Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 29-30/2024
The student demonstrations in America are being orchestrated and funded by nefarious groups including the Iranian lobby, the Muslim Brotherhood, and elements of the leftist organizations
Elias Bejjani/April 27/2024
Libya demands improvements after leaked photos show tiny cell of Muammar Qaddafi’s son in Beirut
French FM in Beirut submits new peace proposal
South Lebanon: Airstrikes on Khiam, Tayr Harfa
Southern Front: French Roadmap Handed over to Berry
Southern Lebanon: More Than 30 Rockets Fired Towards Galilee
South Lebanon: Airstrikes on Khiam, Tayr Harfa
Hamas claims rocket barrage from Lebanon into north Israel
Jamaa Islamiya armed parade and gunfire draw condemnations
Mikati Holds Two Meetings on the Illegal Syrian Presence
Syndicates of Banks’ Employees Reject Sector Restructuring Plan
Lebanon faces the imminent risk of being placed on the FATF grey list by late May
Jordan and France coordinate efforts for Gaza and Lebanon peace
Fadlallah: Any external initiative aiming to relieve the enemy is doomed to fail
Arafat Tfayli to LBCI's Vision 2030: Cancer rates in Lebanon are higher than in neighboring countries
Spring Storms: Hail, Flooding, Mudslides, Deadly Road Accidents
Berri: Lebanon yet to receive French paper, Hochstein hasn't requested meeting
Bassil reportedly refers Alain Aoun to FPM’s 'arbitration council'
EU's von der Leyen and Cypriot president to visit Lebanon together
Top French diplomat in Lebanon seeks Israel-Hezbollah de-escalation
War and Diplomacy: Who Will Win in Rafah?
Aoun Refrains From Appearing Before Disciplinary Commission

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 29-30/2024
Israeli officials fear international court is preparing arrest warrants over Gaza war
Israeli Leaders Concerned About Possible ICC Arrest Warrants
Clear Encampment or Face Suspension, Columbia University Tells Israel-Hamas War Protesters
US, Britain Urge Hamas to Accept Israeli Truce Proposal
Israel Kills at Least 22 Palestinians in Rafah
US appeals to UAE, others to stop support for Sudan's warring parties
Israel's strike showed Iran's air defenses were 'woefully unprepared.' Here's what Tehran may do next.
‘My whole family has perished:’ 22 killed in Israeli airstrike on Rafah, hospital staff say
Bernie Sanders Accuses Israel Of Ethnic Cleansing In Gaza's 'Humanitarian Disaster'
McGill University calls pro-Palestinian encampment illegal, campers vow to stay
Paris Police Clear Gaza Protesters at Sorbonne University
Six-Party Ministerial Meeting Convenes in Riyadh to Discuss Israeli War in Gaza Strip
No 'major issues': Hamas delegation to arrive in Egypt for Gaza truce talks
El-Sisi, Biden affirm the danger of a military escalation in Rafah
US says it 'does not support' ICC investigations of Israel
Italy reports downing a Houthi-launched drone in the Red Sea
Mali forces kill senior figure in Islamic State affiliate

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on April 29-30/2024
U.S. Campuses: Grooming Terrorists/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute./April 29, 2024
Kissinger’s Shadow Chases Blinken/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 29/2024
Why Are We Gambling With America’s Future?/David Brooks/The New York Times/April 29/2024
HomeUS policy toward the Israel-Palestine conflict needs rebalancing/Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/April 29, 2024
Will a new embassy mean a new approach for the US in Libya?/Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/April 29, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 29-30/2024
The student demonstrations in America are being orchestrated and funded by nefarious groups including the Iranian lobby, the Muslim Brotherhood, and elements of the leftist organizations
Elias Bejjani/April 27/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/129236/129236/
The student demonstrations in America are being orchestrated and funded by nefarious groups including the Iranian lobby, the Muslim Brotherhood, and elements of the left. This revelation sheds light on the true nature of these protests, which aim to undermine American values and sow discord.
A glaring example of this manipulation is evident in a widely circulated image depicting a student protester brandishing a guitar while proudly displaying the flag of Iranian Hezbollah—an organization designated as a terrorist group in the United States. The irony is palpable; Iranian Hezbollah, known for its archaic beliefs that reject music and advocate violence, stands in stark contrast to the principles of freedom and tolerance cherished by American society.
These orchestrated demonstrations represent a clear affront to American culture and values. They serve as a false veneer of dissent, incapable of altering the realities of oppressive regimes like the criminal mullahs’ regime in Iran, the jihadist activities of Hamas, the terrorist actions of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the pervasive influence of Iranian aggression across the Middle East.
It is imperative that Americans remain vigilant against the insidious influence of these foreign actors and reject their attempts to subvert the democratic principles. The true spirit of America cannot be swayed by the machinations of those who seek to undermine it.

Libya demands improvements after leaked photos show tiny cell of Muammar Qaddafi’s son in Beirut
AP/April 29, 2024
BEIRUT: Leaked photographs of the son of Libya’s late dictator Muammar Qaddafi and the tiny underground cell where he has been held for years in Lebanon have raised concerns in the north African nation as Libyan authorities demand improvements. The photos showed a room without natural light packed with Hannibal Qaddafi’s belongings, a bed and a tiny toilet. “I live in misery,” local Al-Jadeed TV quoted the detainee as saying in a Saturday evening broadcast, adding that he is a political prisoner in a case he has no information about. Two Lebanese judicial officials confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that the photographs aired by Al-Jadeed are of Qaddafi and the cell where he has been held for years at police headquarters in Beirut. Qaddafi appeared healthy, with a light beard and glasses. A person who is usually in contact with Qaddafi, a Libyan citizen, said the photos were taken in recent days. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media outlets. Qaddafi has been held in Lebanon since 2015 after he was kidnapped from neighboring Syria, where he had been living as a political refugee. He was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information about the fate of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa Al-Sadr, who went missing during a trip to Libya in 1978. The fate of Al-Sadr has been a sore point in Lebanon. His family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume Al-Sadr, who would be 95 now, is dead. A Libyan delegation visited Beirut in January to reopen talks with Lebanese officials on the fate of Al-Sadr and the release of Qaddafi. The talks were aimed at reactivating a dormant agreement between Lebanon and Libya, struck in 2014, for cooperation in the probe of Al-Sadr. The delegation did not return to Beirut as planned. The leaks by Al-Jadeed came after reports that Qaddafi was receiving special treatment at police headquarters and that he had cosmetic surgeries including hair transplants and teeth improvements. Al-Jadeed quoted him as saying: “Let them take my hair and teeth and give me my freedom.”Qaddafi went on a hunger strike in June last year and was taken to a hospital after his health deteriorated. Libya’s Justice Ministry in a statement Sunday said Qaddafi is being deprived of his rights guaranteed by law. It called on Lebanese authorities to improve his living conditions to one that “preserves his dignity,” adding that Lebanese authorities should formally inform the ministry of the improvements. It also said Qaddafi deserves to be released. After he was kidnapped in 2015, Lebanese authorities freed him but then detained him, accusing him of concealing information about Al-Sadr’s disappearance. Al-Sadr was the founder of the Amal group, a Shiite militia that fought in Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war and later became a political party that is currently led by the country’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Many of Al-Sadr’s followers are convinced that Muammar Qaddafi ordered Al-Sadr killed in a dispute over Libyan payments to Lebanese militias. Libya has maintained that the cleric, along with two traveling companions, left Tripoli in 1978 on a flight to Rome. Human Rights Watch issued a statement in January calling for Qaddafi’s release. The rights group noted that Qaddafi was only 2 years old at the time of Al-Sadr’s disappearance and held no senior position in Libya as an adult.

French FM in Beirut submits new peace proposal
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/April 29, 2024
BEIRUT: The French foreign minister has submitted a new peace proposal in Beirut aimed at ending months of violence between Hezbollah and Israel. Stephane Sejourne met officials in Beirut on Sunday, calling on the warring parties to abide by UN Resolution 1701. After the talks, he said: “War exists even if not explicitly named. Civilians are paying the price, and no one is interested in the continuing escalation. This is the message I conveyed here, and this is the message I will convey on Tuesday to Israel.”The minister discussed an amendment to a proposal Paris had presented to Lebanon for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. UN Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the brutal Israel-Hezbollah war in 2006, is widely viewed as the most suitable framework for ending the latest conflict. However, Hezbollah has persisted with linking its strikes on Israel to events in the Gaza Strip, while the Lebanese state has reminded Israel of its obligation to Resolution 1701 following repeated violations. On Monday, reports said that a French technical team would bring the revised French initiative to Lebanese authorities within 48 hours. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was notified by Sejourne about the update. The proposal will be delivered to Lebanon through diplomatic channels, said the French minister, who left Lebanon on Sunday night following his visit. The revised version of the French initiative contains several pillars, including the cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli army under UN Resolution 1701. It also calls for the safe return of Israelis to northern settlements and Lebanese citizens to border towns in the south. Additionally, the initiative calls for deploying more Lebanese military forces across border areas and strengthening the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL. The earlier version of the French peace plan, sent to Lebanon in mid-March, called for Hezbollah and its allies to retreat 10-12 km from the border. It also urged Israel to avoid “air violations.”While in Beirut, Sejourne advised Berri to prioritize the election of a president before finalizing negotiations on the situation in the south. Establishing a governing authority and ensuring presidential involvement in negotiations with Israel was “important,” he said. Berri presented Sejourne with a map from the Scientific Research Institute that detailed the extensive damage and losses caused by Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon. The map said that Israeli phosphorus bombings had affected “an area of 10 million sq meters.”In addition, since the low-level conflict began last October, 1,000 housing units have been destroyed and thousands partially damaged. Israeli operations have caused “significant harm to the environment and agriculture,” an infographic said. After his talks in Lebanon, the French foreign minister said: “The crisis has lasted a long time. We are working to avoid Lebanon being ravaged by a regional war. “We call on all parties to exercise restraint, and we reject the worst scenario in Lebanon, which is war.”The UNIFIL operational region in Lebanon saw no activity on Sunday morning, after months of hostilies between Hezbollah and Israel in the area. It coincided with Sejourne’s visit to UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, where he was briefed on the border situation by commander Gen. Aroldo Lazaro. Sejourne also inspected the work of French peacekeepers serving with UNIFIL. Meanwhile, Israeli military drones launched two missiles toward Aita Al-Shaab on Monday. Other Israeli military drones raided Khiam, following a night of heavy shelling on Lebanese border villages, including Aita Al-Shaab, Kfarkila, Tayr Harfa, Naqoura and Jabal Blat. Hezbollah said it targeted “a gathering of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Ruwaizat Al-Alam site with artillery shells.” Residents in southern Lebanon have claimed that the Israeli army is deploying “a new type of heavy artillery.”One resident told Arab News: “The whole region shakes and the ground trembles under our feet from the border until Nabatieh as if they were using seismic, thermobaric missiles.”The morning Israeli strikes were a response to the interception of “over 30 missiles launched from southern Lebanon toward the Galilee panhandle and the upper Galilee,” according to Israeli media. The Al-Qassam Brigades — the military wing of Hamas — said in a statement that its Lebanon branch had targeted the headquarters of Israel’s 769th Eastern Brigade. The group launched a salvo of rockets from southern Lebanon, describing the attack as a response to “Israel’s massacres in Gaza and the West Bank.”

South Lebanon: Airstrikes on Khiam, Tayr Harfa
This Is Beirut/April 29, 2024
In a recent escalation of tensions, Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple locations in southern Lebanon, including Khiam and Tayr Harfa. Reports indicate that no casualties were reported in Tayr Harfa, where a house was targeted. Furthermore, Israeli drones were observed flying at unusually low altitudes over the towns of Odaisseh, Taybeh and Deir Siriane, adding to the tensions in the area. In a statement on Monday, Hezbollah said that they had targeted buildings housing Israeli soldiers in the settlement of Metula, inflicting direct hits. The airstrikes were not limited to specific areas, as Israeli warplanes also raided a town between Aita al-Shaab and Ramia. One residential building in Aita al-Shaab bore the brunt of the attack. In addition, an airstrike in Jebbayn on a three-story building led to the closure of the main road at the Jebbayn-Tayr Harfa junction, exacerbating tensions in the area.

Southern Front: French Roadmap Handed over to Berry
This Is Beirut/April 29, 2024
The roadmap proposed by Paris to end the armed conflict between Hezbollah and Israel was reportedly handed over to the Lebanese authorities on Monday. The move follows French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné’s visit to Lebanon, on Sunday. Beirut was the first leg of a regional tour that includes Saudi Arabia, where the French minister is currently holding talks with Saudi officials, and Israel. According to the daily An-Nahar, “At 7 PM (Monday), the French embassy handed over to President Berry the French document aimed at finding a peaceful and diplomatic solution (a ceasefire) to the war in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.”Earlier in the afternoon, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati received the French ambassador to Lebanon, Hervé Magro, at the Serail. The diplomat discussed with Mr. Mikati “the results of yesterday’s (Sunday) visit to Lebanon by the French Foreign Minister, Stéphane Séjourné, and new French ideas regarding the situation in South Lebanon,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s office. Western diplomatic sources, contacted by This is Beirut, would not confirm or deny the handover of the document to Mr. Berry, saying it was up to the Lebanese authorities to “confirm and share this information.”The same source indicated that the French ambassador’s visit to the Serail was “protocolary” and that it was “normal for Mr. Magro to evaluate Mr. Séjourné’s visit with the Prime Minister.” France, Lebanon’s long-standing partner, has been engaged for months in a mission of good offices to prevent the war between Hezbollah and Israel on the southern front from spreading to the whole country, notably through a ceasefire and the application of Security Council Resolution 1701.

