English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For April 11/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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15 آذار/2023

Bible Quotations For today
The Third Time That Jesus Appeared To The Disciples After His Resurrection
John/21/01-14/ Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”“No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 10-11/2023
Resurrection: Life, Faith And Death…Halleluiah, Jesus Has Risen, Indeed He Has Risen/Elias Bejjani/April 09/2023
Rahi during Monday Easter Mass dedicated to France: It is necessary for Lebanon to return to its normal position in the Arab world
Report: KSA wants Tammam Salam for premier
Lebanese municipal elections could face delays due to missing presidential signature on decree
Countdown to municipal elections: Will funding and logistical obstacles be overcome?
Lebanon struggles to unify exchange rates: Banque Du Liban's efforts fall short of IMF's conditions
Environment Minister discusses initiative to collect compensation for 2006's Israeli bombing of fuel tanks
MP Ibrahim Mneimneh: Change MPs call for reformist president in Lebanon
Litani River Authority's team finds new pollution spots in Lake Qaraoun
PSP: Jumblatt has nothing to do with the Rahma brothers, and we will file a lawsuit against the "Megaphone" platform
Haniyeh concludes his visit to Beirut
Lebanon still proxy battleground, 50 years after Israel raid

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 10-11/2023
Israeli forces kill Palestinian child, 15, in West Bank raid
GCC condemns Israeli escalations and violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque sanctity
Israeli PM reverses course on sacking defence minister
British-Israeli mother dies 3 days after West Bank attack: hospital
Syrian Rocket Salvo Widens Assault on Israel
Israel signs $400m deal to sell Greece anti-tank missiles
Daesh landmine kills at least 6 civilians in Syria’s Deir Ez-Zor
Iran says delegation set to visit Saudi
Saudi Council of Senior Scholars: Call to Establish New Islamic School of Thought Is Unrealistic
Saudi officials visit Yemen's capital for talks with rebels
An Obscure Israeli Rocket System May Beat the Almighty HIMARS at Its Own Game
Ukraine, Russia send home around 200 troops in prisoner swap
Russia plans air defence reform, to bolster defences near Finland - commander
Ukraine’s air defence could be ‘out of ammunition this week’ leaked US documents suggest
Ukraine ‘alters counter-offensive plans’ after Pentagon leak
Turkey launches its first amphibious assault ship, eyes drone capabilities
Kremlin says China has every right to conduct Taiwan exercises, France cannot mediate in Ukraine
China rehearses 'sealing off' Taiwan, US deploys naval destroyer
Italy's coastguard works to rescue 1,200 migrants drifting at sea
Multiple casualties reported in shooting in downtown Louisville

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 10-11/2023
Militias and Political Naivety/Tariq Al-Homayed/ Asharq Al-Awsat//April, 10/ 2023
Was Iraq a Worse Disaster for America Than Vietnam?/Ross Douthat/ The New York Times/April, 10/ 2023
Even with Iran-Saudi deal, the war in Yemen is far from over/Hadeel Oueis/The Jerusalem Post/April 10/2023
Contemplate the Rise in Religious Hatred, Then Confront It/Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute/April 10, 2023
No Money, No Nukes: Time to Bankrupt China's Regime/Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/April 10, 2023
Israel will be incinerated by these fires Netanyahu ignites/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/April 10, 2023
US-Russia tensions flare high over Syria/Haid Haid/The Arab Weekly/April 10/2023
Why Muslims Hate the Cross: Part 2/Raymond Ibrahim/April 10/2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 10-11/2023
Resurrection: Life, Faith And Death…Halleluiah, Jesus Has Risen, Indeed He Has Risen.
Elias Bejjani/April 09/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/38553/elias-bejjani-resurrection-life-faith-and-death/
Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here (Mark 16/05)
Easter Sunday is a holy feast of love, humility, forgiveness, brotherhood, tolerance and repentance. Religiously and consciously we are not supposed to participate by any means in any of the feast prayers or make any offerings or receive the Holy Communion unless we are genuinely replace hatred with love, grudges with forgiveness, rejection of others with tolerance, arrogance with humility, greed with contentment, deception with transparency, and evil with righteousness.
Do not be afraid, “Don’t be amazed”, with these reassuring and soothing words The Angel spoke to Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. They had came to the tomb on Sunday morning to mummify and anoint Jesus’ Body as the Jewish tradition required. They thought death had defeated Jesus and ended His life as it does to every human being. On their way, they were sadly thinking and wondering who will roll for them the stone away from the tomb’s entrance so they can get in and perform the mummifying and anointing process. While halfway from the tomb, they saw that the enormous stone had been rolled away. When they entered the tomb they found that Jesus’ body was not there. They found only the shrouds that His body was wrapped with on His burial after the crucifixion.
Saint Mark’s (16/01-13) Gospel describes thoroughly what has happened with these three loyal and faithful women: “When the Sabbath was, past Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 16:2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back. Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed. He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’” They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid. Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. When they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they disbelieved. After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. They went away and told it to the rest. They didn’t believe them, either.”
Lord Jesus who died on the cross, had risen from the dead on the third day just as He has said while proclaiming His message. He triumphed over death, defeated the forces of darkness, overcame pain, abolished anguish and brought despair to an end. He rose from the tomb to be constantly with those faithful to Him throughout their lives, and to never abandon them. He shall empower forever those who believe in His message and observe His commandments with the spirit of truth, knowledge, wisdom and solidarity with His Father, Almighty God.
Christ is the Way, Christ is the Truth, and Christ is the actual eternal life that we long for. We strongly believe with full conviction that Christ dwells in His Holy Church, and exists in its Mysteries (Sacraments). He is always present in the Holy Eucharist that we receive during every mass. Christ at all times is ready, willing and delighted to help us in our burdens when we call on Him and ask for His mercy. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew11:28)
The miracle of resurrection is the cornerstone of our Christian faith. This pivotal liturgical fact was strongly stressed by Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, (15/12-26): ” Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain. Yes, we are found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up, if it is so that the dead are not raised. For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming. Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death”.
Through Crucifixion and resurrection, Christ has overcome death, broke its thorn, and granted us His eternal forgiveness from the original sin. With His death and resurrection, death in its traditional earthly human concept has been abolished forever and Sin since then has become the actual death that leads the sinners to Gahanna into the unquenchable fire.
When our bodies die, we sleep in the hope of resurrection. On Jesus’ return on the Day of Judgment, the dead will be the first to rise and escort Him. “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed”, (Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 15 / 51-52).
Easter Sunday is a holy feast of love, humility, forgiveness, brotherhood, tolerance and repentance. Religiously we are not to participate in any of these feast prayers or make any offerings or receive the Holy Communion unless we replace hatred with love, grudges with forgiveness, rejection of others with tolerance, arrogance with humility, greed with contentment, deception with transparency, and evil with righteousness.
If we do not learn how to tame our selfishness, anger, hatred and forgive others for whatever evil deeds they commit against us and reconcile with them, than we do not qualify to be called Jesus’ followers. Our prayers will not be heard or responded to, if we do not practice the grace of forgiveness as did He who was crucified for our salvation.
“If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”. (Matthew 5/23-24).
Meanwhile our true faith in Jesus and in His Sacrifices won’t be complete unless we adopt in our thinking, deeds and language the pure components of sacrifice, honesty, truth, self respect, meekness and decency. “Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4/29-32)
For our prayers to be looked upon and heard by Almighty God, we are required to reconcile with ourselves and with all others on whom we have inflicted pain and injustice, and treated with an evil manner. To please the Lord we are required to genuinely, heartily and overtly perform all required acts of repentance for all our mischievous conducts and wrongdoings. Mark 11/24-26: “Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions”
Almighty God has endowed us with His love talent, (minas) and expects us to faithfully invest it in helping others who are in need. He expect us to observe all the teaching of His Bible so that He will reward us on the Day of Judgment and put us on His Right Side.
On this Holy Day of Resurrection, we are ought to be aware that Jesus’ Holy blood was shed on the Cross for our sake. Remembrance of His death and resurrection is a Godly consignment that we are entrusted with. It’s up to us either to honour this trust or betray it. In regards to what is committed to us, Saint Paul conveyed to his disciple Timothy the following advice (6/20-21): “Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called; which some professing have erred concerning the faith”.
Halleluiah! Jesus has risen! Indeed He has risen.

Rahi during Monday Easter Mass dedicated to France: It is necessary for Lebanon to return to its normal position in the Arab world
NNA/April 10, 2023
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, presided over Easter Monday Mass service in Bkerke dedicated to France, in the presence of French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo. "We are praying today for the intention of the French people and their president," Patriarch Al-Rahi said. The Patriarch continued: "Without interdependence and solidarity, there will be no world after today, nor a life of peace. Today's economy does not save the world, but rather tears it apart, and peace is built with cooperation and brotherhood." Al-Rahi stressed that "it is necessary for Lebanon to return to its normal position in the Arab world and on the international map."

Report: KSA wants Tammam Salam for premier
Naharnet/April 10, 2023
Should consensus be secured over a new president, Saudi Arabia has expressed desire to see ex-PM Tammam Salam designated to form a new government, sources said. “The kingdom has sent signals to Salam in this regard in light of its confidence in this Beiruti figure who had assumed the PM post in the past and whose performance was upright, patriotic and unifying,” the sources told al-Jadeed TV. “But every visitor of Salam leaves with an impression that the ex-PM is not enthusiastic to return to the premiership before knowing the name of the new president, so that the experience of conflict within the government does not get repeated, as used to happen with MP Jebran Bassil,” the sources added.

Lebanese municipal elections could face delays due to missing presidential signature on decree
LBCI/April 10, 2023
The Interior Ministry is preparing for the upcoming municipal elections, which are scheduled to take place throughout May. It is working in conjunction with the Justice Ministry, which oversees the election process and its results through registration committees. These committees are appointed by a decree issued by the Supreme Judicial Council and sent to the Interior Ministry through the Justice Minister. However, as the decree requires the signature of the President of the Republic, its release is currently unavailable. It was decided to consider adopting a similar decree issued the day of the parliamentary elections last year, but there were also some obstacles. A source in the Justice Ministry stated that the decree adopted in the parliamentary elections could be considered effective, even though it was said that it is only valid once. It is possible to resend it with the same names for a second signature through a new decree. Both the Justice and Interior Ministers sign this decree, and all 24 ministers, including the six ministers that do not participate in the caretaker cabinet meetings, will sign it, according to the source which means agreeing to its content. However, in many cases, despite the signature of all the ministers, the Prime Minister and the concerned ministry, and here the Interior Ministry, issue the decree. But can it be contested? The source clarified that everything is possible, adding that if any party sees that it is affected, it can appeal. Furthermore, some decrees have been contested before. The same source explained that the judges are fully prepared to supervise the electoral process, but is the matter dependent only on them? What about the desire of political forces to conduct the election process and their interest in it, and what about securing the necessary funds?

Countdown to municipal elections: Will funding and logistical obstacles be overcome?
LBCI/April 10, 2023
Logistical obstacles threaten the upcoming municipal elections, in addition to the issue of funding. Even if we assume that the financial dilemma has been resolved by adopting a law in parliament or issuing decrees by the Cabinet allowing the use of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) from the International Monetary Fund, there are still significant challenges that could hinder the process, particularly the human resources involved. The employees in the public sector who usually carry out the tasks related to elections, such as preparations by employees of the Finance Ministry and municipal departments, as well as the actual execution in polling stations and vote counting, are currently on strike, demanding better salaries. They have no intention of ending the strike to secure the elections, even if they are offered allowances, according to LBCI sources. Lifting the strike has many conditions that cannot currently be met. The second obstacle, which is equally important as the first, is the logistical challenge of securing the nomination requests, which exceed one hundred thousand, and the difficulty in obtaining civil abstracts, judicial records, and other necessary documents. Moreover, the same sources explained to LBCI that even if the funds were secured, it would be impossible to complete the logistical preparations due to the shortage of time. Therefore, with the absence of funds, employees, logistics, and possible candidates, what elections are we even talking about?

Lebanon struggles to unify exchange rates: Banque Du Liban's efforts fall short of IMF's conditions
LBCI/April 10, 2023
Due to the failure to implement the International Monetary Fund's conditions for signing a final agreement with Lebanon, including the unification of the exchange rate of the US dollar, the Banque Du Liban is trying to fulfill this condition as compensation for the absence of a governmental monetary policy. Sources at the BDL said that they are seeking to match the Sayrafa rate of the dollar with the market rate, even if there is a slight difference. According to these sources, keeping the sale of the US dollar through Sayrafa platform without ceilings will contribute to this. The difference between Sayrafa rate and the market rate is currently 10,000 LBP, with the Sayrafa rate at 87,000 LBP and the market rate at 97,000 LBP, knowing that the Sayrafa rate was 90,000 LBP. Still, it recorded a decrease of 3,000 LBP for the first time in parallel with the decline recorded by the black market exchange rate.
In the coming days, it will become clear whether the Central Bank can further reduce the gap and make the Sayrafa rate the reference point. Financial experts do not see this step as a legitimate unification process for the exchange rate because such a step is supposed to be sustainable. Its primary foundation is restoring trust in the Central Bank and the banking sector. Experts say that the Central Bank had taken steps in this regard when it set the official exchange rate at 15,000 LBP and applied it to Circulars 151 and 158 and to bank capital, which was calculated in LBP at a rate of 1,500 LBP.

