English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For December 07/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
having been laid on the bed, with the demon gone
out.
Mark 07/24-30/From there he arose and went away into the borders
of Tyre and Sidon. He entered into a house and didn’t want anyone to know it,
but he couldn’t escape notice. For a woman whose little daughter had an unclean
spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a
Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. She begged him that he would cast the demon out
of her daughter. But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for
it is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28
But she answered him, “Yes, Lord. Yet even the dogs under the table eat the
children’s crumbs. He said to her, “For this saying, go your way. The demon has
gone out of your daughter.” She went away to her house, and found the child
having been laid on the bed, with the demon gone out.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on December 06-07/2024
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video: Naim Qassem's Speech: Delusions, Illusions,
Denial, Deception, Cunning, and an Attempt to Subvert the Ceasefire Agreement
"Etienne Sakr - Abu Arz: The accusations and smears against the Syrian armed
factions rebelling against the Assad regime are blatant lies.
Hezbollah sent 'supervising' forces to Syria's Homs, sources say
Lebanese Detainees Presumably Freed from Hama Prison Spark Calls for Action
Hochstein promises to attend Jan. 9 presidential vote
Our Issue with Hezbollah and Its Finances/Johnny Kortbawi/This is
Beirut/December 06/2024
Israel says struck Hezbollah 'smuggling route' on Syria-Lebanon border
Hezbollah sends 'supervising forces' to Syria's Homs, report says
Samir Geagea: A Military Hezbollah Is No Longer Valid
Sami Gemayel says Hezbollah surrendered 'in only 10 days' of war
Bassil says 'no defeat or victory' in Hezbollah-Israel war
Water Authority Calls for Payment of Dues
Telecom Sector Suffered $117 Million in Damages
Jordan, Lebanon close border crossings into Syria
Why not give the Assad dynasty another chance?"/Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Face
Book/December 06/2024
Has Israel repeated the mistake of 2006 with its ceasefire?/Mitchell Bard
/Israel Today/December 06/2024
A bogus ceasefire in Lebanon according to a non-existing agreement/SEYMOUR HERSH/DEC
05, 2024
Lebanon’s economic crisis returns to prominence/Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab
News/December 06, 2024
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on December 06-07/2024
IAEA chief: Iran is poised to 'quite dramatically' increase stockpile of near
weapons-grade uranium
Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani says goal is to ‘overthrow’ Assad
regime
Syrian insurgents capture key crossing point on border with Jordan
Israel military 'reinforcing' troops in occupied Golan amid Syria conflict
Syrian insurgents enter 2 central towns, close in on Homs city
Syrians are torn between fear and hope as the frontlines rapidly shift
In Syria, a ruthless dictator is under siege. Will anyone step up to save him?
Russian embassy advises its citizens to leave Syria as rebels advance on
strategic city of Homs
Rebels close in on central city of Homs as aid groups sound alarm on Syria
Iraq considers Syria intervention as rebels advance
IDF: Hamas commander involved in Oct. 7 attack killed
Israeli military kills four doctors in raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern
Gaza, eyewitnesses say
Israel denies striking one of north Gaza's last functioning hospitals
Ukraine says Syrian collapse shows Russia can't fight on two fronts
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on December 06-07/2024
America's Future Depends on Trump's Promise to Punish Woke Universities/Jonathan
S. Tobin/Gatestone Institute./December 6, 2024
What is happening in the Middle East right now?/Yossi Aloni/Israel
Today/December 06/2024
Despite Iranian Foreign Ministry's Denials, Regime Mouthpiece Outlet 'Kayhan'
Writes: Punishing The Murderers Of IRGC Qods Force Commander Qasem Soleimani Is
Still On The Table; There Is No Guarantee That Trump Is Safe From Punishment/MEMRI/December
6, 2024
Question: “What does it mean that Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)?”/GotQuestions.org/December
06/2024
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published
on December 06-07/2024
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video: Naim Qassem's Speech: Delusions, Illusions,
Denial, Deception, Cunning, and an Attempt to Subvert the Ceasefire Agreement
Elias Bejjani/December 05/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/137626/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuO6LVRpm1c&t=173s
Sheikh Naim Qassem's recent televised appearance was a disappointing display of
rhetoric and deception. His speech, filled with baseless claims and inflammatory
language, insulted the intelligence of the Lebanese people. Rather than
acknowledging the reality of Hezbollah's defeat and the necessity of the
ceasefire agreement, Qassem attempted to undermine the agreement and perpetuate
a dangerous illusion of victory.
The content of Qassem's speech, like all Hezbollah leaders' statements and
stances since the party's inception in 1982, is a bundle of lies, baseless
rhetoric, delusional fantasies, and sectarian, inflammatory propaganda. This
rhetoric promotes hatred, distorts history, and serves the interests of the
Iranian mullah regime's expansionist, imperialist, and terrorist schemes and
sickening dreams.
Qassem's primary tactic was to downplay the significance of the ceasefire. He
falsely claimed that the agreement was limited to the area south of the Litani
River and only concerned the implementation of UN Resolution 1701. This is a
deliberate misrepresentation of the agreement's terms, which clearly encompass
all of Lebanon and mandate the disarmament of Hezbollah.
By denying the comprehensive nature of the agreement, Qassem seeks to maintain
Hezbollah's military capabilities and its ability to disrupt Lebanon's
stability. This strategy is not only a threat to Lebanon's security but also a
direct challenge to the international community's efforts to promote peace and
stability in the region.
With absurdity and falsification, he asserted that the other resolutions, 1559
and 1680, lack enforcement mechanisms and are solely under the jurisdiction of
the Lebanese state and its army. This is blatantly false. The agreement
unequivocally covers all of Lebanon, mandates the dissolution of Hezbollah, the
handover of its weapons to the Lebanese Army, and restricts the possession of
arms to state entities, as explicitly stipulated in the Taif Agreement, which is
enshrined in Lebanon's constitution.
Some may wonder why Hezbollah agreed to an accord that undermines its very
existence and exposes its false claims about resistance, liberation, and its
grandiose slogans of "throwing Israel into the sea" and "praying in Jerusalem."
The answer is simple: the party faced a crushing defeat against Israel and had
no other option but to surrender.
However, true to its nature, Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons specialize in
deceit, duplicity, and reneging on agreements. Despite their defeat and the
unprecedented calamity they have brought upon Lebanon's Shiite community and the
nation at large, they mistakenly believe they can once again evade the agreement
and renege on its provisions that do not align with their sinister and
expansionist agenda. Qassem's speech falls squarely within this context.
Neither Hezbollah, nor its Iranian sponsors, nor any faction of political Islam,
whether Sunni or Shiite, understand anything other than the language of force.
If they are not deterred by power and compelled to fully and strictly adhere to
the terms of the ceasefire agreement, they will inevitably revert to deceit,
noncompliance, and attempts to rebuild and recover everything they have lost.
To ensure that the ceasefire holds and that Lebanon can move towards a more
peaceful future, the international community must remain vigilant and hold
Hezbollah accountable for its actions. Any attempt by Hezbollah to undermine the
agreement must be met with a strong and decisive response.
"Etienne Sakr -
Abu Arz: The accusations and smears against the Syrian armed factions rebelling
against the Assad regime are blatant lies.
December 072024
(Translation, Quotation & Summary by Elias Bejjani, Editor & Publisher of the
LCCC website)
A statement by Etienne Sakr - Abu Arz, leader of the Party of the Guardians of
the Cedar - Lebanese Nationalist Movement:
"When the Syrian armed factions began their struggle against the Assad regime,
seeking to liberate their nation from tyranny, they were targeted by a
deliberate and baseless campaign of accusations. These factions were falsely
labeled as terrorists, and fabricated videos and reports were widely circulated
to discredit and undermine their cause. Yet, their actions and words stand as
irrefutable evidence of their innocence.
In Words:
The leader of 'Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham,' Mr. Ahmed al-Shara (Abu Muhammad al-Julani),
publicly declared the faction's complete severance from Al-Qaeda. He renamed 'Jabhat
al-Nusra' to 'Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham,' vowing to dismantle the organization and
transition power to a civilian government post-conflict.
In Deeds:
These factions have demonstrated unwavering adherence to the laws and ethics of
war. No crimes against prisoners or civilians have been recorded. On the
contrary, they have protected civilians and upheld their rights, setting a stark
contrast with the Assad regime’s brutality. The regime has employed barrel
bombs, chemical weapons, and systematic torture, leading to over 200,000 deaths
and the forced migration of half the Syrian population.
Refuting Claims of Religious Extremism:
The accusations of targeting Christians and churches are unfounded. In areas
controlled by these factions, there have been no recorded incidents of
aggression against Christians. Instead, their leadership has emphasized respect
for religious diversity, appointing Bishop Hanna Ghalouf as governor of
Aleppo—an unprecedented move highlighting their commitment to national unity and
the rights of all Syrians.
The Syrian armed factions embody the principles of human dignity and justice,
unlike the Assad regime, which hides its inhumanity behind a veneer of
respectability. The international community must recognize this reality for the
sake of truth, justice, and Lebanon's future."
Analysis and Context
Purpose:
To dismantle accusations against Syrian armed factions and highlight their
commitment to justice and human rights.
Key Arguments:
Public disassociation from extremist groups.
Respect for civilian rights and laws of war.
Evidence refuting claims of religious persecution.
Strategic Implications:
The statement shifts the narrative, portraying Syrian factions as victims of
propaganda and the Assad regime as the true perpetrator of atrocities. It
appeals to both domestic and international audiences for support and solidarity.
Hezbollah sent
'supervising' forces to Syria's Homs, sources say
Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Parisa Hafezi/BEIRUT (Reuters)/December 6,
2024
Lebanese armed group Hezbollah sent a small number of "supervising forces" from
Lebanon to Syria overnight to help prevent anti-government fighters from seizing
the strategic city of Homs, two senior Lebanese security sources said on Friday.
"Homs must not fall," one of the sources told Reuters, adding that senior
officers deployed overnight to oversee some Hezbollah fighters who had been in
Syria near the border with Lebanon for years. A Syrian military officer and two
regional officials close to Tehran also told Reuters that elite Hezbollah forces
had crossed over from Lebanon and taken up positions in Homs. The move reflects
the dramatic shakeup in Syria's battlegrounds since Monday, when sources close
to the group said Hezbollah was not intending to deploy to Syria for now. At the
time, a rebel advance led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate,
had seized the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. But by Thursday, they had
captured Hama - a city in Syria's centre - and were bearing down on Homs. Homs,
Syria's largest province, borders Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan and offers key
transport routes for Iran to bring military equipment to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Lebanese security source said Homs was important as a "reservoir" for
Hezbollah and other Iran-backed armed groups. Losing Homs city would isolate the
capital Damascus from the Syrian government's coastal strongholds further west.
Western officials told Reuters that Hezbollah fighters were worried they would
be attacked by Israel if they deployed to Syria, where Israel's air force has
carried out years of strikes against Iran-linked assets. Hezbollah and Israel
exchanged fire across Lebanon's southern border for nearly a year in hostilities
triggered by the Gaza war, before Israel went on the offensive in September,
killing most of Hezbollah's top leadership. The fighting ended in a ceasefire
that went into effect on Nov. 27, the same day the rebel offensive in Syria
began.
Lebanese
Detainees Presumably Freed from Hama Prison Spark Calls for Action
This is Beirut/December 06/2024
The issue of the Lebanese detainees in Syria resurfaced unexpectedly, on
Thursday, when Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) announced the release of the Hama
prison inmates, including some Lebanese. This revelation prompted widespread
sharing of a list of names of individuals arrested during Lebanon’s war
(1975–1990) on WhatsApp and social media. Among the detainees, Ali Hassan Ali, a
65-year-old from Tashaa, Akkar, who disappeared 40 years ago during the Tabbaneh
events in Tripoli, was identified as one of those released. His identity was
confirmed by his brother and former detainees.
Lebanese media reported on Friday that 622 Lebanese detainees remain in Syrian
prisons, some held for 35 to 40 years. This includes Boutros Khawand, a Kataeb
Political Bureau member, kidnapped in September 1992 by armed men outside his
home in Horch Tabet. Families, still clinging to hope, demand answers. The
Committee of Families of the Kidnapped and Missing in Lebanon called on the
Lebanese government to urgently verify the identities of Lebanese released
prisoners, if any, work to secure their return, and uncover the fate of those
still missing. A press conference is planned on Saturday, at 11 AM, at Gibran
Khalil Gibran Garden in Beirut to address this issue. Meanwhile, Kataeb leader
MP Samy Gemayel urged the Lebanese government to prioritize uncovering the fate
of detainees, particularly Boutros Khawand, and act swiftly to repatriate those
freed.
“The Lebanese authorities are required to shed light on the fate of its
citizens. They should not abandon them to the unknown after years of neglect and
submission to the criminal Syrian regime. It is time to close this file out of
respect for them and for their families, who have endured their pain for
decades,” he said.
For its part, Nidaa Al Watan have reported that the Lebanese forces party has
made indirect contacts through a mediator with armed factions in Syria,
requesting their assistance in identifying Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons,
including members of the party, particularly Boutros Khawand.
Efforts for identification and release
Ali Abou Dehen, Secretary of the Committee for Lebanese Detainees in Syrian
Prisons, told AL-Quds Al-Araby that he had “contacted Syrian revolutionaries in
Turkey and France who are connected to opposition factions to gather information
about the identities of any Lebanese individuals released from the central
prison, if present.” However, he clarified that “most Lebanese detainees are
held in Sednaya and Adra prisons.” He also told Al-Markazya that he is closely
monitoring the Syrian opposition's actions. He noted that they have not only
released Lebanese detainees but also freed political prisoners in Hama,
describing this as an important step that offers hope”.“There is another image
of a Lebanese detainee who was with Ali, but his identity has not yet been
confirmed. This is a major problem. I have shared his photo on social media, but
so far, no one has been able to identify him,” Abou Dehen said, adding “Ali
Hassan Ali’s identity was confirmed by his brother, who recognized his
resemblance to him and their uncle. This is a promising sign."The Lebanese
authorities did not comment on the issue. Former President Michel Aoun, during a
2008 visit to Damascus, denied the presence of Lebanese detainees in Syrian
prisons, claiming they were “missing.” His statements, coupled with years of
inaction, have drawn sharp criticism overnight, with some labeling him a
“traitor.”
Hochstein promises to attend Jan. 9 presidential vote
Naharnet/December 06/2024
U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein will attend a presidential election session
scheduled for January 9, LBCI reported. The media outlet said that Hochstein has
promised Speaker Nabih Berri that he'll attend the session, after the latter
invited him in a phone call.
Berri had said he would invite Arab and foreign ambassadors to attend the
presidential election session on January 9.Lebanon has been without a president
since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with neither of the two main
blocs -- Hezbollah and its opponents -- having the majority required to elect
one, and unable to reach a consensus. Hochstein alongside Maj. Gen. Jasper
Jeffers are co-chairing a committee that is supposed to monitor a ceasefire
between Lebanon and Israel. The committee also includes France, the U.N.
peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), Lebanon, and Israel.
Hochstein led over a year of shuttle diplomacy to broker the ceasefire deal, and
his role will be temporary until a permanent civilian co-chair is appointed.
