English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For December 18/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
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Bible Quotations For today
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ
Letter to the Romans 10/14-21/:”How are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, ‘I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.’Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, ‘I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’But of Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 17-18/2023
Hezbollah Announces 509 Operations against Israel Since War Began
Israel Says it Struck Hezbollah Sites after Attacks from Lebanon
Israel Soldier Killed by 'Hostile Aircraft' on Lebanon Border
Fresh border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah
Israel says France can play 'significant role' to avoid war in Lebanon
French FM urges all parties to 'deescalate' on Israel-Lebanon border
France’s Colonna to visit Lebanon on Monday
MP Kassem Hashem to LBCI: Franjieh remains our candidate
Marada movement leader Frangieh objects to Chief of Staff appointment
Unresolved Cabinet Dynamics: Prospects of Military Appointments Outside Formal Agenda
Urgent Search for Lina Laure Steiger: Missing Person in Lebanon
Berri, Mikati, Al-Shami offer condolences to the Emir of Kuwait, members of Al-Sabah family
Alma Shaab lights its Christmas tree, Information Minister praises its people's courage & deep-rootedness in their land

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 17-18/2023
Pope speaks out after IDF sniper kills two women inside Gaza church, per Catholic authorities
Israel finds large tunnel adjacent to Gaza border, raising new questions about prewar intelligence
Army Says Two More Israeli Soldiers Killed in Gaza
UN Security Council to Vote on Draft Resolution to Establish Aid Monitoring Mechanism in Gaza
French foreign ministry says worker killed by Israeli attack in Rafah
Netanyahu says Israel is as 'committed as ever' to war
Israel presses ahead in Gaza as errant killing of captives adds to concern about its wartime conduct
US and UK say their navies shot down 15 attack drones over the Red Sea
Senate Democrat says Netanyahu has been an ‘exceptionally difficult partner’
Benjamin Netanyahu is openly defying the US - and they want him gone
Netanyahu’s tactics are weakening Israel
Israel Gaza: Lord Cameron supports 'sustainable ceasefire' and warns over deaths
Israel-Palestine: why did the Oslo accords fail?
Israeli forces kill 5 Palestinians in West Bank raid
Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing longstanding ties to Jewish allies
Ukrainian drone video provides a grim look at casualties as Russian troops advance toward Avdiivka
UK weighing contingency to deploy forces to Ukraine if Russia greatly escalates war
Putin warns of problems with neighboring Finland after West ‘dragged it into NATO’
North Korea launches missile after U.S. sub arrives in South Korea
Zelensky’s fight for survival amid Klitschko’s dangerous blame game
Body of late Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad laid to rest
Two Syrian soldiers wounded in Israeli strikes: ministry

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 17-18/2023
The World Is at War/Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/December 17, 2023
The US policy paradox on the war in Gaza is running out of time/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/December 17/2023
Gaza: What are the scenarios for ‘the day after’?/Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/December 17/2023
Iraq becoming a tinderbox due to Gaza war spillover/Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/December 17, 2023
Gaza…Buying and Selling/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 17, 2023
Silent epidemic that kills 10 million a year can be beaten/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/December 17, 2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 17-18/2023
Hezbollah Announces 509 Operations against Israel Since War Began

Asharq Al Awsat/17 December 2023
Hezbollah conducted 509 operations against Israel in northern Palestine and southern Lebanon since the beginning of the war on Gaza until Dec. 14. Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah continued, and the Israeli army said on Saturday that it targeted an area in southern Lebanon after three rockets were launched from Lebanese territory. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said via his "X" account that warplanes raided a series of Hezbollah targets, referring to several missiles launched from Lebanon towards Israel in recent hours. Adraee indicated that the army responded with artillery shelling towards areas in Lebanon. Al-Manar channel quoted Israeli media as saying that a bomb-laden drone was launched from Lebanon and hit an army gathering in Margaliot, causing two casualties. It also noted that Israeli military censorship banned publishing information about the security event. Hezbollah mourned one of its fighters while announcing several military operations that targeted gatherings of Israeli soldiers and military sites, in addition to two homes where soldiers were stationed. In separate statements, the Islamic Resistance announced that its fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the Ramim forest.
They also spotted a group of Israeli soldiers entering two houses in the al-Manara settlement. They targeted the two houses with appropriate weapons, directly hitting them and causing deaths and injuries. A drone attacked a position of Israeli soldiers outside the Ramim barracks, the occupied Lebanese village of Honin, which led to confirmed casualties. þ Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the operation, followed by another statement in which it said that the resistance fighters attacked the Israeli Metula site using guided munitions, adding that it was able to verify several casualties.
Earlier in the day, the Islamic Resistance announced that its fighters targeted a bunker where Israeli soldiers were entrenched in the occupied Birket Risha military site with a guided missile, resulting in confirmed casualties. The National News Agency (NNA) reported that the operation was hours after Israel targeted the position in Birkat Risha on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab and Ramieh. An Israeli raid targeted the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab and Wadi Hassan between Majdal Zun and al-Jebain, and attacks were recorded on a valley near Ramiya and Jabal Balat in the western sector. It was also reported that an interceptor missile had exploded in the airspace of al-Dhahira.The NNA reported that the Israeli army escalated its violent attacks at night until just before midnight, as military aircraft raided an area between Mansouri and Majdal Zoun and on the outskirts of Naqoura and Jabal al-Labouneh. The drones fired a ground-air missile targeting the vicinity of Aita al-Shaab. The artillery shelling targeted the outskirts of most of the towns in the western and central sectors adjacent to the Blue Line. On Friday evening, CNN quoted US officials saying that Israelis attacked Lebanese Armed Forces positions more than 34 times since Oct. 7, including with small arms and artillery fire, drones, and helicopters. The Biden administration has told Israel that the strikes against the Lebanese military are unacceptable, officials said. According to a senior US official, Washington believes at least some of those strikes have been accidental, intended instead for Hezbollah. But the intention of other strikes has been less clear, the official said, and more junior Israeli troops may not be exercising enough restraint.

Israel Says it Struck Hezbollah Sites after Attacks from Lebanon
Asharq Al Awsat/17 December 2023
Israel said on Sunday it had hit weapons launch sites and facilities belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon in response to cross-border fire, while the group said it had attacked Israeli army targets. Israel and Hezbollah fighters have been trading fire along the frontier on an almost daily basis since the war in Gaza erupted more than two months ago. The violence, which has largely been contained to the border area, has killed more than 130 people in Lebanon, including 94 Hezbollah fighters and 17 civilians. In Israel, the hostilities have killed eight soldiers and four civilians.
Israel's military said it had responded to Hezbollah attacks with artillery, tank fire and airstrikes at launch sites, an observation post of the Lebanese group and what it called a "terrorist cell." Hezbollah said it had fired at a range of Israeli military targets along the border, including what it said was a barracks, a command center and an army crane installing surveillance equipment. Israel did not report any casualties resulting from the attacks that set off rocket sirens in areas of northern Israel.

Israel Soldier Killed by 'Hostile Aircraft' on Lebanon Border

Asharq Al Awsat/17 December 2023
The Israeli army said Saturday that a soldier was killed and two others wounded on the Lebanese border, with a spokesperson confirming the casualties were caused by a "hostile aircraft". "Sergeant Major (reservist) Yehezkel Azaria, from Petah Tikva... fell during an operational activity in the Margaliot area, aged 53 at the time of his death," the army said in a statement. A military spokesperson confirmed to AFP that two soldiers were also wounded in the attack, which was the result of an incursion by an unspecified "hostile aircraft". The army had reported the incursion earlier in the day, saying that air defenses "intercepted a hostile aircraft that crossed from Lebanon into Israel". "An additional hostile aircraft that crossed from Lebanon was identified and fell in Margaliot... In response, Israeli artillery is striking in Lebanon," it added. Azaria is the seventh Israeli soldier to be killed on Lebanese border since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Since October 8, the day after the war started, the frontier has seen deadly exchanges of fire, mainly between the Israeli army and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, which says it is acting in support of Hamas. On Friday, residents said the Israeli army dropped leaflets on parts of southern Lebanon for the first time since hostilities flared, warning them not to help Hezbollah.

Fresh border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah
Naharnet/December 17, 2023
A new round of cross-border clashes erupted Sunday between the Israeli army and Hezbollah. In separate statements, Hezbollah said it attacked the Birkat Risha and Hanita Israeli posts inflicting “certain casualties.”The National News Agency meanwhile said that two rockets were from south Lebanon at the Saasaa area in north Israel. Israel meanwhile bombed the outskirts of the southern Lebanese towns of Blida, al-Taybeh, Tayr Harfa, Khiam, Naqoura, Kfarkila and Kfarshouba. Since October 8, the day after the Israel-Hamas war started, the Lebanon-Israel frontier has seen deadly exchanges of fire, mainly between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which says it is acting in support of Hamas. Since the clashes began, more than 120 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also a Lebanese soldier and 17 civilians, three of them journalists. On the Israeli side, four civilians have been killed in addition to seven soldiers, authorities have said.

Israel says France can play 'significant role' to avoid war in Lebanon
Agence France Presse/December 17, 2023
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday that France could play a key role in preventing a war in Lebanon as cross-border skirmishes with Hezbollah continue to raise tensions. "France could play a positive and significant role to prevent a war in Lebanon," Cohen said at a joint media briefing with visiting French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. Colonna is scheduled to visit Lebanon after her meetings in Israel.

French FM urges all parties to 'deescalate' on Israel-Lebanon border
AFP/December 17, 2023
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Sunday called on all parties to "reduce escalation" on the border between Israel and Lebanon, where the Israeli state and Hezbollah have exchanged daily shelling since the outbreak of the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Colonna, during her visit to a military base near Tel Aviv, said, "The danger of escalation remains... and if things get out of control, I believe that will not be in anyone's interest, and I say that to Israel as well," adding, "This call for caution and de-escalation applies to everyone."

France’s Colonna to visit Lebanon on Monday
LBCI/December 17, 2023
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified that, following a technical issue with the plane of the French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, which led to the postponement of her visit, she will head to Israel and occupied Palestine on Sunday and to Lebanon on Monday.

MP Kassem Hashem to LBCI: Franjieh remains our candidate
LBCI/December 17, 2023
MP Kassem Hashem emphasized that the legislative session results cannot be weighed on the scale of the presidential elections. In an interview on LBCI’s "Nharkom Said" TV show, he pointed out that the circumstances of the country and its interests dictated what happened, regardless of the perspectives of each party. In addition, Hashem stated, "Regarding the presidential elections, it depends on this session in terms of preparation, understanding, and closeness that can lay the foundation for discussing the issue of the presidency." He explained that "Nabih Berri's call for dialogue was to reach an agreement on specifications without having any vetoes, but rather a commitment to the specifications and those who meet the specifications, and there was no insistence on a specific name, but unfortunately, some rejected the logic and principle of dialogue." Hashem stressed that the leader of the Marada Movement, Sleiman Franjieh, is still their candidate “because it is a principled issue and was not the result of a specific intersection.”

Marada movement leader Frangieh objects to Chief of Staff appointment

Asharq Al-Awsat/December 17, 2023
Asharq Al-Awsat learned from parliamentary sources that the appointment of the Chief of Staff was met with objection from the leader of the Marada movement, Sleiman Frangieh. Frangieh argued that it is not permissible to make appointments in the absence of the President. If they must be issued, there is no objection to their expansion to include some vacant positions in public administration. In addition, the sources confirmed that Hezbollah expressed its understanding of Frangieh's position, even though the latter responded to the mediation undertaken by MP Ali Hassan Khalil, commissioned by Berri. The sources stated that communications are active to create an atmosphere for the government's upcoming session to appoint the Chief of Staff, the Director of Administration, and the Inspector General of the Army to ensure the convening of the Military Council.

Unresolved Cabinet Dynamics: Prospects of Military Appointments Outside Formal Agenda
LBCI/December 17, 2023
Indeed, the Cabinet session scheduled for Tuesday is set to address the agenda initially planned for last Friday's canceled session, along with additional items, according to government sources speaking to LBCI. However, the inclusion of appointing a Chief of Staff and members of the military Council outside the formal agenda remains a possibility and is subject to the Prime Minister's discretion. This matter is still undecided, pending the results of political communications initiated since Thursday evening. Essential communications include those conducted by former head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, and members of the Democratic Gathering in various directions. One such contact involved a conversation with Deputy Gebran Bassil, who did not succeed in convincing Bassil either to extend the term of the army commander or to appoint a Chief of Staff and military Council. Despite Defense Minister Maurice Slim's insistence on his right as a minister to propose appointments, the Cabinet may lean towards making appointments based on an assessment conducted by the Secretary-General of the Council, Judge Mahmoud Makiya. This assessment grants the Council the right to act in place of the concerned minister in case of "failure to perform duties." Ministerial sources need to consider the possibility of securing the quorum for Tuesday's caretaker government session, especially as Hezbollah, according to LBCI information, appears inclined to participate through its ministers to approve the appointments. Frangieh is the only leader among the usual participants in Cabinet sessions who rejects appointments in the absence of a president. Will he maintain his stance next Tuesday, or will intensified communications between Clemenceau and Ain el-Tineh with other forces convince him otherwise?

Urgent Search for Lina Laure Steiger: Missing Person in Lebanon
LBCI/December 17, 2023
An urgent statement has been issued on Sunday appealing for information on the whereabouts of Lina Laure Steiger. She left her home at 5 a.m. on Saturday, the 16th, and has not returned since. Described as blonde with very short hair, a round face, wearing a thick beige jacket, and with a height of 165cm and some extra weight, she was last seen on that Saturday morning. If you have any information about her, whether she is seen alive or otherwise, please contact 76764724, as she could be anywhere in Lebanon.

