English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For August 22/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
If then you have not been faithful with the
dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
Saint Luke 16/01-12/:”The Lord Jesus said to the disciples:
‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that
this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, “What
is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because
you cannot be my manager any longer.” Then the manager said to himself, “What
will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not
strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so
that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.”
So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do
you owe my master?” He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him,
“Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.” Then he asked another,
“And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said
to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.” And his master commended the
dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age
are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of
light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth
so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. ‘Whoever
is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest
in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful
with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you
have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is
your own?”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on August 21-22/2024
Tensions on southern Lebanese border reach
new heights
Israeli Army Targets Fatah Commander in South Lebanon
Hezbollah Says it Launched Drone Attack on Israeli Military Posts
Hezbollah’s escalation strategy: Threats without full-scale war
Hezbollah fire over 50 rockets, hitting Israeli-annexed Golan Heights
Israel says it bombed Hezbollah arms depots in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley
Israel says it bombed Hezbollah arms depots in Lebanon, group says it hit back
Israeli warplanes break the sound barrier over several Lebanese areas
Five killed, 30 wounded in fresh Israeli strikes on Dhayra and Bekaa
Three Killed in Israeli Airstrikes and Hezbollah Retaliates
Lebanese Army detonates cluster bomb in South Lebanon's Tyre
Hezbollah fighter killed in drone strike on Beit Leef
Israel says military shifting attention to Lebanon border
Hale says war in region possible but unlikely
Marwan Hamadeh: War Will Happen in a Few Days or Hours
MP Sayegh: Open Qleiat airport and announce plans to open Hamat and Rayak
Airbases
Fayyad says 'couldn't sleep all night' after Mikati refers blackout file to
judiciary
MPs expelled from FPM may form new parliamentary bloc
The Banking Dollar Maintained At 15,000 LBP/Liliane Mokbel/This is Beirut/August
21/2024
Judge Saliba: Immediate Eviction in Non-Residential Rental Case/Maurice Matta/Liliane
Mokbel/This is Beirut/August 21/2024
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on August 21-22/2024
Blinken ends Mideast visit without
cease-fire, warning 'time is of essence'
Biden to ask Netanyahu for flexibility on Philadelphi, as deal falters
Israeli PM says troops will not leave Philadelphi corridor in Gaza
Israeli Strikes Kill Dozens in Gaza after Blinken Ends Visit without Truce
Breakthrough
Intel. chief in retirement speech: I will have Oct. 7 on my conscience for rest
of my life
Turkish, US top diplomats discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts in call, Ankara says
Iran Could Declare Itself Nuclear Weapons State by Year’s End, Top U.S. Lawmaker
Says
Greek oil tanker drifting and ablaze after repeated attacks in the Red Sea,
British military says
Iran's parliament approves Pezeshkian's unity cabinet
Helicopter of Iran’s Late President Raisi Crashed Due to Weather, Fars Says
Ukraine attacks Moscow in one of largest ever drone strikes on Russian capital
AMCD Decries Use of Gaza Civilian Casualty Photos to Stir Hate
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on August 21-22/2024
'The Black Day': A Decade of Displacement for Iraqi Christians/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone
Institute/August 20, 2024
Today in History: The World’s Most ‘Consequential’ Battle (and ISIS’s
Inspiration)/Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/August 20, 2024
Is the US losing its grip on the Middle East?/DANIELLE DOTAN/Jerusalem
Post/August 21/2024
Gaza, Washington, and the Details of the Ceasefire/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al
Awsat/August 21/2024
Iran appears to be restraining its proxies — for now/Mohamed Chebaro/Arab
News/August 21, 2024
Time to recognize that few Israelis want a two-state solution/Kerry Boyd
Anderson/Arab News/August 21, 2024
Crisis at the Philadelphi Corridor/Alissar Boulos/This is Beirut/August 21/2024
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on August 21-22/2024
Tensions on southern Lebanese border reach
new heights
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/August 21, 2024
BEIRUT: Skirmishes on the southern Lebanese border reached unprecedented levels
on Wednesday as Israel expanded its target list to include Palestinian
officials, killing a senior Fatah leader. Hezbollah announced it targeted an
Israeli tank near the border town of Aabbasiyyeh with a guided missile while the
vehicle was shelling the outskirts of the town of Halta, part of the
municipality of Kfarchouba in southeast Lebanon. It was the second direct
confrontation of its kind since the start of hostilities between the Israeli
army and Hezbollah. Over the previous 10 months, hostile operations had been
limited to rocket and artillery exchanges, as well as air raids. After violence
in the Bekaa region on Tuesday night, an Israeli drone launched a guided missile
at a car in the town of Beit Lif on Wednesday morning, killing its Lebanese
driver. Israeli shelling on the town of Wazzani resulted in the death of a young
Syrian man. Israeli jets struck a two-story house in the border town of Dhayra,
killing three people. A motorcyclist narrowly escaped death after an Israeli
drone fired a missile at his vehicle in the town of Chehabiyeh in the Tyre
region. At noon, an Israeli drone launched an airstrike on a car in the city of
Sidon, near the Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, killing retired Fatah
officer Khalil Al-Maqdah. Al-Maqdah was the brother of Munir Al-Maqdah, the
chief of the Lebanese branch of Fatah’s armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’
Brigades, which mourned him as “one of our leaders in Lebanon.” However,
Israel’s Channel 14 reported that Al-Maqdah was an operative in the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.
The channel alleged that he had been “transferring money and weapons to the West
Bank.”Israeli attacks on the Bekaa on Tuesday night resulted in the death of Ali
Ahmad Al-Moussawi and injured 30 people, including four Syrians, according to
the Ministry of Health’s emergency center. Among the injured were nine children,
including Karine Mohammed Al-Moussawi (5), Huda Ali Al-Moussawi (2), Nour
Mohammed Nazem Al-Moussawi (8) and Hussein Ali Al-Moussawi (4). Tuesday night’s
airstrikes targeted the towns of Al-Nabi Sheet, Bodai and Sar’in, “where the
Israeli army used highly explosive bombs that caused terrifying blasts,”
according to a security source. The Israeli army claimed that it “attacked a
compound in the Bekaa region belonging to Hezbollah’s air defense system, which
posed a threat to Israeli aircraft.” It added: “We bombed several Hezbollah
weapons storage facilities in the Bekaa region during the night.”Hezbollah’s
response on Wednesday included targeting the Tsnobar logistics base in the
occupied Syrian Golan Heights with barrages of Katyusha rockets. The party’s
military media said that the base is located 18 km from Lebanon’s southern
border. “It is a logistics base under the Israeli army’s Northern Command and
serves as a training ground for infantry troops in the occupied Golan Heights,”
a statement said. “It houses an artillery ammunition center belonging to the
Israeli army’s regional armament unit and is protected by the Iron Dome system.”
In response to the targeting of the town of Naqoura, which left four wounded,
including three medics, Hezbollah shelled the Yara barracks with Katyusha
rockets, targeting the “headquarters of the 300th Western Brigade.”
For the second time, the party targeted the Amiad base, “where the Galilee
Division reserve and warehouses are stationed, and a reserve headquarters of the
Northern Corps.”Hezbollah targeted the Hadab Yaroun site with artillery as well
as “an Israeli force moving in the vicinity of the Zarit barracks with artillery
shells.” The party also mourned five of its members: Raed Ali Khattab (born
1995) from Aita Al-Shaab, Ziad Mohammed Qashmar (born 1994) from Hallousiyeh,
Ali Ahmed Doqmaqq (born 1999) from Nabatieh, Mohammed Ghazi Chahine (born 1989)
from Tyre and Hussein Mohammed Mustafa (1975) from Beit Lif. While diplomatic
reports suggested that ceasefire negotiations were on the verge of collapse, the
head of the UN Truce Supervision Organization mission in Lebanon, Maj. Gen.
Patrick Gauchat, warned of the potential for escalation on the border. His
comments came during a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah
Bou Habib. Gauchat said that the UNTSO is “fulfilling its role and monitoring
the border from both sides.”
Israeli Army Targets Fatah Commander in South Lebanon
Asharq Al Awsat/August 21/2024
The Israeli army said it targeted in an airstrike in Lebanon on Wednesday Khalil
al-Maqdah, a commander in the armed wing of the Palestinian Fatah movement,
describing him as having worked for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. “Earlier
today... an air force aircraft targeted Khalil al-Maqdah in the Sidon area of
southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement, which also claimed that Maqdah
and his brother worked for Iran in "directing attacks and transferring funds and
weapons to terrorist infrastructure" in the occupied West Bank, AFP reported. In
response, Fatah accused Israel of seeking to “ignite a regional war.”Al-Maqdah
was killed in a strike on his car in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon,
according to Fatah and a Lebanese security source. The Israeli military said al-Maqdah
was the brother of Mounir al-Maqdah, who heads the Lebanese branch of Fatah’s
armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, and accused them both of “directing
terror attacks and smuggling weapons” to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The
attack marks the first such reported attack on a senior member of Fatah, the
movement led by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, in more than 10 months of
cross-border clashes between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement following
the Gaza war. Fatah said al-Maqdah had been killed “in a cowardly assassination
carried out by ... Zionist (Israeli) warplanes on Sidon,” describing him as “one
of the leaders” of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in Lebanon, the movement’s
armed wing. In a statement, it said al-Maqdah had “a central role” in
“supporting the Palestinian people and its resistance” during the Gaza war and
an “important role in supporting resistance cells” for years in the West Bank. A
senior Fatah official in the West Bank city of Ramallah accused Israel of
killing him in order to spark a regional war. The “assassination of a Fatah
official is further proof that Israel wants to ignite a full-scale war in the
region,” Tawfiq Tirawy, a member of Fatah’s central committee, told AFP in
Ramallah. A Lebanese security source and Lebanon’s official National News Agency
reported the same information. An AFP correspondent at the site of the attack
said a car was struck near the Palestinian refugee camps of Ain al-Helweh and
Mieh Mieh, adding that rescuers had pulled a body from the charred vehicle.
Dozens of angry Fatah supporters gathered inside the Ain al-Helweh camp, the AFP
correspondent said, adding gunshots were fired in the air.
Hezbollah Says it Launched Drone Attack on Israeli Military Posts
Asharq Al Awsat/August 21/2024
Lebanon's Hezbollah launched an attack with a swarm of drones on military posts
in the kibbutz of Amiad in northern Israel, the armed group said in a statement
on Wednesday. The Israeli kibbutz is located approximately 22 kilometers from
the Lebanese border. Hezbollah said the attack was a retaliation for an
Israeli strike on the Lebanese Bekaa region overnight. Hezbollah also launched
more than 50 rockets, hitting several homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan
Heights. First responders in the Golan Heights said they treated a 30-year-old
man who was moderately wounded with shrapnel injuries in Wednesday’s attack. One
house was engulfed in flames, and firefighters said they prevented a bigger
tragedy by stopping a gas leak.Hezbollah said the attack was also in response to
an Israeli strike in the Bekaa Valley on Tuesday night. The Israeli military
said on Wednesday that it bombed Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in the
Bekaa overnight. The air attack came hours after Israeli Defence Minister Yoav
Gallant said that "attacking munitions warehouses in Lebanon is preparation for
anything that might happen." Security sources said the strike was in a
residential area near the eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa.The airstrikes
left at least two people dead and 19 injured, according to the sources. Another
Israeli airstrike on Wednesday hit a car on the outskirts of the southern port
city of Sidon, killing a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian faction
Fatah, two Palestinian sources told Reuters. Khalil al-Maqdah, the brother of
Fatah Gen. Mounir al-Maqdah, was killed in the strike, the state-run National
News Agency reported. Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily strikes for
more than 10 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas in the
Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah’s escalation strategy: Threats without full-scale
war
Seth J. Frantzman/The Jerusalem Post/August 21/2024
Hezbollah's recent threats against Israel are part of a strategic approach to
escalate tensions without triggering a full-scale war by keeping Israel on high
alert and expanding its attacks. For two weeks, Hezbollah has been threatening
to widen the war with Israel. Hezbollah joined Iran in this endeavor, hoping to
prepare the way for a possible escalation against Israel. However, Hezbollah has
learned that threatening Israel with escalation, may be as good as the
escalation itself. This is because it creates a sense of alert in Israel, and
Hezbollah doesn’t have to lose anything or spend any capital in return. In
Lebanon there is concern of economic crises. The country is on edge and its
electric grid and health sector is already stretched thin. This means that
Hezbollah dragging Lebanon into a wider war could deeply harm parts of Lebanon
that do not sympathize with Hezbollah and that could lead to Hezbollah losing
its clout and influence in Beirut. Hezbollah and Iran have the same calculations
here. Both Hezbollah and Iran have profited over the last decade. They used the
war on ISIS to achieve new influence in the region and they have even benefited
from US sanctions, at least that is their claim in their own media.
7,500 Hezbollah rockets already launched
Hezbollah has already fired 7,500 rockets at Israel and also launched 200 UAVs,
according to reports. In recent days it increased the range and sectors of its
attacks to threaten Shamir and Ayelet HaShachar in Israel, two communities it
had refrained from targeting in this past. Hezbollah is thus escalating without
causing a larger war. Meanwhile Hezbollah’s officials say that it reserves the
right to carry out a larger attack on Israel. It says this is separate from its
backing of Gaza. It basically argues it has an open account with Israel and it
can chose a time and place to escalate into a wider war. Pro-Iran media openly
crows about how much this keeps Israel on alert, with stories about drone
threats and other incidents. The recent Hezbollah video of the Imad 4 tunnel
complex was part of this psychological war. Understanding how Hezbollah has
conducted this psychosocial war since late July is important to understanding
how it wants to incrementally escalate without risking a larger war. That is the
policy of Hezbollah currently. The group wants to preserve its forces as mostly
intact and it knows Israel is also wary of a larger war. Therefore it thinks it
is winning so long as it can increase threats slowly and not receive a stronger
response from Israel. Seth Frantzman is the author of Drone Wars: Pioneers,
Killing Machine, Artificial Intelligence and the Battle for the Future
(Bombardier 2021) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of
Democracies.
