Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 03-04/2023
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal al-Rahi: We know the killer, and this is not just an incident
LBCI/July 03/2023
During his attendance at the funeral of the victims, Haitham and Malek Tawk, at the Church of Our Lady in Bcharre, Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi emphasized that "we believe in the state, we know our boundaries, we know the killer, and this is not just an incident."He called for "demarcating the borders in the Qornet El Sawda area and ending the conflict," urging the disclosure of "the perpetrator(s) and holding them accountable." He also highlighted that "the Bcharre  residents always declare their readiness for a solution, and we are all under the authority of fair law," adding, "if the judiciary had done its job, we would not have reached this tragedy today, and the fear is that the judiciary will continue to falter."

Former Minister conveys condolences urging swift action in Qornet El Sawda tragedy
LBCI/July 03/2023
Former Minister and President of the "Kulluna Li Beirut " Association, Mohammad Choucair, expressed his deep sadness and sorrow over the tragic incident of Qornet El Sawda and the loss of the two victims, Haitham Tawk and Malek Tawk. He extended his heartfelt condolences and sincere sympathy to the Tawk family, the victims' relatives, their loved ones, and the leadership of Bcharre in the face of this tragedy that has affected all of Lebanon. In this context, Choucair called on the relevant state authorities to work swiftly to "uncover the circumstances of this condemnable incident, to establish justice, prevent discord, and protect our society, our people, and our nation." Moreover, he praised the stance of the Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, who represents a firm and unifying national position. Choucair announced his support for the Lebanese Army, which remains in the middle of safety for the nation and its citizens. He also emphasized the need for the state to fulfill its duties completely, especially in resolving conflicts by enforcing the law and asserting the state's sovereignty.

Karami refuses to link Qornet al-Sawda incident to the divisive issues between Bcharre and Dinniyeh
NNA/July 03/2023
MP Faisal Karami on Monday rejected attempts to link the fresh incident in Qornet al-Sawda to the divisive land-related issues between Bcharre and Dinniyeh. Interviewed by Voice of All Lebanon radio station, Karami urged the government to resolve the land disputes. He also reassured that "there is no fear for the internal unity and civil peace."

Presidential file stalls again, media reports say
Naharnet/July 03/2023
Lebanon's presidential election has stalled again, several local media reports said Monday. Therefore, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will not call for any electoral session unless there are new developments, al-Joumhouria newspaper said. The daily added that the opposition has not changed its stance regarding the nomination of former finance minister Jidah Azour. Mired in a crippling economic crisis since 2019, Lebanon has been governed by a caretaker cabinet for more than a year and without a president for more than eight months. No group has a clear majority in parliament and lawmakers have failed 12 times to elect a new president, amid bitter divisions between the Shiite Duo MPs who back Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh and the opposition backing Azour. The FPM, an old Hezbollah ally, refuses Franjieh and has agreed with the opposition on Azour. French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian had arrived last month in Beirut to end the political impasse. He met with officials, party heads and other politicians. Al-Joumhouria said then that the outcome of Le Drian’s visit was not encouraging and many media reports expected a protracted presidential vacuum. Le Drian is set to return to Beirut in July. Meanwhile, he is preparing for a visit to Riyadh, Nidaa al-Watan said. He will reportedly discuss with the officials in Saudi Arabia and Qatar the outcome of his consultations in Lebanon and the results of the meetings that he held with the Lebanese parties.

Report: Hezbollah removes one of two tents from Shebaa farms
Naharnet/July 03/2023
Hezbollah has removed one of two tents set up in the Shebaa Farms between Lebanon and Israel, several Israeli media reports said. On Sunday, Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz told a radio station that Israel was trying to let diplomacy work to resolve the issue. "Israel is not interested in war, but we won’t allow our red lines to be crossed," the minister said. Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad said Saturday that Israel is "unable" to remove the tents, and that no one "can impose anything anymore." An Israeli news portal claimed last week that the U.S. was pressuring Lebanon’s government to clear out the outpost. "We prefer Hezbollah to evacuate the outpost over us bombing them. We have made this clear to the U.S. and the Americans made it clear to the Lebanese," an Israeli official was quoted as saying. The Shebaa Farms had been captured by Israel during the 1967 Mideast War and are claimed by Lebanon. Last month, a Lebanese villager tried to stop an Israeli bulldozer from digging a trench along the border in the nearby Kfarshouba village, which Beirut also says is Lebanese land occupied by Israel. Once the villager's legs were covered with sand as the bulldozer moved ahead, U.N. peacekeepers jumped in and convinced the driver to move back. Videos of the elderly man with his legs stuck in the sand dune went viral on social media.

Report: Salameh won't stay in his post after his term expires
Naharnet/July 03/2023
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh will leave his post at the end of this month when his term will expire, a media report said on Monday. “This is the conclusion of the discussions that were held prior to the Eid al-Adha holiday over the file of the vacant, high-ranking state posts,” al-Akhbar newspaper said. As per Lebanon’s Code of Money and Credit, the governor post should go to the first deputy governor until the appointment of an incumbent governor. The current first deputy governor is Wassim Mansouri, who is close to the Shiite Duo. According to al-Akhbar, Mansouri returned last week from Washington, where he met with officials from the U.S. Treasury, the U.S. Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and other U.S. officials concerned with the banking sector in Lebanon. “Mansouri has been quoted as saying that he sensed no U.S. objection to him assuming the governor’s missions and that it was agreed to coordinate with the relevant U.S. authorities regarding the management of the banking sector and the financial and monetary situations,” the daily said. “The U.S. officials, however, stressed to Mansouri the need to appoint an incumbent governor,” al-Akhbar quoted informed sources as saying.
According to the same sources, the Americans are still in favor of allotting the governor post to former minister Camille Abousleiman, “despite his concern over accepting the mission in the absence of consensus on him, especially that he sensed in his previous tours serious reservations, not to mention that influential forces inside and outside the government have informed (caretaker PM Najib) Mikati of their rejection of him assuming this post.”

Hannibal Gadhafi taken to hospital for third time
Associated Press/July 03/2023
A son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was taken to hospital for the third time after his health deteriorated due to a hunger strike to protest his detention without trial in Beirut, Dubai-based Al-Hadath TV said. Al-Hadath said Gadhafi was in "critical condition" after he suffered a sharp drop in his blood sugar level. He was taken to Beirut’s Hotel-Dieu de France hospital on Sunday. Gadhafi, who started his hunger strike on June 3, was given supplements and asked to be taken back to the jail where he is held in Beirut, al-Jadeed TV said, adding that he fears for his life outside prison.
He had also been suffering back pain due to being held in a small room where he cannot move freely or exercise. Hannibal Gadhafi has been detained in Lebanon since 2015 after he was briefly kidnapped from neighboring Syria, where he had been living as a political refugee. He was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information on the whereabouts of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr, who went missing in Libya 45 years ago. Lebanese police later announced it had collected Hannibal from the northeastern city of Baalbek where he was being held. He has been detained in a Beirut jail without trial since then. The disappearance of al-Sadr in 1978 has been a long-standing sore point in Lebanon. The cleric’s family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume al-Sadr is dead. He would be 94 years old. Al-Sadr was the founder of the Amal group, Arabic for “hope,” and an acronym for the group’s Arabic name, the Lebanese Resistance Brigades. Most of al-Sadr’s followers are convinced that Moammar Gadhafi ordered al-Sadr killed in a dispute over Libyan payments to Lebanese militias. Libya has maintained that the cleric and his two traveling companions left Tripoli in 1978 on a flight to Rome and suggested he was a victim of a power struggle among Shiites. Gadhafi was killed by opposition fighters in 2011, ending his four-decade rule of the north African country. Hannibal Gadhafi was born two years before al-Sadr disappeared.

Bassil meets in London with British premiership officials
Naharnet/July 03/2023
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has met in London with the British deputy national security adviser for Middle East affairs, Ajay Sharma, and the Middle East official at the British premiership, George Bowman.
According to a tweet by Bassil, the meeting was held at the British premiership’s headquarters, in the presence of Lebanese Ambassador to Britain Rami Mortada and the Lebanese mission’s deputy head Marwan Francis. Bassil added that the discussions tackled “the need to spread an atmosphere of stability in the region and the UK’s role in this regard and its positive impact on Lebanon.”

Lebanese Social Affairs Ministry launches official website for accurate information and service access
LBCI/July 03/2023
In an effort to combat misinformation and ensure access to accurate and reliable information, the Lebanese Social Affairs Ministry has launched a new website, www.socialaffairs.gov.lb. The website serves as the official source for all news and updates related to the ministry, countering the spread of false information. Recently, misleading messages circulated through WhatsApp, falsely claiming that the government and the Social Affairs Ministry were providing new forms of assistance. The ministry took action by launching this website to address this deception and uphold citizens' right to accurate and precise information. Moreover, the website aims to simplify the lives of people, particularly those who benefit from the ministry's services. For instance, individuals can now easily locate the social centers that cater to their needs without requiring extensive inquiries or paperwork. By entering the center's category, type, province, and district, users can access the specific center details that fulfill their requirements. Additionally, the website provides valuable information for individuals seeking various services the ministry offers, such as obtaining a personal disability card. The necessary eligibility criteria, required documents, and the process to initiate the application are now readily available. Furthermore, citizens can address any complaints through the website's "Facing any issues?" section at the bottom of the page. By utilizing this feature, individuals can submit their complaints, and a team from the minister's office is expected to engage with them to resolve the issue promptly.

