Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September 13-14/2023
Bachir: Is Lebanon’s Eternal glowing torch of pride.
Elias Bejjani/September 14/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/3461/elias-bejjanibachir-is-lebanons-eternal-glowing-torch-of-pride/
Because ultimately we are all going to die, those of us who die for Lebanon’s holy cause, are in a better position then those who keep waiting for the death to come (Dr. Charles Malek)
Oh Bachir, the son of our beloved Lebanon, the land of holiness and saints.
Oh Bachir, you our life’s dream, the one that renews its strength with each and every beat of our hearts.
Oh Bachir, you are the eternal glowing torch of our pride. This torch will stay lit as long as one Lebanese on the surface of this earth remains clinging to your ideals and platform. As long as he keeps hanging to your awakening dream and following your footsteps in martyrdom, courage, caring and devotion.
Oh Bachir, You are the conscience of our eternal Lebanese nation.
Oh Bachir, how could you not be great great and you the descent of Ahiram, Hiram, Hannibal, Cadmous, Zaynoun, Patriarchs Hajola and Hadchiti, Fakereddine, Grand Bachir, Al Bustani, Gobran and Malek.
Oh Bachir, you are Lebanon’s 10,452 Km2 martyr, the one united Lebanon that is crowned with independence, sovereignty, freedoms and dignity.
Oh Bachir, you have carried with heroic pride Lebanon’s distinguishable, identifying emblem. You made it as tall as our holy Cedars and made it as high as the stars in the vast sky. You openly and proudly advocated for our 7,000 years’ deeply rooted history embodied in Lebanon’s holy soil. The soil that is watered throughout time with our grandfathers’ immaculate hard work, sweat, the blood of our martyrs and the prayers of our Saints.
Oh Bachir, you are the son of our steadfast mountain that has been an impervious forte in the face of the grudges of barbarians, the descendants of Timorlank and those intruding on our beloved Lebanon. Those whose only aim is to eradicate our culture, destroy our identity, abolish our civilization, attack our balanced demography and spread among our loving peaceful people their plaques of terrorism, radicalism, savageness, hatred and intolerance.
Oh Bachir, your dream is not dead as the venomous and malevolent people deluded themselves that is was. Nor as those who fear your faith, stubbornness, and perseverance that are personified in the mind, conscience and struggle of Lebanon’s youth. Those who are revolting against injustice, subservience and slavery. Lebanon’s youth who are calling loudly and courageously day and night for Lebanon’s liberation from the Syrian occupier’s abomination (squalor) and the infidelity (atheism) of its local puppets and servants.
Oh Bachir, twenty-one years have passed since you unwillingly left us. But your appealing voice is still ringing in our ears, the voice that triggered the nationally comprehensive, united call for the withdrawal of all foreign armies and the reclaiming of Lebanon’s independence and its free decision making process. Your voice will never leave us as long as we can breathe and the blood circulates in our veins and arteries. Meanwhile your heroic role model in facing hardships will remain our adopted means in dealing with difficulties and setbacks.
Oh Bachir, the criminals who assassinated you have succeeded in taking only your body away from us. Your dream in a free strong, sovereign and united Lebanon lives day and night with us. Yes, they killed your mortal earthy body but failed to defile your ideals, principles, spirit and dream that remain alive in our minds and hearts.
Oh Bachir, after twenty-one years you are still our companion in our joys as well as in our sadness, in our victories and in our retreats. We still share with you our laughs as well as our tears. No one can kill your presence in our hearts.
Oh Bachir, our headstrong people love dreams of rebellion because Almighty God has endowed them graciously with grants of generosity, love, ambition, hope, faith, self-confidence and creativity. Our people are not touched by dreams of the weak, only dreams of the strong appeal to them and for this fact they cling strongly to your dream. The Pharisees and the tax collectors as well as the temple merchants were deluded by their sick minds that by killing your deadly body they could kill your dream. They failed, and were defeated.
Your dream is still as vivid and as strong as it was on day one. Their conspiracy of killing you did not achieve any of its treacherous and criminal objectives.
Oh Bachir, all your enemies have became a forgotten shameful history while your dream is still alive in the hearts of your people who strive for a future that will witness its fulfillment.
Long Live Free Lebanon. May Almighty God bless the souls of Lebanon’s martyrs. We are Bachir, and the dream will not die.

Lebanese Army denies land border agreement with Israel, says Blue Line disputes remain
Najia Houssari?Arab News/September 13/2023
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Armed Forces on Wednesday refuted rumors that Israel had agreed to cede the 13 disputed points along the land border with Lebanon in the latter’s favor. The rumors had suggested the Israeli consent was “part of the process to clarify the borders in exchange for the removal of a Hezbollah tent that was erected in June on the Kfar Chouba hills, located on the Lebanese side occupied by Israel.” It came after a tripartite meeting on Tuesday in Ras Al-Naqoura, on the border, chaired by the head of mission and force commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lazaro. The participants included Lebanese army officers led by Brig. Gen. Mounir Shehadeh, who is the Lebanese government’s coordinator with UNIFIL, and a delegation of Israeli officers. On Wednesday, Lebanon’s army command said its representatives at the meeting “discussed the 13 points that Lebanon had reservations about on the Blue Line, considering them violations, but an agreement had not been reached. It was decided to maintain contacts and meetings under the auspices of the United Nations.”
The Blue Line, also known as the “withdrawal line,” is a border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel set by the UN in June 2000 to help determine whether Israeli forces had fully withdrawn from Lebanese territory, but it is not considered an international border.Andrea Tenenti, the official spokesperson for UNIFIL, said: “The discussions taking place in the tripartite meetings are confidential and the media reports issued on Wednesday contain speculation that does not accurately reflect the discussions that took place on Tuesday. “Such reports based on unconfirmed rumors have the potential to jeopardize the progress achieved so far in reducing tensions and advancing discussions on unresolved matters along the Blue Line.
“The intention is to continue with the discussions under the auspices of UNIFIL, with the ultimate objective of addressing all issues along the Blue Line.”
The UN recognizes the borders between Lebanon and Palestine, which were demarcated in 1923 and approved by the League of Nations. The Armistice Agreement of 1949, which formally ended the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, was based on these borders. It obliges Israel to respect Lebanon’s internationally recognized boundaries, stipulating that the Armistice Demarcation Line should follow the international boundary between Lebanon and Palestine. Retired Lebanese Army Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Chehaitli told Arab News he was surprised that the issue of land border demarcation had been discussed during the meeting in Ras Al-Naqoura. “The borders have already been drawn and recognized,” he said. “The dispute revolves around 13 points on the Blue Line, which is not a border line.” Amos Hochstein, the US special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs, previously led indirect negotiations between Lebanon and Israel that concluded last year with the agreed demarcation of maritime borders between the two countries. He visited Lebanon at the end of August this year and held meetings with Lebanese officials, during which he was briefed on the start of the process of exploring Lebanese waters for potentially commercial quantities of gas. Reports indicated that during the meetings Hochstein presented “American ideas related to land border demarcation to discuss with Lebanon, following his success in demarcating maritime borders.”Lebanese authorities oppose the use of the term “demarcation” for its land borders, on the grounds that they are already defined. They say the focus should be on “clarifying” the borders and addressing disputed points, and on the need to prevent Israeli violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was intended to resolve the 2006 Lebanon War between Hezbollah and Israel.
Chehaitli, the retired Lebanese army officer, said: “The approval of Lebanon and Israel regarding the US message on maritime border demarcation did not align with the level of agreement in form. What happened cannot be viewed merely as measures to facilitate economic benefits; Lebanon’s maritime borders are not demarcated, unlike its land borders. “Lebanon should not engage in discussions about demarcating its land borders. Such actions would be in violation of the Constitution, as Article 2 states that no part of Lebanese territory may be ceded.”Lebanon’s caretaker foreign minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, said on July 11: “Resolving issues on the southern border does not imply normalization. There are 13 disputed points along the Blue Line with Israel, with agreement on seven and six remaining points in dispute.”The disputed points along the 120-kilometer Blue Line stretch from Shebaa Farms in the southeast to the town of Al-Naqoura in the southwest.

UNIFIL Spokesperson: Media reports over the last day contain speculation that does not accurately reflect the discussions that took place
NNA/September 13/2023
In a statement to the National News Agency, UNIFIL Spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said, “UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Aroldo Lázaro chaired a Tripartite meeting with senior officers of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at a UN position in Ras Al Naqoura today.”“Discussions that take place in Tripartite meetings are confidential. Nonetheless, media reports over the last day contain speculation that does not accurately reflect the discussions that took place,” he stressed, adding that “Such reports based on unconfirmed rumours have the potential to jeopardize the progress achieved so far in reducing tensions and advancing discussions on unresolved matters along the Blue Line.”Tenenti further added that “The intention is to continue with the discussions under UNIFIL auspices with the ultimate objective of addressing all issues along the Blue Line.”

Four Lebanese die in Libya floods
NNA/September 13/2023
Four members of a Lebanese family from Saida have died in the deadly floods that swept the Libyan city of Derna. The four have been identified as Saleh Ali Saria, his wife Sanaa Jammal, and their daughters Walaa and Hoda.

Report: Backed by 5-nation group, Le Drian tries to sway MPs to attend Berri's dialogue
Naharnet/September 13/2023
The 5-nation group on Lebanon -- which comprises the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt-- supports a dialogue proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri to end the presidential impasse, Annahar newspaper said. Berri had called on the Lebanese parties to engage in seven days of dialogue in parliament followed by open-ended electoral sessions to choose a new president. "Berri asked (French Special Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves) Le Drian if his stance regarding the dialogue is supported by the 5-nation group, and Le Drian confirmed that it is," Ain el-Tineh sources said in remarks published Wednesday in Annahar. Berri's initiative was rejected by the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb party. It was also criticized by Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, who had hailed it at first. French Special Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian agreed Tuesday with Berri that there is no other way but dialogue to end the presidential crisis, Berri said. Le Drian had proposed on his last visit to Lebanon to invite all those taking part in the process of electing a president to a meeting in September to achieve a consensus on the challenges and on the priority projects the future president will have to carry out, and consequently the qualities necessary for tackling them. "I hope that Berri's initiative will pave the way for a solution," Le Drian said Tuesday as he met Mikati. Ain el-Tineh sources said that Berri is relieved by the outcome of his meeting with Le Drian, who told him that he will work on convincing the opposers to engage in the seven-day dialogue. Le Drian is visiting Lebanon for the third time to resume "his good offices mission, initiated last July, in coordination with the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt," the French Embassy in Beirut said.He will once again meet with all the political players in charge of electing a president to discuss "the priority projects to be addressed by the next President, in order to facilitate the emergence of a consensual solution that will end the institutional crisis."

Raad meets French Envoy, highlights importance of dialogue between Lebanese
NNA/September 13/2023
“Loyalty to the Resistance” bloc head, MP Mohammed Raad, on Wednesday received French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, and the accompanying delegation, in the presence of Hezbollah International Relations Official, Ammar Moussawi. Discussions reportedly touched on “the French initiative seeking to launch dialogue between the Lebanese on the presidential issue,” according to Hezbollah media relations department. For his part, the head of the “Loyalty to the Resistance” bloc stressed “the importance of dialogue and communication between the Lebanese as it is the only available way out of the current situation regarding the presidential issue.”

MPs Moawad and Makhzoumi meet Le Drian at Pine palace
NNA/September 13/2023
Representatives of the “Renewal” parliamentary bloc, MPs Michel Moawad and Fouad Makhzoumi, arrived a while ago at the Pine Palace, to meet with the French presidential envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Jumblatt after meeting French envoy: We prefer Berri-Le Drian's viewpoint based on dialogue
NNA/September 13/2023
Former head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, met at his Clemenceau residence on Wednesday with French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, in the presence of MPs Taymour Jumblatt and Wael Abu Faour. Talks touched on the latest political developments. "The Lebanese Forces party always has a viewpoint that is different from ours; we prefer the viewpoint of House Speaker Nabih Berri and Le Drian that is based on dialogue," said Jumblatt following the meeting. In response to a question about whether the PSP has been informed of the dialogue session date, Jumblatt said: "We haven't been informed of anything; all in good time." Asked whether Le Drian backs Marada Movement leader for the presidency of the republic, Jumblatt said that talks did not touch on names. "Some local sides do not want a solution," he charged.

Geagea meets French presidential envoy in Maarab
NNA/September 13/2023
Lebanese Forces” party leader, Samir Geagea, is currently meeting in Maarab with French Presidential Envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in the presence of MPs Pierre Bou Assi and George Okais, as well as LF foreign relations apparatus’ Head, former Minister Richard Kouyoumjian.