Hezbollah fire over 50 rockets, hitting Israeli-annexed Golan Heights
Euronews/August 21, 2024
Lebanon’s Hezbollah launched over 50 rockets on Wednesday, hitting a number of
private homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.Hezbollah said Wednesday's
attack was in response to an Israeli strike deep into Lebanon on Tuesday night.
Diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have doubled
as fears grow of a wider regional war following the targeted killings of Hamas
and Hezbollah leaders in Iran and Lebanon. Shortly before the attack, US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with fellow mediators from Egypt and Qatar
in order to secure a ceasefire deal. Blinken suggested to reporters that Israel
had agreed to a "bridging deal", however officials in Egypt expressed skepticism
to Associated Press that Hamas would not agree to the deal for various reasons,
including cynicism that Israel would truly remove its troops from Gaza and end
the war. One Egyptian official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said
the bridging proposal requires the implementation of the deal’s first phase: the
release of the most vulnerable Israeli civilian hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The parties would then negotiate the second and third phases without offering
any “guarantees” to Hamas from either Israel or the mediators. “The Americans
are offering promises, not guarantees,” the official said. “Hamas won’t accept
this, because it virtually means Hamas will release the civilian hostages in
return for a six-week pause of fighting with no guarantees for a negotiated
permanent ceasefire.”He also said the proposal doesn’t clearly say whether
Israel would withdraw its forces from two strategic corridors in Gaza, the
Philadelphi corridor alongside Gaza's border with Egypt and the Netzarim
east-west corridor across the territory.
Israel has reportedly offered to downsize its forces in the Philadelphi
corridor, with “promises” to withdraw from the area, he said. “This is not
acceptable for us and of course for Hamas,” the Egyptian official said. The
evolving ceasefire deal touted by the US calls for a three-phase process in
which Hamas would release all hostages abducted during its October 7 attacks. In
exchange, Israel would withdraw its forces from Gaza and release Palestinian
prisoners. Hamas is believed to be holding around 110 hostages captured during
the attacks that started the war. Israeli authorities estimate around a third
are dead. During the October 7 attacks, Hamas militants killed some 1,200
people, mostly civilians. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000
Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish
between civilians and combatants in its count. The war has caused widespread
destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee
their homes, often multiple times.
Israel says it bombed Hezbollah arms depots in Lebanon's
Bekaa Valley
Reuters/August 21, 2024
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT: The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it bombed
Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley overnight, its
latest strike on arms depots in a major stronghold of the powerful
Iranian-backed militia. The air attack came hours after Israeli Defense Minister
Yoav Gallant said that “attacking munitions warehouses in Lebanon is preparation
for anything that might happen.”Hezbollah said it had retaliated for the strike
on the Bekaa region by firing Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military logistics
site in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.Hezbollah and the Israeli military
have been locked in hostilities for the last 10 months in parallel with the Gaza
war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has spread to
several other fronts and prompted fears of an all-out Middle East conflict.
While most of the exchanges of fire have played out along Lebanon’s volatile
southern border with Israel, some Israeli strikes have occurred deeper into
Lebanon, including the Bekaa Valley, which borders Syria. There was no immediate
confirmation from security sources in Lebanon that weapons depots were targeted
on Tuesday. The sources said the strike was in a residential area near the
eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa, an area populated mainly by Shiite Muslims
from whom Hezbollah draws its support. The airstrikes left at least two people
dead and 19 injured, according to the security sources, but it was not
immediately clear if those killed were civilians or fighters. Another Israeli
airstrike on Wednesday hit a car on the outskirts of the southern port city of
Sidon, killing a member of the armed wing of the Palestinian faction Fatah, two
Palestinian sources told Reuters. Israel has regularly bombed Hezbollah fighters
and rocket launch sites in south Lebanon. More than 600 people in Lebanon have
been killed since the start of the clashes last October, including more than 400
Hezbollah combatants and 132 civilians, according to a Reuters toll. Targeting
arms depots has picked up more recently. On Saturday, the Israeli military said
it targeted a weapons depot used by Hezbollah militants in an airstrike.
Lebanon’s state news agency said at least 10 Syrian nationals, including two
children, were killed in this incident.
Another airstrike late on Monday hit a Hezbollah weapons depot in the Bekaa
region.
In July, Israel bombed another depot storing ammunition belonging to Hezbollah
in the town of Adloun in south Lebanon, three security sources told Reuters.
Israel says it bombed Hezbollah arms depots in Lebanon,
group says it hit back
Reuters/Wed, August 21, 2024
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had bombed Hezbollah weapons storage
facilities in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley overnight, and Hezbollah said it had
carried out a drone attack on military posts in a kibbutz in northern Israel in
retaliation. The Bekaa Valley is a Hezbollah stronghold and the latest
hostilities across the Israel-Lebanon border will fuel concern that the Israel-Hamas
war in Gaza could spill out into an all-out Middle East conflict. Israel also
said it had killed a militant in Sidon, southern Lebanon, who worked with Iran's
Revolutionary Guards and the Tehran-aligned Hezbollah. The Israeli military said
its warplanes had attacked a number of Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in
the Bekaa area. "Following the strikes, secondary explosions were identified,
indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons in the facilities that were
struck," it said in a statement. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said:
"Attacking munitions warehouses in Lebanon is preparation for anything that
might happen". There was no immediate confirmation from security sources in
Lebanon that weapons depots were targeted on Tuesday. The sources said the
strike was in a residential area near the eastern city of Baalbek in the Bekaa
Valley, an area populated mainly by Shi'ite Muslims from whom Hezbollah draws
its support. The airstrikes killed at least two people and injured 19, according
to the security sources, but it was not immediately clear if those killed were
civilians or fighters.
Hezbollah said it had retaliated for the strike on the Bekaa by firing Katyusha
rockets at an Israeli military logistics site in the Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights and by later firing a swarm of drones on military posts in the kibbutz
of Amiad in northern Israel, about 22 km (14 miles) from the Lebanese border.
The Israeli military said its aerial defences intercepted some of the drones and
others fell in the area. No injuries were reported. Israel said the militant
killed in Sidon was named Khalil Hussein Khalil Al-Maqdah. Two Palestinian
sources told Reuters earlier that Maqdah was killed, identifying him as a member
of the armed wing of the Palestinian faction Fatah. Hezbollah and the Israeli
military have been locked in hostilities for the last 10 months in parallel with
the Gaza war. Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the
assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31 although it
has taken no direct action yet. While most of the exchanges of fire have played
out along the Israel-Lebanon border, some Israeli strikes have occurred deeper
into Lebanon, including the Bekaa Valley, which borders Syria. More than 600
people in Lebanon have been killed since the start of the clashes last October,
including more than 400 Hezbollah combatants and 132 civilians, according to a
Reuters toll. Targeting arms depots has picked up more recently. On Saturday,
the Israeli military said it targeted a weapons depot used by Hezbollah
militants in an airstrike. Lebanon's state news agency said at least 10 Syrian
nationals, including two children, were killed in this incident.
Israeli warplanes break the sound barrier over several
Lebanese areas
LBCI/August 21/2024
Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier over several Lebanese areas on
Wednesday, causing loud sonic booms. The National News Agency reported that
Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier in two waves over Beirut, Sidon,
Nabatieh, Iqlim al Tuffah, villages in the Tyre District, and the Bekaa region,
and in four waves over Jezzine.
Five killed, 30 wounded in fresh Israeli strikes on Dhayra
and Bekaa
Agence France Presse/August 21/2024
Lebanon's health ministry said early Wednesday that Israeli strikes in the
country's east killed one person and wounded 30 others, hours after it said four
people were killed in the south.The strikes came more than 24 hours after Israel
carried out similar raids deep inside east Lebanon and as tensions mounted in
the wake of the Israeli killing of a top Hezbollah commander. "Israeli enemy
strikes on the Bekaa" valley killed one person "and wounded 30 others", the
health ministry said in an updated toll. The statement said one person was in
critical condition while "eight children and a pregnant woman were moderately
wounded". A Hezbollah source, requesting anonymity, said several strikes hit
east Lebanon near the city of Baalbek, including the village of Nabi Sheet,
without specifying what was targeted. A source from a local hospital told AFP
that five children no older than 10, all from the same family, were among the
wounded. The strikes around midnight came after similar raids in the Bekaa
region on Monday evening that Israel said targeted "Hezbollah weapons storage
facilities". They also came as Hezbollah said four of its fighters had been
killed, after the health ministry said Tuesday that four people died in Israeli
strikes in the southern border village of Dhayra. Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas,
has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces since the Gaza war
began in October. The violence has largely been restricted to the Lebanon-Israel
border area, although Israel has repeatedly struck the country's eastern Bekaa
valley near the border with Syria where Hezbollah also has a strong presence.
Hezbollah claimed a string of attacks on Israeli troops and positions on
Tuesday, including sending barrages of Katyusha rockets at several north Israel
military positions in stated retaliation for Israeli strikes, including in
Dhayra.The group also said it launched "squadrons of explosive-laden drones" and
"intense rocket barrages" at several Israeli positions in the annexed Golan
Heights in response to Monday night's strikes in the Bekaa valley.
Health workers 'targeted' -
The Israeli military in separate statements said a total of around 115
"projectiles" were identified crossing from Lebanon. It also said that "numerous
suspicious aerial targets were identified crossing from Lebanon", with air
defenses intercepting some of them.
No injuries were reported, though the military said the incidents sparked fires
in some areas. The military also said air forces struck projectile launchers and
several "Hezbollah military" structures in south Lebanon. Lebanon's health
ministry said three emergency personnel from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic
Health Committee were hurt Tuesday when the Israeli military "targeted them" in
south Lebanon, causing "significant damage to the ambulance they were travelling
in". The ministry "condemned in the strongest terms the repeated targeting of
health workers in south Lebanon". At least 21 rescue workers have been killed
since October, according to an AFP tally. Fears of a major escalation have
mounted since Hezbollah and Iran vowed to respond to twin killings blamed on
Israel late last month. An Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs killed a
top Hezbollah commander, Fouad Shukur, shortly before an attack in Tehran blamed
on Israel killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. The cross-border
violence has killed some 590 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but
also including at least 128 civilians, according to AFP's tally.
On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, 23 soldiers and 26
civilians have been killed, according to army figures.
Three Killed in Israeli Airstrikes and Hezbollah Retaliates
This Is Beirut/August 21/2024
Tuesday night was particularly violent in the Bekaa and the South, with clashes
continuing on Wednesday morning. An Israeli drone targeted a car in Bayt Lif on
Wednesday morning, killing one person. Israeli bombardments also hit the areas
of Deir Mimas and southern Khiam. Bombing also hit the Sardeh region near
Wazzani, killing a Syrian national. At dawn, Hezbollah announced that it had
targeted Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Zarit barracks with artillery
shells. Israeli media also reported that a salvo of over 40 rockets hit the
Golan and Galilee, wounding at least 5 people in Katsrin and the Golan.
For its part, Hezbollah issued a statement saying it had bombarded the Tsnobar
base in the Golan with Katyusha missiles on Wednesday morning. The pro-Iranian
group also claimed responsibility for a strike on the Hadab Yaron position.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said early on Wednesday that Israeli strikes in the
country’s east killed one person and wounded 20 others, hours after it said four
people were killed in the South.The strikes came more than 24 hours after Israel
carried out similar raids deep inside East Lebanon on Monday night, and as
tensions mounted in the wake of the Israeli killing of a top Hezbollah
commander. “Israeli enemy strikes on the Bekaa” valley killed one person “and
wounded 20 others,” the Health Ministry said in an updated toll. The statement
said one person was in critical condition, while “eight children and a pregnant
woman were moderately wounded.”A Hezbollah source, requesting anonymity, said
several strikes hit East Lebanon near the city of Baalbeck, including the
village of Nabi Sheet, without specifying what was targeted.A source from a
local hospital told AFP that five children no older than 10, all from the same
family, were among the wounded. The strikes around midnight came after similar
raids in the Bekaa region on Monday evening that Israel said targeted “Hezbollah
weapons storage facilities.”They also came as Hezbollah said four of its
fighters had been killed, after the Health Ministry said on Tuesday that four
people died in Israeli strikes in the southern border village of Dhayra. With
AFP
Lebanese Army detonates cluster bomb in South Lebanon's Tyre
LBCI/August 21/2024
The Lebanese Army has detonated a cluster bomb in the Hosh area on the outskirts
of the city of Tyre in South Lebanon, the National News Agency reported on
Wednesday.
Hezbollah fighter killed in drone strike on Beit Leef
Naharnet/August 21/2024
An Israeli drone targeted Wednesday a car in the city of Sidon near the Ain el-Helweh
camp, hours after another drone strike on a car in the southern town of Beit
Leef killed a Hezbollah fighter. In response to the Beit Leef strike, Hezbollah
targeted the Hadb Yaroun post in northern Israel with a suicide drone and the
Ramim barracks with Katyusha rockets. The group also targeted Hadb Yaroun and
Israeli soldiers in the Zar'it barracks with artillery shells. Hezbollah later
in the day targeted the Abbasiya and the Malkia posts and soldiers in Misgav Am.