Berri, Mikati, Al-Shami offer condolences to the Emir of Kuwait, members of Al-Sabah family
NNA/December 17, 2023
House Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Al-Shami, offered condolences to the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and the Kuwaiti leadership, on the passing of Kuwaiti Emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
The Lebanese delegation had arrived in Kuwait this evening and was received by Foreign Minister, Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and the Lebanese Chargé d'Affairs, Ahmed Arafa. The delegation then headed to the Emiri Hall, where they offered condolences to the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and members of the Al-Sabah family.
Mikati said: “The absence of an authentic Kuwaiti national and Arab figure embodied by the late great Emir constitutes a huge loss not only to the sisterly State of Kuwait, but also to the Arab world, and to Lebanon in particular. Through his policy, which he translated into many of the difficult stages that Lebanon went through, he was the best supporter...leaving imprints that will continue to receive appreciation and gratitude from the Lebanese government and people...I ask God Almighty to rest his soul in peace in His vast Heavens.”Mikati also wished the new Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, “continued success in leading the sister State of Kuwait and its renaissance,” and addressed him by saying: “I ask the Lord, the Most High, the Almighty, to boost your strength, bless you with a long life, and protect you from all harm.”

Alma Shaab lights its Christmas tree, Information Minister praises its people's courage & deep-rootedness in their land

NNA/December 17, 2023
Alma Shaab Municipality, on Sunday, lit the Christmas tree in the town’s square next to Our Lady’s Church, in the presence of Caretaker Informaiton Minister Ziad Al-Makary and a number of municipal and religious figures and townsmen. The tree lighting was preceded by a Mass service dedicated to the intention of peace, following which attendees headed to the town’s square to light the tree and Christmas decorations. In a brief word on the occasion, Minister Al-Makary praised the courage of the Alma Shaab people and their adherence to their land despite the challenges and delicate situation in the south. The town’s Parish Priest, Father Maroun Ghafri, said: "We light Christmas decorations to express peace, and we are messengers for building a civilization of love and peace on this land. We are also steadfast in our land because it embraces the blood and remains of our fathers and grandfathers."In turn, Alma Shaab Municipality Deputy Head, William Haddad, said that their initiative today comes to confirm the townsmen’s attachment to their land, which they would never leave no matter the sacrifices. “Lighting the Christmas decorations is nothing but a message of love and peace to say that Alma Shaab is a steadfast town, and therefore this indicates our adherence to life and to the birth of the Jesus Christ, the Savior of Humanity, and we hope that the Lord Almighty would bring this blessed holiday season again to us and to our homeland, Lebanon, with peace, calm and stability.”

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 17-18/2023
Pope speaks out after IDF sniper kills two women inside Gaza church, per Catholic authorities
Maija Ehlinger, Jomana Karadsheh, Kareem El Damanhoury and Heather Chen/ CNN/Sun, December 17, 2023
An Israeli military sniper shot and killed two women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza on Saturday, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The mother and daughter were walking to the Sister’s Convent, the patriarchate said, when gunfire erupted. “One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,” it added. Seven others were also shot and wounded in the attack at the complex, where most Gaza’s Christian families have taken refuge since the start of the war, according to the patriarchate, which oversees Catholic Churches across Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. “No warning was given, no notification was provided,” the statement continued. “They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents.”Pope Francis on Sunday addressed the deaths at the Holy Family Parish, lamenting that “unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire” in Gaza and invoking scripture on war. “I continue receiving very serious and sad news about Gaza. Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire. And this has happened even within the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities, sisters,” he said during his weekly Angelus prayer. “Some are saying, ‘This is terrorism and war.’ Yes, it is war, it is terrorism. That is why Scripture says that ‘God puts an end to war… the bow he breaks and the spear he snaps,’” the Pope continued. “Let us pray to the Lord for peace,” he added. According to the patriarchate, Israel Defense Forces tanks also targeted the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Theresa, which houses 54 disabled people and is part of the church’s compound. The building’s generator, its only current source of electricity, as well as its fuel resources, solar panels and water tanks were also destroyed. IDF rockets had made the convent “uninhabitable,” the statement said. CNN has repeatedly reached out to the IDF for comment. On Friday, UK lawmaker Layla Moran, a member of parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon, said that members of her family sheltering in the church were “beyond desperate and terrified” as conditions continued to worsen. Moran on November 15 told the UK House of Commons that a family member who had been sheltering in the church had died. Citing accounts from her family, Moran added that electricity generators at the church had stopped.
“[My family] are reporting white phosphorous and gunfire into their compound,” she said. “The bin collector and the janitor have been shot and their bodies are laying outside and remain uncollected.”CNN cannot independently verify the conditions in and around the church, nor the allegation of the use of incendiary munitions (which can be illegal in some circumstances).

Israel finds large tunnel adjacent to Gaza border, raising new questions about prewar intelligence
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip (AP)/December 17, 2023
The Israeli military said Sunday it has discovered a large tunnel shaft in Gaza close to what was once a busy crossing into Israel, raising new questions about how Israeli surveillance missed such conspicuous preparations by Hamas for the militants' deadly Oct. 7 assault. The entryway to the tunnel is just a few hundred meters from the heavily fortified Erez crossing and a nearby Israeli military base. The military said that it stretches for more than four kilometers (2½ miles), links up with a sprawling tunnel network across Gaza and is wide enough for cars to pass through. The army said Sunday that the tunnel facilitated the transit of vehicles, militants and supplies in preparation for the Oct. 7 attack. That day, militants used a rocket-propelled grenade to break past the portion of wall close to the Erez crossing and stormed the base, killing at least three soldiers and kidnapping some back to Gaza, the army said. It was one of several places along the border wall where militants easily blew past Israel's security defenses, entered Israeli territory and killed around 1,200 people and took about 240 others hostage.
The unprecedented attack triggered a devastating war that has raged for more than 10 weeks and claimed more than 18,000 lives in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel says the destruction of Hamas' tunnel network is a major objective and that much of the underground network runs beneath schools, hospitals and residential areas.
Israel's military, intelligence and political officials have come under heavy criticism for failing to detect the attack ahead of time. Maj. Nir Dinar, a military spokesperson, said that Israeli security services didn't know about the tunnel before Oct. 7 because Israel's border defenses only detected tunnels meant to enter Israel. “As far as I know, this tunnel doesn’t cross from Gaza into Israel and stops within 400 meters from the border, which means the indicators won’t indicate that a tunnel is being built,” Dinar said. He added that the entrance, a circular cement opening leading to a cavernous passageway, was located under a garage, hiding it from Israeli drones and satellite images. While the military was aware that Hamas had an extensive tunnel network, Dinar said they didn't think the militants would be able to carry out their plans for a large-scale attack. “It’s no surprise that this was the Hamas strategy all along,” Dinar said. "The surprise is that they have succeeded and the size of this tunnel … was really shocking.” The Erez crossing, a fortress-like facility that processed the movement of Palestinians into Israel for work, medical care and transit to neighboring Jordan, held great symbolic value for Hamas. The massive crossing was protected by security cameras and military patrols and the adjacent military base. The crossing suffered heavy damage on Oct. 7 and hasn't reopened.
The army said its special “Yahalom” unit, which specializes in tunnel warfare, has worked to excavate the tunnel since it was first detected. They say they've found weapons inside. "At this point, this is the biggest tunnel in Gaza," Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman, told reporters in a tour of the tunnel's entrance on Friday. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Hagari said troops had discovered at least two other “city-sized” tunnels of similar in scope, which they are still mapping. “This was a flagship project that was waiting, finished and ready,” Hagari told a news conference. He noted that tunnel was in use during the war and that Israeli soldiers had killed Hamas militants inside the tunnel. The army also showed reporters soldiers' barracks at the nearby base that it said were set ablaze by the militants. They looked like the ashes of a furnace, with blackened walls and smelted bunks. The military announced Friday that it had recovered in Gaza the bodies of two soldiers who were working at the base on Oct. 7. Dinar, who visited the tunnel Friday, said it was twice the height and three times the width of other tunnels found in Gaza. He said it is equipped with ventilation and electricity and dives 50 meters underground in some points. He said it was clear that millions of dollars as well as a great deal of fuel and workforce had been needed to build and sustain the tunnel. Hagari said the military planned to destroy the tunnel and continue to “hunt" militants hiding in others. “We will hunt them even if we need to go down to the tunnels,” Hagari said. “We also need to do it with attention to the rescue of our hostages and the understanding that maybe some of them are in the tunnels.”

Army Says Two More Israeli Soldiers Killed in Gaza
Asharq Al Awsat/17 December 2023
Two more Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip, Israel's military said on Sunday. The military said that 121 soldiers have died since Israel launched its ground offensive in Gaza on Oct. 27.Israel pressed ahead with its offensive on Sunday. Gaza remained under a communications blackout for a fourth straight day — the longest of several outages over the course of the war, which aid groups say complicate rescue efforts after bombings and make it even more difficult to monitor the war's toll on civilians.

UN Security Council to Vote on Draft Resolution to Establish Aid Monitoring Mechanism in Gaza
Washington : Ali Barada/Asharq Al-Awsat/17 December 2023
The UN Security Council is preparing to vote on a draft resolution on Monday afternoon calling for “establishing a UN mechanism” to monitor humanitarian relief shipments to Gaza via land, sea, and air routes.
The draft demands the “immediate” release of all captives, rejecting the “forced displacement” of the Palestinian people. The UAE, the only Arab member of the Council, and in coordination with Egypt and Palestine, prepared a draft resolution demanding all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, notably regarding the protection of civilians. The text calls for protecting civilians and civilian facilities, delivering aid, and protecting humanitarian workers, recalling the duty to respect and protect civilian facilities, including hospitals, medical facilities, schools, places of worship, and UN facilities. It calls on the parties to the conflict to allow, facilitate, and enable the immediate, safe, and widespread delivery of humanitarian assistance directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Strip, which requires an urgent and sustained cessation of hostilities to allow delivery of aid.
Delivery of aid
The Security Council failed several times to pass various draft resolutions, either because of the veto of the five permanent members of the Council, namely the US, the UK, France, Russia, and China, or because they did not obtain sufficient votes to approve them. Any decision requires at least nine votes without the use of the veto.The new draft resolution calls for allowing and facilitating the use of all land, sea, and air routes leading to the entire Gaza Strip, including border crossings, including the Kerem Shalom crossing. It also asserted the need to ensure the access of humanitarian workers and aid, including fuel, food, medical supplies, and emergency shelter assistance to people in need throughout Gaza.
Monitoring mechanism
The draft resolution welcomed the role of states not party to the conflict in allowing the free passage of humanitarian relief shipments, especially coordinating with Egypt to use the Rafah border crossing. It called upon the UN Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres to establish a monitoring mechanism in the Gaza Strip with the necessary personnel and equipment under his authority. It requested the urgent deployment of the UN monitoring mechanism for one year, which will be automatically extended for periods of one year. The resolution also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and ensuring humanitarian access, adding that fuel should be provided at levels that meet the required humanitarian needs. It strongly condemned all violations of international humanitarian law, including all indiscriminate attacks and acts of violence against civilians and civil targets. The text asserted that civilian targets, places of refuge, UN facilities, and surrounding areas are protected under international humanitarian law. It rejected the forced displacement of civilian populations, including children, in violation of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The two-state solution
Under this draft, the Security Council reiterated its commitment to the two-state solution of living side by side and in peace and security, per international law and relevant UN resolutions. It stressed the unification of the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the unified administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA). According to the resolution, all parties to the conflict should take all appropriate steps to ensure the safety and security of UN workers, personnel of its specialized agencies, and all other staff participating in humanitarian activities under international humanitarian law. It called for the implementation of Resolution 2712 in full, calling upon the Sec-Gen to submit a written report to the Security Council within five working days of adopting this resolution on implementing Resolution 2712 and every 30 days after that.

French foreign ministry says worker killed by Israeli attack in Rafah
Reuters/December 17, 2023
The French foreign ministry said one of its workers had died as a result of wounds sustained during an Israeli attack in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. The man was seeking refuge in the house of a colleague from the French consulate alongside two other co-workers and a number of their family members, the ministry statement issued late on Saturday said. "The house was hit by an Israeli air strike on Wednesday evening, which seriously hurt our agent and killed about 10 others," it said, adding he had later died of his wounds.The statement said France condemned the bombing of a residential building. "We demand that the Israeli authorities shed full light on the circumstances of this bombing, as soon as possible," it said. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the French foreign ministry declined to provide further details on the name, nationality and age of the worker. "We're waiting for clarification (from Israel)," said French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna shortly after meeting her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Tel Aviv on Sunday. She called for an "immediate truce" between Hamas and Israel to allow for a humanitarian ceasefire. Israel says it seeks to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, according to international law, though critics and even its closest ally, the U.S., say it needs to do more.