Berlin's call to action: Lebanese opposition delegation meets with German official to address ongoing crisis
LBCI/July 03/2023
A parliamentary delegation representing the Lebanese opposition has arrived in Berlin, marking its fifth visit to international capitals following Stockholm, Brussels, Washington, and Paris. The delegation aims to present the repercussions of the Lebanese crisis on both the political and economic levels while discussing possible assistance measures from these countries to overcome the ongoing crisis. The visit to Germany, attended by MP Fouad Makhzoumi along with deputies from the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb Party, Democratic Gathering, Renewal, and Change MPs, commenced with a meeting with Henning Speck, the foreign policy officer of the parliamentary alliance of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Socialist Union. Speck, who primarily listened to the delegation members' explanations about the political and economic crises, made it clear that he holds Hezbollah and its allies responsible for Lebanon's current state. He also highlighted the importance of electing a president, implementing reforms, and finalizing an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). During their discussion with officials from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, political and economic topics echoed those of previous meetings. It became evident that the foundation officials were well aware of the Lebanese reality and the risks surrounding it, stressing the need for radical measures to be taken beginning with the election of a president. In Germany, the Lebanese file holds significant importance, with Germans closely monitoring the actions of the French in this regard and having several observations regarding their performance.

MP Kassem Hashem to LBCI: It is incorrect to claim that dialogue aims to impose a specific individual
LBCI/July 03/2023
MP Kassem Hashem emphasized the necessity of dialogue to understand how to overcome the presidential vacuum before addressing other issues that the president should be involved in. On LBCI's "Nharkom Said" TV show, he stated, "there is nothing preventing dialogue, and there is misleading talk about our approach to dialogue and how to reach an agreement on the specifications of the next president in order to later proceed with the list of names for voting. However, it is incorrect to claim that dialogue aims to impose a specific individual."

UNIFIL engages with authorities to prevent tensions over tents near Blue Line
LBCI/July 03/2023
The Deputy Director of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Media Office, Candice Ardel, announced in a phone call with the National News Agency (NNA) that "UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Aroldo Lazaro continues his direct contacts with the authorities on both sides of the Blue Line to address the issue of tents near Bastara." "We are verifying the reports of a tent being moved north of the Blue Line," she stated. Furthermore, she added, "any unauthorized presence or activity near the Blue Line is a cause for concern and can escalate tension and misunderstanding."

Army chief welcomes Iraqi Interior Ministry delegation
NNA /July 03/2023
Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, on Monday received at his Yarzeh office, a delegation from the Iraqi Interior Ministry, headed by Lieutenant General Sami Al-Sudani. Discussions reportedly touched on the current general situation in the region.

GS’s Baissari discusses general situation, displaced Syrians’ issue with EU Ambassador
NNA/July 03/2023
Acting Director General of General Security, Brigadier General Elias Baissari, on Monday received in his office, the EU Ambassador to Lebanon, Ralph Tarraf. The pair reportedly discussed the current general situation and the existing cooperation between the General Security and the European Union. Discussions also touched on the displaced Syrians’ issue.

Mikati chairs meeting over airport file, discusses workers’ related affairs with GLC Head, receives Caretaker Environment Minister, Beqaa Safrin...
NNA/July 03/2023
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Monday chaired, at the Grand Serail a meeting devoted to discussing the airport file, in the presence of Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, Caretaker Tourism Minister Walid Nassar, Caretaker Transport Minister Ali Hamieh, General Security Chief Major General Elias Baysari, Civil Aviation Director General Fadi al-Hassan, and MEA chairman Mohammad Hout. On emerging, Minister Hamieh said that they held today an assessment meeting over services at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, as part of the follow-up on the airport's status. On the other hand, Premier Mikati met with Caretaker Environment Minister Nasser Yassin, with whom he discussed Ministry-related affairs. Mikati later met at the Grand Serail with the Head of the General Labor Confederation (GLC), Bechara Al-Asmar, accompanied by a delegation, with whom he discussed an array of laborers’ related affairs and demands. On emerging, Al-Asmar said that the delegation discussed with the Premier the current conditions of workers in public institutions, independent authorities, government hospitals, municipalities, Television of Lebanon TL, Ogero, and others. The PM later received Bqaa Safrin Municipality head Bilal Zod, in the presence of the Secretary General of the Supreme Defense Council, Major General Muhammad al-Mustafa, and the Secretary General of the High Relief Commission, Major General Mohammed Khair. On emerging, Zod said that the meeting with the Premier focused on the issue of the dispute over Qornet al-Sawda with the town of Bsharre, adding that he briefed the PM on the current atmosphere in the region. Mikati also received at the Grand Serail, the Acting Director General of General Security, Brigadier General Elias Baissari.

Harfouche at the conference on the “Role of Media in Formulation of Positive Political Rhetoric in Lebanon”: We are consistent with the nature of...
NNA/July 03/2023
Director of the National News Agency, Ziad Harfouche, delivered a word this afternoon at the second session of the media conference organized by Amal Movement’s central media office under the headline, “The Role of the Lebanese Media in the Formulation of Positive Political Rhetoric in Lebanon”, patronized by Caretaker Information Minister, Ziad al-Makary, at the Riviera Hotel in Beirut. Harfouche considered in his word that “political Identity” and “media discourse" are at the core where everything begins in the media. He noted that in private media, each outlet has an identity and image, whether political, partisan or ideological, while in the case of public media the situation is different, as there is no political or partisan identity, but rather a comprehensive national identity. He added: “When we talk about public media, we first mean the National News Agency, which is the first and foremost source of news material and the only main resource that feeds the media, in all its forms, domains, functions, trends, policies and agendas.”Harfouche stressed that NNA is not with anyone in particular nor against anyone, but rather is in the service of all. “This is what public media should be…Patriotic, genuine, impartial, and presenting news without any political color, any partisan passion, or any personal affiliation,” he maintained. Harfouche continued to underline that the National News Agency does not publish news attributed to a “source” or “sources” without mentioning the name explicitly, in line with the principle of transparency and total clarity, unlike what is usually prevalent in media outlets, a matter that is understandable and natural in a media outlet that follows a specific identity dictating a specific rhetoric. “Our neutral position, professional role, and calm rhetoric necessitate that we do not hide behind any ‘source’ nor place any mask between us and the news recipient, i.e. all the media,” he emphasized. "We do not claim professional utopianism or journalistic sanctity in public media…Rather, we only try to be in harmony with the nature of our work, the concept of our public message, and the essence of our comprehensive national identity, so we work according to what is required by our clear media image, regardless of any inclination or affiliation," Harfouche concluded.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 03-04/2023
Major Israeli military operation kills eight in West Bank
Agence France Presse/July 3, 2023
Israel on Monday began a large-scale military raid including drone strikes and hundreds of troops in the northern occupied West Bank, killing eight Palestinians in what the army labelled an "extensive counterterrorism effort."The operation under the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the biggest of its kind in years, with bulldozers, armored vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles. An AFP correspondent in Jenin said troops were inside the camp and also around the city. There were gun battles, explosions, and Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli troops, the correspondent reported. Israel had already stepped up operations in the northern West Bank, home to Jenin city and its adjacent refugee camp, which is a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups and where there has been a spate of attacks on Israelis as well as attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinian communities.
The Palestinian health ministry said that in Monday's operation eight people were killed -- exceeding the toll of seven from an Israeli army raid in Jenin refugee camp two weeks ago which saw rare use of helicopter missile fire. Fifty others were injured including 10 who were in serious condition, the ministry said. "There is bombing from the air and an invasion from the ground," Mahmoud al-Saadi, director of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Jenin, told AFP. "Several houses and sites have been bombed... smoke is rising from everywhere." The Israeli army said its forces had struck a "joint operations center", which served as a command post for the "Jenin Brigade", a local militant group. The area is nominally under the control of president Mahmud Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank. The army said it targeted an "observation and reconnaissance" site, as well as a weapons storage facility and a hideout for those alleged to have carried out attacks on Israeli targets in recent months. "We are striking the terrorism hub (of Jenin) with great strength," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told reporters in Jerusalem. Violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has worsened since early last year, including under the latest administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu which took power in December, a coalition between his Likud party and extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies. Netanyahu's coalition contains hardline West Bank settlers, including extreme-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Caught 'by surprise'
"People were aware that we were probably going in", army spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters, "but the method of striking from the air", with a target in the core of the camp, "basically caught them by surprise," He said troops remained inside the camp but were after "specific targets" and "not trying to hold ground." "We are still seizing weapons and ammunitions" and "infrastructure", Hecht said, adding the focus was on Jenin camp and that there was no specific timeline for ending the operation. It involved "brigade-level" troop numbers, he said. An army statement said that one soldier was lightly injured" by Israeli army grenade shrapnel. Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967. Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the territory is now home to around 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements considered illegal under international law. The Palestinians, who seek their own independent state, want Israel to withdraw from all land it occupied in the Six-Day War and to dismantle all Jewish settlements. However, Netanyahu has pledged to "strengthen settlements" and has expressed no interest in reviving peace talks, which have been moribund since 2014. In a separate incident a Palestinian youth was killed by Israeli fire near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian health ministry said. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said in a statement that "all options are open to strike the enemy (Israel) in response to its aggression in Jenin". In neighboring Jordan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Sinan Majali emphasized "that the ongoing escalation constitutes a clear violation of international humanitarian law, as well as Israel's obligations as the occupying power."Following Israel's raid in Jenin last month, four Israelis were killed when two Palestinian gunmen attacked a petrol station near the West bank settlement of Eli. The assailants were shot dead. In another rare action that same week, the Israeli military said it carried out a drone strike to kill three members of a "terrorist cell" in the West Bank. In response, Netanyahu's office said his government would fast-track settlement expansion at Eli. Since the start of the year at least 185 Palestinians, 25 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian have been killed, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources from both sides. They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians and three members of the Arab minority.

