English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For December 04/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and
innocent, children of God without blemish
Letter to the Philippians 02/12-18/:"Therefore, my beloved, just
as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my
absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who
is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and
innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse
generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding
fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not
run in vain or labour in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a libation
over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with
all of you and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me."
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on December 03-04/2024
Text & Video: The Jihadist, Mullah-Controlled, and Lawless Hezbollah Sets
Standards for Social Values and Seeks to Impose Them on Lebanese Through
Terrorism/Elias Bejjani/
Elias Bejjani/Video & Text: Exposing Hezbollah's Sickening Rhetoric of Divine
Victories
Link for a video titled: The Genetic Origins of the Lebanese
Video link for A Pannel Discussion From The Washinghton Instute: The
Hezbollah-Israel Ceasefire and U.S. Leadership: What Comes Next/Participants
Hanin Ghaddar, Matthew Levitt, David Schenker, Assaf Orion
Woman, child among civilians killed as Israeli attacks continue in Lebanese
border area
'We’re moving backward': IDF officers express criticism over Lebanon ceasefire
Katz: If ceasefire fails, IDF will strike non-Hezbollah Lebanese targets
Israeli strike near Damascus killed Hezbollah liaison with Syrian army
Israeli farmer whose son was killed by Lebanon rocket works to restore orchard
Netanyahu again says ceasefire not 'end of the war'
US military delegation inspects UNIFIL HQ ahead of Friday meeting
Israeli drone kills shepherd in Shebaa as sporadic attacks continue
Israel says won't differentiate between Lebanon and Hezbollah if ceasefire
collapses
Mikati says Lebanon pushing for Israeli pullout, return of displaced
Bassil: President election shouldn't be linked to events in region
Lebanese army launches recruitment drive to bolster presence in the south
Iran's ambassador to Lebanon reappears after pager attack
Why did Hezbollah stage Shebaa Farms attack?
Lebanon and Israel renew commitment to ceasefire, report says
Macron meets bin Salman: Lebanon at the 'heart of the discussions'
Israel Threatens to Expand War If Hezbollah Truce Collapses
Germany Arrests a Lebanese Man Accused of Being a Member of Hezbollah
Be Under No Illusions... Lebanon Faces Tests to its Existence/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq
Al Awsat/December 03/2024
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on December 03-04/2024
Syrian
rebels advance close to Hama city, raising pressure on Assad and his allies
Syrian militants capture four central towns as government forces reclaim some
territory
Syrian war reignited as Assad is weakened from conflict with Israel - analysis
Iraq Will Not Be Just a ‘Spectator’ in Syria, Prime Minister Says
Türkiye's Erdogan Discusses Syria Situation with Putin by Phone, Ankara Says
Saudi public opinion on normalization with Israel gradually shifting, research
finds
Why is Iran claiming the US and Israel are behind Syria escalation? - analysis
IDF kills seven Hamas terrorists involved in October 7 massacre
Israel kills 23 people in north Gaza, orders evacuations in south
Israeli American soldier killed during Oct. 7 Hamas attack remembered at New
York memorial service
Palestinians Get Food Aid in Central Gaza, Some for the First Time in Months
Israeli Soldiers Open Fire inside a West Bank Hospital While Searching for
Fighters’ Bodies
US Deepens Sanctions on Iran’s ‘Shadow’ Oil Fleet
Oil Rises on Iran Crude Sanctions, OPEC+ Output Deal Progress
South Korea’s Yoon Declares Martial Law in Emergency Address
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on December 03-04/2024
Gulf
countries talk like Iran, act like Israel/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The times of
Israel/December 03/2024
The End of an Era/Charles Chartouni/This is Beirut/December 03/2024
Turkey Unleashes Jihadist Terror on Syria/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone
Institute/December 3, 2024
Remember Pearl Harbor/Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute./December 3, 2024
US, UAE discussed lifting Assad sanctions in exchange for break with Iran,
sources say/Maya Gebeily, Parisa Hafezi and Alexander Cornwell/Reuters/December
03/2024
What the leading ‘just war’ theorist says about the strategies of Hamas and
Israel/Gregory J. Wallance, opinion contributor/The Hill/December 03, 2024
What Is Behind Washington’s Position on Aleppo?/Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al Awsat/December
03/2024
On Victory, Defeat, and Fear of Extinction!/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/December
03/2024
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published
on December 03-04/2024
Text & Video: The Jihadist, Mullah-Controlled, and Lawless Hezbollah Sets
Standards for Social Values and Seeks to Impose Them on Lebanese Through
Terrorism
Elias Bejjani/December 02, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/137492/
A shocking incident unfolded in the southern Lebanese town of Al-Duwair on
November 30, 2024, when journalist Daoud Rammal was brutally assaulted by
individuals linked to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist proxy. Rammal was
at the town’s cemetery reciting prayers for his deceased parents when the attack
occurred. The violence was so brutal that he lost consciousness. Shockingly, the
assailants followed him to his home, continuing their assault in front of his
family. This barbaric act underscores the alarming violence, jihadist extremism,
and authoritarianism perpetrated by Hezbollah.
Hezbollah’s Statement: A Deceptive Denial
Following the attack, Hezbollah’s Media Relations issued a statement claiming
the assault was (“an individual incident” unrelated to the party. It added,
“Freedom of expression is sacred as long as it does not violate social values
and applicable laws.”)
This statement is deeply troubling. By asserting the right to define “violations
of social values,” Hezbollah essentially appoints itself as the arbiter of
morality, granting itself the authority to police the Lebanese public, including
Shiites, journalists, and all citizens, according to its sectarian, jihadist,
and extremist criteria.
Imposing Guardianship on Lebanon
Rooted in its sectarian and Iranian jihadist ideology, Hezbollah is forcibly
attempting to impose its guardianship over the Shiite community in particular,
and Lebanese society as a whole. Its claim to moral authority over “social
values” blatantly contradicts Lebanon’s identity as a pluralistic nation, which
encompasses 18 religious sects and a rich tapestry of cultures and
civilizations.
In a diverse society like Lebanon, no group—particularly not a militant Islamist
organization like Hezbollah—has the right to dictate social norms or restrict
freedoms based on its denominational religious views and standards . This
approach not only undermines Lebanon’s constitutional principles and
foundational diversity, but also constitutes a flagrant assault on public
freedoms, and the broader aspirations of the Shiite community for independence
and coexistence.
Silencing Dissent and Muzzling the Media
The attack on journalist Daoud Rammal is not an isolated incident, as Hezbollah
claims. Instead, it reflects a systematic strategy to silence dissent and muzzle
the media. This violent episode highlights Hezbollah’s reliance on intimidation
and force to suppress voices that challenge its agenda or refuse to align with
its extremist ideology.
A Call for Collective Rejection
Hezbollah’s oppressive behavior requires a united and resolute response from all
Lebanese citizens, regardless of sect or affiliation. The Lebanese people must
reject Hezbollah’s dominance over public freedoms and its self-imposed
guardianship over society. Members of the Shiite community, in particular,
should recognize that this control is not in their interest. Instead, it
isolates them and fosters hostility toward their Lebanese and Arab surroundings.
Conclusion
The assault on Daoud Rammal is yet another example of Hezbollah’s tyranny
cloaked in deceptive rhetoric. In a nation founded on pluralism, no entity has
the right to impose its moral code on society or to subject the media to its
restrictive standards. Freedom of expression is a fundamental right that cannot
be compromised. Any attack on it is an attack on Lebanon’s essence and identity.
Elias Bejjani/Video & Text:
Exposing Hezbollah's Sickening Rhetoric of Divine Victories
Elias Bejjani/November 30/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/11/137435/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g-1lOs00XE&t=893s
Hezbollah’s persistent claims of divine victory, particularly following its
recent devastating 64 days of war with Israel, are a dangerous mix of delusion,
hallucinations, daydreaming, self deception and sickening rhetoric
manipulations. Despite undeniable losses, Hezbollah's leadership boldly
proclaims triumph, crafting a narrative to deceive its supporters and sustain
its destructive and endless enmity against the state of Israel and terrorism
agenda.
Hezbollah's logic—that a victory is achieved merely by preventing the enemy from
achieving its goals—distorts the essence of reality. By this flawed standard,
any resistance, no matter how devastating the toll, could be deemed victorious.
Such reasoning ignores the catastrophic consequences of war: loss of life,
societal collapse, and the destruction of infrastructure.
In its recent war that lasted for 64 days, Hezbollah’s losses were staggering.
This Iranian armed jihadist proxy suffered thousands of casualties, including
high-ranking leaders, while its weapon stockpiles and strongholds were
obliterated. Southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut’s southern suburbs
were reduced to ruins, with thousands of homes destroyed. Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s
captive Shiite community bore the brunt of this devastation—displaced,
impoverished, and left grieving.
The recent ceasefire agreement with Israel, celebrated by Hezbollah as a
victory, was in reality a humiliating concession. It came not from strength but
from desperation. Hezbollah pleaded for the ceasefire to stem its losses, yet
its rhetoric portrays the truce as a triumph. Iranian Revolutionary Guard
Commander Major General Hussein Salami amplified this lie, describing the
ceasefire as a “strategic failure for Israel.” These fabrications, detached from
reality, are designed to shield Hezbollah’s leadership from accountability while
perpetuating their propaganda.
The Broader Islamist Delusion
This delusional concept of victory extends beyond Hezbollah to other jihadist
groups like Hamas, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, and factions of the
Muslim Brotherhood. Their hollow claims hinge on Israel’s perceived inability to
achieve its goals. Yet, a closer examination of their own objectives—destroying
Israel, liberating Jerusalem, and expelling Jews—exposes their perpetual
failure. By their logic, these groups remain in a state of chronic defeat,
unable to realize even their most basic ambitions.
Comparing Losses: A Stark Reality
The disparity in losses underscores the emptiness of Hezbollah’s victory
rhetoric. During the 64-day conflict, Hezbollah lost over 5,000 individuals
mostly trained fighters, including top commanders, and more than 25,000 were
injured or permanently disabled. Entire villages and neighborhoods under their
control were decimated. In contrast, Israel’s losses were minimal, reflecting a
stark imbalance in the conflict’s outcomes.
A Culture of Denial and Manipulation
Hezbollah’s leaders remain trapped in a state of denial, refusing to confront
the magnitude of their failure. Their rhetoric, echoed by figures like Sheikh
Naim Qassem and MP Hassan Fadlallah, defies the facts, relying on fabricated
narratives of divine triumph. This denial is not just delusional—it is
manipulative, aimed at maintaining control over their captive supporters within
the Shiite community.
Conclusion
The criteria for victory among Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Brotherhood factions
and their Iranian patrons are rooted in fantasy and self-deception. Their
claims, detached from realities of capability and consequence, serve only to
perpetuate violence and suffering. By exposing these falsehoods, we can
challenge their destructive narratives and advocate for a future free from their
oppressive influence. Hezbollah’s rhetoric of victory is not just sickening—it
is a dangerous lie that continues to inflict pain and suffering on the very
people it claims to defend. It is time for the world to see through their
fabrications and confront the truth.
Link for a video titled: The Genetic Origins of the
Lebanese
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUtjtli12Lg
Video link for A Pannel
Discussion From The Washinghton Instute: The Hezbollah-Israel Ceasefire and U.S.
Leadership: What Comes Next/Participants Hanin Ghaddar, Matthew Levitt, David
Schenker, Assaf Orion
رابط فيديو لندوة حوارية باللغة الإنكليزية من موقع معهد واشنطن تحت عنوان/وقف
إطلاق النار بين حزب الله وإسرائيل والقيادة الأميركية: ماذا بعد ذلك/المشاركون في
الندو: حنين غدار، ماثيو ليفيت، ديفيد شينكر، أساف أوريون
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/137559/
كانون الأول/02/2024
Watch an expert webcast examining the prospects for lasting peace in light of
the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire.
More than a year after Hezbollah opened a second front against Israel, U.S.
diplomacy has achieved a significant breakthrough: a ceasefire that will go into
effect over the next sixty days, giving civilians on both sides of the
Israel-Lebanon border a reprieve. Whether the agreement can meaningfully improve
the situation on the ground in both countries and prevent future escalation will
be a test for stakeholders in the Middle East, the United States, and Europe,
particularly amid the leadership transition in Washington.
To discuss the key grading criteria for this crucial test, The Washington
Institute hosted a virtual Policy Forum with four of its top experts on the
Israel-Lebanon file, moderated by research director and Kassen Senior Fellow
Dana Stroul:
**Hanin Ghaddar, the Institute’s Friedmann Senior Fellow and author of its
recent “Roadmap to an Enduring Ceasefire in Lebanon”
**Matthew Levitt, the Institute’s Fromer-Wexler Fellow, director of its Reinhard
Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, and creator of its interactive map
tracking Hezbollah’s worldwide activities
**David Schenker, the Institute’s Taube Senior Fellow, director of its Rubin
Program on Arab Politics, and former assistant secretary of state for Near
Eastern affairs in the first Trump administration
**Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion, the Institute’s Rueven International Fellow and former
head of the Israel Defense Forces Strategic Planning Division
The Policy Forum series is made possible through the generosity of the Florence
and Robert Kaufman Family.