Netanyahu says Israel is as 'committed as ever' to war
Associated Press/December 17, 2023
Three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip had been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed, military officials said Saturday, in Israel's first such acknowledgement of harming any hostages in its war against Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a nationwide address that the killings "broke my heart, broke the entire nation's heart," but he indicated no change in Israel's intensive military campaign. "We are as committed as ever to continue until the end, until we dismantle Hamas, until we return all our hostages," he said. Anger over the mistaken killings is likely to increase pressure on the Israeli government to renew Qatar-mediated negotiations with Hamas over swapping more of the remaining captives, which Israel says number 129, for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, reiterated that there will be no further hostage releases until the war ends and Israel accepts the militant group's conditions for an exchange. Netanyahu said Israel would never agree to such demands. Israel's account of how the three hostages were killed also raised questions about its soldiers' conduct. Palestinians on several occasions have said Israeli soldiers opened fire as civilians tried to flee to safety. Hamas has claimed other hostages were previously killed by Israeli fire or airstrikes, without presenting evidence. An Israeli military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to brief reporters in line with military regulations, said the hostages likely had been abandoned by their captors or had escaped. The soldiers' behavior was "against our rules of engagement," the official said, and was being investigated at the highest level. The hostages did everything they could to signal they weren't a threat, "but this shooting was done during fighting and under pressure," Herzi Halevi, chief of the military's general staff, said in a statement.
Halevi added: "There may be additional incidents in which hostages will escape or will be abandoned during the fighting. We have the obligation and the responsibility to get them out alive."The hostages, all in their 20s, were killed Friday in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops are engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas. They had been among more than 240 people taken hostage during an unprecedented raid by Hamas into Israel on Oct. 7 in which around 1,200 people were allegedly killed, mostly civilians. Speaking at a rally in Tel Aviv, Rubi Chen, father of 19-year-old hostage Itay Chen, criticized the government for believing hostages can be retrieved through military pressure. "Put the the best offer on the table to get the hostages home alive," he said. "We don't want them back in bags."The Israeli military official said the three hostages had emerged from a building close to Israeli soldiers' positions. They waved a white flag and were shirtless, possibly trying to signal they posed no threat. Two were killed immediately, and the third ran back into the building screaming for help in Hebrew. The commander issued an order to cease fire, but another burst of gunfire killed the third man, the official said.
Israeli media gave a more detailed account. The mass circulation daily Yediot Ahronot said that according to an investigation into the incident, soldiers followed the third man and shouted at him to come out, and at least one soldier shot him when he emerged from a staircase. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said the soldiers who followed the third hostage believed he was a Hamas member. Local media reported that soldiers earlier saw a nearby building marked "SOS" and "Help! Three hostages" but feared it might be a trap. Dahlia Scheindlin, an political analyst, said it was unlikely the killings would massively alter public support for the war. Most Israelis still have a strong sense of why it is being fought and believe Hamas needs to be defeated, she said.
"They feel like there's no other choice," she said.
The killings emphasized the dangers hostages face in areas of house-to-house combat like Shijaiyah, where nine soldiers were killed this week in one of the war's deadliest days for Israeli ground forces. The military has said Hamas has booby-trapped buildings and ambushed troops from a tunnel network it built under Gaza City. On Saturday, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum asserted that another hostage, 27-year-old Inbar Hayman, had been killed in Gaza. The group gave no details. Hamas released over 100 hostages for Palestinian prisoners during a brief cease-fire in November. Nearly all freed on both sides were women and minors. Talks on further swaps broke down. Hamas seeks the return of all Palestinian prisoners. As of late November, Israel held nearly 7,000 Palestinians accused or convicted of security offenses, including hundreds rounded up since the war began. The war has flattened much of northern Gaza and driven 85% of the territory's population of 2.3 million from their homes. Only a trickle of aid has been able to enter Gaza. Israel has said it would open a second entry point at Kerem Shalom to speed up deliveries. The offensive has killed more than 18,700 Palestinians, the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Thursday. It does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. It was the ministry's last update before the latest communications blackout in Gaza. "Now 48 hours and counting. The incident is likely to limit reporting and visibility to events on the ground," said Alp Toker, director of NetBlocks, a group tracking internet outages.
The war has been deadly for journalists. Mourners held funeral prayers for Samer Abu Daqqa, a Palestinian journalist working for broadcaster Al Jazeera who was killed Friday in an Israeli strike. The Committee to Protect Journalists said the cameraman was the 64th journalist to be killed in the conflict: 57 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese. In devastated Gaza City, resident Assad Abu Taha reported "violent bombardment" Saturday. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem asserted that two Christian women at a church compound in Gaza City were killed by Israeli sniper fire and that seven other people were wounded. The women were identified as a mother and daughter. Gaza has a small Christian community consisting of about 1,000 people. There was no immediate Israeli comment. The United States, Israel's closest ally, has expressed unease over Israel's failure to reduce civilian casualties, but the White House continues to offer support with weapons shipments and diplomatic backing. Israel and the U.S. remain far apart on who should run Gaza after the war. Washington wants to see a unified Palestinian government in Gaza and the West Bank as a precursor to eventual Palestinian statehood. A two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict enjoys broad international support. Netanyahu reiterated Saturday that Israel will retain security in a demilitarized Gaza and that a Palestinian state would pose a threat to Israel. "I am proud to have prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state," he said.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was traveling to Israel to continue discussions on a timetable for winding down the war's intense combat phase. But Netanyahu and military leaders vowed to continue until "complete victory," which the prime minister noted will take time.

Israel presses ahead in Gaza as errant killing of captives adds to concern about its wartime conduct
Associated Press/December 17, 2023
Israel pressed ahead with its Gaza offensive on Sunday after a series of shootings, including of three hostages who were shirtless and waving a white flag, raised questions about its conduct in a 10-week-old war that has brought unprecedented death and destruction to the coastal enclave.
Gaza remained under a communications blackout for a fourth straight day — the longest of several outages over the course of the war, which aid groups say complicate rescue efforts after bombings and make it even more difficult to monitor the war's toll on civilians. Israel could come under further pressure to scale back major combat operations when U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits this week. Washington has expressed growing unease with civilian casualties and the mass displacement of 1.9 million Palestinians — nearly 85% of Gaza's population — even as it has provided vital military and diplomatic support to its close ally. The air and ground war has flattened vast swathes of northern Gaza and driven most of the population to the southern part of the besieged territory, where many are packed into crowded shelters and tent camps. Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets in all parts of Gaza. It has vowed to continue operations until it dismantles Hamas, which triggered the war with its Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel, in which militants allegedly killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel has also vowed to return the estimated 129 hostages still held in Gaza.
SHOOTINGS DRAW SCRUTINY
Military officials said Saturday that the three hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops had tried to signal that they posed no harm. It was Israel's first such acknowledgement of harming hostages in a war that it says is largely aimed at rescuing them. The three hostages, all in their 20s, were killed Friday in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops are engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas. An Israeli military official said the soldiers' behavior was against the army's rules of engagement and was being investigated at the highest level. Israel says it makes every effort to avoid harming civilians and accuses Hamas of using them as human shields. But Palestinians and rights groups have repeatedly accused Israeli forces of recklessly endangering civilians and firing on those who do not threaten them, both in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, which has seen a surge of violence since the start of the war.
At least five Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid in a built-up refugee camp in the West Bank town of Tulkarem, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Sunday. Israel on Friday said it was opening a military police investigation into the killing of two Palestinians in the West Bank after an Israeli rights group posted videos that appeared to show troops killing the men — one who was incapacitated and the second unarmed — during a raid. In Gaza, Palestinians on several occasions have said Israeli soldiers opened fire as civilians tried to flee to safety. Hamas has claimed other hostages were previously killed by Israeli fire or airstrikes, without presenting evidence. The offensive has killed more than 18,700 Palestinians, the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory said Thursday. It has not been able to update the toll since then because of the communications blackout, and has said for weeks that thousands more casualties are buried under the rubble. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but throughout the war has said that most of those killed were women and children. The military says 121 of its soldiers have been killed in the Gaza offensive. It says it has killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. The plight of Palestinian civilians has gotten little attention inside Israel, where many are still deeply traumatized by the Oct. 7 attack and where support for the war remains strong. But anger over the mistaken killing of the hostages is likely to ramp up pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to renew Qatar-mediated negotiations with Hamas over swapping more of the remaining captives for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Hamas has said there will be no further hostage releases until the war ends, and that it will demand the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants. Hamas released over 100 of more than 240 hostages captured on Oct. 7 in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners during a brief cease-fire in November. Nearly all freed on both sides were women and minors. Israel has successfully rescued one hostage.
U.S.-ISRAEL DIVISIONS
Austin is set to travel to Israel to continue discussions on a timetable for ending the war's most intense phase. Israeli and U.S. officials have spoken of a transition to more targeted strikes aimed at killing Hamas leaders and rescuing hostages, without saying when it would occur. Israel and the U.S. meanwhile remain far apart on who should run Gaza after the war. Washington wants to see a unified Palestinian government in Gaza and the West Bank as a precursor to eventual Palestinian statehood. A two-state solution enjoys broad support by the international community, which views it as the only way to resolve the decades-old conflict. The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, has said it would only return to Gaza as part of a comprehensive solution that creates an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories Israel seized in the 1967 war. Netanyahu's government, which is deeply opposed to Palestinian statehood, has rejected that scenario, saying it will retain open-ended security control over Gaza after defeating Hamas. It is also opposed to any withdrawal from east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognized internationally, or the West Bank, where more than 500,000 Jewish settlers live in scores of growing settlements, and which is home to some 3 million Palestinians. Hamas, which is pledged to Israel's destruction, said the Oct. 7 attack was a response to Israel's actions in all three territories. Netanyahu said Saturday that he was "proud to have prevented the establishment of a Palestinian state" during his more than 16 years in power going back to the late 1990s.

US and UK say their navies shot down 15 attack drones over the Red Sea
Associated Press/December 17, 2023
A U.S. warship shot down 14 suspected attack drones over the Red Sea on Saturday, and a Royal Navy destroyer downed another drone that was targeting commercial ships, the British and American militaries said. Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping routes, and have launched drones and missiles targeting Israel, as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to spread. U.S. Central Command said that the destroyer USS Carney "successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems" launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The drones "were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries," Central Command tweeted. U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said that HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed a drone that was "targeting merchant shipping." The overnight action is the first time the Royal Navy has shot down an aerial target in anger since the 1991 Gulf War. Shapps said attacks on commercial ships in the global trade artery by Yemen's Houthi rebels "represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security." "The U.K. remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade," he said in a statement. HMS Diamond was sent to the region two weeks ago as a deterrent, joining vessels from the U.S., France and other countries. Global shipping has become a target during the war between Israel and Hamas, which like the Houthis is backed by Iran.
Houthi rebels said they fired a barrage of drones on Saturday toward the port city of Eilat in southern Israel. The announcement came hours after Egypt's state-run media reported that Egyptian air defense had shot down a "flying object" off the Egyptian resort town of Dahab on the Red Sea. Israeli-linked vessels also have been targeted, but the threat to trade has grown as container ships and oil tankers flagged to countries like Norway and Liberia have been attacked or drawn missile fire while traversing the waterway between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Earlier this month, three commercial ships in the Red Sea were struck by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen. A U.S. warship shot down three drones during the assault, the U.S. military said. French container shipping line CMA CGM Group said Saturday it had ordered all its vessels scheduled to pass through the Red Sea to "pause their journey in safe waters with immediate effect until further notice."On Friday, Maersk, the world's biggest shipping company, also told all its vessels planning to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea to stop their journeys after a missile attack on a Liberian- flagged cargo ship. German-based shipper Hapag-Lloyd said it was pausing all of its container ship traffic through the Red Sea until Monday. Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Salam said Saturday that the rebels have engaged in "communications and discussions" with international parties, brokered by Oman, on the Houthis' attacks on ships in the Red and Arabian seas. He tweeted that the Houthis would continue targeting Israel-linked vessels "until the aggression stops" and the siege of Gaza is lifted. He added that "any genuine steps responding to the humanitarian situation in Palestine and Gaza through bringing in food and medicine would contribute to reducing the escalation."

Senate Democrat says Netanyahu has been an ‘exceptionally difficult partner’

The Hill/Lauren Sforza/December 17, 2023
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been “difficult” to work with as the U.S. pushes for a two-state solution to end the Israel-Hamas war. “Prime Minister Netanyahu has been an exceptionally difficult partner, and I think President Biden did the right thing right after the shattering — the horrific attack by Hamas, to go to Israel, to stand strong with Israel, and frankly, to send a firm message to Iran to stay out of this conflict,” Coons said on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” adding that President Biden deployed aircraft carrier groups to the region to deter escalation in the region. “What has been a real challenge is the big gap between most of us in Congress and the president who believe a two-state solution is the only way forward, and Prime Minister Netanyahu who has done everything he can to undermine a positive vision for peace for Israel,” he continued. The Biden administration has upped its criticism of Israel in recent days but has maintained that the U.S. supports Israel’s right to defend itself since the militant group Hamas launched its deadly attack on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,200 people. Biden said last week that Netanyahu “has to change, and with this government, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move.”“It has most of the world supporting it. But they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place,” Biden said last week. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also said last week that the Biden administration has not given up hope on a two-state solution, but he noted that getting there is “going to be elusive.” When asked whether he would support a provision in the aid package to “force adherence to international law or U.S. law,” Coons said that those requirements already exist. “Margaret, there already are requirements in American law that when we send military assistance to another country, whether it’s Ukraine or it’s Israel, that they have to abide by international law, and President Biden and the senior members of his team who have gone to Israel repeatedly have had some success in pressing Prime Minister Netanyahu to change direction, most recently in reining in settler violence in the West Bank,” he told CBS’s Margaret Brennan.

