English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For August 29/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
King Herod, Herodias’s Daughter & The Beheading Of John The
Baptist
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark
06/14-29/:”King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some were
saying, ‘John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason
these powers are at work in him.’But others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others
said, ‘It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’But when Herod heard of
it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’For Herod himself had sent
men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias,
his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod had married her. For John had been
telling Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’And
Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not,
for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he
protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to
listen to him. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet
for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee. When his daughter
Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said
to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it.’ And he solemnly
swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my
kingdom.’She went out and said to her mother, ‘What should I ask for?’ She
replied, ‘The head of John the baptizer.’Immediately she rushed back to the king
and requested, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a
platter.’The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for
the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent a soldier
of the guard with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the
prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl
gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his
body, and laid it in a tomb.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on August 28-29/2024
UN Security Council renews peacekeeping
force in Lebanon
Lebanese Foreign Ministry praises UN Security Council for renewing UNIFIL
mandate
Lebanon's PM Mikati acknowledges global support and reaffirms commitment to
Resolution 1701 following UNIFIL mandate renewal
Severe phosphorus inhalation case in Khiam, South Lebanon: Health Ministry
Hope for Lebanon's healthcare: Hospitals see budget increase as Health Ministry
aims for recovery
Hezbollah targets Israeli troops in response to attacks deep inside Lebanon
Israeli Drone Strike Kills Four, Including Islamic Jihad Official
Tensions Intensify in Lebanon as Israel Targets South and Bekaa Regions
The Blue Line: A Withdrawal Line, Not a Border
Hezbollah still in shock, assessing damage from Israel's pre-emptive strike -
IDF Col.
UN demands halt to escalating attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces
FPM: Kanaan Chose to Resign Through the Media
‘Scorched Earth’, Israel’s War on Lebanon’s Environment
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on August 28-29/2024
US places sanctions on Israeli
nonprofit, settler official over West Bank violence
Rescued Israeli pleads for hostage deal with Hamas
Israeli military says it failed to protect civilians in settler attack on
Palestinians
Palestinian officials say Israeli raids across occupied West Bank have killed 9
Israeli forces launch strikes across Gaza, push tanks into central Khan Younis
WFP suspends Gaza movement after vehicle fired on
Gaza teen amputee recalls nightmare of losing arms in Israeli strike
A US Navy carrier strike group and a few other warships fired $1.16 billion in
weapons battling the Houthis in the Red Sea
Iran says Houthis agree to truce so tugboats can reach damaged oil tanker
Houthis: We did not agree to a temporary truce; we only allowed towing of
Sounion tanker
Yemen's Houthis will let salvage crews access oil tanker they set ablaze in Red
Sea
Palestinian officials say Israeli raids across occupied West Bank have killed 9
Iran operated fake human-resources firm to root out unfriendly spies,
researchers say
FBI: Gunman spent months seeking a target, then settled on Trump
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on August 28-29/2024
Christians must counteract antisemitism with acts of solidarity/Avery Chenault/Jerusalem
Post/August 28/2024
Walking a fine line between persuasion and reporting in political media/Yisraeh
Medad/Jerusalem Post/August 28/2024
Islamist delusions: Hidden truths behind the Arab-Israeli conflict/Mohamed Saad/Jerusalem
Post/August 27/2024
Iran's War Against Israel - From the West Bank/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/August 28, 2024
Two sworn enemies hold the key to ending the war in Gaza. Does either man want a
deal?/Joseph Krauss/The Associated Press/August 28, 2024
Russians are waking up to Putin’s Ukraine folly/Ilan Berman, opinion
contributor/The Hill/August 28, 2024
Who’s to Blame? Historic American Church Transformed into a Mosque/Raymond
Ibrahim/The Stream/August 28/2024
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on August 28-29/2024
UN Security Council renews peacekeeping force in Lebanon
Michelle Nichols/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters)/ August 28, 2024
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday unanimously voted to extend a
long-running peacekeeping mission in Lebanon for another year, but Israel's ally
the United States said changes should be made to the operation's mandate in the
future. The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) - established in 1978 -
patrols Lebanon's southern border with Israel. The mandate for the operation is
renewed annually, and its current authorization was due to expire on Saturday.
"Today's unanimous vote is proof of the international community's interest in
Lebanon," Lebanon's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Hadi Hachem told the council. "It is
a clear message from your honorable council in favor of stability and a
ceasefire. It is a gesture of hope for all Lebanese who reject war, violence and
destruction, the Lebanese who want to give peace a chance," he said. The vote by
the 15-member Security Council came just days after the Lebanese militant group
Hezbollah and the Israeli military engaged in one of the most intense exchanges
of fire between them over the last 10 months amid fears that Israel's war in
Gaza would become a wider regional conflict. Speaking to reporters before the
vote, Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters on Wednesday: "I have
a message for the Lebanese people: You and your government have a choice to
make. Confront Hezbollah today, or watch as your country is dragged into chaos
and destruction. "Do not let Hezbollah and Iran dictate your future. If you fail
to act, the devastation that follows will be on your hands. Israel does not seek
war, but as we demonstrated this week, we will not hesitate to defend our
people," Danon said. UNIFIL's mandate was expanded in 2006 - when the council
adopted resolution 1701 following a monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah -
to allow peacekeepers to help the Lebanese army keep parts of the south free of
weapons or armed personnel other than those of the Lebanese state. That has
sparked friction with Hezbollah, which effectively controls southern Lebanon
despite the presence of the Lebanese army. Hezbollah is a heavily armed party
that is Lebanon's most powerful political force. "Extending UNIFIL's mandate,
which this resolution does, supports our goal of regional de-escalation, which
is now more important than ever," Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood
told the council. "Going forward, we need to address the ways in which Hezbollah
and other malign actors in Lebanon prevent the full implementation of Resolution
1701, constrain UNIFIL's ability to operate freely and threaten U.N.
peacekeepers, safety and security," he said.
Lebanese Foreign Ministry praises UN Security Council
for renewing UNIFIL mandate
LBCI/August 28, 2024
Lebanon's Foreign Ministry expressed "deep gratitude" to the United Nations
Security Council after voting to extend the United Nations Interim Force mandate
in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another year. In a statement, the ministry specifically
thanked France. It also thanked Algeria, a non-permanent council member, for
their active involvement in the extension process. The ministry also extended
its appreciation to all other member states that supported the extension,
emphasizing the importance of UNIFIL's presence in southern Lebanon, especially
given the current regional instability. Reaffirming Lebanon's commitment to
supporting UNIFIL, the ministry underscored its dedication to ongoing
cooperation and coordination with the peacekeeping force. The ministry
highlighted that the foundation for lasting stability on Lebanon's southern
border is the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701,
along with other relevant international resolutions. These resolutions call for
the preservation of Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, demand
Israel's withdrawal to internationally recognized borders, and insist on an end
to ongoing Israeli violations of Lebanese territory.
Lebanon's PM Mikati acknowledges global support and
reaffirms commitment to Resolution 1701 following UNIFIL mandate renewal
LBCI/August 28, 2024
On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved the
renewal of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mandate for
another year. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati emphasized that extending
UNIFIL's mandate is crucial for maintaining stability in southern Lebanon and
expressed gratitude for the ongoing support and cooperation from the Security
Council. Mikati reaffirmed Lebanon's commitment to working closely with UNIFIL
to address the challenges and threats to stability in the south. He also
reiterated Lebanon's commitment to implementing relevant international
resolutions, including Resolution 1701. In his statement, Mikati expressed
Lebanon's profound gratitude to the Security Council members for their dedicated
efforts in renewing UNIFIL's mandate. He acknowledged France's crucial role in
achieving consensus and its ongoing support for Lebanon's stability. Mikati also
thanked the United States for understanding Lebanon's unique situation and
supporting UNIFIL's mandate during this critical time. He appreciated the
friendly and allied countries supporting the extension, especially Algeria, for
leading the campaign and consistently standing by Lebanon. He concluded by
thanking all Security Council members who voted in favor of the extension. He
added: "We must also extend our appreciation to Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou
Habib for his efforts in securing this decision in line with Lebanon's highest
interests."
Severe phosphorus inhalation case in Khiam, South Lebanon:
Health Ministry
LBCI/August 28, 2024
The Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Health Ministry reported on
Wednesday that Israeli artillery shelling with phosphorous bombs on the town of
Khiam in South Lebanon resulted in one citizen suffering from asphyxiation. The
injured individual was treated in the emergency department at the Marjayoun
Governmental Hospital.
Hope for Lebanon's healthcare: Hospitals see budget
increase as Health Ministry aims for recovery
LBCI/August 28, 2024
Lebanon's healthcare system has faced severe challenges during the ongoing
economic crisis, leaving many patients struggling to receive necessary medical
care. Patients relying on the Health Ministry have been particularly affected,
with hospitals often demanding cash payments to cover the difference between
what the ministry pays in Lebanese lira and the actual cost of procedures. In
some cases, hospitals refused to provide essential medical supplies like stents
unless patients paid in cash. These were undoubtedly difficult times for both
patients and hospitals. However, there may be a glimmer of hope on the
horizon. The Health Ministry is working to restore hospital services for
patients covered by the ministry, who make up 70% of the Lebanese population.
This effort comes with an increased budget for the ministry, which now stands at
$370 million, with $200 million allocated specifically for hospitals. As a
result, the ministry has raised the spending caps for hospitals that treat
ministry patients, allowing them to accept more patients and expand healthcare
coverage. Some hospitals have already used up their allotted funds due to the
high number of ministry patients they have treated, and their caps will be
increased accordingly. Others have not been as active in treating ministry
patients, using their funds for other purposes. In response to the crisis, the
ministry had previously reduced the number of surgeries it would cover from
3,200 to 122, focusing only on emergency operations. Now, they plan to add 50
more procedures to the list. Additionally, services such as coronary stents
provision, which had been discontinued, are being reinstated. A pivotal step to
encourage doctors who left the country to return is the ministry's decision to
restore the pre-crisis payment rates for doctors treating ministry patients. The
ministry is also working on 25 projects to expand sections of public hospitals.
Moreover, a partnership between some public hospitals and major private
hospitals is expected to be announced soon. While there is still a long way to
go, these steps suggest that Lebanon's healthcare sector is on the road to
recovery, with hopes of returning to its pre-crisis state, if not better.
Hezbollah targets Israeli troops in response to attacks
deep inside Lebanon
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/August 28, 2024
BEIRUT: Hezbollah said it launched an “aerial attack with an assault drone on
the newly established headquarters of the Israeli army’s Western Brigade south
of the Ya’ara settlement” on Wednesday that “accurately struck the positions of
officers and soldiers.” The group said the assault was a response to an “Israeli
attack on Tuesday night against a truck on the Baalbek-Homs international road.”
The truck was reportedly loaded with ammunition and military logistical
equipment. One person was “slightly injured” in that attack, the Ministry of
Health’s Emergency Center said. A security source said the vehicle was part of a
three-truck convoy but only one was hit by the strike, adding: “The truck caught
fire and explosions were heard coming from it.” Hezbollah imposed a security
cordon around the scene of the attack and prevented residents from approaching.
Many people living nearby left the area temporarily out of fear for their
safety. Less than 10 hours before the attack on the truck, Hezbollah member
Mohammed Hassan Taha, from the city of Baalbek, and three Palestinian members of
the Islamic Jihad movement were killed by Israeli forces in a combat-drone
strike on their vehicle while they were traveling from Syria to Lebanon. The
incident happened on the Damascus-to-Beirut road at a checkpoint near Al-Zabadani
junction. The Israeli army said it “struck Hezbollah targets deep inside
Lebanon.” Reconnaissance aircraft and combat drones remain active around the
clock each day, hunting for Hezbollah members. The drone attack that killed Taha
was at least the third Israeli assassination of its kind in the area in the past
two months. Previous targets have included Yasser Qarnabesh, a former assistant
to Hezbollah’s secretary-general, and Syrian businessman Baraa Al-Qaterji.
