English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 09/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
I will prepare a place for you and then come back to take you to be with me
John 14/01-06: “”‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”Titles For The

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 08-09/2022
Lebanese Caretaker Energy Minister Says ‘Politics’ behind Delay of US-Backed Electricity Plan
Lebanon Pine Forest Blaze Begins Wildfire Season
Aoun to call for PM consultations Thursday or Friday
Aoun, Berri, Miqati intensify coordination on gas row as Hizbullah names pointman
Ex-head of Army border negotiators says another ship is digging near Line 29
Israel urges Lebanon to speed up talks on maritime border
Report: Karish gas ship hasn't crossed Line 29
Mawlawi refers Tripoli mayor to Public Prosecution over illegal money spending
Lebanon to launch tender for $70 million airport terminal
Bou Habib says 'Ukraine war must stop' in virtual meeting over food crisis
Lebanon pine forest blaze begins wildfire season
Miqati visits airport ahead of tourist season
Al-Rahi prays for quick government formation
UN-Habitat marks completion of Bourj Hammoud projects funded by Polish Aid, Embassy of Japan
The Lebanese Exception as an Arena for War/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/June 08/2022

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 08-09/2022
U.S.-Europeans submit draft resolution criticising Iran to IAEA Board
Iranian Commander Threatens to Destroy Haifa, Tel Aviv
US Blames Iran's Sanctions Demands for Failure to Revive Nuclear Deal
Western Powers Press Iran to Stop Work on Highly Enriched Uranium
Iran Says 2 UN Watchdog Devices at Nuclear Site Turned Off
US Says Iran Removing IAEA Cameras Would Be ‘Extremely Regrettable’
Train Derailment in East Iran Kills at Least 22, Injures 87
Israeli Minister Races to Salvage Flailing Coalition
Turkey Struggles to Push Russia, Ukraine into Grain Deal to Avert Food Crisis
Ukrainian Forces Come under Renewed Russian Attack in Key Eastern City
Germany won't recognise Taliban as "dire" Afghan conditions persist
Iranian official threatens to raze Tel Aviv and Haifa

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 08-09/2022
Ukraine Makes Syria More Complicated/Robert Ford/Asharq Al Awsat/June 08/2022
Iran’s 'Anger'!/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/June 08/2022
UN Will Justify a Mirror Image of Putin's War/Richard Kemp/Gatestone Institute/June 08/2022
Analysis: Understanding the Militant Groups Behind the Violence in the West Bank/Joe Truzman/FDD's Long War Journal/June 08/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 08-09/2022
Lebanese Caretaker Energy Minister Says ‘Politics’ behind Delay of US-Backed Electricity Plan
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Lebanon's caretaker energy minister said on Wednesday "politics" was behind the delay of a US-backed deal to supply his country with electricity from Jordan via Syrian territory to ease crippling power shortages. Walid Fayyad told Reuters that the World Bank, which had pledged to finance the project, was "tying it to some kind of political diligence," alluding to external considerations without getting into specifics.
Speaking on the sidelines of an energy conference in the Jordanian capital, Fayyad said the World Bank was also "adding more conditions although they were clear at the start".
Fayyad said the United States had demanded to "see the financing terms from the World Bank" to ensure that the electricity deal "is not sanctionable," even though Washington had told Beirut in January not to fear sanctions over its regional energy supply plans.
A US State Department source said that the US was requesting details of transactions, including final financing as contracts, to review for sanctions compliance as part of Washington's OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) process, which administers a number of different sanctions programs. The source said this was part of standard government procedures. The United States enacted the Caesar Act in 2019 allowing it to freeze assets of anyone dealing with Syria, with the aim of forcing President Bashar al-Assad to stop his war with opposition forces and agree a political solution. Lebanon and Jordan signed a deal in Beirut last January to ease chronic Lebanese power outages by transmitting about 400 megawatts (MW) of electricity across Syrian territory. Fayyad said the delay would worsen shortages as Lebanon enters its summer season, with higher energy demand and an influx of tourists. The Lebanese-Jordanian agreement is part of a wider plan that also aims to pump Egyptian gas to a power station in northern Lebanon via a pipeline that runs through Jordan and Syria. The agreement with Egypt has yet to be signed. "There is no delay but an important milestone that we need to get through is the American approval plus the financing from the World Bank," Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla told Reuters at the conference in Amman. Lebanon has suffered power outages dating to its 1975-90 civil war, which ravaged the electricity infrastructure and left many families relying on private generators. A World Bank spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Lebanon Pine Forest Blaze Begins Wildfire Season
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Emergency teams brought under control a massive blaze in Lebanon's largest pine forest on Wednesday that authorities said could be deliberate, as the country braced for another summer of fires. The fire in the northern Dinniyeh region broke out on Tuesday night, prompting the army and volunteer firefighters to scramble to save one of the Middle East's lushest pine forests. The army on Wednesday said it dispatched helicopters, dropping water by giant buckets onto the blaze. "Unfortunately, the forest fire season started," Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said.
After several hours of work in difficult conditions, the fire was "brought under control", Yassin told AFP. "The affected region is under surveillance to avoid a new fire."Yassin, who visited the area on Wednesday, said it was "possible that the fire was sparked deliberately". Hamad Hamdane, a member of the civil defense, said teams were ensuring the smouldering embers had been extinguished. "We are going to walk into the forest... to make sure the fire is completely under control," Hamdane said. Lebanon is grappling with its worst-ever financial crisis and lacks the tools and capabilities to combat catastrophic wildfires that have increased in recent years, partly because of rising temperatures due to climate change.The corruption-ridden Mediterranean state has repeatedly needed foreign assistance for disaster response. The government's shortcomings have angered environmental activists, who warn of the damage being done to the country's ever-shrinking natural treasures. A local official said there had been an increase in illegal logging operations in the forest in recent years. "May God forgive those who did not appoint forest guards, who left forest areas without fire fighting equipment, and who neglected the development and support of civil defense," environmental activist Paul Abi Rached wrote on social media. Last July, it took Lebanon days to extinguish wildfires that ravaged pine forests in the north, left a 15-year-old volunteer firefighter dead and forced many people from their homes. In 2019, the government's failure to contain devastating wildfires was one of the triggers of an unprecedented, nationwide protest movement against perceived official incompetence and corruption. Scientists have warned that extreme weather and fierce fires will become increasingly common due to man-made global warming.

Aoun to call for PM consultations Thursday or Friday
Naharnet/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
President Michel Aoun intends to call for the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier on Thursday or Friday while the consultations will be held next week, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Wednesday. The President will call for the consultations after “completing the deliberations that he is conducting away from the spotlight with a number of political leaders and forces,” the daily added.Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati is “the only candidate for forming the new government until the moment,” informed sources told the newspaper. “The designation process is not related to any other file at all, and it is a juncture that will take place on its own, away from prior agreements, guarantees or other issues that are related to (government’s) formation as being published and reported in some media outlets,” the sources added. As for the new government’s shape, the sources said that Miqati, should he be re-appointed, would work on forming “a government that is similar to the current one,” while noting that he might not succeed in this mission.

Aoun, Berri, Miqati intensify coordination on gas row as Hizbullah names pointman
Naharnet/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker PM Najib Miqati have intensified coordination over the past days over the latest sea border row with Israel, in order to “close the alarming gaps in the Lebanese stance” and to “agree on endorsing a unified rhetoric and a single Lebanese negotiations stance that would be informed to the U.S. mediator,” sources told An-Nahar newspaper. “Those who know (U.S. mediator Amos) Hochstein know that he will immediately remind his Lebanese interlocutors of a proposal that he had offered to Beirut without receiving an answer,” the sources added.
Revealing that Aoun, Berri and Miqati are also coordinating with Hizbullah, the daily added that Hizbullah has named ex-MP Nawwaf al-Moussawi as a pointman for the sea border file and the demarcation process and for “coordinating the stances with the political forces.”Moussawi’s designation comes after caretaker Labor Minister Mustafa Bayram announced that “a high-ranking Hizbullah official who is specialized in border demarcation along with a team are working 24/24 away from the spotlight and in a discreet manner in order to preserve national consensus over the file.”Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will meanwhile make a televised address over the latest developments at 8:30pm Thursday.

Ex-head of Army border negotiators says another ship is digging near Line 29
Naharnet/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Former head of the Army delegation to border negotiations Bassam Yassin said Wednesday that another ship is currently active near Line 29.Yassin urged authorities to immediately amend Decree 6433, as he criticized them for "acting surprised" when it comes to the Israeli violations. "They know about what is happening from the media," Yassin said. According to Yassin, the ship will produce gas from the entire Karish field, regardless if it is currently below or beyond the so-called Line 29.Yassin said that another ship, Stena IceMax, is currently digging near Line 29 and will move above the line in the upcoming days.

