English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For December 30/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the
lccc Site
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2024/english.December30.24.htm
News Bulletin Achieves
Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006
Click On
The Below Link To Join Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FPF0N7lE5S484LNaSm0MjW
اضغط
على الرابط في
أعلى للإنضمام
لكروب
Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group
Elias Bejjani/Click
on the below link to subscribe to my youtube channel
الياس
بجاني/اضغط
على الرابط في
أسفل للإشتراك في
موقعي ع اليوتيوب
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOOSioLh1GE3C1hp63Camw
Bible Quotations For today
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in
Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of
Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 02/19-23/:”When
Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel,
for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’Then Joseph got up, took
the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that
Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to
go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of
Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been
spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on December
29-30/2024
Halevi:
We Achieved a Clear Military Victory Over Hezbollah
Iraq Suspends Aid to Lebanon and Gaza
Israel intercepts two rockets fired from Gaza at Jerusalem, Negev
Is Hezbollah Reshuffling Its Leadership with New Appointments?
Two Dead in Gunfire Targeting Lebanese Car in Syria
A high-level Saudi delegation arrives in Lebanon after years of estrangement!
A new Lebanese delegation to Syria… to meet with Sharaa!
Former Syrian Army Deserters Arrested in Tripoli
Israel plans extended stay in Lebanon, delays return of northern residents as
border tensions rise
South Lebanon's Khiam searches persist as Lebanese Civil Defense recovers more
victims
UNIFIL: Israel informs peacekeepers of safety risks in south Lebanon's Taybeh,
patrols to steer clear
Israel's violations in south Lebanon raise concerns over prolonged military
presence: LBCI correspondent Amal Shehadeh reports
Israel's army conducts major demolition operation in Meiss El Jabal, south
Lebanon
Syrians attacked in Tripoli: Suspicion sparks mob justice - The details
Patriarch Rahi: Some are still thinking of postponing the presidential elections
pending notice from abroad, and this is the defect of defects and beware of
playing with this crucial date
Bishop Aoudi stressed that the sword of the word is the brightest of all
weapons: How many wars started by tyrants because of which thousands of innocent
people died and they remained in power, oppressing
A Sacred Weapon with a Cultural Effect/Mohammed Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan/29
December 2024
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on December
29-30/2024
Jimmy Carter, longest-lived US president, dies aged 100
Syria's al-Sharaa Says Holding Elections Can Take Up to 4 Years
An Israeli airstrike near the Syrian capital kills 11, war monitor says
A Palestinian was shot dead in her West Bank home. Her family blames Palestinian
security forces
Israeli hospital says Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery
Israeli forces order new evacuation at besieged northern Gaza town, residents
say
Gaza captors tortured hostages, including minors, Israeli report says
Inside a Syrian 'reconciliation centre' where Assad's soldiers give up their
weapons
Syria's de facto leader says holding elections could take up to four years
Saudi Arabia has a major role in Syria’s future, Al-Sharaa says
Syria's dwindling Jewish community can visit one of the world's oldest
synagogues again
A plane crashes and bursts into flames while landing in South Korea, killing 179
Turkey's imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader says he is willing to work with
authorities for peace
Turkey announces $14 billion regional development plan for Kurdish southeast
Azerbaijan's president says crashed jetliner was shot down by Russia
unintentionally
Titles For
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on December
29-30/2024
Blame Hamas and Hezbollah for Civilian Deaths, Not Israel/Con Coughlin/Gatestone
Institute/December 29, 2024
Israel should strike Iran now, paving way for Trump 2.0/Seth Cropsey/The
Hill/December 29/2024
On Neutrality, Objectivity, and Nations/Jumah Boukleb/Asharq Al-Awsat/December
29/2024
The path to peace and stability in the Arab world/Dr. Turki Faisal Al-Rasheed/Arab
News/December 28, 2024
The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on December
29-30/2024
Halevi: We Achieved a Clear Military Victory Over Hezbollah
This is Beirut/December 29, 2024
Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi claimed to have achieved "a clear military
victory over Hezbollah," according to Avichay Adraee, the Arabic Spokesperson
for the Israeli Army. In a post on "X," Adraee stated that Halevi conducted a
situational assessment in southern Lebanon on Sunday alongside the Northern
Command leader, the commander of the 146th Division, the commander of the 300th
Brigade, and other senior officers. "The real path to victory over Hezbollah is
clear. Militarily, we have won, and this is very evident. But true victory—the
long-term victory—means having many people living here, vibrant tourism,
thriving restaurants and cafes, people riding bicycles, and flourishing
agriculture. That is sustainable victory," Halevi said.
Iraq Suspends Aid to Lebanon and Gaza
This is Beirut/December 29, 2024
The Iraqi Prime Minister's Advisor on Human Rights and Chairman of the Higher
Committee for the Relief of the Palestinian and Lebanese People, Zaidan Al-Attawani,
announced on Sunday that the suspension of aid delivery to Gaza and Lebanon is
due to the lack of a land or air route. Al-Attawani told the Iraqi News Agency
(INA) that "humanitarian aid to Lebanon and Gaza, which passes through Syria,
has currently stopped due to the absence of a land or air route," noting that
"many of our sacred sites are currently providing humanitarian aid in Lebanon."
He expressed hope "for the dispatch of delegations to accomplish the mission of
delivering aid to Gaza and Lebanon if a route becomes available," adding that
"we have no means to reach Gaza or Lebanon," confirming that "the Iraqi
government has sent thousands of tons of aid in both health and humanitarian
assistance to Lebanon and Gaza." Al-Attawani further mentioned that "Iraq sent
30,000 tons of wheat out of 250,000 tons to Syria before the recent events, as
there were Lebanese refugees there, but the aid was halted due to the collapse
of the Syrian regime and the closure of the borders."
Israel intercepts two rockets fired from Gaza at Jerusalem, Negev
Agence France Presse/December 29, 2024
The Israeli military said it intercepted two projectiles fired from northern
Gaza toward Israel on Saturday, as the army continued its sweeping offensive in
the north of the Palestinian territory. "Following the sirens that sounded at
16:14 (14:14 GMT) in the areas of Jerusalem, Negev, and HaShfela, two
projectiles that crossed into Israeli territory from northern Gaza were
intercepted by the IAF (air force), the military said in a statement.
Is Hezbollah Reshuffling Its Leadership with New
Appointments?
This is Beirut/December 29, 2024
Al-Hadath reported on Sunday a significant reshuffle within Hezbollah’s
leadership structure. However, Hezbollah’s Media Relations department has
refuted these claims. Al-Hadath claimed that MP Mohammad Raad, head of the
Loyalty to the Resistance Parliamentary Bloc, has been appointed deputy
secretary-general of Hezbollah. This would imply that he would succeed Naim
Qassem, who assumed the role of secretary-general following the assassination of
Hassan Nasrallah on September 27, 2024. This would have marked a first in
Hezbollah’s history, as it would have been the first time a parliamentary
representative rose to such a high-ranking leadership position within the
organization. According to sources cited by Al-Hadath, Hezbollah is also
planning a series of internal appointments affecting approximately eight senior
positions. Among the expected changes, MP Hassan Fadlallah is tipped to become
the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc. Additionally, Ali Daamoush is
claimed to take over as head of the Executive Council, succeeding Hashem
Safieddine. These changes are reportedly set to be announced by Naim Qassem once
they are finalized. However, Hezbollah’s Media Relations department issued a
statement denying the accuracy of the reported structural changes. It emphasized
that when leadership appointments are decided, they will be announced through
official Hezbollah media channels.
Two Dead in Gunfire Targeting Lebanese Car in Syria
This is Beirut/December 29, 2024
Two Lebanese nationals, Mohammad Hassan Saab and Abdel Razzaq Karbali, were
killed on the Homs-Damascus highway, while Abdallah Hassan Saab was injured in a
shooting that targeted their vehicle. Witnesses reported that the victims' car,
bearing a Lebanese license plate, was passing through the Wadi Al-Dahab area
during an ongoing clash when it was targeted. The attack claimed the lives of
Mohammad Saab and Abdel Razzaq Karbali, who had traveled to Syria for a short
trip. A family source told An-Nahar that Abdallah Saab, the lone survivor,
contacted his family at around 8:00 AM, bleeding from a leg injury, to report
the deaths of his brother Mohammad and uncle Abdel Razzaq. He shared his
location via phone before being transported to a hospital in Homs. Abdallah is
expected to return to Beirut on Sunday, while the bodies of Mohammad and Abdel
Razzaq will be repatriated to Lebanon on Monday morning. The family source
revealed that Mohammad, who worked in electronics, had welcomed a newborn
daughter just last week. Abdel Razzaq was the father of five daughters. The
victims were residents of the Doha Aramoun area, south of Beirut, where news of
the incident sparked unrest and anger. The family home was opened for
condolences, and the Lebanese Army dispatched reinforcements to the area to
maintain calm.
A high-level Saudi
delegation arrives in Lebanon after years of estrangement!
Janubiya/December 29, 2024
After years of estrangement and following the major political and security
developments that have swept Lebanon, most notably the assassination of
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and the fall of Bashar
al-Assad’s regime in Syria, Al-Jadeed reported today, Sunday, that “Saudi
Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan will arrive in Lebanon in the first days of
next year, accompanied by a diplomatic delegation that includes Prince Zeid bin
Farhan and the official directly responsible for the Lebanese file in the Saudi
Foreign Ministry.” It added, “The visit of the Saudi Foreign Minister to Lebanon
under the auspices of the Saudi Crown Prince and the Saudi Minister of Defense
is of utmost importance and opens an official Saudi return to Lebanon after the
past years.”It continued, “American mediator Hamos Hochstein will arrive in
Lebanon after the Saudi visit to meet with Presidents Nabih Berri and Najib
Mikati and discuss the files of implementing the ceasefire agreement and the
file of the presidency of the republic.”
A new Lebanese delegation to Syria… to meet with Sharaa!
Al Markazia/December 29, 2024
After the visit of a delegation of Islamic and Christian figures and the meeting
with Our Lady of the Mountain to Damascus on Friday without meeting with
political leaders, “Central” learned that a delegation from the Sovereign Front,
including Christian-Islamic political figures representing Lebanese opposition
parties, will visit Damascus early in the new year to meet with the
Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Command, Ahmad al-Sharaa. The General Command
welcomed the visit when the Front informed it of its desire to do so, and it was
agreed that it would be after the beginning of the year. According to the
information, the delegation also includes representatives of the families of the
missing in Syrian prisons, and carries a message of congratulations to the
leadership on the liberation of Syria and the keenness to establish normal
relations between the two peoples and countries, and will hand over to the new
leadership a complete file on detainees in Syrian prisons.
Former Syrian Army Deserters Arrested in Tripoli
This is Beirut/December 29, 2024
A Lebanese Army unit arrested several officers and soldiers on Sunday who had
fled the former Syrian Army in the Mallouleh area of Tripoli. The suspicious
group, traveling on a bus, was stopped to verify the passengers' identities.
According to local sources, the detainees are currently being investigated to
determine the details of their escape and the reasons for their presence in the
area. Army units have also stepped up security measures in and around Tripoli,
patrolling the surrounding areas for any attempts to infiltrate the country or
disrupt security. These arrests followed an incident on Saturday evening, when
youths from Tripoli’s Bab el-Tebbaneh neighborhood handed over a group of
deserters from the 4th brigade of the former Syrian Army to the Lebanese Army.