Further evidence on Wednesday of escalating tensions included at least four
Israeli airstrikes that targeted areas on the outskirts of Toumat Niha in
Western Bekaa, and the launch of rockets toward the Lebanese border town of
Aitaroun. Another town close to the border, Markaba, was reportedly hit by
phosphorus bombs. Israeli shelling also caused fires in olive groves and other
agricultural areas in Al-Jabeen and the Tair Harfa triangle. Lebanese Civil
Defense teams fought the blazes with support from the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Eleven months of Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon have left dozens of
front-line towns scorched, entire neighborhoods razed, more than 110,000
residents displaced, and farmers unable to tend their lands. Health Ministry
figures indicate that the death toll in Lebanon during the conflict between
Israeli forces and Hezbollah is at least 564, mostly Hezbollah leaders and
members, and 1,848 people have been wounded. On the Israeli side, 24 soldiers
and 26 civilians have been killed and hundreds of people injured, according to
media reports.
Israeli Drone Strike Kills Four, Including Islamic Jihad
Official
This Is Beirut/August 28/2024
An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle on Wednesday on the Damascus-Beirut
road near the Zabadani Bridge, close to the Syrian-Lebanese border, resulting in
the deaths of four individuals, including Firas Qassam, the head of operations
for the Islamic Jihad movement. The deceased include three Palestinian members
of the Islamic Jihad movement and a Hezbollah fighter. Among them was Mohammed
Hassan Taha from Baalbeck, Lebanon. Hezbollah has since confirmed Taha’s death
and mourned his loss. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee confirmed
that the strike successfully targeted Firas Qassam. Adraee stated that Qassam
was pivotal in developing operational plans for Islamic Jihad in Syria and
Lebanon and played a key role in recruiting Palestinian fighters for Hezbollah
to carry out operations against Israeli targets. Adraee added that the strike
occurred as “Islamic Jihad operatives were on their way from Syria to Lebanon to
carry out operations on behalf of Hezbollah.”
Tensions Intensify in Lebanon as Israel Targets South and
Bekaa Regions
This Is Beirut/August 28/2024
The security situation in Lebanon deteriorated on Wednesday following a series
of Israeli airstrikes that resulted in several deaths and injuries. An Israeli
drone strike targeted a vehicle on Wednesday afternoon on the Syrian-Beirut
border near the Zabadani Bridge.
The attack resulted in the deaths of four individuals, including Firas Qassam,
head of operations for the Islamic Jihad movement, three Palestinian members of
Islamic Jihad, and a Hezbollah fighter named Mohammed Hassan Taha from
Baalbek.Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee confirmed that Qassam was a
key figure in operational planning for Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. Earlier in
the day, Israeli forces conducted multiple attacks across southern Lebanon. This
included artillery shelling and airstrikes targeting the towns of Khiam,
Aitaroun, Odeisseh, and Markaba. Furthermore, phosphorus shelling resulted in a
citizen suffering from suffocation, who was treated later at the Marjayoun
Governmental Hospital. Additionally, shelling from Israeli positions caused
fires in olive groves and large agricultural areas. In response to the earlier
Israeli airstrikes, Hezbollah struck the new headquarters of the Western Brigade
south of Yarra, targeting positions and officers. Hezbollah also struck the
Ruweiset al-Alam position in the Kfarchouba hills and the Bayad Blida site, both
with missile weapons.
Wednesday morning was marked by an Israeli drone strike on the Baalbek-Homs
international road, targeting a pickup truck carrying military equipment. The
strike resulted in explosions from the truck’s ammunition, causing temporary
displacement of local families and setting up a security cordon in the area. The
Ministry of Public Health’s Emergency Operations Center reported one person with
minor injuries.
The Blue Line: A Withdrawal Line, Not a Border
Sana Richa Choucair/This Is Beirut/August 28/2024
Since the outbreak of armed conflict in South Lebanon on October 8 between
Hezbollah and Israel, the Blue Line has been a topic of constant discussion.
There is a common misconception that this line represents the border between
Lebanon and Israel. What exactly is the Blue Line? On October 8, 2023, Hezbollah
established a “support front” in southern Lebanon for Hamas in its conflict with
Israel, which had erupted the day before. Since then, various international and
local key players, including the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),
have called for a cessation of hostilities on both sides of the Blue Line and
for the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701. There is a
common but incorrect assumption that this line represents the border between
Lebanon and Israel. So, what exactly is the Blue Line?
A Withdrawal Line Established in 2000
In June 2000, the United Nations established the Blue Line, a 120-kilometer
withdrawal line, to confirm the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from
Lebanese territory after 22 years of military occupation in southern Lebanon,
which began with the 1978 invasion.
According to a press release on UNIFIL’s official website, “This line does not
constitute an international border and does not determine any future border
agreements between Lebanon and Israel.” On May 22, 2000, UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan issued a report on the implementation of Security Council Resolutions
425 and 426 (1978). These resolutions call for Israel’s complete withdrawal from
Lebanese territory and appoint the UNIFIL.However, the presence of the Israeli
state in Lebanon lasted for 22 years and included several military operations:
Operation Litani (1978), Operation Peace for Galilee (1982), Operation
Accountability (1993) and Operation Grapes of Wrath (1996).
“On April 17, 2000, I formally received notification from the Israeli government
of its intention to withdraw Israeli forces from Lebanon beginning in July
2000,” states Kofi Annan’s report. Following this notification, the
Secretary-General took the necessary steps to oversee the Israeli withdrawal
under UN supervision. In this context, the request was made to “determine the
delineation of a line in accordance with Lebanon’s internationally recognized
borders, using the best available information, including cartographic data,” as
per the text. The report references the international border between Israel and
Lebanon, “established under the 1923 agreement between France and Great
Britain,” and points out that this boundary “was reaffirmed in the
Israel-Lebanon General Armistice Agreement signed on March 23, 1949.”As part of
this initiative, on June 6, 2000, the UNIFIL Commander-in-Chief officially
provided the concerned parties with a map of the withdrawal line, known as the
Blue Line. A list of 198 coordinates defining the entire length of the Blue Line
was separately sent to the parties on June 23. These two documents remain the
only official reference for the withdrawal line. While Lebanon accepted both the
map and the list of coordinates, Israel recognized only the map as the official
reference. Both parties committed to fully respecting the line as defined by the
United Nations, agreeing that UNIFIL would serve as the sole guardian of the
Blue Line and the final arbiter in the event of any violations. However, both
countries have expressed reservations about specific points along the withdrawal
line. Lebanon disputes 13 areas, including the Shebaa Farms and the Kfarchouba
Hills. Meanwhile, Israel has not provided details on the number or locations of
its contested areas.
The Blue Line Uncovered
In the spring of 2007, UNIFIL initiated a project to visibly mark the withdrawal
line on the ground in collaboration with the involved parties. The goal was to
clearly define the line for both the public and military personnel, to prevent
violations and accidental crossings.
UNIFIL estimated that more than 541 markers would be needed, with 4 markers
placed per kilometer, to ensure the line is clearly visible along its
120-kilometer length.
As of March 2023, 272 markers had already been installed. Each marker location
is agreed upon by the parties before a marker is placed on site and made visible
with a blue barrel.
The 1949 Armistice Line
The armistice agreement between Israel and Lebanon was signed in Ras al-Naqoura
on March 23, 1949. This agreement is part of a series of bilateral accords
finalized in 1949 under UN supervision, between Israel and four neighboring
countries: Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. These agreements followed the first
Arab-Israeli war, which erupted after the declaration of the State of Israel on
May 14, 1948. Referred to as the Palestine War (May 15–June 11, 1948), the
conflict aimed to protect the Palestinian people from the newly established
Israeli state. On January 7, 1949, a ceasefire ended the hostilities, and
negotiations began on the Greek island of Rhodes on January 12. The 1949
Lebanese-Israeli armistice agreement established a demarcation line, which
military forces are prohibited from crossing and within which military presence
is to be purely defensive. This armistice line follows the international border
between Lebanon and Palestine as defined in Article V of the Paulet-Newcomb
Agreement of March 7, 1923. This agreement provided the first official
delineation between the territories of Greater Lebanon and Palestine at that
time. The 1923 demarcation line became the benchmark boundary, adapted with some
modifications in subsequent agreements. The 1949 commission adopted the 38
separation points established by the Paulet-Newcombe Agreement and added new
ones, bringing the total number of boundary points to 141.
The Official 1923 Border
The Paulet-Newcombe Agreement, dated March 7, 1923, establishes the boundary
between French-mandate Syria and Lebanon and British-mandate Palestine.
Lieutenant Colonels Paulet and Newcombe, representing France and Britain
respectively, were responsible for mapping the borders and drafting the
agreement. This agreement builds on the final report (drafted on February 3,
1922) of the French-British convention of December 23, 1920, which delineated
the borders between Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. The agreement was then
submitted to the League of Nations, the predecessor to the United Nations. Three
maps are appended to this report, detailing the boundary lines as determined by
the Commission. The convention identifies 38 reference points for the borders
between Lebanon and Palestine. This agreement is part of the broader effort to
delineate the mandate zones in the Middle East, a process that began with the
1916 Sykes-Picot Agreements. After World War I and the fall of the Ottoman
Empire, France and Britain delineated the borders to define the territories
under their respective mandates.
The Blue Line in Resolution 1701
After the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, the United Nations Security
Council adopted Resolution 1701 on August 11, 2006, asking for an immediate and
complete ceasefire.The resolution calls for the Lebanese government to deploy
its army in South Lebanon and reinforce the mandate of the UNIFIL. Resolution
1701 specifically calls for the establishment of a buffer zone, defining the
area south of the Litani River as “demilitarized.” Under this resolution,
Hezbollah and other militias, including Palestinian groups, are not allowed to
maintain an armed presence in this area.
The resolution also emphasizes respect for the Blue Line and affirms Lebanon’s
territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political independence within its
internationally recognized borders, “as stipulated by the armistice agreement of
March 23, 1949.”Moreover, the Blue Line is described as “the best approximation
of the 1923 borderline and the 1949 armistice demarcation line,” according to
the UNIFIL press briefing.
Hezbollah still in shock, assessing damage from Israel's
pre-emptive strike - IDF Col.
Jerusalem Post/August 28/2024
Colonel Anan Abbas said the IDF meticulously prepared the preventative attack on
Hezbollah's rocket launchers for months. Colonel Anan Abbas, Head of Control at
the Northern Command's central operations room, revealed in an interview with
Maariv on Tuesday that the recent operation against Hezbollah required months of
meticulous preparation. "Hezbollah is trying to assess the extent of the damage
they've sustained," he said. "We attacked thousands of launchers and crippled
Hezbollah’s capabilities, and our operations [haven't finished yet]. It appears
Hezbollah is still in shock. They're trying to comprehend the extent of the
damage inflicted on them, and they’ll fully understand it in the coming days.
Right now, they’re just beginning to grasp what happened and how it unfolded,"
Abbas explained. Earlier in the week, the IDF emphasized that while the
operation was primarily tactical, it sent powerful signals to Hezbollah—messages
that could potentially lead to broader strategic shifts. "It seems Hezbollah was
genuinely surprised," noted Abbas. "Their shock comes from the sheer number of
planes we deployed simultaneously, striking an overwhelming number of targets in
a very short time. They're also astonished by the precision of our strikes—how
we managed to accurately hit so many targets, neutralize their assets, and do so
without harming civilians or causing collateral damage.""This operation took
months of preparation," he said, highlighting the extensive
intelligence-gathering, target identification, and strike planning that went
into it. In addition to airstrikes, the IDF also employed artillery fire from
several batteries, which targeted various locations in Lebanon. Returning
normalcy to the North. "Our mission is to ensure the residents of northern
Israel can return to their homes safely," Abbas continued. As part of his role,
he continually updates the Northern Command Commander on potential targets in
Lebanon. "Since the war began, we’ve conducted over 7,000 strikes in Lebanon and
eliminated more than 550 Hezbollah operatives, including some of their top
commanders."Despite Hezbollah’s attempts to launch a significant attack on
Israel on Sunday, the Northern Command was well-prepared for their tactics, and
the IDF delivered a decisive response to halt the assault.