Israel launches deadly raid on West Bank city
James Rothwell/The Telegraph/July 3, 2023
Israel launched a major raid on Palestinian militants in the West Bank on Monday, including drone strikes on Jenin refugee camp that left at least five people dead. Israeli military officials said a “brigade-size” force was operating in Jenin, a phrase that suggests as many as two thousand soldiers have been deployed around the Palestinian city. While Israel frequently launches raids in the northern cities of Nablus and Jenin, the scale of the forces deployed and the use of a drone strike were both highly unusual. Jenin, a densely populated city in the northern West Bank, has long been used as a hideout by Palestinian militant groups and is one of the most volatile centres of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At around 1am on Monday morning, the Israeli army launched a drone strike on what it said was a “command centre” used by militant groups in Jenin, before sending in troops and bulldozers.
Video footage showed smoke billowing up from Jenin’s rooftops while a number of drones circled above, and there were reports of sporadic gunfire. Electricity was cut off in some parts of Jenin and residents saw military bulldozers driving through narrow streets. Palestinian health officials said that five Palestinians were killed and that some two dozen were injured.
‘Real war’
For weeks, Israel’s government has faced intense pressure from Right-wingers to take a tougher stance on militant groups embedded in Jenin which have launched numerous deadly attacks on Israelis. “What is going on in the refugee camp is real war,” a Palestinian ambulance driver, Khaled Alahmad, told Reuters. “There were strikes from the sky targeting the camp, every time we drive in around five to seven ambulances and we come back full with injured people.” “There is bombing from the air and an invasion from the ground,” Mahmoud al-Saadi, the director of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Jenin, told AFP. “Several houses and sites have been bombed... smoke is rising from everywhere.”Israel’s army released aerial photographs of what it called an “advanced observation and reconnaissance centre” that was targeted by its drones early on Monday. The centre is used by militant groups to warn each other of approaching Israeli military forces. It is the second time that Israel has launched drone strikes in the West Bank since 2006, following a similar attack last month on a Palestinian car that reportedly killed three gunmen. Lt Col Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman, said there were no plans for troops to “hold ground” in Jenin and that they were focused on destroying or confiscating weapons. “We’re acting against specific targets,” he said. Israel said it also targeted a “weapons production facility” and an “explosive device storage facility” during the raid. Israeli military officials have stressed that the operation had specific goals and suggested that it would be likely to continue for one day or several, rather than turn into a lengthy campaign. However, the images of bulldozers in the streets of Jenin and the unusual use of airstrikes have evoked memories of the 2002 Israeli invasion of the city, at the height of the Palestinian Second Intifada. That incursion was launched in retaliation for a Palestinian suicide bombing which killed 30 people. News of the raid was warmly welcomed by the extreme-Right elements of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, who have been demanding that he take a tougher stance on Palestinian fighters in the West Bank. “Proud of our heroes on all fronts and this morning especially of our soldiers operating in Jenin,” ultra-nationalist security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on Twitter. “Praying for their success.” The past year has seen a major increase in violence in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with 177 Palestinians, 25 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian killed so far.

Hamas lets Gaza residents pose with weapons for first time
Agence France Presse/Mon, July 3, 2023
The armed wing of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas has put its weapons on public display, in a first open event drawing hundreds of Palestinians including children brandishing rocket launchers for selfies. Dressed in black balaclavas and tactical camouflage suits, members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades mingled with young men and women at the exhibition in Gaza City's Unknown Soldier's Square. "Resistance is an image and a memory. Take souvenir photos with many of Al-Qassam's weapons," the group said in an invitation on social media and posters in mosques. The event was the first at which Hamas has allowed the public to take photos of weapons. It follows the latest surge in worsening Israeli-Palestinian violence, which cost 16 Palestinian and four Israeli lives in the occupied West Bank over six days in late June. In May, militant groups in Gaza and Israel traded cross-border fire for five days, killing 34 Palestinians, among them six commanders of the Islamic Jihad, fighters from other Palestinian armed groups and civilians including children. One Israeli woman died. Among the Hamas weapons on display in Gaza City on Friday were a range of locally manufactured missiles, "Shihab" drones, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and Russian-made "Kornet" missiles. Exhibitions are also scheduled to take place on Saturday in the north and center of the Gaza Strip, where people are normally forbidden to approach and photograph military sites. At the entrance to the Gaza City exhibition a banner welcomed visitors, some of whom had come with their families and children, an AFP correspondent said. Dozens of uniformed Al-Qassam Brigades members were on hand.
'Proud of the resistance' -
A young boy in fatigues and wearing a green Brigades headband smiled for the cameras as a man propped a rocket launcher on his shoulder. Another held the controls of an anti-aircraft gun as young men posed in front of a display of rockets on stands. "I came with my family to take photos with the weapons and reinforce the spirit of resistance in our children," said Gaza resident Abu Mohammed Abu Shakian. The exhibition is "encouraging and means that the liberation of our land is near", added Shahadeh Dalou, who also came with his children. Bassam Darwish, 58, said people wanted to show their support for the Al-Qassam Brigades. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Australia, Britain, Israel and the European Union. "Everyone is happy and proud of the Al-Qassam exhibition. We are here because we're proud of the resistance," he said. Around 2.3 million Palestinians live in the impoverished Gaza Strip which has been under a crippling Israeli-led blockade since Hamas seized power in 2007. Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza have fought several wars since.

Israel to buy more F-35 fighter jets from US
Associated Press/Mon, July 3, 2023
Israel will buy 25 F-35 aircraft from the United States, the Israeli Defense Ministry has announced, in a deal that increases Israel's arsenal of the stealth fighter jets by 50%. The F-35 is the world's most advanced fighter jet, and Israel is the only country in the Middle East to fly them. The $3 billion purchase, which increases the Israeli fleet of F-35 jets from 50 to 75, is set to be finalized in the coming months, the ministry said. It said the deal would be financed through American military aid to Israel and that the maker of the plane, Lockheed Martin, and the maker of its engine, Pratt & Whitney, had committed to involving Israeli companies in the production process. "The new agreement will ensure the continuation of cooperation between American companies and Israeli defense industries in the production of aircraft parts," the statement read. The move to expand the Israeli arsenal comes at a time of heightened tensions between Israel and Iran. Israel, which considers Iran its greatest enemy, has previously used F-35 jets to shoot down Iranian drones, and has threatened to carry out a long-range strike on Iranian nuclear targets. Israel accuses Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon — a charge Iran denies — and is believed to be behind a string of attacks on Iranian nuclear experts and facilities inside Iran over the years. Israel, which has sought to counter Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria, conducted an airstrike on the Syrian city of Homs on Sunday, one of hundreds of strikes on government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years.

Israelis protest at international airport against judicial overhaul plan
JERUSALEM (AP)/Mon, July 3, 2023
Thousands of Israelis blocked traffic and snarled movement at the country's main international airport on Monday, the latest mass demonstration over Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious planned judicial overhaul that has divided the nation. The Netanyahu government’s push to pass several overlapping reforms to the country’s judiciary have plunged Israel into an unprecedented crisis and divided an already highly polarized country. Protesters waving Israel's blue-and-white national flag and blowing horns blocked the main thoroughfare outside Ben Gurion Airport's main terminal and demonstrated inside the arrivals hall. Police said officers arrested at least four people for public disturbance. Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox political allies are pressing ahead with plans to pass several contentious changes to Israel’s judicial system after attempts to reach a compromise with opposition lawmakers disintegrated. The planned overhaul has drawn rebuke from the Biden administration and consternation from American Jews. Netanyahu ally Simcha Rotman, who chairs parliament's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and has spearheaded the overhaul, said Monday that he would bring a bill to strip the Supreme Court of its authority to strike down government decisions it deems “unreasonable” this week. That “reasonability standard" was used by the Supreme Court earlier this year to upend the appointment of a Netanyahu ally as interior minister because of a conviction for bribery when he served in the role in the 1990s and a 2021 plea deal for tax evasion. Critics say removing that standard would allow the government to pass arbitrary decisions and grant it too much power. Last week, over 100 Israeli air force reservists signed a letter saying they would refuse to show up for duty if the government moves forward with the plan. Netanyahu and his allies came to power after November's election, Israel's fifth in under four years, all of which were largely referendums on the longtime leader's fitness to serve while on trial for corruption. Netanyahu, whose corruption trial has dragged on for nearly three years, and his allies in his nationalist religious government say the overhaul is needed to rein in an overly interventionist judiciary and restore power to elected officials. Critics say the plan would upend Israel’s delicate system of checks and balances and push the country toward dictatorship.