Benjamin Netanyahu is openly defying the US - and they want him gone

Sky News/December 17, 2023
The gulf between the US and the Israeli government visions for "the day after" in Gaza seems to be widening by the day. In his Saturday news conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed, again, a two-state solution and insisted Israel will have enduring security control in Gaza. In doing so, he undermined the alliance through which America is backing Israel's military operation in Gaza. The Biden administration has repeatedly defined its backing of Israel as being to support its right to self-defence by eradicating Hamas in order to establish a viable pathway to two states.
Contradictions over 'the day after' America's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has just left Israel where we are told he reiterated America's desire for a Palestinian/Arab-led security structure in Gaza when the war is over, and for the establishment of a "two-state solution" soon thereafter. Mr Sullivan talked of a Palestinian-led "nucleus" for the security question in Gaza and even discussed West Bank-based Palestinian units that could have a key role. A senior US administration official said late on Thursday night after Sullivan's meeting with Netanyahu: "There are a number of security personnel linked to the Palestinian Authority, which we think might be able to provide some sort of a nucleus in the many months following the overall military campaign, but this is something we are discussing with the Palestinians and with the Israelis, and with regional partners…"The official also insisted repeatedly that President Biden's view was that the only option for the future was a two-state solution with the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank. The US official, on a background call with journalists, described the US vision as "...the type of future that everybody wants to see which is a path, a pathway ultimately, to a viable, two-state solution in which Israel's security is guaranteed and the aspirations of the Palestinian people can be met." And yet this weekend, not only has the Israeli Prime Minister brazenly lauded his own efforts to prevent a Palestinian State over the years, but he is insisting that Israel will have enduring security control over Gaza.
"Nobody else can ensure that there will be a peaceful regime," Netanyahu said. He is repeating messages his ministers and ambassadors have been issuing, rejecting the two-state solution. Netanyahu has often danced around the issue giving vague definitions of what it would look like. The point now is this: at the very moment where alignment is required, and where it's surely important for the messaging from the top of the Israeli government to match that at the top of the American government, Netanyahu is choosing instead to be provocatively contrary.
Indeed, this past week, I asked US State Department spokesman Matt Miller about the Israeli Ambassador to the UK's rejection of the two-state solution. His response suggested he thought she was an outlier and that there were a variety of views. Clearly that variety doesn't stretch to the man running the war which America is fuelling.
New leaders
Ultimately American policy relies on an urgent change at the top of both the Israeli and the Palestinian leadership.For Israel, the Americans want Netanyahu out. It's telling that Sullivan saw opposition leader Benny Gantz for a lengthy meeting on Thursday. Netanyahu will surely do all he can to hang on, largely to avoid a reckoning over the failures which led to the 7 October nightmare. He'd probably be glad to see his old pal Donald Trump back in the White House too. And so the master of political manoeuvring will try to hang on. As for the Palestinians? Well, the Americans talk about a "revitalised Palestinian Authority" capable of running Gaza. What they actually mean by that is the retirement of aging and deeply unpopular Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. They want a younger and more visionary leader to replace him. But who, and how?
A prize needed
The Israelis are likely to focus more on the "day after" in Gaza once they have demonstrated some strategic success on the battlefield. They have razed the strip and nearly 20,000 people are dead. But the Hamas leadership remains at large. Netanyahu needs a "prize" so he can wind back the brutal war. But the longer the war drags on, the harder the "day after" will be to mould. With the shock and pain of the last 70 days, reconciliation and coexistence firmly feel more distant than ever for this region.

Netanyahu’s tactics are weakening Israel
Ben Wallace/The Telegraph/December 17, 2023
There isn’t a single soldier who served in Northern Ireland who didn’t curse, at one time, the events of Bloody Sunday under his breath. The hours spent in the bogs of South Armagh, or the back streets of West Belfast were testament to a conflict that had been ignited by the events on that day in 1972. It took more than two decades for the Troubles to come to an end and it did so when Nationalists recognised that the IRA didn’t have its wellbeing and economic interests at heart and when British governments accepted that while you could deliver security you couldn’t arrest your way out of the problems and political schisms. As sure as night follows day, history shows us that radicalisation follows oppression. Northern Ireland internment taught us that a disproportionate response by the state can serve as a terrorist organisation’s best recruiting sergeant. For many, watching the events in Gaza unfold each day makes us more and more uncomfortable. Let me start by saying I am unequivocal in my condemnation of Hamas, not only for what it did on October 7, but also for what came before. Its charter reads like the constitution of a jihadist Salafi organisation. It is anti-Semitic and anti-democratic. It isn’t interested in peaceful co-existence with Israel, or Egypt, for that matter. Hamas is not interested in a two-state solution either. No – it is interested in a religious war with Jews, using Palestinians as cannon fodder. So, I absolutely defend Israel’s right to defend itself. But I also believe strongly in our obligations under the Geneva Conventions and expect all signatories to uphold them. Going after Hamas is legitimate; obliterating vast swathes of Gaza is not. Using proportionate force is legal, but collective punishment and forced movement of civilians is not. We are entering a dangerous period now where Israel’s original legal authority of self-defence is being undermined by its own actions. It is making the mistake of losing its moral authority alongside its legal one.
I am sure that the shame Benjamin Netanyahu feels for not foreseeing the October 7 attacks is deep, especially for someone who presented himself as a security hawk and tough guy. But perhaps that shame is driving him to lose sight of the long term.
Netanyahu’s mistake was to miss the attack in the first place. But if he thinks a killing rage will rectify matters, then he is very wrong. His methods will not solve this problem. In fact, I believe his tactics will fuel the conflict for another 50 years. His actions are radicalising Muslim youth across the globe.
When all this is over, and the IDF withdraws from what is left of Gaza, there will still be Hamas. All the action will have achieved is the extinction, not of the extremists, but the voice of the moderate Palestinians who do want a two-state solution.
International sympathy will have expired and Israel will be forced to exist in an even greater state of siege.Before anyone says I am calling for a ceasefire with Hamas – I am not. You can’t have a ceasefire with Hamas unless they are prepared to declare one; even then they would have to pledge to modify their charter to do so. What I am saying is Israel needs to stop this crude and indiscriminate method of attack. And it needs to combat Hamas differently. Israel needs to recognise it has time on its side. It holds all the cards – from control of the air to control of the border. It is easy to wonder what has happened to the wise Israeli politicians of old. They would have never missed the signs of the attack nor would they have surrendered to political blackmail from militant illegal settlers. They would have never played footsie with Putin, while Russian money fuelled the Iranian rocket and drone industry. They understood balance in the region and practically wrote the book on “divide and rule”. But lack of wisdom in a new generation of Israel politicians has led them to a place where they act like a bull in a China shop – crashing from one crisis to another. The Israeli ambassador defiantly states there can be no two-state solution. She is wrong. There must be. It has been the answer ever since the creation of modern-day Israel. The path to peace, just like in Northern Ireland, means we have to keep trying and do all we can to marginalise the extremes. With the Oslo accords we came close to realising a two-state solution. Now is the time to re-energise that process. Rt Hon Ben Wallace is Conservative MP for Wyre and Preston North and served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2019 to 2023

Israel Gaza: Lord Cameron supports 'sustainable ceasefire' and warns over deaths
Andre Rhoden-Paul - BBC News/December 17, 2023
The foreign secretary has said he would like to see a "sustainable ceasefire" in the Israel-Gaza conflict. Lord Cameron also warned "too many civilians have been killed" in Gaza. More than 18,000 people have been killed, including thousands of children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. His intervention in a Sunday Times article marks a shift in tone from the UK government, but stops short of calling for an immediate ceasefire. Penning a joint article with Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Lord Cameron said he supported a ceasefire only if it was sustainable in the long term. He said: "Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations. "We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is sustainable." Earlier this week the UK and Germany abstained over a United Nations resolution, backed by 153 countries, demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. On Sunday France, which was among the countries which voted for the resolution, called for an "immediate and durable truce" in the conflict, ahead of a meeting between the French and Israeli foreign ministers in Tel Aviv. Seeking to explain the UK's position, Lord Cameron wrote: "We do not believe that calling right now for a general and immediate ceasefire, hoping it somehow becomes permanent, is the way forward." He added: "Would Hamas stop firing rockets? Would it release the hostages? Would its murderous ideology change? An unsustainable ceasefire, quickly collapsing into further violence, would only make it harder to build the confidence needed for peace." Instead the UK and Germany are pushing for further humanitarian pauses to get more aid in and more hostages out. "We have been consistent that what we support is a sustainable ceasefire, which means Hamas must stop launching rockets into Israel and release all the hostages," Mr Sunak said. Appearing on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: "In order for a ceasefire to be sustainable, we have to ensure we remove the threat of Hamas from Israel..."So, that's why we continue to support Israel in its right to self-defence, to remove the threat of Hamas, and at the same time to get those hostages back." Asked if he thought Israel had gone too far, Mr Dowden said: "I wouldn't characterise it as Israel going too far. Israel is dealing with a very difficult situation."
He said the UK continued to urge Israel to exercise restraint but added: "If you're going after an enemy that literally hides underneath hospitals, hides amongst the civilian population, you are going to sustain high levels of civilian casualties."
The offensive into Gaza, triggered by Hamas's deadly 7 October attack on Israel which killed 1,200 people, has led to vast areas of the territory being flattened. In a sign attitudes are shifting, in the article, the UK and German foreign ministers warned that Israel "should do more to discriminate sufficiently between terrorists and civilians".They also said more aid must reach Gaza, amid warnings from the United Nations of a humanitarian catastrophe due to widespread shortages of basic supplies. Israel's main ally the US has also expressed unease over the failure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration to reduce civilian casualties. Deflecting that pressure on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu said: "Military pressure is necessary both for the return of the hostages and for victory. Without military pressure... we have nothing."

Israel-Palestine: why did the Oslo accords fail?
The Week/December 17/2023
Secret negotiations in Norway led to a deal, made public as "the Oslo Accords", signed in September 1993 by the Palestine Liberation Organisation's Yasser Arafat and Israel's Labour Prime Pinister Yitzhak Rabin in Washington. Often deemed a historic breakthrough, the deal meant that the PLO recognised the State of Israel for the first time, and Israel recognised the PLO as the representative of the Palestinians. It allowed for the self-administration of major Palestinian population areas by a new Palestinian Authority, led by Arafat, although the majority of the West Bank remained under joint or sole Israeli control. Ongoing negotiations were supposed to resolve the difficult "final status" issues by 1999: the exact borders of a new Palestinian state; the status of Jerusalem; the fate of Palestinian refugees and their descendants (by then numbering more than three million); Israel's settlements; and Israel's security arrangements. The interim period was supposed to build both mutual trust and Palestinian institutions.
Why did the Oslo process fail?
The pro-Israeli answer is that Arafat flatly rejected the best offer of peace, made by Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the Camp David Summit in 2000, and did little to quell the Second Intifada, with its Hamas suicide bombings against Israeli civilians, that erupted soon after. The pro-Palestinian answer is that the offer fell well short of what Arafat could accept and survive politically. He had made a historic compromise in conceding that the Palestinian state should exist on only the occupied territories, 22% of mandate Palestine; but Israel wanted still more (it proposed to annex 9% of the West Bank, in return for a smaller amount of Israeli land elsewhere; there would be compensation for refugees, but no right of return).And even while the peace process was under way, the number of Jewish settlers in the occupied territories continued to grow: from 250,000 in 1993 to 400,000 in 2003.
Is a two-state solution possible?
At times, negotiators came very close to a deal. But major stumbling blocks remained, primarily the issues of land and refugee return – and there is little room for manoeuvre, in a state not much larger than Wales. There are also sizeable constituencies on both sides that want no compromise –particularly on the Palestinian side, embodied in Hamas, but also in the form of 471,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank and 229,000 in East Jerusalem, and their political allies. Both sides have their rival narratives and grievances. The Palestinians point to the loss of their land since 1948, the repression and the suffering they have endured; Israel to the constant attacks it has faced throughout its history. Now, with both sides more distrustful and traumatised than ever, a solution seems very far away. After the peace process fell apart, the same right-wing Likud Israeli leaders who had helped to derail it – Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu – moved to a unilateral process of "disengagement".A barrier was built in the West Bank, roughly along the pre-1967 border, to keep terrorists out, but also to annex Palestinian land. In 2005, Sharon withdrew from Gaza, and removed Jewish settlements (while still controlling its borders).
In 2006, Hamas won an election in the Palestinian Territories, and took control in Gaza after a short civil war with Arafat's party, Fatah. Netanyahu, "Mr Security", responded by building a billion-dollar security barrier around Gaza. He boasted that Israel had never been more peaceful than under his rule. Many Israelis accepted his view that the Palestinians could be managed in this way; wrongly, as 7 October showed. It also left fundamental problems. Without a two-state solution, there is only one state, within which most Palestinians are second-class citizens. But if theIsraelis give full rights to Palestinians in the occupied territories, Jewish people are likely to be a minority. As Ehud Barak said: "As long as in this territory west of the Jordan there is only one political entity called Israel, it is going to be either non-Jewish or non-democratic."


Israeli forces kill 5 Palestinians in West Bank raid
AFP/December 17, 2023
RAMALLAH: Israeli forces killed five Palestinians on Sunday morning at a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, as the Israeli army launched airstrikes on the camp. The death toll from the raid on the Nur Shams camp in the West Bank city of Tulkarem climbed to five after the announcement of the deaths of two men aged 19 and 21 in hospital, the ministry said. The Israeli operation at the camp began during the night, according to witnesses. The director of the Thabet Thabet Hospital, Amin Khader, said that “five people arrived at the hospital with wounds, including one to the head.”
BACKGROUND
Jenin has been the scene of repeated raids in recent months that have left dozens of Palestinians dead. An Israeli military spokesperson said air strikes had targeted “terrorist groups who opened fire and threw explosives, putting Iarmy forces in danger.”At least four suspects were killed, and others were injured during the raid, the spokesperson said, adding that four others were arrested. “During searches, combatants found a bomb in a clinic where wanted people were hiding,” the spokesperson added. Violence in the West Bank has spiked since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. More than 290 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the war erupted on Oct. 7, health officials say. Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Jenin, in particular, has been the scene of repeated raids in recent months that have left dozens dead. The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, which killed about 1,140 people, according to the Israeli authorities’ latest figures. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed 18,800 people, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s Hamas government.


Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing longstanding ties to Jewish allies
NOREEN NASIR and AARON MORRISON/AP/December 17, 2023
Cydney Wallace, a Black Jewish community activist, never felt compelled to travel to Israel, though “Next year in Jerusalem” was a constant refrain at her Chicago synagogue. The 39-year-old said she had plenty to focus on at home, where she frequently gives talks on addressing anti-Black sentiment in the American Jewish community and dismantling white supremacy in the U.S. “I know what I’m fighting for here,” she said. That all changed when she visited Israel and the West Bank at the invitation of a Palestinian American community activist, along with two dozen other Black Americans and Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith leaders. The trip, which began Sept. 26, enhanced Wallace’s understanding of the struggles of Palestinians living in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation. But, horrifyingly, it was cut short by the unprecedented Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas militants. In Israel’s ensuing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, shocking images of destruction and death seen around the world have mobilized activists in the U.S. and elsewhere. Wallace, and a growing number of Black Americans, see the Palestinian struggle in the West Bank and Gaza reflected in their own fight for racial equality and civil rights. The recent rise of protest movements against police brutality in the U.S. has connected Black and Palestinian activists under a common cause.
But that kinship sometimes strains the more than century-long alliance between Black and Jewish activists. Some Jewish Americans are concerned that support could escalate the threat of antisemitism and weaken Jewish-Black ties fortified during the Civil Rights Movement. “We are concerned, as a community, about what we feel is a lack of understanding of what Israel is about and how deeply Oct. 7 has affected us,” said Bob Kaplan, executive director of The Center for Shared Society at the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. “Antisemitism is as real to the American Jewish community, and causes as much trauma and fear and upset to the American Jewish community, as racism causes to the Black community. ”But, he added, many Jews in the U.S. understand that Black Americans can have an affinity for the Palestinian cause that doesn’t conflict with their regard for Israel.
According to a poll earlier this month from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, Black adults were more likely than white and Hispanic adults to say the U.S. is too supportive of Israel — 44% compared to 30% and 28%, respectively. However, Black Americans weren’t any more likely than others to say the U.S. is not supportive enough of the Palestinians.
Still, Black American support for the Palestinian cause dates back to the Civil Rights Movement. More recent rounds of violence in the Middle East have deepened ties between the two movements. During a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas as part of the recent deal to free dozens of hostages seized by Hamas militants, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Some Black Americans who watched the Palestinian prisoner release and learned about Israel’s administrative detention policy, where detainees are held without trial, drew comparisons to racial inequality in the U.S. prison system.
Rami Nashashibi, a Palestinian American community organizer on Chicago’s south side, invited Wallace and the others to take part in the trip called “Black Jerusalem” — an exploration of the sacred city through an African and Black American lens. “My Palestinian identity was very much shaped and influenced by Black American history,” Nashashibi said. “I always hoped that a trip like this would open up new pathways that would connect the dots not just in a political and ideological way, but between the liberation and struggles for humanity that are very familiar to us in the U.S.,” he said.
During the trip, Wallace was dismayed by her own ignorance of the reality of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. In observing the treatment of Palestinians at Israeli checkpoints, she drew comparisons to what segregation historically looked like in the U.S. “Being there made me wonder if this is what it was like to live in the Jim Crow-era” in America, Wallace said. Over the last decade, Black Americans and the Palestinians have also found growing solidarity. In 2020, the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer resonated in the West Bank, where Palestinians drew comparisons to their own experiences of brutality under occupation, and a massive mural of Floyd appeared on Israel’s hulking separation barrier. In 2016, when BLM activists formed the coalition known as the Movement for Black Lives, they included support for Palestinians in a platform called the “Vision for Black Lives.” A handful of Jewish groups, which had largely been supportive of the BLM movement, denounced the Black activists’ characterization of Israel as a purportedly “apartheid state.”None of the members of the “Black Jerusalem” trip anticipated it would come to a tragic end with the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in which some 1,200 people were killed in Israel and about 240 taken hostage. Since then, more than 18,700 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s blistering air and ground campaign in Gaza, now in its third month. Violence in the West Bank has also surged. Back home in Chicago, Wallace has navigated speaking about her support for Palestinians while maintaining her Jewish identity and standing against antisemitism. She says she doesn’t see those things as mutually exclusive. “I’m trying not to do anything that alienates anyone,” she said. “But I can’t just not do the right thing because I’m scared.”


Ukrainian drone video provides a grim look at casualties as Russian troops advance toward Avdiivka
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)/December 17, 2023
As Russian forces press forward with an attempt to capture the town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, The Associated Press obtained aerial footage that gives an indication of their staggering losses. A Ukrainian military drone unit near Stepove, a village just north of Avdiivka, where some of the most intense battles have taken place, shot the video this month. It’s an apocalyptic scene: In two separate clips, the bodies of about 150 soldiers — most wearing Russian uniforms — lie scattered along tree lines where they sought cover. The village itself has been reduced to rubble. Rows of trees that used to separate farm fields are burned and disfigured. The fields are pocked by artillery shells and grenades dropped from drones. The drone unit said it's possible that some of the dead were Ukrainians. The footage was provided to the AP by Ukraine's BUAR unit of the 110th Mechanized Brigade, involved in the fighting in the area. The unit said that the footage was shot on Dec. 6 over two separate treelines between Stepove and nearby railroad tracks and that many of the bodies had been left there for weeks. The AP verified the location by comparing the video with maps and other drone footage of the same area shot six days later by the 47th Mechanized Brigade. Russian forces launched an offensive in Avdiivka in October. Though they have made some incremental gains, Western analysts say the push has resulted in thousands of casualties. Russia launched Europe’s biggest war since WWII, invading Ukraine in February 2022.


UK weighing contingency to deploy forces to Ukraine if Russia greatly escalates war
Vadym Prystaiko/Voice of Ukraine/December 17/2023
Some countries are contemplating sending their armed forces to Ukraine, and the United Kingdom is the first on this list, Ukrainian diplomat, and former Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK Vadym Prystaiko said in an interview with Radio Liberty on Dec. 15. Answering a clarifying question about whether Britain is ready to send its soldiers to Ukraine, Prystaiko stated that "no one will ever admit it, especially politicians.""Every time they are asked, they will say, 'no, no, no way, come on, we'd rather give them everything they need,’" Prystaiko said. “But in reality, the military is making calculations that, God forbid, they will have to use armed forces. That's why the military and diplomats are there, to plan for the future.”The state leadership must politically decide whether this plan is normal or abnormal. "But it is our duty, and this is why you are hiring us, to plan for the worst.”The UK would send troops to Ukraine in the case of a "catastrophic development of the war,” in particular, "the continuation of the occupation.”British public opinion is not ready for this. "Not a single democratic state is ready to (step in) despite Putin’s claim about the MI6 planning an attack on the Kremlin. ​​No. It's very difficult for democratic states that depend on the re-election cycle, that depend on their voters, that have to explain themselves a hundred times to make the first step.” We’re bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Putin warns of problems with neighboring Finland after West ‘dragged it into NATO’
CNN/Yulia Kesaieva, Darya Tarasova, Benjamin Brown and Amarachi Orie/, December 17, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned there will be “problems” with neighboring Finland after it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) earlier this year. Finland’s ascension to NATO marked a major shift in the security landscape in northern Europe, and added some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia. It was also a blow for President Putin, who has long warned against NATO expansion. “They (the West) took Finland and dragged it into NATO! Why, did we have any disputes with Finland? All disputes, including those of a territorial nature in the middle of the 20th Century, have all been resolved long ago,” Putin said in an interview published on Sunday. “There were no problems, but now there will be, because we will now create the Leningrad military district there and definitely concentrate military units there,” Putin added in the interview by Russian state broadcaster Russia 1. Putin also dismissed as “complete nonsense” remarks from US President Joe Biden, who earlier this month warned that Putin would “keep going” if he takes Ukraine, suggesting that Russia could eventually attack a NATO ally and draw US troops into conflict. The Russian leader said Russia “has no reason, no interest, no geopolitical interest, neither economic, nor political, nor military, to fight with NATO countries,” adding Moscow does not have any territorial claims in NATO countries. “There is no desire to spoil relations with them (NATO countries), we are interested in developing relations,” Putin added.
Border spat
Finland became the 31st member of NATO when it joined in April, doubling the security alliance’s direct frontier with Russia. Even before Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, he had demanded NATO limit its expansion. Yet, it was the war that “altered the security environment of Finland,” driving the Nordic nation’s desire to join the alliance, President Sauli Niinistö said in May 2022 when announcing his country would seek to join. Within a few months of its application, the Finnish government said it would spend around $143 million on building barrier fences along Finland’s 830-mile eastern border with Russia, which used to have little security protections. Finland again shut its entire border with Russia this week, over claims hundreds of people were trying to cross without a visa. After another closure was announced last month, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo accused Russia of “enabling the instrumentalization of people and guiding them to the Finnish border in harsh winter conditions. Finland is determined to put an end to this phenomenon.”

North Korea launches missile after U.S. sub arrives in South Korea

Mark Moran/United Press International/December 17, 2023
North Korea has fired a long range missile in response to the arrival of a U.S. submarine in South Korea, condemning the vessel's arrival as a show of force and a "preview of nuclear war."The missile launch Sunday coincided with the 12th anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong-il. It flew toward North Korea's east coast and fell into the sea after traveling about 350 miles , according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. The launch followed warnings from South Korea and Japan that the North has been preparing to test-fire nuclear weapons, including one of its most high-tech and long range intercontinental ballistic missiles. The launch also violates United Nations protocol, Korean officials said. "North Korea's recent ballistic missile launch is a clear violation of the United Nations Security Council resolution, which prohibits the use of ballistic missile technology and scientific and technological cooperation," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. Pyongyang defends its nuclear arsenal and any launches as exercising its sovereign right to self defense. Less than an hour after the launch, state media carried a statement from the defense ministry in Pyongyang criticizing "military gangsters" in the United States and South Korea for upping tensions with "displays of force" and plans for nuclear war. The nuclear submarine USS Missouri arrived in the South Korean port city of Busan on Sunday raising tensions in the region, and the ire of military officials in Pyongyang. "The armed forces of the DPRK will thoroughly neutralize the U.S. and its vassal forces' attempt to ignite a nuclear war and thus reliably ensure peace and security in the Korean peninsula," a statement from Pyongyang said, using the initials of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The statement also referenced the U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group meeting late last week as part of efforts by the United States and its allies to step up planning efforts and increase shows of military force as a warning to North Korea. The missile launch was detected immediately by the United States, Japan and South Korea, who cooperate to monitor military and other threatening activity in the region, according to a statement from Seoul. It added that real-time missile information on such launches will be available before the end of the year. By the time Sunday's launch was announced, Seoul reported the missile already has fallen into the ocean, outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, according to broadcaster NTV. North Korea's latest provocation comes amid heightened tensions after Pyongyang recently scrapped a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement designed to reduce conflict and prevent accidental clashes along the border. Seoul had partially suspended its participation in the pact in protest of the North's successful launch of its first military spy satellite Nov. 21. North Korea's last launch, on Nov. 22, failed, according to the joint chiefs.

