Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 12-13/2024
Elias Bejjani/Text & Video): “We Are Victorious Because Our Enemy Did Not Achieve Its Goals”: A Closer Look at The Distorted Rhetoric of Political Islam: Hezbollah, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Iranian Mullahs
Border clashes resume after Israeli strikes on medics
Hezbollah condemns US strikes that killed five in Yemen
LBCI's sources: Quintet Committee meeting to discuss Presidential file expected by month's end
Hezbollah's message: Strikes on air force bases and Israel's defensive challenges
What proposals did Hochstein carry to Lebanon?
Report: US-tasked Dutch envoy met with Hezbollah for past two weeks
Mikati: Talk of pacification limited to Lebanon illogical
New US Ambassador Lisa Johnson arrives in Lebanon
Cabinet Approves Funding for Cancer and Chronic Disease Medications in Lebanon
From Bab el-Mandeb to Beirut: Mufti Kabalan's vision for regional balance
Why Lebanon seems destined to be the Middle East’s perennial theater of war/NADIA AL-FAOUR and ROBERT EDWARDS/Arab News/January 12/ 2024
Mikati highlights ‘intensive diplomatic movement’ in Lebanon in bid to calm tension/NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/January 12, 2024
Berri says there is a 'chance' after meeting with Hochstein
Berri's diplomatic agenda: Talks with British Shadow Foreign Secretary and French Ambassador

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 12-13/2024
Strikes on Yemen had good effects, will continue to monitor -Pentagon
UKMTO receives report of incident in Red Sea near Aden
UAE expresses concern over consequences of attacks on Red Sea ships
Yemen’s Houthis vows revenge for US, UK airstrikes
Big protests break out in Yemen after US-British attacks
US, UK strikes pound Yemen rebels, adding to fears of wider war
Yemen's enigmatic Houthi leader is fierce battlefield commander
Reactions after US, UK air strikes kill 5, wound 6 in Yemen
Israeli Cabinet Minister Adds To Calls For ‘Voluntary Emigration’ From Gaza
Second Hearing: Israel's bid to dismiss South Africa's lawsuit
For Palestinians, ICJ genocide case against Israel is 'test for humanity'
Militants ‘neutralized’ after West Bank settlement attack: Israel army
UN decries ‘systematic’ blocking of aid to north Gaza hospitals
Israel to blame for escalating regional tensions, says Jordan’s FM
Israelis cautiously embrace ‘routine’ as Gaza war nears 100 days
Daesh under pressure after Hamas attack on Israel
Slain Gaza ‘Journalists’ Were Terrorists
10 Things to Know About the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
Erdogan accuses U.S., Britain of trying to turn Red Sea into 'sea of blood'
Britain’s Sunak, in Kyiv, announces increase in military aid
Somali leader’s son freed in fatal car accident trial in Turkiye
Five Turkish soldiers killed in attack on Iraq base

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on January 12-13/2024
The International Court Of "Injustice" Begins Its Blood Libel Trial Against Israel/Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/January 12, 2024
Gaza war and the paralysis of the UN Security Council/Maha Akeel/Arab News/January 12, 2024
Don’t hold your breath for Russia-Ukraine peace in 2024/Luke Coffey/Arab News/January 12, 2024
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye close ranks on defense/Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/January 12, 2024
How to deal with Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping/Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg/Arab News/January 12, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 12-13/2024
Elias Bejjani/Text & Video): “We Are Victorious Because Our Enemy Did Not Achieve Its Goals”: A Closer Look at The Distorted Rhetoric of Political Islam: Hezbollah, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Iranian Mullahs
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/126065/126065/
Date/January 11, 2024
The ideology-driven slogan, “We are victorious because our enemy did not achieve its goals,” has become a disturbing and pervasive rhetoric among various political Islamic groups and countries such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Iranian Mullahs.
The catastrophic nature of these political Islam groups, rooted in Ottoman thought and the Muslim Brotherhood, is characterized by an ideology that is not only sick and harmful but also devoid of any connection to humanity, reason, or logic. It is a corrupt, delusional, and detached worldview that vehemently rejects others. Its primary and most significant goal is to subjugate and oppress anyone who opposes their beliefs. Those who resist and reject this ideology are branded as deserving death, and their countries are invaded under the banners of jihad and resistance.
One of the most dangerous slogans adopted by these criminal and terrorist groups is the absurd claim: “We have succeeded as long as the enemy has not achieved its goals.” This is proclaimed without regard for the destruction, loss of life, impoverishment, and displacement experienced by their own people and countries. The statement made by Ismail Haniyeh, as mentioned below, serves as a glaring example.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, echoed the same absurd and sick slogan after the 2006 war with Israel. Despite Israel destroying Lebanon, targeting its infrastructure, displacing southern residents, and causing the deaths of over 1600 Lebanese, primarily members of Hezbollah, Nasrallah emerged after the first hour of the ceasefire and declared victory, asserting that Israel had failed to achieve its goals.
Fast forward to over 97 days after the war initiated by Hamas with Israel, Gaza lies in ruins, its residents displaced, with over 30,000 lives lost and 150,000 wounded. Ismail Haniyeh, residing in Qatar’s finest hotels, claims that Hamas has succeeded because Israel did not achieve its goals.
Leaders who share the mindset of Haniyeh and Nasrallah, along with their counterparts, are despicable. Their mission appears to be the destruction of their own countries, the killing of their own people, and a regression to prehistoric times. With such a sick, corrupt, and delusional ideology, coupled with leaders of such despicable and hypocritical nature, achieving peace and stability seems elusive for our people until they are liberated from such leaders and such a toxic culture.

Border clashes resume after Israeli strikes on medics
Agence France Presse/January 12, 2024
The Israeli army bombed Friday several border towns in south Lebanon, as U.S.-led airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebels raised fears of a regional conflagration. The Israeli artillery shelled Mays al-Jabal, Houla, Dhaira and Tayr Harfa. On Thursday, Hezbollah said an Israeli strike killed two affiliated medics in south Lebanon in what it called a "blatant attack" on the first aid clinic where they worked. Hezbollah launched "dozens of rockets" on the Israeli border town of Kiryat Shmona "in response". Lebanon's health ministry condemned the attack "in the strongest terms" saying that it "directly targeted the Islamic Health Committee centre" and also hit an ambulance. Later Thursday, a civil defense center belonging to the Risala Scout association -- a group affiliated with the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement -- "was hit by a missile fired from an enemy warplane," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. The missile did not explode and emergency teams based in the center "survived" the strike in the southern village of Khiam, NNA said. On November 5, four Risala Scouts first responders were wounded when an Israeli strike hit two ambulances in south Lebanon. Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7. More than three months of violence have killed 190 people in Lebanon, more than 140 of them Hezbollah fighters but over 20 of them civilians, including three journalists, according to an AFP tally.
In northern Israel, nine soldiers and at least four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.

Hezbollah condemns US strikes that killed five in Yemen
Associated Press/January 12, 2024
Hezbollah condemned Friday American and British air strikes on rebel-held Yemen. The attacks, in response to Houthi's attacks on Red Sea shipping, killed at least five people and wounded six. Hezbollah said in a statement that the air strikes show that the U.S. is Israel's "full-partner in its massacres in Gaza and the region." Russia and Iran also condemned the attacks, while France said the Houthis were responsible for the escalation. China and Saudi Arabia called for avoiding escalation. "The strikes show that America is a full partner in catastrophes and massacres committed by the Zionist entity in Gaza," Hezbollah statement said. The Houthis have sporadically targeted ships in the region over time, but the attacks have increased since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas and spiked after a strike on Oct. 17 at a hospital in Gaza killed and injured many. That hospital blast marked the beginning of an intense militant campaign against U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria, and on many commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea. The attacks have damaged commercial ships and forced international shipping companies to divert their vessels around the Cape of Good Hope. On Tuesday the Houthis launched their largest-ever barrage of 18 one-way attack drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and an anti-ship ballistic missile at a host of international commercial vessels and warships in the Red Sea.
In response, the U.S. and U.K. struck Friday Houthi missile, radar and drone capabilities.

LBCI's sources: Quintet Committee meeting to discuss Presidential file expected by month's end
LBCI/January 12, 2024
LBCI's sources confirmed on Friday that discussions are underway regarding a meeting of the Quintet Committee scheduled for the end of January or early next month. The primary agenda of this anticipated gathering is to examine the presidential file thoroughly. As of now, the specific location for the meeting has not been conclusively determined. There is speculation whether the committee will convene in Saudi Arabia or opt for Egypt as the site for this crucial session.

Hezbollah's message: Strikes on air force bases and Israel's defensive challenges
LBCI/January 12, 2024
After a dark night in many towns in northern Israel due to Hezbollah missiles hitting central power stations and causing infrastructure damage, the Israeli army raised the readiness of the air force to the highest level. This co-occurred with the American-British attack on the Houthis, with potential dangers reaching Eilat in the south. In an assessment session for security apparatuses and the cabinet regarding recent developments, Israel decided to stay away from the Houthi combat zone, even if Eilat is again subjected to missiles. In contrast, it intensified its air defenses in the north as demands increased for a decisive stance from Israel to ensure the security of the borders and the residents of the region. In an unprecedented defensive move since October 7, the security apparatuses decided to increase the protection level for the commander of the air force, Tomer Bar, and the northern region commander, Ori Gordin.
Hezbollah's operations against the air force bases of Meron and the northern command base were considered a message to target key figures in the army. In its recent assessment of the northern region, Israel listed the drones used by Hezbollah as a new and unexpected challenge, given the development and accuracy of these drones. This necessitated the entrance of modern combat equipment for both attack and defense, especially with reports suggesting that Hezbollah possesses thousands of advanced drones. In an attempt to confront this challenge, Israel deployed the SPYDER defense system in a wide area in the north, claiming readiness. It also raised the alert level over the sea, fearing the targeting of gas wells, and said it shot down a drone launched from Lebanon over the sea. As for the army's decision to continue targeting the leadership of Hamas inside and outside the Gaza Strip, including Lebanon, and the inclusion of fifty-two individuals on the assassination list, security officials warn of the danger of the northern region remaining in a state of continuous escalation. This is particularly concerning since the diplomatic efforts intensified by US envoy Amos Hochstein to reach negotiations for a near solution has not materialized yet.

What proposals did Hochstein carry to Lebanon?
Naharnet/January 12, 2024
U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein proposed during his visit to Beirut on Thursday a cessation of hosilities between Lebanon and Israel and an eight-kilometer pullback by Hezbollah from the border, which would allow for the return of displaced residents on both sides of the border, the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Friday. “This pullback would be a gateway for proposing a plan for resolving the dispute over the land border points. At the same time 10,000 Lebanese soldiers would be deployed to work with UNIFIL forces on implementing Resolution 1701,” the daily quoted Hochstein as saying.
“Negotiations over the land border will not be through the tripartite military committee, but rather through indirect negotiations rounds based on the exchange of papers and proposals and shuttle diplomacy between Beirut and Tel Aviv, which will be carried out by Hochstein himself,” the newspaper added.
More than three months of cross-border violence have killed 190 people in Lebanon, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists. In northern Israel, nine soldiers and at least four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.
The violence has also displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border. Last week, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah hailed "a historic opportunity" to help Lebanon regain control of disputed border land, "after this phase (of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah) ends and after the aggression on Gaza."The same day, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his government "prefers a diplomatic path over a military one," but warned: "We are close to the point of the hour glass turning over."

Report: US-tasked Dutch envoy met with Hezbollah for past two weeks
Naharnet/January 12, 2024
The U.S. administration has tasked a Dutch envoy with visiting Lebanon and meeting with Hezbollah’s leadership, a media report said on Friday. “This is what happened over the past two weeks,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported. “The discussions revolved around the rules of engagement and delved into the next-day arrangements in Lebanon after the Gaza war,” the daily added. More than three months of cross-border violence have killed 190 people in Lebanon, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists. In northern Israel, nine soldiers and at least four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities. The violence has also displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border. Last week, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah hailed "a historic opportunity" to help Lebanon regain control of disputed border land, "after this phase (of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah) ends and after the aggression on Gaza." The same day, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his government "prefers a diplomatic path over a military one," but warned: "We are close to the point of the hour glass turning over."