Southern Lebanon: More Than 30 Rockets Fired Towards Galilee
This Is Beirut/April 29, 2024
More than 30 rockets were launched on Monday morning from southern Lebanon towards the Galilee panhandle and Upper Galilee. Additionally, the outskirts of the towns of Alma al-Shaab and Naqoura were subjected to intermittent artillery shelling at dawn, coinciding with the firing of flares above the villages of the western and central sectors, reaching the outskirts of the towns of Zebqine, Yatar and Kafra. Israeli warplanes raided the towns of Tayr Harfa, Marwahin, Naqoura and Jabal Blat shortly before midnight, causing significant damage to property, crops, infrastructure and homes. At midnight, a raid was launched on the town of Aita al-Shaab in the central sector, which was more intense than others, as its sound was heard throughout the South, resulting in significant damage to property and crops. Israeli reconnaissance aircraft continued to fly over villages adjacent to the Blue Line in the South. Israel also fired heavy machine gun fire towards fishing boats in the port of Naqoura. Meanwhile, the United Nations Interim Forces in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) expressed deep concern on Sunday at the sharp increase in escalation on both sides of the Blue Line between Israel and Hezbollah.

South Lebanon: Airstrikes on Khiam, Tayr Harfa
This Is Beirut/April 29, 2024
In a recent escalation of tensions, Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple locations in southern Lebanon, including Khiam and Tayr Harfa. Reports indicate that no casualties were reported in Tayr Harfa, where a house was targeted. Furthermore, Israeli drones were observed flying at unusually low altitudes over the towns of Odaisseh, Taybeh and Deir Siriane, adding to the tensions in the area. In a statement on Monday, Hezbollah said that they had targeted buildings housing Israeli soldiers in the settlement of Metula, inflicting direct hits. The airstrikes were not limited to specific areas, as Israeli warplanes also raided a town between Aita al-Shaab and Ramia. One residential building in Aita al-Shaab bore the brunt of the attack. In addition, an airstrike in Jebbayn on a three-story building led to the closure of the main road at the Jebbayn-Tayr Harfa junction, exacerbating tensions in the area.

Hamas claims rocket barrage from Lebanon into north Israel
Agence France Presse/April 29, 2024
Hamas' armed wing the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades fired Monday a barrage of rockets from south Lebanon toward a command center in northern Israel. Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily strikes with Israeli forces in the border region — and sometimes beyond — for almost seven months against the backdrop of Israel’s war on Gaza. Hamas has also claimed cross-border attacks. Hamas fighters "have fired a concentrated rocket barrage from south Lebanon towards" an Israeli military position, said the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades in a statement on Telegram. The armed wing described the action as a "response to the massacres of the Zionist enemy (Israel)" in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The Israeli army told AFP that "approximately 20 launches crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory" but it had intercepted most rockets and struck "the sources of fire"."No injuries or damage were reported," the army said. An Israeli drone later struck the southern border town of Aita al-Shaab. Hezbollah meanwhile targeted a group of soldiers in the Ruweisat al-Alam post in the occupied Kfarshouba Hills. Hamas' rocket barrage came as Hamas negotiators were expected to arrive in Egypt on Monday, where they were due to respond to Israel's latest proposal for a long-sought truce in Gaza and hostage release. On April 21, the Qassam Brigades claimed a rocket barrage into northern Israel. A strike in January, which the U.S. said was carried out by Israel, killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri and six militants in Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold. An Israeli strike later in March killed a Hamas operative near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh in the Tyre district. Also in March, a Hamas official escaped an Israeli drone strike near the village of Souairi in the Bekaa Valley. In Lebanon, at least 385 people have been killed in months of cross-border violence, mostly militants but also 73 civilians, according to an AFP tally. The tally includes at least 11 Hamas fighters. Israel says 11 soldiers and nine civilians have been killed on its side of the border. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides.

Jamaa Islamiya armed parade and gunfire draw condemnations
Naharnet/April 29, 2024
Gunmen in north Lebanon paraded with light- and medium-caliber arms and fired heavily in the air during the funeral of two Jamaa Islamiya militants killed in an Israeli drone strike, drawing condemnations from some Lebanese political forces. The two militants, Mohammad Saeed Khalaf and Bilal Mohammad Khalaf, were targeted by the Israeli strike in the West Bekaa town of Maydoun on Friday. The funeral procession started at Tripoli’s al-Nour Square and made its way through Minieh, al-Abdeh and al-Mhammara before reaching the militants’ hometown Bebnin in the Akkar district, where stray bullets wounded three people including a child. MP Waddah al-Sadek said “armed appearances inside the country only serve Israel,” decrying that “the bullets and shells landed in Akkar, which lies hundreds of kilometers away from Jerusalem, wounding Lebanese citizens and highlighting anew the insistence on destroying the state.”“The main responsibility falls on the Jamaa Islamiya, with its insistence on unjustified armed appearances, previously on Beirut’s streets and yesterday in Akkar,” al-Sadek added. The Tajaddod bloc, which comprises MPs Michel Mouawad, Ashraf Rifi, Fouad Makhzoumi and Adib Abdel Massih, for its part said its rejects “the scenes of armed parades and chaotic weapons,” stressing that “only the state with its legitimate forces is responsible for defending Lebanon.”MP Mark Daou for his part warned that such a parade “undermines the principle of the state, legitimacy and sovereignty.”Jamaa Islamiya meanwhile issued a statement regretting “the armed appearances and shooting that accompanied the transfer of the coffins of the two martyrs from Tripoli to Bebnin.”Stressing that it is “keen on the country’s stability and the citizen’s security,” the group said that “any bullet fired at any side other than the Israeli enemy would be at the wrong place” and that “any scene that sows fear and panic among the Lebanese is unacceptable.”The Israeli military said Friday that it targeted an official with Lebanon’s Jamaa Islamiya, or the Islamic Group, that is allied with Hezbollah and Hamas. It has been active in predominantly Sunni Muslim villages along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel. The Israeli military said the man killed was Musab Khalaf. It says Khalaf was behind attacks on Israeli troops in the disputed Shebaa Farms that Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war. The Lebanese government says the area belongs to Lebanon. Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire on a near-daily basis along the border since the start of the war in Gaza nearly seven months ago. Hezbollah says it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Mikati Holds Two Meetings on the Illegal Syrian Presence
This Is Beirut/April 29, 2024
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati held two meetings on Monday at the Grand Serail, both focusing on the Syrian refugee crisis. The first meeting was attended by Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities Judge Bassam Mawlawi, Acting Director of General Security Elias Baissari, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Lebanon, Ivo Freijsen. Discussions during this session primarily focused on Lebanon’s collaboration with UNHCR, aiming to create collaborative strategies to tackle the multifaceted challenges associated with the refugee crisis. Additionally, Lebanon is considering potential repatriation of Syrian nationals who have served sentences in Lebanese prisons. Subsequently, Prime Minister Mikati received a delegation from the Lebanese Forces parliamentary bloc, led by MP Sethrida Geagea. The delegation, alongside Mawlawi and General Baissari, engaged in discussions concerning the issue of the illegal Syrian presence in Lebanon. A statement issued by Geagea’s office emphasized that “Lebanon is a transit country and not a refuge country at all.” It acknowledged the efforts of municipalities within the bloc’s active areas in managing this presence. “However, this alone is not sufficient, and it is the responsibility of the security forces and the General Security to play their central and essential role in this matter,” the statement read. The delegation urged Mikati to provide clear directives to the Ministers of Interior and Defense, aimed at enforcing Lebanese laws concerning illegal foreigners within the nation’s borders. These meetings precede the anticipated arrival on Thursday of the Head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. Cyprus is pressing Beirut for a resolution to the persistent influx of Syrian migrants from Lebanon. Christodoulides previously visited Beirut on April 16 to appeal to Lebanese authorities for enhanced control over maritime borders. The latter sought Nicosia’s intervention with the European Union for a comprehensive solution to the Syrian presence issue, akin to agreements already established with certain host countries.

Syndicates of Banks’ Employees Reject Sector Restructuring Plan
This Is Beirut/April 29, 2024
The Federation of Syndicates of Banks’ Employees in Lebanon strongly rejected the government’s proposed plan to restructure the banking sector. Discussion of the proposed draft law aimed at addressing Lebanon’s banking crisis and the government’s proposed restructuring measures took place on Monday in a meeting organized by the Federation in collaboration with the Faculty of Management at Saint-Joseph University. Participants unanimously concurred that “the proposed project fails to offer a viable solution to the banking sector’s challenges; rather, it exacerbates them.” They anticipate that its implementation will lead to the liquidation of numerous banks, exacerbating the issue of deposit erosion. Furthermore, Georges Antoine Al Hajj, the president of the Federation of Syndicates of Banks’ Employees in Lebanon, stated that the outcomes of the meeting would be documented in a memorandum to be presented to stakeholders involved in the banking sector restructuring.

Lebanon faces the imminent risk of being placed on the FATF grey list by late May
LBCI/April 29, 2024
Lebanon has been listed under the Grey List by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), signaling heightened oversight in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. This development could potentially prompt correspondent banks to cease dealings with Lebanese banks, leading to a halt in financial transfers to and from the country. Last December, Lebanon narrowly avoided being placed on the FATF grey list, being granted a six-month grace period following assurances from Banque du Liban (BDL) and the government to implement measures enhancing anti-corruption efforts and combating money laundering and terrorist financing. In response, BDL imposed stricter reporting requirements on banks regarding the source of funds and mandated that each bank establish departments dedicated to combating money laundering and terrorist financing. However, these measures fell short of FATF expectations. After six months, the Lebanese government had not taken significant steps to address three key areas: Firstly, combating corruption within state administrations remained stagnant. Secondly, the judiciary's pursuit of money laundering cases was lacking, with the offense considered a felony rather than a crime. Moreover, there were no instances of assets or properties seized from prosecuted drug traffickers. Thirdly, the government failed to confront financial activities associated with para-military groups, including Hezbollah. Lebanon now faces the imminent risk of being placed on the FATF grey list by late May. During his recent visit to Washington, the acting BDL governor Wassim Mansouri, expressed hope that he was able to convey Lebanon's unique circumstances and challenges to FATF officials. Mansouri expressed optimism that Lebanon could once again avoid being listed but cautioned that this might be the country's final opportunity to do so.

Jordan and France coordinate efforts for Gaza and Lebanon peace
LBCI/April 29, 2024
Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, met with French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The discussions ensued as a follow-up to meetings between King Abdullah II and French President Emmanuel Macron, focusing on joint efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and foster a path towards a comprehensive peace grounded in a two-state solution. The meeting, occurring on the fringes of the World Economic Forum's special session hosted by Saudi Arabia, underscored Safadi's emphasis on the critical need for a unified international stance to prevent any attacks on Rafah, underscoring the potential for further tragedies. Among the topics deliberated were the volatile circumstances in the West Bank, where Safadi reiterated the importance of ceasing all unilateral and unlawful actions by Israel exacerbating tensions, notably settlement expansions and land seizures. Safadi lauded France's support of the two-state solution and its condemnation of settlements as illegitimate endeavors. Additionally, discussions extended to Lebanon, with Séjourné briefing Safadi on initiatives to avoid the emergence of fresh hostilities.
Safadi stressed the necessity of preemptive measures to prevent the widening of conflicts and ensure regional stability. Both Safadi and Séjourné reaffirmed their commitment to collaborative efforts to halt hostilities in Gaza and facilitate humanitarian aid distribution. Furthermore, they discussed ways for enhancing bilateral ties, expressing mutual dedication to expanding cooperation across diverse sectors to yield positive outcomes for both countries.

Fadlallah: Any external initiative aiming to relieve the enemy is doomed to fail
LBCI/April 29, 2024
Member of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, MP Hassan Fadlallah, stated that any external initiative toward Lebanon aiming to relieve the Netanyahu government so it can focus on Gaza is doomed to fail. He noted that seeking solutions should not involve addressing the consequences but rather the causes that led to the situation. During a memorial event held for the victims of the Zionist aggression at the Imam Hussein (AS) complex in the city of Tyre, Fadlallah emphasized that those seeking solutions should focus on pressuring the Zionist entity to stop the massacre in Gaza. He stated, "Deciding how the south will look after the cessation of aggression is up to the Lebanese people and state, based on rules protecting the south, including the army, the people, and the resistance, and preserving our national sovereignty." He added, "Our achievements are far greater than what can be seen by those with limited vision, weak minds, or those with prior records and no conscience. What matters to us is the impact on the enemy, forcing it to stop its aggression."Fadlallah continued: "This is evident in the pressure on Lebanon to stop the resistance and the anxiety felt by the enemy, which causes anger and resentment in others."He affirmed that any harm inflicted by the enemy on civilians will be met with an immediate response. After targeting Hanin, the enemy suffered a severe blow for two days. Any Israeli escalation will be met with an appropriate response from the resistance. He pointed out that "the resistance is establishing a protection model today that allows the people of the south to stand firm on their land, preventing their displacement and keeping the enemy in check while the Zionists continue building settlements."Fadlallah further emphasized, "Times have changed: when we are displaced, so are they; when our villages are bombed, so are their settlements. This is unlike the past when villages were invaded without restraint, and the enemy could establish a foothold in our villages using collaborators to execute its plans."

Arafat Tfayli to LBCI's Vision 2030: Cancer rates in Lebanon are higher than in neighboring countries
LBCI/April 29, 2024
Doctor Arafat Tfayli confirmed that cancer rates in Lebanon are higher than in neighboring countries. He explained that "these figures do not reflect what is currently happening because a person exposed to pollution does not develop cancer instantly." He pointed out that the number of cancer patients starts to rise after five, 10, and 15 years from now. In an interview on LBCI's "Vision 2030" program, he said: "The numbers we have are trending upward, but not significantly. Pollution has not shown its effects yet." He added: "We expect a 'cancer tsunami' in Lebanon in the next five to 10 years due to pollution, smoking, and other reasons."He also pointed out that according to the latest statistics, there are about 1200 people who have lung cancer out of about 10,000, which is a rate of 12 percent.