Hezbollah had launched Wednesday more than 50 rockets on the Israeli-annexed
Golan Heights in response to a midnight strike on Bekaa that killed a Hezbollah
fighter and injured 20 people. Four Hezbollah fighters were also killed Tuesday
in the southern border village of Dhayra and two Syrian civilians, including a
shepherd, were killed Wednesday in Israeli shelling on al-Wazzani and the
outskirts of al-Khiam. Israeli artillery shelled Wednesday al-Litani and the
outskirts of Deir Mimas in south Lebanon. Warplanes and drones had raided
overnight the southern border towns of Aita al-Shaab, Houla, Alma al-Shaab, al-Naqoura
and Wadi Hamoul.
Israel says military shifting attention to Lebanon border
Associated Press/August 21/2024
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said that Israel’s military is shifting its
attention from Gaza to the border with Lebanon. Touring northern Israel on
Tuesday, Gallant said Israel has scaled back its activities in Gaza, where it
has been fighting a war against Hamas for nearly a year, and turned its focus to
Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. "Our strongholds are moving from the south to
the north, we are gradually changing, we still have a number of missions in the
south," Gallant told troops. Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in almost
daily fighting since Oct. 7, raising fears of a broader regionwide war. Those
fears have grown as Hezbollah has vowed retaliation for an Israeli strike in
Beirut last month that killed a top Hezbollah commander. Hezbollah launched more
than 120 projectiles towards northern Israel on Tuesday, causing damage to a
home and sparking a number of fires. Israel said it was striking the source of
the launches. More than 500 people have been killed in Lebanon, including at
least 100 civilians. In Israel, 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed.
Hale says war in region possible but unlikely
Naharnet/August 21/2024
David Hale, the former U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs and
ex-ambassador to Lebanon, has said that he is not optimistic about the ongoing
negotiations between Israel and Hamas. “I'm not optimistic about the ongoing
negotiations and the direction they're taking,” Lebanon’s MTV quoted him as
saying. “While the risk of war is possible, I consider it unlikely,” he
reportedly added. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meanwhile ended his
ninth visit to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began without securing any
major breakthrough for a cease-fire deal, warning on Tuesday that “time is of
the essence” even as Hamas and Israel signaled that challenges remain. After
meetings in fellow mediating countries Egypt and Qatar, Blinken said that
because Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge gaps with the militant group,
the focus turns to doing everything possible to “get Hamas on board” and ensure
both sides agree to key details on implementation. There has been added urgency
after the recent targeted killings of militant leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah in
Iran and Lebanon, both attributed to Israel, and vows of retaliation that have
sparked fears of a wider regional war.
Marwan Hamadeh: War Will Happen in a Few Days or Hours
This Is Beirut/August 21/2024
Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) MP Marwan Hamadeh revealed that he “had
information from officials directly linked to the negotiations, indicating that
the war will take place in a matter of days or even hours.”Speaking on Wednesday
on MTV, Hamadeh added that “there will be no civil war in Lebanon, but any
intervention or pressure on Lebanese territory can modify the existing political
geography by causing, for example, population displacements.”Furthermore, the
PSP MP emphasized that “if the negotiations on Gaza had progressed, we would
have defused the explosion to some extent.” He added that “Russia prevented
Syria from engaging in the war.”
MP Sayegh: Open Qleiat airport and announce plans to open
Hamat and Rayak Airbases
LBCI/August 21/2024
MP Salim Sayegh held a press conference at the Parliament, where he argued that
the best course of action would be to open Qleiat airport and plan to open Hamat
Airbase once legal and technical preparations are completed, with similar steps
for Rayak airbase. Sayegh announced that an urgent draft law with a single
article would be submitted to expedite the necessary study within three months,
requiring the government to begin implementation. He noted that this basic
legislative approach represents the minimum commitment and will be signed by the
Lebanese Kataeb Bloc.
He voiced concerns that the war could escalate before the parliamentary process
is completed, which would delay necessary actions. He stressed that while the
legislative process is essential, immediate steps should be taken on the ground
without any delay. He noted that Qlayaat Airbase doesn't require new legislation
and can be immediately operational. The delay is due to a minister's claim about
the absence of a control tower, which is invalid given coverage from other
towers in Beirut, Cyprus, and Syria. He noted that Hamat Airbase is suitable for
military and some civilian flights. It will likely handle most foreign
evacuations during wartime, proving its capability as a civilian airport. He
noted that for Rayak Airbase, it is essential to prepare the necessary studies
to convert it into a mixed military-civilian airport as part of Lebanon's
overall aviation plan. He emphasized that the best approach is to open Qleiat
Airport and announce plans to open Hamat Airport as soon as legislative and
study processes are completed, followed by Rayak Airbase.
Fayyad says 'couldn't sleep all night' after Mikati refers
blackout file to judiciary
Naharnet/August 21/2024
Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayyad has rejected that Électricité du Liban
chairman Kamal Hayek be held responsible for the latest blackout in the country,
after caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati referred the file to the judiciary.
"I was surprised with what happened … I wasn’t expecting this injustice
represented in the measure taken by Mikati and he has no right to pin the blame
on a single party,” Fayyad said in an interview with MTV. “I told him during a
meeting that brought us together yesterday that I couldn’t sleep all night,
seeing as my conscience does not allow me to do that at all. We must see the
context of things in order to make a judgement, or else the judgement would be
unfair. Why didn’t they probe the total blackout that the country had witnessed
in the past?” the minister added. Asked about the reasons behind the blackout,
Fayyad blamed “the lack of diversity in power sources” and “the foreign siege
imposed on us,” in reference to Washington’s Caesar Act that has prevented the
import of gas and electricity from Egypt and Jordan via Syria. Kuwait’s al-Anbaa
newspaper meanwhile reported that the judiciary has decided to launch a probe
into the file, after the blackout affected vital facilities in the country, such
as the airport and state-run hospitals. “State Prosecutor Judge Jamal al-Hajjar
has received a memo from caretaker PM Najib Mikati in this regard, and he has
started studying it ahead of scheduling sessions for beginning the investigation
in the case,” the daily said. And as EDL chairman Hayek arrived Wednesday for an
interrogation session, the newspaper said other board members and officials and
possibly Fayyad himself will be summoned for questioning.
MPs expelled from FPM may form new parliamentary bloc
Naharnet/August 21/2024
MPs Alain Aoun and Simon Abi Ramia, who have been recently expelled from the
Free Patriotic Movement, might soon form a new parliamentary bloc, ad-Diyar
newspaper reported on Wednesday. The two lawmakers may be joined by MP Ibrahim
Kanaan, who was recently referred to the FPM’s so-called council of elders over
alleged violations, the daily added. Independent MPs might also become part of
the planned bloc and a political charter is being discussed, ad-Diyar reported.
Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab had also been recently expelled from the FPM.
While the dissidents have been accused of violating the FPM’s policies and
bylaws, they have accused FPM chief Jebran Bassil of seeking to monopolize
decisions and eliminate opponents.
The Banking Dollar Maintained At 15,000 LBP
Liliane Mokbel/This is Beirut/August 21/2024
The exchange rate of the banking dollar, also called the “lollar” or local
dollar, will officially remain at 15,000 pounds until a new decision is made. As
for the cash dollar, it is set at 89,500 pounds. This proposal was submitted by
the caretaker Minister of Finance, Youssef el-Khalil, to the Council of
Ministers during the meeting held last Friday at the Grand Serail. The attending
ministers took note of it, as mentioned in the meeting minutes. Thus, the
government approved the decision without holding a vote. It should be noted that
the Cabinet is particularly attentive to the exchange rate of the banking dollar
because it must honor financial obligations in dollars, notably to public works
contractors, who, due to the multidimensional crisis and delays in the payment
of their dues, are currently facing financial difficulties.
El-Khalil’s Prerogatives
The issue of the government’s competence to set the exchange rate of the banking
dollar was endorsed during a meeting of the Central Council of the Banque du
Liban (BDL), held in late December 2022, in the presence of the caretaker
Minister of Finance, Youssef el-Khalil. After this meeting, the exchange rate of
the banking dollar was set at 15,000 pounds as part of the 2024 budget project,
which became the 2024 Finance Law. It should be noted that the central bank
resolved the issue of the dollar exchange rate at 89,500 pounds per dollar in
its dealings with commercial banks through Circular 167.
Context of the Request
In practice, last Friday, the Ministry of Finance asked the government to set
the exchange rate of the dollar, citing confusion in the accounting records
caused by the severe devaluation of the pound compared to the years 2020 to
2023, alongside the strengthening of the concepts of the local dollar and the
cash dollar in the domestic market. “Based on BDL’s circulars regarding
exceptional cash withdrawal procedures from foreign currency accounts, the
Ministry of Finance proposed to the Council of Ministers to adopt, for the
registering of accounting entries related to dollar spending and revenue
operations, an exchange rate of 1,507.50 pounds for the years 2020 and 2021. For
the year 2022 and subsequent years, the ministry recommended setting the cash
dollar and local dollar rate at 1,507.5 pounds for the period from January 1 to
July 31, 2022. Between August 1, 2022, and January 31, 2023, the cash dollar
rate would be adjusted according to the prevailing exchange rate, while the
local dollar would remain at 1,507.50 pounds. From February 1, 2023, to December
31, 2023, and from January 1, 2024, to February 13, 2024, the cash dollar rate
would be aligned with the exchange rate, with the local dollar fixed at 15,000
pounds. From February 14, 2024, until a new decision is made, the cash dollar
rate would be set at 89,500 pounds, and the local dollar would remain at 15,000
pounds,” the ministry’s proposal reads.
Concerns and Lack of Funding
Sources close to the government explain that the reasons for postponing the
decision to unify the dollar exchange rate are now well known. This postponement
is related to the ongoing preparation of a banking restructuring project. It is
also motivated by the desire of the monetary and financial authorities to avoid
increasing the money supply in pounds, given the volume of bank deposits that
may be converted into pounds. Such an increase in money supply would lead to a
further devaluation of the pound against the dollar, with even more disastrous
consequences for the country.In this context, it is important to recall that
last April, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, along with his advisor,
former Minister Nicolas Nahas, separately announced to the press that the lollar
exchange rate would soon be increased to 25,000 or 30,000 pounds.That said, the
proposal of the caretaker Minister of Finance, endorsed by the Council of
Ministers last Friday, officially recognizes for the first time the distinction
between the cash dollar and the local dollar.
Judge Saliba: Immediate Eviction in Non-Residential Rental Case
Maurice Matta/Liliane Mokbel/This is Beirut/August 21/2024
On December 26, 2023, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati signed eleven out of
fourteen laws approved by Parliament on December 14 and 15. He withheld his
signature from the remaining three laws, citing the need to review them at the
next Cabinet session to explore constitutional options. The General Directorate
of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers did not clarify in its statement
the reasons for not signing these three laws, which have faced objections from
various social groups. Two of the unsigned laws concern private school teaching
staff: one provides financial assistance to the compensation fund for teachers,
and the other deals with regulations regarding teaching staff and school
budgets. The third unsigned law amends the non-residential rental law, which has
generated significant opposition from different small business owners and office
tenants, including medical clinics, lawyers’ offices and small businesses.
To date, the Cabinet presidency has not published the new non-residential rental
law in the Official Gazette. Property owners view Mikati’s decision as a breach
of constitutional provisions, given that he returned the law to Parliament,
despite the Cabinet’s approval to enact all referred laws in the absence of a
president. This is despite a preliminary decision by the State Council to halt
the implementation of the rejection decree. Mikati’s ongoing refusal to publish
the law contradicts the consensus of all legal and constitutional experts, who
have acknowledged the invalidity of this action.
In a significant development regarding the non-residential rental dossier, Judge
Stephany Robert Saliba of the Metn district has ruled that a defendant, who is a
tenant, must vacate two disputed premises and return them to his landlord,
imposing a daily financial penalty for any delay. Judge Saliba concluded that
the tenant’s use of the premises lacked legal justification, as the lease
extensions for contracts made before 1992 expired on June 30, 2022, and no new
legislation extended these contracts. As a result, the leases are now subject to
the principle of freedom of contract. This ruling is the first of its kind in
Mount Lebanon and the second in Lebanon, following a similar decision by the
rental judge in the north, who also ordered eviction and the return of the
property to the landlord after the legal extension ended in 2022, due to the
absence of a new law over two years later.
Property owners’ circles view this ruling as an impetus to pursue legal action
to reclaim their properties, as tenants are occupying them without proper legal
basis. With no law currently regulating non-residential leases and Parliament
having yet to address the three laws rejected by Mikati, this has resulted in a
legislative void. This gap, caused by the caretaker prime minister’s actions,
has led to a legal vacuum in non-residential rentals and has resulted in
eviction rulings for tenants. The new law could have offered a four-year lease
extension with gradual rental increases for non-residential properties.
Tenant committees have voiced their opposition to the ruling, citing the
legislature’s intention to pass a new law. However, property owners argue that
this objection holds no legal or judicial weight as long as Mikati continues to
withhold the publication of the law. In addition, Parliament has yet to meet to
ratify the new legislation and then discuss potential amendments, should the
parliamentary blocs decide to do so. This has generated a complex situation
where everyone has put the responsibility on the judiciary, which adjudicates
based on the current legal and rights framework, regardless of the outcome.