Zelensky’s fight for survival amid Klitschko’s dangerous blame game

Daniel Johnson/The Telegraph/December 17, 2023
In Ukraine’s short life as a sovereign, democratic country, this is surely its darkest hour. As the war effort falters, while the West prevaricates and procrastinates, the past few days have witnessed the nadir of Ukrainian fortunes. The week began with the Ukrainian President returning almost empty-handed from Washington and ended with the European Union also delaying assistance, although it did agree to open accession talks with Ukraine. For Volodymyr Zelensky, the intrepid tribune of a proud nation doomed by geography and history to be a beleaguered borderland, there will be no merry Christmas. Driven from pillar to post in his quest for money and military kit, he openly wonders when his allies will finally take the plight of his people seriously. Ever since that first day of the Russian onslaught, with death squads stalking him in the streets of Kyiv, Zelensky’s response to a US offer to fly him into exile has resonated: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”Nearly two years later, the fight is, at least in part, still about ammunition. This week the Russians have thrown everything they have left, including costly Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, at Kyiv, Odesa and other cities. Ukrainian air defences are running low, starved of munitions by the US Congress and the European Union. While Washington and Brussels fiddle, Kyiv burns. The West’s parsimony and pusillanimity is costing Ukrainian lives. If the Russians succeed in exhausting Kyiv’s defensive arsenal, precious US-supplied Patriot missile batteries – there are only two – will themselves be sitting ducks.
Fate of a nation
Ukraine and Zelensky are so closely connected in the eyes of the world as to be indistinguishable. Seldom in the annals of war has the fate of a nation weighed so heavily upon the shoulders of one man. In the past few days, Zelensky has crossed the Atlantic to confront his foes and entreat his friends to unlock military funding stalled in Congress, jetted back to Oslo to rally the Nordic nations, then pleaded with the EU. While Kyiv and Odesa echoed to the detonation of missiles and drones as the Russians marked his trip to Washington by bombarding a children’s hospital, the Ukrainian president pulled out all the stops to convince the House Republicans to release $61bn in desperately needed military aid. In America, his efforts have so far been in vain apart from the relatively modest Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, worth just $300m. A year ago, Zelensky had come amid adulation and euphoria to address both Houses of Congress, confident of support against Putin’s aggression. Last time his prayers were answered. This time it was a very different atmosphere. After a tough meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans, he was obliged to leave Washington without firm promises. “I cannot imagine how grim the journey home for [Zelensky] might be,” wrote the influential American strategist Mike Ryan. Indeed it might – but there was no hint of despondency in either his words or his body language. Arriving in Oslo, Zelensky struck instead a defiant note. Ukraine would fight on with or without help, he told the press, just as it had done when the Russians invaded nearly two years ago: “In the first days… we were really alone. But we didn’t run away, we began to fight.”This was no mere bravado. With his trademark mixture of irony and pathos, Zelensky added: “Of course, you can’t win without help, but you can’t lose, because this is the only thing you have – your country.”
Progress in Brussels, where Viktor Orban blocked a €50bn aid package but did not veto accession talks, does not compensate for the setback in Washington. Though EU membership is his long-term goal, it is purely symbolic while battles rage.
The failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive to break through to the sea and end the war this year did not surprise military experts, but the president’s bullish optimism has led to disappointment at home and abroad. One adviser, who did not wish to give their name, says that he is “messianic” and “deluded himself”. “We’re not winning. But try telling him that.”Amid the vicissitudes of wartime, Zelensky has amassed rivals and enemies, including some on whose loyalty he might have expected to rely. His most high-profile domestic critic is the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko. The former world heavyweight boxing champion makes no secret of his desire to replace the president, whom he regards as authoritarian and incompetent. Complaining that he has not met Zelensky since the war began, despite having almost adjacent offices, Klitschko lays the blame for Ukraine’s predicament squarely on the president: “People see who’s effective and who’s not. And there were and still are a lot of expectations. Zelensky is paying for mistakes he has made.”Klitschko argues that Zelensky was culpable for the fact that Ukraine was surprised by the invasion: “People wonder why we weren’t better prepared for this war, why Zelensky denied until the end that it would come to this.”Klitschko knows that he is playing a dangerous blame game. Though Zelensky’s popularity has been dented by heavy losses and war weariness, he is determined to lead Ukraine to victory. A political crisis in the midst of hostilities would be defeatist and demoralising, perhaps disastrous. Even Klitschko acknowledges this. Yet the mayor persists in undermining a leader whose background as an actor and comedian he belittles and whose international reputation he envies. But would a former boxer really be more of a match for Putin? Klitschko is a supporter of the former President Poroshenko, who was swept out of office by Zelensky and bears responsibility for Ukraine’s notorious corruption.
The enemy within
A more serious critique of Zelensky has come from a different quarter: the army. General Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief, last month warned that his troops had got bogged down and there would “most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough”. “Just like in the First World War, we have reached a level of technology that puts us into a stalemate,” he added. Calling for new air power to break the deadlock, Zaluzhny implied both that Zelensky’s optimism was mere wishful thinking and that his efforts to drum up support abroad were inadequate.
The president was quick to contradict his commander’s assessment of the war, insisting that “people are tired, but this is not a stalemate”. An aide upbraided Zaluzhny for “making the aggressor’s job easier”. It irked Zelensky that the General made his comments in an interview with the Economist — where they would do maximum damage to his own campaign to win over Western public opinion. Yet the Ukrainian military is unlikely to pose a threat to democracy, both because it is a conscript army of citizens in uniform and because it sees itself as Europe’s bulwark against the despotic regimes to the East. Zaluzhny has criticised Zelensky's war strategy - Ukrainian Presidential Press Office. Whatever tensions exist between the political and military authorities in Ukraine – and such tensions have sooner or later emerged in every protracted conflict known to history – there is little reason to fear that Zelensky could be overthrown in a coup d’état. Such military takeovers usually happen only after victory or defeat. The original Coup of 18th Brumaire, by which Napoleon Bonaparte made himself First Consul and ultimately Emperor, only happened because his stunning victories contrasted with the lethargy of the civilian Directoire. In the case of Ukraine, the army has fought well enough to guarantee national survival, but Zaluzhny – though currently more popular than Zelensky – is certainly no Napoleon. On the contrary: it is Zelensky who is still the most authentic hero of our day. His charisma is attested to by everyone who meets him, as is his loyalty to those who have done right by Ukraine. When Boris Johnson was defenestrated by his colleagues, he could still count on his friend in Kyiv. This is a man who still sees himself, not as a politician, but as “just a simple person who has come to break down the system”. Those who accuse Zelensky of authoritarian tendencies should remember why he requires emergency powers. He must, after all, lead a nation fighting for its existence against the forces that had suppressed its identity and starved its citizens for more than a century. Ordinary people in Kyiv are more supportive. Sasha Ericson, 20, says: “I still think that Zelensky is performing well.” Most blame not him but the EU and the US for stalling on arms supplies. “Come on, help us, guys,” says Nataliya Yurchenko, 48. “If our guys will fall, this s*** will come to your place.”
Stalin’s legacy
Threats to Ukraine are not only external, in the shape of Putin’s rapists, torturers and child abductors, but internal too: the Stalinist legacy still has a grip on the mentality even of those who were born long after the demise of the Soviet Union. It is Zelensky’s mission to banish this nightmare forever. How? “The president can’t change the country on his own,” he tells them. “But what can he do? He can set an example.” If this sounds paternalistic, that is because it is: Ukraine is a young country and its people do look to their youthful head of state – he is still just 45 – for inspiration. The contrast with his adversary, Vladimir Putin, is stark. The Russian president has just announced that he intends to stand for a fifth term in elections held next March – though his only serious opponent, Alexei Navalny, has just been “disappeared” from his penal colony and his supporters fear the worst. If Putin serves another six-year term until 2030, he will break Stalin’s record of 29 years in the Kremlin. But it is not only longevity in office that he shares with the communist despot, to whom grotesque monuments have begun to multiply across Russia. Of course, Putin bears a hideous resemblance to Stalin by having committed monstrous acts of genocide, notably against Ukraine. Yet he has just been fêted by Arab emirs in the Gulf and doubtless sees himself, not unlike Stalin, as the leader of the rest of the world against the West. Putin was born in 1952, when Stalin still ruled the USSR, and he is very much a product of the Soviet era. Putin is a relic of the last century; Zelensky is the outstanding statesman to have emerged so far in the present one. At his annual press conference on Thursday, Putin showed once again the face of the atavistic, unscrupulous nihilist that he is. He reiterated his war aims: the “denazification” and “demilitarisation” of Ukraine; in other words its unconditional surrender. But he also sneeringly anticipated its betrayal by Nato: “Ukraine produces almost nothing today, everything is coming from the West. But the free stuff is going to run out someday, and it seems that it already has.”Yet Putin also claimed that he now had 617,000 troops fighting in Ukraine – twice as many as he mobilised for the invasion. He is utterly indifferent to the losses his armies have sustained, estimated at more than 300,000 men, let alone the tens of thousands of civilian as well as military casualties they have inflicted on Ukraine. Putin still lies compulsively about his own atrocities. He claimed that Odesa was a “Russian city” on a day when he had just bombarded this cultural pearl.
Foreign journalists were surprised to see that written questions from the public, shown on screens at the press conference, were mildly critical of the regime. One even asked Putin not to run for another term. But this charade was a propaganda stunt, intended to suggest that presidential elections next spring would be free and fair. So no mention of Alexei Navalny or his whereabouts and certainly none criticising the war. Under wartime emergency measures, Russia has become a country paralysed by fear, where even a joke about the war or the president can mean prison or worse. Only Soviet-era dissident literature can do justice to this terror. Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita captures the paranoid atmosphere under Stalin that now prevails under Putin too. When a stranger accosts the heroine Margarita about “a little matter that concerns you”, she pales: “Have you come to arrest me?” The man replies with a question to which there is no answer: “Why does one only have to speak to a person for them to imagine they’re going to be arrested?”
Model of leadership
As if inhabiting another universe than Putin’s infernal empire, Zelensky presents the world with a transparently frank and open model of leadership who puts most of his Western counterparts to shame. He shows us what the leadership of what we used to call the free world might look like. At a time when the man most likely to inherit that mantle is Donald Trump – who has just chosen to make “dictator” his brand – it is an uplifting fact that a Jewish intellectual from a fledgling democracy is outsmarting the assorted thugs and megalomaniacs ranged against him. Viktor Orban is another leader by whom Zelensky refuses to be intimidated. The Hungarian prime minister likes to call Ukraine “one of the most corrupt countries in the world”, while cynically using it as a bargaining chip to extort cash from the EU. Last Sunday, Zelensky confronted Orban in Buenos Aires at the inauguration of Javier Milei, the new Argentinian president. Video footage shows the two men practically coming to blows in a corner of a crowded reception. Zelensky demanded that Orban desist from vetoing a lifeline from the EU. An unstoppable force in battle fatigues met an immovable, bull-necked object. Afterwards, Zelensky said that the stand-off had been “as frank as possible” and later accused Orban of acting as Putin’s proxy. “I asked him to give me one reason, not three, five, ten, give me one reason” why accession talks should not begin. “I’m still waiting for an answer.”Addressing EU leaders on Thursday, Zelensky appealed to their consciences with his familiar eloquence. Ukraine, he said, had fulfilled all the conditions set by Brussels: “I ask you one thing – do not betray the people and their faith in Europe. If no one believes in Europe, what will keep the European Union alive?” Zelensky was equating the independence, even the survival, of Ukraine with that of the EU itself. For some in the audience – not only Orban – this must have seemed implausible. To them, Zelensky had this to say about the consequences of betrayal: “Putin will surely use this against you personally, and against all of Europe. Don’t give him this first – and only – victory of the year.” Zelensky’s voice was heard, but the EU’s aid remains frozen. The truth is that EU leaders have run out of ideas. Divided on Ukraine and distracted by Gaza, they cannot even agree on how to raise the cash. European public opinion broadly supports Ukraine, according to a Eurobarometer poll. About 60pc support the EU offering both candidate status and military help, while 72pc approve of financial aid. But this support is broad rather than deep — and the picture changes when actual membership is at stake. A poll for the European Council on Foreign Relations shows that while half of Danes want Ukraine to join the EU, only 28pc of Austrians do. Germany and France are evenly split on membership, but a majority of Germans fear a negative impact on security. In the absence of British leadership, Europe is floundering. Joe Biden, too, has failed to deliver on his promises. Donald Trump is waiting in the wings, ready to sell Ukrainians down the River Dnipro – and perhaps Nato too.
Ukraine’s only hope
So is the game up for Ukraine? Not if Zelensky has anything to do with it. He alone has carried the torch of freedom thus far, delivering nightly video addresses since the war began. He is not about to give up now. Back in Kyiv, some feel that his relentlessly optimistic messaging has backfired. The communications adviser Iryna Zolotar warns against “rose-tinted spectacles”. Next March Zelensky is due to stand for reelection, but under martial law no presidential election may take place. Nor do voters want a wartime election. Zelensky’s approval ratings, which rose to 90pc after the invasion, have now dipped to 72pc. But this is still the landslide level he achieved in the 2019 election, when he came from nowhere to defeat the incumbent, Petro Poroshenko. Despite his failure to break through on the battlefield, General Zaluzhny’s approval rating is now 82pc – noticeably higher than the president’s. This may have emboldened the Commander-in-Chief to temper Zelensky’s upbeat narrative with talk of a military “stalemate”.But the truth is that Zelensky’s shuttle diplomacy is still Ukraine’s only hope of getting the tools to finish the job. Zaluzhny has neither the talent nor the temperament for it.
The Ukrainian opposition would like to oust Zelensky, or at least force him to include them in a coalition government. But his refusal to make concessions in return for peace is still popular. Volodymyr Fresenko, of the Penta Centre for Political Studies in Kyiv, says that while up to 30pc of Ukrainians would support a peace deal, an “absolute majority” opposes any negotiations while Russia is occupying parts of Ukraine, including Crimea. He thinks Zelensky would win any election in the first round. Given that Zaluzhny shows no sign of challenging him for the presidency, there is no real domestic threat to Zelensky. Nor does Ukraine need a change of leadership at this critical juncture in the war. What needs to change is the short attention span of the Western media. After the Israel-Hamas crisis erupted, the child of Ukrainian refugees told her teacher at a London primary school: “Now they’ve got a shiny new war to talk about, people here are going to forget all about the one in my country.”That child wasn’t wrong. But the case for Ukraine hasn’t changed. Nor has its leader. Zelensky is a man who does not know the meaning of defeat. Robert Browning’s “Epilogue” captures his mindset perfectly: One who never turned his back but marched breast forwards, Never doubted clouds would break, Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph, Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,Sleep to wake. Volodymyr Zelensky’s unique personality, forged under fire, has reinvented patriotism for our times. He’s the little fellow in fatigues who stands up to bullies.

Body of late Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad laid to rest
Arab News/December 17, 2023
DUBAI: The body of late Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was laid to rest at the Sulaibikhat Cemetery on Sunday following a prayer service. The emir passed away on Saturday aged 86. Sheikh Nawaf, whose casket was draped in Kuwait's flag, was buried alongside his kin, after prayers at Bilal bin Rabah mosque. The late Emir’s funeral was attended by members of the Al Sabah family and speaker of Kuwait's parliament, according to state news agency KUNA. His successor, Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, was seen shedding a tear at the prayer service. Sheikh Mishal and the royal family will personally receive the condolences of people at the Diwan of Al-Sabah Family at Bayan Palace on Monday and Tuesday. Dignitaries from around the world, including U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Jordan's King Abdullah were due in Kuwait to pay their respects. Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani arrived in Kuwait in the afternoon. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was also due to present condolences on behalf of President Ebrahim Raisi. Sheikh Nawaf held several posts throughout his six decades in public service, which included minister of defence, interior, labour and deputy chief of the national guard. The late emir was perceived domestically as a consensus-builder who sought to repair a long strained relationship between the parliament and government and who pardoned dozens of dissidents and other citizens who had voiced public criticisms.