The incidents occurred after Syria’s new government launched a large-scale
operation against Bashar al-Assad’s “militias” on Thursday. Rami Abdel Rahman,
director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told AFP on Sunday,
“In less than a week, nearly 300 people have been arrested in Damascus, its
suburbs, and the regions of Homs, Hama, Tartous, Latakia, and even Deir Ezzor.”
Israel plans extended stay in Lebanon, delays return of northern residents as
border tensions rise
LBCI/December 29, 2024
The Israeli government has approved a request from security agencies to extend
the evacuation of residents from northern Israel, preventing their return to
their towns for an additional three months until March due to ongoing security
instability along the border with Lebanon. This decision follows a report from
the Israeli military, which claims it will intensify operations aimed at
eliminating Hezbollah's weapon storage and tunnels. On Sunday morning, the
Israeli army targeted the southern Lebanese town of Taybeh under the pretext
that the engineering unit had discovered weapon sites, which the army
subsequently destroyed.
In preparation for remaining beyond the agreed period in the initial ceasefire
agreement, the Israeli army announced it is coordinating its actions with the
current U.S. administration and will continue coordination with the incoming
administration regarding its stay in Lebanon. The army cites further two primary
reasons for its continued presence in Lebanon: the slow deployment of the
Lebanese army in the region, contrary to previous agreements, and the abundance
of Hezbollah's weapons and ammunition, which are increasingly being uncovered in
the region amid the group's efforts to reassemble its military strength with
Iranian assistance. Furthermore, the statements on preparing for the return of
residents have sparked heated debates among northern Israeli leaders and
inhabitants.In light of discrepancies between official statements and the
realities on the ground, an Israeli report revealed concerns among security
officials about the potential consequences of staying in Lebanon and escalating
the security situation along both borders. A report also mentioned that even if
the army decides to withdraw, it will maintain forces at key points,
constructing infrastructure around them and establishing new defensive areas to
ensure the population's safety, as reported by the "Israel Hayom" newspaper. The
Lebanese front has once again become a focal point, while on the Syrian front,
the army is working to build fortifications and infrastructure to ensure its
continued control over Mount Hermon and deep into Syria. At the same time, a
group of officers and soldiers stationed in Syria expressed concerns about
potential attacks from various groups hostile to Israel.
South Lebanon's Khiam searches persist as Lebanese Civil Defense recovers more
victims
LBCI/December 29, 2024
Specialized search and rescue teams from the Lebanese Civil Defense, in
coordination with the Lebanese army, successfully recovered the bodies of five
individuals on Sunday. Four were found in the eastern neighborhood and one in
the al-Mu’taqal neighborhood in the Southern Lebanese town of Khiam. The bodies
were transported to the Marjayoun Governmental Hospital. Efforts to locate all
the missing individuals are set to continue Monday as the search enters its
third week. The operations follow the recent Israeli aggression, which caused
significant loss of life and extensive property damage in Khiam.
UNIFIL: Israel informs peacekeepers of safety risks in south Lebanon's Taybeh,
patrols to steer clear
LBCI/December 29, 2024
UNIFIL Deputy Spokesperson Kandice Ardiel announced that "Israel informed UNIFIL
forces that the safety of peacekeepers cannot be guaranteed in the vicinity of
the Taybeh area" in south Lebanon and that patrols "should avoid this area."
Ardiel emphasized that "the safety of peacekeepers is a top priority, and we
will not take any action that exposes them to unnecessary danger."
Israel's violations in south Lebanon raise concerns over
prolonged military presence: LBCI correspondent Amal Shehadeh reports
LBCI/December 29, 2024
Israeli breaches in southern Lebanon show no signs of ceasing, with recent
reports from within Israel indicating the potential extension of the Israeli
army's stay in Lebanon, LBCI correspondent in Haifa, Amal Shehadeh, reported
Sunday.
The move, if confirmed, would surpass the timeframe agreed upon in the first
phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Israel's army conducts major demolition operation in Meiss
El Jabal, south Lebanon
LBCI/December 29, 2024
The Israeli army has reportedly carried out a significant demolition operation
in the town of Meiss El Jabal, located in southern Lebanon, the official
National News Agency said Sunday.
Syrians attacked in Tripoli: Suspicion sparks mob justice -
The details
LBCI/December 29, 2024
On Saturday night, humanity seemed to collapse in Bab al-Tabbaneh, Tripoli, as
Syrian nationals were subjected to insults, beatings, and humiliation simply
because they were suspected of being former officers and soldiers in the Syrian
army. This incident coincided with an announcement by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
expressing its willingness to regularize the status of Syrian army members.
However, in Lebanon, there appears to be no amnesty or settlements. Young men in
Tripoli claimed that the mentioned Syrians had arrived in Bab al-Tabbaneh
seeking directions to Zgharta. Locals, suspecting them of being Syrian soldiers
planted to incite trouble, alleged they had found security-related
identification on them. The ordeal ended with the Syrians being handed over to
army intelligence after enduring humiliation. During the investigation, it was
revealed that two men had ambushed a van carrying Syrians on the Aalma-Zgharta
road, attempting to rob them. Upon discovering they were Syrians, the assailants
forcibly took them to Bab al-Tabbaneh, where locals became involved in a
confrontation, believing the group to be Syrian military personnel. Ultimately,
the investigation revealed that the group consisted of 14 men, five women, and
seven children who had been living illegally in Lebanon for some time. They had
traveled to Syria after the regime's fall for a visit and returned to Lebanon on
Saturday night. Investigators found no security-related identification or
evidence linking them to the Syrian army. Regardless of their affiliations, it
was emphasized that there is no justification for degrading individuals or
subjecting them to humiliation. Suspicion of wrongdoing should be addressed by
referring individuals to the proper authorities, allowing the legal process to
proceed rather than resorting to mob justice. Furthermore, security forces and
the judiciary have been urged to ensure perpetrators are pursued and punished,
as impunity only fosters further actions and reactions, risking internal strife
that Lebanon cannot afford. Meanwhile, security sources emphasized that warnings
have been issued to those involved, stressing the importance of respecting the
law. The sources affirmed that any offenders will be prosecuted, as maintaining
civil peace is a "red line" that must not be crossed.
Patriarch Rahi: Some are
still thinking of postponing the presidential elections pending notice from
abroad, and this is the defect of defects and beware of playing with this
crucial date
NNA/December/2024
The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rahi, presided over the Sunday
Mass in the Church of Our Lady in the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke, and after
the Holy Gospel, the Patriarch gave a sermon entitled: "Hope does not
disappoint" in which he said: "Hope does not disappoint" (Rom 5: 5). Lebanon's
problem today is a loss of confidence among politicians in themselves, in each
other, and in state institutions. Politicians' loss of self-confidence, as
evidenced today by the fact that a president has not been elected for two years
and two months. They are waiting for the name of the president from abroad, and
this is a shame We appreciate and thank friendly countries for their keenness to
elect the President and their encouragement to push forward his election. On the
ninth of next January, ten days later, which is the day set for the election of
the president, some are still thinking of postponing pending some notice from
abroad. This is a defect and is totally rejected. Beware of playing with this
crucial date." He said: "The confidence of politicians in each other is lost,
and it is evident in the number of candidates announced, hidden, unspoken and
promised, as if they do not dare to come to parliament to elect the president,
waiting for a name from abroad. Confidence in state institutions is lacking,
because some politicians are not concerned with these institutions, the first of
which is the parliament, which lacks the authority to legislate, and if it stops
for two years and two months from its legislative mission, it does not concern
them, it does not concern them with violating the constitution, and it does not
concern them with the damage caused to the country. What is the argument about
the disruption, control or politicization of some of the judiciary by some
politicians, knowing that the judiciary is the basis of the king? What is the
statement about the lack of confidence of some politicians in the state as a
whole, the constitution, laws, judicial rulings, public administrations, the
economy, money and banks, the deposit of funds in them, and the emigration of
our finest young men and women and our living forces, as if no one is
responsible for this destruction? No one appreciates the president's role as
follows: he can restore confidence to politicians in themselves, in each other,
in the state and its institutions. It has before him to build internal unity
among all Lebanese through mutual love, on the basis of Lebanese citizenship,
loyalty to Lebanon and equality before the law. He has before him the structural
reforms envisaged at the Paris, Rome and Brussels conferences. Such a president
is looking for him, forced to accept the difficult task, and surrounded by the
confidence of all politicians and Lebanese in general. "Let us pray for our
spiritual entry into the Great Jubilee of 2025 in the spirit of hope that does
not disappoint, with repentance and openness of hearts to the love of God and
people, and for the parliamentary blocs in their consultations on the person of
the president so that he will be elected on the ninth of next January. We raise
the hymn of glory and thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit now and forever, amen."
Bishop Aoudi stressed that the sword of the word is the brightest of all
weapons: How many wars started by tyrants because of which thousands of innocent
people died and they remained in power, oppressing
NNA/29 December/2024
The Metropolitan of Beirut and its Greek Orthodox dependencies, Archbishop Elias
Aoudi presided over the service of the Mass in St. George's Cathedral, in the
presence of a crowd of believers. After the Gospel he gave a sermon in which he
said: "The children of Bethlehem, the martyrs, are a school for every believer,
just as Herod is a lesson for every tyrant and tyrant. The book of Acts tells us
that Herod became proud after the people said of him, "This is the voice of God,
not the voice of man," and until now, "the angel of the Lord struck him because
he did not give glory to God, so he became eaten by worms and died" (Acts
12:21-23). Many fall victim to vain glory, because they tend their ears to
praise human beings seeking their own interests, divining themselves and
allowing themselves to act like gods, putting themselves in the place of the
only God, the Judge of all. Human beings often kill their fellow human beings in
various ways, but the sword of the word is the most powerful of all weapons
because defamation and fabrication of accusations is a painful moral killing.
They forget that Christ is the Word incarnate to heal wounds, to stop tears, to
heal the broken-hearted, to do justice to the oppressed, and to discipline the
oppressors. The Word was born on earth to bring justice, peace and truth among
men. Therefore, it is not called a Christian who uses the word as a lethal
weapon, but who uses it as a panacea." He concluded: "Our call today is to learn
innocence from children who died as martyrs, victims of an angry and hasty
decision, and to preach from the afterlife of the tyrant Herod, and to humble
ourselves not to aggressor, but to keep the Lord before us at all times, and he
guides us to every good work."
A Sacred Weapon with a Cultural Effect
Mohammed Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan / 29 December 2024
(Free Translation by Elias Bejjani)
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/138517/
Granting cultural authority within state institutions to partisans rooted in
totalitarian ideologies that contradict Lebanon's diverse essence inevitably
leads to the gradual erosion of national belonging. This destruction transcends
merely altering cultural discourse; it penetrates the very formation of minds,
steering them towards division rather than unity. Such a trajectory poses a
grave threat to the fabric of the state and society.
When partisan ideologies are disguised as nationalist narratives, the Lebanese
public, including students, is misled. Over time, this erodes the value of
Lebanese identity, allowing partisan and militia influence to dominate
educational and cultural institutions. The result is a Lebanese identity
stripped of genuine national affiliation, reduced to serving narrow partisan
agendas. This dangerous trend not only undermines the present but also sows the
seeds of intellectual collapse, jeopardizing future generations.