UN demands halt to escalating attacks between Hezbollah
and Israeli forces
Edith M. Lederer/UNITED NATIONS (AP)/August 28, 2024
The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday demanded a halt to the increasing attacks
between Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces and warned that further
escalation “carries the high risk of leading to a widespread conflict.”Israel
and Iran-backed Hezbollah pulled back after an exchange of heavy fire across the
U.N.-drawn boundary between Lebanon and Israel over the weekend. But their
decades-old conflict is far from over and regional tensions linked to the war in
Gaza are still high. The Security Council demand that Israel and Hezbollah halt
hostilities — which is not legally binding — came in a French-drafted resolution
unanimously approved by its 15 members, urging the “relevant actors” to restore
“calm, restraint and stability.”“The risk of open warfare remains real, and we
are mobilized alongside our regional and international partners to avoid a
regional conflagration,” France’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Nathalie Broadhurst,
said before the vote. Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, told reporters that
he had a message for the Lebanese people: “You and your government have a choice
to make, confront Hezbollah today or watch as your country is dragged into chaos
and destruction.”Lebanon’s representative, Hadi Hachem, was far more diplomatic,
thanking the council after the vote for its clear message “in favor of stability
and a cease-fire.” And he urged members: “Let’s work together, not only to end
the escalation” but toward “a just and comprehensive peace.”The resolution
extended for another year the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon
known as UNIFIL, which was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops
from southern Lebanon after a 1978 invasion and has been there ever since. The
Security Council expanded the mission after a 2006 war between Israel and
Hezbollah so that peacekeepers could deploy along the Lebanon-Israel border to
help Lebanese troops extend their authority into their country’s south for the
first time in decades. That resolution also called for a full cessation of
Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities, which has not happened.
Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon frequently accuse the U.N. mission of collusion
with Israel, while Israel has accused the peacekeepers of turning a blind eye to
Hezbollah’s military activities in southern Lebanon. During the ongoing clashes
between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL facilities or
vehicles have been hit by shelling or gunfire on several occasions. Earlier this
month, UNIFIL said three peacekeepers on patrol were lightly injured when an
explosion happened near their vehicle. Israel’s Danon blamed Hezbollah for
launching unprovoked attacks against Israel starting the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7
attacks in southern Israel, which ignited the war in Gaza. Since then, he said,
more than 8,000 rockets, 300 explosive drones and 1,500 anti-tank missiles have
been launched against Israel, forcing over 60,000 Israelis in the north to leave
their homes. Danon accused Hezbollah of firing from southern Lebanon — within
UNIFIL’s area of operations — in violation of the 2006 cease-fire resolution and
showed the council photos that he claimed were near some of its facilities.
There will be no stability while Hezbollah’s “massive military buildup” is
ignored, he said.
Israel is determined to return its civilians to their homes, and while it favors
diplomacy, Danon warned that “time is running out.” If diplomacy fails, “we will
use all the necessary means to restore calm and stability to the north of
Israel," he said. Israeli ally the United States supported Israel's right to
defend itself against Hezbollah attacks. “Lebanon should not be a haven for
terrorist organizations or a launch pad for attacks against Israel,” U.S. Deputy
Ambassador Robert Wood told the council, saying that Iran is violating the arms
embargo in the 2006 resolution by providing Hezbollah with the majority of
weapons it fires against Israel. Algeria, the Arab representative on the
council, and Russia said the crisis in Lebanon and the wider Middle East has
deeper roots. Nacim Gaouaoui, Algeria’s deputy U.N. ambassador, underscored the
importance of UNIFIL’s role in ending hostilities but said it’s “a critical
moment for our region because of the brutal assault on the unarmed Palestinian
people, in particular in the Gaza Strip.” “My delegation believes that the
leading reason for instability in the Middle East is the occupation of Arab
territory,” he said. “The end of occupation is the condition for peace and
security in the region.”
That view was echoed by Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, who
said, “It is clear that the current political military escalation is linked
directly to the fact that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains unresolved
and the unprecedented escalation in Gaza.”
FPM: Kanaan Chose to Resign Through the Media
This Is Beirut/August 28, 2024
The Free Patriotic Movement declared on Wednesday that “MP Ibrahim Kanaan chose
to submit his resignation from the party through the media, despite an
appointment scheduled with him next Friday,” announcing that “the movement will
issue detailed statements later on this issue.”On its official Facebook account,
the FPM also revealed that “Ibrahim Kanaan resigned after he was summoned on
Tuesday to the Council of Elders and refused to attend three consecutive times
to the political body.”
‘Scorched Earth’, Israel’s War on Lebanon’s Environment
Cian ward/This Is Beirut/August 28, 2024
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have left the border area a “scorched earth”, as it
targets the environment in the hope of creating an uninhabitable ‘security’
zone. “Everyone has left out of fear of the war, nobody can live under the
bombing, there is no life here anymore,” says Michel , a farmer from the border
village of Wazzani. Ten months of war have left southern Lebanon a “scorched
earth,” Hicham Younes, the head of the Green Southerners, a Lebanese
environmental NGO, told This is Beirut.The human toll has been severe – 116
civilians have been killed according to AFP’s latest tally, and over 100,000
displaced. Yet, Israel’s strategy is multidimensional, inflicting not just a
human cost, but rendering Lebanon’s environment yet another ‘martyr’.But Michel
will not let war force him from his land, “[it] is the work of my lifetime, my
whole life I have tried to build a heaven, how can I just leave it behind.”
Nature under threat
Firefighters putting out fires in Blida, photo from The Green Southerners
As Lebanon balances on the edge of a precipice, the scope of the war, and the
environmental devastation wrought upon the country, has been growing for months.
According to Lebanon’s National Early Warning System Platform (NEWSP), 17
million square meters of land have been damaged since October – equivalent to
2381 soccer fields – a figure that has doubled since January. Such destruction
has had dire effects for a region renowned for its diverse ecosystems and unique
landscapes, says Younes, adding that southern Lebanon “provides crucial habitats
for various endangered species, including sea turtles, sharks and the
Mediterranean monk seal.” “The region’s ancient oak forests also offer refuge to
endangered striped hyenas, golden jackals and Egyptian mongoose.” The war is
putting these vital natural habitats under threat with “the significant loss of
bushlands, old oak and pine forests … causing local biodiversity degradation,
and soil contamination.”Younes believes that Israel “aims to damage agriculture
and natural habitats, disrupt the local ecology with the goal of making the area
uninhabitable.”One of the most pernicious effects has come from wildfires, which
have become increasingly prominent over southern Lebanon’s hot dry summer.
Ameneh Mehvar, a researcher at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data
Project (ACLED) told This is Beirut that they have recorded over 6,400 Israeli
attacks on Lebanon since October, and that “these attacks have caused extensive
forest and farmland fires” with at least 125 incidents documented over the last
10 months. She adds that “dozens of fires have broken out due to Israel’s use of
highly incendiary munitions, including white phosphorus.”
White phosphorus
Israel’s indiscriminate use of white phosphorus has been condemned as ‘unlawful’
by Human Rights Watch. This is Beirut spoke to Antoine Kallab, Associate
Director of the American University of Beirut’s Nature Conservation Center, who,
alongside Leila Rossa Maouwad, wrote a report on the impact of white phosphorus.
According to Kallab, white phosphorus “has a legitimate use to camouflage the
movement of soldiers.” However, “there are no troops directly on the border, and
its use in villages, businesses and homes … suggests that they are using this
weapon for its other characteristics.”White phosphorus “generates intensely
toxic reactions at a high temperature that can cause damage to the human body,
as well as the ecosystem, agriculture and land. The heat is intense enough to
burn down property, forests, vegetative areas – as well as humans” says Kallab.
In June, Lebanon submitted a formal complaint to the UN Security Council
condemning Israel’s use of white phosphorus to deliberately burn woods and
forests. According to the Green Southerners, its danger comes both from direct
exposure to its toxic burns, and as a potentially long-term ‘environmental
contaminate’. Kallab found in his report, that it may lead to soil
acidification, and contamination of water supplies, which can significantly
damage agricultural viability due to flora suffering from desiccation, dieback
and wilting. Whilst, it is difficult to ascertain the true scale of damage in
Lebanon, says Kallab, because systematic analysis is currently too dangerous,
studies from Ukraine have found its use there to have left a considerable
impact.
An agricultural disaster zone
In the words of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, southern Lebanon has become an
“agricultural disaster zone.”According to the UNDP, southern Lebanon is a key
agricultural center, accounting for almost 22% of the country’s agricultural
land, and 80% of the region’s economy. Mikati reported that 800 hectares of
agricultural land have been completely destroyed alongside 34,000 head of
livestock, with a 75% loss of income for local farmers. In July, a single drone
strike on a farm in Jezzine killed 300 animals, reportedly worth $100,000. For
Michel, the last 10 months have brought hardship. “We can’t give the land the
same attention. We try to remove weeds, to fertilize, to spray the trees [with
pesticide], but we do it fast because when the Israeli bombing starts we have to
stop.”“We can’t access part of our land because it’s too dangerous, about 300
dunums of nectarine and plum trees aren’t accessible, that is around 600 tones
of fruit we can’t harvest.”As the war makes it harder to farm, basic costs are
rising. “I used to get our tools from Kfar Kila, but now Kfar Kila is totally
destroyed, so we have to go to Nabatieh … but things are getting more expensive
and I am accruing debts,” says Michel.
Harming the roots of communities
According to Action Against Hunger, 47,000 olive trees have been destroyed. For
Younes, the impact is profound because “some olive groves are hundreds of years
old and deeply intertwined with the local identity. Harming these perennial
trees is akin to harming the roots of the communities.”With over 100,000
displaced, the region is largely empty. “There is nobody on the roads, there is
no one left, it is all empty … all of them have been displaced from their land,
homes and villages, they left everything behind and fled,” says Michel.
According to Kallab, such displacement disrupts the natural patterns of life
“destroying the interlinkages between communities, and their inherited sense of
history and culture in a place.”
A scorched earth strategy
Lebanese army removing unexploded ordnance, photo provided by Michel
The question remains as to why Israel has put Lebanon’s environment in its
crosshairs. According to Kallab, “when you target the natural environment, you
target a community’s ability to remain in that environment, … when you target
the land’s ability to grow food, the farmer and the community around them can no
longer survive – they have to move.” “Whilst one can hypothesize Israel’s
intentions, the fundamental problem, when targeting the environment, is that you
can’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. It is a way to punish local
communities for Hezbollah’s actions, in an attempt to shift support away from
the group.” adds Kallab.
Ecocide
Does the deliberate, extensive and systematic destruction of the environment
could constitute an ecocide (environmental genocide)? According to Maud Sarlieve,
an international human rights and criminal lawyer, a legal definition of ecocide
does not exist. “It’s a concept, it’s not law” says Sarlieve, “the fundamental
problem is how do you define ‘environmental destruction’… Does an individual
chopping down a tree count as ecocide?”She points out that “in the context of
war, environmental destruction is often the lowest priority, and so we can use
the concept [of ecocide] to mobilize interest in the environmental impact of
war, in order to strengthen the existing protections on the environment.”Whilst
they do exist, “the protections have not been used to hold States responsible
for environmental damage in times of conflict.”However, according to Sarlieve,
this is a developing field of international law, and recent cases relating to
Ukraine and Palestine may open up pathways for justice in the future.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on August 28-29/2024
US places sanctions on Israeli nonprofit, settler official over West Bank
violence
Simon Lewis/Reuters/August 28, 2024
The U.S. imposed sanctions on an Israeli nonprofit and a Jewish West Bank
settlement security official on Wednesday in Washington's latest effort to
punish Jewish settlers it accuses of extremist violence against Palestinians.