Israel urges Lebanon to speed up talks on maritime border
Agence France Presse/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Israel on Wednesday urged Lebanon to speed up negotiations on its disputed maritime border ahead of an expected visit to Beirut by the U.S. mediator in the contentious talks. The call came days after Israel moved a gas production vessel into an offshore field, a part of which is claimed by Lebanon. Lebanon cried foul after the ship operated by London-listed Energean Plc arrived in the Karish gas field on Sunday, urging U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein to visit Beirut to mediate. In a joint statement Wednesday, the Israeli ministers for defense, energy and foreign affairs restated Israel's view that Karish "is a strategic asset of the State of Israel." "The rig is located in Israeli territory, several kilometers south of the area over which negotiations are being conducted between the State of Israel and the state of Lebanon," the statement said. "The rig will not pump gas from the disputed territory," it added, stressing that Israel is "prepared to defend" the site. "We call on the state of Lebanon to accelerate negotiations on the maritime border," the statement said, adding that "locating gas-based energy sources" would help both Lebanon and Israel. The speaker of Lebanon's parliament, Nabih Berri, has said thay Hochstein is expected in Beirut on "Sunday or Monday." Lebanon and Israel last fought a war in 2006, have no diplomatic relations and are separated by a U.N.-patrolled border. They had resumed negotiations over their maritime border in 2020 but the process was stalled after Lebanese officials said that the map used by the United Nations in the talks needed modifying. Lebanon initially demanded 860 square kilometers of territory in the disputed maritime area but then asked for an additional 1,430 square kilometers, including part of Karish.

Report: Karish gas ship hasn't crossed Line 29
Naharnet/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
The Marshall Islands-flagged Energean Power floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel has not yet entered the offshore area disputed by Lebanon, informed sources said. “It is still three miles south of Line 29, on the Israeli side of the economic zone,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.“This reflects Israel’s refrainment from carrying out any provocative action as it waits for the arrival of U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein in the region this weekend. This is also aimed at preventing the creation of an atmosphere of tensions that the Israeli government does not want, due to the U.S. pressures that have taken place,” the sources added. The newspaper also added that it was Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab who contacted Hochstein on Monday and that the latter told him that he would visit Beirut in the weekend or on Monday.

Mawlawi refers Tripoli mayor to Public Prosecution over illegal money spending
Naharnet/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Caretaker Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi referred Wednesday the Mayor of Tripoli, Riad Yamak, to the Financial Public Prosecution, as he was accused of wasting public money. Some members of the municipality of Tripoli had filed a complaint against Yamak and an investigation was carried out by the Directorate General of Local Administration and Councils. Yamak has also been referred to the Audit Court, based on another investigating regarding spending money without showing the needed documents, the National News Agency said.

Lebanon to launch tender for $70 million airport terminal
Associated Press/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Lebanon will soon launch an international tender for the construction of a new terminal at the country's only international airport in Beirut, caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh said Wednesday, with hopes of accommodating a projected rise in visitors.
The airport had a major facelift after the country's 1975-90 civil war, and has been working at full capacity for years as the government's expansion plans have been repeatedly delayed. Hamieh told reporters at the airport that a tender for the $70 million project to build a second terminal at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport is being prepared. He said Terminal 2 will be for chartered and low-cost flights, as well those carrying Muslim pilgrims. Hamie said the project will be carried out by the private sector and will create hundreds of jobs at a time when Lebanon is in the grips of its worst economic crisis in its modern history. The airport currently handles 8 million passengers a year, and the plans are to reach 20 million in 2030, according to the website of national carrier Middle East Airlines. The announcement was made during a visit to the airport by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati as Lebanon prepares to receive large numbers of travelers in the coming months, after a drop in traffic due to coronavirus pandemic.Minister of Tourism Walid Nassar said Lebanon will be receiving between 10,000 and 12,000 passengers a day, or about 1 million passengers over the next three months, when hundreds of thousands of Lebanese expatriates and tourists are expected to visit Lebanon. "Occupancy rates are full at airlines and hotels," Nassar said, referring to the summer season. "Lebanese expatriates and foreigners who love Lebanon will come to Lebanon and it will be a promising summer." Lebanon's economic crisis that began in October 2019 is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by the country's ruling class. The crisis has left three quarters of the country's 6 million people, including 1 million Syrian refugees, in poverty. Business owners are hoping that large numbers of expatriates and tourists during the summer season will help boost their fortunes, which have been hit hard by the crisis and exacerbated by coronavirus and a massive blast at Beirut's port in August 2020.

Bou Habib says 'Ukraine war must stop' in virtual meeting over food crisis
Naharnet/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Lebanon's Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib warned Wednesday that rises in fuel and basic food stuffs were exacerbating the crisis in Lebanon. "The war in Ukraine must stop at any cost," he said in a virtual meeting hosted by Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio over the global food crisis.
He added that if it could not, "concerned parties... must be pressured to allow the safe export of grains and other commodities without any delay. The meeting involved Mediterranean ministers, alongside G7 president Germany and the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization. "The world cannot continue to be at the mercy of military crises in Europe or other regions of the world," Bou Habib said. Di Maio warned for his part that millions of people could die of hunger unless Russia unblocked Ukraine's ports. "The next few weeks will be crucial to resolving the situation," he said. "I want to say clearly, we expect clear and concrete signals from Russia, because blocking grain exports means holding hostage and condemning to death millions of children, women and men." Ships loaded with grain remain blocked in Ukraine, which before Russia's February invasion was considered a global breadbasket as a leading exporter of corn, wheat and sunflower seeds.

Lebanon pine forest blaze begins wildfire season
Agence France Presse/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Rescue teams scrambled to douse a massive blaze in Lebanon's largest pine forest on Wednesday that authorities said could be deliberate, as the country braced for another summer of fires. The fire in the northern Dinniyeh region broke out on Tuesday night, prompting the army and volunteer firefighters to intervene to try to salvage one of the Middle East's lushest pine forests. The army on Wednesday said it dispatched helicopters but it was still struggling to contain the fire, hours after it started. "Unfortunately, the forest fire season starts at the Batramaz forest in Dinniyeh," said Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, who visited the area on Wednesday. "It is possible that the fire was sparked deliberately," he said, urging authorities to investigate. Lebanon is grappling with its worst-ever financial crisis and lacks the tools and capabilities to combat catastrophic wildfires that have increased in recent years, partly because of rising temperatures due to climate change. Lebanon's corruption-ridden state has consistently needed foreign assistance for disaster response. The government's shortcomings have angered environmental activists, who warn of the damage being done to the country's ever-shrinking natural treasures.
"May God forgive those who did not appoint forest guards, who left forest areas without fire fighting equipment, and who neglected the development and support of civil defense," environmental activist Paul Abi Rached wrote on social media. Last July, it took Lebanon days to extinguish wildfires that ravaged pine forests in the north, left a 15-year-old volunteer firefighter dead and forced many people from their homes. In 2019, the government's failure to contain devastating wildfires was one of the triggers of an unprecedented, nationwide protest movement against perceived official incompetence and corruption. Scientists have warned that extreme weather and fierce fires will become increasingly common due to man-made global warming.

Miqati visits airport ahead of tourist season
Naharnet/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati arrived Wednesday at Beirut's airport for an inspection tour ahead of a promising tourist season. Miqati was accompanied by the caretaker ministers of public works, tourism, industry and interior. The caretaker PM expressed his satisfaction over the safety and the general operations at the airport. "I am very reassured," he said, as he welcomed home the Lebanese expats. For his part, caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi assured that Lebanon is safe and that this "Summer will be promising."10,000 to 12,000 visitors are expected to arrive in Lebanon daily, according to the Minister of Tourism. Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transportation Ali Hamieh also announced during the visit that an eastern building will be constructed at the airport, under the auspices of Miqati. "The airport is never completely dark," Hamieh said as he explained that power is partially secured for the airport.

Al-Rahi prays for quick government formation
Naharnet/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged Wednesday for forming a new government quickly. "I am praying for a government to be formed as soon as possible so that it can start accomplishing its duties as an executive authority," al-Rahi said.

UN-Habitat marks completion of Bourj Hammoud projects funded by Polish Aid, Embassy of Japan
Naharnet/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
The U.N.-Habitat has announced a closing event on Friday to mark the completion of its implemented project in Maraach, Bourj Hammoud. "Under the scope of two complementary projects, one entitled 'Improving the well-being of host and refugee populations in Maraach sub-neighborhood in Bourj Hammoud' funded by Polish Aid and the second entitled 'Support for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of most vulnerable urban areas in Beirut impacted by the port explosion' funded by the Embassy of Japan in Lebanon, and to mark the completion of this project, an official Closing Event is planned," U.N.-Habitat said in a statement. The closing event will take place on Friday at 10:00 am in Alleyways 3 and 4, Maraach, Bourj Hammoud, in the presence of United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka, Ambassador of Poland to Lebanon Przemysław Niesiołowski, Ambassador of Japan to Lebanon Takeshi Okubo, Mayor of Bourj Hammoud Mardig Boghossian and UN-Habitat Lebanon Head of Country Program Taina Christiansenز "The event will bring together donors, official authorities, local stakeholders and beneficiaries to mark this important and timely intervention," the statement said. It added that through additional support provided by Polish Aid, and under the scope of a wider recovery project funded through the Embassy of Japan, the project was able to complete critical and additional complementary works both responding to pre-existing explosion needs, in addition to urgent additional needs identified after the explosion. These include:
- The rehabilitation of Maraach sub-neighborhood through the upgrade of 90 buildings and 5 alleyways, public infrastructure and more (of which, funds from the Embassy of Japan supported the street level upgrading of 3 alleyways).
- The provision of renewable energy solutions through the installation of a photovoltaic system and 40 street solar lighting elements.
- Capacity-building and awareness raising through support to the Lebanese Civil Defense and improved livelihood through cash-for-work programs.