Le Drian resumes talks in Beirut, meets Raad and Jumblat
Naharnet/September 13/2023
French Special Presidential Envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian resumed Wednesday his meetings with Lebanese key players as France seeks to end a political crisis that has left the country without a president for over a year. Le Drian met Wednesday with former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and incumbent leader MP Taymour Jumblat in Clemenceau, after an earlier meeting with Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad. He will later today meet with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel, who both rejected a dialogue proposed by the French diplomat during his last visit to Beirut. "The LF party always has its viewpoints but I prefer Berri's and Le Drian's viewpoint," Jumblat said after his meeting with Le Drian. Le Drian had met on Tuesday with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Free Patriotic Movement Jebran Bassil, Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh, and Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun. Berri, who had called for a seven-day dialogue followed by open-ended electoral sessions, said that Le Drian supported his dialogue initiative. "Le Drian and I have agreed that there is no other way but dialogue to end the presidential crisis," Berri stressed after the meeting. In remarks published Wednesday in Annahar newspaper, Ain el-Tineh sources said that the 5-nation group on Lebanon also supports Berri's initiative. "Berri asked Le Drian if his stance regarding the dialogue is supported by the 5-nation group, and Le Drian confirmed that it is," the sources said.
Le Drian is visiting Lebanon for the third time to resume "his good offices mission, initiated last July, in coordination with the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt," the French Embassy in Beirut said. He will once again meet with all the political players in charge of electing a president to discuss "the priority projects to be addressed by the next President, in order to facilitate the emergence of a consensual solution that will end the institutional crisis." Le Drian will meet on Thursday with independent MPs and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. He will also reportedly meet on Thursday with Saudi Ambassador Walid Bukhari who has invited twenty-four Sunni MPs to the meeting.

Insights on French envoy's visit: Lebanese political divisions complicate Le Drian's dialogue mission
LBCI/September 13/2023
The mission of the French envoy to bring together Lebanese parties for dialogue was always a daunting task, given the conflicting views among those he met regarding the principle and form of dialogue. Nevertheless, Jean-Yves Le Drian tried, with a peculiar twist, to convince the parties of the importance of inviting the Parliament Speaker to the dialogue table. On the second day of his visit to Beirut, Le Drian landed in Haret Hreik, where he met with Mohammad Raad, the head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc. He confirmed that Speaker Berri's proposal for dialogue falls within the same context as the French initiative, according to Hezbollah's media relations. Le Drian emphasized the importance of Berri's initiative in front of former MP Walid Jumblatt in Clemenceau, in the presence of MPs Taymour Jumblatt and Wael Abou Faour, who had held a series of meetings in the French capital before Le Drian visited Lebanon. According to LBCI's sources, Le Drian informed Jumblatt that France and Saudi Arabia now share the same stance regarding the Lebanese file. The new approach is to unify the stance of the Quintet countries in supporting Berri's dialogue efforts. Jumblatt's comments after the meeting reflected this context. Le Drian's afternoon talks began at the Pine Palace, where he met with several Change MPs, including Paula Yacoubian, Ibrahim Mneimneh, and Yassin Yassin. Yassin revealed that Le Drian had tried to convince them of the importance of Speaker Berri's dialogue. Le Drian also met with two MPs from the Renewal Bloc, Michel Moawad and Fouad Makhzoumi. The bloc described the meeting as positive and constructive, emphasizing the need to rely on the French role as an impartial mediator to help Lebanon elect a president. However, the stance of the Kataeb Party, which rejects dialogue, was conveyed to Le Drian by the party leader, Sami Gemayel. Le Drian's final stop on Wednesday was in Maarab. He succeeded in shifting the focus from his dialogue initiative to Speaker Berri's initiative, which has now taken center stage in all discussions with the French envoy.

Le Drian to Baarini: I am working on a new idea to unite the Lebanese people
LBCI/September 13/2023
The French Special Envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, affirmed that he is working on a new idea to unite the Lebanese people, emphasizing that this idea will not be labeled a "dialogue." Le Drian's statement came during his meeting with MP Walid Baarini, representing the Moderation Bloc, at the Pine Palace, according to sources from LBCI.

Report: KSA, France urge 'unifying president' as Aloula meets MPs
Naharnet/September 13/2023
French Special Presidential Envoy for Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian has met in Paris with Saudi minister Nizar al-Aloula and Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari, media reports said. The meeting confirmed that “there is no breakthrough in Riyadh’s stance, with the Saudis stressing in it that their country will not be concerned with Lebanon unless its demands regarding the president’s characteristics, program and reforms are met,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday. “Al-Aloula and Bukhari also met with Lebanese figures in Paris, including MPs Wael Abou Faour and Fouad Makhzoumi,” the daily said. According to Abou Faour and Makhzoumi, the Saudis “stressed that their stance and the stance of the French have become unified and that the presidential crisis can only be resolved through the election of a unifying president who enjoys the approval of most political forces and does not represent a provocation to anyone,” the daily added. According to reports, al-Aloula has also met in Paris with MP Melhem Riachi of the Lebanese Forces.

Kanaan, Adwan meet IMF delegation in parliament
NNA/September 13/2023
MPs Ibrahim Kanaan and George Adwan are currently meeting with an International Monetary Fund delegation, chaired by mission chief Ernesto Rigo, at the parliament.

Mikati chairs Lebanese-Palestinian meeting to discuss Ain el-Hilweh situation
NNA/September 13/2023
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is currently chairing a meeting at the Grand Serail devoted to discussing the situation in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh, with the participation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization official Azzam Ahmad, Palestinian Ambassador Ashraf Dabbour, Fathi Aboul Ardat from Fatah Movement, Lebanese army commander General Joseph Aoun, interim chief of the General Security Major General Elias Baysari, and army intelligence chief General Toni Qahwaji.

Clashes renew in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh
NNA/September 13/2023
Sidon - The Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh witnessed a series of ceasefire violations, which concentrated before noon on the Hittin neighborhood, where a shell fell on one of the neighborhood houses, causing material damage. This afternoon, the sound of two shells was heard, followed by gunfire, which soon developed into renewed clashes between Fatah and the Islamists on the axis of the Hattin Jabal al-Halib neighborhood, in which rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns were used.

Azzam al-Ahmad in Lebanon: Efforts to stabilize ceasefire in Ain al-Hilweh camp
LBCI/September 13/2023
Azzam al-Ahmad, a leader in the Fatah Movement, made an interesting statement about what is happening in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp. On the second day of his visit to Lebanon, al-Ahmad spoke after his meeting with the Prime Minister in the presence of the Army Commander, the Director of the Intelligence Branch, and the General Director of General Security about a conspiracy greater than some might imagine, holding what he referred to as terrorist elements responsible for the gunfire in Sidon and the army, as if there are those instructing them to escalate the situation.
Azzam al-Ahmad's movement in Lebanon coincides with a similar move by Hamas, which sent its political bureau member, Mousa Abu Marzouq. The declared goal is to work on stabilizing the ceasefire in Ain al-Hilweh, especially by pressuring Islamic groups within the camp through the Joint Palestinian Action Committee. Abu Marzouq, who met with General Elias al-Baysari, the Mufti of the Republic, and the Islamic Group, affirmed that the security of Lebanon is an integral part of the security of the Palestinian people. Before this round of meetings, the Palestinian Embassy brought together Fatah and Hamas, both of whom confirmed their full commitment to maintaining the ceasefire, delivering the wanted individuals accused of assassinating General Abu Ashraf Al-Armoushi and Abdel Rahman Farhud to the Lebanese judiciary and entrusting the joint security forces with the task of facilitating the return of displaced persons from the clashes to their homes in Ain al-Hilweh. This statement was made to reaffirm the decisions of the Joint Palestinian Action Committee, the understanding reached under the auspices of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and the meeting of the Acting Director-General of the General Security Elias al-Baysari, with the Palestinian factions, as well as the efforts undertaken by the Intelligence Directorate to implement the agreement by handing over wanted persons according to an agreed-upon mechanism.

Al-Ahmad says foreign parties stoking Ain el-Helweh unrest as Fatah, Hamas back truce
Agence France Presse/September 13/2023
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and its Islamist rival Hamas have voiced support for the fledgling ceasefire in the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, a statement said Wednesday, as Palestine Liberation Organization official Azzam al-Ahmad accused "foreign parties" of stoking the camp's violence. Clashes have rocked Ain el-Helweh since last Thursday, pitting members of Fatah, which controls most of the camp, against hardline Islamist militants. Hamas has stayed out of the fighting. At least nine people have been killed and more than 85 wounded, including fighters and civilians, the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Wednesday. Senior Palestinian officials, including al-Ahmad and Hamas' Moussa Abou Marzouk, met late Tuesday at the Palestinian embassy in Beirut, a joint statement said. They expressed their "full commitment to consolidating the ceasefire" and agreed to "work to facilitate the return of those forced from their homes, and vacate schools as soon as possible."They also agreed to "continue coordination with the Lebanese state," the statement added. Fatah's Ahmad also discussed the situation with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and other officials on Wednesday. “It has been decided to cease fire in Ain el-Helweh and hand over those wanted over the assassination of Major General Abou Ashraf al-Armoushi,” al-Ahmad said after the talks, noting that the Lebanese sides will “carry out contacts so that this decision be informed to all sides.”“Foreign sides are offering incentives to the armed groups in Ain el-Helweh so that chaos spreads in Lebanon and we have full confidence in the wise Lebanese leadership as to confronting these attempts,” al-Ahmad added. Ain el-Helweh is home to more than 54,000 registered refugees and thousands of Palestinians who joined them in recent years from neighboring Syria, fleeing the civil war there. The camp, Lebanon's largest, was created for Palestinians who were driven out or fled during the war that accompanied the establishment of Israel in 1948. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has said the fighting has displaced hundreds of families. On Monday evening, a ceasefire was announced by Lebanon's General Security agency after a meeting between its director and Palestinian security officials, but Tuesday saw brief clashes. An AFP correspondent in Sidon said the situation was tense but largely calm on Wednesday morning, despite sporadic bursts of gunfire. Five days of fighting in Ain el-Helweh that began in late July killed 13 people and wounded dozens, in the deadliest outbreak of violence in the camp in years. That fighting erupted after the death of an Islamist militant, followed by an ambush that killed five Fatah members, including a military leader.

Qatari envoy to propose presidential candidates, may invite parties to Doha
Naharnet/September 13/2023
A Qatari envoy will arrive in Lebanon on September 20 to discuss the Lebanese presidential file, a media report said. “He will carry with him positivities and the names of presidential candidates and will explore the possibility of inviting Lebanese parties to Qatar to hold consultations over the presidential file,” ad-Diyar newspaper reported on Wednesday.“Some are pinning hopes on the possibility that the Qatari envoy might achieve a breakthrough in this file,” the daily added.

Top Hamas leader in Beirut in a bid to stop clashes at Ain el-Helweh
Associated Press/September 13/2023
A top Hamas leader has arrived in Beirut to push for an end to clashes in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp that resumed despite multiple cease-fire agreements. Days of fighting in the Ain el-Helweh refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon left at least six people dead and over 50 others wounded, according to medical officials and state media. Stray bullets and shells hit residential areas in the country's third-largest city, wounding five Lebanese soldiers at checkpoints near the camp on Monday. A cease-fire declared late Monday, after Lebanon's head of the country's General Security Directorate met with officials from rival Palestinian factions, lasted just hours before fighting erupted again. Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk will meet with Lebanese officials and representatives from the Palestinian factions to try and reach a settlement to end the clashes, the militant group said in a statement. Hamas has not taken part in the clashes. The fighting broke out Thursday night after nearly a month of calm in Ain el-Helweh between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group and militant Islamist groups. Fatah and other allied factions had intended to crack down on suspects accused of killing Fatah military general, Abu Ashraf al Armoushi, in the camp in late July. Osama Saad, a Lebanese legislator representing Sidon said on Tuesday — in an interview with Lebanese TV station Al-Jadeed — that the camp clashes pose a wider threat to the whole country. He said al Armoushi had "good relations with all the factions" and kept the tense camp relatively secure. "As political forces, we have a responsibility, and so do the Palestinians and Lebanese authorities to resolve this," Saad said. Ain el-Helweh is home to some 55,000 people according to the United Nations, and is notorious for its lawlessness, and violence.
Meanwhile, UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has been tending to hundreds of displaced families who fled the camp alongside other charities. Many have taken shelter in nearby mosques, schools, and the Sidon municipality building. UNRWA has relocated some 1,200 people to schools in the area from a mosque near the camp's entrance. "We left without our clothing and belongings. Children and women have no place to go," Mariam Maziar, a Palestinian refugee who fled with her children told The Associated Press from a shelter in UNRWA's Nablus School in Sidon. "Don't they feel remorse for what they're doing to us? Where are we supposed to go? Our homes are destroyed." Ain el-Helweh camp was established in 1948 to house Palestinians who were displaced when Israel was established.

