English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 30/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest
Matthew 09/36-38: "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest"

Titels For English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 29-30/2022
44 Years after their Martyrdom, martyrs of the town of al-Qaa, from their lofty heights bear witness to Lebanon’s sovereignty, freedom, independence, entity, identity and resistance/Elias Bejjani/June 28/2022
President Aoun to UN Special Coordinator: Lebanon adheres to implementing Resolution 1701 to maintain stability and security on southern borders
President Aoun receives government line-up from PM Mikati
Mikati hands Aoun govt. draft line-up
Reports: Mikati's line-up contains 5 to 6 changes, including energy minister
Mikati says wrote cabinet line-up himself at night, confirms reshuffle
MP Alain Aoun says energy portfolio 'not exclusive to FPM'
Corona - MoPH: 1399 new coronavirus infections, one death
Rahi moves to summer residence in Diman
Israel Accuses Hezbollah of Trying to Hack UN Lebanon Peacekeepers
The fallacy of unity government is paralyzing Lebanon/Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/June 29, 2022
Outrageous prices keep Lebanese from swimming/Hanan Hamdan/Al-Monitor Staff/June 29/2022

Titles For Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 29-30/2022
Iran report: Nuclear talks with US end without deal in Qatar
Iran media publishes conflicting reports over status of nuclear talks in Qatar
Iran report: Nuclear talks with US end without deal in Qatar
NATO calls Russia its 'most significant and direct threat'
US to boost military presence in Europe for Russia threat
In preparation for Biden’s visit, Israeli president meets with Jordanian king
Israel heads towards snap election, Lapid poised to be PM
Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Gunman in West Bank Clash
Hamas arrests university president in Gaza, provoking outrage from Palestinians
Syria seizes record 2.3 tons of captagon
Syrian armed groups clash outside Aleppo
Syria to Recognize Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk Regions
Govt Missile Attack Kills 9 Opposition Fighters in North Syria
UN: Over 100 Murders in Syria’s al-Hol Camp Since Jan 2021
World Bank Approves $130M Loan to Tunisia to Finance Wheat Imports
Canada/Minister Joly announces expansion of Canada’s diplomatic presence in Central and Eastern Europe and Caucasus

Titles For LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 29-30/2022
Israel to build first solar plant on Bedouin land/Danny Zaken/Al-Monitor Staff/June 29/2022
Iran in the Taliban’s Footsteps/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/Jub2 29/2022
A World of Diplomacy and Multi-dimensional Moves to Counter Challenges/Omer Onhon/Asharq Al Awsat/Jub2 29/2022
Biden's Energy Crisis/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/June 29/2022
Failed Leadership in America, as Defined/Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute./June 29, 2022
Turkey returns to the Balkans at EU’s expense/Nikola Mikovic/The Arab Weekly/June 29/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 28-29/2022
44 Years after their Martyrdom, martyrs of the town of al-Qaa, from their lofty heights bear witness to Lebanon’s sovereignty, freedom, independence, entity, identity and resistance
Elias Bejjani/June 28/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109688/elias-bejjani-44-years-after-their-martyrdom-martyrs-of-the-town-of-al-qaa-from-their-lofty-heights-bear-witness-to-lebanons-sovereignty-freedom-independence-entity-identity-and-resistance/
John 15-13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
The loud voices of the 26 martyrs of the town of al-Qaa, from their lofty heights, are heard today, 44 years after their martyrdom, echoing with prayers and hymns, calling all free and sovereign Lebanese citizens, and reminding them of the heinous massacre that they suffered by the Baathist Syrian occupier, and its Trojan Lebanese tools. A bloody massacre against humanity, instigated with treachery, insolence, hatred and demonism.
The loud and resounding voices of the 26 heroic martyrs are reminding those of our people whose memories have died, and their consciences numbed, as well as, all those who live fear, Dhimmitude and surrender, that Lebanon is a country of holiness and saints, and that they, like all the other martyrs of the Land of the Cedars, have sacrificed themselves at its altar, in a bid to keep it a proud, free and independent country, and to solidity and maintain with pride, its deeply rooted history, identity, dignity and the sanctity of its blessed land, which embraces the cedars of the Lord, and at the same time is watered and soaked with the blood of the righteous martyrs. It remains that the nation whose youth are always ready to offer themselves sacrifices on its altar, is an eternal nation that will not die, will not kneel, and will not surrender to any occupier, invader, oppressor, terrorist and traitor, no matter how mighty is its military power.. and this is Lebanon..Today, our prayers go for the comfort of the souls of the martyrs of al-Qaa, and for the rest in peace of all the souls of all the martyrs of Lebanon. We pray that their their eternal rest in peace is in the heavenly dwellings, alongside the righteous and the saints, where there is no sighing, pain, or sadness, but eternal life.

President Aoun to UN Special Coordinator: Lebanon adheres to implementing Resolution 1701 to maintain stability and security on southern borders
NNA/June 28/2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received United Nations Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Ambassador Joana Wronecka, today at Baabda Palace.
President Aoun told Wronecka that Lebanon is committed to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 because it is willing to maintain stability and security on the southern borders.
The President pointed out that demarcation of the southern maritime border is the focus of follow-up after the recent visit of the American mediator in the indirect negotiations, Mr. Amos Hochstein, in light of the talks held with him during his stay in Lebanon.
During the meeting with Ambassador Wronecka, discussed the situation in the south, weeks before the report that the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, intends to submit to the Security Council on July 21.
The meeting also tackled demarcating southern maritime borders, in addition to the existing cooperation between Lebanon and the United Nations in several fields.
Chairperson of the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions:
President Aoun met the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar and Chairperson of the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions, Mrs. Maryam bint Abdullah Al-Attiyah.
Attiyah was heading a delegation from the Committee, in the presence of the President of the National Commission for Human Rights in Lebanon, Dr. Fadi Gerges.
Mrs. Attiyah briefed the President on the purpose of her visit to Lebanon, which is to support the recently formed Lebanese Human Rights Commission and ways of cooperation between it and other bodies, as well as securing the appropriate conditions for its joining the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions.
Mrs. Attiyah also confirmed that Lebanon's presence within this network will enable it to interact with Arab institutions and coordinate cooperation in the field of human rights, expressing hope that the legal texts that sponsor the work of the Lebanese Commission will be completed to be ready to join the Arab network, as well as provide its needs to be able to carry out the required tasks.
For his part, President Aoun welcomed Mrs. Attiyah and the accompanying delegation, conveying his greetings to the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and his appreciation for the support that Lebanon receives from the State of Qatar in all fields.
The President praised the work of Mrs. Attiyah through her presidency of the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar, the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions based in Doha, and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions based in Geneva.
In addition, President Aoun expressed his hope that the existing cooperation between the Arab Network and the Lebanese Commission for Human Rights, which was established in 2016 and whose ten members were appointed in 2018, will bear fruit, and then the members of the National Committee for the Prevention of Torture in 2019.
Moreover, the President indicated that work is underway for the Lebanese National Commission to achieve all the conditions required for compliance with the Paris Principles of the United Nations and to become a member of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions.
Finally, President Aoun affirmed strenuous work to promote the rights of Lebanese women and the rights of children and people with special needs, despite the lack of resources.
On the other hand, Mrs. Attiyah affirmed that the Lebanese Authority will receive all support for its success in the tasks entrusted to it.
The delegation accompanying Mrs. Attiyah included: Mr. Sultan bin Hassan Al Jamali, Secretary General of the Arab Network of National Human Rights Institutions, Ghaffar Al Ali, Legal Adviser to the Arab Network, Amira Al Haddfa, Director of the International Cooperation Department at the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar, Mubarak Al Safran, Director of Mrs. Al Attiyah’s office, and Saif Al Yafei, Director of the office of the Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar, and Hessa Al-Misnad, responsible for the Department of International Cooperation in the National Committee in Qatar.
Former Minister Shreim:
The President met former Minister, Ghada Shreim.
General affairs and conditions of the Lebanese University were discussed, in light of the continuation of distance education and the need to find appropriate solutions to return to attendance education. -- Presidency Press Office

President Aoun receives government line-up from PM Mikati
NNA/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022  
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati, today at the Presidential Palace.
The President was briefed on the results of the parliamentary consultations which Premier Mikati held yesterday and received with a line-up for the government proposed.The President told PM Mikati that he will study this formula and express his opinion on it.
Statement:
After the meeting, Premier Mikati made the following statement:
“In light of non-binding parliamentary consultations that I conducted yesterday, I found that the options are very narrow and that time is very important.
I tackled the ideas which were presented during the consultations, and I visited His Excellency the President and had the honor to meet him this morning and handed him the government line-up that I saw fits for the current circumstances, and you know and I know how important time is.
His Excellency the President will study the line-up”.
Questions & Answers:
In response to a question about the type of line-up or its description, PM Mikati said that the formation is now at the disposal of His Excellency the President.
While Premier Mikati was entering the presidential palace, he waved to reporters with the white envelope he was carrying, and said: "Here is the line-up”.—Presidency Press Office

Mikati hands Aoun govt. draft line-up
Agence France Presse/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022  
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati handed President Michel Aoun the new government’s draft line-up on Wednesday, after two days of non-binding consultations with MPs over the shape and program of the government that he intends to form. "I have presented to President Aoun the government line-up that I consider appropriate in these circumstances," Mikati said from Baabda, after meeting with Aoun. "We all know that time is important," Mikati went on to say, as Lebanon's multiple crises deepen with no solution in sight. He added that Aoun will study the draft line-up and reply to him. Former MP Ali Darwish told al-Jadeed that the government line-up might be similar to the previous one and that it will likely not be a government of "pure technocrats."Mikati had won the support of more than 50 legislators last week to keep his post following last month's parliamentary elections. The latest government, led by Mikati, had only been in place since September 2021 after a 13-month vacuum and had become a caretaker Cabinet after the May 15 parliamentary elections. In Lebanon's unique and chaotic brand of sectarian consensus politics, forming a government can take months, even when the country faces multiple emergencies. Between the two latest elections, two out of four years were spent under a caretaker government with limited powers as the country's political barons haggled over cabinet line-ups.

Reports: Mikati's line-up contains 5 to 6 changes, including energy minister
Naharnet/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022 
The line-up submitted by PM-designate Najib Mikati to President Michel Aoun on Wednesday contained changes to five to six ministerial portfolios from the current government, including the energy portfolio, TV networks said. “Mikati proposed a specialist who is not close to the Free Patriotic Movement for the energy and water portfolio,” MTV reported. He also suggested a Beiruti candidate for the economy ministry who is close to the civil society parties, the TV network added. Al-Jadeed TV later identified the energy portfolio candidate as Walid Sinno, who belongs to the Sunni community. Caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam was meanwhile replaced by caretaker Industry Minister George Boujikian, as the industry portfolio was allotted to Walid Assaf, al-Jadeed said. Moreover, caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil has been replaced by ex-MP Yassine Jaber, as Bassam al-Mawlawi, Ali Hamiyeh and Najla Riachi kept the interior, public works and administrative development portfolios. MTV had earlier reported that Mikati kept the education portfolio with Abbas al-Halabi as he proposed Inas Jarmaqani as "the second Druze candidate."MTV also quoted informed sources as saying that Mikati’s line-up is expected to be rejected by Aoun.“Some FPM cadres have started an attack on the PM-designate and his line-up on social networking websites,” the sources added.