The Lebanese Exception as an Arena for War
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/June 08/2022
One day before the 40th anniversary of its 1982 invasion of Lebanon, Israel began drilling for gas at the two countries’ maritime borders. This excavation, some observers believe, might not lead to war because of the “regional conditions.” However, other observers believe these same “regional conditions” may turn it into another devastating war.
Two conclusions can be drawn from these premises: first, the active state of war has not lost any of its vigor in Lebanon despite 40 years having gone by since the war and 22 years since liberation of the South. Second, “regional conditions” are what determine the validity of the state war and its vigor.
We are extremely vulnerable, whether in war or peace, to the fluctuations in “regional conditions.”Ours is not typical of Arab experiences regarding active states of war: more than ten years after the defeat of June 1967, the state of war, be it active or dormant, between Egypt and Israel ended.
Since 1973, the southern borders of Syria have been closed tight, only exploding again after the Assad regime had blown everything else up in his country.
Since 1993 and 1994, peace agreements have governed Israel’s relations with Palestine and Jordan. This does not mean that ending the wars has ended all disputes, some of which are extremely significant, nor does it mean that the Israelis will refrain from infringing on other countries here or there. It certainly does not mean that peace has made heaven descend onto the countries that made peace. Nevertheless, it accomplished something extremely significant: it ended the wars. It ended mass death. This is neither a minor development nor a trivial detail.
It is true that people are still dying, especially in minor wars that have erupted and continue to erupt between Israel and the Gaza Strip, but they do not die in the numbers we had seen during the previous major wars.
Our colleague Shireen Abu Akleh was murdered in a heinous crime, and another may be perpetrated in the future; however, channels have been established to cool conflicts, resolve them or contain them, and these channels would have been more effective and accomplished had it not been for the extremism that has been taking hold in Israel and throughout the region, exploiting the faltering peace.
What does this mean?
In the 1967 war, 20,000 Arabs and 800 Israelis died. In the October War of 1973, 12,000 died. The 1982 invasion did away with more than 7,000. They are not dying anymore. Whether or not people die or live should mean a lot to us. Life and death are themselves reason enough to invent unfamiliar ways of thinking and engaging with politics.
As for those who are not alarmed by this issue, their situation is dire, and our situation, with them, is even direr. It is true that the formulas for the Arab-Israeli relationship that emerged after major wars are neither ideal nor honorable, but the worst of it is nonetheless better than the “best” of war.
And yet, Lebanon is the only Arab country exempt from this rule: 1982, the Lebanese equivalent of Egypt, Syria and Jordan’s 1967, was not the end of its war; it was the beginning. The prevailing wisdom today in Lebanon is that more wars, more deaths, and a culture of glorifying war and death are needed. Israel is covetous of us alone, and it aggresses us alone; this demands Lebanon alone to remain stuck in the war regardless of the fact that it is among the weakest Arab countries militarily and the least unanimous on the idea of war.
This Lebanese exception leaves many captivated by conspiratorial logic: Why should we be the only ones stuck in war? If we add the role of “regional conditions” in causing it, or keeping us close to its eruption, this conspiratorial awareness develops robustness that is difficult to challenge. The fact is that consciously misrepresenting war and the supposed need to wage it is precisely how it is used by totalitarian regimes: George Orwell, speaking through his protagonist Winston Smith in his novel “1984”, says that he cannot remember a time when his country was not at war. The inhabitants of Oceania were constantly fed reports of crucial victories in Estasia and warned, at the same time, of grave dangers at home. We are also seeing, alongside our wars and the victories we are told we are attaining, “grave dangers at home:” from the pettiness of our ruling elite, to Hezbollah’s arsenal, to the economic crisis. This situation is accompanied by a model: in the place of the old Lebanese exception, which had been accused of rushing too eagerly to make any peace, comes the new exception, rushing too eagerly to wage every war, lusting to remain at war even after all the others had given up on it. Worse than the country being an arena where its open wars and the closed wars of others are fought, is one being an arena where the hatreds of the entire region gather and rot. That suffices to make for spiteful and resentful Lebanese citizens with whom it is no more safe to live and share a common political or social sphere. Necrophilia is a very prominent feature of all of this. The presence of necrophilia, here, is palpable.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 08-09/2022
U.S.-Europeans submit draft resolution criticising Iran to IAEA Board
Reuters/June 08/2022
The United States, Britain, Germany and France have submitted to the U.N. nuclear watchdog's board a draft resolution criticising Iran for not fully answering the watchdog's questions on uranium traces at undeclared sites, a move that is likely to anger Iran. Submitting the text, seen by Reuters and little changed from a draft circulated last week, means it will be debated and voted on at this week's quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors. Several diplomats said the resolution was likely to pass easily despite warnings by Iran of retaliation and consequences that could further undermine already stalled talks on rescuing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Iran's ally Russia opposes such a resolution. read more The draft resolution text that was submitted said the board "expresses profound concern that the safeguards issues related to these three undeclared locations remain outstanding due to insufficient substantive cooperation by Iran, despite numerous interactions with the agency."The text, seen by Reuters, also said the board "calls upon Iran to act on an urgent basis to fulfil its legal obligations and, without delay, take up the (IAEA) director general’s offer of further engagement to clarify and resolve all outstanding safeguards issues."Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 deal have not been held since March. Their aim is to bring both countries back into full compliance with the deal after a U.S. withdrawal and re-imposition of sanctions in 2018 prompted Iran to breach many of the deal's limits on its nuclear activities. "Those who push for anti-Iran resolution at IAEA will be responsible for all the consequences," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Twitter on Sunday in a message about the talks.Last week, Amirabdollahian said any political action by the United States and its three European allies at the IAEA "will undoubtedly be met with a proportionate, effective and immediate response from Iran"'''

Iranian Commander Threatens to Destroy Haifa, Tel Aviv
London - Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Iran will raze the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa should its enemy Israel make any mistake, Commander of the Iranian army ground forces Kiumars Heydari threatened on Tuesday. “For any mistake made by the enemy, we will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground by the order of the Supreme Leader,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the Iranian commander as saying. Heydari said all units of the army are being equipped with precision-guided, long-range and smart weapons, adding that the range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and that the operational missiles of the army have increased.
He underlined that the military and defense achievements of the Iranian army are a thorn in the enemies' eyes. “All this equipment is to respond to the stupid aggressions of the enemies of the Islamic Revolution,” Heydari noted. The Army commander reiterated that the usurper Zionist regime has occupied Muslim lands and these lands will return to Islam in less than 25 years.However, Heydari failed to refer to any of the security developments that shook Iran lately. Last May 25, an engineer died and another employee was injured after an accident in a research center at the Parchin military site affiliated with Iran's Defense Ministry. The next day, Iranian authorities confirmed the death of engineer Ehsan Ghad Beigi in an "industrial accident" at the military site. The New York Times said that according to three Iranians with knowledge of the attack and to a US official, a drone strike targeted the highly sensitive military site outside Tehran where Iran develops missile, nuclear and drone technology. The attack came four days after a senior member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Col. Sayad Khodayee, was assassinated in Tehran outside his home, according to a statement by the Guards.
NYT said Israel told the United States that it was behind his killing, according to one intelligence official. The Israelis intended it as a warning to Iran to stop targeting Israeli citizens abroad, the official said. Few days following the Parchin explosion, another commander of IRGC Quds Force died under suspicious circumstances in Karaj. There were conflicting reports concerning the reason for his death, his role at the IRGC and his link to Khodayee. Later, reports revealed that Ayoob Entezari, a senior Iranian engineer who held a PhD in aerospace engineering and was reported dead under unclear circumstances early this month, had been intentionally poisoned in the city of Yazd. A letter written by the governor called him a "martyr" and a picture allegedly showed officials paying a condolence visit to his home. Khodayee’s killing and the Parchin bombing dealt a major blow to Iranian authorities, who tried to reduce Israel’s ability to carry out operations deep inside Iranian territory, especially after hardliner Ibrahim Raisi was elected President.