Hashomer Yosh, a non-governmental organization that says it helps protect
settlers, provided material support to an unauthorized West Bank outpost already
subject to sanctions, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. The
official is Yitzhak Levi Filant, a civilian security coordinator at the Yitzhar
settlement who led a group of armed settlers in February to set up roadblocks
and conduct patrols aimed at forcing Palestinians from their land, Miller said.
"Extremist settler violence in the West Bank causes intense human suffering,
harms Israel’s security, and undermines the prospect for peace and stability in
the region," Miller said in a statement. The statement called on Israel to hold
those responsible for the violence accountable. The sanctions freeze the U.S.
assets of those targeted, denying them access, and generally bars Americans from
dealing with them. The sanctions will be imposed under an executive order on
West Bank violence that President Joe Biden signed in February. It has been used
to impose sanctions on a Palestinian militant group as well as Jewish settlers
and those supporting them. Pro-Israel advocacy groups and dual U.S.-Israeli
citizens have filed a lawsuit challenging the order, alleging that the order
broadly penalizes anyone who opposes the creation of an independent Palestinian
state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that "Israel
views with utmost severity the imposition of sanctions on citizens of Israel"
and there will be "a pointed discussion with the U.S." Since the 1967 Middle
East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River, which
Palestinians want as the core of an independent state. It has built Jewish
settlements there that most countries deem illegal. Israel disputes this and
cites historical and biblical ties to the land. The Biden administration in
February said settlements were inconsistent with international law, signaling a
return to long-standing U.S. policy on the issue that had been reversed by the
previous administration of Donald Trump. Netanyahu's ultra-nationalist Finance
Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir
denounced earlier sanctions against settlers.
Rescued Israeli pleads for hostage deal with Hamas
George Wright - BBC News and Jaroslav Lukiv - BBC News/August 28, 2024
A Bedouin Arab man rescued in Gaza has urged Israel to reach a deal with Hamas
to free all the remaining hostages, as details of his suffering in captivity
have emerged. Kaid Farhan Elkadi, 52, was rescued on Tuesday in a "complex
operation in the southern Gaza Strip", the Israeli military said. After
returning to his village in southern Israel on Wednesday, Mr Elkadi said his
"happiness is not complete as long as there are detainees" on both sides.
Meanwhile, a former Israeli mayor said Mr Elkadi had been hardly exposed to
sunlight for eight months. In a separate development on Wednesday, Israel
announced that it had recovered the body of an Israeli soldier killed in last
October's attack by Hamas on Israel. The soldier's name was not publicly
released at the request of his family. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant
said "a bold operation" by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the country's
security service reflected "our commitment to bringing all the hostages home".
US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to broker a ceasefire deal that
would see Hamas release the 103 hostages still being held, including at least 33
who are presumed dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israel rescues Bedouin hostage held by Hamas in Gaza
Mr Elkadi was kidnapped by Hamas during the 7 October attack on Israel, and is
the eighth hostage rescued by Israeli forces since the start of the war in Gaza.
On Wednesday, he returned to his home village of Karkur in the Negev desert
after being discharged from hospital. Surrounded by reporters and members of his
Bedouin community, Mr Elkadi pleaded for all the hostages to be released. “It
does not matter if they are Arab or Jewish, all have a family waiting for them.
They also want to feel the joy. "I hope, I pray for an end to this," he said,
revealing that he had the same message during Tuesday's phone call with Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I told Bibi Netanyahu yesterday, ‘Work to bring an end to this.'”
Mr Elkadi was allowed to go home after undergoing hospital examinations. The
father of 11 earlier told his relatives "about difficult days, a very cruel
captivity", Ata Abu Medigam, ex-mayor of the southern Israeli town of Rahat,
told Israel's Haaretz newspaper.
"He spoke about one of the hostages who was held captive with him for two months
and died next to him," Mr Medigam said. Mr Elkadi had also started worrying
about losing his eyesight, Mr Medigam added. "He would check his eyes to see if
they were still working and functioning - he would put his fingers on his eyes
to check his reflexes." Mr Elkadi also told his relatives that one of his fellow
detainees had died next to him during his time in captivity, Mr Medigam said.
The Israeli military said forces had found Mr Elkadi in an underground tunnel
"when he was alone". In a statement, the military said no further details about
the rescue could be published "due to considerations of the safety of our
hostages, the security of our forces, and national security". But some details
have been emerging about Mr Elkadi's time in captivity. His cousin, Fadi Abu
Sahiban, said Mr Elkadi did not get preferential treatment due to being a
Muslim. "They didn't give him concessions because he's a Muslim. He says they
let him pray, that's the only thing they allowed him to do," he told Haaretz. Mr
Elkadi had no way of communicating with the outside world and was in constant
fear of bombs overhead, his cousin said. He "would hear the shelling of the IDF
[Israel Defense Forces] endlessly, he said his body was shaking", said Mr Abu
Sahiban. "Every day he was sure was his last day, and not only because of his
captors, but also because of the shelling of the army. He said that every day is
a life-threatening situation." Mr Elkadi, a grandfather of one, worked for many
years as a security guard at Kibbutz Magen, close to the Israel-Gaza border,
where he was abducted. The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas
in response to the unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during
which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. More
than 40,530 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the
territory's Hamas-run health ministry. Indirect talks to broker a ceasefire and
the release of hostages have continued in Cairo in recent days, but so far there
has been no sign of a breakthrough over key sticking points. They include Mr
Netanyahu’s demand that Israel keep troops along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which
Hamas has rejected. Two other Bedouin Arabs - Yousef Zyadna and his son, Hamza -
are among the remaining hostages who are still alive, while the body of a third,
Mhamad el-Atrash, is still being held by Hamas. Another Bedouin, Hisham al-Sayed,
has been held captive in Gaza since 2015.
Israeli military says it failed to protect civilians in settler attack on
Palestinians
Reuters/ August 28, 2024
JERUSALEM - The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it had failed to protect
civilians when settlers carried out a deadly attack on a Palestinian village in
the occupied West Bank, amid mounting international pressure on Israel to crack
down on such violence. Four suspects have been arrested over the attack in the
village of Jit on Aug. 15, when around 100 settlers went on a rampage, burning
cars and houses and killing at least one Palestinian. Additional arrests are
planned, the military said. In a report on its investigation into the incident,
the Israeli military said troops and police initially failed to manage the
situation and should have acted more decisively. "This is a very serious terror
incident in which Israelis set out to deliberately harm the residents of the
town of Jit," Avi Bluth, the head of the army's Central Command, said. "We
failed by not succeeding in arriving earlier to protect them."The report also
said that off-duty members of a rapid response security team from a nearby
settlement arrived in uniform without authorisation and "acted contrary to the
authority defined for the members of the rapid response team". Two members of
the rapid response team were disciplined and their weapons confiscated. The Jit
attack was larger than recent raids by West Bank settlers but hardly unique,
with violence against Palestinian villages already on the rise as settlement
construction has spread unchecked across the West Bank and Israel wages war in
Gaza after a cross-border assault by Palestinian militants. However the Jit
incident, coinciding with rising pressure on Israel from its Western allies to
curb settler violence, drew unusually strong criticism in Israel as well,
including from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and settlement leaders.
Prosecutions over settler violence are relatively rare. On Wednesday, just as
the findings of the investigation were published, the United States imposed
sanctions on a Jewish West Bank settlement security official and on Hashomer
Yosh, a non-governmental organisation that says it helps protect settlers. Most
countries deem Jewish settlements built on land Israel captured in a 1967 war to
be illegal. Israel disputes this and cites historical and biblical ties to the
land. Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent state.
Palestinian officials say Israeli raids across occupied
West Bank have killed 9
Julia Frankel/The Associated Press/August 28, 2024
JERUSALEM / Israel launched raids across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday,
where its forces killed at least nine Palestinians and sealed off the volatile
city of Jenin, according to Palestinian officials. Israel has carried out
near-daily raids across the West Bank since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza
triggered the ongoing war there. Palestinian militant groups said they were
exchanging fire with the Israeli military. The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu
al-Rub, said on Palestinian radio that Israeli forces had surrounded the city,
blocking exit and entry points and access to hospitals, and ripping up
infrastructure in the camp. The Israeli military confirmed it was operating in
the West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarem but did not provide further details.
Over 600 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since
the war in Gaza began over 10 months ago, according to the Palestinian Health
Ministry. Most have died during such raids, which often trigger gunbattles with
militants.Israel says the operations are required to dismantle Hamas and other
militant groups and to prevent attacks on Israelis, which have also risen since
the start of the war.The Palestinian Health Ministry said seven people were
killed early Wednesday in Tubas, another West Bank city, and another two in
Jenin. The ministry identified the two killed in Jenin as Qassam Jabarin, 25,
and Asem Balout, 39. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in
the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three for a future state.
Israel has built scores of settlements across the West Bank, which are home to
over 500,000 Jewish settlers. They have Israeli citizenship, while the 3 million
Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the
Palestinian Authority exercising limited control over population centers.
Israeli forces launch strikes across Gaza, push tanks into
central Khan Younis
Nidal al-Mughrabi/CAIRO (Reuters)/ August 28, 2024
Israeli forces sent tanks deeper into Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and
launched strikes across the enclave as they battled Hamas-led militants, killing
at least 34 Palestinians on Wednesday, according to medics. Residents of Khan
Younis said Israeli tanks made a surprise advance into the centre of the city,
and the military ordered evacuations in the east, forcing many families to run
for safety, while others were trapped at home. Palestinian health officials said
the Israeli strikes in Khan Younis killed at least 11 people. In the central
city of Deir Al-Balah, where at least a million people were sheltering, an
Israeli airstrike killed eight Palestinians near a school housing displaced
families, medics said. In Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, journalist
Mohammed Abed-Rabbo was killed along with his sister in an Israeli attack on
their house, medics said. Gaza's Hamas-run government media office said Abed-Rabbo's
death raised the number of Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli fire to 172
since Oct. 7. In recent days, Israel has issued several evacuation orders across
Gaza, the most since the beginning of the nearly 11-month-old war, prompting an
outcry from Palestinians, the United Nations, and relief officials over the
shrinking of humanitarian zones and the absence of safe areas. The Israeli
military said it ordered the evacuation in areas where Hamas and other militants
staged attacks, including rocket firing into Israel. The armed wings of Hamas
and the Islamic Jihad said fighters were engaged in clashes with Israeli forces
in different areas across the territory, firing anti-tank rockets and mortar
fire. More than 40,500 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to
Gaza's health ministry. The crowded enclave has been laid to waste. Most of its
2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times and face acute shortages
of food and medicine, humanitarian agencies say.
WFP suspends Gaza movement after vehicle fired on
Reuters/August 28, 2024
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) temporarily suspended movements
across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after it said one of its clearly marked
vehicles was struck by at least ten bullets while approaching an Israeli
military checkpoint. WFP said in a statement that the convoy of two armored
vehicles had received "multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach"
the checkpoint at the Wadi Gaza bridge on Tuesday evening. No one in the vehicle
struck was hurt.
Gaza teen amputee recalls nightmare of losing arms in Israeli strike
Ramadan Abed/GAZA (Reuters)/August 28, 2024
Teenager Diaa al-Adini was one of the few Palestinians who found a functioning
hospital in war-ravaged Gaza after he was wounded by an Israeli strike. But he
did not have much time to recuperate after doctors amputated both of his arms.
Adini, 15, suddenly had to flee the overwhelmed medical facility after the
Israeli military ordered people to leave before an attack in its war against the
Palestinian militant group Hamas. He made it to an American field hospital. Many
Palestinians have been displaced during the conflict, moving up and down and
across the Gaza Strip seeking safe shelter. They are unlucky most of the time.