Mikati: Talk of pacification limited to Lebanon illogical
Naharnet/January 12, 2024
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday noted that pacifying the situation in south Lebanon without taking into consideration what’s happening in Gaza would be “illogical.”“We have told all envoys that talking about pacification exclusively in Lebanon is an illogical thing,” Mikati said at the beginning of a Cabinet session. “Based on our Arab identity and principles, we demand a ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible, in parallel with a serious ceasefire in Lebanon,” Mikati added. “We do not accept that our brothers be facing genocide and destruction as we seek an own agreement with anyone,” the premier went on to say. More than three months of cross-border violence have killed 190 people in Lebanon, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists. In northern Israel, nine soldiers and at least four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities. The violence has also displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border.

New US Ambassador Lisa Johnson arrives in Lebanon
Naharnet/January 12, 2024
New U.S. Ambassador Lisa A. Johnson has arrived in Lebanon, the U.S. embassy in Beirut said. Johnson is a former U.S. Ambassador to Namibia and more recently held leadership positions in the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement in Washington. She had previously served in Lebanon as an ambassador from 2002 to 2004. On her arrival, Johnson said "it is an honor and a pleasure to return to Lebanon", adding that "this is a difficult time." "I appreciate the significance of the challenges Lebanon faces," she said. "At the same time, I have a deep admiration for the vibrancy of the Lebanese people and confidence in Lebanon’s ability to succeed. Now more than ever, it is time for Lebanon to find a sense of unity and purpose in the common desire of all its people for peace, prosperity, and a brighter future."
- Who is Lisa Johnson? -
Lisa A. Johnson, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be Ambassador to the Lebanese Republic on December 14, 2023. She served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Namibia from 2018-2021 and Chargé d’Affaires in Nassau, The Bahamas from 2014-2017. Prior to her current appointment, Ambassador Johnson was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and INL Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe and Asia. She also served for short time as Deputy Commandant and International Affairs Advisor at the National War College.
Ambassador Johnson’s earlier Washington, D.C. assignments included Director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC); Senior Advisor for South and Central Asia in the Office of the Vice President; and Director of INL’s Office for Africa and the Middle East. Her other overseas postings were Islamabad, Pakistan; Beirut, Lebanon; Pretoria, South Africa; and Luanda, Angola. She also was seconded to the Office of the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Brussels.
Born in Iowa City, Johnson grew up near Seattle, Washington. She graduated from Stanford University with an A.B. degree in Political Science and Economics and earned a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University and an M.S. degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College. Johnson was awarded the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award in 2023 and is the recipient of seven Senior Foreign Service Performance Awards.

Cabinet Approves Funding for Cancer and Chronic Disease Medications in Lebanon
LBCI/January 12, 2024
In a Cabinet session, approval was granted to fund cancer and chronic disease medications for three months, equivalent to three trillion Lebanese pounds. This decision reinstates the mechanism for financing and distributing medication, as confirmed by a statement from the media office of the Minister of Public Health, Firas Al-Abiad. This Cabinet decision awaits the approval of the general budget, which will include an allocated amount for cancer and chronic disease medications, totaling approximately fourteen trillion Lebanese pounds annually.

From Bab el-Mandeb to Beirut: Mufti Kabalan's vision for regional balance
LBCI/January 12, 2024
The Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Kabalan, drew attention in his Friday sermon "to Yemen, especially after the American-British aggression on this beloved and honorable country." He stated, "One of Sanaa's pride is that it is an enemy to America, Britain, and Israel. Any Arab or Islamic party that allies with the American-British aggression on Yemen is a traitor.""The era of oppression has ended, and whatever it faces, Sanaa remains a force that does not know defeat. The confrontation is at its Bab el-Mandeb, and powerful Washington has ended, no longer intimidating anyone," Kabalan stated. He continued: "Today, it lives in a different era, and the region's balance favors the strong resistance axis. The axis is ready to pay the prices that contribute to adjusting the balance of power, erasing the map of the past Middle East, and the world will witness unprecedented events when the region explodes." Regarding the situation in Lebanon, Mufti Kabalan considered Lebanon a "doomed country with a paralyzed state and corruption devouring everything. Although the state's finances have improved significantly with the dollarization, unfortunately, it has no presence in the health ministry, the struggling social security system, or other services."
Moreover, he said: "The problem lies in politics because political fragmentation is destroying the country, and we need to force each other to a national dialogue table to find a national solution. Those who refuse are either betraying national interests or linked to an external game, with no third option between them."
He added, "The country is facing a catastrophe that can only be overcome through unity, negotiation, and dialogue to reach a presidential settlement that saves the state from imminent collapse."
Mufti Kabalan asserted that "all international movements supporting Lebanon are solely driven by an attempt to secure Tel Aviv's interests, given the defeat suffered by its legendary terrorist army. What is happening in Gaza is a great victory, and what is happening on the southern front of Lebanon is a crushing victory for the resistance. According to Haaretz, it is a shocking combat force that the Israeli army has never witnessed before, concluding that the time for the Zionist army to triumph over the Lebanese resistance has ended."
He continued, "Lebanon must capitalize on its strength through negotiations, and everything is possible except abandoning Gaza alone, and nationally, everything is possible except compromising Lebanon's sovereignty." As for the budget, fees, and arbitrary taxes, Kabalan pointed out, "While we remained silent due to national necessity for state finances, we cannot remain silent about imposing a crazy basket of fees that deeply affect the poor. Most of the Lebanese people have become poor, and it undermines any possibility of economic recovery. There is no economic solution without addressing the deposit and banking crisis."In addition, Mufti Kabalan addressed the government, relevant ministries, security agencies, and political forces in Lebanon, stating, "Displacement is an existential threat to Lebanon, and we are only a few meters away from a qualitative disaster due to the accumulation of displacement risks and its spread across every inch of this country.""It exerts pressure on all Lebanese sectors, in addition to shocking crimes and the demographic danger reaching the stage of a national catastrophe. Therefore, a swift sovereign decision is necessary, and the first sovereign decision lies in opening the sea for displacement and holding Europe accountable for its continuous threats against Lebanon," he continued.

Why Lebanon seems destined to be the Middle East’s perennial theater of war
NADIA AL-FAOUR and ROBERT EDWARDS/Arab News/January 12/ 2024
DUBAI/LONDON: Israel’s suspected killing of senior Hamas figure Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut on Jan. 2, followed by the death of Hezbollah commander Wissam Al-Tawil in a similar strike in southern Lebanon on Jan. 8, has once again thrust the country into the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Although Israeli forces and members of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militia have traded fire across their shared border since the conflict in Gaza began on Oct. 7, many fear Israel’s suspected targeting of militia leaders on Lebanese soil could lead to a regional escalation.
Al-Arouri, the deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau and founder of the group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, was killed in a precision drone strike alongside several of his henchmen at an apartment in a Hezbollah-controlled neighborhood in the south of the Lebanese capital.
Thousands of Hamas supporters gathered to mourn his death and demand retribution. In a live-streamed speech, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, condemned the killing, describing it as an act of “flagrant Israeli aggression,” and vowed it would not go unpunished.
However, the Hezbollah chief stopped short of declaring war on Israel.
That was before Al-Tawil, deputy head of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, was also killed in a suspected Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in the southern Lebanese town of Khirbet Selm. He was the first senior Hezbollah figure to die since the conflict in Gaza began. Then, on Jan. 9, Ali Hussein Burji, commander of Hezbollah’s aerial forces in southern Lebanon, was also killed in Khirbet Selm in another suspected Israeli airstrike.
So far, the “phony war” between Israel and Hezbollah has been largely confined to reciprocal rocket and drone attacks along the shared border. But if the hostilities escalate, Lebanon could witness a repeat of the devastating 2006 war with Israel — a conflict it can ill afford.
Lebanon’s caretaker government has been at pains to ratchet down the tensions. “Our prime minister continues to dialogue with Hezbollah,” Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanon’s foreign minister, told CNN shortly after Al-Arouri was killed.
“I don’t think the decision is theirs — referring to Hezbollah — and we hope they don’t commit themselves to a larger war. But we are working with them on this. We have a lot of reasons to think this will not happen. All of us, all the Lebanese, do not want war.”
He added: “We can’t order them but we can convince them. And it’s working in this direction.”
Indeed, many in Lebanon feel their country is being held hostage by Iran through its Hezbollah proxy, at a time when Lebanese citizens and the nation’s many Palestinian refugees are more concerned about daily survival amid a crippling financial crisis, than the events in Gaza.
The growing resentment against Hezbollah’s grip on the country was amply demonstrated on Jan. 7 when departure screens at Beirut’s international airport were hacked to display anti-war messages.
“The airport of Rafic Hariri isn’t Hezbollah’s nor Iran’s,” one of the messages read. “Hassan Nasrallah, you will find no allies if you drag Lebanon into war. Hezbollah, we will not fight on behalf of anyone.”
Information screens at Beirut’s main airport were hacked on Sunday with a message to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. (Screenshots/X)
Alleging Hezbollah’s responsibility for the devastating explosion at Beirut’s port on Aug. 4, 2020, and its role in the import of Iranian weaponry into Lebanon, the message added: “You blew up our port and now want to do the same to our airport by bringing weapons in. May the airport be freed from the grips of the statelet (Hezbollah).”
Anxieties about undue foreign influence in Lebanon have been a recurring theme since the country gained independence from France in 1943, with regional states and armed groups treating Lebanon as a battleground for their own proxy wars.
The Lebanese civil war, which began in 1975 and ended in 1990, was one the bloodiest periods in the country’s history, witnessing a fierce conflict between Christian and Muslim militias who each sought to align themselves with foreign powers.
Even before the civil war, armed groups were using Lebanon as a launch pad for terrorism. In 1971, Yasser Arafat, former leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, made Lebanon his base of operations from which to attack Israel.
Lebanese Christians, concentrated in the eastern part of Beirut and the mountains of Keserwan, resented the Palestinian presence in their country and chose to enter into alliances with Israel and Syria to counter the influence. Although ostensibly of advantage to Lebanese Christians, Israel’s motives were largely self-serving; at the height of the Lebanese civil war, Israeli forces launched aerial and sea attacks on the PLO in Beirut and southern Lebanon.
In one notorious incident, following the assassination of President Bashir Gemayel on Sept. 14, 1982, Christian militiamen allied with Israel massacred between 800 and 3,500 Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila camps on Beirut’s outskirts.
Israeli troops had sealed off the camp while the militiamen went on their killing spree, targeting unarmed civilians. Despite global outcry, no one has ever been arrested or put on trial for the massacre.
In Israel, an inquiry found a number of officials, including then-defense minister Ariel Sharon, were indirectly responsible.
FASTFACTS
* Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy chief of Hamas’s political bureau and founder of its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, was killed in a suspected Israeli drone strike in Beirut on Jan. 2.
* Wissam Al-Tawil, deputy head of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, was killed in a suspected Israeli drone strike in the southern Lebanese town of Khirbet Selm on Jan. 8.
* Ali Hussein Burji, commander of Hezbollah’s aerial forces in southern Lebanon, was also killed in Khirbet Selm by a suspected Israeli air strike on Jan. 9.
Despite the official withdrawal of the PLO from Lebanon in August 1982, Israel took the opportunity to invade the country just two months later with the stated aim of crushing all remaining PLO sleeper cells and bases, and ended up occupying the south until May 2000.
It was amid the chaos of the Lebanese civil war that the Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah emerged.
Syria, meanwhile, under the regime of Hafez Assad, entrenched itself in Lebanese politics, rendering Lebanon a puppet state, with Hezbollah serving as a junior partner. During this time, Syria had more than 30,000 soldiers stationed throughout the country. “I remember those days well and clearly,” Walid Saadi, 67, a Lebanese retiree who lived through the civil war, told Arab News. “You felt like you were not living in Lebanon but in Syria. “The Syrian army had a formidable power in the ‘90s, more than the Lebanese army. They were running amok in the cities and you couldn’t dare tell them anything. Whatever Syria wanted, Lebanon served.” Saadi said that despite the country experiencing a period of relative peace and economic stability during the 1990s and early 2000s, the older generation continued to feel a sense of humiliation and subjugation to the Syrian presence.
“Lots of people went missing during the civil war, lots of them were disappeared by Syrian forces. You cannot ask for their whereabouts. Even if you wanted to, you get no answers. The Syrian regime was, and remains, brutal.”
It was only after the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, an outspoken critic of the Syrian regime, that Syria officially withdrew its forces, albeit only under intense international pressure.
Since then, the power of the Syrian regime has vastly diminished as a result of its own grinding civil war, which began in 2011, leaving the regime of President Bashar Assad as little more than a vassal of its remaining international backers, Russia and Iran. Now, as Israel continues its military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, there are concerns within Lebanese society and the international community that Hezbollah will exploit the crisis by turning Lebanon into a battlefield between Israel and Iran.
In a speech on Jan. 5, his second since the death of Al-Arouri, Hezbollah chief Nasrallah said “the decision is now in the hands of the battlefield” and an adequate response will be “without limits.”
“The response is inevitably coming,” he said during the live-streamed speech. “We cannot remain silent on a violation of this magnitude because it means the whole of Lebanon would be exposed.”
However, analysts suspect Hezbollah would prefer to avoid a war with Israel, regardless of its sympathies with Hamas and the Palestinians suffering in Gaza, choosing instead to preserve its stockpile of weapons as deterrence against any potential Israeli attack on Iran.
“Hezbollah very much wants to maintain the current status quo and avert an all-out war with Israel,” Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and adjunct professor at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, told NPR on Jan. 7.
“The current status quo suits Hezbollah very well because they are reverting to asymmetric warfare, ‘grey zone’ warfare, some would say, where they can harass Israel across the border, show their support for Hamas and the Palestinians by forcing Israel to redeploy and refocus hundreds of thousands of troops away from Gaza to that northern border, but nonetheless stop short of an all-out war that might be in Israel’s favor.”
Israel is also widely seen as wanting to avoid opening an additional front in the war that might expose its cities to Hezbollah’s formidable arsenal of missiles.
However, there are those in the Israeli government who believe Hezbollah poses too great a threat to Israel’s national security to be left unchallenged forever, making conflict a distinct possibility once Hamas has been defeated in Gaza.
In an analysis published on Jan. 2, Yezid Sayigh, a senior fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said it was unlikely Israel would risk undermining its Gaza operation by going on the offensive against Hezbollah.
He added that although many in the Israeli establishment “may share a desire to knock out Hezbollah as a potent military threat, they are likely to avoid opening a second, northern front if there is any risk that this might impede their ability to ‘finish the job’ in Gaza. “Widening the Gaza war into a regional one — even if limited to Lebanon — might spook the US and European governments into more active diplomacy, which could potentially constrain Israeli freedom of military action in Gaza and limit its options for the post-conflict phase there.”
Nevertheless, with a hostile entity on its doorstep, Israel might feel forced to take action against Hezbollah eventually. “The current status quo, while it suits Hezbollah and Iran, as I mentioned, does not suit the Israelis,” Maksad told NPR.
“The Israelis have about 75,000, 80,000 citizens who’ve vacated the north for fear that Hezbollah, much more capable than Hamas, would do to them what Hamas did in southern Israel. And they’re not willing to come back unless that is settled. “So Israel is demanding that Hezbollah pull its forces, at least its elite troops, away from that border, or else it’s threatening war.”
Even if all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah is avoided, Nasrallah’s posturing and the militia’s cross-border attacks alone have been enough to undermine and delegitimize the sovereignty of the Lebanese state. For Lebanese citizens such as Saadi this means, in the absence of a functioning government, the continuation of the country’s political paralysis, institutional decline and economic misfortune.
“It is not ours anymore, it is Iran’s now,” Saadi said of his nation. “We haven’t tasted sovereignty since we were established, always being tossed from one power to the other, starting with the French and ending currently with Iran.
“Hope is futile here but I can’t help but to hope that Hezbollah will put Lebanon’s needs ahead of its master, Iran, and spare us a war we will not survive.”