Ain el-Helweh man and his family killed in Libya floods
Associated Press/September 13/2023
Saleh Sariyeh, 60, a Palestinian from the refugee camp of Ain el-Helweh in Lebanon, has been killed along with his family in the floods that hit eastern Libya. Sariyeh’s home was washed away in the floods, his nephew Mohammed Sariyeh told The Associated Press. Sariyeh said his uncle had been living for decades in Derna with his wife, Sanaa Jammal, and two daughters, Walaa, 27, and Hoda, 25, and were all killed on Monday. He added that friends called them from Libya telling the family that his uncle’s apartment was in a building in the city center that was washed away during the storm.
The four were buried in Derna, Sariyeh said, adding that because of the ongoing fighting in Ain el-Helweh, the family in Lebanon will not be receiving condolences in the camp.

Awaiting action: UNHCR and municipalities' delay in addressing the threat of Syrian displacement in Lebanon
LBCI/September 13/2023
Majdal Anjar, a town bordering Syria in the middle Bekaa region, is home to 35,000 Syrian refugees dispersed in camps and neighborhoods. Due to its strategic location, the town has become a hotspot for smugglers attempting to bring Syrians into Lebanon illegally. Since 2017, the municipality has been conducting a census of the displaced individuals. Despite numerous challenges, the local police have not ceased their efforts to inspect refugee camps and settlements and enforce the law. The mayor of Majdal Anjar closely monitors these developments. He acknowledges the significant challenges arising in various areas due to Syrian refugees adversely affecting Lebanese citizens. He calls upon the community to cooperate with the municipality in order to avert the danger. Similarly, Dekwaneh municipality in the northern Metn region has had a unique experience with Syrian displacement since 2013. It may be the only municipality that has successfully reduced the number of Syrian refugees within its jurisdiction. It has taken proactive measures to mitigate the negative repercussions of the Syrian influx and crack down on any violations committed by the refugees. Furthermore, it is worth noting that this municipality is faced with the paradox that some Lebanese prioritize their interests over the collective interests of Lebanon. Majdal Anjar and Dekwaneh took the lead years before the recent circular from Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, which calls on municipalities to report suspicious movements or gatherings that indicate smuggling operations. They have also requested an immediate survey of the displaced individuals residing within their jurisdiction, the removal of encroachments on infrastructure, and the crackdown on unlicensed businesses. They have further urged associations to coordinate with the relevant authorities under the threat of license revocation. In short, the authorities are still awaiting data from UNHCR and municipalities, using these excuses to delay taking effective practical steps to protect Lebanon from the existential threat posed by the Syrian displacement.

Follow-up visit: IMF delegation warns of Lebanon's dire situation in latest visit
LBCI/September 13/2023
In its most recent visit to Lebanon in March, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation issued a stark warning about the country's difficult state. They cautioned that the absence of reforms would plunge the nation into an endless crisis.
In its report published in June, the IMF held Lebanese officials responsible for obstructing reforms for personal gains. As we enter mid-September, the IMF delegation has returned to Beirut to follow up on the situation. Has anything changed? Unfortunately, the answer is no, except for ongoing disputes between the government and Parliament regarding the lack of progress in implementing reforms. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, following the government's announcement of timely approval for the 2024 budget, urged the Parliament to maintain this positive momentum and endorse the existing reform laws. These include the crucial banking restructuring project, one of the most significant items on the Parliament's agenda and must be approved. Regarding the banking restructuring law, it should be noted that it has not yet reached the Parliament and is currently being discussed between the government and the IMF. Thus, the blame game between the government and the parliamentary finance committee continues as both sides evade responsibility. This dispute also took place between Kanaan and Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Al-Shami. Do you remember when the negotiations with the Fund collapsed in 2020 due to the disagreement among the Lebanese parties regarding the numbers? Will the negotiations and the initial agreement that Lebanon signed with the IMF about a year and a half ago return? More importantly, will Lebanon continue to lose the opportunity to isolate itself from the world further?

Bou Habib contacts his Syrian counterpart, both agree to meet shortly upon Bou Habib’s return from New York
NNA/September 13/2023
Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Dr. Abdullah Bou Habib, on Wednesday contacted his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, in follow up to the Cabinet’s decision to assign him to head an official delegation to Syria to discuss the issue of the displaced. They agreed to hold a meeting between them shortly upon Minister Bou Habib's return from New York, where he will participate alongside Premier Najib Mikati in the work of the United Nations General Assembly, and will meet there with the Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister, who will represent his country in UN meetings. The Syrian Foreign Minister welcomed the visit of Minister Bou Habib and the accompanying delegation to Damascus, expressing his readiness for all cooperation that falls in the interest of the two countries.

US sanctions Lebanon-South America network accused of financing Hezbollah
Associated Press/September 13/2023
The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday slapped terrorism sanctions on a family network of seven individuals and businesses in Lebanon and South America accused of financing the militant group Hezbollah, including a Lebanese man who officials say was involved in two deadly attacks in Argentina in the 1990s. Amer Mohamed Akil Rada was described as "one of the operational members" who carried out the attack on the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association in Buenos Aires in 1994, which killed 85 people and wounded hundreds. A 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Argentina killed 29 people.
"Today's action underscores the U.S. government's commitment to pursuing Hezbollah operatives and financiers no matter their location," said Brian Nelson, the Treasury's under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement. The Iran-backed group is designated a "foreign terrorist organization," and Washington also claims that the group has been involved in drug trafficking in Latin America to generate revenue. Rada, according to the Treasury, spent over a decade in South America before relocating to Lebanon. During his time there, he allegedly ran a charcoal business that frequently exported from Colombia to Lebanon and used "80 percent of the proceeds of his commercial enterprise to benefit Hezbollah". Rada's brother, Samer, was also sanctioned and accused of being involved in various drug trafficking and money laundering operations across Latin America. According to the Treasury, he was previously based in Belize but fled due to a drug-related case and was involved in smuggling 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of cocaine worth $15 million hidden in fruit shipments seized in El Salvador. He also heads Venezuelan-based company BCI Technologies CA, which some reports say is a prominent cryptocurrency consultancy firm in the country. The U.S. also sanctioned Rada's son, identified as Mehdi Akil Helbawi, and his Colombia-based venture Zanga S.A.S., the coal exporting company that officials say his father used to fund Hezbollah. The Treasury also slapped sanctions on Lebanon-based company Black Diamond SARL and owner Ali Ismail Ajrouch. The company reportedly transferred some $40,000 to the Colombia-based coal company.

Landmines wound 3 Syrians trying to illegally enter Lebanon
Associated Press/September 13/2023
Two landmines exploded early Wednesday along the Lebanon-Syria border wounding three Syrians trying to illegally cross into Lebanon, the Lebanese Army said in a statement. The army said the mines exploded on the Syrian side of the border and that the wounded were rushed by the Lebanese Red Cross to a hospital in northern Lebanon for treatment. Over the past months, thousands of Syrian citizens fleeing worsening economic conditions in their war-torn country made it to Lebanon through illegal crossing points seeking a better life. But Lebanon is going through its own four-year meltdown, with a drowning economy — pinning its hopes on tourism — and crumbling infrastructure where electricity and water cuts are widespread. The local al-Jadeed TV said one of the victims, an 18-year-old, lost a leg and an arm, and suffered shrapnel wounds in the neck leaving him in critical condition. Another young man also lost his leg while the third, a 27-year-old, suffered some shrapnel wounds in the back. The Lebanese Army said in a statement Tuesday that it prevented 1,250 Syrians from crossing into Lebanon this week alone. It said another 1,200 Syrians were prevented from reaching Lebanon the previous week.
Lebanon hosts some 805,000 United Nations-registered Syrian refugees, but officials estimate the actual number to be between 1.5 million and 2 million. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned last week that thousands of Syrian refugees who have been coming to Lebanon over the past months, "could create harsh imbalances" in the small nation.

Applications for UK's Chevening scholarship for master's degrees now open
Naharnet/September 13/2023
The British Embassy Beirut on Wednesday announced that applications for the UK Government’s flagship Chevening Scholarships program are now open. Applicants should apply online via chevening.org/apply by November 7, 2023. The scholarship, which is now in its 40th year, offers full financial support for scholars to study for any eligible master’s degree at over 150 UK universities whilst also gaining access to a wide range of exclusive academic, professional, and cultural experiences. For eligibility and criteria, you can visit https://www.chevening.org/scholarships/who-can-apply/#inbox/_blank
Chevening Scholarships are awarded to potential future leaders and individuals from all backgrounds who can demonstrate strong leadership and networking skills. "They should have the commitment and skills required to create positive change in their respective field and/or community, and to show how a master’s degree from a UK university would help them achieve that upon their return to their home country," the British embassy said. Lebanese citizens (and Palestinians residing in Lebanon) are eligible to apply under the Lebanon scheme in any subject area. The Scholarship scheme for Lebanon benefits from joint local and regional partnerships.
- The Chevening-Rebecca Dykes Scholarship set up by the British Embassy in Beirut since 2017 offers one scholarship to a woman who wishes to pursue a master’s in an area related to Gender Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Development and Human Rights and Refugee and Migration Studies or other similar fields. The candidate is chosen by the embassy when awarded the Scholarship.
- For the third consecutive year, The Chevening-Siren Associates Scholarship will offer one scholarship to a Lebanese national (or Palestinian national who would be normally resident in Lebanon) and be located there at the time of making an application to an individual who wishes to pursue a master’s in Governance, International Development, Human Rights or Public Financial Management/Administration at one of the UK’s top 20 universities. The candidate is chosen by Siren when awarded the Scholarship.
Regional Partnerships
- The Chevening - BSEISU Scholarship is open to candidates from Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and The Occupied Palestinian Territories, applying to study science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects at the UK’s top 10 universities.
- The Saïd Foundation generously co-funds twelve Chevening Awards available to applicants from Lebanon, Jordan, The Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Syria wishing to study any one-year taught master's program at one of the Saïd-Partner universities.
This year marks 40 years since the program was created in 1983. There are now over 55,000 Chevening Alumni worldwide, many of whom have become leaders and innovators who break boundaries across a variety of professional fields. There are more than 1,500 scholarships on offer globally for the 2024/2025 academic year, demonstrating the UK’s “ongoing commitment towards developing the leaders of tomorrow.” The Chevening Alumni Association in Lebanon consists of over 240 members, including in gender, human rights, good governance, humanitarian emergencies, economy, health and more. For eligibility and criteria visit www.chevening.org/scholarships . You can also contact the British Embassy at ukinlebanon@fcdo.gov.uk

The United Nations and the Government of Japan inaugurate recently rehabilitated Markazouna Community Centre in Tripoli
NNA/September 13/2023
Today, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS), the Government of Japan, and the Municipality of Tripoli inaugurated the recently rehabilitated and reactivated “Markazouna”, a Multipurpose Community Centre in Shalfeh, Tripoli. Fully rehabilitated, the Markazouna Community Centre can now continue to deliver essential services for women and children, including extracurricular activities for children and youth, in a safe and inclusive space. Specific activities include awareness-raising on protection against sexual and gender-based violence, provision of self-defense and positive parenting classes, carpentry workshops and more.
This initiative has been led under the joint project entitled “Multi-sectoral response to the humanitarian crisis in the North of Lebanon through the human security approach” aimed at increasing the security of host and refugee populations living in vulnerable areas of Tripoli. The project generously supported by the Government of Japan through the UNTFHS is implemented by UN-Habitat, UNICEF, UN Women along with implementing partners Al-Fayhaa Association who manage the community centre, the Lebanese Democratic Women’s Gathering and the René Moawad Foundation. “Japan has placed a strong focus on to the protection and empowerment of vulnerable people and the overall improvement of their livelihoods. Given the challenging circumstances that Lebanon is going through, the need for facilities that foster a supportive and safe environment for the communities in need is heavily increasing, hence the importance of this initiative that Japan chose to support through the UNTFHS,“ said H.E. Magoshi Masayuki, Ambassador of Japan to Lebanon. The prioritization of the rehabilitation and reactivation of the Markazouna Community Centre was reconfirmed through the findings of the neighbourhood profile carried out in Shalfeh neighbourhood, as part of this project. Rehabilitation works included the restoration and upgrading of the whole centre, the playground, providing the centre with renewable energy through solar panels, ensuring full accessibility, providing furniture and electrical equipment.
“Markazouna is an oasis of ambition and confidence, weaving the fabric of development around people, not people around development, providing psychological, educational, and social support,“ said Ahmad Kamareddine, Mayor of Tripoli.
Implemented between April and mid-September 2023, the project has reached more than 5,000 Lebanese and non-Lebanese beneficiaries through the community centre.
“Communities are built on shared values, traditions, culture, and aspirations; and in times of challenge and adversity, it is the solidarity and unity within communities that provide the resilience needed to overcome obstacles,” said the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Mr. Imran Riza in his opening remarks. “The ‘Markazouna Community Centre’ stands as a testament to our commitment to fostering this solidarity, offering a space where community members can come together to not only access essential services but also to foster a renewed sense of belonging and interconnectedness.” -- UNIC

