Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 27-28/2023
Lebanese leadership faces challenges of regional developments
Le Drian Scheduled for Wednesday Meetings with Berri and Mikati
Al-Rahi Cautions Against Undermining the ‘Army’s Cohesion and Stability
Lebanese Residents Come Back to Discover Their Homes Destroyed Near the Israeli Border
UN Special Coordinator stresses importance of implementing Resolution 1701 in Meeting with Lebanon's PM
Hezbollah initiates compensation for victims of Israeli 'aggression,' says MP Fadlallah
Mikati to Al-Joumhouria: Lebanon relies on friendly countries' efforts to restore calm in the south
Abou Faour: The solution lies in extending the army commander's term; the next president must be 'consensual'
Hezbollah to compensate Lebanese whose homes were damaged by Israel
Lebanese trailblazers shine in BBC's 100 Women of 2023: Aziza Sbaity and Amal Clooney make their mark
Cautious calm prevails over south on last day of truce
Mikati won't call for session on army chief before Hezbollah announces stance
Reports: Lebanon asked to prepare for negotiations over southern border
Report: Hezbollah still opposed to 'third choice' presidential candidate
Le Drian 'visited Qatar and KSA', will carry 'new proposals' to Lebanon
Mikati relies on 'friendly countries' to restore calm in Lebanon
UfM Foreign Ministers discuss critical situation in Gaza-Palestine, Israel at 8th UfM Regional Forum in Barcelona
Sheikh Al-Khatib broaches general situation in Lebanon and region with EU Ambassador
MP Khazen visits Patriarch Rahi in Bkerke, underlines necessity of accelerating election of president
Wronecka visits Mikati, says Security Council “highly concerned about Lebanon due to its strategic regional
Berri summons parliamentary committees for joint session on Wednesday
MoPH-MoE joint official release towards a climate resilient and environmentally sustainable Healthcare System
Israel-Lebanon border: The Irish troops watching Israel’s hidden conflict/Nafiseh Kohnavard, Middle East correspondent – BBC Persian

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 27-28/2023
Qatari mediator announces extension of Israel-Hamas truce for two days
Israel and Hamas agree to extend truce for two more days, exchange more hostages and prisoners
Gaza humanitarian pause should evolve into permanent ceasefire - EU top diplomat
The military branch of Hamas has verified the deaths of the commander of their northern brigade and three other senior leaders
US welcomes Gaza truce extension, hopes it will be further prolonged
Russia condemns 'provocative' Israeli attack on Damascus airport
Palestinian diplomat appeals for Gaza truce to be extended as EU and Arab nations meet in Spain
Israel grants Musk approval to turn on Starlink internet access in Gaza
Israel’s hard-Right finance minister in row over refusing to divert settlement money to war effort
UN spokesperson: Gaza-Israel conflict takes appalling toll; praises hostage releases
US, partners announce task force aimed at countering flow of money to Hamas
First testimonies shed light on the conditions endured by Hamas’ Israeli hostages
Released Israeli hostage ‘escaped for four days’ before recapture in Gaza
Companies face delicate decisions on weighing in on Israel-Hamas conflict
Walid Phares to Newsmax: Biden Signals Mixed on Israel, Hamas
Yemen govt calls for global designation of Houthis as terrorist organization following
French navy ship arrives in Egypt to treat Gaza wounded
First human infection with swine flu variant detected in UK
Germany to help reconstruct southern Israel settlements

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 27-28/2023
Why the Arabs 'Betrayed' the Palestinians/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/November 27, 2023
US interfaith communities draw on decades-long bonds to navigate Israel-Hamas War/Brammhi Balarajan, CNN/November 27, 2023
Iran’s Implausible Deniability/Jay Mens/The Tablet/November 27/2023
America’s Islamic Ribat Problem/Raymond Ibrahim/November 27, 2023
Time for world to stand up to Taliban’s gender apartheid/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Arab News/November 27, 2023
Wilders’ victory shows Europe must stand up to far-right threat/Chris Doyle/Arab News/November 27, 2023
Gaza is forcing the West to abandon its old illusions/Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/November 27, 2023
Gaza not the only place where the fires of injustice burn/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/November 27, 2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 27-28/2023
Lebanese leadership faces challenges of regional developments
Arab News/November 27, 2023
BEIRUT: The UN Security Council is very concerned about Lebanon because it has a strategic role in the region, UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon Joanna Wronecka said on Monday. She made the remarks during a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Wronecka also said the UNSC’s position on Lebanon was unified, highlighting the need for the country’s early election of a president and implementing reforms. Wronecka said she emphasized those points in her recent speech before the council in New York last week. She also stressed the need to adhere to Resolution 1701 and implement it on the ground. Wronecka met the Lebanese leaders a year and two months on from the presidency becoming vacant. On Jan. 10 the position of army commander will also become vacant — as regional tensions ramp up with Israel — in addition to the vacant governorship of the Central Bank since last August, which has been filled temporarily. The caretaker government has failed multiple times in recent weeks to make a decision regarding the expected vacancies in the army leadership, whether it be extending, appointing, or delaying retirements.
French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian is scheduled to arrive in Beirut on Wednesday, amid growing concerns about the developments in the region. It is rumored that the purpose of the visit is to address the stalled issue of the presidency. The leader of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, expressed his concern on Monday that the French envoy’s goal might be to exchange the implementation of Resolution 1701 by Hezbollah and its military withdrawal from southern Lebanon — in return for giving the party the presidency of Lebanon.
Geagea said that the presidency is not for exchange or bargaining over.
On Monday, the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahhi reiterated the need to expedite the election of a president and find ways to protect the military. The three vacant positions are from the Maronite community’s share of power in Lebanon. On Monday he was quoted as being open to all possibilities that serve the interest of the military, except for appointing a new commander, as this should happen in the presence of the president, who is the supreme commander of the Armed Forces under the constitution.
As per the defense law, the chief of staff is the only one capable of assuming the duties of the army commander in his absence. But this position has also been vacant for over a year. The Military Council — led by Defense Minister Maurice Slim — is also suffering from vacancies in the positions of the army’s inspector general and the general manager of administration. The caretaker government is not authorized to make these appointments. A legitimate government needs to be formed to elect a president.
It also means that the Supreme Defense Council, which includes the prime minister, is also inactive due to the absence of a president. Only the president has the right to convene the council and preside over its sessions according to Article 49 of the constitution. According to one political observer, the Maronite patriarch insists on keeping the current commander, Gen. Joseph Aoun, in his position until a president is elected, as his leadership “cannot be exercised collectively through the council of ministers.”Al-Rahi accused politicians in his Sunday sermon of deliberately not electing a president. He said the highly delicate regional conditions required state protection, and the winds headed toward regional arrangements. “We do not accept that the president's election be subject to a person, a project, or a goal related to influence, and we do not accept depriving the state of its head.
“We do not accept attempts to undermine the army’s unity, stability, self-confidence, and leadership, especially since the country and its security are on the verge of a volcano eruption.”The Free Patriotic Movement proposes appointing a new commander through a decree between ministers, while the Lebanese Forces party proposes extending the current commander’s term. There is also a proposal to delay his retirement by the speaker, the Progressive Socialist Party, and Sunni deputies through a government decree that includes extending the term of the General Director of Internal Security Forces Brig. Gen. Imad Osman, who will also be retired, and appointing a military council. The deadline given by Berri to the government to resolve the ongoing crisis will end in two days. Slim, of the Free Patriotic Movement, can propose an extension to the army commander’s tenure. If he refuses to do so by absenting himself from the government session, parliament will be approached. However, Berri has refused to invite the divided house to a session to approve the extension for Gen. Aoun for another year. The political observer said the Free Patriotic Movement “will consider any decision made by the defense minister of defense invalid and will challenge it legally. “The defense minister will refuse to work with the extended commander without his approval, which means the military institution will be involved in a crisis and consequently paralyzed.”

Le Drian Scheduled for Wednesday Meetings with Berri and Mikati
The Daily Star/November 27/2023
Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Presidential Envoy for Lebanon, is set to arrive in Beirut next week to focus on the presidential election process, as reported by the media on Sunday. Le Drian’s agenda includes appointments with key Lebanese political figures. He is scheduled to meet with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday, according to information provided to ad-Diyar newspaper by a knowledgeable source. The source also mentioned that the lead-up to Le Drian’s visit doesn’t seem to indicate any new initiatives being brought forth.
Additionally, the French Ambassador to Lebanon, Hervé Magro, informed the Lebanese-French Parliamentary Friendship Committee about France’s coordination with Saudi Arabia and Qatar regarding the presidential file. Magro highlighted that Le Drian’s visit is backed by the five-nation group on Lebanon, which includes the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt.

Al-Rahi Cautions Against Undermining the ‘Army’s Cohesion and Stability
The Daily Star/November 27/2023
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, speaking on Sunday, expressed his disapproval of limiting the presidential election to a specific individual, agenda, or influence-driven reason. Al-Rahi also emphasized his objection to any actions that could damage the unity, stability, and self-confidence of the army and its leadership. He stressed the critical nature of this issue, especially given the precarious security situation the country is facing. Highlighting the constitutional mandate, al-Rahi referred to Article 49, which designates the President of the Republic as the head of the armed forces. He questioned the efforts of some to appoint a chief of the army in advance, thereby potentially influencing the choice of the new president. The patriarch urged for a simpler constitutional approach: electing a president to resolve political issues and ensure the integrity of all state institutions.

Lebanese Residents Come Back to Discover Their Homes Destroyed Near the Israeli Border
The Daily Star/November 27/2023
Lebanese farmer and part-time minibus driver, Abdallah Abdallah, returned to his village near the Israeli border on Saturday, only to find his house heavily damaged and his tractor destroyed due to the recent bombing. Abdallah, 50, lamented the destruction, citing Israel’s history of targeting civilian areas. His home in Aitaroun, located near an Israeli military post, now bears the scars of conflict, with significant damage evident in its structure. The Lebanon-Israel border has been a hotspot of intensified conflict since October 7, primarily involving Israel and Hezbollah, but also Palestinian groups. This has raised concerns about the possibility of a wider conflict. Having fled the area when the skirmishes started, Abdallah and others cautiously returned to assess the damage, amidst the continuous presence of Israeli surveillance drones. Most residents in the border area expressed reluctance to stay, fearing a resurgence of violence after the recent four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. A source close to Hezbollah stated that the group would respect the ceasefire as long as Israel did. Abdallah’s losses include not only his tractor but also a van he used for transporting local children to school. The conflict has inflicted severe damage across south Lebanon, with homes showing broken windows, damaged walls, and uprooted doors. Hezbollah has honored its fallen fighters in some villages with banners. In the recent cross-border exchanges, at least 109 people have died in Lebanon, including 77 Hezbollah fighters and 14 civilians, as per an AFP tally. The International Organization for Migration reports that more than 55,000 people, primarily from south Lebanon, have fled their homes since the hostilities began. In Mays al-Jabal, resident Fatima Taha was relieved to find her home mostly intact, though she shares the widespread fear of renewed conflict. She noted that some people returned only for the olive harvest but are hesitant to stay permanently. Authorities have advised against using roads close to Israeli positions and warned farmers about the dangers of harvesting olives near the border, citing concerns about Israel’s alleged use of white phosphorus. In Kfarkila, Yahya Ahmad, 62, plans to repair his cafe, which sustained significant damage. Despite the risks, he is determined to stay, asserting his connection to his homeland. In one village, visitors posed for photos against a backdrop that reflects the tense border situation. Abdallah Quteish, a retired school principal, and his wife Sabah, returned to their home in Houla after staying with their daughter in the north. They missed the olive harvest but are grateful to be safe and hope to stay in their home if the situation remains stable. Others, like Khalil Ghanam from Marwahin, are less optimistic. Ghanam has decided to move his cafe’s remaining stock to Beirut, anticipating a prolonged difficult period ahead. In Kfarkila, iron worker Hussein Fawaz is staying put despite the destruction of his home by an airstrike. He has sent his family away for safety but remains to care for his elderly parents.
The ceasefire, while generally calm, has seen moments of tension, with the Israeli military reporting the interception of an aerial target from Lebanon and the downing of a missile launched at an Israeli drone.

UN Special Coordinator stresses importance of implementing Resolution 1701 in Meeting with Lebanon's PM
LBCI/November 27, 2023
Lebanon's Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, on Monday at the Grand Serail.
After the meeting, Wronecka announced, "I came to inform Prime Minister Mikati about the Security Council meeting in New York and what I mentioned in my speech regarding Resolution 1701 and the necessity of adhering to and implementing it on the ground."
She affirmed: "We also discussed how to protect Lebanon from war in the region, in addition to the topics of reforms, the role of state institutions, and the election of a president." She noted that the Security Council "is very concerned about Lebanon because it plays a strategic role in the region," its position on Lebanon "is unified."

Hezbollah initiates compensation for victims of Israeli 'aggression,' says MP Fadlallah
LBCI/November 27, 2023
Member of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, MP Hassan Fadlallah, called for the cessation of war and "aggression."He expressed the hope that the ceasefire would last and that the war would stop. He said: "If this aggression continues, our position is determined on the ground."Fadlallah announced that "Hezbollah has started paying compensation directly to those affected by the Israeli aggression on the border villages."

Mikati to Al-Joumhouria: Lebanon relies on friendly countries' efforts to restore calm in the south
LBCI/November 27, 2023
Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed his hope for the continuation of the ceasefire in Gaza "to keep Lebanon safe and calm" during a visit to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. In an interview with "Al-Joumhouria" newspaper, Mikati emphasized Lebanon's reliance on friendly countries' efforts to work towards peace and restore calm in southern Lebanon.
*This article was originally published in and translated from Lebanese newspaper Al-Joumhouria.

Abou Faour: The solution lies in extending the army commander's term; the next president must be 'consensual'
LBCI/November 27, 2023
MP Wael Abou Faour revealed that international parties informed Lebanon that things are not positive and was asked to open a discussion about Resolution 1701 to avoid sliding into an open war with Israel. In an interview on LBCI's "Nharkom Said" TV show, Abou Faour believed that the war will continue in Gaza and will last. He noted that it is evident that Hezbollah does not want to rush into a "comprehensive" confrontation, but the Israelis are pushing towards an open clash with Lebanon, which is in extreme danger. He pointed out that the idea of "uniting the battlefields" contradicts the idea of a "defensive strategy," noting that Hezbollah is still evaluating a balance between the two. He believed that Hamas is a resistance movement that cannot be avoided in any future arrangements, and the Palestinian side is the most capable of facing and resisting in this war. Regarding the presidential file, Abou Faour considered that the next president must be consensual and enhance consensus among the Lebanese. He mentioned that discussions before the war in Gaza about the presidency led to a quasi-general conviction that the only way out of the crisis is to search for a consensual president. He confirmed that the Lebanese people were not divided in facing Israel, ruling out that anyone could exploit what is happening in the region to gain advantages in the presidential file. He indicated that the name of the army commander is "advancing" in the presidential discussions. As for the vacancy in the army leadership, Abou Faour emphasized that the military institution cannot tolerate any vacuum, and the solution lies in extending General Aoun's term and appointing a military council until a new president is elected. He noted that the government's path to addressing the file does not seem viable at the moment, and the parliamentary path is linked to the parties' positions, emphasizing that political parties need to show more flexibility in this regard. He said, "There are several proposals, and a consensus formula can be found and pursued." Regarding the budget, Abou Faour considered that there cannot be financial regularity without constitutional regularity, and even if the budget is approved, it will not be implemented.