Meanwhile, experts and lawyers advocate for their respective interests, leaving
the state as the ultimate and final authority responsible for resolving the
matter.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on August 21-22/2024
Blinken ends Mideast visit without cease-fire, warning 'time is of essence'
Associated Press/August 21/2024
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ended his ninth visit to the Middle East
since the war in Gaza began without securing any major breakthrough for a
cease-fire deal, warning that "time is of the essence" even as Hamas and Israel
signaled that challenges remain. After meetings in fellow mediating countries
Egypt and Qatar on Tuesday , Blinken said that because Israel has accepted a
proposal to bridge gaps with the militant group, the focus turns to doing
everything possible to "get Hamas on board" and ensure both sides agree to key
details on implementation. "Our message is simple. It's clear and it's urgent,"
he told reporters before leaving Qatar. "We need to get a cease-fire and hostage
agreement over the finish line, and we need to do it now. Time is of the
essence."There has been added urgency after the recent targeted killings of
militant leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah in Iran and Lebanon, both attributed to
Israel, and vows of retaliation that have sparked fears of a wider regional war.
Few details have been released about the so-called bridging proposal put forth
by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar. Blinken said it is "very clear on the schedule and
the locations of (Israeli military) withdrawals from Gaza."
Hamas earlier Tuesday called the latest proposal a reversal of what it had
agreed to, accusing the U.S. of acquiescing to new conditions from Israel. There
was no immediate U.S. response to that.Blinken's comments on ending his latest
Israel-Hamas peace mission were notably bare of the optimism that Biden
administration officials expressed going into his trip, and earlier. The upbeat
tone through much of the spring and summer — with U.S. officials at times
describing a cease-fire and hostage deal as nearer than ever — reflected
necessary messaging, at least in part, said Jonathan Panikoff, director of the
Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council's Middle East
Program. "If they don't project optimism then it won't create ... even the
potential for sufficient momentum to keep things going," Panikoff said.
Americans have little alternative to continuing to push Israel and Hamas to
agree to a negotiated end to fighting, but it's fundamentally about Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who helped
mastermind the Oct. 7 attacks, Panikoff said. And they are "the two people that
have been, frankly, most skeptical from the beginning" about making peace.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, met with right-wing groups of families of fallen soldiers
and hostages in Gaza. The groups, which oppose a cease-fire deal, said he told
them Israel will not abandon two strategic corridors in Gaza whose control has
been an obstacle in the talks. Netanyahu's office did not comment on their
account. A senior U.S. official rejected as "totally untrue" that Netanyahu had
told Blinken that Israel would never leave the Philadelphi and Netzarim
corridors. Such statements are "not constructive to getting a cease-fire deal
across the finish line," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity
to discuss Blinken's private diplomatic talks. Blinken's meetings in Egypt,
which borders Gaza, and in Qatar, which hosts some Hamas leaders in exile, came
a day after he met Netanyahu. Wide gaps appeared to remain between Israel and
Hamas, though angry statements often serve as pressure tactics during
negotiations. Both men have seen their political standing improve at home, as
Israelis turn their attention from the war in Gaza to a threatened wider
conflict with Iran and Hezbollah, and as Hamas further consolidates Sinwar's
leadership of the group. That's lessened the pressure on both to close a deal,
Panikoff said.
And while the U.S. could try restricting arms sales to Israel to push it to end
the war with Hamas, Panikoff argued that risks making Netanyahu dig in his heels
further, instead.
Netanyahu's meeting with the families came as Israel's military said it
recovered the bodies of six hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that started
the war, bringing fresh grief for many Israelis who have long pressed Netanyahu
to agree to a cease-fire that would bring remaining hostages home. New protests
were held Tuesday. "The longer they're there, the more body bags we get," said
one protester, Adi Israeli, in Tel Aviv. Israel's military said it recovered the
six bodies in an overnight operation in southern Gaza, saying they were killed
when troops were operating in Khan Younis. Hamas says some captives have been
killed in Israeli airstrikes, though returning hostages have talked about
difficult conditions, including lack of food or medications.The recovery of the
remains also is a blow to Hamas, which hopes to exchange hostages for
Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli withdrawal and a lasting cease-fire. The
military said it had identified the remains of Chaim Perry, 80; Yoram Metzger,
80; Avraham Munder, 79; Alexander Dancyg, 76; Nadav Popplewell, 51; and Yagev
Buchshtav, 35. Kibbutz Nir Oz, the farming community where Munder was among
around 80 residents seized, said he died after "months of physical and mental
torture." Israeli authorities previously determined the other five were dead.
Hamas is still believed to be holding around 110 hostages captured during the
Oct. 7 attacks, when militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Israeli authorities estimate around a third are dead. Over 100 other hostages
were released during last year's cease-fire in exchange for Palestinians
imprisoned in Israel. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000
Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish
between civilians and combatants in its count. The war has caused widespread
destruction and forced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million residents to flee
their homes, often multiple times. Aid groups fear the outbreak of polio and
other diseases. An Israeli airstrike Tuesday killed at least 12 people at a
school-turned-shelter in Gaza City. The Palestinian Civil Defense, first
responders operating under the Hamas-run government, said around 700 people had
been sheltering at the Mustafa Hafez school. Israel's military said the strike
targeted Hamas militants who had set up a command center there. "We don't know
where to go … or where to shelter our children," said Um Khalil Abu Agwa, a
displaced woman.
An Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah hit people walking down the street and
seven were killed, including a woman and two children, according to an
Associated Press journalist who counted the bodies. Another airstrike in central
Gaza killed five children and their mother, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Hospital, where an AP journalist counted the bodies. Palestinians displaced by
recent Israeli evacuation orders crowded into already teeming areas. One child
in Deir al-Balah slept on cardboard as insects flew around his face. "Are they
going to dig the ground and dump us there, or put us on a boat and throw us in
the sea? I don't know," said one man, Abu Shady Afana.
Biden to ask Netanyahu for flexibility on Philadelphi, as deal falters
TOVAH LAZAROFF/Jerusalem Post/August 21/2024
A schedule for high-level talks initially set for Cairo on Wednesday has yet to
be finalized, nor is it clear if it will be held in Egypt or Qatar. US President
Joe Biden is expected to ask Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to
show flexibility with respect to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, as efforts
to bring that agreement over the finish line appear to have faltered. A schedule
for high-level talks initially set for Cairo on Wednesday has yet to be
finalized, nor is it clear if it will be held in Egypt or Qatar. Both countries,
together with the US, have hoped to finalize a deal which has been on the table
since May 31. Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani who has been a key figure
in the high-level talks is in New Zealand. US special Brett McGurk who was at
the talks in Doha last week, is expected to head to Cairo, according to media
reports, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel, Egypt, and
Qatar on Monday and Tuesday, meeting for three hours with Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. He headed back to the US, however, without securing an
agreement.
Blinken and mediators from Egypt and Qatar have pinned their hopes on a US
"bridging proposal" aimed at narrowing the gaps between the two sides in the
10-month-old Gaza war, which Netanyahu signed onto during Blinken's trip.
Upon his return to the United States, Blinken spoke with his Turkish and
Jordanian counterparts about the deal. In his conversation with Jordanian
Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Blinken "underscored that the "bridging proposal"
presented by the negotiators addressed the remaining gaps in a manner that
allows for swift implementation of the deal." The “bridging proposal,” however,
did not close all of the gaps. Netanyahu stressed throughout Blinken’s visit and
even on Wednesday that despite Hamas’s calls for a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza
during the course of the deal, he planned to keep the IDF in two critical
security corridors, Philadelphi and Netzarim.
The Prime Minister’s Office dismissed a report in KAN on Wednesday night that an
IDF withdrawal from Philadelphi would occur in the second phase of the
three-part deal. The IDF is expected during the first phase to withdraw from
populated areas of Gaza. PM's Office statement
“Israel will insist on achieving all the goals of the war, as defined by the
cabinet - including ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a security threat to
Israel. And this necessitates the closing of the southern border the [Philadelphi
Coorridor],” the Prime Minister's Office said. Hamas had for years smuggled
weapons into Gaza from Egypt through tunnels dug underneath that corridor.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that an IDF presence was necessary to prevent
smuggling and ensure that Hamas did not rearm itself. He stressed that he would
not agree to a hostage deal that would include an IDF withdrawal from that
corridor. A US official said Biden was expected to press Netanyahu to soften his
stance on the Philadelphi Corridor when the two spoke late Wednesday night.
Blinken told reporters late Tuesday night that the Gaza ceasefire and hostage
deal included a detailed schedule of IDF withdrawals from Gaza when he spoke to
them prior to leaving Qatar. “The agreement is very clear on the schedule and
the locations of IDF withdrawals from Gaza and Israel has agreed to that,”
Blinken told reporters. Blinken, who in Tel Aviv had appeared to indicate that
the issue of the two corridors was an issue that still needed to be worked out,
said in Qatar, that IDF with-drawls were clarified in the existing agreement.
“It is laid out in the agreement, an agreement that Israel has endorsed, and it
is specific as to the locations and the schedule for withdrawals,” Blinken said.
He reiterated that Netanyahu had endorsed “the bridging proposal” which included
a clear withdrawal schedule. Israel and Hamas must show flexibility toward the
deal so that it can be completed in the coming days since time is of the
essence, Blinken said. There is a “fierce urgency” to get this "done in the days
ahead, and we will do everything possible to get it across the finish line,”
Blinken stressed. Hamas has insisted that it is committed to the original
framework deal but not the “bridging proposal” which it says favors new points
Israel has inserted into the agreement. “Over the coming days, we are going to
do everything possible to get Hamas on board,” Blinken said.
“Our message is simple, it's clear and it's urgent. We need to get the ceasefire
and hostage agreement over the finish line, and we need to do it now.
“Time is of the essence because, with every passing day, the well-being and
lives of the hostages are in jeopardy,” Blinken said. He spoke just after the
IDF discovered the bodies of six hostages killed in captivity and returned them
to Israel. Blinken also stressed the importance for the Palestinians in Gaza of
a ceasefire that would stop the suffering they had endured for over ten months
in a war “they didn’t start and can not stop.”There is also an urgency because
the deal would prevent a dangerous regional escalation, Blinken said as he
referred to threats of reprisal attacks by Iran and its proxy group Hezbollah
against Israel. The US fears that such attacks would spark a regional war.
“We're working in our different ways to try to ensure that there is no
escalation, sending the necessary messages to all of the potential actors,
including Iran and Hezbollah, to avoid taking any steps that could escalate the
conflict or spread it,” Blinken said. “It's very important that everyone [Israel
and Hamas] do what's necessary to bring the flexibility to the table” to
finalize the deal, he said. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the
Philadelphi Corridor stating that Hamas’s Rafah brigade located there had been
defeated and that over 150 tunnels have been destroyed in the region. He
believed that the IDF could withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor in order to
pave the way for a deal that would secure the release of the remaining 109
hostages in Gaza, of whom 73 are believed to still be alive. “Out of the 150
tunnels that were destroyed, around 100 tunnels are in fact trenches dug using
engineering tools above ground, and then covered with a meter or two of dirt.”“I
gave an immediate directive to the IDF to destroy the remaining tunnels. It is
critical to remember the goals of the war and to achieve them – regarding Hamas,
regarding the hostages [held by Hamas],” he said. It was also important, he
said, for the IDF to focus now on threats for the north. “We also understand why
we are looking toward the north,” he stated.
Reuters contributed to this report
Israeli PM says troops will not leave Philadelphi
corridor in Gaza
Reuters/August 21, 2024
JERUSALEM: Israel has not agreed to withdraw its troops from the so-called
Philadelphi corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday, denying an Israeli
television report. “Israel will insist on the achievement of all of its
objectives for the war, as they have been defined by the Security Cabinet,
including that Gaza never again constitutes a security threat to Israel. This
requires securing the southern border,” Netahyahu’s office said in a statement.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Netanyahu on Wednesday
about ways to advance a potential Gaza ceasefire and hostages deal, the White
House said. The call followed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s whirlwind
trip to the Middle East that ended on Tuesday without an agreement between
Israel and Hamas militants on a truce in the Palestinian enclave. Blinken and
mediators from Egypt and Qatar have pinned their hopes on a US “bridging
proposal” aimed at narrowing the gaps between the two sides in the 10-month-old
Gaza war. “President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of
Israel to discuss the ceasefire and hostage release deal and diplomatic efforts
to de-escalate regional tensions,” a White House statement said.
Israeli Strikes Kill Dozens in Gaza after Blinken Ends
Visit without Truce Breakthrough
Asharq Al Awsat/August 21/2024
Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed at least 50 Palestinians in the past 24
hours, Palestinian health officials said on Wednesday, after US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken ended his latest visit to the region with a truce deal
still elusive. As last-ditch diplomacy continued to halt the 10-month-old war
between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli military said jets hit around 30 targets
throughout the Gaza Strip including tunnels, launch sites and an observation
post. It said troops killed dozens of armed fighters and seized weapons
including explosives, grenades and automatic rifles. Later in the day, the
Israeli military struck a school and a nearby house in Gaza City, killing at
least three people and wounding 15, the territory's Civil Emergency Service
said. The military said in a statement that it had hit Hamas fighters operating
at a command center located inside a compound that had previously served as a
school.
It accused Hamas of continuing to operate from within civilian facilities and
areas, an allegation Gaza's dominant armed group denies. In the town of Bani
Suhaila near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, an Israeli airstrike killed
seven Palestinians at a tent encampment for displaced people, medics said. The
military issued new evacuation orders in the heavily overcrowded area of Deir
Al-Balah, in central Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced
by the fighting have sought shelter. The orders, which the military said were
needed to clear civilians from what had become "a dangerous combat zone", were
soon followed by tank fire with at least one person killed and several wounded
by machine gun fire, medics and residents said. The conflict churned on as
Blinken wound up his ninth troubleshooting visit to the Middle East since the
Gaza war erupted last October with still no sign that deep differences between
the sides over how to end the war could be reconciled. Blinken's talks with
leaders of ceasefire mediators Egypt and Qatar, as well as in Israel, focused on
the fate of tiny, crowded Gaza, where Israel's military campaign has killed more
than 40,000 people since October according to Palestinian health authorities,
and of the remaining hostages being held there. The war began on Oct. 7 last
year when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities and military bases,
killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to
Israeli tallies.