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September 13-14/2023
Pope calls for prayers for people of Morocco after earthquake
NNA/September 13/2023
After praying for victims of the flooding in Libya, Pope Francis said, “My thoughts also go to the noble Moroccan people who have suffered these movements of the earth, these earthquakes.”Almost 3,000 people are known to have died in the magnitude 6.8 quake that struck the country on Friday, and more than 5500 injuries have been reported. Spain, Britain, and Qatar have sent teams to assist in rescue operations, but hopes of finding survivors are fading. Other countries, including Italy, Belgium, France, and Germany have also offered assistance. Many of the victims reside in small villages in mountain areas that rescue and aid workers are struggling to reach. In his remarks on Wednesday, Pope Francis urged prayers for Morocco and its inhabitants, asking that the Lord might give them “strength to recover, to recover after this terrible ‘ambush’ they have endured.” -----Vatican News

Three dead in Israeli bombing of western Syria
AFP/September 13/2023
Two Syrian soldiers were killed on Wednesday due to Israeli shelling in the coastal province of Tartus, according to official media reports. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the death of a third person in the Israeli targeting, which hit a weapons depot belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah party. The official Syrian news agency (SANA) quoted a military source as saying, "At exactly 17:22 in the afternoon today (14:22 GMT), the Israeli enemy carried out an attack with rocket barrages from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, targeting some of our air defense sites in Tartus." The source stated that this resulted in "the martyrdom of two soldiers and the injury of six others, as well as some material losses." On the other hand, the Syrian Observatory, based in the UK, reported the deaths of "three soldiers, including two from the regime's forces and a third whose identity is still unknown, as a result of Israeli airstrikes on two military sites" in the western province. The Observatory also noted the targeting of a weapons depot "belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah near the villages of Al-Jamasah and Deir al-Hajar, and an air defense base belonging to regime forces in the village of Kartou, which is 10 kilometers away from the first target." Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria over the past few years, targeting Syrian army positions, Iranian assets, and others belonging to the Lebanese Hezbollah, including weapons and ammunition depots in various locations.
Israeli strikes have also repeatedly disrupted the operations of Aleppo and Damascus international airports, according to Syrian state media.
Aleppo airport in the north of the country was taken out of service at the end of August due to Israeli shelling, according to Syrian state media, marking the fourth attack since the beginning of the year. Israel rarely confirms its strikes in Syria but repeatedly asserts that it will continue to counter what it describes as Iran's attempts to consolidate its military presence in Syria. Responding to a question from Agence France-Presse (AFP), an Israeli army spokesperson simply stated, "We do not comment on reports in foreign media." Tehran is a major supporter of Damascus, having sent military advisers for years to assist the Syrian army in its battles against opposition factions and jihadist groups that Damascus classifies as "terrorist." Tehran has also contributed to the mobilization of groups loyal to it, led by Hezbollah, to fight in Syria alongside government forces. Damascus regularly condemns Israeli airstrikes that target its territory and considers them a "blatant violation of international law, humanitarian law, and the provisions of the United Nations Charter." Since its outbreak in Syria in mid-March 2011, the conflict has killed more than half a million people, caused widespread destruction of infrastructure, and devastated the economy. It has also displaced and driven out more than half of the country's population, both internally and externally.

House passes measures against Iran over death of Mahsa Amini, missile program
Associated Press/September 13/2023
The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved measures Tuesday targeting Iran for its human rights record and placing restrictions on the country's ability to import or export its expanding arsenal of weapons. The measures would impose a series of sanctions on Iran's supreme leader, president and other individuals as Washington seeks to further punish the Islamic Republic ahead of the one-year anniversary of nationwide protests. The resolutions will now go to the Senate, where it is unclear if the Democratic-controlled chamber will take them up. The first bill takes aim at Iran's production and exports of missiles and drones by sanctioning individuals involved in the process, while the second imposes sanctions on high-ranking government officials for "human rights abuses and support for terrorism." The third resolution specifically condemns the government's persecution of the Baha'i minority. The near-unanimous passage of all three represents a renewed condemnation by Congress against Iran's government, which engaged in a brutal crackdown of its citizenry after the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., the co-sponsor of the second bill, posted on social media that it was past time "to sanction those responsible for Mahsa's murder and the repression of brave Iranian protestors."Amini had been detained for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely in violation of strictures demanding women in public wear the Islamic headscarves. The 22-year-old died three days later in police custody. Authorities said she had a heart attack but hadn't been harmed. Her family has disputed that, leading to the public outcry. The protests that ensued represented one of the largest challenges to Iran's theocracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A security force crackdown that followed saw over 500 people killed and more than 22,000 people detained. The unrest only further complicated any attempt by the Biden administration to restart negotiations between Washington and Tehran — after former President Donald Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. And it has remained a point of contention for Republicans in Congress, who have sought to use the power of their majority in the House over the past several months to introduce or pass a series of binding and nonbinding resolutions related to the country's abuse of human rights as well as its nuclear and missile programs. The passage of the resolutions also comes a day after the Biden administration cleared the way for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran by issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money without fear of U.S. sanctions. In response, Rep, Michael McCaul, the GOP chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said while he was relieved to see the hostages released, the deal sets a bad precedent. "I remain deeply concerned that the administration's decision to waive sanctions to facilitate the transfer of $6 billion in funds for Iran, the world's top state sponsor of terrorism, creates a direct incentive for America's adversaries to conduct future hostage-taking," he said.

Flood death toll surpasses 5,100 in Libya's Derna
Associated Press/September 13/2023
The death toll from flooding that hit the eastern Libyan city of Derna reached more than 5,000 and was expected to rise further, a local health official said Wednesday, as authorities struggled to get aid to the coastal city where thousands remained missing and tens of thousands were homeless. Aid workers who managed to reach the city, which was cut off Sunday night when flash floods washed away most of the access roads, described devastation in the city's center, where search and rescue teams combed shattered apartment buildings for bodies and retrieved floating bodies offshore.
"Bodies are everywhere, inside houses, in the streets, at sea. Wherever you go, you find dead men, women, and children," Emad al-Falah, an aid worker from Benghazi, said over the phone from Derna. "Entire families were lost." Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding in many towns of eastern Libya, but the worst-hit was Derna. As the storm pounded the coast Sunday, residents said they heard loud explosions when the dams outside the city collapsed. Floodwaters washed down Wadi Derna, a river running from the mountains through the city and into the sea. "The city of Derna was submerged by waves 7 meters (23 feet) high that destroyed everything in their path," Yann Fridez, head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Libya, told broadcaster France24. "The human toll is enormous." Derna lies on a narrow coastal plain on the Mediterranean under steep mountains running along the coast. Only two roads from the south remain usable, and they involve a long, winding route through the mountains. Aid teams with some supplies managed to get in that way, but local emergency workers otherwise were relying on whatever equipment they already had on hand. Collapsed bridges split the city center, further hampering movements.
Ossama Ali, a spokesman for the Ambulance and Emergency Center in eastern Libya, said at least 5,100 deaths were recorded in Derna, along with around 100 others elsewhere in eastern Libya. More than 7,000 people were injured in the city, most receiving treatment in field hospitals that authorities and aid agencies set up, he told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday. The number of deaths is likely to increase since search and rescue teams are still collecting bodies from the streets, buildings and the sea, he said. At least 30,000 people in Derna were displaced by the flooding, the U.N. migration agency said. The damage is so extensive that the city is almost inaccessible for humanitarian aid workers, the International Organization for Migration said. The startling devastation pointed to the storm's intensity, but also Libya's vulnerability. The country is divided by rival governments, one in the east, the other in the west, and the result has been neglect of infrastructure in many areas. "This is a disaster of every sense of the word," a wailing survivor who lost 11 members of his family told a local television station as a group of rescuers tried to calm him. The television station did not identify the survivor.
Ahmed Abdalla, a survivor who joined the search and rescue effort, said they were putting bodies in the yard of a local hospital before taking them for burial in mass graves at the city's sole intact cemetery. "The situation is indescribable. Entire families dead in this disaster. Some were washed away to the sea," Abdalla said by phone from Derna.
Bulldozers worked over the past two days to fix and clear roads to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid and heavy equipment urgently needed for the search and rescue operations. Derna is 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Benghazi, where international aid started to arrive on Tuesday.
Libya's neighbors, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, have sent rescue teams and humanitarian aid. President Joe Biden also said the United States is sending emergency funds to relief organizations and coordinating with the Libyan authorities and the U.N. to provide additional support. Mohammed Abu-Lamousha, a spokesman for the eastern Libyan interior ministry, on Tuesday put the death tally in Derna at more than 5,300, according to the state-run news agency. Dozens of others were reported dead in other towns in eastern Libya, he said.
Authorities have transferred hundreds of bodies to morgues in nearby towns. In the city of Tobruk, 169 kilometers (105 miles) east of Derna, the Medical Center of Tobruk's morgue received more than 300 bodies for people killed in the Derna flooding. Among them were 84 Egyptians, according to a list of dead obtained by The Associated Press.
Dozens of bodies of Egyptians killed in the floods were returned to their home country. Most of the dead are from one village, el-Sharif, in the southern province of Beni Suef. They were buried Wednesday morning following a mass funeral attended by hundreds of villagers. Four of the dead were buried at another funeral in the Nile Delta province of Beheira. Among the dead was the family of Saleh Sariyeh, 60, a Palestinian from the refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in Lebanon, whose home was washed away in the floods, his nephew Mohammed Sariyeh told The Associated Press.
Mohammed Sariyeh said his uncle had been living for decades in Derna with his wife, Sanaa Jammal, and two daughters, Walaa, 27, and Hoda, 25, and were all killed on Monday. He added that friends called them from Libya telling the family that his uncle's apartment was in a building in the city center that was washed away during the storm. The four were buried in Derna, Mohammed Sariyeh said adding that because of the ongoing fighting in Ein el-Hilweh, the family in Lebanon will not be receiving condolences in the camp. At least 10,000 people were still missing in the city, according to Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He said 40,000 people have been displaced in Derna and other towns affected by the floods in eastern Libya. Known for its white-painted houses and palm gardens, Derna is about 900 kilometers (560 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli. It is controlled by the forces of powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter, who is allied with the eastern Libyan government. The rival government in western Libya, based in Tripoli, is allied with other armed groups. Much of Derna was built by Italy when Libya was under Italian occupation in the first half of the 20th century. The city was once a hub for extremist groups in the years of chaos that followed the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