Scrambling to save your life is especially difficult for Palestinians like Adini,
who require urgent medical care but get caught up in the chaos of the war, which
erupted after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people,
by Israeli tallies. Memories of better days provide limited relief from reality
in Gaza. Israeli strikes have reduced most of one of the most crowded places on
earth to rubble as rows and rows of homes are destroyed. “We used to swim,
challenge each other, and sleep, me and my friend Mohammed al-Serei. We used to
jump in the water and float on it," said Adini, who walked on a beach with his
sister Aya recalling the few distractions from before. His sister placed a towel
over the place where his arms used to be and wiped his mouth.
'I CANNOT REPLACE MY AUNT'
The strike hit when he was in a makeshift coffee house. The teenager, who spent
12 days in hospital before he was displaced also lost his aunt, her children and
grandchildren in the war. "As for my arms, I can get other ones fitted but I
cannot replace my aunt," he said.
Israel responded to the Hamas attack in October -- the country's bloodiest day
in its 75-year history -- with a military offensive that has killed at least
40,500 people and wounded 93,778 others, according to Gaza health authorities.
Israel says it goes out of its way to avoid civilian casualties and has accused
Hamas of using human shields, an allegation it denies. The suffering is unlikely
to end anytime soon unless mediation by the United States, Egypt and Qatar
secures a ceasefire. And even then, there is a possibility hostilities will
resume. So all Palestinians can do is hope for treatment at the few functional
hospitals as they face a humanitarian crisis -- severe shortages of food, fuel,
power and medicine, as raw sewage increases the chance of disease. “God willing,
I will continue my treatment in the American hospital, and get limbs," said
Adini. He dreams of being like other children one day; to live a good life, get
an education, drive cars and have fun. His sister Aya hopes that he can go back
to his camera and iPad.
A US Navy carrier strike group and a few other warships
fired $1.16 billion in weapons battling the Houthis in the Red Sea
Jake Epstein/Business Insider/August 28, 2024
The US Navy fired $1.16 billion worth of munitions fighting the Houthis from
October to mid-July. The substantial figure covers the cost of weapons launched
by the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and a few other ships. Warships
and aircraft affiliated with the strike group fired some 770 munitions.
A US Navy carrier strike group and a few other warships that spent months
battling the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in and around the Red Sea fired $1.16
billion worth of munitions during active combat operations, a Navy spokesperson
told Business Insider on Wednesday. This previously unreported figure covers the
total cost of the 770 munitions that the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike
Group launched from October 7 to mid-July and underscores the significant
financial toll of America's ongoing counter-Houthi mission. "US Navy ships have
maintained a presence in and near the Red Sea to deter threats and protect
shipping since the launch of near-daily attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis in
November 2023," the spokesperson said. "In that effort, a variety of weapons
have been employed by the carrier strike group, including aircraft as well as
vessels operating with the strike group and independently," they added. These
weapons include surface-to-air missiles, land-attack missiles, air-to-air
missiles, and air-to-surface weapons. The Eisenhower carrier strike group —
consisting of the aircraft carrier Ike, several destroyers, and a cruiser —
deployed to the Middle East last fall and spent months defending shipping lanes
in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from relentless Houthi missile and drone
attacks. US warships and aircraft attached to the carrier strike group routinely
intercepted Houthi missiles and drones and carried out airstrikes against the
rebels in Yemen. The Eisenhower left the region in June and was replaced by the
Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group. The spokesperson said the cost of
munitions expended by American warships between October and July does not cover
the Roosevelt's ongoing deployment. In April, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del
Toro shared that US naval forces had already fired nearly $1 billion in
munitions to counter threats from Iran and its proxy forces over the previous
six months. The new figure means the Navy fired some $160 million worth of
munitions between mid-April and mid-July.The tempo of Houthi attacks has
somewhat slowed, but the rebels remain an active threat to merchant vessels.
Last week, for instance, they struck an oil tanker in the Red Sea, forcing a
French warship to evacuate its crew. Last week also marked the most recent US
military action against the Houthis. American forces destroyed a rebel missile
system in Yemen.
Iran says Houthis agree to truce so tugboats can reach damaged oil tanker
Reuters/August 28, 2024
UNITED NATIONS: Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group has agreed to a temporary
truce to allow tugboats and rescue ships to reach the damaged Greek-flagged
crude oil tanker Sounion in the Red Sea, Iran’s mission to the United Nations in
New York said on Wednesday. “Several countries have reached out to ask
Ansarullah (the Houthis), requesting a temporary truce for the entry of tugboats
and rescue ships into the incident area,” Iran’s UN mission said. “In
consideration of humanitarian and environmental concerns, Ansarullah has
consented to this request.”The Sounion was targeted last week by multiple
projectiles off Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah. It was still on fire in the Red
Sea and now appears to be leaking oil, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday. The
Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous regions, said they attacked it. The
group has been attacking ships in solidarity with Palestinians in the war
between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. Yemen’s Houthis spokesperson
Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters on Wednesday there is no temporary truce and
the group only agreed on allowing the towing of oil tanker Sounion after several
international parties contacted the group. Pentagon spokesman Air Force Major
General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday that a third party had tried to send two
tugs to help salvage the Sounion, but the Houthis threatened to attack them.
Iran’s UN mission responded on Wednesday: “The failure to provide aid and
prevent an oil spill in the Red Sea stems from the negligence of certain
countries, rather than concerns over the possibility of being targeted.
Houthis: We did not agree to a temporary truce; we only
allowed towing of Sounion tanker
Reuters/August 28, 2024
Mohammed Abdul Salam, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Houthi group, told Reuters
on Wednesday that the group did not agree to a temporary truce but only allowed
the towing of the oil tanker Sounion after several international parties
contacted the group.
Yemen's Houthis will let salvage crews access oil tanker
they set ablaze in Red Sea
Michelle Nichols and Mohamed Ghobari/UNITED NATIONS/ADEN (Reuters) /August 28,
2024
Yemen's Houthi group has agreed to allow tugboats and rescue ships to reach a
damaged crude oil tanker in the Red Sea, Iran's mission to the United Nations
said on Wednesday, after the Iran-aligned militants attacked the Greek-flagged
vessel last week. The Sounion tanker is carrying 150,000 tonnes, or 1 million
barrels, of crude oil and poses an environmental hazard, shipping officials
said. Any spill has the potential to be among the largest from a ship in
recorded history. "Several countries have reached out to ask Ansarullah (the
Houthis), requesting a temporary truce for the entry of tugboats and rescue
ships into the incident area," Iran's U.N. mission in New York said. "In
consideration of humanitarian and environmental concerns, Ansarullah has
consented to this request," it said. Yemen's Houthis spokesperson Mohammed
Abdulsalam told Reuters on Wednesday there is no temporary truce and the group
only agreed to allow the towing of oil tanker Sounion after several
international parties contacted the group. The Sounion was targeted last week by
multiple projectiles off Yemen's port city of Hodeidah. There have been
seemingly conflicting reports about oil escaping from the ship. Reuters has not
independently confirmed if the oil is leaking or spilling from the vessel. The
Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions, said they attacked the
Sounion. The militants began aerial drone and missile strikes on the Red Sea in
November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in the war between
Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. In over 70 attacks, they have sunk
two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers. The Pentagon
said on Tuesday a third party had tried to send two tugs to help salvage the
Sounion, but the Houthis threatened to attack them. In a statement on Wednesday,
Iran's U.N. mission said "the failure to provide aid and prevent an oil spill in
the Red Sea stems from the negligence of certain countries, rather than concerns
over the possibility of being targeted." (This story has been refiled to fix the
byline)
Palestinian officials say Israeli raids across occupied West Bank have killed 9
Julia Frankel/The Associated Press/August 28, 2024
Israel launched raids across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, where its
forces killed at least nine Palestinians and sealed off the volatile city of
Jenin, according to Palestinian officials. Israel has carried out near-daily
raids across the West Bank since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the
ongoing war there. Palestinian militant groups said they were exchanging fire
with the Israeli military. The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, said on
Palestinian radio that Israeli forces had surrounded the city, blocking exit and
entry points and access to hospitals, and ripping up infrastructure in the camp.
The Israeli military confirmed it was operating in the West Bank cities of Jenin
and Tulkarem but did not provide further details. Over 600 Palestinians in the
West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the war in Gaza began over 10
months ago, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most have died during
such raids, which often trigger gunbattles with militants. Israel says the
operations are required to dismantle Hamas and other militant groups and to
prevent attacks on Israelis, which have also risen since the start of the war.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said seven people were killed early Wednesday in
Tubas, another West Bank city, and another two in Jenin. The ministry identified
the two killed in Jenin as Qassam Jabarin, 25, and Asem Balout, 39. Israel
captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The
Palestinians want all three for a future state. Israel has built scores of
settlements across the West Bank, which are home to over 500,000 Jewish
settlers. They have Israeli citizenship, while the 3 million Palestinians in the
West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority
exercising limited control over population centers.
Iran operated fake human-resources firm to root out unfriendly spies,
researchers say
Christopher Bing/Reuters/ August 28, 2024
An Iranian hacking group ran a fake professional recruiting business to lure
national security officials across Iran, Syria and Lebanon into a cyber
espionage trap, according to new research by U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant, a
division of Alphabet's Google Cloud. Researchers said the hackers are loosely
connected to a group known as APT42 or Charming Kitten, which was recently
accused of hacking the U.S. presidential campaign of Republican candidate Donald
Trump. APT42 is widely attributed to an intelligence division of the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard, an expansive military organization based in Tehran. The FBI
has said it is investigating APT42’s ongoing efforts to interfere in the 2024
U.S. election. The mission uncovered by Mandiant dates back to at least 2017 and
was active until recently. At different times, the Iranians made their operation
appear as if it was controlled by Israelis. Analysts say the likely purpose of
the impersonation was to identify individuals in the Middle East who were
willing to sell secrets to Israel and other Western governments. It targeted
military and intelligence staff associated with Iran’s allies in the region.
“The data collected by this campaign may support the Iranian intelligence
apparatus in pinpointing individuals who are interested in collaborating with
Iran’s perceived adversarial countries,” the Mandiant report said. “The
collected data may be leveraged to uncover human intelligence (HUMINT)
operations conducted against Iran and to persecute any Iranians suspected to be
involved in these operations.”Iran's mission to the United Nations did not
immediately respond to a request for comment. Mandiant found that the digital
spies used a network of websites impersonating human resources companies to
manipulate Farsi-speaking targets. The bogus firms were named VIP Human
Solutions, also known as VIP Recruitment, Optima HR and Kandovan HR, among
others. They leveraged dozens of inauthentic online profiles on Telegram,
Twitter, YouTube and social media platform Virasty, which is popular in Iran, to
promote the front companies. Nearly all the associated internet accounts have
since been removed. “VIP Recruitment, a center for recruiting respected military
personnel into the army, security services and intelligence from Syria and
Hezbollah, Lebanon,” said a statement on one of the websites. “Join us to help
each other impact the world. Our duty is to protect your privacy.”The hackers
cast a wide net by using various social media platforms to disseminate links
about their fake HR scheme. It is unclear how many targets ultimately fell for
the ruse. The collected data, which included addresses, contact details and
other resume-related data, could still be exploited in the future, Mandiant
said.
FBI: Gunman spent months seeking a target, then settled
on Trump
Reuters/August 28/2024
The gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump mounted a "sustained, detailed effort"
to attack a major gathering of some sort before deciding to target the
Republican presidential candidate at a Pennsylvania rally in July, FBI officials
said on Wednesday. FBI officials said Thomas Crooks, 20, searched more than 60
times for information about the Republican presidential candidate and his
then-rival, Democratic President Joe Biden, before registering for the Trump
rally in early July. "We saw ... a sustained, detailed effort to plan an attack
on some events, meaning he looked at any number of events or targets," Kevin
Rojek, the FBI's top official in western Pennsylvania, said in a telephone
briefing to reporters. Rojek said Crooks became "hyper-focused" on the Trump
rally when it was announced in early July "and looked at it as a target of
opportunity." Rojek said the FBI has not yet been able to determine what
motivated Crooks to try to assassinate Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania,
on July 13. Crooks' computer activity showed he was interested in a mix of
ideologies but did not show definitively that he was motivated by a particular
left-leaning or right-leaning point of view, Rojek said. FBI officials said they
had not found any evidence indicated that Crooks had worked with other people,
or had been directed by a foreign power. There were no traces of illicit drugs
or alcohol in his system. The assassination attempt prompted questions about how
Crooks was able to climb a nearby building and fire eight shots at the former
president before being killed by a Secret Service sharpshooter. Several
congressional and government probes are examining the event's security measures.