Spring Storms: Hail, Flooding, Mudslides, Deadly Road Accidents
This Is Beirut/April 29, 2024
On Monday, many Lebanese lived to the rhythm of torrential rain, thunderstorms, floods and even hail that affected several regions of the country, notably North Lebanon, Hermel and the Beqaa, causing several road accidents. Due to the strong atmospheric depression affecting Lebanon and the region, Dahr el-Baydar was covered in a white coat for a few hours, following heavy hail. The bad weather severely affected road traffic, to the point that the authorities had to issue warnings to motorists, due to a series of other road accidents. On the Hazmieh highway, a truck slid, hitting two vehicles, killing one man, D. B. (39 years old) and injuring two others. On the Naameh highway, one person was injured when his vehicle slid and fell on its side due to the rain.  Monstrous traffic jams were recorded everywhere, notably in the vicinity of Beirut’s National Museum, due to a collision between two vehicles, and on the coastal highway. Motorists were also stranded on the airport road, from Ouzai to Khaldeh, from Downtown to Jal el-Dib. Torrential rains in the Hermel caza caused extensive agricultural damage. They also caused flooding in Qaa and several other areas of Hermel, leading to landslides, mudslides and flooding of the Orontes river. The rising waters caused major damage to cafés on the banks of the Orontes. The bad weather condition is causing dense fog in the mountains and a drop in temperatures, with heavy rain sometimes accompanied by thunderstorms and active winds. The weather will remain gloomy and unstable on Tuesday.

Berri: Lebanon yet to receive French paper, Hochstein hasn't requested meeting
Naharnet/April 29, 2024
The Lebanese side is yet to receive a French paper proposing a solution for the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, knowing that it was supposed to receive it two days prior to French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné’s weekend visit to Lebanon, Speaker Nabih Berri said overnight. “When I asked Séjourné why the French paper had not been sent, he said that we would receive it within hours and we agreed that we would study it once it arrives,” Berri told al-Jadeed TV. “Séjourné did not mention the separation of fronts and I reiterated to him that when the war on Gaza stops, the front in Lebanon will be deactivated,” the Speaker added. Informed French sources later told al-Jadeed that "the amended French paper will be delivered to Lebanese officials today (Monday) or tomorrow." Separately, Berri said that U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein, who was reportedly in Israel in recent days, “has not requested an appointment and has not said that he would visit Lebanon.”

Bassil reportedly refers Alain Aoun to FPM’s 'arbitration council'
Naharnet/April 29, 2024
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has informed MP Alain Aoun of the FPM that he has been referred to the Movement’s so-called arbitration council, days after Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab was reportedly expelled from the FPM, a media report said. The developments prompted MP Ibrahim Kanaan to send a letter to Bassil urging him to “reverse these decisions that threaten the FPM’s unity and image, especially amid these circumstances,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday. Kanaab also called on Bassil to “open the door of dialogue to address these sensitive issues away from the current tensions,” the daily added.

EU's von der Leyen and Cypriot president to visit Lebanon together
Naharnet/April 29, 2024
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Beirut on May 2 together with President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, the EU Delegation to Lebanon said on Monday. “They will head to the Grand Serail for a meeting chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, then to Ain el Tineh for a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri,” the EU Delegation said in a statement. The Cypriot president had visited Lebanon on April 8 alongside his country's interior and foreign ministers and army chief, shortly after he urged the EU to intercede with Lebanese authorities to help stop boatloads of Syrian refugees from heading to Cyprus. Christodoulides and Mikati also called on the European Union to provide financial support to help cash-strapped Lebanon stop migrants from reaching European shores. Mikati said the Lebanese military and security agencies have been doing their utmost to curb migration, but the situation was so dire that it needed “a framework agreement” with the EU. He was referring to already sanctioned migration-linked European financial packages with cash-strapped Mediterranean countries Tunisia and Egypt. Christodoulides agreed with Mikati on the importance of reaching a similar agreement with Lebanon as Cyprus, along with other European countries, has been witnessing a spike in migrant arrivals. According to the Cypriot Interior Ministry, some 2,140 people arrived by boat in Cyprus between Jan. 1 and Apr. 4 of this year, compared to only 78 people during that same period in 2023. The vast majority were Syrian nationals departing from Lebanon. Lebanon — which is coping with a crippling economic crisis since 2019 — hosts some 805,000 U.N.-registered Syrian refugees, of which 90% live in poverty, the U.N.’s refugee agency says. Lebanese officials estimate the actual number is far higher, ranging between 1.5 and 2 million. Many have escaped the civil war in their country which entered its 14th year. The U.N. refugee agency also noted the surge in migrant departures from Lebanon and confirmed that most were Syrian refugees.
Lebanon and Cyprus already have a bilateral deal where Cypriot authorities would return migrants attempting to reach the island from Lebanon. Mikati has said that most of Syria has become safe as the conflict is now at a stalemate, urging the EU to support the repatriation of Syrian refugees or help them resettle in other countries. Christodoulides said earlier in April that most Syrian migrants fled their home country mainly for economic reasons and called on the international community to fund development projects in Syria that would help incentivize or motivate their return, according to a statement issued by Mikati's office. However, U.N. agencies, human rights groups, and Western governments maintain that Syria is not yet safe for repatriation. In a separate statement, Cyprus' government spokesman said Christodoulides told Lebanese officials that EU help would depend on the results of Lebanon’s efforts to curb increased migrant arrivals to the island nation. Cyprus has been pushing for the EU to re-designate some areas within war-torn Syria into “safe zones” for such repatriations. Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said recently that the proposal is gaining traction among the 27-nation bloc but it wouldn’t happen in the near term. A Lebanese diplomatic official familiar with Lebanese-Cypriot talks said that both delegations were discussing a joint proposal focused on Syrian refugees returning home. Talks between Syrian parties to find a political solution are currently frozen. While Damascus was reinstated in the Arab League last year, the EU previously said conditions to restore ties were yet to be met.

Top French diplomat in Lebanon seeks Israel-Hezbollah de-escalation
Associated Press/April 29, 2024
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné visited Lebanon as part of diplomatic attempts to broker a de-escalation in the conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border. Séjourné met on Sunday with United Nations peacekeeping forces in south Lebanon and with Lebanon's parliament speaker, army chief, foreign minister and caretaker prime minister. France "is refusing to accept the worst-case scenario" of a full-scale war in Lebanon, he told journalists after the meetings. "In southern Lebanon, the war is already here, even if it's not called by that name, and it's the civilian population who's paying the price," he said.Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily strikes with Israeli forces in the border region — and sometimes beyond — for almost seven months against the backdrop of Israel's war against Hezbollah ally Hamas in Gaza. Israeli strikes have killed more than 350 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters with Hezbollah and allied groups but also including more than 50 civilians. Strikes by Hezbollah have killed at least 10 civilians and 12 soldiers in Israel. Tens of thousands are displaced on each side of the border. A French diplomatic official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists said the purpose of Séjourné's visit was to convey France's "fears of a war on Lebanon" and to submit an amendment to a proposal Paris had previously presented to Lebanon for a diplomatic resolution to the border conflict. Western diplomats have brought forward a series of proposals for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. Most of those would hinge on Hezbollah moving its forces several kilometers from the border, a beefed-up Lebanese army presence and negotiations for Israeli forces to withdraw from disputed points along the border where Lebanon says Israel has been occupying small patches of Lebanese territory since it withdrew from the rest of south Lebanon in 2000. The eventual goal is full implementation of a U.N. resolution that brought to an end a brutal monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. The previous French proposal would have involved Hezbollah withdrawing its forces 10 kilometers from the border. Hezbollah has signaled willingness to entertain the proposals but has said there will be no deal in Lebanon before there is a cease-fire in Gaza. Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said that a Gaza cease-fire does not automatically mean it will halt its strikes in Lebanon, even if Hezbollah does so. Séjourné declined to provide more details about the latest version of France's proposal ahead of his planned trip to Israel on Tuesday. He said he will have "consultations" with Israeli authorities to move toward an agreement. The French foreign minister also pushed for the Lebanese political factions to come to an agreement on a candidate to fill a year-and-a-half-long presidential vacuum. Séjourné said that Lebanon needs a president in place in order to be "invited to the negotiating table" and to be able to implement any agreement that might be reached on the border issue. During the talks, Lebanese officials also raised the issue of the ongoing presence of more than 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, which has become an increasingly contentious issue. Lebanese officials have increasingly called for Western countries to facilitate their return to Syria. Séjourné acknowledged the burden placed on Lebanon by hosting such a large number of refugees, and said that "all concerned parties must work to make this return possible in a voluntary, dignified and safe manner in accordance with international law."

War and Diplomacy: Who Will Win in Rafah?
Alissar Boulos/This Is Beirut/April 29/2024
In Saudi Arabia, Western diplomacy is discussing, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF), a ceasefire in Gaza, while in Israel, the debate continues regarding an invasion of Rafah, in the southern part of the Palestinian enclave. Time is of the essence, and it is still uncertain which option will prevail: a ground invasion of Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians from the northern territories have sought refuge, or a diplomatic victory? Israel, which has been insisting for months on this operation that is aimed, according to its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at neutralizing Hamas, is under increased international pressure not to proceed. But it is not yielding. Diplomatic efforts, however, are intensifying to avert the military option. According to British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who is currently in Riyadh, the latest ceasefire proposal for Gaza, presented to Hamas, calls for a cessation of hostilities for 40 days. It is “a very generous offer of a 40-day ceasefire, the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of (Israeli) hostages,” Cameron said during a meeting at the WEF. This formula was developed by Egypt and amended by Israel. According to various sources cited by pan-Arab and Israeli media, Hamas is expected to give its response within the next 24 hours. To that end, a delegation from the group was expected on Monday in Cairo, which has a vested interest in the negotiations’ success, given that Rafah is located on its border with Gaza, kept closed since October 7, 2023. Two weeks ago, Hamas had called for a permanent ceasefire in the Strip, which Tel Aviv had rejected. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is also in Riyadh for the WEF, expressed hope that Hamas would accept Egypt’s proposal, while his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, stressed that his country was optimistic about a breakthrough but was awaiting responses from Israel and Hamas. However, the Israeli government remains divided on the issue: right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich opposed any agreement that would hinder a military operation in Rafah. He described the agreement proposed by Egypt as “humiliating,” while the previous day, his colleague from the Foreign Ministry, Benny Gantz, had stated that the government would lose its legitimacy if ministers prevented a plan allowing for the release of the hostages.
Gantz had called for “a responsible plan for the return of the hostages, supported by the entire defense establishment, which does not entail an end to the war.”
Pressures on Israel
The diplomatic dynamics for a settlement are accompanied by strong pressures on Israel, notably from its main funder, the United States, while Qatar threatened to withdraw from the negotiations. This pressure has intensified since Sunday. Some Israeli officials believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants against senior officials of the country, including Benjamin Netanyahu, for charges related to the conflict in Gaza. An attack on Rafah is likely to accelerate the process, something Tel Aviv, also facing internal pressures, wishes to avoid. Sunday, just after Blinken’s departure for Saudi Arabia, US President Joe Biden called Netanyahu to discuss ceasefire talks and reaffirm his opposition to an invasion of Rafah. This phone call comes three weeks after Biden warned Netanyahu that US military support was contingent on reducing civilian casualties and increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza. In addition to international pressures, there are also local pressures exerted by Israelis on their government, whether from the parents of hostages still held by Hamas or from residents of northern regions who have had to flee due to ongoing exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah. “An agreement, now!” chanted thousands of people who gathered Saturday night in Tel Aviv to demand the release of the hostages. They also called for Netanyahu’s government to resign. The same call for an agreement with Hamas was made Monday by the families of two hostages. This movement follows last week’s release by Hamas of two videos showing three hostages.
The offensive
On the ground, Tel Aviv continues preparations for a military operation. The Israeli army has begun recalling reservist soldiers and assembling dozens of tanks and armored vehicles near the city. Some media outlets reported that Israeli raids on Rafah had been launched since Saturday, with dozens of people killed.
Still according to media sources, the Israeli army has completed preparations for the evacuation of civilians from Rafah, after establishing a “tent city” in Khan Younis, further north. Another indication of a pending attack is the announcement by the Israeli army on Sunday that its chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, had approved plans for further operations in the southern Gaza Strip. For Israel, however, the calculations remain complicated: if the army does not enter Rafah, it could be interpreted as a defeat, especially since the general impression is that Hamas leadership is still operational. But if Israel carries out a ground invasion, this could lead Hamas to suspend any agreement and increase pressure on Netanyahu’s government, both domestically and internationally.