Mikati highlights ‘intensive diplomatic movement’ in Lebanon in bid to calm tension
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/January 12, 2024
BEIRUT: Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that Lebanon had informed international envoys that “talking about calm in Lebanon alone is illogical.”He told a Lebanese Cabinet meeting: “If stability in southern Lebanon and the border region specifically is required, then all international resolutions should be implemented, starting with the 1949 Armistice Agreement and all its provisions, without any changes. “After that, we can start discussing stability arrangements in the south.”Mikati spoke of “an intensive diplomatic movement in Lebanon, including the German foreign minister’s visit two days ago.”He added: “The current situation is better than it was two months ago in terms of understanding the Lebanese perspective, which I also conveyed to US envoy Amos Hochstein, including the acknowledgment of international decisions dating back to 1949 up to Resolution 1701.
FASTFACT
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on ministers to ‘ensure the safety of the ministries’ computer systems and review their protection methods.’“Israel has not implemented all these international decisions, while we continue to affirm our compliance with international legitimacy, and our ministerial statement emphasized respect for all international resolutions.”Hochstein visited Beirut on Thursday and stressed the necessity of “working on calming the situation in southern Lebanon, even if it is impossible to reach a final solution in the meantime, so things do not worsen.”Mikati demanded an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza, parallel to a serious ceasefire in Lebanon.”He added: “We refuse to have our brothers subjected to genocide and destruction.”Mikati hailed South Africa’s initiative in filing a lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice for “committing genocide in Gaza.”He said: “We anticipate a fair and prompt judgment that reflects respect for values and human rights, particularly international humanitarian law. “Regardless of the International Court’s decision, what matters is that there are people who still demand the implementation of international legitimacy and international law.”Commenting on this week’s cyberattack at Beirut Airport, Mikati called on ministers to “ensure the safety of the ministries’ computer systems and review their protection methods.”Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said in a statement that “the breach was likely external.” Security bodies are still investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy has met several Lebanese officials to discuss possible solutions to help contain the escalating violence in the region.
He said in a statement: “I come with a simple message: We do not want to see escalation and violence in Gaza spreading, and we look forward to a political solution to what is happening, the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, and calm instead of escalation.”He said that his trip came on the heels of Hochstein’s visit, and added: “I have great hope to witness a solution to this crisis and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, ending the bloodshed occurring there. “We also hope for calm to be restored in this important part of the East. This is the message I have come to deliver.”Lammy’s visit included a meeting with the Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, the head of Iran-backed Hezbollah’s Judicial Council, called Hockstein’s mission to Lebanon a “fruitless move, as long as Gaza is still under fire.”Yazbek warned Israel that its threats “will meet a response on the battlefield.”He added: “Its (Israel’s) attacks on civilians in Lebanon and the targeting of the Civil Defense on Thursday, which led to the martyrdom of two of its members, were immediately met in Kiryat Shmona and other sites.
“This response sends a firm message that any escalation by the enemy will be met with even greater response.”Yazbek also condemned attacks by US and British forces on Yemen. He said: “No matter how the Americans justify them (the attacks) as defending their forces, these brutal attacks will not weaken the determination of Yemen’s people, army and leadership.”

Berri says there is a 'chance' after meeting with Hochstein
Naharnet/January 12, 2024
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has said that U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein has carried “ideas” to Lebanon, not a complete “proposal.”“In turn, we proposed other ideas,” Berri added, in an interview with Asharq al-Awsat newspaper published Friday.“We did not agree on everything, but we will study his ideas and we will study his ideas and meet again,” the Speaker said. He added: “I cannot say that I am optimistic or pessimistic, but I say that there is a chance.” After a visit to Israel, Hochstein on Thursday met top Lebanese officials in Beirut, amid fears that the Israel-Hamas war since early October could spread across the region.The deadly violence along the Lebanon-Israel border has already displaced tens of thousands of civilians on either side of the frontier. "We're living in a crisis moment where we would like to see a diplomatic solution and I believe that both sides prefer a diplomatic solution," the U.S. envoy said, adding: "It's our job to get one".Last week, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah hailed "a historic opportunity" to help Lebanon regain control of disputed border land, "after this phase (of fighting) ends and after the aggression on Gaza."The same day, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said his government "prefers a diplomatic path over a military one," but warned: "We are close to the point of the hour glass turning over." More than three months of cross-border violence have killed 190 people in Lebanon, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists. In northern Israel, nine soldiers and at least four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.

Berri's diplomatic agenda: Talks with British Shadow Foreign Secretary and French Ambassador
LBCI/January 12, 2024
The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, followed the developments in Lebanon and the region during his meeting with the Shadow Foreign Secretary of the British Labour Party, David Lammy. He also welcomed the French Ambassador and former Minister Ghazi al-Aridi. Lammy affirmed his commitment to a political solution to the ongoing situation, the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, and the de-escalation of tensions. He emphasized the need to de-escalate tensions and achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. In addition, Lammy pointed out that he came with a simple message: "We do not want to see escalation and violence in Gaza expand. We look forward to a political solution to what is happening and the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 to calm things down instead of escalating." He expressed hope for a solution to the crisis, a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to the bloodshed, and a return to peace in this vital part of the East. At the second presidential headquarters in Ain el-Tineh, Berri also received the French Ambassador Hervé Magro. They discussed the latest political and field developments and the bilateral relations between the two countries. During the meeting, Berri discussed the general situation and the latest political and field developments in Lebanon and the region in light of Israel's continued aggression on the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese border villages with occupied Palestine. This occurred during his meeting with the British Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, in the presence of Lebanon's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Rami Mortada. Berri also discussed the general situation and political developments during his meeting with former Minister Ghazi al-Aridi.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 12-13/2024
Strikes on Yemen had good effects, will continue to monitor -Pentagon
REUTERS/January 12, 2024
WASHINGTON: US-British strikes on Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen had “good effects,” Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said on Friday, and their militaries will continue to monitor the situation for any retaliatory strikes. There are currently no plans to send additional US troops to the region, Ryder said in an interview with CNN. “Our initial assessment is that we had good effects,” he said. “We will continue to monitor and as the president and (Defense) Secretary Austin have said, we will continue to take necessary action.”Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, who was hospitalized on Jan. 1 to treat an infection, was in good condition, had spoken twice to President Joe Biden in the last two days and had been “actively engaged in overseeing and directing these strikes.”US and British warplanes, ships and submarines launched dozens of air strikes across Yemen overnight in retaliation against Iran-backed Houthi forces for attacks on Red Sea shipping, widening regional conflict stemming from Israel’s war in Gaza.Asked about worries that the conflict might escalate, Ryder said the US continues to work to contain the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthi militants’ attacks on commercial shipping in the vital Red Sea waterway has affected more than 50 countries, Ryder noted, and the United States and its allies see the actions as distinct from what is happening in Gaza.“No one wants to see a wider regional conflict. But again, we also cannot allow for this kind of dangerous, reckless behavior,” he said.

UKMTO receives report of incident in Red Sea near Aden
Reuters/January 12, 2024
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that it received a report on Tuesday about an incident in the Red Sea near Yemen. A memorandum from the organization indicates that an incident was reported approximately 90 nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni port of Aden, and authorities are investigating the matter.

UAE expresses concern over consequences of attacks on Red Sea ships
Reuters/January 12, 2024
The Emirates News Agency said on Friday that the United Arab Emirates is expressing its deep concern about the consequences of the attacks on maritime navigation in the Red Sea. The agency added that the UAE emphasizes maintaining the region's security and its countries' interests.