For displaced people left exposed in Deir Al-Balah, the lack of progress towards
a ceasefire compounded the misery as they searched for space away from the
fighting. "Where will we go? Where will we go?" said Aburakan, 55, a displaced
person from Gaza City in the territory's north who has had to change refuge five
times since October. "We feel they are closing in. I live a few hundred meters
from the threatened areas, and I have been searching since the early morning in
vain for a space in western Deir Al-Balah, Khan Younis, or Nuseirat," he told
Reuters via a chat app. "Unfortunately, we may die before we see an end to this
war. All ceasefire talk is a lie." Palestinian and United Nations officials say
most of the 2.3 million population have become internally displaced by Israel's
ongoing ground operations and bombardment that have also flattened swathes of
built-up areas across the enclave.
Intel. chief in retirement speech: I will have Oct. 7 on
my conscience for rest of my life
JERUSALEM POST STAFF, REUTERS/Jerusalem Post/August 21/2024
The incoming head of the intelligence directorate urged an investigation into
the failures of October 7. Israel’s outgoing head of military intelligence took
responsibility for his country’s failures to defend its border on Oct. 7 at his
resignation ceremony on Wednesday. Major General Aharon Haliva, a 38-year
veteran of the military, announced his resignation in April and was one of a
number of senior Israeli commanders who said they had failed to foresee and
prevent the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. “The failure of the
intelligence corps was my fault,” Haliva said at the ceremony on Wednesday, and
he called for a national investigation to study and “understand deeply” the
reasons that led to the war between Israel and Hamas. “On October 7, that bitter
day that I carry with me on my conscience and on my shoulders, and will carry
with me until my last days, we did not uphold the sanctity of our oath. I chose
to dedicate my entire adult life to the security of the State of Israel. I have
always done my utmost as a soldier and as a commander to serve the country with
devotion.”Haliva will be replaced by Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder, who was most
recently head of the operations division. This appointment has been met with
criticism from families of October 7 victims who claim that his part in the
October 7 failure has not been sufficiently investigated. Halevi's speech at the
ceremony. At the ceremony, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said, “If we have
experienced successes over many years and then failed, it means that through a
true investigation, we will be able to distinguish between success and failure
and learn how to act to reduce the chances of failures in the future. Correction
is a vital condition for the existence of our country.”Halevi also said Binder
is the right person to take over the position. The Oct. 7 attack badly tarnished
the reputation of the Israeli military and intelligence services, previously
seen as all but unbeatable by armed Palestinian groups such as Hamas. In the
early hours of the morning of Oct. 7, following an intense rocket barrage,
thousands of fighters from Hamas and other groups broke through security
barriers around Gaza, surprising Israeli forces and rampaging through
communities in southern Israel. Some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed
in the attack, most of them civilians, and about 250 were taken into captivity
in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Some 109 hostages are believed to still
be in Gaza, around a third of whom are thought to be dead.The head of the armed
forces, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, and the head of the domestic
intelligence agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, both accepted responsibility in the
aftermath of the attack but have stayed on while the war in Gaza has continued.
Turkish, US top diplomats discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts
in call, Ankara says
Reuters/August 21, 2024
ANKARA: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken discussed the latest state efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel
and Palestinian militant group Hamas in a phone call on Wednesday, Turkiye’s
foreign ministry spokesperson said. Spokesperson Oncu Keceli also said the call
had taken place at the request of the US side, adding the two ministers also
discussed regional developments. He did not provide any further details.
Iran Could Declare Itself Nuclear Weapons State by Year’s End, Top U.S. Lawmaker
Says
FDD/August 21/2024
Latest Developments
Iran could “declare itself a nuclear weapon state by the end of the year,” Rep.
Mike Turner (R-OH), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, stated on
August 18. The “flexibility and freedom that [Iran’s leaders have] had under the
Biden administration has given them the ability to both try to influence our
elections, actively try to undertake a plot to assassinate Donald Trump, and to
continue their nuclear weapons and their nuclear enrichment programs,” Turner
said. He argued as well that the Trump administration’s campaign of maximum
pressure on Iran — had it remained in place under President Biden — would have
prevented such a development.
Expert Analysis
“The U.S. intelligence community can no longer assert that Iran is not
conducting nuclear-weapons activities, yet Washington’s Iran policy remains
adrift. Lawmakers are rightly worried that the regime may exploit this policy
failure and the disarray of the U.S. election season to sprint to nuclear
weapons.” — Andrea Stricker, FDD Research Fellow and Deputy Director of FDD’s
Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program. “The Biden administration must finally
acknowledge that its Iran policy has failed: Tehran is closer than ever to
developing nuclear weapons. By contrast, Iran curbed its nuclear activities
under President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign. Washington must return to a
policy that works.” — Tzvi Kahn, FDD Research Fellow and Senior Editor
New Weaponization Intelligence
Axios reported on June 18 that the United States and Israel collected
intelligence indicating that Iranian scientists at civilian research institutes
were carrying out work on nuclear “weaponization” — the process of fabricating
an atomic device that integrates weapons-grade fuel with specialized components,
explosives, and a triggering mechanism. The work reportedly involved limited
computer modeling and metallurgy experiments that could hasten Iran’s production
of nuclear weapons. An August 9 Wall Street Journal story quoted a U.S. official
who assessed that this research “could shrink the knowledge gap Tehran faces in
mastering the ability to build a weapon.” However, a spokesperson for the Office
of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) also told the Journal, “Iran
doesn’t have an active military nuclear program.”
Iran Closer Than Ever to Nuclear Weapons
The Islamic Republic’s so-called breakout time — that is, the amount of time
needed to enrich enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear device — currently
remains around seven days. In four months, Tehran could have enough uranium for
13 weapons. The United States and Israel estimate that Iran would need another
year, if not longer, to weaponize the uranium, though the Institute for Science
and International Security believes Iran would require less than six months.
Iran claims that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, but its
current nuclear activities have no civilian rationale. Tehran continues to
enrich uranium to 60-percent purity, putting it only days away from 90 percent,
which is weapons-grade. In a recent moment of candor, Ali Akbar Salehi, the
former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said publicly that Tehran
had crossed “all thresholds of nuclear science and technology” and has all the
equipment it needs to make nuclear weapons.
Greek oil tanker drifting and ablaze after repeated attacks in the Red Sea,
British military says
Jon Gambrell/DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)/August 21, 2024
A Greek-flagged oil tanker traveling through the Red Sea came under repeated
attack Wednesday, leaving the vessel “not under command” and drifting ablaze
after an assault suspected to have been carried out by Yemen's Houthi rebels,
the British military said. The attack, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks,
comes during a monthslong campaign by Houthis targeting ships over the ongoing
Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted a trade route through
which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year. In the attack, men on
small boats first opened fire with small arms about 140 kilometers (90 miles)
west of the rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida, the British military's
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. Four projectiles also hit
the ship, it added. It wasn't immediately clear if that meant drones or
missiles. “The vessel reports being not under command,” the UKMTO said, likely
meaning it lost all power. “No casualties reported.” Later, the UKMTO warned the
ship was drifting while on fire in the Red Sea. The Greek shipping ministry
later identified the vessel as the tanker Sounion, which had 25 crew members on
board at the time of the attack as it traveled from Iraq to Cyprus. Later
Wednesday, the UKMTO reported a second ship being targeted in the Gulf of Aden
by three explosions that occurred in the water close to it, though they caused
no damage.The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks,
though it can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge their
assaults. The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and
drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank
two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones
have either been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to
reach their targets. The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to
Israel, the United States or the UK to force an end to Israel’s war against
Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection
to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis have also launched drones and missiles toward Israel, including an
attack on July 19 that killed one person and wounded 10 others in Tel Aviv.
Israel responded the next day with airstrikes on Hodeida that hit fuel depots
and electrical stations, killing and wounding a number of people, the rebels
say. After the strikes, the Houthis paused their attacks until Aug. 3, when they
hit a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden. A
Liberian-flagged oil tanker came under a particularly intense series of attacks
beginning Aug. 8, likely carried out by the rebels. A similar attack happened
Aug. 13 as well. The last three recent attacks, including Wednesday's, targeted
vessels associated with Delta Tankers, a Greek company. As Iran threatens to
retaliate against Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh
in Tehran, the U.S. military told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier
strike group to sail more quickly to the area. America also has ordered the USS
Georgia-guided missile submarine into the Mideast, while the USS Theodore
Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group was in the Gulf of Oman. Additional F-22
fighter jets have flown into the region and the USS Wasp, a large amphibious
assault ship carrying F-35 fighter jets, is in the Mediterranean Sea.
Iran's parliament approves Pezeshkian's unity cabinet
Reuters/August 21/2024
"The road to our salvation is unity and solidarity," Pezeshkian said on
Wednesday in his speech to the 285 parliamentarians present to give their vote
of confidence to the cabinet. Iran's parliament approved President Masoud
Pezeshkian's 19 ministers on Wednesday, state media reported, giving way to a
cross-factional cabinet reflecting his focus on consensus after days of debate.
In contrast to former President Ebrahim Raisi's hardline team, the new cabinet
includes reformist figures such as Health Minister Mohammadreza Zafarqandi, who
secured his position despite receiving the lowest number of votes, at 163.
Approval of the ministerial line-up is not a formality. One minister proposed in
2021 by Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May, lost the confidence vote
due to lacking experience, meaning a different name had to be drafted in. "The
road to our salvation is unity and solidarity," Pezeshkian said on Wednesday in
his speech to the 285 parliamentarians present to give their vote of confidence
to the cabinet, which had been debated since Saturday. Farzaneh Sadeq was
approved as minister of roads and transportation, becoming the only second
female cabinet minister since the Islamic Republic's establishment in 1979.
Mohsen Paknejad was approved as minister of oil. He served as deputy minister of
oil for the supervision of hydrocarbon resources from 2018 to 2021. The oil
minister told parliament he would actively pursue the issue of joint fields with
neighboring countries and boost oil output to 4 million barrels per day by March
2025. Abbas Araqchi was approved as minister of foreign affairs with 247 votes,
after convincing parliamentarians wary of his key role in negotiating Tehran's
2015 nuclear agreement with six world powers.
Holding the same views
During deliberations with the parliament, Araqchi asserted that he holds the
same worldview he held during his time serving with the Revolutionary Guards and
expressed support for a 2020 parliamentary bill hardening Iran's nuclear stance.
The United States, under President Donald Trump, withdrew in 2018 from the
nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers, which restricted Tehran's
nuclear program. Indirect talks between the US and Tehran to revive the deal and
lift costly US sanctions on Iran have stalled. In his last address to parliament
on Sunday, Araqchi stressed that Tehran would continue its policy of good
neighborliness and negotiations to lift sanctions. "China, Russia, Africa, Latin
America and East Asia are priority regions in our foreign policy," Araqchi said
at the time, adding that Europe could become a priority if it changed its
"hostile behavior" and that relations with the US would solely be informed by
"conflict management."
Helicopter of Iran’s Late President Raisi Crashed Due to
Weather, Fars Says
Asharq Al Awsat/August 21/2024
The helicopter crash in which Iran's late President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in
May was caused by weather conditions and the aircraft's inability to handle the
weight it was carrying, Iran's semi-official news agency reported on Wednesday,
citing a security source informed of the final investigation results. A
preliminary report by Iran's military had said in May that no evidence of foul
play or attack had been found so far during investigations into the crash. "The
investigation in the case of Raisi's helicopter crash have been completed ...
there is complete certainty that what happened was an accident," the security
source that was not named told Fars news agency. Two reasons for the accident
were identified: the weather conditions were not suitable and the helicopter was
unable to handle the weight, leading to it crashing into a mountain, the source
added, according to Fars. The investigations indicate that the helicopter was
carrying two individuals more than the capacity that security protocols dictate,
the source told Fars. Raisi, a hardliner and potential successor to Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei, was killed in the crash in mountainous terrain near the
Azerbaijan border.
Ukraine attacks Moscow in one of largest
ever drone strikes on Russian capital
Guy Faulconbridge and Lidia Kelly/MOSCOW (Reuters)/Wed, August 21, 2024
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Ukraine attacked Moscow on Wednesday with at least 11 drones
that were shot down by air defences in what Russian officials called one of the
biggest drone strikes on the capital since the war in Ukraine began in February
2022.
The war, largely a grinding artillery and drone battle across the fields,
forests and villages of eastern Ukraine, escalated on Aug. 6 when Ukraine sent
thousands of soldiers over the border into Russia's western Kursk region. For
months, Ukraine has also fought an increasingly damaging drone war against the
refineries and airfields of Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter,
though major drone attacks on the Moscow region - with a population of over 21
million - have been rarer. Russia's defence ministry said its air defences
destroyed a total of 45 drones over Russian territory, including 11 over the
Moscow region, 23 over the border region of Bryansk, six over the Belgorod
region, three over the Kaluga region and two over the Kursk region.Some of the
drones were shot down over the city of Podolsk, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin
said. The city in the Moscow region is some 38 km (24 miles) south of the
Kremlin. "This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones
ever," Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app in the early hours of
Wednesday. "The layered defence of Moscow that was created made it possible to
successfully repel all the attacks from the enemy UAVs."Along Moscow's
boulevards, the cafes, restaurants and shops of the capital - which has been
carefully insulated from the war - were crowded with little sign of concern,
while President Vladimir Putin met Chinese premier Li Qiang in the Kremlin. Two
Russian citizens who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the foiled
drone attack simply showed how well defended Moscow now was, and that Ukraine
was "playing with fire" by attacking Russia both in Kursk and in Moscow. Russia
meanwhile is advancing in eastern Ukraine, where it controls about 18% of the
territory, and battling to repel Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region, the
biggest foreign attack on Russian territory since World War Two. Russian media
showed unverified footage of drones whirring over the dawn sky of the Moscow
region and then being shot down in a ball of flame by air defences. Moscow's
airports, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, limited flights for four hours but
restarted normal operations from 0330 GMT, Russia's aviation watchdog said.