Woman, child among
civilians killed as Israeli attacks continue in Lebanese border area
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/December 03, 2024
BEIRUT: Cautious calm prevailed in southern Lebanon following an intense night
that shook the ceasefire agreement. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said
on Tuesday that diplomatic communications had intensified since Monday to stop
Israeli violations of the ceasefire. The Lebanese authorities documented 47
Israeli violations of the agreement as of Monday morning. Hezbollah retaliated
on Monday, targeting the Shebaa Farms and the Galilee. The Israeli military
responded by targeting southern villages where residents had just returned,
killing six civilians, including a woman and a child in Haris, according to the
Ministry of Health. Two injured people were pulled from the rubble of their
house. The Israeli targets included Jabal Safi, Louaizi, Mlikh, Bouslaiya, Deir
Al-Zahrani, and the outskirts of Arnoun. Although Israeli officials had
threatened to launch a severe attack on Beirut in response to Monday’s
developments, urgent calls were made to reduce tensions. Israeli media outlets
reported that significant US pressure prevented Israel from attacking Beirut on
Monday. Mikati met with US Gen. Jasper Jeffers, who chairs the monitoring
committee. Mikati said: “During the calls, we emphasized the need for stability
so the displaced people could return to their villages and areas, in addition to
widely deploying the Lebanese Army troops in the south.”His remarks came as
Israeli forces that advanced into the border area in southern Lebanon continued
to violate the ceasefire agreement by targeting towns outside the area in which
they are located while warning residents against entering. For the third
consecutive day, Avichai Adraee, the spokesperson for the Israeli military,
warned residents of the border area against moving south of the line of the
following villages: Shebaa, Habbariyeh, Marjayoun, Arnoun, Yohmor, Qantara,
Shaqra, Baraashit, Yater and Mansouri until further notice. He said anyone who
moved south of the line put themselves at risk. On Tuesday, an Israeli drone
targeted the town of Beit Lif in the Bint Jbeil district. The Israeli military
opened fire with machine guns in a neighborhood in the town of Haboush. Security
reports indicated that an Israeli armored force penetrated the towns of Khiam
and Wazzani, spreading across several neighborhoods. Three Merkava tanks were
spotted advancing toward Burj Al-Molouk, marking the first time an Israeli
incursion has reached this area. On Monday night, the Israeli military’s
violations reached the town of Kfar Melki in the Sidon district. On Tuesday, the
Lebanese Armed Forces deployed in Tyre and its surroundings to maintain
security, marking the start of the redeployment of army units, especially in the
border villages, under the ceasefire agreement. The Civil Defense units
affiliated with Hezbollah continued to retrieve the remains of victims who
perished during the war and who were not buried in their hometowns due to
extensive hostilities. The majority of these remains belong to Hezbollah
fighters. The head of the Tyre District Medical Department, Dr. Wissam Ghazal,
said that 192 victims had been handed over, and the Ministry of Health, the
Civil Defense, and the Disaster Unit of the Municipal Union were working to
facilitate the humanitarian operations. The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon,
Mojtaba Amani, made a public appearance after recovering from a significant
injury incurred from the detonation of a pager device he was carrying, which was
triggered by Israel’s actions against Hezbollah. During his visit to the
southern suburbs of Beirut, he emphasized Iran’s continued support for Lebanon
and its assistance in the reconstruction efforts.
'We’re moving backward':
IDF officers express criticism over Lebanon ceasefire
Amir Bohbot/Jerusalem Post/December 03/2024
A reserve officer noted, "Hezbollah terrorists will be back at the border soon,
and they’ll do it in different forms. Several IDF officers in Northern Command
criticized the military on Tuesday for not using the ceasefire to dismantle
terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon and eliminate weapons caches.“On
the first day, it worked,” one of the officers said. “Patrols began, and we
detained Hezbollah terrorists and Lebanese civilians. At least one individual
came out of hiding. The others? They moved from northern to southern Lebanon,
exploiting that the Lebanese Army had yet to set up checkpoints or simply bypass
those already in place.” Lebanese civilians were returning to their homes
despite reports suggesting otherwise, another officer said.“Most are coming back
to see what happened to their houses and villages,” he said. “Some discovered
that there’s nothing left.”Another officer said that the senior command should
have taken a more proactive approach. “We could have taken far greater advantage
of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon to scan and destroy terror infrastructure
and weapons,” he said. “Instead, we’re retreating, hesitating, and reducing
forces in certain areas. Why? Rather than expanding search operations, we’re
overly cautious. It’s a mistake. We’re moving backward again. Talk to the troops
on the ground; they’ll tell you what they see with their own eyes.”
'Hezbollah will be back at the border soon'
A reserve officer said: “Hezbollah terrorists will be back at the border soon,
and they’ll do it in different forms. They won’t wait. They don’t need to wear
uniforms. It will fall to Intelligence to identify them. We know that some of
the journalists being sent to the border are working for Hezbollah. That’s how
it starts. The real issue is that in 60 days, it’ll be even harder to
act.”Another officer whose unit is operating in the area voiced concerns about
operational readiness. “Soldiers are being sent on leave and short breaks,” he
said. “There are missions to accomplish, but it’s hard to carry them out. No one
wants to go on patrol knowing they don’t have the full support of critical
units, such as bomb-disposal teams or additional forces for searches and
responses. As a result, commanders are hesitant to take the initiative.”
Katz: If ceasefire fails, IDF will strike non-Hezbollah
Lebanese targets
Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/December 03/2024
Defense minister's threat could lead to far more aggressive policy than IDF has
discussed. Defense Minister Israel Katz said that if the November 26 ceasefire
between Israel and Hezbollah fails, the IDF will be more ready to strike
non-Hezbollah Lebanese targets, during a visit to the northern border on Tuesday
.
“If the ceasefire collapses – there will not be anymore exemption to the state
of Lebanon,” said Katz. Finally, he said that Israel would never return to the
days when it would ignore "minor" rocket fire or a small tent that Hezbollah
erected before the war illegally a small number of meters into Israeli
territory. The defense minister added, “If until now we distinguished between
Lebanon and Hezbollah – this will not continue. These statements were the
farthest and most explicit a top Israeli defense official has gone toward
threatening the wider state of Lebanon, though from time to time, some top
officials have made similar implied threats.
Hezbollah violated the ceasefire
The threats come after Hezbollah violated the ceasefire with two mortars fired
into the Golan Heights late Monday and with the IDF responding hours later with
wide-ranging airstrikes to deter such violations. Generally, Katz’s statements
go against the messaging that top IDF officials have given off, with the
military doing all it could over the last 14 months to almost solely target
Hezbollah-Shiite areas and not Sunni, Christian, or Palestinian Lebanese areas.
The number of times that the IDF has attacked cities that are predominantly
non-Shiite has been extremely small, and each time has involved a warning and a
post-attack statement that those attacked were Hezbollah terrorists hiding among
the non-Hezbollah sector. Further, the statement is unusual because there are no
signs to date that the Lebanese state has done anything to assist Hezbollah in
violating the ceasefire. Rather, Israel has complained that the Lebanese army
has so far failed to contain Hezbollah from violating the ceasefire, but it has
been well-known by all parties that the Lebanese army is much weaker than
Hezbollah, too much weaker to do so. Even after a 14-month war and two months of
heavy bombing by the IDF, Hezbollah retains tens of thousands of fighters and is
still by far the most dominant military force in Lebanon. Alternatively, Katz's
threats may be a warning shot to try to motivate all the parties in Lebanon to
strive for a quieter rollout of the ceasefire than has been to date without any
real intention of following through on the threat. If Katz is departing from the
IDF’s messaging, this would not be the first time. Shortly after he took on his
role, he was recorded with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, sitting
next to him in which he said that there would be no ceasefire until Hezbollah
was disarmed. This drew a confused look by Halevi, which many media outlets
picked up on, since this was not a condition of reaching a ceasefire. Instead,
the IDF was only demanding that Hezbollah withdraw to North of the Litani River
and that it retain the ability to attack any attempts from neighboring states to
rearm Hezbollah. Tensions between Katz and Halevi have flared multiple times,
including over certain military commander promotions, in the month since he
replaced Yoav Gallant, who had much more of the same mindset as the IDF chief on
both military and political issues.
Israeli strike near Damascus killed Hezbollah liaison with
Syrian army
Reuters/December 3, 2024
An Israeli airstrike on a car near Syria's capital Damascus on Tuesday killed
Salman Jumaa, a senior Hezbollah figure responsible for liaising with the Syrian
army, a Lebanese security source told Reuters. Syria's state news agency had
reported the strike on the airport road but did not offer details on casualties.
The Israeli military confirmed in a later statement taking out Jumaa in what it
called an intelligence-based strike in Damascus, saying his killing "degrades
both Hezbollah’s presence in Syria and Hezbollah’s ongoing force-building
efforts". Israel rarely acknowledges its strikes in Syria, where it has carried
out a years-long air campaign against Iranian military assets and those of its
allies, including Hezbollah. In a rare announcement last month, it said it
struck Hezbollah intelligence assets near Damascus. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that he was
"playing with fire" by allowing Iran to transfer weapons to its allies via
Syria. Araghchi made his comments during a TV interview. The attack on Aleppo
was a “plot” hatched by the US and Israel, according to the Iranians. Araghchi
said the timing proves this. “There is complete coordination between the Zionist
regime, the US government, and terrorist groups, and the course of events
indicates such coordination because these attacks followed a ceasefire in
Lebanon,” he said. Why does Iran see it this way? It cites the ceasefire in
Lebanon on the eve of the attack by HTS. The Syrian opposition surprised the
Syrian regime. This is because the regime was likely watching developments in
Lebanon relating to the Israel-Hezbollah war. Syria’s regime and Iran back
Hezbollah. Once the ceasefire began, however, HTS launched its attack in
northern Syria. In all likelihood, the defeat of Hezbollah by Israel contributed
to the timing of the attack.
There is no evidence that the US and Israel are cheering over the attack by HTS.
On the contrary, Israel may be concerned that chaos could develop in Syria. When
there is chaos, there are threats to Israel, usually by Iranian-backed groups
that exploit the vacuum in power.
Garnering support from Turkey and Russia
Nevertheless, Iran often claims conspiracies to justify its interventions.
Tehran wants the US to leave eastern Syria, where the Americans are fighting
ISIS alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces, a mostly Kurdish force. Iran wants
to use the current war against HTS to not just get the US to leave; it also
wants to mobilize attacks against the SDF. Turkey agrees with Iran’s view in
this context. Ankara has used the HTS attack to mobilize Syrian militias to
attack Kurds. Iran believes it can spread conspiracies about Israel and the US
to garner support in Ankara and Moscow. “I had detailed and important
discussions with Bashar al-Assad and conveyed the message of the Islamic
Republic of Iran about its full and firm support and backing for the Syrian
government and its president.”Just as the Syrian government was with us during
the imposed war, we will also be with this country,” Araghchi said, according to
Iranian state media.
“It was decided to continue these consultations and resume the Astana process,
he said while referring to his talks with the Turkish counterpart, adding that a
meeting of the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia, and Turkey will be held in
Doha probably next week,” the report said.
Israeli farmer whose son was killed by Lebanon rocket works
to restore orchard
Reuters/December 03/2024
"I came and saw the worst thing possible to see," Weinstein said. Five weeks
ago, Moshe Weinstein found the body of his son Omer and four farm workers killed
by a Hezbollah rocket, their bodies lying in an apple orchard that he has
cultivated for years. Weinstein, 75, is back working his land, taking advantage
of a ceasefire deal brokered last week between Israel and Hezbollah that is
aimed at restoring calm to both sides of the border. But the horror will haunt
him for the rest of his days. "I came and saw the worst thing possible to see,"
he told Reuters. He had been elsewhere on the farm when the sirens went off on
Oct. 31, warning of incoming fire from Lebanon. Shortly afterward, an explosion
shook the air. By the time he reached his son there was nothing to be done. Four
Thai workers were also killed outright, while a fifth survived the blast. "They
were not supposed to be here harvesting on that day," he said, recalling how
Omer had taken his team into the orchard only because a client had asked for the
sweet Pink Lady apples that grew in that section of his farm. "The strike was
there in the well, the tractor stood here with the cart," he said, reliving the
scene. Weinstein's family business lies close to Metulla, Israel's northernmost
town, which was repeatedly targeted by Hezbollah rockets over the past 14 months
as part of the Iranian-backed group's campaign to support its Palestinian ally
Hamas. The beginning of escalations. Hezbollah began rocketing Israel across the
border in solidarity with Hamas the day after the Palestinian terrorist group's
Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israeli communities that precipitated war in the Gaza
Strip. In September this year, Israel stepped up its campaign against Hezbollah,
launching an air and ground assault it said was necessary to disarm Hezbollah so
that tens of thousands of Israelis could return safely to northern communities.
"We are the ones holding the borders, 100 meters away, we are the final tree on
the border," Weinstein said. Like most locals, the Weinsteins evacuated from
their home, but were allowed back during the day to tend their crops, taking
precautions to limit the danger such as never traveling together in the same
car. "We were able to work. We were granted entry to some areas and not to
others," he said. "I didn't think there was a 1% chance that one of us would be
hurt, but actually, Omer paid the price."Hezbollah strikes killed 45 civilians
in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the past 14
months. At least 3,768 people were killed in Israel's retaliatory assault on
Lebanon, according to Lebanon's health ministry which does not differentiate
between Hezbollah fighters and civilians. Israel and Hezbollah finally agreed
last week to a truce aimed at establishing lasting peace after decades of
tensions. But Weinstein, who has lived through three major Lebanon conflicts,
has his doubts that the guns would stay silent.
"To me the ceasefire is like Russian roulette," he said.
Netanyahu again says
ceasefire not 'end of the war'
Naharnet/December 03/2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday vowed to “restore peace and
security” to northern Israel, at the beginning of a special, post-war government
meeting in the northern city of Nahariya. “We are currently in a ceasefire. I
point out: a ceasefire, not the end of the war. We have a clear goal of
returning the residents and rehabilitating the north. We are enforcing this
ceasefire with an iron fist, acting against any violation, minor or serious,”
Netanyahu said. Referring to Monday’s Hezbollah rocket attack on the occupied
Shebaa Farms and Israel’s subsequent retaliation, Netanyahu said: “Yesterday
there was a serious violation, and in response we attacked over 20 targets
throughout Lebanon.” “We are committed to a ceasefire, but we will not tolerate
ceasefire violations from the other side,” the Israeli premier stressed.
“The north will be quiet, the north will prosper, the north will flourish, and
the north will be safe,” he emphasized.
US military delegation inspects UNIFIL HQ ahead of Friday
meeting
Naharnet/December 03/2024
A U.S. military delegation inspected UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura yesterday
and met with the UNIFIL commander, al-Jadeed television reported on Tuesday.
“The head of the French military delegation will arrive in Lebanon tomorrow and
the five-party security committee is supposed to hold its first meeting on
Friday,” al-Jadeed added. The five-party ceasefire monitoring mechanism consists
of the U.S., France, Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL.UNIFIL meanwhile said in a post
on the X platform that it stands “ready to support any agreement and mechanism
that will end the violence across the Blue Line.”“We will continue to monitor
and report on violations of resolution 1701, and urge all actors to abide by the
resolution in both letter and spirit,” it added. UNIFIL chief Major General
Aroldo Lázaro for his part said he was pleased to meet U.S. Ambassador to
Lebanon Lisa Johnson and Major General Jasper Jeffers, chair of the mechanism to
support the cessation of hostilities.“We discussed efforts to help restore
stability and peacekeepers' support for the mechanism’s work,” he added.