Yemen’s Houthis vows revenge for US, UK airstrikes
SAEED AL-BATATI/Arab News/January 12, 2024
AL-MUKALLA: Yemen's Houthi militias on Friday vowed vengeance against US and UK airstrikes on regions under their control in reaction to their Red Sea raids. This comes as hundreds of Houthi sympathizers took to the streets of Sanaa and other northern Yemeni provinces to condemn the attacks and show solidarity with the people of Gaza. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the UK and US carried out 73 airstrikes on different locations in Sanaa, Hodeidah, Taiz, Hajjah, and Saada on Friday morning, killing five of their troops and injuring six more. He vowed to strike back at US and UK targets in the Red Sea or on land. “The American and British enemies hold full responsibility for their illegal attack on our Yemeni people, and it will not go unanswered or unpunished. Yemen's military forces will not hesitate to attack danger sources and hostile targets on land and at sea in defense of Yemen, its sovereignty, and its independence,” Sarea said in a broadcast statement. The US Central Command said on Friday that it has carried out attacks on more than 60 targets in Houthi-controlled regions, including command centers, munition depots, launching systems, industrial facilities, and air defense radar systems. People in Sanaa, Hodeidah, and Taiz reported hearing massive explosions and enormous balls of flames billowing from Houthi military installations when the US and UK started hitting them at about 2.45 a.m. (local time). The operations were carried out in reprisal for more than 20 Houthi missile and drone assaults on commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis claim to be targeting only Israeli-linked vessels sailing to Israel in order to push Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza. Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, head of the group’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee, called the airstrikes "barbaric and terrorist," and said that the militia will react against the two nations and continue to block the Red Sea in front of all Israel-bound ships in support of Palestine. “The American-British attacks are barbaric, terrorist, and unjustifiable action that reveals a cruel psyche,” Al-Houthi said in a post on X. Mohammed Abdul Sallam, the top Houthi negotiator, reiterated condemnation of the UK and US bombings, reaffirming the militia's assertions that they were solely targeting Israeli ships and not endangering Red Sea security. “They committed foolishness with this treacherous aggression, and they were mistaken if they believed it would prevent Yemen from backing Palestine and Gaza. Yemen maintains its religious and humanitarian position and will do all possible to support Gaza,” Abdul Sallam said on X. At the same time, the airstrikes sparked bitter debate in Yemen, primarily among Houthi opponents, with some Yemenis strongly supporting the airstrikes and calling for the Houthi to be expelled from areas under their control in Yemen, while others saw the airstrikes as an aggression that would fuel instability in Yemen. Kamel Al-Khodani, a Houthi critic, backed the bombings and advocated for more ground military actions to drive the Houthis out of Hodeidah and the other Yemeni provinces under their control. “In the same way that you seek to eliminate the Houthi threat and its threat to international navigation, we seek to eliminate its dangers and crimes against us, and just as you seek to liberate the sea and protect your interests, we seek to liberate the land and protect our regions,” Al-Khodani said on x, that irritated Houthi sympathizers. Despite being sentenced to death in absentia by a Houthi court for backing the Yemeni government, Yemeni MP Mohammed Nasser Al-Hazmi condemned the airstrikes, calling them an act of aggression against Yemen. “Attacking any part of Yemen is deemed a clear and condemnable enmity, and no sensible person would support it,” Al-Hazmi said. Yemen's government blamed Houthi assaults on ships in the Red Sea for prompting the US and UK to strike Yemen, accusing them of using the Gaza crisis for propaganda purposes. Yemeni political experts say that the airstrikes were intended to convey a message of deterrence to the Houthis and would not eliminate Houthi threats to Red Sea international navigation traffic. Maged Al-Madhaji, chairman of the Sanaa Center For Strategic Studies, said on X that airstrikes had already destroyed expectations of attaining peace in Yemen, and the trajectory of the situation in Yemen was dependent on "imminent" Houthi reprisal assaults. “The US-UK strikes will not undermine the Houthis' ability to pose a threat in the Red Sea. Nonetheless, it's a calculated message of deterrence. The scale and scope of any subsequent strikes will expand depending on the Houthi response, which seems imminent,” Al-Madhaji said.

Big protests break out in Yemen after US-British attacks
REUTERS/January 12, 2024
DUBAI: Tens of thousands of Yemenis gathered in several cities on Friday to hear their leaders condemn US and British strikes on their country in response to attacks by Houthi militants on Red Sea shipping. The US and Britain carried out dozens of air strikes on Houthi military targets overnight, widening a wave of regional conflict unleashed by Israel’s war in Gaza. “Your strikes on Yemen are terrorism,” said Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, referring to the United States. “The United States is the Devil.” After Gaza’s Hamas rulers attacked Israel on Oct. 7, triggering Israel’s assault on Gaza, the Iran-aligned Houthis began attacking shipping lanes and firing drones and missiles toward Israel, saying they would not stop until Israel’s offensive stopped. The Houthis said they would target all ships heading to Israel, more than 1,000 miles away, and warned international shipping companies against using Israeli ports. The Houthis are one of several groups in the Iran-aligned “Axis of Resistance” that have been taking aim at Israeli and US targets since their Palestinian ally Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7. The groups hold the US, Israel’s closest ally, partly responsible for the crisis and the scope of Israel’s massive response. “We did not attack the shores of America, nor did we move in the American islands, nor did we attack them. Your strikes on our country are terrorism,” said Al-Houthi. “They are terrorists and they are amazing at lying to the people of the world, but the awareness of the Yemeni people is a different awareness. Do you, Yemeni, think that America is defending itself or is it a terrorist?“ The Iraqi militia group Harakat Al-Nujaba, also aligned with Iran, said that American interests and countries allied to the US would not be safe from now on. In Sanaa, protesters stamped on Israeli and American flags. US and allied forces have been attacked at least 130 times in Iraq and Syria Since Oct. 17, according to Washington.

US, UK strikes pound Yemen rebels, adding to fears of wider war
Associated Press/January 12, 2024
The U.S. and British militaries have bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, early on Friday, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets, U.S. officials said. The U.S. Air Force's Mideast command said it struck over 60 targets at 16 sites in Yemen, including "command-and-control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities and air defense radar systems." President Joe Biden said the strikes were meant to demonstrate that the U.S. and its allies "will not tolerate" the militant group's ceaseless attacks on the Red Sea. And he said they only made the move after attempts at diplomatic negotiations and careful deliberation. "These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history," Biden said in a statement. He noted the attacks endangered U.S. personnel and civilian mariners and jeopardized trade, and he added, "I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary."Associated Press journalists in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, heard four explosions early Friday local time. Two residents of Hodieda, Amin Ali Saleh and Hani Ahmed, said they heard five strong explosions hitting the western port area of the city, which lies on the Red Sea and is the largest port city controlled by the Houthis. Eyewitnesses who spoke with the AP also said they saw strikes in Taiz and Dhamar, cities south of Sanaa.
The strikes marked the first U.S. military response to what has been a persistent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. And the coordinated military assault comes just a week after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a final warning to the Houthis to cease the attacks or face potential military action. The officials described the strikes on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. Members of Congress were briefed earlier Thursday on the strike plans. The warning appeared to have had at least some short-lived impact, as attacks stopped for several days. On Tuesday, however, the Houthi rebels fired their largest-ever barrage of drones and missiles targeting shipping in the Red Sea, with U.S. and British ships and American fighter jets responding by shooting down 18 drones, two cruise missiles and an anti-ship missile. And on Thursday, the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden, which was seen by a commercial ship but did not hit the ship. In a call with reporters, senior administration and military officials said that after the Tuesday attacks, Biden convened his national security team and was presented with military options for a response. He then directed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who remains hospitalized with complications from prostate cancer surgery, to carry out the retaliatory strikes.
In a separate statement, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Royal Air Force carried out targeted strikes against military facilities used by the Houthis. The Defense Ministry said four fighter jets based in Cyprus took part in the strikes. Noting the militants have carried out a series of dangerous attacks on shipping, he added, "This cannot stand." He said the U.K. took "limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defense, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping."The governments of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand and South Korea joined the U.S. and U.K. in issuing a statement saying that while the aim is to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, the allies won't hesitate to defend lives and protect commerce in the critical waterway. Russia, however, requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on the strikes. France, the current council president, said it will take place Friday afternoon. The rebels, who have carried out 27 attacks involving dozens of drones and missiles just since Nov. 19, had warned that any attack by American forces on its sites in Yemen will spark a fierce military response. A high-ranking Houthi official, Ali al-Qahoum, vowed there would be retaliation. "The battle will be bigger ... and beyond the imagination and expectation of the Americans and the British," he said in a post on X. Al-Masirah, a Houthi-run satellite news channel, described strikes hitting the Al-Dailami Air Base north of Sanaa, the airport in the port city of the Hodeida, a camp east of Saada, the airport in the city of Taiz and an airport near Hajjah.
The Houthis did not immediately offer any damage or casualty information. A senior administration official said that while the U.S. expects the strikes will degrade the Houthis' capabilities, "we would not be surprised to see some sort of response," although they haven't seen anything yet. Officials said the U.S. used warplanes based on the Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and Air Force fighter jets, while the Tomahawk missiles were fired from Navy destroyers and a submarine. The Houthis say their assaults are aimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But their targets increasingly have little or no connection to Israel and imperil a crucial trade route linking Asia and the Middle East with Europe. Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution Wednesday that demanded the Houthis immediately cease the attacks and implicitly condemned their weapons supplier, Iran. It was approved by a vote of 11-0 with four abstentions — by Russia, China, Algeria and Mozambique.
Britain's participation in the strikes underscored the Biden administration's effort to use a broad international coalition to battle the Houthis, rather than appear to be going it alone. More than 20 nations are already participating in a U.S.-led maritime mission to increase ship protection in the Red Sea.
U.S. officials for weeks had declined to signal when international patience would run out and they would strike back at the Houthis, even as multiple commercial vessels were struck by missiles and drones, prompting companies to look at rerouting their ships. On Wednesday, however, U.S. officials again warned of consequences. "I'm not going to telegraph or preview anything that might happen," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters during a stop in Bahrain. He said the U.S. had made clear "that if this continues as it did yesterday, there will be consequences. And I'm going to leave it at that."
The Biden administration's reluctance over the past several months to retaliate reflected political sensitivities and stemmed largely from broader worries about upending the shaky truce in Yemen and triggering a wider conflict in the region. The White House wants to preserve the truce and has been wary of taking action in Yemen that could open up another war front.
The impact on international shipping and the escalating attacks, however, triggered the coalition warning, which was signed by the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Transit through the Red Sea, from the Suez Canal to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, is a crucial shipping lane for global commerce. About 12% of the world's trade typically passes through the waterway that separates Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, including oil, natural gas, grain and everything from toys to electronics. In response to the attacks, the U.S. created a new maritime security mission, dubbed Operation Prosperity Guardian, to increase security in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, with about 22 countries participating. U.S. warships, and those from other nations, have been routinely sailing back and forth through the narrow strait to provide protection for ships and to deter attacks. The coalition has also ramped up airborne surveillance. The decision to set up the expanded patrol operation came after three commercial vessels were struck by missiles fired by Houthis in Yemen on Dec. 3. The Pentagon increased its military presence in the region after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel to deter Iran from widening the war into a regional conflict, including by the Houthis and Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.

Yemen's enigmatic Houthi leader is fierce battlefield commander
Michael Georgy and Aziz El Yaakoubi/January 12, 2024
Al-Houthi created an effective fighting force
He made his name as tough battlefield commander
His militants have attacked Saudi Arabia, UAE
Houthis say Red Sea attacks are in protest at Gaza war
DUBAI/RIYADH, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Abdul Malik al-Houthi, enigmatic leader of Yemen's Houthi fighters whose attacks on Red Sea shipping have drawn fire from the U.S. and British militaries, created the defiant force challenging world powers from a ragtag militia in sandals. Multiple shipping lines have suspended operations or taken the longer route around Africa because of the campaign by the Houthis, who rule most of Yemen after beating tough odds in a war against forces backed by powerhouse Saudi Arabia. The Iran-backed militants have vowed to keep up the pressure on the global shipping trade, which could take a toll on the world economy, until Israel halts its bombardment of Gaza to wipe out Hamas, which is also backed by Iran. The Houthis said they would hit back after U.S. and British warplanes, ships and submarines struck across Yemen overnight in retaliation for the attacks on Red Sea shipping, a widening of regional conflict over the Gaza conflict that some analysts say could undermine the Houthis' hard-fought domestic gains. "They have been able to survive the last eight years, have expanded their power, but now they are inviting air strikes from the world's most powerful military," said Tobias Borck, the Royal United Services Institute's Middle East Security Senior Research Fellow. Al-Houthi established a reputation as a fierce battlefield commander before emerging as head of the Houthi movement, mountain fighters who have been battling a Saudi-led military coalition since 2015 in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, devastated Yemen's economy and left millions hungry. Under the direction of al-Houthi, who is in his 40s, the group has acquired tens of thousands of fighters and a huge arsenal of armed drones and ballistic missiles. It has used these to repeatedly strike strategic Saudi infrastructure despite years of bombings on its territory. In January 2022, the Houthis raised the stakes with a missile attack on Gulf tourism and commercial hub the United Arab Emirates, like Saudi Arabia a key U.S. ally. "He (al-Houthi) managed to transform a rural militia mostly engaged in insurgency tactics into one of the most resilient non-state armed groups of the region," said Ludovico Carlino, Principal Analyst, Country Risk, Middle East and North Africa at HIS Markit. In a speech in 2022, al-Houthi said its goal was to be able to strike any target in Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, both major OPEC oil producers who view Iran and its proxies as major security threats to the Middle East and beyond.
SHROUDED IN MYSTERY
Al-Houthi is known for rarely staying long in one place, for never meeting the media and for an extreme reluctance to make scheduled public appearances. Since the start of the Yemen war -- widely seen as a proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran -- foreign officials who dealt with al-Houthi have never met him in person, said a source familiar with the matter. Many seeking meetings were asked to travel to the Houthi stronghold of Sanaa, where a Houthi security convoy would take them to safe houses and conduct security checks before leading them to an upstairs room where he would only appear on a screen. The Houthi movement was formed to fight for the interests of the Zaydi Shi’ites, a minority sect that ruled a 1,000-year kingdom in Yemen until 1962 but felt progressively threatened by the 1990-2012 rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh. Iran's backing of the Houthis, who forced Yemen's Saudi-backed internationally recognised government into exile in 2021, has helped Tehran extend its regional proxy network, which includes Hezbollah in Lebanon and militias in Iraq and Syria. Yemen experts say the Houthis are motivated primarily by a domestic agenda though they share a political affinity for Iran and Hezbollah. The Houthis deny being puppets of Tehran and say they are fighting a corrupt system and regional aggression.
'AXIS OF RESISTANCE'
Iran champions the Houthis as part of its regional "axis of resistance" - a swathe of Iran-backed groups - and the movement has adopted elements of Tehran's revolutionary ideology. Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse Iran of arming and training the Houthis, allegations denied by Tehran. Analysts say the Houthis are more independent than Lebanon's Hezbollah. "He (al-Houthi) is less beholden to the Iranians than Hezbollah is. In other words he is not told to do x, y and z and he does it," said Peter Salisbury, Senior Analyst International Crisis Group. The Houthis, like other sides in Yemeni politics, operate in a land of shifting alliances. In late 2017, they assassinated ex-president Saleh in a roadside RPG ambush after he switched sides in favour of the Saudi-led alliance. They have also created a military state to tighten their grip. "The Houthis also rely on a very brutal internal intelligence apparatus, suppressing any kind of dissent," analyst Carlino said. In pre-recorded speeches and sermons, al-Houthi, who traces his lineage to the Prophet Mohammad, asserts that his movement is under total siege because of its religion. "We must focus on preserving the authenticity of our Islamic affiliation and identity," he said in one speech, denouncing a 'soft war' of influence to weaken Houthi morale. "Today we are facing the most dangerous war."