Our Issue with
Hezbollah and Its Finances
Johnny Kortbawi/This is Beirut/December 06/2024
There is much to address regarding our frustration with Hezbollah and its
economic and financial conduct. This frustration reached a peak yesterday with
the remarks of its Deputy Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, as he outlined how aid
is being distributed: a thousand dollars here, a hundred there—some for those
affected in the South, and some for those impacted in Beirut. While it is
commendable for victims who have lost their homes to receive assistance, a
series of critical questions must be raised—questions that demand answers and
evoke both astonishment and outrage.
How can a party, which forced the country into a war of its own making, disburse
funds whose origins remain unclear, whose entry into the country is unverified,
and whose use is beyond regulatory oversight?
This is not a trivial matter, it strikes at the core of Lebanon’s sovereignty
and economy. It underscores the notion that Lebanon has become a hub for money
laundering and illegal financial activities. The party’s free handling of
hundreds of millions of dollars, bypassing the official banking system—a system
it helped cripple—is undeniable proof of this. The presence of such vast,
unregulated funds is a red flag for illicit operations. It also reinforces
Lebanon’s position on international blacklists as a non-compliant state in
combating money laundering and terrorism financing.
Lebanon must adhere to global financial regulations. Failing to do so risks
isolating the country entirely, making the entry of even a single dollar a
herculean task. Today, banks require full documentation for every dollar
transferred to verify its source and intent. How then does the state justify the
existence of millions of dollars in the hands of an internationally classified
terrorist organization? The absence of any corrective measures only deepens
Lebanon’s financial predicament.
This concern extends to Al-Qard al-Hassan, which operates as an unregulated
financial institution, providing loans and managing funds without any oversight
from Lebanon’s central bank or adherence to banking laws.
The same applies to the funds channeled into the party, distributed monthly to
the families of its affiliates and martyrs. Does this not validate the
accusations widely reported in foreign media about Hezbollah’s financing of
terrorism through illicit networks, spanning from Latin America to the Gulf,
including drug trafficking?Hezbollah no longer cares about these allegations.
Instead, it boldly announces its financial agenda, effectively telling the
Lebanese people, “Your opinions are irrelevant. I have built my economic state
on the ruins of yours, which I have already destroyed militarily and
financially.”To this, we respond: justice and the rule of law remain. And they
will prevail.
Israel says struck Hezbollah 'smuggling route' on Syria-Lebanon border
Agence France Presse/December 06/2024
Israel’s army said Friday it had conducted air strikes on Hezbollah
"weapon-smuggling routes" on the Syria-Lebanon border, just over a week into a
fragile ceasefire in Lebanon. The Israeli air force "conducted strikes on
weapon-smuggling routes and terror infrastructure sites located near the Syrian
regime’s crossings at the Syrian-Lebanese border", the military said in a
statement that included a map identifying the crossing as Al-Arida. Lebanon’s
National News Agency said the airstrike on the Al-Arida border crossing in the
country’s north caused heavy material damage and cut the road. The Israeli army
also said it destroyed Hezbollah weapons in south Lebanon. Over the past two
months, Israel’s airstrikes closed several border crossings between Lebanon and
Syria. The Al-Arida border crossing was attacked in late November and reopened
days later before it was struck again.
Hezbollah sends 'supervising forces' to Syria's Homs, report says
Naharnet/December 06/2024
Hezbollah has sent "a small number of supervising forces" from Lebanon to Syria
overnight to back the government's counteroffensive against a surprise advance
by insurgents who were advancing Friday towards the strategic city of Homs,
Reuters reported. The British news agency said it has learned from three
officials close to Tehran that "elite forces from Hezbollah had crossed over
from Lebanon overnight and had taken up positions in Homs."Syrian insurgents
entered two central towns early Friday just north of the central city of Homs,
bringing them closer to Syria's third largest city. The break into Rastan and
Talbiseh came a day after opposition gunmen captured the central city of Hama,
after having seized the country's largest city, Aleppo, days ago. Israel’s army
meanwhile said it had conducted air strikes on Hezbollah "weapon-smuggling
routes" on the Syria-Lebanon border, just over a week into a fragile ceasefire
in Lebanon. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a televised speech on Friday
that Hezbollah "will stand alongside Syria to stop the aggression.""The
aggression against Syria is sponsored by America and Israel," Qassem said.
He did not specify whether Hezbollah would send fighters to Syria to join forces
with the Syrian army.
Samir Geagea: A Military Hezbollah Is No Longer Valid
This is Beirut/December 06/2024
Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea asserted on Friday that the ongoing
offensive against the Syrian regime is aimed at rooting out Iran and its allied
militias, calling on Hezbollah to acknowledge that fact and give up its
so-called armed resistance. “The military Hezbollah no longer exists today, and
the triptych 'army, people, resistance' no longer holds,” he declared during a
televised interview on the political program Sar el Waet, broadcast on the
Lebanese channel MTV. “International resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701 must be
applied, otherwise the country will sink into uncertainty… We refuse any return
to the situation that prevailed before October 8, 2023,” he added. Referring to
the ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, Geagea argued: “The
agreement is not limited to the disarmament of Hezbollah south of the Litani
River; it concerns the whole of Lebanese territory. This agreement is clear and
explicit, and everyone must abide by it to guarantee the sovereignty of the
Lebanese state over the whole country.”Addressing recent events in Syria, Geagea
pointed out that one of the aims of this operation could be to distance Iran
from Syria. “Such a scenario is already noticeable with the control of the
border crossing between Syria and Iraq by the rebels. “The rapid and
incomprehensible withdrawal of the Syrian army raises many questions. We'll have
to wait to find out whether this means that Iran is out of Syria with President
Bashar al-Assad, or whether Assad is complicit in what's going on. Either way,
it's clear that the US is playing a role in these developments, and, of course,
Israel is no stranger to this situation,” he added. Geagea played down fears of
a new wave of Syrian displacement or incursion by Syrian militants into Lebanon,
stressing that “General Security and the Lebanese Army are perfectly capable of
repelling them and protecting Lebanese territory.”“Everyone needs to understand
that there is a state, an army and a people ready to defend their territory.”
Sami Gemayel says Hezbollah surrendered 'in only 10 days' of war
Naharnet/December 06/2024
Kataeb leader MP Sami Gemayel said that Hezbollah has surrendered and south
Lebanon was destroyed in only 10 days of Israeli strikes. Gemayel demanded
Hezbollah be disarmed, stressing that the group has stopped being a Lebanese
"resistance" movement since it entered Syria, in support of Syrian President
Bashar Assad. In an interview Thursday with MTV, Gemayel accused Hezbollah of
being an Iranian tool and in sacrificing Lebanon and its youth for the sake of
Iran’s interests. "Hezbollah has paid the price along with the (Lebanese)
people, the Shiite community, and the Lebanese economy," Gemayel said. Gemayel
criticized the ceasefire with Israel, saying the negotiations were
Israeli-Iranian, and that the Lebanese parties were only "intermediators". The
ceasefire offered relief to both sides, giving Israel’s overstretched army a
break and allowing Hezbollah leaders to tout the group’s effectiveness in
holding their ground despite Israel’s massive advantage in weaponry. After
months of cross-border bombings, Israel can claim major victories, including the
killing of Hezbollah’s top leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and most of his senior
commanders and the explosion of hundreds of walkie-talkies and pagers used by
Hezbollah, signaling a remarkable penetration of the militant group.The damage
inflicted on Hezbollah has hit not only in its ranks, but the reputation it
built by fighting Israel to a stalemate in the 2006 war. Still, its fighters
managed to put up heavy resistance on the ground, slowing Israel’s advance while
continuing to fire scores of rockets, missiles and drones across the border each
day.
Bassil says 'no defeat or victory' in Hezbollah-Israel war
Naharnet/December 06/2024
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil said he supports Hezbollah in
defending Lebanon but not in exposing it, calling for a full implementation of
the ceasefire with Israel and for keeping Lebanon away from regional conflicts.
"We have lost the deterrence equation but Israel today cannot stroll in Lebanon
the way it did in 1982," Bassil said in a televised interview. "There is neither
defeat nor victory, but the Shiites now know that they cannot bet on other
arenas and cannot continue with wrong choices."Bassil added that Hezbollah has
not been militarily crushed and that the Shiite component is not destroyed and
cannot be excluded from the presidential juncture. "Neither can the
opposition."Bassil stressed that he rather supports a consensual president and
that he himself has no chances as a presidential candidate. Lebanese Forces
Leader Samir Geagea has the right to nominate himself as a presidential
candidate, Bassil said. "If he changes his approach, we would have no
objection."
Water Authority Calls for Payment of Dues
This is Beirut/December 06/2024
The Establishment of The Water of Beirut and Mount Lebanon (EBML) has urged its
subscribers to settle their fees for the current year (2024). Payments can be
made at water office branches or through the Online Money Transfer SAL (OMT)
service. Bank card payments are accepted at the water office branches. However,
the EBML noted that, due to exceptional circumstances, online payments via its
website or mobile application are currently unavailable. In light of the ongoing
economic challenges, the EBML has extended the deadline for settling overdue
subscriptions (prior to 2024) until December 2026. To ease the burden on
subscribers, it has introduced measures allowing those with outstanding payments
to divide their dues into installments over the same extended period.
Additionally, the EBML has reduced subscription fees for new connections.
Subscribers wishing to cancel their permanent or temporary subscriptions of any
type must submit written requests to the distribution services by December 15,
2024. All outstanding payments must be cleared by December 31, 2024; otherwise,
the subscriptions will be automatically renewed under the same terms and
conditions.
Telecom Sector Suffered $117 Million in Damages
This is Beirut/December 06/2024
Lebanon's telecommunications sector has suffered significant damage due to
Israeli bombings, with initial estimates placing the losses at $117 million.This
was revealed by the caretaker Minister of Telecommunications, Johnny Corm, in an
interview with Sputnik.Corm explained that the estimated figures range between
$88 million and $117 million, with final numbers to be confirmed after the
completion of an ongoing investigation. He noted that approximately 30% of the
damage was inflicted on the fixed-line telephone network, which sustained severe
impacts. He also pointed out that Lebanon's landline infrastructure has been
neglected, with no major investments made since 2017, aside from minor repairs.
As for mobile networks, Corm reported significant damage to infrastructure owned
by operators Touch and Alfa. Before the ceasefire, Touch recorded 190 stations
bombed, of which 126 were repaired within a week. Meanwhile, Alfa reported 141
damaged stations, with 79 already rehabilitated. However, 62 Alfa stations and
64 Touch stations remain out of service. Despite this, only 30,000 of Touch’s
700,000 subscribers are still experiencing internet outages—a figure Corm
described as reasonable given the extent of the destruction. To address these
issues, an urgent plan has been put in place to restore internet services in
affected areas. New wireless stations, provided through donations from the
Chinese government, will be installed to cover impacted regions in the south,
Bekaa, and southern suburbs. The initial phase will see the deployment of 250
stations, with plans to expand to 385 in the next phase. Corm noted that the
mobile sector has a stronger financial position than the fixed-line network.
This is largely because telecommunications companies have been able to negotiate
with insurance providers to cover a significant portion of the damages.
Jordan, Lebanon
close border crossings into Syria
Agencies/December 06, 2024
AMMAN: Jordan has closed its only passenger and commercial border crossing into
Syria, the interior ministry said on Friday. A Syrian army source told Reuters
that armed groups had been firing at Syria’s Nassib border crossing into
Jordan.“Armed groups who infiltrated the crossing attacked Syrian army posts
stationed there,” the source added. He said dozens of trailers and passengers
were now stranded near the area. Jordan’s interior minister said Jordanians and
Jordanian trucks would be allowed to return via the crossing, known as the Jaber
crossing on the Jordanian side, while no one would be allowed to cross into
Syria. Also on Friday, Lebanon’s General Security Directorate said the country
was closing all land border crossings with Syria except for a main one that
links Beirut with the Syrian capital Damascus. The decision by the security
agency in charge of border crossings came hours after an Israeli airstrike
damaged the Arida border crossing with Syria in north Lebanon, days after it was
reopened. Separately, Israel’s military said in a statement it planned to
reinforce its forces stationed in the Golan Heights and near the border with
Syria, where civil war has reignited between the government forces and
militants. The statement said it was “monitoring developments and is prepared
for all scenarios, offensive and defensive alike.”* With AP and Reuters
Why not give the
Assad dynasty another chance?"
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Face Book/December 06/2024
For the lack of alternative to Islamists, including Al-Qaeda types and Iran
proxy militias in Lebanon and Syria, many world capitals wondered: "Why not give
the Assad dynasty another chance?"
The Assads are non-Muslim, quasi-secular, Western-looking, and if peeled away
from Tehran, could serve the purpose of weakening the Islamist regime. What the
world did not consider was the long history of the Assad regime reneging on its
promises. The regime's founder Hafez designed it this way. In the pic, Assad
received President Nixon, in Damascus in 1974. Nixon thought he could peel Assad
away from the Soviet Union and make him follow in the footsteps of Egypt's Sadat,
sign peace with Israel. Notice how cordial Assad looked. The fact that Assad
received and guaranteed the safety of Nixon in Damascus was seen as a big deal.
But Nixon was wrong, and since then, every American administration and world
capital has committed the same mistake. Hafez Assad designed his system to be a
regional arsonist and firefighter at the same time: A blackmail system in which
if you punish him, you're hurt, and if you reward him, you're hurt less. Assad
always stood as the lesser of other evils, whether the Soviet Union, Saddam
Hussein, al-Qaeda, or Iranian proxies. Hafez Assad played the game masterfully.
But Assad the son turned out to be a complete idiot. He didn't understand when
to pull or when to push, lost the Assad control over Lebanon only five years
after his father died, faced a rebellion in Syria six years after that, and now
sits on the verge of collapse.
What Assad the son did not realize was that to be a player, he required a
minimum amount of strength that kept him solid and able to deal. The son threw
himself in the lap of Islamist Iran and became too reliable on it. When Israel
weakened Iran and Hezbollah, poof, Assad was no more.
The irony was that after Israel weakened Iran in Lebanon and Syria, the thinking
was that it was time to peel Assad away from Tehran, unaware that there was no
Assad without Tehran, that he was too weak to pull away, even if he wanted too.
The current unfolding events are showing it. I have argued against relieving
sanctions on Assad (Sen. Chris Murphy and Chris Van Hollen have been itching to
remove them for years now) or trying to peel Assad away from Iran, always
warning that, judging by history, it was very unlikely that it would work.
With events unfolding fast inside Syria, perhaps it's time to put our debate to
rest. If we do, it'd be always good to remember that "engaging Assad" (Obama) or
"rehabilitating him" post Syria's war, were misinformed policies built on wrong
past assumptions.
Has Israel
repeated the mistake of 2006 with its ceasefire?
Mitchell Bard /Israel Today/December 06/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/137666/
Unlike Hamas to the south, Hezbollah has not been destroyed; it continues to
exert influence over the country, and Iran can quickly rebuild it.
The 2006 Israel-Lebanon war mirrored the current war in Gaza in terms of the US
and international reaction to the civilian casualties and displacement of large
numbers of people. Like President Joe Biden, President George W. Bush initially
opposed a ceasefire. “He believes that the Israelis have a right to protect
themselves,” Bush spokesman Tony Snow said, “and also that we think it’s
important that in doing that they try to limit as much as possible so-called
collateral damage, not only to facilities but also to human lives.” Snow added,
“The president is not going to make military decisions for Israel.”