Environment Minister discusses initiative to collect compensation for 2006's Israeli bombing of fuel tanks
LBCI/April 10, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Environment, Nasser Yassin, discussed with the Green Party of Lebanon Lebanon's compensation from the Israeli side resulting from the oil spill due to the 2006 aggression. This step was taken in preparation for launching a conference in coordination with the Ministry of Environment after the decision issued by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which gave Lebanon the right to receive financial compensation that Israel must pay because of the environmental damage that resulted from targeting the fuel tanks in Jiyeh. The Green Party of Lebanon, in agreement with the Minister of the Environment, chose April 8, 2023, to launch a local, regional, and international path of solidarity with Lebanon to force Israel to comply with the provisions of the resolution issued annually by the United Nations General Assembly and in the report of the United Nations Secretary-General on August 14, 2014, on the calculated value of damages resulting from the Israeli bombing. This was based on the work of the UN and international organizations, including the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Environment Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.  Green Party of Lebanon's head, Fadi Abi Allam, reiterated Israel's responsibility for prompt and adequate compensation to the government of Lebanon and other countries that were directly affected by the oil slick and to the Green Party's direction to hold a specialized national conference to coincide with the anniversary of the aggression on July 15, 2023, and to form a national, regional and international alliance to raise this issue. For his part, the Minister of Environment stressed the importance of the environmental path to be part of the political struggle, expressing the need to rationalize political reform in the country based on an ethical, environmental approach, as well as drawing up a roadmap for ecological policy in Lebanon based on a cultural and educational process that reflects the general principles and international standards that Lebanon is supposed to follow. He said, "I remind this in every regional and international meeting, but on the other hand, we have to admit that we, as a Lebanese state, do not currently have more than our ability to constantly remind our rights concerning this type of file, and we must fully carry out our duties in this file, especially that no serious effort of this kind has yet been made to collect these compensations.  Minister Yassin welcomed the initiative of the Green Party, which is the first to create a serious international path to follow up on the merits of this file, and to collect the necessary compensation for the Lebanese state, adding, "We will work to allocate a financial fund through Banque du Liban for that purpose, as the trust fund that was allocated in 2006 no longer exists. He also considered that the timing - July 15 - is excellent for launching this campaign, adding that there is only environmental reform with political reform because the main gateway to the environment is engagement in political action since environmental corruption has a political basis. He also recommended preparing an environmental fund to receive financial compensation, especially since "we are coming on projects related to gas and oil exploration."

MP Ibrahim Mneimneh: Change MPs call for reformist president in Lebanon
LBC/April 10, 2023
In a recent statement to "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat," MP Ibrahim Mneimneh emphasized the importance of a new president who can offer a reformist vision on both political and economic levels in Lebanon. Mneimneh also addressed criticisms directed at Change MPs from other opposition parties, including the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb, and Progressive Socialist Party. According to Mneimneh, Change MPs seek a president who can reassure the Lebanese people and is committed solely to the state. "We have translated these specifications into a presidential initiative that we discussed with traditional opposition parties, and we proposed several names, but they refused to consider any of them," he stated. He also added, "the opposition parties are still not united. Even when they voted for Michel Moawad in several sessions, the imbalance in their commitments emerged, resulting in reduced votes session after session. This is evidence that they are not in agreement about presidential elections."

Litani River Authority's team finds new pollution spots in Lake Qaraoun
LBCI/April 10, 2023
The Litani River Authority has published on its Twitter account a video showing new spots of pollution in Lake Qaraoun.  The technical team from the Litani River Authority went to inspect the lake water and take samples, as it was found that the resulting pollution was the result of bacterial growth in the lake that led to the formation of brown algae, which drifted towards the shores of the lake due to wind and waves. The technical team worked to take samples from the lake water and send them to the Khirbet Qanafar laboratory of the Litani River Authority to determine the type of bacteria causing pollution. The authority stated that the results of the tests would be issued as soon as they were received, noting that many similar cases have been monitored in global lakes and were due to high water fertility. The bacteria cause brown scum to appear in the lake as a sign of algal blooms, which in turn is caused by an excess of nutrients in the water, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which can come from agricultural runoff or the discharge of untreated sewage. The authority also notes that some types of algae can produce toxins that may harm humans, pets, and wildlife. If ingested at specific concentrations, these toxins can cause skin irritation, respiratory problems, and even liver damage.

PSP: Jumblatt has nothing to do with the Rahma brothers, and we will file a lawsuit against the "Megaphone" platform
NNA/April 10, 2023
Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Media Commission categorically denied any commercial activity between the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, and the brothers Teddy and Raymond Rahma. “The megaphone platform circulated news in which it claimed the existence of a supposed business relationship between party leader Walid Jumblatt and the brothers Teddy and Raymond Rahma, and this is not true at all, and there is no relationship in any way with the Rahma brothers,” the statement said. “…In accordance with the principles of the Publications Law, we will sue the aforementioned platform for publishing false news,” it concluded.

Haniyeh concludes his visit to Beirut
NNA/April 10, 2023
The Hamas media office announced that the head of the Hamas political bureau, Palestinian leader Ismail Haniyeh and the accompanying delegation, concluded their visit to Beirut, which lasted for several days.

تقرير من يديعوت أحرونوت الإسرائيلية يحكي قصة العملية العسكرية التي جرت منذ 50 سنة في مثل هذا اليوم واستهدفت 3 قادة فلسطينيين في لبنان واغتالتهم وهم كمال عدوان ومحمد يوسف نجار وكمال ناصر
Lebanon still proxy battleground, 50 years after Israel raid
ynetnews/April 10/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/117321/117321/
Monday marks the anniversary of an IDF commando operation in Beirut, led by Ehud Barak to assassinate PLO leaders involved in the Munich massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and members of the Olympic delegation
The anniversary is little noted, but the April 10, 1973 operation has a relevance that continues today.
The raid was one of the first times that Lebanon became the arena where Israel and its opponents would settle their accounts. Fifty years later, it remains so, as highlighted by last week’s exchange of rocket fire and airstrikes across the border between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Lebanon.
The boldness of the assassinations — by an Israeli team slipping in and out of Beirut with little resistance — stunned the Lebanese. At the time, two years before civil war erupted, their country was mainly known as a tourist attraction where visitors came to party, visit archaeological sites, ski on snow-capped mountains or sunbathe on sandy beaches. It signaled a new era that has lasted to this day, one in which regional powers have repeatedly intervened in Lebanon.
The raid was led by Ehud Barak, who later became Israel’s top army commander and then, in 1999, prime minister. Its targets were Kamal Adwan, in charge of PLO operations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank; Mohammed Youssef Najjar, a member of the PLO’s executive committee; and Kamal Nasser, a PLO spokesman and a charismatic writer and poet.
On the night of April 9, 1973, Adwan’s wife Maha Jayousi was suffering from a toothache and went to bed in the room of their young children. Adwan usually worked late and had a planned meeting with some PLO officials that night, said Jayousi, describing that night to The Associated Press. She spoke from Jordan, where she has lived since the raid.
Around 1 a.m. she was woken up by a strong sound and the shattering of the window above her bed. Adwan rushed into the bedroom carrying a gun and told her to stay in the room. Seconds later, shots rang out and Adwan fell dead in the corridor between the bedrooms. Two armed men came into the bedroom and shined a torch on Jayousi and the children.
One of them said into his radio in Hebrew, “Mission accomplished. His wife and children are here, should we kill them too?” The reply came back, “If they don’t resist, don’t kill them,” recalled Jayousi, who had studied Hebrew at Cairo University.
When the Israelis left, she rushed the children into a bathroom to hide, then looked around her home. The main entrance was broken wide open and riddled with bullet holes, and there were bloodstains on the stairs. She didn’t know at first that the team had also killed Nasser, who lived one floor above them.
Jayousi went to her balcony and shouted to Najjar, who lived in the building across the alley — not realizing that Najjar and his wife had also been killed. Jayousi said that weeks before the raid, she had noticed unknown people coming to their building’s parking area and that people across the street were taking pictures of their building. She said Adwan was concerned and told her he would ask for protection to be boosted.
The raid, known as Operation Spring of Youth, killed the three PLO officials as well as several Lebanese policemen and guards who responded to the assault. Two Israeli commandos on a separate team died after being wounded in a gunfight as they attacked another target in Beirut.
The operation was part of a string of Israeli assassinations of Palestinian figures in retaliation for the killings of 11 Israeli coaches and athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics during a hostage-taking by the Palestinian group Black September. Adwan’s son, Rami, later said his father had nothing to do with the attack in Munich.
Years later, Barak described the operation, saying that he and two other commandos were dressed as women with wigs and makeup so the team would attract less attention than a group of men walking along a Beirut street at night.
The Israelis landed on Beirut’s coast in boats and were met by Mossad agents, posing as tourists, who drove them to the neighborhood of Verdun.
There, three squads slipped into the two buildings and blew open the apartment doors, while Barak and a back-up team stood outside. They killed a guard who approached them and opened fire at a Lebanese police vehicle that responded to the shootings, Barak said in a television interview years later.
Barak said after eight minutes, the three squads returned, drove back to the shore and headed out to sea on the boats. The team made off with documents that led to arrests of PLO operatives in the West Bank.
Days after the killings, over 100,000 people took part in the funeral of the three leaders, who were buried at the “Martyrs Cemetery” where scores of Palestinian officials and fighters were laid to rest over the years.
The raid stoked already enflamed divisions among Lebanese between supporters and opponents of the PLO and other Palestinian factions. The Palestinian groups had adopted Lebanon as their base in 1970, relocating there after being expelled from Jordan and three years after Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. From Lebanon, they were staging attacks inside Israel.
The ensuing political crisis led to the resignation of Lebanon’s then-Prime Minister Saeb Salam’s government. Less than a month later, clashes erupted between the Lebanese army and Palestinian guerillas. Those divisions were one factor that pushed Lebanon into its 1975-1990 civil war — during which Israel invaded and occupied part of the country until withdrawing in 2000.
Since the end of the civil war, the Iranian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah stepped in as Israel’s main adversary in Lebanon. A 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah wreaked heavy destruction in Lebanon, especially in the south.
Palestinian factions also still have a presence. Israel blamed the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a volley of rockets into its territory last week — apparently a response to Israeli police raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a major shrine built on a hilltop revered by Muslims and Jews.
After Israel’s retaliation with airstrikes in Lebanon on Friday, some of the same Lebanese politicians who were bitter enemies of Palestinian fighters in the past denounced Hamas.
Samir Geagea, whose Christian Lebanese Forces often battled Palestinian fighters in the civil war, demanded the government ensure peace at the border. He also urged against leaving “strategic decision-making to the Iran-led alliance,” a reference to Hezbollah and Hamas. Fouad Abu Nader, another former Lebanese Forces commander, called for the arrest of the Hamas leader.
The wars and conflicts of the past 50 years have overshadowed memories of the 1973 raid, but it still stands out as a stunning moment.
Lebanese writer Ziad Kaj lived nearby in Verdun and was 9 years old when the raid took place. He said he remembers the shock as shooting rang out and electricity was cut. Many of the people in his building took shelter in his family’s apartment on the ground floor.
“It was a horrible sleepless night that still echoes in my head,” Kaj said.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 10-11/2023
Israeli forces kill Palestinian child, 15, in West Bank raid
Arab News/April 10, 2023
RAMALLAH: Israeli forces killed a 15-year-old Palestinian boy on Monday in a raid on a West Bank camp, amid wider clashes during a settler march and a mass intrusion into the grounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinian medical sources said Mohammed Balhan was killed as Israeli forces stormed the Aqabat Jaber near Jericho in the West Bank. Balhan was hit with three bullets to the head, abdomen and pelvis during clashes. Two other civilians suffered bullet wounds to their lower bodies and five other civilians were arrested. The Israeli army has killed 96 Palestinians in the West Bank this year, seven of whom were from Jericho. More than 100 Palestinians have been arrested in that time. His death came amid reports that 191 Palestinians were injured during clashes with Israeli forces around Mount Abu Sbeih near Beita, south of Nablus, as residents staged a counter-protest against a march by thousands of Israeli settlers attempting to reclaim the nearby abandoned hilltop outpost known as “Avitar.” The march, from the Za’tara checkpoint, was protected by a battalion-sized Israeli force and led by seven government ministers including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. More than a dozen other members of the Knesset took part. The settlers demanded the legalization of Avitar, which was initially established in 2013 and finally evacuated by Supreme Court order last year following repeated bouts of violence in which 12 Palestinians were killed and thousands injured.
Israeli media reported that some marchers have vowed to take and remain on the site to “impose a reality on the ground.” Mahmoud Barham, mayor of Beita, told Arab News that hundreds of residents confronted the Israeli army. Barham, whose brother was killed in previous clashes over Avitar, said that the presence of Israeli ministers, MPs and settlement leaders was designed to send a message that Israel was determined to control the area. “We are ready to confront and resist and to start a new round of popular resistance against them,” he told Arab News. “We were and will remain guards of Mount Abu Sbeih, even if the number of martyrs, wounded and prisoners among us doubles.” Ghassan Daghlas, responsible for the settlement file in the northern West Bank of the Palestinian Presidency, told Arab News that the march aimed to legitimize the theft of Palestinian lands. “We are facing a new settlement battle with this extreme right-wing Israeli government,” he said. “If their policies are not met with a strong Palestinian and international popular response, they will reactivate settlements in the northern West Bank and rebuild the settlements that were evacuated in 2005.”Meanwhile, more than 1,500 settlers guarded by Israeli police stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque on the fifth day of the Jewish Passover holiday. The Islamic Awqaf Department said the numbers were higher than the incursions before Passover. Hundreds of Palestinians and Turks were present in Al-Aqsa’s squares during the incursion, it added. Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif Al-Qanou said that both incidents showed Israel’s aggression and push to Judaize Palestinian land and sanctities. He called on Palestinians to resist what he described as a fascist occupation government. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said that the Israeli government must be held accountable for its daily crimes, the aggression at Al-Aqsa, the pro-settlement march of ministers and Knesset members, and the invasions that have led to the deaths of many Palestinians such as Mohammed Balhan in Jericho on Monday. In Hebron, Israeli forces closed the Bab Al-Zawiya area and Beersheba Street in the city center in preparation for a settler march, forcing store owners to shut their businesses and preventing shoppers preparing for Eid in Al-Shuhada Street and the Tal Rumeida area. The Israeli authorities still prevent citizens and visitors from reaching the Ibrahimi Mosque to perform prayers there under the pretext of the settlers’ celebration of their Jewish holiday.