Hezbollah to compensate Lebanese whose homes were damaged by Israel
Associated Press/November 27, 2023
A senior Hezbollah legislator said Monday that the Iran-backed group will compensate Lebanese whose homes along the Lebanon-Israel border were damaged by Israeli shelling and strikes. Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops have clashed along the border since Oct. 8, stoking fears that the Hamas-Israel war in the Gaza Strip will spill over into the rest of the region. Though the clashes have been intense, with both combatants and civilians killed on both sides, they have remained largely contained to areas near the border. Hezbollah was not officially a party to the four-day truce between Hamas and Israel that took effect Friday, but calm has largely prevailed on the Lebanon-Israel border since then. “What we are offering those affected is money and the efforts and capabilities of Hezbollah, and that is part of our battle,” said parliament member Hassan Fadlallah, who made the announcement at an event honoring a slain Hezbollah militant in the border town of Aita al-Shaab. Fadlallah said the group surveyed most of the damaged areas in southern Lebanon, widely seen as a political and military stronghold for the group. Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a draw. Israel sees Hezbollah as its most direct threat and estimates that the group has about 150,000 precision-guided missiles pointed at it.

Lebanese trailblazers shine in BBC's 100 Women of 2023: Aziza Sbaity and Amal Clooney make their mark
LBCI/November 27, 2023
For 2023, the BBC announced its list of 100 influential women worldwide, including former US First Lady Michelle Obama, Hollywood celeb America Ferrera, and beauty tycoon Huda Kattan. Among BBC's 100 Women 2023, which also features women working to address climate change, are two Lebanese, sprinter Aziza Sbaity and Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
Aziza Sbaity
Known as "the fastest Lebanese woman in history" after breaking the 100m record, Lebanon's sprinter Aziza Sbaity made headlines as one of the first black athletes from her country to take gold at the West Asian and Arab championships.With a Liberian mother and a Lebanese father, she moved to Lebanon at 11. She "uses her position to talk about racism in the country and champion inclusivity and equality, and she collaborates with schools and universities to inspire Lebanon's youth," said the BBC.
Amal Clooney
Award-winning human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has spent years supporting victims of injustice, leading important cases concerning crimes against humanity in Armenia and Ukraine, sexual violence against women in Malawi and Kenya, and helping secure journalists' freedom targeted by oppressive regimes. "Recent successes include representing victims of an Islamic State fighter and of a Darfur warlord," it added. Amal Clooney, née Alamuddin, also serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School and co-founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, providing free legal support to victims of human rights abuses in over 40 countries. In the midst of prevailing regional challenges, this news comes as a glimmer of hope, showcasing Lebanese women's power in building a good reputation for Lebanon around the world and making the Lebanese proud in each step they take.

Cautious calm prevails over south on last day of truce
Naharnet/November 27, 2023
Cautious calm prevailed over the border area in south Lebanon Monday, the last day of a four-day cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. The calm was interrupted overnight by Israeli shelling on the southern border town of Marwahin. While Lebanon and Hezbollah weren't officially parties to the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, it has brought at least a temporary halt to the daily exchanges of rockets, artillery shelling and airstrikes. On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited north Israel and vowed to allow residents of the region to return home safely. Gallant said that the Israeli troops have struck and killed over 100 Hezbollah fighters and destroyed "dozens of observation posts, warehouses, bunkers, and command centers.""Here in the eastern sector of Lebanon, overlooking Syria, the soldiers are doing excellent work," he said. "The result is the pushing back of Hezbollah forces from the front line to deeper into the territory, which will allow the return of the residents."The cross-border exchanges have killed 109 people in Lebanon, at least 77 of them Hezbollah fighters and 14 civilians. More than 55,000 people have fled their homes. Six Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed on the Israeli side.

Mikati won't call for session on army chief before Hezbollah announces stance
Naharnet/November 27, 2023
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will not call for a cabinet session that would discuss the term extension of the army chief before Hezbollah announces its stance, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper said. The daily reported Monday that Mikati needs to know whether Hezbollah would support its ally, the Free Patriotic Movement, and refuse the extension of Gen. Joseph Aoun's term ahead of his planned retirement in January. Aoun's retirement would add another gap to crisis-hit Lebanon's withering and paralyzed institutions as the tiny Mediterranean country has been without a president, while its government has been running in a limited caretaker capacity. Lebanon has also been without a top spy chief to head its General Security Directorate since March, and without a central bank governor. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had hoped for the extension to take place in Cabinet, but vowed to discuss Aoun's term extension in parliament if Cabinet fails to take this step before the end of this month. Mikati, who has meanwhile been discussing the issue with Hezbollah secretary-general's political aide Hussein Khalil and Berri's aide Ali Hassan Khalil, hasn't yet received a final answer from Hezbollah, Asharq al-Awsat said. Berri has said he will call for a legislative session during the first half of December and that there are only two options, either the extension of Aoun's term or the appointment of a new army chief. "There is no third option and no assignment (of the highest ranking officer)." The Free Patriotic Movement reportedly has three candidates for the army chief post, Intelligence Directorate chief Tony Qahwaji, Elie Akl and Maroun Qbayati.

Reports: Lebanon asked to prepare for negotiations over southern border
Naharnet/November 27, 2023
Lebanon must prepare for negotiations over Resolution 1701 that “will certainly take place” and “the presidential vacuum cannot continue,” French sources said. “The issue of the Lebanese south will be soon on the table, along with the negotiations over the land border and Resolution 1701,” the sources told Annahar newspaper in remarks published Monday. And in remarks to al-Liwaa daily, French sources said “the upcoming negotiations over the fate of the situations in Gaza will involve south Lebanon, and this requires the election of a new president so that Lebanon can be ready to sit around the table.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meanwhile received a phone call from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who reminded him that the United States does not want to see the Gaza conflict spreading to Lebanon.

Report: Hezbollah still opposed to 'third choice' presidential candidate
Naharnet/November 27, 2023
The idea of electing a “third” presidential candidate other than Suleiman Franjieh and Jihad Azour is “still running into Hezbollah’s stance” and there are no indications that a president will be elected anytime soon, a media report said. “Hezbollah is still putting the Lebanese, the French and the various foreign envoys before the same equation: electing its candidate or no presidential elections,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper added. “Hezbollah considers that there is still time before having to lean towards a third choice, on the hope that the war might offer it a chance, knowing that the internal balance of power did not change prior to October 7 and will not change after this date,” the daily added.

Le Drian 'visited Qatar and KSA', will carry 'new proposals' to Lebanon
Naharnet/November 27, 2023
French Special Presidential Envoy for Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian will arrive in Beirut Tuesday evening on an official visit that will last until Friday, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Monday. “He will meet with a number of state officials and parliamentary bloc chiefs in a bid to revive dialogue over his previous proposals regarding the presidential juncture,” the daily said. “Le Drian is confident that the answers he had received to the questions that he had raised with MPs in mid-August are still valid for discussion,” sources told the newspaper. Quoting informed sources, al-Binaa newspaper meanwhile said that Le Drian has visited Qatar and Saudi Arabia prior to his expected visit to Lebanon and that is in “constant contact” with the Americans and Egyptians for consultations over the crisis in Lebanon. The sources added that the French official will likely carry new proposals to Lebanon after his consultations with the capitals of the five-nation group on Lebanon. “He will discuss them with the political leaders with the aim of revitalizing the presidential election file and ending vacuum as soon as possible,” the sources said.

Mikati relies on 'friendly countries' to restore calm in Lebanon
Naharnet/November 27, 2023
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has stressed Lebanon’s reliance on the efforts of friendly countries for restoring peace in south Lebanon. In an interview published Monday in al-Joumhouria newspaper, Mikati hoped that friendly countries would succeed to restore peace and calm along the southern border.
Mikati had also condemned Israel's brutality in an interview with the Turkish national radio and television corporation TRT. "We don't have any guarantees," Mikati said, stressing the Israeli killing of children, women and elderly. "No one cares and there are no international reactions to what's happening in Gaza."The caretaker PM went on to say that although Lebanon fully supports Palestine, he is trying to spare Lebanon from entering the war. "We do not want war and we are seeking peace," he said. "But at the same time we do not want anyone to desecrate Lebanese land," he added.

UfM Foreign Ministers discuss critical situation in Gaza-Palestine, Israel at 8th UfM Regional Forum in Barcelona
NNA/November 27, 2023
The 8th Union for the Mediterranean Regional Forum took place today at Barcelona’s Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site. This year’s event centred around the critical situation in Gaza- Palestine and Israel, and its consequences across the region. The 43 UfM Foreign Ministers exchanged views on the dramatic situation on the ground and the way forward. The 8th UfM Regional Forum took place in the framework of the 15th anniversary of the organisation, built on the acquis of the Barcelona Process and its goals of shared peace, stability and prosperity in the Euro- Mediterranean area.
“[These goals] can only be attained through a well-rooted peace in the Middle East, built only and exclusively on the two-state solution,” UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel underlined. The UfM has established itself in the last decade as the leading multilateral institutional framework for dialogue and cooperation in the Mediterranean, with projects and initiatives ranging from fostering women’s empowerment, job creation, trade facilitation to urban development, climate action and environmental protection.
UfM SG further added: “There is definitely a before and an after the 7th October for Mediterranean cooperation and for the Union for the Mediterranean: Israel and Palestine are founding members of our organisation, and this leads us to actively reflect on the role of the UfM in building a long-lasting peace for these two independent states, based on the promotion of concrete projects and initiatives that would help consolidate this peace. The UfM, as a regional framework, can and should be, the keystone in shaping the future of the region.”

Sheikh Al-Khatib broaches general situation in Lebanon and region with EU Ambassador
NNA/November 27, 2023
Deputy Head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, on Monday received at the Council's headquarters, the Ambassador of the European Union to Lebanon, Sandra De Waele, who came on an acquaintance visit.
Discussions during the visit reportedly touched on the general situation in Lebanon and the region, as well as on the developments in Gaza. According to a statement by the Council, Sheikh Al-Khatib welcomed the European Union Ambassador, wishing her good luck and success in strengthening the bilateral relations between Lebanon and the European Union countries.

MP Khazen visits Patriarch Rahi in Bkerke, underlines necessity of accelerating election of president
NNA/November 27, 2023
MP Farid Haikal Al-Khazen visited the Patriarchal edifice in Bkerke, where he met with the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, and discussed with him the exploratory visit made by the Qatari envoy, Abu Fahd Jassim Al Thani, to Lebanon, as well as the upcoming visit by the French presidential envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to Lebanon. During the meeting, there was an emphasis on the necessity of accelerating the election of a President of the Republic, and finding ways to protect the military institution, so that Al-Khazen stressed his openness to all possibilities that serve the interest of the military institution, with the exception of appointing a new commander of the army, especially since this must happen with the President of the Republic, who is the commander of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Wronecka visits Mikati, says Security Council “highly concerned about Lebanon due to its strategic regional
NNA/November 27, 2023
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Monday held a meeting with Joanna Wronecka, the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, at the Grand Serail. Following the meeting, Wronecka conveyed, "I apprised Prime Minister Mikati about the Security Council's recent session in New York. I emphasized the points highlighted in my address, particularly focusing on Resolution 1701 and the crucial need to observe and enforce it on the ground."She reiterated, stating, "Our conversation also delved into strategies aimed at safeguarding Lebanon from regional conflicts. Moreover, we explored matters concerning reforms, the pivotal role of state institutions, and the imperative presidential election."Wronecka highlighted the Security Council's profound apprehension for Lebanon's situation, emphasizing its pivotal role in the region. She also emphasized the unified stance of the Security Council towards Lebanon.

Berri summons parliamentary committees for joint session on Wednesday
NNA /November 27, 2023
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Monday has summoned the parliamentary committees of Finance and Budget, Administration and Justice, Public Health, Labor and Social Affairs, National Economy, Trade, Industry, and Planning, as well as Women and Children for a joint session on Wednesday, the 29th of November 2023, at 10:30 am.

MoPH-MoE joint official release towards a climate resilient and environmentally sustainable Healthcare System
NNA/November 27, 2023
Lebanon has been experiencing increased temperatures, as well as increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters related to climate change, which not only has direct impact on human health but also threatens the capacity of health care delivery services in managing and protecting population health. Preliminary assessments found that the overall adaptive capacity of healthcare institutions in Lebanon is low, as many of them lack the capacity and resources needed to prepare for and respond to this climatic challenge. Therefore, and consistently with its commitment to the Paris Agreement, Lebanon has announced its commitment to building a climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable healthcare system as part of the UK COP26’s Initiative “Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate Health (ATACH)”. This initiative, launched by the UK COP26 Presidency in 2021, calls on countries to take bold action to address the intersection of climate change and health. Lebanon, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), is committed to developing a comprehensive and integrated approach to climate change and health. Both the Ministries of Public health (MoPH) and the Environment (MoE) have expressed commitment to the Health and Environment Strategic Framework 2021-2026 launched on the World Health day 2022, in line with the Arab Health and Environment Strategy Framework 2017-30 adopted by the Summit of the Arab League on April 15, 2018. The strategy focuses on healthcare facilities in areas of water and sanitation, chemical safety, management of healthcare waste, environmental preparedness in health care, vulnerability of health care facilities to climate change, emergency preparedness, and greening of the health sector.
In addition, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has endorsed COP26 proceedings in an official letter signed and dated March 26, 2023. As part of this initiative, Lebanon will prioritize the health needs of its population, while simultaneously addressing the environmental and sustainability challenges facing its healthcare facilities. Lebanon will be working to strengthen its healthcare infrastructure, increase its capacity for emergency preparedness and response, and improve its ability to monitor and respond to emerging health threats. The most recent cholera outbreak is an example of the significant impact of deterioration in infrastructure and neglect of climate change. Lebanon is also committed to reducing the environmental impact of its healthcare system, particularly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and waste generation.
Moreover, Lebanon’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) has emphasized on increased adaptation action, prioritizing action to ensure public health’s safety, well-being, and safety of all communities through climate resilient systems. All of which is aligned and builds up on the MoPHs efforts to increase climate-resilient systems as per Lebanon’s National Health Strategy: Vision 2030. Lebanon did initiate climate friendly actions, including investing in solar energy in healthcare facilities, with the support of several UN agencies, and integration of telehealth. On the other hand, a recent report by the MoE, in collaboration with UNDP, GEF, and the MoPH has highlighted further the need for progressive adaptive measures to increase the climate resilience of public health infrastructure, facilities, and capacities.
Therefore, Lebanon commits to continuously improve its health system to be resilient to climate change impacts through:
• Updating the climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessment (V&A) that was conducted in the latest Fourth National Communication Report and highlighted even further in the Vulnerability and Adaptation of Healthcare Service Providers Report; officials will continue to assess vulnerability to climate change in an iterative way, and inform health policies and programs.
• Developing a health component in the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) based on updated evidence from the updated climate change and health vulnerability assessments.
Lebanon will use its abundant research and reports (Vulnerability of Health Care Facilities to Climate Change 2022 Report; Lebanon’s 4th National Communication on Climate Change; Lebanon’s National Health Strategy: Vision 2030; upcoming NAP) to identify needs and priorities that may facilitate access to climate change funding for health, including the climate change multilateral funding mechanisms (e.g., project proposals submitted to the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), Green Climate Fund (GCF) or Adaptation Fund (AF) or GCF Readiness Programmes). As a nation that has struggled with environmental and public health challenges, Both the Lebanese Ministers of Public Health and Environment believe that this initiative is a crucial step towards building a more climate resilient and sustainably healthy future for the nation, and are keen on addressing the gaps identified at the levels of policy, infrastructure, and prevention.