Mikati says wrote cabinet line-up himself at night, confirms reshuffle
Naharnet/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022 
PM-designate Najib Mikati took the decision to submit the government draft line-up to President Michel Aoun at night. He told al-Jadeed that he wrote it himself by hand "after everyone refrained from participating and the choices became narrow.""I have submitted to President Aoun a government reshuffle," Mikati said, clarifying that not all ministers will be changed. He added that no contact has been made with the Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil except during the consultations.

MP Alain Aoun says energy portfolio 'not exclusive to FPM'
Naharnet/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022
is party would accept giving up the energy ministerial portfolio in the upcoming government. Aoun told LBCI that the ministry of energy is not an exclusive FPM portfolio. He added that a new government will likely be formed soon and that the FPM will give it confidence "if President Michel Aoun agrees on the line-up.""The government must do what it takes to stop the collapse," Aoun said, adding that the FPM needs to see Mikati's vision of the government "before deciding if we will participate in it or not."

Corona - MoPH: 1399 new coronavirus infections, one death
NNA/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022 
Lebanon has recorded 1399 new coronavirus cases and one death in the last 24 hours, as reported by the Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday.

Rahi moves to summer residence in Diman
NNA/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022 
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi, moved last night to the summer patriarchal residence in Diman.
On this occasion, Patriarch Al-Rahi expressed hope that solutions would be found to the crises that burden Lebanese citizens.

Israel Accuses Hezbollah of Trying to Hack UN Lebanon Peacekeepers
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022
Israel accused the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah party on Wednesday of conducting a cyber operation designed to disrupt a UN peacekeeping mission on the border between the countries, and threatened harsh Israeli retaliation against enemy hackers. The allegation - to which there was no immediate response from Beirut, Tehran or the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) - came as Israeli-Iranian tensions soar. In what he termed a first public disclosure of the incident, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said: "Iranian security institutions in cooperation with Hezbollah (recently) launched a cyber operation with the aim of stealing materials about UNIFIL activities and deployment in the area, for Hezbollah's use". "This is yet another direct attack by Iran and Hezbollah on Lebanese citizens and on Lebanon's stability," he told a cyber conference at Tel Aviv University, without elaborating. Established in 1978, UNIFIL patrols Lebanon's southern border. It is charged with monitoring the ceasefire that ended the last war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006. Israel has accused Hezbollah gunmen of setting up clandestine positions at the border in defiance of UNIFIL. Lebanese officials say Israel continues air force overflights of their territory in violation of the ceasefire. Gantz said an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps cyber unit called "Shahid Kaveh" had "conducted research to damage ships, gas stations and industrial plants in several Western countries including Britain, the US, France and Israel". Britain's Sky News reported similar allegations last year, saying the Iranian embassy in London had not responded to them. Gantz hinted that Israel - which is widely believed to have waged cyber war against Iran's nuclear facilities and other infrastructure - may retaliate physically against enemy hackers."We know who they are, we target them and those who direct them. They are in our sights as we speak - and not just in cyber-space," he said. "There is a variety of possible responses to cyber-attacks - in and outside of the cyber-domain."

The fallacy of unity government is paralyzing Lebanon
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/June 29, 2022
Lebanon’s parliament speaker is calling for a unity government that will rescue the country from its calamities. However, the reasons for these calamities and for Lebanon’s failure to have proper governance are mutilated concepts like unity government, “mithakia,” which means proper representation among all sects, and “consensual democracy,” which means all the different parties should be included in policymaking. Lebanon has always had unity governments and none have been able to put forward any real program for the country. The concept of unity government came about after the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and was enforced after the Doha Agreement. During the time of Hariri, which extended from 1992, shortly after the end of the civil war, until 2005, the government was one of technocrats.
When Hariri took power after the Taif Agreement, the two main Christian parties were put out of power. Michel Aoun was in exile and Samir Geagea was in prison. Other politicians who kept their places under Taif, like Nabih Berri, the speaker of the parliament, and Walid Jumblatt, benefited from inflated government contracts in return for their acquiescence. Many say the Hariri years institutionalized corruption. However, during the Hariri years, there was a business plan driving the country. After his death in 2005 came the concept of unity government. This was enforced after the 2008 Doha Agreement, which gave Hezbollah and Amal a third of the Cabinet and the power to veto government decisions.
Lebanon also has the mutilated concept of mithakia, or the fallacy of representation among the sects, which was reinforced after the Doha Agreement, i.e., each one that is strongest in his denomination should be assigned a position for that denomination. So, the Sunni party that gets most of the Sunni seats in parliament should have the premiership, the Shiite party that has most of the Shiite seats should have the speaker’s position, and similarly for the Christians and the presidential role.
The political class has no plan for the country, just a power-sharing scheme that ultimately shares the spoils of the state and through which each party uses some government facility or department as its fief, from which to extract as much money as possible. Former foreign minister and the president’s son-in-law, Gebran Bassil, who is a main pillar of corruption in the country, spelled it out on the sidelines of the 2019 World Economic Forum at Davos. He said that Lebanon could teach London and Washington how to manage a country without a budget.
Thus, the country was turned into a “farm,” as one of my Gulf colleagues described it. Although he added that even a farm has more order than Lebanon. There is no order to anything, just a corrupt class of elites agreeing among themselves to pillage the country. They fight over the ministerial quotas for each party and compete over the most lucrative ministries, like the Ministry of Energy and Water, where all the fatty fuel contracts go. No one can be held accountable as they are all part of the government. This was the motivation for the memorable slogan of the protest groups, “killun yaani killun” (all means all).
The political class has been very clever in benefiting the most from power while holding no responsibility for what has happened.
The political class has been very clever in benefiting the most from power while holding no responsibility for what has happened. This is mostly represented by Bassil’s famous line, “ma khalouna,” meaning “they did not let us,” blaming the failure on others.
A unity government is not really a democratic practice. Democracy means the minority follows the majority, which rules while the minority is in opposition and keeps a check on those who rule. Today, in the US, the administration is a Democratic one and not a hybrid between Democrats and Republicans. Similarly, in the UK, the government is a Conservative one headed by Boris Johnson, while the Labour Party is in opposition. The party that wins an election puts together a comprehensive political, economic and security strategy for the country and is held responsible for its success or failure.
One might say that, in the US, the people directly elect the head of state, while in Lebanon the parliament elects the president. Others might say that, unlike the US and UK, where there are dual-party systems and where the political scenes are divided between the liberal left and conservative right, Lebanon is a country where the political configuration is divided along sectarian lines.
Still, in the elections they are standing as blocks. For example, Hezbollah, Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement formed one block in the parliamentary elections. They represent the so-called resistance block. In the case of Lebanon, parties of similar thinking should form a coalition, with the coalition that has the majority of seats in parliament forming a government to put together a comprehensive plan and be held accountable for its execution and success. However, the leaders of the political class do not want any accountability. They know that, despite their differences on policy issues, they are “brothers” in corruption. They want to stay together and keep the status quo.
Today, Lebanon is collapsing and is in dire need of an International Monetary Fund bailout package. The Najib Mikati government, which is a unity government that took office from September 2021 to May 2022 and is now in caretaker status, was not able to seal a deal with the IMF. This was also the case of the government of Hassan Diab, which was in power from January 2020 until August 2021, when its members resigned en masse following the Beirut blast and it became a caretaker government. In total, two-and-a-half years of governments and caretaker governments have been unable to reach a deal with the IMF, which Lebanon badly needs because of this consensual democracy. The mutilated concept of unity government and mithakia are driving political paralysis. It is giving an escape route to the different political parties, allowing them to blame the situation on others. The solution is to have one block form a government, put a comprehensive plan in place and be responsible in front of the Lebanese people and the international community.
• Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese NGO focused on Track II.