Reactions after US, UK air strikes kill 5, wound 6 in Yemen
Agence France Presse/January 12, 2024
American and British air strikes on targets in rebel-held Yemen killed five people and wounded six, the Iran-backed Houthi forces said on Friday. "The raids led to the death of five martyrs and the injury of six others from our armed forces," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on X. France said the Houthis were responsible for the escalation, China called for all sides to prevent the conflict from expanding, while Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah condemned the strike. Saudi Arabia said it is following the strikes with "great concern" and called for "self-restraint and avoiding escalation". The Houthi rebels said they will continue targeting Israel-linked ships in the Red Sea despite the strikes.

Israeli Cabinet Minister Adds To Calls For ‘Voluntary Emigration’ From Gaza
Matt Shuham, Daniel Marans/HuffPost/January 12, 2024
An Israeli Cabinet minister said this week that the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip will compel Palestinians to leave the territory, despite widespread condemnation of Israeli calls for so-called “voluntary emigration” amid an invasion that Gazan health authorities say has claimed the lives of more than 23,000 Palestinians.In an interview posted online Monday by Israeli broadcaster Knesset TV, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said “we certainly need to encourage emigration” from Gaza. HuffPost independently translated the conversation, a clip of which gainedattention on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday.“I said voluntary emigration, and in Judaism, there is an idea known as ‘Compelling him until he says, I want,’” Kahri said shortly before the clip of the interview sharedon X begins, referring to a Jewish legal concept that typically applies to divorce or charitable giving. When the interviewer, Moran Azulay, asked how the Israeli government would accomplish that, Karhi’s reply was blunt.
“The war does what it does,” he said.
Does that mean, Azulay asked, Israel would “continue to pressure them with force, with hunger, and with difficult conditions?”
“We’re pressuring Hamas into a corner right now — not with difficult conditions. We do give humanitarian support to the uninvolved,” Karhi responded. (Many international observers have criticized Israeli rules and restrictions on this aid.). Pressed again by Azulay, Karhi acknowledged that the conditions in Gaza are hard for civilians and that “they will continue to be hard so long as we have not returned the hostages home and so long as we haven’t exterminated Hamas.”In Hamas’ cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7, Palestinian militants not only killed more than 1,100 people but also abducted more than 200 Israelis as hostages. More than 100 remain captive following a prisoner swap last year, according to Israeli officials. The comment from Karhi, a high-ranking member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, offers yet another example of prominent Israeli officials speaking openly about pressuring residents to evacuate Gaza. Karhi’s remarks come as Israel prepares to defend itself against an accusation of genocide brought by South Africa in the International Court of Justice in the Hague.Previously, far-right Cabinet ministers have said Israel needs to “encourage emigration” out of Gaza, describing it as an Israeli security aim. “If in Gaza there will be 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs and not 2 million, the entire conversation on ‘the day after’ will look different,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said last month, referring to Gaza as a “ghetto.”A few days later, responding to criticism for a similar comment, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said, “The emigration of hundreds of thousands from Gaza will allow residents [of the border area] to return home and live in security and protect [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers.” Netanyahu himself has reportedly said he was working to facilitate the emigration of Gazans to other countries and that “our problem is [finding] countries that are willing to absorb Gazans, and we are working on it.” Karhi seemed to acknowledge those discussions in the interview published Monday, saying, “We’ve spoken about it at government meetings … by the way, there are no countries that want to absorb them, even if we pay them a lot of money.” (On Wednesday, Netanyahu said in remarks in English, “Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population.”). United States officials — including Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken — have condemned such comments, as have others, including the leaders of Egypt and Jordan and the U.N. special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories. “Palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow,” Blinken said Sunday. “They cannot and they must not be pressed to leave Gaza. We reject the statements by some Israeli ministers and lawmakers calling for a resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza.”Azulay played a video clip of Blinken’s comments during her interview with Karhi, just before the communication minister effectively argued in favor of compelling Gazans to leave the Strip. Although Karhi acknowledged that many Gazans are not involved with Hamas, he suggested that Israel had a strong interest in getting even the innocent civilians in the region to leave. “Maybe they’re not involved [in terrorism] now, but they’re not lovers of Israel, they educate their kids in [the ways of] terror,” he said, referring to the Gazan population.“Voluntary emigration is an important thing,” he continued. “There is no violation of human rights here. And the war also must continue.

Second Hearing: Israel's bid to dismiss South Africa's lawsuit
LBCI/January 12, 2024
For the first time, Israel is in front of the International Court of Justice. After all the evidence presented by South Africa against it on charges of committing genocide, Israel's response has come. Just as Pretoria relied on solid evidence, the Israeli legal team adopted the same approach, accusing South Africa of distorting and omitting the truth. Israel said it has been a victim since October 7 and that it is responding to what it has been subjected to, defending its citizens and exerting pressure to return its hostages. In this context, Israel defended itself as if it were the one facing genocide. The question remains: Did Israel manage to respond to everything South Africa proved with evidence? The second hearing ended with Israel's legal team requesting the International Court of Justice to reject South Africa's lawsuit and dismiss the requested provisional measures. Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services of South Africa stated that Israel failed to present evidence refuting his country's accusations. The focus is now on the court's response this month and on Israel's actions on the ground after all this international pressure.

For Palestinians, ICJ genocide case against Israel is 'test for humanity'
Henriette Chacar and Mohammad Torokman/Fri, January 12, 2024
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinians in the occupied West Bank welcomed the case brought by South Africa in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, saying the proceedings were an opportunity to hold Israel to account for its military assault in Gaza.
Israel has reacted with outrage at the charges brought against it, describing the accusation as "profoundly distorted" and saying South Africa's bid to make it halt its offensive against the Hamas movement in Gaza would leave it defenceless. But for many Palestinians, the charges represent a chance to bring world attention to what they see as Israel's historic suppression of their fundamental rights, and South African flags were flown in many cities in the West Bank. "Israel was built upon the crimes it committed against the Palestinian people," Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told a rally at Nelson Mandela Square in Ramallah, where marchers defying the winter rains chanted "Thank you South Africa!"Israel said it launched an air and ground offensive to annihilate Hamas, the militant Islamist movement that rules the blockaded strip, after the group's fighters led an attack on Israeli communities, during which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage in the deadliest day in the country's 75-year history. In the three months since Oct. 7, Palestinian health authorities say more than 23,400 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in the Israeli bombardment, with some 7,000 believed to be still missing under the rubble. Israel says the South African case attempts to "weaponize" the term genocide - a word coined by a Polish Jew who witnessed the World War Two Nazi Holocaust against Jews in Europe - delegitimizes the existence of the state of Israel and disregards the responsibility of Hamas.
South Africa told the court on Thursday that Israel's offensive aimed to bring about "the destruction of the population" of Gaza. It said Israel's political and military leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were among "the genocidal inciters". Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forced from their homes in a strip that has been in large part laid waste, where the health system has largely collapsed, and the United Nations says restrictions on food and medical aid deliveries have left thousands hungry and at risk of disease.
"This is a test for humanity," said Bassam Zakarneh, a member of the Revolutionary Council of the Fatah movement that dominates the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self rule in the West Bank. The ICJ case comes after two years of escalating violence in the West Bank, where regular army raids have killed hundreds of Palestinians, including both armed fighters and uninvolved civilians. Palestinians militants have also killed dozens of Israelis. At the same time, Jewish settlements in the West Bank have continued to spread and attacks by groups of armed Jewish settlers on Palestinians have risen sharply, drawing international condemnation even from Israel's closest allies. Atieh Jawabra, 68, a former political science professor at Al-Quds University Abu Dis, said he had long been waiting for Israel to appear before an international court for its crimes, which he said go back to the mass expulsion of Palestinians during the 1948 war of Israel's founding, known as the Nakba. "Israel, the United States and the West have put Israel above the law over the course of its history," he said. But some, like shepherd Issa Taamri, said the case was unlikely to change their life. Israel's expansion of settlements around the West Bank city of Bethlehem, where he lives, has severely shrunken the area his sheep can graze in, he said. "The world has been making promises for 75 years to no avail," he said.

Militants ‘neutralized’ after West Bank settlement attack: Israel army
AFP/January 12, 2024
JERUSALEM: Israeli forces “neutralized” three militants after they attacked a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the army said. The military said in a statement there had been a “terrorist infiltration” in the Adora settlement, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Hebron city, and soldiers had come under fire. The soldiers searched the area and “three assailants were identified and neutralized by the security forces,” the statement said. Israeli emergency medical service Magen David Adom said its team was treating a man who was shot in the leg. It did not identify the wounded man.
Palestinian officials have not yet commented on the incident. In a separate incident in the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said a man was killed after being severely beaten by Israel forces in Zeita, north of the city of Tulkarem. The Israeli army did not immediately comment.
Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, some 490,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank deemed illegal under international law. Violence has surged in the West Bank since October 7, when Palestinian armed group Hamas launched an attack in southern Israel that sparked a full-scale conflict in the Gaza Strip.Israeli army raids and settler attacks have killed at least 338 people in the West Bank since then, according to an AFP tally based on sources on both sides. Last year, more than 520 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Over the same period, Palestinian militants carried out attacks in Israel and the West Bank that killed at least 41 people, according to the Shin Bet security agency. Israel has occupied the West Bank, home to about three million Palestinians, since the Six-Day War of 1967.