How to help those affected by the Morocco earthquake and Libya flood
Associated Press/September 13/2023
International aid groups have mobilized in Morocco, where a 6.8 magnitude earthquake Friday night has killed 2,681 and injured more than 2,500, and Libya, where thousands are reported dead and more than 10,000 still missing from weekend flooding. Donors, both big and small, are also mobilizing to support those relief efforts.Experts say the most direct way to provide aid to those affected in both countries is to donate to organizations that already have operations on the ground in those countries. In Morocco, where the earthquake was centered in the Atlas Mountains, that takes on additional importance because so far the Moroccan government has accepted governmental aid from only four nations — Spain, Qatar, Britain and the United Arab Emirates — as it tries to avoid a "counterproductive" lack of coordination. In Libya, where Mediterranean storm Daniel dumped nearly 16 inches of rain on Eastern Libya and caused two dams near the city of Derna to fail, many worry the fact that the country has two governments supported by different countries may slow rescue and recovery efforts. "We are just seeing the scale and severity of disasters from natural hazards increasing and that is putting a drain on resources — both financial and human resources — and also, I'll be honest, empathy," said Patricia McIlreavy, CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. Recovery from these events could take years, McIlreavy said, and encouraged people to consider longer-term, unrestricted giving rather than rushing to give immediately when conditions are still rapidly changing. Michael Thatcher, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, which evaluates and rates nonprofits, said getting aid into Libya may be challenging due to ongoing sanctions the United States has placed against the country. Generally, those sanctions are waived following a natural disaster, as they were for Syria earlier this year following a deadly earthquake there. Thatcher said larger international nonprofits, like The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), will have an easier time navigating sanctions than a smaller, U.S. nonprofit with no previous interaction with the Libyan governments. "Getting $100 into Libya is hard," he said. "Getting $100 to Doctors Without Borders or World Vision or another one of those large, well-established charities to use in Libya is much easier because they already have third parties that are working with them there."
Charity Navigator has assembled a list of nonprofits that work in Libya, Thatcher said.
Here are some groups that have responded and are looking for additional support:
— The IFRC quickly responded to both disasters. It released $1.1 million from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund to support Moroccan Red Crescent relief efforts in the country and on Tuesday launched an appeal to raise $112 million more. "We expect this initial release of money to make a difference on the ground," said Dr. Hossam Elsharkawi, IFRC's regional director of Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement. "It will be used to buy essential supplies locally in Morocco. The people in the Moroccan Red Crescent know their communities best, and know best what is needed." Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the IFRC, told a U.N. briefing in Geneva that the situation in Libya was "as devastating as the situation in Morocco."
— World Central Kitchen is teaming with Moroccan volunteers to provide food and water in the remote areas hardest hit by the earthquake. However, World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres said the group's helicopters are doing double duty, dropping off supplies in those areas and evacuating injured people on their return trips.
— Doctors Without Borders has sent 10 staff members to Morocco to assess what the local hospital needs are and how the organization can support the Moroccan government with supplies or logistics. Though Doctors Without Borders announced plans to end medical activities in Tripoli last month, it continues to provide medical care and humanitarian assistance in other parts of the country.
— CARE, which has been working in Morocco since 2008 to help people get access to basic services, has launched the Morocco Earthquake Emergency Fund, which it says will prioritize providing women and girls, youth, and disadvantaged groups food and shelter.
— GlobalGiving's Morocco Earthquake Relief Fund had raised nearly $560,000 by Tuesday afternoon to provide food, water and shelter to those who have lost their homes in the earthquake, as well as supporting long-term recovery efforts.
— Islamic Relief has already pledged 100,000 British pounds ($125,000) for Libya relief efforts and has launched the Libya Floods Emergency Appeal to raise more funds to give local humanitarian organizations to use for affected communities.

How Libya's chaos left its people vulnerable to deadly flooding
Naharnet/September 13/2023
A storm that has killed thousands of people and left thousands more missing in Libya is the latest blow to a country that has been gutted by years of chaos and division. The floods are the most fatal environmental disaster in the country's modern history. Years of war and lack of a central government have left it with crumbling infrastructure that was vulnerable to the intense rains. Libya is currently the only country yet to develop a climate strategy, according to the United Nations. The north African country has been divided between rival administrations and beset by militia conflict since NATO-backed Arab Spring uprising toppled autocratic ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The city of Derna in the country's east saw the most destruction, as large swaths of riverside buildings vanished, washed away after two dams burst. Videos of the aftermath show water gushing through the port city's remaining tower blocks and overturned cars, and later, bodies lined up on sidewalks covered with blankets, collected for burial. Residents say the only indication of danger was the loud sound of the dams cracking, with no warning system or evacuation plan. Here's a look at why the storm was so destructive and what obstacles stand in the way of getting aid to those who need it most:
TWO GOVERNMENTS, TWO PRIME MINISTERS
Since 2014. Libya has been split between two rival governments, each backed by international patrons and numerous armed militias on the ground. In Tripoli, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah heads Libya's internationally recognized government. In Benghazi, the rival prime minister, Ossama Hamad, heads the eastern administration, which is backed by powerful military commander Khalifa Hiftar. Both governments and the eastern commander have separately pledged to help the rescue efforts in the flood-affected areas, but they have no record of successful cooperation. Rival parliaments have for years failed to unify despite international pressure, including planned elections in 2021 that were never held. As recent as 2020, the two sides were in an all-out war. Hifter's forces besieged Tripoli in a year-long failed military campaign to try to capture the capital, killing thousands. Then in 2022, former eastern leader Fathi Basagah tried to seat his government in Tripoli before clashes between rival militias forced him to withdraw. The support of regional and world powers has further entrenched the divisions. Hifter's forces are backed by Egypt, Russia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, while the west Libya administration is backed by Turkey, Qatar and Italy. The UAE, Egypt and Turkey are all helping rescue efforts on the ground. But as of Tuesday, rescue operations were struggling to reach Derna. Claudia Gazzini, a senior Libya analyst at International Crisis Group, says the problem is partially logistical with many of the roads entering the port city having been severed by the storm. But political strife also plays a role. "International efforts to send rescue teams have to go through the Tripoli-based government," said Gazzini. That means permissions to allow aid inside the most affected areas have to be approved by rival authorities. She was skeptical the Benghazi government could manage the problem alone, she said.
GROWING UNREST AND DISCONTENT
The flooding follows a long line of problems born from the country's lawlessness. Last month, protests broke out across Libya after news broke of a secret meeting between the Libyan and Israeli foreign ministers. The demonstrations turned into a movement calling for Debibah to resign. Earlier in August, sporadic fighting broke out between two rival militia forces in the capital, killing at least 45 people, a reminder of the influence rogue armed groups wield across Libya. Libya has become a major transit point for Middle Eastern and African migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to seek a better life in Europe. Militias and human traffickers have benefited from the instability in Libya, smuggling migrants across borders from six nations, including Egypt, Algeria and Sudan. Meanwhile, Libya's rich oil reserves have done little to help its population. The production of crude oil, Libya's most valued export, has at times slowed to a trickle due to blockades and security threats to companies. Allocation of oil revenues has become a key point of disagreement.
TALE OF A NEGLECTED CITY
Much of Derna was constructed when Libya was under Italian occupation in the first half of the 20th century. It became famous for its scenic white beachfront houses and palm gardens. But in the aftermath of Gaddafi's ouster in 2011, it disintegrated into a hub for Islamist extremist groups, was bombarded by Egyptian airstrikes and later besieged by forces loyal to Hiftar. The city was taken by Hiftar's forces in 2019. Like other cities in the east of the country, it has not seen much rebuilding or investment since the revolution. Most of its modern infrastructure was constructed during the Gaddafi era, including the toppled Wadi Derna dam, built by a Yugoslav company in the mid 1970s. According to Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow specializing in Libya at the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, Hiftar views the city and its population with suspicion, and has been reluctant to allow it too much independence. Last year, for instance, a massive reconstruction plan for the city was led by outsiders from Benghazi and elsewhere, not natives of Derna."Tragically, this mistrust might prove calamitous during the upcoming post-disaster period," Harchaoui said.

Rescue teams intensify efforts in villages destroyed by Morocco earthquake
AFP/September 13/2023
Rescue teams intensify efforts in villages destroyed by Morocco earthquake
Rescue teams continued their intensive efforts on Wednesday in the villages devastated by the earthquake, although hopes of finding survivors are dwindling after five days since the catastrophe that left nearly three thousand dead. In parallel, efforts to open and expand mountain paths to deliver aid to remote villages are ongoing. The earthquake has claimed at least 2,901 lives and left 5,530 injured, according to the latest figures announced by the Interior Ministry on Tuesday, with most of the victims having been buried. In Tlat Niaqoub, one of the affected villages, rescue teams retrieved a body from under the rubble, as shown in images broadcast by the state-owned "Al-Oula" television channel on Wednesday, confirming the continuation of search operations. Morocco is deploying rescue teams from the UK, Spain, the UAE, and Qatar, but they face rugged terrain, as the earthquake struck in mountainous areas with scattered and remote villages. A member of the Qatari rescue team stated, "We are intervening in many places that vehicles cannot reach." Many villages have been completely flattened, especially since most of the buildings are made of mud, as in the village of Inghid, where farmer Mohamed al-Mutawakkil said, "We have lost everything." Military helicopters have been conducting approximately 35 to 40 missions daily since Saturday between Marrakech airport and isolated mountainous areas, including evacuating the wounded and transporting aid, according to "Al-Oula" television on Wednesday. The International Red Cross has launched an appeal to raise more than $100 million to provide urgent needs for Morocco, while extensive solidarity campaigns are ongoing in various cities of the kingdom to deliver aid to the affected areas. AFP correspondents on the road leading to the town of Amzmiz, about 60 kilometers south of Marrakech, spotted several trucks loaded with blankets and mattresses. Conversely, aid convoys headed to more distant villages to the west, such as the village of Tikhit, where residents received food, bedding, and diapers. Farah Fawzia (18 years old) said, "We eat thanks to the benefactors," as she resides in a tent at the foot of the mountain after all the village's houses were completely destroyed, and about sixty of its inhabitants were killed. In the village of Adasil, also affected, survivors gathered around volunteers distributing aid, who came from the distant city of Tiznit, about 400 kilometers away.
One of the volunteers, Mariam Bakrim (38 years old), explained, "We launched an appeal on Facebook, and donations started arriving in less than half an hour," noting that the initiative enabled sending about forty trucks loaded with food and clothes to the affected areas. Meanwhile, three warehouses were established in the Taroudant region (south of Marrakech) to collect aid and transport it by trucks or air to the affected villages, according to local media reports. This region is the second to be affected by the earthquake after the Al-Hawz region, and both regions include scattered mountain villages.
Since the earthquake struck these vast areas on Friday night, relief operations and aid delivery have faced road closures due to rockslides, especially on unpaved mountain paths. An official in the Ministry of Equipment said on Wednesday to AFP, "Specialized teams continue to work on opening many of those secondary paths through the mountains to secure access to small villages." He confirmed that "the main road leading to the commune (circle) of Ighil, where the earthquake's epicenter is located, has been opened, as well as to the neighboring village of Aghbar." However, these operations face the challenge of recurring rockslides due to aftershocks, the ministry official added. On Wednesday, an aftershock in the village of Imi Ntala (about 70 kilometers southwest of Marrakech) caused a rock fall that lightly injured a person, who was transported to the hospital by an ambulance, according to AFP correspondents. This village is close to the earthquake's epicenter.

International crews in Morocco to recover bodies days after deadly quake
Associated Press/September 13/2023
The stench of death wafted through the village of Imi N'Tala high up in Morocco's Atlas Mountains four days after a deadly earthquake struck, slicing off a chunk of mountain, killing residents and razing the hamlet to the ground. Bulldozers, rescue crews and Moroccan first responders work around the clock trying to dig through the wreckage to unearth the eight to ten corpses still underneath. "The mountain was split in half and started falling. Houses were fully destroyed," Ait Ougadir Al Houcine said as rescuers worked on recovering bodies, including his sister's. "Some people lost all their cattle. We have nothing but the clothes we're wearing. Everything is gone."The scene in Imi N'Tala, which mainly houses herders and famers and where 96 residents perished in Friday's earthquake, mirrors that of dozens of places situated along the treacherous mountain roads south of Marrakech: Men in donated djellabas neatly arrange rugs atop dust and rocks to pray after looking for open space and solid ground. Donkeys bray as they pass by people covering their noses to block the smell of decomposing bodies. The death and injury counts continue to rise as more remote villages are reached, bodies get dug up and people sent to hospitals. Moroccan authorities reported 2,901 deaths as of Tuesday. The United Nations has estimated that 300,000 people were affected by Friday night's magnitude 6.8 quake. But things look different than in the hours and days immediately after the temblor.
About 38 miles (62 kilometers) north in Marrakech, King Mohammed VI is visiting a hospital and donating blood. And in Imi N'Tala — as well as in nearby Anougal, Imi N'Isli and Igourdane — aid has finally arrived. White and yellow tents line partially paved roads. Pyramids of water bottles and milk cartons are stacked nearby. Moroccans who've come to the region from the country's larger cities hand clay tagine pots and neatly packed bags full of food aid off of the backs of trucks. Camera crews from France, Spain and Qatar's Al Jazeera set up as Moroccan emergency responders — along with crews from Qatar, Spain and international NGOs — jackhammer through rocks to recover a woman's body from under a crumbling house that looks like it could fall at any moment. She's likely dead because — unlike the buildings that fell in Turkey and Syria's earthquake earlier this year — the mud bricks used to build homes in Imi N'Tala left little space for air needed to keep people alive, said Patrick Villadry of the French rescue crew, ULIS. "When we dig, we look for someone alive. From there, we don't ask ourselves questions. If they're alive, great. If they're dead, it's a shame," he said, noting that recovering the dead was important for Moroccan families. Morocco has limited the amount of aid allowed into the country in response to the earthquake and green-lit crews from only four countries — Spain, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — and non-governmental organizations. Villadry's five-person, four-dog crew from Nice was among the few French NGOs to have made it to the disaster site. It arrived Saturday, he said. Though the government has cautioned that poorly coordinated aid "would be counterproductive," the explanation has prompted skepticism among Moroccans like Brahim Ait Blasri, who watched as they tried recovery attempts. "It's not true. It's politics," he said, referring to Morocco's decision not to accept aid from countries such as the United States and France. "We have to set aside our pride. This is too much."