A month later, however, the president changed his tune. He was angered by what
he saw as Israeli indifference to the death toll and international opinion. As
today, he feared that the war could escalate and alienate America’s Arab allies.
Another concern was that Hezbollah would gain influence because Israel could not
achieve a decisive military victory. Bush obtained support for UN Security
Council Resolution 1701 to create “an effective international force to deploy to
Lebanon,” which he said was “essential to the freedom of Lebanon.” After Israel
withdrew its troops, this force would “help the Lebanese army meet its
responsibility to secure Lebanon’s borders and stop … Hezbollah from acting as a
state within a state.” Furthermore, he reassured everyone, “An effective
international force will help give displaced people in both Lebanon and Israel
the confidence to return to their homes and begin rebuilding their lives without
fear of renewed violence and terror.”
Bush said the “root cause of the problem … was you have a state within a state.
You have people launch attacks on a sovereign nation without the consent of the
government in the country in which they are lodged.” He said it was imperative
that Lebanon “exert control over the entire country” and that an international
force “make sure that the Hezbollah forces don’t rearm, don’t get arms from
Syria or Iran through Syria, to be able to continue to wreak havoc in the
region.” He and other officials, notably Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,
repeatedly used the word “robust” to describe the international force that would
be created to keep the peace. “The language [of the resolution] says that
anything and anyone who keeps them from fulfilling their responsibilities is to
be challenged on that, and they even have the right to use force if they need
to,” Rice said. “That mandate was written in a very robust fashion.”
That force, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), was to be
15,000-strong.
“One thing is for certain,” Bush said, “when this force goes into help Lebanon,
Hezbollah won’t have that safe haven or that kind of freedom to run in Lebanon’s
southern border… Hopefully, over time, Hezbollah will disarm. You can’t have a
democracy with an armed political party willing to bomb its neighbor without the
consent of its government, or deciding, well, let’s create enough chaos and
discord by lobbing rockets.”
Interestingly, while in one breath he talked about a force that would enforce
the resolution calling for the disarming of Hezbollah, in the next, he expressed
the hope it would disarm. The new ceasefire agreement calls for the deployment
of 10,000 Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to the southern border, in addition to the
UNIFIL force that has consistently failed to be “robust” over the past 18 years.
“An international force requires international commitment,” Bush said and
promised to assist “with logistic support, command and control, communications
and intelligence.”
Sound familiar?
The Biden White House said, “Our job will be to receive complaints of violations
and provide training and support to the LAF.” Unlike 2006, an official claimed,
when “the international community reached the agreement and then abandoned the
scene, here we remain committed to be on the ground day to day, watch what’s
happening, and to let everybody know, whether it’s Hezbollah or other terrorist
organizations, that the world is watching.”
The world watched from 2006 until the day the ceasefire was signed and did
nothing. The official acknowledged that UNIFIL failed in its mission to enforce
the ceasefire and yet UNIFIL will be expected to enforce the new agreement. In
both a nod to political reality and an unwillingness to literally put skin in
the game, no U.S. combat troops will participate.
Bush acknowledged that Iran and Syria were “working to thwart the efforts of the
Lebanese people to break free from foreign domination and build their own
democratic future. The terrorists and their sponsors are not going to succeed.
The Lebanese people have made it clear they want to live in freedom. And now
it’s up to their friends and allies to help them do so.”
Again, neither Bush nor his successors took any action against Iran or Syria.
Biden said “this deal supports Lebanon’s sovereignty and so it heralds the new
start for Lebanon” that “can put Lebanon on a path toward a future that’s worthy
of a significant past.”
Is there any reason to believe the outcome will differ from when Bush said the
same thing?
The new ceasefire agreement reiterates Resolution 1701’s requirement for the
“disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon” but does not require the LAF to
take any action against Hezbollah troops deployed north of the Litani River. It
only requires the prevention of future smuggling of weapons into Lebanon. Only
Hezbollah installations south of the river are mentioned for dismantling.
So why did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree to the ceasefire?
Israel asserts while the US denies that the Biden administration threatened to
block further weapons deliveries and would not veto another UN ceasefire
resolution. Just a week earlier, Netanyahu had boasted of repeatedly defying
Biden; however, this time, he acknowledged that Israel needed its weapons
resupplied. After agreeing to the ceasefire, Netanyahu said the issue was
resolved, and the administration subsequently announced a $680 million arms sale
to replenish precision weapons depleted during the war.
When Bush discussed the 2006 ceasefire, he also referenced the geopolitical
situation that is relevant today. “I remember right after Hezbollah launched its
rocket attacks on Israel, I said, this is a clarifying moment. It’s a chance for
the world to see the threats of the 21st century, the challenge we face,” Bush
said on Aug. 21, 2006.
But the world did not see it that way. Hezbollah was allowed to build up its
arsenal to the point where it threatened not only Israel but regional stability.
Bush also recognized the Iranian threat. “They encourage a radical brand of
Islam. Imagine how difficult this issue would be if Iran had a nuclear weapon,”
Bush said. He thought the danger could be managed through the UN, which passed a
Security Council resolution demanding Iran cease its enrichment activities.
He was wrong again. A decade later, the Iranian nuclear threat had grown to the
point that President Barack Obama negotiated a deal to halt its progress towards
acquiring a bomb. That deal failed, as did Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign
and Biden’s appeasement strategy. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
now reports that Iran has enriched uranium to 32 times the amount allowed under
that agreement and could produce multiple atomic bombs if its stockpile is
further enriched to weapons-grade levels. There should have never been any doubt
that the war in Lebanon would end on Biden’s terms. As I wrote last November,
presidents, and not prime ministers, end Israeli wars. Netanyahu capitulated
but, predictably, claimed victory even though Hezbollah was not destroyed (a
tiny fraction of its forces was killed), it continues to exert influence over
the country, and Iran can quickly rebuild it.
Israel does derive short-term benefits: saving the lives of soldiers, the
acceleration of US weapons deliveries, the opportunity to focus on Iran and
finish off Hamas, and getting a desperately needed respite for reservists. It is
not clear, however, that the ceasefire achieved the war’s objective of allowing
the residents of the north to return to their homes, given that Hezbollah was
firing more than 100 rockets a day before the ceasefire and could do so again at
any time.
Israel has a better claim to victory in the south. The IDF has killed most Hamas
terrorists, and the survivors are no longer firing rockets. As in the north,
however, the American president will determine the outcome. President-elect
Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants the war to end before he is
inaugurated. There will be a heavy price, but Netanyahu will likely comply to
avoid Trump’s wrath.
A bogus ceasefire in Lebanon according to a non-existing
agreement.
SEYMOUR HERSH/DEC 05, 2024
Fourteen months after Israel’s greatest trauma, Israeli prime minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, facing another round of pleadings on three pending corruption charges
dating back years, is still the darling of the extreme religious right in Israel
and is riding high in the polls, with the blood of tens of thousands in Gaza and
Lebanon and a few in Iran on his soul.
He has defeated Hamas, bombed Hezbollah into a corner, and largely destroyed
Iran’s capability to defend itself against future Israeli air attacks. He has
assassinated enemies and ignored the rage of much of the world about Israel’s
continued attacks against defenseless Gaza, all the while enjoying sustained
political and military support from the Biden White House. Now he is looking
forward to even greater backing from the incoming Trump administration. American
bombs and dollars are still flowing into Israel, as the economy there continues
its slump, with many successful high-tech firms having fled months ago from
Israel’s unsettled market and constant inflation.
Netanyahu is known to have a difficult personal life with a wife who insists on
interviewing his significant appointees and two grown sons, both of age to be
reserve members of the Israeli Defense Forces. They have spent the past fourteen
months living lives of safety and ease—one in London and the other in Miami—as
their peers have been at war.
Throughout all of this, Netanyahu and his subordinates in the government have
turned language inside out and continued bombing innocents in Gaza, the West
Bank, Beirut, and Baalbek.
Israel’s recent ceasefire agreement with Lebanon is a perfect example of such
double-talk. An expert on international negotiations recently gave me a
blistering assessment of the ceasefire that some leading American newspapers
have hailed as a significant step toward peace. The Western media has fostered
hope that a similar agreement can be reached with the diminished Hamas
leadership to bring the surviving October 7 hostages, if there are any, home
from Gaza.
“It is a bizarre agreement,” the expert told me. “There are no signatory parties
on behalf of Country A, Country B. It is not even an agreement. It’s an
announcement by the US and France that they understand X, Y and Z. It’s all
about what the US and France understand but not the obligations of the parties.”
The expert said that the ceasefire is in no way “legally binding and has no
duration . . . but US officials have said it is designed to be permanent.” The
peace, if it comes, will be monitored by soldiers of the reinvigorated Lebanese
Armed Forces, whose formerly demoralized troops were recently described by the
Economist as one of the few respected institutions left in a chronically
fragmented country. Adding to the complications, the expert said, is the fact
that most LAF soldiers “view Israel as the enemy, especially since Israel is
burning one-third of the country to the ground. The army will never let itself
be used against Hezbollah. LAF was always a force for internal security . . .
just as [are] all Middle Eastern armies the US controls and arms and trains. . .
. And if the US cares so much about the LAF then why is it letting the Israelis
kill LAF soldiers and officers?”
The expert was referring to the fact that the Israeli military and air force
have continued their attacks in southern Lebanon under the auspices of a side
ceasefire agreement between the US and Israel that permits such attacks to take
place up to fifteen miles north of the border with Israel, and sometimes miles
beyond that limit if intelligence warrants them. The agreement also enabled
those who had fled their homes in northern Israel and southern Lebanon to
return. Roads on both sides of the border have been filled by those desperate to
return home. Many of the returning Lebanese are Shia supporters of Hezbollah.
Reports in the Western media largely depict the near daily Israeli bombing in
Lebanon as primarily aimed at Hezbollah targets. Not so, said the expert, who
has been monitoring the Middle East for decades. “Israeli jets were not bombing
Hezbollah positions throughout Lebanon,” he told me. “They were destroying every
Shia village and neighborhood in the country. They were destroying hospitals,
schools and mosques and social and financial institutions, and they were
targeting ambulances drivers and emergency healthcare workers.”
The United States, he told me, despite its public support for the ceasefire, is
at the same time supporting the Israeli war in Lebanon. Washington, he said, “is
not a neutral and well-intentioned observer here. If the US wanted to hold
Lebanon together” it would pressure Israel—that is, Netanyahu—to back off.
The Biden administration, he said, “has not been engaged in diplomacy. It has
just been delivering Israeli ultimatums demanding that Hezbollah and Lebanon
surrender.”
I took the expert’s opinion—I’ve not seen anything close to his view in an
American newspaper—to a well-informed American official known for his honesty
and integrity. He was blunt about the current situation. “Israel is not waiting
for the next go-around. They are mopping up and consolidating their current
hold” in their part of the Middle East. “It is a fact,” he said, that “when a
ceasefire is broken in the Middle East, the Israelis are the ones to do it
first. Hezbollah is trying to pretend that they are still a force to be dealt
with, but it’s all over.
“The game is also over [for Hamas] in Gaza,” he said. “The brave ones who tried
to fight are all dead, and all those who are left are too chickenshit to fight.”
He said another blow to any hope for Hamas came during the recent state visit to
England by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, which, along with
Turkey and Hamas, has supported the radical Muslim Brotherhood. Energy-rich
Qatar has been the most important financial backer of Hamas, for many years with
the tacit approval of Netanyahu. I was told by the knowledgeable American that
the emir has made it known at a state dinner for him at Buckingham Palace hosted
by King Charles that Qatar no longer supports Hamas. Al Thani also met with
Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing St. and visited Parliament.
What is to happen, I asked, to the two million or so Palestinians still being
bombed and starved and deprived of clean drinking water or any semblance of
decent housing and sanitation, with no sign of support from the Arab and Western
world and no way to flee Gaza?
The answer, in essence, was a question: What happened to the American Indians in
the plains of the Dakotas?
So here we are. Netanyahu, despite his lies and his refusal to make the return
of hostages a priority, has enough breathing room and political support from an
anxious and fractious public that has endorsed his policy of taking the war to
Hamas, to Lebanon, and to Iran—long perceived as the ultimate threat. The United
States has had his back throughout, and there is reason to believe that the
Trump administration will go all-out in support of the amoral prime minister.
There will soon be an annexation of a significant chunk of the West Bank, ending
vague notions of a two-state solution. The extreme right wing in Israel, to
which Netanyahu is beholden, want to turn parts of north Gaza, which is now
being evacuated, with many who resisted being forced out at gunpoint, into an
Israeli religious colony.
Netanyahu now has the chance to improve his political standing further by going
after the Haredim in Israel, ultra-orthodox followers of the Torah whose refusal
to serve in the armed forces has become a political issue among families whose
reservist sons and daughters are being recalled to active duty for a second
time. What about the Gazans now struggling to survive day by day or hour by
hour? That question leads to a resigned shrug, even from the best of public
officials. There are winners, and there are losers. Donald Trump won the
presidency despite his oft-repeated total support for Netanyahu’s Israel. If he
has a point of view about the plight of the many Palestinians now facing
despair, starvation, and possible death, it has not been articulated.
There are some persons of integrity, as I have learned, among his foreign policy
team, but so far Trump’s only concern for Palestinians has seemed to be a sense
that photographs of maimed and dead Palestinians are bad publicity.
Lebanon’s
economic crisis returns to prominence
Zaid M. Belbagi/Arab News/December 06, 2024
Last week’s ceasefire deal has refocused minds on Lebanon’s dire economic
situation. Though formal hostilities have drawn to a close, questions over
Israel’s continued presence in the south of the country and questions as to the
military and political future of Hezbollah raise the specter of ongoing
uncertainty. With almost 1 million Lebanese displaced and with yet more capital
flight, Lebanon, whose economy has been in freefall since 2019, is facing an
unprecedented crisis. Within this context, efforts to bolster its postwar
economy are critical to improving the lives of its long-suffering citizens.
According to the World Bank, Lebanon’s prewar financial crisis ranked “among the
worst economic crises globally since the mid-19th century.” Following the
14-month Hezbollah-Israel conflict, this crisis is all the more acute. Today, it
is estimated that Lebanon faces a reconstruction bill of more than $25 billion,
compounding the economic losses of $8.5 billion and including $2.8 billion in
damage to housing infrastructure. With Israel having struck Lebanon again since
the deal came into effect, sending the lira plummeting further, the fragility of
the peace highlights the essential nature of political reforms and institutional
stability. These are needed to create the suitable conditions for a window of
recovery that the country so desperately needs. While Lebanon’s towns and cities
show significant bomb damage, the tourism industry, once a key economic pillar,
has collapsed due to heightened insecurity. Following a welcome increase in
2022, visitor numbers have fallen, with the World Travel and Tourism Council
estimating that tourism’s share of Lebanon’s national economy will decrease from
6.6 percent in 2023 to 5.5 percent in 2024. The fragility of the peace
highlights the essential nature of political reforms and institutional stability
This downturn has had the knock-on effect of a dramatic rise in hotel and flight
cancellations, with the tracked-to-scheduled flights ratio dropping from 98.8
percent to 63.3 percent in the first month of the war. This decline, which has
been more pronounced than in other countries neighboring the conflict, is likely
to persist throughout the first quarter of 2025, resulting in significant job
losses and reduced income for those reliant on the sector, such as hotel and
restaurant workers.