GCC condemns Israeli escalations and violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque sanctity
Arab News/April 10/2023
RIYADH: The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council has condemned Israel’s escalation in Jerusalem and repeated attacks by Israeli soldiers on Al-Aqsa Mosque. Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi criticized the violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa and the lack of respect of Israeli forces during Ramadan.
Albudaiwi said that Israeli aggression during the holy month and the continuation of the incursions at the mosque were a violation of the sanctities of the holy sites. He called on the international community to protect Palestinian civilians and stop Israeli attempts to change Jerusalem’s legal character, demographic composition and arrangements for the Islamic holy place. The GCC has detailed violations by Israeli forces, including harassment, assault and expulsion of worshipers, as well as the closing of the Ibrahimi Mosque. Albudaiwi said such acts were a provocation to Muslims around the world, an assault on the legal status of holy places, a violation of historically agreed status quo arrangements and a serious breach of international law and UN resolutions. He added that the ongoing brutal attacks were an alarming turning point for which the Israeli government bears all responsibility. The statement came days after Albudaiwi condemned the actions of Israeli settlers’ storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque on March 29, under the protection of Israeli soldiers. He said that such actions during Ramadan constituted a dangerous escalation, a flagrant violation of international law and a violation of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem.

Israeli PM reverses course on sacking defence minister
Reuters/April 10, 2023
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he would leave Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in place given an escalating security crisis, reversing a decision to fire the minister that triggered protests and raised alarm abroad. He said the two had resolved their disagreement over Gallant’s public call last month for a halt to the government’s bitterly divisive judicial overhaul plan, which Gallant said had become a threat to Israel’s security. Last week Netanyahu announced he would delay the dismissal. “I’ve decided to put our differences behind us,” Netanyahu said at a Monday press conference. He said the two had worked closely together throughout the last two weeks. An Italian tourist was killed and five people were wounded in a car ramming in Tel Aviv on Friday hours after two Israeli sisters and their mother were killed in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank. The attacks, after a night of cross-border strikes in Gaza and Lebanon, added to heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions following Israeli police raids in Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque this week. The tensions threatened to widen when Israel responded to a barrage of rockets by hitting targets linked to Hamas in Gaza and southern Lebanon, but the fighting entered a lull on Friday. A Sunday opinion poll, from Israel’s Channel 13 News, showed Netanyahu’s Likud party would lose more than a third of its seats if an election were held now, and Netanyahu would fail to gain a majority with his hard-right coalition partners. “I’m not disturbed by the poll,” Netanyahu told reporters. The prime minister said relations with the United States, which appeared strained over the government’s planned judicial overhaul, remained “tight” and the two countries enjoyed security and intelligence cooperation. Netanyahu’s government paused legislation on the overhaul to allow for compromise discussions with opposition parties following weeks of nationwide protests.

British-Israeli mother dies 3 days after West Bank attack: hospital
AFP/April 10, 2023
JERUSALEM: A British-Israeli woman has died of injuries she sustained in a shooting attack Friday in the occupied West Bank that also killed her two daughters, a Jerusalem hospital said. “We announce with sadness the passing of Lucy (Leah) Dee, a victim of the fatal attack in the (Jordan) Valley last Friday,” the hospital said in a statement Monday. “Unfortunately, despite intense and relentless efforts, due to the critical nature of her injuries, the team had to determine her death today.”Dee was seriously injured in the attack in the Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that killed her two daughters, aged 16 and 20, who were buried Sunday. The three women were residents of Efrat, an illegal settlement in the West Bank. Later on Friday an Italian tourist was killed and seven other people injured in a suspected car-ramming attack on pedestrians on the Tel Aviv seafront.
The violence comes amid an upsurge in tensions as the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Jewish Passover and Christian Easter coincide. The bloodshed follows the storming early Wednesday by Israeli riot police of the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest site.

Syrian Rocket Salvo Widens Assault on Israel
FDD/April 10/2023
Latest Developments
At least six rockets were launched from Syria at the Golan Heights in the early hours of Sunday, opening a new front against Israel in an Iranian-orchestrated escalation of hostilities. The attack set off sirens and sent residents to shelters in the communities of Natur and Avnei Eitan, but caused no casualties. The Israeli military shot down at least one rocket.
In retaliation, Israel carried out UAV and artillery strikes against the rocket launchers. Fighter jets struck Syrian military targets including radars, artillery positions, and a 4th Division compound. Explosions were reported near the capital Damascus.
Briefing U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hours earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant noted Iran’s role in fomenting attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and described Syria as another link in this proxy war. He further said Iran was encouraging terrorism within Israel and against Israelis abroad.
Expert Analysis
“With Iran-backed Hezbollah having sat out the exchange of fire between Israel and Lebanon, it appears that Iran is currently banking on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as its fighting proxies. They have smaller footprints in Lebanon and Syria, and their headquarters and leaders in the Gaza Strip are presumed to enjoy a degree of immunity given Israel’s reluctance to tip that territory into another full-blown conflict. But the daily attacks on Israel from multiple staging grounds is a sampling of the far more frequent and lethal provocations that can be expected should Iran go nuclear.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO
“The IDF strike on the 4th Division compound is a shot across the Assad regime’s bow. This division is an elite Syrian military outfit whose roles include safeguarding the regime. Israel is signaling to Damascus that while it may not have been directly involved in the rockets launched against the Golan, it bears overall responsibility and risks destabilization if the situation escalates further.” — Joe Truzman, Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Israel signs $400m deal to sell Greece anti-tank missiles
Reuters/April 10, 2023
JERUSALEM: Israel signed a $400 million (1.44 billion shekels) deal to sell Spike anti-tank missiles to Greece, Israel’s Defense Ministry said on Monday, just days after reaching a similar-sized deal to provide air defenses to newly-inducted NATO member Finland. The Spike is a guided anti-tank missile used by many EU and NATO countries produced by Israeli state-owned defense contractor Rafael.
“The Spike missiles will strengthen the Greek army’s portfolio of operational tools and we expect further expansion through strategic collaborations in the near future,” said Rafael CEO Yoav Har-Even. Israel’s defense minister said the agreement reinforces ties between the countries. Last week Israel and Rafael said they would provide the advanced air-defense system David’s Sling to Finland, after it officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on April 4. Finland will receive the defense system designed to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles in a $345 million (316 million euros) deal. It still requires approval from the United States, which is involved in the system’s development. Finland’s accession, ending seven decades of military non-alignment, roughly doubles the length of the border NATO shares with Russia and bolsters its eastern flank as the war in Ukraine grinds on with no resolution in sight. It also drew a threat from Moscow of countermeasures. Finland said the deal with Israel will significantly boost its capabilities, and Israel called it a “quantum leap” in defense collaboration between the countries.

Daesh landmine kills at least 6 civilians in Syria’s Deir Ez-Zor
AP/April 11, 2023
DAMASCUS: A deadly landmine explosion in Syria killed at least six people, according to media reports. News agency SANA said the explosion hit civilians who were foraging for truffles in the countryside, and blamed the incident on a land mine planted by Daesh in the southern Deir Ez-Zor province. The area is a former stronghold of the militants. A day earlier, SANA reported six people — also heading to search for truffles — were killed by an anti-tank mine left by Daesh in the desert of Homs’ eastern countryside. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, put the number killed on Sunday at nine. The monitor said the incident brings to 139 the number of civilians reported killed this year as a result of the explosion of mines and other explosive objects left over from the war, including 30 children. The truffles are a seasonal delicacy that can be sold for a high price. Since truffle hunters work in large groups in remote areas, Daesh militants have repeatedly preyed on them, emerging from the desert to abduct them, kill some and ransom others for money. In February, Daesh sleeper cells attacked workers collecting truffles near the central town of Sukhna, killing at least 53 people, mostly workers but also some Syrian government security forces.

Iran says delegation set to visit Saudi
Agence France Presse/Mon, April 10, 2023
Iran's foreign ministry has said a delegation will visit Saudi Arabia by Friday to pave the way for reopening its diplomatic missions there following a similar move by Riyadh. The announcement comes a day after a Saudi delegation arrived in Tehran on a similar diplomatic trip, and follows a historic meeting between the two Gulf countries' foreign ministers in China. "We are expecting a foreign ministry delegation to visit Saudi Arabia" by Friday, Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Enayati said in an interview with state television. "Two separate delegations will go to Riyadh and Jeddah", ahead of reopening Iran's embassy and consulate respectively. Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran in January 2016, after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwestern city of Mashhad were attacked by protesters demonstrating over Riyadh's execution of Saudi opposition Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan met in the Chinese capital on Thursday after Tehran and Riyadh agreed last month to restore diplomatic ties. In a joint statement, the ministers pledged to bring back security and stability to the turbulent Gulf. Shiite-majority Iran and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia have backed rival sides in conflict zones across the region, including in Yemen. Riyadh leads a military coalition that supports the internationally recognized government in the Arabian Peninsula country, while Tehran backs the Huthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa and large areas of the north. The two Middle East powerhouses had held several rounds of dialogue in Iraq and Oman before reaching the agreement in Beijing, negotiated over five days between Iran's secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani and his Saudi counterpart Musaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban.

Saudi Council of Senior Scholars: Call to Establish New Islamic School of Thought Is Unrealistic
Asharq Al-Awsat/Mon, April 10, 2023
The General Secretariat of the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars said on Monday that the call to establish a new Islamic school of thought is “unrealistic and lacks objectivity.” Islamic Fiqh or jurisprudence, with its various recognized sects and legal interpretations, responds to all demands of modern life and balances between its needs and Islamic Sharia, it added. This is emphasized by scholarly bodies and jurisprudence groups that practice collective “ijtihad”, it went on to say. “God has blessed Muslims with the ease of collective ijtihad through these bodies that positively respond to the needs of society, its knowledge, social and economic development,” it stressed. The hundreds of decisions that have been issued by the groups in various fields are evidence of this, it said. --- Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi officials visit Yemen's capital for talks with rebels
Associated Press/Mon, April 10, 2023
Saudi officials are in Yemen's capital for talks with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, as part of international efforts to find a settlement to Yemen's nine-year conflict, officials said. Saudi Arabia's delegation, chaired by the kingdom's ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Jaber, met with Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi's supreme political council, which runs rebel-held areas in Yemen, according to the Houthi-run SABA news agency. An Omani delegation, which arrived in Sanaa on Saturday, joined the talks, the agency reported. It said al-Mashat hailed Oman's efforts to bridge the gap between different sides in the war to achieve peace in Yemen. SABA did not give further details. Mohammed al-Bukaiti, a Houthi leader, said earlier on Twitter that Saudi and Omani officials would discuss "ways to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace in the region." He said achieving an honorable peace between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia would be "a triumph for both parties," and urged all sides to take steps to "preserve a peaceful atmosphere and prepare to turn the page of the past." There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia on the trip, the second of its kind in 2023, according to a Saudi official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to brief reporters. In comments to The Associated Press, Hans Grundberg, the U.N. envoy for Yemen, described the ongoing efforts, including the Saudi and Omani talks in Sanaa, as "the closest Yemen has been to real progress towards lasting peace" since the war began. "This is a moment to be seized and built on and a real opportunity to start an inclusive political process under U.N. auspices to sustainably end the conflict," he said. The talks in Sanaa are part of international efforts led by Oman to settle Yemen's conflict, which began in 2014. That's when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of the country's north, ousting the internationally recognized government that fled to the south and then into exile in Saudi Arabia. The Houthi move prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene months later in a bid to restore the internationally recognized government to power. The conflict has in recent years turned into a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi Arabia and the Houthis reached a draft deal last month to revive a cease-fire that expired in October. The deal is meant to usher in a return to Yemeni political talks, according to Saudi and Yemeni officials.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door negotiations. They said the Saudi-Houthi understandings include a six-month truce with a cessation of all military activities across Yemen. The Houthis have committed to coming to the table with other Yemeni parties to negotiate a political settlement to the conflict, they said. The United Nations is meant to facilitate the political negotiations, they added. Both parties also agreed to further ease restrictions by the Saudi-led coalition on Sanaa's airport and the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports in Hodeida, the officials said. The Houthis would lift their yearslong blockade on Taiz, Yemen's third largest city which is held by government forces, they said. The phased roadmap also includes payment for all state employees — including the military — from oil and gas revenues. In return, the rebels agreed to allow exporting oil from government-held areas after a monthslong hiatus because of Houthi attacks on oil facilities, the officials said. Yemen's internationally recognized presidential council was briefed on the Saudi-Houthi understandings at a Thursday meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Kingdom's defense minister, a Yemeni official said. The Saudi-backed council, which was appointed a year ago, has given its initial approval to the draft deal, the official said. Commenting on the Saudi-Houthi talks, Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak said there were "positive signals" that a cease-fire deal would be announced, along with addressing other humanitarian and economic issues. "The (regional) circumstances are different," he told an Egyptian satellite channel Al-Qahera in an interview aired on Friday. "It pushed towards achieving a solution."
Bin Mubarak, however, said there are "many fundamental issues" that Yemen's warring sides need to address before reaching a settlement to the conflict. The Oman-brokered talks have aimed at preventing both sides from resuming full-fledged fighting. The efforts gained momentum in recent weeks after Saudi Arabia reached an agreement with Iran to restore diplomatic ties after a seven-year rift. Iran, the main foreign backer of the Houthis, has said its deal with Saudi Arabia would help end Yemen's conflict. Ahmed Nagi, a Yemen expert at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank, said the Iran-Saudi Arabia rapprochement has given a boost to Saudi-Houthi negotiations, and that both sides are close to announcing the cease-fire's renewal. However, the second track of the Houthi-Saudi negotiations — a potential roadmap to reach a permanent settlement to the conflict — would be a major challenge when discussed by Yemeni parties, he said. "Each party has different interpretations and expectations," he said. "Given the complexities of the situation, it is hard to see progress on this track very soon."

