a military source told Syria's official news agency SANA. "The Israeli enemy carried out an airstrike from the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting points south of Damascus," with Syria's air defense intercepting most of the missiles, SANA quoted the military source as saying. "The losses were limited to material damage."An AFP correspondent in the capital Damascus heard loud noises in the evening. The airstrike targeted sites in the southern Damascus countryside where Lebanon's Hizbullah and Syrian air defense units are active, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. Last month, Israeli surface-to-surface missiles killed at least three Syrian officers near Damascus, according to the Observatory -- which has a wide network of sources inside Syria. The Israeli strikes had targeted Iranian positions and weapon depots near Damascus, the monitor said at the time. Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbor, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and fighters of Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah. While Israel rarely comments on individual strikes, it has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of them. The Israeli military has defended them as necessary to prevent its arch-foe Iran from gaining a foothold on its doorstep. The conflict in Syria has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes.

Countries submit motion to censure Iran to UN nuclear watchdog
Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
The United States, Britain, France and Germany have submitted a motion to the UN atomic energy watchdog to censure Iran over its lack of cooperation with the agency, two diplomats said Tuesday. "The text was submitted overnight" from Monday to Tuesday, a European diplomat told AFP. A second diplomat confirmed the news. The resolution urging Iran to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) marks the first time since June 2020 when a similar motion censuring Iran was adopted. It is a sign of growing Western impatience after talks to revive the 2015 landmark nuclear accord with Iran stalled in March. The vote is likely to happen on Thursday during the week-long meeting of the IAEA's 35-member Board of Governors, one of the diplomats said. In a report late last month, the IAEA said it still had questions that were "not clarified" regarding traces of enriched uranium previously found at three sites, which Iran had not declared as having hosted nuclear activities. IAEA head Rafael Grossi told reporters on Monday after opening the board meeting that he hoped "to solve these things once and for all". The negotiations to revive the accord started in April 2021 with the aim of bringing the United States back into the deal, lifting sanctions and getting Iran to scale back its stepped-up nuclear program. The deal -- promising Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs in its nuclear program -- started to fall apart in 2018 when the then U.S. president Donald Trump withdrew from it. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told state TV on Monday that Iran would reject the resolution, saying it would have "a negative impact both on the general direction of our cooperation with the IAEA and on our negotiations". China and Russia -- who with Britain, France and Germany are parties to the Iran nuclear deal -- have warned that any resolution could disrupt the negotiation process. "Russia will not associate itself with such a resolution," Russia's ambassador to the U.N. in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said in a tweet late Monday. Analysts say the high stakes negotiations are unlikely to fall apart because of the resolution.

Iran Court Issues Death Sentence against Man Who Killed Two Clerics
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
A court in Iran has sentenced a man to death for killing two clerics and wounding a third in a knife attack at a shrine in April, the judiciary said on Tuesday. "The revolutionary court sentenced him to death ... and his lawyer has appealed. The case has been sent to the Supreme Court," judiciary spokesperson Masoud Setayeshi told a news conference carried live on a state-run website. Officials said the attacker was a 21-year-old ethnic Uzbek from Afghanistan with radical views. He was arrested after the stabbings at Iran's largest Shiite Muslim religious complex in the northeastern city of Mashhad. Attacks on clerics and government officials have been rare in Iran after authorities tightened security measures and cracked down on opposition groups following a string of attacks and bombings that killed dozens of officials and clerics following the 1979 revolution. However, a senior conservative cleric was slightly hurt after being attacked by a man with a knife after Friday prayers last week in the central city of Isfahan. There have been weeks of unrest in Iran after a jump in food prices and amid public anger with government leaders and powerful clerics over a deadly building collapse last month that was widely blamed on corruption and lax safety measures.

Thai Police on Alert for 'Iranian Spies'
Bangkok, London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
The Royal Thai Police issued a “secret order” to police officers nationwide to stay on high alert over the potential presence of Iranian spies in the southeastern Asian country. The Bangkok Post on Monday cited a police source saying that Thai security agencies are closely monitoring the movement of Iranian nationals who are believed to be operating as spies in Thailand. The newspaper quoted a source saying that on May 24 last year, Thai police received information about Ghassem Saberi Gilchalan, who arrived in the country carrying a Bulgarian passport which was later found to be fake. It added that on May 27 last year, the man was arrested by Indonesian authorities at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport just before departing for Qatar. Indonesian police found that he had entered the country at least 10 times using false papers. A court sentenced him to two years in jail for the offenses and that the man had 11 mobile phones, one tablet computer, a number of SIM cards and cash worth more than B320,000. The source added that after further interrogation, Gilchalan told police that he had been given several assignments by a former Iranian diplomat in Malaysia to act as a spy both there and in Indonesia several times. The latest attempt involved lobbying Indonesian authorities to release the Iranian-flagged MT Horse oil tanker apprehended in the country’s waters in January 2021. The man also set up a company as a front in Bali which was use as a safe house for his covert operations, the source added. “In light of this, it is possible that spies from Iran may also be engaging in secret operations in Thailand using fake passports,” the source said, adding there have been concerns over Thailand’s’ hosting of the APEC Summit in November which will be attended by world leaders. “We can't afford to let any unrest or violence happen,” the source stressed, adding that authorities wanted to avoid an attack similar to the February 2012 Sukhumvit 71 explosion. Three Iranian men were arrested and jailed in connection with a bomb believed to have gone off prematurely targeting Israeli diplomats in Bangkok. One man had his legs blown off after he tried to throw a bomb at police. In November 2020, the Iranian prisoners were sent home to serve out their sentences under a prisoner swap agreement to release British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert. The lecturer was held in Tehran on spying charges she denies.
Two Iranians had been deported, while a third was pardoned in August, Thai officials said.