The warnings of countries like the US, the UK and France for their citizens not
to travel to Lebanon due to regional instability have had a significant effect
on the economy, as 63 percent of Lebanon’s international arrivals in 2022 were
expatriates. This community, which numbers some 10 to 18 million people, is much
larger than the population within Lebanon and has a critical part to play in the
small country’s economy. The cyclical nature of conflict and corruption, which
has crippled political life in Lebanon, has also hampered the efficacy of
international aid, of which Lebanon has been a significant recipient. In
circumstances where the politics of the region do not precipitate aid from
international donors and Lebanon’s internal dynamics and realities are contrary
to the political views of its wealthier neighbors, a concerted effort to court
the economic force of the diaspora is necessary.
This is supported by a June report by Bodhi Global Analysis and the Danish
Refugee Council, which highlighted widespread dissatisfaction with traditional
aid mechanisms and a preference for direct involvement in recovery efforts. This
approach reflects a shift away from the frequent fundraising efforts of
Lebanon’s self-serving political elite and toward a growth in community-driven
solutions, emphasizing local agency (and that of the diaspora in particular)
over external dependencies. In this context, a combination of for-profit and
philanthropic models can provide the support the hollowed-out state needs to
create profitable ventures that stimulate the local economy. Lebanon must
overcome the political impasses that have stunted its development and encouraged
militia movements. Though the state can play an important role in mobilizing the
diaspora — much as the parliament speaker recently called on Lebanese abroad to
support the displaced — Lebanon must overcome the political impasses that have
stunted its development and encouraged militia movements in order to cease or at
least spread out the country’s debt and conflict cycles.
Although Israel’s military actions have been controversial, it is Lebanon’s
political impasse that lies at the core of the country’s ongoing crises,
including the collapse of state institutions, economic volatility and deepening
political divisions. The latest war caused an unhelpful shift away from the
existing urgent domestic issues, further prolonging Lebanon’s internal
dysfunction. Though the conflict focused on Hezbollah, it also deepened the
country’s internal paralysis, highlighting once again the centrality of
Lebanon’s political failures to the poor lot of its citizens.
The pre-Oct. 7 status quo was one in which political disputes continued to
cripple the country. Now that a ceasefire has been agreed, Lebanon can either
return to this status, which would not offer a path to recovery, or push its
political factions to negotiate an internal settlement and agree on a president,
prime minister and government structure. Such a compromise could encourage
regional support, particularly from the Gulf, and create the conditions for
Lebanon to address its urgent economic challenges. Long-term recovery is
dependent on comprehensive reforms to allow for the rebuilding of
infrastructure, a return to international agreements like the Paris frameworks
and to attract regional and diaspora investment. Lebanon has been without a
president or active government since 2022, with Najib Mikati currently serving
as the prime minister only in a caretaker capacity. With urgent negotiations
with the International Monetary Fund necessary to guarantee sustainable
financial support, Lebanon’s political crisis and the failure of its public
institutions will kill more Lebanese in the long term than Israel’s military
has.
**Zaid M. Belbagi is a political commentator and an adviser to private clients
between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council. X: @Moulay_Zaid
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on December 06-07/2024
IAEA chief: Iran is poised to 'quite dramatically' increase stockpile of near
weapons-grade uranium
Jon Gambrell/MANAMA, Bahrain (AP)/
December 6, 2024
Iran is poised to “quite dramatically” increase its stockpile of near
weapons-grade uranium as it has started cascades of advanced centrifuges, the
head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned Friday.
The comments from Rafael Mariano Grossi came just hours after Iran said it
conducted a successful space launch with its heaviest payload ever, the latest
for its program that the West alleges improves Tehran’s ballistic missile
program. The launch of the Simorgh rocket comes as Iran’s nuclear program now
enriches uranium at 60%, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of
90%. While Iran maintains its program is peaceful, officials in the Islamic
Republic increasingly threaten to potentially seek the bomb and an
intercontinental ballistic missile that would allow Tehran to use the weapon
against distant foes like the United States. The moves are likely to further
raise tensions gripping the wider Middle East over Israel’s continued war on
Hamas in the Gaza Strip and as an uneasy ceasefire holds in Lebanon. However,
Iran may as well be preparing the ground for possible talks with the incoming
administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who in his first term
unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
Grossi, speaking to journalists in Bahrain, on the sidelines of the
International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Manama Dialogue, said his
inspectors planned to see just how many centrifuges Iran would be spinning after
Tehran informed his agency of its plans. “I think it is very concerning,” Grossi
said. “They were preparing and they have all of these facilities sort of in
abeyance and now they are activating that. So we are going to see.”He added: “If
they really make them turn — all of them — it's going to be a huge jump.”An IAEA
statement issued shortly after Grossi's remarks said Iran had begun feeding two
cascades of advanced IR-6 centrifuges with uranium previously enriched up to 20%
at its underground Fordo facility. That site is located under a mountain,
protecting it from airstrikes.
Cascades are a group of centrifuges that spin uranium gas together to more
quickly enrich the uranium. The IR-6 centrifuges enrich uranium faster than
Iran’s baseline IR-1 centrifuges, which have been the workhorse of the country’s
atomic program. Adding 20% uranium, as opposed to 5% uranium previously planned,
further speeds up that process. “The facility’s updated design information
showed that the effect of this change would be to significantly increase the
rate of production,” the IAEA statement said. Iran separately will start feeding
natural uranium into eight other IR-6 cascades at Fordo as well to produce
5%-enriched uranium, it added. The IAEA warned in late November that Iran was
preparing to begin enriching uranium with thousands of advanced centrifuges.
That came as a response to the Board of Governors at the IAEA condemning Iran
for failing to cooperate fully with the agency.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge the preparations. The Iranian mission to
the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, the launch Friday took place at Iran’s Imam Khomeini Spaceport in
rural Semnan province, some 220 kilometers (135 miles) east of Tehran. That’s
the site of Iran’s civilian space program, which has suffered a series of failed
Simorgh launches in the past. The Simorgh carried what Iran described as an
“orbital propulsion system,” as well as two research systems to a 400-kilometer
(250-mile) orbit above the Earth. A system that could change the orbit of a
spacecraft would allow Iran to geo-synchronize the orbits of its satellites, a
capability Tehran has long sought. It also carried the Fakhr-1 satellite for
Iran’s military, the first time Iran’s civilian program is known to have carried
a military payload. Iran also put the payload of the Simorgh at 300 kilograms
(660 pounds), heavier than all its previous successful launches within the
country. State television carried footage of a correspondent discussing the
payload just as the Simorgh lifted off into the sky, as people called out: “God
is the greatest!”The U.S. military referred questions about the launch to the
country’s Space Command, which did not respond. Space experts said tracking data
appeared to show the launch successfully put objects in orbit.
The United States has previously said Iran’s satellite launches defy a U.N.
Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no activity
involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. U.N.
sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired in October 2023.
“Iran’s work on space-launch vehicles — including its Simorgh — probably would
shorten the timeline to produce an intercontinental ballistic missile, if it
decided to develop one, because the systems use similar technologies,” a U.S.
intelligence community report released in July said. Iran has always denied
seeking nuclear weapons and says its space program, like its nuclear activities,
is for purely civilian purposes. However, U.S. intelligence agencies and the
IAEA say Iran had an organized military nuclear program up until 2003.
Under Iran’s relatively moderate former President Hassan Rouhani, the Islamic
Republic slowed its space program for fear of raising tensions with the West.
The late hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who came to power in 2021, pushed the program forward.
Raisi died in a helicopter crash in May. Iran’s reformist President Masoud
Pezeshkian, who has been signaling he wants to negotiate with the West over
sanctions, has yet to offer a strategy when it comes to Iran’s ambitions in
space. The Simorgh launch represented the first for his administration from the
country’s civil space program. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard conducted
a successful launch of its parallel program in September.
Syrian rebel
leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani says goal is to ‘overthrow’ Assad regime
By Jomana Karadsheh, Gul Tuysuz, Brice Laine, Lauren Kent and Eyad Kourdi, CNN
CNN Fri December 6, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/137682/
The goal of Syria’s rebel coalition, as it wrests another major city from
government control this week, is ultimately to overthrow authoritarian President
Bashar al-Assad, according to Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the militant leader of the
main group driving the country’s armed opposition.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Jolani left no doubt that the ambitions of
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) – a group that was formed out of a former al Qaeda
affiliate – are nothing less than bringing an end to the Assad regime. In his
first sit-down media interview in years, at an undisclosed location in Syria, he
spoke about plans to create a government based on institutions and a “council
chosen by the people.”“When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution
remains the overthrow of this regime. It is our right to use all available means
to achieve that goal,” said Jolani.
“The seeds of the regime’s defeat have always been within it… the Iranians
attempted to revive the regime, buying it time, and later the Russians also
tried to prop it up. But the truth remains: this regime is dead.”
Syrian anti government fighters cheer as they ride a military vehicle through
the streets of the west-central city of Hama on December 5, 2024. Islamist-led
rebels captured the central Syrian city of Hama on December 5, days after
seizing the country's commercial hub Aleppo in a lightning offensive against
President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Since bursting out of their pocket of
territory in the northwest of the country more than a week ago, the rebels’
progress has been stunningly swift, taking control of the country’s
second-largest city Aleppo before capturing the strategic city of Hama. The
shock offensive delivered a huge blow to Assad and his backers in Iran and
Russia, while reigniting a civil war that had been largely dormant for years.
Syria’s opposition forces are decentralized and made up of different
ideologies, albeit united by a common goal of upending the Assad regime. But HTS
and Jolani’s roots in extremist Islamist movements cast a shadow over his
ambitions. Despite Jolani’s effort to distance his new
group from al Qaeda, the United States designated HTS a Foreign Terrorist
Organization in 2018 and placed a $10 million bounty on him.
Emerging from the shadows
For someone who once operated in the shadows, Jolani exuded confidence and tried
to project modernity in his meeting with CNN, which took place in broad daylight
and with little security. As CNN sat down to interview Jolani, news broke that
forces under his command had captured the city of Hama.
Inside rebel-controlled territory in Syria, it’s clear he operates less like a
wanted man and more like a politician. After forces loyal to him took control of
Aleppo, he made a public appearance in the city’s historic citadel.
Jolani says he has gone through episodes of transformation through the
years. “A person in their twenties will have a different personality than
someone in their thirties or forties, and certainly someone in their fifties.
This is human nature.”Jolani cut his teeth as a young fighter for al Qaeda
against the US in Iraq. Returning to his homeland during the Syrian civil war,
he led the terror group’s affiliate in Syria when it was under the name Jabhat
Al Nusra. He would go on to break ties with al Qaeda and his organization
evolved into Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, also known as the Organization for the
Liberation of the Levant, in early 2017.
The US, Turkey, the United Nations and several other Western nations continue to
designate HTS as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, despite the group’s attempts
to distance itself from its roots.
Jolani’s interview with CNN on Thursday was an about-face from the hardline
rhetoric that he used during his first-ever televised interview in 2013, when he
was interviewed by Al Jazeera with his face in shadow. At the time, his remarks
were focused on furthering al Qaeda’s branch in Syria.
On Thursday, Jolani projected a different vision for the war-torn country. In a
sign of his attempted rebranding, he also publicly used his real name for the
first time – Ahmed al-Sharaa – instead of the nom de guerre by which he is
widely known.
As the rebel coalition’s military advances expand the territory and population
under their control, Jolani insisted that civilians had little to fear in the
management of rebel-held areas of Syria. “People who fear Islamic governance
either have seen incorrect implementations of it or do not understand it
properly,” he claimed. If opposition forces succeed in
toppling Assad’s regime, it will transition into “a state of governance,
institutions and so on,” he envisioned.
The group said it is working to reassure civilians and groups that suffered
persecution at the hands of extremist and jihadist groups in Syria’s decade-long
civil war. It also said it has gone out of its way to publicly tell Christians
and other religious and ethnic minorities that they will live safely under its
rule.
“There were some violations against them [minorities] by certain individuals
during periods of chaos, but we addressed these issues,” Jolani said when asked
about concerns for their safety. “No one has the right
to erase another group. These sects have coexisted in this region for hundreds
of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them,” he said.
Human rights groups and local monitors have nevertheless raised alarm
about HTS’ more recent treatment of political dissidents in Idlib, alleging that
the group conducted harsh crackdowns on protests and tortured and abused
dissidents. Jolani told CNN that incidents of abuse in prisons “were not done
under our orders or directions” and HTS had already held those involved
accountable. Jolani also pushed back against the
enduring terror designation of HTS, calling the label “primarily political and,
at the same time, inaccurate,” arguing that some extreme Islamist practices had
“created a divide” between HTS and jihadist groups. He claimed that he was
opposed to some of the more brutal tactics used by other jihadi groups which led
to his severing ties with them. He also claimed that he was never personally
involved in attacks on civilians.
When CNN visited Aleppo earlier in the day, the team found a city that appeared
calm despite the sudden takeover by opposition forces just last week. Markets
were open, people were walking the streets and life was carrying on, even after
bombings by pro-Assad Russian warplanes that have killed scores of people in
rebel-held areas.
Assad’s chokehold on the country has been reinforced by his allies. As
anti-government forces grew in the aftermath of the 2011 Arab Spring, Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard as well as its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah helped fight the
armed rebel groups on the ground. In the skies, the Syrian Air Force was
bolstered by Russian warplanes. Jolani expressed a
desire to see foreign forces leave Syria. There are currently forces from the
US, Turkey, Russia and Iran as well as Iranian proxies in the country. “I think
that once this regime falls, the issue will be resolved, and there will no
longer be a need for any foreign forces to remain in Syria.”“Syria deserves a
governing system that is institutional, not one where a single ruler makes
arbitrary decisions,” he added. The Assad dynasty has been in power for 53
years, since 1971. To maintain its decades-long rule, the regime has killed
hundreds of thousands of people, jailed dissidents and brutally displaced
millions internally and abroad. “We are talking about
a larger project – we are talking about building Syria,” Jolani continued.
“Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is merely one part of this dialogue, and it may dissolve
at any time. It is not an end in itself but a means to perform a task:
confronting this regime.”
**CNN’s Mostafa Salem and Isil Sariyuce contributed to
this report.
Syrian insurgents
capture key crossing point on border with Jordan
Agence France Presse/December 06/2024
Syrian opposition activists said insurgents have captured a main border crossing
with Jordan forcing Syrian authorities to leave it. Shortly afterward, Jordan’s
Interior Minister al-Frayeh said the Naseeb border crossing with Syria had been
closed because of the security situation on the Syrian side. Opposition
activists posted videos online showing people storming the border crossing with
Jordan, which was in rebel hands until government forces regained control of it
in 2018. Ahmad al-Masalmeh, an opposition activist based in France who covers
events in southern Syria, told The Associated Press that local gunmen have
captured the Naseeb crossing as well as several other areas in the southern
province of Daraa where the uprising against President Bashar Assad began in
March 2011. Syrian troops have evacuated checkpoints in several areas including
the villages of Inkhil, Nawa and Jassem, he added.