An Obscure Israeli Rocket System May Beat the Almighty HIMARS at Its Own Game
Sébastien Roblin/Popular Mechanics/Mon, April 10, 2023
lynx puls multiple rocket launcher system fires accular 122 millimeter rocket
How Israel's PULS Compares to U.S.'s HIMARS Wikimedia Commons
The Netherlands is seeking to re-introduce a rocket artillery with a range exceeding 43 miles, a capability its armed forces retired in the 2000s. And it’s bucking the trend of many NATO allies in the process by turning to the more obscure, Israeli-built PULS (Precise and Universal Launch System) instead of the U.S.’s M142 HIMARS system. HIMARS rose to fame after its dramatic debut in the war in Ukraine last summer. Dutch defense secretary Christophe Van der Maat presented a brief explaining the decision: “In comparison, with HIMARS, more precision guided missiles are delivered within budget. PULS also has greater operational sustainability because it carries more missiles. The PULS rocket artillery system also has open architecture making it suitable (in the near future) for [new types] of ammunition from European producers. This contributes to increasing the European strategic autonomy.”
Not only were both the launchers and their rocket ammunition found to be much cheaper, but the Israeli weapons could be delivered late 2023 through 2026, while HIMARS would only arrive “significantly later.”The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a 6x6 truck that can mount a pre-loaded pod of six 227-millimeter M31 GMRL rockets that can be guided to hit targets up to 50 miles away very precisely using GPS coordinates—like a precision air strike minus the planes. That’s proven handy for Ukraine, which doesn’t have air superiority. The 17-ton M142 is a more transportable cousin to the older tracked 26.5-ton M270 MLRS, which carries two of the same type of rocket pods. The M142 can also launch a single MGM-140 ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles with a range of 190 miles. In February, the U.S. had authorized the Netherlands to buy 20 M142 HIMARS launchers, 77 loaded rocket pods, ATACMS missile pods, and 17 support vehicles for $670 million. Passing up HIMARS may not have been an easy choice, given the commonality it offered with M270 and HIMARS systems used by NATO allies. The Netherlands, in fact, formerly owned nine M270s itself, meaning it would have some transferrable familiarity with HIMARS.
But price was undoubtedly a big factor in PULS’s favor, with the Israeli contract likely valued at $133 million for 20 launches, as well as missiles and rockets for both combat and training use and ammo-resupply vehicles—roughly one-fifth the cost of the U.S.’s proposed HIMARS sale. The Royal Netherlands Army plans to form two batteries of eight launchers, with another four set aside for training. However, van der Maat’s report shows the Dutch are setting aside €515.3 million for the procurement, including for potential cost overruns, delays, inflation, and to pay for training simulators, truck integration, communication links, spare part stocks and so forth. The Dutch government also projected operating costs over 15 years will total €168 million. The Netherlands will initially receive four unmounted PULS launchers in 2023. These will be used for training, and for the engineering and development of their integration onto domestically-built Scania-Gryphus 8x8 trucks already acquired under the DVOW program. The launchers will then be installed in 2025 or 2026, along with Dutch-specific secured command-and-control systems and datalinks. After entering operational service, Amsterdam plans to fund a Phase 3 upgrade, in which it develops and installs additional customized fire control systems and supports new European-built rockets/missiles “with greater range.” The Netherlands won’t be the only NATO operator of PULS as, in January, Denmark ordered eight PULS systems, too, which have been seemingly supplied with $70 million worth of Accular-122 rockets (see below). Germany may also be leaning toward a PULS buy, as German firm KMW has partnered with Elbit on rocket artillery. Having nearby allies using the same systems can facilitate efficiencies by maintaining a “use group” that pools spare parts, training and munitions.
But PULS has benefits other than price setting it apart from compared to HIMARS. Primarily, it’s way more flexible.
The Age of HIMARS
Since 2022, the U.S. has donated at least 38 HIMARS systems to Ukraine, armed with GMRLS rockets but not ATACMS missiles. These made a big splash when they became operational, with long-distance strikes in July and August of 2022 evaporating several Russian artillery ammunition depots and killing several high-ranking officers in their command centers. This likely contributed to the petering out of Russia’s initially dangerous summer offensive. Even now, there’s still no imagery confirming the loss of even one HIMARS launcher, despite Russian claims to have destroyed more than have actually been delivered (and Russia’s military has provided visual proof of the destruction of many other Western artillery systems.) HIMAR’s mobility and reach (combined with decoy targets) has apparently frustrated Russian attempts to hunt them down with kamikaze drones or laser-guided artillery rounds.
These outcomes made the case for HIMARS’s utility, even if they were proven unsustainable as Russian forces withdrew their logistical bases and HQs out of range. Shockingly, Russia’s large rocket artillery arms lack this kind of precision munition for operational use, though its does effectively employ Krasnopol laser-guided howitzer rounds. Russia’s invasion and HIMARS’s early success have resulted in a queue of new order for HIMARS, including Australia (20), Estonia (6), Latvia (6), Lithuania (8) and Poland—which increased an earlier order of 20 to option purchase of up to 486! Countries with ongoing orders predating the war in Ukraine include Taiwan (11 to 29) and Romania (54),
PULS vs. HIMARS
The case for PULS as an alternative is that it can do many of the same things as HIMARS, for less money and with added functionality. And it mounts two rocket-launching pods to the HIMARS’s one by default. After firing, a new pod can be slotted in under 10 minutes.
Unlike HIMARS, PULS is just a launcher, which can be bolted on a variety of vehicles and allows clients to fit them to those already integrated in their logistics. PULS’s progenitor was the Israeli Military Industry’s 6x6 Lynx multiple-rocket-launcher truck. The IDF’s artillery branch also operates PULS on Oshkosh 8x8 HEMTT trucks under the designation Lahav (blade). But more importantly, PULS can mount six different classes of guided and unguided ammunition, simply slotted in using pre-loaded pods. On the light end, it can carry two sealed pods each stuffed with 18 122-millimeter rockets, a caliber used across the globe in Soviet-origin BM-21 Grad rocket artillery. Cheaper unguided Grad rounds can attack targets up to 25 miles way. The crew can alternately employ an Israeli GPS-guided AccuLAR-122 rocket, also known as Romach (“Lance/spear”), which were procured in 2017 for Israel’s customized M270 Menatetz (“Shatterer”) launcher vehicles. This has slightly shorter range of 22 miles, but each shot lands on average within 5-10 meters of its target, making it effectively a mini-HIMARs rocket that could be appealing when seeking to minimize risk of collateral friendly/civilian casualties. A fire mission can be executed within one minute of reception, and it comes with both fragmentation and wall-penetrating warheads.
The firepower can be amped up with alternate launch pods, each loaded with 13 160-millimeter rockets (26 in total) from the Israeli LAR-160 rocket system. These have a range of 28 miles, and also come in the guided Accular-160 model with a range of 25 miles. To hit more distant targets, PULS can mount two pods, each with four 306-millimeter EXTRA guided rockets with 93 mile ranges. To be fair, HIMARS will in a few years match this range, as new GMLRS-ER variant of its 227-millimeter rocket enters production this year. To go even further, PULS can launch the ATACMS-like Predator Hawk tactical ballistic missile with a range of 186 miles, similar to the U.S. ATACMS. This can hit targets at maximum range in 8 minutes (averaging Mach 1.8) with its 308-pound warhead. Both the EXTRA rocket and Predator HAWK also land on average within 10 meters of target.
Israel’s PULS units can also launch the subsonic Delilah cruise missile, flying much lower and slower, out to 155 miles and with even greater accuracy. The Delilah, however, doesn’t seem to be up for export.
Side by side, PULS can deliver eight 300-millimeter rockets compared to HIMARS’s six 227-millimeter ones. Or it can carry four tactical missiles instead of HIMARS’s one. And compared to Soviet-era artillery systems, the PULS can deliver effects similar to the BM-21, BM-27 and BM-30 rocket systems as well as the older OTR-21 Tochka ballistic missile. That means the same launcher can be used for a wide range of different missions, from precision strikes targeting depots, air defense and HQs behind enemy lines, to point targets near the frontline and old-school saturation bombardments across a broad area. HIMARS, and the beefier M270, still have other factors in their favor. They will both be compatible with a forthcoming longer-range Precision Strike Missile under development. They have also been battle tested in the high intensity conflict in Ukraine, following successful deployment of HIMARS in Iraq and Syria in the anti-ISIS war. The EXTRA and LAR-160 rockets have seen some combat use. Georgian LAR-160s reportedly proved effective hitting Russian supply convoys during 2008 Russo-Georgian war. This system and the EXTRA rocket were also used by Azerbaijani forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Both sides extensively used rocket artillery, including LAR-160s, for indiscriminate long-distance attacks on civilians, including use of cluster bombs.
Strategy and Politics
Major weapon buys are inevitably fraught with politics. Notably, Israel will not authorize direct sale or third-party donation of PULS or other defense products to Ukraine, fearing Russian retaliation in the forms of arms transfers to Iran or Syria.
Amsterdam is hardly spurning Uncle Sam, though—the PULS purchase comes alongside announced plans to purchase AGM-158B JASSM-ER stealth cruise missiles for the Netherland’s planned fleet of 52 F-35 stealth fighters, and Tomahawk naval cruise missiles for Dutch submarines and De Zeven Provincien-class frigates. These big buys will be funded with a temporary 40 percent surge in defense spending, amounting to €5 billion euros per a 2022 Defense White Paper. The Dutch military’s focus on these long-range weapons shows how war in Ukraine has persuaded many policy makers of the importance of diverse, conventional long-distance strike weapons in 21st century warfare. Such capabilities had ample precedents, but widespread availability of GPS guidance, the decline of arms control treaties, and hugely improved satellite and drone reconnaissance for target acquisition make such arms more effective, affordable, and accessible than before.

Ukraine, Russia send home around 200 troops in prisoner swap
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)/Mon, April 10, 2023
More than 200 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have returned home in a prisoner swap, the warring countries said Monday. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 106 Russian soldiers were released from Ukrainian custody as part of an agreement with Ukraine. Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, said that Russia freed 100 Ukrainian prisoners. Neither announcement mentioned whether any intermediaries were involved in the agreement. Some of the Ukrainian soldiers have severe injuries and illnesses, Yermak said in a statement published on Telegram. He added that the latest of the sporadic prisoner swaps in the war that started in February 2022 was “not an easy one.” He did not elaborate. Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War alleged that almost half of the 80 men and 20 women soldiers who returned home “have serious injuries, illnesses or have been tortured.” It presented no evidence for its claims. According to Ukrainian news reports, one of the women prisoners is Valeriia Karpilenko, a border guard who had helped defend Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant. Last May, she married a Ukrainian soldier in the steel plant’s basement while Russian forces surrounded the complex. Her husband was killed three days later. The freed Russians were being flown on military transport planes to Moscow for medical treatment and rehabilitation, the Defense Ministry said. Such exchanges represent one of the few areas of cooperation between Ukraine and Russia. The two sides have returned hundreds of each other’s soldiers, as well as the bodies of fallen troops, since the war began. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s presidential office said at least six civilians were wounded in the latest Russian shelling. Separately, Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian forces struck a power plant and residential buildings in the eastern province. The Russians also shelled nine border villages in the provinces of Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in televised remarks that the country has nearly seven million internally displaced people, including about one million children. Most of them have abandoned their homes in the east and the south to move to safer locations in central and western Ukraine.

Russia plans air defence reform, to bolster defences near Finland - commander
MOSCOW (Reuters)April 10, 2023
Russia plans to overhaul its air defence forces after gaining new experience in the war in Ukraine and will also bolster its air defences to counter Finland's accession to the NATO military alliance, a commander in Russia's aerospace forces said. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year in what it calls "a special military operation", the fighting has descended into a grinding artillery war with extensive use of drones and missiles, testing the air defences of both Russia and Ukraine. In an interview published on Monday with the Red Star newspaper, Lieutenant General Andrei Demin, deputy commander-in-chief of aerospace forces, said air defence forces had faced a number of challenges in the face of Ukrainian strikes. Russia, he said, had added more than 50 mobile radar stations and A-50 early warning and control aircraft patrolled 24 hours a day while missile and anti-aircraft installations in regions next to Ukraine had been bolstered. In Ukrainian regions under Russian control, air defence units had been set up to defend key installations, Demin said, while Russia had ramped up production of the RLK-MC anti-drone system. Reforms "are undoubtedly planned and will be implemented," Demin told the defence ministry's newspaper. "The purpose of the upcoming changes is the development of the armed forces, aimed at improving the air defense system of the Russian Federation." Demin said that Russia would also bolster is defences after Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (800-mile) border with Russia, joined NATO.
"In these conditions, the air defense forces are working out issues of protecting the state border in the north-west of the country in accordance with the increased threat level," Demin said.