Israel Expects IAEA to Give Iran a Clear Warning over Its Nuclear Program
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday he expects the UN nuclear watchdog's Board of Governors, which is now meeting, to issue a clear warning to Iran over its nuclear program. "We expect the Board of Governors will issue a clear warning sign before the regime in Tehran and make clear that if they continue their defiant nuclear policy, they will pay a heavy price," Bennett said in televised remarks at a parliamentary committee meeting. Bennett last week met the International Atomic Energy Agency chief ahead of the board's meeting and told him Israel would prefer a diplomatic resolution to the standoff with Iran but it could take independent action, reiterating a long-standing veiled threat to launch a preemptive war. The United States, France, Britain and Germany are pushing for the IAEA Board of Governors to rebuke Iran for failing to answer longstanding questions on uranium traces at undeclared sites. A rebuke would likely anger Iran and could damage prospects for rescuing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Indirect talks on that between Iran and the United States are already stalled. Israel regards the prospect of Iran developing nuclear weapons as a threat to its existence. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

Blinken and Qatari FM discuss challenges posed by Iran
Arab News/June 07/2022
LONDON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qatar’s foreign minister on Monday and discussed issues of concern including the challenges posed by Iran. Blinken and Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani also discussed the importance of advancing towards a reality where Israelis and Palestinians alike can enjoy equal measures of security, freedom, and prosperity. The importance of international support for Ukraine was also discussed, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.

Ukraine presses to buy Israel's Iron Dome
The Associated Press/08 June ,2022
Ukraine’s ambassador is urging Israel to sell its Iron Dome rocket interception system and provide anti-tank missiles to defend civilians against Russia’s invasion. Yevgen Korniychuk on Tuesday stopped short of accusing Israel of blocking the sale of the missile defense system. But he wants the Israeli government to back up its verbal support for Ukraine with military assistance. At a news conference in Tel Aviv, he said Ukraine wants to buy the Iron Dome system, contending that the US would not oppose such a sale. The US has been financially supporting Israel’s Iron Dome for about a decade, providing about $1.6 billion for its production and maintenance, according to the Congressional Research Service. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets fired into Israel. Korniychuk also said Israel last week declined a US request for Germany to deliver Israeli-licensed “Spike” anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. Israel has limited its support for Ukraine to humanitarian aid and was the only country operating a field hospital inside the country earlier in the year. Israel fears helping Ukraine militarily would inflame Russia, which has a military presence in neighboring Syria. Israel, which carries out frequent strikes on enemy targets in Syria, relies on Russia for security coordination. The Israeli Defense Ministry had no comment.

IAEA Implicitly Backs Western Decision to Censure Iran
Vienna - Raghida Bahnam/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
The chances of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors issuing a resolution condemning Iran's non-cooperation with the UN agency are increasing amid reports that reviving the nuclear agreement with Tehran might unlikely happen. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called for ending the vicious cycle of the talks when Iran agreed to answer the Agency's questions about the presence of uranium particles in three covert sites. He told the Board that Iran had not provided credible explanations to the IAEA's questions, which Iran rejected and warned the drafters of a resolution against Iran at the Board. He refused to announce his position on adopting a draft resolution reprimanding Iran, to maintain his impartiality. However, during a press conference on Monday, he hoped to continue "efforts in finding a solution to this long-outstanding issues." Ahead of the Board of Governors meetings, Grossi visited Israel and not Iran as he did on the eve of the last two meetings, which some viewed as a sign that the Agency was preparing to escalate its position towards Iran. He also did not receive an invitation to visit Tehran this time. However, he denied that he had wanted to "send a political message" through his visit to Tel Aviv and his meeting with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
In response to a question by Asharq Al-Awsat about the fears that Iran would halt its cooperation in the event of a council decision, Grossi said this will be a "reminder for Iran, and for us, and for everybody, that we really need to get down to work and clarify these issues that have been outstanding for too long."
"I believe that it’s in no one’s interest that the cooperation between the agency and Iran diminishes even further," he said. Still, without adequate cooperation on Iran’s part, there is an “impasse” between the agency and Iran’s leadership, Grossi told reporters. "These issues will not go away - they are not solved, they are not clarified."Two years ago, the Board issued its first resolution condemning Iran for not allowing international inspectors to collect samples from three undeclared locations in Iran. Iran then agreed to permit inspectors into the locations but did not provide credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at Turquzabad, Varamin, and Marivan. Israel provided the IAEA with files it had stolen from Iran's nuclear archive, which referred to the three secret sites. Western countries postponed the introduction of a draft resolution condemning Iran for more than a year to allow efforts to revive the nuclear deal. The IAEA refuses to abandon its investigation, even though the traces of uranium it found date back nearly 20 years or more, and Iran had stipulated that this investigation be closed as part of the Vienna negotiations to revive the 2015 agreement.
Grossi told reporters that he would not abandon this investigation and asserted that until Iran "provides technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles," the IAEA cannot confirm the correctness and completeness of Iran's declarations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. "The safeguards issues related to these three locations remain outstanding," added Grossi, noting that Iran is cooperating and providing answers, but those answers are not credible. "Iran has not provided explanations that are technically credible in relation to the Agency's findings at three undeclared locations in Iran. Nor has Iran informed the Agency of the current location, or locations, of the nuclear material and/or of the equipment contaminated with nuclear material that was moved from Turquzabad in 2018."Grossi estimated that Iran is very close to getting enough material to manufacture a nuclear bomb. The Board began its closed discussions ahead of a vote on a Western draft resolution prepared by the United States, France, Britain, and Germany calling on Iran to cooperate with the IAEA to solve the outstanding issue on the three undeclared sites. The IAEA signed an agreement with Iran last March, in which Tehran pledged to provide answers to the Agency about questions related to the inspectors' finding of uranium traces at secret sites. The Board needs two-thirds of the votes to pass a draft resolution, given that it includes 35 countries, meaning that 24 votes are enough to adopt the resolution. Based on the Board's member states in this session, it is expected that such a resolution will pass, despite the opposition of Russia and China.