Israeli drone kills shepherd in Shebaa as sporadic attacks
continue
Naharnet/December 03/2024
An Israeli drone strike killed a shepherd Tuesday on the outskirts of the
southern border town of Shebaa, as Israel continue its violation of the
ceasefire agreement. Two other drone strikes had earlier targeted the southern
town of Beit Leef and the outskirts of the southern town of Deir Siryan. And as
an artillery shell fell on the Marjayoun plain, machinegun fire targeted the
southern town of Majdal Zoun. An Israeli Merkava tank meanwhile made an
incursion from the Tal Nahas area towards the Deir Mimas-Burj al-Moulouk-Kfarkela
triangle, stopping 200 meters from a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Burj al-Moulouk.
Israel says won't differentiate between Lebanon and
Hezbollah if ceasefire collapses
Agence France Presse/December 03/2024
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Tuesday that if a ceasefire reached last
week collapses, Israel will target the Lebanese state itself and will no longer
differentiate between Lebanon and Hezbollah. "If we return to war, we will act
with greater force and penetrate deeper and... there will be no immunity for the
state of Lebanon," he said during a tour of Israel’s northern border, adding
that "until now, we made a distinction between Lebanon and Hezbollah... it will
no longer be the case".Katz spoke the day after Israel carried out a wave of
airstrikes that killed nearly a dozen people. Those strikes came after Hezbollah
fired 2 projectiles at an open occupied land as a warning over previous Israeli
violations. Speaking to troops on the northern border Tuesday, Katz said any
violations of the agreement would be met with "a maximum response and zero
tolerance."He said if the war resumes, Israel will widen its strikes beyond the
areas where Hezbollah’s activities are concentrated, and "there will no longer
be an exemption for the state of Lebanon." During the 14-month conflict between
Israel and Hezbollah, which came to an end last week with a ceasefire brokered
by the United States and France, Israel largely refrained from striking critical
infrastructure or the Lebanese armed forces, who kept to the sidelines. But many
civilians and Lebanese soldiers were killed or wounded. The ceasefire agreement
that took effect last week gives 60 days for Israel to withdraw its forces from
Lebanon and for Hezbollah to relocate north of the Litani River. The buffer zone
is to be patrolled by Lebanese armed forces and U.N. peacekeepers. Israel has
carried out multiple strikes in recent days in response to what it says are
violations by Hezbollah. Hezbollah had not attacked Israel until Monday, after
six days of Israeli violations, including strikes, shelling, and overflights.
Before the Hezbollah projectiles, Israel carried out at least four airstrikes
and an artillery barrage in southern Lebanon, including a drone strike that
killed a person on a motorcycle, according to Lebanese state media. Another
strike killed a corporal in the Lebanese security services.
Lebanon accused Israel of violating the truce more than 50 times in recent days
by launching airstrikes, demolishing homes and uprooting trees near the border
and violating Lebanon’s airspace, including in the capital Beirut.
Mikati says Lebanon pushing for Israeli pullout, return of displaced
Naharnet/December 03/2024
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday said that “diplomatic contacts
are ongoing and were intensified yesterday to halt the Israeli violations of the
ceasefire agreement and secure withdrawal from Lebanese border towns.”“We
stressed during these contacts the priority of stabilizing the situations so
that the displaced can return to their towns and areas and the army’s deployment
in the south can be expanded,” Mikati told his visitors. He added that “the Army
Command’s announcement that it needs to recruit soldiers for its combat units is
part of the implementation of Cabinet’s decision on increasing the army’s
personnel to reinforce its deployment in the various areas of the south.”
Bassil: President election shouldn't be linked to events in
region
Naharnet/December 03/2024
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Tuesday called on the Lebanese to
agree on a new president and "distance Lebanon from wars and conflicts.""We have
started political efforts from Dar al-Fatwa and we're concerned with talking to
everyone," Bassil said after meeting with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan.
“We hope war won’t renew and there should be a president and a government to
secure the country’s salvation,” the FPM chief added. Moreover, he said that the
presidential vote is a “Lebanese juncture” and that “the agreement on the
president should be reached by the Lebanese.”“We should not link this juncture
to the events in the region,” Bassil stressed.
Lebanese army launches recruitment drive to bolster presence in the south
Associated Press/December 03/2024
The Lebanese army is looking for more recruits as it beefs up its presence in
southern Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Lebanon’s army is a
respected national institution that kept to the sidelines during the nearly
14-month conflict. During an initial 60-day truce, thousands of Lebanese troops
are supposed to deploy in southern Lebanon, where U.N. peacekeepers also have a
presence. Hezbollah militants are to pull back from areas near the border as
Israel withdraws its ground forces. The army said those interested in joining up
have a one-month period to apply, starting Tuesday. The Lebanese army has about
80,000 troops, with around 5,000 of them deployed in the south.
Iran's ambassador to Lebanon reappears after pager attack
Associated Press/December 03/2024
Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon made his first public appearance in Beirut since he
was wounded in an attack involving exploding pagers in mid-September. Mojtaba
Amani, who returned to Lebanon over the weekend after undergoing treatment in
Iran, visited on Tuesday the scene south of Beirut where Hezbollah leader Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27. Speaking about
the airstrike that destroyed six buildings and killed Nasrallah and others,
Amani said Israel should get for its act "the highest medal for sabotage,
terrorism, blood and killing civilians."Amani suffered serious injuries in his
face and hands when a pager he was holding exploded in mid-September. The device
was one of about 3,000 pagers that exploded simultaneously, killing and wounding
many Hezbollah members. A day after the pager attack, a similar attack struck
walkie-talkies. In total, the explosions killed at least 37 people and wounded
more than 3,000, many of them civilians. Last month, a spokesperson for the
office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pager attack was
approved by Netanyahu.
Why did Hezbollah stage Shebaa Farms attack?
Naharnet/December 03/2024
The objective behind Hezbollah’s rocket attack on the occupied Shebaa Farms on
Monday was to “deter the Israeli army from continuing its violations,” prominent
sources told the pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Tuesday.
“Hezbollah wanted to deliver a message to the concerned mediators, the Americans
and the French, regarding the need to speed up the activation of the work of the
monitoring committee and to begin implementing the mechanism in the south to
avoid the ceasefire’s collapse, and in order not to interpret Hezbollah’s
silence as weakness and impotence,” the sources added.
Lebanon and Israel renew commitment to ceasefire, report
says
Naharnet/December 03/2024
Lebanese and Israeli officials have reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire
agreement despite Monday's flare-up and Israel's numerous violations, informed
U.S. sources said. "The ceasefire monitoring team has arrived in Lebanon to
begin its work," the sources told Al-Jazeera, adding that Washington is working
with France, Lebanon and Israel to resolve any issue through the ceasefire
mechanism. "Washington is exerting utmost effort to preserve the ceasefire and
believes that it will hold," the sources said. "Washington is in close contact
with the officials in Lebanon and Israel regarding the ceasefire," they added.
The opposition follow-up committee met in Maarab on Tuesday and said it will
“intensify efforts and contacts with all parliamentary blocs in a bid to agree
on a (presidential) candidate enjoying the broadest support, while insisting on
the characteristics needed for the phase of building the state.”“We insist that
the January 9 session should be open-ended with successive rounds until the
election of a president as per the constitution,” the committee said in a
statement. “January 9 should be the decisive date for finalizing the
presidential election through the election of a president who would abide by
implementing the constitution and the ceasefire agreement and who would lead the
necessary reforms,” the committee added. The committee also stressed the need to
“consolidate the ceasefire, deal firmly with violations, seize weapons and
deploy the army across Lebanon.”
Macron meets bin Salman: Lebanon at the 'heart of the
discussions'
Agence France Presse/December 03/2024
President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a
strategic partnership on Monday aimed at deepening bilateral ties and
de-escalating conflict in the Middle East, including Lebanon, where the two
leaders called for presidential elections. The French leader arrived in Saudi
Arabia on Monday for a three-day state visit just as a political crisis
threatens to topple the French government. After a meeting with Prince Mohammed,
the de facto ruler of the oil-rich Gulf kingdom, Macron's office announced the
signing of a new partnership aimed at improving cooperation in "defense, energy
transition, culture, mobility between the two countries". The two leaders also
"agreed to make every effort to contribute to de-escalation in the region",
including helping to consolidate the fragile ceasefire between Israel and
Lebanon. "Together, they called for the holding of presidential elections in
Lebanon with the aim of bringing the Lebanese people together and carrying out
the reforms necessary for the stability and security of the country," the
statement from Macron's office said. Macron touched down in the Saudi capital
Riyadh in the afternoon, where he was greeted by an honor guard of sword-holding
servicemen and celebratory cannon fire as he disembarked from his plane. He did
not comment on the political situation in France as he arrived. Macron's visit
began as France's less than three-month-old minority government faced the
prospect of being forced out by a vote of no confidence in the coming days. The
far-right National Rally party said it would vote to oust Michel Barnier's
government after the prime minister used an executive tool to push through a
social security budget bill without parliamentary approval. The left wing is
also expected to back the motion, which could be held as early as Wednesday. If
successful, it would oust the government that was appointed in September after
snap polls. Macron's three-day stay also coincides with a flare-up of violence
in Syria, where anti-government rebels have seized Aleppo, the country's
second-largest city.The fighting in Syria follows France's brokering of a
ceasefire in neighboring Lebanon.
Lebanese army
Macron's state visit is the first by a French president to Saudi Arabia since
Jacques Chirac in 2006, cementing what the presidency calls a "very close
relationship". In 2021, Macron became one of the first Western leaders to meet
Prince Mohammed in Saudi Arabia after the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal
Khashoggi at Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul. The French president and Prince
Mohammed will see how they "work together" on the conflicts shaking the region,
with Lebanon at the "heart of the discussions", the French presidency said in an
earlier statement.
Macron is hoping for Saudi support for the Lebanese army, which is being
deployed towards the border with Israel under the ceasefire but is poorly armed
and trained. He will also try to win Saudi help to reverse the political
disintegration that has plunged Lebanon's government and economy into
catastrophe. Paris and Riyadh are also calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war
and a "political outcome" based on the two-state solution of separate Israeli
and Palestinian states. Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, has
paused discussions with Washington on potentially recognizing Israel in return
for deeper security and bilateral ties with the United States. In September, the
crown prince hardened his position, insisting that Saudi Arabia would not
establish ties with Israel before the creation of a Palestinian state. Macron is
accompanied by about 50 senior officials from major French companies including
TotalEnergies, EDF and Veolia, as well as start-ups in artificial intelligence
and quantum physics. France and Saudi Arabia aim to "significantly strengthen"
their economic ties to "the height of our shared ambition", the presidency
said.Discussions are also under way for Saudi Arabia to acquire French-made
Rafale fighter jets, although no announcement is expected during the visit,
according to a source close to the matter.
Israel Threatens to Expand War If Hezbollah Truce Collapses
Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/2024
Israel threatened on Tuesday to return to war in Lebanon if its truce with
Hezbollah collapses, and said this time its attacks would go deeper and target
the Lebanese state itself, after the deadliest day since the ceasefire was
agreed last week. In its strongest threat since the truce was agreed to end 14
months of war with Hezbollah, Israel said it would hold Lebanon responsible for
failing to disarm fighters who violate the ceasefire. "If we return to war we
will act strongly, we will go deeper, and the most important thing they need to
know: that there will be no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon,"
Defense Minister Israel Katz said. "If until now we separated the state of
Lebanon from Hezbollah... it will no longer be [like this]," he said during a
visit to the northern border area. Despite last week's truce, Israeli forces
have continued strikes against what they say are Hezbollah fighters ignoring the
agreement to halt attacks and withdraw beyond the Litani River, about 30 km (18
miles) from the frontier. On Monday, Hezbollah shelled an Israeli military post,
while Lebanese authorities said at least 12 people were killed in Israeli
airstrikes on Lebanon. Another person was killed on Tuesday by a drone strike,
Lebanon said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any infraction of
the truce would be punished, however small. "We are enforcing this ceasefire
with an iron fist," he said ahead of a cabinet meeting in the northern border
city of Nahariya. "We are currently in a ceasefire, I note, a ceasefire, not the
end of the war," he added.
DIPLOMACY
Top Lebanese officials urged Washington and Paris to press Israel to uphold the
ceasefire, after dozens of military operations on Lebanese soil that Beirut has
deemed violations, two senior Lebanese political sources told Reuters on
Tuesday. The sources said caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of
Parliament Nabih Berri, a close Hezbollah ally who negotiated the deal on behalf
of Lebanon, spoke to officials at the White House and French presidency late on
Monday. Mikati, quoted by the Lebanese news agency, said that diplomatic
communications had intensified since Monday to stop Israeli violations of the
ceasefire. He also said a recruitment drive was under way by the Lebanese army
to strengthen its presence in the south. US State Department spokesperson Matt
Miller told reporters on Monday that the ceasefire "is holding" and that the US
had "anticipated that there might be violations". The truce came into effect on
Nov. 27 and prohibits Israel from conducting offensive military operations in
Lebanon, while requiring Lebanon to prevent armed groups including Hezbollah
from launching attacks on Israel. It gives Israeli troops 60 days to withdraw
from south Lebanon. A mission chaired by the United States is tasked with
monitoring, verifying and helping enforce the truce, but it has yet to begin
work. Lebanon's Mikati met in Beirut on Monday with US General Jasper Jeffers,
who will chair the monitoring committee. Two sources familiar with the matter
told Reuters that France's representative to the committee, General Guillaume
Ponchin, would arrive in Beirut on Wednesday and that the committee would hold
its first meeting on Thursday. "There is an urgency to finalize the mechanism,
otherwise it will be too late," one of the sources said, referring to Israel's
gradual intensification of strikes despite the truce.
Germany Arrests a Lebanese Man Accused of Being a Member of Hezbollah
Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/2024
German authorities have arrested a Lebanese man accused of being a member of
Hezbollah and working for groups controlled by the organization in Germany.
Federal prosecutors said the suspect, identified only as Fadel R. in line with
German privacy rules, was arrested in the Hannover region on Tuesday. The man is
suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization and is not accused
of direct involvement in any violence. Prosecutors said he joined Hezbollah in
the summer of 2008 or earlier and took part in leadership training courses in
Lebanon. From 2009, he allegedly had leadership duties in two groups controlled
by Hezbollah in the Hannover area, organizing appearances by preachers close to
the party. According to prosecutors, he was briefly a correspondent for a
Hezbollah media outlet in 2017 and was tasked with coordinating building work at
a mosque. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel. It is also home to a Lebanese
immigrant community of more than 100,000.
Be Under No Illusions...
Lebanon Faces Tests to its Existence
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/2024
The speech by the new Hezbollah Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, was
extremely important for several reasons, in terms of both its timing and
content. Broadcast on Saturday, it was Sheikh Naim's first speech after the
ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, which was brokered by the United States and
France, with Washington playing the leading role. It was natural, indeed
necessary, for the party to address its "sectarian" community, the broader
national community, and the regional community, given that the "unity of the
arenas" was among the pretexts for this war.