Ukraine’s air defence could be ‘out of ammunition this week’ leaked US documents suggest
Nataliya Vasilyeva/The Telegraph/Mon, April 10, 2023
A cornerstone of Ukraine’s air defence could be out of ammunition this week, according to purported leaked US documents. It suggested Kyiv was in need of a massive injection of missiles from its allies to prevent Vladimir Putin unleashing his air force. The documents were posted online last week and were said to lay out the Pentagon’s analysis of Ukraine’s and Russia’s capabilities on the battlefield. Nearly 90 per cent of Ukraine’s air defence is based on Soviet-era S-300 and Buk long-range surface-to-air systems, which can target most aircraft and incoming cruise and ballistic missiles. However, according to a memo dated Feb 28, Ukraine’s stock of Buk missiles may be completely depleted by April 13, and the S-300 missiles by May 3. The estimate was based on how quickly they were being used in February. At that time Ukraine’s S-300 batteries were using 200 missiles a month, and the Buk ones 69 missiles a month, according to the document. Another 64 missiles a month were being fired from Nasams and Iris-T systems. There were 25 S-300 batteries currently operating, according to the leaked document.
Russia could deploy fighter jets
Air defence systems used to protect front line Ukrainian troops would be out by May 23, it said. It opened the possibility the Kremlin could start deploying fighter jets in a major development that could jeopardise Ukraine’s much-anticipated counter-offensive. In the first months of the invasion Russia initially focussed on ground offensives as well as flying combat jets to bomb military targets in Ukraine. But as the Russian forces got bogged down in the ground offensive, Ukraine gradually won control of the skies, making it too risky for Russia to use its expensive fighter jets.
Kyiv has been asking for Western air defence systems for months, and the White House announced last week that it would send additional air defence interceptors and ammunition to Ukraine as part of its $2.6 billion (£2 billion) aid package. In December Joe Biden agreed to deploy a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine. Joe Biden was briefed on the document leak last week and will “stay briefed,” White House spokesman John Kirby said. Mr Kirby said the US had been “in touch with relevant allies and partners” over the documents. Asked if Mr Biden had spoken to Volodymyr Zelensky about the leaks, Mr Kirby said: “US officials have been in touch with relevant allies and partners at very high levels over the last few days.”A spokesman for Ukraine’s Air Force on Monday refused to comment on the authenticity of the claims in the leaked documents, but did not deny the reports that Kyiv might be running into air defence shortages. Yuri Ignat called on Ukraine’s Western allies to help deal with the problem. He told Ukrainian public television: “Quantity is the issue. We need a lot of (Western-made) air defence systems in order to replace (Soviet-made) ones but I wouldn’t say how many.”
‘Near shoot down’ Mr Ignat said Kyiv hopes for a supply of US-made F-16 fighter jets and Britain’s Typhoons but conceded “the wait is going to be very long.”He said: “We need jets here, and now.” Meanwhile, UK defence sources cast doubt on another claim in the leaked papers, suggesting Moscow nearly shot down a British surveillance plane over the Black Sea. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was understood to be firmly standing by his account to MPs that a Russian fighter jet merely launched a missile “in the vicinity” of an RAF aircraft. In October, Mr Wallace told MPs the “potentially dangerous engagement” had been attributed to a “technical malfunction” by his counterpart in Moscow. The leaked documents indicated that the Pentagon classified the encounter as a “near shoot down”. However defence sources warned against “sensationalist” reporting of the incident, insisting it was not “escalatory in any way”.

Ukraine ‘alters counter-offensive plans’ after Pentagon leak
Nataliya Vasilyeva/The Telegraph/April 10, 2023
Ukraine has reportedly been forced to alter plans for its coming counter-offensive because of the leak of highly-sensitive US intelligence. An unnamed official close to Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, told CNN on Monday that Kyiv had to reconsider some of its plans following the publication online of a trove of classified Pentagon documents. They did not elaborate on how. The Ukrainian ministry of defence on the weekend teased the offensive with a video showing soldiers receiving Western arms and training. “What it takes most armies months to learn, our army has mastered in weeks,” it read, with the tagline: “Spring Is Coming”. Yevgeny Prighozin, head of the mercenary Wagner Group, warned Moscow not to underestimate the counter-attack, saying Kyiv was waiting only for the mud to dry before sending in between 200,000 and 400,000 men. His claims could not be verified. The US documents leaked online included estimates of Russian and Ukrainian battlefield losses, details of surveillance operations covering the Zelensky administration as well as international allies and the Wagner Group. The Pentagon said on Sunday that it was assessing the impact of the leak on national security. Two defence officials told Reuters that the Pentagon was now examining how widely intelligence was shared within the US government. Some of the photographed documents would have been available to thousands of people with US and allied-government security clearances, one of the officials said. The most pressing concern for Kyiv revealed in the documents is a shortage of air defence munitions that could render parts of the country defenceless against Russian missiles within weeks. One of the documents, dated Feb 28, warns that the air defence systems protecting front line troops would be “completely reduced” by May 23. Stocks of missiles for Soviet-era S300 and Buk air defence systems, which together provide around 90 per cent of Ukraine’s protection against fighter jets and missiles, would run out by May 3 and April 13 respectively, the same document estimated.
‘We need a lot’
A spokesman for Ukraine’s air force on Monday did not deny reports that Kyiv faced critical shortages. “Quantity is the issue,” Yuri Ignat said in comments on Ukrainian public television. “We need a lot of [Western-made] air defence systems in order to replace [Soviet-made] ones but I wouldn’t say how many,” he added. Mr Ignat said Kyiv hopes for a supply of US-made F-16 fighter jets and Britain’s Typhoons but conceded that “the wait is going to be very long.”He said: “We need jets here, and now.” His comments came as UK defence sources cast doubt on another claim in the leaked papers, suggesting that Moscow nearly shot down a British surveillance plane over the Black Sea. Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, was understood to be firmly standing by his account to MPs that a Russian fighter jet merely launched a missile “in the vicinity” of an RAF aircraft. In October, Mr Wallace told MPs that the “potentially dangerous engagement” had been attributed to a “technical malfunction” by his counterpart in Moscow. The leaked documents indicated that the Pentagon classified the encounter as a “near shoot down”. However, defence sources warned against “sensationalist” reporting of the incident, insisting it was not “escalatory in any way”.

Turkey launches its first amphibious assault ship, eyes drone capabilities
ANKARA (Reuters)/Mon, April 10, 2023
Turkey launched its first amphibious assault ship on Monday, aiming to extend its drone capabilities from land-based to naval operations amid increased regional tensions as war rages in Ukraine on the other side of the Black Sea. The TCG Anadolu can handle only light aircraft, chiefly helicopters and jets that can take off from shorter runways. It is 232 meters long and 32 meters wide, and can carry some 1,400 personnel - one battalion of soldiers - combat vehicles and support units to operate overseas. "This vessel will allow us to conduct military and humanitarian operations in every corner of the world, when needed," President Tayyip Erdogan said at the launch ceremony in Istanbul. "We see this vessel as a symbol that will consolidate Turkey's regional leadership position," he said. The amphibious assault ship was built in Istanbul's Sedef Shipyard by a Turkish-Spanish consortium, based on the design of Spanish light aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I. Ankara's original plan was to deploy F-35 B-model fighter jets, which can take off from shorter runways, on its largest warship. But its plans had to change after the United States removed Turkey, a NATO ally, from its F-35 program over Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 defence systems in 2019. Turkey then converted TCG Anadolu into a drone carrier. In addition to helicopters, Turkey plans to deploy on the new carrier Bayraktar TB3 and Kizilelma unmanned aerial combat vehicles - both under production by Turkish defence firm Baykar - as well as Hurjet light attack aircraft being developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). TCG Anadolu will be the world's first amphibious assault ship whose fleet is made up mostly of armed drones once the plan is implemented. Turkey, which has NATO's second largest army, shares a border with conflict-ridden Syria and Iraq and has a long Mediterranean as well as Black Sea coastline. In the nearly 14-month Ukraine war, Turkey has positioned itself as an intermediary between Kyiv and Moscow, helping to broker with the United Nations a deal allowing for the safe export of grain from Ukrainian ports via the Black Sea. (This story has been corrected to fix the description of vessel from aircraft carrier to amphibious assault ship in the headline, lede and media identifier)

Kremlin says China has every right to conduct Taiwan exercises, France cannot mediate in Ukraine
MOSCOW (Reuters)/Mon, April 10, 2023
The Kremlin said on Monday that China had every right to respond to what it called repeated "provocations" against it and carry out military exercises around Taiwan. Beijing on Monday carried out the last of three days of drills around Taiwan, including practicing aerial and naval blockade manoeuvres of the island, which China views as part of its own territory, something Taiwan's government strongly disputes. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said everyone should respect China and its actions which were in line with international law.
"In a very short period of time, you and I have witnessed repeated actions that have been provocative toward the People's Republic of China," said Peskov. "And, of course, China has the sovereign right to respond to these provocative actions, including conducting military manoeuvres in strict compliance with international law." Peskov also suggested that France, whose president Emmanuel Macron visited China for talks last week, could not broker a peace in Ukraine as Paris is "both indirectly and directly involved in this conflict on the side of Ukraine. Therefore, it is still difficult to imagine any mediation efforts here."During his visit to China, Macron called on Chinese leader Xi Jinping to "bring Russia back to its senses" over Ukraine.

China rehearses 'sealing off' Taiwan, US deploys naval destroyer
Agence France Presse/Mon, April 10, 2023
China simulated "sealing off" Taiwan during a third day of wargames around the self-ruled island on Monday, as the United States deployed a naval destroyer into Beijing-claimed waters in a show of force. China launched the exercises in response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week, an encounter it had warned would provoke a furious response. After two days of exercises that included simulating targeted strikes on Taiwan and encirclement of the island, the Chinese military said the wargames also included "sealing" it off, and a state media report said dozens of planes had practised an "aerial blockade." One of China's two aircraft carriers -- the Shandong -- also "participated in today's exercise," the military added. The United States, which had repeatedly called for China to show restraint, on Monday sent the USS Milius guided-missile destroyer through contested parts of the South China Sea. "This freedom of navigation operation upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea," the US Navy said in a statement. It added that the vessel had passed near the Spratly Islands -- an archipelago claimed by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. It is about 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from Taiwan. The deployment of the Milius immediately triggered more anger from China, which said the vessel had "illegally intruded" into its territorial waters. And Beijing warned Monday that Taiwan independence and cross-strait peace were "mutually exclusive", blaming Taipei and unnamed "foreign forces" supporting it for the tensions. "If we want to protect peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait we must firmly oppose any form of Taiwan independence separatism," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin warned.
Meanwhile, Japan said on Monday it had scrambled jets in recent days as Chinese planes landed and took off from the Shandong.
'No war'
On Beigan island, part of Taiwan's Matsu archipelago that is within sight of China's mainland, 60-year-old chef Lin Ke-qiang told AFP he simply did not want war. "We, common people, just want to live peaceful and stable lives," Lin said, adding that Taiwan's military was no match for China's. "If any war happens, now that their missiles are so advanced, there's no way our side could resist. This side will be levelled to the ground." China and Taiwan split at the end of a civil war in 1949. China views democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to take it one day.
The United States has been deliberately ambiguous on whether it would defend Taiwan militarily. But for decades it has sold weapons to Taipei to help ensure its self-defence, and offered political support. Tsai met McCarthy outside Los Angeles on her way home from a visit with two allied countries in Central America. In August last year, China deployed warships, missiles and fighter jets around Taiwan in its largest show of force in years following a trip to the island by McCarthy's predecessor, Nancy Pelosi. Tsai meeting with McCarthy in the United States rather than in Taiwan, was viewed as a compromise that would underscore support for the island but avoid inflaming tensions with Beijing. But China had repeatedly warned against any meeting, and began the latest wargames soon after Tsai returned to Taiwan. "These operations serve as a stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces seeking 'Taiwan independence' and external forces and against their provocative activities," Shi Yin, a PLA spokesman, said about "Joint Sword". Tsai responded to the drills by pledging to work with "the U.S. and other like-minded countries" in the face of "continued authoritarian expansionism."
Live-fire exercises
The exercises on Monday were set to include live-fire drills off the rocky coast of China's Fujian province, about 80 kilometres south of the Matsu islands and 190 kilometres from Taipei. The local maritime authority said the exercises would be held between 7:00 am and 8:00 pm around Pingtan, a southeastern island that is China's nearest point to Taiwan. AFP journalists on Pingtan did not see any immediate military activity in an offshore area on Monday. A video published Monday to the Chinese Eastern Theatre Command's official WeChat account showed a pilot saying he had "arrived near the northern part of Taiwan Island", with missiles "locked into place." In another video with dramatic orchestral accompaniment, an officer's piercing whistle sends military personnel running into position as a simulated barrage on Taiwan unfolds on screen.