تقرير من محطة بي بي سي يلقي الأضواء على دور القوات الإيرلندية في جنوب لبنان من ضمن اليونيفل
Israel-Lebanon border: The Irish troops watching Israel’s hidden conflict
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/124754/124754/
Nafiseh Kohnavard, Middle East correspondent – BBC Persian/November 27, 2023
Dozens of Irish peacekeepers have been killed since the UN force was deployed in 1978 “If you hear an alarm sounding it means you need to run to the nearest bunker,” says Captain Aódhan McGuinness as we arrive at Camp Shamrock.
He is the tactical operations director for the Irish troops who run this UN peacekeeping base close to the Lebanon-Israel border.
We can hear the buzz of Israeli drones hovering overhead. They sound like hair dryers or electric razors, and are now a constant presence day and night above towns and villages in southern Lebanon. A loud explosion nearby interrupts Captain McGuinness’ safety briefing. “Ok, today’s round has started,” he says. The blast is yet another sign of escalating tensions in the area since Hamas launched its unprecedented assault on Israel back in October.
The UN peacekeeping mission, known as Unifil, is responsible for monitoring the Blue Line, the unofficial frontier between Lebanon and Israel.
During the last four decades the area has witnessed on and off clashes between the Lebanese Shia Muslim militant group, Hezbollah, and the Israeli army.
While Hezbollah is labelled a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and others, it is a mainstream political party in Lebanon, leading an alliance which fell just short of a majority in the national parliament in elections last year.
What is Hezbollah and will it go to war with Israel?
Wearing body armour and helmets we join a group of heavily armed peacekeepers in a convoy of armoured vehicles for a 20-minute drive to another base that is just 500m (1,600ft) from the Blue Line.
With Israeli military installations visible across the frontier, the commander of the outpost, Lieutenant Dylan Cadogan, says they often have to take shelter in bunkers during strikes, sometimes for hours.
“We have seen houses destroyed and we have seen civilians caught in crossfire that needed our help.”A pink building damaged by shellfire and stained by black smoke
The Irish UN force has helped civilians whose homes have been hit by shellfire
From the base’s watchtower he points at a pink house in the distance: “There was a mother and a child in that building only 400m (1,300ft) from us.
“Their house was shelled, and they had to run here to take refuge and we provided them with medical support and took them to safety.”
The Unifil troops have recovered the bodies of people killed in the fighting but cannot say how many were Hezbollah fighters due to the sensitivity of their mission and the need to remain neutral between the warring parties.
“It is not our job to comment on these, just observe, monitor and report what we see to our headquarters,” Lieutenant Cadogan says.
Since Israel launched its offensive on Gaza following Hamas’s attack on 7 October, Hezbollah has regularly carried out rocket and drone attacks from southern Lebanon, some aimed at military targets, others fired more indiscriminately into northern Israel.
Israeli forces have retaliated with heavy air strikes and artillery fire.
Due to the fighting 60,000 people have been displaced from the border area on the Lebanese side, while thousands of Israelis have been evacuated from northern Israel.
Monitoring groups say that in the first week following Hamas’s attack in October there were around 70 reported incidents near the Blue Line, and by mid-November it had risen to about 250 attacks a week.
The peacekeeping force was first deployed in 1978 after Israel invaded southern Lebanon in response to cross border attacks by the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
Since then, more than 300 peacekeepers have been killed, 48 of them Irish, something which is on the minds of the troops’ families.
Captain Tony Smith says his family fears for him but is supportive of his work
Captain Tony Smith, 27, on his second deployment, regularly reassures his relatives back home in Wexford, in south east Ireland. “Of course my mother wants me to go home now, which eventually I will, but she knows why we are here and despite her concerns she supports that.”
Approaching the nearby town of Tebnine, posters of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and fallen Hezbollah fighters line the road.
It’s 10km (6.2 miles) from the Blue Line and has been heavily damaged in previous conflicts. Like most of the towns and villages in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah is very influential here and controls security in the area.
Bassima and Ali have lived through several wars on the Lebanon-Israel border
One of the local residents, 57-year-old Ali Saad, says he grew up with the Irish Unifil soldiers. Speaking with a distinctive Irish accent, Ali says one peacekeeper helped teach him English when he was a young boy.
That soldier was one of three generations of the same Irish family to serve with Unifil. His father also served several decades ago, and his son is currently stationed in Lebanon. Ali credits the Irish troops with helping to save his life when they picked him up from school and took him to one of their bunkers during an air strike.
In the years since, he has worked as a translator for Unifil and a group of Irish soldiers even attended his wedding to his wife, Bassima, who also helps the peacekeepers with language services.
But while Ali values the troops’ presence, he is sad that the conflict they are there to monitor has dragged on so long.
“To be honest we never thought this mission would last for over 44 years,” he says.
For Bassima the current fighting has brought back painful memories of earlier conflicts, like the Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006.
“I was putting my younger son inside an empty washing machine because I was hoping that it could project him,” she says.
“Now, we keep hearing all these sounds of explosions and I just can’t take it.”
She believes that growing up surrounded by conflict has affected her son, who is now 23. He still gets nervous when Unifil helicopters fly overhead.
“We can’t go back to where we were,” she adds. “We are wasting our life from one conflict to another, I just cannot go through another war.”
Lieutenant Colonel Cathal Keohane facing the camera with barbed wire behind him
Back at the base, Unifil commander Lieutenant Colonel Cathal Keohane is concerned that the level of violence in the area has been increasing. “We have seen an expansion and more attacks deeper inside to Lebanon, we have seen a wider range of weapons being used,” he says, worrying that the situation could escalate. “Whether it arises deliberately from one side, or some inadvertent circumstances precipitate the outbreak of all-out war, that is a serious concern for us.”
He hopes that the ceasefire in Gaza will lead to an easing of tensions around the Blue Line, but says it could take displaced people some time to return to their homes, even if the cross border fire ends.
https://ca.yahoo.com/news/israel-lebanon-border-irish-troops-103935560.html

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 27-28/2023
Qatari mediator announces extension of Israel-Hamas truce for two days
AFP/November 27, 2023
The Qatari mediator announced on Monday the extension of the humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas for an additional two days, as the effects of the previous truce, which lasted for four days, come to an end today. The spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majed Al-Ansari, stated on X, "The State of Qatar announces that, within the framework of ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian ceasefire for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip."

Israel and Hamas agree to extend truce for two more days, exchange more hostages and prisoners
AP/November 27, 2023
GAZA/JERUSALEM: Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days past Monday, the Qatari government said, bringing the prospect of a longer halt to their deadliest and most destructive war and further exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
The announcement, made by Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al Ansary in a post on X, came on the final day of the original four-day truce between the warring sides. A fourth swap of hostages for prisoners under that deal was expected later Monday. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. After the announcement by Qatar — a key mediator in the conflict, along with the United States and Egypt — Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day extension “under the same terms.”But Israel says it remains committed to crushing Hamas’ military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza after its Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. That would likely mean expanding a ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have crammed into United Nations shelters, and where dire conditions persist despite the increased delivery of aid under the truce. Israel will resume its operations with “full force” as soon as the current deal expires if Hamas does not agree to further hostage releases, with the goal of eliminating the group and freeing the rest of the captives, government spokesperson Eylon Levy told reporters on Monday.
So far, 58 hostages have been released during the current truce, including 39 Israelis. Before the truce, four hostages were freed, another rescued and two were found dead inside Gaza. After weeks of national trauma over the around 240 people abducted by Hamas and other militants, scenes of the women and children reuniting with families have rallied Israelis behind calls to return those who remain in captivity. “We can get all hostages back home. We have to keep pushing,” two relatives of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl and dual Israeli-American citizen who was released Sunday, said in a statement.
Hamas and other militants could still be holding up to 175 hostages, enough to potentially extend the cease-fire for two and a half weeks. But those include a number of soldiers, and the militants are likely to make much greater demands for their release. On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 hostages, including 14 Israelis, and Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners — the third such exchange under the truce. Most hostages appeared to be physically well, but 84-year-old Elma Avraham was airlifted to Israel’s Soroka Medical Center in life-threatening condition because of inadequate care, the hospital said. Avraham’s daughter, Tali Amano, said her mother was “hours from death” when she was brought to the hospital. Avraham is currently sedated and has a breathing tube, but Amano said she told her of a new great grandchild who was born while she was in captivity. Avraham suffered from several chronic conditions that required regular medications but was stable before she was kidnapped, Amano said Monday. So far, 19 people of other nationalities have been freed during the truce, mostly Thai nationals. Many Thais work in Israel, largely as farm laborers. The Palestinian prisoners released were mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces, or of less-serious offenses. Many Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those implicated in attacks, as heroes resisting occupation. The freed hostages have mostly stayed out of the public eye, but details of their captivity have started to trickle out. Merav Raviv, whose three relatives were released Friday, said they had been fed irregularly and lost weight. One reported eating mainly bread and rice and sleeping on a makeshift bed of chairs pushed together. Hostages sometimes had to wait for hours to use the bathroom, she said.
RESPITE IN GAZA
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israel’s ground offensive. The calm from the truce allowed glimpses of the destruction wreaked by weeks of Israeli bombardment that leveled entire neighborhoods. Footage showed a complex of several dozen multistory residential buildings that had been pummeled into a landscape of wreckage in the northern town of Beit Hanoun. Nearly every building was destroyed or severely damaged, some reduced to concrete frames half-slumped over. At a nearby UN school, the buildings were intact but partially burned and riddled with holes.
The Israeli assault has driven three-quarters of Gaza’s population from their homes, and now most of its 2.3 million people are crowded into the south. More than 1 million are living in UN shelters. The Israeli military has barred hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled south from returning north. Rain and wind added to the hardship of displaced Palestinians sheltering in the compound of Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza. Palestinians in coats baked flatbreads over a makeshift fire among tents set up on the muddy grounds. Alaa Mansour said the conditions are simply horrendous. “My clothes are all wet and I am unable to change them.” said Mansour, who is disabled. “I have not drunk water for two days, and there’s no bathroom to use.”The UN says the truce made it possible to scale up the delivery of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the start of the war. But the 160 to 200 trucks a day is still less than half what Gaza was importing before the fighting, even as humanitarian needs have soared. Long lines formed outside stations distributing cooking fuel, allowed in for the first time. Fuel for generators has been brought for key service providers, including hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, but bakeries have been unable to resume work, the UN said. Iyad Ghafary, a vendor in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, said many families were still unable to retrieve the dead from under the rubble left by Israeli airstrikes, and that local authorities weren’t equipped to deal with the level of destruction. Many say the aid is not nearly enough. Amani Taha, a widow and mother of three who fled northern Gaza, said she had only managed to get one canned meal from a UN distribution center since the cease-fire began. She said the crowds have overwhelmed local markets and gas stations as people try to stock up on basics. “People were desperate and went out to buy whenever they could,” she said. “They are extremely worried that the war will return.”

Gaza humanitarian pause should evolve into permanent ceasefire - EU top diplomat
Euronews/Mared Gwyn Jones/November 27, 2023
"The pause should be extended to make it sustainable and long-lasting while working for a political solution," Borrell said during a meeting of Union for the Mediterranean foreign ministers in Barcelona. "A prolonged ceasefire that allows more hostages to be released, and that evolves towards a permanent ceasefire linked to a political process, is something we have consensus on," he further explained to reporters. Borrell also outlined his vision for a political resolution to the conflict based on the so-called two-state solution where a reinforced Palestinian Authority would take control of the Gaza Strip with the backing of the European Union. He told reporters failing to do so would make Gaza "fertile ground" for violence and extremism that would not be in Europe's interest. The meeting marked the start of a two-day forum of the Union of the Mediterranean, which will focus on the conflict engulfing the Gaza Strip with an aim to boost political efforts to work towards a peaceful solution. Israel has not sent a representative, despite it being one of the founding members. Borrell's remarks come as the four-day pause in hostilities, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US to allow the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid into the Gaza strip, entered its final day. Hamas said on Sunday it would be willing to extend the truce, while Israel suggested an extension would be conditional on the release of more of its civilians held captive in Gaza. Earlier on Monday, NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg also called for the pause in fighting in Gaza to be extended to allow the flow of further aid and the release of more civilian hostages. In late October, European Union leaders issued a joint call for "humanitarian pauses" to relieve human suffering in Gaza, stopping short of calling for a humanitarian ceasefire despite calls from a handful of member states.But statements made by some heads of EU governments in recent days have sparked Israeli outrage and threatened to fracture the EU’s hard-fought united stance on the conflict.
EU leaders reprimanded by Israel
During their joint visit to the region last week, Spanish and Belgian prime ministers Pedro Sánchez and Alexander De Croo denounced Israel for indiscriminate killings of civilians as they spoke to reporters at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza.
Israel’s foreign minister Eli Cohen condemned what he described as the “false statements” of Sánchez and De Croo, claiming that their comments “support terrorism.”Sánchez, whose newly reinstated government holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, said Madrid was open to unilaterally recognising the state of Palestine, even without the broader support of the European Union. Hamas congratulated both leaders Saturday for their “clear and bold stance,” further inflaming Israeli indignation. But Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares, who hosts the two-day Union for the Mediterranean forum, has rejected Israel’s accusations against Sánchez and De Croo as "completely false and unacceptable," saying his government was mulling its response. In a further escalation, Israel also accused Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of losing his "moral compass" over the weekend, after Varadkar described nine-year-old Irish-Israeli hostage Emily Hand as being “lost” before her release by Hamas on Saturday. "Emily and more than 30 other Israeli children were taken hostage by Hamas, and you Leo Varadkar are trying to legitimise and normalise terror. Shame on you!" Cohen said in a statement on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Varadkar later released a formal statement which said Hand had been "snatched", "held captive" and "a hostage." "I have always been consistent in my unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and hostage-taking," the taoiseach told Irish national broadcaster RTÉ. The ambassadors of Spain, Belgium and Ireland have been summoned by the Israeli foreign ministry, in a clear sign of escalating diplomatic tension. "The latest issues between Israel and Spain and Belgium are purely bilateral and they are not for us to comment," a spokesperson for the European Commission said earlier on Monday.
Borrell "appalled" by plans to fund settlements
Borrell also said on Monday he was "appalled" by reports that the Israeli government would allocate further funds for illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. "I was appalled to see that the Israel government plans to allocate another $43 million to increase the settlement activities, and I have condemned it," he said ahead of the meeting. "The violence spread by extremist settlers in the West Bank, many times under the protection of Israeli police and military, does not make Israel safer. The settlements are Israel’s greatest security liability," he added. His comments came as Israel’s war cabinet is expected to discuss an amended wartime budget. Proposals made by finance minister Bezalel Smotrich to continue to funnel funds towards settlement development have highlighted deep rifts in the cabinet, with some ministers criticising the plans for diverting finances from war efforts. A presidential spokesperson on behalf of the Palestinian Authority also said earlier on Monday that the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, was planning to allocate funds in the 2023 budget to “entrench colonisation in the Palestinian territories.” According to the United Nations, attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem have surged at an unprecedented rate since the conflict erupted on October 7th. Far-right security minister Itamar Ben Gvir has announced days following Hamas’ attack that his government would purchase 10,000 rifles for civilian security squads in West Bank settlements. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, widely considered one of the most pro-Israeli voices in Brussels, joined calls on Friday for an end to settler violence. "Unacceptable violence by extremists in the West Bank has to stop," she said during a press conference in Canada.