A year of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians just escalated. Is this an uprising?
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)/Mon, July 3, 2023
Airstrikes targeting Palestinian militants in a crowded residential area. Armored bulldozers plowing through narrow streets, crushing cars and piling up debris. Protesters burning tires. A mounting death toll. Israel’s large-scale military raid into the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday had undeniable similarities with the second Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s — a period that claimed thousands of lives. But the current fighting is also different from those intense years of violence. It's more limited in scope, with Israeli military operations focused on several strongholds of Palestinian militants. It's also a symptom of a conflict with no foreseeable end. The Palestinian leadership is weakened, and the Israeli government has been accelerating the expansion of settlements that have eroded any chance of Palestinian statehood.
WHAT IS AN INTIFADA?
The word that means “shaking off" in Arabic was coined to describe an uprising against Israel's military occupation that erupted in 1987. It ended in 1993 with an agreement of mutual recognition between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. What became known as the first intifada was marked by widespread Palestinian protests and a fierce Israeli response. In the second uprising, which began in 2000, Palestinian militants carried out deadly suicide bombings on buses and at restaurants and hotels, eliciting crushing Israeli military reprisals. The second uprising pitted Palestinian militant groups against a far more powerful Israeli military. Over 4,000 people died, including vast numbers of civilians. Roughly three times as many Palestinians as Israelis were killed. Israeli crackdowns upended Palestinian lives, including placing tight restrictions on movement that choked the fledgling economy. For Israelis, especially during the frequent bombings of the second intifada, stepping onto a bus or going out to a restaurant was terrifying. Those events were initially fueled by widespread participation. Many Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians for their state — joined in the protests. The protests were also driven by the Palestinian leaders, including President Yasser Arafat, whom Israel accused of encouraging and abetting militants. The intifada petered out after Arafat died in 2004 and the current Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, took power.
WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW?
In the spring of 2022, a spate of Palestinian attacks against Israelis prompted Israel to launch near-nightly raids into Palestinian areas of the West Bank. Israel said the raids were meant to stamp out militant networks. But Palestinian attacks have continued, and the death toll on both sides has risen, making last year one of the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank since the second intifada. The violence has only intensified since Israel’s current far-right government, which is made up of hard-line ultranationalist settlement supporters, took power late last year. The Palestinian death toll this year in the West Bank and east Jerusalem stands at more than 135, according to a tally by The Associated Press, nearly matching the death toll for all of 2022. Hundreds of Palestinians have been arrested. Some 24 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis.
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
The region has not seen such a sustained cycle of violence since the second uprising, which lasted about five years. More recent periods of bloodshed have not lasted this long or involved such a strong show of force by the military. The tactics seen Monday, with airstrikes, armored bulldozers and a brigade of troops, were a mainstay of the second uprising. But analysts say that’s where the similarities end. For one, a monthlong Israeli operation in 2002 that was seen as the peak of the fighting during the second intifada involved an intense clampdown on most cities in the West Bank. Israel’s raids over the last year have been smaller in scale. Israel’s targets are also more limited to local armed groups and militant cells. Other differences, analysts say, include the weakened Palestinian leadership and the lack of popular participation. While protests have erupted in response to the raids, they have not engulfed the entire West Bank.
“Intifada is a people’s uprising. It’s a society that fights,” said Amir Avivi, president and founder of Israel Defense and Security Forum, a hawkish group of former military commanders. Avivi, who served as a battalion commander in the northern West Bank during the 2002 operation, claimed that the current fighting is dominated by militant groups that are funded by Israel's archenemy, Iran. Ziyad Abu Zayad, a Palestinian analyst and former Cabinet minister, said the fighting is best described as “waves” of Palestinian anger, not an uprising. “The problem is not security, but rather political. And as long as there is no political solution, these waves will continue," he said. "People, mainly young people, want to live in freedom and dignity. They see no future for themselves, and they only see oppression from the occupation.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
There is no end in sight to the fighting. The military raids have tended to fuel more attacks that prompt even more raids. As attacks against Israelis have mounted, including one that killed four settlers last month, government members have called for a harsher response. They have also intensively advanced settlement building, further dimming hopes for a negotiated solution to the conflict. The last 16 months, including Monday's large-scale raid, showed Israel lacks a long-term vision for how to deal with the Palestinians, said Michael Milshtein, a former military official and head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University. “We need to start thinking strategically about the Palestinian issue,” he said. "We can't just keep plastering over it.” Abu Zayad, the Palestinian analyst, said Israel's government is instead pushing the Palestinians “toward more extremism and violence.” “If there is opposition to the idea of a Palestinian state, these waves are likely to remain for long periods to come.”

Jordan's foreign minister calls for investment into war-torn Syria to speed up refugee returns
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)/July 3, 2023
Jordan's foreign minister Monday called for international investment into conflict-ravaged Syria's crippled infrastructure to speed up refugee returns. Ayman Safadi made the remarks during a visit to the capital Damascus, where he met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and his counterpart, Faisal Mekdad. Jordan, which shares a border with the war-torn country and hosts some 1.3 million Syrian refugees, played a crucial role in the once-pariah state's return to the Arab League. It hosted regional talks in May between Syrian, Saudi, Iraqi and Egyptian officials in an initiative to reach a political solution to the years-long crisis. Syria’s uprising-turned civil war, now in its 13th year, has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of its prewar population of 23 million. Syrians in both government-held territory and an opposition-held enclave in the country's northwest suffer from rampant poverty and crippled infrastructure. “We have offered everything we can to ensure them a dignified life,” Safadi said at a news conference following his meetings. “But what we are sure of is that the refugees’ futures lie in their country.”The Jordanian foreign minister said that securing critical infrastructure and basic necessities will speed up voluntary refugee returns, especially as international aid for refugees continues to decline. Assad in a statement released by his office echoed similar sentiments, saying that investment in infrastructure and reconstruction would create the “best environment” for refugee returns. “We reaffirm that the refugee file is a solely humanitarian and moral issue that should not be politicized in any way,” the statement read. Anti-refugee sentiment has soared in Lebanon and Turkey, two other neighboring countries hosting Syrian refugees. But while government-held Syria receives humanitarian aid through United Nations agencies, Western-led sanctions have made it difficult for Damascus to fix electricity, water and other infrastructure decimated in the conflict and more recently by a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in February. Western countries, most vocally the United States and the United Kingdom, say that Syria is still not safe for return. U.N. agencies and human rights organizations say the same, with groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch saying they have documented cases of arbitrary detention and disappearances. Safadi's meetings with Mekdad and Assad also discussed the humanitarian crisis in Syria, steps toward a political solution to the conflict, and drug smuggling, which has become a lucrative industry in the economically shattered country.

Jordan foreign minister, Assad discuss Syria refugees, drug smuggling
AFP/July 03, 2023
DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Assad and Jordan’s top diplomat Ayman Safadi met Monday in Damascus and discussed war refugees and a crackdown on cross-border drug smuggling, Amman’s foreign ministry said. Safadi’s visit comes at a time of increasing regional engagement with the Assad regime, peaking with Damascus’s return to the Arab League after years of isolation since Syria’s war began in 2011. The meeting “focused on the issue of refugee returns and the necessary measures to facilitate the voluntary return” of Syrian refugees from Jordan, the foreign ministry said in a statement. Assad and Safadi also discussed “humanitarian, security and political” steps toward a “comprehensive solution” to Syria’s crisis, it added. Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011 over Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests which spiralled into a conflict that has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions. In May, the Arab League readmitted Damascus, despite no political settlement to the conflict in sight. Arab states hope to find a solution for the millions of Syrian refugees living in neighboring countries, including 1.3 million in Jordan. The Jordanian statement said Safadi discussed with Assad “the dangers posed by drug smuggling across the Syrian border into the kingdom, and the need for cooperation to confront it.” During his visit, Jordan’s foreign minister also met with his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad. The two discussed a “joint committee to combat drug smuggling” that would meet in Amman “as soon as possible,” the Jordanian foreign ministry said. Jordanian security forces have tightened border controls in recent years and occasionally announce thwarted drugs and weapons smuggling attempts from Syria.

Ukraine says recaptured 37 sq km from Russia last week
Agence France Presse/July 3, 2023
Ukraine said on Monday its forces had recaptured 37 square kilometers (14 square miles) from Russian forces, several weeks after announcing a highly anticipated counteroffensive. "Over the past week ... the area liberated (in the east) was increased by nine square kilometres," Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said, adding that Ukrainian forces had wrested another 28 kilometres squared in the south.