Given the significant losses sustained by Hezbollah, many Lebanese keenly sought
to find signs that a different approach would be taken by its leadership or of a
serious assessment drawing lessons for the future. It was clear that the new
Secretary-General wanted his speech to serve two goals: speak to the popular
base and announce positions and commitments to both domestic and international
actors. The sharp contrast between the segments of the speech addressed to these
different audiences was stark, but it was to be expected after a costly military
gamble that Sheikh Naim implicitly acknowledged and that the political and
military commentators affiliated with the party and its base openly admitted.
Boosting morale after a real catastrophe struck dozens of cities, towns, and
villages from the far south of Lebanon to the far north (including the southern
suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahiyeh, Hezbollah's nerve center and where
decisions are made) was undoubtedly a core objective of the speech.
Another major priority was reaffirming the principles that the party's
"literature" has emphasized for decades, for which sacrifices were made and
slogans and narratives woven together and recited by party members, sometimes
without any skepticism or even thinking.
To ensure that the speech served these major functions, the Secretary-General
emphasized that "a major victory greater than that of July 2006" had been
achieved. "We won because we prevented the enemy from destroying Hezbollah; we
won because we prevented it from ending the resistance or weakening it to a
point where it couldn't act," he then added. He also highlighted three elements.
Firstly, the length of the "Israeli assault" (implying that Israel could not
decide the conflict quickly) and the party’s resilience in the face of this
ferocious battle. Secondly, the American and Western support for Israel.
Thirdly, the losses that Israel has sustained over the year as a result of the
party's strikes, including the displacement of hundreds of thousands from
northern Israel, stressing that resistance's endurance left Israel without any
other options.
Regarding the second half of this segment, the narrative of principles, the key
points were:
- Reiterating its commitment to its special relationship with the Iranian
leadership and its regional allies.
- "Continuing support for Palestine," albeit "in different ways."
He also emphasized that the ceasefire agreement is not "a new treaty," nor "an
agreement requiring the signature of foreign countries." Instead, it is a set of
"measures" regarding the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, which "the party
had already agreed to." The agreement "did not violate Lebanon’s sovereignty,
and we agreed to it with our heads held high and insisting on our right to
defend ourselves."
All of the above is understandable. It is meant to keep the party and its base
content, but other Lebanese communities have different opinions. The most
amusing reflection of this disagreement was the viral clip of Lebanese Forces MP
Ghayath Yazbeck’s bewildered body language as he stood behind Hezbollah MP
Hassan Fadlallah making an "absurd" statement about the party's "victory" and
its continued commitment to the "trinity of the army, the people, and the
resistance."
A television broadcaster watched by Yazbeck's community did not miss the
opportunity to unpack Fadlallah's claims with a report on the war through
figures. The report addressed the realities of the territories controlled by
both Israeli and Hezbollah forces, the extent of destruction, and the numbers of
dead, wounded, prisoners, displaced, and missing, including political and
military leaders.
Despite this, I believe the Lebanese should turn the page on the experiences and
pains of the past year and look forward to the future. Returning to the
discourse of treason accusations will not resolve political disputes, and
obstinate denial cannot build a nation. Attempts to monopolize solutions, just
like attempts to monopolize patriotism, are the most effective way to accelerate
political, economic, security, and institutional collapse. The "60-day period"
that ended the bloodshed and stopped the destruction machine might not work
miracles, but it offers an opportunity to pause and reflect, to bury the
victims, rebuild what was destroyed, and catch our breath. Lighting a candle is
better a thousand times than cursing the darkness. A good start might be to
respect the terms of the ceasefire agreement until January 9, the date of the
parliamentary election of a consensus president who can at least maintain the
symbolic existence of the state.In a region like the Middle East, where
victories and defeats are like betrayal or a "point of view,"... mistakes are
very costly. Our world is currently without a compass. Established democracies
are reeling under the blows of racist populism and ruthless greed. Human values,
even in the most advanced societies, are on the verge of being sidelined and
disappearing in the face of the terrifying, rampant force of technology.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on December 03-04/2024
Syrian rebels advance close to Hama city, raising pressure on Assad and his
allies
Reuters/December 03/2024
Rebels and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said insurgents
had captured villages, including Maar Shahur, a few miles north of the city.
Syrian rebels advancing against government forces pushed close on Tuesday to the
major city of Hama, rebels and a war monitor said after their sudden capture of
Aleppo last week rocked President Bashar Assad. Rebels and the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said insurgents had captured villages,
including Maar Shahur, a few miles north of the city. Syrian state media said
reinforcements were arriving in the area. An attack on Hama would ramp up
pressure on Assad, whose Russian and Iranian allies have scrambled to support
him against a reviving rebellion. The city has remained in government hands
since civil war erupted in 2011. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in
an Arabic-language interview that Tehran would consider sending troops to Syria
if Damascus asked, and Russian President Vladimir Putin urged an end to
"terrorist aggression" in Syria, RIA reported.
Iraq Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani said Baghdad would not be "a mere spectator"
in Syria and blamed Israeli military strikes on the Syrian government for the
rebel advance, his office said. Compounding Assad's problems, fighters from a
US-backed, Kurdish-led coalition battled government forces in the northeast,
both sides said, opening a new front along a vital supply route. Last week's
rebel seizure of Aleppo - Syria's largest city before the war - marked the
biggest offensive for years. The front lines of the conflict have been frozen
since 2020 after Assad clawed back most of the country from rebels, thanks to
help from Russian air power and military help from Iran and its network of
regional Shi'ite militia groups.
Now, however, Russia has been concentrating on the war in Ukraine, while Israeli
strikes over the past three months have decimated the leadership of Hezbollah,
the strongest Iran-backed force fighting in Syria. On Monday, hundreds of
Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters entered Syria to back up Syrian government
forces, Iraqi and Syrian sources said, but Hezbollah does not plan to send
forces now. A rebel source said Iran-backed militia fighters were among the
forces they were battling outside Hama. In recent days, Russian and Syrian
government warplanes have intensified airstrikes against rebels, both sides have
said. Rescue workers have reported deadly strikes on hospitals in Aleppo and
Idlib. Any sustained escalation in Syria risks further destabilizing a region
already alight from wars in Gaza and Lebanon, where a truce between Israel and
the Hezbollah militant group took effect last week. The retreat by Assad's
forces over the past several days has led to jockeying for control among other
groups that control pockets in the northwest, north, and east. The Syrian
Democratic Forces, an umbrella group that controls territory in Syria's east
with US support, said early on Tuesday that its Deir al-Zor Military Council had
"become responsible for protecting" seven villages previously held by the Syrian
army. The Deir al-Zor Military Council comprises local Arab fighters under the
SDF, an alliance mainly led by a Kurdish militia, the YPG. Syrian state media
reported that the army and allied forces were repelling an SDF assault on the
villages, the only Syrian government presence along the east bank of the
Euphrates River, an area otherwise mostly held by the SDF. A Syrian military
officer said the SDF push was aimed at exploiting government forces' weakness
after the rebel advance and said the army and allied Iran-backed militia groups
were sending reinforcements. Airstrikes also targeted Iran-backed militia groups
supporting Syrian government forces in the strategically vital region, a
security source in eastern Syria and a Syrian army source said. The US military,
which has a small number of troops based at a gas field in the area, carried out
at least one strike in self-defense overnight, a US official said, adding it was
not related to the ongoing rebel advances.
Crowded battlefield
The battlefield is crowded in northern Syria, with the US, Russia, Iran, and
Turkey all involved in the renewed fighting, underscoring the messy global
politics at play. On Monday, Iran said there would be a foreign ministers
meeting with Turkey and Russia in Doha next weekend as part of a diplomatic
process that had earlier been used to stabilize borders. The SDF was the main
Western-backed ground force in eastern Syria fighting Islamic State, which ran a
jihadist mini-state there from 2014-17. Turkey says the SDF's main fighting
force, the YPG, are Kurdish separatists it regards as terrorists and sent troops
across the frontier in 2017 to push them back. Rebel advances in recent days
have dislodged the YPG from areas in and near Aleppo, including Aleppo's Sheikh
Maqsoud district and a corridor around Tel Refaat to the north. The SDF presence
in northeast Syria along much of the border with Iraq also complicates supply
lines for Iran-backed regional militia groups supporting Assad. On Monday,
Reuters reported that hundreds of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters had crossed the
border into Syria to help government forces. Israel has regularly struck
Iran-backed forces in Syria. Hezbollah said an Israeli strike near Damascus on
Tuesday killed one of its senior officers liaising with the Syrian military.
Israel's military said it does not comment on reports in foreign media.
Putin and Erdogan hold phone call
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the "sharply escalated" situation in
Syria on the phone with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said
on Tuesday. Putin stressed the need to end aggression against the Syrian state,
including leveraging Ankara's capabilities, it said in a statement, and both
leaders noted the importance of further close coordination between Russia,
Turkey, and Iran on the matter. "The two presidents will continue to be in
contact with each other in the context of seeking steps to de-escalate the
crisis," the statement said.
Syrian militants capture four
central towns as government forces reclaim some territory
AP/December 03, 2024
BEIRUT: Syrian militants captured four new towns early Tuesday, bringing them
closer to the central city of Hama, opposition activists said, while government
forces retook some territory they lost last week. The capture of the towns is
the latest in the push by militants led by the salafi jihadi Hayat Tahrir
Al-Sham, as well as Turkiye-backed opposition fighters. Militants now are about
10 kilometers (6 miles) from Hama, the country’s fourth largest city. The latest
push is part of a wide offensive by forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar
Assad that over the past days has captured large parts of the northern city of
Aleppo, Syria’s largest, as well as towns and villages in southern parts of the
northwestern Idlib province. The militant operations' administration said gunmen
killed 50 government forces as they captured the central towns of Halfaya,
Taybat Al-Imam, Maardis and Soran. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, confirmed that the towns were taken.
The pro-government Dama Post media outlet reported intense clashes in an around
the towns, adding that Syrian troops are firing artillery shells at insurgents
in the area. State media reported intense airstrikes by Syrian and Russian air
forces in the area. Both the Observatory and pro-government media outlets
reported that Syrian government forces on Tuesday captured the village of
Khanaser, days after losing it. Khanaser sits on one of the roads that lead to
Aleppo. The long war between Assad and his foreign backers and the array of
armed opposition forces seeking his overthrow has killed an estimated
half-million people over the past 13 years. To the east, the Kurdish-led Syrian
Democratic Forces said in a statement that they captured seven villages from
pro-government fighters. Syrian state media, however, denied that the villages
were captured by the US-backed SDF saying that the attack was repelled. The
villages are close to a base housing US troops in the area that is close to
Iraq. Also Tuesday, Hakan Fidan, the foreign minister of Turkiye, which is a
main backer of groups opposed to Assad, said the recent rapid advance by
opposition fighters in Syria shows that the Syrian president must reconcile with
his own people and hold talks with the opposition. Assad and officials in his
government say all armed groups in opposition-held parts of Syria are terrorists
and has rejected any political solution with them. Turkiye has been seeking to
normalize ties with Syria to address security threats from groups affiliated
with Kurdish militants along its southern border and to help ensure the safe
return of more than 3 million Syrian refugees. Assad has insisted that Turkiye’s
withdrawal of its military forces from northern Syria be a condition for any
normalization between the two countries.
Syrian war reignited as Assad is weakened from conflict with Israel - analysis
Jerusalem Post/December 03/2024
Hezbollah leaving Assad’s territory has made his regime vulnerable, enabling
significant gains by Syrian opposition, though experts agree that Israel doesn’t
have a side to support. Syrian opposition forces, bolstered by Turkish-backed
fighters, launched a surprise offensive against Bashar Assad’s forces in
northwest Syria on Wednesday, capturing key areas in Aleppo and Idlib. The
assault, coming as a fragile cease-fire holds between Israel and Hezbollah,
threatens Assad’s regime at a time when it is already weakened by years of
conflict and declining support from allies such as Iran and Hezbollah.The rebel
advance, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Syrian National Army (SNA),
has drawn attention to its potential implications for Israel and regional
stability. While Israel has not intervened directly, experts suggest the timing
of the offensive is linked to Hezbollah’s diminished capacity following its
clashes with Israel over the past year.
Assad’s Weakening Grip
Jonathan Spyer, a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security,
described Assad’s military as “under-equipped and poorly organized,” relying
heavily on support from Hezbollah and Iran. “Since 2013, Hezbollah has played a
critical role in propping up Assad,” he told The Media Line. But Israel’s
operations against Hezbollah have significantly undermined that support. Dr.
Carmit Valensi, senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies,
pointed out that Hezbollah’s redeployment of forces to Lebanon and its losses to
Israeli strikes have left Assad vulnerable. “This offensive caught the ‘Axis of
Resistance’ at a critical point of weakness,” she told The Media Line. Iran,
too, has “struggled to deploy fighters to Syria,” further complicating the
situation for Assad.
Rebel Forces and Their Capabilities
The rebel groups leading the offensive include HTS, a Sunni Islamist faction
with roots in al-Qaida, and the SNA, a Turkish-backed coalition of Syrian
opposition groups. HTS claims to have severed ties with al-Qaida, though many
experts believe it retains connections to the broader jihadist network. The SNA,
on the other hand, is a more diverse group supported and coordinated by Turkey
to consolidate opposition forces in areas under its influence. Rotem Mey-Tal,
CEO of Asgard Systems, noted that these rebels are equipped with Western-style
weapons and tactics, representing a departure from the Soviet-era equipment
typically seen in the region. “The rebels … primarily use Turkish-made weaponry,
such as the MPT-76 assault rifle manufactured by Turkey’s military industry (MKEK)
and 40mm anti-tank launchers, also produced by MKEK. The rebels move in
Western-made Humvees, as Turkey is a NATO member and thus adopts Western
techno-military doctrines,” Mey-Tal explained to The Media Line. This contrasts
with Assad’s forces, which rely on Soviet-era equipment and Iranian-made missile
systems. However, Mey-Tal warned of the potential long-term risks posed by
arming the rebels. “The weaponry supplied to the rebels … could be turned
against Israel in the future,” he cautioned, citing historical examples where
foreign-supplied arms were used against their original providers.