Israel military 'reinforcing' troops in occupied Golan amid Syria conflict
Agence France Presse/December 06/2024
The Israeli military said Friday it was "reinforcing aerial and ground forces"
in the occupied Golan Heights in response to sweeping Islamist-led rebel
advances in Syria. In a statement, the military said it was "monitoring
developments and is prepared for all scenarios, offensive and defensive alike",
adding that it "will not tolerate any threat near the Israeli border".After 13
years of civil war, Syrian insurgents are gaining ground, first taking cities in
the country’s north and on Friday entering cities in central Syria. It comes as
rebel groups mount new challenges to Russia- and Iran-backed Syrian forces,
including in Aleppo, the country’s largest city. Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has
intermittently struck areas in Syria seen as strongholds of Hezbollah. The
advances of the Syrian insurgents adds new instability on Israel’s northern
border, two months after it tried to invade neighboring Lebanon. Israel’s
defense minister and military chief of staff met to discuss the situation
Thursday. Israeli media reported there is concern in the country’s security
establishment that the rebels would advance until they reached the Golan
Heights, territory occupied by Israel, gaining control of Syrian weapons
stockpiles along the way. Writing in the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahoronoth Friday,
veteran military correspondent Ron Ben-Yishai wrote that Israel may "prefer" to
destroy the weapons storehouses so they won’t fall into the hands of the rebels.
Israel seized control of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war.
Syria has constantly accused Israel of launching attacks against it from
territory it occupies in the Golan Heights. Israel has frequently struck Syria
over the years.
Syrian insurgents enter 2 central towns, close in on Homs city
Associated Press/December 06/2024
Syrian insurgents entered two central towns early Friday just north of the
central city of Homs, bringing them closer Syria's third largest city, an
opposition war monitor and pro-government media both reported. The break into
Rastan and Talbiseh came a day after opposition gunmen captured the central city
of Hama, Syria's fourth largest, after the Syrian army said it withdrew to avoid
fighting inside the city and spare the lives of civilians. The insurgents, led
by the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have said that they will march
to Homs and Damascus, President Bashar Assad's seat of power. The city of Homs,
parts of which were controlled by insurgents until 2014, is a major intersection
point between the capital, Damascus, and Syria's coastal provinces of Latakia
and Tartus where Assad enjoys wide support. Homs province is Syria's largest in
size and borders Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan. Insurgents are now 5 kilometers (3
miles) away from Homs, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights, an opposition war monitor. "The battle of Homs is the mother of
all battles and will decide who will rule Syria," said Rami Abdurrahman, the
Observatory's chief. Pro-government Sham FM said the insurgents entered Rastan
and Talbiseh without facing any resistance. There was no immediate comment from
the Syrian military on whether it has withdrawn from the towns. State news
agency SANA quoted an unnamed military official as saying Friday that Syrian and
Russian air force are attacking insurgents in Hama province, killing dozens of
fighters. After the fall of Hama, opposition activists said that thousands of
Homs residents who are loyal to Assad were seen fleeing toward Damascus and the
coastal region. Syria's defense minister said in a televised statement late
Thursday that the withdrawal of government forces from Hama was a tactical
measure and vowed to gain back lost areas. Gen. Ali Mahmoud Abbas said that the
insurgents, whom he described as "takfiri" or Muslim extremists, are backed by
foreign countries. He did not name the countries but appeared to be referring to
Turkey, which is a main backer of the opposition, and the United States. "We are
in a good position on the ground," Abbas said, adding that Thursday's withdrawal
of the Syrian army from Hama was "a temporary tactical measure and our forces
are at the gates of Hama."His comments were made before the insurgents marched
south of Hama, getting close to Homs. The offensive is being led by HTS as well
as an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian
National Army. Their sudden capture of the northern city of Aleppo, an ancient
business hub, was a stunning prize for Assad's opponents and reignited the
conflict which had been largely stalemated for the past few years.
Syrians are torn
between fear and hope as the frontlines rapidly shift
Ammar Azzouz, British Academy Research Fellow, University of Oxford/The
Conversation/Fri, December 6, 2024
The lightning-fast capture, by Syrian rebels, of large swaths of northern Syria,
including the war-torn country’s second-largest city, Aleppo, and the
strategically important city of Hama further south, is a body blow for the
regime of Bashar al-Assad.
The rebels are now pushing on further south towards my home city of Homs. When
these cities fell to Assad – Aleppo fell in 2017 – it was seen as spelling the
end of Syria’s popular revolt against the regime, which had begun with such
optimism when Syrians poured on to streets across the country in 2011 to call
for freedom, justice and dignity. After decades of oppression at the hands of
the Assad family, hopes for a different future were high. But hope quickly
turned to despair. The peaceful demonstrations were crushed by the Assad
government, sparking a brutal armed conflict that has killed half a million
people and has displaced over 12 million more.
The war in Syria largely disappeared from newspaper front pages as the years
passed. But, with the explosion of violence in the country over the past week,
that has now changed. A map showing the state of the rebel advance in Syria as
of December 5.
After capturing Hama City, the group at the centre of the rebel advance, Hayat
Tahrir al Sham (HTS) are launching a campaign on Homs. Institute for the Study
of War. For many Syrians, both in exile and inside the country, the rebel
advance has reignited the hopes of 13 years ago. Many detainees have already
been released from Syrian prisons and there is cautious optimism that displaced
people and refugees may finally be able to return home. At the same time,
however, many Syrians are fearful of new wars yet to come, of new cycles of
violence in cities and towns across the country, and of new sources of
suffering, displacement and human rights violations. Assad has vowed to “crush”
rebel forces, and his key allies Russia and Iran have offered their
“unconditional support”. Since November 27, when the rebel offensive began,
almost 300,000 people have been displaced and hundreds have been killed. Fighter
jets have intensively bombed rebel-held areas, hitting residential buildings and
even a hospital in Idlib in northern Syria. In a speech made at the UN security
council in New York on December 4, Raed Al Saleh, the director of Syria’s White
Helmets civil defence, also spoke of his grave concern about the “real threat of
chemical attacks”. Civilians, particularly those in rebel-held areas, again find
themselves trapped in the heart of the battlefields. But it’s not just further
waves of violence that Syrians are worried about. Since 2011, life has become a
battle in itself to access basic necessities. And things are now becoming
harsher. The prices of essential commodities in Aleppo, as well as other cities,
have risen significantly since the rebel takeover, with residents reporting that
some goods have doubled in price. In a country where around 90% of the
population are already living in poverty, more instability will only make life
harder for people already struggling to get by.
Fears of an uncertain future
There are also fears that if rebel groups control further parts of the country,
there will be more restrictions on freedom. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the
Islamist militant group at the centre of the offensive, was originally formed
out of an al Qaeda affiliate. But the group has rebranded itself in recent
years. Its leader, Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a, who is known by the nom de guerre
Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani, is putting himself forward as a champion of pluralism
and tolerance. HTS is now calling for a “Syria for all Syrians”, aiming to gain
broad public support from a population of diverse religions and sects. In an
exclusive interview with CNN on December 6, Jawlani was asked whether Christians
and other religious and ethnic minorities would live safely under the rule of
HTS. In response, he said: “no one has the right to erase another group. Each
sect has coexisted for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate
them.”But, notwithstanding this, many Syrians living outside the country have
expressed concern for the future following the rebel advance. In an interview
released on December 4, Mehdi Hasan, a British-American journalist, discussed
how HTS has modelled itself on the Taliban in Afghanistan. “What a lot of
supporters of the Assad regime say is that if this group is allowed to take over
Syria, it will be like the Taliban. You will have women oppressed, you’ll have
Christians persecuted, you’ll have Shias, minority groups targeted”, Hasan
remarked. “Is that true right now? Is that the case?”, he questioned. Hassan I.
Hassan, a Syrian-American journalist, replied: “It is true. And it is the
biggest fear”.These fears are rooted in the human rights violations that have
been perpetrated by HTS in the areas under its control. In 2023, Amnesty
International warned that HTS was subjecting journalists, activists and anyone
who criticised its rule in Idlib province to “arbitrary detention without access
to a lawyer or family members”.One year earlier, the UK-based Syrian Network for
Human Rights released a report attributing the deaths of at least 505 civilians
between 2012 and 2021, including 71 children and 77 women, to the HTS. In his
interview with CNN, Jawlani admitted that there “were some violations” against
minorities by “certain individuals during periods of chaos”. “But we addressed
these issues”, he went on to add.
A video on X (formerly Twitter) shows a Muslim woman asking a man in Aleppo
whether he is Christian, and how his situation is after the rebels captured the
city. A coordinated PR campaign seems to be accompanying the offensive to assure
people of their safety and that life is continuing as normal after HTS gained
control. This is in contrast to areas controlled by other radical groups, such
as Islamic State, where people have been killed over their beliefs or religion.
Syria once again finds itself at a crossroads. And no one knows what might
happen next. Rim Turkmani, a senior research fellow at the London School of
Economics, believes that a “legitimate political solution that really involves
all actors on the ground” is the only thing that will bring peace to Syria.
After 13 years of exile, displacement and mass killing, we Syrians need this
peace. But for now we need a miracle. Voices of wisdom, unity and calmness must
prevail to prevent Syria from falling into another period of grief.
In Syria, a ruthless
dictator is under siege. Will anyone step up to save him?
CBC/December 6, 2024
Across northern and central Syria this week, families who've been torn apart by
more than a decade of civil war have been holding joyous reunions. "I didn't
believe it, it was very emotional," said Ismail Alabullah, a volunteer with the
Syrian NGO the White Helmets, as he described returning to the city of Aleppo
for the first time since 2013 and reuniting with his sister. "I couldn't believe
I was seeing her again," he told CBC News from northern Syria. "I lost my
brother, my mother and father over the past two years — I couldn't say goodbye
to any of them. Now, it's just me and my sister." The White Helmets, a first
responders' group best-known for rescuing and evacuating civilians from active
war zones, are considered arch enemies of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Since 2016, Assad's forces have controlled Aleppo. But with his army now
retreating from territory where just days ago it seemed to be firmly in charge,
families stranded on opposite sides of the front lines are able to be together
again.
Dynamic situation
After years of stalemate, Syria's map of control is being redrawn almost by the
hour. First, Aleppo — a city of more than 2.3 million people and the
second-largest in the country — fell to opposition forces on Nov. 27. In the
days that followed, so did many towns to the south. On Thursday, Assad's forces
abandoned the strategic centre of Hama when rebel forces pushed in. Most
observers expect an assault on a key Assad power base — the city of Homs, 40
kilometres to the south of Hama — is only hours away. If opposition forces are
successful, the move would cut off Assad's strongholds along the Syrian coast
from the capital, Damascus. "It's clear that the regime itself cannot defend
these territories," said Haid Haid, a Syria analyst with Chatham House, a
London-based think-tank. This conclusion leads to inevitable speculation over
whether Assad's government may be hurtling faster than almost anyone expected
toward its demise, after surviving years of intense fighting in a civil war. "No
one can give any absolute answers," Haid told CBC News from Istanbul. "I think
it's safe to say that Assad is not 100 per cent secure, but no one knows when
and if the regime will collapse completely."
Political dynasty
Assad and his family have ruled Syria with an iron fist for more than 50 years.
Since he took over as president in 2000 after his father's death, the UN says
Assad's forces have killed more than 350,000 opponents, jailed and tortured
countless thousands more and used banned nerve gas on opposition towns to deter
any challengers to his rule. In 2011, Syria was rocked by anti-Assad protests,
inspired by anti-regime demonstrations across the wider region, known as the
Arab Spring. Assad responded with a violent crackdown that evolved into a
full-scale civil war. By 2015, opposition groups — and forces of the Islamic
State (IS) — had seized vast swaths of the country. But intervention from Russia
turned the tide. A devastating aerial bombing campaign by Vladimir Putin's
forces secured Assad's position, but at a horrendous cost. Humanitarian groups
accused Russia and Syria of war crimes for indiscriminately bombing civilians
using cluster munitions. After a concerted effort led by the Kurdish Syrian
Democratic Forces in the east — and with help from Russia — IS was eventually
pushed back into a few pockets in the desert. Since 2016, the battle lines of
the conflict have remained largely in stasis, with Assad's Syrian Arab Army (SAA)
in control of most of the country's major cities.
Major successes
In Idlib province, next to Turkey, forces belonging to a one-time al-Qaeda
spinoff, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have controlled most of the territory. And
the group has spearheaded most of the battlefield successes over the past 10
days. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has been listed as a terrorist entity by Canada since
2013. But more recently, its 42-year-old leader, Abu Muhammed al-Jolani, has
disavowed any connection with the group or its radical ideology. In a social
media post on Thursday, HTS unusually referred to him by his given name — Ahmad
al-Shara — rather than al-Jolani, which he uses in military settings. This
appeared to showcase him as a statesman or politician rather than the leader of
a banned militia. Al-Jolani also gave a rare interview to a Western media
outlet, telling CNN his goal is to overthrow Assad's regime and replace it with
a new government for all Syrians. The Institute for the Study of War, a
U.S.-based think-tank that studies global conflict zones, noted that a major
reason HTS has gained territory so rapidly has been its willingness to negotiate
deals with local communities to avoid fighting. ISW said two majority-Christian
towns and one largely Shia city had all come to agreements with HTS, allowing
the group's fighters to avoid costly combat in rural areas. Longtime Syria
watcher Charles Lister, who publishes a weekly newsletter on the Syrian
conflict, has written that HTS has built a formidable diplomatic presence beyond
its base in Idlib province, by engaging with local Syrian tribes and other
social bodies to improve the group's outreach. Lister says as a result, there
have been few clashes with other Syrian opposition groups — particularly the
powerful Kurds — as HTS's forces have moved rapidly through the countryside.
Finally, Lister says al-Jolani has attempted to "replicate a sovereign
government" in Idlib province, with HTS issuing ID cards, administering the
banking system and taking on many of the functions usually performed by
municipalities. Nonetheless, HTS's listing as a terror entity has put NGOs and
Western governments in a challenging position, with most unwilling to directly
help the group, resulting in a worsening humanitarian situation in places such
as Aleppo. Ismail Alabduallah, the White Helmet worker, told CBC News the city
is already seeing food shortages. "The situation is very difficult. Some NGOs we
co-ordinate with have this responsibility, and now no one is distributing bread
every day in Aleppo," he said. "They are working to make the bakeries operate
again as before."