US Blames Iran's Sanctions Demands for Failure to Revive Nuclear Deal
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
The United States on Tuesday blamed Iran for both sides' failure so far to reach an agreement on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying Tehran's demands on sanctions-lifting were preventing progress. "What we need is a willing partner in Iran. In particular, Iran would need to drop demands for sanctions lifting that clearly go beyond the JCPOA and that are now preventing us from concluding a deal," a US statement to a meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog's Board of Governors said, referring to the 2015 deal by its name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The US, Britain, France and Germany have submitted a motion to the International Atomic Energy Agency to censure Iran over its lack of cooperation with the agency, diplomats said Tuesday. The resolution urging Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA is the first since June 2020 when a similar motion censuring Iran was adopted. It is a sign of growing Western impatience after the talks to revive the nuclear accord stalled in March.

Western Powers Press Iran to Stop Work on Highly Enriched Uranium
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
The US, UK, France and Germany submitted a motion to the UN atomic energy watchdog to censure Iran over its lack of cooperation with the agency a year after Western countries stalled the presentation of a draft resolution condemning Iran before the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), The resolution urging Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA is a sign of growing Western impatience after talks to revive the 2015 nuclear accord stopped in March. However, the motion is largely symbolic and does not threaten any specific actions from world powers against Iran. For its part, Iran threatened a proper response. In a joint statement to the IAEA’s Board of Governors, which meets this week, Britain, France and Germany said they “strongly urge Iran to stop escalating its nuclear program and to urgently conclude (the) deal that is on the table.”“Its nuclear program is now more advanced than at any point in the past,” they said, adding Iran’s accumulation of enriched uranium has no “credible civilian justification.” “This is threatening international security and risks undermining the global nonproliferation regime,” the statement stressed. The alarming accumulation of enriched material, in particular high enriched uranium enriched up to 60% and uranium enriched up to 20%, is a cause for great concern. The rate of Iran’s enrichment of uranium is further reducing the time Iran would take to break out towards a first nuclear weapon and it is fueling distrust in Iran’s intentions, it continued. “Iran’s nuclear advances are not only dangerous and illegal, they risk unraveling the deal that we have so carefully crafted together to restore the nuclear deal,” the statement said. It is essential that Iran does not resume these activities or commence any further work, in particular related to the conversion of UF6 to UF4, all of which have no civilian credible justification in Iran.

Iran Says 2 UN Watchdog Devices at Nuclear Site Turned Off
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Iran turned off two surveillance devices Wednesday used by UN inspectors to monitor the country's uranium enrichment, further escalating the crisis over its atomic program as Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers remains in tatters.
The move appeared to be a new pressure technique as Western nations seek to censure Iran at a meeting this week in Vienna at the International Atomic Energy Agency. The censure deals with what the watchdog refers to as Iran's failure to provide "credible information" over nuclear material found at undeclared sites across the country. But Iran's latest move, announced by state television, makes it even more difficult for inspectors to monitor Tehran's nuclear program. Nonproliferation experts have warned Iran now has enough uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels to pursue an atomic bomb if it chooses to do so. The state TV report, later repeated by other Iranian media, said authorities deactivated the "beyond-safeguards cameras of the measuring Online Enrichment Monitor ... and flowmeter." That apparently refers to the IAEA’s online monitors that watch the enrichment of uranium gas through piping at enrichment facilities. In 2016, the IAEA said it installed the device for the first time in Iran's underground Natanz nuclear facility, its main enrichment site, located some 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of the capital, Tehran. The device allowed for "around-the-clock monitoring" of the facility's cascades, a series of centrifuges hooked together to rapidly spin uranium gas to enrich it. "Traditional methods of sampling and analysis can take three weeks or longer, mostly because of the time it takes to ship the sample from Iran to the IAEA’s laboratories in Austria," the agency said at the time.
Iran is also enriching uranium at its underground Fordo facility, though the IAEA is not known to have installed these devices there. "Iran has so far had extensive cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency," state TV said in its report Wednesday. "Unfortunately, the agency, without considering this cooperation ... not only did not appreciate this cooperation, but also considered it a duty of Iran."Tehran said its civilian nuclear arm, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, monitored the shutdown of the cameras. It said 80% of the existing cameras are IAEA "safeguard" cameras and they will continue to operate as before. Safeguards refer to the IAEA’s inspections and monitoring of a country’s nuclear program. However, an Iranian official warned IAEA officials that Tehran was now considering taking "other measures" as well. "We hope that they come to their senses and respond to Iran’s cooperation with cooperation," said Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. "It is not acceptable that they show inappropriate behavior while Iran continues to cooperate."
The Vienna-based IAEA declined to immediately comment. However, Iran's move come after IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi criticized Iran for failing to provide "credible information" about unexplained, man-made nuclear material discovered at three undeclared Iranian sites - long a point of contention between the agency and Tehran. US Ambassador Laura S.H. Holgate identified the Iranian sites in comments Wednesday to the IAEA's board as Marivan, Turquzabad and Varamin. Iran has denied carrying out nuclear work at these locations. Holgate urged Iran to cooperate with UN inspectors and said that moving forward with the censure would "hold Iran accountable."
"Restricting IAEA access and attempts to paint the IAEA as politicized for simply doing its job will serve no purpose," she said. Iran already has been holding footage from IAEA surveillance cameras since February 2021 as a pressure tactic to restore the atomic accord.Iran and world powers agreed in 2015 to the nuclear deal, which saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents.
Talks in Vienna over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal have been stalled since April. Since the deal’s collapse, Iran runs advanced centrifuges and has a rapidly growing stockpile of enriched uranium. Nonproliferation experts warn Iran has enriched enough up to 60% purity - a short technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90% - to make one nuclear weapon should it decide to do so. Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, though UN experts and Western intelligence agencies say Iran had an organized military nuclear program through 2003. Building a nuclear bomb would still take Iran more time if it pursued a weapon, analysts say, though they warn Tehran’s advances make the program more dangerous. Israel has threatened in the past that it would carry out a preemptive strike to stop Iran - and already is suspected in a series of recent killings targeting Iranian officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin called Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday and discussed the need to revive the nuclear deal, the Kremlin said. In a statement Tuesday to the IAEA, France, Germany and the United Kingdom warned the moves taken by Tehran are "further reducing the time Iran would take to break out towards a first nuclear weapon and it is fueling distrust as to Iran’s intentions.""The IAEA has been without crucial access to data on centrifuge and component manufacturing for a year and half now," the statement warned. "This means that neither the agency, nor the international community, know how many centrifuges Iran has in its inventory, how many were built, and where they may be located."The countries urged Iran "to stop escalating its nuclear program and to urgently conclude (the) deal that is on the table." But just before the camera announcement, the head of Iran's nuclear organization insisted the country has no secret nuclear activity and accused the West of making a "political move” by trying to censure Iran. ”Iran has had maximum cooperation with the IAEA," said Mohammad Eslami, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

US Says Iran Removing IAEA Cameras Would Be ‘Extremely Regrettable’
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
It would be regrettable and counterproductive for Iran to remove two of the UN nuclear watchdog's surveillance cameras as it has announced, the United States said on Wednesday as it pushed for a resolution criticizing Iran at the watchdog's board.
"If accurate, reports that Iran plans to reduce transparency in response to this resolution are extremely regrettable and counterproductive to the diplomatic outcome we seek," a US statement to a meeting of the 35-nation Board of Governors said ahead of a vote on the US-backed draft resolution. "We do not seek escalation (with Iran)."Iran on Wednesday disconnected some of the International Atomic Energy Agency's cameras monitoring its nuclear sites, its atomic energy agency said, after Western nations accused the country of failing to cooperate. The move was announced after Britain, France, Germany and the United States submitted a resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency to censure Iran. The motion, the first such step since June 2020, was seen as a sign of growing Western impatience with Iran after talks on reviving its 2015 nuclear deal stalled in March. Iran said the disconnected cameras had been operating as a "goodwill gesture", outside its safeguard agreement with the IAEA. "As of today, the relevant authorities have been instructed to cut off the On-Line Enrichment Monitor and the flow meter cameras of the agency," said the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