UN decries ‘systematic’ blocking of aid to north Gaza hospitals
AFP/January 12, 2024
GENEVA: Israel is consistently blocking humanitarian convoys into northern Gaza, making it increasingly challenging to bring desperately needed fuel and other aid to hospitals there, the UN said. After planning aid missions to the north, UN agencies said their convoys were subjected to slow and unpredictable inspections and then a near-systematic refusal from the Israeli side to proceed. “Operations in the north (are) increasingly more complicated,” Andrea De Domenico, head of the UN aid agency OCHA’s office in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Speaking from Jerusalem at a virtual press briefing, he described how detailed coordination was required with a network of checkpoints, and “the Israelis have systematically, or quasi-systematically, refused” to let them through.
BACKGROUND
The UN has long described desperate scenes in the few barely functioning northern hospitals, facing severe shortages of food, clean water, medicines, and fuel. In recent days, he said the agency had had three missions partially approved out of 21 requested. Lucia Elmi, special representative for the UN children’s agency UNICEF in the Palestinian territories, also lamented that “we can’t get sufficient aid in.”“The inspection process remains slow and unpredictable, and some of the materials we desperately need remain restricted, with no clear justification,” she said. De Domenico said the Israeli military was particularly wary about allowing fuel into the north, especially to hospitals. “They have been very systematic not to allow us to support hospitals, which is reaching a level of inhumanity that, for me, is beyond comprehension,” he said.
The UN’s World Health Organization, meanwhile, said that it had finally on Thursday managed to reach Al-Shifa Hospital in the north for the first time in over two weeks, after seven failed attempts. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter, that the mission allowed the delivery of desperately needed aid, including 9,300 liters of fuel. He said “the team reported that Al-Shifa, previously Gaza’s premier hospital, has (partially) re-established services.” The hospital, which WHO described as “a death zone” after it largely ceased operations following raids and occupation by Israeli troops in November, now has 60 medical staff, Tedros said. It also has “a surgical and medical ward with 40 beds, an emergency department, four operating theaters, basic emergency obstetric and gynecologic services.”Hospitals, protected under international humanitarian law, have repeatedly been hit by alleged Israeli strikes in Gaza since the war erupted. The Israeli military accuses Hamas of having tunnels under hospitals and using the medical facilities as command centers, a charge denied by the Islamist group. Only 15 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functioning, most in the south. The UN has long described desperate scenes in the few barely functioning northern hospitals, facing severe shortages of food, clean water, medicines, and fuel. While the partial resumption of services at Al-Shifa was good news, Tedros emphasized that “fuel consumption is much higher, and the need for medical supplies is increasing.”Elmi meanwhile stressed the urgency of allowing more aid through, especially for Gaza’s children. “Children in Gaza are running out of time, while most of the lifesaving humanitarian aid they desperately need remains stranded between insufficient access corridors and protracted layers of inspections,” she said. “Mounting needs and a constrained response is a formula for a disaster of epic proportions.”

Israel to blame for escalating regional tensions, says Jordan’s FM
ARAB NEWS/January 12, 2024
JEDDAH: Israeli war crimes against Palestinians were to blame for heightened regional tension and violence that threatened to ignite a wider war in the Middle East, Jordan’s foreign minister said on Friday. Ayman Safadi also voiced support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over the war in Gaza, and said Amman was ready to submit legal documents and appear in court. “The Israeli aggression on Gaza and its continued committing of war crimes against the Palestinian people and violating international law with impunity are responsible for the rising tensions in the region,” he said in comments published by official news agency Petra. "The stability of the region and its security were closely tied."“The international community is at a humanitarian, moral, legal and security crossroads. Either it shoulders its responsibilities and ends Israel’s arrogant aggression and protects civilians, or it allows Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist ministers to drag us to a regional war,” he said. Israel has denied allegations that it has committed war crimes, and rejected as “grossly distorted” the accusation of genocide. On Friday it presented its defense to the charge at the court in The Hague.
“The appalling suffering of civilians, both Israeli and Palestinian, is first and foremost the result of Hamas’s strategy,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s legal adviser Tal Becker told the court. “If there were acts of genocide, they have been perpetrated against Israel. Hamas seeks genocide against Israel.”
The court is expected to rule this month on possible emergency measures, including South Africa’s request that it order Israel to halt its offensive. But it will not rule yet on the genocide accusations, which could take years. Safadi's made the comments after the pre-dawn air strikes by US and British forces on Houthi positions in Yemen that followed weeks of disruptive attacks on Red Sea shipping by the militia, who say they are acting in solidarity with Gaza. Friday’s attacks add to escalating fears of wider conflict in the region, where violence involving Tehran-aligned groups in Yemen as well as in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria has surged since the Israel-Hamas war began in early October. The war began on October 7 with Hamas attacks on southern Israel, triggering a relentless Israeli military campaign in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Jordanians have demonstrated regularly since the start of the war in support of the Palestinians, with some protesters calling to cut ties with Israel and shut its embassy in Amman. Jordan in November recalled its envoy to Israel and asked Israel not to send back its ambassador, who had been away.
(With Agencies)

Israelis cautiously embrace ‘routine’ as Gaza war nears 100 days
AFP/January 12, 2024
ASHKELON, Israel: Effi Hajjaj has reopened his seafront stall in south Israel’s Ashkelon, offering coffee and snacks to beach-goers who are back in what he called a “victory” after almost 100 days of war. Were it not for the sound of explosions from the besieged Gaza Strip, about 10 kilometers (six miles) down the coast, it may have appeared as a perfectly quiet day on the sandy beach. “Victory means a return to routine, and a certain routine has returned,” said 55-year-old Hajjaj, whose business like many others had been shut after Hamas’s October 7 attack. But behind the scene of normality, the trauma of the attack — the worst in Israel’s 75-year history — still looms large. Palestinian militants stormed southern Israel and under a barrage of rockets, resulting in about 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. In response, Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas, labelled a “terrorist” organization by the United States and the European Union. A relentless Israeli military campaign has killed more than 23,700 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza. With fighting now mainly restricted to the narrow Palestinian territory, Israelis are for the most part protected from the violence but fear for captives held across the border and troops inside Gaza. Around 250 hostages were seized on October 7, 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza. “We have to keep going, move forward... but wherever we go, the conversations revolve around the hostages, around the things we’ve been through,” said Marina Michaeli, a 54-year-old real estate agent in Ashkelon. “We’ve lost our joy,” she said. Support for the war remains high among Israel’s Jewish majority, recent public opinion polls suggest. In December, a Israel Democracy Institute survey found that 75 percent of Jewish Israelis were opposed to calls — including from close ally the United States — to reduce the intensity of bombing in populated areas. And 80 percent felt that the suffering of Palestinian civilians should be given “little” or “very little” consideration in the context of the war, the poll said.
As soon as schools and shops reopened, many Ashkelon residents went on with their everyday lives. And on the seafront, “people are going out again,” Hajjaj said. On October 7, Palestinian militants reached the outskirts of the city.
But now, Hajjaj said, “there are hardly any rockets and they are no longer afraid of terrorist attacks.” Most rockets fired from Gaza are intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system. Still, the hospital in Ashkelon has treated some 1,260 people for injuries related to the October 7 attacks or from rockets, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Closer to Gaza as well as in areas along the Lebanese border, some 200,000 Israelis have been unable to return to their homes since the violence erupted. The Israeli military has also called up 360,000 reservists in more than three months of war.
The army says at least 186 soldiers have been killed inside Gaza since the ground offensive began in late October. Concern for soldiers, hostages and displaced Israelis means “we can’t talk about a return to normality,” said Denis Charbit, a political scientist at Israel’s Open University. But he argued “Israeli resilience” is “the best revenge: to be deeply shaken, but to triumph with this incredible momentum and will to live.” The stories of fallen soldiers and interviews with their families are all over TV and radio broadcasts, and posters of the hostages seem to cover every street corner. Some are stamped with the word “Home” for those released, most of them during a one-week truce that began in November.
Others offer condolences: “May their memory be a blessing.”While the “Bring them home now” campaign to free the remaining hostages keeps getting louder, there are also some signs of a return to pre-war life in Israel, a country of just over nine million. Political controversies that had been put aside, most notably around the hard-right government’s judicial overhaul that last year divided the nation, have begun to reemerge. And in early January, Israel announced it was sending several thousand reservists home in a bid to help boost the economy. To support consumption, the Bank of Israel lowered interest rates for the first time since April 2022. In Jerusalem, large crowds have returned to the city’s central Mahane Yehuda market, particularly at the start of the weekend. “It’s wonderful to see people coming to shop... when everything used to be empty,” said Hanna Gabbay, 22. “The country is still traumatized,” she said. “But life is stronger than anything, we have to keep going.” In Israel’s north, a strip of land several kilometers along on the border with Lebanon has been evacuated due to clashes with Hamas-allied Hezbollah militants and fears of attacks on civilians. In the south, the border with the Gaza Strip largely remains a no-go zone. Most of Sderot’s 35,000 inhabitants have yet to return to their town just two kilometers from Gaza, where militants on October 7 killed at least 40 people. Cats roam around a small square where a few shops have reopened but are struggling for customers. Only birdsong and the occasional passing car break the silence. “We don’t feel safe,” said resident Eti Buhbut, 46. “But we only have one country, and nowhere else to go.”

Daesh under pressure after Hamas attack on Israel
AFP/January 13, 2024
PARIS: The deadly Hamas attack on Israel may have taken the limelight from Daesh, but the terrorists are seeking to capitalize on anger over the bombardment of Gaza to rally followers, analysts say. Israel has vowed to defeat Hamas after an attack on its soil by the Palestinian group on Oct. 7 that killed around 1,140 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also took around 250 hostages, 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza, including at least 25 believed to have been killed. The war has put the spotlight on Hamas. “Without the Gaza war, Daesh would get the headlines,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project think tank.“It puts considerable pressure on IS to remain relevant.”
BACKGROUND
There has been some Daesh-related activity in Europe in recent months, although only at a low level. Both groups are described as “terrorists” by Israel and the West, but they have very different agendas. Hamas presents itself as defending the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation since 1948. Daesh is against Iran and is focused on trying to revive its project of a global Islamic caliphate after losing the territory it held in Syria and Iraq between 2014 and 2019. But its supporters are also against Israel and any “global Jewish project,” said Laurence Bindner, co-founder of the JOS Project, which analyzes extremist propaganda. “In the Middle East, the enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend,” she said. Daesh “has positioned itself simultaneously on several fronts: one against Jews and those who support Israel and another against Iran and their allies.” Earlier this month, Daesh claimed an attack in Iran that killed 89 people gathered to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the killing of storied Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike. Since the start of the war in Gaza, Daesh has sought to tap into sympathy for Palestinians. In late October, Daesh, in its Al-Naba propaganda magazine, published a text on “Practical Ways to Support Muslims in Palestine,” urging followers to attack Israel, its Western backers, and all Jews worldwide. Earlier this month, the terrorist group’s spokesperson, Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari, posted a recording titled “And kill them wherever you find them.” Daesh has “identified an opportunity to leverage the hostile anti-Israel sentiments throughout the Muslim world over the aerial bombardment and military invasion of Gaza,” said Lucas Webber, co-founder of the Militant Wire website.
“It’s an opening for increased relevance and success,” he said. “Even as Daesh continues to have a particular disdain for Hamas, it does not mean that the extremists will forgo taking advantage of the fighting for their purpose — pushing supporters to strike in the West, nudging fence-sitters toward action, and aiming to radicalize a growing pool of angry individuals.”There has been some Daesh-related activity in Europe in recent months, although only at a low level. In France, a French national born to Iranian parents who had sworn allegiance to Daesh stabbed a German-Filipino tourist to death in Paris in early December. Italian police said in November they had arrested an Algerian man in the Milan subway, later discovering he was wanted by Algeria since 2015 for alleged ties to Daesh. A more extensive operation “would be necessary” for the terrorist group in Europe for more people to talk about them, said Schindler. “They have put networks in place for a long time already. Now they need to do something to put themselves back on the agenda.”Eva Koulouriotis, an independent Middle East expert, said Daesh focused on building support in the Middle East and Central Africa. They want to “achieve greater popularity within Islamic societies and, consequently, attract more members,” she said.