Two Syrian soldiers wounded in Israeli strikes: ministry
Reuters/December 17, 2023
DAMASCUS: Israeli air strikes against targets near Damascus wounded two Syrian soldiers on Sunday, the Syrian defense ministry said in a statement carried by state media. “At around 22:05 p.m. (1905 GMT), the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression from the occupied Golan Heights, targeting several areas near the capital Damascus,” SANA official news agency quoted the statement as saying. The ministry said “two soldiers were wounded” and Syrian anti-aircraft defenses intercepted several Israeli missiles. An AFP correspondent near Damascus reported hearing bombardments. A British-based war monitor said Israeli aircraft struck Syrian “regime anti-aircraft defenses as well as positions of (Lebanon’s Iran-backed) Hezbollah near Sayyida Zeinab” district south of the capital. Ambulances rushed to the scene after the attacks, added the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria. Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its northern neighbor since Syria’s civil war began in 2011, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions. But it has intensified attacks since the war between Israel and Hamas, a Hezbollah ally, began on October 7. Since then there has been regular cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah. On December 10, two Hezbollah fighters and two Syrian guards working with the group were killed in Israeli strikes in the Sayyida Zeinab district, the Observatory had then reported.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 17-18/2023
The World Is at War
Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/December 17, 2023
[Senator JD] Vance has apparently not heard of World War II, which did not end with a negotiation either in Europe or the Pacific.
Leaders, officials, and legislators across the political spectrum have gone crazy, thinking their crowd-pleasing but truly awful ideas, if implemented, will have no consequences.
[Biden] is far more interested in avoiding escalation than in winning, and not angering the totalitarians in Beijing and Tehran has apparently become his primary goal... That is a grave strategic mistake.
[Putin] is unlikely to stop with just that embattled state. By explicitly adopting the language of Peter the Great, Putin has made it clear that Russia has the right to expand to areas now in NATO states. The Baltics, for instance, are obviously at risk. So is much of Eastern Europe.
Many in the West say that Putin would not dare to attack a NATO country, yet a failure of the West to defend Ukraine, a country protected by the guarantees of the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, could convince Putin that he does not have to worry about the trans-Atlantic alliance or its most important member, the United States of America.
President Joe Biden is trying to manage the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and is far more interested in avoiding escalation than in winning. Not angering the totalitarians in Beijing and Tehran has apparently become his primary goal.
Senator JD Vance on December 11 suggested that Ukraine surrender land in order to obtain a peace settlement with Russia.
"It ends the way nearly every single war has ever ended: when people negotiate and each side gives up something that it doesn't want to give up," the Ohio Republican said to reporters. "No one can explain to me how this ends without some territorial concessions relative to the 1991 boundaries."
Vance has apparently not heard of World War II, which did not end with a negotiation either in Europe or the Pacific. Moreover, given what he just said about a peace-for-land agreement with Russia, Vance also apparently knows nothing about the Munich Pact of 1938. I suspect he may not be able to locate the Sudetenland on a map.
Vance is not the only misguided American in Washington. Leaders, officials, and legislators across the political spectrum have gone crazy, thinking their crowd-pleasing but truly awful ideas, if implemented, will have no consequences.
We start with Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. The President thought nothing bad would follow from a precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
The rushed move immediately resulted in the deaths of 13 American soldiers and the abandonment of $7.2 billion in military equipment. The disaster, however, did not end there. A series of catastrophes continue to this day.
Almost immediately after the exit, Russian President Vladimir Putin began planning the invasion of Ukraine, which he launched the following February after China signaled support for the assault. Twenty days before Russian forces crossed the Ukraine border, Putin met Xi Jinping in Beijing and the pair issued a 5,300-word statement declaring their "no-limits" partnership. Since then, China has been all-in on supporting the Russian war effort.
Next, Russia and China, directly and through warlords, began to destabilize much of North Africa with insurgencies that look like wars. Both Moscow and Beijing are now fueling what could be the next big conflict there: Algeria moving to break apart American-friend Morocco, which guards the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.
Then Iran, through proxy Hamas, attacked Israel on October 7. China has been giving diplomatic cover to the atrocities of the terrorists, mobilized its massive propaganda apparatus to support them, and financed Iran with elevated purchases of oil. Since the initial attacks, Iran's two other principal proxies—the Houthi militia in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon — have joined the fight against the Jewish state. All three proxies use Chinese weapons.
Those who do want America to be involved in these conflicts minimize them as just "regional" wars. Is that correct?
"It is possible in the 20th and 21st centuries to say that there are, in fact, no regional wars, because all of them have some degree of involvement by the great powers," said Gregory Copley, president of the International Strategic Studies Association, to Gatestone this month. "Not one significant conflict anywhere in the world is without either the initiation by, or involvement of, some extra-regional players."
With China and Russia fully supporting disruptive elements, it is no wonder that the world has passed from a period of general calm to one of constant turbulence. "The past two years have seen the most conflicts of any time since the end of the Second World War," writes Paul Poast in a November Atlantic piece titled "Not a World War But a World at War."
We all hope Poast, an associate professor at the University of Chicago, is correct when he tells us that there is no global war, but in the 1930s separate conflicts merged into what we now call World War II. It is possible the same dynamic will occur this time.
The merger of conflicts at this moment is high because Moscow, and especially Beijing, are taking advantage of current disputes. "China is now backing aggressors on three continents," Jonathan Bass of energy consultant InfraGlobal Partners tells Gatestone.
In other words, the Chinese regime is fighting proxy wars. "Israeli officials, privately voicing their own opinions and not government policy, say Hamas's war on their country is part of China's assault on America," Bass, who is now based in the Persian Gulf, says.
"Proxy wars can, if left unattended, become direct wars between major powers," Copley, also editor-in-chief of Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy, says. "World War I began with a regional conflict between Serbian independence movements, backed by Moscow, which killed the heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown. World War II began when Hitler kept escalating small regional disputes until major powers had to respond."
Almost no one in an official position in America views today's conflicts as part of or prelude to a major war. Biden has completely ignored the troubles in North Africa and is trying to manage the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. He is far more interested in avoiding escalation than in winning, and not angering the totalitarians in Beijing and Tehran has apparently become his primary goal.
That is a grave strategic mistake. Take Putin's war of the moment. He has said many times that Ukraine has no right to exist. That is a clue as to the advisability of a peace deal that leaves the Russian strongman in control of any Ukrainian territory. He was not satisfied with annexing just Crimea in 2014, and he will not be satisfied with any agreement that does not extinguish Ukraine.
Furthermore, he is unlikely to stop with just that embattled state. By explicitly adopting the language of Peter the Great, Putin has made it clear that Russia has the right to expand to areas now in NATO states. The Baltics, for instance, are obviously at risk. So is much of Eastern Europe.
Many in the West say that Putin would not dare to attack a NATO country, yet a failure of the West to defend Ukraine, a country protected by the guarantees of the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, could convince Putin that he does not have to worry about the trans-Atlantic alliance or its most important member, the United States of America.
Vladimir Putin's project is to restore the Russian Empire and rule, among others, all Slavs on the Eurasian landmass. With China's backing and little opposition from America, anything can happen, especially if Beijing should then start moving against its neighbors or closing off nearby seas and skies.
"Big powers sense opportunities when small nations are in conflict," says Copley, "and what seems an easy case of 'conflict exploitation' soon becomes an out-of-control firefight."
The next "firefight" looks as if it will involve most of the world.
*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.
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The US policy paradox on the war in Gaza is running out of time
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/December 17/2023
All conflicts have crucial moments that reveal the true intentions of the main protagonists and make the murky waters of war somewhat clearer. This being the case, what did we learn from the UN Security Council vote last week on a proposed resolution, tabled by the UAE, that called for an immediate ceasefire in the war in Gaza, and the subsequent similar vote in the wider UN General Assembly? We learned that the vast majority of countries in both of these UN forums support calls for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of humanitarian aid. Regrettably, we also learned that the US was ready to block the resolution by using its power of veto in the Security Council. This begs the question: What are Washington’s true intentions? On the one hand, American officials express grave concerns about the way in which Israel is conducting its war against Hamas using methods that are causing unimaginable devastation and suffering to noncombatant Palestinians in Gaza and an unbearable death toll. On the other hand, the US has used one of its most powerful diplomatic tools to prevent the adoption of a binding UN resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities. Is this an inherent paradox the current administration simply fails to comprehend? Or is it more likely a deliberate tactic to gain Israel more time for its war in Gaza?
There is a consensus around the world that the humanitarian conditions in Gaza are intolerable. The vote on the ceasefire resolution in the 15-member Security Council was 13-to-1 in favor, with the US voting no and the UK abstaining. The US decision to veto the resolution stood in complete contradiction to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s expressed concerns about the spiraling death toll in Gaza. In his own understated way he said that Israel’s “intent” to limit civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip did not always “manifest” itself and “we see that both in terms of civilian protection and humanitarian assistance.”
In more explicit statements he has admitted that the number of casualties is unacceptable and “it remains imperative that Israel puts a premium on civilian protection.” Until this translates into a policy that helps to bring about an end to the fighting, however, the US is becoming increasingly isolated in the international arena and complicit in Israel’s killings in Gaza. It is also creating an obvious rift with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has become the most prominent and vocal moral compass in his demands for a ceasefire.
On Oct. 7, Israel suffered its worst loss of human life in a single day since the country was founded. As a result, it not only held the moral high ground but was well within its rights to respond — but against, and only against, those responsible for the massacre that day. Most of the world understood this and many supported it. But based on past experience, they also feared that the response would be utterly disproportionate. Those fears were quickly realized.
If the conflict is not halted its consequences will only get worse, and much of the blame for this can be attributed to the fact that the Israeli government has no clear plan for the war, or for the day after. This means the current situation remains open-ended and the people of Gaza are paying a terrible price for this.
There is a consensus around the world that the humanitarian conditions in Gaza are intolerable.
In the Security Council, Robert Wood, the US deputy ambassador to the UN, took a stance that reflects the Biden administration’s confusing approach to the issue, an approach that is detrimental not only to efforts to end the war but also to US interests, by completely aligning his country with the government of Israel, a country led by an internationally discredited prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, whose own people no longer trust him and would like to see him go.
Netanyahu argued that the US blocked the proposed resolution to give Israel a chance “to break the cycle of unceasing violence so that history does not keep repeating itself,” and that a ceasefire “would only plant the seeds for the next war because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace. Our goal should not be to stop the war for today but to stop the war for ever.”
This is not only wishful thinking, arguably a complete fantasy, but a dangerous idea in support of yet another never-ending war — and who is more experienced with involvement in such wars than the US?
Not only does this approach prolong a war with no defined exit strategy, it also risks the lives of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, as well as the intensification of battles in an ever-smaller area of Gaza in which most of the population of the territory who were forced to leave their homes is now concentrated. This is a recipe for an even worse humanitarian disaster than we have seen so far, bringing with it yet more hatred and radicalization.
Amid the incoherence of this arguably hypocritical US approach to the war that is allowing Israel more time to complete its military objectives, Washington is at the same time signaling to the Israelis that its support has a limited time span and it is running out of patience.
Nevertheless, every additional day, let alone weeks or months, of devastating bombardment are horrendous for the local population and might lead, as was suggested by Guterres, to civil order completely breaking down, resulting in a mass exodus of refugees to Egypt.
Tacitly — and for some in Israel’s ruling coalition, rather openly — this might be precisely what Israeli authorities would like to happen. But they should be careful what they wish for, as such an outcome would inevitably jeopardize relations with Egypt and other countries in the region, not to mention the fact that it would amount to ethnic cleansing.
The tension between Guterres and the US is not helpful. The former is exasperated with the latter’s refusal to recognize the fact that the UN’s capacity to continue to provide any meaningful level of humanitarian relief in Gaza is rapidly diminishing, while Washington views the secretary general himself as an obstacle to the efforts of Israel to eliminate Hamas.The brave, and correct, decision by Guterres last week to take the extremely rare step of invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter, which permits him to bring a perceived threat to global security directly to the attention of the Security Council, might have infuriated Washington but it made his own role, and that of the Security Council, more relevant than it has been in a very long time. In contrast, it left the US increasingly isolated and irrelevant to this conflict.
Consequently, the next step, considering what is happening on the ground in Gaza and the international fury about Washington’s veto, must be to bring this resolution back to the Security Council for another vote and this time hope that no one will block it.
• Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg

Gaza: What are the scenarios for ‘the day after’?
Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/December 17/2023
As the atrocities continue to unfold in Gaza, we hear so much talk now about “the day after” scenarios. This is paired with interesting statements recently made by the likes of US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan indicating the start of a deviation from the hard-line earlier position of his administration, when President Joe Biden said there were no red lines for Israel. Clearly, such a position by President Biden was not surprising ahead of an election year. However, that, accompanied by the much-criticized veto of a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the UN Security Council, has now resulted in more than 18,500 killed by Israel, including babies, women, the elderly and at least 56 journalists. So, what do Sullivan’s statements mean? Firstly, that despite the carefully selected public phrases, it is clear that the global outrage of what is happening in Gaza has caused serious concerns behind closed doors in the US and Israel. This is why it is somewhat reassuring to hear someone as senior and experienced as Sullivan say that his recent talks with Israeli officials were about transitioning to a new phase of the war targeting Hamas in particular. He reiterated that Hamas is not the Palestinian people and that more needs to be done to ensure Israel’s declared intention not to target civilians reflects the reality on the ground.
More significantly, he said that Israel cannot occupy Gaza in the long run. This brings us back to the ongoing debate about “the day after” scenarios.
First, it is important to remember what Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said a few days ago about the matter: Any future discussions cannot occur while the bombing continues. So, the attention has to remain on obtaining an immediate ceasefire. And what should be clear is that the — again highly condemnable — US veto should not be seen as the end of the road, but a reminder that more efforts should be made to convince the administration and the international community to put more pressure on Israel. This includes a reworded draft resolution if that is what it takes to resolve the matter.
The bottom line is that the aim should remain focused on an immediate ceasefire and a permanent solution to the conflict by finally reestablishing a Palestinian state living side by side and in peace with Israel.
This is why the obsession with talking about “the day after” must be paired with an equal obsession with talking about “the day before,” and that means the fact that Israel has been occupying Palestinian lands since 1967, as defined by the UN. A matter that must be resolved to ensure what happened on Oct. 7, and before, does not happen again.
The obsession with talking about ‘the day after’ must be paired with an equal obsession with talking about ‘the day before.’Despite the gloomy outlook, there are still glimmers of hope. To start with, the Hamas leadership has signaled its willingness to accept a two-state solution — as suggested by senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk in a recent interview with Al-Monitor. Of course it is fair for one to argue — or rather wish — that it had done so 16 years ago and supported the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to reach a peace deal instead of undermining it and calling for the eradication of the state of Israel. After all, history shows that more Arab land has been liberated and reclaimed via negotiations as opposed to warfare. Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon are clear and recent examples. Another sign of hope is the recent successful release of the first group of hostages. This was a reassuring sign that regional diplomacy can work, and it goes without saying that more goodwill gestures like that will go a long way. This is why efforts by countries like Qatar and Egypt must continue to be supported on that front.
However, the question remains: What does “the day after” look like? We must examine all possibilities on the ground. It is clear nobody will accept another Israeli occupation of Gaza when the efforts are on convincing them to dismantle settlements in the West Bank to enable a two-state solution. What is also clear is the Arab/Muslim/Palestinian position — an absolute rejection of any Israeli plan to displace or transfer the people of Gaza elsewhere. Palestinians must and will remain in their land and another Nakba must be avoided.
Similarly, the PA would never accept riding back into Gaza on the backs of Israeli tanks. A transition period with international peace-keeping troops — like the situation in Lebanon — might be possible, but that would require an acceptable formation, most probably with the involvement of neutral international armies and Arab states that have signed peace treaties with Israel.
It is also likely there will be a situation whereby the West Bank and Gaza are reunited under one authority, which essentially goes against the creed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted for the past 16 years of widening intra-Palestinian divisions.
The last but probably unlikely possibility is a referendum, which includes all Palestinians, to see whether they want to live in one country alongside Israel. This is likely to be rejected by both sides, particularly as, while it would tick the box of Israel being a democracy, it would end its raison d’etre as a “Jewish state.”And given that a one-state solution is unlikely, what really does not help at this stage are the statements by Israeli officials, most recently and notably the ones by Israeli ambassador to London, Tzipi Hotovely, categorically rejecting in a televised interview the concept of two states.
What also does not help is the Muslim community shooting the messenger and calling for the boycott of an influential television show like “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”
In fact, what is needed is more appearances by rational guests who can present convincing arguments for justice. Just look at the results achieved by a fair and balanced reporter like CNN’s Clarissa Ward when she was given access, via an Emirati field hospital, to report from Gaza. The truth is very powerful, so I cannot see how anything can be achieved by boycotting the debate, as opposed to owning it.
*Faisal J. Abbas is the editor-in-chief of Arab News. X: @FaisalJAbbas

Iraq becoming a tinderbox due to Gaza war spillover
Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/December 17, 2023
Six weeks into the Gaza war, Iraq suffered its first casualties arising from that conflict. On Nov. 21-22, a series of US airstrikes near Baghdad killed nine Iraqi militants whose organization, Kata’ib Hezbollah, had been accused of launching drone attacks against American bases in the country.
The attacks on US targets by Iran-backed militias in Iraq began on Oct. 17, when Israel was suspected of bombing Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, killing more than 300 Palestinians. Though Iraq is far from the battlefront in Gaza, over the past two months nearly 100 attacks have been launched on American bases in the country. Although the casualties have been relatively light, these militant actions reflect a pervasive anti-US sentiment in Iraq and invite swift retaliation. There are now legitimate concerns that the spread of the Gaza war across the region could begin in Iraq. In the period before the war began, Iraq had been experiencing an unprecedented period of stability and peace. In March, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute noted that Iraq was “enjoying its most stable period since 2003.” Several observers praised Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani for providing a “service government,” in terms of its efforts to develop energy security and infrastructure. They were looking forward to his administration addressing other deeply embedded governance challenges in the near future. All this ended with the commencement of fighting in Gaza. Thousands of Iraqis thronged the streets of Baghdad, sharply criticizing the US and Israel and displaying portraits of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Popular leader Muqtada Al-Sadr summoned his supporters to join the mass demonstrations. Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani spoke out on the issue of Palestinian rights and attacked the Israeli occupation and the destruction in Gaza. A former prime minister called for the removal of the 2,500 US troops that remain in Iraq.
Shiite militias such as Kata’ib Hezbollah, Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq and the Badr Organization have been at the forefront of these agitations. The head of Badr stated that the liberation of Palestine would begin in Iraq. Some militias have set up “support rooms” to coordinate their backing for Hamas.
In an attempt to assuage popular feelings, Al-Sudani and other prominent government figures have condemned the Israeli attacks in Gaza and expressed total solidarity with the Palestinians, thus placing Iraq’s politicians and people on the same side. From the outset, the prime minister’s principal effort has been to curb the aggressive actions of the militants toward American targets, as he warns of the need to avoid provoking harsh US or Israeli military retaliations.
In the period before the war began, Iraq had been experiencing an unprecedented period of stability and peace.
The nightmare scenario for Al-Sudani would be a return to conflict in the country, which would jeopardize its economic recovery, encourage greater Iranian influence in domestic matters and make Iraq the theater for a major confrontation between Washington and Tehran.
Al-Sudani’s concerns do not seem to have affected the militants, who have found in the Gaza conflict a renewed vigor and sense of purpose. There are reports that their Iranian mentors have advised them to conduct “low-damage” operations against US and Israeli targets, but not to get directly involved in the Gaza conflict itself. This has resulted in continual drone and rocket attacks on US targets at Ain Al-Asad Airbase, Harir Airbase and Baghdad International Airport.
These attacks prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet Al-Sudani in Baghdad on Nov. 5 to convey, through him, a message to the Iranian authorities, warning them to restrain the militants or face harsh retaliation.
Al-Sudani traveled to Tehran the next day to deliver Washington’s message to President Ebrahim Raisi and the supreme leader, even though both have condemned Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza and Raisi holds the US responsible for Israel’s violence against the Palestinians.
The tit-for-tat skirmishes between Iraqi militants and US forces escalated at the end of November, when the former launched a ballistic missile attack on Ain Al-Asad Airbase, outside Baghdad, which injured eight Americans. The US responded with a gunship attack that killed nine fighters — the first Iraqi “martyrs” of the war in Gaza. The US attacks took place in an area south of Baghdad called Jurf Al-Nasr. It is the headquarters of Kata’ib Hezbollah and Western sources also refer to it as a “forward operating base for Iran.” The militia’s lethal weapons, including drones, rockets and missiles, are assembled in this area and it is from there that most of the attacks on US targets have been launched. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in late October that his country had upgraded its state of defense preparedness in the region in response to “recent escalations by Iran and its proxies across the Middle East region.”
Iran’s response has so far been nonchalant. The country’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said at the Doha Forum last week that his country had been receiving messages from the US every week. He denied that Iran was directing militants in Iraq, instead suggesting “they were merely defending the people of Gaza.” He warned that the war in Gaza could lead to a “regional explosion.”As fighting rages in Gaza, Iraq is gradually becoming a tinderbox. If Israel’s violence in Gaza continues unabated, it would need just one major militant attack in Iraq that causes several American casualties for the fighting to escalate there and set the stage for a direct confrontation between the US and Iran — a conflict that both nations, despite coming to the brink on several occasions, have managed to avoid for more than two decades.
• Talmiz Ahmad is a former Indian diplomat.

Gaza…Buying and Selling
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 17, 2023
Since the war began, we have heard several significant statements that exemplify the exploitation of the Palestinian cause, including Gaza, for personal gain. These scattered statements were not contextualized due to "organized disruption" and high-level accusations of betrayal on social media and in the media.
The first statement, which was made despite all the Iranian propaganda about Gaza, is the Iranian Supreme Leader’s insistence that Iran had not threatened to throw Israel into the sea, but rather the Arabs. This statement was later changed, with the term "Arabs" removed.
The second statement was made by Ismail Haniyeh. He demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza was needed, and that it was time to sit down for negotiations that bring about a two-state solution. Following this statement, a demagogic smear campaign was launched to divert attention from Haniyeh's statement.
However, Haniyeh then reiterated, in the third statement made a few days ago, that Hamas was open to any initiative aimed at getting the Palestinian house in order, despite his previous statements about Gaza’s need for more "blood and souls."
Then comes the fourth statement, by Musa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas official. In an important interview with "Al-Monitor," Marzouk said that the Muslim Brotherhood is ready to become part of the Palestine Liberation Organization and put an end to Palestinian division.
He stressed that Hamas wants to be a part of the Palestine Liberation Organization. “We will respect the commitments of the organization." However, Abu Musa soon retracted his statements through a statement published by Hamas after the interview.
In my opinion, which I expressed on "X" immediately after Abu Marzouk's statements were published, they were not taken out of context. Indeed, they were testing the waters, as Hamas is now trying to open channels with moderate countries that Hamas has long accused of treachery.
Look at all these statements accordingly, starting with the Iranian Supreme Leader’s. You find the retraction or correction, or the claim that the statements were taken out of context. The increase in the level of slander and deception is glaring, as is what I call the "organized distortion" of those I call "keyboard jihadists."Then, you find that the statements are consistently moving in the same direction. They are walking on their statements. But these changes are not mere retractions, but a desperate attempt to defend themselves against an existential threat.
Iran does not want to be the next target, and it took a similar approach following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Iran sent a letter to former President Bush Jr. at the time, essentially capitulating. However, stupidity and Bush's team squandered the opportunity. Thus, Tehran avoided involving Hezbollah in the battle.
As for "Hamas," it is trying to salvage what it can so that it can remain in Gaza, even under the cover of the Palestinian Authority whose forces Hamas threw off building tops in 2007.
Hamas is also trying to avoid expulsion from Turkey and Qatar, as well as the assassinations that Israel has vowed to carry out. Keeping Yahya Sinwar, or any of his comrades, is the last of Hamas’s concerns. It is trying to safeguard the movement.
In conclusion, we are now seeing the cause being traded with. It is nothing but a card in the hands of Iran and Hamas. The difference, now, is that this buying and selling is being done out in the open.

Silent epidemic that kills 10 million a year can be beaten
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/December 17, 2023
In a world marked by significant and tremendous advancements in both medical science and technology, it is unfortunate and disheartening to witness the persistence of easily preventable and treatable illnesses, which continue to claim the lives of millions of people around the world each year. It is estimated that about 10 million people tragically lose their lives every year to easily preventable and treatable illnesses. This must be treated as a global health issue. In addition, it is important to point out that the burden is often disproportionately borne by low-income countries and particularly their children.
While the impact of easily preventable and treatable illnesses varies across regions, a significant number of these preventable deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Some of the countries with high mortality rates due to easily preventable and treatable illnesses are Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Mali and Afghanistan.
In spite of the availability of knowledge, resources and effective interventions, these diseases unfortunately persist. Several illnesses fall into the category of easily preventable and treatable conditions that contribute significantly to global mortality. Among these diseases are malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease that remains one of the world’s leading causes of death, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. It is worth noting that simple preventive measures, such as bed nets treated with insecticides and anti-malarial medications, can substantially reduce the incidence and impact of this disease.
Other easily preventable and treatable diseases include cholera and rotavirus-induced diarrhea, which claim many lives, primarily in developing regions that have limited access to clean water and sanitation facilities. This can be partially addressed by improving hygiene, access to clean water and promoting safe water practices.
Some other easily preventable and treatable illnesses include respiratory infections such as pneumonia, which poses a significant threat, especially to children and the elderly. Vaccination campaigns, adequate nutrition and prompt access to healthcare can markedly reduce mortality rates associated with respiratory illnesses. Finally, tuberculosis remains a major global health concern, affecting millions annually. Timely diagnosis, effective treatment and preventive measures such as the bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine can help control the spread of TB and save lives.
In order to comprehensively and more efficiently address the global health issue of easily preventable and treatable illnesses, we ought to first look at the main reasons behind it. Low-income countries often face these challenges because of insufficient healthcare infrastructure, inadequate access to healthcare facilities, limited access to vaccinations and an inadequate supply of trained medical professionals, as well as essential medications. Such a lack of access can lead to delayed or insufficient treatment for preventable illnesses.
The high number of deaths caused by these illnesses is a stark reminder of the gaps in global healthcare. Resolving this issue requires a concerted effort from governments, healthcare facilities and international organizations to enhance the healthcare infrastructure in poor countries. It is also necessary to address the underlying social and economic determinants of health and improve maternal and child health in low-income nations. Comprehensive education, widespread testing and accessible healthcare services are critical in addressing this global health challenge.
In other words, addressing these easily preventable and treatable illnesses requires a multilateral approach that involves governments, healthcare professionals and nongovernmental organizations.
In addition, such a multifaceted approach will require comprehensive public health education programs to raise awareness about these illnesses’ causes, symptoms and prevention strategies, including emphasizing the importance of vaccination, proper hygiene and early medical intervention. It will also be reliant on organized efforts to provide affordable medications and treatments, strengthen international, regional and national collaboration and partnerships, support and boost vaccination programs and invest in healthcare infrastructure.
It is a step in the right direction that the UN has set a goal to address this issue. Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 aims to “end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age” by 2030. This objective is part of the broader UN SDGs, which were adopted by all member states in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Specifically, target 3.2 is stated as: “By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-five mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births.”Finally, it is important to point out that the continuing high number of deaths caused by easily preventable and treatable illnesses is a stark reminder of the gaps in global healthcare. By prioritizing education, access to healthcare and international collaboration, we can work toward a world where these diseases no longer pose a threat.In a nutshell, every year, we unfortunately witness the tragic loss of 10 million lives to easily preventable and treatable illnesses. Collective efforts by governments, healthcare professionals and communities are essential to address this silent epidemic and ensure a healthier, more resilient global population. It is our collective responsibility to advocate for accessible healthcare for everyone, raise awareness and promote preventive measures and work toward eliminating these unnecessary deaths. Through education, awareness and global collaboration, we can indeed turn the tide against this silent epidemic and save countless lives.
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. X: @Dr_Rafizadeh