Train Derailment in East Iran Kills at Least 22, Injures 87
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
A passenger train traveling through eastern Iran struck an excavator and nearly half its cars derailed before dawn on Wednesday, killing at least 22 people and injuring 87, officials said. The derailment near the desert city of Tabas was the latest disaster to strike the country in recent weeks as Tehran struggles under US sanctions and any return to its nuclear deal with world powers remains in doubt. The train, operated by the state-run Islamic Republic Railway, carried some 350 people as it traveled from the town of Tabas, some 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Tehran, to the city of Yazd. The route had began as an overnight train out of Iran's holy city of Mashhad. Based on images after the crash, it appeared the train's locomotive passed the excavator and the later cars somehow hit the digger and caused the derailment, though authorities did not immediately explain how the disaster happened in the rural scrubland near a railway bridge. "Passengers were bouncing in the car like balls in the air," one unnamed injured passenger told Iranian state television. The state-run IRNA news agency gave the casualty figures, citing emergency officials. Rescue teams with ambulances and helicopters arrived in the remote area where communication is poor. Over a dozen people suffered critical injuries, with some transferred to local hospitals, officials said. Aerial footage of the desert site of the disaster showed train cars on their side, with some rescuers running at the scene as they tried to care for those injured.
State TV later aired images from a hospital where the injured received treatment. One of those injured told the broadcaster they felt the train suddenly brake and then slow before the derailment. The incident happened some 50 kilometers (30 miles) outside of Tabas.
The report said the crash is under investigation. Initial reports suggested the train collided with an excavator near the track, though it wasn't immediately clear why an excavator would have been close to the train track in the dark. One official suggested it could have been part of a repair project.
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi offered condolences over the crash and announced an investigation would be undertaken into its causes. On Wednesday night, authorities ordered the arrest of six people allegedly involved in causing the crash, though they released no other information about why they were suspected. Iran's worst train disaster came in 2004, when a runaway train loaded with gasoline, fertilizer, sulfur and cotton crashed near the historic city of Neyshabur, killing some 320 people, injuring 460 others and damaging five villages. In 2016, a train collision in northern Iran killed at least 43 people and injured about 100. Iran has some 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) of railway lines throughout the country that's about two and a half times the size of Texas. Its rail system sends both people and goods across the country, particularly in rural areas. Iran also has some 17,000 annual deaths on its highways, one of the world’s worst traffic safety records. The high toll is blamed on wide disregard for traffic laws, unsafe vehicles and inadequate emergency services. Iran, already straining under US sanctions over its collapsed nuclear deal, has been mourning the deaths of at least 41 people killed in a building collapse in May in the city of Abadan in the country's southwest.

Israeli Minister Races to Salvage Flailing Coalition
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Israel’s justice minister says he will give the government one final chance to approve a contentious bill extending legal protections to West Bank settlers in a last-ditch effort to keep the fractured coalition in power. Justice Minister Gideon Saar said in a series of TV interviews that he will resubmit the bill next Sunday, after the legislation failed to pass earlier this week. Several members of the coalition joined the opposition in defeating the bill. Saar called on his fellow coalition members to get in line or to exit the government - a scenario that would likely plunge the country into a fifth election in just three years.
"As long as they don’t make order in their own party, as far as we are concerned, they aren’t part of the coalition," he told Israel's Kan public broadcaster late Tuesday. The bill was seen as a major test for the coalition, comprised of parties from across the political spectrum, and its defeat has raised questions about the government's long-term viability. Israeli media said that the renegade coalition lawmakers who didn't support the bill are being pressure to change their minds or resign to make way for those who would vote in favor. Emergency regulations in place for decades have created a separate legal system for Jewish settlers in the West Bank. It applies parts of Israeli law to them - even though they live in occupied territory and not within sovereign Israeli land - while Palestinians live under military rule, now in its sixth decade. If the bill fails to pass again, Jewish settlers living there could see their legal status thrown into question. Critics, including the Palestinians and three prominent human rights groups, have said the situation amounts to apartheid, an allegation Israel rejects as an assault on its legitimacy. The coalition includes nationalistic parties that are strong supporters of the settlements, as well as dovish parties that oppose them. The alliance is the first in Israel's history to include an Arab party, the Islamist Ra'am, whose members abstained or opposed the bill on Monday. Saar, who heads a small pro-settler party, directed much of his criticism at Ra'am. "From my perspective, Ra'am has not behaved like a party in the coalition and will pay a price for that," he told Channel 13 TV.
There was no indication as to whether Ra'am's members would change how they voted. Another coalition member who voted against the bill, Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, said Wednesday she remained opposed.The coalition was formed a year ago, bringing together eight parties that have little in common beyond their shared animosity to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is now the opposition leader. After a series of coalition defections, parliament is evenly divided 60-60 between the coalition and opposition.In some ways, Monday's vote had less to do with the status of the settlers than with the status of the government. The opposition is dominated by allies of the settlers, yet voted against the legislation and the interests of their constituents in hopes of speeding up the collapse of the government. Dovish members of the government, meanwhile, voted in favor of the bill to shore up the coalition, despite their opposition to the settlements. If the bill fails again next week, the government would not immediately collapse. But the fissures in the coalition will be difficult to mend and its days could be numbered. "The government now would find it very difficult to manage the ongoing affairs of state, let alone instigate and initiate major reforms and so on," said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, an Israeli think tank. "In this respect, it’s a missing government, it’s a very problematic situation for the government."

Turkey Struggles to Push Russia, Ukraine into Grain Deal to Avert Food Crisis
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Turkish efforts to ease a global food crisis by negotiating safe passage for grain stuck in Black Sea ports met resistance as Ukraine said Russia was imposing unreasonable conditions and the Kremlin said free shipment depended on an end to sanctions. The war between Russia and Ukraine, the world's third and fourth largest grain exporters respectively, has added to food price inflation and put global food supplies at risk. Russia has seized large parts of Ukraine's coast in nearly 15 weeks of war and its warships control the Black and Azov Seas, blocking Ukraine's farm exports and driving up the cost of grain. Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of weaponizing food supplies. Russia says Ukrainian mines laid at sea and international sanctions on Moscow are to blame. Speaking alongside his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said talks on Wednesday in Ankara were fruitful and restarting Ukrainian grain exports along a sea corridor was reasonable. Lavrov said the onus was on Ukraine to de-mine its ports as a precondition for safe shipment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russian grain volumes could only be delivered to international markets if sanctions were lifted. He said there were "no substantive talks about this yet."The United Nations is working on plans to restart grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, with Turkey possibly providing naval escorts to ensure safe passage. The United Nations last week described talks with Russia on grain exports as constructive.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that senior UN officials held talks with Ankara, Brussels, Kyiv, Moscow, and Washington in the past 10 days, but he did not want to "jeopardize the chances of success" by commenting further. "This is one of those moments when silent diplomacy is necessary - and the welfare of millions of people around the world could depend on it," Guterres told reporters.
'Insufficient force'
Among the many challenges, Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey said on Wednesday that Russia was putting forward unreasonable proposals, such as checking vessels. A Ukrainian official also cast doubt on Turkey's power to mediate the free passage of blocked Ukrainian grain. "Turkey as a guarantor is an insufficient force in the Black Sea to guarantee the safety of cargo," director of Ukrainian grain traders' union UGA Serhiy Ivashchenko told an online conference on Wednesday. He said it could take at least two-to-three months to remove mines from Ukrainian ports and that the Turkish and Romanian navies should be involved. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week Ukraine had discussed with Britain and Turkey the idea of a navy from a third country guaranteeing safe passage for Ukraine's grain exports through the Black Sea. Ukraine exported up to 6 million tons of grain a month before Russia launched its invasion on Feb. 24. Moscow calls its action a special military operation. Volumes have since fallen to about 1 million tons as Ukraine, which used to export most of its goods through seaports, has been forced to transport grain by train via its western border or via its small Danube river ports. Even with increased loading and handling capacity, the state railway Ukrzaliznytsia said Danube ports and trains cannot compensate for the lack of seaports. Valerii Tkachov, deputy director of Ukrzaliznytsia commercial department, told Wednesday's online grain conference the maximum volume of grain it can deliver to exports could rise to 1.5 million tons a month over the coming weeks from around 800,000 tons in May. But he said the was a significant build-up of grain wagons at border crossings and the cargo might have to wait at least a month to cross them.