Restoring Lebanese culture to its rightful national role is a responsibility the
state must shoulder. Culture is a cornerstone for building a Lebanon free from
the grip of so-called sacred ideas and the dominance of parties and groups that
perceive Lebanon not as an inclusive homeland but as a mere platform for their
interests. To achieve this, it is imperative to liberate cultural and
educational institutions from partisan control. The Ministry of Culture,
universities, and dialogue centers—currently entrapped by political
subordination and intolerance for diversity—must be disentangled from such
influences.
Reforming the standards for selecting cultural leaders is essential. These
leaders must be independent individuals who grasp the unique identity of
Lebanon, ensuring that no single party imposes extremist or partisan ideologies
on society.
Curriculum reform is equally critical. Educational content must be purged of
partisan propaganda or elements serving narrow agendas. An independent
committee, free from the influence of political parties, should oversee this
process. When reasoning is subordinated to partisan ideologies, it ceases to be
a tool for enlightenment and instead becomes a mechanism for perpetuating
submission to the logic of force over the principles of state and law.
Even more concerning, this cultural erosion extends beyond intellectual realms.
It becomes a justification for legitimizing weapons outside state authority,
cloaked under the banner of "resistance." This narrative deepens societal
divisions, undermines state sovereignty, and transforms illegal weapons into
integral elements of a cultural system manipulated by partisan agendas.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on December
29-30/2024
Jimmy
Carter, longest-lived US president, dies aged 100
Martin Pengelly in Washington and
Tom McCarthy/The Guardian/December 29, 2024
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, a broker of peace in the
Middle East in his time, and a tireless advocate for global health and human
rights, has died, it was announced Sunday. He was 100 years old.
A Georgia Democrat, Carter was the longest-lived president in US history. He
only served one term in the White House and was soundly beaten by Ronald Reagan
in 1981. But Carter spent the decades afterward focused on international
relations and human rights, efforts that won him the Nobel peace prize in 2002.
Carter had undergone a series of hospital stays before, his family said on 18
February last year that he had chosen to “spend his remaining time at home”, in
hospice care and with loved ones. The decision had “the full support of his
family and his medical team”, a family statement said.
Carter’s wife, Rosalynn Carter, died last November, two days after her own
transition to hospice care. The former first lady was 96. The pair married in
1946 and the former president attended her memorial service, traveling from the
couple’s longtime home in Plains, Georgia, to the Glenn Memorial church in
Atlanta.The Carters’ eldest grandchild, Jason Carter, had said in a media
interview in June this year that the former president was not awake every day
but was “experiencing the world as best he can” as his days were coming to an
end. Carter took office in 1977 as “Jimmy Who?”, a one-term Georgia governor and
devout Christian whose unfamiliarity with Washington was seen as a virtue after
the Watergate and Vietnam war years. Hopes for the Carter presidency were
dashed, however, by economic and foreign policy crises, starting with high
unemployment and double-digit inflation and culminating in the Iran hostage
crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A rolling energy crisis saw the
price of oil triple from 1978 to 1980, leading to lines at US gas stations. Such
struggles belied early promise. In 1977, Carter completed a treaty that had
eluded his predecessors to return control of the Panama canal to its host
country. At Camp David in 1978, Carter brought together the Israeli prime
minister, Menachem Begin, and the Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, for a deal
that would produce peace that endures today.
Carter’s fruitless attempts to brake the economic slide led Republicans to label
him “Jimmy Hoover”, after the Depression-era president. But as Carter prepared
to run for re-election in 1980, it was the Iran hostage crisis that weighed most
visibly on Americans’ minds, TV anchor Ted Koppel devoting his broadcast five
days a week to the plight of 52 Americans held in Tehran. A botched rescue
attempt left eight US servicemen dead and fed doubts about Carter’s leadership.
Reagan, a former California governor, won 44 states. The hostages were released
on 20 January 1981, hours after Carter left office, prompting speculation that
Republicans had made a deal with Iran. Broadly unpopular then, Carter went on to
become not just the longest-lived president but also to have one of the most
distinguished post-presidential careers. He was awarded the Nobel peace prize
for “decades of untiring effort” for human rights and peacemaking. His
humanitarian work was conducted under the Atlanta-based Carter Center, which he
founded in the early 1980s, with Rosalynn.
Carter traveled the world as a peace emissary, election observer and public
health advocate. He made visits to North Korea in 1994 and Cuba in 2002. The
Carter Center is credited with helping to cure river blindness, trachoma and
Guinea worm disease, which went from millions of cases in Africa and Asia in
1986 to a handful today. Carter was a critic of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, drone
warfare, warrantless government surveillance and the prison at Guantánamo Bay.
He won admiration, and loathing, for his involvement in efforts for Middle East
peace, urging a two-state solution in speeches and books including Palestine:
Peace Not Apartheid.
He met Shimon Peres, then president of Israel, on a 2012 trip to Jerusalem, but
top Israeli leaders generally shunned Carter after publication of the book. As
recently as 2015, requests to meet the prime minister and president were
rebuffed. Carter played a central role in promoting Habitat for Humanity, which
provides housing for the needy, and was an alternative energy pioneer,
installing solar panels on the White House. (Reagan removed them.) The Carters
had four children and multiple grandchildren, among them James Carter IV,
credited with playing a pivotal role in the 2012 election when he unearthed a
video of Mitt Romney casting aspersions on 47% of Americans.James Earl Carter Jr
grew up in Plains, Georgia, a town of fewer than 1,000 and about 150 miles south
of Atlanta. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, he rose to the rank of
lieutenant and worked on the nascent nuclear submarine program. After his
father’s death in 1953, he took up peanut farming. He was elected to the Georgia
senate then won the governorship in 1970, calling for the state to move beyond
racial segregation. Carter’s blend of moral authority and folksy charisma
produced moments of unusually frank national dialogue. In a 1979 speech, he
spoke semi-spontaneously for half an hour about a “crisis of confidence” – “a
fundamental threat to American democracy … nearly invisible in ordinary ways”.
Americans had fallen into a worship of “self-indulgence and consumption”, he
said, only to learn “that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of
lives which have no confidence or purpose”. The address struck a chord: Carter’s
popularity surged 11 points. But after Reagan and others recast it as a
self-indulgent exploration of personal malaise, the speech became a liability.
James Fallows, a former Carter speechwriter, wrote in 1979 that the president
suffered from an inability to generate excitement but “would surely outshine
most other leaders in the judgment of the Lord”.Carter outlived the two
presidents who followed him, Reagan and George HW Bush. He is to be buried in
Georgia.
Syria's al-Sharaa Says
Holding Elections Can Take Up to 4 Years
Asharq Al Awsat/December 29/2024
Holding elections in Syria can take up to four years, Syria's de facto leader
Ahmed al-Sharaa told Al Arabiya in an interview on Sunday. Drafting a new
constitution could take up to three years, al-Sharaa said in excerpts from the
interview with the broadcaster. He also said it would take about a year for
Syrians to see drastic changes. Al-Sharaa also hoped the Trump administration
will lift the sanctions on Syria. The Biden administration said earlier this
month that it has decided not to pursue a $10 million reward it had offered for
al-Sharaa, whose group, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led fighters that ousted
Syrian President Bashar Assad. The announcement followed a meeting in Damascus
between al-Sharaa and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, who
led the first US diplomatic delegation into Syria since Assad’s ouster on Dec.
8. HTS remains designated a foreign terrorist organization, and Leaf would not
say if sanctions stemming from that designation would be eased. Al- Sharaa also
told Al Arabiya that Syria has strategic interests with Russia. Russia has
military bases in Syria, was a close Assad ally during the long civil war and
has granted Assad asylum. Al-Sharaa said earlier this month that Syria's
relations with Russia should serve common interests.
An Israeli airstrike near the Syrian capital kills 11, war
monitor says
Kareem Chehayeb/BEIRUT (AP)/December 29, 2024
An Israeli airstrike in the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday killed 11 people,
according to a war monitor, as Israel continues to target Syrian weapons and
military infrastructure even after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike
targeted a weapons depot that belonged to Assad’s forces near the industrial
town of Adra, northeast of the capital. The observatory said at least 11 people,
mostly civilians, were killed. Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV also
reported the airstrike but put the death toll at six. The Israeli military did
not comment on the airstrike Sunday. Israel, which has launched hundreds of
airstrikes over Syria since the country's uprising turned-civil war broke out in
2011, rarely acknowledges them. It says its targets are Iran-backed groups that
backed Assad. Israel also wants to remove a threat posed by weapons in Syria,
which is now governed by Islamists. Syrian insurgents who ousted Assad in a
lightning ofensive in early December have demanded that Israel cease its
airstrikes. Elsewhere, Turkish-backed Syrian rebels attacked near the strategic
northern border town of Kobani, which is under the control of the Kurdish-led
Syrian Democratic Forces, following weekslong clashes. The SDF shared a video of
a rocket attack that destroyed what it said was a radar system south of the city
of Manbij, which the Turkish-back group captured earlier this month. The
Kurdish-led group is Washington's key ally in Syria, where it is heavily
involved in targeting sleeper cells belonging to the extremist Islamic State
group.
In other developments:
— Syrian state-run media said a mass grave was found near the third largest city
of Homs. SANA said civil defense workers were sent to to the site in al-Kabo,
one of many suspected mass graves where tens of thousands of Syrians are
believed to have been buried during a brutal crackdown under Assad and his
network of security agencies. — An Egyptian activist wanted by Cairo on charges
of incitement to violence and terrorism, Abdulrahman al-Qardawi, was detained by
Lebanese security forces after crossing the porous border from Syria, according
to two judicial and one security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to to talk to the press. Al-Qardawi is an
Egyptian activist residing in Turkey and an outspoken critic of Egypt's
government. He had reportedly visited Syria to join celebrations after Assad's
downfall. His late father, Youssef al-Qaradawi, was a top and controversial
Egyptian cleric revered by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. He had lived in
exile in Qatar for decades. — Lebanese security forces apprehended an armed
group in the northern city of Tripoli that kidnapped a group of 26 Syrians who
were recently smuggled into Lebanon, two Lebanese security officials said on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information
with the media. The Syrians included five women and seven children, and security
officials are working to return them to Syria.
A Palestinian was shot dead in her West Bank home. Her family
blames Palestinian security forces
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) / December 29, 2024
A Palestinian woman was shot and killed in her home in the volatile northern
West Bank town of Jenin, where the Palestinian Authority is carrying out a rare
campaign against militants. The family of Shatha al-Sabbagh, a 22-year-old
journalism student, said she was killed by a sniper with the Palestinian
security forces late Saturday while she was with her mother and two small
children. They said there were no militants in the area at the time. A statement
from the Palestinian security forces said she was shot by “outlaws” — the term
it has been using for local militants who have been battling Israeli forces in
recent years. The security forces condemned the shooting and vowed to
investigate it. The Western-backed Palestinian Authority exercises limited
self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is deeply unpopular
among Palestinians, largely because it cooperates with Israel on security
matters, even as Israel accuses it of incitement and of generally turning a
blind eye to militancy. In a statement, the al-Sabbagh family accused the
Palestinian security forces of having become “repressive tools that practice
terrorism against their own people instead of protecting their dignity and
standing up to the (Israeli) occupation.”Palestinian security forces launched a
rare operation earlier this month in Jenin, which has seen heavy fighting
between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces in recent years. The
Palestinian Authority says the operation is aimed at restoring law and order,
while critics charge it with aiding the occupation. Violence has flared in the
West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there.