Slain Gaza ‘Journalists’ Were Terrorists
FDD/January 12, 2024
Latest Developments
Two Palestinians claimed by Al-Jazeera as its journalists, who were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, were revealed to have been members of terrorist groups. Mustafa Thuraya and Hamza Al-Dahdouh died in a January 7 precision strike on their car near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. At the time, Al-Jazeera, Qatari’s international media mouthpiece, accused Israel of “targeting” journalists and “violating the principles of freedom of the press.” Both men were described as videographers. Yet the IDF said the two had operated drones that posed a threat to its troops.
Thuraya was a Hamas deputy squad commander in the dominant Palestinian terrorist group’s Gaza City Brigade, the IDF said in a follow-up statement on January 10, citing a document discovered during the military offensive. Al-Dahdouh — whose father, Wael, is Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief in Gaza — was a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) electronic engineering unit and previously a rocket-crew commander for the terrorist group, the IDF said, publishing a PIJ personnel list on which he appeared.
During the more than three-month-old Gaza war, Hamas has used drones for battlefield surveillance and to air-drop munitions on Israeli forces.
Expert Analysis
“The killing of a journalist during a war against terrorism is a tragedy. A combatant posing as a journalist while prosecuting a terrorist war against a democracy is a travesty. Al-Jazeera must be held to account for the lethal duplicity of its staff, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was quick to voice condolences over Al-Dahdouh’s death, might now reflect on whether this was warranted.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO “Palestinian regimes — whether that of Hamas or Abbas — do not foster free discourse or reporting. The putative ‘journalists’ working under them must go along to get along, and it should be no surprise that some cross the line and use their professional mantle as cover for terrorism. Western observers should ask themselves why Gaza, a small place with such a high concentration of media professionals, has been so strikingly lacking in investigative exposes about, say, Hamas’s seizure of international aid and redirection of humanitarian funding to its very obvious network of terror tunnels and rockets arsenals.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network
“Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations have long used journalists as a tool to get a message across to the Israeli public and, at times, to the international community. In 2018, during the March of Return, Gaza journalists routinely embedded with Palestinian terrorists launching incendiary-laden balloons and infiltrating the Israeli border. Sadly, this relationship has gone unnoticed by many, particularly those in the West, who fail to recognize the strong link between terrorism and these so-called journalists that dates back many years.” —Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

10 Things to Know About the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
FDD/January 12, 2024
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established in 1949 to serve Palestinian refugees displaced during Israel’s War of Independence. UNRWA continues to operate in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan nearly 75 years later. The United States has contributed over $1 billion to UNRWA since 2021 even though the agency provides cover for terrorist activity and perpetuates the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
1. UNRWA perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem
The United Nations (UN) treats Palestinian refugees differently than refugees from every other conflict or circumstance. Specifically, UNRWA automatically registers the descendants of Palestinian refugees in perpetuity, which has led to explosive growth in its official number of clients. From an original number of around 700,000 refugees, there are now 5.9 million Palestinians registered with UNRWA, even though the vast majority did not flee the conflict. In 2021, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that fewer than 5 percent of UNRWA-registered “refugees” meet the criteria for the designation that the UN applies to refugees from other conflicts. By growing the refugee population and promoting Palestinian claims to Israeli land, UNRWA perpetuates and exacerbates the conflict.
2. UNRWA is a bloated agency with no authority to meaningfully solve the refugee issue
With the exception of Palestinian refugees, all other refugees in the world fall under the responsibility of the United Nations Refugee Agency (also known as UNHCR), which has a mandate to assist refugees in “repatriation and resettlement” and “assimilation with new national communities.” The UN Refugee Agency has a staff of 18,000 to serve over 100 million people. By contrast, UNRWA employs 30,000 staff to service 5.9 million Palestinians. UNRWA admits that it “does not have a mandate to resettle Palestine refugees and has no authority to seek lasting durable solutions for refugees.”
3. Neighboring governments refused to resettle Arab refugees after Israel’s War of Independence
Both Jews and Arabs fled their homes during and after Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. Following the war, Israel absorbed hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab states who faced persecution and expulsion. However, due to the challenges of resettlement and the benefits of wielding the refugees as a future weapon against Israel, these same Arab states did not resettle a similar number of displaced Arabs. In 1949, the United Nations established UNRWA to serve Palestinian refugees. Although most of UNRWA’s original beneficiaries are no longer alive, the agency continues to operate in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
4. UNRWA does not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization
In 1997, the United States designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, freezing its U.S.-based assets, barring members from entering the country, and banning the provision of “material support or resources.” Other countries and international entities that have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization include Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Israel, the Organization of American States, Paraguay, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. However, UNRWA follows the guidelines of the United Nations Security Council Consolidated List of terrorist groups and individuals, which does not include Hamas. As such, the agency has a history of hiring Hamas affiliates. U.S. law forbids American funding for UNRWA to be used for “furnishing assistance” to terrorists, but there is no way to enforce this provision.
5. By delivering basic services, UNRWA frees up money for Hamas to spend on terrorism
Despite the poverty experienced by Gaza residents, Hamas spends over half of its budget on military needs and diverts humanitarian resources to its terrorist purposes and the pockets of its senior leadership. By picking up the civilian tab, UNRWA frees up Hamas resources for terror operations. A Hamas official admitted as such on October 30, explaining that Hamas built hundreds of kilometers of tunnels to protect its fighters, while “it is the responsibility of the United Nations to protect [civilians].” Following the 2014 Gaza war, former Israeli National Security Advisor Maj. Gen. Yaakov Amidror explained that “when you look at what Hamas did with all the cement and the materials that went into Gaza for ‘building,’ and you see that most went on the tunnels, you understand that from their point of view the civilian side is not important.”
6. UNRWA schools radicalize Palestinian children
The curriculum taught in UNRWA schools denies Israel’s legitimacy, incites antisemitism, and encourages violence and jihad. In a study published after the massacre of October 7, IMPACT-se — a research and policy organization that monitors education around the world — documented statements from more than a dozen UNRWA employees who publicly praised the atrocities. For example, as posted on the school’s official Facebook page on October 26, a teacher led elementary students in prayer to support the jihad warriors against the enemies of religion, i.e., Israel. IMPACT-se also identified more than 100 UNRWA employees who promoted hatred and violence on social media prior to the attack.
7. Hamas manipulates UNRWA’s Gaza operations
Hamas has built tunnels underneath UNRWA schools in Gaza for years, using students as human shields. On November 8, Israeli forces destroyed a Hamas terror tunnel adjacent to an UNRWA-administered school in the Gaza Strip. Further, the group stores rockets inside UNRWA schools and uses school grounds as launchpads for attacks. UNRWA leadership also clamps down on employees whose statements reflect well on Israel or poorly on Hamas. For example, UNRWA recalled its Gaza chief in 2021 after he publicly acknowledged that Israel carried out “precise” and “sophisticated” strikes in order to avoid civilian casualties. Similarly, just weeks after the October 7 massacre, UNRWA reported Hamas officials were removing fuel and medical equipment from an UNRWA facility in Gaza City. Yet the agency quickly deleted the information, likely under pressure from Hamas authorities.
8. UNRWA facilities provide a haven for violence outside the Gaza Strip
Violence erupted in an UNRWA refugee camp in southeast Lebanon in July 2023 when tit-for-tat shootings killed an Islamist militant and five members of Hamas’s main rival, Fatah. Fatah is a major Palestinian political party led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Bloody street battles continued into August, killing 13 Palestinians and displacing an additional 2,000. UNRWA’s Jenin Camp in the West Bank is also a locus of terrorism, frequented by Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other local armed groups.
9. UNRWA management has a history of scandal
Reports surfaced in 2019 of “credible and corroborated” corruption allegations against senior UNRWA personnel. In an internal review that leaked to the press, UNRWA detailed “sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination, and other abuses of authority” among its top brass. UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl resigned in the aftermath of an internal investigation. The scandal prompted Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands to suspend their funding. UNRWA has no board of directors to ensure accountability and prevent corruption within the agency. Krahenbuhl won appointment last month as global head of the Red Cross, another indicator of impunity.
10. The United States has contributed over $7 billion to UNRWA
Between 1950 and 2018, U.S. taxpayers contributed about $6 billion to UNRWA. The United States cut funding to UNRWA in 2018 at the direction of President Donald Trump, labeling the agency “irredeemably flawed.” President Joe Biden unconditionally resumed funding UNRWA in 2021, delivering $1 billion over three years, making the United States once again UNRWA’s single largest donor.

Erdogan accuses U.S., Britain of trying to turn Red Sea into 'sea of blood'
Erdogan names former minister as his party's Istanbul mayor candidate
ANKARA (Reuters)/Fri, January 12, 2024
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday slammed the U.S. and British strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen as a disproportionate use of force and accused the two countries of trying to turn the Red Sea into a "sea of blood". Turkey, a NATO member, has strongly criticised Israel for its war in Gaza aimed at wiping out Palestinian militant group Hamas, and has repeatedly slammed Western countries for supporting Israel's campaign. Asked by reporters about the overnight air and sea strikes by U.S. and British forces across Yemen in retaliation against Iran-backed Houthi forces for attacks on Red Sea shipping, the Turkish president said these were not proportionate. "All that has been done is a disproportionate use of force," Erdogan said after Friday prayers in Istanbul. "At the moment, they are trying to turn the Red Sea into a sea of blood and Yemen, with the Houthis and by using all of its force, says it is and will give the necessary response in the region to the United States, Britain," he added. Turkey generally supports Yemen's internationally recognized government, and backs the United Nations-led process aimed at bringing about peace between it and the Houthis who have gained control of much of the country. Ankara has previously condemned Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia. Erdogan said Ankara had heard from various channels that the Houthis were carrying out a "very successful defence, response" against the United States and Britain, while adding that Iran was looking at "how it can protect itself against all that is happening". The Houthis have been attacking shipping lanes at the mouth of the Red Sea, saying this is to support Palestinians against Israel. Unlike its Western allies and some Arab states, Ankara does not consider Hamas, which controls Gaza and launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, a terrorist organisation.

Britain’s Sunak, in Kyiv, announces increase in military aid
REUTERS/January 12, 2024
KYIV: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited wartime Kyiv on Friday to sign a new security agreement and announce an increase in military funding for Ukraine to buy drones, including surveillance, long-range strike and sea drones. Britain, one of Ukraine’s closest allies during the Russian invasion, will increase its support in the next financial year to 2.5 billion pounds ($3.19 billion), an increase of 200 million pounds on the previous two years, Sunak said. “Our opponents around the world believe that we have neither the patience nor resources for long wars. So waver now, and we embolden not just Putin, but his allies in North Korea, Iran and elsewhere,” Sunak told a press conference. His trip comes at an important juncture for Kyiv in the nearly two-year-old war as political infighting in the United States and European Union has held up two major packages of assistance. Kyiv has relied heavily on military and financial aid from the West since the Russian invasion in February 2022. President Volodymyr Zelensky told the press conference he felt vital US financial assistance would materialize and that he felt more positive now than last month. The two leaders signed what Zelensky described as an “unprecedented security agreement” — an arrangement the Ukrainian leader said would remain in place until Kyiv joined the NATO military alliance. “This is not simply a declaration,” Zelensky wrote on social media platform X. His chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said the agreement set out the support that London would continue to provide, including intelligence sharing, medical and military training, and defense industrial cooperation. The UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation follows an earlier agreement by the Group of Seven nations to provide Ukraine with bilateral security guarantees. Ukrainian lawmakers posted short video clips of Sunak addressing members of parliament in Kyiv and receiving a standing ovation. Britain said it would provide the largest delivery of drones to Ukraine from any nation, with most of them expected to be manufactured in Britain. Ukraine had been fighting for the principles of freedom and democracy for two years, Sunak said in a statement. “We will stand with Ukraine, in their darkest hours and in the better times to come.”

Somali leader’s son freed in fatal car accident trial in Turkiye
REUTERS/January 13, 2024
ANKARA: A Turkish court has scrapped an arrest warrant for the son of Somalia’s president after he participated in a court case over a fatal car accident involving a diplomatic car he had been driving, state broadcaster TRT reported. Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, son of Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, was driving a Somali Consulate car on Nov. 30 when it collided with a motorcycle courier in central Istanbul. The courier was seriously injured.
Mahmoud left the country on Dec. 2, following police interrogation.
FASTFACT
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc last month said he expected Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud to return to Turkiye to participate in the court case. An arrest warrant was issued for him after the courier died in hospital on Dec. 6. Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc last month said he expected Mahmoud to return to Turkiye to participate in the court case. Mahmoud came to Istanbul and appeared before the court on Friday afternoon, TRT said, adding that he repeated his earlier defense at the hearing. Mahmoud earlier told the prosecutor that the motorcyclist was to blame for the accident. The court ruled to lift the arrest warrant against Mahmoud and exempted him from future hearings in the case, which will continue. The prosecutor is seeking up to six years in prison for Mahmoud for “causing death by negligence.”