Ukrainian Forces Come under Renewed Russian Attack in Key Eastern City
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 8 June, 2022
Ukrainian troops holding out in the ruins of Sievierodonetsk came under renewed heavy assault on Wednesday from Russian forces who see the capture of the industrial city as key to control of the surrounding Luhansk region. In southern Ukraine, another major battleground in the war, authorities said Russian attacks on agricultural sites including warehouses were compounding a global food crisis that has stirred concerns of famine in some developing countries. Turkey hosted Russia's foreign minister to discuss a UN plan to open a corridor in the Black Sea for Ukrainian grain exports. Russia's Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine must first de-mine its ports - a move Kyiv fears would make it more vulnerable to attacks from the sea. Russian forces have been focused for weeks now on seizing Sievierodonetsk, which was home to some 106,000 people before Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. The Luhansk region's governor said Ukrainian forces would not surrender the city. "Fighting is still raging and no one is going to give up the city, even if our military has to step back to stronger positions. This will not mean someone is giving up the city - no one will give up anything. But (they) may be forced to pull back," Serhiy Gaidai told Ukrainian television.
Russian forces will further increase their shelling and bombardment of both Sievierodonetsk and its smaller twin city of Lysychansk on the west bank of the Siverskyi Donets River, he said. Luhansk and the adjacent province of Donetsk form the Donbas, claimed by Moscow for Russian-speaking separatists who have held eastern parts of the region since 2014. "The absolutely heroic defense of Donbas is ongoing," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video statement on Tuesday. "...The occupiers didn't believe the resistance of our military would be so strong and now they are trying to bring in new resources towards the Donbas."Reuters could not independently verify the situation on the ground in Sieverodonetsk. Moscow says it is engaged in a "special military operation" to disarm and "denazify" its neighbor. Ukraine and allies call this a baseless pretext for a war that has killed thousands, flattened cities and forced millions of people to flee.
'God save me'
Russia has turned its focus to the Donbas region since its forces were defeated on the outskirts of Kyiv in March. Zelenskiy's office said two people were killed and two wounded in the Luhansk region in the past 24 hours, five civilians were wounded in the Donetsk region, and four killed and 11 wounded in the Kharkiv region. In Sloviansk, one of the main Donbas cities still held by Ukraine, about 85 km (53 miles) to the west of Sievierodonetsk, women with small children lined up to collect aid while other residents carried buckets of water across the city. Most residents have fled but authorities say around 24,000 remain in the city, in the path of an expected assault by Russian forces regrouping to the north. "I am going to remain, I will not leave without my husband. He works here. That's what we decided, we are staying," said Irina, who did not provide her surname, as she waited with a child in a stroller outside an aid distribution center. Albina Petrovna, 85, described the moment her building was caught in an attack, which left her windows shattered and her balcony destroyed. "Broken glass fell on me but God saved me, I have scratches everywhere...," she said. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, residents were cleaning up rubble from shelling the previous day. Ukraine pushed Russian forces back last month from the city's outskirts, but Russia still strikes it sporadically. "Everything is destroyed. We are removing equipment, there will be no business here for now," said Viacheslav Shulga, an employee at a pizzeria in northern Kharkiv hit by the latest strike.
'Book of Executioners'
Zelenskiy said Ukraine would launch next week a "Book of Executioners" to detail war crimes. Ukraine has opened more than 16,000 investigations into possible war crimes, has filed eight court cases and identified 104 suspects, its prosecutor general said on Wednesday. Russia denies targeting civilians in Ukraine and rejects accusations that its forces have committed war crimes. The conflict is having a massive impact on the world economy. Ukraine is one of the world's biggest exporters of grain, and Western countries accuse Russia of creating a risk of global famine by shutting Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Moscow denies blame and says Western sanctions are responsible for food shortages. Ukraine's southern military command cited attacks on farmland and other agricultural sites in the Mykolaiv region as particularly damaging. Russia's Lavrov, after meeting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, said Moscow was ready to guarantee the safety of vessels carrying grain from Ukrainian ports, in cooperation with Turkey. "To solve the problem, the only thing needed is for the Ukrainians to let vessels out of their ports, either by de-mining them or by marking out safe corridors. Nothing more is required." Ukraine says mines are needed to protect its ports from Russian attack. Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin had personally promised not to use the grain shipment issue to benefit Russia's military operation.
Turkey, a NATO member with good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, has been trying to broker peace negotiations. Cavusoglu said further talks were needed on ways to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said this week the Russian-occupied Ukrainian ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol were ready to resume grain exports. Ukraine says any such shipments from territory seized by Moscow would amount to illegal looting.

Germany won't recognise Taliban as "dire" Afghan conditions persist
Reuters/June 08/2022
Germany will not recognise the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan as long as "dire" conditions under the Islamists persist, Germany's foreign minister said on Tuesday, calling for a united international call on the Taliban for change.
No foreign government has formally recognised the Taliban since they took over Afghanistan last August as U.S.-backed foreign forces withdrew after two decades of war."When we look across the border the situation is dire," the German minister, Annalena Baerbock, told a news conference in the Islamabad, capital of neighbouring Pakistan. She warned of a looming humanitarian and economic crisis in a country in which she said girls were deprived of education, women were excluded from public life and dissenting voices were suppressed.
"As long as they go down this path, there's no room for normalisation and even less for less for recognition of the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of the country, at the same time we will not ... abandon the people of Afghanistan," she said, adding that Germany would send humanitarian aid. Taliban officials deny accusations of rights abuses and say they are working on creating conditions in which they will open highschools for girls. Pakistan, which for years saw the Taliban as an effective block on the influence of old rival India in Afghanistan, has called for engagement with the Taliban, saying the world cannot afford a humanitarian crisis. But Pakistani's new foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said the Taliban should heed international community concerns on rights and security. "It is our hope that Afghan authorities would be responsive to the international community's expectations regarding inclusivity respect for human rights of all Afghans including women and effective actions against terrorism," he said. Baerbock called for a unity to press the Taliban. "The international community must stand united and together tell the Taliban loud and clear - you are heading in the wrong direction," she said.
Baerbock also said Germany and Pakistan had streamlined a system for bringing Afghan refugees to Germany via Pakistan and more than 14,000 Afghans who were particularly at risk had been able to travel to Germany over recent months. Broadcaster ntv later reported that Baerbock was cutting her visit to Pakistan short after testing positive for the coronavirus. read more . Her ministry confirmed the report.

Iranian official threatens to raze Tel Aviv and Haifa
Elad Benari/Israel National News/June 08/2022
Commander of Iranian Army’s ground forces says Iran can raze Tel Aviv and Haifa if ordered to do so. A top Iranian official on Tuesday threatened to “raze Tel Aviv and Haifa”, Ynet reported. “Upon an order of the Supreme Leader of the [Islamic] Revolution, we will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground for any mistake made by the enemy (Israel),” the commander of the Iranian Army’s ground forces, Kiumars Heydari, was quoted as having told the Fars news agency. Heydari was also quoted as saying that “the Israeli-occupied territories will be liberated in less than 25 years.”He also stated that the range of the Islamic Republic’s drones and missiles has increased, indicating that they could pose a threat to Israel. The comments come a day after it was reported that security forces in Thailand recently foiled an Iranian plot to attack Israeli and western targets in the country. An Iranian agent, who was arrested in Indonesia with a fake Bulgarian passport, is believed to have been the mastermind behind the planned attacks. He worked with other elements to establish terrorist infrastructure and cells in Thailand. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett earlier on Tuesday commented on Iran and said, "The days of immunity, in which Iran attacks Israel and spreads terrorism via its regional proxies but remains unscathed – are over. We are taking action, everywhere, at any time, and will continue to do so." He added, "In recent years, Iran has crossed a series of red lines, especially in enriching uranium at a level of 60% -- without a response and the world goes on. Israel cannot – and will not – accept such a situation." Iranian officials regularly threaten Israel. The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's aerospace forces, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said a few months ago that Israel was "doomed to disappear" and that any action by Israel against the Islamic Republic would hasten that disappearance. Previously, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, spoke at the United Nations Durban IV conference, where he said his nation’s "willpower is dedicated" to the elimination of Zionism.In April, Esmail Ghaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, threatened that Iran will harshly confront Israel "wherever it feels necessary".

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 08-09/2022
Ukraine Makes Syria More Complicated
Robert Ford/Asharq Al Awsat/June 08/2022
More than ever before, the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria are coming together. The calculations in the Kremlin and in Turkey’s presidential palace are especially complicated now as the two capitals must consider three different angles. First, in a month the United Nations Security Council must vote to approve continued humanitarian aid deliveries from Turkey into Idlib and north Aleppo provinces. It is a vital Turkish national interest that the three million Syrian civilians in that region not try to enter Turkey.
The Russian deputy ambassador in New York two weeks ago warned Moscow might veto the extension of the cross-border aid operation, thus threatening those civilians. However, a group of Russian experts I met at the end of May acknowledged that Russia problems with the Ukraine war will lead it to avoid a new, bitter fight with Turkey about northwest Syria now.
The American ambassador to the United Nations just visited southern Turkey and from there she warned Ankara that the Biden administration supports ceasefires in Syria. In particular, Washington aims to prevent escalation in northern Syria that would shift Syrian Kurdish YPG militia fighters from operations against ISIS to fighting against Turkish forces and their Syrian National Army allies.
The Turkish response to Washington is that already the YPG is violating the north Syria ceasefire and using the towns of Tell Rifaat and Manbij as launch points for attacks against Turkish and Turkish allies.
In theory, Erdogan had an agreement with Russia in 2019 for Russia to move YPG elements out of these two towns, but the Russians didn’t uphold their pledge. With the Ukraine war, Russian forces have left the area, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has taken positions close to the YPG. (Remember that the Iranians also are cooperating with the YPG mother organization, the Kurdish PKK group in Sinjar in Iraq.)
The Turks do not want PKK or Iranian forces near their southern border. Thus Erdogan is promising to seize Tell Rifaat and Manbij in a fourth Turkish military invasion of Syrian territory. Erdogan needs Russian agreement not to use its warplanes against Turkish forces. Erdogan also hopes to secure new American warplanes, and thus he wants to avoid a new crisis with Washington. The timing of his operation, therefore, is a question.
The final calculation involves Russia, Turkey and the United States and NATO. After the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Sweden and Finland will present their formal applications to join NATO at the alliance summit in Madrid at the end of June. Due to domestic politics related to the Kurdish issue, Erdogan is vowing to block their entry and Turkey has a veto.
Erdogan demands Sweden and Finland remove a ban against arms exports to Turkey that the two countries imposed after the 2019 Turkish invasion of northeastern Syria that hindered YPG consolidation in northeast Syria. Helsinki has hinted that it could accept a compromise on the Finnish embargo. However, a new Turkish invasion of northern Syria will make it harder for Finland and Sweden to give concessions to Erdogan. At the same time, the Turkish President must understand that Russian President welcomes delays to the NATO expansion. The timing of steps is important.
The Syrian war and Turkish actions even affect the stability of the Swedish government in Stockholm. Domestic politics in Sweden may lead to a confidence vote for the government’s Interior Minister. The fate of the minister appears to depend on the vote of an independent deputy of Kurdish origin. This deputy rejects Turkish pressure on Sweden because of the Kurdish issue and she insists that Stockholm improve relations with the YPG. If the Swedish parliament brings down the Interior Minister, the Swedish prime minister has promised to resign and the Swedish government will fall ahead of new elections in August. This will further delay Sweden joining NATO.
Sweden is not going to expel Kurdish refugees and break all ties with Kurdish political groups to satisfy Erdogan. In addition, Washington is annoyed that Turkey is delaying the two Nordic states’ entry into NATO and is unlikely to take initiatives to appease Erdogan.
In a meeting last month with a group of distinguished Turkish experts and politicians I mentioned that some western politicians wonder if NATO should expel Turkey in order to simplify admission of Finland and Sweden. My Turkish colleagues objected angrily. For them, the problem is NATO ignoring Turkish security concerns. The pressure from NATO on Ankara will grow, and an unhappy Erdogan will have to accept difficult compromises. In the end Sweden and Finland will join NATO. The arguments about the Kurdish issue and future strategy in Syria guarantee that Putin will find new opportunities to exploit divisions inside the Atlantic alliance.