At least 835 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank
since then, according to the Palestinian Authority. Most appear to have been
militants killed in clashes with Israeli forces, but the dead also include
civilians and participants in violent demonstrations. Israel captured the West
Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want it to form the main part of
their future state
Israeli hospital says Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate
surgery
AP/December 29, 2024
TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent successful surgery
Sunday to have his prostate removed, hospital officials said, a procedure that
came as he manages multiple crises including the war in Gaza and his trial for
alleged corruption.
Netanyahu, who has had a series of health issues in recent years, has gone to
great lengths to bolster a public image of himself as a healthy, energetic
leader. During his trial this month, he boasted about working 18-hour days,
accompanied by a cigar. But as Israel’s longest-serving leader, such a grueling
workload over a total of 17 years in power could take a toll on his
well-being.Netanyahu, 75, is among older world leaders including US President
Joe Biden, 82, President-elect Donald Trump, 78, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio
Lula da Silva, 79, and Pope Francis, 88, who have come under scrutiny for their
age and health issues. Netanyahu’s latest condition is common in older men, but
the procedure has had some fallout. The judges overseeing his trial accepted a
request from his lawyer on Sunday to call off three days of testimony scheduled
this week. The lawyer, Amit Hadad, had argued that Netanyahu would be fully
sedated for the procedure and hospitalized for “a number of days.”Jerusalem’s
Hadassah Medical Center announced late Sunday that the procedure had been
“completed successfully.” Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close ally, served as
acting prime minister during the operation. Netanyahu is expected to remain
hospitalized for several days. With so much at stake, Netanyahu’s health in
wartime is a concern for both Israelis and the wider world.
A turbulent time in the region
As Israel’s leader, Netanyahu is at the center of major global events that are
shifting the Middle East. With the dizzying pace of the past 14 months, being
incapacitated for even a few hours can be risky. Netanyahu will be in the
hospital at a time when international mediators are pushing Israel and Hamas to
reach a ceasefire in Gaza and as fighting between Israel and Yemen’s Iran-backed
Houthi rebels intensifies. Prostate issues are common and in many cases easily
treatable. Still, the procedure puts a dent in Netanyahu’s image of vigor at a
time when he would want to project strength more than ever, both to an Israeli
audience navigating constant threats as well as to Israel’s enemies looking to
expose its weaknesses.
Previous health issues, including a heart condition
Netanyahu insists he is in excellent health. His office releases footage of him
touring war zones in full protective gear flanked by military officers, or
meeting with defense officials on windswept hilltops in youthful dark shades and
puffer jackets. But that image was shattered last year when Netanyahu’s doctors
revealed that he had a heart condition, a problem that he had apparently long
known about but concealed from the public. A week after a fainting spell,
Netanyahu was fitted with a pacemaker to control his heartbeat. Only then did
staff at the Sheba Medical Center reveal that Netanyahu has for years
experienced a condition that can cause irregular heartbeats. The revelation came
as Netanyahu was dealing with massive anti-government protests. The news about a
chronic heart problem stoked further anger and distrust during extreme political
polarization in Israel. Last year, Netanyahu was rushed to the hospital for what
doctors said likely was dehydration. He stayed overnight, prompting his weekly
Cabinet meeting to be delayed.Earlier this year, Netanyahu underwent hernia
surgery, during which he was under full anesthesia and unconscious. Levin served
as acting prime minister during the operation.
Recovery can be quick
According to Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli leader was diagnosed with a urinary
tract infection on Wednesday stemming from a benign enlargement of his prostate.
The infection was treated successfully with antibiotics, but doctors said the
surgery was needed in any case.
Complications from prostate enlargement are common in men in their 70s and 80s,
Dr. Shay Golan, head of the oncology urology service at Israel’s Rabin Medical
Center, told Israeli Army Radio. Golan spoke in general terms and was not
involved in Netanyahu’s care or treatment.
He said an enlarged prostate can block proper emptying of the bladder, leading
to a build-up of urine that can lead to an infection or other complications.
After medicinal treatment, doctors can recommend a procedure to remove the
prostate to prevent future blockages, Golan said.
In Netanyahu’s case, because the prostate is not cancerous, Golan said doctors
were likely performing an endoscopic surgery, carried out by inserting small
instruments into a body cavity, rather than making surgical cuts in the abdomen
to reach the prostate.
The procedure lasts about an hour, Golan said, and recovery is quick. He said
that aside from catheter use for one to three days after the procedure, patients
can return to normal activity without significant limitations.
Israeli forces order new evacuation at besieged northern Gaza
town, residents say
Reuters/December 29, 2024
CAIRO: Israeli forces carrying out a weeks-long offensive in northern Gaza
ordered any residents remaining in Beit Hanoun to quit the town on Sunday,
pointing to Palestinian militant rocket fire from the area, residents said. The
instruction to residents to leave caused a new wave of displacement, although it
was not immediately clear how many people were affected, the residents said.
Israel says its almost three-month-old campaign in northern Gaza is aimed at
Hamas militants and preventing them from regrouping. Its instructions to
civilians to evacuate are meant to keep them out of harm’s way, the military
says. Palestinian and United Nations officials say no place is safe in Gaza and
that evacuations worsen humanitarian conditions of the population. Much of the
area around the northern towns of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia and Beit Lahiya has been
cleared of people and razed, fueling speculation that Israel intends to keep the
area as a closed buffer zone after the fighting in Gaza ends. The Israeli
military announced its new push into the Beit Hanoun area on Saturday. The
Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said it had lost communication with people
still trapped in the town, and it was unable to send teams into the area because
of the raid. On Friday, Israeli forces stormed the Kamal Adwan hospital in
northern Gaza. The military said it was being used by militants, which Hamas
denies.The raid on the hospital, one of three medical facilities on the northern
edge of Gaza, put the last major health facility in the area out of service, the
World Health Organization (WHO) said in a post on X. Some patients were
evacuated from Kamal Adwan to the Indonesian Hospital, which is not in service,
and medics were prevented from joining them there, the Health Ministry said.
Other patients and staff were taken to other medical facilities. On Sunday,
health officials said an Israeli tank shell hit the upper floor of the Al-Ahly
Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza City near the X-ray division. Meanwhile,
Palestinian health officials said Israeli military strikes across the enclave
killed at least 16 people on Sunday. One of those strikes killed seven people
and wounded others at Al-WAFA Hospital in Gaza City, the Palestinian civil
emergency service said in a statement.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the report. Israel’s campaign
against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,300 Palestinians, according to
health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million
has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.
The war was triggered by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in
which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken to Gaza as hostages, according to
Israeli tallies.
Gaza captors tortured hostages, including minors, Israeli report
says
Maayan Lubell/Maayan Lubell/JERUSALEM (Reuters)/December 29, 2024
Hostages held in Gaza were subjected to torture, including sexual and
psychological abuse, starvation, burns and medical neglect, according to a new
report by the Israeli Health Ministry that will be submitted to the United
Nations this week. The report is based on interviews with the medical and
welfare teams which treated more than 100 Israeli and foreign hostages, most of
whom were released in late November 2023, in a brief truce between Israel and
Hamas. Eight hostages were rescued by the Israeli military. The hostages include
more than 30 children and teenagers, a few of whom were found to have been
bound, beaten or branded with a heated object, according to the report addressed
to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and published late on Saturday. Women
reported sexual assault by the captors, including at gunpoint. Men were beaten,
starved, branded, held bound in isolation and denied access to a bathroom, the
report said. Some were denied treatment for injuries and medical conditions. The
report did not identify any of the hostages by name or age, to protect their
privacy, but some of the descriptions matched those provided by hostages and
staff that treated them in interviews with Reuters and other media and a U.N.
report. Hamas has repeatedly denied abuse of the 251 hostages abducted from
Israel during its Oct. 7, 2023 assault. About half of the 100 hostages still
held in Gaza are believed by Israeli authorities to still be alive. A fresh bid
to secure a Gaza ceasefire including a hostage deal has gained momentum in
recent weeks, although no breakthrough has been reported as yet. The war began
with Hamas' October 2023 attack, in which 1,200 people were killed, most of them
civilians, according to Israeli authorities. Israel's subsequent campaign
against Hamas has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians,
according to Palestinian health officials, displaced nearly all of Gaza's
population and reduced much of its territory to rubble. Israeli authorities are
investigating allegations of abuse against Palestinian detainees arrested during
the war.
Inside a Syrian 'reconciliation centre' where Assad's
soldiers give up their weapons
Yogita Limaye - Correspondent/BBC/December 29, 2024
On the night of 6 December, Mohammed el-Nadaf, a soldier in the Syrian army, was
at his position in Homs. As rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) pushed into
the city, days after they had seized control of Aleppo and Hama in a lightning
offensive, Mohammed decided he didn't want to fight. "We had no orders, no
information. I took off my uniform, left my weapons, and started to make my way
to my village in Tartous," he said. At around the same time, Mohammed Ramadan
was at a position on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus.
"There was no one to give orders to us. Many of our commanders fled before us.
So I thought, why should I die and fight for someone who didn't even give me
enough of a salary to be able to feed my family? "For our daily rations as
soldiers we got just one egg and one potato." The next morning, he also left his
position and went home. The testimony of the soldiers provides an insight into
the rapid collapse of ousted President Bashar al-Assad's regime. The abandoned
homes of Assad's ruthless enforcers Jeremy Bowen: Can Syria's new ruler keep his
promises? For many of his demoralised and poorly paid forces on the ground, the
speed at which their defence disintegrated in the face of the rebel offensive
did not come as a surprise. Many soldiers told us they were paid less than $35
(£28) a month and had to do other jobs to get by in a country where that would
only cover a fraction of basic living costs.Mohammed Ramadan was clutching the
Kalashnikov rifle he'd been previously assigned when we met him and several
others in Damascus more than two weeks after the regime fell, at a
"reconciliation centre" run by HTS. At the centre, former military, police and
intelligence officers, as well as anyone who was part of pro-Assad militia
groups, can register for a temporary civilian identity card and deposit their
weapons. HTS has announced a general amnesty for those who worked for the former
regime.
Guns in a wooden crate
Waleed Abdrabuh, a member of the group looking after the reconciliation centres
in Damascus, said: "The goal is to have the weapons issued by the former regime
to be returned to the state. And for the members of the forces to get a civilian
ID so that they can be re-integrated into society."Under Assad, conscription
into the army was mandatory for adult males. Conscripts had to hand in their
civilian IDs and were given military IDs instead. Without a civilian ID it would
be hard to get a job or move around freely in the country, which partly explains
why tens of thousands have showed up at centres in various cities. At the centre
in Damascus, formerly an office of Assad's Baath Party, hundreds of men were
thronging to the gate, hankering to be let in.