Italy's coastguard works to rescue 1,200 migrants drifting at sea
LBC/Reuters/Mon, April 10, 2023
The Italian coastguard is carrying out operations to rescue two boats carrying a total of 1,200 people, it said on Monday, after a surge in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa over the weekend. One of the boats, which is carrying 400 people and is in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Calabria, southern Italy, had previously been sighted in Maltese waters. Earlier on Monday, German NGO Sea-Watch International, which had located the fishing boat with one of its planes, said one merchant ship in the area had supplied fuel and water to the boat in distress, but Maltese authorities had ordered it not to conduct a rescue. Early on Sunday, support service Alarm Phone had said the vessel, which departed from Tobruk in Libya, was adrift and taking on water. The Maltese authorities did not respond to several requests for comment. The other rescue operation by Italian coastguard on Monday was to help a fishing boat carrying 800 people that was located over 120 miles southeast of Siracusa, in Sicily. It said in a statement this operation was complicated by the number of people on board. A spokesperson for coastguard said it would take hours to complete the two ongoing operations because of difficult conditions, including the long distance form the coast. Before these two operations, the Italian coastguard had already rescued around 2,000 migrants since Friday, it said.

Multiple casualties reported in shooting in downtown Louisville
LBCI/Mon, April 10, 2023
A person shot multiple people on Monday in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, near the Slugger Field baseball stadium, the city's police department said on Twitter. The department said there were multiple casualties and warned people to stay away from the area, saying in its statement there was "an active aggressor." The FBI said its agents have responded to the scene. CNN reported that six people were shot, but it was unclear whether they were wounded or had been killed. Police activity was seen near a bank in the downtown area of the city of 625,000 people. "I was at the stoplight, and the first thing that I saw -- there was a guy across the street at the intersection and he was lying down at the entrance to a hotel," an eyewitness told WDRB, a local Fox affiliate. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said he was headed to the city in response to the shooting.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 10-11/2023
Militias and Political Naivety
Tariq Al-Homayed/ Asharq Al-Awsat//April, 10/ 2023
As typically happens when Israel gets condemned internationally for its violations against the rights of the Palestinians or assaults on their holy sites, the militias of our region make the politically naive decisions to intervene and flip the situation on its head.
The actions of these militias garner unwarranted international sympathy for Israel. I am not only talking about the rockets recently fired from southern Lebanon into Israel, but a history of political naivety that has achieved almost nothing for the Palestinians or the Palestinian cause.
Regarding what happened last Thursday in particular, when rockets were fired from South Lebanon, with Israel blaming Hamas and Hezbollah denying any involvement, the incident reaffirmed that this political naivety endures despite the wars that have been waged on Gaza with no real justification.
It is no secret that neither Hamas nor any other Palestinian faction or militia can fire rockets at Israel from South Lebanon without the approval of Hezbollah and, of course, Iran.
As usual, Israel responded by striking Gaza and South Lebanon. Since those 24 hours of Israeli bombardment, nothing has been achieved for the Palestinians, and Hezbollah has not retaliated. Israel, on the other hand, has benefited from the split of global public opinion, as condemnation of its raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque was replaced by expressions of support for Israel’s right to self-defense. No one is talking about divisions within Israel anymore; instead, everyone is speculating about what Netanyahu will do in response! Could these militias be any more politically naive?
The truth is that Hamas, Hezbollah, and the other militias have no grasp of the state or its concepts, nor do they understand politics, neither as theory nor as practice. They only understand the language of assassination, inciting crises, and destroying statehood. Indeed, they do not believe in the Arab state, to begin with. Hezbollah is nothing more than a militia serving Iran’s agenda. Indeed, its leadership explicitly affirms this undeniable fact. As for Hamas, it is a product of the Muslim Brotherhood, which does not believe in the state, but in the Muslim nation (umma), and that is a different; a very complicated story.
The question we should always (loudly) ask: What has been achieved since the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, or the five wars waged on Gaza? The truth is that these militias (Hamas, Hezbollah, and others) neither saved Al-Aqsa Mosque nor improved the living conditions of the Palestinians.
They have not made things any better for the Lebanese either, nor have they made peace any more imminent. In fact, with the stroke of a pen without firing a single missile, Hezbollah facilitated Lebanon’s recognition of Israel through the maritime agreement, becoming the guarantor of Israel’s maritime security.
Without getting into the conspiracy theories our region is brimming with, all what the political naivety of these militias has done is deepening the Arabs' hatred for them. Even more so, they have deepened the hatred of the Palestinians and Lebanese for them, and the same applies to the people of Iraq and Syria.
Furthermore, the political naivety of these militias has reinforced the theory that they serve Israel’s goals, as well as Iran’s.

Was Iraq a Worse Disaster for America Than Vietnam?
Ross Douthat/ The New York Times/April, 10/ 2023
At the 20th anniversary of the Iraq war, we stand in the same position relative to the initial invasion as America stood in 1985 relative to the 1965 arrival of our first combat troops in Vietnam. This makes it a useful moment to compare the two conflicts and their effects, and to consider — provisionally, always provisionally — which was more disastrous, which intervention deserves to be remembered as the worst foreign policy decision in our history.
For some time, even after my own initial support for the war dissolved and its folly became obvious, I doubted that Iraq could outstrip Vietnam in the ranks of American debacles. More than 12 times as many American troops died in the Vietnam War as died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and its aftermath. The bloodletting among Iraqis was terrible, but so was the civilian toll in Southeast Asia. The United States lost the Vietnam War completely; in Iraq we left behind an unsteady and corrupt republic rather than a new dictatorship, with a government that still allows an American military presence.
Domestically, the period around the Vietnam War was dreadful — a wave of domestic terrorism, a crisis of authority, the 1960s curdling into the 1970s. The immediate aftermath of Iraq was sour and paranoid in its own way, but even with the Great Recession there wasn’t the same kind of radicalism and social breakdown. When Barack Obama was elected president, American conservatism seemed shattered by Iraq, as American liberalism was shattered by Vietnam, but by his second term there was a return to ideological stalemate.
At various times, then — at the 10th anniversary of the war, maybe even at the 15th — it was possible to imagine a long-term future where Iraq was ultimately remembered more like our bloody counterinsurgency in the Philippines at the dawn of the 20th century than like the trauma of Vietnam. As a bad war, but not an era-defining one. As a squandering of blood and treasure and moral credibility, but one whose overarching strategic costs were not so great.
But today there’s a stronger case for seeing Iraq as a more epochal disaster. In American domestic life the Vietnam effect was more of a fever, whereas the Iraq effect seems like a wasting or relapsing disease. The war’s influence has percolated inside other social crises, like the opioid epidemic, that have become more visible and destructive over time. Its lingering effects have made the body politic more susceptible to left-wing radicalism and right-wing demagogy, while contributing to a persistent mood of pessimism and disappointment that’s then been exacerbated by other forces (social media, the coronavirus pandemic).
In our political coalitions, these disillusioning effects look even more substantial and permanent than they appeared in 2010 or 2015. Ever since the war discredited and helped dissolve the hawkish center-left, nobody has been able to reconstitute a strong centrist faction within liberalism, with the result that liberal institutions have been pulled ever leftward since 2004. Ever since the war discredited both neoconservatism specifically and the Republican establishment generally, nobody has been able to maintain a successful counterweight to the various forms of right-wing populism, Tea Party and Trumpian, that have made the G.O.P. ungovernable and incapable of governing.
And there is a special irony that even with the intellectual ferment on the Trump-era right, the attempts to forge a “national conservatism” or a socially conservative populism, sometimes look like efforts to grope backward to George W. Bush’s platform in 2000, before he traded his humble foreign policy for a grand crusade. But it is in the effect on America’s global position that the costs of the Iraq war really keep compounding. It’s now clear that not just the war alone but its ever-spreading secondary consequences — which included our futile overinvestment in Afghanistan, fatefully cast as the “good war” by many Democrats opposed to the Iraq invasion — kept us tied us down during critical years of geopolitical realignment, making it hard to even think about, let alone cope with the revival of Russian power and the rise of China to superpower status.
The all-but-certain influence of our final defeat in Afghanistan on Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine was just one link in a long chain of consequences forged by the Iraq war. Likewise, our newly aggressive posture toward the Chinese regime is a risky attempt to play catch-up to shifts that we should have been more attuned to a decade ago.
And while the effects of the Iraq war on the developing world’s attitudes toward the United States can be overstated, our initial invasion clearly made us seem like a less trustworthy hegemon, reckless and revisionist rather than steady and reliable. Then the way the war contributed to our internal divisions and derangements also made American culture seem less admirable and the broader liberal-democratic project seem less inevitable. So not only Russia and China but other power centers, from India to Türkiye, were pushed toward post-American and post-Western paths by everything that followed.
Now return to the comparison between 2023 and our Reagan-era situation, barely a decade after the last helicopters left Saigon. By 1985, we had managed to separate China from Russia, the Soviet economy was faltering and Mikhail Gorbachev had just been elected general secretary of the Communist Party, with glasnost and the fall of the Berlin Wall just around the corner. Today, with Russia and China increasingly aligned together against us and Chinese influence increasing, we seem to be descending back into the kind of twilight struggle that in ’85 we were poised to finally transcend. So if Vietnam 20 years on looked like a disaster that in our strength we were able to absorb, a surmountable obstacle to American ascent, Iraq 20 years on looks more like our empire’s nemesis, full stop.
Of course, appearances can be deceiving. Almost nobody in 1985 realized just how quickly the Soviet Union would collapse, and perhaps today the American comeback is already beginning. We have resources and forms of legitimacy that are lacking in our more authoritarian rivals; their systems are persistently vulnerable to the follies of autocratic decision making. And the Ukraine conflict, for some, is seen as a possible doorway to revival, reinvigorating the West much as Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and John Paul II once did, drawing Putin into the same sort of quagmire that Afghanistan offered to the Soviets, helping us shake our Iraq distemper on a different timetable than with our Vietnam syndrome, but with similar results.
It’s not a coincidence that among those most invested in this hope are some of the Iraq war’s most ardent advocates. They want redemption, understandably, for their vision of American power, if not for the Iraq decision itself.
I don’t share their optimism, but I’m not surprised at its resilience. Especially when the alternative possibility, that a single choice made with such confidence 20 years ago still has our empire on a sunset path today, seems too terrible to bear.

هديل عويس/ جيروزاليم بوست حتى مع الاتفاق الإيراني السعودي فإن نهاية الحرب في اليمن بعيدة المنال
Even with Iran-Saudi deal, the war in Yemen is far from over -
Hadeel Oueis/The Jerusalem Post/April 10/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/117328/117328/
It is time for the US to discuss the war in Yemen as a Yemeni matter and listen to the Yemeni parties more than the regional powers.
All the Arab republics in the region we know today were founded either shortly before or after Israel’s founding. In May 1962, Yemen became one of the region’s most recent republics.
When the Republic of Yemen was founded, only what is now known as North Yemen existed; the South was a separate country. This division lasted until 1990, when the two countries, each with its own capital city (Sanaa for Yemen and Aden for the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen), were united as a single nation.
However, tensions remained following the unification but Sanaa was able to put down a southern uprising in 1994 that sought to restore southern independence. The majority of South Yemenis felt that national unification had been imposed upon them.
When war emerged in Yemen in 2015, the Houthis, a rebel group from the north with ties to Iran, assaulted Aden, the historic capital of the south and killed thousands of civilians. But soon after that, Aden was liberated from the Houthis by South Yemeni armed forces formed and armed with the assistance of the UAE. Aden is now one of the few cities in Yemen that has been totally liberated from the Houthis and is reasonably safe from their onslaught.
The growing strength of southern special forces and the weakness of the Yemeni official army that failed to liberate large parts of Yemen from the Houthis reawakened the southern populace’s longing for independence. A few years after the liberation of Aden, the UAE supported the establishment of the Southern Transitional Council to become the de facto authority in the south. The primary objective of the UAE’s collaboration with the south was to combat AQAP as part of a United States-backed effort.
Since the unification with the north in 1990, the Southern Transitional Council was the first powerful political entity to represent the independence struggle in the south. Although the STC and its military forces were able to maintain moderate stability in the south, political difficulties began to intensify. The majority of Yemen’s important actors, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the General People’s Congress Party, the party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, oppose the secession of South Yemen.
Many leaders in these powerful groups that governed Yemen during the previous regime were from the south but they favor the country’s unification for a variety of reasons. Some are personal since they inherited official privileges under the unification, while others are intellectual because they stem from the era of Arab nationalism that was based on the idea of uniting the Arab world.
HOWEVER, TENS of thousands of residents in the south have gathered in recent years to protest the unity and have called for independence. The Southern Transitional Council, which supports secession, has repeatedly requested a UN-monitored referendum on the south’s future.
Will the Iran-Saudi deal impact the war in Yemen?
The new agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia stipulates that Iran would cease arming the Houthis. Even if Saudi Arabia got an easy exit from the Yemen war and was able to halt Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, which pose a significant threat to the Saudi Crown prince’s overall vision for development, the war within Yemen between the Houthis and other players, primarily the Southern forces, could resume.
Saudi Arabia realizes the complicated dynamics inside Yemen that may escalate the war and this is why Riyadh is moving forward with a plan to completely close off its border with Yemen by building a 1000-mile fence on its southern borders.
The Houthis are already attempting to take over rich oil cities in South Yemen and what makes matters worse is that Al Qaeda in the peninsula is centered in the cities where heavy fighting between the Houthis and southerner forces are taking place.
Many media outlets and Western officials remember the Yemen war because of Saudi Arabian and Iranian involvement and if Iran and Saudi Arabia distance themselves from it, Yemen may fade from the news headlines, while the suffering of Yemenis and the chaos that Yemen may once again export to the world will increase.
If Iran and Saudi Arabia agree on an easy getaway from Yemen to focus on other concerns, US envoy to Yemen Tim Linderkeng should continue to urge for a political solution that addresses the core causes of the crisis.
The rivalry between south and north Yemen is a major feature of the Yemeni war and it is still ignored in Yemen political discussions. Fundamental divides in Yemenis’ perceptions of their identity have continued to fuel violence. With the authority that the Southern troops and the STC have today, it’s difficult to imagine Yemen being united again without a bloody war because it’s going to be against the wishes of a large portion of the people in the south.
It is time for the US to discuss the war in Yemen as a Yemeni matter and listen to the Yemeni parties more than the regional powers. Ignoring the eternal stakeholders’ goals and vision for Yemen’s future will extend the war, increase human suffering and jeopardize the region’s peace and the mission of combating Al-Qaeda in Yemen, one of the most violent Al-Qaeda branches in the world.
**The writer is a senior fellow at Philos Project.