Iran’s 'Anger'!
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/June 08/2022
Reuters reported that the United States and the European Troika sent a draft resolution to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors to criticize Iran for not fully answering the agency’s questions regarding uranium traces at undeclared sites.
“The United States, France, Britain and Germany are pushing for the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors to rebuke Iran for failing to answer longstanding questions on uranium traces at undeclared sites,” Reuters said, adding that the step was likely to “anger Iran.”
What kind of anger are we talking about here? And what will it entail? Is talking about Iran’s “anger” an accurate expression, or a mere justification for Tehran’s manipulative positions on the nuclear file?
Since the beginning of Khomeini’s era, the Iranian approach shows that Tehran is not committed to any decisions, agreements, settlements, or the outcome of any negotiations, but only seeks to exploit the time factor until it obtains its desired goal.
With regards to the nuclear file, Tehran is evidently following the same path, manipulating time and even reaching its goal of acquiring a nuclear bomb, regardless of whether former US President Donald Trump is to blame for withdrawing from the 2015 agreement, or not.
The Iranian plan is clear. Everyone knows that the regime in Tehran says something but does the opposite. In fact, this regime is determined to reach the nuclear goal, even if the Supreme Leader talks about a fatwa that prohibits the acquisition of a nuclear bomb.
Iran has been living under the weight of US and international sanctions for a long time; neither its policy nor its position has changed. It does not want to be a member state that respects the laws of the international community because it is determined to reach its set objective – obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Therefore, spreading the expression of Iran’s “anger” in the media is nothing but a means to pressure the West and the United States, or can even be a Western-American leak to justify the lack of a serious approach towards the Tehran regime.
Moreover, Iran’s “anger” is a mere promotion of a fictitious subversive force – an anger that will not be translated into action. The Tehran regime is receiving slap after slap from Israel - not in the region, but inside Iran itself - with no Iranian response.
The reason is clear: Tehran does not want a real war with Israel, or a confrontation that leads to that war, because its main goal now is to obtain nuclear weapons. In addition, Tehran knows that it will be difficult to engage in a military confrontation with Israel.
Thus, Iranian actions will be confined to our region and our Arab countries. It would be enough for the West to absorb the lesson of the war in Ukraine, and the difficulty of dealing with a nuclear state, namely Russia. Our region will be like a time bomb, not to mention the inevitable nuclear arms race.
Iran understands only the language of force. If it becomes a nuclear state, then the region will head steadily towards a real disaster.