Iraq Will Not Be Just a
‘Spectator’ in Syria, Prime Minister Says
Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/2024
Iraq will not act as a mere spectator in Syria where it believes groups and
sects are victims of ethnic cleansing, Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday,
according to a readout from his office of a phone call to Türkiye's president.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who discussed the situation in Syria
with Türkiye's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Iraq would exert all efforts to
preserve the security of Iraq and Syria, according to the official readout of
the call. "What is happening in Syria today is in the interest of the Zionist
entity, which deliberately bombed Syrian army sites in a way that paved the way
for terrorist groups to control additional areas in Syria," the Iraqi prime
minister's office quoted Sudani as saying. Factions opposed to Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad seized the city of Aleppo last week in their biggest advance in
years. Iraq's Shiite-led government has close relations with Iran, which is an
ally of Assad, and Iraqi militia fighters have fought on Assad's side in the
war. Two Iraqi security sources and a senior Syrian military source told Reuters
on Monday that hundreds of Iraqi Shiite militia fighters had crossed the border
late on Sunday to help Assad's army fight the opposition’s advance.
The head of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, which includes the major Shiite
militia groups aligned with Iran, said no group under its umbrella had entered
Syria. The Syrian opposition fighters have said their advance over the past week
met little resistance, in part because the most powerful of Iran's allies,
Lebanon's Hezbollah group, had pulled its forces out of Syria to battle Israel
in Lebanon.srael, which has long struck what it says are Iran-aligned military
targets in Syria, has stepped up such strikes over the past 14 months as it
battled Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
Türkiye's Erdogan Discusses
Syria Situation with Putin by Phone, Ankara Says
Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/2024
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the renewed outbreak of
conflict in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone, Erdogan's
office said in a post on X on Tuesday. Erdogan and Putin spoke as Syrian
opposition forces advancing against government troops pushed close on Tuesday to
the major city of Hama, fighters and a war monitor said, after their sudden
capture of Aleppo last week rocked President Bashar al-Assad. Erdogan told Putin
that Türkiye supports Syria's territorial integrity and strives for a just and
lasting solution in Syria, the statement said.
"President Erdogan highlighted the importance of making more room for diplomacy
in the region, and underscored that the Syrian regime should engage in the
political solution process," it said. Erdogan also said that Syria should not
become a source of greater instability. "Erdogan stated that Türkiye will
continue to maintain its determined stance on the fight against the terrorist
organization PKK and its extensions who are trying to take advantage of the
recent developments in Syria," the statement said
Saudi public opinion on normalization with Israel gradually shifting, research
finds
Yoav Shuster/Jerusalem Post/December
03/2024
The study examined hundreds of opinion articles and columns published in the
Saudi English-language press over the past year. Public opinion in Saudi Arabia
regarding the possibility of normalization with Israel is gradually shifting,
according to a recent analysis conducted by experts from the Diane and Guilford
Glazer Foundation Information and Consulting Center of the Jewish People Policy
Institute. Using advanced AI tools, the study examined hundreds of opinion
articles and columns published in the Saudi English-language press over the past
year. These articles were featured in major Saudi media outlets, such as Asharq
Al-Awsat, Arab News, the Saudi Gazette, and others. The study utilized thousands
of press articles, from which opinion and commentary pieces were filtered using
features in the LexisNexis database, along with the assistance of AI tools.
Researchers then employed advanced AI tools to analyze the following questions:
What is the tone toward Israel in the article? To what extent is the topic of
normalization mentioned? If it is mentioned, what is the attitude toward
normalization? The research showed that a vast majority of the examined media
pieces have a negative or highly negative tone toward Israel, with almost no
articles portraying Israel in a positive light. However, when analyzing Saudi
attitudes toward normalization with Israel, a different picture was revealed. In
the opinion columns and articles that mentioned the topic of normalization, the
computerized analysis found that, overall, the normalization process between
Israel and Saudi Arabia was referenced in a fairly neutral and balanced manner.
A directive from the Saudi leadership . This stance toward normalization was
evident despite the generally highly negative tone toward Israel. The balanced
tone toward the idea of normalization in a country like Saudi Arabia, where the
media operates under the monarchy’s authority, led researchers to conclude that
this neutral approach likely reflected a directive from the Saudi leadership.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has long been working to
persuade pockets of opposition within Saudi Arabia to support the idea of
formalizing relations with Israel while simultaneously maintaining his image as
someone who has not abandoned the Palestinian cause.
Why is Iran claiming the US and Israel are
behind Syria escalation? - analysis
Seth Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/December 03/2024
Iran wants the US to leave eastern Syria, where the US is fighting ISIS
alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces, a mostly Kurdish force. Iran was
initially shocked by how fast Syrian opposition groups had advanced in Idlib
province late last month.Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni rebel group, led
the advance and swept aside Syrian regime forces to take Aleppo. Days later, it
looked like HTS would also take Hama, a city on the road to Damascus. The rebels
are now stalled outside Hama. Iran is gathering support for the Syrian regime.
“Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the developments on the ground in
Syria indicate that there is complete coordination between the Zionist regime,
the United States, and terrorist groups aimed at destabilizing the Arab
country,” Iranian state media reported Tuesday.
IDF kills seven Hamas terrorists involved in October 7 massacre
Jerusalem Post/December 03/2024
The military noted that troops had carried out precise raids in the area. IDF
troops of the 99th Division killed seven Hamas terrorists involved in the
October 7 massacre, the military said on Tuesday. Nukhba terrorist Abd Alrazak,
who was also an engineering operative in the center of the Gaza Strip, was
eliminated along with Marzuk Alhur, who was a Hamas terrorist who infiltrated
southern Israel on October 7. The military also mentioned Ma'az Alhur, Abd Abu
Awad Yusri, Omer Abu Abdallah, and Ma'ad Abu Garboa as Hamas terrorists who had
participated in the October 7 massacre. In addition, Nukhba terrorist Ahmed
Zahad took part in the massacre, the IDF added. The 179th and 551st Brigades
conducted several targeted raids in the area, during which they dismantled Hamas
military terror sites, including military structures, observation posts, and
sniper positions. Additionally, numerous weapons were located and dismantled,
including grenades, arms, military vests, explosives, and mortars.
Israel kills 23 people in north Gaza, orders evacuations in south
Nidal al-Mughrabi/CAIRO
(Reuters)/December 3, 2024
Israeli military strikes killed at least 23 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip
on Tuesday, most of them in the town of Beit Lahiya on the northern edge, medics
said, as the army issued new evacuation orders in the south of the small
enclave.
Medics said eight people had been killed in a series of airstrikes in Beit
Lahiya while four others were killed elsewhere in Gaza City. An Israeli
airstrike later killed two people and wounded others in Jabalia, the largest of
Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, in the coastal enclave's north, medics
said. Another air attack, on Al-Falah School sheltering displaced families in
Gaza City's Zeitoun suburb, killed six people and wounded others, medics said,
while in Rafah in the far south, three women were killed by Israeli drone fire,
they added. The Israeli army has been operating in Jabalia and also in the towns
of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun since October. Israeli forces have killed
hundreds of militants in the three locations since the operation began, the army
has said. The army says it is targeting regrouping Hamas-led militants who often
use civilian buildings including schools and hospitals for operational cover.
Hamas denies this, accusing Israeli forces of indiscriminate bombardments. Hamas
and its smaller ally Islamic Jihad have said their fighters have killed several
Israeli soldiers in guerrilla-style ambushes since October. Palestinians have
accused Israel's army of trying to drive people from the northern edge of Gaza
with forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The army
denies this, saying it has returned there to prevent Hamas fighters from
renewing operations in an area from which they had been cleared. The Palestinian
Civil Emergency Service said its operations in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit
Hanoun had now been halted for nearly four weeks due to Israeli attacks on their
teams as well as fuel shortages. On Tuesday it said 13 of 27 vehicles in central
and southern Gaza were also stuck for lack of fuel. It said 88 members of the
Civil Emergency Service had been killed, 304 wounded and 21 detained by Israel
since the war began in October 2023.
EVACUATION ORDERS
The Israeli army issued evacuation orders on Tuesday to residents in northern
districts of Khan Younis, a city in south Gaza, citing the firing of rockets by
militants from those areas. The orders, the latest of many, prompted the hurried
exodus of families, mostly before dawn, in a westerly direction. "For your own
safety, you must evacuate the area immediately and move to the humanitarian
zone," the army said in a statement on X. Palestinian and United Nations
officials say there are no safe areas in the enclave. Most of Gaza's 2.3 million
people have been internally displaced, some as many as 10 times in all. Israel
launched its campaign in the densely populated enclave after Hamas-led fighters
attacked Israeli communities across the border on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200
people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's
military campaign has since killed more than 44,400 Palestinians, injured many
others, and reduced much of the enclave to rubble.
Israeli American soldier killed during Oct. 7 Hamas attack remembered at New
York memorial service
Philip Marcelo/SYOSSET, N.Y.
(AP)/December 03, 2024
For more than a year, Ronen and Orna Neutra have held out hope that their son,
Omer, was alive, captured by Hamas following its attack on Israel last Oct. 7.
But Monday, the Israeli military acknowledged the painful truth: The 21-year-old
had not been taken hostage, but was killed during the group’s surprise attack on
the Nova Music Festival that sparked the latest conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking at a memorial service Tuesday at the Long Island synagogue where his
son celebrated his bar mitzvah years earlier, Ronen Neutra said he was at a loss
for words. After spending months telling his son’s story and pleading for his
release at numerous rallies in the U.S. and abroad, news of his death “left us
breathless and empty,” he said. “For over a year now, we’ve been breathing life
into your being, my beautiful boy,” Orna Neutra, Omer’s mother, said through
tears. “With the hope and love of so many, we kept going and going and going,
keeping you alive, speaking your name from every outlet, pushing any hint of
despair, not stopping to breathe or to take in the deep pain of your
absence.”“Now things are clear,” she told the packed service at the Midway
Jewish Center in Syosset. “But not as we’d hoped.”The couple have been a regular
presence at protests in the U.S. and Israel. They also addressed the Republican
National Convention this year and maintained contact with outgoing Democratic
President Joe Biden’s administration in their effort to secure their son’s
release. Daniel Neutra, Omer’s younger brother, vowed the family would continue
to honor his life’s work by continuing to call for the release of the remaining
hostages and an end to the war. “It is too late for him, but it was not in
vain,” he said. Omer Neutra was born in Manhattan just weeks after the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks, his parents recounted during the service, which was also attended
by Gov. Kathy Hochul and other local politicians. The grandson of Holocaust
survivors, he attended a Jewish school on Long Island where he was captain of
the basketball, soccer and volleyball teams, they said. He was offered admission
to the State University of New York at Binghamton, but instead deferred, took a
gap year and then moved to Israel to enlist in the army. Ronen Neutra called
Israel his son’s “true love” and said he had insisted on serving on the
frontline. His unit was among the first to respond to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack.
“You gave too much, too soon,” Orna Neutra said. The Israel Defense Forces have
not said how they determined that Neutra died in the attack and was not taken
hostage, as initially thought. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
his wife, Sara Netanyahu, said in a joint statement that he “fought fiercely at
the head of his soldiers” to defend Israeli settlements “until he fell.”They
added that they “will not rest or be silent” until his body is recovered from
the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Biden and first lady Jill Biden said in a
statement Monday they were “devastated and outraged” to learn of Neutra’s death.
They said he planned to return to college in the U.S. and “dreamed of dedicating
himself to building peace.”“To all the families of those still held hostage: We
see you. We are with you. And I will not stop working to bring your loved ones
back home where they belong,” the statement reads. Hamas-led militants took
around 250 hostages when they stormed into southern Israel last October, killing
some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Some 100 captives are still held inside
Gaza, with around two-thirds believed to be alive. Neutra was one of seven
American Israelis still held in Gaza, four of whom are now said to be dead.
Hamas released a video of one, Edan Alexander, over the weekend, indicating he
was still alive
Palestinians Get Food Aid in Central Gaza, Some for the First
Time in Months
Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/2024
Palestinians lined up for bags of flour distributed by the UN in central Gaza on
Tuesday morning, some of them for the first time in months amid a drop in food
aid entering the territory. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as
UNRWA, gave out one 25-kilogram flour bag (55 pounds) to each family of 10 at a
warehouse in the Nuseirat refugee camp, as well as further south in the city of
Khan Younis. Jalal al-Shaer, among the dozens receiving flour at the Nuseirat
warehouse, said the bag would last his family of 12 for only two or three days.
“The situation for us is very difficult,” said another man in line, Hammad
Moawad. “There is no flour, there is no food, prices are high ... We eat bread
crumbs.” He said his family hadn’t received a flour allotment in five or six
months.
COGAT, the Israeli army body in charge of humanitarian affairs, said it
facilitated entry of a shipment of 600 tons of flour on Sunday for the World
Food Program. Still, the amount of aid Israel has allowed into Gaza since the
beginning of October has been at nearly the lowest levels of the 15-month-old
war. UNRWA’s senior emergency officer Louise Wateridge told The Associated Press
that the flour bags being distributed Tuesday were not enough. “People are
getting one bag of flour between an entire family and there is no certainty when
they’ll receive the next food,” she said. Wateridge added that UNRWA has been
struggling like other humanitarian agencies to provide much needed supplies
across the Gaza Strip. The agency this week announced it was stopping delivering
aid entering through the main crossing from Israel, Kerem Shalom, because its
convoys were being robbed by gangs. UNRWA has blamed Israel in large part for
the spread of lawlessness in Gaza. The International Criminal Court is seeking
to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense
minister over accusations of using “starvation as a method of warfare” by
restricting humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel rejects the allegations and says
it has been working hard to improve entry of aid.
Israeli Soldiers Open Fire inside a West Bank Hospital While Searching for
Fighters’ Bodies
Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/2024
Israeli soldiers opened fire inside a hospital in the occupied West Bank on
Tuesday during a raid to seize the bodies of alleged fighters targeted in
earlier airstrikes, a Palestinian doctor working at the hospital told The
Associated Press.
Soldiers entered the Turkish Hospital complex in Tubas after the bodies of two
Palestinians killed and one wounded in airstrikes in the northern West Bank on
Tuesday were brought there, said Dr. Mahmoud Ghanam, who works in the hospital’s
emergency department. The troops briefly handcuffed and arrested Ghanam and
another doctor. “The army entered in a brutal way, and they were shooting inside
the emergency department,” said Ghanam. “They handcuffed us and took me and my
colleague.”The military confirmed that its troops were operating around the
hospital searching for those targeted in the airstrikes, which they said had hit
a militant cell near the Palestinian town of Al-Aqaba in the Jordan Valley. It
denied that troops had entered the hospital building or fired gunshots inside.