Many of them were keen to distance themselves from the crimes of the regime. "I
didn't participate in any of their bad deeds. I consider them despicable acts. I
did everything to avoid being a part of massacres and crimes against Syrians,"
Mohammed al-Nadaf said. "I even tried to leave the military twice because I knew
I was on the wrong side. But it was not possible to escape. The military had all
my civilian documents." Somar al-Hamwi, who served in the military for 24 years,
said: "Most people don't know anything, OK? For me, I don't know what happened
in Saydnaya or any of the prisons."The BBC cannot independently verify their
claims.
'I felt like a breathing corpse': Stories from people freed from Saydnaya
Anger at the regime and Assad's decision to flee to Russia on 7 December as the
rebels approached Damascus was also palpable. "He [Bashar al-Assad] took a lot
of money and ran away. He left all these people, all of us military to our own
destiny," said Somar. There were many worried faces among the crowds at the
reconciliation centre, but the environment appeared relatively amicable despite
the 13-year civil war that left more than half a million people dead. "Everyone
told me it is safe, and to go and make a settlement at the centre. The safety
assurance made by HTS has made a big difference," said Mohammed al-Nadaf. But
from different parts of Syria, reports of suspected revenge attacks involving
killing, kidnapping and arson are increasingly coming in. There are no reliable
statistics confirming how many attacks have taken place but dozens have been
reported on social media. In the past week, three judges who arbitrated
property-related matters in the previously regime-controlled town of Masyaf in
north-western Syria - Mounzer Hassan, Mohammed Mahmoud and Youssef Ghanoum -
were killed. Sources from the hospital where their bodies were examined have
told the BBC they were struck in the head by a sharp object. We went to Alamerea
village to visit the home of Mounzer Hassan. It was bare, cold, and looked like
it needed repairs.
Mounzer's wife, Nadine Abdullah, told us she believed her husband was targeted
because he was an Alawite - the minority sect from which the Assad family
originates, and to which many of the former regime's political and military
elite belonged. "Since they were civil, not criminal court judges, I think they
were killed simply because they were Alawites. All Alawites did not benefit from
Bashar al-Assad. Those who worked for the regime were forced to follow orders,
otherwise brutal measures would be imposed on them," Nadine said.
Mounzer's brother Nazir said: "This is a crime against an innocent person. It's
unacceptable. Those being killed had no connection to the politics of the
regime. They were just working to support their poor families." Mounzer was the
father of four young children, and was the only wage earner in his family, also
looking after his ailing father and brother. His family said they were speaking
out because they want such deaths prevented in future. "Everyone says HTS did
not commit the crime. But as the governing authority now, they must find out who
did it. They have to ensure protection for all of us," Nadine said. HTS's
interim government has condemned the killing of the judges and said it will find
the perpetrators. It has also denied being involved in any reprisal killings.
Protests were held in Masyaf following the killing of the judges, and many
Alawites have told the BBC they are now worried for their safety. While HTS has
announced an amnesty for Assad's forces, they have also said those involved in
torture and killing will be held to account. That will be a difficult balance to
strike.A few weeks since the fall of the regime, it is a delicate moment for
Syria.
Syria's de facto leader says holding elections could take
up to four years
Reuters/Sun, December 29, 2024
CAIRO (Reuters) - Holding elections in Syria could take up to four years,
Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said in an interview with Al Arabiya on
Sunday, the first time he has commented on a possible timetable for elections
since Bashar al-Assad was ousted this month. Drafting a new constitution could
take up to three years, Sharaa said in excerpts from the interview with the
Saudi state-owned broadcaster. He also said it would take about a year for
Syrians to see drastic changes. Sharaa leads the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that
ousted Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, ending decades of Assad family rule and a
13-year civil war. He said HTS will be dissolved in a national dialogue
conference. On foreign ties, Sharaa said Syria has strategic interests with
Russia. Russia has military bases in Syria, was a close Assad ally during the
long civil war and has granted Assad asylum. Sharaa said earlier this month that
Syria's relations with Russia should serve common interests. Sharaa also said he
hopes the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will lift
sanctions imposed on Syria. Senior U.S. diplomats who visited Damascus this
month said Sharaa came across as pragmatic and that Washington has decided to
remove a $10 million bounty on the HTS leader's head.
Saudi Arabia has a major role in Syria’s future, Al-Sharaa says
Arab News/December 29, 2024
RIYADH: Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa said Saudi Arabia has a major role to
play in his country’s future during an interview with Al Arabiya aired on
Sunday. “Saudi Arabia has a major role in Syria’s future, and I take pride in
everything it has done for us,” he said, adding that he spent his early
childhood in Riyadh and hopes to visit the city again. Al-Sharaa also praised
recent Saudi statements as “very positive” and commended Riyadh’s efforts toward
stabilizing Syria. He added that the Kingdom has major investment opportunities
in Syria.
Speaking about elections in the country, Al-Sharaa said organizing polls in
Syria could take up to four years as it requires a comprehensive population
census. He said drafting a new constitution could take three years. Al-Sharaa is
Syria’s de facto leader until March 1, when Syria’s different factions are set
to hold a political dialogue to determine the country’s political future and
establish a transitional government that brings the divided country together.
There, he said, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham will dissolve after years of being the
country’s most dominant militant group that held a strategic enclave in the
country’s northwest. He also expressed hope that the administration of US
president-elect Donald Trump would lift sanctions on his country after Bashar
Assad’s ouster. “The sanctions on Syria were issued based on the crimes that the
regime committed,” Al-Sharaa said. Since HTS and allied militants had ousted
Assad, “these sanctions should be removed automatically,” he said. Speaking
about Syrian-Russian relations, he said the two countries shared “deep strategic
interests.”He expressed his desire to rebuild ties with the close ally of Assad
and said: “Russia is an important country and is considered the second most
powerful country in the world.”He added: “All Syria’s arms are of Russian
origin, and many power plants are managed by Russian experts... We do not want
Russia to leave Syria in the way that some wish.” The HTS leader also said
negotiations are ongoing with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in
northeastern Syria, and hopes that their armed forces will integrate with the
Syrian security agencies. The Kurdish-led group is Washington’s key ally in
Syria, where it is heavily involved in targeting Daesh sleeper cells.
Syria's dwindling Jewish community can visit one of the
world's oldest synagogues again
Bassem Mroue/JOBAR, Syria (AP)/December 29, 2024
JOBAR, Syria (AP) — In this Damascus suburb, the handful of remaining Jews in
Syria can again make pilgrimages to one of the world’s oldest synagogues where
people from throughout the region once came to pray. Syria’s 13-year civil war
left the synagogue partially destroyed. Walls and roofs have collapsed. Some
artifacts are missing. A marble sign in Arabic at the gate says it was first
built 720 years before Christ. Since insurgents overthrew President Bashar Assad
in early December, people have been able to safely visit the widely destroyed
Jobar suburb that was pounded for years by government forces while in the hands
of opposition fighters. Syria was once home to one of the world's largest Jewish
communities. Those numbers have shrunk dramatically, especially after the state
of Israel was created in 1948. Today, only nine Jews live in Syria, according to
the head of the community, almost all older men and women. The community
believes that no Syrian Jews will remain in the country in a few years.
One of the people visiting the Jobar Synagogue, also known as Eliyahu Hanavi
synagogue, on Thursday was gray-haired Bakhour Chamntoub, the head of the
community in Syria. “This synagogue means a lot to us,” the 74-year-old told The
Associated Press during his first visit in 15 years. Chamntoub had heard the
synagogue was damaged, but he did not expect to see that part of it had been
reduced to a pile of debris. “I am frankly disturbed,” he said. Chamntoub said
Jewish people from around the world have been calling him to say they are ready
to help rebuild. He had refused to leave Syria during the war, while all 12 of
his siblings left. He said he was happy in Syria and surrounded by people who
respect him. Chamntoub said he had been one of the few Jews who openly spoke
about his faith, adding that he never faced discrimination. He said other Jews
preferred not to speak openly for safety reasons amid the animosity in Syria
toward archenemy Israel and fears of being labeled spies or collaborators. The
Jewish community in Syria dates back to the prophet Elijah’s Damascus sojourn
nearly 3,000 years ago. After 1099, when Christian armies conquered Jerusalem in
the First Crusade and massacred the city’s Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, some
50,000 Jews reportedly fled to Damascus, making up nearly a third of residents.
Another wave of Jews later arrived from Europe, fleeing the Spanish Inquisition
that began in 1492. The community in Syria numbered about 100,000 at the start
of the 20th century. In the years surrounding Israel's creation, Syrian Jews
faced increased tensions and restrictions. Many emigrated to Israel, the United
States and other countries.
Under the Assad family's 54-year dynasty, Jews in Syria enjoyed freedom in
performing religious duties, but community members were prevented from traveling
outside the country to prevent them from going to Israel until the early 1990s.
Once travel restrictions were lifted after Arab-Israeli peace talks started,
many more left.
Before Syria’s conflict began in 2011, Chamntoub and other remaining community
members came on Saturdays to Jobar for prayers. He recalled Torahs written on
gazelle leather, chandeliers, tapestries and carpets. All are gone, likely
stolen by looters. Barakat Hazroumi, a Muslim born and raised near the
synagogue, recounted how worshipers on Saturdays asked him to turn on the lights
or light a candle since Jews are not allowed to do physical labor on the
Sabbath. “It was a beautiful religious place,” Hazroumi said of the synagogue,
which at some point during the war was protected by rebels. It and the whole
destroyed suburb “needs to be reconstructed from scratch.” Assad’s forces
recaptured Jobar from rebels in 2018 but imposed tight security, preventing many
people from reaching the area. The new rulers of Syria, led by the Islamist
group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have said they will allow members of all religions
to perform their religious duties freely. There have been some sectarian attacks
but mostly against members of Assad's minority Alawite sect. After visiting the
synagogue, Chamntoub returned to his home in old Damascus, close to the private
Jewish school known as Maimonides that was founded in 1944 but has been closed
for decades. Posters in Hebrew remain on the walls. The area is known as the
Jewish quarter. Many old homes have doors and windows closed with pieces of
metal and a sign in Arabic saying: “The real estate is closed by the state's
Higher Committee for the Affairs of Jews.”As the Jewish community has shrunk, it
has also struggled to find kosher food. Chamntoub receives packages of meat from
siblings in the U.S. at least once a year via people traveling to Syria. In the
past, he went to the chicken market with a Jewish friend who would slaughter
them, but the man now can hardly walk. Chamntoub mostly eats vegetarian dishes.
Almost every morning, he cooks for himself and a Jewish woman in the area with
no remaining relatives in Syria. The woman, 88-year-old Firdos Mallakh, sat on a
couch Thursday under two blankets. When asked to greet an AP journalist with
“Shabbat Shalom,” she replied it was not yet time. “Today is Thursday and
tomorrow is Friday,” she said. Chamntoub, who makes a living as a landlord,
asked Mallakh why she had not turned on the gas heater. Mallakh said she did not
want to waste gas. Chamntoub hopes that with the fall of Assad, Syrians will
enjoy more freedoms, economic and otherwise. In the past, he said, authorities
prevented him from giving interviews without permission from the security
agencies. “I am a Jew and I am proud of it,” he said. But with so few remaining
in Damascus, the city's synagogues see no services. Chamntoub is marking the
eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which began on Wednesday, alone at home.