Why did quake-hit Morocco refuse to open doors to int'l help?
Associated Press/September 13/2023
The text-message alert came in the middle of the night: A massive earthquake had hit Morocco. French volunteers scrambled to pull together a nine-person search-and-rescue team, listening devices and other gear to look for people buried under rubble. The only thing the French aid workers didn't have was a green light from Morocco to hop on a flight, which could have landed them in the North African country's disaster zone little more than 24 hours after the Sept. 8 quake that killed more than 2,900 people and injured at least 5,530 others in flattened villages and townhouses. "The green light never came," said Arnaud Fraisse, the team's coordinator and founder of aid group Rescuers Without Borders. "All of our team members who train regularly year-round for this type of thing are miserable that they couldn't leave and put their skills to use." Aid groups in Europe are frustrated that Morocco did not throw open its doors to outside assistance as Turkey did for a devastating quake in February. Quickly grasping the vast scale of the disaster, Turkey within hours appealed for international help, which enabled rescue crews from 90 countries to pull hundreds of people out alive. Morocco has taken a more limited approach. It accepted government-offered search-and-rescue crews from Spain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the U.K., but it has not taken up other offers of emergency assistance from the United States, France and elsewhere. The reasons appear partly logistical. Aid experts said rescue teams can be more of a hindrance than a help if they all rush in uninvited and without coordination. And quickly getting them to Morocco's disaster zone in the Atlas Mountains could have been tough. Roads and dirt tracks that can be hard to navigate at the best of times were destroyed and blocked by fallen rocks. Morocco also has bad memories of chaotic international aid that followed another deadly quake in 2004. After the latest temblor, the Interior Ministry cautioned that poorly coordinated aid "would be counterproductive." Moroccan Sen. Lahcen Haddad, who also previously served as the country's tourism minister, said the immediate priority was clearing roads and reaching survivors. "We don't need numbers. We need speedy work to get to the population. We have enough people to do that," he said in an Associated Press interview.
"If there is aid, it will be later," he added. "In any case, for those people who are impatient to help, there will be enough work for everyone."Caroline Holt of the International Federation of the Red Cross agreed that accessing some quake-hit areas "is extremely complex" and said "the Moroccan government is taking careful steps with regard to opening up." "One of the worst things to do in an already chaotic situation is to introduce further uncertainty and potential chaos by opening the doors and everybody coming in," she said. Fraisse acknowledged that dozens of well-meaning search teams arriving together from overseas could have been overwhelming. And he noted that other countries have also rejected help from rescue teams like his, including Armenia in 1988. But he also knows how precious time is when there are lives to be saved. Whisked part of the way by military helicopter, his team reached a disaster zone in Turkey about 48 hours after the quake that killed more than 50,000 people. Rescue deployments were "extremely well-coordinated," he said. But the French rescuers were still too late — sometimes by agonizing margins — to recover survivors.
Some dead bodies they found were still warm, Fraisse recalled.
He suspects that political tensions between France and Morocco are another reason why his team's offer wasn't acted upon. They contacted the Moroccan Embassy in Paris within hours of the quake, but "it's been radio silence since then," he said. "We are paying the price for the quarrel," he said. "We accept it. It's part of the game. We're not going to fight states to say 'You absolutely have to accept us.'"Germany, which also has had tensions with Morocco in recent years but now has warmer relations than France, was not taken up on its offer to send a 50-person rescue team and dogs. The team assembled in the quake's immediate aftermath at a German airport before being told to stand down. A Czech rescue service also readied a 70-person team that stayed grounded. "It could be political, religious or any other reasons," Vladimir Vlcek, its director general, told Czech public radio Tuesday. "The longer it's delayed, the slimmer is a chance for someone to survive under the rubble." Patricia McIlreavy, CEO of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, said Morocco's response does not seem to be slowing aid from charities and nonprofits. Her Washington-based nonprofit advises donors on effective giving following disasters. "It's very easy from the outside to criticize and say, 'Well, if they just took all this assistance that we're offering, everything would be fine,'" she said. "But it's actually a lot of work to coordinate an international response."

Bahrain prisoners suspend hunger strike ahead of crown prince US visit
Associated Press/September 13/2023
Hundreds of prisoners suspended their monthlong hunger strike in Bahrain, just ahead of a visit of the island nation's crown prince to the United States. The strike will pause until Sept. 30 as some prisoners suffered health problems and to see if promised changes by Bahrain's government at the Jaw Rehabilitation and Reform Center will materialize, according to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, an advocacy group. The promised changes include limiting isolation, expanding visitor rights, extending the hours of daylight inmates have and improving health care at the prison, the group said. If the changes are not implemented, the strike will resume. The group linked the decision to Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa's visit to Washington this week. He is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday and sign a security and economic agreement.
Bahrain's government acknowledged the stop of the hunger strike in a statement to The Associated Press, though it contended the strike had fully ended after spending weeks trying to downplay the protest and the number of prisoners taking part. It said that the suspension came after "visiting hours were reorganized, the hours of open air access were increased and the number of contacts that could be contacted was increased too." The monthlong hunger strike had been one of the longest sustained demonstrations of dissent in the decade since Bahrain, aided by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, violently suppressed its 2011 Arab Spring protests. Maryam al-Khawaja, the daughter of the long-detained human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, plans to travel to Bahrain in the coming days with activists including the head of Amnesty International. She plans to advocate for her father's release, though she herself faces prison time in Bahrain, the home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf.

Israeli academics and artists call on Biden, UN to shun Netanyahu in upcoming US visit
Associated Press/September 13/2023
Thousands of Israeli academics and artists have urged U.S. President Joe Biden and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to shun Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the United States next week, underlining the divide between Israel's far-right government and segments of the country's population. In an open letter published Wednesday, over 3,500 signers, including well-known Israeli writer David Grossman and painter Tamar Getter, called on Biden and Guterres not to meet with Netanyahu or invite him to speak at the U.N. General Assembly's yearly meeting of world leaders. The prime minister's office has said Netanyahu will travel to the U.S. next week to visit high-tech leaders in California before flying to New York to address the U.N. "Netanyahu incites citizens against each other, threatens the country's security and economy, and turns his face away from the historical conflict that tears Israel apart – the forceful domination of the Palestinian people," the open letter read. Netanyahu's public itinerary so far does not feature an appointment with Biden at the White House. Biden said earlier this year he had no intention to meet Netanyahu "in the near term," but the president softened his position in July, leaving open the possibility of informal talks between the leaders or a meeting on the sidelines of the General Assembly. Israel's rightward lurch under Netanyahu's ultranationalist and religiously conservative government that took office late last year has strained the country's critical ties with the U.S. Netanyahu's push to overhaul the country's judicial system — an effort to weaken the Supreme Court and give more power to the governing coalition — has drawn strong criticism from Washington, where officials have said the U.S.-Israel alliance must be rooted in a shared approach to democracy. The Biden administration has also expressed increased frustration with the Israeli government's settlement growth in the occupied West Bank, which the U.S. and most of the international community considers a main obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. The Israeli prime minister's U.S. trip comes as his plan to overhaul the judicial system has plunged Israel into one its gravest domestic crises in history, bringing hundreds of thousands of Israeli protesters into the streets for the past nine months. Opponents say the overhaul removes a key check on majority rule and will concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and his far-right allies, eroding the country's democratic institutions. Proponents of the plan say the country's unelected judiciary, led by the Supreme Court, wields too much power. Biden expressed concerns when Israel's parliament slammed through the first piece of legislation in July, calling the outcome "unfortunate." On Tuesday, Israel's Supreme Court opened the first case to look at the legality of Netanyahu's deeply contentious plans. The country's academics, artists, business leaders and even military reservists have come out against the overhaul. "From the outset of establishing his extreme right-wing government, Mr. Netanyahu's coalition has worked tirelessly to undermine the gatekeepers of Israel's democracy, weaken the Supreme Court, neutralize the media and destroy the few checks and balances safeguarding the health of our nation," the open letter read.

Former leaders of Israel's security services speak out against Netanyahu
Associated Press/September 13/2023
They contended with bloody uprisings, destabilizing wars and even the assassination of a prime minister during their service. But for dozens of former Israeli security commanders, the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government are the biggest threat yet to the country's future. In unprecedented opposition, more than 180 former senior officials from the Mossad, the Shin Bet domestic security agency, the military and the police have united against steps they say will shatter Israel's resilience in the face of mounting threats from the West Bank, Lebanon and Iran. "We were used to dealing with external threats," said Tamir Pardo, a former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and a leader of the new group. "We've been through wars, through military operations and all of a sudden you realize that the greatest threat to the state of Israel is internal." Netanyahu's government, made up of ultranationalist and ultra-religious parties, was formed last year and immediately pressed ahead with a contentious plan to reshape the country's judiciary. Senior government ministers have proposed a litany of steps critics view as undemocratic, including increased gender segregation in public spaces and giving an outspoken homophobe control over some educational content.
Critics say the overhaul will change the very foundation of Israel and remove the checks that would prevent the government's more radical policies from becoming law. The government says the overhaul is meant to restore power to elected lawmakers and curb an overly interventionist and liberal-leaning judicial system. The plan has sparked mass protests and opposition from a broad swath of Israeli society. Top legal officials, business leaders, the country's booming high-tech sector and military reservists have spoken out against it. Former security chiefs have too, as individuals. But now, dozens, some of whom were appointed by Netanyahu, have banded together against the government's intentions, hoping their chorus of widely respected voices will bolster their case.
"We are the people who were there, who fought all the wars," said Noam Tibon, a retired military major general. "We decided there needs to be a strong, ethical and clear voice that calls for and works to stop the process of destruction of the country." In a country familiar with wars and armed conflict, Israel's Jewish majority holds its security establishment in high regard. Military service is compulsory for most Jewish males, which has fostered intimate ties between ordinary Israelis and the armed forces. The group of former officers, dubbing itself the "Generals' Protest," reads like a who's who list of well-known figures. Former military chief of staff and defense minister Moshe Yaalon and former Shin Bet director Carmi Gillon, who served when Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, are among the prominent names. While former security officials have in the past largely remained above the political fray, these are extraordinary days, said Idit Shafran Gittleman, a senior researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. "Just as they protected the country physically," she said, "now they are fighting over the character of the state." The movement says it draws members from various political leanings but has no political aspirations itself. Its leaders say they will disband once they feel the looming threat to Israel's security is removed. The former generals, like the broader protest movement, have not taken a clear stand on the Palestinian issue and Israel's ongoing occupation of the West Bank. While individual members have spoken out, including Pardo, who told The Associated Press that Israel's rule in the occupied West Bank amounts to apartheid, the group says it isn't its focus. The Palestinians and other critics say this is a significant blind spot for a movement that says it is defending democracy. But Israeli anti-occupation activists joining the protests believe the pervasive talk about democratic values and the ultranationalist makeup of the government is prompting an awakening over Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.
The commanders say Israel's cohesion as a society is crumbling and that it won't be able to withstand the volley of challenges it's now facing: surging fighting with the Palestinians, tensions with the Lebanese Shiite militant Hezbollah or Iran.
"Israel didn't win wars because of its planes or its batteries or its tanks. It won mainly because of its human capital, its social cohesion, its brotherhood," said former Israeli police chief Moshe Karadi, a group member. "That is breaking down. That is collapsing."
The overhaul has exposed longstanding divisions in Israeli society, between those who support maintaining a liberal, Western-facing character and those who prefer to see Israel as more religious and conservative. The disagreements have most immediately and perhaps destructively affected the military, the group of retired generals says. Not only have reservists, the backbone of the country's armed forces, pledged to refuse to serve if the overhaul moves forward. The divide has seeped into the regular ranks.
The ex-commanders also oppose a draft bill that could grant blanket exemptions from the military draft to all ultra-Orthodox Jews. If the bill is passed, it would expand a current system of more limited exemptions that critics already say is unfair. They say government ministers are unravelling the country's social fabric by publicly lambasting security services or soldiers who appear to oppose the government. Karadi said the government's steps are affecting all aspects of Israeli security, including the police. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has been promised a national guard force that critics have likened to a personal militia that would undermine the already overburdened police force. Ben-Gvir, who oversees the police, has drawn accusations that he is politicizing the force. He has called on police to take a tougher stance against anti-government protesters, and a popular Tel Aviv police commander who regularly clashed with Ben-Gvir over the protests resigned in July under what he said was political pressure. Pardo, who was appointed by Netanyahu in 2011, said the prime minister was once attentive to the counsel of his security chiefs. He says Netanyahu is now focused on political survival, especially since he was charged with corruption. The generals group has its own critics. Amir Avivi, president and founder of Israel Defense and Security Forum, a hawkish group of former military officers, said the generals are obsessed with Netanyahu's downfall and misusing their security credentials to further a political message that itself may harm Israel's security. "We see a discourse that is very shallow, full of slogans and political. This is not the type of speech that is expected from officers," he said. Generals' Protest group members have spoken at mass protests against the overhaul and are quietly lobbying coalition legislators.They also insist that they don't oppose the government itself, which they say was legitimately elected, nor that they are some kind of military junta hoping to overthrow it. "We are people who sacrificed their lives and careers for the security of the state," said Pardo. "Maybe it's worth listening to us."