The FBI, meanwhile, is investigating Crooks himself. Officials said they had
gained some understanding of his mindset, even if they still did not know what
motivated him. Crooks searched for Trump's campaign events as early as September
2023, FBI officials said and began searching in April for campaign events for
both candidates near where he lived in western Pennsylvania. He also searched
for the dates of both the Republican and Democratic presidential conventions,
they said.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on August 28-29/2024
Christians must counteract antisemitism with acts of
solidarity - opinion
Avery Chenault/Jerusalem Post/August 28/2024
As the new semester begins, college campuses brace for a repeat of last year's
disruptions. With student groups planning October 7 events, antisemitism remains
a pressing issue.
As another school semester begins, college students will start a new year in the
shadow of last year’s encampments. Some are already planning for a repeat of the
disruption as student organizations in support of Palestine are already
reserving campus space for October 7 resistance events, a year after the murder
of 1200 Israelis. Last month, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC
with a group of Christian college students sponsored by Passages. These students
came from a variety of different backgrounds. Many have witnessed encampments
and antisemitism on their own college campuses.
Our purpose for being in DC was to learn about the roots of our Christian faith
and how to be better Christian advocates for Israel and the Jewish people. We
did this by visiting the US Holocaust Memorial, attending lectures on
Jewish-Christian relations, and meeting with Israeli friends and partners to
learn about their experience in the Jewish state following October 7. Just a few
days before we landed in DC, the city erupted in anti-Israel protests. These
featured burning American and Israeli flags, vandalizing a historical monument
with inverted red triangles, and holding up posters with swastikas painted on
them.
As I stood outside Union Station, which saw the worst of the protests, remnants
of the vandalism were still visible. While there had been attempts to conceal
the damage, hateful sentiments still shone through like painful scars.
Antisemitism leaves its mark. The world’s oldest hatred continues to rage today.
In DC, I met over 200 Christian young adults willing to travel great distances
(for some, the other side of the globe) to be equipped and educated to stand
against antisemitism. Through Passages, I have met many other young people who
share the same desires. Standing in front of the vandalism with these students
offered a new perspective on the fight against antisemitism today.
I share this with you because hateful voices are often loud, but despite the
noise, there are still many who want to be a voice for truth amidst the hatred.
The need for non-Jewish allies to stand with our Jewish friends and neighbors
has never been more relevant, and there are many young people willing to stand
against antisemitism today. In the past year, antisemitism has skyrocketed by
400%. Gen-Z is the most antisemitic generation since the Holocaust. Last
semester’s encampments, pro-Hamas protests, and students shouting, “Hamas we
love you,” serve as painful examples of this hatred.
Hatred toward any people or group on campus should never be acceptable.
As college students pack their bags and prepare to move back to campus,
questions worth asking themselves are: “How will I stand against hate on my
campus?” and “How will I stand against antisemitic rhetoric in my community, or
hatred and bias on social media? Specifically, Christian college students can
play a unique role as advocates in this fight. Sadly, Christians have not always
expressed solidarity with the Jewish people. In fact, they have sometimes
created disunity between the groups, and at times, perpetuated and even
participated in the hatred and violence against the Jewish people throughout
history. Now is the time to change that narrative. The Christian faith cannot be
separated from its Jewish roots. Just as we are told in the Bible, we can be
light amid darkness and division. It was the Jewish people who wrote,
disseminated, and protected so many of the holy scriptures we read today. This
alone is one reason among many that Christians need to stand with the Jewish
people. Hatred towards the Jewish people is hatred towards a people whose faith
is the basis of our own. Historically, many Christians have stayed silent in the
face of antisemitism. May it not be said that Christians stayed silent in the
face of antisemitism today. Through Passages, I have been blessed to meet many
students who strive to do this.
I have met students who stood alongside their Jewish peers as their campus
celebrated the October 7 massacre. I have met students who are deeply troubled
by the rise in antisemitism and desire to stand with the Jewish community
against this hatred. I have met students who visited Israel during the current
war with Hamas to volunteer, bear witness, and share these experience on their
own campuses and with their communities. These students are both an inspiration
and an example to me.
As antisemitism leaves its mark of hatred and division, let us counteract this
by leaving our mark of support and solidarity. Antisemitism shouldn’t be a
problem the Jewish people fight alone. Antisemitic incidents on campus, violent
protests, and hatred don’t affect just Jewish students. It’s a fight that
belongs to everyone who values humanity and desires peace. Now is the time
to stand boldly against antisemitic hatred on campus.
The writer works for Passages, a Christian organization dedicated to taking
Christian students to Israel and mobilizing young people to support the Jewish
state on campuses and in communities across the US, and to stand up against
antisemitism.
Walking a fine line between persuasion and reporting in political media -
opinion
Yisraeh Medad/Jerusalem Post/August 28/2024
A new analysis shows how the media can manipulate our understanding of events.
From false reports to biased narratives, the media's role in shaping reality is
crucial and controversial. As Nick Enfield explained in a piece published in the
Quillette online magazine last week, most of us take the language versions of
the world to be reliable. These originate in news reports, articles, and
speeches. When we believe that we understand something clearly, this has a
“thought-terminating effect.” With confusion thereby gone and replaced with
assumed clarity, we become, quoting the philosopher C. Thi Nguyen,
“satisfied.”But what actually is happening is a form of “cognitive
vulnerability,” Enfield adds. That condition facilitates the manipulation of
people by any system of thought that is “seductively clear.”If you assume that
the above analysis is on the mark, it becomes even clearer how important our
media are in acting as agents of the facts of contemporary events. Their
importance lies in providing a balanced, comprehensive, and fair presentation of
what has happened and what those events could mean. That responsibility is
important, even crucial.
For example, on August 19 at the Democratic Convention, PBS’s Judy Woodruff,
depending on a report by Barak Ravid in Axios, repeated a claim that Donald
Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the matter of a Gaza ceasefire. The
Israeli Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement denying that claim. Woodruff
eventually admitted that she made a “mistake,” as the call never took place. On
Aug. 15, Ravid cited two US sources. He wrote, “One source said Trump’s call was
intended to encourage Netanyahu to take the deal, but stressed he didn’t know if
this is indeed what the former president told Netanyahu.” Either Ravid was
fooled or he allowed himself to be fooled. For sure, the public was fooled.
A few days later, on August 21, Netanyahu’s office found itself having to deny a
report on Israel’s Channel 11 that the prime minister agreed that Israel would
withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor. I’ve lost count of the numerous denials
and retractions. In July, Netanyahu denied he added new conditions to the
US-backed truce proposal. In June, while the US announced that it didn’t know
what Netanyahu was talking about after he attacked Biden for “withholding
weapons,” it turned out that weapons were held up while other supplies were
delayed.
In May, he denied that the IDF warned him before October 7 of Hamas’s intention
to attack Israel. It turned out that the “warning” concerned a risk of potential
action by Hamas and Hezbollah due to the judicial reform crisis. Oddly enough,
he received severe criticism for doubting the loyalty of the protesters when he
accused them of encouraging Israel’s enemies.
Either reporters have lost the ability to collect facts, or they see themselves
simply as conduits for leaks and behind-the-back maneuverings. Israeli media
used to be political mouthpieces
We need to recall that Israel’s newspapers, when there were many, a long time
ago, were overwhelmingly organs of political parties. Hatzofeh, of the Mizrachi
national religious party, closed in 1992. Davar, the organ of the Histadrut/Mapai
conglomerate, closed in 1983. Herut, the daily of the Herut party, the Likud’s
forerunner, closed back in 1965. Haaretz, although owned by the Schocken family,
presented the views of the General Zionists for many decades.
That has all changed if one ignores the dailies of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox)
press. What does continue, however, is the very obvious political engagement of
the remaining media outlets, including broadcast, electronic, and digital
outlets.
For example, on the day it was announced that the bodies of four hostages had
been found and retrieved from Gaza, the media began to flow with the question of
who or what had killed them. As the day wore on, the radio and newspapers’
websites continued to push the question of whether they had died in an earlier
Israeli air attack. Relatives were questioned, and the theme gathered resonance.
No one in the media – neither an editor, a director, a reporter, or an
interviewer – thought the issue was perhaps too delicate or that perhaps it
could wait. Obviously, the chance to blame the government for their deaths, even
indirectly, was too much not to pass over. By the next day, autopsies had been
performed on the remains, and the families themselves revealed that bullets or
bullet fragments were the cause of death. For a media that accuses the
government, and Netanyahu in particular, with callousness, this unnecessary
raising of an emotional and quite personal issue in such a public manner
highlights the true media concern: the government and its head.
ON TISHA B’AV, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the Temple
Mount compound. Sensing an opportunity, more than a dozen youths prostrated
themselves. The police, knowing the minister’s views, did nothing to halt the
procedure. Josh Breiner, Haaretz’s police affairs reporter, sent an update to
the paper’s website in which he complained the police were acting in
contravention of the law and the legal judgments. Unfortunately for him and his
editor, he erred. Israel has no law prohibiting Jewish worship on the Temple
Mount. Indeed, the 1967 Law for the Protection of Holy Sites explicitly permits
worship. Moreover, since 1993, then under Aharon Barak, the High Court of
Justice has decided over and over again that the rights of access and worship
are fundamental even if it agrees the police can prohibit such acts in the
interest of public order. It is only government policy, the “status quo,” that
has interfered with those rights until now. Within a few hours, Breiner’s news
item was altered.
The public, perceiving this phenomenon of bias, has lined up – impressively, if
the ratings are to be believed – behind new outlets like Channel 14 and the
Israel Hayom newspaper. Unfortunately, the issue of partisan balance continues.
Instead of the public being divided on the style of writing, the presentation or
variety of content, or even something mundane like “blonds vs. brunettes” as
newscasters, it is the point of view that divides rather than the reliability of
one’s media. If the media becomes part and parcel of the political arena, if it
sheds its professionalism, if it does not abide by its own code of ethics, if it
promotes narratives that are unsupported by facts or are published to serve one
political camp rather than to aid its readers to make better decisions and
protect Israel’s democracy, that media will be more of a problem than the
various problems they are seeking to deal with.
*The writer is a researcher, analyst, and opinion commentator on political,
cultural, and media issues.
Islamist delusions: Hidden truths behind the Arab-Israeli conflict - opinion
Mohamed Saad/Jerusalem Post/August 27/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/08/133736/
Islamic terrorist organizations and movements share the same approach, driven by
ideologies of hatred and hostility towards others.
Since the terrorist events of October 7, 2023, carried out by the Hamas militia,
the world has been experiencing an unprecedented wave of polarization. The
repercussions and consequences of these events have reached alarming levels in
some countries, making it feel as if these nations have geographically relocated
to the Middle East.
In light of what is happening, I feel a moral obligation to reveal all that is
hidden and unspoken regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict. I plan to do this
through a series of articles, hoping that some might change their positions and
perspectives when they learn of the many hidden facts obscured behind the smoke
screens launched by Islamic movements allied with leftist parties and
organizations (to conceal the truth and information). I will go back in time,
starting from July 8, 1937, when the Peel Commission Report was published.