The military branch of Hamas has verified the deaths of the commander of their northern brigade and three other senior leaders
The Daily Star/November 27/2023
On Sunday, the military division of Hamas announced the deaths of Ahmed Al-Ghandour, the commander of its northern brigade, and three other high-ranking leaders, as a result of the Israeli attacks on the Palestinian group. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, released a statement acknowledging Ghandour’s role as a member of its military council. They also identified three additional leaders who perished, including Ayman Siyyam, reportedly the head of the Brigades’ units responsible for launching rockets, as noted by Israeli media.

US welcomes Gaza truce extension, hopes it will be further prolonged
Agence France Presse/November 27/2023
The United States welcomed an agreement Monday to extend a truce between Israel and Hamas by two days, saying it was hopeful the humanitarian pause would continue for longer still. "Of course we welcome the announcement," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters after mediator Qatar said the initial four-day truce was to be lengthened. "We would of course hope to see the pause extended further, and that will depend upon Hamas continuing to release hostages." Hamas had committed to releasing another 20 women and children held hostage in the Gaza Strip over the next two days, he added. Kirby held out little hope however that the truce could become a more permanent ceasefire in Gaza. "I won't speak for the Israeli Defense Forces, but when these pauses are over, they have made it very clear that they're going to continue to target Hamas leadership," Kirby said. Biden nevertheless believed that his approach was "getting results" both in terms of freeing hostages and getting aid to civilians enduring dire conditions in Gaza, Kirby said. The US president had been "personally involved" in getting the truce deal in place, resolving a "snag" over the weekend, and getting the extension of the pause, he added. Hamas staged the deadliest attack in Israel's history on October 7 when it broke through Gaza's militarized border on October 7. Israel says the attack killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 240 more were taken hostage, among them elderly people and children. In response, Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign and ground offensive in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which the Hamas government says has killed 15,000 people, thousands of them children.

Russia condemns 'provocative' Israeli attack on Damascus airport
MOSCOW (Reuters)/Mon, November 27, 2023
Syria's ally Russia on Monday condemned Israeli air strikes on Damascus international airport, describing them as provocative and dangerous. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sunday's strikes could aggravate tensions in the region, already inflamed by the Gaza war."We strongly condemn Israel’s latest provocative attack on an important Syrian civilian infrastructure facility," Zakharova said in a statement. "We are convinced that such a vicious practice is fraught with extremely dangerous consequences, especially in the context of a sharp aggravation of the situation in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the resulting increase in regional tension." Russia intervened in Syria's civil war in 2015 on the side of President Bashar al-Assad, and also has ties to Israel's other enemies in the region including Iran and Hamas. Relations between Russia and Israel have deteriorated since the start of the Gaza war as Moscow has repeatedly highlighted the suffering of Palestinian civilians under siege by Israel, as well as hosting a delegation of senior Hamas officials. The Syrian army and a pro-government newspaper said Sunday's Israeli air strikes put Damascus airport out of service and forced incoming flights to be diverted elsewhere.

Palestinian diplomat appeals for Gaza truce to be extended as EU and Arab nations meet in Spain
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) /November 27, 2023
The top Palestinian diplomat made a plea to extend the fragile cease fire in Gaza that is hours from expiring at a meeting of European Union members and Middle Eastern and north African countries that focused on diplomatic efforts to stop the Israel-Hamas war.
“We have to find how to apply the necessary pressure so that the Israeli government does not continue killing innocent people, so that we can continue counting cadavers,” Riad al-Malki said in Spanish during a news conference during the gathering of diplomats in Barcelona, Spain.
Israel is not attending the meeting hosted by the Union for the Mediterranean and chaired by the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. Many of the 42 delegations were represented by their foreign ministers.
The event in past years has largely become a forum for cooperation between the EU and the Arab world. Monday’s gathering was supposed to focus on the role of the union 15 years after its founding, but it has taken on new significance since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing war in the Gaza Strip. Borrell said he “regretted” the absence of Israel. He repeated his condemnation of the Hamas attack, while calling on Israel to permanently end its assault, which he said has claimed the lives of over 5,000 children.
“One horror cannot justify another horror,” Borrell said. “Peace between Israel and Palestine has become a strategic imperative for the entire Euro-Mediterranean community and beyond."Jordan’s Safadi, who told The Associated Press on the eve of the event that he hopes the talks will help “bridge a gap” between Arab and European countries, urged the officials attending the meeting to back a two-state solution that would recognize a Palestinian state.“My friends, Europe has a crucial role to play,” Safadi said. “The two-state solution cannot remain a talking point.”
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, was invited to the event. Israel had been close to normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia before the Hamas attack. “Continued escalation will produce no severe pain for any party,” Prince Faisal said. “The only sure result is more destruction, radicalization and further conflict at the expense of Palestinian lives, as well as regional security, including that of Israel. Since this crisis erupted, we have been clear on condemning all the targeting of civilians in any form. On both sides.”
Borrell said he wants the focus of the gathering to be on how to manage the humanitarian crisis in Gaza once hostilities finally stop. The EU would want the United Nations to take a leading role in establishing how best to fill any security vacuum should Israeli forces defeat Hamas, according to a senior EU official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Borrell mentioned in his opening remarks that there were Arab partners who "don’t want to talk about the day after in Gaza without having a clear and credible political prospect. That is why we should agree today to work together to build such a political horizon.” A small pro-Palestinian group rallied before the gathering at the art nouveau building that once housed Barcelona's Sant Pau Hospital. German Foreign Minister Annalena Barbock told reporters Monday that the “fact that Israel has to fear one-sided hostility here and is therefore not taking part today shows how deep the rifts are at the moment.”“That is precisely why I am here today, even though these meetings were not previously given a high profile by Germany,” she added. “Precisely because the rifts are getting deeper.”The pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas continued Sunday with a third day of releases of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. It was scheduled for four days and neither side has made fully clear what comes after Monday.
Spain is one of the EU countries that has called for Israel to cease its assault, while also condemning the Hamas attack. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the time has come for the international community and the EU to recognize a Palestinian state during a trip with his Belgian counterpart to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Egypt last week. That prompted Israel to summon the Belgian and Spanish ambassadors. Speaking alongside Al-Malki, Spanish Foreign Minister José Albares said that Hamas cannot be part of the solution. Al-Malki is the foreign minister for the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, whose forces were driven out of Gaza by Hamas when it seized power in 2007. The Union for the Mediterranean is an intergovernmental organization formed by the 27 members of the EU and 16 from the southern and eastern Mediterranean including Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. The EU is the world’s biggest provider of assistance to the Palestinians. Almost 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) has been earmarked for 2021-2024. The EU is Israel’s biggest trade partner, accounting for 28.8% of its trade in goods last year.

Israel grants Musk approval to turn on Starlink internet access in Gaza
James Titcomb/The Telegraph/November 27, 2023
Israel has agreed to allow Elon Musk’s Starlink system to provide satellite internet to Gaza, weeks after warning that it would be exploited by Hamas. Shlomo Karhi, Israel’s communications minister, said Mr Musk’s SpaceX had agreed that Starlink would only operate with approval from Israel’s government.
Gaza has faced repeated communications blackouts since the Hamas attacks on Israel last month, and aid organisations say this has made it more difficult to provide humanitarian support. “Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip,” Mr Karhi said on Monday.“Elon Musk, I congratulate you for reaching a principle understanding with the Ministry of Communications under my leadership.”Mr Musk, who is visiting Israel partly in an attempt to combat accusations of anti-Semitism, was criticised by Israel for pledging to turn on Starlink in the region last month. After Mr Musk tweeted that Starlink would provide access to “internationally recognised aid organisations in Gaza,” Mr Karhi responded: “Israel will use all means at its disposal to fight this. Hamas will use it for terrorist activities. There is no doubt about it, we know it, and Musk knows it.”Starlink uses constellations of thousands of low-earth-orbit satellites to beam internet to receivers on the ground, meaning it can bypass traditional telecoms networks. It has become a vital lifeline for Ukraine in responding to Russia’s invasion, although Mr Musk has been criticised for raising concerns over the cost of providing the service and for not activating it in certain areas such as off the coast of Crimea. Mr Musk is visiting Israel on Monday in an effort to defuse an anti-Semitism row that has earned him a rebuke from the White House and led advertisers to suspend spending. Earlier this month he was accused of endorsing an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on Twitter. In response to a tweet claiming that Jewish people were encouraging “hordes of minorities” to come to the US, Mr Musk wrote: “You have said the actual truth”. The White House accused Mr Musk of “abhorrent promotion of anti-Semitic and racist hate”. Mr Musk has said he is against anti-Semitism of any kind. On Monday morning Mr Musk visited Kfar Aza, one of the sites attacked by Hamas on October 7. He is later due to hold talks with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.

Israel’s hard-Right finance minister in row over refusing to divert settlement money to war effort
Nataliya Vasilyeva/The Telegraph/November 27, 2023
Israel’s hard-Right finance minister has landed himself in a row with his coalition partners over his refusal to divert funds for West Bank settlements to the war effort. A coalition party leader has told Benjamin Netanyahu that his five ministers would vote down a new budget unless more money is dedicated to the war, according to a letter quoted by Israeli state media. The current 900 million shekels (£191 million) portion of the budget pledged to the coalition to distribute earmarks 300 million shekels for the development of illegal settlements in the West Bank, as well as 200 million for education and cultural projects for the country’s ultra-Orthodox community. The opposition has accused Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister known for his hard-Right views, of reckless spending. They have cited his funding for yeshiva students who refuse to serve in the army, and investments in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
War Cabinet minister Benny Gantz in a letter to the prime minister, Mr Netanyahu, said spending such large sums on controversial projects “will harm national resilience and unity of Israeli society.”‘Settlements are Israel’s greatest security liability’ Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said on Monday he was “appalled” to learn that the Israeli government is committing new funds towards West Bank settlements in the middle of a war. “This is not self-defence and will not make Israel safer,” he said on Twitter. “The settlements are a grave breach of international human rights law, and they are Israel’s greatest security liability.” Mr Smotrich, who urged the government this year to prepare to double the settlements’ population to one million, came under fire from more moderate members of the cabinet earlier in the war when he refused to transfer tax revenues that Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority to the West Bank. Israeli politicians and officials from across the political spectrum including the defence minister urged Mr Smotrich to unfreeze the funds, warning that the move risks further igniting smouldering tensions in the West Bank. Mr Smotrich responded in an open letter on Monday morning, claiming that the contentious 900 million shekels in the budget would go towards teachers’ salaries, “security needs” in the West Bank and other expenses. He added that the government will allocate three and half billion shekels towards funding hotel stays for over 100,000 people evacuated from border towns and villages in the country’s north and south. Another two billion shekels was expected to go to the National Security Ministry, led by another far-Right politician, to arm the police and establish an armed community defence team in illegal West Bank settlements. In recent weeks, the Biden administration raised the possibility of imposing sanctions on settlements for the violence in the West Bank. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.

UN spokesperson: Gaza-Israel conflict takes appalling toll; praises hostage releases
LBCI/November 27, 2023
A statement attributed to Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said that weeks of conflict in Gaza and Israel has taken an "appalling toll that has shocked the world," adding: "We have seen the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas and others since 7 October, and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails."The statement reiterated the Secretary-General's praises to Qatar, Egypt, and the United States for enabling this deal, recognizing the International Committee of the Red Cross' essential role. "The United Nations will continue to support these efforts in every possible way."It added that the "United Nations scaled up the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and sent aid to some northern areas that have been largely cut off for weeks. But this aid barely registers against the huge needs of 1.7 million displaced people. The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse by the day."The statement reaffirmed that the dialogue leading to the agreement must resume, resulting in a humanitarian ceasefire that benefits the people of Gaza, Israel, and the region. "The Secretary-General once again calls for the remaining hostages to be released immediately and unconditionally," it said. He calls on all States to utilize their leverage to end the conflict and support irreversible steps towards a "sustainable future for the region: a two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side, in peace and security."

US, partners announce task force aimed at countering flow of money to Hamas
WASHINGTON (Reuters)/November 27, 2023
- The U.S. said on Monday that after Hamas' assault on Israel last month, it and several allied nations established an international task force aimed countering the flow of money to the militant Palestinian group and supporting anti-terrorism efforts.
THE TAKE
Since 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7 attack, the U.S., UK and allies have sought to cut off funding for Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist group by Washington and other governments.
CONTEXT
The task force will enhance sharing of financial intelligence on terrorist-financing related matters and will discuss best practices and opportunities for additional actions and partnerships, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement. It will also strengthen relations between the financial intelligence units, public authorities and the private sector to address the threat, the statement said. The task force is made up of financial intelligence units from Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, the UK and the U.S. as well as other units. Since the Oct. 7 attack, Washington has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Hamas. It has targeted the group's investment portfolio and issued an alert to financial institutions on countering Hamas financing while senior officials have discussed the group's access to funds on trips abroad.
KEY QUOTE
"The Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel served as a grave reminder of a core mission of our FIUs: to detect, disrupt and prevent the financing of terrorism," the statement said.