Bassem Mroue, The Associated Press
A plane crashes and bursts into flames while landing in
South Korea, killing 179
Hyung-jin Kim And Kim Tong-hyung/SEOUL, South Korea (AP)/December 29, 2024
A passenger plane skidded off a runway at a South Korean airport Sunday, slammed
into a concrete fence and burst into flames after its front landing gear
apparently failed to deploy. All but two of the 181 people on board died in one
of the country’s worst aviation disasters.
The Jeju Air plane crashed while landing in the town of Muan, about 290
kilometers (180 miles) south of Seoul. The Transport Ministry said the plane was
a 15-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet that had arrived from Bangkok and that the
crash happened at 9:03 a.m. A total of 179 people — 85 women, 84 men and 10
others whose genders weren’t immediately identifiable — died in the fire, the
South Korean fire agency said. Emergency workers pulled two people, both crew
members, to safety. Health officials said they are conscious and not in
life-threatening condition. Among the 177 bodies so far found, officials have so
far identified 88 of them, the fire agency said. The passengers were
predominantly South Korean, as well as two Thai nationals. Ju Woong, director of
the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, where one of the survivors was
hospitalized, said the man was being treated in an intensive care unit for
fractures to his ribs, shoulder blade and upper spine. Ju said the man, whose
name wasn't released, told doctors he “woke up to find (himself) rescued."
Footage of the crash aired by South Korean television channels showed the plane
skidding across the airstrip at high speed, apparently with its landing gear
still closed, overrunning the runway and colliding head-on with a concrete wall
on the outskirts of the facility, triggering an explosion. Other local TV
stations aired footage showing thick plumes of black smoke billowing from the
plane, which was engulfed in flames. Lee Jeong-hyeon, chief of the Muan fire
station, told a televised briefing that the plane was completely destroyed, with
only the tail assembly remaining recognizable among the wreckage. Lee said that
workers were looking into various possibilities about what caused the crash,
including whether the aircraft was struck by birds, Lee said.
Transport Ministry officials later said their early assessment of communication
records show the airport control tower issued a bird strike warning to the plane
shortly before it intended to land and gave its pilot permission to land in a
different area. The pilot sent out a distress signal shortly before the crash,
officials said.Senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan said workers have
retrieved the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the plane’s black box.
He said it may take months for investigators to complete their probe. The runway
at the Muan airport will be closed until Jan. 1, the ministry said. Thailand’s
prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed deep condolences to the
families of those affected by the accident in a post on social platform X.
Paetongtarn said she ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide
assistance immediately.
Boonchuay Duangmanee, the father of a Thai victim, told The Associated Press
that his daughter, Jongluk, had been working in a factory in South Korea for
several years and had returned to Thailand to visit her family. “I heard that
the plane exploded in Korea this morning. But I did not expect at all that my
daughter would be on this flight,” he said. "I never thought that this would be
the last time we would see each other forever.” Kerati Kijmanawat, the director
of Airports of Thailand, confirmed in a statement that Jeju Air flight 7C 2216
departed from Suvarnabhumi Airport with no reports of abnormal conditions with
the aircraft or on the runway. Jeju Air in a statement expressed its “deep
apology” over the crash and said it will do its “utmost to manage the aftermath
of the accident.”
In a televised news conference, Kim E-bae, Jeju Air’s president, bowed deeply
with other senior company officials as he apologized to bereaved families and
said he feels “full responsibility” for the incident. Kim said the company
hadn’t identified any mechanical problems with the aircraft following regular
checkups and that he would wait for the results of government investigations
into the cause of the incident. Family members wailed as officials announced the
names of some victims at a lounge in the Muan airport.
Boeing said in a statement on X it was in contact with Jeju Air and is ready to
support the company in dealing with the crash. “We extend our deepest
condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with
the passengers and crew,” Boeing said.
The incident came as South Korea is embroiled into a huge political crisis
triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and
ensuing impeachment. Last Friday, South Korean lawmakers impeached acting
President Han Duck-soo and suspended his duties, leading Deputy Prime Minister
Choi Sang-mok to take over. Choi, who traveled to the site in Muan, called for
officials to employ all available resources to find the missing and identify the
victims as soon as possible. The government declared Muan a special disaster
zone to provide assistance to the families of victims and designated a weeklong
national mourning period through Saturday. Yoon’s office said his chief
secretary, Chung Jin-suk, presided over an emergency meeting between senior
presidential staff to discuss the crash and reported the details to Choi. Yoon
expressed condolences to the victims in a Facebook posting. During his Angelus
prayer in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said he joins in “prayer for
the survivors and the dead.” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he was
“deeply saddened by the loss of many precious lives” in a message released
through Tokyo’s Foreign Ministry. The Muan crash is one of the deadliest
disasters in South Korea’s aviation history. The last time South Korea suffered
a large-scale air disaster was in 1997, when a Korean Airline plane crashed in
Guam, killing 228 people on board. In 2013, an Asiana Airlines plane
crash-landed in San Francisco, killing three and injuring approximately 200.
Sunday’s accident was also one of the worst landing mishaps since a July 2007
crash that killed all 187 people on board and 12 others on the ground when an
Airbus A320 slid off a slick airstrip in Sao Paulo and collided with a nearby
building, according to data compiled by the Flight Safety Foundation, a
nonprofit group aimed at improving air safety. In 2010, 158 people died when an
Air India Express aircraft overshot a runway in Mangalore, India, and plummeted
into a gorge before erupting into flames, according to the safety foundation.
Turkey's imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader says he is willing
to work with authorities for peace
ISTANBUL (AP)/December 29, 2024
Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of Turkey's banned Kurdistan Workers’
Party, or PKK, has said that he is willing to contribute to peace between Turks
and Kurds, in a statement issued by the pro-Kurdish DEM party Sunday.
“I possess the necessary competence and determination to contribute positively
to the new paradigm supported by Mr. Bahçeli and Mr. Erdoğan,” the statement
read, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his nationalist
ally, Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP. Ocalan
has been serving a life term in prison on the Imrali island off Istanbul since
1999, after being convicted of treason. The PKK has been fighting for an
autonomous state in Turkey’s southeast since 1984, and the violence has claimed
tens of thousands of lives. The group is considered a terrorist organization by
Turkey and its Western allies. Devlet Bahceli, who has traditionally maintained
a hardline stance against the PKK, had surprised everyone in October when he
suggested in parliament that Ocalan could be granted parole if he renounced
violence and disbanded the PKK. Erdogan offered tacit support for his ally a
week later. At the time Ocalan himself had said he was ready to work for peace
in a message conveyed by his nephew. Two senior members of DEM, or the Peoples’
Equality and Democracy Party, Pervin Buldan and Sirri Sureyya Onder met with
Ocalan at his prison island on Saturday. The meeting was closed to the press,
and no details were released until the following day. Sunday’s one-page
statement offers bullet points of what was discussed in the meeting, namely a
call for all parties to work together for peace. “This is an era of peace,
democracy, and fraternity for Turkey and the region,” reads the statement’s last
line.
Turkey announces $14 billion regional development plan for Kurdish southeast
Nevzat Devranoglu/SANLIURFA, Turkey (Reuters)/December 29, 2024
Turkey announced on Sunday a $14 billion regional development plan that aims to
reduce the economic gap between its mainly Kurdish southeast region and the rest
of the country. The announcement comes amid increased hopes for an end to a
decades-long insurgency waged by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in
southeast Turkey as well as the advent of a new leadership in neighbouring Syria
with cordial ties to Ankara. The eastern and southeastern provinces of Turkey
have long lagged behind other regions of the country in most economic indicators
including gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, partly as a result of the
insurgency. Turkish Industry Minister Fatih Kacir told reporters in the
southeastern city of Sanliurfa that the government would spend a total 496.2
billion lira ($14.15 billion) on 198 projects across the region in the period to
2028. "With the implementation of the projects, we anticipate an additional
49,000 lira ($1,400) increase in annual income per capita in the region," he
added. According to 2023 data, the per capita income of Sanliurfa stood at
$4,971, well below the national average of $13,243.
Regarding the prospects for peace in southeast Turkey, two Turkish lawmakers met
the PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan on Saturday, the first such visit in a
nearly a decade, and they quoted him as indicating he might be ready to call on
the group's militants to lay down their weapons. The visit followed a call by a
close ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Ocalan to end the PKK's
40-year insurgency, in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. The
conflict between the Turkish state and PKK, now centred on northern Iraq, was
mainly focused in southeast Turkey in the past. "Terrorism has caused great harm
to eastern and southeastern regions of the country... A terror-free Turkey will
create great benefit to the region," Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said
on Sunday at the event in Sanliurfa.
Turkey and Western countries classify the PKK as a terrorist organisation.
Yilmaz also referred to recent developments in Syria, where Islamist rebels
backed by Turkey took power this month after the overthrow of President Bashar
al-Assad and his flight to Russia. "The opportunities that will come with the
new era in Syria will increase the welfare of our entire country. Our
southeastern region will benefit more from these developments," Yilmaz said. ($1
= 35.0702 liras)
(Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu, Editing by Huseyin Hayatsever and Gareth Jones)
Azerbaijan's president says crashed jetliner was shot down
by Russia unintentionally
The Canadian Press/The Associated Press/December 29, 2024
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that the Azerbaijani airliner
that crashed last week was shot down by Russia, albeit unintentionally, and
criticized Moscow for trying to “hush up” the issue for days.
"We can say with complete clarity that the plane was shot down by Russia. (...)
We are not saying that it was done intentionally, but it was done,” he told
Azerbaijani state television. Aliyev said that the airliner, which crashed
Wednesday in Kazakhstan, was hit by fire from the ground over Russia and
“rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare." Aliyev accused Russia of trying
to “hush up” the issue for several days, saying he was “upset and surprised” by
versions of events put forward by Russian officials. “Unfortunately, for the
first three days we heard nothing from Russia except delirious versions,” he
said. The crash killed 38 of 67 people on board. The Kremlin said that air
defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian
republic of Chechnya, where the plane attempted to land, to deflect a Ukrainian
drone strike. Aliyev said Azerbaijan made three demands to Russia in connection
with the crash. “First, the Russian side must apologize to Azerbaijan. Second,
it must admit its guilt. Third, punish the guilty, bring them to criminal
responsibility and pay compensation to the Azerbaijani state, the injured
passengers and crew members,” he said. Aliyev noted that the first demand was
“already fulfilled” when Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to him on
Saturday. Putin called the crash a “tragic incident" though stopped short of
acknowledging Moscow’s responsibility.
He said that an investigation into the crash was ongoing, and that “the final
version (of events) will be known after the black boxes are opened.”
He noted that Azerbaijan was always “in favor of a group of international
experts” investigating the crash, and had “categorically refused” Russia’s
suggestion that the Interstate Aviation Committee, which oversees civil aviation
in the Commonwealth of Independent States, investigate it.