Outrageous prices keep Lebanese from swimming
Hanan Hamdan/Al-Monitor Staff/June 29/2022
BEIRUT — With the advent of summer 2022, the Lebanese are complaining about the high entrance fees to private resorts and swimming pools in Lebanon. Low-income employees can no longer afford to go to these resorts, which have seemingly become limited to well-off families.
Joe Hnein, 50, a father of three and an employee at the National Social Security Fund, told Al-Monitor, “As a family provider, I am no longer able to spend a day at the beach with my family due to high prices. The entry fee ranges from 200,000 Lebanese pounds ($133 at the official rate, $6 at the black market rate) to 350,000 Lebanese pounds ($233 at the official rate, about $12 at the black market rate as of the time of this writing) per person. That is not to mention the prices of food and drinks.”
“This recreational activity was essential to every family to chill, but it has become out of reach now after the local currency’s collapse and our efforts to adapt to the economic hardships. We are following an austere way of living, and this is exhausting for me and my children.”
Hnein, similar to many other people, has not been able to spend a day by the pool or swim this summer given the elevated cost compared to his income.
A simple calculation shows that if a small family like Hnein’s decides to go to the swimming pool where the entrance fee is 200,000 Lebanese pounds per person, without including any other expenses, the sum will be equal to 1 million Lebanese pounds ($666 at the official rate, $33 at the black market rate), which is the equivalent of the average monthly salary for a large number of Lebanese.
May Fawaz, 30, told Al-Monitor, “It is very expensive to go to the pool now, especially when calculating all costs, including entrance fees, transportation, food, drinks and sunscreen. That is why we no longer go to the pool but rather to coffee shops and the mall to which the outing is cheaper.”
She added, “We are being denied the simplest things that used to help us cheer up and be in a better mood in the summer.”
While the cost is high for both Hnein and Fawaz, who live in Beirut, the fee is slightly lower in the northern and southern parts of the country. Nisreen Merheb, 33, told Al-Monitor, “The entrance fee to the swimming pool in northern Lebanon is no less than 100,000 Lebanese pounds (about $67 at the official rate, about $3 at the black market rate), which is high compared to the income most of the people here earn.” Mohamad Bazzi, owner of Bar D'amour Beach in southern Lebanon, said that the sector has been affected by the Lebanese pound-to-dollar exchange rate crisis, like all other sectors in the country.
He told Al-Monitor, “Everything we buy, including diesel, chlorine, maintenance and supplies, is paid in dollars, and their prices are very high. This is added to the employees’ transportation fees. All of that increased the operating cost.”
He added, “At Bar D’Amour Beach, we tried as much as possible to keep it affordable for the people, with fees ranging from 150,000 Lebanese pounds ($100 at the official rate, $5 at the black market rate) on weekdays to 200,000 Lebanese pounds ($133 at the official rate, $6 at the black market rate) on the weekends, in order to retain our customers and because not all salaries are paid in dollars or salaries were increased. We are trying to keep fees acceptable and cover our operational expenses. But this threatens our sustainability.”
Jean Beyrouthy, head of the Syndicate of Beach and Resorts in Lebanon, told Al-Monitor, “The fees are acceptable at the beach resorts and swimming pools. They are not considered high compared to the operational costs, especially the cost of energy, which makes up from 30% to 40% of these costs.”
He said, “The entrance fees at 60% of swimming pools across the country do not exceed 200,000 Lebanese pounds, including 40% that are no more than 100,000 Lebanese pounds. The prices are very acceptable, ranging from 50,000 Lebanese pounds ($33 at the official rate, $1.60 at the black market rate) to 400,000 Lebanese pounds ($266 at the official rate, $13 at the black market rate), which means that they are suitable for all social classes. Those who are well off can afford going to beaches where the fee is higher.”
He pointed out that all the required standards are met at all swimming pools, which were forced to raise their prices in order to remain open. He expected occupancy this season to be good and added that it is acceptable so far.
Pierre Achkar, president of the Syndicate of Hotels Owners in Lebanon, said in an interview with Voice of Lebanon on June 21 that hotel reservations are still low but are expected to increase in the coming period, like last summer.
He added that Lebanese expats are expected to come to Lebanon this year to see their families, which will revive internal tourism. Lebanon is expected to witness two types of tourism this year, according to Achkar, namely internal tourism from Lebanese expats and regular tourism from visitors coming from Iraq, Jordan and Egypt. Achkar expects a large number of tourists to come to Lebanon this year, which will bring into the country the dollar currency that is badly needed in the cash-strapped country to import most of its basic needs.
This comes at a time when the Ministry of Tourism issued a decision June 2 allowing tourism establishments “exceptionally and optionally” to price their bills in US dollars between June 2 and Sept. 30 in order to accommodate the high number of tourists and expats expected this summer. When converting the high prices from the Lebanese pounds into dollars at the black market rate, prices might end up being very affordable and attractive to those earning foreign currencies. The ministry’s decision was issued following a meeting between Tourism Minister Walid Nassar and the heads of the tourism unions, in light of the extraordinary circumstances the country is going through, especially the fluctuation of the Lebanese pound rate against the dollar.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese people are complaining about the high prices of goods and services inside and outside tourism institutions, compared to their salaries, especially those who are still paid in Lebanese pounds. Yet the situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon amid a day-to-day deterioration in the economic situation and absence of any serious measures by the officials to stop the ongoing meltdown. In addition to soaring prices, the Lebanese are hit by daily crises such as the ongoing lack of medications, lack of bread on shop shelves and fluctuating fuel prices, with some of the gas stations often closing their doors. The Lebanese fear that the Tourism Ministry’s decision will open the door to uncontrolled prices at tourism establishments in light of Lebanon’s difficult situation. Nada Nehme, vice president of Consumers Lebanon, a local association protecting consumers, told Al-Monitor, “The ministry has legitimized chaos, as pricing in dollars is basically a violation of the Consumer Protection Law, which stipulates that the price of goods and services shall be declared in Lebanese pounds.”She added, “There is no trust, and every institution will price based on its liking, and certainly the relevant authorities are not exercising any control.”Nehme noted that such decisions are “capable of changing the behavior of the individual. I am trying to firmly establish the idea that going to a swimming pool has become a luxury, especially since most people cannot afford recreational activities. This is unacceptable. The expatriates who came to Lebanon are an exception and can afford this cost, but the public and private sectors’ employees can't.”The high entrance fees to beaches reignited the talk on the need for the beaches in Lebanon to be public and not only affordable for a specific group of people. In light of the current reality, well-off and affluent persons are the only ones able to go to beaches.
Mohammed Ayoub, director of Nahnoo, an association focusing on public beach properties, told Al-Monitor, “In all world countries, the municipality and the concerned ministries manage the beaches. This is what needs to be done in Lebanon,” where most beaches are exploited as private properties.
He added, “Law No. 144 of 1925, which bans [private] investment of the Lebanese coast or building on it, has been violated repeatedly. They (beaches along Lebanon’s coast) need to be open to the public unlike what has been happening in the country for decades.”
Hundreds of tourism facilities are spread along the Lebanese coast, from north to south, which shrunk the public space that the Lebanese can go to for free or cheap.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 29-30/2022
Iran report: Nuclear talks with US end without deal in Qatar
Agencies/June 29, 2022
DUBAI: Indirect negotiations between Iran and the US over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers have ended without breaking a deadlock over the talks, a semiofficial Iranian news agency reported Wednesday.
The US State Department and the European Union, which is mediating the talks in Qatar, did not immediately acknowledge the end of the negotiations in Doha. However, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s hard-line Revolutionary Guard, described the negotiations as finished and having “no effect on breaking the deadlock in the talks.” US Special Representative Rob Malley spoke to the Iranians through EU official Enrique Mora during the talks. Mora then took messages to Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani. Tasnim claimed that the American position did not include “a guarantee for Iran benefiting economically from the deal,” quoting what it described as unnamed “infrmed sources.” “Washington is seeking to revive the (deal) in order to limit Iran without economic achievement for our country,” the Tasnim report claimed. 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 about reviving the deal have been on a “pause” since March. Since the deal’s collapse, Iran has been running advanced centrifuges and rapidly growing stockpiles of enriched uranium.
Iran earlier warned the US to abandon the “Trump method” after the two sides opened indirect talks to revive a nuclear deal that was torpedoed by the former American president. “We hope that, God willing, we can reach a positive and acceptable agreement if the United States abandons the Trump method,” Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori-Jahromi said. He described the “Trump method” as “non-compliance with international law and past agreements and disregard for the legal rights of the Iranian people.” The indirect talks — with the rival delegations sending each other messages from different parts of the same hotel — came just two weeks before US President Joe Biden makes his first official visit to the region, with Iran high on his agenda. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran was open to a deal in Doha, but wouldn’t cross its “red lines.” “We are serious” in our desire to finalize an agreement, he said, stressing that his country would not retreat from the “red lines” it has drawn. IRNA has previously described the “red lines” as lifting all sanctions as related to the nuclear agreement, creating a mechanism to verify they have been lifted, and making sure the US does not withdraw from the deal.

Iran media publishes conflicting reports over status of nuclear talks in Qatar
Al-Monitor Staff/June 29/2022
According to Tasnim News Agency, the indirect talks in Qatar between Iran and the United States to revive the nuclear deal have come to an end without progress. An "informed source" quoted by Tasnim said that during the talks, which were mediated by the European Union, the US was not willing to budge on offering Iran “economic guarantees” in the revival of the 2015 nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Meanwhile, a contradictory report was published by the Islamic Republic News Agency, which is linked to the administration of President Ebrahim Raisi. According to their source, the talks are still continuing. The talks had been originally scheduled for two days. The Tasnim report, though perhaps wrong on the timeline, does seem to imply that there has been no progress on the talks, which appears consistent with what others have reported.
Enrique Mora, the European Union coordinator for the talks, helped facilitate the meeting by passing notes between Iran and the US. Iran has refused to meet directly with the US after the US exited the deal in 2018 and reapplied sanctions. The US also pursued a campaign of maximum pressure against Iran, which resulted in the assassination of the Quds Force commander Ghassem Soleimani. Iran has accused the Biden administration of continuing many of Trump’s policies. Iran is seeking “economic guarantees” that the US will not reapply sanctions once the deal is agreed upon again. Given that the original 2015 JCPOA was agreed upon through executive orders and the US exited through executive orders, Iran is concerned that after the next US election, a Republican president will exit the deal once again. The Biden administration, however, cannot give such guarantees without approval in Congress. Ahead of the talks in Doha, Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian said if the US seeks to pass a resolution against Iran, that Iran would “start new nuclear activities.” Abdollahian was referring to the recent resolution from the International Atomic Energy Agency calling on Iran for more cooperation, which was led by the US and three European countries. As a result, Iran removed cameras that had been installed as part of the JCPOA. Abdollahian continued that the three steps Iran will take, which he said that the IAEA was notified about, are linking more centrifuges and using them to enrich uranium; connecting higher generation centrifuges, which were shut off as part of the JCPOA; and removing the cameras, which were installed as part of the JCPOA. He said that in all 27 cameras were removed. He called the American-led resolution “unconstructive.”

Iran report: Nuclear talks with US end without deal in Qatar
Associated Press/June 29/2022
Indirect negotiations between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers have ended without breaking a deadlock over the talks, a semiofficial Iranian news agency reported Wednesday. The U.S. State Department and the European Union, which is mediating the talks in Qatar, did not immediately acknowledge the end of the negotiations in Doha. However, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to Iran's hard-line Revolutionary Guard, described the negotiations as finished and having "no effect on breaking the deadlock in the talks." U.S. Special Representative Rob Malley spoke to the Iranians through EU official Enrique Mora during the talks. Mora then took messages to Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani. Tasnim claimed that the American position did not include "a guarantee for Iran benefiting economically from the deal," quoting what it described as unnamed "informed sources.""Washington is seeking to revive the (deal) in order to limit Iran without economic achievement for our country," the Tasnim report claimed. 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 about reviving the deal have been on a "pause" since March. Since the deal's collapse, Iran has been running advanced centrifuges and rapidly growing stockpiles of enriched uranium.

NATO calls Russia its 'most significant and direct threat'
Associated Press/June 29/2022
NATO declared Russia the "most significant and direct threat" to its members' peace and security, as the military alliance met Wednesday to confront what NATO's chief called the biggest security crisis since World War II.
It also promised to "step up political and practical support" to Ukraine as it fights off Russia's invasion. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chided NATO for not embracing his embattled country more fully and asked for more weapons to defeat Moscow's forces. Russia's invasion of its neighbor shattered Europe's peace, drove NATO to pour troops and weapons into eastern Europe on a scale not seen since the Cold War, and was set to give the defense organization two new members in Sweden and Finland. "President (Vladimir) Putin's war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and has created the greatest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War," said Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. The alliance promised to more support for Ukraine, which has already received billions in military and civilian aid from NATO countries. But Zelensky lamented that NATO's open-door policy to new members did not appear to apply to his country. "The open-door policy of NATO shouldn't resemble the old turnstiles on Kyiv's subway, which stay open but close when you approach them until you pay," Zelensky said by video link to the leaders of the 30 NATO nations meeting in Madrid. "Hasn't Ukraine paid enough?"He asked for more modern artillery systems and other weapons and warned the leaders that they either had to provide Ukraine with the help it needed to defeat Russia or "face a delayed war between Russia and yourself.""The question is who's next? Moldova? Or the Baltics? Or Poland? The answer is: all of them," he said. "We are deterring Russia to prevent it from destroying us and from destroying you."
Zelensky has acknowledged that NATO membership is a distant prospect. The alliance is trying to strike a delicate balance, letting its member-nations arm Ukraine without sparking a direct confrontation between NATO and nuclear-armed Russia. Under NATO treaties, an attack on any member would be considered an attack on all and trigger a military response by the entire alliance. U.S. President Joe Biden, whose country provides the bulk of NATO's military power, vowed the Madrid summit would send "an unmistakable message ... that NATO is strong and united." "We're stepping up. We're proving that NATO is more needed now than it ever has been," said Biden. He announced a hefty boost in America's military presence in Europe, including a permanent U.S. base in Poland, two more Navy destroyers based in Rota, Spain, and two more F35 squadrons to the U.K. Still, strains among NATO allies have also emerged as the cost of energy and other essential goods has skyrocketed, partly because of the the war and tough Western sanctions on Russia. There also are tensions over how the war will end and what, if any, concessions Ukraine should make to stop the fighting.Money could also be a sensitive issue — just nine of NATO's 30 members currently meet the organization's target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose country does hit the target, urged NATO allies "to dig deep to restore deterrence and ensure defense in the decade ahead." The war has already triggered a big increase in NATO's forces in eastern Europe, and allies are expected to agree at the summit to boost the strength of the alliance's rapid reaction force nearly eightfold, from 40,000 to 300,000 troops, by next year. The troops will be based in their home nations but dedicated to specific countries on NATO's eastern flank, where the alliance plans to build up stocks of equipment and ammunition. Stoltenberg said it was part of the "the biggest overhaul of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War." The leaders are also set to publish NATO's new Strategic Concept, its once-a-decade set of priorities and goals. The last such document, in 2010, called Russia a "strategic partner." Now, the alliance is set to declare Moscow its No. 1 threat. The document will also set out NATO's approach on issues from cybersecurity to climate change — and the growing economic and military reach of China. For the first time, the leaders of Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand are attending the summit as guests, a reflection of the growing importance of Asia and the Pacific region. Stoltenberg said China was not NATO's adversary, but posed "challenges to our values, to our interest and to our security." Biden was due to hold a rare meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the sidelines of the summit, focused on North Korea's nuclear program. The summit opened with one problem solved, after Turkey agreed Tuesday to lift its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. In response to the invasion, the two Nordic nations abandoned their long-held nonaligned status and applied to join NATO as protection against an increasingly aggressive and unpredictable Russia — which shares a long border with Finland.
NATO operates by consensus, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to block the Nordic pair, insisting they change their stance on Kurdish rebel groups that Turkey considers terrorists. After urgent top-level talks with leaders of the three countries, Stoltenberg said the impasse had been cleared. Turkey hailed Tuesday's agreement as a triumph, saying the Nordic nations had agreed to crack down on groups that Ankara deems national security threats, including the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is also considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and the EU, and its Syrian extension. It said they also agreed "not to impose embargo restrictions in the field of defense industry" on Turkey and to take "concrete steps on the extradition of terrorist criminals."Stoltenberg said leaders of the 30-nation alliance will issue a formal invitation Wednesday to the two countries. The decision has to be ratified by all individual nations, but he said he was "absolutely confident" Finland and Sweden would become members. Stoltenberg said he expected the process to be finished "rather quickly," but did not set a time on it.