Israeli coalition suffers loss, faces uncertain prospects
Associated Press/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Israel's government has failed to pass a bill extending legal protections for settlers in the occupied West Bank, marking a major setback for the fragile coalition that could hasten its demise and send Israel to new elections.The failure to renew the bill also highlighted the separate legal systems in the West Bank, where nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers enjoy the benefits of Israeli citizenship while some 3 million Palestinians live under military rule that is now well into its sixth decade. Three major human rights groups have said the situation amounts to apartheid, an allegation Israel rejects as an assault on its legitimacy.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's coalition remains in power. But Monday's vote underscored the weaknesses and divisions in the fragile alliance and raised questions about how long it can survive. Emergency regulations in place for decades have created a separate legal system for Jewish settlers in the West Bank, applying parts of Israeli law to them — even though they live in occupied territory and not within sovereign Israeli land. These regulations expire at the end of the month and if they are not renewed, that legal system, which Israel has cultivated for its settlers in the West Bank since it captured the territory in 1967, will be thrown into question. It could also change the legal status of the 500,000 settlers living there. Proponents of extending the law say they are merely seeking to maintain a status quo and preserve the government's shelf life. Opponents say extending the regulations would deepen an unfair system.
However, Monday's vote — defeated by a 58-52 margin — went far beyond the contours of the legal debate. Instead, it served as a key test of the government's prospects for survival, creating a paradoxical situation where some of the settlements' biggest opponents in the government voted for the bill, while hard-line parties that support the settlements voted against it in order to weaken the government.
The coalition, made up of eight ideologically distinct parties that include both supporters and opponents of the settlements, came together last year and pledged to sidestep divisive issues that could threaten its survival. Monday's vote showed just how difficult that mission has been. The vote did not immediately topple the government, and it is still possible for the coalition to present a modified version of the legislation. "As always after we lose, we will return stronger and win in the next round," said Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, the chief architect of the governing alliance, in a statement on Twitter.
But the setback indicated the government's days could be numbered. One of the coalition's members, the nationalist New Hope, has already threatened to bolt if the coalition cannot pass the measure. If New Hope leaves, it could give the opposition the votes it needs to trigger new elections or form a new government. "Any coalition member who doesn't vote for this law that is so central is an active participant in its demise," Justice Minister Gideon Saar, leader of New Hope, said before the vote. He also warned that defeating the bill would create "legal chaos" in the West Bank and harm Israeli settlers. The votes of certain lawmakers, including renegade hard-liners in the coalition as well as Ra'am, an Arab Islamist group that made history as the first Arab party to join an Israeli coalition, were closely watched. In many cases, these lawmakers did not attend the vote. The opposition meanwhile, made up mainly of nationalist parties led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, showed its willingness to forsake its pro-settlement ideology in order to bring down the coalition. Bennett's Yamina party issued a statement accusing Netanyahu and his Likud party of banding together with leftist settlement opponents to serve the former prime minister's personal interests. "The Likud will burn the state for Netanyahu's needs," it said, vowing to find a way to pass the required legislation. Bennett has faced hurdles before. Idit Silman, the coalition whip from Bennett's small, nationalist party, quit the coalition earlier this year, leaving the government with 60 seats in the 120-seat Knesset — surviving immediate defeat but struggling to govern. Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, another legislator from Meretz also quit, but later rejoined after being promised a raft of benefits for her constituents, Palestinian citizens of Israel.
In the end, Silman skipped Monday's vote, while Zoabi bucked her coalition partners and voted against the bill, giving a thumbs-down as she cast her vote. Bennett's government came together last year after two years of political mayhem, with four elections producing no clear winner. The eight coalition members were united by their goal of ousting Netanyahu — the longtime prime minister who now heads the opposition, from where he is battling corruption charges — and have sought to work around their issues to keep him out of power. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move that is not recognized internationally and pulled out troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005. But hundreds of thousands of Israelis reside in over 120 settlements dotting the West Bank, along with more than 2.5 million Palestinians. Since Israel has never annexed the territory, it technically remains under military rule, creating a bewildering legal reality. For Jewish settlers in the West Bank, most of Israel's criminal and civilian laws apply. They vote in Israeli elections, enlist for compulsory military service and pay their taxes to the state. Palestinians, meanwhile, are subject to a different set of laws, adding to the confusion — and often inequality.If the government does not find a new solution in the coming weeks, settlers will automatically fall under military rule, like Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Emmanuel Gross, an Israeli expert on criminal and international law and a former military judge. Basic, everyday relations between settlers and the state will crumble: Israel won't be able to levy taxes and police won't be able to investigate criminal offences, among other things, Gross said. The status of Palestinian inmates being held in Israeli prisons will also be challenged, as Israel uses this same set of emergency regulations to hold prisoners outside of occupied land. "The entire legal basis of what happens with the settlers today will be cancelled. This can cause chaos," he said, adding that he expected the government would find a way to ensure the regulations are extended.