The soldiers left after learning that the wounded man had been transferred to
another hospital, Ghanam said. The soldiers wanted to take the bodies of the two
men killed in the strike, but the hospital’s manager refused to hand over the
bodies, Ghanam said. Israeli raids on hospitals in the West Bank are rare but
have grown more common since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. In Gaza, Israeli
troops have systematically besieged, raided and damaged many hospitals.About 800
Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct.
7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Israel has carried out
near-daily military raids in the West Bank that it says are aimed at preventing
attacks on Israelis — attacks which have also been on the rise. Israel captured
the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The
Palestinians seek all three territories for an independent state.
US Deepens Sanctions on Iran’s ‘Shadow’ Oil Fleet
Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/2024
The Biden administration on Tuesday ramped up its sanctions on Iran, targeting
35 entities and vessels that it said transported illicit Iranian petroleum to
foreign markets as part of what the US Treasury Department called Tehran's
"shadow fleet."The sanctions build on those previously imposed on Oct. 11 and
come in response to Iran's Oct. 1 attack on Israel and to its announced nuclear
escalations, the US Department of Treasury said in a statement. "Iran continues
to funnel revenues from its petroleum trade toward the development of its
nuclear program, proliferation of its ballistic missile and unmanned aerial
vehicle technology, and sponsorship of its regional terrorist proxies, risking
further destabilizing the region," Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and
Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement. "The United States
remains committed to disrupting the shadow fleet of vessels and operators that
facilitate these illicit activities, using the full range of our tools and
authorities," Smith added. Such sanctions target key sectors of Iran's economy
with the aim of denying the government funds to support its nuclear and missile
programs. The move generally prohibits any US individuals or entities from
conducting any business with the targets and freezes any US-held assets.
Oil Rises on Iran Crude Sanctions, OPEC+
Output Deal Progress
Maggie Eastland and Mia Gindis/(Bloomberg)/December
3, 2024
Oil rose the most in more than two weeks as the US imposed more sanctions
targeting Iranian crude and OPEC+ made progress on a deal to keep output off the
market. West Texas Intermediate advanced 2.7% to settle near $70 a barrel, the
biggest one-day jump since Nov. 18, as OPEC+ delegates said the group is firming
up an agreement to delay its oil-production revival by another three months. The
alliance is due to finalize plans at an online meeting on Thursday. Brent
climbed to settle above $73 a barrel. Crude extended gains after the US Treasury
sanctioned 35 entities and vessels for their role in transporting illicit
Iranian oil to foreign markets. A possible return to President-elect Donald
Trump’s hawkish sanctions on Iran could threaten the nation’s output, which has
increased by about 1.2 million barrels a day since he left office. “Much of the
future of oil hinges on sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, and of course OPEC,”
Francisco Blanch, head of commodities research at Bank of America, said during a
media roundtable. If the two countries’ output declines, Brent could rise as
high as the $80-per-barrel range, Blanch said. In another sign of potential risk
to Middle East flows, Israel attacked and killed Hezbollah’s liaison to the
Syrian army, the Israel Defense Forces said. The civil war in Syria, an ally of
Iran that borders key oil-producing nation Iraq, is flaring up after rebel
forces captured the city of Aleppo this weekend. In Asia, China’s top leaders
plan to map out economic targets and stimulus for 2025 at a major gathering next
week, potentially supporting demand for crude. Still, gauges of implied
volatility for oil have sunk to the lowest in about two months as futures remain
stuck in a range of about $6 since mid-October. In Brazil, one of the main
engines of non-OPEC supply growth, output continued to falter. Oil production
was down about 6% from a month earlier and 8% on a year earlier, according to
data from the nation’s oil regulator.
South Korea’s Yoon Declares Martial Law in
Emergency Address
Soo-Hyang Choi/Bloomberg/December 3,
2024
(Bloomberg) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on
Tuesday in an emergency national address televised live. Yoon said the decision
was made to protect freedom and constitutional order, as he accused the
opposition of trying to paralyze the administration with impeachment moves.
“Through the declaration of martial law, I will rebuild and protect a free South
Korea,” Yoon said, adding the decision was “inevitable.”South Korea’s defense
minister ordered a meeting with the military’s top commander, according to
Yonhap News. The won tumbled after the announcement to hit 1427.10 against the
dollar, its weakest level in over two years.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on December 03-04/2024
Gulf countries talk like Iran,
act like Israel
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/The times of Israel/December 03/2024
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/gulf-countries-talk-like-iran-act-like-israel/
The GCC rhetoric on Israel masks its true aims to decouple Syria's Assad and the
Islamic Republic and declaw Hezbollah in Lebanon
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held its annual summit in Kuwait on Sunday
and issued a statement that sounded like Iran in thrashing Israel, but that
aligned with the Jewish state in opposing the Islamic Republic’s troublemaking
behavior. However, for the Gulf “wish list” to come true, Gulf countries need to
end the discrepancy between their rhetoric and policy. If the Gulf wants Iran
reined in, they’d be well advised to openly side with Israel.
The dichotomy might have resulted from the GCC incorporating the contradictory
policies of its six member states. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is closest to
Israel. Qatar is the closest to Iran. Saudi Arabia is more naturally allied with
the UAE. Oman is with Qatar. Kuwait, indebted to America for liberating it from
Saddam Hussein’s army but now under the spell of a surging Islamist wave, is in
the middle.
As a result, the GCC’s final statement endorsed every denunciation of the Jewish
state, accusing it of committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza, expressing
support for the arrest warrants against Israeli officials from the International
Criminal Court and decisions of the International Court of Justice. Gulf
countries also called on world capitals to stop arms sales to Israel and
defended UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, known for his anti-Israeli bias,
and UNRWA.
And while calling for “brotherly relations” with Iran, Gulf countries did not
shy away from emphasizing their fault lines with the Islamic Republic,
denouncing Tehran for “building settlements” on three islands that the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) claim to be its own. The GCC also reasserted its ownership
over the Durra energy field, in Saudi and Kuwaiti territorial waters, disputed
with Iran.
The disagreement between Gulf countries and Iran was even more profound over
regional matters.
The GCC called on Lebanon to accept the 2022 Kuwaiti Initiative, a generous GCC
financial bailout tied to Lebanon’s disarmament of Hezbollah and Beirut
distancing itself from Tehran. Whatever domestic differences the Lebanese have,
the GCC said, they should sort them out through “politics only,” code for
“Hezbollah should transform itself from an armed militia into a political
party.”
With the World Bank assessing Lebanon’s war losses at $8.4 billion, Beirut will
be in desperate need of Gulf money. It remains to be seen whether the Lebanese
state will manage to disarm Hezbollah and win its GCC reward.
Gulf countries struck a similar anti-Iran note on Syria, calling for the
restoration of the sovereignty of the Syrian government over all its land, in
other words calling on Iranian proxies to disarm and hand over territory they
control to the Assad regime.
Reconstruction money and financial aid that Syrian President Bashar Assad
desperately needs would also be conditioned on him abandoning Iran. Such policy
suffered a setback when Turkey-backed Islamist Sunni militias took on Assad and
Iran-backed Islamist Shia militias in Aleppo. As Assad scrambles to defend his
territory, his renewed reliance on Iran might mean that peeling him away from
Tehran will become even harder.
Events in Syria prompted Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman to cut short a
visit to Kuwait and go to Abu Dhabi for the first time in three years to meet
with Emirati President Muhammad Bin Zayed. While the readout of the meeting said
the two men focused on the stability of the region in Lebanon and Gaza, media
reports tied their talks to the urgency of rescuing Assad, lest the window of
opportunity to distance him from Tehran closes.
Saudi pundits doubled down on turning Assad. “An Iranian Syria has become
impossible, and so has a Turkish Syria, while a Russian Syria has dropped down
on the list of Moscow’s priorities,” wrote Ghassan Charbel, the editor-in-chief
of the London-based Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat.
The GCC toed a similar line against pro-Iran militias in Iraq, promising Baghdad
support to overcome and disarm both “terrorist groups,” code for ISIS and
radical Sunni Islamists, and “armed militias,” the ones that pledge allegiance
to Islamist Iran.
Israel might read the GCC statement and take offense, seeing that Saudi Arabia
remains adamant on an impossible two-state solution as its only pathway to
normalization with Israel.
Iran might also read the statement as Saudi Arabia staying away from Israel, and
therefore remaining defensively more vulnerable to Tehran and its regional
proxies.
But a closer look suggests that while the GCC rhetoric sounds pro-Iran, Gulf
policies are against the Islamic Republic. And while the GCC bashes Israel, Gulf
policies align perfectly with everything that Israel has been pushing for – both
militarily and diplomatically.
Perhaps it is time for Gulf countries to reconcile what they say with what they
want to see happen.
Israel has been trying to change the region to serve its interests, and these
happen to overlap with Gulf interests. It’s only fair that the Gulf give Israel
a hand, not only implicitly and behind closed doors, but also openly. Should the
GCC do that, the momentum resulting from its shift in rhetoric would go much
further than tying money rewards to what they want to see happen.
**Hussain Abdul-Hussain is a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense
of Democracies (FDD), a non-partisan organization focused on national security
and foreign policy.
The End of an Era
Charles Chartouni/This is Beirut/December 03/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/137553/
The Iranian revolutionary imaginary and its strategic projections are gradually
coming to an end with the unraveling of the proxies tapestry, the destruction of
its operational platforms and the debunking of its political mythologies. The
conjunction of internal crises with the demise of the imperial dominion is no
hazard; it’s the outcome of the discredited revolutionary narrative, the
rejection of the dystopia and its ideological diktat, the bankrupted governance,
the repudiation of bloody imperial inroads (the ongoing cases in Lebanon and
Syria) and the end of a monumental delusion.
The Israeli counteroffensive is the main driver of this major strategic
turnaround that lies at the origin of the new military and political dynamic
that is resetting the coordinates of political mapping in the Middle East. While
fighting for its survival, the State of Israel has questioned the very roots of
this endemic instability and its geostrategic coordinates. Nothing is likely to
be understood of the ongoing transformations unless we come to terms with the
rationale and the subtexts of the Israeli counteroffensive. The limited security
objectives, however critical, are overridden by larger geostrategic
considerations that are reordering the political dynamics in the whole region.
The truce that was concluded in Lebanon is of a tactical purview unless
Hezbollah realizes its limits and comes to terms with the emerging strategic
equation. Otherwise, Israel has no other option but to finalize its destruction,
and the Shiite community, which fully sided with Hezbollah’s political agenda,
is bound to revise its ideological and strategic priorities and renounce the
ongoing course and its deleterious fallouts. The latest reactions that succeeded
the acting of truce are ominous and redolent of the same miscalculations and
paranoid projections that have led to the current disasters. Lebanese Shiites
have been accomplices of the subversion strategy, which allowed them to take
over the country, plunder public resources, instrumentalize its leverages to
promote organized crime, set a claim on state prerogatives and the basic rights
of its citizenry and lead the Iranian politics of subversion regionwide.
Their sturdy denial of reality is hardwired to the state of moral callousness,
political impunity and normalized delinquency, which has prevailed for decades
and created this sense of trivialized arrogance. The military bludgeoning has
rehabilitated the principle of reality and might serve as an alternative path to
the actual doldrums. Diplomacy has no chances unless it reckons with the rising
power equation and starts acting upon its political mandates. The truce
proposals are effective as long as actors are ready to comply with their
practical mandates and peace objectives. What’s worrying is the moral blindness
of Hezbollah and its communal cohort at a time when nothing is left. Therefore,
we have to be wary of their practical commitments and readiness to enforce the
truce stipulations and their incidence on civil concord and political
reconciliation in Lebanon. The persistent political jockeying is a bad omen.
The unraveling of the proxies tapestry sends us back to the masterminding
coordinator, who has to cope with its fledgling legitimacy and downgraded
abilities. The conventional saga of the Iranian imperialism rests upon a
locked-up equation: the international normalization is tantamount to internal
liberalization, and the whole Iranian diplomacy is based on managing the
relationship between the two in order to forestall the synergistic dynamic
between the two, prevent internal change and maintain the relational ambiguities
with the international community. The Achilles heel of the Iranian regime lies
at the intersection of ideological foreclosures, strategic dilemmas, oligarchic
entrenchments, agonizing dystopia, bankrupt governance at all levels and a
disenchanted citizenry.
While striving to create an international counter-order, the Iranian regime’s
diplomacy is based on faked simulations, latent obstructionism and savage
domestic repression. The Iranian regime’s double speak is meant to exorcise
political change, outmaneuver international pressure and maintain minimal
exchange with the liberal world community. Now that the two components of the
Iranian subversion strategy are operating simultaneously, the conjunction
between the two should be disrupted at both ends: the destruction of the
operational platforms and the crushing of the nuclear program. The likelihood of
a negotiated de-escalation at both the regional and domestic levels leaves Iran
and NATO at odds and the probability of war more likely than ever.
Turkey Unleashes Jihadist Terror on Syria
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/December 3, 2024
The government of Turkey has supported jihadists in Syria since the beginning of
the civil war in 2011. Turkey has allowed Islamists to use the Turkish territory
to cross the border to Syria to join terrorist organizations there.
Turkey has been targeting the US allies against ISIS through military incursions
such as the 2018 "Operation Olive Branch" and 2019 "Operation Peace Spring."
In June 2020, HTS began replacing the Syrian pound with the Turkish lira,
indexing the prices of goods to the lira. The Turkish government, through its
massive economic support to the group, thereby became a lifeline for the
jihadist HTS.
The capture of Aleppo by Turkey-backed, Al-Qaeda-affiliated forces is terrifying
news for Kurds, Yazidis, Christians and everyone else whom jihadists perceive as
their prey. If one is celebrating the advance of these Islamists invading parts
of Syria, one is celebrating the advance of bloodthirsty jihadists who want to
establish an Islamic caliphate and would happily slaughter anyone who stood in
their way.
Turkey is unleashing another gruesome jihad in Syria. The city of Aleppo is now
effectively under the control of Turkish-backed jihadist groups. Tens of
thousands of Christians, Kurds and other minorities are in danger of
extermination. Videos of jihadists abducting Kurdish women have also surfaced on
social media.
Turkey is unleashing another gruesome jihad in Syria.
On November 27, jihadist terror groups -- led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham (Organization for the Liberation of the Levant; HTS) -- launched a
coordinated attack on Aleppo Governorate in northwestern Syria, cut off the main
highway from Damascus to Aleppo, captured and killed dozens of Syrian Army
soldiers, promised mass executions and beheadings "in front of TV cameras," and
seized control of a military base and several villages.
Meanwhile, the jihadists posted videos on social media showing them capturing
several training aircraft in the Kuweires Air Base near Aleppo.