US to boost military presence in Europe for Russia threat
Associated Press/June 29/2022
President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. will significantly increase its military presence in Europe for the long haul, including by establishing its first permanent presence in Poland, to bolster regional security after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the opening of the alliance's annual leaders' summit in Madrid, Biden said "NATO is strong and united" and that steps to be taken during the gathering will "further augment our collective strength."Biden opened his participation in the summit by announcing the permanent basing of a U.S. military garrison in Poland. He also said the U.S. is sending two additional F-35 fighter jet squadrons to the UK and will send more air defense and other capabilities to Germany and Italy. "Today I'm announcing the United States will enhance our force posture in Europe and respond to the changing security environment as well as strengthening our collective security," he said. Stoltenberg, who earlier Wednesday said the alliance was facing its biggest challenge since World War II because of Russia's aggression toward Ukraine, welcomed Biden's announcement. "This really demonstrates your decisive leadership and strength in the trans-Atlantic bond," Stoltenberg said, thanking Biden for the "unwavering support from you and from the United States to Ukraine."
Biden said the U.S. will permanently station the U.S. Army V Corps forward command in Poland , a move that he said would strengthen US-NATO interoperability across the alliance's eastern flank. The move marks the first permanent basing of U.S. forces on NATO's eastern edge. Biden added that the U.S. is also stepping up its rotational deployments of troops to Romania and the Baltic region. Celeste Wallander, an assistant U.S. secretary of defense for international affairs, told reporters that having a permanent presence in Poland will be key to helping NATO navigate the changed security environment in Europe caused by Russia's invasion. The U.S. supplies the bulk of NATO's military power. U.S. officials emphasized that the permanent basing applied only to headquarters units, not combat troops, and was therefore consistent with a 1997 agreement between NATO and Russia in which the alliance agreed not to permanently base combat troops in Eastern Europe as it aimed to build more constructive ties in the post-Cold War environment. Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told Poland's state PAP news agency that the decision to add U.S. command structure was a "manifestation of the ever closer cooperation between the U.S. and Poland" and would give give NATO allies a frontline insight into the Russian threat. The combat units Biden is sending to Romania and the Baltic region are on rotational deployments, rather than permanent assignment, to remain in compliance with that agreement. "There has been no communication with Moscow about these changes, nor is there a requirement to do that," John Kirby, a spokesman for Biden's National Security Council. Biden announced on Tuesday after arriving for the summit that the U.S. would base two additional destroyers at its naval base in Rota, Spain, bringing the total number to six. The U.S. currently has more than 100,000 servicemembers deployed across Europe, up by about 20,000 since just before Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine began four months ago.
Biden predicted that meetings this week would make for a "history-making summit" as leaders were set to approve a new strategic framework, announce a range of steps to boost their defense spending and capabilities, and clear the way for historically neutral Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
Biden said Putin thought NATO members would splinter after he invaded Ukraine, but got the opposite response instead. "Putin was looking for the Finland-ization of Europe," Biden said. "You're gonna get the NATO-ization of Europe. And that's exactly what he didn't want, but exactly what needs to be done to guarantee security for Europe." Turkey, the last remaining holdout to approve the Nordic countries' accession into NATO, reached an agreement on the eve of the summit late Tuesday to support adding them to the 30-nation alliance. While the White House said the U.S. was not a direct party to the negotiations, a senior administration official said Biden spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday to encourage him to clear the way for Sweden and Finland to join. The two leaders are set to meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss other issues, the White House said.
Biden also sat down Wednesday with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who are attending the NATO summit as the alliance looks to strengthen its ties in the Indo-Pacific region and address challenges from China. The three leaders discussed North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which Biden said the three found "deeply concerning." Biden said "our trilateral cooperation in my view is essential" and said the meeting was an opportunity for the leaders to coordinate a shared response, as U.S. officials say the isolated nation may soon conduct another nuclear test.

In preparation for Biden’s visit, Israeli president meets with Jordanian king
Al-Monitor Staff/June 29/2022
President Isaac Herzog met earlier this week in Amman with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, according to a statement released today by Herzog’s office. The statement said, "Ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East, and as part of diplomatic developments in the region, President Isaac Herzog met this week with His Majesty King Abdullah II at his royal palace in Jordan. During the warm meeting, held at King Abdullah's invitation, the President and the King discussed deep strategic issues, at both bilateral and regional levels. The visit also addressed the protection of stable Israeli-Jordanian relations and the need for dialogue with all actors in the region." The visit of Herzog in Amman is especially important in light of Israel's current political crisis. If the Knesset is indeed dispersed tonight or tomorrow, it will be Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid who welcomes Biden to Israel.
Herzog last met with the king at the end of March, when Israel suffered terror attacks and during rising tensions on Temple Mount. At the time, Abdullah condemned the violence, expressing his condolences to the families of the victims. A day before Herzog’s visit, Defense Minister Benny Gantz also met with the king in Amman to discuss the evolving security situation. This time, the palace in Amman did not confirm the meeting, and the office of Herzog declined to offer any additional details. The director general of the Jordanian foreign ministry did not participate earlier this week at the Negev Summit Steering Committee meeting in Bahrain, which brought together senior officials from Israel, the United States, the Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt. Similarly, the foreign minister of Jordan did not participate at the first Negev Summit meeting last March, at the initiative of Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
On the other hand, reports claim that senior military officials from Jordan did participate at an American-initiated security meeting last March in the Egyptian Sharm el-Sheikh resort town. Reportedly, senior security officers from Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Jordan participated, including IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and his Saudi counterpart Gen. Fayyadh bin Hamed Al Ruwaili. Talks in Sharm el-Sheikh were described as first steps towards regional cooperation and covered aerial threats posed by Iran, including the threat of drones. Referring to Biden's upcoming visit, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said today, "There are no discussions about [establishing] a military coalition that consists of Israel," emphasizing that "the matter is also not on the agenda for US President Joe Biden's visit to the region in July."In May, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he had rejected a Jordanian request to increase staffing for the Waqf, the Muslim religious trust that acts as the custodian of the Temple Mount. Amman had apparently asked to increase their number by 50, which Israel considered an attempt to diminish its sovereignty over the site.

Israel heads towards snap election, Lapid poised to be PM
Agence France Presse/June 29/2022
Israel's parliament is expected to dissolve Wednesday, ending Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's year-long tenure and triggering a fifth election in less than four years that could see ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu reclaim power. Barring an 11th hour shock agreement to save the coalition or form a new government within the existing parliament, Bennett's eight-party alliance is due to end by midnight, installing Foreign Minister Yair Lapid as prime minister. The former television anchor is set to head a caretaker government, ahead of polls due in late October or early November. Bennett's motley alliance formed in 2021 offered a reprieve from an unprecedented era of political gridlock, ending Netanyahu's record 12 consecutive years in power and passing Israel's first state budget since 2018. Netanyahu -- a divisive hawk aligned with far-right nationalists and Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties -- has promised victory in new elections but may again struggle to rally a parliamentary majority, multiple polls have shown. He is currently on trial over corruption charges, which he denies. The anti-Netanyahu camp will likely be led by Lapid, a centrist former TV celebrity. Dismissed as a lightweight when he entered politics a decade ago, he has surprised many with his political skills. As he and Bennett announced last week that their coalition was no longer tenable, Lapid sought to cast Netanyahu's potential return to office as a national threat. "What we need to do today is go back to the concept of Israeli unity. Not to let dark forces tear us apart from within," Lapid said. While parliament's collapse appeared a near certainty, last-minute surprises remained possible given Israel's volatile political climate. Factions across the political spectrum fear fresh polls will see them lose seats or end up out of parliament entirely by falling below the minimum support threshold, which is 3.25 percent of all votes cast. But options to avoid another election were growing increasingly remote, according to Israeli reports. That means Lapid is expected to take office at midnight after parliament gives final approval to a dissolution bill, in accordance with the power-sharing deal he agreed with Bennett last June.
'Fought like lions' -
Bennett, a religious nationalist, has led a coalition of right-wingers, centrists, doves and Islamists from the Raam faction, which made history by becoming the first Arab party to support an Israeli government in the Jewish state's 74-year history. The alliance, united by its desire to oust Netanyahu and break a damaging cycle of inconclusive elections, was imperiled from the outset by its ideological divides. But Bennett said the final straw was a failure to renew a measure that ensures the roughly 475,000 Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank live under Israeli law.  Some Arab lawmakers in the coalition refused to back a bill they said marked a de facto endorsement of a 55-year occupation that has forced West Bank Palestinians to live under Israeli rule. For Bennett, a staunch supporter of settlements, allowing the so-called West Bank law to expire was intolerable. Dissolving parliament before its June 30 expiration temporarily renews the measure.  "We fought like lions, down to the very last moment, until it simply became impossible," Bennett told Israel's Channel 12 days after announcing his coalition's demise. Bennett is expected to stay on as alternate prime minister and be responsible for Iran policy, as world powers take steps to revive stalled talks on Tehran's nuclear program. Israel opposes a restoration of the 2015 agreement that gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for checks on its nuclear program. Lapid will retain his foreign minister title while serving as Israel's 14th premier. He will find himself under an early microscope, with US President Joe Biden due in Jerusalem in two weeks.

Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Gunman in West Bank Clash
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022
Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Wednesday, Palestinian officials said, in the latest in a series of clashes. The Palestinian “Islamic Jihad” militant group said that one of its men was killed “confronting the occupation forces” in Jenin, where military raids have increased after men from the area carried out several deadly street attacks on Israelis. The Israeli military said its forces, who had been conducting “counter-terrorism activities”, responded with live fire towards a number of Palestinian suspects who had thrown explosives at them. US-brokered peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza collapsed in 2014 and have shown no sign of revival. Israeli and Palestinian leaders are expected to meet separately next month with US President Joe Biden during his visit to the region.