Syrian, Russian Forces Boosted after Turkey Signals Operation
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Russia and Syrian government forces have been bolstered in northern Syria where Turkey may soon launch an offensive against Kurdish fighters, Turkish and opposition Syrian officials said, as Ankara prepares for talks with Moscow. President Tayyip Erdogan said two weeks ago Turkey would launch new military operations in Syria to extend 30-km (20-mile) deep "safe zones" along the border, aiming at the Tal Rifaat and Manbij regions and other areas further east. Russia, which warned at the weekend against military escalation in northern Syria, is sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for talks in Ankara on Wednesday. The two countries have close ties and Ankara has sought to mediate talks over Russia's war in Ukraine, but their support for opposing sides in Syria may test President Vladimir Putin's relations with the only NATO member not to impose sanctions on Moscow over the invasion. The stakes are also high for Erdogan. Without at least tacit approval from Russia, President Bashar al-Assad's powerful ally in the Syria conflict, a Turkish offensive would carry additional risk of casualties. Russia and Turkey have checked each other's military ambitions at various points in Syria's war, at times bringing them close to direct confrontation. There have not yet been signs of a significant Turkish military build-up in the border region, but reports of rocket and artillery exchanges have become more frequent in the past two weeks. Any Turkish operation would attack the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a key part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that controls large parts of north Syria and is regarded by Washington as an important ally against ISIS. Ankara sees it as a terrorist group and extension of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). A spokesman for the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA )said Russia was reinforcing positions near Tal Rifaat, Manbij, the southern outskirts of Kobani, and Ain Issa - all towns within 40 km (25 miles) of the Turkish border. "Since the announcement of the operation, the Syrian regime and its Iranian militias have mobilized and (are) sending reinforcements to the YPG," Major Youssef Hammoud told Reuters. Their intelligence had spotted Russian helicopters landing at an air base close to Tal Rifaat, he added. Turkey's state-owned Anadolu news agency cited local sources on Saturday as saying Russia was making deployments in north Syria to "consolidate its control", flying reconnaissance flights over Tal Rifaat and setting up Pantsir-S1 air defense systems in Qamishli, a border town nearly 400 km further east. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi told Reuters on Sunday Damascus should use its air defense systems against Turkish planes and his forces were "open" to working with Syrian troops to fight off Turkey, but said there was no need to send more forces.
Talks with Lavrov
Ankara says it must act because Washington and Moscow broke promises to push the YPG 30 km (18 miles) from the border after a 2019 Turkish offensive. With both powers seeking Turkey's support over Ukraine, the conflict may offer it a degree of leverage.
Washington, whose backing for the SDF has long been a source of strain in ties with Turkey, has voiced concern, saying any new operation would put at risk US troops - which have a presence in Syria - and undermine regional stability. Russia also said last week it hoped Turkey "refrains from actions which could lead to a dangerous deterioration of the already difficult situation in Syria". A senior Turkish official said Lavrov would be asked about intelligence that he said pointed to Syrian government and Iran-backed forces either arriving at Tal Rifaat or heading there. "Turkey will do this operation one way or another," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Asked whether Russia was strengthening positions in northern Syria, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters it was the Syrian armed forces that "are reinforcing, to a greater or lesser extent, certain facilities on their territory." The Syrian government does not comment on troop movements, but the pro-government newspaper al-Watan on Monday cited sources in northern Raqqa - near the Turkish border - as saying Syrian troops, tanks and heavy weaponry deployed over the weekend in response to Turkish moves. The Turkish official and the SNA's Hammoud said attacks from SDF-controled areas against those under Turkish and SNA control had increased. Hammoud said Turkish and SNA forces were responding.

Israel Mainly to Blame for Conflict, Says UN Report
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Israel's occupation and discrimination against Palestinians are the main causes of the endless cycles of violence, UN investigators said Tuesday, prompting angry Israeli protests.A high-level team of investigators, appointed last year by the United Nations Human Rights Council to probe "all underlying root causes" in the decades-long conflict, pointed the finger squarely at Israel. "Ending the occupation of lands by Israel... remains essential in ending the persistent cycles of violence," they said in a report, decrying ample evidence that Israel has "no intention" of doing so. The 18-page report mainly focuses on evaluating a long line of past UN investigations, reports and rulings on the situation, and how and if those findings were implemented. Recommendations in past reports were "overwhelmingly directed towards Israel," lead investigator Navi Pillay, a former UN rights chief from South Africa, said in a statement. This, she said, was "an indicator of the asymmetrical nature of the conflict and the reality of one state occupying the other."The investigators also determined that those recommendations "have overwhelmingly not been implemented," she said, pointing to calls to ensure accountability for Israel's violations of international law but also "indiscriminate firing of rockets" by Palestinian armed groups into Israel. "It is this lack of implementation coupled with a sense of impunity, clear evidence that Israel has no intention of ending the occupation, and the persistent discrimination against Palestinians that lies at the heart of the systematic recurrence of violations in both the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel."
'Witch hunt'
Israel has refused to cooperate with the Commission of Inquiry (COI) created last year following the 11-day Hamas-Israel war in May 2021, which killed 260 Palestinians and 13 people on the Israeli side. Israel has in the past loudly criticized Pillay for "championing an anti-Israel agenda", and on Tuesday the foreign ministry slammed the entire investigation as "a witch hunt". The report, it said, was "one-sided" and "tainted with hatred for the State of Israel and based on a long series of previous one-sided and biased reports." It had been published, it said, as "the result of the Human Rights Council's extreme anti-Israel bias."Echoing that sentiment, dozens of Israeli reserve soldiers and students -- some of them dressed like Palestinian Hamas fighters -- marched Tuesday outside the UN headquarters in Geneva in protest. Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, who heads the Israeli NGO Shurat Hadin that organized the protest, slammed the rights council as "the most anti-Semitic body in the world." Israel and its allies have long accused the top UN rights body of anti-Israel bias, pointing among other things to the fact that Israel is the only country that is systematically discussed at every regular council session, with a dedicated special agenda item. The COI, which is the highest-level investigation that can be ordered by the council, is the ninth probe it has ordered into rights violations in Palestinian territories. It is the first, however, tasked with looking at systematic abuses committed within Israel, the first open-ended probe, and the first to examine "root causes" in the drawn-out conflict.

Turkey Tells Russia it Will Respond to Destabilizing Moves in North Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in a call on Tuesday that Turkey would respond to moves aimed at disrupting stability in northern Syria, his office said, as Ankara gears for talks with Moscow ahead of an expected offensive in the region. President Tayyip Erdogan announced two weeks ago that Turkey would soon be launching new military offensives into northern Syria against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. Russian and Turkish foreign ministers will hold talks in Ankara on Wednesday. Akar told Shoigu that "the necessary response will be given to actions aimed at disrupting the stability achieved in the region and the presence of terrorists in the region is not acceptable," Turkey's Defense Ministry said in a statement. It said Akar also "reminded that previous agreements on this issue need to be adhered to."