Aoun Refrains From Appearing Before Disciplinary Commission
This Is Beirut/April 29, 2024
Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun failed to attend a hearing session in front of the Supreme Disciplinary Authority (SDA) on Monday. Aoun had submitted a written excuse through her attorney, Roland Awad, claiming that the reason is SDA’s failure to resolve two requests which she had submitted to the General Authority of the Cassation Court to dismiss the president of the Supreme Disciplinary Authority, Judge Suhail Abboud. According to Aoun’s lawyer, both requests to dismiss Abboud were supposed to be previously decided. According to defense sources, the requests contend that there is a dispute between the defendant and the head of the Supreme Disciplinary Authority, who had previously threatened to dismiss Aoun from the judiciary without compensation when she was summoned to appear before the Judicial Council.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 29-30/2024
Israeli officials fear international court is preparing arrest warrants over Gaza war
Joey Garrison and Michael Collins, USA TODAY/April 29, 2024
WASHINGTON ― Israeli officials are growing concerned the International Criminal Court could issue criminal warrants against their top officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, opening up the possibility they could be arrested if they travel to other countries. Israel's foreign minister, Israel Katz, singled out "rumors" that the ICC will issue arrest warrants against high-ranking government and Israel Defense Forces officials in a statement late Sunday. In anticipation, Katz said he instructed all Israel embassies across the world to "immediately prepare for the outbreak of a severe anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli antisemitic wave in the world." The ICC is investigating Hamas' Oct. 7 attack as well as Israel's brutal seven-month war in Gaza aimed at defeating Hamas. The ICC, based in The Hague, can prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression. Warrants for Netanyahu or other Israeli officials would not result in their immediate arrests. Neither the U.S. nor Israel are members of the court and do not recognize its jurisdiction. But warrants could prevent Israeli officials from traveling to the 124 countries that are ICC members, where they would be subject to arrest. "As we have publicly said many times, the ICC has no jurisdiction in this situation and we do not support its investigation," a spokesperson for President Joe Biden's National Security Council told USA TODAY. Although it is not clear what charges the ICC might bring, targets of criminal warrants by the ICC could also include Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. "There is nothing more twisted than trying to prevent Israel from defending itself against a murderous enemy that openly calls for the destruction of the State of Israel," Katz said. "If the orders are issued, they will harm the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and give a boost to the terrorist organization Hamas and the radical Islamic axis led by Iran against which we are fighting." "We will not bow our heads and we will not be deterred," he added. Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone Sunday. The two leaders discussed efforts to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to the White House, and Biden stressed "the need for this progress to be sustained and enhanced." Netanyahu, in a statement Friday on X, formerly Twitter, said Israel will "never accept any attempt by the Hague Criminal Court to undermine its fundamental right to defend itself." He called the threat against IDF soldiers and Israeli public officials "scandalous." "Israel will continue until victory in our just war against the abominable terrorists who seek to destroy us. We will never stop defending ourselves," Netanyahu said. "While the Hague Tribunal's decisions will not affect Israel's actions, they will set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and public figures of any democracy fighting criminal terrorism and dangerous aggression. Separately, the ICC is investigating actions by Israeli and Palestinian militants in Palestinian territories that date back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war. The Palestinian territories were admitted to the court with the status of a member state in 2015.
Will ICC warrants impact cease-fire deal?
Warrants would be a hurdle in the Biden administration's ongoing efforts to secure a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas to allow the release of some of the more than 130 hostages still held by Hamas, according to a report by Bloomberg.Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while attending a special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia, urged Hamas on Monday to swiftly accept Israel's latest proposal, which he called "extraordinarily generous.""The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide, and they have to decide quickly," Blinken said.

Israeli Leaders Concerned About Possible ICC Arrest Warrants
Anna Gordon/Reuters/April 29, 2024
Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appear increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court (ICC) may issue arrest warrants against the country’s officials for actions taken in the war between Israel and Hamas. On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X that “Israel will never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its inherent right of self-defense… While the ICC will not affect Israel’s actions, it would set a dangerous precedent that threatens the soldiers and officials of all democracies fighting savage terrorism and wanton aggression.”Israel Katz, the Foreign Minister of Israel, said that the potential warrants could provide a “morale boost” to Hamas but would be unlikely to impact the most senior members of Israeli leadership, according to the Associated Press. "We expect the court (ICC) to refrain from issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli political and security officials," Katz said. "We will not bow our heads or be deterred and will continue to fight." The ICC’s prosecutor Karim Khan has not confirmed the possibility of imminent arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. In October after the war broke out, Khan promised his office would scrutinize the actions of all military parties engaged in the war. “The message is that any person with their finger on the trigger of a gun or controls a missile, has certain responsibilities. My Office will look closely to see whether those responsibilities are being adhered to or not,” he said in a statement. Any arrest warrants would need to be approved first by a panel of judges. Approximately 60% of the world’s countries accept the ICC’s jurisdiction, but the U.S. and Israel are not among them. While Israel has not accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC, the state of Palestine has, which means the court still claims jurisdiction over the West Bank and Gaza. Arrest warrants could complicate Israeli officials’ abilities to travel to countries like the U.K., Canada, France, and Germany that accept ICC jurisdiction. More than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died since the Israel Hamas war began, the majority of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health. 1,200 Israelis died in the Oct. 7 attack, and another 200 were taken hostage by Hamas. The International Criminal Court was established in 2002 in the aftermath of the genocides in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. It differs from the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICJ), which this year oversaw a case about whether or Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, because it holds specific individuals to account. The ICJ, on the other hand, deals with disputes between state actors. In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the unlawful deportation of children during the Russia-Ukraine war, though it has yet to be enforced. Other notable figures that the ICC has issued arrest warrants for include Omar Al Bashir, the former president of Sudan, for his role in the Darfur genocide, and former Libyan head of state Muammar Gaddafi for crimes against humanity committed during the Libyan civil war.

Clear Encampment or Face Suspension, Columbia University Tells Israel-Hamas War Protesters
Asharq Al-Awsat/April 29/2024
Colleges around the country implored pro-Palestinian student protesters to clear out tent encampments with rising levels of urgency Monday, including an ultimatum from Columbia University for students to sign a form and leave the encampment by the afternoon or face suspension. College classes nationwide are wrapping up for the semester, and campuses are preparing for graduation ceremonies. The notice sent by Columbia to protesters in the encampment Monday said that if they leave by the designated time and sign a form committing to abide by university policies through June 2025 or an earlier graduation, they can finish the semester in good standing. If not, the letter said, they will be suspended, pending further investigation. “We urge you to remove the encampment so that we do not deprive your fellow students, their families and friends of this momentous occasion,” the letter said, noting that exams are beginning and graduation is upcoming at the Ivy League university in New York City. A spokesperson for Columbia confirmed the letter had gone out to students but declined to comment further. Mahmoud Khalil, the lead negotiator on behalf of protesters, said university representatives began passing out the notices at the encampment shortly after 10 a.m. Monday. He said discussions were ongoing about how to proceed. Early protests at Columbia, where demonstrators set up tents in the center of the campus, sparked pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country. Students and others have been sparring over the Israel-Hamas war and its mounting death toll. Many students are demanding their universities cut financial ties with Israel.
About 275 people were arrested Saturday at various campuses including Indiana University at Bloomington, Arizona State University and Washington University in St. Louis. The number of arrests nationwide has surpassed 900 since New York police removed a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Columbia and arrested more than 100 demonstrators on April 18. The demonstrations at Columbia have led it to hold remote classes and set a series of deadlines for protesters to leave the encampment, which they have missed. The school said in an email to students that bringing back police “at this time” would be counterproductive. The students and administrators have negotiated to end the disruptions, but the sides have not come to an agreement, university President Minouche Shafik said in a statement Monday. Protests were still active at a number of campuses. Near George Washington University, protesters at an encampment breached and dismantled the barriers Monday morning used to secure University Yard, the university said in a statement. The yard had been closed since last week. Protesters at Yale University set up a new encampment with dozens of tents Sunday afternoon, nearly a week after police arrested nearly 50 demonstrators and cleared a similar camp. At least one school, the University of Southern California, canceled its main graduation ceremony this spring. Others are asking the protests to resolve peacefully so they can hold their ceremonies. Protesters on both sides shouted and shoved each other during dueling demonstrations Sunday at the University of California, Los Angeles. The university stepped up security after “some physical altercations broke out among demonstrators,” Mary Osako, vice chancellor for UCLA Strategic Communications, said in a statement. There were no reports of arrests or injuries. The plight of students who have been arrested has become a central part of protests, with the students and a growing number of faculty demanding amnesty for protesters. At issue is whether the suspensions and legal records will follow students through their adult lives.

US, Britain Urge Hamas to Accept Israeli Truce Proposal
Asharq Al-Awsat/April 29/2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged Hamas to swiftly accept an Israeli proposal for a truce in the Gaza war and the release of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian group. Hamas negotiators were expected to meet Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Monday to deliver a response to the phased truce proposal which Israel presented at the weekend. "Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel," Blinken said at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Saudi capital Riyadh. "The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide and they have to decide quickly," he said. "I'm hopeful that they will make the right decision." A source briefed on the talks said Israel's proposal entailed a deal for the release of fewer than 40 of the roughly 130 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza in exchange for freeing Palestinians jailed in Israel. A second phase of a truce would consist of a "period of sustained calm" - Israel's compromise response to a Hamas demand for a permanent ceasefire. A total of 253 hostages were seized in a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which about 1,200 Israelis were also killed, according to Israeli counts. Israel retaliated by imposing a total siege on Gaza and mounting an air and ground assault that has killed about 34,500 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. Palestinians are suffering from severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine in a humanitarian crisis brought on by the offensive that has demolished much of the territory. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who was also in Riyadh for the WEF meeting, also described the Israeli proposal as "generous". It included a 40-day pause in fighting and the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners as well as Israeli hostages, he told a WEF audience. "I hope Hamas do take this deal and frankly, all the pressure in the world and all the eyes in the world should be on them today saying 'take that deal'," Cameron said. Cameron is among several foreign ministers in Riyadh, including from the US, France, Jordan and Egypt, as part of a diplomatic push to bring an end to the Gaza war. Blinken reiterated that the United States - Israel's main diplomatic supporter and weapons supplier - could not back an Israeli ground assault on Rafah if there was no plan to ensure that civilians would not be harmed.
More than a million displaced Gaza residents are crammed into Rafah, the enclave's southernmost city, having sought refuge there from Israeli bombardments. Israel says the last Hamas fighters are holed up there and it will open an offensive to root them out soon.

Israel Kills at Least 22 Palestinians in Rafah
Asharq Al Awsat/Mon, April 29, 2024
Israeli airstrikes on three houses in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed at least 22 Palestinians and wounded many others, medics said on Monday. Israel has regularly carried out airstrikes on Rafah since the start of the war and has threatened to send in ground troops, saying Rafah is the last major Hamas stronghold in the coastal enclave. Over a million Palestinians have sought refuge in the city on the Egyptian border. An assault on Rafah has been anticipated for weeks but foreign governments and the United Nations have expressed concern that such action could result in a humanitarian disaster given the number of displaced people crammed into the area. The overnight strikes hit three family homes. The first killed 11 people, including four siblings aged 9 to 27, according to records at the Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital, where the bodies were taken. The second strike killed eight people, including a 33-year-old father and his 5-day-old boy, according to hospital records. The third strike killed three siblings, aged 23, 19 and 12.

US appeals to UAE, others to stop support for Sudan's warring parties
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters)/Michelle Nichols/Mon, April 29, 2024
The U.S. is appealing to all countries - including the United Arab Emirates - to stop support for Sudan's warring parties, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said on Monday, warning that a "crisis of epic proportions is brewing."War erupted in Sudan one year ago between the Sudanese army (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), creating the world's largest displacement crisis. The U.N. has voiced concern in recent days about a possible imminent RSF attack on al-Fashir in Sudan's North Dafur region. The fight for al-Fashir, a historic center of power, could grow more protracted, inflame ethnic tensions that surfaced in the region 20 years ago and reach across Sudan's border with Chad, say residents, aid agencies and analysts. "As I've said before, history is repeating itself in Darfur in the worst possible way," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters on Monday, adding that al-Fashir was "on the precipice of a large-scale massacre." In the early 2000s the U.N. estimates some 300,000 people were killed in Darfur when "Janjaweed" militias - from which the RSF formed - helped the army crush a rebellion by mainly non-Arab groups. Sudanese leaders are wanted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity. Top U.N. officials warned the Security Council this month that some 800,000 people in al-Fashir were in "extreme and immediate danger" as violence worsens and threatens to "unleash bloody intercommunal strife throughout Darfur."
UAE REJECTS ACCUSATIONS
Al-Fashir is the last major city in the vast, western Darfur region not under RSF control. The RSF and its allies swept through four other Darfur state capitals last year, and were blamed for a campaign of ethnically driven killings against non-Arab groups and other abuses in West Darfur. "We do know that both sides are receiving support - both with weapons and other support - to fuel their efforts to continue to destroy Sudan and yes, we have engaged with the parties on that including with our colleagues from the UAE," Thomas-Greenfield said. U.N. sanctions monitors have described as "credible" accusations that the United Arab Emirates had provided military support to the RSF. The UAE has denied involvement in military support to any of Sudan's rival parties."The United Arab Emirates ... is not supplying any arms or ammunition to any faction engaged in the ongoing conflict in Sudan," UAE Ambassador to the U.N. Mohamed Abushahab wrote to the Security Council on April 25. He added the UAE "categorically rejects any insinuation that it has extended financial, logistical, military assistance, or diplomatic support to any armed group in Sudan." The U.N. has said nearly 25 million people, half of Sudan's population, need aid and some 8 million have fled their homes. A U.N.-backed global authority on food security has called for immediate action to "prevent widespread death and total collapse of livelihoods and avert a catastrophic hunger crisis in Sudan."