Hamas arrests university president in Gaza, provoking outrage from Palestinians
Al Monitor/June 29, 2022
Hamas security forces recently arrested Salem al-Sabah, head of the University of Palestine in the Gaza Strip, causing an uproar among academics who praise Sabah's performance. The arrest was carried out June 15 by members of the military police without any arrest warrant, which is against the Palestinian law. According to the Palestinian Criminal Code, the Public Prosecution is the only authority concerned with initiating criminal cases. The military police’s arrest of Sabah, a civilian, thus provoked an outcry across social media, with many users denouncing the episode as a "kidnapping.”According to posts on social media by academics close to Sabah, he was arrested when Youssef Hassan, a Palestinian journalist living abroad, accused Sabah of corruption, embezzlement and forging university diplomas. According to the same accounts, the journalist has previously exposed figures close to Hamas and accused them of money laundering and corruption. Several students condemned the arrest and expressed their concerns since the arrest came during their final exam period. Others expressed their solidarity with Sabah. Meanwhile, Hamas did not comment on the arrest to the media, nor did the Ministry of Interior, which carried out the arrest. Ibrahim Abu al-Naja, Palestinian Authority-appointed governor of Gaza, who expressed full solidarity with Sabah, told Al-Monitor, “We always strive to have a solid and clean educational process in Palestine. … But what is happening in some universities is shameful, unprecedented and alien to our policies, especially with regard to forging diplomas or certificates.”
“I expressed solidarity with Sabah. I believe some issues occurring in universities should not be dealt with in the media, but only by experts and specialists. It is important that we preserve our reputation and cultural and scientific heritage. Our children must obtain their degrees from universities that we are proud of,” he added. Shortly after Sabah’s arrest, the University of Palestine issued a statement condemning the incident. Sabah's family also denounced the “illegal and arbitrary arrest.”The president of the Palestine Technical University Kadoorie in Ramallah, Nour Abu-Rub, told Al-Monitor that the arrest “is shocking news for every academic. An arrest warrant should have been issued by a judicial authority.”He continued, “What has been circulated in the media is misleading. I will make sure to raise the issue during the UNIMED meeting in Jordan" on June 22-23 of representatives of universities from Europe and the Middle East, when participants "are expected to condemn these barbaric methods committed against academics in the Gaza Strip.” Ahmad Joudeh, political activist who works at the Media Center of An-Najah University in Nablus, told Al-Monitor that he “strongly condemns the arrest of the University of Palestine president without a legal arrest warrant, especially since there was not enough evidence to convict Sabah.”
He added that the family’s statement, which explains what happened on the university campus, accused influential people within Hamas of wanting to control the university. “Sabah was also arrested during a very critical period, when students are taking their final exams, and at a time rumors that the University of Palestine is forging university degrees have been making the rounds,” Joudeh said. "This is harming the university’s reputation." The recent report "did not bring anything new to the table," he said. "This issue has been pending for years between the Ministry of Education and the University of Palestine, which explains the general outcry against this arbitrary arrest.”Joudeh pointed out that "journalist Youssef has had several reports about corruption of people affiliated with Hamas and presented evidence to this effect, but nothing has been done and no one was arrested." Instead, he said, Youssef was threatened and left Gaza. "So why was Hamas now very quick to take action at the University of Palestine, without enough evidence? This reinforces the political division,” he added. Since Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip and the removal of Fatah officials from the enclave in 2007, the movement has been seeking to impose its control on all institutions affiliated with the rival Fatah movement, either by force or illegally. Regarding Sabah's case, according to observers, the Hamas-controlled government has no right to interfere in the University of Palestine, which is a private institution and not a state university — rather there are specialized committees that would solve problems inside the university. However, Hamas took advantage of the reports about corruption in order to seek to control the university and share its management with Sabah. In the wake of the arrest, some websites and online pages were quick to spread rumors slandering Sabah’s reputation, which is a crime punishable by Palestinian law. Sabah is a prominent academic figure in Gaza. He was the director of the Palestinian Monetary Authority and then held the position of director general of the Islamic Bank, and he opened branches for the bank in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This was before he became the current president of the University of Palestine. He is known to be close to the Fatah movement. At the University of Palestine campus, professors and students alike expressed their regret for what happened to Sabah, calling for an investigative committee to look into the accident and acquit the university president. Radwan Abu Hasira, administrator at the University of Palestine, also expressed his regret. “The president of the university was treated with obvious disdain, which proves nothing but the barbaric approach of those in power and disregard to his position,” he told Al-Monitor, calling for mobilization at home and abroad “because this is an obvious violation of a human right, and disrespect for academics.”“No charges were brought against Sabah when he was being arrested, which is illegal and in violation of human rights, Sabah was also denied his medication and his phone was confiscated. He was on hunger strike,” Abu Hasira lamented.
He said, “Hamas wants to control every successful institution inside the Gaza Strip in one way or another using force and influence. It wants to share power [management] at the university with its president, which Salem al-Sabah rejected. This is why Hamas is trying in any way possible to control, influence and seize the university by force.” He added, “Hamas always wants to control by using its influence, and the people are afraid to speak up or express their opinion. Even in the case of Salem al-Sabah, everyone is afraid to go public and tell the media the truth for fear of being summoned or interrogated.”
Just two days after his arrest, Sabah was transferred to a hospital in Gaza after his health deteriorated because Hamas’ security forces refused to give him medication. Human rights organizations were also quick to call for Sabah's release. Salah Abdel-Aty, head of the International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights, told Al-Monitor, “We condemn the arbitrary arrest and detention of Salem al-Sabah." The group demanded his immediate release, an investigation into the detention and public announcement of the results.

Syria seizes record 2.3 tons of captagon
Agence France Presse/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022
Syrian counter-narcotics units seized a record haul of 2.3 tons of the amphetamine-type stimulant known as captagon, the interior ministry announced Wednesday. Law enforcement officers had earlier discovered 249 kilos of captagon hidden in steel machinery inside containers ready to leave the Mediterranean port of Latakia. The ensuing investigation alerted the authorities "to the existence of a warehouse containing drugs on a farm" in the nearby province of Hama, a ministry statement said. "The weight of the confiscated bags amounted to 2,103 kilos," the statement said, adding that 10 arrests were made and several vehicles confiscated. With a kilo of captagon estimated to amount to around 6,000 pills, the cumulated number of pills seized tops 14 million, the largest recorded haul by the Syrian government in years. Several recent reports have accused senior members of President Bashar al-Assad's government and security apparatus of being at the heart of the booming captagon trade.

Syrian armed groups clash outside Aleppo
Al Monitor/June 29, 2022
Violent clashes erupted between the so-called 32nd Division affiliated with Ahrar al-Sham and the Third Legion, which is a merger of Turkish-backed factions, including the Levant Front and Jaish al-Islam, in the villages of Abla and Tal Battal on the outskirts of the city of al-Bab in the eastern countryside of Aleppo. The two groups are affiliated with the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA). The clashes came amid heightened tensions between the two parties after the 32nd Division-Eastern Sector defected from the Third Legion in early April. Ahrar al-Sham’s 32nd Division-Eastern Sector, which is present in al-Bab under the control of Turkish-backed factions, is considered an ally of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls Idlib. Some SNA factions even accuse leaders of the 32nd Division-Eastern Sector of following the orders of HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, as they believe that HTS has been working since last year to enter their areas of control in north Syria known as the Olive Branch area (in reference to Turkey’s 2018 military operation). Amid the fighting, the 32nd Division-Eastern Sector asked HTS for support. The latter entered Afrin in the Olive Branch area, which some factions considered proof of HTS’ intention to spread its control in the area.  The fighting in recent days led to military and civilian casualties on both sides, as well as to detention operations between the Third Legion and Ahrar al-Sham’s 32nd Division-Eastern Sector. In light of the confrontations, HTS sent large convoys to areas in the town of Jandiris, close to the city of Afrin that is controlled by the Turkish-backed factions. Consequently, HTS took control of the Ghazawiya crossing separating its areas of control from those held by SNA factions, as well as of the villages of Muhammadiyah and Ain Dara, knowing that those are villages located within areas controlled by SNA factions. Independent sources from Aleppo’s northern countryside and Idlib who spoke to Al-Monitor said that HTS threatened to continue its incursion should the Third Legion not withdraw from the villages that it controlled before they fell under the control of the 32nd Division-Eastern Sector. Under pressure, the Third Legion withdrew from the Ahrar al-Sham-held areas and positions. This led Ahrar al-Sham to regain control of the villages of Awlan, Abla and Tal Battal. In return, HTS withdrew from the area under the control of SNA factions under an agreement that was concluded between the fighting parties. On June 19, the parties reached a Turkish-sponsored agreement to end the fighting, whereby the situation would go back to what existed before the June 18 clashes and all parties would return to their prior positions.
Of note, clashes had erupted in April between the Levant Front, the most prominent component of the Third Legion, and Ahrar al-Sham-Eastern Sector in the Olan village near the city of al-Bab, east of Aleppo. After clashes stopped, the so-called National Reconciliation Committee (a committee formed by Turkey to resolve factional disputes) issued back then a decision stipulating that the 32nd Division-Eastern Sector, which was still affiliated with the Third Legion back then, cede control of its areas to the Third Legion, while several positions and areas would remain under the 32nd Division-Eastern Sector’s control. However, the 32nd Division-Eastern Sector rejected the decision and announced its split from the Third Legion and its direct affiliation with Ahrar al-Sham. Back to the recent confrontations, the Turkish-backed Syrian Islamic Council issued a statement on June 19, calling for confronting HTS: “The HTS’ military movement toward the areas of the Syrian National Army in the liberated north of Syria is tantamount to a rebellion, and this is absolutely forbidden under Sharia.” HTS members “must neither be tyrants nor a part of this aggression,” the statement read. For its part, HTS issued a statement saying that it has followed with great interest the internal fighting, which it described as “unfortunate.”The HTS statement clarified that the internal fighting was “the result of wrong decisions” taken by the leadership of the Levant Front and Jaish al-Islam — two components of the Third Legion — against what it dubbed as “their former brothers and partners” (in reference to the 32nd Division-Eastern Sector of Ahrar al-Sham). “As a result, the rebellious youth plunged into an absurd internal confrontation that led to harming peace and security in the liberated areas,” HTS’ statement added. The statement continued: “The current reality does not bode well but rather portends destruction, and the residents of the faction-controlled areas suffer from the spread of corruption in society such as drugs, theft and violations of all kinds within service institutions.”
Hisham Skeif, an official in the public relations office of the Third Legion residing in the Aleppo countryside, told Al-Monitor, “In the beginning, the 32nd Division-Eastern Sector was part of the Third Legion, until a dispute arose with some members of the division. This led the two parties to resort to the National Reconciliation Committee to help resolve the dispute and address the issue of rights of each party. But after the decision of the committee was issued [in April], the 32nd Division rejected it and announced that it would go back to working under Ahrar al-Sham.”
He continued, “The move back then was followed by unwanted escalation. HTS has authoritarian ambitions and goals that have nothing to do with the Syrian revolution, let alone its project and legitimacy. There are attempts on the part of what was formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, and now HTS, to resort to all kinds of pretexts to penetrate into areas controlled by the factions.”
“We are not afraid of HTS. We have the ability, will, justifications and great popular support to prevent HTS from entering our areas,” Skeif added. Muhammad al-Sukari, a researcher on Syrian affairs based in Gaziantep, Turkey, told Al-Monitor, “The recent confrontations showed once again the depth of the rift within the Syrian National Army, as it revealed the extent of the confusing and complex inter-alliances, which were reflected in the conflict within the Third Legion alone without the rest of the Syrian National Army. The 32nd Division-Eastern Sector’s alliance with HTS is a political and tactical security alliance, especially considering the size of HTS’ military mobilization. This prompts us to say that the level of trust within the Syrian National Army is very weak compared to the solid bond between HTS and Ahrar al-Sham’s 32nd Division. This is a model that may lead to new understandings and penetrations in favor of HTS.”He stressed that the SNA is suffering a deep crisis exemplified by the internal divisions and disputes over interests. According to Sukari, this shows that the factional mentality is still present among the factions under the SNA, with each faction seeking its own interests. Mohammed Abu Saied, a leader in the 32nd Division-Eastern Sector, told Al-Monitor, “The Third Legion is trying to force us to join its ranks. It also seeks to prevent us from establishing headquarters and military positions under the pretext that we are working for HTS. But in reality, we are working for the sake of the Syrian revolution and stand behind anyone working for the revolution.”He added, “We, as the 32nd Division, are affiliated with Ahrar al-Sham, outside of the Syrian National Army. Even if we follow the Syrian National Army, it would be through Ahrar al-Sham’s leadership.”“The clashes between the two parties have now ended through Turkish mediation. Each party returned to its positions prior to the fighting. We support any effort toward unifying all the elements of the revolution in all its forms,” Abu Saied said. Meanwhile, Turkey has been threatening in the past weeks to launch a new military operation against Kurdish forces in north Syria, specifically in the towns of Tal Rifaat and Manbij in the Aleppo countryside, which are under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The possible operation is also expected to include areas east of the Euphrates. Al-Monitor has learned from several sources that SNA leaders are urging the Turkish leadership to launch an operation against Kurdish forces in Tal Rifaat, from where the Kurds are launching their attacks against the factions near the city of Afrin, according to the SNA.