The city of Aleppo is now effectively under the control of jihadist groups. Tens
of thousands of Christians, Kurds and other minorities are in danger of
extermination. Videos of jihadists abducting Kurdish women have also surfaced on
social media.
The X account "Babak Taghvaee - The Crisis Watch" reported:
"These painful scenes are reminiscent of the horror of October 7 in Israel.
Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists of Turkey, have captured hundreds of Kurdish
women in Tall Rafaat, Syria. They are already threatening to sell them as sex
slaves. The exact thing they did to Yazidi women in 2014."
The X account Nioh Berg noted:
'Whether it's jihadists in Gaza or in Syria, they all have one morbid thing in
common:
"Taking sex slaves."
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, part of an alliance of terrorist groups active in Syria
and with links to the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, was formerly known as
Jabhat al-Nusra, and served as Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria. The organization
is a jihadist group that upholds Sharia law, occupies Syria's Idlib area and
cooperates with the Turkish military and Turkish-backed groups in Syria. Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, was also involved in HTS's formation.
In 2018, the US State Department added HTS to the Jabhat al-Nusra's existing
designation as a foreign terrorist organization.
The Turkish media reports that the jihadist group named "Syrian National Army" (SNA),
which calls its ongoing onslaught against Aleppo "Operation Dawn of Freedom,"
took control of Kuweires Air Base, as well as three villages and a hill in Tel
Rifaat, cutting off the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces' supply line
between Tel Rifaat and Manbij.
Turkey, since the SNA was officially established in 2017 under its auspices,
provides funding, training and military support to it. The SNA was previously
called the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Basically, it is a coalition of armed
Islamist groups operating in Syria.
Nadine Maenza, the Former Chair of the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF), posted on X:
""MISSING FROM MEDIA REPORTS ON ALEPPO: 'Rebels' taking city are NOT Freedom
Fighters but Turkish-backed Islamists with same ideology as ISIS that target
Yazidis, Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities.
"The USCIRF reports they 'target religious minorities, especially Yazidis, for
rape, assassination, kidnapping for ransom, confiscation of property, and
desecration of cemeteries and places of worship.'
USCIRF Factsheet says Hay's Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) 'remains a potent source of a
Salafi-jihadism that restricts the religious freedom of non-conforming Sunni
Muslims and threatens the property, safety, and existence of religious minority
groups such as Alawites, Christians, and Druze.' They also report 'torture,
forced disappearance, rape and other sexual violence, and killing in detention.'
"Expect the same horrific crimes from these Turkish-backed Islamist militias
(including HTS) that we have seen from them in other parts of Syria. They
learned from the international response to ISIS to not make an immediate public
display of this violence.
".... [A]reas under government control are also horrible as they endure
'egregious human rights abuses such as arbitrary detention and torture, enforced
disappearance.' The one bright spot in Syria? The Northeast. Read about how they
built self-governance that protects religious freedom with half the leaders
being women."
Aleppo and its surrounding areas are home to several ethnic and religious
minorities such as Kurds, Christians and Druze. A jihadist takeover means either
outright massacres or enslavement for these communities. Reports from the ground
show jihadists have started kidnapping Kurdish women. The terrorists are heard
telling the kidnapped women: "You are pigs, enemies of Allah. Cover your hair!"
The X account "Greco-Levantines WorldWide" reported:
"This is how Turkish-backed rebels are treating Kurdish women in Aleppo. If this
is how they treat Muslim women who don't wear a headscarf, what can be expected
for Christian women?"
Meanwhile, the jihadist forces are advancing. Mazloum Abdi, leader of the
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said his forces are "coordinating with all
relevant parties in Syria" to safely evacuate the people of Tal Rifaat and
Shahba to Rojava (an area in Syria controlled by Kurdish forces) after attacks
by Turkish-backed jihadists disrupted the SDF's corridor.
The government of Turkey has supported jihadists in Syria since the beginning of
the civil war in 2011. Turkey has allowed Islamists to use the Turkish territory
to cross the border to Syria to join terrorist organizations there. The
Combating Terrorism Center at West Point reports on other Syria-related jihad
activities in Turkey:
"According to Israel's military intelligence chief in January 2014, al-Qa'ida-linked
groups allegedly have at least three bases in Turkey. A report in al-Monitor
suggested that, prior to 2013, alleged fighters were thought to stay at specific
hotels, such as the Ottoman and Narin hotels, in the Turkish city of Antakya. In
July 2012, a six-minute video titled Turkish Mujahidin Who Are Conducting Jihad
in Syria, released by a Syrian opposition organization, showed a group of
fighters apparently located in Syria speaking in Turkish and calling for Muslims
to fight Syrian government forces.
"One foreign fighter is known as 'Yilmaz,' a Dutch-Turkish former soldier
providing firearms training to jihadists."
Turkey has also occupied parts of northern Syria, including Afrin and Idlib,
through local jihadist groups. The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) --
which forms an integral part of the US-led fight against ISIS but which the
Turkish government lists as a "terrorist organization" -- took control of Afrin
after Syrian government forces withdrew from the city in 2012. De facto
autonomous Kurdish rule was then declared. In 2015, a US-allied group, the
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), of which the YPG is a member, was formed.
Turkey has targeted US allies in Syria through military incursions such as the
2018 "Operation Olive Branch" and 2019 "Operation Peace Spring."
"Operation Olive Branch," in Afrin, began on January 20, 2018, and concluded on
March 18, 2018, with the defeat of the YPG at the hands of the Turkish military
and its Islamist auxiliaries. Turkey's Islamist allies in Afrin have since
committed many crimes against civilians, especially Christians, Yazidis and
Kurds. These crimes include extortion, detention, abduction, rape, torture and
murder. Investigative journalist Jonathan Spyer has documented some of these
crimes. "[US] State Department, UN and NGO reports cite a pattern of grave human
rights violations, assaults and targeting of women," he wrote.
The US State Department's "2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Syria"
stated:
"ISIS and armed opposition forces such as the Turkish-backed SNA [Syrian
National Army], reportedly arrested, detained, tortured, killed, and otherwise
abused numerous Kurdish activists and individuals as well as members of the SDF
during the year. The COI [Country of Origin Information] reported a consistent,
discernible pattern of abuses by SNA forces against Kurdish residents in Afrin
and Ras al-Ayn, including "[c]ases of detentions, killings, beatings, and
abductions, in addition to widespread looting and appropriation of civilian
homes.
"The COI, STJ [Syrians for Truth and Justice], the Violations Documentation
Center (VDC), and other monitors documented a trend of TSO [the Turkey-supported
opposition] kidnappings of women in Afrin, where some women remained missing for
years."
The government of Turkey is the power behind Al-Qaeda affiliates in Idlib such
as the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). According to the Center for Strategic and
International Studies:
"In May 2018, the group [HTS] was added to the State Department's existing
designation of its predecessor, the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, as a
Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Today, HTS can be thought of as a
relatively localized Syrian terrorist organization, which retains a Salafi-jihadist
ideology despite its public split from al-Qaeda in 2017."
A 2021 study by the Middle East Institute details how Turkey and HTS are
together occupying and exploiting parts of northwest Syria:
"The most significant shift in HTS economic policy occurred in July 2017, when
the group took over the Bab al-Hawa crossing, one of the biggest sources of
revenue in NW [north-west] Syria and a particularly strategic acquisition in
terms of the relationship with Turkey."
In January 2018, the Watad Petroleum Company was formed in HTS-occupied
northwest Syria, and granted exclusive rights to import oil derivatives and gas
from Turkey into the area. In June 2020, HTS began replacing the Syrian pound
with the Turkish lira, indexing the prices of goods to the lira. The Turkish
government, through its massive economic support to the group, thereby became a
lifeline for the jihadist HTS.
The capture of Aleppo by Turkey-backed, Al-Qaeda-affiliated forces is terrifying
news for Kurds, Yazidis, Christians and everyone else whom jihadists perceive as
their prey. If one is celebrating the advance of these Islamists invading parts
of Syria, one is celebrating the advance of bloodthirsty jihadists who want to
establish an Islamic caliphate and would happily slaughter anyone who stood in
their way.
Although the first urgent priority of the civilized world should be to eliminate
these jihadists, the next goal should be to ensure a democratic federal state,
or autonomous regions in parts of Syria that would be ruled and defended by
Kurds, Christians and Yazidis together.
Until Christians and other minorities in Syria have autonomy and are armed, they
will be vulnerable to the assaults of Islamic extremists. For peace and
stability in Syria, self-rule for Christians and Kurds is a must.
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone
Institute. She is also a senior researcher at the African Jewish Alliance.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Remember Pearl Harbor
Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute./December 3, 2024
Japanese military warlords had miscalculated in their 1941 attack on the
American fleet berthed at Pearl Harbor. Amidst the smoking ruin of our Pacific
fleet came an anger and desire for justice that would not stop until a Japanese
delegation, directed by Emperor Hirohito, surrendered on the deck of the USS
Missouri in Tokyo Bay four years later. This December 7th marks the 83rd
anniversary of the Japanese attack on the American fleet berthed at Pearl Harbor
on a quiet Sunday morning. It devastated our naval fleet, killing 2,403
Americans, and left a nation in shock. The Japanese military warlords, however,
had miscalculated. Amidst the smoking ruin of our Pacific fleet came an anger
and desire for justice that would not stop until a Japanese delegation, directed
by Emperor Hirohito, surrendered on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay
four years later.
The Japanese attack on December 7th united an America that until that morning
was seriously divided over its role in a world that was in the midst of searing
combat in Europe and China. Nazi Germany continued to win repeated victories,
and the Japanese were conquering China at will.
The political rancor between American isolationists and interveners was proof
positive for the Axis powers that our democracy was incapable of defending
itself, much less our allies. Our enemies saw the spirited opposition in
Washington to instituting a peacetime draft. and assumed our nation would not
have the will to fight.
They assumed wrong.
Pearl Harbor was the defining moment when America would rise up and, in the
words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, "No matter how long it may take us
to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous
might will win through to absolute victory."
This author believes the lessons of Pearl Harbor are not being adequately taught
in our nation's classrooms. Far too often, curriculum time is reduced, and World
War II is relegated to an afterthought. That is a tragedy, as it has lessons not
only for the next generation of Americans, but also for those who seek to do us
harm. Our enemies need to know that our next president has the ability to
harness the power of a united people when confronted by a foe whose intent is to
reduce America as a world power. The next attack may not come in the form of
bombs on a sleeping fleet. It may be a cyber-attack on our nation's electrical
grid or banking system. However it comes, our enemy will find that we will, in
fact, remember Pearl Harbor and respond in "their righteous might..."
*Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
US, UAE discussed lifting Assad sanctions in exchange for
break with Iran, sources say
Maya Gebeily, Parisa Hafezi and Alexander Cornwell/Reuters/December 03/2024
BEIRUT/GENEVA/DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. and the United Arab Emirates have
discussed with each other the possibility of lifting sanctions on Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad if he peels himself away from Iran and cuts off
weapons routes to Lebanon's Hezbollah, five people familiar with the matter
said. The conversations intensified in recent months, the sources said, driven
by the possible expiry on Dec. 20 of sweeping U.S. sanctions on Syria and by
Israel's campaign against Tehran's regional network, including Hezbollah in
Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and Iranian assets in Syria. The discussions took place
before anti-Assad rebels swept into Aleppo last week in their biggest offensive
in Syria for years. According to the sources, the new rebel advance is a signal
of precisely the sort of weakness in Assad's alliance with Iran that the Emirati
and U.S. initiative aims to exploit. But if Assad embraces Iranian help for a
counter-offensive, that could also complicate efforts to drive a wedge between
them, the sources said. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi visited Syria on
Sunday in a show of support for Assad, and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan spoke to Assad by phone about latest developments at the
weekend. For this story, Reuters spoke to two U.S. sources, four Syrian and
Lebanese interlocutors and two foreign diplomats who said the U.S. and UAE see a
window to drive a wedge between Assad and Iran, which helped him recapture
swathes of his country during the civil war that erupted in 2011.
Lebanese media have reported that Israel had suggested lifting U.S. sanctions on
Syria. But the UAE initiative with the U.S. has not previously been reported.
All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the back-room
diplomacy. Syria's government and the White House did not respond to questions
from Reuters. The UAE referred Reuters to its statement on bin Zayed's call with
Assad. The UAE has taken a leading role in rehabilitating Assad among the mainly
Sunni Muslim Arab states that shunned him after he accepted help from Shi'ite,
non-Arab Iran to put down the Sunni-led rebellion against him.The Emirates
hosted Assad in 2022, his first visit to an Arab country since the start of the
war, before the Arab League reinstated Syria's membership. The UAE has long
hoped to distance Assad from Iran and wants to build business ties with Syria,
but U.S. sanctions have hampered those efforts, the sources said. A senior
regional diplomat briefed by Tehran told Reuters Iran had been informed "about
behind-the-scenes efforts by some Arab countries to isolate Iran... by
distancing Syria from Tehran".The diplomat said those efforts were linked to
offers of possible sanctions relief by Washington.
'CARROT AND STICK'
Hezbollah and its patron Iran have intervened in Syria since 2012 to protect
Assad against Sunni rebels - but their bases and weapons shipments through Syria
have been repeatedly hit by Israel, which has sought to weaken Iran across the
region. In recent months, Hezbollah withdrew fighters from Syria, including the
north, to focus on battling Israel in southern Lebanon. The rebels who swept
this week into Aleppo pointed to the Hezbollah withdrawal as one of the reasons
why they faced little resistance from government forces. A U.S. source familiar
with the matter said White House officials discussed an overture with Emirati
officials, citing the UAE's interest in financing Syria's reconstruction and
Assad's "weakened position" after Israel's offensive against Hezbollah. The
possibility of sanctions relief for Assad, while Israel was hitting Iran's
allies, created an "opportunity" to apply a "carrot-and-stick approach" to
fracture Syria's alliance with Iran and Hezbollah, the U.S. source said.
SANCTIONS RELIEF
The U.S. placed sanctions on Syria after Assad cracked down against protests
against him in 2011, and the sanctions were repeatedly tightened in the years of
war that followed. The toughest, known as the Caesar Act, passed Congress in
2019. The Caesar sanctions apply across Syrian business sectors, to anyone
dealing with Syria regardless of nationality and to those dealing with Russian
and Iranian entities in Syria. Assad said they amounted to economic warfare,
blaming them for the Syrian currency's collapse and drop in living standards.