NATO readies military plans to defend against bruised but unbowed Russia
Associated Press/July 3, 2023
Russia's armed forces are bruised but by no means beaten in the war in Ukraine, a top NATO military officer said Monday, as he laid out the biggest revamp to the organization's military plans since the Cold War should Moscow dare to widen the conflict. "They might not be 11 feet tall, but they are certainly not 2 feet tall," the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, told reporters. "So, we should never underestimate the Russians and their ability to bounce back." U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts are set to endorse a major shakeup of the alliance's planning system at a summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius next week. NATO, as an organization, does not provide weapons or ammunition to Ukraine. It's sought to avoid being dragged into a wider war with nuclear-armed Russia. At the same time, it is massively reinforcing the security of member countries near Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Around 40,000 troops are on standby from Estonia in the north down to Romania on the Black Sea. About 100 aircraft take to the skies in that territory each day, and a total of 27 warships are operating in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas. Those numbers are set to rise. Under its new plans, NATO aims to have up to 300,000 troops ready to move to its eastern flank within 30 days. The plans divide its territory into three zones – the high north and Atlantic area, a zone north of the Alps, and another in southern Europe. Bauer said that NATO's new planning is based on the strength of the Russian army before President Vladimir Putin launched the war on Ukraine almost 17 months ago. He said the war has depleted Russia's army, but not its navy or air force. Of Russia's ground forces, around "94% is now engaged in the war in Ukraine," Bauer said. "What we see in general is that the Russians are careful around NATO. They are not for seeking a conflict with NATO. I think that is a sign that they are very, very busy," he said. "In the land domain, I don't think they have a lot of forces available to do anything to anyone else." "But we are convinced that the Russians are going to reconstitute," he said. "We will continue to look at them as a serious threat, in the maritime, and in the air especially, and in space, they are still very, very, capable, let alone of course in nuclear."

Ukraine reports progress after 'difficult' week of fighting
KYIV (Reuters)/July 3, 2023
Ukraine said on Monday its troops had regained more ground along eastern and southern fronts in what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as progress in a "difficult" week for Kyiv's counteroffensive against Russian forces. The Ukrainian military took back 37.4 square kilometres (14.4 square miles) of territory in heavy fighting in the past week, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said. She said Kyiv's troops were advancing in the Bakhmut direction of eastern Ukraine and that Russian forces were attacking in the Lyman, Avdiivka and Mariinka directions in the Donetsk region in the east. Ukraine had reclaimed nine square km over the past week along the eastern front "as a result of improving the operational (tactical) position and aligning the front line", Maliar said. In the south, Ukraine has regained 28.4 square km of territory, bringing the total area of recaptured territory along that front to 158.4 square km, Maliar added. "Last week was difficult on the front line. But we are making progress," Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "We are moving forward, step by step! I thank everyone who is defending Ukraine, everyone who is leading this war to Ukraine's victory!" Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, said at the weekend its forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks near villages ringing Bakhmut and in areas further south, particularly near the hilltop town of Vuhledar. It also reported success in containing Ukrainian troops in the northeast. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that a brief mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group last month had not affected Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine. "The provocation did not affect the actions of army groups (involved in the operation)," he told a ministry meeting. Reuters could not confirm the battlefield accounts.

Russia’s time has almost run out
Colonel Richard Kemp/The Telegraph/July 03, 2023
Even if Ukraine’s counter-offensive might be unfolding more slowly than many expected, but it is Moscow not Kyiv that is running out of time. Since the operation began weeks ago, little territory has changed hands. That is despite expectations stoked by Kyiv’s allies, who have been eager to show bang for their buck to electorates keenly aware of the cost of the war. But immediate gratification was always going to be elusive. Even with billions of dollars of Western aid, Ukraine lacks the kind of overwhelming force that allowed the US-led coalition to rapidly crush Iraq in 1991 and 2003. Amid a succession of probing attacks to find weakness in the Russian lines, hopes of a quick breakthrough such as we witnessed in Kharkiv and Kherson last autumn are being displaced by fear that Kyiv’s Nato-equipped forces will be dashed to pieces and Russia will go back onto the offensive. Indeed, that seems to be Russia’s current strategy: to wear its enemy down against a hard defensive belt prepared over many months and then either force President Zelensky to come to terms or to rampage again into a weakened Ukrainian army. Putin will very much prefer the first option, because he no longer has confidence that his forces can prevail in large-scale offensive operations. He may also fear escalation by the West, whose support for Ukraine against all expectations sent him into shock. That fear will have been reinforced by a resolution introduced last month in the US Senate that any Russian use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine will be viewed as an attack on Nato itself, requiring an Article V response. Ukraine’s slow-going offensive, which has already sustained significant casualties in both men and tanks, might seem to be playing into Putin’s plan to wait it out. But how much time does the Russian president actually have, especially after Wagner’s abortive insurrection? All the indications are that the Russian regime is now far less stable than it was, with elements in Moscow considering their options after Yevgeny Prigozhin attempted the unthinkable with no immediate retribution. And wider disloyalty must be suspected among the military top brass, with the deputy commander of the Ukraine war, General Sergey Surovikin, a Prigozhin ally, seemingly disappeared from the scene. The longer the war drags on without demonstrable Russian success, the greater the chances of regime change.
Russia may have an almost unlimited supply of military recruits, but it does not have unlimited munitions. It has been unable to replace tank losses and struggled to equip recently-mobilised forces, including throwing together new artillery battalions without any guns. Without sufficient industrial capability to manufacture the shells, bullets and missiles it needs, the Kremlin is searching for countries such as South Africa that might be willing to feed its war machine. But Iran remains Moscow’s number one supplier of munitions, with greater incentives now being handed to the ayatollahs to step up production.
China has the ability to throw a lifeline to Moscow. A Russian victory against the West is in Beijing’s interests but, conversely, so is a lengthy war and a weakened Russia with a high level of dependency on China. Tipping these carefully balanced scales against Moscow is the fact that President Xi will be reluctant to provoke greater ire in the US with relations already at an all-time low. It therefore seems unlikely that China will ride to the rescue. For the moment, at least, Ukraine has a far more sustainable bedrock of international support. Particularly if China is out of the equation when it comes to munitions supply, the Western defence industrial base is vastly superior to everything Moscow can call upon. And beyond relative economic power, defeat for Russia is not seen as defeat for its allies, whereas defeat for Ukraine very much equates to defeat for Nato. Everything could still change – particularly if America loses its willingness to back Ukraine. And at present Western support is only sufficient to deny Russia any further gains. But it won’t be enough to enable Ukraine to take back its occupied territory. For that, we will need to see a significant increase in military aid, as well as uncompromising efforts to deter and interdict weapons supplies to Moscow, especially from Iran.

Erdogan signals Turkey isn't ready to ratify Sweden NATO membership, saying there's more work to do
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)/July 3, 2023
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled Monday that his country is not ready to ratify Sweden's membership in NATO, saying Stockholm had to work harder on the “homework” it needs to complete. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan also renewed his condemnation of a Quran-burning protest that took place in Sweden last week, describing the action as a hate crime against Muslims. “We have made it clear that the determined fight against terrorist organizations and Islamophobia are our red line," Erdogan said. “Everyone must accept that Turkey’s friendship cannot be won by supporting terrorism or by making space for terrorists.”Turkey has delayed giving its final approval to Sweden’s membership in the military alliance, accusing the country of being too lenient toward anti-Islamic demonstrations and groups that Ankara regards as security threats. These include militant Kurdish groups that have waged a deadly, decades-long insurgency in Turkey. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has waged a 38-year insurgency against Turkey that has left tens of thousands dead. It is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S and the European Union. NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time NATO leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12 but Erdogan said Stockholm still had obligations to fulfill. NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to expand, and Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have not yet ratified Sweden’s bid. “Instead of wasting time with distraction tactics, we believe that keeping to the promises will be a more rational, more beneficial method,” Erdogan said. “We advise them to scrutinize themselves and do their homework better." He was referring to a memorandum that Sweden and Finland signed with Turkey last year under which they agreed to address Ankara's concerns. Fighting Islamophobia was not included in the memorandum. Last week, Swedish police allowed a protest outside a mosque in central Stockholm citing freedom of speech after a court overturned a ban on a similar Quran-burning. “The vile attack on our holy book, the Holy Quran, in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, enraged us all,” Erdogan said. “This perverted disregard for the feelings of 2 billion Muslims cannot be compatible with the most basic human values, let alone freedom of thought.”Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella, fearing they might be targeted by Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Finland joined the alliance earlier this year after Turkey’s parliament ratified the Nordic country’s bid. Sweden changed its anti-terror legislation since applying for NATO membership, but Turkey argues supporters of militant groups can freely organize demonstrations, recruit and procure financial resources in the country. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last week called a meeting of senior officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland for July 6 to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden joining the military alliance.