“It is no secret that this organization consists mostly of Russian officials and
is headed by Russian citizens. The factors of objectivity could not be fully
ensured here,” Aliyev said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media on Sunday that Putin
had spoken to Aliyev over the phone again, but did not provide details of the
conversation. The Kremlin also said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan
and Kazakhstan was underway at the crash site near the city of Aktau in
Kazakhstan. The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when
it turned toward Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers (miles) across the Caspian
Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they
heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny. Dmitry Yadrov,
head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the
plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were
targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic. The
crash is the second deadly civil aviation accident linked to fighting in
Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed with a Russian surface-to-air
missile, killing all 298 people aboard, as it flew over the area in eastern
Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists in 2014. Russia has denied
responsibility, but a Dutch court in 2022 convicted two Russians and a
pro-Russia Ukrainian man for their role in downing the plane with an air defense
system brought into Ukraine from a Russian military base.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on December
29-30/2024
Blame Hamas and Hezbollah for Civilian Deaths, Not Israel
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/December 29, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/138505/
Whether it is using schools, hospitals and other public buildings that are
supposed to be afforded immunity in conflict under international law, or simply
using Palestinian civilians as human shields, Hamas terrorists have consistently
jeopardised the well-being of those they purport to defend.
Another area where Hamas deliberately intensifies the suffering of Palestinian
civilians as a means of pressuring Israel to end its military offensive is by
denying Palestinian families access to much-needed aid supplies.
When the Gazans, for whom the aid is intended, try to approach it, there have
been reports of Hamas operatives shooting them.
If the Biden administration and its allies in the media, the United Nations and
the European Union really want to see a peaceful resolution of the conflicts in
Gaza and Lebanon, then they should direct their criticism of the wilful
mistreatment of civilians towards Hamas and Hezbollah, and their backers, not
Israel.
Ending the malign operations of terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah is
the best means of ending the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon respectively, and
providing ordinary Palestinians and Lebanese with a genuine opportunity to make
a better life for themselves.
Another area where Hamas deliberately intensifies the suffering of Palestinian
civilians is by denying Palestinian families access to much-needed aid supplies.
When the Gazans, for whom the aid is intended, try to approach it, there have
been reports of Hamas operatives shooting them.
If Western politicians and aid agencies want to apportion blame for the high
death tolls in the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, then they need look no further
than the Iranian-backed terror groups cynically risking the lives of innocent
civilians to achieve their diabolical agenda.
From the moment Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists launched their deadly attack
against Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1,200 people and taking another
250 or so hostage, Hamas terrorists have shown a wilful disregard for the lives
and well-being of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Whether it is using schools, hospitals and other public buildings that are
supposed to be afforded immunity in conflict under international law, or simply
using Palestinian civilians as human shields, Hamas terrorists have consistently
jeopardised the well-being of those they purport to defend.
It is a similar picture in Lebanon, where it is now clear that Iranian-backed
Hezbollah fighters have deliberately located their missile stockpiles and
command centres within densely-populated civilian areas.
While the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have implemented a range of measures in
both Gaza and Lebanon to avoid civilian casualties -- which includes encouraging
civilians to leave their homes in advance of military action -- Western
politicians and aid agencies invariably blame Israel for any civilian
casualties, when they should really be blaming the Hamas and Hezbollah
terrorists who deliberately put their own people in harm's way in the first
place.
Western governments and the significant sections of the media are simply not
subjecting civilian casualty rates in Gaza and Hezbollah to sufficient scrutiny.
In Gaza, for example, where most of the casualty figures are provided by the
Hamas-run health ministry, Western politicians all-too-frequently assume that
the claims that more than 40,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed as a
result of Israeli military action at face value.
No mention is made of the fact that a significant proportion of those casualties
are in fact Hamas terrorists who have been killed fighting against the IDF.
Recent estimates place the number of Hamas terrorists killed in Gaza during the
past year of intensive fighting at something approaching 20,000, which would
account for a significant proportion of the civilian casualty figures provided
by the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
Another area where Hamas deliberately intensifies the suffering of Palestinian
civilians as a means of pressuring Israel to end its military offensive is by
denying Palestinian families access to much-needed aid supplies.
While the Biden administration and international aid agencies, especially those
working for the United Nations, have consistently criticised Israel for failing
to provide adequate supplies of aid to Gaza, it is now generally recognised that
Hamas almost exclusively controls the aid distribution network.
When the Gazans, for whom the aid is intended, try to approach it, there have
been reports of Hamas operatives shooting them (such as here, here, here, here,
here and here).
Rather than criticising Israel for the aid shortages in Gaza, therefore, the
Biden administration, which has threatened to withhold arms supplies to Israel
unless there is an improvement in aid supplies, would be better advised to focus
its attention on Hamas and its backers in Iran and Qatar if it is genuinely
interested in alleviating the suffering of Palestinian civilians.
The cynical exploitation of ordinary Palestinians by Hamas leaders is evident
from the lavish lifestyle Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar enjoyed with his family in
his bunker beneath the impoverished Palestinian district of Khan Younis in Gaza.
While Palestinian women and children living above his hideout faced starvation,
Sinwar and his family enjoyed living in cosy living quarters deep below ground
which had an abundance of UN food supplies, thousands of half a billion dollars
in cash and their own shower.
It is not only in Gaza that Iranian-backed terrorists are cynically exploiting
the plight of civilians while the terrorists themselves enjoy a life of luxury
and opulence.
It is a similar story in Lebanon, where the latest revelations show that
Iranian-backed Hezbollah leaders have been hiding hundreds of millions of
dollars -- including half a billion reportedly belonging to Hezbollah's recently
assassinated secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah -- in cash and gold in a "money
bunker" located under a hospital in Beirut.
According to the latest details provided by the IDF, the treasure trove was
funnelled from Iran as part of an arrangement with the terror group's former
leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike this year.
The revelations about the cash hoard comes in the wake of allegations that
Hezbollah has been deliberately storing its arsenal of long-range missiles in
civilian homes to avoid detection by the IDF. This has prompted the Israelis to
make repeated warnings to Lebanese civilians in the area to leave their homes
ahead of possible Israeli military action.
Given the willingness of Iranian proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah to
sacrifice the well-being of civilians for their own perverse ends, it is hardly
surprising that there is growing evidence of widespread disaffection among both
Palestinians and Lebanese at their tactics.
In both Gaza and Lebanon a growing proportion of the civilian population would
reportedly like to be freed from the oppression they suffer at the hands of
Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists, a fact Western leaders and international aid
agencies must take on board when weighing up their approach to the deepening
conflict in the Middle East.
If the Biden administration and its allies in the media, the United Nations and
European Union really want to see a peaceful resolution of the conflicts in Gaza
and Lebanon, then they should direct their criticism of the wilful mistreatment
of civilians towards Hamas and Hezbollah and their backers, not Israel.
Ending the malign operations of terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah is
the best means of ending the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon respectively, and
providing ordinary Palestinians and Lebanese with a genuine opportunity to make
a better life for themselves.
**Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a
Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21250/hamas-hezbollah-civilian-deaths
Israel should strike Iran now, paving way for Trump 2.0
Seth Cropsey/The Hill/December 29/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/12/138509/
The recent shift n geopolitical events against Iran and its proxies provides
Israel with a clear opportunity — and the second Trump administration with one
as well. Israel must strike Iran now, hitting any number of high-value targets
within the Islamic Republic. This sets the stage for the second Trump
administration to go beyond just miaximum pressure, and target the heart of the
Iranian regime.
By providing Mr. Trump with an alternative to the first anti-Iranian coalition
through a muscular demonstration of Israeli power, Jerusalem can provide
Washington enormous leverage over the New Eurasian Axis.
The collapse of the Assad regime should remind observers of international events
of two basic facts. First, the strength of authoritarian states can dissipate
without any apparent warning. Bashar al-Assad was thought to have won the Syrian
Civil War quite handily after 2020. The Gulf States and Europeans, when the
Islamist rebel group HTS began its offensive in early December, were in midst of
a year-long process to rehabilitate the Assad regime and integrate it back into
regional political structures.
Assad was viewed as having options and may have been able to choose between his
Iranian and Russian backers in a manner relevant to the broader, ongoing
Eurasian crisis. Yet just a few weeks later, the Assad regime has vanished.
Despite expectations that Syria’s various minorities, from the Assad-aligned
Alawites to Syrian Christians, Druze and others would resist an Islamist group’s
offensive, the entire political-military structure unraveled.
There was no last stand in Damascus. Nor was there a dogged defense of the
majority Alawite areas in Latakia and Tartus governorates. Russia in particular
has noted the collapse of its most crucial regional partner, under two years
after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s putsch attempt took Wagner Group columns to the
outskirts of Moscow. Second, international crises intersect in unexpected,
largely chaotic ways that produce shocking outcomes — or more accurately, expose
extant weaknesses. The Assad regime was never strong enough to withstand
sustained opposition absent overwhelming external support. Assad’s forces
defeated Syria’s various rebel groups in the 2010s not because of ideological
commitment to Assadist Baathism, or even fear of Sunni Jihadist domination, but
because Iran and Russia committed extensive resources to keep Assad in power.
Iran deployed the bulk of Hezbollah’s ground forces to support Assad, while
providing cash, weapons, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operatives
to coordinate various proxy forces. Russia initially provided weapons and cash,
and from 2015 onward used airpower, naval forces and some special operators to
pummel the rebels into submission, while working with Iran to create a
full-fledged combined and joint staff. But Russia’s assault on Ukraine has
limited its ability to act in the Middle East. The aircraft Assad needed to bomb
rebel supply lines were largely redirected to Ukraine. The airfields from which
Russian strategic bombers would launch strikes on Syria are under Ukrainian
drone attack. Russian naval forces cannot simply transit the Turkish Straits,
given Ankara has closed them since late February 2022.
And the rapid-deployment forces Russia would call on to fight on the ground,
whether Russia’s paratroopers and special operators or Wagner Group and other
mercenary organizations, have been battered after three years of combat in
Ukraine. Iran, meanwhile, has experienced significant damage over the past
year-plus of war with Israel. Hezbollah has lost its command structure and taken
heavy casualties since September, limiting its ability to deploy in support of
Assad. Israel has killed a number of IRGC liaison officers from its strike on
Damascus in April onward. Iran was thus in no position to react to a
rapidly-developing crisis. In a direct confrontation, isolated from its
international backers, the Assad regime thus predictably collapsed.
This opens up a clear opportunity for Israel. It also has direct implications
for U.S. strategy. The Assad regime was crucial to Iran’s strategy. Transit of
Syrian territory enabled Iran to sustain Hezbollah in Lebanon, threaten Israel
from two axes in the north, pressure Jordan through cross-border drug smuggling,
and transfer arms to Iran’s partners in the West Bank. Critically, Iran could
also forward-deploy several air defense and early warning radars in Syria.
Given Saudi Arabia concluded a modus vivendi with Iran in 2023, Israel cannot
strike Iran by transiting Saudi airspace. It must follow a corridor over Syria
and Iraq instead. When combined with long-range radars based in Iran, Iraqi air
defenses, and a variety of aging but numerous anti-air systems, the Syrian
early-warning radars allowed Iran to detect an Israeli strike at any significant
scale, particularly because of fuel consumption issues if Israeli aircraft were
to fly at low altitudes for such a distance.
Without Syrian-provided early warning, a strike against targets in Iran becomes
much more practical. Israel is surely considering this today. Iran’s hold on
Iraq may also be in jeopardy. Once one proxy falls, others will begin to chafe
under Iranian domination, particular actors like the Iraqi Sadrists who opposed
the U.S. in Iraq but also view Iran with extreme suspicion.