Baghdad, Cairo, Amman Coordinate to Address Common Challenges
Baghdad - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Iraqi President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi held talks in Baghdad on Monday with Egypt and Jordan’s Foreign Ministers Sameh Shoukry and Ayman al-Safadi. Discussions tackled trilateral relations and joint coordination to address regional and international challenges and developments. Upon their arrival in the Iraqi capital, Shoukry and Safadi met with their counterpart Fuad Hussein. The FMs agreed to hold regular meetings to face challenges and bolster trilateral relations. The visit comes a year after Baghdad hosted the trilateral summit in June 2021, during which Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took part. Salih said Iraq is keen to bolster ties with Jordan and Egypt in various fields and expand them through the agreed upon understandings and frameworks of trilateral cooperation in the political, security and economic fields and the coordination of positions to maintain regional security and stability. He stressed that Iraq’s security, stability and geographic location is a necessary to ensure regional security, a presidential statement read. He underscored the need to reduce tension and resort to dialogue to resolve outstanding issues to pave the way for regional coordination based on economic and trade cooperation to address common challenges, including security, economy and climate change. Kadhimi, for his part, expressed Iraq’s pride in its ties with Egypt and Jordan, underlining the importance of boosting them in various fields and achieving joint economic growth, prosperity and food security. The three FMs held a joint press conference following their meeting. Hussein said talks touched on the solid ties between their countries, as well as regional and international political developments and the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the region. Shoukry told reporters that the visit is an opportunity to bolster trilateral ties and is aimed at backing Iraq. He stressed that efforts are underway to restore Iraq’s position in the region and world. Meanwhile, Safadi reiterated Jordan’ unwavering support for Iraq, stressing that their security is indivisible.Shoukry and Safadi later held talks with Iraq’s parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.

Britain Reopens its Embassy in Libya After 8 Years Hiatus
Cairo - Khaled Mahmoud/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
Britain reopened its embassy in Libya after an eight years hiatus. British ambassador Caroline Hurndall announced the reopening at an event celebrating Queen Elisabeth II's official birthday and the Queen's Platinum Jubilee at the old embassy compound in Tripoli. Hurndall announced the reopening on her Twitter account saying: "I announced this evening that Britain is reopening our British Embassy here in Libya. This is a demonstration of British commitment to the whole of Libya. I am proud our work touches the lives of Libyans across the whole country already."She reiterated that if "Libya is to fulfill her political and economic potential, Libya's leaders must continue to implement the October Ceasefire Agreement, work together, and pursue compromise, cooperation, and concord. The people of Libya deserve this." The head of the interim Libyan unity government Abdulhamid Dbeibeh expressed his happiness at Britain's joining of the countries that reopened their embassies. Dbeibeh stressed the need for this to be reflected in providing better services to Libyan citizens who wish to obtain visas and other services. He hoped the move would boost bilateral relations between the two countries. The announcement was made at the embassy's celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, marking seventy years of service to the people of the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth.

Brother of Algeria’s Bouteflika Jailed for 8 Years
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
The jailed brother of Algeria's late president Abdelaziz Bouteflika received an eight-year prison sentence on Monday for corruption, local media reported. Said Bouteflika's co-defendant, construction tycoon Ali Haddad who is also already in prison on other charges, was sentenced to four years, and both received fines. They had been charged with influence peddling, abuse of office, money laundering and failing to declare assets. In October, both men had been sentenced to two years in prison for obstruction of justice, but Bouteflika was exonerated in that case by an appeals court in May.
Sentences issued by Algerian courts are not added up, with only the longest sentence actually served. Said Bouteflika, 64, was long seen as the real power behind his ailing brother, whose bid for a fifth term in office sparked mass protests in 2019 that eventually forced him to resign. Abdelaziz Bouteflika's fall was followed by a string of prosecutions against senior members of his inner circle. His brother was arrested in May 2019 and sentenced to 15 years for "plotting against the state and the army" in the days before the former president's resignation. Early last year, he was acquitted of those charges by a military appeals court, but was handed to a civil court to face trial on corruption charges. Abdelaziz Bouteflika died in September at the age of 84.