Contemplate the Rise in Religious Hatred, Then Confront It
Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute/April 10, 2023
As early as 1899, following a year in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the iconic American author Mark Twain observed that the leaders of the Habsburg Empire directed scorn at the Jewish community to maintain unity within their precarious empire.
As Jews around the world gather this week to observe the holiday of Passover and as Christians celebrate Easter, and Muslims, Ramadan, it comes at a time when violent acts of anti-Semitism and the slaughter of Christians have spiked as incidents have been reported around the world.
It is one of history's oldest and most virulent of prejudices where Jews have cynically been used as scapegoats by empires and despots to ensure their own survival.
As early as 1899, following a year in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the iconic American author Mark Twain observed that the leaders of the Habsburg Empire directed scorn at the Jewish community to maintain unity within their precarious empire.
Twain would take stock of the Jewish will to survive throughout multiple epochs by writing, "He has made a marvellous fight in this world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him."
The Passover holiday that observes the Jewish exodus from Egypt is just one more chapter in the history of a people that have been singled out for persecution. While history, and today's headlines, remind us there are others who have suffered violent religious bigotry, none were the victims of an organized genocide that enlisted the power of a modern state to commit murder on an industrialized scale.
In his writings, Twain, citing the disappearance of the Babylonians and Romans, marveled at how the Jews outlasted many of their historic adversaries. Still, the author would have had to put his pen down and weep at the legacy of the Holocaust.
This Jewish holiday is an appropriate time for good people of all faiths to contemplate the rise of religious hatred here and around the world and then to pledge ourselves to confronting it wherever and whenever we find it.
*Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
© 2023 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.

No Money, No Nukes: Time to Bankrupt China's Regime
Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/April 10, 2023
America can stop China's nuclear weapons development and other monumental programs.
The Chinese Communist Party needs America for, among other things, money, and the U.S. does not have to provide it.
In reality, China's economy in 2022, after price adjustments, almost certainly contracted, perhaps by as much as 3%.
Exports fell 6.8% year-on-year. More significantly, imports, one of the best reflections of domestic demand, plunged 10.2%.
"Everything is down, whether plane travel, freight, or buying on the Alibaba platforms." — Anne Stevenson-Yang, author of China Alone: Return to Isolation, to Gatestone, April 2023.
China, therefore, needs factory orders from abroad and foreign investment. The American president can crimp both of these lifelines by, among other things, using his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 and by joining or liberalizing free-trade agreements with other countries. For instance, U.S. President Joe Biden could encourage factories to move to the Western hemisphere by making a few fixes to the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). The American market is the largest in the world, and the president can use it to redirect trade flows.
"We now know that China spent $240 billion on country bailouts from 2008 to 2021, correlating with a drop in Chinese lending for infrastructure projects that are the core of this Belt and Road Initiative. It is clear that China is now overstretched and unable to continue with the BRI overall plan into the foreseeable future." — China analyst Charles Burton of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, to Gatestone, April 2023.
Municipalities and cities across China have not been able to pay civil servant salaries and promised benefits, and for months there have been protests, even in wealthy cities like Wuhan in Hubei province and Dalian in Liaoning.
There is a lot America can do to stop China's fast buildup of its most dangerous arsenal, and in any case Americans must not under any circumstances fund, with trade and investment, the weapons pointed at them.
President Ronald Reagan bankrupted the Soviet Union by reducing the flow of cash to Moscow. It is now time to bankrupt China.
After all, no money, no nukes.
America can stop China's nuclear weapons development... The Chinese Communist Party needs America for, among other things, money, and the U.S. does not have to provide it. President Ronald Reagan bankrupted the Soviet Union by reducing the flow of cash to Moscow. It is now time to bankrupt China. (Image source: iStock)
"We are probably not going to be able to do anything to stop, slow down, disrupt, interdict, or destroy the Chinese nuclear development program that they have projected out over the next 10 to 20 years," said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley on March 29 at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. "They're going to do that in accordance with their own plan."
Milley is wrong about China's nuclear weapons ambitions. He is, unfortunately, expressing the same pessimism that pervaded the Nixon, Ford and Carter years, when the American foreign policy establishment took the Soviet Union as a given and therefore promoted détente.
America can stop China's nuclear weapons development and other monumental programs.
The Chinese Communist Party needs America for, among other things, money, and the U.S. does not have to provide it.
"The one resource which Xi Jinping's ambition has overreached is cash," Gregory Copley, the president of the International Strategic Studies Association and editor-in-chief of Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy, told Gatestone. "Beijing cannot, in the short term, provide the cash needed to dominate the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and other places."
The fundamental problem for the audacious Chinese ruler is that China's economic growth is stumbling. China's official National Bureau of Statistics reported that gross domestic product last year grew 3.0%, well below the regime's announced target of "around 5.5%."
Official statisticians minimized inflation, thereby overstating last year's economic output. In reality, China's economy in 2022, after price adjustments, almost certainly contracted, perhaps by as much as 3%.
Will there be growth now? There was great optimism at the beginning of this year, in part because the economy in 2022 was so weak and a fast rebound seemed likely after the lifting of China's draconian "dynamic zero-COVID" controls in early December.
Beijing's propaganda machine, beginning in December, went into overdrive, predicting a robust economic expansion for this year. Li Keqiang, in one of his last acts as premier, in March announced a GDP growth target of "around 5%." He did not do his successor, Li Qiang, any favors. That target, as low as it is, is unattainable. In any event, the economy stumbled out of the block. From all indications, GDP contracted during the combined January-February period.
During the two months — January and February are combined for reporting purposes to eliminate the distortion caused by the constantly shifting Chinese New Year holiday — trade volume continued its downward trend. Exports fell 6.8% year-on-year. More significantly, imports, one of the best reflections of domestic demand, plunged 10.2%.
Retail sales for the two-month period, Beijing says, increased, but only by 3.5%. That number, as weak as it is, is not consistent with consumer data, however. Anne Stevenson-Yang of J Capital Research points out that airline passenger traffic for January-February was off 23% compared with the same period in 2019, the last pre-Covid year; box office revenue, a closely watched indicator, was down 13% for the January 1-April 4 period, again compared to 2019; and the price of sports shoes has been dropping rapidly on the popular Alibaba sites of Taobao and TMall.
Beijing has been issuing optimistic-looking purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) for the services sector, but Stevenson-Yang, also the author of China Alone: Return to Isolation, persuasively argues these numbers do not show the true state of economic growth. "The services PMI gives the impression that the Chinese economy is roaring back, but that does not at all appear to be the case," she told Gatestone. "Everything is down, whether plane travel, freight, or buying on the Alibaba platforms."
The dramatic downturn in the all-important property market and the deep pessimism in Chinese society ultimately combine to limit consumer spending, which in turn limits manufacturing output. Weak foreign demand has, as trade numbers show, already dented exports. In sum, the Chinese economy is anemic.
China, therefore, needs factory orders from abroad and foreign investment. The American president can crimp both of these lifelines by, among other things, using his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 and by joining or liberalizing free-trade agreements with other countries. For instance, U.S. President Joe Biden could encourage factories to move to the Western hemisphere by making a few fixes to the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). The American market is the largest in the world, and the president can use it to redirect trade flows.
Will redirecting trade flows stop China's nuclear weapons buildup? Not all at once. The People's Liberation Army has been taking larger shares of the resources of the Chinese state. Last year, for instance, China's military budget, according to official sources, increased 7.1% while the economy, at least officially, grew only 3.0%. This year, the military is slated to get 7.2% more, and economic growth will again fall short.
In the short term, therefore, China can afford its nukes, but the budget of the Chinese central government is strained because of Xi Jinping's other grand ambitions, such as his building and maintaining an enormous surveillance state — this costs more than the Chinese military — and his Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) worldwide infrastructure-building program.
"The BRI is faltering and crumbling as China has overextended itself because of pressure from Xi Jinping to push it through too rapidly and without adequate contingency provision for the economic downturn caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other factors," China analyst Charles Burton of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute told Gatestone. "We now know that China spent $240 billion on country bailouts from 2008 to 2021, correlating with a drop in Chinese lending for infrastructure projects that are the core of this Belt and Road Initiative. It is clear that China is now overstretched and unable to continue with the BRI overall plan into the foreseeable future."
Sure, China has foreign reserves and gold, but there is a brewing local currency crisis. There is no other explanation for the "oldies" or "silver" protests. Municipalities and cities across China have not been able to pay civil servant salaries and promised benefits, and for months there have been protests, even in wealthy cities like Wuhan in Hubei province and Dalian in Liaoning. In Shenzhen in Guangdong province, teachers in public elementary schools are not getting full salaries.
Localities, dependent on crumbling property revenues, are going broke. Attempts to raise new revenues are now starting a fresh round of demonstrations.
Xi has diverted the state's resources for nuclear weapons. He can do that for a time, but soon the cash will run out. So here is a message for General Milley: There is a lot America can do to stop China's fast buildup of its most dangerous arsenal, and in any case Americans must not under any circumstances fund, with trade and investment, the weapons pointed at them.
President Ronald Reagan bankrupted the Soviet Union by reducing the flow of cash to Moscow. It is now time to bankrupt China.
After all, no money, no nukes.
*Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China, a Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory Board.
© 2023 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.

Israel will be incinerated by these fires Netanyahu ignites
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/April 10, 2023
As three of the world’s great faiths celebrate the festivals of Ramadan, Easter and Passover in the cradle of those religions, various parties have been deliberately provoking tension toward all-out conflict. Exchanges of rockets across the Lebanon–Israel–Syria borders are evidence of an inflammatory situation that nobody has control of. Attacks by Israeli security forces on Ramadan worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, in which about 40 Palestinians were injured and 350 arrested, are symptomatic of these escalatory tendencies. Why was the mosque raided when there was no credible security threat? Simply because Israeli officials currently calling the shots are wedded to an approach of maximum harassment and kneejerk overreaction. About 1,000 radical settlers then stormed Al-Aqsa on April 9, and Jordan warned Israel of the “catastrophic consequences” of deliberately inflaming the situation around Jerusalem’s holy sites. We see the same gratuitously provocative approach applied to settlement expansion, demolition of homes, and security crackdowns in Palestinian areas. Newly appointed extremist Israeli ministers enjoying their first taste of power are spoiling for a fight, even castigating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not going far enough. Tensions have been further exacerbated by the killing of two British Israelis in the Jordan Valley and a car ramming in Tel Aviv.
In the lead-up to Easter there was a surge in hate crimes against Christians and Christian holy places by Jewish fanatics who increasingly feel that they can act with impunity — including desecrating graves and carrying out violent attacks against Palestinian Christians. In his Easter message, the Pope made a general reference to Jerusalem tension, but global Christian institutions should be taking up this cause more vigorously.
Who fired 34 rockets into Israel from Lebanon? Israel appears happy to buy into the fiction that it was Hamas, but these strikes certainly emanated from locations where nothing happens without Hezbollah’s blessing. And who believes that Hamas would have embarked on such adventures without Hezbollah approval, even if the latter would prefer a fig leaf of deniability for the time being? Iran and Hezbollah have been losing personnel to daily airstrikes in Syria, but they play make-believe that these humiliations have little to do with them.
Based on strategic calculations alone, Netanyahu should be 100 percent focused on the encroaching nuclear and paramilitary threat from Iran; instead he has been allowing his pyromaniac political stablemates to ignite one bushfire after another, fueling a situation of anarchy and volatility in Israel that has little precedent. Hundreds of thousands of protesters rightly believe that Netanyahu’s latest efforts to eviscerate the judiciary and turn his extremist allies into omnipotent paramilitary warlords pose an existential threat to Israel’s future.
If Israel refuses to make peace now from a position of relative strength, a time will come when it is compelled to beg for peace while it still possesses some remnants of a state to negotiate with.
Hassan Nasrallah likewise has become a prisoner of his own evermore bellicose rhetoric, threatening to unleash war with Israel at the slightest provocation — a war that Hezbollah and Lebanon are in no position to wage. Hezbollah may possess far greater missile capabilities than in 2006, but we should be under no illusions that Israel’s military would make short work of Lebanon. The civilian loss of life would be horrific – and no country is set to rush to Lebanon’s aid.
These developments demonstrate the fundamental long-term weakness of Israel’s position. As long as it refuses to make peace with an ever-multiplying Palestinian population, it can only futilely run around in circles igniting fires and putting them out. Israel could easily win a war against Hezbollah, but in doing so it would create a new generation of implacable enemies. Israel says it wants peace with Arab states, but shows no readiness to do what it would take to stimulate genuine peace and put a halt to the endless cycle of conflict.
Israeli officials are unnerved by the recent Saudi-Iran deal, and partial Arab rapprochement with Bashar Assad in Syria. Meanwhile Iran-backed paramilitary forces encircle Israel from numerous states, and Tehran gets ever closer to the nuclear and ballistic capacity which it gloats could wipe Israel off the map. Last week the US deployed a guided missile submarine to the Gulf region after specific Iranian threats to Israeli and regional shipping.
Because Israel has got away with killing and oppressing Palestinians in the past, it believes that its ongoing repression won’t carry a cost. This is a dangerous mistake, as the situation has been transformed in ways that Netanyahu apparently fails to comprehend — not least the likelihood of triggering a new intifada.
Furthermore, Israel’s increasingly radicalized and anti-democratic trajectory will ultimately lose it the international friends it has always relied upon for financial and military support. Through America and Europe condoning and facilitating its actions, Israel became the over-demanding spoilt child of the West. If the West really is still a friend, it is morally obliged to draw Israel back from the brink of self-destruction.
Israel can deny the historic reality of Palestine all it wants, but this only blinds it to the demographic fact that Palestinians are trending toward being the majority. If Israel refuses to make peace now from a position of relative strength, a time will come when it is compelled to beg for peace while it still possesses some remnants of a state to negotiate with. There is likewise a growing awakening throughout Lebanon, and specifically among Hezbollah’s supporters, that this Tehran-backed entity is less an agent of protection and “resistance,” and more a catalyst for Lebanon’s destruction.
Many media commentators look at these recent escalations and complacently tell us that war is unlikely because the parties don’t desire it. Instead they should be warning that these parties are not rational actors, are not fully in control of events, and have done much to fan the flames through their incompetence and self-interested agendas. Following the chaos of recent days, war is an increasingly likely prospect. We should collectively be doing everything in our power to halt these maniacs before they take us all to hell.
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