First testimonies shed light on the conditions endured by Hamas’ Israeli hostages
Rob Picheta, Joseph Ataman and Amir Tal, CNN/November 27, 2023
For more than six weeks, the conditions in which the Israeli hostages captured by Hamas were being held in Gaza were virtually unknown to the outside world. But testimony from some of the hostages released by the militant group in recent days is now beginning to emerge, giving a glimpse into their lives in captivity following Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel on October 7. Those who have spoken of their experiences described living off limited supplies, as bombs rained overhead. Some knew throughout their time as hostages that family members or friends had died on the day of Hamas’ assault, while others were left without clues as to their safety. Adva Adar, whose 85-year-old grandmother Yafa was among those released in the first exchange of hostages for Palestinian detainees, said her family “were asked to let (Yafa) share whatever she feels comfortable sharing, and not to ask a lot of questions so she wouldn’t feel obligated (to answer) or that it wouldn’t be too much for her.”Adva said her grandmother had lost weight during the ordeal, and other hostages have revealed that little food was available for those in captivity.
Rice and bread
Freed hostages Keren Munder, her mother and her 9-year-old son endured days with only pita bread to eat during their captivity, her cousin Merav Mor Raviv told journalists Sunday. Munder and her mother both lost between six and eight kilograms in weight due to the lack of regular nutrition, Mor Raviv said, adding: “They were eating, but not regularly.”Their diet in captivity included a lot of rice and bread, she added. Following the Israeli military’s strikes and ground offensive on Gaza, the Strip has been gripped by a humanitarian crisis. Most people in the territory have been focusing on the basics: finding shelter, fleeing the fighting and getting access to food and water. Over the first three days of the truce, Hamas released a total of 58 hostages, primarily women and children, and Israel freed 117 Palestinian prisoners. For some of them, the conditions were manageable. Roongarun Wichanguen, the sister of released Thai hostage Vetoon Phoome, said Saturday that her brother seemed healthy after he was released by Hamas in a separate deal. “His face was very happy, and he seemed OK. He said that he was not tortured, or assaulted, and had been fed good food,” she said in a video interview. “He was taken care of very well. It looks like he just stayed in a house, not the tunnel,” she added. But a number of hostages have been admitted to hospital with serious injuries or medical conditions. Eighty-four-year-old Alma Avraham, who was among the Israeli hostages freed from Gaza on Sunday, has been admitted to the intensive care unit, Israel’s Soroka Medical Center said. “She is in critical condition, she is (being) treated in the emergency department after significant medical neglect for the past several weeks while being held by Hamas. She is currently in unstable condition with risks to her life,” Dr. Shlomi Codish, chief executive of Soroka Medical Center, said in a video statement Sunday.
Escape attempt thwarted
Yelena Magid, an aunt of freed Russian-Israeli hostage Roni Kriboy, on Monday told Israeli radio station Kan Reshet B about her nephew’s ordeal in Gaza. Kriboy is the first adult Israeli male captured on October 7 to be released by Hamas; his release was not officially part of the hostages-for-detainees deal between Israel and Hamas. Magid said in a phone call that Kriboy, 25, had told her how he was held in a building that collapsed while being bombed, and he managed to escape, he told his aunt. But after hiding for a few days, he was caught and returned to Hamas captivity.
“He tried to reach the border. I think that because he didn’t have the means to understand his whereabouts and where to run away, he probably got into a bit of disorientation there in the area. He was alone for four days,” Magid told the radio station. Kriboy suffered from a head injury in the building collapse, but is now doing fine, his aunt added. Meanwhile, some hostages were aware during their captivity that loved ones been killed on October 7. Omri Almog, the brother of an Israeli hostage who was released Sunday together with two of her children, described on Monday how his sister knew that her husband and daughter had been slaughtered. “I’m very happy to inform everybody that my sister Chen Goldstein-Almog and the three kids Agam, Gal and Tal are back with us and they (are) feeling good and well,” Almog said in a short video released by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. “They knew the whole time that Nadav and Yam were murdered in the house… they went to Gaza as hostages, kidnapped, with this idea,” he said. Chen Goldstein-Almog’s daughter Yam was 20 when she was killed, while her husband Nadav was 48. More than 40 of the hostages taken from Israel into Gaza on October 7 are not currently held by Hamas, the group that launched the attack, a diplomatic source briefed on the negotiations told CNN Monday. That creates a complication in potentially extending the length of truce, because the agreement calls for Hamas to hand over the hostages in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel – so Hamas must have the hostages to hand over. CNN has previously reported that an estimated 40 to 50 of the hostages were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad or other groups or individuals. That was before the handover of hostages began on Friday. CNN’s Richard Greene, Radina Gigova, Michael Rosenblatt, Alex Stambaugh and Becky Anderson contributed reporting.

Released Israeli hostage ‘escaped for four days’ before recapture in Gaza
The Telegraph/November 27, 2023
Roni Krivoi was seen arriving at the Rafah border with Egypt as part of a hostage-prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel. An Israeli hostage freed this week under the ceasefire deal had earlier managed to escape Hamas for four days, his family said. Roni Krivoi, 25, was seized after Hamas attacked the Re’im music festival, where he had been working as a sound engineer. He was held in a residential building, but when fierce Israeli bombing caused the building to collapse, he took advantage of the chaos by forcing himself out of the rubble and fleeing. It was the second time Mr Krivoi managed to escape the gunmen - on the day of the attack itself, he had run from the music festival and taken cover in a ditch. He was later caught and dragged to Gaza with the other hostages. “Due to the bombings, the building collapsed and he managed to escape the rubble and break free,” Yelena Magid, his aunt, told Israeli media.
“He managed to escape and to hide out, alone, for four days. He tried to reach the border.”But Mr Krivoi was unable to navigate the area and he was eventually retaken by his Palestinian captors. “He tried getting to the border. He did not have the capacity to understand where he was and where he needed to go, so he could not navigate the open field. He was alone,” his aunt said. “In the end, the Gazans caught him and returned him to the terrorists’ hands.”Roni Krivoi, who was seized at the Re'im music festival, fled captivity as Israel bombed where he was being held
Mr Krivoi, who was seized at the Re'im music festival, fled captivity as Israel bombed where he was being held - HOSTAGES AND MISSING FAMILIES FORUM
Mr Krivoi was reportedly not an Arabic speaker and this may also have hindered his efforts to stay undetected during his escape bid. His prospects looked grim, but then on Sunday, Mr Krivoi, a Russian-Israeli dual citizen, was released after the intervention of the Russian government. He was freed alongside 13 other Israeli hostages and three foreigners as part of a ceasefire agreement that is due to expire at the end of Monday, though it can be extended with the agreement of both Hamas and Israel. Ms Magid said she had the opportunity for a 30-minute conversation with her nephew once he was set free in which he recounted his story. He is currently receiving medical checks from Israeli doctors, having suffered a head wound during captivity. “He has some other injuries, he is OK. He is being checked,” she said. For now, freed hostages like Mr Krivoi are being kept away from the media in the interest of helping them focus on their emotional and physical recovery. Mr Krivoi told his aunt he was having nightmares about the massacre and his captivity, which he felt was a good sign as it showed he was processing the trauma of the experience. “I asked him today: ‘How are you feeling? Do you have nightmares?’” Ms Magid told Israeli broadcaster Kan. “He answered, ‘Yes, I have nightmares from the party and captivity, but that is good, it means I am handling it well’.”The family says the bombing that caused the building where he was held to collapse killed six Palestinian terrorists. A further six hostages with Russian citizenship are still being held in Gaza, according to Russian authorities. Hamas said it freed Mr Krivoi as a gesture of gratitude to Moscow for engaging directly with the Islamist group. Also on Monday, photographs were published of the poignant moment when Abigail Idan, four, was reunited with relatives after being released.
Both of Abigail’s parents, Roee and Smadar, were murdered during the October 7 attack. “It was just wow. I didn’t believe it until I saw it,” Carmel Idanm, the girl’s grandfather, told Israeli reporters of the moment he saw her. “Now I’m calm, but not completely calm because there is happiness, but there is also the absence of Roee and Smadar.”He added, in comments reported by the Times of Israel: “There are many people who haven’t yet come back. I greatly want them to be returned and that the IDF finish what it has promised: All the hostages [back] and Hamas [destroyed].”Separately, a 15-year-old Israeli hostage who was also released from Gaza over the weekend, said she had been separated from her mother two days before being set free.

Companies face delicate decisions on weighing in on Israel-Hamas conflict
The Canadian Press/November 27, 2023
TORONTO — Corporations are under increasing scrutiny for where they stand on the Israel-Hamas conflict as protesters push for peace. Numerous international brands including McDonald’s, Starbucks and Disney have attracted boycotts, while in Canada, Scotiabank in particular has been targeted by protesters for investments in Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems Ltd. With so much polarization around the conflict, experts say companies need to be especially careful with their actions, including how they respond to criticism. Consumers generally react more to negative perceptions they have of companies than positive ones, said Saeid Kermani, an assistant marketing professor at Trent University. “The negative impact is going to be a lot worse than any positive impact you'll get from supporters.”Not only do the negative perceptions stick, but they get shared online faster and more widely, and get more people involved, he said. Criticizing companies can also work well to generate attention for an issue, said Kermani. “Some of the activism that we're seeing, or the backlash that we're seeing, it seems like brands are the easy targets in a lot of these situations.”A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas will be extended for another two days, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said Monday, the final day of a four-day truce between the warring sides. So far, Hamas has released 58 hostages, including 39 Israelis, during the current truce, while Israel has released 117 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas, which Canada deems a terrorist organization, and militants from the group Palestinian Islamic Jihad captured about 240 hostages when militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, including hundreds of civilians. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, roughly two thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Companies have faced backlash for varying levels of perceived involvement or support. Canadian National Railway faced an hours-long blockade in Winnipeg a week ago by protesters pushing for a ceasefire, saying they targeted the company in part because it has a partnership with Israeli cargo shipping company ZIM. Disney faced calls for boycotts after it condemned the Hamas terrorist attack and pledged to donate US$2 million to humanitarian relief organizations in the region.
Many companies have chosen to stay silent, but more than 200 major corporations did condemn the initial terrorist attack by Hamas, according to a list maintained by Yale University professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. The list includes several Canadian banks, which issued statements against the violence. “We are horrified by the murder and deaths of civilians and families. We must unite in our shared hope for peace, healing and the end of violence in the region,” said RBC chief executive Dave McKay in a statement on Oct. 12. The bank announced a $250,000 donation, to be divided between the Canadian Red Cross Middle East Humanitarian Crisis Appeal and the United Jewish Appeal. Other banks also put up similar donations, including Scotiabank. “These violent attacks are unconscionable, and against the very grain of what we value as a society — the ability to live in peace and security, and with respect of each other," said Scott Thomson, chief executive of Scotiabank. Companies should weigh in on issues when they’re linked to the company’s core values or mission, said Paul Dunn, a professor of business ethics at Brock University’s Goodman School of Business. “If a company does come out with a value statement, then it's ethically obligated to follow through on its values or else it just looks hypocritical,” he said. Corporate values are typically broad in scope, using such words as respect, integrity, and accountability, so there’s little limit to what a company could legitimately comment on. As the Israeli response to the attack ramped up, companies with links have faced more attention, and said less.
Protesters crashed the Scotiabank Giller Prize on Nov. 13 carrying signs that read “Scotiabank Funds Genocide,” and then days later pro-Palestinian protesters staged a sit-in at the bank’s head office in Toronto. Scotiabank hasn’t commented publicly on the protests, but has noted that the investment in Elbit Systems by its 1832 Asset Management portfolio managers are done independent of the bank, unless there are specific investment policies that restrict those decisions. In an internal memo to staff, Thomson emphasized support measures for staff, while noting the indirectness of the investment. “I understand and respect that employees across the bank hold a range of views on the ongoing conflict, and I know that all of us agree that hatred and discrimination have no place at our bank. My intention with this message is to provide background and facts surrounding these protests to help bring some clarity during these especially difficult times.”Kermani at Trent said there’s been an increasing expectation in recent years for companies to weigh in on issues as people see them more as social and cultural institutions, but that there'salso evidence of that appetite waning.
Research also indicates that bigger companies with diverse customer bases put a lot at more at risk by speaking out, than by saying nothing. “You’re not really going to gain from it, you might actually end up losing a lot more customers.”
— With files from The Associated Press

Walid Phares to Newsmax: Biden Signals Mixed on Israel, Hamas
Michael Katz/ Friday, 24 November 2023
President Joe Biden sent mixed messages during a news conference Friday on the first release of Israeli hostages by Hamas, foreign policy analyst Walid Phares told Newsmax. Biden backs Israel's right to defend itself following Hamas' terrorist attack Oct. 7 and Israel's stated goal to eliminate Hamas as a threat. But he said Friday he has encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do what he can to reduce the number of casualties and that he hopes pressure rises across the Middle East "to slow this down to bring this to an end.""It's like you have two lobbies in the White House or in the administration," Phares told "American Agenda." "When you hear the president saying, 'Well, they have a legitimate right to destroy or dismantle Hamas,' that's one pressure group."Then he says, 'But we have to slow down.' How can you dismantle Hamas and you want to slow down? I think he has two types of advisers. Each one has an interest."Biden also brought up he had been working on a peace deal with Saudi Arabia and "others in the region" to recognize Israel's right to exist. "He said he was trying to help between the Saudis and the Israelis, and [on] the other hand, he is sending $10 billion to Iran," Phares said. "It doesn't match up, so there is something not resolved within the administration. And they have not made [up] their mind with regard of who's the enemy, who's your friend, who are we going to send money to? "And because of that, Iran pushed Hamas when they saw indecision in Washington to do what they've done since Oct. 7."Biden also stressed the importance of returning to negotiations for a two-state solution when Israel's war against Hamas is over. But Phares said that issue is irrelevant now. "... Now Hamas and Iran and Hezbollah and all these militias all the way down to the Houthis in Yemen, they don't want [a] two-state solution," Phares said. "In the past, you had the Palestinians arguing, 'We want a two-state solution.' The Israelis were hesitant. "Now, Hamas is saying it's one-state solution. And it has been chanted in New York and Gaza 'From the river — the Jordan River — to the ... sea,' which means one-state solution. Even that state that Hamas wants, it wants to make it into a caliphate. We're going to have another Taliban regime on the Mediterranean."

Yemen govt calls for global designation of Houthis as terrorist organization following
Arab News/November 27, 2023
AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s internationally recognized government has requested the US and international community to label the Houthis as terrorists for jeopardizing shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
During a meeting with foreign diplomats in Riyadh on Sunday, Yemen Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Haidan said America should reinstate the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization not only for threatening maritime traffic off Yemeni shores, but also for killing Yemeni children, abusing human rights, and acting as a proxy group for Iran.The plea came as the US Central Command said on Monday that the Houthis had launched two ballistic missiles at American destroyer USS Mason soon after it had intervened to prevent the attempted hijacking of Israeli-linked tanker Central Park in the Gulf of Aden.
The missiles fell short of their target. In 2016, the same naval ship was targeted by Houthi missiles in the Red Sea. On Nov. 19, the Houthis seized the vehicle carrier Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea and pledged to capture and launch missile and drone strikes on Israeli-owned or controlled ships in revenge for Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The Yemeni government said that the latest Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea had bolstered its long-standing requests for the group to be blacklisted. Faisal Al-Majidi, undersecretary at the Yemeni Ministry of Justice, told Arab News that the Houthis had been eligible for categorization for years, ever since they began planting thousands of landmines around the country, laying siege to cities, recruiting minors, blowing up opponents’ homes, and kidnapping people. The Houthi missile strike on Aden International Airport in December 2020, that targeted an aircraft carrying Yemeni government ministers, was “enough to classify them as a terrorist organization not only by the United States of America but also by international institutions such as the United Nations, and the whole globe,” Al-Majidi said. Last week, White House national security spokesman, John Kirby, said that the US considered reclassifying the Houthis as terrorists after the Galaxy Leader incident. The Yemeni government said the classification would prevent Houthi officials from traveling around the world, put a squeeze on their financial resources, and hamper their aims to gain international legitimacy. “The world would recognize that the Yemeni government is fighting a terrorist organization,” he added. But critics claim that designating the group as terrorists would force the Houthis to reject peace talks and would impede the delivery of humanitarian aid and supplies to more than 70 percent of Yemen’s people who live in Houthi-controlled regions. The same humanitarian concerns, raised by international aid groups, prompted US President Joe Biden’s administration to delist the Houthis as a terrorist organization in early 2021.

French navy ship arrives in Egypt to treat Gaza wounded
AFP/November 27, 2023
A French warship arrived Monday in the Egyptian town of El-Arish near the border with the conflict-torn Gaza Strip to serve as a hospital for wounded civilians, a port source said. The Dixmude ship is expected to accomodate two operating rooms and around 60 beds. Hundreds of critically wounded Palestinians have crossed into Egypt in recent weeks with special exit permits, after the majority of hospitals in Gaza were forced out of service, according to the United Nations.

First human infection with swine flu variant detected in UK
LBCI/November 27, 2023
A first human infection of a mutated strain of swine flu has been identified in the United Kingdom, as announced by British health authorities on Monday. The UK Health Security Agency stated in a release that they "identified a confirmed and isolated human case of influenza virus A(H1N2)v," noting that it is a "precedent" in the United Kingdom.