Saudi Arabia and Russia are cutting oil supply again in bid to boost prices
LONDON (AP)/Mon, July 3, 2023
Saudi Arabia and Russia are extending cuts to the amount of oil they pump to the world in a bid to prop up prices, showing how two of the world's largest oil producers are scrambling to boost income from the fossil fuel even as demand has weakened with the economy. The decision gave a slight boost to oil prices Monday and comes after the Saudis announced a large cut in output for July at the latest meeting of the OPEC+ coalition of oil producers — raising concerns that gasoline prices for U.S. drivers could start ticking up. The Saudi Energy Ministry said it would extend July's cut of 1 million barrels per day through August to support “the stability and balance of oil markets.” That will keep the Gulf nation's output at 9 million barrels per day. Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said his country will cut production by an additional 500,000 barrels a day in August, according to Russian news reports. The voluntary reductions come on top of earlier cuts that the OPEC oil cartel, led by Saudi Arabia, and allied producers, led by Russia, agreed to extend through next year. But they have given little lasting boost to oil prices, helping U.S. drivers fill their tanks more affordably during the busy summer travel season and providing consumers worldwide some relief from inflation. The average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is $3.53, according to car club AAA, down $1.28 per gallon from last year. Benchmark U.S. crude picked up 77 cents Monday to $71.41 a barrel, while international standard Brent crude gained 70 cents to $76.11. Both later erased some of those gains. U.S. crude has been depressed for some time and rose above $70 per barrel for the first time in five weeks Friday. That the Saudis felt another cut was necessary underlines the uncertain outlook for fuel demand in the months ahead even as travel picks up. The U.S., for example, saw an all-time high in airline passengers on Friday during the Fourth of July weekend. But there are concerns about economic weakness in the U.S. and Europe, while China’s rebound from COVID-19 restrictions has not been as strong as many had hoped. The Saudis need sustained high oil revenue to fund ambitious development projects aimed at diversifying the country’s economy, while Russia is looking to pad its profits to pay for its war against Ukraine. Western sanctions mean Moscow is forced to sell its oil at a discount to countries like China and India. Its estimated export revenue fell by $1.4 billion to $13.3 billion in May, down 36% from a year ago, the International Energy Agency said in a report last month. Combined with earlier cuts, Russia's output in August will be reduced by 1 million barrels a day. But Rystad Energy said in June that Moscow only dropped production by 400,000 barrels in May, instead of the promised half-million.

Sudan's army calls for young people, others, to enlist in fight against rival paramilitary
CAIRO (AP)/Mon, July 3, 2023
The Sudanese army called Monday on young people and anyone else capable of fighting to enlist at the nearest military command for battle against rival paramilitary force. Sudan descended into chaos after fighting erupted on Apr. 15 between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Since then, over 3,000 people have been killed, the country’s Health Ministry said, while about 2.5 million people have been displaced, according to the U.N. The true death toll is believed to be much higher. “The commanders of the military divisions and regions have been instructed to receive and equip the fighters, and they must go to the nearest military command or unit,” the army said Monday morning on their official Facebook page. Monday's call to arms comes just days after Burhan made a near-identical appeal during a televised speech, asking Sudan’s youth and those capable of fighting to support the army, either from “their place of residence or by joining the military movement.”It remained unclear if Monday's call to arms was a forced conscription. In the capital, Khartoum, RSF troops appear to have the upper hand on the city’s streets, having commandeered civilian homes across the capital and turned them into bases. Throughout the 10-week conflict, the army has retaliated with airstrikes that have hit residential areas and sometimes hospitals. The province of West Darfur has seen some of the worst violence. In a report issued two weeks ago by the Dar Masalit sultanate, the leader of the African Masalit ethnic community, he accused the RSF and Arab militias of “committing genocide against African civilians.” He estimated that over the past two months, more than 5,000 people were killed in the province’s capital, Genena. Several rounds of peace talks hosted by Riyadh and Washington in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah have all but broken down, with both mediators publicly accusing the RSF and the army of continually violating truces brokered by the two nations. At least nine cease-fires have been agreed upon since the conflict broke out. None have lasted.

French rioting slows 6 days after teen's death in Paris suburbs
Associated Press/Mon, July 3, 2023
Unrest across France sparked by the police shooting of a 17-year-old appeared to slow overnight after six nights. In all, according to the Interior Ministry, there were 157 arrests overnight, down from a peak of 3,880 arrests during the fiery night of June 30, and two law enforcement stations were attacked, among other damage. Around 45,000 officers were deployed nationwide to counter violence fuelled by anger over discrimination against people who trace their roots to former French colonies and live in low-income neighborhoods. Nahel, the teenager killed last Tuesday, was of Algerian descent and was shot in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. Across France, 297 vehicles were torched overnight along with 34 buildings. A burning car stuck the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb L'Hay-les-Roses over the weekend, an unusually personal attack amid the backdrop of fires and vandalism targeting police stations and town halls. French President Emmanuel Macros has blamed social media for the spread of the unrest and called on parents to take responsibility for their teenagers. Eric Dupond-Moretti, the justice minister, told France Inter radio that parents who abdicated that responsibility "either through disinterest or deliberately" would be prosecuted. Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun said his wife and one of his children were injured and criticized the government for doing too little, too late — and said blaming social media or parents was papering over a bigger problem. "The base ingredients are still there. For several years now, all summer long, explosives go off that keep people from sleeping, that make them crazy," he told BFM television on Monday. "We are powerless summer after summer."