Israel's strike showed Iran's air defenses were 'woefully unprepared.' Here's what Tehran may do next.
Paul Iddon/Business Insider/April 29, 2024
Israel showed it can take out a key part of Iran's air defenses with a single missile.
The S-300 damaged is the most advanced air defense system Iran has acquired from Russia. Iran must field better air defenses like Russia's S-400 to stand a chance against a barrage. In the early hours of April 19, Israel sent a message to Iran with an air-launched ballistic missile that took out a critical part of its air defense network: a radar belonging to one of its advanced Russian S-300 missiles. The Israeli missile scored a direct hit, and the next day Iran tried to cover up the damage with an inferior replacement radar, according to images obtained by the Economist. The incident in the city of Isfahan may force Tehran to upgrade its air defenses, possibly from more advanced Russian systems, to defend itself from the possibility of larger Israeli missile attacks. "I think it's quite clear that Iran is woefully unprepared for such attacks unless it receives significant help from Russia, which it has failed to do so far," Arash Azizi, senior lecturer in history and political science at Clemson University and author of "The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran's Global Ambitions," told Business Insider. "The attacks will also have given valuable operational information to the Iranians in charge of missile defense in that they'll have a better sense of their limits," Azizi said. Israel is known to possess ballistic missiles it can launch from fighter jets. One example is its 15-foot-long Rampage missile. Weighing 1,200 pounds, the supersonic missile can hit targets up to 186 miles away. Britain has shown interest in buying it. Freddy Khoueiry, a global security analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at the risk intelligence company RANE, believes it's possible Israel used the Rampage on April 19. However, he noted that missile debris uncovered in neighboring Iraq suggests it was more likely Israel used Blue Sparrow missiles, which have a purported 1,250-mile range. "Either way, the debris in Iraq and local reports of fighter jet activities over Iraqi airspace that same night suggest Israeli fighter jets possibly fired the missiles from a distance closer to the Iranian borders," Khoueiry told BI. While Iranian air defenses failed to stop Israel's strike they have hugely improved in recent years. In the early 2000s, Iranian radars couldn't detect American and Israeli drones operating inside Iranian airspace. Even bulky US tankers supporting missions in Afghanistan and Iraq flew over parts of Iranian airspace undetected. That's all changed. Iran shot down a sophisticated American RQ-4A Global Hawk surveillance drone flying at high altitude in 2019, claiming it used its indigenous 3rd Khordad system. "For the past few years, Iran has heavily invested in its air defense capabilities but simultaneously knows that it might not be enough against the technologically advanced Israeli or US weapons in a potential conflict," Khoueiry said. That's one reason Iran has placed its most sensitive installations in mountainous regions. "I believe the April 19 Isfahan strike will likely make the Iranians think more in terms of countering Israel's radar-evading systems by improving their radar capabilities while continuing to improve their air defenses, especially because we did not see Iran's best air defense equipment on display," Khoueiry said.
The S-300PMU-2 is the most advanced air defense system Iran has acquired from Russia. Following the Isfahan strike, it's likely Tehran will conclude it needs more advanced Russian systems, such as the S-400 they've by some accounts been asking for. Khoueiry doesn't rule out the prospect of Iran seeking the S-400, given its "more advanced stealth capabilities" and ability to track aircraft at lower altitudes. These capabilities are "crucial" for defending vital Iranian installations, especially given the S-300's failure to intercept Israeli weapons on April 19.
Clemson University's Azizi believes an S-400 acquisition remains "crucial" for Iran and one of its "best bets." Therefore, he anticipates Tehran will continue pushing for it. "I think the April episode will certainly have convinced Iranians that they need to be more serious about getting help from Russia," Azizi said. "But I think they ultimately have very little leverage unless Moscow wants to play Israel and the West by giving help to Iran." Iran has a strong card to play. It's become a major supplier of Russia's war against Ukraine via thousands of Shahed loitering munitions and hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles. But this may not be enough. "Moscow will be the key decision-maker here, not Tehran," Azizi said. "The drone help is important for Moscow but not indispensable."Iran could have a local solution in the form of indigenous systems, such as the 3rd Khordad that felled a Global Hawk and the Bavar 373. "Theoretically these Iranian systems should do better than the S-300 given that the Iranians upgraded the Bavar 373 in 2022, claiming that it's now a competitor of the S-400," Khoueiry said. "In practice, this could go either way, depending on the amount of Israeli missiles that would be hypothetically launched and from where."
Khoueiry anticipates that early detection by Iranian air defenses could give these Iranian-made systems "more chances" against Israeli missiles. Conversely, Azizi believes these systems are "quite unlikely" to fare any better than their Russian counterparts. "These are impressive systems for Iran to have devised on its own but they are ultimately no match for Israel's significant offensive capabilities," Azizi said.

‘My whole family has perished:’ 22 killed in Israeli airstrike on Rafah, hospital staff say
Tareq Elhelou, and CNN’s Kareem Khadder, Zeena Saifi and Abeer Salman/Mon, April 29, 2024
Twenty-two people, including at least one infant and a toddler, have been killed in an Israeli airstrike over Rafah, Gaza, overnight into Monday, according to hospital officials.The deceased were brought into Abu Youssef Al Najjar hospital in Rafah following the attack, as their loved ones gathered for their final farewells. A video filmed for CNN in the hospital courtyard shows several body bags laid on the ground with dozens of anguished people including men, women and children crowded around their late loved ones. People are seen crouching over the body bags, with some caressing their loved one’s lifeless bodies. At least one baby’s head can be seen sticking out of a bag, as the woman beside it shouts: “My whole family has perished.” The baby’s uncle, Mahmoud Abu Taha, was carrying the 1-year-old’s lifeless body while talking to the camera, saying his parents had tried having children for 10 years before he was born.
“We were sitting in our homes, not doing anything. It was unexpected when they struck the house. Everyone was asleep in their beds… most of the people that were killed were displaced… they were women and children,” he said. Lifting the baby boy’s body to the camera, Mahmoud Abu Taha cries out, “this is who they are targeting. This is their objective. This is the generation they’re looking for. This is the safe Rafah they talk about.”In response to a CNN request for comment regarding the Rafah strike on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that its fighter jets “struck terror targets where terrorists were operating within a civilian area in southern Gaza.”“The IDF will continue to foil terrorist activity and protect Israeli civilians, in accordance with international law,” it added.
CNN cannot independently verify those claims. Another member of the Abu Taha family says in the video that 10 of his relatives were killed in the airstrike. Some of his relatives were originally displaced from Khan Younis, where several of them were killed in a previous Israeli airstrike. The remaining few who had fled Khan Younis for the safety of Rafah have now been killed overnight in Rafah, he says. “They were sleeping in their homes when the airstrike hit at around 12:20 am…nowhere is safe. The entire Gaza Strip is a target,” he told CNN. He called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war, saying “we want to live. We want peace. Enough Arab bloodshed.”Another eyewitness says a five-day-old boy named Ghaith Abu Rayya was killed in the airstrike. The footage shows him opening a small body bag to reveal the infant’s head, saying his body has been dismembered. “We are all alone. Nobody cares about us,” he cries. He is seen opening another body bag next to Ghaith’s, sobbing, and saying, “my beloved Ramy,” who he says is Ghaith’s 33-year-old father. Several men are seen bringing in another body bag with the name “Ahmad Saleem Abu Taha” written across it, and the crowded people start wailing in distress. One woman caresses the lifeless face, which has been left exposed, saying: “Oh his smell. Oh God. Goodbye my beloved.”The death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to at least 34,454 following 205 days of war between Israel and Hamas, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Sunday. The ministry does not distinguish between casualties among civilians and Hamas fighters. CNN cannot independently verify the ministry’s casualty figures due to the lack of international media access to Gaza. Tareq Elhelou reported for CNN from Rafah, CNN’s Kareem Khadder, Zeena Saifi and Abeer Salman reported from Jerusalem.

Bernie Sanders Accuses Israel Of Ethnic Cleansing In Gaza's 'Humanitarian Disaster'
Sanjana Karanth/CNN/April 29, 2024
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians in Gaza ― upping his rhetoric against the U.S.-funded military offensive in the enclave that has been underway for nearly seven months. CNN’s “State of the Union” show was Sanders’ first time using the term “ethnic cleansing” to describe the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, where soldiers have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, wounded more than 75,000, displaced most of the population, destroyed cultural, medical and educational infrastructure, and created a famine by blocking most aid from entering the territory. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that what Netanyahu is doing now ― displacing 80% of the population in Gaza ― is ethnic cleansing,” Sanders told CNN host Dana Bash. “That’s what it is, pushing out huge numbers of people.”
He added: “I think I, and a majority of the American people, do not want to be complicit in the humanitarian disaster that Netanyahu is causing in Gaza right now.” The decision to use the term to describe the crisis in Gaza is an escalation of Sanders’ criticism of the U.S. government’s role in supporting the deadly military campaign, which began Oct. 7 after Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and resulted in about 250 people being taken hostage. Half of the hostages were released during a temporary halt in fighting, and about 30 of those remaining are presumed dead. Both Israel and Hamas appear to be nowhere close to a deal that would allow a permanent cease-fire, the return of hostages and the flow of humanitarian aid.
The Biden administration has continued to send billions in military aid to Israel, despite growing opposition from various Democratic lawmakers and from many everyday Americans ― including college students across the country who are protesting Israel’s military campaign, Israeli soldiers’ use of U.S. weapons to kill Palestinians, and universities’ financial ties to Israel. “Let’s take a deep look beyond the protests: How do the American people feel about U.S. military aid to the Netanyahu government?” Sanders asked, after having to repeatedly redirect Bash’s questions about student demonstrations and refocus the conversation on the humanitarian crisis itself. “What Netanyahu is trying to do very clearly is to say, ‘Anybody who criticizes what Israel is doing, you are antisemitic.’ Well, are there some antisemites? Well, you just saw one, yeah,” the senator continued, referring to a clip Bash played of what she said was a protester calling for the death of Zionists. “But what I’m saying is, if you look at the polling, the vast majority of the American people are disgusted with Netanyahu’s war machine in Gaza,” Sanders said. “And they do not want further U.S. military aid to his government.”
Tensions between Sanders and Netanyahu have soared as the senator continues to call out the prime minister for his military campaign. In response to what he called “horrific” campus protests, Netanyahu described student protesters of all races, ethnicities and religions as “antisemitic mobs.”
Viral clips have emerged of individuals making antisemitic comments, but protest organizers have condemned such remarks and, in some cases, attributed them to counterprotesters or outside agitators. Most photos and videos of the protests show students peacefully demonstrating before law enforcement arrives.
“Mr. Netanyahu, antisemitism is a vile and disgusting form of bigotry that has done unspeakable harm to many millions of people,” Sanders, who is Jewish and whose father’s family was killed in the Holocaust, said last week in a video addressed to the prime minister. “Do not insult the intelligence of the American people by attempting to distract us from the immoral and illegal war policies of your extremist and racist government.” Despite a growing number of U.S. officials speaking out against Israel’s military campaign, most are still hesitant to use terms like “apartheid,” “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide,” language that is particularly freighted when discussing a state that was established for Jewish survivors of the Holocaust. Sanders said he believes the question of whether “genocide” is an applicable term should be determined by international courts. South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians, a charge that Israel vehemently denies. That case is currently sitting before the International Court of Justice. A bombshell United Nations report also concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide.
Multiple human rights groups have released reports that say Israel has long been committing apartheid against Palestinians, not just in Gaza but also in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

McGill University calls pro-Palestinian encampment illegal, campers vow to stay
MONTREAL/The Canadian Press/Mon, April 29, 2024
Pro-Palestinian activists said on Monday they have no intention of dismantling their camp at Montreal's McGill University, as the school said it was discussing its next steps to deal with what it called an illegal encampment. Dozens of tents were pitched on the lawn of McGill's downtown campus behind a metal fence festooned with Palestinian flags and posters. Cases of bottled water and a small generator could be seen behind the fence, as masked protesters at the gate welcomed supporters dropping off donations including batteries, clothing and medication. "Students have reiterated their intention to continue the encampment indefinitely, until McGill and Concordia divest from all companies profiting from genocide," read a joint statement published Monday by co-organizers Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights Concordia, Independent Jewish Voices McGill and Independent Jewish Voices Concordia. McGill said Monday morning that the number of people who have set up tents on campus has tripled since Saturday, and many of them, if not the majority, are not members of the school community. It also said it had seen video evidence of some people using "unequivocally antisemitic language and intimidating behaviour" during the protest, but it did not provide further details. "McGill has been steadfast in its support of the rights of our campus community to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly, with the understanding that these must be exercised within the bounds of McGill’s policies as well as the law," the school said Monday in a statement.
"We have been clear that these encampments violate both."
The institution said its leaders were discussing next steps after lawyers representing McGill students in the encampment informed them the protesters refuse to discuss a timeline to remove the tents. The school has previously asked one of the organizing groups — Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill — to stop using the university's name after it says the group made "incendiary posts" following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. In a Facebook post soon after the attack, SPHR McGill called the militants' actions "heroic" and asked Montrealers to "celebrate the resistance’s success." Encampment members, meanwhile. are demanding the school divest from Israeli companies it says are "complicit in the occupation of Palestine." They also want the school to cut academic ties with Israeli institutions and denounce Israel's offensive in Gaza, which has led to more than 34,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the local health ministry. A McGill student and encampment spokesperson who didn't want to give her full name for fear of reprisals from the school or police confirmed Monday that the campers refused to negotiate with the school to remove their tents. She said the campers weren't leaving.
"We understand there may be police repression," she said. "We’ve seen it before, we will see it again. We are ready, we are not moving, we are standing our ground." While police cars could be seen on nearby streets, there was no visible police presence on school grounds as the encampment members and dozens of supporters gathered for a brief rally Monday morning. Marwah Mechti, a student from Maisonneuve College, was among those who showed up to encourage the campers. "It’s not an Arab cause, it’s not a religious cause anymore. It’s a human cause," she said. "By being here in the tents, not eating, not bathing, it shows the determination of students." The encampment in Montreal, which comes just ahead of the end of final exams at McGill on Tuesday, follows a wave of similar protests across campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war. Critics have argued the protests are antisemitic and leave Jewish students feeling unsafe. Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, a McGill alumnus who represents a Montreal riding, said the encampment is creating a climate of intimidation and needs to be dismantled. "I've heard over the course of the weekend from literally hundreds of Jewish students and their parents and grandparents that are afraid of what's happening on campus," Housefather said Monday in Ottawa. "And it's a terrible message to send to the Jewish community in Montreal that has been in Montreal for over 250 years to see those type of remarks calling on Jews to return to Poland that we heard in the videos yesterday. It is absolutely antisemitic and it's unacceptable."But the McGill encampment spokesperson, who said she was Jewish and a member of Independent Jewish Voices McGill, said the protests are peaceful and aimed at Israel's actions, not Jewish people. "I want to very clearly clarify: there is a difference between Judaism and Zionism," she said. "And currently the McGill administration and many institutions across the world right now are equating the two. We are here to say, as anti-Zionist Jews, there is a difference."On Monday, there were signs the campus protest movement within Canada could be spreading. A protest was beginning at the University of British Columbia's Vancouver campus, with organizers writing on X to ask people to bring tents and sandbags, as well as food, water and heating supplies. The University of Ottawa, meanwhile, warned its students on Monday that the use of university space is a privilege and not a right."While peaceful protest is permitted in appropriate public spaces on campus according to our policies and regulations, encampments and occupations will not be tolerated," read a message signed by Éric Bercier, associate vice-president of student affairs.