Crimea shipyard on fire after Ukrainian attack damages 2 ships, injures 24 people
Associated Press/September 13/2023
A Ukrainian attack on a strategic shipyard in Russia-annexed Crimea wounded 24 people, damaged two ships undergoing repairs and caused a fire at the facility Wednesday, Russian authorities reported. The attack in the port city of Sevastopol, which serves as the main base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, took place as Moscow launched drones against southern Ukraine's Odesa region. The pre-dawn onslaught there damaged port and civilian infrastructure in the region's Izmail district - not far from the Crimean city — and wounded seven people, three seriously, Gov. Oleh Kiper said. Ukraine's air force said it intercepted 32 of 44 Shahed-type drones launched over the country overnight, most of them directed toward the southern parts of the Odesa region. The Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in an act that most of the world considered illegal, has been a frequent target since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than 18 months ago. Wednesday's attack on the Sevastopol Shipyard attack appeared to one of the biggest in recent weeks. Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine launched 10 cruise missiles at the shipyard and three sea drones at Russian ships in the Black Sea. The shipyard is of strategic importance to Russia because vessels in its Black Sea fleet are repaired there. Seven missiles were shot down, and all the sea drones were destroyed, the Russian military said, but some of the missiles damaged two ships that were being repaired at the shipyard. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-appointed governor of Sevastopol, said on Telegram that the resulting fire injured 24 people. He posted a photo showing the shipyard in flames with smoke billowing over it. Ukraine's RBC-Ukraine news outlet reported, citing unnamed sources in Ukrainian military intelligence, that an amphibious landing ship and a submarine were damaged in the attack. Some Russian messaging app channels made the same claim. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials. Kyiv has acknowledged past attacks on Crimea, which Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy has a goal of reclaiming, and avoided claiming responsibility for drone attacks on Moscow and other regions of Russia.

Kim vows full support for Russia’s 'just fight' after viewing launch pads with Putin
Associated Press/September 13/2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday his country's "full and unconditional support" for Russia's "sacred fight" to defend its security interests, in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine, and said Pyongyang will always stand with Moscow on the "anti-imperialist" front. Kim also called North Korea's relations with Russia "the first priority." The leaders met at a remote Siberian rocket launch facility for a summit that underscores how their interests are aligning in the face of their countries' separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States. Putin in his opening remarks welcomed Kim to Russia and said he was glad to see him. Putin listed economic cooperation, humanitarian issues and the "situation in the region" among the agenda items for their talks. The two men began their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia's most important domestic satellite launch center, with a tour of a Soyuz-2 space rocket launch facility, at which Kim peppered a Russian space official with questions about the rockets. Kim and Putin then met together with their delegations and later one-on-one, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. Following the tour, the two leaders headed a meeting of their delegations, and then spoke one-on-one. The meeting came hours after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the sea, extending a highly provocative run in North Korean weapons testing since the start of 2022, as Kim used the distraction caused by Putin's war on Ukraine to accelerate his weapons development. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff didn't immediately say how far the North Korean missiles flew. Japan's Coast Guard, citing Tokyo's Defense Ministry, said the missiles have likely already landed but still urged vessels to watch for falling objects.
Putin welcomed Kim's limousine, brought from Pyongyang in the North Korean leader's special armored train, at the entrance to the launch facility with a handshake that lasted around 40 seconds. Putin said he was "very glad to see" Kim. Kim's translator thanked Putin for the warm welcome, "despite being busy." The decision to meet at Cosmodrome suggests that Kim is seeking Russian technical assistance for his efforts to develop military reconnaissance satellites, which he has described as crucial in enhancing the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles. In recent months, North Korea has repeatedly failed to put its first military spy satellite into orbit. Official photos showed that Kim was accompanied by Pak Thae Song, chairman of North Korea's space science and technology committee, and navy Adm. Kim Myong Sik, who are linked with North Korean efforts to acquire spy satellites and nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry.
Asked whether Russia will help North Korea build satellites, Putin was quoted by Russian state media as saying "that's why we have come here. The DPRK leader shows keen interest in rocket technology. They're trying to develop space, too," using the abbreviation for North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Asked about military cooperation, Putin said "we will talk about all issues without a rush. There is time." For Putin, the meeting with Kim is an opportunity to refill ammunition stores that the 18-month-old war has drained. North Korea may have tens of millions of aging artillery shells and rockets based on Soviet designs that could give a huge boost to the Russian army in Ukraine, analysts say. Kim also brought Jo Chun Ryong, a ruling party official in charge of munitions policies who joined him on recent tours of factories producing artillery shells and missile, according to South Korea. Kim said his decision to visit Russia four years after his previous visit showed how Pyongyang is "prioritizing the strategic importance" of its relations with Moscow, North Korea's official news agency said Wednesday. Kim is expected to seek economic aid as well as military technology. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said Russia may discuss humanitarian aid with the North Korean delegation, according to Russian news agencies.
An arms deal would violate international sanctions that Russia supported in the past.
Lim Soo-suk, South Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said Seoul was maintaining communication with Moscow while closely monitoring Kim's visit. "No U.N. member state should violate Security Council sanctions against North Korea by engaging in an illegal trade of arms, and must certainly not engage in military cooperation with North Korea that undermines the peace and stability of the international community," Lim said at a briefing. The United States has accused North Korea of providing Russia with arms, including selling artillery shells to the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Both Russian and North Korean officials denied such claims. Speculation about military cooperation grew after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited North Korea in July. Kim subsequently toured his weapons factories, which experts said had the dual goal of encouraging the modernization of North Korean weaponry and examining artillery and other supplies that could be exported to Russia.

United Nations Special Envoy to Sudan to Step Down
Reuters/13 September 2023
The United Nations special envoy to Sudan is stepping down, more than three months after Sudan declared him unwelcome after disagreements between rival factions erupted into war. "I am grateful to the Secretary-General for that opportunity and for his confidence in me, but I have asked him to relieve me of this duty," envoy Volker Perthes told the UN Security Council on Wednesday, 2 -1/2 years after taking the job. Sudan's army (SAF) - led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan - and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began fighting each other in April, sparking a humanitarian crisis. More than one million people have since fled ethnic and sexual violence to neighboring countries. "What started as a conflict between two military formations could be morphing into a full-blown civil war," Perthes warned on Wednesday. Perthes told the 15-member Security Council that there was "little doubt who is responsible for what" in the conflict. "Often indiscriminate aerial bombing is conducted by those who have an airforce, which is the SAF. Most of the sexual violence, lootings and killings happen in areas controlled by the RSF and are conducted or tolerated by the RSF and their allies," he said during his last council briefing. He also said that both sides were arbitrarily arresting, detaining, and "even torturing civilians" and there were reports of extrajudicial killings. The war in Sudan began four years after a popular uprising ousted President Omar al-Bashir. Tensions between the army and RSF, which jointly staged a coup in 2021, erupted into fighting over a plan to integrate their forces as part of a transition to civilian rule. While several countries have tried to mediate, none has succeeded in bringing a halt to the fighting. Burhan had previously expressed his disapproval of Perthes, and before the outbreak of war supporters of Bashir had protested in front of Perthes' mission. Sudan declared Perthes persona non grata in June. Perthes had been working from outside Sudan since then. The United Nations said at the time that UN personnel cannot be made persona non grata.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September 13-14/2023
The Economic Corridor and The Ideological Corridor
Asharq Al-Awsat/September 13/2023
As soon as Saudi Arabia announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States to establish an economic corridor linking India and Europe, in cooperation with the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, and Italy, we had two corridors in our region. One is economic and the other is "ideological.” How? The signing of the memorandum of understanding on the economic corridor at the G20 Summit in India sparked a broad debate, with some questioning its seriousness, others assessing its benefits, and a third group fearing its consequences.
The Saudi-led camp of construction, stability, and development through serious ideas, is now assessing its benefits and potential returns; it is contemplating what the Saudi economy can achieve through this agreement and how its conclusion could reinforce the stability of the region. Meanwhile, others are approaching it differently, seeking a role for themselves not through partnership, but a zero-sum approach. “If it is not me, it won’t be anyone else.” The first figure to publicly oppose it was the Turkish president, who said that there could be no economic corridor without Türkiye, suggesting that the economic corridor goes from Iraq to Türkiye rather than the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
This proposal contradicts Türkiye’s policy towards Iraq. I say "contradicts" because it is strange for Ankara to demand an economic corridor through a country it has been bombarding under the pretext of combating terrorism. These strikes are tied, of course, to Türkiye's stance on the Kurds, and one cannot bomb a state and be its economic ally at the same time!
We hear the same criticisms from Iran’s men in the region, specifically those in Lebanon. The question here is clear and simple; it is not tenable for the “Guardianship of the Jurists” that stretches from Tehran to Lebanon passing through Iraq, and Syria, through which arms and militiamen are smuggled, to be a commercial trade route at the same time!
Speaking of Lebanon, Iran loyalists there claim that the economic corridor is merely a service to the "Zionist project." This can only be seen as a sick joke; no one in Lebanon has the right to speak out about this economic corridor after the maritime border demarcation agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
Obviously, no one can claim that the demarcation agreement was concluded by Lebanon’s politicians and not Hezbollah. The latter’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, gave his blessings personally. "As far as the resistance is concerned, the mission has been accomplished," he said; adding, "I announce the end of all the exceptional measures and mobilizations that the resistance. He also called the agreement "a major big and significant victory for Lebanon... for its state, its people, and its resistance".
Alright, that leaves the Muslim Brotherhood, be it those subordinate to Türkiye, those allied with Iran, or those currently realigning. All three are striving to establish an "ideological corridor" by exploiting the memorandum of understanding. Indeed, Muslim Brotherhood top brass and cadres are now trying to claim that the Suez Canal will be the ultimate victim of this economic corridor, pretending to care about Egyptians’ well-being. They are also attempting to use the "ideological corridor" to deepen their relationship with Türkiye once again.
In conclusion: the era of empty slogans and taking people for a ride is over. Everyone identifies their interest and looks into what benefits them. Whoever wishes to participate and compete positively is welcome to do so, but we do not have time for stale slogans that neither benefit nor turn hunger into satiation.