White House defends Biden plans for Saudi meeting
Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
The White House has defended plans for President Joe Biden to meet with Saudi Arabia's crown prince, despite U.S. intelligence determining that he ordered the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Officials said that while Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia was not yet confirmed, the expected visit will serve US national interests, regardless of 36-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's involvement in the 2018 murder of Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post. "This trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia -- when it comes -- would be in the context of significant deliverables for the American people in the Middle East region," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. "If he determines that it's in the interest of the United States to engage with a foreign leader and that such an engagement can deliver results, then he'll do so," she said.
Saudi Arabia "has been a strategic partner of the United States for nearly 80 years. There's no question that important interests are interwoven with" the country. Speculation had been rife that Biden would make his first visits as president to both Israel and Saudi Arabia during the same travel period taking him to Germany and Spain for G7 and NATO summits this month. Amid a flurry of criticism that Biden was going back on his earlier pledge to treat Saudi Arabia as a "pariah" because of Khashoggi's killing, the White House refused to confirm the reports. Subsequently, U.S. media reports said the trip had been postponed, possibly to July. Jean-Pierre would not confirm this but denied the administration had changed plans. "People have been asking if it was postponed. The president said himself... that there was a visit in the works. But it wasn't moved or postponed. That reporting was not accurate," she said. A June trip "was being considered but it was never locked in." The thaw with Saudi Arabia comes shortly after the ultra-conservative kingdom addressed two of Biden's priorities by agreeing to a production hike in oil -- which could help tame rocketing global energy prices -- and assisting extension of a truce in Yemen's war.
Biden is also widely expected to travel to Israel where, as in Saudi Arabia, he is sure to face pointed questions about slow-moving U.S. diplomacy with the two countries' rival, Iran. Biden, who prides himself as a champion of democracy against authoritarian regimes, has decided to reassess tight U.S. relations with Riyadh, placing a greater emphasis on human rights. But soaring gas prices, due to supply chain snarls exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow, have infuriated Americans and sent Biden's popularity plummeting. Biden's administration is seeking to convince Saudi Arabia to increase its oil production in the hope this will help ease supply shortages and bring down prices at the pump.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 07-08/2022
Terrorism Was ‘Created by the West,’ Says Celebrated Muslim Authority
Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/Tuesday, 7 June, 2022
A leading Muslim authority that so many Western leaders—Pope Francis being only the most famous—trust and listen to has just proclaimed that Islamic terrorism is really a creation of the West. Speaking before a delegation from Britain’s Royal College of Defence Studies, headed by Major General Stephen Deakin, and representatives from eleven other countries, on May 25 in Cairo, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al Azhar, declared that “terrorism is a political, not a religious, manifestation.” Moreover, “terrorism was created by various Western political regimes that spread it around the world, attaching it to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in order to achieve complex gains and agendas.”Here, once again, is a shameless lie by what many consider to be the world’s most influential Muslim authority. That Western elements—for example, the CIA during the USSR/Afghan wars of the 1980s—exploit and take advantage of terrorists is true; but to say that they “created” it is false. Islam’s sacred texts must first have been amenable to the use of terrorism; and so they are, with Allah himself constantly employing that word and its conjugates (r-h-b) throughout the Koran, both saying that he will and calling on his followers to strike “terror” into the hearts of those who reject Islam (e.g., 8:12, 59:2). True to such scriptural injunctions, the history of Islam’s relations with other religions and civilizations has also been one of nonstop terroristic assaults and conquests—in a word, jihad; the heart of the Muslim world, MENA (Middle East and North Africa) was originally Christian until it was literally terrorized into becoming Islamic.
Hence why Islam and Muslims continue to claim the lion’s share of terrorism around the world today, despite al-Tayeb’s attempt to conflate “Judaism, Christianity, and Islam” together, as if an equal share of terrorism is committed by all three groups.
To those familiar with al-Tayeb, such deceptions are old hat. Just last month he claimed that the aforementioned Muslim conquests of Christian MENA “were not conquests of colonization that rely on the methods of plunder, oppression, control, and the policies of domination and dependency,” even though both Christian and Muslim sources make perfectly clear that they were. Rather, the grand imam insisted that these jihads were about bringing “knowledge, justice, freedom, and equality” to conquered Christians.
It is when speaking to Western audiences, however, that the sheikh truly shines. For example, back in 2016, al-Tayeb was invited to speak before the German parliament. In response, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies issued a statement deplored how, “before the German parliament, Sheikh al-Tayeb made unequivocally clear that religious freedom is guaranteed by the Koran, while in Cairo he makes the exact opposite claims.”
The institute underscored what most Arabic speakers already know—that Al Azhar has two faces, two dialogues: one directed to the West, which preaches freedom and tolerance, and one directed to Muslims, which sounds not unlike radical groups such as ISIS. Indeed, just days before traveling to Germany, al-Tayeb had appeared on Egyptian television promoting those sets of laws most antithetical to religious freedom: Islam’s apostasy laws—sharia laws which punish, including with death, those Muslims who dare leave Islam or convert to another Islam.
Or, in the words of the Cairo-based human rights institute, “Al Azhar adopts two contradictory speeches: one is open and directed externally [to the West, etc.], while the other supports violent extremism, and is directed internally [in Egypt and the Arabic speaking Muslim world].” The statement continues:
Combating terrorism and radical religious ideologies will not be accomplished by directing at the West and its international institutions religious dialogues that are open, support international peace and respect freedoms and rights, while internally promoting ideas that contribute to the dissemination of violent extremism through the media and educational curricula of Al Azhar and the mosques. In the end, it is, of course, not surprising that Sheikh al-Tayeb, whose loyalty is to Islam, is a subterfuge artist. What is surprising, or rather deplorable, is that so many Western leaders, including now the Royal College of Defence Studies—which “instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces”—continue to compromise themselves by giving a platform and listening to a proven liar.