Sobyanin said that according to preliminary information, there were no injuries
or damage reported in the aftermath of the attacks. There were also no
casualties or damage reported following the attack on Bryansk in Russia's
southwest, the governor of the region, Alexander Bogomaz, wrote on Telegram.
Russia's RIA state news agency reported that two drones were destroyed over the
Tula region, which borders the Moscow region to its north. Vasily Golubev,
governor of the Rostov region in Russia's southwest, said air defence forces
destroyed a Ukraine-launched missile over the region, with no injuries reported.
The Russian defence ministry did not mention either Tula or Rostov in its
statement listing destroyed Ukrainian air weapons. Ukraine's military said on
Wednesday it overnight struck an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system based in the
Rostov region. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. The drone
attack on Moscow was on a par with a May 2023 attack when at least eight drones
were destroyed over the capital, a strike Putin said was a Ukrainian attempt to
scare and provoke Russia. In Kursk, Russian war bloggers said intense battles
were ongoing along the front in the region where Ukraine has carved out at least
450 square km (175 square miles) of Russian territory.
AMCD Decries Use of Gaza Civilian Casualty Photos to Stir Hate
August 20, 2024
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy strongly condemns the use of photos
depicting civilian casualties in Gaza to provoke feelings of hatred toward
Israel and Jews.
“For months social media has been flooded with these images, some real and some
fabricated, to provoke hatred of Israel and antisemitism more widely,” said AMCD
co-chair Tom Harb. “Most of this is pure propaganda, and as such is
unconscionable.”
“This is a naked effort to save Hamas from its inevitable destruction at the
hands of the Israeli Defense Force,” added AMCD co-chair John Hajjar. “Young
people demonstrating for Hamas, are joining with a movement that would destroy
civilization and kill every one of those non-Muslim demonstrators the minute it
had the capability to do so. Their naivete is breathtaking.”
Why not come together and form effective campaigns for safe zones and
evacuations of civilians—solutions that actually would save people’s lives?
Gazelle Sharmahd
“The UN Security Council (UNSC) has the authority to establish safe zones or
humanitarian corridors under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which allows for the
use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security,” began
AMCD senior advisor, Dr. Walid Phares. “For such measures to be implemented, a
resolution must be passed by the UNSC. That is not the message or solution being
pushed for by all those supposedly outraged at the death of civilians, nor has
the UNSC taken this action on its own.”
“Why not come together and form effective campaigns for safe zones and
evacuations of civilians—solutions that actually would save people’s lives?”
said Gazelle Sharmahd, daughter of German-American Journalist Jimmy Sharmahd,
who was kidnapped to Iran and is being held hostage since 2020. “It truly does
seem that, just like the terror regimes themselves, these posts and protests are
simply being used to promote or advance the ‘virtue signaler’ who is intent on
stirring up hate (not compassion).”
Antisemitism is spreading like wildfire among our college-age youth. We’ve seen
this scenario play out many times in the past and it does not end well, neither
for the Jews in our midst, nor for the society which tolerates such high levels
of open antisemitism.
Phares and Sharmahd co-host a new podcast-series called War&Freedom:Insight
Talks on YouTube ( new episode 5 https://youtu.be/XgKluf-bh8A) and propose
policies and interventions to save civilians in Gaza without shielding jihadist
forces like Hamas in the process, which they share with the public on their #EducateAmerica
platforms on social media.
August 20, 2024
rebeccabynum
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on August 21-22/2024
'The Black Day': A Decade of Displacement for Iraqi Christians
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/August 20, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/08/133457/
August 6 marked the tenth anniversary of "the Black Day," a day indelible to
Iraqi Christians as the start of the unrelenting atrocities to which they were
subjected on August 6, 2014, ten years ago.
On that day, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) unleashed a jihadi
massacre of unprecedented terror, brutally attacking ancient Christian
communities across northern Iraq. Villages were overrun, homes and churches
looted and destroyed, and countless lives shattered. Christians were murdered,
raped and sold into slavery.
Even though ISIS has largely been neutralized, the remaining 154,000 Christians
[in Iraq] face "very high" levels of persecution.
"We stayed in Mosul for 39 days under ISIS control because they initially
offered us safety. But then they declared that as Christians and People of the
Book, we were infidels. They demanded we either pay the jizya, convert to Islam
or face execution." — Saadallah, an elderly Iraqi refugee from Mosul, recalling
August 6, 2014.
"There are very few NGOs left that focus on our displacement and who continue to
provide assistance for Iraqi Refugees; but American FRRME is still on the ground
and actively helping." — Nate Breeding, Executive Director of the American
Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, interview with
Gatestone, August 5, 2024.
On August 6, 2014, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) unleashed a jihadi
massacre of unprecedented terror, brutally attacking ancient Christian
communities across northern Iraq. Villages were overrun, homes and churches
looted and destroyed, and countless lives shattered. Christians were murdered,
raped and sold into slavery.
August 6 marked the tenth anniversary of "the Black Day," a day indelible to
Iraqi Christians as the start of the unrelenting atrocities to which they were
subjected on August 6, 2014, ten years ago.
On that day, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) unleashed a jihadi
massacre of unprecedented terror, brutally attacking ancient Christian
communities across northern Iraq. Villages were overrun, homes and churches
looted and destroyed, and countless lives shattered. Christians were murdered,
raped and sold into slavery. Those who survived were forced to flee, leaving
behind everything they held dear.
Bassam from Qaraqosh, Iraq, recalled the horror:
"We were abruptly warned at 12:30 AM by neighbors that ISIS was closing in.
Imagine being securely at home when suddenly a stranger bursts in, giving you
only minutes to escape. You're forced to abandon everything—your life,
belongings and future—under the threat of imminent danger."
A decade later, the impact of that day remains profound. The Christian
population in Iraq has been decimated: once estimated to be 1.5 million, it is
now about 154,000. Since then, many Iraqi Christians fled their homeland to seek
in neighboring countries, as well as in the West.
Despite some progress, Iraq is still ranked 16th by Open Doors among the most
dangerous countries for Christians. Even though ISIS has largely been
neutralized, the remaining 154,000 Christians face "very high" levels of
persecution. The overall security situation remains unstable. According to Open
Doors:
"The Christian community continues to rebuild and restore as it heals from the
horrors of the Islamic State group. Plus, Turkish and Iranian airstrikes
continue in some parts of Iraq, impacting Christian communities.
"The historic Christian communities in Iraq also face issues with persecution
and discrimination, particularly from Islamic militant groups and non-Christian
leaders. In places where they are the significant minority, like central and
southern Iraq, Christians often do not publicly display Christian symbols, as it
can lead to harassment or mistreatment at checkpoints, universities, workplaces
or governmental offices. Christians from both historic and newer denominations
can face discrimination from the government. Any outspoken Christian group can
also be accused of blasphemy if it is deemed it is sharing the gospel with
Muslims.
"Finally, anyone who converts from Islam will likely face intense pressure from
their families and communities. They can be threatened, abused, lose family
members, pressured or even killed. Conversion can have practical consequences as
well, including loss of inheritance and lack of opportunity."
The slow pace of rebuilding and persistent security concerns has rendered the
dream of returning home elusive for many.
Nate Breeding, Executive Director of the American Foundation for Relief and
Reconciliation in the Middle East ("American FRRME"), highlighted the challenges
in an interview with Gatestone:
"Iraqi Christians continue to flee to Jordan due to ongoing instability, threats
from extremist groups and a lack of security in their homeland. Even though ISIS
has been defeated, the violence, sectarian tensions and slow rebuilding efforts
have made it impossible for many to return. They have been forced to seek safety
elsewhere, uncertain if their communities will ever be secure again."
Despite it all, ten years later, the few surviving members of these ancient
Christian communities have demonstrated remarkable courage and fortitude, said
Breeding. They have held onto their faith, culture and heritage, even in the
midst of great hardship and displacement. Their stories of survival and the
ongoing efforts to rebuild their lives serve as a powerful source of
inspiration.
Hundreds of Iraqi refugees, for instance, recently came together at American
FRRME's Olive Tree Center in Madaba, Jordan, to mark the ten-year anniversary of
the Black Day. The gathering was a poignant tribute, featuring prayer,
traditional Iraqi dabke dancing, music and food. The commemoration event honored
and remembered families and friends who lost their lives or were displaced
during the ISIS invasion.
Saadallah, an elderly Iraqi refugee from Mosul, who attended the event, shared a
memory concerning the Black Day:
"We stayed in Mosul for 39 days under ISIS control because they initially
offered us safety. But then they declared that as Christians and People of the
Book, we were infidels. They demanded we either pay the jizya, convert to Islam
or face execution. This ultimatum forced us to flee Mosul in August 2014. Ten
years later, the memory of The Black Day remains a painful and haunting tragedy
for us. It still generates deep fear and anxiety about our future, which remains
uncertain and unknown."
Breeding went on to say:
"A decade after the horrors inflicted by ISIS, the deep scars left on these
communities remain ever-present. Many Iraqi refugees are still paralyzed by
fear, unable to return home. The critical shortage of funding and aid from other
NGOs, both in Jordan and Iraq, only deepens their suffering, leaving them
exposed and vulnerable in a region still plagued by violence and instability."
Despite some positive developments in Nineveh, the situation remains dire for
many, and the Christian community continues to face significant challenges,
including by remnants of ISIS — or perhaps merely ISIS-minded Muslims. Although
recent years have seen a reduction in reported violence against Christians, the
overall security situation remains unstable. While there is cautious optimism
about gradual improvements in safety and support for minority groups, ongoing
instability and persecution continue to create major obstacles for Iraq's
Christian community.
There is, however, a glimmer of hope amid the continued challenges, according to
Breeding. The resilience of the Iraqi Christian community and the ongoing
efforts of organizations like American FRRME offer a beacon of optimism, he
said, adding that, despite the ongoing difficulties, there are signs of progress
and recovery. He quoted Ban, a young Christian woman in her twenties when ISIS
invaded her hometown of Qaraqosh in 2014:
"On this 10th anniversary of The Black Day, I want to share a message of hope
and resilience with the world. Despite the immense challenges and hardships we
have faced, we have found strength in each other and in the support of
organizations and individuals who have stood by us. Our journey has been
difficult, but we have not lost our spirit or our sense of community... Since
the events of 2014, organizations like American FRRME have had a significant
impact on our lives. There are very few NGOs left that focus on our displacement
and who continue to provide assistance for Iraqi Refugees; but American FRRME is
still on the ground and actively helping."
This article is based on an interview Gatestone Institute conducted with
American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East and its
Iraqi Christian associates.
**Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West, Sword and Scimitar,
Crucified Again, and The Al Qaeda Reader, is the Distinguished Senior Shillman
Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the
Middle East Forum.
*Follow Raymond Ibrahim on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
**Picture Enclosed/On August 6, 2014, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
unleashed a jihadi massacre of unprecedented terror, brutally attacking ancient
Christian communities across northern Iraq. Villages were overrun, homes and
churches looted and destroyed, and countless lives shattered. Christians were
murdered, raped and sold into slavery. Pictured: The remains of a church that
was attacked by ISIS in Mosul, Iraq, photographed in 2018.
Today in History: The World’s Most ‘Consequential’ Battle (and ISIS’s
Inspiration)
Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/August 20, 2024
One thousand, three hundred and eighty-eight years ago today, the most
consequential battle in world history (but one you never heard about) took place
along the Yarmuk River in Syria.
Occurring just four years after the death of the Muslim prophet Muhammad in 632
AD, not only did this military engagement decide whether the Arabian creed would
thrive or die, but it became a chief source of inspiration and instruction for
jihadists throughout the centuries — right down to today’s Islamic State.
And yet, not only are very few in the West even aware the Battle of Yarmuk ever
took place, they have no idea how it motivates contemporary Islamic terrorists.
Threats and Counterthreats
The contestants were the Eastern Roman (or “Byzantine”) Empire under Emperor
Heraclius, and the newly born Arabian caliphate, under the second caliph, Omar.
After a couple of years of Muslim depredations in a then-Christian/Roman Syria,
the two forces met near the Yarmuk. The pre-battle exchange between the two
generals, the Roman-Armenian Vahan and Khalid bin al-Walid — Islam’s much
revered “Sword of Allah” — is instructive.
The Christian commander began by diplomatically blaming Arabia’s harsh
conditions and impoverished economy for giving the Arabs no choice but to raid
Roman lands. Accordingly, the Empire was pleased to provide them with food and
coin on condition that they return home.
“It was not hunger that brought us here,” Khalid coolly responded, “but we Arabs
are in the habit of drinking blood, and we are told the blood of the Romans is
the sweetest of its kind, so we came to shed your blood and drink it.”