Foreign actors
With the city of Homs, another key power base for Assad, just a half-hour drive
away from advancing HTS forces, the key question is whether any of the regime's
allies will intervene militarily to stop the latest opposition push. The Iranian
government has reportedly ordered some of the militias it controls in
neighbouring Iraq to cross the border to help its ally Assad. But their presence
on the battlefield has yet to be felt. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said Thursday
that his group will help Assad, and there reports that what the group calls
"supervising forces" arrived in Syria overnight. Until recently, Iran-backed
Hezbollah was arguably the most powerful militia in the Middle East. But Israeli
assassinations of its top leadership and an immense aerial campaign against its
fighters in southern Lebanon have severely weakened the group. One neighbour
Assad won't be able to count on is Turkey. Its government has been a major
supplier of weapons and money to several opposition groups, and on Friday,
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hopes the Syrian opposition forces
continue to make gains. That leaves Vladimir Putin, who most observers credit
with saving Assad the last time opposition forces encroached in 2016. "It's not
clear where Moscow is heading or what its main priority is at this point," said
Chatham House's Haid Haid. Russian bombing of the Aleppo area and of the key
approaches to Homs has resumed in recent days, but with Putin's war in Ukraine a
drain on its combat resources, Russia's options for intervention may be limited.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad at the Kremlin in Moscow, on July 24, 2024. (Sputnik/Valeriy Sharifulin/Pool
via Reuters) Russia has leased a naval base in the Syrian city of Tartus since
the 1970s. It also has a sizeable airbase outside Latakia, further to the north.
Both could be vulnerable to opposition forces if Assad's lines continue to
collapse. Haid Haid says even if Assad manages to fend off the opposition
advances, Russia has already emerged as one of major losers of renewed fighting.
"Russia's past victories have been forgotten now because of the recent defeat of
regime forces," he said. "It means Russia has not been able to support its
allies."
Russian embassy advises its citizens to leave Syria as rebels advance on
strategic city of Homs
Nathan Rennolds/Business
Insider/December 6, 2024
The Russian embassy in Syria has advised its citizens to leave the country "in
the light of the difficult military and political situation."In a post on
Telegram, the embassy said Russian nationals should leave on commercial flights
through operating airports, adding that the embassy continues to operate "as
usual." The announcement comes amid Russian airstrikes targeting rebel forces
who launched a surprise offensive against Syrian President Bashar Assad's
government forces late last month. The rebels, led by Islamist militants from
the opposition group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have already taken control of the key
cities of Aleppo and Hama, and are continuing their advance toward the city of
Homs, which sits at an important crossroads linking the capital Damascus — the
seat of Assad's power — to the coast. Should Homs fall, there would be no major
cities between the rebels and Damascus. For Russia, the mounting pressure on
Assad's government has significant implications. Moscow operates two major
military bases in Syria, the Hmeimim airbase and the Tartus naval base. The
bases have been crucial for Russia's regional interests, providing its forces
with important access to the Mediterranean Sea and a "launching pad to move into
Africa," Natasha Hall, a senior fellow with the Middle East Program at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies, previously told Business
Insider. Zineb Riboua, a research fellow and program manager at the Hudson
Institute's Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, wrote on X that
losing Syria would be a big blow for Putin, scuppering many of his plans across
the region and damaging his reputation with African governments. "Without a
strong Russian military base in Syria, all of Putin's plans collapse," Riboua
said.Moscow intervened to prop up Assad in 2015, but analysts say the ongoing
war in Ukraine means it's unlikely to have the resources to provide significant
support this time around. Assad will instead likely have to rely on help from
Syria's longtime ally Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. Iran also helped
support Assad against rebel forces in 2015, and Iran-backed militiamen are
reported to have begun entering Syria from Iraq to back the embattled president
once again. But this time, it may be difficult for Tehran to pull together
sufficient forces, Aron Lund, a Middle East analyst at the Swedish Defence
Research Agency, told BI. "Hezbollah, which was Tehran's primary instrument in
Syria over the past decade, is now stuck in Lebanon, tending to its wounds and
trying to get back on its feet after being mauled by Israel over the course of a
two-month war," Lund said. He added: "I'm not sure Iran can muster the numbers
in time to turn this situation around."
Rebels close in
on central city of Homs as aid groups sound alarm on Syria
CBC/December 6, 2024
Rebel forces pushed their offensive in Syria further south early Friday, closing
in on the central city of Homs as humanitarian groups sounded the alarm on the
escalating conditions for civilians trapped in the fighting. It comes as
Russia's embassy in Damascus also urged its nationals to leave Syria on
commercial flights, the TASS state news agency reported. A day earlier,
pro-government forces were ousted from Hama, Syria's fourth-largest city. That
gave the insurgents a major new victory after a lightning advance across
northern Syria while dealing another blow to President Bashar al-Assad and his
Russian and Iranian allies. If rebel groups are successful in seizing the key
crossroads city of Homs, they would cut off Syria's capital Damascus from the
coast, a longtime redoubt of Assad's minority Alawite sect and home to Russia's
naval and air bases. "The battle of Homs is the mother of all battles and will
decide who will rule Syria," said Rami Abdulrahman, chief of the U.K.-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), an opposition war monitor. In a
further setback for Assad, a U.S.-backed alliance led by Syrian Kurdish fighters
has taken Deir Al-Zor, the government's main foothold in the vast desert east of
the country, sources told Reuters on Friday. It was the third major city, after
Aleppo and Hama in the northwest and centre, to fall out of Assad's control in a
week. The violence has already displaced some 280,000 people since it erupted in
late November, according to the latest United Nations figures. "If the situation
continues evolving [at the same] ... pace, we're expecting collectively around
1.5 million people that will be displaced and will be requiring our support,"
said Samer AbdelJaber, head of the World Food Programme's Emergency
Coordination, Strategic Analysis and Humanitarian Diplomacy arm, told reporters
in Geneva. After years locked behind frozen front lines, the insurgents have
burst out of their northwestern Idlib bastion to achieve the swiftest
battlefield advance by either side since a street uprising against Assad
mushroomed into civil war 13 years ago.
Rebel fighters led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has been listed as a
terrorist entity by Canada since 2013, said they had taken over the towns of
Talbiseh and Rastan. The group, which broke from al-Qaeda in 2016, says it poses
no threat to the West and has spent years trying to moderate its image,
presenting itself as a viable alternative to Assad. A person holds a Syrian
opposition flag in Hama Friday, after rebels led by HTS have sought to
capitalize on their swift takeover of Aleppo in the north and Hama in
west-central Syria by pressing onwards to Homs. (Mahmoud Hasano/Reuters)
Children 'paying the heaviest price'
Save the Children Syria is sounding the alarm on the harm to children caught in
the fighting, who were already reeling from the effects of 13 years of war,
subsequent humanitarian and economic crises and a devastating earthquake that
affected nearly 40 per cent of its population. The U.K.-based organization said
at least 69 civilians, including 26 children and 11 women, were killed in
northwest Syria in the past week. At least 228 others were reportedly injured,
including 88 children and 53 women. Rasha Muhrez, Save the Children's Syria
response director, said she received reports of families fleeing the fighting,
with nowhere to go, sleeping in the streets for several days. Muhrez said some
schools have been transformed into shelters but cannot accommodate enough
people. "It's winter, it's the middle of the school year.… In the end, children
are paying the heaviest price for it," Muhrez told CBC News Friday from Amman,
Jordan. Some 120 schools in the northeast town of Raqqa are being used to
accommodate 35,000 individuals, according to the organization. Aid agencies say
they had only raised less than a third of the $4 billion needed to run programs
in 2024 before the fighting erupted last week. Earlier this month, the UN
humanitarian office said it had had to cut food rations in Syria by up to 80 per
cent due to insufficient funds. "The situation in Syria was not easy before this
escalation, so we're looking at a crisis on top of crisis. And that's why we're
really emphasizing the urgent need for funding," AbdelJaber said.
Jordan closes Syria border
On Friday, Jordan also closed its only passenger and commercial border crossing
into Syria — known as the Jaber crossing — Jordan's interior ministry said.
Jordanians and Jordanian trucks would be allowed to return via the crossing, on
the Jordanian side, but no one would be allowed to cross into Syria. A Syrian
army source told Reuters that armed groups who infiltrated the crossing attacked
Syrian army posts stationed at its Nassib border into Jordan. Muhrez said the
closure of the border will likely have a big impact, although it's unclear how
it will affect specific aid delivery. She added that the crossing has been
critical in delivering aid and humanitarian assistance to Syria and Lebanon.
Homs empties as residents flee
A resident of Homs said the offices of Syria's main security branches there
emptied on Friday morning, with members leaving the city. SOHR said thousands of
people had begun fleeing from Homs on Thursday night, heading toward the
Mediterranean coastal regions of Latakia and Tartus. Wasim Marouh, a Homs
resident who decided not to leave, said most of its main commercial streets were
empty while pro-government militia groups patrolled the streets. A rebel
operations room, meanwhile, urged Homs residents in an online post to rise up,
saying: "Your time has come."
Russian bombing overnight destroyed the Rastan bridge along the M5 highway, the
main route to Homs, to prevent rebels from using it to advance, a Syrian army
officer told Reuters, adding that government forces were bringing reinforcements
to positions around Homs. Assad relied heavily on Russian and Iranian military
backing during the most intense years of the civil war, helping him to claw back
most territory and Syria's largest cities before front lines hardened in 2020.
But Russia has been focused on its invasion of Ukraine since 2022. And many in
the top leadership of Hezbollah, the most powerful Iran-aligned militia force,
were killed by Israel over the past two months. A senior Iranian official said
Tehran will likely need to send military equipment, missiles and drones to Syria
in addition to sending more advisers and deploying forces. He said Tehran is
currently providing intelligence and satellite support. Hezbollah, meanwhile,
sent a small number of "supervising forces" from Lebanon to Syria overnight to
help prevent anti-government fighters from seizing Homs, two senior Lebanese
security sources told Reuters.
Iraq considers
Syria intervention as rebels advance
Timour Azhari/BEIRUT (Reuters)/December 6, 2024
-Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim ruling parties and armed groups are weighing the pros and
cons of armed intervention in Syria, viewing as a grave threat the advance of
Sunni Islamist rebels who have taken two Syrian cities and now bear down on a
third. Baghdad has a dark history with Syria-based Sunni fighters, thousands of
whom crossed into Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion and fuelled years of
sectarian killing before returning again in 2013 as Islamic State to conquer a
third of the country. The Syrian rebels currently advancing in Syria, led by
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have disavowed Al Qaeda and IS and say they have no
ambitions in Iraq, but the ruling factions in Iraq have little trust in those
assertions. Iraq has amassed on its border with Syria thousands of fighters from
its conventional military as well as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a
security agency containing many Iran-aligned armed groups that previously fought
in Syria. The orders so far are to defend Iraq's western flank, rather than to
intervene to help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to an Iraqi
Shi'ite politician, a government adviser and an Arab diplomat briefed on the
matter. But the calculation could change, at least for some Iraqi factions,
depending on developments, including if the rebels take the major Syrian city of
Homs, if Assad falls, or if Shi'ites are persecuted, the sources said. Iraqi
government spokesperson Bassem Al-Awadi said Iraq does not seek military
intervention in Syria but described the division of Syria as a "red line" for
Iraq, without elaborating. Reuters previously reported that hundreds of Iraqi
fighters had crossed into Syria to help bolster Assad's forces, joining Iraqi
and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters already in the country, but there has not yet
been a mass mobilization from Iraq. The country's government, led by moderate
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, has tried desperately to avoid being
dragged into the spiralling regional conflict that has come with the Gaza war,
instead trying to focus on rebuilding after decades of war. "The Iraqi
government's stance from the beginning has been that Iraq is not a side in this
crisis," said Falih al-Fayadh, leader of the PMF, in a televised speech on
Friday. "But it is not wise for there to be a fire in your neighbour's house
while you sleep, reassured without thinking of what might happen," he said.
SUDANI SEEKS TO AVOID REGIONAL CONFLICT
Iraq, which is led by a coalition of mostly Shi'ite political parties and armed
groups close to Iran, is a major player in Tehran's so-called Axis of Resistance
that includes Hamas in Gaza and Lebanese Hezbollah. Israeli onslaughts have
heavily impaired the latter two players, so some analysts believe that the tens
of thousands of hardened fighters in Iraq's armed formations are now the force
in Iran's network of allies best-placed to intervene in Syria. Iraq's ruling
coalition is often pulled in different directions, with some groups that fought
alongside Assad in the past and have interests in Syria more partial to entering
again, while other parties see such an intervention as destabilising. Iraqi
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met with Syrian Foreign Minister Bassam Sabbagh
and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baghdad on Wednesday. At a joint
news conference, Hussein condemned attacks by "terrorist entities" in Syria and
Araqchi pledged to provide Syria with all the support it needed. The leader of
the Syrian rebels, Abu Mohammad al-Golani, himself began his fighting career
with Al Qaeda in Iraq, where he was imprisoned by the U.S., before moving to
Syria to set up the extremist group's franchise there. Golani split from Al
Qaeda in 2016 and on Thursday urged Sudani to prevent the PMF from intervening
in Syria, saying in a video posted online that the rebels wanted to have
strategic and economic ties to Iraq once they toppled Assad's regime. "They may
claim to be in a different mood and a different group, but they very much look
the same from Iraq," the government adviser said.
IDF: Hamas
commander involved in Oct. 7 attack killed
Darryl Coote/United Press International/December 6, 2024
The Israeli military said Friday that the Hamas commander who oversaw the Oct. 7
attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz has been killed. The Israel Defense Forces said in a
statement that Majdi Aqilan, commander of the Hamas Shati Battalion, was among
several fighters killed during a week-long operation targeting his military
unit. It did not specify when exactly Aqilan was killed, but the attack was
conducted via an airstrike. According to the IDF, Aqilan oversaw the strike on
Kibbutz Nahal Oz during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which 1,200 Israelis
were killed and another 251 were taken hostage. The IDF said in a report on the
brutal attack that 66 soldiers defending a base in Nahal Oz were killed on Oct.
7. A total of 15 civilians were also killed and eight more were taken hostage,
during in the hours of fighting that day. Following the Oct. 7 strike, Aqilan
participated in attacks targeting IDF forces in north and central Gaza, the
statement said. Mehdoh Mahana, who served as a senior member of the Hamas' Gaza
Brigade tunneling unit, was also killed during the week-long operation. "Mahana
raided Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7, as part of his duties he led the planning
and construction of Hamas tunnels and the training of underground operatives,"
the IDF statement said. Ahmed Suidan, a Shatti Battalion company commander, was
also killed, it said, stating he was involved in the kidnapping of Israeli
citizens on Oct. 7 and their transfer into Gaza. "The seniors in the Shatti
Battalion and the Gaza Brigade of the Hamas terrorist organization were involved
in terrorist plots against the citizens of the State of Israel and the IDF
forces," the IDF said in a statement. "The Shin Bet and the IDF will continue to
harm anyone who promotes and engages in terrorism against the citizens of the
State of Israel." Approximately 100 hostages are believed to remain in Hamas
captivity in Gaza. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 44,500
people have been killed and more than 105,700 have been injured in Gaza during
the war.
Israeli military kills four doctors in raid on Kamal Adwan
Hospital in northern Gaza, eyewitnesses say
Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman, Kareem Khadder and Sana Noor Haq/CNN/December 6,
2024
Four doctors were killed at Kamal Adwan Hospital in besieged northern Gaza on
Friday, after Israeli forces stormed the compound, killing and injuring dozens
of people in surrounding areas, eyewitnesses told CNN. Israeli troops also
forced health care workers and patients to leave the facility, and destroyed
critical medical supplies, according to a statement by Dr Hussam Abu Saifya, the
hospital director. In the early hours of Friday, the Israeli military sent two
plain clothed messengers into the hospital, who told people over a megaphone to
evacuate, Abu Saifya added. The military detained a “large number” of young men
in the two-hour raid, including health workers and Palestinians who had sought
refuge, added Abu Saifya. Israeli quadcopters unleashed a blaze of “intense and
direct fire” as military vehicles encircled the facility, Abu Saifya recalled,
before corralling patients, displaced people and health workers in the courtyard
and forcibly taking them to a checkpoint further south, towards Gaza City.