The outlaw settlers of Homesh must face full force of Israeli law
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/June 07/2022
Seventeen years ago this summer, Israel’s disengagement plan took place. Most associate the disengagement project with the removal of Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip, but one of the forgotten facts is that, in some sort of trial balloon, the Ariel Sharon-led government also decided to evacuate four settlements in the West Bank. It was supposed to be the precursor to what might have been, had it not been for the abrupt end to Sharon’s political career due to illness: A unilateral disengagement in the West Bank and the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israeli settlers there, especially those in isolated settlements and those in close proximity to big Palestinian population centers. Sharon’s demise took this option off the agenda, and the rest is history.
Homesh, in the north of the West Bank, was one of the settlements evacuated in 2005 by the Israel Defense Forces, but since then ultranationalist religious Jewish settlers have repeatedly attempted to rebuild and resettle it, while the Israeli government has been demonstrating its sheer helplessness and weakness in dealing with those extremists who are infiltrating this piece of privately owned Palestinian land.
As it happens, I witnessed at first hand the disengagements in Gaza and the four settlements in the West Bank as part of the international press legion that descended there to report to the world what had seemed only a few months earlier to be the impossible task of removing Jewish settlements from occupied Palestinian land. The IDF did so with impressive efficiency, even if the logic of the unilateral nature of this operation remains highly questionable.
Yet, as momentous as the evacuation of the Gaza Strip was, and with no casualties or major incidents, it was witnessing the evacuation of Homesh that left the greatest and most lasting impression, from the minute we arrived there in the middle of night until all the settlers had been removed by Israeli soldiers the very next day. It was the vile and threatening language used by those settlers toward the soldiers and the press that gave the strong impression that the last word had yet to be spoken as far as this settlement was concerned.
The settlers showed zero respect for the law or those in charge of enforcing it. They were adamant in their determination to make one last stand by barricading themselves on the rooftops, which they surrounded with barbed wire. They, along with reinforcements from other settlements, wanted the Israeli government and the domestic and international public to know they had no intention of accepting that their evacuation was permanent.
I left the place with a strong impression that there is a segment of Israeli society — though I suspect they are no longer an integral part of that society — that will not accept the authority of the state of Israel unless it serves their own purposes and facilitates their illegal settlement-building activities. Instead, their guidance comes from their rabbis and religious writings, which lead them to believe that they have a divine right to this land.
Certain elements have refused to accept that any law is applicable to them but, despite this, have suffered no obvious legal repercussions.
Hence, as far as they are concerned, laws enacted by the state simply do not apply to them. This attitude is reflected in their view of the Palestinians, who have lived on this land for centuries, yet these messianic, ultranationalist settlers perceive them at best as guests to be tolerated. And to emphasize this belief in their own supremacy, they constantly harass their Palestinian neighbors and make them as uncomfortable as possible in their own homes and on their own land.
Late last month, Israeli government lawyers told the High Court of Justice that those who resettled in Homesh must be evacuated. This was in response to a petition filed by Palestinians from the nearby village of Burqa, who own the land and who have been denied access to it since Homesh was first constructed in 1978, and even after its Jewish residents were later evicted. But what those lawyers did not reveal to the highest court in the land — and did not seem to be encouraged by the judges to do so — was the timeline for the evacuation of the settlers. Instead, the court was told that the government conducts a “weekly situational assessment” to discuss such a timeline.
In other words, the re-evacuation might never happen, which defies both justice and common sense. After all, Homesh is a particularly extreme case of an illegal outpost. It is not only that international law prohibits all settlements or even that every Israeli government considers outposts to be illegal (until they change their mind to the tune of political pressure). In the case of Homesh, their presence there also violates the very specific disengagement law that states that Jews may not live there. This settlement was born in sin in 1978, robbing Palestinians of their land. Since it was evacuated, certain elements among the settlers have refused to accept that any law is applicable to them but, despite this, have suffered no obvious legal repercussions.
For anyone who aspires for Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace in the Holy Land, it is obvious that the settlements are a major obstacle to peace and coexistence, and a major contributory factor in the daily frictions with Palestinians that are deliberately provoked by the occupants of these outposts and unlawful communities. But the lawbreakers of places like Homesh are posing an additional danger in their undermining of the state and the entire legal system, and have already caused a weakening of the Israeli justice system.
Ironically, despite their criminal behavior they enjoy the protection of the security forces, instead of being prosecuted and punished whenever they offend. Equally worrying is that a group of mindless legislators are actively supporting them by visiting Homesh and encouraging its residents to resist their eviction. I cannot think of a more disturbing alliance between miscreants and lawmakers. If the first need to be dealt with in line with the law, the latter do not deserve their privileged position — and most definitely not the public’s confidence.
Removing the Israeli settlers of Homesh would be an act of restoring law and order and belatedly ensuring justice for the Palestinians from whom the land was stolen. It could be a first and welcome step toward the Israeli government asserting its authority over those settlers, who do harm to both Palestinian and Israeli society.
• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media.
Twitter: @YMekelberg

Interim Iran nuclear deal may be a face-saver for all
Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/June 07/2022
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors on Monday began a weeklong meeting in Vienna that is expected to censure Iran for failing to answer questions regarding its suspected undeclared nuclear sites and activities, which have raised concerns that the regime’s stockpiles of enriched uranium have reached critical levels.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has warned that his country will not hesitate to take immediate action if the UN nuclear watchdog rebukes his country. Needless to say, the already-stalled nuclear talks face the prospect of total collapse if either party decides to take the matter to the brink.
Certainly, the mood is gloomy, especially now that the talks have been suspended for more than a month, with a number of officials expressing their doubts over an imminent deal. US negotiator Robert Malley said last week that the prospects of a return to the Iran nuclear deal are “tenuous at best,” but added that the Biden administration still believes it is in America’s national security interest to try to salvage the 2015 agreement.
Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell on Saturday said the possibility of striking a deal and returning to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was “shrinking.” The Russian envoy to the Vienna talks was also not optimistic. But even as the parties mull an alternative to reaching a deal, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told the head of the IAEA last week that, while Tel Aviv still prefers diplomacy, it reserves the right to self-defense and to take action against Iran in order to block its nuclear program. He urged the board of governors of the UN watchdog to take action against Tehran in their meeting this week.
Israel has carried out war games in recent weeks to simulate the launch of massive aerial strikes against Iranian targets. And Israeli officials have been engaging with their American counterparts over the available options in case the nuclear deal talks fall through.
But despite all the tension and pessimism hovering over Vienna and Tehran, diplomacy seems to be the only realistic conclusion to more than a year of negotiations. In fact, those close to the talks confirm that the parties have agreed on all relevant technical details to revive the agreement. What is standing in the way are the two main conditions that Tehran has been insisting on: The removal of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from America’s terrorist list and a guarantee that America will not walk away from the deal in the future. President Joe Biden is unwilling to approve the first and unable to sanction the second.
The removal of the IRGC from America’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations would divide Congress even further. The Republicans are already opposed to reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. Israel, on the other hand, has made it clear that it will not tolerate giving the IRGC a free pass.
As to the second condition, Biden cannot give an assurance that his successor will honor the deal. The nuclear agreement is not a treaty that Congress must approve; not that it would be adopted if it did ever get to the floor.
While Iran has been insisting on the two conditions, diplomats have been trying to find a way out. One suggestion that seems to be gaining support is to conclude an interim deal that would return Iran to the agreement, allow for full IAEA inspections and remove US oil sanctions and others related to Tehran’s nuclear activities, while keeping Iran’s two conditions on hold — for now.
The need for a deal has become more urgent for all parties in light of the Russian war in Ukraine. The US and Europe want to free up access to Iranian oil in a bid to calm the energy markets and bring prices down. That is a must for Biden and the Democrats as they prepare for the November midterm elections, in which gas prices will play a pivotal role. For European countries, Iranian oil should alleviate the shortages resulting from their boycott of Russian supplies. And for cash-strapped Iran, it would help it address domestic protests over inflation and deteriorating public services.
The war in Ukraine has changed the dynamics of the Vienna talks for all, including Israel. Bennett’s coalition government is on shaky ground and may collapse at any moment. An uncalculated military adventure is too risky even for a maverick premier seeking to salvage his political career. The US is definitely not in the mood to take its eyes off Russia in Ukraine by waging a new war in the Middle East.
The need for a deal has become more urgent for all parties in light of the Russian war in Ukraine. As for Russia, while releasing Iranian oil in the international markets would do it harm, the Kremlin may be looking at the bigger picture, where a strong and stable Iran can play a more active role in supporting Vladimir Putin’s anti-Western alliance. Moscow does not want to appear to be the party preventing Tehran from breaking free of biting US sanctions.
So, regardless of what the IAEA meeting does with regard to censuring Iran — and in spite of all the pessimism — a deal may still be reached in the coming weeks. An interim agreement would save face and give each party what it wants. The leaders can then go back to their constituents and say that, as an interim deal, they can always back off. Despite all the rhetoric, no one really wants to ignite another war.
*Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. Twitter: @plato010