Vahan’s diplomatic mask instantly dropped and he launched into a tirade against
the insolent Arab:
“So, we thought you came seeking what your brethren always sought [plunder,
extortion, or mercenary work]. But, alas, we were wrong. You came killing men,
enslaving women, plundering wealth, destroying buildings, and seeking to drive
us from our own lands.” Better people had tried to do the same but always ended
up defeated, added Vahan in reference to the recent Persian Wars, before
continuing:
As for you, there is no lower and more despicable people — wretched,
impoverished Bedouins. . . . You commit injustices in your own nation and now in
ours. . . . What havoc you have created! You ride horses not your own and wear
clothes not your own. You pleasure yourselves with the young white girls of Rome
and enslave them. You eat food not your own, and fill your hands with gold,
silver, and valuable goods [not your own]. Now we find you with all our
possessions and the plunder you took from our coreligionists — and we leave it
all to you, neither asking for its return nor rebuking you. All we ask is that
you leave our lands. But if you refuse, we will annihilate you!
The Sword of Allah was not impressed. He began reciting the Koran and quoting
one Muhammad. Vahan listened in quiet exasperation. Khalid proceeded to call on
the Christian general to proclaim the shahada — that “there is no god but Allah
and Muhammad is his messenger” — and thereby embrace Islam in exchange for
peace, adding,
You must also pray, pay zakat, perform hajj at the sacred house [in Mecca], wage
jihad against those who refuse Allah, … and befriend those who befriend Allah
and oppose those who oppose Allah [a reference to the divisive doctrine of al-wala’
wa al-bara’]. If you refuse, there can only be war between us. . . . And you
will face men who love death as you love life.
“Do what you like,” responded Vahan. “We will never forsake our [Christian]
religion or pay you jizya.”
Negotiations were over.
A Grotesque Surprise
Things came to a head — quite literally — when 8,000 marching Muslims appeared
before the Roman camp carrying the severed heads of 4,000 Christians atop their
spears. These were the remains of 5,000 reinforcements who had come from Amman
to join the Roman army at Yarmuk. The Muslims had ambushed and slaughtered them.
Then, as resounding cries of “Allahu akbar” filled the Muslim camp, those
Muslims standing behind the remaining 1,000 Christian captives shoved them down
and proceeded to carve off their heads before the eyes of their coreligionists,
whom Arabic sources describe as looking on in “utter bewilderment.”
So it would be war. On the eve of battle, “the Muslims spent the night in prayer
and recitation of the Quran,” writes historian A.I. Akram, “and reminded each
other of the two blessings that awaited them: either victory and life or
martyrdom and paradise.”
No such titillation awaited the Christians. They were fighting for life and
limb, for family and faith. Thus, during his pre-battle speech, Vahan explained
that “these Arabs who stand before you seek to . . . enslave your children and
women.”
Another general warned the men to fight hard or else the Arabs “shall conquer
your lands and ravish your women.” Such fears were not unwarranted. Even as the
Romans were kneeling in pre-battle prayer, Arab general Abu Sufyan was prancing
on his war steed, waving his spear, and exhorting the Muslims to “jihad in the
way of Allah,” so that they might seize the Christians’ “lands and cities, and
enslave their children and women.”
The battle took place over the course of six days. On the final day, August 20,
636, a dust storm — something Arabs were accustomed to, their opponents less so
— erupted and caused mass chaos, particularly for the Romans, whose large
infantry numbers proved counterproductive. Night fell. Then, in the words of
historian Antonio Santosuosso,
[T]he terrain echoed with the terrifying din of Muslim shouts and battle cries.
Shadows suddenly changed into blades that penetrated flesh. The wind brought the
cries of comrades as the enemy stealthily penetrated the ranks among the
infernal noise of cymbals, drums, and battle cries. It must have been even more
terrifying because they had not expected the Muslims to attack by dark.
Utter Defeat
Muslim cavalrymen continued pressing on the crowded and blinded Roman infantry,
using the hooves and knees of their steeds to knock down the wearied fighters.
Pushed finally to the edge of the ravine, rank after rank of the remaining
forces of the imperial army fell down the steep precipices to their death.
“The Byzantine army, which Heraclius had spent a year of immense exertion to
collect, had entirely ceased to exist,” writes British lieutenant-general and
historian John Bagot Glubb. “There was no withdrawal, no rearguard action, no
nucleus of survivors. There was nothing left.”
As the moon filled the night sky and the victors stripped the slain, cries of
“Allahu akbar!” and “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger!”
echoed throughout the Yarmuk valley, as narrated by one Arabian chronicler.
Mere decades after Yarmuk, Islam had conquered all ancient Christian lands
between Syria to the east and Morocco to the west — nearly 4,000 miles of land.
Put differently: Two-thirds of Christendom’s original, older, and wealthier
territory was permanently swallowed up by the scimitar of jihad. (Eventually,
and thanks to the later Turks, “Muslim armies conquered three-quarters of the
Christian world,” to quote historian Thomas Madden.)
But unlike the Germanic barbarians who had invaded and conquered Europe in the
preceding centuries only to assimilate into the religion, culture, and
civilization of Christianity and adopt its languages, especially Latin, the
Arabs imposed their creed and language onto the conquered peoples so that,
whereas the “Arabs” were once limited to the Arabian Peninsula, today the “Arab
world” consists of some 22 nations across the Middle East and North Africa, and
Islam is the religion of approximately 50 nations.
This would not be the case, and the world would have developed in a radically
different fashion, had the Eastern Roman Empire defeated the invaders and sent
them reeling back to Arabia. Little wonder that historians such as Francesco
Gabrieli insist that “the battle of the Yarmuk had, without doubt, more
important consequences than almost any other in all world history.”
Lasting Consequences
Moreover and as the alert reader may have noticed, the continuity between the
words and deeds of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (“ISIS”) and those of its
predecessors from nearly 1,400 years ago are uncomfortably similar. This, of
course, is intentional. When ISIS proclaims that “American blood is best and we
will taste it soon,” or “We love death as you love life,” or “We will break your
crosses and enslave your women” they are quoting verbatim — and thereby placing
themselves in the footsteps of — Khalid bin al-Walid and his companions, the
original Islamic conquerors of the Christian East.
Similarly, ISIS’s invocation of the houris, the celestial sex-slaves Islam
promises to martyrs, is based on several anecdotes of Muslims dying along the
Yarmuk River and being welcomed into paradise by these immortal concubines. So
too is the choreographed ritual slaughter of “infidels,” most infamously of 21
Coptic Christians on the shores of Libya, patterned after the ritual slaughter
of the aforementioned 1,000 captured Roman soldiers on the eve of battle.
The Battle of Yarmuk serves as an important reminder that, when it comes to
history — especially the history of Islam and the West — the lessons imparted
are far from academic and have relevance to this day.
Note: The above account was adapted from Raymond Ibrahim’s Sword and Scimitar:
Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West. For a more detailed
exposition, see his Master’s thesis, written over twenty years ago under the
chairmanship of noted military historian Victor Davis Hanson.
Is the US losing its grip on the Middle East? - opinion
DANIELLE DOTAN/Jerusalem Post/August 21/2024
While Israel and Iran play a high-stakes game of "who will blink first," the
real loser in this nerve-racking standoff might just be the United States.
For years, the US has worn the mantle of global peacekeeper and order enforcer.
This belief has been so deeply ingrained in the American political narrative
that it repeatedly propelled the US military into wars that had little to do
with America itself, let alone any direct impact on the nation.
The most memorable of these is the ill-fated Vietnam War, which stretched over
20 years, from 1955 to 1975. It pitted communist North Vietnam, backed by the
Soviet Union and China, against South Vietnam and the United States.
Driven by a hysterical fear of communist expansion in Southeast Asia, the US
entered a war that wasn’t its own, losing an unimaginable number of soldiers—no
fewer than 58,220. After two decades of brutal fighting and growing public
opposition, the US finally agreed to withdraw all its forces. Later that same
year, Congress went a step further, banning all American military operations in
Indochina.
Going back 38 years before that to 1917, when the US was dragged into World War
I. This time, the outcome was different: the US emerged victorious after
entering the conflict three years after it had begun The pattern repeated itself
over the years, with the US intervening in numerous other wars and conflicts,
including the First Gulf War in 1990, following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and
the Iraq War in 2003, aimed at toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime, which
ultimately led to an enduring insurgency.
This is American power at work—one of the defining traits that have positioned
the US as the world’s superpower responsible for maintaining global order or, at
the very least, minimizing damage. When tensions between nations escalate, the
US typically steps in, rolls up its sleeves, intervenes quickly, and tries to
exit just as fast, with minimal losses. And it excels at this—perhaps better
than any other nation. But what happens when there’s a "pseudo-war," like the
current situation between Iran and Israel? What is the US supposed to do when
there’s a prolonged, ominous tension, yet no one pulls the trigger? This limbo
leaves the US with no clear avenue for intervention to assert its dominance.
Worse still, it suggests that Washington may no longer be the decisive power it
once was in the Middle East.
The critical question is: Is the US losing its grip on the Middle East?
Last month, on July 31, mere hours after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was
reportedly killed in an Israeli operation in Tehran, US Secretary of State
Antony J. Blinken admitted that the US had neither been involved nor aware of
the operation beforehand.
This statement, to many, symbolized a loss of control over the increasingly
complex and volatile relationship between Iran and Israel. It raised serious
questions about the political, economic, and security ramifications of this
reality. When Israel acts independently, without coordination or prior notice to
Washington, it is a sign that the dynamics have shifted. American foreign
policy, once grounded in influence and diplomacy, now appears weaker—encouraging
other regional players to act autonomously and destabilize the political
landscape. Above all, this might signal a clear erosion of the US's diplomatic
standing as the primary broker in critical geopolitical conflicts.
The recent developments also raise doubts about the reliability of the
intelligence the US receives from its allies, particularly Israel, despite the
strong and enduring ties between the two nations.
Economic and Security Implications of America's Waning Influence in the Middle
East
The potential loss of US control over the critical Israel-Iran conflict could
have dramatic consequences for the global economy, especially in energy markets.
Recent events highlight the importance of political stability in the region,
which directly impacts energy prices, stock markets, and the global economy.
On the security front, Israel’s push for autonomy in its military actions in the
Middle East presents significant challenges for the US It may find itself facing
an unexpected escalation or a full-scale conflict between the two nations.
The volatile security situation in the Middle East also forces the US to protect
its strategic interests in the region. Should Iran respond more aggressively to
Israeli military operations, the US could find itself compelled to intervene
militarily or diplomatically to prevent a broader conflict.
These economic and security implications underscore the urgent need for the US
to develop new diplomatic and security strategies to maintain its influence and
regional stability. Such strategies must be tailored to the "Balance of horror"
scenario—before an all-out war erupts.
This Balance of horror is a novel, unfamiliar situation. It pushes tensions to
their peak, wearing down nations, citizens, businesses, and markets. And it has
already lasted far too long. The American solution in this scenario will be
strategically and diplomatically complex— no easy fix. But one thing is for
sure: it will equip the US with additional and more flexible tools in its
intervention strategy, tools that can be used in the future for various
intermediate scenarios, balancing between uneasy peace and explosive conflict.
So maybe it's time for the decision-makers in the American government to act
according to the quantum theory principles and "open" the door of the box (The
Middle East) in order to determine the final state of the cat (represents Israel
and Iran)?!
Gaza, Washington, and the Details of the Ceasefire
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/August 21/2024
It is a cliche that the devil is in the details. It seems that the devil in the
details of the Gaza ceasefire deal poses more of a challenge than Hamas and the
mediators had anticipated. At the time of writing, no agreement has been
concluded, nor have there even been signs that a deal is imminent. In fact,
recent statements could complicate the situation further. Netanyahu announced
that Israel “will not, under any circumstances, leave the Philadelphi Corridor
and the Netzarim Axis despite the enormous pressure it is under to do so,”
adding, according to the Jerusalem Post, that “these are strategic assets, both
military and political."Netanyahu also said that he was “not sure there will be
an agreement.” Additionally, US President Joe Biden said that a settlement is
“still in play, but you can’t predict,” adding that “Israel says they can work
it out ... Hamas is now backing away.”
Of course, Hamas responded: "We followed with great astonishment and disapproval
the statements issued by US President Joe Biden... these claims are misleading
and (we consider them to be) “a renewed green light for the Israeli extremist
government to commit more crimes against defenseless civilians.”So, is anything
about these developments surprising? Certainly not. Some might claim that these
statements could be signs that an agreement will emerge soon. That could turn
out to be true, but it is clear that Netanyahu sees no benefit in reaching an
agreement at this time, before the US presidential elections.The only real
pressure on Netanyahu is coming from the families of the Israeli detainees. All
the other pressure is on Hamas and the other factions, and before them, Iran and
Hezbollah. Netanyahu has no interest, for example, in easing the pressure on
Iran, which is being “choked” by the rope of “retaliation” for Ismail Haniyeh’s
assassination in Tehran. In fact, Iranian retaliation would serve Netanyahu's
interests, as Joe Biden cannot condemn Netanyahu in support of Iran, especially
not this election cycle.
Thus, President Biden believes that it is easier to criticize Hamas and accuse
it of “backing away” than to criticize Israel or Netanyahu. Hamas has no real
influential support in this election season, unlike Israel, and Netanyahu is
well aware of that. Accordingly, making concessions or concluding a truce
does not serve Netanyahu's interests at this time. He has control of the
battlefield, and Gaza has been destroyed. Nothing is left of it but the trenches
where Netanyahu’s arch-enemy Yahya Sinwar is hiding. The longer the war and
siege continue, the less leverage Hamas has.