Officially known as the British Royal Commission, it was a high-level royal
investigative committee chaired by Earl Peel, a member of the UK Privy Council
and former British Secretary of State for India. The commission was formed in
1936 following the outbreak of the Arab revolt in the conflict zone. Its mission
was to devise a final solution to the "Arab-Jewish" conflict. The committee's
work concluded with a proposal to establish three regions: a British-mandated
territory including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and a corridor to Jaffa on the
Mediterranean coast; a Jewish state in Galilee, with part of the western
coastline; and the largest portion of the land to merge with East Jordan to form
an Arab state. (It is very important to note that the proposed area for the Arab
state was close to 25,000 square kilometers, while the proposed area for the
Jewish state was around 2,500 square kilometers. Despite the historical right of
the Jews to the land, they accepted the committee's proposals, confirming their
desire to live in peace and end the conflict.) Golda Meir wrote in her memoirs
that she was sitting with David Ben-Gurion when they learned of "the committee's
proposals." Together, they went to consult with Chaim Weizmann to get his
opinion and reach a decision. Weizmann told them, "A state is better than no
state, and agreeing is better than refusing, and we hope the Arab side rejects
it."
Arabs refused to live in peace
Indeed, this is exactly what happened: the Arabs refused to live in peace
alongside the Jews. Years later, there was the involvement of the Arab
spearhead, Amin al-Husseini (the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and head of the
Supreme Muslim Council), in the "Final Solution," the Nazi plan to exterminate
all Jews in Europe. Al-Husseini arrived in the German capital, Berlin, in the
second week of November 1941. He had come from Italy, where he had met with
Mussolini, Germany's strong ally. On November 28 of the same year, Hitler
received al-Husseini at the Reich Chancellery, describing him as "the Grand
Mufti of Jerusalem and one of the most influential men in the Arab liberation
movement."Before he met with Hitler, al-Husseini met with Joachim von Ribbentrop,
one of the Nazi regime's leaders in Germany. Days later, al-Husseini was
personally escorted on a tour to observe the genocide in the gas chambers at
Auschwitz alongside Adolf Eichmann. Al-Husseini commented on the visit, saying
that there was consensus between them and that Hitler told him, "The Jewish
problem should be solved step by step." Al-Husseini received a promise that once
the Middle East was occupied, "Germany's sole goal would be the extermination of
the Jewish element residing in the Arab region under British protection." Al-Husseini's
visit to Germany was engineered by his Lebanese secretary, Othman Kamal
al-Haddad.
It is important to highlight a crucial point: all proposed solutions were always
rejected by the Arab side, and the idea of two states, one Arab and one Jewish,
was consistently discussed. This confirms that there was never a state called
Palestine in any historical period. The Partition Plan itself, issued by the UN
General Assembly under Resolution 181 on November 29, 1947, stipulated two
states, one Arab and one Jewish. If the Palestinian state existed, why was it
not explicitly included in the resolution? The Arabs' rejection of the Partition
Plan "at that time" and the actions of Amin al-Husseini, "the head of the
Supreme Muslim Council," in his quest "to eliminate the Jews from the face of
the earth" all align with the mentality that still persists today. This mindset
continues to reside in the minds of Yahya Sinwar, Hassan Nasrallah, Abdul Malik
al-Houthi, and all the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as the
destructive arms of Iran in the Middle East, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic
Jihad, and the Houthis. These Islamic terrorist organizations and movements
share the same approach, driven by ideologies of hatred and hostility towards
others. They embrace the delusions and hallucinations of global supremacy and
the establishment of a supposed caliphate state.
**Mohamed Saad is a political analyst specializing in Middle East affairs and
Islamic movements, an opinion writer, and a member of the Swedish PEN
Association.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-816610
Iran's War Against Israel - From the West Bank
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/August 28, 2024
Armed and funded by Iran, the "battalions," whose members are affiliated with
PIJ, Hamas and the ruling Fatah faction headed by Palestinian Authority (PA)
President Mahmoud Abbas, began operating in the northern West Bank more than
three years ago.
"Iran seeks as a strategic objective to surround Israel with a crescent of
active fronts maintained by Iran and supported by Islamist client militias. As
part of this, the [Iranian] regime is seeking to find a way to add an eastern
component to this crescent – through Jordan to the West Bank... Tehran has
succeeded in establishing and maintaining an arms route in which military
materiel, brought from Iran into Lebanon, is then transported across the
Syrian-Lebanese border, via Jordan, into the West Bank. "The maintenance of this
route is of strategic importance to Iran. It is intended, over time, to flood
the West Bank with weaponry, and by so doing, to eventually make this area a
third front in the ongoing long war against Israel." — Jonathan Spyer,
journalist, expert on radical Islamic groups, Jerusalem Post, July 5, 2024.
The PA's failure to crack down on the "battalions" means that Iran now has a
small army in the West Bank. It will not be long before members of this army
attack Israel in the same way as the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion of
Israel, in which 1,200 Israelis were murdered, with many raped, tortured and
burned alive. In addition, more than 240 Israelis, including babies, women and
the elderly, were abducted to the Gaza Strip, where 109 of them are still being
held as hostages.
Those who persist in advocating for the establishment of a Palestinian state
next to Israel must take into consideration that doing so would lead to the rise
of more Iran-backed "battalions" in the West Bank and other areas over which the
PA is given control. Since the gunmen are frequently praised as "heroes" by many
Palestinians, neither Abbas nor anyone who replaces him would have the courage
to take them on.
Even if Abbas does go back to the Gaza Strip, it is not probable that he would
be able to confront Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups there. As in the
West Bank, new "battalions" and militias will no doubt spring up in the Gaza
Strip under Abbas's PA to pursue the Jihad (holy war) to eliminate Israel and
replace it with an Islamist state.
Armed and funded by Iran, new armed terrorist groups, whose members are
affiliated with PIJ, Hamas and the ruling Fatah faction of the Palestinian
Authority, began operating in the northern West Bank cities of Jenin, Tulkarem
and Tubas more than three years ago. Since then, gunmen belonging to these
groups have carried out countless attacks against Israeli civilians and
soldiers. Pictured: Palestinian terrorists in Jenin on March 8, 2023, at the
funeral of fellow terrorists who were killed the previous day when they attacked
Israeli soldiers. (Photo by Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images)
The armed wing of the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) announced on
August 26 that five of its members were "martyred while performing their combat
duty in the West Bank." One of the gunmen, Yazan Daraghmeh, a commander of the
Tubas Battalion militia, was killed in a "work accident": while planting an
explosive device that was supposed to be used against Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
soldiers in his hometown of Tubas in the northern West Bank. The four other
gunmen, Oday Abu Naasa, Ahmed al-Anteer, Taher Raddad, and Mosab al-Muqasqas,
were killed in recent clashes with the IDF. They belonged to similar armed
groups in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem, also located in the northern West
Bank.
Armed and funded by Iran, the "battalions," whose members are affiliated with
PIJ, Hamas and the ruling Fatah faction headed by Palestinian Authority (PA)
President Mahmoud Abbas, began operating in the northern West Bank more than
three years ago.
Since then, gunmen belonging to these groups have carried out countless attacks
against Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Recently, the gunmen started using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against
Israeli civilian and military vehicles. It is worth noting that some of these
militias are based only a few hundred meters away from Israeli communities, both
in the West Bank and inside Israel.
In May, Hamas terrorists in Tulkarem recorded themselves shooting toward Bat
Hefer, an Israeli town near the border of the West Bank.
"Iran-supported Islamist militias are currently engaged in war against Israel on
two fronts," wrote British-Israeli analyst and journalist Jonathan Spyer, an
expert on radical Islamic groups.
"The main focus of combat remains, of course, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
"A 'support front,' as is the preferred term, has been maintained by Lebanese
Hezbollah since October 8 in the Israel-Lebanon border area.
"Iran seeks as a strategic objective to surround Israel with a crescent of
active fronts maintained by Iran and supported by Islamist client militias. As
part of this, the [Iranian] regime is seeking to find a way to add an eastern
component to this crescent – through Jordan to the West Bank...
"Tehran has succeeded in establishing and maintaining an arms route in which
military materiel, brought from Iran into Lebanon, is then transported across
the Syrian-Lebanese border, via Jordan, into the West Bank.
"The maintenance of this route is of strategic importance to Iran. It is
intended, over time, to flood the West Bank with weaponry, and by so doing, to
eventually make this area a third front in the ongoing long war against Israel."
Many gunmen are said to have joined the "battalions" in the West Bank,
especially in areas controlled by Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA).
The PA security forces, however, haven't really done anything to disband or
disarm the militias. This is the same PA that, since its establishment 30 years
ago, did nothing except watch while Hamas expanded throughout the Gaza Strip,
eventually taking control over the entire coastal enclave in 2007.
The PA's failure to crack down on the "battalions" means that Iran now has a
small army in the West Bank. It will not be long before members of this army
attack Israel in the same way as the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led invasion of
Israel, in which 1,200 Israelis were murdered, with many raped, tortured and
burned alive. In addition, more than 240 Israelis, including babies, women and
the elderly, were abducted to the Gaza Strip, where 109 of them are still being
held as hostages.
Those who persist in advocating for the establishment of a Palestinian state
next to Israel must take into consideration that doing so would lead to the rise
of more Iran-backed "battalions" in the West Bank and other areas over which the
PA is given control. Since the gunmen are frequently praised as "heroes" by many
Palestinians, neither Abbas nor anyone who replaces him would have the courage
to take them on.
Instead of ordering his security forces to crack down on the "battalions," Abbas
appears to have other priorities. He is evidently planning to return to the Gaza
Strip. In a recent speech before Turkey's Parliament, Abbas declared:
"I have decided to head with all members of the Palestinian leadership to the
Gaza Strip, and I will work with all my energy to be with our people, as our
lives are not more precious than the life of any Palestinian child."
On August 25, a committee set up by Abbas to prepare for the return of the
Palestinian Authority to the Gaza Strip decided to "contact the political bureau
of Hamas and other Palestinian factions in order to agree and reach an
understanding with them" on Abbas's plans to head to the coastal enclave. Abbas,
it seems, believes that he can reach an advantageous deal with Hamas, whose
members staged a bloody coup against his PA in 2007 and were preparing to
assassinate him.
The PA will never be able to assume control of the Gaza Strip as long as Hamas's
military capabilities have not been destroyed. Even if Abbas does go back to the
Gaza Strip, it is not probable that he would be able to confront Hamas and other
Palestinian armed groups there. As in the West Bank, new "battalions" and
militias will no doubt spring up in the Gaza Strip under Abbas's PA to pursue
the Jihad (holy war) to eliminate Israel and replace it with an Islamist state.
Under the current circumstances, handing the Gaza Strip over to the Palestinian
Authority would not only be seen as a big reward to Iran and its terror proxies
but most likely lead to a major war.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
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Two sworn enemies hold the key to ending the war in
Gaza. Does either man want a deal?
Joseph Krauss/The Associated Press/August 28, 2024
The latest flurry of Gaza cease-fire talks — the back-and-forth over
now-familiar sticking points and appeals from around the world — obscures a grim
truth about the monthslong efforts to end the Israel-Hamas war and free scores
of hostages. Any deal requires the signatures of two men: Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. They are sworn enemies,
notoriously tough negotiators and know that the outcome of the talks will
profoundly shape their legacies. In Sinwar's case, it could mean life or death.
Both have strong incentives to end the war. But they may also think they stand
to gain by holding out a bit longer, and that war is preferable to a deal that
falls short of their demands. Here's a look at the two leaders and the
constraints they face.
What does Netanyahu want?
Netanyahu has promised “total victory” over Hamas and the return of all the
hostages held in Gaza — goals that many believe are incompatible.
He has come under tremendous pressure from the hostages' families and much of
the Israeli public to make a deal to bring them home, even if it leaves a
battered Hamas intact. The United States, which has provided key military aid
and diplomatic support to Israel, is also pushing for such a deal. But
Netanyahu's governing coalition relies on far-right ministers who want to
permanently reoccupy Gaza and have threatened to bring down the government if he
concedes too much. That would force early elections that could drive him from
power at a time when he is on trial for corruption. It would also hasten a
broader reckoning over the security failures surrounding the Oct. 7 attack in
which Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly
civilians, and abducted around 250 others — on Netanyahu's watch. Netanyahu has
rejected calls for a government investigation until the war is over.