Germany to help reconstruct southern Israel settlements
Associated Press/November 27, 2023
Germany says it will provide financial support for the reconstruction of communities destroyed during Hamas' October 7 attack in southern Israel. During a visit on Monday to Kibbutz Beeri, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his country would provide 7 million euros ($7.6 million) for the kibbutz in 2024. The money is for reconstruction of a cultural center and a meeting center for senior citizens, German news agency dpa reported. “It is far too early to think about reconstruction now,” Steinmeier said during his visit, adding that nonetheless many residents who are currently staying elsewhere in Israel are already thinking about returning to Beeri. “Beeri and the many other kibbutzim deserve not only to be part of Israeli history, but above all to be part of Israel’s future,” the German president said.

The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 27-28/2023
Why the Arabs 'Betrayed' the Palestinians
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/November 27, 2023
The stance of the Arabs and Muslims is yet another indication of their disillusionment with the Palestinians in general and Iran's proxies -- Hamas, Hizballah and the Houthis -- in particular.
Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan are as opposed to Hamas as they are to Israel. Hamas is another branch of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, which has long posed a threat to their national security.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar after accusing it of providing support for Islamist terrorists, including Hamas and the Taliban, as well as Iran.
Now that their eyes have been once again forced open, the Palestinians should distance themselves from Hamas and other terrorist groups and join forces with those Arabs and Muslims who recognize that to create a better future for their people, it would benefit them immeasurably to recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel.
Now that their eyes have been once again forced open, the Palestinians should distance themselves from Hamas and other terrorist groups and join forces with those Arabs and Muslims who recognize that to create a better future for their people, it would benefit them immeasurably to recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel. Pictured: A Hamas terrorist holds two of the many Israeli children that Hamas abducted and brought as captives to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. (Image source: Hamas/X)
The Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group and its supporters are once again disappointed that the Arab countries did not come to the rescue of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the current war which erupted after the October 7 Hamas massacre of Israelis. At least 1,200 Israelis were murdered and more than 4,500 wounded in the massacre. Another 240 Israelis, including toddlers, children, women and the elderly were kidnapped to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
This is not the first time that the Palestinians have voiced disappointment with their Arab brothers. In all previous rounds of fighting between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinians have claimed that the Arab and Islamic states were not doing enough to help them. In fact, Palestinians have over the past few decades accused the Arabs of "betraying" them by signing normalization agreements with Israel and refusing to provide them with financial aid. The Palestinians receive lip service from the Arabs and Muslims, but that is all.
True, some Arab countries did dispatch humanitarian and medical aid to the Gaza Strip during the current Israel-Hamas war. The Arab and Islamic countries also held a summit in Saudi Arabia during which they expressed solidarity with the Palestinians and strongly condemned Israel. Yet, for Hamas and many Palestinians, this support was insufficient and showed that their Arab and Muslim brothers had once again turned their backs on them.
While anti-Israel protesters have taken to the streets of American, Canadian and European cities to voice support for Hamas and the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, most of the Arab and Islamic heads of state and governments have limited their reactions to statements of condemnation against Israel's war, which has two objectives: to eliminate Hamas and to free the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip. The stance of the Arabs and Muslims is yet another indication of their disillusionment with the Palestinians in general and Iran's proxies -- Hamas, Hizballah and the Houthis -- in particular.
Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan are as opposed to Hamas as they are to Israel. Hamas is another branch of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, which has long posed a threat to their national security.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar after accusing it of providing support for Islamist terrorists, including Hamas and the Taliban, as well as Iran. Saudi Arabia said the decision to cut diplomatic ties was due to Qatar's "embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region," including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS) and militants supported by Iran in the Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. Egypt's Foreign Ministry said, "all attempts to stop it [Qatar] from supporting terrorist groups failed."
In 2021, a Saudi court sentenced 69 Hamas members to prison terms ranging from three to 21 years. The Hamas members were accused of affiliation with a terrorist organization.
In 2014, an Egyptian court banned all activities of Hamas in Egypt. Reuters reported at the time:
"Egyptian authorities see Hamas as a major security threat, accusing it of supporting al-Qaeda-inspired fighters in the Sinai Peninsula." The court also ordered the closure of all Hamas offices in Egypt.
In 2012, Hamas leaders were forced to leave Syria after they were accused of failing to support the Syrian regime against its opponents during the civil war. Syrian state TV launched a scathing attack on Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, who had moved to Syria after being expelled from Jordan. "Remember when you were a refugee aboard planes. Damascus gave you mercy," the station said. "No one wanted to shake your hand as if you had rabies."
In 1999, the Jordanian authorities expelled Mashaal and other Hamas leaders and shut their offices in the Kingdom. The move came after the authorities accused the Hamas leadership of meddling in Jordan's sensitive relations with its Palestinian population.
Dr. Fayez Abu Shammala, a Hamas-affiliated Palestinian academic from the Gaza Strip, wrote on November 22:
"We used to sing: The Arab countries are my homelands. After they failed the Gaza Strip, we began to sing: The Arab countries have failed us."
Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups have criticized the Arabs and Muslims for refusing to be more hostile towards Israel since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip. "The Arab and Islamic position is weak, and the diplomatic efforts [of the Arabs and Muslims] are hesitant in the face of America and the West," PIJ said in an October 23 statement.
In interviews with the Arab media outlet Arabi 21, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip further complained about the failure of the Arabs and Muslims to come to their rescue. Umm Mohammed, a 64-year-old woman from the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, condemned the position of Arab rulers, presidents and kings "who failed to protect the Palestinian people." She added: "They [Arab and Muslim leaders] watch our children die and do nothing."
Nael, a Palestinian father from Gaza City, also denounced the "weakness and betrayal by the Arab rulers with regard to supporting the Palestinian cause and defending the people of Gaza. We did not expect the Arab rulers to let us down. We cannot rely on the Arab rulers, but our hope is in God first, and then in the free Arab peoples, that they will move and stand with us."
The Shura Council of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan expressed "deep dissatisfaction with the official Arab position and its extreme weakness in taking serious steps to curb the mad, rampaging [Israeli] machine of death and to support our people in the Gaza Strip."
Yemeni political analyst Mutee al-Mekhlafi remarked:
"It is a shame that the US moves aircraft carriers to the Middle East to support [Israel], and that Western countries and allies of the Zionist entity support the continuing attacks and crimes of the Zionist occupation forces against the Palestinian people, at a time when the Arab and Islamic governments have abandoned their religious, national and moral duty to support and aid the oppressed Palestinian people... History will immortalize all the hypocritical and cowardly Arab and Islamic leaders' positions in ink of disgrace, humiliation, and subservience."
Once again, Hamas and its supporters have seen that their Arab and Muslim brothers are disgusted with them. Once again, Palestinians have seen that Iran and its proxies are the enemies of not only Israel, but a growing number of Arabs and Muslims. Undoubtedly, Hamas and other Palestinians were hoping that Arab and Islamic armies would march on Israel and destroy it after the October 7 carnage.
Now that their eyes have been once again forced open, the Palestinians should distance themselves from Hamas and other terrorist groups and join forces with those Arabs and Muslims who recognize that to create a better future for their people, it would benefit them immeasurably to recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
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US interfaith communities draw on decades-long bonds to navigate Israel-Hamas War
Brammhi Balarajan, CNN/November 27, 2023
In the days following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Lisa Kaplan-Miller’s WhatsApp group fell uncharacteristically silent. Kaplan-Miller said she first joined the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, an interfaith organization that was founded by a Muslim and a Jewish woman in suburban New Jersey, shortly after the 2016 election. She wanted to discover similarities between the two religions and combat her own misconceptions, she said.
Members of the sisterhood meet regularly to learn about one another’s cultures, work on volunteer projects for Muslim and Jewish charities and plan trips around the world.
But the war, Kaplan-Miller said, has shifted their normally lively dynamic, morphing their collective grief into a heavy silence. For Kaplan-Miller, conversation – and perhaps confrontation – felt unavoidable.
“We truly had no choice if we wanted the chapter to continue,” she said.
As the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages, many interfaith groups in the US – whose members have spent years building lasting friendships across religious divides – tell CNN the conflict has renewed their determination to draw closer together.
“It’s just like in a marriage. When you have a relationship, you make a promise you will stay with your partner forever,” said Mohammed Alhomsi, the Muslim chair of the North Jersey chapter of the Interfaith Encounter Association.
“In that same way, we have devoted ourselves together as human beings.”
Crossing divides
For years, members of the Interfaith Encounter Association have celebrated holidays together and learned about each other’s traditions. Alhomsi said he can comfortably eat at the homes of his Jewish friends, knowing everything will be Kosher.
Joan Goldstein, the Jewish chair of the group’s chapter in North Jersey, has attended Ramadan celebrations throughout the years — although she said she hasn’t been able to do the full fast yet and still drinks water.
“At the end of the day, Jews and Muslims are cousins,” Alhomsi said.
After learning about the October 7 Hamas attack, Goldstein said she felt overwhelmed and confused at how communities could see the Hamas attack in such different lights.
In that moment, she realized she wanted to talk to someone she knew and loved.
So, she called her “sister,” Btissam Alhomsi, Mohammed’s wife.
“If we didn’t have the connection we had, we would keep walking around in the world with this assumption that was a little misguided and a little incorrect and a little one sided,” Goldstein said.
“We don’t always see eye-to-eye,” she added. “But that doesn’t diminish our love for each other.”Btissam said she also felt drawn to Goldstein in the days after the war began. “We worked with one thing – and it’s very important that a lot of people miss – the love and respect between a Muslim and a Jew,” she said. “I don’t care where she comes from. She loves me. She doesn’t care where I come from and what I believe.”
In the weeks since the attack, Goldstein and Mohammed Alhomsi have also attended Zoom meetings with members of the organization from all around the world. Alhomsi said although there are a range of ethnicities, languages and religions on the call, he saw a sense of shared grieving. “We feel so weak that there’s not much more we can do for our communities,” he said. “We don’t want hate crimes. We don’t want them to drag here into the United States where we live, where our children go to school.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has reported an “unprecedented” surge in reported anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias incidents since October 7. The organization said it has received 1,283 requests for help and reports of bias in the first four weeks after the attack, compared with an average of 406 in a 29-day period last year.
Similarly, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 832 antisemitic incidents between October 7 – November 7. The group recorded 200 incidents during the same period last year. Goldstein said she felt inspired to speak out about the surge in hate crimes at a recent city council meeting in her hometown of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, after listening to her Muslim friends discuss the importance of denouncing Islamophobia.
She used her allotted time to reflect on the Torah and described the moment when the reader is first introduced to Abraham. “Where are you?” God asks. “I am here,” Abraham responds. Goldstein urged the council to look past the war’s bitter divides and pass two resolutions denouncing both antisemitism and Islamophobia.
“People of faith, we’re all hurting right now,” Goldstein said. “And by passing these two resolutions, we show that not only is the diversity of Fair Lawn being recognized but that people of faith have a place in Fair Lawn as well.”
Understanding each other’s pain. For many of the women in the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, the Israel- Hamas war is deeply personal. One member has a nephew who’s in the Israeli army. Others have Palestinian friends whose families are struggling to survive in Gaza. Kaplan-Miller said everyone feels like they have something at stake in the violence that’s unfolding.
Afroz Rasheed, a Muslim member of the group’s New York chapter, said their shared concern for each other has kept the community bonded together.
For years, the women avoided discussions about politics. Instead, they had picnics at the park and met for coffee dates. They brought religious items and pictures of their families to share in meetings. They discussed every topic that came to mind – except for the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
But all that changed in 2021, when violence erupted at the Al Aqsa Mosque after Israeli police raided the compound. In response, members flooded the group chat with videos and links about the bombing, but a pattern emerged – they weren’t communicating with each other. So, the group partnered with New Ground, a Jewish-Muslim organization that specializes in interfaith discussions, to train members on how to moderate conversations. Members of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom prepare donations for a local charity. - Lisa Kaplan-Miller/Western Nassau Chapter/Sisterhood of Salaam Shalomز Members of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom prepare donations for a local charity. - Lisa Kaplan-Miller/Western Nassau Chapter/Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom
Kaplan-Miller said many of those early conversations in 2021 revolved around understanding why each side had such a visceral reaction to the conflict.
The Jewish members learned what the Al Aqsa Mosque – a holy site where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed was transported during the Night Journey – meant for Muslims. Muslim members learned how their Jewish friends often grew up with the fear of the Holocaust at the back of their minds – a fear that reignites when conflict erupts in the region. “I really grew up steeped in the Holocaust in a way that I don’t think I brought to my consciousness,” Kaplan-Miller explained. “And so, Israel had become a more powerful symbol to me than I realized in terms of safety.”
But the conversations weren’t for everyone. Kaplan-Miller said the last time they spoke about Israel-Gaza violence, one member became so distressed, she stopped returning to the group. The October 7 attack brought a rush of those feelings back for Muslim and Jewish members alike – feelings of anger, grief and fear. Now, Kaplan-Miller said the conversations they’re having are a “different animal” because the violence is only getting worse.
Still, she said, the group is more determined than ever to bridge divides for the sake of their friendships. Despite their differences, group members have also found a unique understanding of each other’s pain.
Instead of talking about the politics of war, members of the sisterhood focused on their collective grief. Rasheed said the members can all agree on one thing: no one wants innocent people – regardless of background – to be hurt.
“I believe in my religion, and I believe in one thing, that any innocent life killed is a crime,” she said. “Regardless of who does it, we have no right.”
As the women shared their fears, they spoke to each other with gentleness, dedicated to being able to hold two truths and narratives at once. Tears, Kaplan-Miller said, were free-flowing. “There’s no healing from this,” she said. “But, we were maybe soothed for the moment. A little less raw walking out than we had walked in.”Although the war has tested friendships, Kaplan-Miller said she believes those who have embraced the challenge of communication through the conflict have found a sense of peace. “We had an island in this ocean of tumult. It was a quiet little island we created for each other that just felt safe and calming,” she said. “This intractable problem has been going on for 70 years – we’re not going to solve it.”“But we can maintain relationships and not lose sight of each other’s humanity.”