Paris Police Clear Gaza Protesters at Sorbonne University
Asharq Al-Awsat/April 29/2024
Police moved in to clear dozens of protesters who had set up tents in a courtyard at the Sorbonne University in Paris on Monday to protest against the war in Gaza, students there said. The demonstration took place three days after protests at the capital's elite Sciences Po university and came in the wake of rallies in campuses across the United States against the conflict. "We set up tents ... like in several US universities," Sorbonne student Louis Maziere said. "We're doing all we can to raise awareness about what is happening in Palestine, about the ongoing genocide in Gaza." "Police then came running in, brought down tents, grabbed students by the collar and dragged them on the ground, that's not OK... We're quite shocked," he said. Fellow student Lou said: "What we're pushing for is peace and they answer with force and violence." A police source confirmed they had intervened to clear out the Sorbonne's courtyard. "This operation, which lasted only a few minutes, was carried out peacefully without incident," the source said, declining to respond to questions on how the students had been removed. The university, one of the world's oldest, closed its buildings for the day during the peaceful protests. Students chanted "Free Palestine" and urged the institution to condemn Israel. Israel has imposed a siege on Gaza and mounted an air and ground assault in which at least 34,488 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities. Israel's actions came in response to an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 by militants of the Palestinian group Hamas in which 253 people were taken hostage and about 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli tallies. Several French politicians, including Mathilde Panot who heads the hard-left LFI group of lawmakers in the National Assembly, have urged supporters on social media to join the Sorbonne protests.

Six-Party Ministerial Meeting Convenes in Riyadh to Discuss Israeli War in Gaza Strip
Asharq Al-Awsat/April 29/2024
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, chaired the six-party Consultative Ministerial meeting with the United States in Riyadh on Monday. The meeting focused on discussing the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the latest developments. The attendees emphasized the urgency of achieving an immediate and complete ceasefire to end the war while ensuring the protection of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law. They also deliberated on strategies to eliminate all impediments restricting the entry of humanitarian aid into all areas of the Strip to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. Furthermore, the meeting addressed the efforts undertaken by the Arab Six-Party countries to support the international recognition of the Palestinian state, aiming to fulfill the aspirations of the Palestinian people for an independent and sovereign state based on the borders of June 4, 1967. The participants underscored the importance of taking irreversible measures to implement the two-state solution, in alignment with relevant international resolutions. Among the attendees were Saudi Ambassador to the United States Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs Dr. Saud Al-Sati, Advisor to the Ministry Dr. Manal Radwan, and Director of the Arab Levant Department Mohammed Al-Harbi. Also, other attendees included Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan Ayman Safadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt Sameh Shoukri, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Al-Sheikh; and Secretary of State of the United States Antony Blinken.

No 'major issues': Hamas delegation to arrive in Egypt for Gaza truce talks
Agence France Presse/April 29, 2024
A Hamas delegation is due Monday in Egypt, where it will respond to Israel's latest proposal for a long-sought truce in Gaza and hostage release after almost seven months of war. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for months, but a flurry of diplomacy in recent days appeared to suggest a new push towards halting the fighting. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his seventh visit to the region since the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war, arrived Monday in Saudi Arabia and will also travel to Israel and neighbouring Jordan later this week, a State Department official said. A senior Hamas official said Sunday that the Palestinian group had no "major issues" with the most recent truce plan. "The atmosphere is positive unless there are new Israeli obstacles," the official told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss the negotiations.
While Israel has pledged to go after Hamas battalions in Rafah despite mounting global concern for Palestinian civilians sheltering in the southern Gaza Strip city, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the government may "suspend" the invasion if an agreement is reached. The war has brought besieged Gaza to the brink of famine, U.N. and humanitarian officials say, reduced much of the territory to rubble and raised fears of broader conflict. An AFP correspondent, witnesses and rescuers reported air strikes overnight on Rafah, where the majority of Gaza's 2.4 million people have sought refuge near the border with Egypt.
More strikes were reported in central Gaza. At least 22 people were killed in Rafah, medics and the Civil Defence agency said Monday, with witnesses telling AFP at least three houses had been hit.
A Hamas source close to the negotiations had told AFP the group "is open to discussing the new proposal positively" and is keen for an agreement that "guarantees a permanent ceasefire, the free return of displaced people, an acceptable deal for (prisoner) exchange and ensuring an end to the siege" in Gaza.
In Israel, protesters have taken to the streets to urge the government to secure the freedom of the 129 hostages who remain in Gaza since being seized by militants on October 7, including 34 the military says are dead.
'Irreversible path' to statehood
Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,170 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,454 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. A one-week halt to the fighting in November saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Hamas has previously insisted on a permanent ceasefire -- a condition Israel has rejected. However, the Axios news website, citing two Israeli officials, reported that Israel's latest proposal includes a willingness to discuss the "restoration of sustainable calm" after hostages are released. It is the first time that Israeli leaders have suggested they are open to discussing an end to the war, Axios said. As diplomatic efforts intensified, Blinken arrived in Riyadh for talks with Arab and European foreign ministers aimed at pushing an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and increasing humanitarian aid into Gaza, a State Department official said. His Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said on Sunday that the international community had failed Gazans. He reiterated that only "a credible, irreversible path to a Palestinian state" will prevent the world from confronting "this same situation" again in the future. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government has rejected calls for Palestinian statehood.
'Suspend' Rafah invasion
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, appealed at the WEF meeting for the United States to stop Israel from invading Rafah, which he said would be "the biggest disaster in the history of the Palestinian people".
Katz, the Israeli foreign minister, signalled on Saturday that Israel would be willing to call off an invasion of Rafah if Hamas accepted a deal to release hostages. "If there is a deal, we will suspend the operation," he told Israel's Channel 12.
In February, Netanyahu said any truce deal would only delay -- not prevent -- a Rafah operation. Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said in a statement that "Rafah is important in the long struggle against Hamas" but that "the government will not the right... to exist" if it prevents the return of the hostages.
U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA has warned that "famine thresholds in Gaza will be breached within the next six weeks" if massive food aid does not arrive. The White House said Sunday that a U.S.-made pier meant to boost aid to Gaza will become operational in two to three weeks but cannot replace land routes. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on ABC News that Israel is letting in more trucks, in line with "commitments that President Biden asked them to meet".U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu by phone Sunday and "reviewed ongoing talks to secure the release of hostages together with an immediate ceasefire in Gaza", the White House statement said. The two leaders "also discussed increases in the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Gaza", the statement said, including "preparations" to open new crossings to northern Gaza, where condition have been particularly dire.

El-Sisi, Biden affirm the danger of a military escalation in Rafah
Reuters/April 29, 2024
The Egyptian Presidency said that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received a phone call today, Monday, from his American counterpart Joe Biden, during which they discussed the latest developments regarding the ongoing negotiations to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and the risks of a military escalation in Rafah.
The presidency added in a statement, "The call addressed the latest developments in the ongoing negotiations and Egyptian efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, halt firing, and exchange hostages." It also mentioned that during the phone call, "emphasis was placed on the danger of military escalation in the Palestinian city of Rafah, due to its potential catastrophic dimensions to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the sector, as well as its impact on the security and stability of the region." The statement stated, "President El-Sisi emphasized the necessity of full and sufficient access to humanitarian aid, highlighting Egypt's intensive efforts in this regard. The two presidents also emphasized the importance of preventing the expansion of the conflict, and reiterated the importance of the two-state solution as a means to achieve security, peace, and stability in the region."

US says it 'does not support' ICC investigations of Israel
AFP/April 29, 2024 
The United States has expressed its opposition to the International Criminal Court's investigation into Israel's practices in Gaza, amid reports of Israeli officials' concerns about the issuance of arrest warrants by the body, based in The Hague.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press briefing: "We've been really clear about the ICC investigation, that we don't support it, we don't believe that they have the jurisdiction."

Italy reports downing a Houthi-launched drone in the Red Sea
Reuters/April 29, 2024
The Italian Ministry of Defense said today, Monday, that a ship belonging to the Italian navy shot down a drone launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen, targeting a European cargo ship. The ministry added in a statement that interception of the drone was possible "late in the morning" near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of the Red Sea. It added that the drone was flying towards the cargo ship before being shot down five kilometers away. It said it was similar to other drones used in previous Houthi attacks.