US-Russia tensions flare high over Syria
Haid Haid/The Arab Weekly/April 10/2023
US forces patrol the countryside of Rumaylan (Rmeilan) in Syria’s northeastern
A recent spike in aggressive behaviour by the Russian military over Syria, coupled with the downing of an American drone by a Russian fighter jet in the Black Sea, are prompting fears that Moscow and Washington are on a collision course to confrontation. While scuffles and stand-offs between Russia and the United States in northeast Syria are not new, developments this month have sparked concern among analysts that a more serious skirmish is possible. De-escalation is urgently needed to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control.
American and Russian militaries have operated in an uneasy coexistence in Syria since the Kremlin sent forces there in 2015 to support the Syrian regime.
US troops were deployed to northeast Syria in 2014 to counter the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in cooperation with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Today, approximately 900 US service members remain to keep a potential resurgence of IS at bay. Notably, the US and Russia established communication channels in 2015 to prevent direct military encounters. But since March 1, US forces have reported a surge in unprofessional behaviour by Russia’s air force in Syria. Russian aircraft are acting aggressively toward US bases in a manner not typical of an organised military force, commanders said. For instance, armed Russian jets reportedly flew sorties over American bases in the country nearly every day last month, violating the deconfliction agreement between the two countries.
Lieutenant General Alexus G Grynkewich, the top US air force general in the Middle East, said Russia’s aggressive posture in Syria is linked to the return of Russian commanders after failing in Ukraine. “To me, it’s very, very concerning,” he said. “I believe that some of those Russian leaders are trying to rebuild their reputation.”The erratic behaviour, previously a nuisance, became a major concern for the Pentagon after a Russian Su-27 fighter jet damaged a US Reaper drone west of Crimea, causing it to crash into international waters.
In a statement, the US military’s European Command criticised the pilot’s “unsafe and unprofessional” interception, and said that the Russian fighter dumped fuel and flew recklessly in front of the drone before striking its propeller. For its part, the Russian defence ministry denied the allegations and claimed that an increase in US drone flights off the coast of Crimea is “provocative in nature.”
Crimea is a Ukrainian peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014 and now uses as a major military base for its war on Ukraine. As such, the drone incident highlights the dangers of miscalculation and the threat of escalation between Russia and NATO, particularly as the West continues to increase its military support to Ukraine. But although the drone incident was serious, the situation in Syria presents greater risks. According to US officials, Russian forces in Syria are no longer informing them about their movements, violating protocols that require the air force that flies into areas controlled by the other party to announce operations in advance. Hence, when unannounced Russian aircraft enter what the US regards as its airspace, American warplanes intercept them. US officials argue that they are obliged to monitor Russian aircraft movements in their airspace closely to ensure the safety of their forces on the ground and to prevent potential mishaps. The US recently increased its military presence in the Middle East, in response to the heightened aggression in Syria. In addition to deploying a squadron of A-10 attack aircraft ahead of schedule, a carrier strike group was ordered to remain in the region to support US forces. Through these actions, the US is signalling that it will take all necessary measures to defend its forces in Syria and the wider region. These developments are even more concerning amid the absence of clear procedures to prevent what happened in the Black Sea from occurring in Syria. If such an event were to unfold, the US would likely interpret it as deliberate, which could lead to a further escalation of tensions in the region.
Unfortunately, recent developments indicate that such a scenario is no longer a remote possibility. In times of crisis, even the slightest misunderstanding can lead to miscalculations and grave mistakes. While wise people are needed to prevent catastrophic outcomes, this approach is not foolproof.
With the risk of escalation in Syria climbing, there is an urgent need for clear deconfliction protocols between US and Russian forces. A military hotline is only useful if both sides pick up the phone. To avert disaster in Syria, Washington and Moscow must work to prevent confrontation and move quickly to contain the fallout if it occurs again.
*Dr Haid Haid is a consulting associate fellow of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa programme.

Why Muslims Hate the Cross: Part 2
Raymond Ibrahim/April 10/2023
https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2023/04/10/why-muslims-hate-the-cross-part-2/
In Part 1 of this article, we documented Islam’s doctrinal and historical hate for the crucifix. Here we demonstrate continuity by documenting modern day examples, categorized according to theme.
General Hate for and Attacks on the Cross
USA: Ali Alaheri, a 29-year-old Muslim man, knocked down and destroyed a large crucifix that had stood for eleven years outside of St. Athanasius Church in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, N.Y. “It was a terrible morning,” reflected Monsignor David Cassato. “It was probably the saddest day in my life, to see this desecration of a cross of Jesus.”
Germany:
In the Alps and in Bavaria alone, countless crosses on some 200 churches were desecrated and broken: “Police are currently dealing with church desecrations again and again,” says the report. “The perpetrators are often youthful rioters with a migration background.”
Before Christmas, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, where more than a millionMuslim migrants reside, some 50 public statues of Jesus and other Christian figures were beheaded and crucifixes broken.
Following the arrival of another million Muslim migrants to Dülmen, a local newspaper said “not a day goes by” without attacks on crosses and other Christian symbols.
Italy:
A Muslim migrant invaded an old church in Venice and attacked its large, 300-year-old cross, breaking off one of its arms, while shouting, “All that is in a church is false!”
After a crucifix was destroyed in close proximity to a populated mosque, the area’s mayor said concerning the identity of the culprit(s): “Before we put a show of unity with Muslims, let’s have them begin by respecting our civilization and our culture.”
France:
An enraged Muslim man physically twisted a massive bronze cross with his bare hands while committing major acts of vandalism in two churches. He also overturned and broke two altars, destroyed Christian statues, tore down a tabernacle, smashed in a sacristy door, and broke some stained-glass windows.
“Vandals” cut down an iconic iron cross that had stood on the summit of Pic Saint-Loup since 1911 and was visible for miles around.
More “unknown vandals” desecrated and smashed crosses and statues at Saint-Alain Cathedral in Lavaur; they mangled the arms of a crucified Christ in a mocking manner.
Turkey:
In broad daylight, a man climbed the fence of a historic Armenian church in Istanbul and proceeded to yank off its metal cross and hurl it to the ground, as captured on surveillance footage.
President Erdoğan complained to German Chancellor Angela Merkel because a 50-foot high cross erected at a Greek monastery near the Greek/Turkish border is visible in Turkey.
Before and during a soccer match against a German team, Istanbul police removed the flags and banners of soccer fans because they had the symbol of a cross, which is part of the German team’s logo (a coat of arms with a black cross on a yellow background). The German team and its fans also reported general harassment from the Muslim authorities for carrying their customary Christian symbols during their stay in Turkey.
Pakistan:
An armed Muslim mob shouting “anti-Christian slogans” attacked and tried to set fire to the Trinity Pentecostal Church in Hakeem Pura. Although they ultimately failed, they managed to sate their ire on one aspect of the church: “Not only was the cross broken, but our hearts were crushed too,” said a Christian eyewitness.
After receiving complaints and threats from local Muslims, a church congregation, “With broken hearts,” to quote its pastor, agreed to take down the cross from their church: “We took this decision for the safety and protection of Christians in the village…. Muslims threatened that if we don’t remove the cross, they will ban the prayer services and take the church property.”
Syria: To triumphant cries of “Allahu Akbar,” a cross was ripped down from a Greek orthodox church in a region “controlled by U.S.-backed militants.”
Sudan: After a ninth church was torched in Sudan, “They targeted the church,” said the Rev. Kuwa Shamal of the Sudanese Church of Christ, “because they do not want to see any sign of the cross in the area.”
Armenia: A soldier — unclear whether an Azeri or a jihadist mercenary from Syria or Iraq — was videotaped triumphantly shouting “Allahu Akbar!” while standing atop an Armenian church, the chapel cross of which had been ripped down.
Violence against and Murder of Cross-Wearers
Pakistan:
Three Muslim men murdered two Christian brothers because they hung a cross on the rearview mirror of their car.
When a Muslim man saw Julie Aftab, a Christian woman, wearing a cross around her neck, he attacked her, forced acid down her throat, and splashed it on her face — permanently damaging her esophagus, blinding her in one eye, and causing her to lose both eyelids and most of her teeth.
Muslims ransacked and severely beat the employees of a Christian store for displaying a cross and other Christian symbols. Police responded by arresting one of the owners on the accusation that by hanging a cross he was evangelizing to Muslims.
Burkina Faso: “Looking for Christians,” Muslim terrorists identified and slaughtered four men for wearing crucifixes.
Italy:
A Muslim migrant in Rome stabbed and nearly killed an Italian man in the throat for wearing a crucifix around his neck.
A Muslim boy from Africa picked on, insulted, and eventually beat a 12-year-old girl during school because she was wearing a crucifix.
Germany:
While cursing his “pig god,” Muslim migrants beat and repeatedly stabbed a homeless man in Berlin for displaying a Christian symbol, believed to be a cross. The report adds that such incidents are not uncommon: “Recently, a 39-year-old had been beaten for wearing a necklace with a cross on it.”
After checking himself into a hospital a Muslim man went into a sudden frenzy because there were “too many crosses on the wall.” He called the nurse a “bitch” and “fascist” and became physically aggressive.
Sweden: A little Swedish boy, 11, was called a “pig bastard” and beaten by Muslim migrants for wearing a cross. The incident occurred in Malmö, which has a large Muslim population and is known as the “rape capital” of Sweden.
Maldives: Authorities had to rescue a female Christian teacher after Muslim “parents threatened to tie and drag her off of the island” for “preaching Christianity.” Her actual crime was to draw a compass — which was mistaken for a cross — as part of a geography lesson in class.
Turkey:
A 12-year-old boy wearing a silver cross necklace in class was spit on and beaten regularly by Muslim classmates and teachers.
Two Muslim men beat a Christian teenager in the street after they noticed he was wearing a crucifix around his neck.
The Desecration of Crucifixes in Cemeteries
France: A Muslim man was apprehended for desecrating over 200 Christian crosses and gravestones in a cemetery.
Indonesia:
Ten Muslim schoolchildren, between the ages of 5 and 12, broke the crosses off a dozen gravestones in a Christian cemetery. The mayor of Solo laid the blame on the Islamic madrasa the children attend, and its teachers, “because they are teaching intolerance to their students.”
Several crosses in the Bethesda Christian cemetery were vandalized, broken and burned, to the point that the cemetery keeper who had worked there for ten years said he had “never seen such vandalism.”
Local Muslims sawed off the top of a cross from a deceased Christian’s tomb and prevented mourners from meeting and saying prayers in the same dead man’s home.
Malaysia: A Christian cemetery was attacked and desecrated in the middle of the night by unknown persons in the Muslim-majority nation. Several crosses were destroyed, including by the use of “a heavy tool to do the damage.”
Pakistan: Several crosses fixed to the tombstones of thirty-eight Christian graves at a cemetery were desecrated and defaced.
Turkey: After locals interrupted the burial of a Christian woman—in part by shouting, “Allahu Akbar!”— her grave was later found desecrated by her husband who came to mourn: its wooden cross was broken off and burned. The priest of the church which the deceased woman was a member of, Father Andrea Santoro, was himself murdered in 2006 when a 16-year-old, also shouting “Allahu Akbar,” shot the priest in the back of the head while he was kneeling in prayer inside the church.
Germany: After Muslims were granted their own section at a cemetery, and after being allowed to conduct distinctly Islamic ceremonies, these same Muslims began demanding that Christian crosses in the cemetery be removed or at least covered up during Islamic funerals.
(There are many more examples of the macabre Muslim practice of desecrating Christian graves. Click here for more documentation.)
And so, as you celebrate this Easter season, know that not everyone in this world feels the same way about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ—as well demonstrated by Islam’s past and present war on the crucifix.