Syria to Recognize Ukraine’s Luhansk and Donetsk Regions
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022
Syria said Wednesday it will recognize the "independence and sovereignty" of Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions and contacts will be established to set up diplomatic relations. The Syrian Foreign Ministry announcement came days after President Bashar Assad met with a joint delegation from both regions in Damascus. Earlier this month, Russia claimed to have taken control of 97% of one of the two provinces that make up Ukraine’s Donbas, bringing the Kremlin closer to its goal of fully capturing the eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow’s forces hold nearly all of Luhansk province. And it appears that Russia now occupies roughly half of Donetsk province, according to Ukrainian officials and military analysts. Syria is a strong ally of Russia, which joined Syria’s conflict in September 2015 helping tip the balance of power in favor of Assad’s favor. The brief Foreign Ministry statement carried by Syrian state news agency SANA on Wednesday gave no further details. "The Syrian Arab Republic has decided to recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic," the statement, quoting an unnamed official, said. It added that contacts are ongoing with both regions "to strengthen relations including setting up diplomatic relations."After abandoning its bungled attempt to storm Ukraine’ capital of Kyiv two months ago, Russia declared that taking the entire Donbas is its main objective. Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian government forces in the Donbas since 2014, and the region has borne the brunt of the Russian onslaught in recent weeks.

Govt Missile Attack Kills 9 Opposition Fighters in North Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022
Syrian forces conducted a missile strike on a vehicle carrying members of a Turkey-backed armed opposition faction in an opposition-held part of the country’s north Wednesday, opposition activists said, and nine gunmen were killed. The attack happened just south of the northern town of Afrin, which is under the control of Turkey-backed opposition fighters, the activists said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, and the opposition’s Orient news said the nine fighters killed belonged to the Failaq al-Sham group. Orient reported that the attack on the bus came as Failaq al-Sham members were heading to frontlines to replace their comrades. Syrian government forces now control much of Syria with the help of President Bashar Assad’s main backers Russia and Iran. The conflict that began in March 2011 has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million. Frontlines have experienced sporadic bombardment since a Russian-backed government offensive ended in March 2020 following a truce reached by the presidents of Russia and Turkey who support rival parties in the Syrian conflict. On Tuesday, the United Nations said the first 10 years of Syria’s conflict killed more than 306,887 civilians - the highest official estimate to date of conflict-related civilian deaths in the country. The figures released by the UN do not include soldiers and insurgents killed in the conflict. Their numbers are believed to be in the tens of thousands.

UN: Over 100 Murders in Syria’s al-Hol Camp Since Jan 2021
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022
More than 100 people, including many women, have been murdered in a Syrian camp in just 18 months, the UN said Tuesday, demanding countries repatriate their citizens.The Al-Hol camp is increasingly unsafe and the child detainees are being condemned to a life with no future, said Imran Riza, the UN resident coordinator in Syria.Al-Hol, in the Kurdish-controlled northeast, was meant as a temporary detention facility. However, it still holds about 56,000 people, mostly Syrians and Iraqis, some of whom maintain links with ISIS, which seized swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The rest are citizens of other countries, including children and other relatives of ISIS fighters. Some 94 percent of the detainees are women and children, Riza, who has visited Al-Hol a handful of times, told reporters in Geneva. "It's a very harsh place and it's become an increasingly unsafe place," AFP quoted Riza as saying. There have been "around 106 murders since January last year in the camp" and "many" of the victims were women, he added. "There's a great deal of gender-based violence... There's a lot of no-go areas." The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said violence was spiking in the camp, with another murder Tuesday -- the seventh since June 11. Out of 24 people murdered inside the camp this year, 16 were women, the Observatory added. Riza said there were around 27,000 Iraqi detainees, 18-19,000 Syrians and around 12,000 third-country citizens.
While there have been some repatriations to Iraq, many other countries which "need to be accepting their people back" were refusing to do so. "The majority of the population there are children. They are innocent. If you leave them in a place like Al-Hol, you're essentially condemning them to not having a future."
Riza said that when boys get to 12, 13 and 14, they are taken away from their families and put into a different center, where their future is one of radicalization and joining a militia.

World Bank Approves $130M Loan to Tunisia to Finance Wheat Imports
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 29 June, 2022
The World Bank has said it approved a $130 million loan to Tunisia to finance wheat imports. The loan seeks “to lessen the impact of the Ukraine war by financing vital soft wheat imports and providing emergency support to cover barley imports for dairy production and seeds for smallholder farmers for the upcoming planting season,” the World Bank said in a statement on Tuesday. Part of a coordinated emergency response package with donors, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the European Union, the project will support short-term imports of wheat for bread to ensure continued access to affordable bread for the poor, barley for livestock, and agricultural inputs for domestic grain production. “It will also lay the groundwork for reforms to address weaknesses and distortions in the grain value chain, including the related food security policies and improve their impact on nutritional outcomes and diet diversification, strengthen Tunisia’s resilience to future food crises and provide technical assistance to modernize Tunisia’s Grain Board and food subsidy system,” said the statement. “Tunisia faces a major grain supply shock due to difficulties in accessing financial markets and rising global prices which affected the ability to procure imported grain,” the statement quoted World Bank Country Manager for Tunisia Alexandre Arrobbio as saying. “We're working very closely with other partners to support the Tunisian government in its efforts to ensure food security while addressing some of the overdue structural reforms in the agricultural and food system.” The project seeks to avoid bread supply disruptions in this year's third quarter by financing the urgent purchase of soft wheat, equivalent to a month and a half of consumption, said the statement. The financing will also help to procure an estimated 75,000 metric tons of barley to cover the needs of smallholder dairy producers for approximately one month, along with 40,000 tons of quality wheat seeds to secure the next planting season that starts in October.

Canada/Minister Joly announces expansion of Canada’s diplomatic presence in Central and Eastern Europe and Caucasus
June 29, 2022 - Madrid, Spain - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced today an expansion of Canada’s diplomatic presence and capacity in Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.
We are converting current Canadian offices in Estonia, Lithuania, and Slovakia – countries with strong and growing bilateral ties with Canada and key NATO Allies – into full embassies with resident ambassadors, and strengthening our presence at our embassy in Latvia. These changes will further enhance Canada’s engagement in the region, help counter Russia’s destabilizing activities and increase support for Operation REASSURANCE.
In addition, following the mission and report of Stéphane Dion, Canada’s Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe and Ambassador to Germany, on ways to increase Canadian support for Armenian democracy, Canada will also open a full embassy with a resident ambassador in Armenia, allowing for stronger bilateral ties and increased Canadian support for Armenian democracy.
This diplomatic expansion will help guide Canada’s response to evolving security threats, enhance political and economic cooperation to support European Allies, and further counter the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and support Armenia in its democratic development.
Since Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine, the world is experiencing a profound geopolitical shift with political, economical, security and environmental impacts, and Canada must act strategically to promote our interests and democracy against growing authoritarian forces. This includes pushing back on Russian influence, whether they assert it through soft power, disinformation or military force.
These measures will ensure deeper collaboration between Canada and its international partners to effectively address the shifting security and diplomatic landscape to protect peace and democracy in Europe and globally.
Quote
“Transatlantic security is critical to international stability. Russia’s illegal, unjustifiable and horrific invasion of Ukraine has changed the security and diplomatic landscape in Europe, and Canada needs to respond strategically. Building on Canada’s strong relationship with its European partners, the changes announced today will help ensure that we have the tools we need to reinforce Armenian democracy and address some of the greatest security and diplomatic challenges of our time. As a great diplomatic power Canada needs to be on the ground, connected and engaged.”
- Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Quick facts
Approximately 1400 Canadian Armed Forces Members are deployed on Operation REASSURANCE, making it Canada’s largest current international military operation.
Associated links
Canada’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Operation REASSURANCE

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 29-30/2022
Israel to build first solar plant on Bedouin land
Danny Zaken/Al-Monitor Staff/June 29/2022
Land ownership is still one of the most pressing issues facing the Bedouin population of Israel’s southern Negev Desert. The Bedouin tribes living there have been waging a yearslong struggle against the state over land ownership, though the courts have ruled against them in most cases.
Bedouins often settle in makeshift structures throughout the Negev and, at least according to the state, use these structures to claim ownership over large swathes of land. Another dispute pertaining to land ownership and the new villages constructed without permits revolves around infrastructure. Most of these temporary villages have no basic infrastructure, including water, electricity, sewage, etc., simply because their status is in question.
Over one-quarter of a million Bedouins live in the Negev, including 80,000 who live in unrecognized villages on disputed lands. As of today, there are some 2,800 lawsuits pending over approximately 600,000 dunams of land.
An agreement signed recently between an Israeli solar energy company and one of the Bedouin families in the Negev offers at least a partial solution to both problems. Marom Energy is planning a solar energy project in the Negev on 150 dunams of private land owned by the Anami family. Its goal is to provide electricity to the region surrounding the city of Beersheba, where many of the Bedouin villages without infrastructure are located.
The project became possible after the Anami family/tribe joined an agreement to settle Bedouin land claims in the Negev. It waived its claim to hundreds of dunams of land in exchange for having the remaining land listed in its name in the state registry. The solar project will be built on land belonging to the family, which will collect rent from Marom Energy. The project will then provide 13 megawatts of electricity to the region, enough to meet the needs of many of the Bedouin settlements in the region. The cost of the project is 45 million shekels ($13 million). It has already been approved by the District Committee for Planning and Construction. Marom Energy will earn a predetermined rate for the electricity it produces for a period of 23 years from when it connects to the national energy grid. It is only expected to begin producing electricity in January 2024 due to the limitation of network conductivity.
The CEO of Marom Energy Yaniv Weidenfeld said that the company is in the planning and approval stage for four additional projects on land owned privately by Bedouin families, which would produce a total of 35 megawatts of electricity.
Weidenfeld said that these projects are in keeping with the company’s vision of social entrepreneurship and a desire to be inclusive of the local Bedouin population. He says that the rent paid for the land used for his company’s solar energy projects will improve the quality of life of the local population by providing it with an income for nonagricultural lands.
Marom Energy is not one of Israel’s biggest energy companies. Nevertheless, it gained attention recently for an enormous deal that resulted from the Abraham Accords. The company, which is controlled by the Gandyr Foundation of Judith Recanati, recently acquired 30% of the stocks of the Moroccan renewable energy company Gaia Energy at an estimated cost of 70-80 million shekels ($20-23 million). The immediate significance of this is Marom Energy’s investment, through its partner company Gaia Energy, in 10 renewable energy projects in Morocco, including four in very advanced stages. It is doing this in partnership with huge international corporations for a total investment of 1.2 billion euros. Projects scheduled to be completed within the next three years include a wind energy farm slated to produce 85 megawatts. Its partner in this project is the Italian energy giant Enel, which is one of Europe’s largest electric companies. Financing for the project is in its final stages, with Enel holding 85% of the project. Another interesting initiative is a wind farm located south of Tangier, planned to produce 600 megawatts. As abovementioned, Marom Energy is a rather new player in Israel’s solar industry. In the past few years, several solar fields have been constructed in different parts of the Negev. Most of them are of small size and located on lands belonging to kibbutzim or community villages, in the framework of special permissions by the State to convert some percentage of agricultural lands into solar uses. The agreement signed with Marom Energy would be the first field to be built on lands owned by Bedouins. In the framework of the 2015 climate agreement and the goals set by Israel for reducing CO2 gas emissions, Israel accelerated over the past three years investments in solar energy. In 2019, Israel marked the start of operations of a giant renewable energy project — Ashalom — located in the Negev. The plant started production of solar energy in April that year, set to supply 0.75% of the nation’s electricity to some 70,000 households. It is part of three plots of desert land that have been earmarked for the production of solar energy.
Last December, the inter-ministerial tenders committee announced that Shikun and Binui holdings won the bid for the construction of Israel's largest-ever solar energy field, near the southern town of Dimona. The new field should produce 300 megawatts of electricity from solar energy using photovoltaic technology. The project also includes a 210 megawatt-hours storage facility.