The sanctions will "sunset" - or expire - on Dec. 20 unless renewed by U.S.
lawmakers. Part of the recent American-Emirati discussions centered on allowing
Caesar sanctions to expire without renewal, said the U.S. source and three of
the Syrian interlocutors. One Syrian interlocutor said the UAE had raised
letting them expire with White House officials two months ago, after having
unsuccessfully pushed for at least two years of sanctions relief for Assad after
a deadly earthquake in Feb. 2023. Mohammad Alaa Ghanem, a Syrian activist in
Washington, D.C. with the Citizens for a Secure and Safe America, told Reuters
his group had been working to extend the Caesar sanctions and assessed they had
bipartisan support to do so. "We've been in talks over this for the past couple
of months, although of course no political outcome in a town like Washington can
be guaranteed 100%," he said. Arab states have other potential avenues to reward
Assad for distancing himself from Iran. A foreign diplomat based in the Gulf
told Reuters both the UAE and Saudi Arabia had in recent months offered
"financial incentives" to Assad to split with Iran, saying they could not have
been made without coordination with Washington. A source with knowledge of the
matter told Reuters that Syria, among other crises in the region, was a topic of
discussion during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the UAE on
Sunday. A Lebanese interlocutor said the UAE had also pledged funds to help
Syria rebuild war-ravaged infrastructure as a way to "pull Assad further away
from Iran".
Iran has warned Assad not to stray far. The senior regional diplomat briefed by
Tehran said Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei conveyed a message via his senior
adviser Ali Larijani, who told Assad: "do not forget the past.""The message
served as a reminder to Assad of who his true allies are," the diplomat said.
'PLAYING WITH FIRE'
Since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7 last year precipitating war in
Gaza, Iran has mobilised its network of allies to hit Israel. But Assad has
largely avoided joining in, even as Israel struck Hezbollah targets in his
country and bombed an Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus. A U.S. official
said Assad had "sat out" the war to avoid further Israeli strikes on Syria, and
remained under "tremendous pressure" not to allow Hezbollah to re-arm through
his country. Israel has signalled that it still has eyes on Syria. When
announcing the truce with Lebanon last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said Israel had been thwarting attempts by Iran, Hezbollah and Syria's army to
bring weapons into Lebanon. "Assad must understand – he is playing with fire,"
Netanyahu said.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Parisa Hafezi
in Geneva, Erin Banco and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Additional reporting
by Maha El Dahan in Dubai and John Irish in Paris; Writing by Maya Gebeily;
Editing by Peter Graff)
What the leading ‘just war’ theorist says about the
strategies of Hamas and Israel
Gregory J. Wallance, opinion contributor/The Hill/December 03, 2024
News reports on the Gaza war tend to focus on the destruction caused by Israel,
as in “Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza, leaving at least 87 people dead or
missing,” as CBS Evening News recently put it. Such coverage is often
accompanied by heartrending footage of bodies in white shrouds and weeping
Gazans. Such reports, intentionally or not, leave the impression that Israel is
the only actor in Gaza with agency and thus bears sole responsibility for these
casualties. Michael Walzer, the eminent political theorist and professor
emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, begs to differ.
Walzer is the author of the seminal 1977 book “Just and Unjust Wars,” arguably
the most influential modern work on the laws of war. Every time the U.S. enters
a war, one legal scholar has suggested, “political leaders and opinion makers
seem to seek out Walzer’s blessing.” Walzer argues that Hamas’s strategy in the
Gaza war is to deliberately “put civilians at risk for political gain.” He
regards as “misleading” the characterization of the underground infrastructure
in Gaza as “tunnels” because Hamas actually built a vast subsurface military
base directly below a densely populated territory of 2 million people. “You can
drive a truck through” that underground fortification, Walzer recently pointed
out in an interview, which is filled with “shops making weapons, storage rooms
for weapons, dormitories for fighters, apartments for leaders, every form of
communication available.”
He thinks that the nature of the Gaza war — where Hamas is at once embedded in
the above-ground civilian population and militarily fortified below it —“isn’t
recognized often enough in analyses of the war.”
Indeed, Walzer’s analysis suggests that the media has failed to explain that
Hamas launched the Oct. 7 attack not as a one-off, shock-and-awe act of
terrorism like 9/11, but to invite a devastating Israeli response. By fighting
Israel from within and below Gaza’s unprotected population, Hamas would create
tens of thousands of involuntary Palestinian martyrs whose deaths would generate
intense international pressure on Israel to retreat from Gaza and hand a victory
to Hamas. As a senior Hamas operative put it shortly after the Oct. 7 attack,
“We are called a nation of martyrs … We are proud to sacrifice martyrs.”
Walzer’s critique spotlights the Biden administration’s failure to loudly and
repeatedly condemn the Hamas strategy of what is essentially human sacrifice,
which could have reduced the international support that the terrorist
organization’s tactics depends on.
In particular, Walzer’s analysis makes the left-wing “settler-colonialism”
argument in support of Hamas look morally disastrous, since the leaders of the
purported “colonized” are pursuing a strategy designed to inflict maximum
casualties on their own people. It also follows from Walzer’s argument that, by
attempting to block food shipments into Gaza, the Israeli far-right is foolishly
supporting the Hamas strategy of trading Gazan lives for political gain.
Walzer is far from being pro-Israel. While he believes that Israel’s response to
the Oct. 7 attack was “justified, just and I think necessary,” he criticizes
aspects of Israel’s conduct of what is now a multi-front war. He recently wrote
that Israel’s pager bombs were “war crimes” because they exploded when Hezbollah
soldiers were away from the battlefield and in many instances near noncombatant
friends and family. That critique provoked controversy in the U.S. and Israel,
but his contention that Hamas is putting Gazan civilians at risk for political
gain has not generated nearly as much debate.
For those with entrenched positions on the Gaza war, Walzer’s characterization
of Hamas may just be too embarrassing to acknowledge.
*Gregory J. Wallance was a federal prosecutor in the Carter and Reagan
administrations and a member of the ABSCAM prosecution team, which convicted a
U.S. senator and six representatives of bribery. He is the author of “Into
Siberia: George Kennan’s Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of
Russia.”
What Is Behind Washington’s Position on Aleppo?
Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/2024
The Biden administration’s position on the recent developments in Syria, where
extremist militias led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Al-Nusra Front) are making
gains, seems to suggest more than mere indifference to the chaos unfolding
there.
True, Türkiye is the primary beneficiary of these developments so far, and it is
widely and probably correctly believed to have implicitly allowed the armed
groups' attack on Aleppo. However, for its part, Washington also seems to be
engaged in a cunning geopolitical ploy at a highly critical moment. Merely
calling for "all parties" to de-escalate reflects a calculated strategy, a
deliberate bet on these developments creating traps for the Trump administration
and hampering the Kremlin, which has been exhausted by the war in Ukraine. For
Trump, who promised to end the United States' "forever wars," Syria amounts to a
minefield that could undermine the trust of his base. The US indifference to the
aggravation of instability in Syria suggests that the Biden administration is
seeking to hamper Trump's strategy to pull the US out of the Middle East and
create the impression that his claims of ending wars are nothing but empty and
unfair political rhetoric that Trump uses to attack Biden and the Democrats. The
fact is that the grave developments in Syria could force Trump to make one of
two costly political choices: either re-engage in the region that he had pledged
to exit, or allow for chaos, which his critics would interpret as abandonment
and disregard for global security, after he had long claimed the world would be
safer with him in the White House.
All politics is domestic politics; this is a rule that defines political
practice in Washington, and it reinforces the notion that we are seeing the
Democrats play a dangerous game. They understand that Trump's promise to end
wars resonates with American voters who are weary of the ongoing conflicts in
the Middle East. Trump would benefit immensely if he were to succeed in
navigating the complexities of the region without US military involvement. He
would have succeeded where his predecessors, including Biden, had failed. That
would be nothing short of a nightmare scenario for the Democrats, who face the
prospect of a strong Trump resurgence that could keep them out of power for many
years.
Conversely, if Trump stumbles into a trap in Aleppo, his foreign policy promises
would be broken, with negative economic repercussions for Americans. The
Democrats would present this failure as proof of his incompetence, using it to
rally the public opinion behind a narrative that undermines Republican support
in the Midterm elections that will be held two years from now and the
presidential election two years after that, thereby making a swift return to the
White House.
The Biden administration's strategy has a second target: President Vladimir
Putin, for whom the developments in Aleppo are equally significant. The last
thing Putin wants, given his deep preoccupation with the war in Ukraine, is an
additional major escalation in Syria to deal with. It would force him to divert
critical resources from Ukraine to Syria in order to protect the regime, thereby
creating gaps Kyiv could exploit and adding burdens to his already strained war
machine.
Indeed, nothing could be better for the Biden administration than developments
in the Middle East that expose the limits of Russian power and diminish the
credibility of Putin's geopolitical moves, even if this comes at the cost of
empowering Islamist extremists, whom the Democratic Party had bet on in the
past.
The Biden administration understands that Russia is making advances on key
fronts, in eastern and southern Ukraine, and that Ukraine finds itself in an
increasingly difficult position as airstrikes on its cities intensify. Potential
disruptions in Western support for Kyiv after Trump is inaugurated adds to this
challenge. Consequently, the Biden administration hopes that the developments in
Aleppo will leave Russia overstretched and remind Putin that maintaining
influence cannot be guaranteed if he is forced to confront two crises
simultaneously.
The ambiguous US stance in Syria might reflect a degree of strategic cunning.
However, this is a short-sighted and extremely dangerous policy. It not only
risks undermining the United States’ broader strategic interests in the region
but also threatens the region’s stability, which explains the moves by Arab
states aimed at cooling the situation in Syria and using their leverage to push
all parties toward stable, durable settlements. Such arrangements would allow
for a different kind of stability that contrasts with what we have seen in
recent years, paving the way for rebuilding national authorities and redefining
the regional influence of the parties concerned. Allowing proxies of a revamped
Islamist project, like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, to gain ground in Syria poses an
obvious existential threat to the stability of nation-states in the Middle East.
It would undermine national authorities and weaken national institutions in
favor of ideological extremist groups that thrive on sectarian conflict,
destabilize regional equilibriums, and deepen social divisions.
Strategies to bolster national state power by protecting the remnants of
institutions are not enough to address this challenge. Even more crucial is
ensuring reconciliation among the communities in Syria and reshaping the
constitution, state and the authorities.
On Victory, Defeat, and Fear of Extinction!
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/December 03/2024
Those awaiting an Axis of Resistance critique that addresses Hezbollah's war and
the reasons for its defeat, or that merely acknowledges this defeat, will likely
be disappointed. Despite the catastrophic developments that have just unfolded,
"declaring victory" remains the narrative on this front. The primary, and most
frequently reiterated, argument for this pretense to "victory" is that the
Israelis "were not able to wipe out the resistance."
The fact is that emphasizing this matter reflects the profound fear of
extinction that is masked by these affirmations of survival: we are still here.
This fear has many roots, chief among them the rapid and significant shift in
the goalposts of slogans and promises. Since October 7, 2023, the Resistance
Axis has raised slogans ranging from, as a minimum, "clearing out the prisons,"
to "liberating Palestine" at maximum.
Along this wide spectrum of ambitious objectives, the "extinction" seemed like a
serious proposition the Resistance Axis had been offering the Israelis. Indeed,
the latter, we have been told repeatedly, are not attached to the land of
Palestine, and they are ready to escape the blows the resistance has dealt and
will continue to deal to them.
This approach is fully aligned with a tradition that has come to include
victories by Hezbollah or "the party," in 2000 and 2006, they were presented as
epic and divine. According to this story we have been taught that the Jewish
state is "weaker than a spider web" and that "the era of defeats is behind us,"
creating the impression that Hezbollah's enemy was the one on course for
inevitable extinction.
In other words, in the portrait drawn by the Resistance Axis, war swings between
sweeping victory and sweeping defeat, that is, between the inevitable extinction
of one side and the other. To convince an audience whose certainty in such
conceptions might have wavered, the party’s new Secretary-General Naim Qassem,
added his voice, which could only convince those who were born convinced, to the
chorus.
Moreover, the Israelis must feel the same way, in this implicit narrative, about
"the party." This claim is reinforced by the notion that the Jewish state would
have attacked it whether or not the October 7 attack had occurred and with or
without Hezbollah’s "support war," making mere survival a victory.
Naturally, the historical connotations of "victory" and "defeat" are absent from
this annihilative context. Here, victory is not a prelude to progress,
prosperity, or liberation, and defeat is not something that the defeated can
learn and benefit from.
This vision of war, in which it is either a sweeping victory or a sweeping
defeat, is also a vision of life itself- life as a whole. The latter’s goals,
which are supposed to be many, are reduced to "fighting the enemy," while its
wealth of emotions and concerns are encapsulated by victory and defeat. Other
emotions are reshaped and recycled to become mere extensions of this dichotomy
of victory and defeat that wraps our lives.
With military clashes coming to an end a few days ago, the insistence on the
fact that "we won," which is founded on piecemeal instances and statements taken
out of context, was bound to continue. When we equate life with victory,
acknowledging defeat is a kind of endorsement of suicide or withdrawal from life
itself. This was precisely the choice made at the end of World War II by the
Japanese and German officers who went too far in affirming that victory was
equivalent to their lives and that, without it, only death remained.
Fortunately, the world is not so poor and barren as to be encapsulated by
victory and defeat. Thus, when the killing and fighting end, the proponents of
this narrative are struck by major surprises: the results, with their figures,
facts, and signed documents, end up very different from what they had expected
or claimed to expect, and reality - with its fluidity, complications, and many
sides - begins to take revenge by going beyond them and isolating them, not
necessarily as individuals and parties, but as ideas that tried to oversimplify
and impoverish it. Those who possess nothing but arms and take pride in them
will put them aside as the cycle of life, in all its richness, actions, and
initiatives, goes on.
It seems that the scandal of this vision of victory is that it has been coupled
with actions that genuine victors do not take: showing agitation, lashing out
with insults and defamation, mourning the universe, and cursing life itself.
Everything gushing at us from the shores of the Resistance Axis speaks to the
overwhelming mediocrity that continues to trample over us, as the corrupt and
corruptors, agents working for the enemy, and the weak and faint-hearted will
control every nook and cranny on the face of the earth from now on.
One might say that victory and defeat should be evident, that proving them
should not require all this effort. However, the question is not so simple when
defeat is felt this deeply and the desire for victory is this strong. Israel,
criminal and inclined to savagery as it may be, certainly deserves our hatred.
However, that does not warrant granting ourselves the right to impoverish
ourselves and destroy every shred of our credibility, becoming hollow beings
that see the universe as a place with nothing but victory and defeat, while it
reaps the former and leaves us the latter.