UN Will Justify a Mirror Image of Putin's War
Richard Kemp/Gatestone Institute/June 08/2022
Putin went to war to turn into reality his much repeated insistence that Ukraine is an illegitimate state that has no right to exist and is inseparable from the rest of Russia. Similarly, the UN mandate allows it to question the very existence of the State of Israel. Unlike all other UN inquiries, this one has no historic time limit and enables the commission to range right back to the foundation of the state. The commissioners won't be bold enough to explicitly declare that Israel has no right to exist, but you can be certain that will be the subtext running throughout its report.
[E]ven before the notorious 2009 Goldstone Report, the UNHRC justified and encouraged Hamas violence, and that has played a crucial role in efforts to vilify and isolate Israel as well as incite greater bloodshed in the Middle East and attacks against Jews around the world.
[L]ike Putin in Ukraine, Hamas's war against Israel aims to conquer the territory of a sovereign democratic state that it believes should not exist.
Both Hamas and Putin's Russia, like most dictatorships, habitually plead self-defence as their justification for aggression. Putin pretends that NATO is a threat to Russia, yet he understands it is a defensive alliance that has no hostile intent; Hamas claims Israeli aggression while knowing that Israel would not and has never used force except in defence of its sovereign land and people.
Hamas and Russia share totalitarian values; both are kleptocracies, both ruthlessly repress internal opposition and both readily resort to violence — be it political assassination, terrorism or all-out war.
The chair of the UN commission, Navi Pillay, has indirectly played into the Israel-Nazi theme, supporting and justifying the viciously anti-Israel UN Durban Conference at which fliers were handed out with a picture of Hitler captioned with an assertion that if he had won there would be no Israel. Durban is just one of Pillay's numerous credentials against Israel, set out in detail by the NGO UN Watch in a submission to the UN. Her indisputable anti-Israel bias is shared by her two fellow commissioners, Miloon Kothari and Chris Sidoti, as outlined in an article by David Litman earlier this month in JNS.
The funding level for this commission of inquiry is the second-highest of all 33 such investigations the UNHRC has ever conducted (after a probe on Myanmar). The budget for the first three years alone is $11.81 million followed by $5.47 million each year for an indefinite period. These eye-watering figures are an indication of the lengths the UN is prepared to go to push forward and publicise its anti-Israel agenda.
[L]ike Putin's mock trials such as the one that recently convicted opposition leader Alexei Navalny... the UNHCR commission's findings were certain from the moment it was convened.
Commenting on the Russia-Hamas talks, Walid al-Mudallal, a professor of political science at the Islamic University of Gaza, said that while Moscow would be unlikely to supply weapons and finance directly to Hamas, "such support can be done in indirect ways, through Iran and Hizballah, which have forged an alliance with Moscow..."
Just like Putin, Hamas's "protection" was merely a sham, with the threat from Israel to Muslims and holy sites nothing other than fiction.
On June 13, among its wide range of anti-Israel findings, including accusations of apartheid (a calumny originally dreamt up in Moscow), the commission will deem Israel guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. As Putin supported the UN General Assembly resolution establishing the commission, he will support its report — for it will be a report that legitimises and justifies a mirror image of his aggression against Ukraine.
These future wars launched from Gaza will not only be enabled by weapons and funding supplied via Iran, including Russian weapons. The most important enabler will be the UNHRC with its trumped-up and provocative reports on Israel that provide political cover for Hamas violence. It should be a matter for international outrage when later this month the UNHRC supports the aggressors in a conflict and condemns the defenders while the deadliest European war since 1945 rages on.
An important part of Vladimir Putin's vendetta against Ukraine is propaganda and disinformation, and that is the role the UN Human Rights Council has also allotted itself in the campaign against Israel. The actual fighting is done by Hamas and their henchmen, backed and supplied by Putin's ally Iran. Like Putin in Ukraine, Hamas's war against Israel aims to conquer the territory of a sovereign democratic state that it believes should not exist. Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have close relations with Russia and both refuse to condemn the war in Ukraine. Pictured: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) greets Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Moscow on February 8, 2010.
The United Nations Human Rights Council's Permanent Commission of Inquiry into Israel, due to make its initial report on June 13, has a mendacious mandate worthy of Vladimir Putin himself. Putin went to war to turn into reality his much repeated insistence that Ukraine is an illegitimate state that has no right to exist and is inseparable from the rest of Russia. Similarly, the UN mandate allows it to question the very existence of the State of Israel. Unlike all other UN inquiries, this one has no historic time limit and enables the commission to range right back to the foundation of the state. The commissioners won't be bold enough to explicitly declare that Israel has no right to exist, but you can be certain that will be the subtext running throughout its report.
An important part of Putin's vendetta against Ukraine is propaganda and disinformation, and that is the role the UNHRC has also allotted itself in the campaign against Israel. The actual fighting is done by Hamas and their henchmen, backed and supplied by Putin's ally Iran. But even before the notorious 2009 Goldstone Report, the UNHRC justified and encouraged Hamas violence, and that has played a crucial role in efforts to vilify and isolate Israel as well as incite greater bloodshed in the Middle East and attacks against Jews around the world.
Like Putin in Ukraine this year and in 2014, Hamas has initiated a series of unprovoked violent attacks against Israel. The latest major wave, in which it launched over 4,000 missiles against Israel's civilian population in May 2021, was the premise for the UNHRC's current inquiry, although of course Israel's self-defence rather than Hamas's aggression is the focus of their ire. The scale of the Gaza conflict and the relative strengths of the two sides is completely different, but just like Putin in Ukraine, Hamas's war against Israel aims to conquer the territory of a sovereign democratic state that it believes should not exist.
The Hamas Covenant explicitly claims that every inch of Israel's land belongs to Muslims. This is echoed in the Palestinian National Charter, the founding document of the PLO which controls Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority. The slogan "from the river to the sea", familiar from anti-Israel protests and university campuses around the world, means that the Jewish people have no right to nationhood anywhere from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Both Hamas and Putin's Russia, like most dictatorships, habitually plead self-defence as their justification for aggression. Putin pretends that NATO is a threat to Russia, yet he understands it is a defensive alliance that has no hostile intent; Hamas claims Israeli aggression while knowing that Israel would not and has never used force except in defence of its sovereign land and people. Just as Putin describes Ukraine as an anti-Russia project, exploited by America to undermine his country, Hamas claims Israel is an anti-Muslim colonialist enterprise of the US.
Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have close relations with Russia and both refuse to condemn the war in Ukraine. Many countries, including the US and UK, designate Hamas a terrorist entity but, like the UN, Moscow does not. Hence, amidst heightened Russia-Israel tensions due to Tel Aviv's condemnation of Putin's war, a Hamas delegation held talks at the foreign ministry in Moscow last month with Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. These were intended to strengthen Hamas relations with Russia at just the time when most are distancing themselves from Putin's regime. That should come as no surprise to anyone, as Hamas and Russia share totalitarian values; both are kleptocracies, both ruthlessly repress internal opposition and both readily resort to violence — be it political assassination, terrorism or all-out war.
In a statement at the conclusion of the meetings on 5th May, Hamas's international relations chief, Moussa Abu Marzouk, appeared to welcome the war in Ukraine, saying:
"New equations are being imposed today in the global system, and there is an opportunity to change the status quo in the global system for the benefit of the oppressed in the world."
Commenting on the Russia-Hamas talks, Walid al-Mudallal, a professor of political science at the Islamic University of Gaza, said that while Moscow would be unlikely to supply weapons and finance directly to Hamas, "such support can be done in indirect ways, through Iran and Hizballah, which have forged an alliance with Moscow in the face of the United States in many international issues". We know Iran is already the source of many Russian weapons and technology used by Hamas to attack Israelis.
Putin's pretext for war was to protect the ethnically Russian population in Ukraine, while Hamas claimed their attack in 2021 was to protect Muslims and their holy sites in Jerusalem. Just like Putin, Hamas's "protection" was merely a sham, with the threat from Israel to Muslims and holy sites nothing other than fiction.
Both aggressors are equally fond of raising the spectre of Nazism to traduce their enemies. Among Putin's goals is "denazifying" Ukraine. Hamas and its followers equate Israel to the Nazi regime and that equivalence is explicitly enshrined in its covenant. To underline the point and taunt their opponents, Hamas terrorists and their supporters often brandish swastika flags in the faces of Israeli soldiers and civilians.
The chair of the UN commission, Navi Pillay, has indirectly played into the Israel-Nazi theme, supporting and justifying the viciously anti-Israel UN Durban Conference at which fliers were handed out with a picture of Hitler captioned with an assertion that if he had won there would be no Israel. Durban is just one of Pillay's numerous credentials against Israel, set out in detail by the NGO UN Watch in a submission to the UN. Her indisputable anti-Israel bias is shared by her two fellow commissioners, Miloon Kothari and Chris Sidoti, as outlined in an article by David Litman earlier this month in JNS.
The funding level for this commission of inquiry is the second-highest of all 33 such investigations the UNHRC has ever conducted (after a probe on Myanmar). The budget for the first three years alone is $11.81 million followed by $5.47 million each year for an indefinite period. These eye-watering figures are an indication of the lengths the UN is prepared to go to push forward and publicise its anti-Israel agenda.
It is not usually possible to confidently predict the outcome of court proceedings or international investigations, especially in the democratic world. But — like Putin's mock trials such as the one that recently convicted opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and Hamas's latest kangaroo court that sent two Gaza Palestinians to prison for spying for Israel last week — the UNHCR commission's findings were certain from the moment it was convened. A combination of biased commissioners, a long track record of unfounded condemnation of Israel and a one-sided mandate that never mentions Hamas, singling out Israel alone, can mean only one thing.
On June 13, among its wide range of anti-Israel findings, including accusations of apartheid (a calumny originally dreamt up in Moscow), the commission will deem Israel guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. As Putin supported the UN General Assembly resolution establishing the commission, he will support its report — for it will be a report that legitimises and justifies a mirror image of his aggression against Ukraine.
The 2021 war will not be the last major Hamas assault on Israel, just as Putin will not rest against Ukraine if he seizes the Donbas where his forces are now fighting. He will demand a negotiation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that cedes all of Ukraine's conquered territory to Russia. Likewise, Hamas's Moussa Abu Marzouk told Russia Today at the conclusion of the May war:
"This is just one of a [series] of wars, and a war will come [until] we negotiate with them [i.e., the Jews] about the end of their occupation and their leaving of Palestine". As Putin is determined that Ukraine will not exist as a separate entity, Marzouk is determined: "Israel will come to an end just like it began..."
These future wars launched from Gaza will not only be enabled by weapons and funding supplied via Iran, including Russian weapons. The most important enabler will be the UNHRC with its trumped-up and provocative reports on Israel that provide political cover for Hamas violence. It should be a matter for international outrage when later this month the UNHRC supports the aggressors in a conflict and condemns the defenders while the deadliest European war since 1945 rages on.
*Colonel Richard Kemp is a former British Army Commander. He was also head of the international terrorism team in the U.K. Cabinet Office and is now a writer and speaker on international and military affairs. He is a Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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Analysis: Understanding the Militant Groups Behind the Violence in the West Bank
Joe Truzman/FDD's Long War Journal/June 08/2022
After clashes with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops in the West Bank village of Ya’bad last week, the Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades issued a statement mourning the death of one of its militants, Bilal Kabaha. Kabaha’s killing signals an upward trend of militant activity in the West Bank since last year.
There are several reasons behind the onset of violence in the West Bank, particularly in Jenin.
The cancelling of Palestinian elections and the May conflict in Gaza last year were the initial catalyst for the violence. Adding to that was the escape of six militants (most of whom are members of PIJ) from a prison in northern Israel in September, just across the line from Jenin, which rallied fighters across the Palestinian territories. Lastly, IDF operations in the West Bank throughout 2021 resulted in an unusually high number of militant deaths exacerbating the already mounting tensions.
Ultimately, it was likely the killing of a significant number of militants last year that motivated terrorist organizations in the West Bank to reorganize and establish a joint operations room. Groups such as Katibat Jenin (Jenin Unit), Hizam al-Nar (Belt of Fire) and Katibat Nablus (Nablus Unit) were formed and resulted in a marked increase in clashes with IDF troops. Though, it is unclear if the initiative to form these umbrella groups was directed from a local level or abroad (Gaza, Lebanon, Turkey).
Of these groups, FDD’s Long War Journal has identified five Palestinian militant organizations who have issued statements identifying their affiliation with the newly established formations or have claimed responsibility for attacking IDF troops with these groups.
Katibat Jenin and Katibat Nablus are led by Palestinian Islamic Jihad while Hizam al-Nar is headed by Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
Hamas, The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine are active in these formations but play a smaller role. While all of these groups have their own political movements and so-called military wings, they operate under the Katibat and Hizam al-Nar organizations as a single unit to combat IDF operations.
A similar model has been employed in Gaza with the joint operations room of the Palestinian factions. Approximately a dozen militant organizations operate under the Hamas-led operations room umbrella during times of conflict against Israel.
Evidence of the new formations was highlighted in a recent VICE News segment in May. At the beginning of the video, four of the previously mentioned organizations can be seen conducting a training operation in Jenin. VICE News did not specifically mention the name of these groups, however, FDD’s Long War Journal identified them by the bandanas worn by the fighters.
While clashes in the West Bank with militant groups have clearly been on the rise for more than a year, the IDF has yet to publicly acknowledge the new and aggressive approach the nascent organizations have undertaken against them. It’s unclear if this is due to not wanting to publicly reveal the significant escalation in the West Bank by Palestinian factions or an unwillingness to credit the groups for organizing a somewhat effective method of so-called resistance operations against the Israeli military.