Iran’s Implausible Deniability
Jay Mens/The Tablet/November 27/2023
The terror state and its various proxy militias—including Hamas—are obviously acting in concert. Why won’t the U.S. admit it?
The Biden administration came into office with the pledge to take the U.S. off a “war footing” with Iran, which the incoming team said had characterized the term of its predecessor. “De-escalation,” as the administration called it, is the way we would achieve peace in the region. Tehran would not be held to account for its malign activities, whether they were conducted directly or through its extensive regional network of proxies. If anything, the Biden team telegraphed, Iran would be rewarded.
As recently as September, the administration was congratulating itself on its approach: “the Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan famously declared. The slaughter of at least 1,200 Israelis, and more than 30 Americans, at the hands of Iranian proxies has not made a dent in the administration’s worldview. On the contrary, the White House’s overriding concern over the last month has been to artificially distance Iran from the Oct. 7 massacre and the subsequent attacks on U.S. bases and personnel in the region.
The separation is absurd on its face. This year alone, before and after Oct. 7, there have been dozens of meetings, in Lebanon and Iran, between Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Iranian command. These groups, in addition to the Houthis in Yemen, and a host of Iraqi Shiite militias all belong to what they call the “axis of resistance.” The axis is an Iranian creation: ideologically, financially, operationally, and strategically. Iran is the state power that undergirds this network of armed groups, providing them with funds, weapons, and guidance in the service of Iranian geopolitical interests. Tehran does not merely back these militias. To a huge degree, it controls them.
By obfuscating Iran’s role, the Biden administration is validating Tehran’s regional strategy, thereby shielding it against retaliation.
And yet, the administration has been at pains to deny Iran’s involvement in the Oct. 7 massacre, pushing back against a series of media reports that highlighted Iran’s role in the planning, training, and timing of the attack. The reports make clear that coordination between Iran and its so-called “joint operations room” in Lebanon (which includes Hamas, Hezbollah and PIJ) was constant, a fact made evident by the frequent visits to Beirut by top Iranian officials, especially Esmail Qaani, commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s (IRGC) Quds Force, in the months and weeks before Oct. 7. Hamas and PIJ leaders like Saleh al-Arouri and Ziad Nakhaleh, both of whom are based in Lebanon under Hezbollah’s protection, held regular meetings in Beirut and in Tehran with Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and the Iranian leadership.
Since then, Tehran’s direct involvement has been even more visible. Qaani has been in Lebanon almost continuously since Oct. 8, overseeing the joint operations room. But none of that matters to the Biden administration. When asked about Iranian communication with Hezbollah during the ongoing attacks on Israel from south Lebanon, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he wasn’t “aware of anything overt.” Apparently, the commander of the Quds Force camping out in Lebanon for the past month doesn’t count.
To justify this posture toward Iran, administration officials insist they are preventing a “broader regional escalation” which would encompass Iran and Hezbollah, and thereby draw in the U.S., endangering American personnel in the region. The problem is that, since Oct. 17, Iranian-controlled militias have conducted more than 60 attacks against U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria. At least 62 American soldiers have been injured in these attacks.
It should come as no surprise that the Iranians have primarily targeted American forces. Iran views Israel as an American proxy: Take away American backing and Israel collapses. Hence, while most observers have been focused on the possibility of Iranian action against Israel, Iran’s strategy has been to turn up the heat on the United States, in order achieve the objective of forcing a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. That would entail Hamas’ survival, and, consequently, a humiliating defeat for Israel. Iran also wants Washington to restrain Israeli action against Hezbollah, which is Tehran’s main point of leverage over Jerusalem. It’s a risky proposition for Iran to target the U.S. itself. Regional proxies offer Iran a degree of separation. This façade—known as “plausible deniability”—allows Iran to wage cost-free proxy warfare. But for it to work, the U.S. must play along and subscribe to the fiction that Iran and the militias it arms, funds, and trains are totally distinct. By obfuscating Iran’s role, the Biden administration is validating Tehran’s regional strategy, thereby shielding it and its key assets against retaliation. Hence, Washington has publicized its opposition to any Israeli “preemptive strike” against Hezbollah in Lebanon. President Biden has sent his special envoy, Amos Hochstein, to Israel and Lebanon to confirm that Beirut enjoyed an American protective umbrella. The administration also signaled that it would hold Israel responsible for any conflagration in the north, leaking that Israel was “trying to provoke” Hezbollah. Should that happen, the administration was hinting, Israel would be blamed for any subsequent attacks on U.S. assets.
The White House publicly demonstrating that it can curb Israeli action against Iranian interests validates Iran’s view of Israel as an American proxy. At the same time, the administration reserves the right to be selective in its approach to Iran’s proxies—but always in a manner that benefits Tehran. On the one hand, the Biden team signals its commitment to Iranian interests in Lebanon by shielding Hezbollah’s base of operations from any Israeli action. On the other hand, when Shiite militias attack U.S. bases and personnel in Syria and Iraq, the administration upholds the fictional distinction between these groups and Iran. Whenever it retaliates, the U.S. only strikes the militiamen and their facilities. Iran is off-limits. And even then, the administration is quick to reassure Iran that it was acting only in “self-defense” using “discrete, precision strikes,” and that U.S. action is “separate and distinct” from Israel’s war in Gaza. At a recent briefing, Kirby was asked if containment of Iran was working. The NSC spokesman rejected the term itself: “we wouldn’t associate ourselves with the word containment.”
True to form, Tehran is rubbing it in. The head of the IRGC’s aerospace wing, Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, mocked the administration saying: “The Americans don’t threaten us.” Instead, “They sometimes have three rounds of correspondence with Iran in one night … all in a tone of begging.” The administration’s weak, pleading language suggests he might be telling the truth.
*Jay Mens is Ernest May Fellow for History and Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange, a British think tank.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/iran-deniability

America’s Islamic Ribat Problem
Raymond Ibrahim/November 27, 2023
We were recently introduced to the Arabic term ribat. Historically, it referred to those areas where invading Muslims, having been halted or pushed back to, maintained a presence and created a base whence they continued waging jihad on the non-Muslim frontier.
Gaza can be seen—and indeed portrays itself—as a modern day manifestation of the ribat: bordering against Israel, Hamas and other jihadists use it as a frontier base from which to attack the infidel.
Embryonic ribats also proliferate all across Western Europe: in several major cities, Muslim enclaves have formed. There, Islamic culture and “radicalization” prevail—including forms of sharia; there, the European infidel host society and their ways are unwelcome.
It is, in short, a takeover by a militant demographic that has absolutely no intention of assimilating but rather in forming Islamic outposts—ribats—in the heart of Europe.
What about America? Is this same ribatist dynamic evident?
In fact, it is, even if at a slower—and therefore intentionally downplayed—rate than in Europe.
There currently exist a number of Muslim-majority enclaves all throughout the U.S. One site purports to list 35 “Muslim enclaves in America.”
Nor is this a new situation. Since 2004, Daniel Pipes has been keeping track of the establishment, and troubling aspects, of these Muslim neighborhoods.
Over 13 years ago, researcher Ryan Mauro gave several examples, including Gwynn Oak, which was “created in Baltimore, Maryland, consisting of Muslim immigrants and African-American converts.” According to its Muslim leader, this and other enclaves are solutions to the problem that “Muslim communities are ruled by Western societal tenets, many of which clash with Islamic norms.” Accordingly, “the Gwynn Oak enclave follows specific moral rules based on Islam and people there speak Arabic.”
After mentioning a few more seemingly innocuous examples, Ryan adds that “Far more radical groups than these are now taking the lead in promoting and creating Islamic enclaves on U.S. soil.” One of these is Muslims of the Americas, which, as of 2010, admitted
to owning at least 22 “villages” around the country that are dozens of acres large and operate under names like “Islamberg,” “Holy Islamville,” and “Aliville.” These Muslim-only lands are open to outsiders solely during planned outreach events and sometimes to journalists.
This group has received considerable media attention due to allegations that its isolated compounds are used for paramilitary training, an accusation bolstered by a videotape released by the Christian Action Network. On that tape, a speaker is seen declaring the U.S. a Muslim country and pledging that Muslims of the Americas will defend American Muslims from foreign and domestic enemies.
Another collective aspiring to create autonomous Muslim regions in the U.S. is called the Ummah. On October 28, 2009, the FBI tried to arrest one of its leaders, Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah, for his involvement in criminal activity alongside some of his followers. A shootout ensued that took the life of Abdullah and one police dog. Like Muslims of the Americas, Abdullah offered his flock martial arts training and, in some cases, firearms instruction. He also had his own armed security team and preached war against the U.S. government and solidarity with bin Laden, the Taliban, and Hezbollah.
Not only do these all sound like ribats on U.S. soil, but the clannish hostility seems only to have worsened since. Written in 2017, one article laments how,
By now, many Americans have heard the horror stories coming from certain areas in Michigan, specifically Dearborn and Hamtramck, which have become inundated with Islamic migrants and communities.
In fact, Hamtramck is listed as a majority-Muslim city, and is governed by only Muslims, while Dearborn is considered the “Muslim capitol of the US,” at over 50% Islamic, and is home to America’s biggest Mosque.
The annual Arab-American Festival in Dearborn was permanently cancelled a few years ago after Christians were beat up and had rocks thrown at them by Muslims at the festival. The lawsuit that resulted from the attack rendered the festival impossible to insure after that and forced its cancellation.
While trying to give the rosiest spin possible to Hamtramck—which is more than half Muslim and has an all Muslim city council—even a politically correct BBC report from 2021, admits, at the very end, to certain “conflicts” between the city’s Muslims and non-Muslims. These include loud, public calls to Muslim prayers; a ban on bars and alcohol near mosques; lack of female participation in politics; public segregation of the sexes; and the one thing the BBC found most “alarming”: a rejection of homosexual flags and events.
Most recently, and rather unsurprisingly, the Muslim mayor of Hamtramck declared “no peace” with Israel.
The ribat phenomenon naturally goes hand in hand with Islam’s growing presence in America. As of 2020 there were about 4.5 million Muslims. As for mosques in America, they have gone from 1,209 in 2000, to 2,106 in 2011, to 2, 769 in 2020.
But if America is a great melting pot, why should any of these findings be troubling? Because of all groups, Muslims do not “melt” into the greater mass—meaning that Muslims are especially prone against assimilating. Why? Because Muslims have a very distinct worldview, in many ways antithetical to the modern West’s. A 2015 poll, for example, revealed “ominous levels of support” among American Muslims for jihad and Islamic law, sharia:
[O]f 600 Muslims living in the United States, of those polled a significant minority embraces the supremacist notions that could pose a threat to America’s security and its constitutional form of government…. [A] majority (51%) agreed that “Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to shariah.” …. More than half (51%) of U.S. Muslims polled also believe either that they should have the choice of American or shariah courts, or that they should have their own tribunals to apply shariah… [N]early a quarter of the Muslims polled believed that, “It is legitimate to use violence to punish those who give offense to Islam by, for example, portraying the prophet Mohammed.”… Nearly one-fifth of Muslim respondents said that the use of violence in the United States is justified in order to make shariah the law of the land in this country.
In short, America, like Europe, has a growing, if more subtle, ribat problem.

Time for world to stand up to Taliban’s gender apartheid
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Arab News/November 27, 2023
It has been more than two years since the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan and the nation continues to plunge further into a profound human rights crisis, marked by the stark entrenching of gender apartheid. This oppressive ideology, rooted in a distorted interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence, has catalyzed a systematic dismantling of the rights and freedoms of Afghan women, creating an atmosphere of fear and despair. The international community must not turn a blind eye to this unfolding tragedy, as it poses a threat not only to the women of Afghanistan but also diminishes any chances of a bright future for the country at large. The term “gender apartheid” aptly describes the Taliban’s approach to women’s rights. With echoes of their oppressive rule in the 1990s, the Taliban’s draconian interpretation of Shariah law seeks to confine women to a restricted, subservient role. This manifests itself in the denial of education, employment and participation in public life. Women are being pushed to the margins of society, silenced and rendered invisible, reinforcing an insidious gender-based hierarchy. Highlighting the gravity of the situation, a survey by Gallup this month showed that “nearly all the country’s women continue to suffer.”Denying opportunities to women is a self-inflicted impediment to a country’s success. When women are sidelined from education, employment and public life, a nation forfeits the vast potential, creativity and diverse perspectives this half of the population can contribute. Gender equality is not just a moral imperative, it is an economic and social necessity. Studies consistently show that empowering women leads to increased productivity, innovation and economic growth.
By shackling women’s potential, a country limits its ability to thrive, stifles progress and perpetuates cycles of poverty and inequality. True success requires unlocking the full spectrum of human talent and ensuring opportunities are boundless for all. And no country needs to fully exploit all opportunities and resources more than Afghanistan, where poverty remains a pervasive challenge, exacerbated by decades of conflict and instability.
Perhaps the most damaging consequence of the Taliban’s return is the erosion of educational opportunities for Afghan girls and women. More and more schools are closing their doors to female students and teachers every month. In March 2022, the Taliban prevented 1.1 million secondary school-aged girls from attending school indefinitely. The Taliban have also banned women from attending university. According to UNESCO, 80 percent of school-aged Afghan girls and young women are currently out of school. This is 2.5 million people.
The Taliban’s oppressive policies extend beyond denying women access to education; they also seek to strip away economic autonomy. Women who were once active contributors to the workforce are now facing the threat of unemployment and economic marginalization. This deliberate economic oppression not only exacerbates poverty but also perpetuates a cycle of dependence that further entrenches gender-based discrimination, ensuring women are lifelong aid recipients and fully dependent on men for even the most basic necessities of life.
The imposition of strict dress codes, restrictions on movement and limitations on public appearances constitute a suffocating web of constraints on Afghan women. The freedom to express oneself, to move through the world with agency, is a basic human right. The Taliban’s attempts to curtail these freedoms amount to a violation of the very essence of what it means to be human and they are fundamentally against the tenets of Islamic doctrine. Perhaps most distressing is the culture of impunity that the Taliban’s resurgence has fostered. Reports of violence against women, forced marriages and even executions remain unaddressed, creating an environment where perpetrators go unpunished. This culture of silence not only emboldens those who seek to subjugate women, but it also perpetuates a cycle of fear that stifles any form of dissent.
In the face of this unfolding tragedy, the international community must stand united in condemning the Taliban’s blatant disregard for human rights. Diplomatic pressure from nations that the Taliban view favorably and targeted interventions are essential tools for holding the Taliban accountable for their egregious actions. The voices of Afghan women must not be silenced; they must resonate across international platforms, demanding justice, equality and the restoration of their basic human rights.
Women are being pushed to the margins of society, silenced and rendered invisible.
Moreover, humanitarian organizations and neighboring countries should collaborate to provide support for Afghan women who find themselves trapped in this quagmire. This includes offering refuge, educational opportunities and avenues for economic empowerment to mitigate the adverse effects of the Taliban’s oppressive policies. The Taliban are heavily dependent on international aid. Such assistance should come with clear quantifiable conditions to dilute their policies toward the marginalization of women and girls. The gender apartheid and human rights crisis in Afghanistan demands urgent and concerted action from the international community. The repressive policies of the Taliban are not only a threat to Afghan women, but to the principles of justice, equality and humanity that we collectively hold dear. It is time for the world to stand up to this gross violation of human rights and work toward a future in which every individual, regardless of gender, can live a life free from oppression and fear.
To witness Afghanistan emerge as a resilient, self-reliant nation, it is imperative to compel the Taliban to reverse their policies toward women. There is no alternative path toward building a strong, stable and confident Afghanistan.
**Dr. Azeem Ibrahim is the director of special initiatives at the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington DC. X: @AzeemIbrahim