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 03-04/2023
Is Biden Encouraging America's Enemies?
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute./July 3, 2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/119749/119749/
One way for the Biden administration to respond to the turmoil in Russia would be to increase its military support for Ukraine, thereby enabling the Ukrainian forces to inflict a catastrophic defeat against the Russian occupiers, an outcome that would severely diminish Moscow's ability to threaten the US and its allies for decades to come.
Speeding up the process of allowing Kyiv to take delivery of US-built F-16 fighter jets would be a good place to start, rather than sticking to the current timetable whereby it could take several months before the first jets arrive in Ukraine. Under the present delivery schedule, the first F-16s are not due to arrive in Ukraine until at least September, by which time the current Ukrainian counter-offensive will be drawing to a close.
Yet, such is the risk averse nature of the Biden administration in dealing with tyrannical regimes such as Putin's Russia, that the White House's primary concern as the mutiny unfolded was to reassure the Kremlin that it had played no role in provoking the uprising.
Such is the White House's obsession with avoiding direct American involvement in any kind of global conflict prior to next year's presidential election, that Biden's default position when faced with any major crisis, whether it concerns Chinese aggression towards Taiwan or Russian war crimes in Ukraine, is to play down the possibility of Washington undertaking any meaningful response.
Biden's willingness to abdicate his global responsibilities in world affairs, as well as his failure to defend and protect America's vital interests, has not been lost on Washington's enemies, as was evident from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent hapless visit to China.
China's ruling communists know weakness when they see it, and their refusal to respond positively to most proposals put forward by Blinken, even one such as re-establishing communication links between the US and Chinese militaries, demonstrated that Beijing was in no mood to tone down its aggressive stance on Taiwan's independence. With most Western intelligence agencies predicting that China will seek to reclaim Taiwan by force by 2027 at the latest, the Biden administration's confused position on Taiwan, with Blinken even declaring that Washington does not support Taiwan's independence, will only encourage Beijing's communist rulers in the belief that they will encounter no meaningful resistance from the US if they launch their long-planned invasion of the island.
Such behaviour on the part of the Biden administration is entirely consistent with its policy of avoiding confrontation at all costs, even if it means providing reassurance to despotic leaders such as Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korea's Kim Jung-Un and Iran's hegemonic mullahs, often in their hour of need. The longer the Biden administration persists with its policy of strategic equivocation, the more tyrannical regimes in Russia, China, Iran and North Korea will be encouraged to believe they can pursue their diabolical schemes to increase their power and influence across the globe – not only with total impunity, but sometimes even with help.
One way for the Biden administration to respond to the turmoil in Russia would be to increase its military support for Ukraine. Speeding up the process of allowing Kyiv to take delivery of US-built F-16 fighter jets would be a good place to start. Pictured: A Danish F-16 fighter jet at the Fighter Wing Skrydstrup Air Base near Vojens, Denmark. One of the countries considering donating F-16s to Ukraine is Denmark. (Photo by Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)
In normal circumstances, US policymakers would see the humiliation Russian President Vladimir Putin has suffered following the aborted mutiny against his administration as an opportunity to exploit the Kremlin's weakness.
Russia, after all, still possesses the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, and Putin has on several occasions made specific reference to the possibility that Moscow might resort to using them when warning about the dangers of American interference in the Ukraine conflict.
In such circumstances, therefore, it is clearly in Washington's interest to take advantage of the political turmoil engulfing the Kremlin in the wake of the aborted mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner Group.
The 62-year-old Prigozhin was previously regarded as being a close ally of the Russian president, and it was Putin who personally authorised the establishment of Wagner back in 2014 so that he could have his own private army at his disposal to pursue his territorial ambitions in Europe and beyond.
Prigozhin's increasingly bitter criticism of the Kremlin's handling of the war in Ukraine, which resulted in his decision to launch his short-lived rebellion, has dealt a bitter blow to Putin, at a stroke exposing the myth of his image as Russia's strongman.
While the future of Russia hung in the balance, Putin was nowhere to be seen, with rumour abounding that he had fled the capital in his private jet. While Kremlin officials later insisted Putin had remained in Moscow throughout the crisis, the weakness of Putin's position was exposed after it was left to Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko to broker a deal, which resulted in Prigozhin agreeing to stand down his forces in return for being granted a safe haven in Belarus.
While Putin has subsequently sought to reassure the Russian people that he remains in control, addressing the nation flanked by his key military and security officials, there is little doubt that the Russian leader has been severely damaged by recent events, a state of affairs that provides the US with a golden opportunity to exploit Russia's weakness.
One way for the Biden administration to respond to the turmoil in Russia would be to increase its military support for Ukraine, thereby enabling the Ukrainian forces to inflict a catastrophic defeat against the Russian occupiers, an outcome that would severely diminish Moscow's ability to threaten the US and its allies for decades to come. Speeding up the process of allowing Kyiv to take delivery of US-built F-16 fighter jets would be a good place to start, rather than sticking to the current timetable whereby it could take several months before the first jets arrive in Ukraine. Under the present delivery schedule, the first F-16s are not due to arrive in Ukraine until at least September, by which time the current Ukrainian counter-offensive will be drawing to a close.
Yet, such is the risk averse nature of the Biden administration in dealing with tyrannical regimes such as Putin's Russia, that the White House's primary concern as the mutiny unfolded was to reassure the Kremlin that it had played no role in provoking the uprising.
As Biden remarked in his first comments on the mutiny, his overriding concern was to gather key allies on a video call "to make sure we gave Putin no excuse" to "blame this on the West or to blame this on Nato."
There was a time when an American administration that was committed to providing effective leadership on the world stage might have preferred to have left the Kremlin guessing about the exact nature of the threat it faced, thereby adding to the confusion, rather than seeking to allay its fears of American involvement. Such behaviour on the part of the Biden administration is entirely consistent with its policy of avoiding confrontation at all costs, even if it means providing reassurance to despotic leaders such as Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korea's Kim Jung-Un and Iran's hegemonic mullahs, often in their hour of need. Such is the White House's obsession with avoiding direct American involvement in any kind of global conflict prior to next year's presidential election, that Biden's default position when faced with any major crisis, whether it concerns Chinese aggression towards Taiwan or Russian war crimes in Ukraine, is to play down the possibility of Washington undertaking any meaningful response.
Biden's willingness to abdicate his global responsibilities in world affairs, as well as his failure to defend and protect America's vital interests, has not been lost on Washington's enemies, as was evident from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent hapless visit to China.
China's ruling communists know weakness when they see it, and their refusal to respond positively to most proposals put forward by Blinken, even one such as re-establishing communication links between the US and Chinese militaries, demonstrated that Beijing was in no mood to tone down its aggressive stance on Taiwan's independence.
With most Western intelligence agencies predicting that China will seek to reclaim Taiwan by force by 2027 at the latest, the Biden administration's confused position on Taiwan, with Blinken even declaring that Washington does not support Taiwan's independence, will only encourage Beijing's communist rulers in the belief that they will encounter no meaningful resistance from the US if they launch their long-planned invasion of the island.
Indeed, following the disclosure that China is seeking to expand its military ties with Cuba, with plans to stand up a military training facility within 100 miles of Florida, it is clear Beijing believes it has nothing to fear from the US so long as Biden remains in power.
The longer the Biden administration persists with its policy of strategic equivocation, the more tyrannical regimes in Russia, China, Iran and North Korea will be encouraged to believe they can pursue their diabolical schemes to increase their power and influence across the globe – not only with total impunity, but sometimes even with help (here, here and here).
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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Iraq’s militias: Double the size, double the money, double the threat
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/July 03, 2023
Mushrooming funding for the Tehran-backed Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi paramilitary movement in Iraq has almost doubled their size to 238,000 personnel and nearly $3 billion of the budget, according to the Iraqi parliament’s finance committee.
When the Hashd movement’s institutional structure was established by Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki in mid-2014, it had one specific purpose — to combat Daesh. Daesh today scarcely exists in Iraq beyond a smattering of attacks in a handful of localities. Yet Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani has resolved that the Hashd needs to double in size. Why?
While Iraqi MPs were debating the budget, they undoubtedly had one eye on news footage of the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan and the Wagner uprising in Russia — showing the catastrophic destruction wreaked when militias are allowed to expand and outgun the regular army. Yet still they raised no objections to this monstrous diversification of public money.
This immense expansion was approved with so little objection because the Hashd has consolidated its hold over Iraqi institutions at all levels. It would probably have made its share of the budget share even larger, if it thought it was possible to expand any faster.
In the post-Daesh era, there is no suggestion that the Hashd exists to confront any conceivable threat from Iraq’s neighbors. Consequently, the only justifications for the Hashd’s expansion are, as has been frequently threatened, to combat US forces or to act against Iraqis themselves. Hashd forces have a long record of massacres, atrocities and sectarian cleansing against Sunnis, although in recent years they have more often been used in anger against fellow Shiite citizens.
Around the 2018 elections, the Hashd’s strategy focused on winning power via the ballot box. But following the brutal suppression of Shiite protesters after those elections, the movement’s popularity plunged. Consequently, its only strategy for retaining power can be the use of naked force.
Sudani has effectively surrendered the entirety of Iraq’s borders to the Hashd, even after a former finance minister warned that 90 percent of Iraq’s customs revenues were being pocketed by these militias.
We caught a glimpse of this when rival Sadrist and Hashd forces amassed in Baghdad in mid-2022 in gatherings that could easily have escalated into armed confrontations. These incidents occurred because the Hashd, despite having won minuscule numbers of seats in the 2021 election, demanded the right to dominate the government. Remarkably, they succeeded — and even unashamedly seized a significant swath of additional parliament seats after the Sadrists walked out. Expect future power grabs to be even more blatant and brutal. It isn’t possible to know the actual size of the Hashd movement. Along with semi-independent factions and sizable affiliated criminal elements, many shadowy “resistance” forces — such as Ashab Al-Kahf, Kata’ib Karbala and Kata’ib Saifullah — aren’t even officially on the state payroll. Such entities continually appear and disappear for specific purposes, and are probably composed of the same pool of radical Hashd elements repeatedly resurfacing under different guises to stage attacks against the Americans, Arab states and Iraqi rivals.
One Kata’ib Hezbollah commander referred to eight Hashd brigades that “represent the Islamic resistance,” and said Iraq’s leadership “cannot touch them, their salaries or their equipment.” Meanwhile a sizable chunk of the budget is inevitably syphoned off for the corrupt, nefarious purposes of the Revolutionary Guard and Hashd leaders.
On paper, Iraq’s army exceeds 300,000 personnel, although the military had to be rebuilt almost from scratch after its spectacular collapse against Daesh in mid-2014. Numbers of operational and effective brigades are actually rather small, particularly when the rampant phenomenon of ghost soldiers is taken into account. Considerable segments of the army are effectively under the control of Hashd warlords such as Hadi Al-Amiri; and through these militias’ post-2003 dominance of the Interior Ministry, a high proportion of the security forces are essentially an appendage of the Hashd.
Through imposing their choice of prime minister, in Sudani the Hashd possesses a malleable puppet, overseeing a state budget of $152 billion, who can grant them everything in their wildest dreams while ordinary Iraqis are submerged in poverty, unemployment, power cuts, pollution and non-existent public services. The prime minister’s announcement that new permanent Hashd military camps would be established around the edges of major cities sounds unsettlingly like encirclement by a conquering army.
If these immense funds are considered insufficient, Sudani has furthermore approved the launch of a Hashd-controlled business conglomerate named after assassinated Hashd leader Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, enjoying preferential access to government tenders.
A militia force that has expanded to nearly the same size as the Iraqi army is a time bomb waiting to detonate, particularly given their wholesale takeover of Iraq’s political, economic and social domains.
Sudani has benevolently awarded this Al-Muhandis General Company vast areas of land throughout southern Iraq. One segment of these Hashd territories, described as half the size of Lebanon, straddles Iraq’s border with Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The Hashd already dominates much of the Iraq-Syria border region and controls the movement of goods coming from Iran. Sudani has effectively surrendered the entirety of Iraq’s borders to the Hashd, even after a former finance minister warned that 90 percent of Iraq’s customs revenues were being pocketed by these militias. The Hashd can additionally easily double its already swollen on-the-books revenues through the movement of narcotics, munitions and other clandestine goods.
If Sudani is sincere about his professed desire to rebuild relations with Arab states, establishing armies of hostile forces on the borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan raises questions about whose agenda he is really following.
A militia force that has expanded to nearly the same size as the Iraqi army is a time bomb waiting to detonate, particularly given their wholesale takeover of Iraq’s political, economic and social domains. Long-suffering Iraqi Shiites have demonstrated their repeated fearless readiness to mobilize en masse to demand the downfall of these hated agents of a hostile foreign power.
Just as Wagner fatally overplayed their hand in Russia, the likes of the Hashd have signed their own death warrant by making Iraqis’ lives so hellish that they will reach a point where it doesn’t matter whether these brutal thugs turn their guns on protesting women, youths and ordinary citizens.
At that moment, it will be of little consequence whether the Hashd is 200,000 or 500,000 strong — because 50 million Iraqis will be telling them to pack their bags and head for Tehran.
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