“Initially, there was a series of airstrikes on the northern and western sides
of the hospital, accompanied by intense and direct fire,” Abu Saifya said in a
statement on Friday. “They approached me and ordered me to evacuate all
patients, displaced persons, and medical staff, gathering everyone in the
hospital’s courtyard and forcibly taking them to the checkpoint.” Members of an
Indonesian medical delegation – the only team performing surgery at Kamal Adwan
– were among those forced to leave and not allowed to return, according to Abu
Saifya. The attack on Friday was the second such raid by the Israeli military
since forces sprung a renewed incursion on three cities in northern Gaza on
October 5, razing entire streets, spawning severe hunger and leaving emergency
crews unable to rescue people wounded by the onslaught. More than 3,700
Palestinians have been killed there, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office
(GMO). Another 10,000 people have been injured, the GMO said on Monday. Hours
later, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew from one of the last remaining
functioning facilities in northern Gaza. Hospital staffers and patients left the
facility to find hundreds of bodies and wounded people lining surrounding
streets, Abu Saifya added. A photo posted by Abu Saifya on social media showed
at least 17 shrouded bodies laying on the hospital courtyard. Another 20 people
were left injured and “in need of urgent care,” he said. The Israeli military
severely damaged oxygen generators overnight, Abu Saifya told CNN, saying there
are now just two “inexperienced” surgeons available to administer life-saving
care at the hospital. At least 30 people were killed by Israeli bombing on
houses around Kamal Adwan overnight, according to Dr Munir Al Bursh, the
director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza. On Thursday, an Israeli
drone struck and killed a 16-year-old boy in a separate attack as he was
entering the hospital’s X-ray department in a wheelchair, Abu Saifya told
CNN.CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment on Abu Saifya’s
allegations. At least 1,050 health workers have been killed since Israel
launched its war in Gaza after the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, according to the
Ministry of Health in Ramallah. The Israeli military launched a renewed
incursion on three cities in northern Gaza on October 5, saying it is targeting
Hamas’ renewed presence in the area.
Israel denies striking one of north Gaza's last functioning
hospitals
FRANCE 24/Fri, December 6, 2024
The Israeli military on Friday denied reports that it hit the Kamal Adwan
hospital, one of northern Gaza's last working health centres. A WHO
representative said that Israel issued "no official evacuation order" before the
strikes. The Israeli military on Friday denied reports it had struck or entered
the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, saying it was operating "adjacent" to
the facility. "Contrary to the reports made over the past day, the (military)
did not strike the Kamal Adwan hospital or operate within it", it said in a
statement. It said it would "continue to operate against terror infrastructure
and terrorists" in northern Gaza, including "adjacent to" the hospital. Earlier
Friday, the Kamal Adwan hospital said Israel conducted several strikes that hit
the medical facility. "There was a series of air strikes on the northern and
western sides of the hospital, accompanied by intense and direct fire," said
hospital director Hossam Abu Safieh, adding that four staff were killed. Mahmud
Bassal, Gaza's civil defence spokesman, told AFP that the Israeli army entered
Kamal Adwan hospital, evacuated patients and arrested several Palestinians. Abu
Safieh said that following the latest raid, no surgeons were left at the
facility.
The city of Beit Lahia, where the hospital is located, has been the site of an
intense Israeli military operation for the past two months that has again
escalated in recent days, forcing thousands to flee amid bombing, the civil
defence agency said.
He said the Israeli army was first spotted outside the hospital at 4:00 am (0200
GMT).
Ukraine says
Syrian collapse shows Russia can't fight on two fronts
Max Hunder/Reuters/December 6, 2024
KYIV (Reuters) - The collapse of Russia's ally Syria in the face of an assault
from rebel groups shows Moscow cannot fight on two fronts, Ukraine's foreign
ministry said on Thursday while reiterating denials that Kyiv was involved in
the fighting there.
"We can see that Russia cannot fight on two fronts -- this is clear from the
events in Syria," ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told reporters at a
weekly news conference. After years locked behind frozen frontlines, Syrian
rebels have burst forth to mount the swiftest battlefield advance by either side
since a rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad descended into civil war 13
years ago. Tykhyi was responding to a question about accusations from Iran,
another ally of Assad, that Ukraine was supporting what Tehran called terrorist
groups. "Ukraine categorically and decisively rejects any accusations ... about
our supposed involvement in the deteriorating security situation in Syria," the
spokesperson said. Assad's government has been able to hold on to a significant
chunk of the country after years of bitter fighting. However, a week-long
lightning offensive by the rebels has seen them capture two major cities and
swathes of land. "Russia's significant losses in Ukraine have led Moscow to
withdraw the majority of its troops and equipment from Syria, leaving its ally
... without the necessary support," Tykhyi said. Russia launched a full-scale
invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago. Tens of thousands of soldiers and
Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the ensuing battle.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on December 06-07/2024
America's Future Depends on Trump's Promise to
Punish Woke Universities
Jonathan S. Tobin/Gatestone Institute./December 6, 2024
A leftist-dominated educational establishment and its media enablers fear that
Donald Trump will make good on his vow to defund educational institutions that
embrace DEI and tolerate antisemitism.
That is why Trump's scorched-earth approach is so necessary, even as it is being
denounced by the same people who are responsible for creating or perpetuating
the current mess as too extreme or even needed at all.
More to the point, it will mean that policing antisemitism on campus will be
shifted away from the ineffectual Title VI complaints overseen federal education
bureaucrats, to a campaign of lawsuits conducted not just by groups like the
Deborah Project (valuable though they may be) but by the Civil Rights Division
of the U.S. Department of Justice, with all of the vast resources at its
command. In this manner, a message can be sent that will likely motivate the
vast majority of college administrations to discard DEI and the tolerance of
hate for Jews that accompanies it.
Instead of expressing horror at his determination to enact real change,
fair-minded Americans of all faiths and in both major political parties should
be rooting for him to keep his word and to do everything he promised to punish
colleges and universities, in addition to any other entity that promotes the
sort of woke hate that has made life for Jewish students and anyone else who
dissents against the new secular orthodoxy so difficult.
A leftist-dominated educational establishment and its media enablers fear that
Donald Trump will make good on his vow to defund educational institutions that
embrace DEI and tolerate antisemitism. A leftist-dominated educational
establishment and its media enablers fear that Donald Trump will make good on
his vow to defund educational institutions that embrace DEI and tolerate
antisemitism.
Occidental College seemingly waved the white flag last week in its efforts to
defend itself against charges of tolerating antisemitism on its Los Angeles
campus. The school agreed to a "sweeping settlement" with the Anti-Defamation
League and the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law that acknowledged the
ongoing hardships, harassment and discrimination faced by Jewish students since
the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Occidental's
apathy to all this, which was little different from what has been happening at
dozens if not hundreds of other American institutions of higher learning,
violated its obligations to prohibit such discrimination under Title VI of the
1964 Civil Rights Act.
But for many observers, the context for the agreement was not so much a belated
interest by one school to address the wrongs suffered by its Jewish students.
Rather, it was the fact that it came a few weeks after the election victory of
Donald Trump. As one headline in a news article about the settlement put it,
"College settles antisemitism claims before Trump can make good on accreditation
threats."
The president-elect vowed to punish colleges and universities that tolerated not
just the sort of antisemitism that went on at Occidental and so many other
schools. He's also determined to rid American higher education of the plague of
"woke" ideology. That's a term that refers to the way left-wing ideologues have
conquered academia and imposed toxic ideas like critical race theory and
intersectionality that divide humanity into two permanently warring groups of
"white" oppressors and "people of color" who are their victims. The left's long
march through U.S. institutions — and that includes the arts, corporate America
and government — has involved the indoctrination of a generation of students in
the woke catechism of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) that trashes equal
opportunity (the opposite of "equity") and includes only certain approved
minorities while excluding everyone else, including minorities like Jews.
Seen in that context, antisemitism is just one aspect of the broad damage that
the adoption of this new secular religion by those in charge of education has
been doing to America. It's also fueling a surge in racial divisiveness and a
war on the canon of Western civilization that is the foundation of a society
grounded in the rule of law, which made America a great nation as well as one
that was particularly hospitable to religious minorities.
That means the stakes involved in whether or not Trump keeps his vow to reform
education and to turn the antisemites out are as important as any in his
second-term agenda. It represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reverse
the left's conquest of academia. If he and/or his appointees falter in their
resolve, the consequences for the country as a whole and for Jews will be
incalculable.
But as the coverage of the issue in liberal legacy corporate media like The New
York Times and The Guardian indicates, the educational establishment and their
allies on the political left and the press are determined to oppose Trump's
goals. They have already begun a campaign to obfuscate the issue and demonize
efforts to roll back the woke orthodoxy as part of what they routinely and
falsely describe as the next administration's putative authoritarian putsch. The
truth is just the opposite, since the real authoritarians are the bureaucrats
and "educators" who have been imposing their distorted neo-Marxist vision on the
country while also fomenting and enabling a new wave of antisemitism.
Ironically, the legal settlement with Occidental, which was celebrated by both
the ADL and the Brandeis Institute as a victory in the effort to push back
against campus antisemitism, was an indication of just how feeble the effort to
counteract woke antisemitism has been up until now.
The agreement involved some elements that are necessary such as efforts to train
school administrators to be more aware of antisemitism and to take into account
the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)'s working definition of
antisemitism when dealing with instances of Jew-hatred.
But the lawyerly document Occidental signed leaves plenty of leeway for it to
evade responsibility for future violations. It can be defended as probably as
much as could be achieved in such a negotiation at this point in time.
Title VI antisemitism complaints to the U.S. Department of Education — the
primary mode of carrying on the fight against this scourge in recent years —
involves a lengthy process that has, to date, never resulted in any real
punishment for even the most egregious violators of the rights of Jewish
students. Stripping a university of its federal funding — something that is a
given for any institution that engaged in open discrimination against
African-Americans or Hispanics—is the sole remedy that could, if fully
implemented, mean a much-needed fundamental change in the way American higher
education operates.
And as long as schools retain their woke administrators and faculty, as well as
curricula that discard traditional standards and help fuel antisemitism,
agreements like the one with Occidental are almost certain to fail to create the
kind of change that is needed.
Draining the swamp
That is why Trump's scorched-earth approach is so necessary, even as it is being
denounced by the same people who are responsible for creating or perpetuating
the current mess as too extreme or even needed at all. Trump's stated intention
of "draining the swamp" throughout the federal government is being depicted as
evidence of his supposed authoritarian impulses and racism. But this is exactly
the sort of argument based on a high-handed dismissal of genuine concerns and
problems that have caused so many Americans to lose faith both in our
educational system and in Washington.
His threats can seem crude to those accustomed to politicians being guarded in
their remarks. Yet the events of the last few years — starting with the moral
panic about race behind the Black Lives Matter riots and then on to the
post-Oct. 7 surge in antisemitism — demonstrated that a restrained "business as
usual" approach won't cut it when the collapse of our most cherished
institutions is at stake. Their transformation into purveyors of neo-Marxist
indoctrination and toxic ideas that enable hatred for both the West and Jews is
a crisis of enormous proportions. It is happening at both the college and
graduate levels, as well as in K-12 schools where leftist teachers' unions have
also imposed the indoctrination of critical race theory.
The only reasonable response to this disaster is exactly the kind of
tough-minded purge that Trump has envisioned. And far from this being an
uninformed or extreme approach, Trump and his transition team are consulting
with experts like Christopher Rufo, author of an authoritative and essential
book on the woke plague — America's Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left
Conquered Everything — and incorporating the ideas of "Project Esther," a
serious plan for dealing with campus antisemitism produced by The Heritage
Foundation.
All of this has produced panic on the left and even among mainstream liberals
who have been conditioned by partisan political rhetoric to believe that Trump
is a second Hitler. They worry that he is already going too far in seeking
accountability for institutions that engage in racial discrimination and
tolerate antisemitism under the guise of DEI "anti-racist" policies, believing
that somehow this will destroy academic freedom. What his critics fail to
recognize is that American education is already enduring a catastrophic
transformation that has silenced dissent against woke doctrines that seek to
trash the Western canon.
A necessary sledgehammer
The only way to fix it is with the same sort of Trumpian sledgehammer that
tossed aside failed ideas about the Middle East in his first term that enabled
him, among other important policy changes, to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and forge the Abraham Accords. If that means
executive orders reversing President Joe Biden's DEI orders that created woke
commissars in every federal agency and department, that should be welcomed. If
it means closing the largely useless and counter-productive Department of
Education and enacting far-reaching reforms that will defund institutions
clinging to discriminatory ideas and actions, then that should be cheered by
those who cherish the values of equal opportunity, merit and zero tolerance for
hatred and discrimination.
More to the point, it will mean that policing antisemitism on campus will be
shifted away from the ineffectual Title VI complaints overseen federal education
bureaucrats, to a campaign of lawsuits conducted not just by groups like the
Deborah Project (valuable though they may be) but by the Civil Rights Division
of the U.S. Department of Justice, with all of the vast resources at its
command. In this manner, a message can be sent that will likely motivate the
vast majority of college administrations to discard DEI and the tolerance of
hate for Jews that accompanies it.
It is impossible to know whether the new administration will succeed. But rather
than worrying that he is the wrong instrument to carry out this effort or
wasting time decrying his rhetoric, it's likely that only an outlier like Trump
could contemplate such a bold project or have the will to see it to its logical
end. Indeed, so grave is the threat that DEI and other leftist ideas pose to the
country's future that anything short of what he has discussed would be
inadequate. Instead of expressing horror at his determination to enact real
change, fair-minded Americans of all faiths and in both major political parties
should be rooting for him to keep his word and to do everything he promised to
punish colleges and universities, in addition to any other entity that promotes
the sort of woke hate that has made life for Jewish students and anyone else who
dissents against the new secular orthodoxy so difficult.
Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS (Jewish News Syndicate). Follow him
@jonathans_tobin.
Reprinted by kind permission of JNS.
© 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.
What is happening in the Middle East right now?
Yossi Aloni/Israel Today/December 06/2024
We examine the latest developments in the Syrian civil war, which put Iran
further in crisis and present Israel with a strategic dilemma.
Iran is in a panic because its “masterpiece,” Hezbollah, has collapsed. If
Hassan Nasrallah had not been killed, high-ranking Iranian officials believe he
would have had to be removed from office. The Sunnis are gaining strength and
are opposing the Shiite axis. Iran is under pressure because the Syrian region
is in danger.Russia and the USA are regaining their dominance in the region,
which indicates a possible reversal of previous developments. At the same time,
an extremely dramatic development can be observed in Syria: even in the worst
days of the civil war, the situation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not
as precarious as it is today.