Mixed results on Americans’ knowledge of international issues
Kerry Boyd Anderson/Arab News/June 07/2022
Americans often receive criticism for their alleged ignorance of the world, but such criticism often lacks data to support its assumptions. A recent survey asked Americans 12 questions about international issues and found that they tended to answer slightly more than half correctly, but some groups have significantly higher levels of knowledge than others.
On May 25, the Pew Research Center published findings from a recent survey that asked Americans a dozen questions about foreign affairs; examples included identifying a picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, determining whether Ukraine is a member of NATO and selecting which religion has the most adherents in Latin America. Pew found that the “mean number of correct answers is 6.3.” With only 12 questions, the survey provides limited insight into the nuances of Americans’ knowledge, but it is a useful snapshot of their familiarity with basic facts of global politics.
The survey found that Americans with higher levels of education, interest in international issues and personal exposure outside of the US have increased levels of knowledge. The poll found some demographic differences, with older Americans and men more likely to score higher.
Unsurprisingly, education matters. Survey respondents with postgraduate degrees answered a mean number of 8.2 correctly, while those with a high school degree or less answered a mean of 5 correctly.
It is also predictable that Americans who express an interest in foreign affairs have higher levels of knowledge, with those expressing a lot or some interest earning a mean score of 7.4, compared to 4.6 for respondents with little interest. Importantly, Americans with exposure to the wider world also score higher; for example, the survey found that those who have traveled abroad scored a mean of 7.1 compared to 4.3 for those who have not left the US.
Another notable finding was that there is no significant partisan gap — Democrats and Republicans are almost equally knowledgeable. However, within the parties, conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats are more likely to score higher than moderates, which likely reflects that people on the more ideological extremes tend to be more engaged in following news and politics.
The Pew survey also found that higher levels of knowledge tend to correspond with some specific political perspectives. For example, respondents who scored higher on the quiz tended to have a more favorable view of the EU and NATO and a more negative view of Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those who scored higher are also likely to have a more negative view of China. Americans who can identify the capital of Afghanistan are more likely to be critical of America’s withdrawal from the country.
Many people outside of the US feel annoyance and frustration with the reality that the country plays a huge role in world affairs while many Americans seem uninformed or uninterested. The survey indicated that Americans on average may be less ignorant than they are perceived.
At the same time, some factors tend to limit many Americans’ exposure to the world, with the consequence of less interest and knowledge. The US is a very large and diverse country and Americans can easily travel within their own country for extensive tourism, cultural, educational and business opportunities. With the exceptions of Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, the rest of the world is a long and expensive flight away. According to polls, 37 percent to 42 percent of Americans hold an unexpired passport; some foreign critics compare this unfavorably with Europe, where higher percentages of people tend to have passports. However, Americans can travel far further within their own country without a passport than anyone from a European state could do within their country.
The Pew survey indicated that Americans on average may be less ignorant than they are perceived.
Americans’ relative lack of international exposure is understandable and it can make global affairs feel far away. However, there are significant downsides. Limited knowledge and interest among average Americans tend to leave US foreign policy in the hands of elites whose interests might not serve the broader public or in the hands of people with more extreme political views. The pandemic and global supply chain problems clearly demonstrate that Americans are not insulated from the rest of the world. Given the extent of US global power and its interconnectedness with the rest of the world, Americans would benefit from greater knowledge of international issues.
Expanding education on world history and global affairs at all levels of learning is one essential step, and there are organizations and schools working toward that end. Studying abroad and international exchanges are other essential tools for increasing Americans’ immersion in foreign countries and people-to-people relationships; the US has organizations and universities that help promote these programs, but the pandemic undermined many opportunities.
Some of the most innovative work is in online media. Just as CNN once played a groundbreaking role in bringing international experience straight to Americans’ TV sets, so online media today offers access to a far broader range of perspectives and experiences. For Americans with an interest in world affairs, there are new and exciting opportunities to engage with the broader world.
*Kerry Boyd Anderson is a writer and political risk consultant with more than 18 years of experience as a professional analyst of international security issues and Middle East political and business risk. Her previous positions include deputy director for advisory with Oxford Analytica. Twitter: @KBAresearch