France, Saudi Arabia working together for a better future
Ludovic Pouille/Arab News/July 03, 2023
From the dawn of the relationship between France and Saudi Arabia in March 1926, almost a century ago, to the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Paris last month — his second to France in less than a year — our partnership has undergone an unprecedented evolution.
The month of June 2023 was one of the richest ever in the long history of French-Saudi relations, during which Paris has become “a second home for Saudi decision-makers.”
The successful official visit of the crown prince, at the head of a large ministerial delegation, is a tribute to the importance of this relationship between our countries and to the convergence of our visions for the future: Building together a better world for our youth and future generations and meeting the challenges that threaten our planet.
President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the crown prince at the Elysee Palace on June 16. On this occasion, they discussed strengthening the French-Saudi strategic partnership, as well as the regional and international issues on which our two countries have converging analyses and interests.
During the crown prince’s visit to Paris, a series of ministerial meetings strengthened our strategic partnership in key areas. Foreign Ministers Catherine Colonna and Prince Faisal bin Farhan continued in Paris the consultations initiated during the former’s two visits to Saudi Arabia in February and June.
Bruno Le Maire, minister of the economy and finance, also held talks with Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih a few months after their meeting in Riyadh. Rima Abdul Malak, France’s minister of culture, met again with her counterpart Prince Badr bin Farhan, who had received her in Riyadh in March. The meeting was an opportunity to acknowledge the dynamism of our cultural cooperation and the success of our exceptional partnership in AlUla.
Olivier Becht, minister of foreign trade, attractiveness and the French abroad, discussed with Al-Falih the opportunities for strengthening our economic partnership in the energy, mobility, new technologies, health, tourism and culture sectors, as he did last December during his visit to Saudi Arabia.
And Jean-Noel Barrot, minister for digital affairs, met with Abdullah Al-Swaha, Saudi Arabia’s minister of communications and information technologies, to develop our partnership in the context of the digital transition in our respective countries.
Meanwhile, Business France organized the “Vision Golfe” forum at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty on June 13-14. It brought together more than 900 participants, including almost 200 Saudis.
The success of this forum confirms the interest of French companies in the dynamic markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council states and, in turn, the interest of the region’s authorities and business community in French expertise.
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef carried the voice of the Kingdom and presented the Saudi Industrial Strategy to position Saudi Arabia as a leader in cutting-edge industries.
On June 19, the Saudi Ministry of Investment organized the Saudi-French Investment Forum in conjunction with Medef International. Under the joint chairmanship of Al-Falih and Becht, it brought together more than 700 business representatives. The forum strengthened the ties between our business communities and gave impetus to new dynamics in key sectors such as energy, culture, tourism and sustainable development.
The month of June 2023 was one of the richest ever in the long history of French-Saudi relations.
The forum concluded with the signing of 24 memorandums of understanding and investment agreements worth about $3 billion. The agreements were signed between French and Saudi public and private entities and covered a wide range of key sectors related to the implementation of Vision 2030, particularly energy, telecommunications, sustainable materials, construction, waste management, museum development and promotion of the cultural scene.
This latest success demonstrates the vitality of our exchanges. France supports the ambitious Vision 2030 projects. The country’s companies have a great deal to offer Saudi Arabia and are ready to share their know-how, localize production, contribute to the training of Saudi elites and place their expertise at the service of the Kingdom's economic diversification megaprojects. It is a win-win relationship.
The most spectacular recent example of this relationship was the signing, on June 24, of the contract for the $11 billion Amiral petrochemical megaproject between Aramco and TotalEnergies.
The Paris Air Show, from June 19-25, welcomed many Saudi delegations as part of the strengthening of our partnership in the aeronautical sector. This was headlined by the signing of a contract for the purchase of 30 Airbus A320neo aircraft by the airline flynas, worth almost €3 billion ($3.2 billion).
The crown prince also honored with his presence the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact held in Paris from June 22-23, at the initiative of the French president. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Prince Faisal, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund.
In the words of Macron, “no country should have to choose between reducing poverty and protecting the planet: both challenges must be met at the same time.” On this subject, we share with Saudi Arabia the same vision of development and the fight against inequality. The Kingdom is a major actor in humanitarian aid and development assistance. France is delighted to be able to count on its support in the fight against climate change and the reduction of inequalities. Our cooperation is already bearing fruit in Lebanon, where the joint humanitarian aid fund we have set up provides invaluable support to the Lebanese population, which has been weakened by the ongoing economic crisis.
Finally, the crown prince attended the superb reception held at the Grand Palais Ephemere to mark the presentation of Riyadh’s candidacy to host the 2030 World Expo. He met with many actors in the French private and public sectors who were convinced by the quality of the Saudi project. France is proud to support this candidacy.
Following this historic visit, which marked a crucial milestone in our near-century-old friendship, we will continue to work together for peace in the region and the world, in the service of prosperity, development for all and the preservation of the planet. It is up to us to build a better future together on the solid foundations of our strategic partnership.
• Ludovic Pouille is France’s ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Twitter: @ludovic_pouille

The Sudan crisis and the international community
Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/July 03, 2023
The Sudan crisis, caused by the conflict between Sudanese army factions and the Rapid Support Forces, has raised many questions about the position of the international community, specifically the major powers, in regard to this explosive situation. This conflict between warring Sudanese factions over influence and control of the country has created a situation that is perilous and thrown not only Sudan but also the African continent into a security vortex with far-reaching consequences, hence necessitating serious action from the international community.
The crisis cannot be separated from other major conflicts, especially the Western crisis led by the US and Europe on the one hand and Russia on the other, as well as the “soft” conflict between China and the US. Despite the geographical distance of these actors from the mentioned conflict zones, the intertwining of international interests makes them the epicenter of the conflicts.
In addition, the initiatives presented to solve the crisis in Sudan clash directly with those other conflicts and prevent, rather than assist with, the resolution of the Sudanese crisis. Three main initiatives have been presented. The first is the one put forward by the African Union. The AU is the primary regional organization concerned with this crisis and it fears it spreading to other countries. Many countries have already suffered deeply because of this crisis. The flow of refugees and the adverse political, security and economic ramifications of the crisis on the African continent have hit many countries hard. Secondly, there is the initiative to boost intra-African trade to address the economic repercussions of the Sudanese crisis on the African continent.
The Kingdom’s efforts are appreciated in Sudanese political circles and there is public confidence in Riyadh and its goals
Thirdly, there is Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah initiative, which aims to resolve the differences between the rival Sudanese forces, while underlining the need to respect Sudan’s sovereignty, preserve its unity and territorial integrity, and agree that the interests and safety of the Sudanese people are the key priority. In addition, the initiative emphasizes the need to protect Sudanese civilians at all times, allow civilians to safely leave areas where hostilities are taking place, allow humanitarian organizations to evacuate the wounded and sick without discrimination, and it calls on fighting factions not to recruit children.
Despite the difficulties and challenges, the Kingdom may again need to revive its initiative and work to ensure its success unilaterally, given its positive image in Sudan. In addition, the Kingdom’s efforts are appreciated in Sudanese political circles and there is public confidence in Riyadh and its goals.
While the Kingdom called on some of the rival political forces in Sudan to attend the Jeddah meeting, some Sudanese observers believe that it is necessary to involve some other forces, especially those that are active on the ground. These include representatives of social initiatives and civil society institutions that are independent and not affiliated with any of the main parties to the conflict. There is a need to try a new approach in order to spare the blood of brothers in Sudan. Sudanese society does not trust the international community’s forces much and believes that they are seeking to manage the crisis according to Western interests rather than to resolve it. By contrast, the Kingdom aims to solve the crisis in order to achieve security and stability in the region. Riyadh’s policy has clearly been created by Saudi experts who have a deep understanding of the regional situation.
In light of the international community’s failure in the Middle East, the Sudanese people strongly and understandably fear and distrust international nongovernmental organizations and have the right to be afraid of their goals. This is a result of the negative role played by many of these organizations in countries such as Yemen, Somalia and others. The obstruction of the arrival of humanitarian aid for many reasons, including the insistence of NGOs on the presence and involvement of their officials in aid delivery, has raised a lot of suspicions about the goals of some of them.
The Sudanese people strongly and understandably fear and distrust international nongovernmental organizations
To overcome this dilemma, the Kingdom has proposed that all humanitarian aid can be sent to Jeddah Islamic Port, with Riyadh taking responsibility for coordinating with Sudanese civil society organizations, along with the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, which plays a major positive role in many affected areas and has built up vast experience and professional capabilities in this regard.
The Sudanese people also rely greatly on the Kingdom to stop the fighting in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has many influential tools to achieve this, especially since it chairs the current session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Therefore, it may merge all the initiatives put forward into one that achieves the aspirations of the brotherly Sudanese people.
To achieve this end, the Kingdom could invite Sudanese from different political factions and civil society organizations to come to Saudi Arabia in order to build trust and confidence between these elements and so that a comprehensive roadmap based on the integration of the mentioned initiatives could be fashioned to lead Sudan out of its current perilous situation. This is a critical task that needs to happen, especially as the Kingdom is now at the heart of regional developments in line with its foreign policy recalibration and Vision 2030, which hinges on establishing peace, security and economic development across the Middle East.
The region cannot wait for the international community to come to its rescue, especially as major powers have other security considerations and are disunited when it comes to their strategic interests and considerations. Thus, regional powers must take the lead, with the Kingdom best placed given its positive relations, economic weight and ability to ensure outcomes and settlements are reached and fulfilled.
*Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami is president of the International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah). Twitter: @mohalsulami