Iran in the Taliban’s Footsteps
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/Jub2 29/2022
The Qatari Foreign Ministry announced that Doha welcomes the hosting of a round of indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, and sponsored by the European Union coordinator, over reviving the nuclear deal.
The Iranian negotiating team’s media aide said “Iran chose Qatar because it is a friendly nation.”Iran is now following in the Taliban’s footsteps that agreed to have Doha as the headquarters of negotiations between it and the United States. Those talks were followed by the unforgettable American withdrawal from Afghanistan, whose fallout is evident to this day and will be felt in the future.
The question here is not about Qatar’s role, but rather what the American administration can offer in the form of concessions and what Iran can present given that time is in neither side’s favor.
In his last statement before the end of his duties, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said: “We will not negotiate over nuclear issues that were addressed in Vienna. We will tackle pending issues in regards to lifting the embargo and sanctions.” “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,” he added.The question here is: What is “everything”? Is it the lifting of sanctions first? Or removing the Iranian Revolutionary Guards from the terrorism list? Or more?
Perhaps an agreement may be reached in Doha, but timing is not on any party’s side, or on whatever may be agreed upon. Can the Biden administration, for example, offer real concessions in spite of the opposition of his party as the Democrats gear up for Midterm elections that they may lose?
Can the Biden administration, for example, remove the Revolutionary Guards from the terrorism list after it pledged not to? Would the president make such a gamble at this time knowing that should the Republicans gain control of Congress, such a move would be difficult to carry out?
Time is not the only obstacle facing Washington. Even Tehran has gone too far in stalling over the Vienna agreement. It wasted an opportunity when the US was eager to complete the agreement in any way possible.
There are many factors in the region that must not be overlooked, including the influential Israeli role and demands of the Arab Gulf states. These factors will become more evident at the Saudi-American and Gulf-American summits set for Jeddah. As it stands, nothing is clear in these Doha negotiations. We must remember that the Taliban’s negotiations with Washington in Qatar lasted years. The problem with the Iran nuclear negotiations is that they are open-ended, which allowed Iran to maneuver and harm the American administration.
We must also remember that Iran’s worst enemy is Iran itself because it is incapable of taking serious decisions that can assure its surroundings and return it to the international arena as an effective country that respects rules and laws.
Perhaps an agreement may be reached, but it will be weak because the timing and circumstances do not favor Iran and the American administration, especially since Plan B has been set in motion in Washington, at Israel’s behest and because of Iran’s manipulation. In short, even if an agreement were to be reached in Doha, its implementation will be doubtful because the timing doesn’t lie in any party’s favor, regardless of their intentions.

A World of Diplomacy and Multi-dimensional Moves to Counter Challenges
Omer Onhon/Asharq Al Awsat/Jub2 29/2022
Important back to back international summit meetings have been taking place; in Asia (the BRICS Summit) and in Europe (EU Council and the Group of Seven Summit). The last of the series, 2022 NATO Summit, will begin Wednesday. All these meetings are held in the midst of what almost everyone refers to as the re-shaping of a new world order and against the backdrop of Russian invasion and the ensuing war in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine (and its supporters) are engaged in a war of attrition. Both sides have weaponized all means possible, including, energy, tourism, food and trade. This war is creating new problems and additional, worsening crisis at a global level almost every day. The supporters of Ukraine led by the US are aiming to reduce to the extent possible the revenues (from gas, oil and other sources) of the Russian state, squeeze it’s so called oligarchs so as to create pressure on Putin and awaken the Russian population at large about the damage that the policies of their president has caused for Russia. Russia has been negatively affected by sanctions but is not backing down, as it has the means and political will to fight back.
When recently Lithuania stopped railway transportation of sanctioned items to Kaliningrad (Russian enclave with a population of 480,000 located between Poland and Lithuania, home to Baltic Fleet), Russia threatened unspecified appropriate measures at a time of its choosing. Whatever that means, Lithuania, unlike Ukraine or Georgia or Moldova, is an EU and NATO member and is covered by Article 5. On June 22, Russia cut the flow of gas to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 40% of capacity. European countries are actively engaged for seeking alternative sources to fill their storages and to ensure a winter without shortages. Some deals have been reached such as between Germany and Qatar, between the EU, Israel and Egypt. But time is needed to feel on safe ground. Global food security, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East is a serious concern. Food shortages, high prices and social unrest are nightmare for countries which have certain weaknesses and have limits to their ability to sustain government subsidies. Efforts to move grain unhindered from Ukraine and through the Black Sea have not yet yielded results.
Despite all setbacks, delays and losses, Russia is making progress on the ground. Donbas is almost entirely under Russian control. Russia is also getting more reckless with more actions amounting to more war crimes. Last couple of days Russia struck civilian targets in different Ukrainian cities, an apartment block and a shopping mall and killed civilians. In a just world, these war crimes should not go unpunished. Even though the Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought a sense of unity in NATO and the EU and a seemingly better communication in transatlantic relations, there are still serious challenges. The longer the war in Ukraine, the more frictions within the Western camp. Just recently, the Foreign Minister of Italy resigned because of a disagreement over providing arms to Ukraine. There is also a concern that the US may once again make one of its sharp U-turns as in Syria and later in Afghanistan. Russia is banking on such developments which may also lead to the collapse of governments and to political crisis in the West.
The other favorite issue; China.
China is more assertive under President Xi Jinping but its fighting tools are different than Russia. China prefers to use its soft power and almost endless economic capabilities. What brings out the military in China is Taiwan and this is when the Chinese dragon shows its face. The BRICS group (China, Russia, Brazil, India and South Africa) held its Summit a week ago. Presidents Xi and Putin demonstrated defiance against the US and its allies. Russia has found new trade partners in China and India which are buying huge quantities of Russian oil at very competitive prices. Official figures show that, compared to last year, China is buying around 55% more oil from Russia.
G7 came up with the “Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Development Initiative” where the aim is to come up with 600 million dollars over the next five years for infrastructure projects in various countries. This initiative is a counter measure to China’s Belt and Road Initiative which was launched in 2013.
At the documents which will be adopted by the NATO leaders at the Summit, most probably, China will once again be referred to as a challenge and at the same time, as an opportunity. A firm stance but at the same time extending a hand.
Membership problems and peculiarities;
At its Council meeting, the EU granted the status of candidate to Ukraine and Moldova. But membership issues in the EU are complicated and peculiar. Anyone who thinks that once candidate status is approved membership is imminent is wrong. As President Emmanuel Macron clearly stated back in May on the occasion of the Europe Day, even if candidate status is given (to Ukraine and others) the process would take several years and even decades.
Turkey has been kept in the waiting room since 2005.The six Western Balkan countries (Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo) which are all at different stages of the process for becoming a member are also in waiting.
Bulgaria (a NATO member) has been blocking accession negotiations of North Macedonia (another NATO member), demanding North Macedonia to recognize that certain national characters of the country including language and the name of the nation are not of its but of Bulgaria’s. Macedonia has to satisfy Bulgaria to begin accession negotiations to join the EU. (A day after the EU Council meeting Bulgaria's parliament voted in favor of a proposal that could lead to the lifting of its veto). In NATO, Turkey conditioned its acceptance of membership of Sweden and Finland to being strict on combatting terrorism. A way forward is likely to emerge which will pave the way for membership. On the other hand, one should not overlook the fact that becoming NATO member is a process and the final phase of this process is the ratification of accession protocols by all 30 member countries.
In conclusion; Conflicts and challenges are costly and damaging but they also bring about new opportunities, friendships, alliances and business partnerships. With that, (hopefully and ideally) without neglecting principles, international politics and diplomacy have a lot to do with changing circumstances and ability to adopt. We will see whether all these important meetings one after the other will lead to developments in this direction.