On Hezbollah, Netanyahu has no interest in concluding a truce that could extend
to Lebanon, where he has been eliminating the party's leaders, one day after the
other, at an accelerating pace. Not a day goes by without Israeli assassinations
or airstrikes.Moreover, Netanyahu has no interest in concluding an agreement
that would force him to address the question of the day after in Gaza, which
will involve making concessions and deals. Netanyahu undoubtedly prefers to
strike such a deal after there is a change in the White House, rather than with
the outgoing president. This is the devil in the details of Gaza. Those who want
to defeat this devil must come up with a “devilish” plan that puts Netanyahu in
a difficult position, not just raise slogans.
Iran appears to be restraining its proxies — for now
Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/August 21, 2024
As Lebanese of all religious and sectarian denominations in this fractured
nation remember with dread, the last war between Hezbollah and Israeli forces
took place in July and August 2006. It is ironic that they now find themselves
close to a new full-blown conflict between the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia and
Israel. Tensions have been simmering dangerously, waiting to explode into yet
another all-out war following more than 10 months of serious cross-border
attacks, special operations, drone strikes and targeted killings and
assassinations, all triggered by the Gaza war.
However, despite the overwhelming number of indicators pointing toward a new
direct and widespread conflict, I am minded to believe that Hezbollah’s
calculations and those of its paymasters in the Iranian government are to
preserve the group’s infrastructure and forces as a more useful card for future
negotiations or as a deterrent. It would prefer to live to fight another day.
Though the assassinations of Fouad Shukr of Hezbollah and Hamas political leader
Ismail Haniyeh on successive days at the end of last month dealt Iran and its
so-called axis of resistance a severe double blow, both operationally and
reputationally, large-scale retaliatory strikes against Israel are likely to
come at a price Iran does not seem ready to pay at this moment.
The heightened threats and counter-threats — like Hezbollah’s recent display of
one of its supposedly secret tunnels in Lebanon, the US military buildup and
aircraft carrier strike group being rushed to the Mediterranean as a deterrent,
and the Iranian military’s posturing and promises to retaliate — might be the
only game in town. It also seems that the tit-for-tat strikes, which are largely
restricted to the confines of the Lebanese-Israeli border, continue to be
tolerated.
It has recently been feared that the regular exchanges of fire with Israel would
escalate into an all-out war that would pulverize large parts of Lebanon, as
repeatedly promised by the Israeli leadership. This could prove catastrophic for
a country suffering from a void in its political leadership, an economic
meltdown since 2019 and a society that is, to a large extent, surviving on the
bare minimum of international handouts, supplemented by expatriates’ remittances
to families and friends. While a large part of the country holds Hezbollah and
its Iran-induced political choices responsible for the miserable fate of
Lebanon, many are certain the country will not be able to withstand a
destructive Israeli war similar to its assault on Gaza.
When asked about the likelihood of an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel,
many Lebanese often shrug their shoulders and ask: when was there peace in the
first place? For them, it is evident that Lebanon is already at war.
Cross-border violence since Oct. 7 has killed 585 people in Lebanon, including
at least 128 civilians, according to an AFP tally. It has also displaced more
than 100,000 Lebanese from areas close to the southern border with Israel. On
the Israeli side, including the occupied Golan Heights, 23 soldiers and 26
civilians have been killed, according to army figures, in addition to a similar
number of Israelis being displaced from their homes in northern Israel.
No one doubts that Lebanon, like the region as a whole, is a tinderbox waiting
to ignite. But several factors continue to indicate that both Israel and Iran
are guarded against throwing their weight into an all-out war that would
threaten them both existentially.
Israel, which continues to assert its superior weaponry, intelligence gathering
and operational reach, is aware that its limited territorial depth could make
defending its airspace for an extended period of time hazardous. It could suffer
in the face of a conventional, low-tech, coordinated and multifront axis of
resistance attack from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
On the other side, Hezbollah, like other Iran-backed militias, would be unlikely
to act alone and drive an agenda that backfires on its financier and patron. For
decades, Iran’s doctrine has favored pushing insecurity away from its borders by
fighting its adversaries and enemies asymmetrically, often in a deniable
fashion, and avoiding at all costs the lighting of fires on its own territory.
Many experts agree that recent attacks have exposed Iran’s nonexistent air
cover, even around strategic installations such as its heavily guarded nuclear
program sites. For example, Tel Aviv struck air defense batteries deep into
central Iran in response to Tehran’s April 13 drone and missile attack on
Israeli territory. Iranian territories have subsequently been in the crosshairs
of Israeli weaponry, which is uncomfortable for Tehran. What is most important
for Iran is its absolute fear of the fragile legitimacy of its theocratic regime
being shaken domestically. The 2022-23 protests against the imposition of the
veil on women and the subsequent heavy-handed approach to suffocating them have
not been forgotten by a large section of the population, who have suffered from
decades of sanctions, perennially poor economic performance, dwindling public
services and widespread corruption. Any direct attacks on Iran proper could
further expose that fragility — a risk that the regime is not willing to take.
Large-scale retaliatory strikes against Israel are likely to come at a price
Iran does not seem ready to pay.
Despite its efforts to present itself as a group defending Lebanese interests,
Hezbollah’s leadership never shies away from reminding everyone that its forces
are a mere division or a brigade fighting under the Iranian supreme leader’s
orders. And recent events in Gaza have further exposed those links to Tehran,
through the “unity of fronts” in support of the Strip. I still believe, however,
that the wider war has not yet exploded because Tehran continues to hold tightly
the reins of the horses that are pulling the chariot of its interests in the
region. Those horses are the Iran-backed militias in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and
Yemen, as described by Andrew Tabler, a former director for Syria at the US
National Security Council’s Middle East Affairs Directorate. Iran definitely
holds the reins and its allies categorically dance to its tune, whether they
like it or not. And the music coming out of Tehran today is signaling restraint
and survival in the hope of fighting another day. Maybe.
*Mohamed Chebaro is a British Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years of
experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy. He
is also a media consultant and trainer.
Time to recognize that few Israelis want a two-state
solution
Kerry Boyd Anderson/Arab News/August 21, 2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his ninth trip to the Middle East
since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. While his immediate focus is on
achieving a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and preventing a broader regional
escalation, Blinken and the Biden administration that he represents continue to
insist that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is possible
and desirable. However, America’s calls for progress toward a two-state solution
continue to hit obstacles, including the reality that the idea no longer has
much support in Israel.
Support for a two-state solution among the Israeli public has been in decline
for years and it was further eroded by the Oct. 7 attack. Polling by the Pew
Research Center found that, in spring 2023, only 35 percent of Israelis believed
that it was possible for an Israeli state and a Palestinian state to “coexist
peacefully.” In the spring of this year, that number had dropped to 26 percent.
Even more notably, this year, only 19 percent of Jewish Israelis said they
believed such coexistence was possible, compared to 49 percent of Palestinian
citizens of Israel.
Gallup polling from 2012 and 2023 — the latter conducted shortly after the Oct.
7 attack — asked Israelis: “Would you support or not support a situation in
which an independent Palestinian State existed alongside an independent State of
Israel?” In 2012, 61 percent of Israelis said they would support that, but in
2023 support had dropped to 25 percent. In 2023, in fact, 65 percent of Israelis
said that they would oppose a Palestinian state existing next to Israel.
Similarly, a survey by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 63 percent of
Jewish Israelis do not support the idea of an independent (though demilitarized)
Palestinian state. Such polls have found differences along political,
ideological and religious lines, as well as the divide between Jewish and
Palestinian citizens. Polls have consistently found that Israelis who identify
with more left-wing politics are more likely to support a two-state approach,
while centrists are significantly less likely to support it and right-wing
Israelis tend to strongly oppose the idea.
Among Jewish Israelis, secular Israelis are more likely than religious Israelis
to remain open to a Palestinian state. These differences are important, but
left-wing Israelis have lost much of their influence and centrist and right-wing
viewpoints are more likely to hold sway in current Israeli politics.
Furthermore, even among left-wing Israelis, support for a two-state approach has
weakened.
Public opinion is reflected in political leaders’ decisions and they have made
it clear that there is strong opposition to and little support for the idea of a
Palestinian state. In July, the Knesset voted 68 to nine to pass a resolution
that “firmly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state west of Jordan.”
The resolution also stated: “The establishment of a Palestinian state in the
heart of the Land of Israel will pose an existential danger to the State of
Israel and its citizens.”
Right-wing parties, including in the ruling coalition, sponsored the resolution.
The centrist National Unity party led by Benny Gantz, who some Western countries
hope might provide a counterweight to right-wing leaders, voted for it.
Importantly, the center-left Yesh Atid party (led by opposition leader Yair
Lapid) and the Labor Party chose not to vote, thus avoiding taking a stand on
the issue. The only votes against the resolution came from Arab-majority
parties. When even Israel’s more left-wing parties refuse to vote against such a
statement, it is a clear sign that there is no serious political support for a
two-state solution left in Israel. Furthermore, the Israeli leaders who are
currently in power publicly reject a two-state solution and the idea of a viable
Palestinian state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel
Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Heritage Minister
Amichai Eliyahu all openly oppose a Palestinian state. Defense Minister Yoav
Gallant is more cautious in his public statements, but his long-standing support
for Israeli settlement in the West Bank and other aspects of his record clearly
suggest that he would not support the creation of an independent Palestinian
state.
Support for a two-state solution among the Israeli public has been in decline
for years and it was further eroded by Oct. 7.
Looking over the history of the Oslo Accords and various efforts to move toward
a two-state solution, one might reasonably question whether there was ever
serious Israeli support for creating a Palestinian state. There was a time —
especially between 2007 and 2012 — when a majority of Israelis said that they
supported the idea. Some Israeli leaders believed that they had worked hard to
negotiate with the Palestinians. However, while many Israelis supported the
idea, few of their leaders were ever willing to make the compromises that might
have led to a viable two-state solution. At the same time, other leaders, such
as Netanyahu, actively worked to undermine any efforts toward peace or a
Palestinian state.
Of course, it is important to also consider polling on Palestinian attitudes
toward a two-state solution and the steps that Palestinian leaders have or have
not taken in pursuit of peace. Nonetheless, Israel has always been by far the
more powerful party in the conflict and thus the future of a two-state solution
heavily depends on Israeli leaders and Israeli voters.
The reality is that few Israelis today want a two-state solution or believe it
is possible. Even fewer would be willing to spend political capital in a
good-faith effort to achieve it. The Biden administration and other interested
parties should recognize and adapt to that reality rather than trying to wish it
away.
*Kerry Boyd Anderson is a writer and political risk consultant with more than 18
years of experience as a professional analyst of international security issues
and Middle East political and business risk. Her previous positions include
deputy director for advisory with Oxford Analytica. X: @KBAresearch
Crisis at the Philadelphi Corridor
Alissar Boulos/This is Beirut/August 21/2024
Negotiations for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel appear to have broken
down. One of the reasons being the tight control over the Philadelphi Corridor.
This buffer zone lies between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, and its control was
taken over (from Egypt) by the Israelis last May. On Sunday, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the Israeli army would remain in the
Philadelphi corridor. Hamas and Egypt insist on an Israeli withdrawal from this
border zone.
What is the Philadelphi Corridor?
This corridor is a strip of land 14km long and 100 meters wide along the border
between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, extending from the Mediterranean to the Karm
Abou Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing point. The corridor includes the Rafah
crossing to Egypt — the only outlet from the strip not controlled by Israel —
and divides the city of Rafah into two: the Palestinian side and the Egyptian
side. This designation originated in 1979 with the Camp David Peace Accords
between Egypt and Israel. While the Sinai was returned to Egypt, the goal of the
corridor was to serve as a buffer zone and was placed under Israeli control at
the time to guard against any attack or arms flow to Gaza. In 2005, control of
this corridor passed to Cairo when Tel Aviv decided to withdraw its troops from
Gaza. Egypt was then authorized by the “Philadelphi Agreement,” and for the
first time since the peace treaty, to deploy 750 lightly armed border guards. It
also committed to collaborating against any arms trafficking at its border,
while the other side was controlled by the Palestinian Authority. This was
without counting the rise to power of Hamas in Gaza in 2007. The Philadelphi
Agreement stipulates that it does not constitute amendments to the peace treaty
with Israel, meaning the Philadelphi Corridor and East Sinai (adjacent to the
Gulf of Aqaba and the border with Gaza) remain demilitarized zones.
Egypt’s Position
In January, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Hamas was
continuing to smuggle weapons and that the war would not end until this breach
was closed. On December 30, 2023, he also stated his intention to take control
of this strip of land. In the past, in 2008, at the start of the blockade
imposed by Israel on Gaza after Hamas took power, thousands of people crossed
into Egypt after Hamas destroyed the border wall. According to the AP agency,
Israel officially asked Egypt in mid-December to deploy its forces in the
corridor. Egypt refused, fearing that a ground operation in the region would
bring thousands of Palestinians into Sinai. Since the beginning of the war,
Egypt has strongly opposed calls for a Palestinian exodus, fearing they will not
return home once the war is over, just like the refugees from 1948 who are still
in various host countries.
Strategic Stakes
For Egypt, the corridor represents control of the Rafah crossing point, giving
it considerable influence in Palestinian affairs. The creation of a new Israeli
presence along the border between Gaza and Egypt would have repercussions for
the country’s security. The dispute is also an important issue for Israel.
Netanyahu wants to reassure his fellow citizens, who are increasingly critical
of his handling of the war and the hostage fiasco. What is certain, however, is
that a prolonged occupation by the Hebrew state of this buffer zone does not
look good for peace negotiations. Could it also be a prelude to an amendment of
the Camp David agreement between Egypt and Israel?