Wilders’ victory shows Europe must stand up to far-right threat
Chris Doyle/Arab News/November 27, 2023
What has happened to the Netherlands? This is a country that once ruled the seas, that founded an empire that stretched from the Caribbean to Indonesia and that founded New Amsterdam, which became New York. It was the Netherlands that gave us Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh and that invented the CD and the DVD. But now it has plumbed the depths of the political ecosystem to favor a man, Geert Wilders, who for a long time has ranked as one of the world’s worst Islamophobes and Muslim haters. This is a country known for its extraordinary liberalism in nearly everything; and yet so many voters have chosen a man who wants to ban the Qur’an and mosques.
So, will Wilders, the leader of the Freedom Party, which is known as the PVV, become the next Dutch prime minister at the head of arguably the most far-right government in Europe? In last week’s elections, he shocked European politics by getting 37 seats, comfortably ahead of the other parties and more than double the PVV’s existing tally of 17. Somehow, Wilders will have to cobble together a coalition of 76 seats to achieve a majority in the 150-seat Dutch parliament. It may take a long time. It was almost a year before a coalition was formed after the last elections in 2021.
To what extent did others act as enablers for Wilder’s ascent to possible power? Some blame Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, who leads the conservative-liberal VVD. By stating that she could work with the PVV, she legitimized the party and made it worthwhile voting for them as an avenue to influence government policy. The VVD came third with 24 seats, so it could be a coalition partner. However, beyond the VVD, things look tough for Wilders. He needs at least three other parties to join him to make it over the line. There is a possibility that the PVV might become the junior partner in a coalition.
Dutch politics used to be so dull. It was all about building consensus. Nobody ever seemed to be too controversial. But like all major populists, Wilders embraces controversy. He craves it even. He has that populist charisma and the ability to bring slogans and soundbites into every speech. Should he take up a post in government, he will revolutionize Dutch politics, not just on the EU and immigration, but also by ripping up key climate change pledges.
His success is further evidence that the Dutch are more concerned about immigration than any other EU nation.
Being anti-immigration and anti-Muslim is at the core of everything Wilders stands for. His success is further evidence that the Dutch are more concerned about immigration than any other EU nation, as polls indicate. He has even been in legal trouble for his vicious attacks on Moroccan immigrants. The Netherlands, for him, is divided into the indigenous population and those of immigrant stock. He wants “zero asylum-seekers.” During the 2017 election campaign, he labeled some Dutch Moroccans “scum.” In 2016, he was convicted of discrimination for claiming that, if he won, there would be “fewer Moroccans.”What does this mean for Dutch Muslims? They constitute about 5 percent of the Dutch population. Muslim women wearing headscarves fear discrimination. Wilders pledged to ban women wearing hijabs from entering public buildings. But more than that, he also had in the PVV’s manifesto a ban on all Islamic schools, Qur’ans and mosques. Dutch Muslims will have to work with the allies they have.
Wilders is not adored internationally, beyond states with far-right leaders. The UK banned him from entering the country in 2009 due to his extreme views on Islam. Many in Europe will be alarmed. Some will see this as a warning to be more anti-immigrant, whereas others will escalate their political attacks on far-right parties. Arab states were rightly quick to condemn Wilders’ statement that the Palestinian people should be relocated to Jordan. The Netherlands could now have a challenging relationship with such states, as well as the wider Islamic world.
Wilders has adopted some horrifying rhetoric toward Palestinians. He backs illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He implies that he would support the forced transfer of millions of Palestinians. Alarmingly, Wilders seems to have had a Gaza poll bounce. Between Oct. 7 and the elections, support for him rose from 12 percent to 23 percent. The far right in Europe is anxious to ingratiate itself with Israel’s leaders. They love this form of crude identity politics. It also plays to the dominant trend of anti-Muslim prejudice.
The Netherlands could now have a challenging relationship with Arab states, as well as the wider Islamic world
Many see this as a sign that Europe is heading into the grip of the far right. This certainly looks like it will please President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who is always happy to see the EU and NATO divided and undermined, as Wilders wants to end military support to Ukraine. Many far-right European politicians, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Marine Le Pen in France and Matteo Salvini in Italy, could not wait to congratulate their fellow Islamophobe. Le Pen might fancy her chances in the next French presidential election in 2027.
Elsewhere, the Freedom Party of Austria is faring well. However, only last month, the Polish elections saw the ejection of the far-right Law and Justice party. In Britain, the current right-wing government looks likely to lose the coming general election. What this perhaps indicates is the dangerous degree of polarization in many democracies — and not just in Europe. In those democracies that depend on the building of consensus, such as the Netherlands, this poses huge challenges for the stability of governments.
Is Wilders going to do a Meloni? The neo-fascist Italian prime minister, while still extreme and hostile to immigrants, is widely viewed as having moderated her tone since coming to power. If Wilders wishes to govern, he has to hold a coalition together. He accepts he may not be able to do everything he would like. He would like a “Nexit” — for the Netherlands to join Britain in leaving the EU. This is unlikely. He also wants to end the free movement of labor, which EU membership does not allow.
Many will hope Wilders cannot form a coalition. This may be the case and he could end up playing the political martyr from the sidelines, proclaiming that he has had victory stolen from him and the people. Yet, even if he does not become prime minister, he has still shaken Dutch and European politics to the core.
European politicians need to wake up to this far right-threat — it is no longer fringe. They must challenge it, not cave into it. This brand of politics is not based on solutions to the continent’s challenges, but rather on appealing to base emotions. True leaders need to stand up and be counted. Anti-Muslim parties and politicians should be shunned in just the same way as politicians who espouse anti-Black or antisemitic messages are.
*Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London. X: @Doylech

Gaza is forcing the West to abandon its old illusions
Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/November 27, 2023
Shortly after the start of a four-day ceasefire in the war on Gaza on Friday, the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium, Pedro Sanchez and Alexander De Croo, appeared in a joint press conference at the Rafah crossing. Sanchez described what was happening as “a disaster,” while De Croo called for a “permanent cessation of hostilities” and for an end to the killing of children. Just as significantly, the two European leaders declared that they may decide to recognize the state of Palestine, even if the EU does not.
Coupled with the strong position of Ireland, some in Europe seem to be waking up to the fact that the Israeli occupation is the primary cause of the recent Gaza “hostilities.”
Israel was not pleased by this evolving European position. It immediately summoned the ambassadors of both countries and sharply rebuked them, according to reports. This exaggerated response shows that Israel is not willing to give Europe even the narrowest of margins — such as condemning the killing of children or expecting some kind of a peaceful settlement centered on Palestinian sovereignty.
Spain and Belgium’s indication that they may decide to recognize Palestine even without EU consensus is indicative of a foreign policy schism within Europe. It turns out that not all European governments have the same tolerance of the genocide in Gaza as, for example, Germany and Britain.
Palestinians have succeeded, through their resistance and steadfastness, in reasserting Palestine on the global agenda
Interestingly, other EU officials are also calling for a Palestinian state, though their intention is neither to ensure Palestinian freedom nor to safeguard Palestinian rights. The bloc’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell, for example, argued last week that “the best guarantee for Israel’s security is the creation of a Palestinian state.” Even David Cameron, the former UK prime minister and now foreign minister, used similar logic. Israel will not have security unless it guarantees “long-term safety, security and stability” for the Palestinian people, Cameron said.
Regardless of the reasoning behind the growing emphasis on a “solution” and rights for the Palestinians, this language was almost entirely absent from the Western political discourse prior to Oct. 7.
The truth is that Palestinians have succeeded, through their resistance and steadfastness, in reasserting Palestine on the global agenda. But how did Palestinians succeed in doing so despite the utter marginalization of their cause before the war?
Firstly, unlike during previous wars, especially those that preceded the so-called Unity Intifada of May 2021, this time around the Palestinians spoke in unison. Without rehearsing or even coordinating, it felt as if the Palestinian message flew seamlessly, when all Palestinians, regardless of their ideological background, placed the focus on the Israeli atrocities without falling into the trap of the typical factional blame game.
Even children who had lost members of their families in Gaza would stand bravely in front of cameras and state that they would never weaken and that nothing would remove them from their homeland. Young and old repeated the same logic and used similar language, even from their hospital beds.
This led Israel to do everything in its power to cut off the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza from the rest of the world, shutting down the internet, electricity and any form of communication, even among Palestinians themselves.
Yet, somehow, a clear and united Palestinian message continued, amplified countless times by an army of social media activists that impressively helped balance out the mainstream media bias and eventually overpowered the corporate media’s control of the war narrative. The Palestinians did this, and more, without powerful lobby groups, media consultants or a hasbara machine, like that which attempted, to no avail, to sway public opinion in favor of Israel.
Secondly, the factional Palestine suddenly disappeared. For years, factional narratives, which divided Palestinians into conflicting interest groups, thwarted the Palestinian people’s attempt to unify behind a single leadership — one capable of conveying, representing and defending Palestinian political aspirations.
All the Fatah-Hamas talks and agreements failed, leaving the people with no alternative but to explore different manifestations of unity that go beyond the interests of politicians. This unity is now on display, compelling everyone, including those affiliated with the Palestinian Authority itself, to adhere to the line of the people. While Gazans fought to free prisoners in the West Bank, West Bankers rose up in defense of Gaza.
This popular unity must continue, so that it will eventually be harnessed in the form of political unity. This popular unity must continue, so that it will eventually be harnessed in the form of political unity, which will bring all Palestinian groups together under a single leadership. This is the only way to ensure the tremendous Palestinian sacrifices and precious blood that has been spilled in Gaza eventually translate into the freedom that all Palestinians covet.
Thirdly, unity beyond Palestine has also proved critical. Arabs and Muslims have served as the core of Palestinian solidarity throughout the Israeli war on Gaza. They have protested, boycotted, fought and mobilized. Moreover, tens of millions of people, beyond the confines of the Arab and Muslim worlds, have marched in favor of Palestinian rights and priorities.
Indeed, whole new conversations on Palestine are now occupying public spheres around the world. The Global South is once more embracing the struggle for Palestine, while the Global North is challenging governments, big corporations and the mainstream media for justifying, supporting and financing the Israeli genocide.
The Palestinian people now have to lead and direct this momentum of solidarity so that it serves their righteous objectives; those of equality, justice and freedom — all enshrined in international law.
No public space should be left without engagement, no audience should be overlooked or neglected and no stone should be left unturned in the search for the critical mass needed to hold Israel accountable for its crimes.
Western leaders and officials are speaking out now because they understand that the Palestinian cause has become a global one and that the prolonging of Israeli occupation and apartheid will not bode well, either for Tel Aviv or for the West.
It is time for Palestinians to utilize this significant moment. It is time for them to lead the process of their own liberation. In fact, in Gaza, Jenin and elsewhere, this process has already begun.
*Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is an internationally syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books, and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. X: @RamzyBaroud

Gaza not the only place where the fires of injustice burn
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/November 27, 2023
It is easy to think nothing is going on in the world aside from the Gaza slaughter, given the media’s justified focus on this tragedy. At the IISS Manama Dialogue this month it was virtually the only subject political leaders and delegates wanted to discuss. However, that shouldn’t blind us to the fact that other momentous events are in play around the world that demand our urgent attention.
The xenophobic extreme-right continues its remorseless advance throughout Europe, not least with the shock win in the Dutch elections by Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party. Among his anti-immigrant comments, Wilders demonized Moroccan immigrants as “scum” and warned of an “Islamic invasion.” He also denounced the Qur’an as a “fascist book,” and has called for Palestinians to be forcibly relocated to Jordan.
Under Giorgia Meloni, Italy has its farthest-right regime since Mussolini, and like-minded entities constitute core parts of governing coalitions in Finland and Sweden. Far-right parties are surging in popularity in Germany, Austria and Greece, and Marine Le Pen is currently ahead in the French polls. Hungary’s Viktor Orban has been a prominent cheerleader and patron for these anti-immigrant authoritarian tendencies. In South America, radical far-right candidate Javier Milei has just been elected president of Argentina.
Poland’s nationalist Law and Justice party came top in the last elections, but may be shut out of government by a coalition of centrist parties, while the populist Robert Fico won the Slovak elections in September. The Portuguese far right hopes to capitalize on this momentum in elections this March, although Spain bucked the trend with the right-wing Vox party suffering setbacks in the July vote. With elections probably a year away in Britain, rabble-rousing populist right tendencies have set the ruling Conservative party on course for abject defeat. And in America, heaven alone knows whether by late 2024 Donald Trump will be on course for the White House, a prison cell — or both.
Wilders’ rhetoric about quitting the EU is causing sleepless nights for European politicians, still traumatized by the self-defeating wrangling of Brexit. Gaza is an additional factor in fomenting European divisions, between staunchly pro-Israel leaderships in Germany and Britain, set against pro-Palestinian sentiments in Ireland, Belgium and Spain. Vast pro-Palestine demonstrations throughout Western capitals further up the ante.
The Gaza crisis has also had significant knock-on effects for Western efforts to curtail Iran’s nuclear program. As one senior diplomat disturbingly commented: “There is no appetite to provoke a reaction in Iran in the context of the war in the Middle East.” This is despite the latest IAEA report showing that Tehran now has enough 60 percent-enriched uranium to manufacture three bombs. Following the detection of modified centrifuges allowing enrichment to 84 percent, Iran removed accreditation for a number of IAEA inspectors — eliminating transparency at a critical moment.
Vast Iranian proxy militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen not only are a symptom of the international community’s failure to crack down on glaring manifestations of instability and disorder, but also make it far more likely that the Israel-Gaza conflict will become regionalized. Iran feels further emboldened because of the diplomatic cover it receives from a comparably emboldened and confrontational Kremlin.
Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, can’t believe his luck at how the Gaza carnage has played out. Not only has coverage of the Ukraine war evaporated from the media agenda, but America and its allies are diverting critical weapons supplies to Israel — raising the question of whether further territorial gains are possible for an equipment-starved Ukraine, and making it more likely that there will be a peace deal fudge. It likewise suits China that the US is distracted with Middle Eastern flareups. Some observers raise concerns about whether Beijing could seize the moment for further expansionary activity in the South China Sea, or strengthening its military posture toward Taiwan.
Gaza is an additional factor in fomenting European divisions, between staunchly pro-Israel leaderships in Germany and Britain, set against pro-Palestinian sentiments in Ireland, Belgium and Spain.
There are also so many other simmering conflicts and crises that receive zero sustained global attention: Nagorno-Karabakh, Myanmar, Venezuela, Libya, Syria, Ethiopia, Yemen — not to mention the turmoil in the occupied West Bank. Africa’s entire Sahel belt is a calamity of coups, insurgencies and war, with Darfur’s population again facing extermination at the hands of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and large areas of Somalia, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are under jihadist control. Meanwhile international pressure on the Taliban over its gender apartheid policies against Afghan women has entirely dissipated.
Superpower rivalry between China, Russia and the West has paralyzed and discredited the UN Security Council, and neutralized international law institutions, rendering global momentum to resolve these disputes all but impossible. These divisions likewise neutralize cooperation around massive efforts required to reduce carbon emissions and stop the planet boiling — green policies which the ascendant populist right suicidally opposes. It shouldn’t need saying — but the international community should be capable of grappling with more than one crisis at a time. That the world’s diplomatic capabilities are so constrained is largely due to the absence of capable and visionary global leadership. The prevailing domestically focused tenor of Western politics over the past decade left so little bandwidth for planet-wide challenges that Putin sincerely believed he could devour Ukraine in its entirety without suffering adverse consequences.
When civilized nations fail to defend international law, they encourage pariah states and hostile actors to seize the advantage and wreak further mayhem. A vicious circle is thus perpetuated in which injustice breeds injustice.
That 14,500 people have been killed in Gaza, 70 percent of them women and children, with a further 7,000 probably buried under the rubble, speaks volumes about the criminal levels of global lethargy, inaction and inhumanity.
Ukraine and Gaza are wake-up calls. Global leaders must collectively up their game on the international arena. According to numerous metrics, stability, standards of governance and social justice are all in steep decline in any part of the world you care to look. As Martin Luther King said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” As chaos besets us on all fronts, only by taking a stand on behalf of the Palestinians, the Ukrainians, Sudanese, Syrians and other oppressed peoples can we expect to enjoy long-term stability and justice ourselves.
• 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.