Biden's Energy Crisis
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/June 29/2022
The ongoing world energy crisis... seems to have proven for once and all that energy independence is a matter of national security.
To transition to renewable energy, America would have to transform its energy infrastructure and invest heavily in wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars, all of which require rare earth materials as central components. A single industrial-size wind turbine, for instance, requires about one ton of four different kinds of rare earth materials.
Guess who mines more than 70 % of the world's rare earth materials, and holds at least 85% of the world's capacity to process them into materials that manufacturers can use? China. Who produces more than 60% of the world's solar panels, and 45% of the global supply of solar-grade polysilicon, the base material used in solar cells? China. Moreover, rare earths is not a market that outsiders can simply enter. According to the Danish Institute for International Studies: "China today has the expertise, IP rights and production facilities, as well as its own REE- [rare earth elements] consuming industries. China also manufactures a significant and growing share of goods containing REEs, making it practically impossible for competing companies outside China to get a foothold."
The ongoing world energy crisis, which began in 2021 and has caused record price spikes for oil, natural gas and coal -- in combination with Russia's war on Ukraine -- seems to have proven for once and all that energy independence is a matter of national security. Both Europe and the US have recently had to relearn this lesson -- yet again -- when Russian President Vladimir Putin cut gas supplies to a number of European countries after they refused to pay in Russian rubles -- and before that, when the West was confronted with the need to sanction Russian oil and gas exports, while at the same time being dependent on them. US President Joe Biden let nearly two weeks go by after Putin invaded Ukraine, before announcing that he would finally ban US imports of Russian oil, natural gas and coal, which, until then, had been helping to pay for Putin's war on Ukraine. In 2021, 36% of Russian government revenues came from the sale of oil and gas.
In 2021, the US imported 672,000 barrels a day of Russian oil. Under Biden's policies, replacing them will come at a price.
Biden, even before becoming president, promised that he would kill off the American fossil fuel industry and pronounced climate change the biggest threat to national security. "I guarantee you. We're going to end fossil fuel," Biden said. After taking office, he proceeded to halt all new oil and natural gas leases on public lands and waters, and to begin reviews of existing permits for fossil fuel development, as well as regulations. He cancelled the permit for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would have brought oil to the US from Canada, and potentially carried 830,000 barrels of oil per day, easily making up for the loss of Russian oil.
Even though the US is experiencing the highest gas prices since 2008, the Biden administration has said that it has no plans to restart construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. It has said it has issued 9,000 permits for energy exploration, but not all explorations yield oil or gas, and reports are that the number of ever-changing regulations have made actual exploration effectively impossible.
Instead, Biden is looking abroad for oil and gas supplies – mostly from dictatorships that are hostile to America, such as Iran and the illegitimate government of Venezuela.
Biden's Middle East policies have not been serving the US well: Accommodating Iran and taking the Houthis off the List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, has upset US allies, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who could help contain the surge in oil prices by increasing output. In March, however, leaders of both countries refused to take Biden's calls after US requests were made for discussions of the energy crisis, thereby demonstrating just how diminished, under the current administration, the status of the United States has become. "There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn't happen," a U.S. official said about a planned conversation between Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "It was part of turning on the spigot [of Saudi oil]."
Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are evidently deeply concerned at the prospect of a revived Iran nuclear deal, a fact the US continues largely to ignore.
Iran, however, has every reason to feel emboldened now, during the ongoing nuclear negotiations, especially as it observes the Biden administration's ineptitude at obtaining energy security for the US. Iran is not only watching as its regional adversaries, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, refused to talk to Biden. It is also noting that the Biden administration approached Venezuela, whose authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, the US does not even recognize as the legitimate leader of the country, for the possibility of importing Venezuelan oil. While Biden has since had to retreat from courting Venezuela after experiencing widespread criticism, Iranian leaders can see just how badly the Biden administration needs their oil.
"Now that the Ukraine crisis has increased the West's need for the Iranian energy sector, the US need for reduced oil prices must not be accommodated without considering Iran's righteous demands," wrote 160 of Iran's 290 members of parliament in a statement presumably directed at the negotiators of Iran's nuclear deal.
Biden denies that his own energy policies have anything to do with the soaring energy prices and tries to blame Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "It's going to go up," he told reporters in March, "We can't do much now. Russia's responsible." However, Biden at least finally acknowledged that the US must become energy independent. "This crisis is a stark reminder," Biden said on March 8, "To protect our economy over the long term, we need to become energy independent."
Biden's proposition for attaining that energy independence, nevertheless, is that the US accelerate his plan for transitioning to "clean energy" -- an unsurprising proposition, given that he has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030.
"Loosening environmental regulations or pulling back clean energy investment... will not lower energy prices," Biden said on March 8.
"But transforming our economy to run on electric vehicles powered by clean energy... that will help... if we do what we can, it will mean that no one has to worry about the price at the gas pump in the future. That'll mean tyrants like Putin won't be able to use fossil fuels as weapons against other nations. And it will make America a world leader manufacturing and exporting clean energy technologies of the future to countries all around the world."
Unfortunately, Biden's proposition is inherently flawed and untenable. Only 20% of the energy utilized by Americans in 2021 came from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, according to the US Energy Information Administration. It could take decades before renewables would remotely begin to cover American consumer needs, whereas the US needs energy independence right now, as a matter of national security, to stop being at the mercy of bad actors such as Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Sadly, even if a miracle were to occur and the US could suddenly cover all of its energy needs with renewables, such a scenario would be a national security disaster:
To transition to renewable energy, America would have to transform its energy infrastructure and invest heavily in wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars, all of which require rare earth materials as central components. A single industrial-size wind turbine, for instance, requires about one ton of four different kinds of rare earth materials.
Guess who mines more than 70 % of the world's rare earth materials, and holds at least 85% of the world's capacity to process them into materials that manufacturers can use? China. Who produces more than 60% of the world's solar panels, and 45% of the global supply of solar-grade polysilicon, the base material used in solar cells? China. Moreover, rare earths is not a market that outsiders can simply enter. According to the Danish Institute for International Studies:
"China today has the expertise, IP rights and production facilities, as well as its own REE- [rare earth elements] consuming industries. China also manufactures a significant and growing share of goods containing REEs, making it practically impossible for competing companies outside China to get a foothold."
For the US to rely entirely on renewable energy, in other words, would merely mean changing energy dependency from one set of tyrants -- the Putins, Khameneis and Maduros of the world -- to another tyrant: President Xi Jinping and China's Communist Party. That is not a recipe for energy independence; it is a recipe for suicide.
With China having cornered the markets for rare earth materials and renewable energy, the only way left forward is for the US to edge back from the all-encompassing focus on climate change, and acknowledge that the time is not quite ripe for a transition to renewables. Instead, the US will have to prioritize energy security and energy independence over environmental concerns as high priority issues of national security. While that limitation may be difficult to accept, the reality, whether one likes it or not, is that doubling down on domestic US production of fossil fuels is the only policy change that will lead the way out of the current energy crisis, while guaranteeing Americans not only affordable energy, but even more importantly, national security.
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2022 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Failed Leadership in America, as Defined
Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute./June 29, 2022
A contemporary of Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, penned a series of acerbic commentaries and observations in a book, The Devil's Dictionary, still in print.
Some of his biting but spot-on definitions include:
Apologize, (verb) – to lay the foundation for a future offense.
Acquaintance, (noun) – A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. A degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich or famous.
Politics, (noun) – A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
Year, (noun) – a period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments.
Bierce was clear eyed about the human condition and politics in particular. One can only imagine what he would make of our current political landscape.
Consider some of today's words and phrases that would provide him with much to consider. He might hope that his scathing wit could prompt within us the wisdom we all need now. Channeling our inner "Ambrose Bierce," we might tackle these words with the following definitions:
Schadenfreude, (noun) – In German, it means taking pleasure in the pain of others; in Washington, it seems a state of being.
Power Player Profiteers, (noun) – Lobbyists, political advisors, and special interests reportedly sometimes masquerading as patriots.
Fifth Columnists, (noun) – Clandestine political forces hiding in plain sight while waiting for the moment we are distracted to undermine our democracy.
Gov't Oath of Office Pledge Abdicators, (noun) – Duplicity in the destruction of democracy by those sworn to uphold the law and our Constitution but who reportedly violate it.
Harvest Ballot Bandits, (noun) – Frequently paid co-conspirators creating new ways to elect candidates.
Open borders, (noun)– Destroying national sovereignty under the pretense that illegal immigrants are not terrorists or career felons looking to score in the States.
Inflation, (noun) – The destruction of America's middle class through the inept management of money and budget, often by those who will retire with large federal pensions.
High gas prices, (noun) – Bringing a new and painful meaning to the word "green," the price paid by American consumers for the dismantling of America's energy independence.
While any of these definitions may be considered subjective, what is unquestionable is that these words reflect many of the serious threats facing our nation today. Domestic dissension sowed by those seeking to unseat America's leadership role in the free world has the means to prevent us from leveraging America's enormous resources and national character to implement solutions. Without mobilizing a single soldier or firing one missile, our enemies believe they just need patience. It is time we recognized these threats and come together to protect America's position in a dangerous 21st Century.
*Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
© 2022 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Turkey returns to the Balkans at EU’s expense
Nikola Mikovic/The Arab Weekly/June 29/2022
Although the Western Balkans remains firmly rooted in the geopolitical orbit of Brussels and Washington, Ankara is moving swiftly to strengthen its economic and political presence in countries such as Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Last week, European leaders described their decision to award membership candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova as an “historic moment” for the bloc. Left unsaid was how long it could take for the final “moment” to arrive.
Other EU candidate states have languished years, even decades, in the EU’s “eternal waiting room.” Not only has this raised doubts about the EU’s attractiveness to countries in Eastern Europe, it has opened the door for other regional power brokers to emerge.
Consider Turkey’s role in the Western Balkans.
Although the Western Balkans remains firmly rooted in the geopolitical orbit of Brussels and Washington, Ankara is moving swiftly to strengthen its economic and political presence in countries such as Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Once linked by the Ottoman Empire, Turkey and the Balkans share a common history. But they are also members of an ignominious club, countries that have been granted candidate status by the EU but have waited patiently, in Turkey’s case, since 1999, in vain.
Today, EU membership for Ankara and its Balkan allies feels like a lost ambition. Three Balkan states, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania, have started their own integration process into the Open Balkan initiative, which many regional leaders see as a substitute for EU membership.
Turkey, for its part, is pursuing a multi-vector foreign policy, and the Balkans play an important role in that strategy. Ankara has already signed free trade agreements with every Western Balkan state and as a result of such deals, is steadily increasing its economic heft.
For instance, bilateral trade between Turkey and Serbia, the largest economy in the Western Balkans, was about $2 billion in 2021; it is expected to more than double, to $5 billion, by the end of this year. Over the last decade, Turkish investments in Serbia also increased by orders of magnitude, from $1 million to $300 million today.
Such cooperation is only expected to grow. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to visit Serbia soon, while his foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, was recently in the region for meetings with leaders in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Croatia (the newest EU member state, which joined in 2013 after nine years as a candidate).
Cavusoglu also visited Kosovo, Serbia’s breakaway province that declared independence in 2008 and is recognised as an independent country by Turkey, most EU members and most Balkan states, although not by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, right, welcomes the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Tirana International Airport Albania, January 17, 2022. (AP)
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, right, welcomes the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Tirana International Airport Albania, January 17, 2022. (AP)
Despite differences regarding the status of Kosovo, however, it is full steam ahead for the trilateral partnership. Ankara intends to hold a Turkey-Bosnia Herzegovina-Serbia summit soon, while local leaders have lauded Turkey’s diplomacy. Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, recently called Erdogan a “great statesman” who understands the situation in the Balkan country.
Although Ankara aims to portray itself as a patron saint of Balkan Muslims, especially in Bosnia, in truth, Turkey is paying more attention to economic cooperation. In Serbia, Ankara has opened factories and invested in business, while in Bosnia, it is focused on the restoration of mosques and on deepening cultural ties with the Bosniaks, one of three native ethnic groups.
These overtures are being reciprocated. In Serbia, Turkish citizens can use their biometric identification card to travel rather than their passport. In 2019, Serbia even granted Turkish police the ability to operate on its soil. While Turkish police officers in Serbia are not armed and do not have the same powers as at home, some human rights organisations fear that Serbia will be pressured to extradite critics of Erdogan, including Kurdish activists, to Ankara.
Such concerns are not without merit. In December 2017, two years before Serbia and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding on joint police patrols, Belgrade extradited to Turkey Kurdish politician Cevdet Ayaz. Serbian authorities are now being asked to extradite Ecevit Piroglu, another Kurdish activist, to Turkey, where he is wanted for alleged links to terrorism.
Serbia is not the only Balkan country Turkey is courting; other regional states are also receiving Ankara’s attention. Recent media investments are a case in point. This month, Turkish public broadcaster TRT launched a Balkan service designed to deliver “Turkey’s voice” to the region. In addition to Serbia and Bosnia, the news platform will deliver political, social, cultural, and economic content to Croatia, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro.
Such a blatant expansion of influence will likely trouble EU members. In 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron said he opposed a “Balkans that turns toward Turkey or Russia.” While his comments were less aimed at the Balkans’ capabilities than the EU’s internal challenges, the fact remains that Turkey’s expansion will not sit well in many EU capitals, and European powers are unlikely to allow Turkey to jeopardise their interests in the region. Thus, the Balkans will remain Turkey’s gateway to Europe, but Ankara will not become the biggest economic actor in the region anytime soon.
Nevertheless, the slow pace of EU expansion has opened a door for Turkey. Increasingly weary of what appears to be a never-ending path to Europe, regional countries are looking for alternatives to spending eternity in the EU’s waiting room. For small Balkan countries with big ambitions, closer ties with Turkey may be more attractive than political purgatory.
*Nikola Mikovic is a political analyst in Serbia. His work focuses mostly on the foreign policies of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, with special attention on energy and “pipeline politics.”