The rebels are drawing strength from the defeat of the Shiite axis in Lebanon at
the hands of Israel, and are conquering more and more areas in Syria. They have
even taken control of the important city of Hama, where they are freeing
prisoners. The Syrian army is collapsing. Assad is desperately seeking support
from Iran, but Iran is holding back – both out of fear of escalation and because
of Israel’s intervention: Israel has already intercepted Iranian planes that
were trying to reach Syria twice, most recently yesterday. Russia is also
refusing to give Assad much-needed help.Given the growing pressure, the question
arises: Could Assad turn away from the Shiite axis? What concrete steps would be
necessary for Israel, Russia, and the US to persuade him to make such a U-turn?
The impact of Israel’s successes against Hezbollah and Iran is immense. The
latest developments in the Syrian civil war, in particular the rapid advance of
the rebels, are presenting Israel with a number of complex strategic dilemmas.
On the one hand, the deterioration of the situation in its northern neighbor
poses significant security risks; on the other hand, it opens up unique
opportunities to influence the regional balance of power.
Israel faces three main threats:
Sophisticated weapons in enemy hands: The possibility of missiles, rocket
systems, or even chemical weapons falling into the hands of jihadist forces
poses an imminent threat to Israel’s security. The al-Safira area southeast of
Aleppo, a center for the production of missiles and non-conventional weapons
systems with Iranian support, is in the rebels’ sights. According to foreign
reports, Israel is operating militarily in the area to prevent the possible use
of such weapons against itself. Iranian presence in Syria: The Assad regime’s
growing weakness increases its dependence on Iranian support and Shiite
militias, including the Revolutionary Guard-backed Fatemiyoun Brigade. These
fighters could establish themselves on Israel’s northern border and use Syria as
a base for missile attacks or ground offensives. Collapse of the Assad regime: A
complete collapse of the Assad regime could turn Syria into a failed state like
Yemen or Libya, with Sunni and Shiite jihadist forces fighting each other. This
scenario would pose an immediate threat to communities in the Golan Heights and
Galilee, forcing Israel to provide physical protection and launch preemptive
strikes.
Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called an emergency
meeting of the security cabinet.
Turkey as the driving force behind rebel attacks
The driving force behind the rebel offensives is Turkey. President Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan is using the Sunni rebels on two fronts to advance his country’s
strategic interests. On the one hand, he is trying to break up the autonomous
region founded by the Kurds in northeastern Syria, which he sees as a direct
threat to Turkey’s territorial integrity. On the other hand, he is using
jihadist rebels to put pressure on Assad to agree to the establishment of a
Turkish security zone in Syria and the return of Syrian refugees currently in
Turkey.
Opportunity and risk
The current situation opens a window of opportunity for Israel to put pressure
on Assad. If Assad perceives Israel as the main threat, he may be reluctant to
deepen cooperation with Iran and Hezbollah. Nevertheless, a scenario in which
the rebels take control of all of Syria or the country breaks apart also poses
significant risks for Israel and Turkey. Like Israel, Turkey is not interested
in a complete collapse of the regime. For Erdoğan, further chaos on the
Turkish-Syrian border could pose a direct threat to Turkey’s stability.
What’s next?
The new reality in Syria is forcing Israel to balance between targeted
preventive measures and preparing for broader scenarios. Israel’s current
response includes preemptive strikes and cooperation with international actors.
But the big question remains: Will the collapse of Syria become a major threat
or an opportunity to rebalance the regional balance of power?
Israel, like Turkey, will continue to act with a clear view: a post-Assad Syria,
should it come to that, will be very different, but not necessarily more stable
or safer.
https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/what-is-happening-in-the-middle-east-right-now/
Despite Iranian Foreign Ministry's Denials,
Regime Mouthpiece Outlet 'Kayhan' Writes: Punishing The Murderers Of IRGC Qods
Force Commander Qasem Soleimani Is Still On The Table; There Is No Guarantee
That Trump Is Safe From Punishment
MEMRI/December 6, 2024
Iran | Special Dispatch No. 11717
Following Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, there
have been reports in international media outlets – including the Wall Street
Journal – that Iran has conveyed to the U.S. administration a written guarantee
that it will not assassinate President Trump, who Iran accuses of being
primarily responsible for the 2020 U.S. assassination of IRGC Qods Force
Commander Qasem Soleimani. Individuals close to the Iranian regime have denied
these reports, stating that Iran's policy regarding avenging Soleimani's
assassination remains unchanged (See: MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11454, Since
The U.S.'s January 2020 Killing Of IRGC Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani,
Iranian Regime Officials Have Reiterated Their Intent To Assassinate Trump In
Retribution – But Today, Iran Denies Any Connection To The July 13 Assassination
Attempt Against Him, July 17, 2024; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 8960, 'Kayhan'
Editor Shariatmadari To Trump: The IRGC Will Take Revenge Against You Personally
For Your Involvement In Killing Of Qods Force Commander Soleimani, October 8,
2020; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11665, Reactions In Iran To Trump's Election
Victory: 'The Return Of The Murderer'; 'The Sword Of Vengeance… Hovers Above
Trump's Head'; 'America – The Great Satan'; 'Iran And The Resistance Axis Are
Ready', November 8, 2024).
This article will present reactions among Iranian regime-affiliated outlets
regarding the regime's determination to take vengeance against President Trump
for his role in Soleimani's assassination.
Kayhan: There Is No Guarantee! The Blood Of The Martyr Soleimani Is Heavy Around
Trump's Neck; What Sane Person Would Believe That Iran Wants To Give A Guarantee
That It Will Not Punish The Murderers Of The Martyr Soleimani?!
On November 15, 2024, the Iranian regime mouthpiece outlet Kayhan published an
editorial article titled "Special Report Regarding Vengeance Against Trump For
Assassinating Soleimani And Abu [Mahdi] Al-Muhandis: What Guarantee?! The Blood
Of The Martyr Soleimani Is Heavy Around Trump's Neck." The following is a
translation of the article:
"The Wall Street Journal wrote in a baseless assertion [that] last month, Iran
sent in an exchange of messages with Washington a written guarantee that it does
not aim to assassinate [President] Donald Trump. This newspaper wrote [that]
this exchange of messages with the Joe Biden administration goes back to the
period of time before the U.S. presidential elections. The Wall Street Journal,
which cited anonymous American sources, wrote that the Biden administration
underlined in these messages that it views the threats against Donald Trump as a
top-priority national security issue and as an act of war. These threats lie in
the statements of Islamic Republic [of Iran] officials [who have spoken about]
avenging the killing of Qasem Soleimani by the U.S. in January 2020.
"The Wall Street Journal also wrote that Iran's response may indicate that it is
attempting to prevent escalation in tensions with the United States, and this
can also be for strategic reasons, such as avoiding additional sanctions or
increased diplomatic pressure on Iran. When the Wall Street Journal's assertion
was published, 'Voice Of America' underlined that the report cannot be
independently confirmed or denied."
"The space in which this American newspaper operates is such that the newspaper
itself admits that General Soleimani was assassinated by (Trump's) American
administration, and that on this basis and in accordance with all legal
criteria, the blood of General Soleimani – who was coincidentally a field
commander in the counterterrorism front in the region – weighs heavy on Trump
and certain members of his administration. Yet, on the basis of what was said
and of the American newspaper's recognition that American politicians were
involved in this crime, nobody in Iran can pardon the criminal Trump or give
guarantees to the American side that the killers of the martyr Soleimani will
not be punished. In addition, alongside the bloodlust of the [Iranian] nation
and the Islamic Republic regime, other nations and groups that support the
resistance in the region and the world want to avenge the blood of the martyr
Soleimani and Abu [Mahdi] Al-Muhandis.
"In addition, since the American regime easily violated a legal agreement – the
JCPOA nuclear deal, which is secured by UN Security Council Resolution 2231 –
and has violated written and signed commitments before the international
community, what sane person would believe that Iran wants to guarantee that it
will not punish the killers of the martyr Soleimani?!
"Trump, [former U.S. Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo, and the others accused of
this great crime are sure that they will pay for their crimes, and because of
this deep historic understanding that he is hated in the region, Trump said five
years ago, after a covert visit to Iraq (at Ayn Al-Assad Airbase instead of
Baghdad): 'When the [plane] landed in Iraq, [the crew] turned out all the lights
before landing, for security reasons. Think about it! We spent seven trillion
dollars in the Middle East and we can't go there with the lights turned on! How
bad is that.' He also said: 'It is very sad that you spend seven trillion
dollars in the Middle East, but in order to travel there you must keep your
visit so secretive and use (escort) planes, and the biggest equipment in the
world surrounds you and does everything so that you reach your destination
safely.'
"Of course, there are those who call Trump stupid, but it wouldn't make sense
that he's so stupid that he doesn't understand that there is no guarantee that
will save him from punishment."[1]
Knowledgeable Source to IRGC Telegram Channel And Kayhan: Punishing The Killers
Of General Soleimani Is Still "On The Table"
On November 16, 2024, the IRGC wrote on its Telegram channel that a
knowledgeable source has denied the abovementioned Wall Street Journal reports,
and on the following day Kayhan also published the source's statement. The
source said that punishing the killers of Qasem Soleimani is still "on the
table" and will be carried out along the legal dimension. The following is a
translation of the report published by the IRGC on Telegram and by Kayhan:
"A knowledgeable source has denied the claims by the American media outlet that
Iran has made a guarantee that it will not take action against Trump, saying
that the message that was sent by the Islamic Republic in the framework of the
exchange of messages said that Iran will do the necessary monitoring of the
martyr Soleimani's killers, and it will not compromise on this issue. The source
also said that the necessary monitoring of the killers of Soleimani has
different dimensions. [Iran] has told the other side that it will follow in its
own way the legal dimensions of the matter."[2]
Kayhan Column: Killing Trump Is A Fair, God-Fearing, And Necessary Action; Too
Bad It Hasn't Happened
On November 11, 2024, Kayhan published an edition of its popular column
"Conversation," which is a fictional dialogue between a Kayhan writer and a
reader, that was titled "Too Bad It Hasn't Happened." In the column, the reader
cites Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman as having said that the
accusations that Iran has attempted to assassinate President Trump are "suspect,
evil, and baseless." The writer answers that even though the claims about an
Iranian assassination attempt against Trump are indeed baseless, the
assassination of Trump would not be considered an "evil" act. He elaborated that
killing Trump for his responsibility in killing Qasem Soleimani, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis,
and other individuals would be a "fair, God-fearing, and necessary" action. When
the reader describes the assassination attempt as "a landmine" in the "complex"
relations between Iran and the United States, the Kayhan writer answers that
there is no honor in relations with the "Great Satan [America]" and that Iran
does not have any ties – complex or not complex – with it. He also questioned
whether the assassination attempt against Trump is indeed a landmine, or whether
the landmine was America's assassination of Soleimani, Al-Muhandis, and their
companions.
IRGC Telegram channel post from September 8, 2020: IRGC commander Hossein Salami
in the Oval Office chastises a humiliated Trump; portraits of Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khamenei and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei are on the wall, with then-Iranian
foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and then-deputy foreign minister (the
current foreign minister) Abbas Araghchi standing by. (T.me/sepahcybery/13930)
The following is a translation of an excerpt the "Conversation" column:
"He said: 'The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said that "the accusation
and assertion that [Iran] tried to assassinate Trump is entirely suspect, evil,
and baseless!"'
"I said: 'It is true that the assertion regarding an Iranian assassination
[attempt] against Trump is a lie and that the reports that were mentioned are
baseless, but why would killing Trump be an 'evil' act?! Assassinating the
killer of the martyrs Soleimani, Abu Mahdi [Al-Muhandis], and many other
oppressed people is a fair, God-fearing, and necessary action – not evil.'
"He said: 'This is a sort of landmine in the complex relations between Iran and
America!'
"I said: 'First of all, a relationship with Great Satan [i.e. America] is
[something] embarrassing, and we do not have a complex relationship with
America! Complex or not complex! Second, would the killing of Trump be the
landmine, or perhaps it was the killing of the martyrs Soleimani, Abu Mahdi, and
their companions by Trump?!...'"[3]
Former IRGC Qods Force Deputy Commander Mohammadreza Gholamreza: We Should Hunt
Down And Kill Soleimani's Murderers Just Like The Israelis Hunted The Nazis
Mohammadreza Gholamreza, former deputy of IRGC Qods Force commander Qasem
Soleimani discussed Iran's retribution for the assassination of Soleimani and
PMU deputy leader Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis by President Trump's first
administration in 2020, in an interview that was aired on Channel 1 (Iran), on
November 3, 2024. He suggested that Iran should adopt the Israeli policy of
hunting down Nazis and killing them even after many years have already passed
and implement this to the killers of Soleimani and Al-Muhandis.
[1] Kayhan (Iran), November 15, 2024.
[2] IRGC on Telegram, November 16, 2024; Kayhan (Iran), November 17, 2024.
[3] Kayhan (Iran), November 11, 2024.
Question: “What does it mean that Jesus is the Prince of
Peace (Isaiah 9:6)?”
GotQuestions.org/December 06/2024
Answer: In Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming Messiah, he says: “For a child
will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on
His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
In a world filled with war and violence, it’s difficult to see how Jesus could
be the all-powerful God who acts in human history and be the embodiment of
peace. But physical safety and political harmony don’t necessarily reflect the
kind of peace He’s talking about (John 14:27).
The Hebrew word for “peace,” shalom, is often used in reference to an appearance
of calm and tranquility of individuals, groups, and nations. The Greek word
eirene means “unity and accord”; Paul uses eirene to describe the objective of
the New Testament church. But the deeper, more foundational meaning of peace is
“the spiritual harmony brought about by an individual’s restoration with God.”
In our sinful state, we are enemies with God (Romans 5:10). “But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us” (Romans 5:8). Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are restored to a
relationship of peace with God (Romans 5:1). This is the deep, abiding peace
between our hearts and our Creator that cannot be taken away (John 10:27–28) and
the ultimate fulfillment of Christ’s work as “Prince of Peace.”
But Christ’s sacrifice provides more for us than eternal peace; it also allows
us to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, the Helper who promises to guide
us (John 16:7, 13). Further, the Holy Spirit will manifest Himself in us by
having us live in ways we couldn’t possibly live on our own, including filling
our lives with love, joy, and peace (Galatians 5:22–23). This love, joy, and
peace are all results of the Holy Spirit working in the life of a believer. They
are reflections of His presence in us. And, although their deepest, most vital
result is to have us live in love, joy, and peace with God, they can’t help but
to spill over into our relationships with people.
And we desperately need it—especially since God calls us to live with singleness
of purpose with other believers, with humility, gentleness, and patience, “being
diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians
4:1–3). This unity in purpose and gentleness would be impossible without the
work of the Holy Spirit in us and the peace we have with God thanks to the
sacrifice of His Son.
Ironically, the lightest definition of peace, that of the appearance of
tranquility in a person, can be the most difficult to grasp and maintain. We do
nothing to acquire or maintain our spiritual peace with God (Ephesians 2:8–9).
And, while living in unity with other believers can be extremely difficult,
living in peace in our own lives can very often feel impossible.
Note that peaceful doesn’t mean “easy.” Jesus never promised easy; He only
promised help. In fact, He told us to expect tribulation (John 16:33) and trials
(James 1:2). But He also said that, if we called on Him, He would give us the
“peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension” (Philippians 4:6–7). No matter
what hardships we are faced with, we can ask for a peace that comes from the
powerful love of God that is not dependent on our own strength or the situation
around us.