If Israel could pull off a strike on the Iranian nuclear program in the coming
weeks — or against other critical targets in Iran from arms factories to
intelligence and security institutions — then the Iranian state may well face a
broader domestic and regional backlash, with each actor it has contained sensing
weakness. Israel may be tempted to wait until Trump’s inauguration to move
against Iran. This is a mistake. The president-elect’s administration will take
a distinctly hawkish stance towards Iran, particularly because amongst its
personnel, pressure on Iran is a natural point of strategic, ideological and
prudential-political agreement — especially because Iran took the extravagantly
imprudent step of trying to assassinate the president-elect.
However, once the Trump administration sets U.S. Middle East policy on a more
rational bent than that of the past few years, it will face a distinct
challenge. It cannot simply resurrect the anti-Iranian coalition of the late
2010s, enshrined through the Abraham Accords. Nor will the levers of the
previous maximum pressure campaign be entirely available given the resilience
Iran has cultivated through its relationships with Russia and China.
Instead, the U.S. needs a new strategy to apply pressure on Tehran, one that
incorporates sanctions, threats and action against proxies, and intelligence
operations to degrade what remains of Iran’s Axis of Resistance.
Creating this strategy will take time. An Israeli attack on Iran directly,
whether against the nuclear program or other critical targets in the country,
will help set the parameters for U.S. policy towards Iran, and open other
possibilities for American action to end the radical clerics’ rule.
The departing Biden administration can be counted on to oppose any effort by
Israel to topple Iran, the source of the warfare that has engulfed the Middle
East since Oct. 7, 2023. But Trump possesses a clearer understanding, and his
administration should welcome a new approach, one that redefines maximum
pressure on Iran.
***Seth Cropsey is president of Yorktown Institute. He served as a naval officer
and as deputy Undersecretary of the Navy and is the author of “Mayday” and “Seablindness.”
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
https://thehill.com/opinion/5058156-israel-strike-iran-trump/
On Neutrality, Objectivity, and Nations
Jumah Boukleb/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 29/2024
However different their opinions, ideas, and stances on public or international
issues, objectivity remains a fundamental principle that unites all analysts,
columnists, and commentators. This principle demands that each and every one of
them be careful to avoid ever projecting their sentiments and personal biases
with the facts of the matter they are analyzing and commenting on. Only with
constant vigilance and an appropriate distance from the event being analyzed can
they lay things out without personal biases and emotions.
However, they sometimes fail when the writer/commentator/analyst is closely
linked to the subject matter. When this happens, objectivity obtains a different
definition or goes in a different direction. We notice this when writers and
commentators express their opinions on issues related to their own countries,
especially during times of crisis. One can sense, in my own writing for this
newspaper, especially my columns on the situation in my country, Libya, the
intense fury I feel over the disasters and calamities happening there. Because
of my love for my country and my deep fear for its future, I can sometimes
unintentionally abandon my vigilance and overlook the need to maintain a
reasonable distance from events, observing the overall picture from afar to make
out its details. I do not apologize for this, following the saying of Allah:
"God does not burden any soul with more than it can bear."
I don't think I am the only commentator who feels this way. Indeed, writing or
commenting on issues about one’s country, in my opinion, is different from
writing about other matters. It is usually imbued with heartfelt emotions that
stem from the belief that the crises and events unfolding in our countries
affect us negatively or positively, even if we live thousands of miles away. If
we were to suppress our feelings and sentiments and conceal our positions, we
would be committing a crime against ourselves and our people. This is the first
point.
Secondly, whether we like it or not, I believe that a writer simply cannot
remain neutral about developments in their country. We either support and stand
by our country, or we oppose and critique it. Thus, I believe there is no place
for neutrality regarding the events occurring in our homeland. Loyalty to a
country and its people makes having a position mandatory. Neutrality and
maintaining a considerable distance from certain events to preserve objectivity,
in my opinion, do not apply when one’s nation risks division, as is particularly
true for the current situation in Libya. Of course, that is not to say that we
completely abandon objectivity. Objectivity, in the context of writing about
one’s homeland, takes on a different form. It becomes aligning with the homeland
and its people. This involves maintaining an equal distance from all the parties
of a conflict, without hesitation to condemn those who deserve condemnation and
always looking to find attention to the silver lining in every development. The
goal is to expand the scope of agreement and to ward off threats by minimizing
areas of disagreement. It involves constantly urging all parties to take paths
that bridge differences and facilitate rapprochement. All of this should be done
with form and style that clearly stresses what needs to be said without evading
it or seeking to flatter.
While restraining emotions and feelings regarding matters concerning the
homeland can sometimes be beneficial, it is often ineffective. Indeed, the
interests of the homeland are essentially personal interests, and defending them
is essentially self-defense. Objectivity on the issues and crises of one’s
homeland means positively aligns with one’s country. It is not a betrayal of the
country’s people like burying one’s head in the sand like an ostrich. It also
means not placating one party at the expense of others, in pursuit of personal
gain that could bring immediate reward but will backfire on the long term.
The path to peace and stability in the Arab world
Dr. Turki Faisal Al-Rasheed/Arab News/December 28, 2024
The Arab world stands at a crossroads, its strategic significance having drawn
the attention of global powers for over a century. This focus has often
entangled the region in a complex web of international conspiracies and
alliances, stifling its progress and development. The historical backdrop of the
two world wars illustrates this struggle, as dominant Western powers viewed the
Arab world not merely as a battleground but also as a stage for competing
interests. This dynamic underscores the delicate balance between local
aspirations and external interventions.
The challenges of achieving stability were starkly highlighted during a 2007
lecture by Gen. Wesley Clark, former supreme allied commander of NATO, who
disclosed plans by the Bush administration to invade seven Middle Eastern
nations. Clark’s revelations suggested that the motivations behind such
strategies often stemmed from special interests rather than genuine concerns for
regional stability. This raises significant ethical questions regarding the
interventions by the US in foreign governments.
Critics of immediate actions against Israel argue that such measures might
undermine the legitimacy of peace negotiations and hinder the potential for a
two-state solution. However, it is essential to recognize the necessity of
fostering inclusive dialogue, incorporating diverse voices from both sides to
promote mutual understanding and cooperation. The UN designates Israel as an
occupier state in Palestinian territories, with annexations since the 1967
Six-Day War constituting violations of international law. Therefore, to advance
development and stability in the region, adherence to international law and a
commitment to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with justice and peace
are imperative.
The Arab world has endured prolonged periods of turmoil, exacerbated by the
missteps of some leaders. Many citizens struggle with basic human needs, with
hunger emerging as a national security issue amid global conflicts. When
individuals face food scarcity, the ramifications extend beyond mere survival,
threatening stability and peace within nations. Climate change acts as a
significant driver of food insecurity, while human-induced conflicts and the
degradation of natural resources further exacerbate this crisis. In confronting
hunger, we face not only an environmental challenge but also a profound
humanitarian and security dilemma. Despite these challenges, a newfound
confidence and enthusiasm are emerging in the region. In Syria, efforts to heal
from past wounds are underway, while the Palestinian struggle continues to
reflect nearly a century of pain and resilience. This resilience offers hope
that Palestinians may ultimately break free from the grip of occupation.
Israel’s reliance on military power and intimidation not only suppresses the
Palestinian population but also poses threats to neighboring countries such as
Lebanon and Syria. History teaches us that oppression cannot extinguish the
quest for justice; the moral arc of history bends toward justice. The
complexities of ensuring stability were further illuminated by Clark’s
revelations, which raise critical questions about the ethics of US
interventions. As the Arab world navigates this pivotal moment in history, the
need for democratic governance has never been more pressing. The prospect of
resolving the Palestinian issue remains elusive, intertwined with cycles of
violence and uprising. Successive US administrations have prioritized stability
over democracy, supporting regimes that stifle dissent and obstruct civil
liberties.
History teaches us that oppression cannot extinguish the quest for justice; the
moral arc of history bends toward justice. While some policymakers argue that
engaging with established leaders mitigates threats from extremist groups, they
often overlook the harsh realities of authoritarianism and the consequences of
neglecting democratic aspirations. The US must reassess its approach; rather
than solely supporting autocratic stability, it should empower local populations
and endorse democratic initiatives. True peace in the Middle East can be
achieved only when citizens are heard, and their aspirations recognized,
fostering a conducive environment for political expression.
Further complicating these dynamics is Israel’s unique status as the only
established democracy in the region. However, its perceived opposition to the
democratic aspirations of Arab states reflects inherent contradictions within US
policy. The overwhelming sentiment among Arab populations often opposes Israeli
influence, compelling their leaders to maintain authoritarian control to appease
public sentiment. This precarious dynamic emphasizes the importance of fostering
dialogue that addresses mutual grievances, and acknowledges the rights and needs
of all parties involved.
Inclusive political reforms and a shift in US policy can redefine the future of
US-Middle East relations, heralding a transformative era for the Arab world.
Initiatives by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE to prioritize development and
cohesion over conflict present substantial opportunities for progress in the
region. As the British political commentator Gideon Rachman observed, while
Israel and Turkiye possess powerful militaries, the financial influence of Gulf
states could profoundly reshape the Middle East.
Reflecting on America’s historical mistakes, it becomes increasingly vital to
cultivate a new understanding of what stability truly entails. The era of
equating quiet or complacency with stability must come to an end. The cost of
continued inaction, prioritizing the interests of a select few over the many, is
unacceptably high. A genuine moral and strategic reevaluation is overdue, urging
all stakeholders, particularly the US, to adopt a more inclusive approach.
By nurturing the aspirations of citizens and fostering constructive dialogue, we
can pave the way for a meaningful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. A commitment to promoting democratic governance and human rights will
ultimately lead to greater stability and reduce the violence that has long
plagued the region. In conclusion, while the Arab world remains a focal point in
global power dynamics, addressing the underlying grievances and embracing the
democratic aspirations of its citizens is paramount. We must acknowledge the
longing for accountability among Arab populations, as their quest for justice
resonates deeply with their experiences. Only through fostering inclusive
political reforms can we redefine the future of US-Middle East relations,
creating an environment that encourages genuine stability and open dialogue.
The unfolding narratives of hope amid despair in the Arab world remind us that
from the remnants of conflict and chaos, virtuous aspirations can emerge. As
leaders in the region prioritize peace over perpetual conflict driven by
corporate and special interests, there lies an opportunity to reshape the
geopolitics positively. By investing in the dignity and aspirations of the Arab
people, the US and its allies can facilitate progress toward a more just and
peaceful future.
Ultimately, lasting peace in the Middle East requires commitment, empathy, and
an acknowledgment of shared humanity. Promoting cooperative engagements and
sincere dialogues around core issues will enable the region to heal and thrive,
laying the groundwork for a transformative era. In this journey, let us strive
to illuminate the path toward justice and progress, shaping a Middle East that
reflects the hopes and rights of all its citizens.
*Dr. Turki Faisal Al-Rasheed is an adjunct professor at the University of
Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Biosystems
Engineering. He is the author of “Agricultural Development Strategies: The Saudi
Experience.” X: @TurkiFRasheed