Can Liberalism Save Itself?
The New York Times/September 13/2023
Liberalism is under siege. It is not just a problem for America’s Democratic Party, which once again may face either losing an election to Donald Trump or claiming victory with a bare majority. Around the world, the entire outlook of political liberalism — with its commitments to limited government, personal freedom and the rule of law — is widely seen to be in trouble. It wasn’t long ago that liberals were proclaiming the “end of history” after their Cold War victory. But for years liberalism has felt perpetually on the brink: challenged by the rise of an authoritarian China, the success of far-right populists, and a sense of blockage and stagnation. Why do liberals find themselves in this position so routinely? Because they haven’t left the Cold War behind. It was in that era when liberals reinvented their ideology, which traces its roots to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution — and reinvented it for the worse. Cold War liberalism was preoccupied by the continuity of liberal government and the management of threats that might disrupt it, the same preoccupations liberals have today. To save themselves, they need to undo the Cold War mistakes that led them to their current impasse and rediscover the emancipatory potential in their creed. Before the Cold War, President Franklin Roosevelt had demanded the renovation of liberalism in response to the Great Depression, emphasizing that economic turmoil was at the root of tyranny’s appeal. His administration capped more than a century in which liberalism had been promising to unshackle humanity after millenniums of hierarchy — dismantling feudal structures, creating greater opportunities for economic and social mobility (at least for men) and breaking down barriers based on religion and tradition, even if all of these achievements were haunted by racial disparities. At its most visionary, liberalism implied that government’s duty was to help people overcome oppression for the sake of a better future.
Yet just a few years later, Cold War liberalism emerged as a rejection of the optimism that flourished before the mid-20th century’s crises. Having witnessed the agonizing destruction of Germany’s brief interwar experiment with democracy, liberals saw their Communist ally in that battle against fascism converted into a fearful enemy.
They responded by reconceptualizing liberalism. Philosophers like the Oxford don Isaiah Berlin emphasized the concept of individual liberty, which was defined as the absence of interference, especially from the state. Gone was the belief that freedom is guaranteed by institutions that empower humanity. Instead of committing to make freedom more credible to more people — for example, by promising a bright future of their own — these liberals prioritized a fight against mortal enemies who might crash the system.
This was a liberalism of fear. In a way, fear was understandable: Liberalism had enemies. In the late 1940s, the Communists took over China, while Eastern Europe fell behind an Iron Curtain. But reorienting liberalism toward the preservation of liberty incurred its own risks. Anyone hostage to fear is likely to exaggerate how dangerous his foes actually are, to overreact to the looming threat they pose and to forsake better choices than fighting.
During the Cold War, concern for liberty from tyranny and self-defense against enemies sometimes led not just to the loss of the very freedom liberals were supposed to care about at home; it also prompted violent reigns of terror abroad as liberals backed authoritarians or went to war in the name of fighting Communism. Millions died in the killing fields of this brutal global conflict, many of them at the hands of America and its proxies fighting in the name of “freedom.”
Frustratingly, the Soviet Union was making the kinds of promises about freedom and progress that liberals once thought belonged to them. After all, in the 19th century, liberals had overthrown aristocrats and kings and promised a world of freedom and equality in their stead. Liberals like the French politician and traveler Alexis de Tocqueville, though concerned about possible excesses of government, imagined democracy as a form of politics that offered startling new opportunities for equal citizenship. And while such liberals placed too much faith in markets both to emancipate and to equalize, they eventually struggled to correct this mistake. Liberals like the English philosopher John Stuart Mill helped invent socialism, too.
The Cold War changed all that. It wasn’t just that socialism became a liberal swear word for decades. Liberals concluded that the ideological passions that led millions around the world to Communism meant that they should refrain from promising emancipation themselves. The Cold War transformation of liberalism wouldn’t matter so profoundly now if liberals had seized the opportunity to rethink their creed in 1989. The haze of their geopolitical triumph made it easy to disregard their own mistakes, in spite of the long-run consequences in our time.
Instead, liberals doubled down. After several decades of endless wars against successor enemies and an increasingly “free” economy at home and around the world, American liberals have been shocked by blowback.
A great referendum on liberalism kicked off in 2016, after Mr. Trump’s blindsiding election victory. In books like Patrick Deneen’s best-selling “Why Liberalism Failed,” there was an up-or-down vote on the liberalism of the entire modern age. In frantic self-defense, liberals responded by invoking abstractions: “freedom,” “democracy” and “truth,” to which the sole alternative is tyranny, while distracting from their own errors and what it would take to correct them. Both sides failed to recognize that, like all traditions, liberalism is not take it or leave it. The very fact that liberals transformed it so radically during the Cold War means that it can be transformed again; liberals can revive their philosophy’s promises only by recommitting to its earlier impulses.
Is that likely? Under President Biden’s watch, China and Eastern Europe — the same places where events shocked Cold War liberals into their stance in the first place — have attracted a Cold War posture. Under Mr. Biden, as under Mr. Trump before him, the rhetoric out of Washington increasingly treats China as a civilizational threat.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has once again made Eastern Europe a site of struggle between the forces of freedom and the forces of repression. Some like to claim that the war in Ukraine has reminded liberals of their true purpose.
But look closer to home and that seems more dubious. Mr. Trump is the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee (if not the potential winner of the election). Yet liberals seem to be betting their success less on a positive vision for America’s future and more on the ability of courts to protect the nation.

How Did the PLO Arrive in Oslo?
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 13/2023
Some phenomena and events cannot be interpreted in themselves, not in as much as they can through what precedes them, and sometimes what succeeds them. The Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Accords, which was signed on this day thirty years ago, is one of them.
Those who find fault in Arafat and his comrades for having “betrayed the Palestinian cause” and “squandered it away” by signing the Oslo Accords, could have found many grave faults in the Palestinian leader, but this was not one of them. However, they were pushed to paint him as a traitor, in part, from their ignorance of two actualities that had preceded the accords and paved the way for them.
The first one is the inherent weakness of a cause whose victory had, for a long time, been staked on military action taken outside of Palestine. This vision, which the Palestinian revolution manifested and clung to until 1982, is akin to an epic poem written by little children. Indeed, the idea that the nations of the Arab world, and perhaps the Islamic masses along with them, would rise and join a liberational mission to defeat "the Zionist entity" overlooks the fact that these peoples have settled down in states and societies which are not merely calamities that have befallen their populations, calamities they are intent on ridding themselves of at the earliest opportunity.
Rather, the new nations were fundamentally beneficial to their populations and gateways to engaging with the modern world; despite their many shortcomings and the many legitimate criticisms directed against them. Moreover, these states and societies are founded on balances that armament and engaging in combat would do nothing but shatter. Countries would thus be split into an armed faction that dominates, reinforced by some communal consciousness and solidarity, and an unarmed faction that either acquiesces and becomes subjugated or resists subjugation, relying on a different communal consciousness and solidarity. Instead of both sides uniting to "liberate Palestine" like the myth claims they would, they split up and fought to "liberate" their country from one another.
Indeed, what the opponents of Arafat called “the Oslo capitulation” was not, like an earthquake, difficult to foresee ahead of time. It crowned the very path of the revolution from outside the country that it had been hoped the revolution would liberate.
What happened in Jordan between 1970 and 1971, and then in Lebanon between 1975 and 1989, clearly demonstrates that the "masses rallying around the Palestinian revolution" turned into a conflict between Palestinian and East Jordanian loyalties, Palestinian and Christian loyalties, and then Palestinian and Shiite loyalties. In the face of this hard reality, talking of "the sacrosanct cause" and the "central cause" has become parroting whose volume rises higher the lower actual commitment to that cause becomes.
As for those betting on Arab armies being a tool for liberation, the October 1973 war was clearly, to the more rational among them, the classical war that would end classical Arab-Israeli wars; they realized that what the armies had done then was the most they could ever do. Indeed, under Anwar Sadat, Egypt began, four years later, the process that would end the state of war, and there were strong doubts that any war would be fought without Egypt. As for Syria, under the rule of Hafez al-Assad, it closed off its borders with the "Zionist enemy", replacing the conflict with its engagement in the "Lebanese arena" and a great deal of rhetorical bombardment of the Jewish state.
Against this grim backdrop, the Palestinian cause and the theory of liberation from without were on course to be fated not to have strength as one of their qualities. The Israelis took up the task of ensuring they met this fate with their invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Since Gulf financial support was one of the requisites of this theory of liberation, whatever had been left of its validity was wiped out after the Palestine Liberation Organization welcomed Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.
As for the second actuality that explains the Oslo Accords and their concessions, it was Syrian President Hafez al-Assad's mission to ''discipline" the Palestinians, which finished the job that the Israeli invasion had begun. Imposing a split within Fatah and his painful military strikes that the Syrian regime hit the PLO in Lebanon with, in the Beqaa and Tripoli, and through the War of the Camps, as well as the assassinations on foreign soil that Assad, Saddam, and the Israelis shared in, all came together to overwhelm the PLO, making it realize that only the gates of hell were the only ones not shut to them. All of this came in parallel with Assad's continuous attempts to seize what Arafat referred to as the "independent national decision" of the Palestinians.
By the time the Madrid Conference was held in 1991 and the Oslo Accords followed two years later, it had become clear that there was no balance of power to reinforce demands for a fairer settlement for the Palestinians, who had had their teeth and nails pulled out. Rather, it was evident that the worst the PLO could get would be better than what the existing balance of power had been getting them. As for rejecting the offer and continuing the fight, it posed questions with obvious answers, like: Where? How? And with whom? And of course, there was nothing to suggest that Syria's rhetoric would be reflected on the Syrian front and that it would become open for the "liberation of Palestine".
What was and remains astonishing is that Assad, the plane that took Arafat to Oslo, was nonetheless among the harshest critics of Arafat's "heedless squander" in Oslo, criticism that became a profession to many of his subordinates.
As for what happened after that agreement, what was done by Syrians, Iranians, Israelis, and Palestinians as well, it was one of the most horrific and atrocious chapters in this book of horrors and atrocities

Higher taxes may be the only way to fix the mess in ‘broken’ Britain
Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/September 13, 2023
The vast majority of people in the UK agree that the country is broken. They disagree, however, about the reasons for the country reaching this advanced stage of decay, which is infecting all aspects of British life.
People I talk to in the Middle East these days ask me in a concerned tone if it is true that some councils are bankrupt; whether the reports they hear are true that more than 100 schools were unusable at the start of the academic year due to a crumbling, aerated type of concrete used in their buildings; the truth about the dumping of sewage in the rivers and sea; whether prisons breaks are a common thing; and to what extent is the health sector affected by shortages of health practitioners and striking doctors and nurses.
I do not tend to tell them that the hospital waiting times are getting longer, the immigration system is suffering huge backlogs and that the police service is caving in due to years of underfunding and cases of unprofessional conduct by some officers, which are eroding the public’s trust. Despite that, I hear pity in their voices as they enquire whether the UK also suffers from a corrupt leadership or a lack of leadership, as they try to draw parallels with many countries in their region.
The question that is on people’s minds in the UK these days is not how did we get here, but what needs to be done to get out of this mess. All the major political parties will be holding their annual conferences in September and October and they might be the last before the next general election, which is expected next year. And they will all struggle to devise a plan to try and steady the ship with formulas that stop short of mentioning the word “taxation.”
The political parties will all struggle to steady the ship with formulas that stop short of mentioning taxation
The problem started, no doubt, with the ruling Conservative Party veering to a type of populism that sold voters austerity, and tax cuts, in the hope it would attract investment, ensure growth and boost revenues, even after Britain left the EU, with all the losses to the economy that came with that. The Tories’ austerity program has, as is evident today, degraded public services in exchange for, at best, marginal gains in deficit reduction.
Since the Conservative Party came to power in 2010, local authorities and councils have borne the brunt of their cuts, which have reached 40 percent of their annual funding in real terms. To deal with their dwindling funds, the councils, which are referred to as the invisible workhorses of public life in Britain, have had to cut their budgets dedicated to maintenance and repairs.
In civilized countries, the reward for citizens and voters paying taxes without complaint is, due to the social contract, that the state and its public organs will manage the basics competently on their behalf. This means people do not have to worry about who will collect the garbage, service the roads or run schools and hospitals, and that public transport will reliably serve their needs.
The next general election will most likely be won by the Labour Party. But unlike in 1997, it will inherit a country with an empty public purse. And, due to the mess left behind by successive Tory leaders, the pressures to spend more on an aging population will only increase. What no party that is seeking to gain power in the democratic world would dare say is that taxes need to be raised. After cleaning up the mess left by this Tory government, Labour will not be able to rely on growth — even if it comes quickly enough by force of a miracle — to generate the revenues needed to spend on cash-starved public services.
Human instinct means people tend to expect that someone else will foot the bill and make the sacrifices needed
The Institute for Fiscal Studies explained in a recent report that, without tax rises, UK public services and social benefits will not be able to cope with demand. But how can one persuade the average Briton that something has got to give? Human instinct means people tend to expect that someone else will foot the bill and make the sacrifices needed. Leaders need to be honest, though honesty is often at odds with the world of politics and does not usually win elections, just like boring, uncharismatic leaders in this era.
For years, the Conservatives have tried to hedge their bets on low taxation and a small state to win elections, privatizing key industries only to later subsidize them through one form of state grant or another. Today, what Britain should yearn for is responsible leadership — one that is not just worried about the numbers in the polls, but rather about the services delivered to the public.
Contrary to what has been assumed, the British public wants more state, not less, according to a recently published report and survey by Michael Ashcroft, the former Conservative Party deputy chair. This finding can only point to the death of the small state, as championed by the current Tory government, as even a substantial number of Conservative voters agree with the statement that “Britain is broken — people are getting poorer, nothing seems to work properly, and we need big changes to the way the country works, whichever party is in government.” The data in that report also pointed out that the small state impulse so drummed up by this government is not widely shared, as those surveyed responded that they preferred government to big business and that they trusted regulation and the green movement more than the free markets and capitalism, as well as supporting the public ownership of utilities.
Any new leader should, therefore, have the courage to be radical, try to rebuild the state institutions and resort to whatever means necessary to fulfill the public’s right to security, well-maintained infrastructure and safe schools — even if that means raising taxes, which are currently low in comparison to most other Western European countries.
**Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist, media consultant and trainer with more than 25 years of experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.