Mali forces kill senior figure in Islamic State affiliate
BAMAKO (Reuters)/April 29, 2024
Malian forces killed Abu Huzeifa, a commander for a West African affiliate of Islamic State, during a large-scale operation in the northern region of Menaka, the Malian authorities said in a statement read on state television on Monday.Huzeifa's death on Sunday had been confirmed after the operation in the region's Indelimane sector, they said, but did not give further details. The U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program offers a bounty of up to $5 million for information on Huzeifa for his alleged participation in a 2017 attack in neighbouring Niger that killed four U.S. and four Nigerien soldiers.
Over the past decade, attacks by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have killed thousands of people in Mali, Niger, and neighbouring Burkina Faso, destabilising West Africa's central Sahel region. As of March, the protracted security and humanitarian crisis had displaced over 3 million people in the region, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 29-30/2024
U.S. Campuses: Grooming Terrorists
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute./April 29, 2024
For these Arabs, including some Palestinians, there is nothing "pro-Palestinian" about supporting the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group....
Those who are chanting "we are all Hamas" on the streets of New York and U.S. college campuses are not helping the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip even slightly. They are being used as human shields by the terrorist group Hamas in its genocidal war against Israel and Jews." — Loay Al-Shareef, social media influencer from the United Arab Emirates, X, April 23, 2024.
"You would not survive a day in Gaza under Hamas, which demands that 'infidels' live with dignity only if they are subordinate to Islamists.... You do not understand Arabic, nor do you know Islam well enough to comprehend what awaits you if Hamas prevails (God forbid)." — Loay Al-Shareef, X, April 23, 2024."[Y]ou would also be the target of hatred because radical Islamists like Hamas believe in eternal enmity towards Jews and Christians. They interpret the Quranic verse ("O you who believe, never take Jews and Christians as friends," as timeless, applicable to all Jews and Christians forever." — Loay Al-Shareef, X, April 23, 2024.
"Hamas' approach, in other words, has been a disaster for Palestinians in Gaza.... If universities cannot instil their students with peaceful, tolerant, and coexistent attitudes, then they have failed as institutions of higher learning." — John Aziz, a British-Palestinian writer, Jewish Chronicle, April 22, 2024.
"Violence has failed us for decades, and the only way to accomplish justice for Palestinians is through peace." — Hamza Howidy, Palestinian from Gaza, X, April 25, 2024.
By blocking the three Palestinian social media influences, the SJP, which claims to seek justice for the Palestinians, is proving that it does not care about freedom of speech for the Palestinians and is as intolerant as Hamas and other terrorist groups to criticism.
"The Muslim Brotherhood is a cancer on every university campus." – Amjad Taha, Emirati researcher and journalist, X, April 23, 2024.
While protesters at Columbia University and Yale University celebrate Hamas and its "resistance" (a euphemism for violence and terrorism), Arabs have been ridiculing the "pro-Palestinian" demonstrators on American college campuses. For these Arabs, including some Palestinians, there is nothing "pro-Palestinian" about supporting the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group.
While protesters at Columbia University and Yale University celebrate Hamas and its "resistance" (a euphemism for violence and terrorism), Arabs have been ridiculing the "pro-Palestinian" demonstrators on American college campuses. For these Arabs, including some Palestinians, there is nothing "pro-Palestinian" about supporting the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group, whose members slaughtered 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 240 others on October 7, 2023.
It is also ironic that the current wave of protests on US college campuses comes at a time when most Palestinian and Arab universities remain quiet. One would have expected to see such protests at university campuses in the West Bank and several Arab countries. True, there were some relatively small protests at a few universities in Jordan and Egypt, but they did not come close to the wave of antisemitism sweeping college campuses in the US.
Those who are chanting "we are all Hamas" on the streets of New York and U.S. college campuses are not helping the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip even slightly. They are being used as human shields by the terrorist group Hamas in its genocidal war against Israel and Jews.
Behind Hamas, of course, is the puppeteer of the world's "leading state sponsor of terrorism," Iran in its genocidal war against "the Little Satan," Israel -- "Death to Israel" -- and "the Great Satan," the United States --"Death to America" (here, here, here and here).
When the Jew-haters on the college campuses proudly say "we are all Hamas," they are supporting an Islamist terrorist group responsible for the murder, rape, mutilation, and beheading of hundreds of Israelis, including burning infants alive and baking one in an oven. In addition, by chanting slogans in favor of Hamas, these individuals on campus are affiliating themselves with a group officially designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization.
The students and faculty members demonstrating in support of Hamas are actually saying that they approve of the atrocities committed by Hamas over the past three decades, including suicide bombings, stabbings, and the firing of thousands of rockets and mortars into Israeli cities, villages and farms. These anti-Israel protesters have openly demonstrated that they support the Islamists' Jihad against Israel and the West.
"Death to America" and "Death to Israel" were shouted in Michigan, Illinois and New York. Columbia University student Khaymani James went further. He said, "So, yes, I feel very comfortable, very comfortable, calling for those people [Zionists] to die." He added that people should "be grateful that I'm not just going out and murdering Zionists."
Loay Al-Shareef, a social media influencer from the United Arab Emirates wrote:
"Dear White Americans and Gen Zs who support or tolerate Hamas supporters on US campuses, a gentle reminder from a credible Arab Muslim voice from the Middle East:
"You are supporting a terror group with the same Islamist/ Muslim brotherhood pathological creed that brought down the twin towers in Manhattan in 2001.
"You would not survive a day in Gaza under Hamas, which demands that 'infidels' live with dignity only if they are subordinate to Islamists.
"You would not endure a day under the rule of these radicals. You do not understand Arabic, nor do you know Islam well enough to comprehend what awaits you if Hamas prevails (God forbid).
"Furthermore, you would also be the target of hatred because radical Islamists like Hamas believe in eternal enmity towards Jews and Christians. They interpret the Quranic verse (O you who believe, never take Jews and Christians as friends) as timeless, applicable to all Jews and Christians forever. In contrast, mainstream Muslims believe this verse was context-specific.
"Living in a civil society under the rule of Islamists like Hamas is unfeasible. Islamists unite against a common enemy but turn against each other when that enemy withdraws—as evidenced by their actions in Afghanistan in the late 1980s. Do you think you are safe?
"How can you trust an ideology that has failed its adherents so profoundly that they fled to America, Canada, and Europe to seek asylum, only to exploit the freedoms there to engage in activities that will ultimately endanger you as well?
"Take it from someone who knows how much hate this ideology instills in your heart, listen to those who overcome it.
"I am a credible voice who understands the region, the religions, and the language. I implore you to wake up because you are next."
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a prominent Gaza-born Palestinian American humanitarian activist and blogger, accused the "pro-Palestinian" protesters on the college campuses of employing inflammatory rhetoric that actually harms the Palestinian issue. It makes the Palestinians appear as extremists, and because such rhetoric emboldens Hamas and other radical groups that have brought a catastrophe on the Palestinians] Alkhatib revealed that the anti-Israel group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which is leading the protests, has blocked him on social media because he dared to criticize their tactics, including support for the "armed struggle" against Israel.
"I'm disappointed and frustrated with the statement by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine (who blocked me despite having never interacted with them)," Alkhatib said.
"In it, they reaffirm the right of armed resistance, an explicit endorsement of Hamas and October 7 and the 'all means necessary' narrative, reject the Two State Solution, and attack 'normalizers' or anyone who's willing to talk to Israelis and engage in promoting pragmatic solutions to achieve coexistence and peace.
"This is what losing the plot looks like: at a time of rising empathy & solidarity with the Palestinian cause, these students, heavily involved in the Columbia protests, decided that the best thing to do is take an extremist, maximalist, inflammatory, unreasonable, and totally illogical approach which is harmful to the pro-Palestinian cause. They brag about their extremist rhetoric and think it's bad to expect that they work on improving messaging. There is nothing inspiring about their message or efforts, only rejections, calls for 'escalations,' and attacks against anyone who doesn't toe the party line. And not a word about Hamas and the deadly impact that the Islamist group's program and decisions have had on the Palestinian people in Gaza.
"What have 75 years of armed resistance achieved for the Palestinian people?...
"Without a doubt, there needs to be advocacy for Palestinians' right to self-determination, independence, and sovereignty. But rejecting anything pragmatic that will actually help the Palestinian people or thinking that underinformed college students are going to dismantle Israel and eradicate it from existence is the height of pompous and vain, 'feel-good' activism that's never going to do a thing for the just and urgent Palestinian cause...
"Stop wasting your time, embarrassing the pro-Palestine movement, and alienating desperately needed allies from supporting the cause."
John Aziz, a British-Palestinian writer and musician, also expressed disgust at the anti-Israel messages of the protesters at the college campuses in the US, including calls for a global intifada (uprising).
"This is the kind of message that as a Palestinian, I have heard a lot over the years from a range of voices on my own side of the conflict," Aziz wrote.
"A message of unrestrained militancy, a threat to the world, a warning, an omen of violence. The language of Hamas, the language of al-muqawama (the resistance), the language of war.
"But this is not Gaza, nor Yemen, nor Tehran. These are not the militant words of some radical imam amid the dust clouds of Arabia, or the war-torn Mediterranean landscape of Gaza. These are signs posted and words spoken at Columbia University's Gaza solidarity encampment, in New York, the city with the largest Jewish population in the world - a city populated by 1.6 million Jews as compared to second-place Jerusalem's 546,000 Jews. If these students wished to emulate their heroes of the Al-Aqsa Flood and attack or kidnap Jews, they would have plenty to choose from."
Aziz was referring to chants and slogans on some of the campuses in the US, such as "Jews, Jews, go back to Poland" and "Paradise lies in the shadow of swords."
"How far have Hamas — the ideological heroes of these campus wannabe warriors — been willing to go in losing all of the trappings and the material spoils of their lives? They have gone all the way. Gaza today is shrouded in dust, shrapnel and rubble, and the relative — albeit limited — economic and material progress attained before the war is gone. In the region of 30,000 Palestinians, many of them civilians including women and children are said to have died as a consequence of the war Hamas instigated on October 7. Every university in Gaza has been damaged, a majority of the hospitals are out of commission and have been replaced by field hospitals. Gaza's productive economy has been replaced with food packages dropped from planes and delivered by trucks.
"Hamas' approach, in other words, has been a disaster for Palestinians in Gaza, not to mention the Israelis and people of other nationalities — including Americans and Britons — murdered, raped, and kidnapped on October 7 itself. Those who wish to style themselves as pro-Palestinian should recognise the failure of Hamas as leaders for Palestinians.
"But this ongoing pattern of failure has not stopped American students from falling into the arms of Hamas. While support for theocratic militants may for many be a juvenile silliness that most will simply grow out of and cringe about in future years, there is a risk of people following through on their words and turning to violence and terror, very literally globalising the intifada. At the very least, this is a fertile recruiting ground for radicals...
"The explosion of Hamasnik ideology on campuses in the United States and in Britain, as such, is a major embarrassment for these institutions. If universities cannot instil their students with peaceful, tolerant, and coexistent attitudes, then they have failed as institutions of higher learning."
Like Alkhatib, Aziz was blocked on social media by the group Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine.
Another Palestinian, Hamza Howidy, was also blocked by the same group for daring to criticize their words and actions. Howidy commented:
"Before I realized I was being blocked by Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, along with two well-known Palestinian peace activists... I thought the calls for violence, support for Hamas, and globalizing intifada that were filmed during the Columbia SJP protests were strange and did not represent the Columbia SJP's basic standards. Supporting Palestinians (according to the SJP) appears to imply support for "armed resistance," which is entirely incorrect. Violence has failed us for decades, and the only way to accomplish justice for Palestinians is through peace."
By blocking the three Palestinian social media influences, SJP, which claims to seek justice for the Palestinians, is proving that it does not care about freedom of speech for the Palestinians and is as intolerant as Hamas and other terrorist groups to criticism.
Emirati researcher and journalist Amjad Taha warned that the Muslim Brotherhood (of which Hamas is an offshoot) is spreading on university campuses in the US.
"I'm leaving New York today, and I can confirm that antisemitism is spreading here faster than COVID-19 ever did. The Muslim Brotherhood is a cancer on every university campus. America needs #America before #Gaza and #Israel. Your next generation is held hostage by extremist ideologies."
It is refreshing to see that there are Arabs who understand the dangers of radical Islam infiltrating educational institutions in the US. It is also refreshing to see that there are Arabs who understand that support for Hamas and antisemitism are counterproductive to the Palestinian cause. If the US and other Western countries do not wake up to the fact that Jihad has come to their universities, they will wake up to October 7-style massacres on the streets of New York, London, and Paris.
**Bassam Tawil is an Arab Muslim based in the Middle East.
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https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20606/us-campuses-grooming-terrorists

Kissinger’s Shadow Chases Blinken
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 29/2024
Antony Blinken went to Harvard. In the hallways, he met the shadow of a man who preceded him there by decades. His name was Henry Kissinger. He will meet the same ghost as he passes through the National Security Council as well as the Council on Foreign Relations. The owner of the shadow also loved writing articles and thinking at length about America’s future and its position in the world. Blinken now sits in the Secretary of State’s office. Kissinger left this office decades ago, but his shadow remained. How difficult it is to live with the presence of a brilliant ancestor! It is as if he was always judging you and testing you! People are tempted by comparisons. Emmanuel Macron understands what it means to occupy the office of a man who left his aura hanging over him. He knows the difficulty of living in Charles de Gaulle’s office.
Time is a judge that does not take into account mitigating factors. He pushes position holders to their fate and monitors the results. There is no place for ordinary employees who rush into oblivion like river water trickles into the sea.
History only preserves the names of those with fingerprints, even if they are sometimes stained by crimes. That is why history has not forgotten those who left their mark at the turning points. Mazarin, Talleyrand, Metternich, and Bismarck. It did not forget Molotov, Xuan-lai, Kissinger, Gromyko, Primakov, and Lavrov, despite the latter’s image falling into the Ukrainian trap.
On the plane that took him to Beijing, he looked at his watch. Time runs out. Biden is threatened with leaving the White House in the upcoming elections. The courts are dealing with a loud man named Donald Trump, and his popularity is not diminishing. If Biden leaves, he will leave with him. He will publish his memoirs and give lectures. But retirement does not tempt him. Then the fingerprint is more important than the details of the diary. It’s a permanent stamp.
How difficult it is to meet with the Emperor of China, the man who holds the keys to the “world factory” and who deigns to sit in the second place in the ranking of the great powers. Vladimir Putin came to his mind. He will not lose the war in Ukraine, but the West will make it long and costly.
The war in Ukraine increased Russia’s need for Mao’s country. It did not occur to the master of the Kremlin that Russia’s real competitor is the human sea residing on its borders, armed with technological progress and a will of steel. Putin escaped from the American fate and fell into the Chinese destiny. The appointment is really difficult. This man, with whom he will shake hands, is not threatened by elections or means of communication, and no one dares to oppose him since the party has established him as a counterpart to Mao Zedong and a bit more.
Kissinger’s shadow haunted him. On July 9, 1971, Kissinger was supposed to be resting in northern Pakistan. But comfort is something that tempts others. He secretly took off for China, bringing with him his knowledge of the country he was visiting and the drivers of its history and present. He also carried with him a complete understanding of the brilliant man he would meet, in addition to his intellectual arsenal, his precise knowledge of the details of complex files, and the skill of gaining the trust of others and suggesting that he was capable of granting and obstructing.
Marathon conversations took place between brilliant people, during which Kissinger asked Chinese Prime Minister Xuanlai to extend an invitation to President Richard Nixon to visit the Chinese continent, which was openly hostile to imperialism and considered it a “paper tiger.” The result was Nixon’s visit to China in February 1972, which constituted a coup in the international balance of power. The Soviet Union had no choice but to take the path of détente with the West, which Kissinger believed would lead to the decline of the Soviet Empire.
In the talks, Blinken confirmed that Xi Jinping is not in a rush to confront America, but he does not want to see Putin lose because his defeat deepens Taiwan’s alienation. On the plane that took him to the Middle East, Blinken turned to his watch. The current situation is difficult and dangerous. The echoes of the massacres in Gaza reached the heart of American universities. The Biden administration was quick to support Israel in the wake of the Al-Aqsa Flood, but seven months of killing is beyond tolerance. The American machine intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, but some of them reached Israeli territory.
The Netanyahu government responded with a programmed strike also deep inside Iran. Who guarantees the ability to continue pulling the strings? What if the Middle East woke up to a total collapse? America does not hold back anything from Netanyahu, but the man is behaving like a wounded warrior. If he carries out his threat to invade Rafah, the fires are likely to expand.
Once again, Kissinger’s shadow haunts him. He seized the 1973 war. He supported Israel, but practically imposed the option of negotiation as the only way out. He launched his “shuttle diplomacy” and used the arsenal of realism, ingenuity, and moving cards with Anwar Sadat and Hafez al-Assad, and the result was two agreements to resolve the conflict. The Egyptian side’s agreement changed the scene in the Arab-Israeli conflict and later opened the door to Camp David and Egypt’s exit from the military aspect of the war.
Tragic situations require exceptional decisions and men who are skilled at creating destinies at turning points. Can Blinken open the door to a path that leads to an independent Palestinian state? Such a step would bring a major change to the scene in the Middle East. America will thus compensate for the historical mistake it committed when it allowed successive Israeli governments to assassinate the Oslo Accords and ignore the importance of Yasser Arafat’s involvement in it, as well as disregarding the Arab Peace Initiative.Half a century after Kissinger’s tour in the Middle East, Blinken’s plane is on the move. Removing the injustice done to the Palestinian people will constitute a major coup that redraws the boundaries of roles, including the roles of Iran, Türkiye, Russia, and China.
A comprehensive peace will give the terrible Middle East a chance to focus on development, combat poverty and terrorism, and address the misery of living in tents. Can Blinken leave his mark on history as Kissinger did in more than one place, including the negotiations to withdraw from Vietnam?