The longer the war drags on, the more likely Israel is to achieve something that
looks like victory — the killing of Sinwar, the rescue of more hostages — and
the longer Netanyahu has to repair his political standing and reshape his
legacy. But it also comes with risks as the number of soldiers killed in action
rises nearly every day and Israel becomes increasingly isolated because of the
suffering it has inflicted on Palestinians. Netanyahu has clashed with his own
defense minister over the endgame. Israeli media is filled with reports quoting
unnamed senior security officials expressing frustration with Netanyahu,
especially his demand for lasting control over two strategic corridors in Gaza.
Some have gone so far as to accuse him of sabotaging the talks. Both Israel and
Hamas say they have accepted different versions of an evolving U.S.-backed
cease-fire proposal in principle, while suggesting changes and accusing the
other of making unacceptable demands. Yohanan Plesner, head of the Israel
Democracy Institute, a local think tank, acknowledged the anger directed at
Netanyahu but said it was impossible to know which leader was the greater
roadblock. “If we saw Sinwar was serious about getting a deal, that would force
Israel and Netanyahu to expose their cards,” Plesner said. The current situation
is “almost like negotiating with oneself."
What does Sinwar want?
Sinwar wants to end the war — but only on his terms.
Israel's offensive has killed over 40,000 people, according to local health
officials, displaced 90% of Gaza's population and destroyed its main cities.
Hamas has lost thousands of fighters and much of its militant infrastructure.
Sinwar's only bargaining chips are the roughly 110 hostages still held in Gaza,
around a third of whom are believed to be dead. And he needs much more than a
temporary pause in the fighting if he hopes to salvage anything resembling
victory from the Oct. 7 attack that he helped mastermind. That begins with
assurances that Israel won't resume the war once some or all of the hostages are
freed. He also needs Israel to withdraw from all of Gaza to ensure that the
lasting impact of the Oct. 7 attack is not a permanent reoccupation of the
territory. The release of high-profile Palestinian prisoners as part of a deal
is a sacred cause for Sinwar, who was himself a long-serving prisoner freed in
an exchange. And he needs assurances that Palestinians will be able to return to
their homes and rebuild them.
“Sinwar is very much concerned with bringing negotiations to a conclusion,
whether with regard to a cease-fire or an exchange of prisoners, because in both
cases, Sinwar will have come out as the winner,” said Nabih Awada, a Lebanese
political analyst and former militant who spent years in an Israeli prison with
Sinwar. There are risks for Sinwar in drawing the talks out: More hostages are
likely to die or be rescued as the war grinds on. Death, destruction and
hardship in Gaza will continue, and could stoke Palestinian discontent with
Hamas, with political implications down the line. Sinwar himself, who sits atop
Israel's most-wanted list, could be killed at any time. But given the centrality
of martyrdom in Hamas' history and ideology, he may feel that outcome is
inevitable — and preferable to a deal that looks like defeat.
Can any external pressure help?
Egypt and Qatar have served as key mediators with Hamas, but their influence is
limited. Any pressure exerted on Hamas' exiled leadership is unlikely to have
much impact on Sinwar, who was appointed the overall head of Hamas after the
killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. Sinwar is believed to have spent most of the
past 10 months living in tunnels under Gaza, and it is unclear how much contact
he has with the outside world. The United States has provided crucial military
support for Israel throughout the conflict and has shielded it from
international calls for a cease-fire. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden
paused a shipment of hundreds of 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bombs to pressure
Israel not to invade the southern city of Rafah — which it did anyway.
U.S. election politics could also blunt American pressure. Biden has shown
little inclination to pressure Netanyahu, and Vice President Kamala Harris has
offered no concrete policy changes. Donald Trump has urged Israel to finish up
its offensive but would likely be even more accommodating to Netanyahu, as he
was during his presidency. Any U.S. arms embargo is even less likely when Israel
faces a potential retaliatory strike from Iran over the killing of Haniyeh.
Instead, the United States has poured military assets into the region, taking
some of the pressure off Israel.
Sinwar might have hoped that the targeted killings of Haniyeh and a top
Hezbollah commander last month would widen the war. But that appears less
likely, with both Israel and Hezbollah applying the brakes following a heavy
exchange of fire over the weekend. The cease-fire talks have continued through
it all, punctuated by fleeting moments of optimism. The mediators have spent
recent weeks trying to hammer out a bridging proposal with Netanyahu, but it's
still a work in progress. It has not yet been submitted to Sinwar.
Opinion - Russians are waking up to Putin’s Ukraine folly
Ilan Berman, opinion contributor/The Hill/August 28, 2024
Since the start of its war of aggression against Ukraine some two-and-a-half
years ago, the Kremlin has worked diligently to shape the domestic narrative
surrounding the conflict. Among other things, it has done so by promoting a
vision of a patriotic struggle against fascism, deploying extensive domestic
censorship measures, obscuring damning figures about battlefield casualties and
passing new laws that effectively criminalize any critical coverage of the
conflict. Cumulatively, this campaign has succeeded in maintaining a
comparatively high level of support from ordinary Russians for a fight that has
lasted much longer and exacted a much heavier toll than authorities in Moscow
originally advertised. But since mid-July, Ukraine’s unexpected incursion into
Russia’s Kursk region — and Moscow’s inability to marshal a serious response to
it — has shaken public sentiment within Russia.
By just how much? This is documented in a new study by OpenMinds, a Ukrainian
data analytics and communications firm. By extensively parsing Russian social
media and news outlets, it chronicles that the events in Kursk have impacted
popular support for the war among ordinary Russians, as well as increased their
dissatisfaction with the Kremlin.
Specifically, it notes a surge of content relating to the war as a result of
Ukraine’s raid, as well as a significant decline in positive sentiment in posts,
broadcasts and messages regarding the broader conflict. This, the study
attributes to two causes.
First, it notes, “there have been fewer cheerful publications about the war” by
Russia’s extensive state propaganda organs. Second, “there were more grievances
compared to the previous two months … [both] blaming the Russian authorities and
general panic regarding the incursion.”Local fears are indeed rising. Russia’s
September 2022 “partial mobilization,” as Vladimir Putin’s domestic conscription
effort was euphemistically known, proved to be profoundly unpopular at home,
sparking a mass exodus of citizens eager to avoid the draft. Now, worries are
rising anew that Moscow’s ongoing struggles on the Ukrainian front could prompt
the Kremlin to launch a new effort to beef up its military ranks.
The study documents “a growing concern” for renewed mobilization to respond to
Ukraine’s incursion. During the first week of Ukraine’s offensive, it notes,
“approximately 39 percent of the publications about mobilization mentioned the
Kursk incursion” as a potential precipitating factor. So significant was the
furor that Russian lawmakers were forced to speak out publicly to refute rumors
that plans for a new conscription drive were in the works. All this has
profoundly constrained the Kremlin’s options. Ordinarily, Moscow would be quick
to rally the country around Kyiv’s incursion, which it would invariably depict
as an “existential threat” to its sovereignty. However, it hasn’t yet done so —
something the OpenMinds study suggests is because “the Russian government
understands the sociopolitical risks of a new wave of mobilization and fears the
potential consequences related to it.”What all this might mean for Russia is
still too early to tell. Policymakers in Moscow have initiated an array of
measures in response to the Ukrainian incursion, ranging from declaring a state
of emergency in Kursk as well as the neighboring Belgorod region, surging troops
into the area, and creating new administrative units to manage the crisis).
Still, as NATO officials have noted, Russia’s official response has been “slow
and scattered” — at least so far. Whether it stays that way is still an open
question. It’s already clear, however, that Ukraine has accomplished one of the
principal aims of its daring military raid: to bring the conflict home to
ordinary Russians and underscore that the war of choice embarked upon by their
president carries potentially dire consequences for them personally.
*Ilan Berman is senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council in
Washington, D.C.
Who’s to Blame? Historic American Church Transformed
into a Mosque
Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/August 28/2024
A large, historic Catholic church in New York is on its way to becoming a
mosque, following its purchase by a Muslim organization.
On August 11, Fr. Ronald Vierling drew attention to the sale in a social media
post: “St. Anne’s Church, Buffalo, NY. Permanently closed. Sold to the Islamic
community for $250,000 who are converting the historic church into a mosque.”
According to one report, “St. Anne’s was built in 1886 by German immigrants. It
had fallen into disrepair and become unusable for worshippers in recent years.”
Fr. Vierling’s post — which as of this writing had been viewed nearly 12 million
times — sparked a backlash on social media. “Muslims get a church for $250k but
I can’t buy a house in a decent neighborhood for less than $500k,” one X user
wrote. “Selling off Catholic Churches to Islam to convert it into a Mosque
borders Blasphemy and Stupidity!” wrote another.
Vierling responded on the following day by writing,
No anger should be directed against the Islamic community. The parish complex
was made available for sale by the diocese. No doubt the changing demographics
of the area and the inability to financially support the complex made the
continuance of St. Ann as a viable parish possible. This scenario is being
played out in once large, urban dioceses across the country. The significance of
both of his posts — the first saying that Muslims bought and were transforming a
church into a mosque, and the second saying that “no anger” should be directed
at Muslims — are both true and important, though possibly for misunderstood
reasons.Regarding the first post, know that, for Muslims, this is not a mere
business transaction. A point is being made.
From its very origins, Islam always sought to convert the temples of other
religions into mosques — victory mosques, to be precise. Past and present, one
of the very first signs of Muslim consolidation was/is the erection of a mosque
atop the sacred sites of the vanquished: the pagan Ka’ba temple in Arabia was
converted into Islam’s holiest site, the mosque of Mecca; the al-Aqsa mosque,
Islam’s third holiest site, was built atop Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem; the
Umayyad mosque was built atop the Church of St. John the Baptist; and the Hagia
Sophia was converted into a mosque upon the conquest of Constantinople (and
again, recently).
For Muslims, the transformation of temples into mosques is the physical
manifestation and validation of Islam’s ancient battle cry: Allahu akbar, which
simply means “my god is greater than your god,” as seen by Allah’s taking up
residence in the temple of his vanquished counterparts.
The transformation of Christian churches into mosques is especially emblematic
of this phenomenon. Because most of the land Islam conquered (or stole) from
Morocco in the west to Iraq in the east was for centuries Christian, most of the
religious houses that were turned into victory mosques were churches.
Make no mistake of it: the transformation of St. Anne’s Church in Buffalo into a
mosque is, for Muslims, another example of Islam’s triumph over its Christian
nemesis. “Allahu akbar” will be chanted as the Muslim deity makes his residence
in this vacated church.
Even so, Fr. Ronald Vierling saying, “No anger should be directed against the
Islamic community” is also true. Muslims are, after all, only doing what is good
for them and their religion. Who can blame them? They are not directly
conquering anyone or annexing any building; the Catholic Church sold it to them.
All fair and legal. This is the point that so many in the West, who are
otherwise wise to Islam and its wiles, do not seem to understand: Muslims cannot
be faulted for flooding Western Europe; or for having so many children (so that
the number one name for newborn baby boys in several Western capitals is
Muhammad); or for advocating for laws and behavior that conform to sharia. In
doing all of these things, they are merely engaging in self-preserving and
self-promoting activities, which is how all normal people behave.
As such, so too should they not be blamed for buying and turning churches into
mosques.
Alarmed Christians or Westerners in general will get nowhere until they learn to
point their fingers in the right direction — at themselves, or at least, at
their “elected” leaders who allow Muslims to promote themselves over the native
peoples of the West.
And then doing something about it. In short, yes, Christians should be angered
that their churches are being pawned off to Muslims, who turn them into mosques;
but Christian anger — if it is to be of any value — should be less directed
against Muslims, whose actions are normal and representative of a people seeking
to preserve and promote itself, and more toward themselves and their leaders,
whose actions are suicidal and precisely what has led to so much Muslim
empowerment and entitlement in the West.
**Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West and Sword and Scimitar, is
the Distinguished Senior Shillman Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the
Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.