Why Are We Gambling With America’s Future?
The New York Times/April 29/2024
Over the past few decades, in a surge of bipartisan national self-confidence, the federal government has borrowed a lot of money, sometimes in response to national emergencies and sometimes to do the things people thought were worth doing. We gave ourselves permission to incur all this debt because interest rates were low and many people assumed that things would stay that way, so the costs of carrying that much debt wouldn’t be too onerous. Unfortunately, that assumption turned out to be incorrect. Interest rates have risen. According to The Wall Street Journal, America is expected to spend $870 billion, or 3.1 percent of gross domestic product, this year on interest payments on the federal debt. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the government will spend more on interest payments than on the entire defense budget. Within three years, if interest rates remain high, payments on the debt could become the federal government’s second-largest expenditure, behind Social Security. When money is tight, as it is now, government borrowing competes with private borrowing, driving interest rates up for everybody. A 2019 Congressional Budget Office study found that every 10 percent increase in the debt-to-G.D.P. ratio results in an increase in interest rates of two-tenths to three-tenths of a percentage point. That makes voters miserable, as they are now, because it’s more expensive to, say, get a mortgage or some other kind of loan.
It makes government accountants miserable because the very act of borrowing money to pay off debt can drive interest rates higher and make the prospect of paying off debt even more expensive. You have to worry about the long-term nightmare possibility of a debt spiral, in which you have to borrow and borrow to service the debt while the act of borrowing itself makes paying off the debt more unaffordable. Pretty soon, you’re staring at Ferguson’s Law. This is the principle enunciated by the historian Niall Ferguson that any nation that spends more on interest payments on the debt than on military spending will slip into decline. It happened to Hapsburg Spain, the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire and prerevolutionary France. Will it happen to us?
You don’t have to get to these nightmare scenarios to see all the problems that can be caused by excessive federal debt. All that fiscal stimulus can cause inflation, as it is doing now. Public sector borrowing can crowd out private sector borrowing, thus slowing the economic growth you need to pay off the debt.
The debt burden also constrains future administrations, which have to worry so much about paying off the debt they are less able to invest in programs that might increase growth, reduce child poverty, educate children, house people or respond to emergencies. Today’s high interest rate environment is already hammering, say, the housing construction industry and making housing even more unaffordable.
The United States continues to borrow all this money even though classical Keynesian theory tells us to borrow in times of recession but commit to debt reduction in times like these, when growth is good. We continue to go deeper into debt even though the storm clouds are gathering around the world. The axis of resentment — China, Russia and Iran — is on the march, making the world a more dangerous place and possibly necessitating a surge in military spending and a rapid need to beef up our military manufacturing infrastructure. We continue to go further into debt even though the baby boom generation is aging, making programs like Social Security and Medicare more and more costly. The federal government already spends $6 on senior citizens for every $1 on children, which is not exactly investing in the future. Personally, I’m not bothered that we spent all that borrowed money during Covid. We clearly needed to, and we’ve emerged from the pandemic with a dynamic economy. My concern is that deficit reduction is not high on either party’s agenda right now. Donald Trump has proposed whopping tax cuts. The Biden administration has an ambitious second-term agenda that would involve everything from industrial policy to student debt forgiveness to growth through fiscal stimulus. Even if a president proposed debt reduction (as Biden has to some degree), a polarized Congress probably couldn’t pass it. As the budget expert Maya MacGuineas has pointed out, these days Congress favors giveaways over budget choices. It is infinitely more difficult to get bipartisan majorities to cut spending or raise taxes on the bulk of Americans than it is to get it to spend with borrowed money. Ultimately responsibility lies with the voters. In the 1990s, Americans saw how high government debt was raising their interest rates. Voters put tremendous pressure on politicians to get the fiscal house in order. Along came Ross Perot and deficit reduction plans under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Voters today have not yet made that connection. When they do, I suspect the political landscape will shift massively.
Maybe none of the problems I’m describing will get worse. Maybe interest rates will fall (though they have remained stubbornly high). Maybe economic growth will outpace interest rate increases, making the debt more affordable. Maybe the government will be able to pour massive stimulus into the economy without leading to continued inflation and high rates. But this is a gigantic gamble. It’s a gamble that rosy scenarios about future inflation and interest rate declines will come to pass. It’s a gamble that nothing unexpectedly bad will happen in the world. It’s a gamble that our leadership class is so good at what it does that we can continue to walk along the cliff’s edge without any danger of falling over.
At some point all this self-confidence begins to look like hubris or a rationalization for: We want to spend the future’s money on ourselves. Prudence is a boring virtue, but the prudent course is to get the United States on a more sustainable course. As the meme artists on the internet might say (in slightly more colorful language), you mess around with debt, and sooner or later you’ll find out.

HomeUS policy toward the Israel-Palestine conflict needs rebalancing
Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/April 29, 2024
Official support for a two-state solution has been the cornerstone of US diplomatic engagement in the Middle East since the 1990s and the beginning of the so-called peace process. Nevertheless, since Oct. 7, 2023, American political influence on Israel has been limited.
There is an apparent contradiction between the US support of the Israeli government’s military operation in Gaza, on the one hand, and the official policy of supporting a two-state solution on the other. In other words, how can one justify US political support to an Israeli government that opposes a two-state solution? This political contradiction is also apparent in the policies of other states, such as the UK, France, Australia, Canada and Egypt. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has always been an opponent of a two-state solution, he is still able to receive support from many countries that officially back this political solution to the Palestinian question.
The Israeli prime minister’s display of strength to impose his own political agenda on his Western allies can be best explained by the limited objective of US and European policies toward the Middle East conflict. The first dimension of Netanyahu’s strategy is to take advantage of Washington’s objective of pursuing an Israeli-Arab normalization process without pursuing an agenda of a just peace to end the suffering of the Palestinian people.
The second dimension is to use the US objective not to be involved in any Middle Eastern conflict and to pivot to Asia. This US policy outlook dates back to the emergence of the Obama administration in 2009. As President Joe Biden explained in his State of the Union address last month, “no US boots will be on the ground” to support Israeli war efforts in Gaza.
The US’ priority is the short-term management of the humanitarian consequences of the Israeli military intervention
The focus of US-Israeli discussions has switched from a political solution to the Palestinian issue to the management of the military escalation in the context of the war in Gaza. Biden mentioned this imperative in his State of the Union address, saying: “Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the crossfire.” In other words, today, the US’ priority is no longer a comprehensive political solution to the Palestinian issue, but rather the short-term management of the humanitarian consequences of the Israeli military intervention. America’s objectives in Gaza have been defined by a prioritization of the release of all hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.
The humanitarian catastrophe can only be addressed if the root cause of the conflict is discussed. For now, humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza has become a bargaining chip to release hostages. The inability of the US to prioritize the end of famine, the risk of spreading diseases and the end of death and destruction in Gaza is first and foremost the result of a securitization of the US diplomatic approach toward the Palestinian issue. The securitization of the US approach is still the main driver of Biden’s policy.
In this context, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s announcement that the State Department will conduct a review and present policy options on possible US and international recognition of a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza will have limited effect. Indeed, there is no US political path to solving the Palestinian issue. Since the 1980s, US policy has constantly been to oppose the recognition of a Palestinian state both bilaterally and in UN institutions. On the contrary, it has always underlined that Palestinian statehood can only be realized through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The political proximity between Washington and Tel Aviv has always been a policy question for the Palestinian leadership
This diplomatic approach of promoting direct negotiations between Israel and the PA failed at the beginning of the 2000s with the end of the peace process. Many factors explain this failure, such as the refusal of Israel to consider the existence of a Palestinian partner and the weakening of US diplomatic credibility because of an unbalanced policy between the two camps. Indeed, the political proximity between Washington and Tel Aviv has always been a policy question for the Palestinian leadership, which has struggled to see the US as an honest broker in the negotiation process.
Today, the Biden administration is still facing the legacy of the failure of the two-state solution. To overcome this US deficit of credibility, the Biden administration is trying to link a possible normalization process between Israel and Saudi Arabia to the creation of a pathway for the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of its postwar strategy. Despite this US diplomatic maneuver, a two-state solution is now further away than it has ever been, with some even proclaiming it “dead.”
Beyond the US’ difficulty in recognizing the existence of a Palestinian state, 139 members of the UN have done so, even if the governing bodies in the West Bank and Gaza (the PA and Hamas, respectively) do not have control over their own security or borders.
The US president could recognize a Palestinian state with immediate legal effect. To do so, he would not need permission from the US Congress or Israel, even though Israeli troops remain in control of most Palestinian territory. Netanyahu is against US calls for a path to a Palestinian state. The official justification of the Israeli refusal to compromise on the question of Palestinian statehood is the result of decades of securitization of this question.
Netanyahu in January explained that he would not “compromise on full Israeli security control over all territory west of the Jordan River.” This Israeli security strategy will probably prevent the US from presenting a credible diplomatic framework to advance military de-escalation in Gaza. Only a rebalancing of US policy between Arab and Israeli interests could pave the way for the end of the Gaza war and the relief of the suffering of the Palestinian people.
**Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami is the founder and president of the International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah). X: @mohalsulami

Will a new embassy mean a new approach for the US in Libya?
Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/April 29, 2024
In Libya’s fractured political and security landscape, the evolution of hybrid armed groups into near quasi-state actors has become a significant challenge obstructing the nation’s progress toward stability, security and sovereignty.
A convoluted dynamic is now the norm, whereby nonstate actors are firmly welded to what remains of Libya’s still functioning institutions, creating new political economies that thrive on a predatory governance model that is detrimental to the fabric of Libyan society. This strange mesh of political leadership, financial systems, transnational organized crime and heavily armed groups with foreign backing now ties any prospects of a promising Libyan future to the almost impossible task of dismantling these groups and the political economies that sustain them. Hybrid groups in Libya have morphed into complex entities with vertically integrated operations that span from imposing tolls on urban streets to divvying up national resources — embedding themselves deeper within the country’s sociopolitical fabric. The political process in Libya, marred by division and inertia, often appears as a facade, with the real power dynamics being dictated by bargains between these groups and political elites. Such arrangements not only disenfranchise the Libyan populace but also cement the authority of these actors, making the transition toward a functioning state increasingly unreachable.
The timid return of the US to Libya with a new ambassador, after many years of failures, can be a positive step to at least a limited extent, given the major mistakes Washington has made in Libya over the past few years, such as engaging with and giving legitimacy to some of the worst characters that emerged after the fall of Muammar Qaddafi.
The timid return of the US to Libya with a new ambassador, after many years of failures, can be a positive step
The pending withdrawal of more than 1,000 US personnel from Niger, reports of a series of shipments of advanced Russian hardware to Tobruk and even the establishment of Russian military bases in the Eastern part of Libya might have caused some panic and a few sleepless nights across the Atlantic. By returning to Libya, the US will be able to put diplomatic boots on the ground, so to speak, which may help it make some serious headway in countering the existing and emerging threats, if only to safeguard American strategic interests in the Southern Mediterranean.
So, how can Washington succeed in, for instance, countering Russia’s deepening influence in eastern Libya and the likelihood of Western “over the horizon” counterterrorism operations going “blind” in parts of the Sahel? The US must take an active role in steering political and diplomatic activity toward rebuilding the collapsed Libyan state, rather than its repeated policy failures of trying to arrange a compromise between the thuggish forces that created this ever-expanding mafia state. As such, a reengaged US policy toward Libya must also prioritize the dismantling of Libya’s corrosive political economies, which are central to the power and influence of its armed nonstate groups. This endeavor is indispensable for slowing Libya’s fragmentation and energizing efforts toward unified governance. Until then, however, Libya’s political impasse will persist, driven by a mafia-like ruling elite that prioritizes power and money over the populace and a financial system that is disproportionately reliant on oil revenues, which creates an endless cycle of opaque wealth distribution favoring the elites. The morass of semiofficial, mostly state-funded, hybrid groups — benefiting from state privileges while exerting mafia-like territorial control — remains the greatest barrier to any meaningful progress, state rebuilding and security sector reform.
For more than a decade, these groups have enjoyed unchecked expansion. Not only have their numbers grown exponentially, but US diplomats and military officials have also injected them with credibility through public meetings and photo opportunities showing America’s officials smiling while standing next to the worst of Libya’s thuggish spoilers and mafia leaders.
Washington’s strategy must therefore prioritize the dismantling of these economies through a multifaceted approach that includes encouraging transparent, equitable financial systems to cut off the flow of oil revenues to armed groups. There must also be robust support for nontraditional interventions that can quickly offer viable alternatives to discredited militia membership and foster inclusive political dialogue.
The inclusion of the Libyan populace in the political process — even through holding referendums in the absence of an ability to hold elections — is not merely a democratic ideal but a strategic necessity for degrading the influence of hybrid actors. The widespread mistrust in state institutions and political developments is a direct consequence of a system that allows criminal political elites to escape punishment and that simply benefits these exclusionary elites, leaving the broader population marginalized. Encouraging genuine decentralization and local governance would empower communities and create a bulwark against the resurgence of militia-based power.
A reengaged US policy toward Libya must prioritize the dismantling of Libya’s corrosive political economies
Recognizing the pivotal role of security sector reform in paving the way for effective governance in Libya, there has been an intensive discourse among policymakers and analysts over the prospects for the successful implementation of reforms specific to the Libyan context. Yet, despite extensive deliberation, strategic missteps have plagued attempts at reform, such as an overreliance on so-called train and equip programs, which have failed to address the need for sustainable and holistic strategies. Such initiatives, undercut by a shortsightedness that prioritizes quick fixes over the foundational restructuring of Libya’s security apparatus, remain insufficient for long-term stability.
Furthermore, within Libya, officials have engaged in superficial restructurings of security-related ministries, driven by internal power dynamics rather than a comprehensive vision — all a byproduct of those malignant militia-state dynamics. Those decisions only deliver the facade of reform, yet systematically undermine genuine progress while purporting to contribute to security sector reform.
Libya’s security sector is still growing to this day — drawing recruits into a mix of state-affiliated and nonstate militias — meaning the need for interventions cannot be deferred until a nebulous “post-conflict” scenario crystallizes. Instead, the US and its Western partners must draw inspiration from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s more proactive and comprehensive “next-generation disarmament, demobilization and reintegration,” which is well suited to the Libya scenario.
This model, unlike its predecessors, does not await peace agreements and instead initiates action in anticipation of them. Its scope extends beyond piecemeal efforts, integrating activities that align with broader national development aims. Crucially, it functions in tandem with security sector reform, transitional justice and state-rebuilding initiatives. This approach recognizes the dismantling of Libya’s hybrid groups not as a static program but as a fluid political process, one which is acutely attuned to localized contexts.
It is through these initiatives, continuously adapted to the Libyan sociopolitical dynamics, that the US can reengage in a meaningful and credible way. A renewed focus on underpinning long-term solutions over short-term illusionary gains — and recognizing these efforts as inherently political and intertwined with the overarching objectives of national unity and development — would be groundbreaking. Strategic US participation, in concert with international partners, would also help de-incentivize and disassemble the hybrid groups entrenched within Libya’s political and economic sphere, thereby advancing the country toward the dissolution of political gridlocks and the restoration of its sovereignty.
Only by tackling these underlying issues can the US hope to contribute to a stable and unified Libya, where governance and economic opportunities are not held hostage by armed factions, some of them even headed by American citizens without any fear of legal consequences in Libya or the US.
**Hafed Al-Ghwell is a senior fellow and executive director of the North Africa Initiative at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. X: @HafedAlGhwell