Five Turkish soldiers killed in attack on Iraq base
AFP/January 12, 2024
ANKARA: Five Turkish soldiers were killed and eight others were injured in an attack on a Turkish military base in northern Iraq, Turkiye’s defense ministry said Friday. The ministry said the soldiers were killed during a clash with “terrorists” following “an attempted intrusion” of the base near Metina in northern Iraq. The assailants were presumed to be members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which Ankara and its Western allies classify as a terrorist group, private Turkish channel NTV reported. Turkish authorities announced a military operation was under way in the area in response. Twelve Turkish soldiers were killed late last month in two separate attacks on Turkish military bases in northern Iraq. The Turkish army regularly launches military ground and air operations against PKK fighters and their positions in northern Iraq, as well as autonomous Kurdistan or in the mountainous Iraqi region of Sinjar close to the Turkish border. In the past 25 years Turkiye has installed several dozen military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to fight the group, which also has rear bases in the area. The PKK, which has been involved in an armed struggle against Ankara since 1984, claimed responsibility last October for an attack on the headquarters of the Turkish interior ministry in Ankara which saw two police officers injured.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 12-13/2024
The International Court Of "Injustice" Begins Its Blood Libel Trial Against Israel
Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/January 12, 2024
What is the International Court of Justice? It is not international, because it excludes judges from certain countries. It is not a real court, because the judges are selected by their countries and many of them simply follow the instructions of those who appointed them. And it has never done justice, because it has long been biased against Israel. It is the United Nations court, and that tells you all you need to know about it.
The United Nations has become the megaphone of bigotry and anti-Semitism.... Both the United Nations and its court are shams.
It is the Hamas charter that calls for genocide against the Jews of Israel, and it is South Africa that is harboring Hamas terrorists and defending its murders and rapes. It should be Hamas that is on trial for attempted genocide and South Africa that is on trial for complicity with Hamas. Instead, the nation-state of the Jewish people is being accused of a blood libel, despite going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties in its legitimate efforts to destroy Hamas.
The evidence is indisputable that Hamas has committed numerous war crimes.
Were the International Court of Justice to falsely conclude that Israel was guilty of genocide, it would destroy whatever remaining credibility that court might have. If that were to happen, the United States and some other nations should and probably would leave the court: it would not deserve the legitimacy afforded by membership of any decent country.
What is the International Court of Justice? It is not international, because it excludes judges from certain countries. It is not a real court, because the judges are selected by their countries and many of them simply follow the instructions of those who appointed them. And it has never done justice, because it has long been biased against Israel. The United Nations has become the megaphone of bigotry and anti-Semitism. Both the United Nations and its court are shams. Pictured: Judges in the International Court of Justice take their seats to hear the blood libel accusation against Israel, brought by South Africa, in The Hague on January 11, 2024. (Photo by Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
The blood libel accusation against Israel has now begun in The Hague. The failed nation of South Africa has brought genocide charges against Israel in the International Court of Justice.
What is the International Court of Justice? It is not international, because it excludes judges from certain countries. It is not a real court, because the judges are selected by their countries and many of them simply follow the instructions of those who appointed them. And it has never done justice, because it has long been biased against Israel. It is the United Nations court, and that tells you all you need to know about it. The United Nations has become the megaphone of bigotry and anti-Semitism. As an Israeli diplomat once put it, if Algeria introduced a resolution that the earth is flat and that Israel flattened it, it would win 120 to 27 with 32 abstentions. And you can name the countries in each of the groups before any evidence is presented.
Both the United Nations and its court are shams, especially when it comes to Israel. The facts are clear: Israel has not committed genocide nor has it violated international law as it defended itself from Hamas barbarity. It is the Hamas charter that calls for genocide against the Jews of Israel, and it is South Africa that is harboring Hamas terrorists and defending its murders and rapes. It should be Hamas that is on trial for attempted genocide and South Africa that is on trial for complicity with Hamas. Instead, the nation-state of the Jewish people is being accused of a blood libel, despite going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties in its legitimate efforts to destroy Hamas.
There have been too many civilian casualties in Gaza, although no one has any idea how many of the dead and wounded were actually civilians, as distinguished from terrorists and those who assist them. The civilian casualties are the fault of Hamas, first for starting the war by murdering Israeli civilians, and second by hiding their military assets among civilians in an effort to use them as human shields. Hamas apparently even shot at its own citizens to keep them from fleeing to southern Gaza for safety as the Israelis had urged them to.
The evidence is indisputable that Hamas has committed numerous war crimes. First, it attacked Israeli civilians attending a music festival and living in peace. Second, it ordered its terrorists to rape and sexually assault its victims, thus weaponizing sexual assault during wartime. Third, it has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli civilian targets. Fourth, it has built tunnels with exits near Israeli civilian areas, whose purpose it is to murder and kidnap civilians. Fifth, it has deliberately placed its rocket launchers and command centers in civilian areas, in order to induce Israel to cause collateral damage among civilians. Sixth, it has used children and even babies as human shields to prevent Israel from rescuing its hostages. Seventh, it has taken over hospitals, schools, mosques and other civilian resources and turned them into military assets. Eighth, it has recruited 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls to become terrorists. Ninth, it has coerced women into becoming suicide bombers targeting Israeli civilians. Tenth, it arranged for civilian workers from Gaza to get jobs in Israel in order to provide them information they used to murder Israeli civilians.
Hamas has praised South Africa for doing its dirty work and bringing the blood libel claim against Israel. Since the death of Nelson Mandela, South Africa has gone downhill as a nation. It has become a corrupt kleptocracy with spiraling crime rates and massive inequality. Both white and black South Africans are leaving the failed nation in droves. In order to divert attention from its failures toward its own people, it has done what so many anti-Semites have done over the years: it has used Israel and the Jews as scapegoats to deflect attention away from its own failures.
The crime of genocide requires an intent to destroy an entire people, based on ethnicity, race or religion. It also requires actions, calculated to achieve that goal. Israel has done exactly the opposite in relation to the Arabs and Muslims of Gaza. It ended the occupation in 2005, leaving behind farming equipment and other material resources that could have been used to turn Gaza into Singapore on the Mediterranean. It has provided medical services to Gazans in need of Israel's exceptional resources. It has provided employment for thousands of Gazans with good pay. The end result is that the population of the Gaza Strip has increased dramatically over the years during which Israel has been accused of genocide. These are not the indicia of genocide. What Israel has done has been based on one consideration alone: namely the need to protect its own civilians from efforts by Hamas to conduct genocide against its Jewish civilians.
The very term "genocide" was coined to describe the Nazi's largely successful effort to end the entire Jewish presence in Europe, by the use of gas chambers, shooting pits and other industrial mechanisms of mass murder. To turn that important word into a weapon against the descendants of the Jews who survived the Nazi genocide is to distort history, morality and basic decency.
Were the International Court of Justice to falsely conclude that Israel was guilty of genocide, it would destroy whatever remaining credibility that court might have. If that were to happen, the United States and some other nations should and probably would leave the court: it would not deserve the legitimacy afforded by membership of any decent country.
*Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School, and the author most recently of War Against the Jews: How to End Hamas Barbarism. He is the Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Fellow at Gatestone Institute, and is also the host of "The Dershow" podcast.
© 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.

Gaza war and the paralysis of the UN Security Council
Maha Akeel/Arab News/January 12, 2024
In a TV interview during the UN General Assembly last September, Secretary General Antonio Guterres said power, especially at the Security Council, was not in his hands but in those of the member states. What he had was a voice, and convening power.At that time the war in Ukraine was the center of attention, and he commented on his inability to intervene to stop it. He described the situation at the Security Council as a “paralysis of political decision”: the geopolitical divide had paralyzed the ability to take action. This wasn’t the first time the Security Council had failed to act to protect civilians and prevent wars and atrocities, but the war in Gaza that erupted a few weeks later has made that paralysis more severe and glaringly obvious. It clearly demonstrated that the Security Council was not living up to its primary responsibility, which is to maintain international peace and security. Member states individually have the power, particularly the permanent five, but they intervene only when it is in their interests, regardless of the killing, mayhem and suffering of the innocent. This raises the question, what is the purpose of the Security Council? At the time of his interview, Guterres was proud of the work of the UN’s humanitarian sector. In Gaza, even that has been inefficient and inadequate because of Israel’s refusal to allow humanitarian aid into the enclave, which had already been under Israeli blockade for 16 years. Even UN staff and facilities have beentargeted, resulting in the deaths in just a few months of more UN personnel, not to mention journalists, than in any other conflict. Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza are being killed, forcibly evicted, displaced and left to suffer homelessness, starvation, thirst, disease, and now the cold weather as the whole enclave has been reduced to rubble and rendered uninhabitable — all in the eyes and ears of the world, including the Security Council.
For many who had some hope or belief in the international system, the disappointment and disillusion are great. The already weak, disenfranchised and powerless now feel helpless and abandoned.
However, there are still means to stop this vengeful, ferocious, inhumane aggression on Gaza and bringing the perpetrators to justice. South Africa has filed an application at the International Court of Justice in The Hague accusing Israel of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention. The court is the UN’s principal judiciary organ. Its role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by states, and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by UN entities and agencies. After two days of hearings, the world now waits to see how much power the court actually has. In its request, South Africa asked for provisional measures to “protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention” and “ensure Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention not to engage in genocide, and to prevent and to punish genocide.” South Africa has filed an application at the International Court of Justice in The Hague accusing Israel of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Will politics and power influence how the case moves forward? What are the expectations? Who will stand with which side? And who will enforce any ruling made by the court? The Gaza war has revealed many things: the double standards of the West, the hypocrisy, the dominance, and the hegemony. Human rights and international law seem to apply only to certain peoples. Freedom of expression and of the press are paramount only if they conform and align with those who define and determine their boundaries.
Western countries, especially the US, have lost much of their credibility and moral leadership. Perhaps one of the main revelations of this war has been how much power and influence the Israeli lobby has on US politics and society. If you want to have a long and successful political career, if you want to continue working in Hollywood, if you want to keep your media job and academic standing, you need to be in the good books of “you know who” or you will be discredited and destroyed by the label of antisemitism, or find yourself entangled in other serious accusations. Any country lucky enough to be in the orbit of protection of one of the five permanent members of the Security Council is assured of immunity from persecution and the freedom to act with impunity. Otherwise, it can expect to be held accountable and responsible for violating international laws and obligations.
Perhaps this is why armed non-state actors are finding more space to act, with diplomatic and peaceful means are blocked. They are taking charge, disrupting and challenging the status quo. This is not a good sign for peace and security.
In his TV interview Guterres expressed frustration at the high level of division and unpredictability among the Security Council members, which undermined trust in the UN’s peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts. The outdated and dysfunctional state of affairs at the Security Council puts the whole world at risk of increasing violence and humanitarian suffering as people become more vulnerable to crises and disasters.
It is absolutely time to reform the council’s structure, privileges and role. Leaving things as they are will not be conducive to peace and security, as more actors emerge with the means of disrupting and challenging the dominance and hegemony of those in power, creating new possibilities, environments and engagements that may lead to more crises, war and suffering.
Maha Akeel is a Saudi expert in communications, social development, and international relations. She is a member of the UN’s Senior Women Talent Pipeline. X: @MahaAkeel1

Don’t hold your breath for Russia-Ukraine peace in 2024
Luke Coffey/Arab News/January 12, 2024
Few could have imagined in the first few days after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that the fighting would still be going on almost two years later.
After Ukraine’s success in liberating a sizeable chunk of territory by the end of 2022, little progress was made by either side in 2023: what little land that changed hands often did so at considerable cost to the attacker. Even with winter setting in, the level of fighting has not decreased much. Meanwhile both sides are preparing for 2024.
So what does the next year have in store for Ukraine and Russia? That is impossible to predict precisely. Butbased on what has happened over the past two years, some reasonable assumptions may be made. Here are four things to look out for.
First, expect support from some Western countries to slow down in the coming months. The best example of this is in the US. It has been more than a year since Congress last approved funding to arm Ukraine. With the politics playing out between the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House, little progress is being made on additional funding. The top Republican contender for the presidency in November’s election, Donald Trump, has also stated his opposition to more aid for. There are enough Republican and Democrat members of Congress to approve additional aid, but the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is blocking a vote — at least for now.
Meanwhile, some far-right governments in Europe, such those in Hungary and Slovakia, are threatening to use their powerful veto authority inside the EU to block future aid to Ukraine. Ultimately there will likely be plenty of Western support for Ukraine in 2024, but securing support for additional aid will not be as easy as it was during the early months of the war, and the pace of the aid will be slower.
Second, Russia will use 2024 to place itself on a more secure war footing. Despite heavy losses in manpower and equipment, Moscow is showing no indication that it wants to throw in the towel. In 2024 expect Russia to continue increasing the size of its armed forces. President Vladimir Putin will also devoterecord amounts to defense spending this year. The Russians have proved effective at circumventing Western economic sanctions and will continue to do so in 2024. This, combined with additional funding from the Kremlin, has allowed the Russian defense industry to survive and in some cases even grow.
Both sides believe that with the right strategy in place and with enough assistance from their friends, they can be victorious.
The high levels of Russian casualties in Ukraine — some estimates suggest more than 300,000 killed and wounded— have not seemed to influence public opinion of the war. Most important, the Kremlin sees growing debate in the US about additional aid to Ukraine as a sign that the West is losing interest. All of this further emboldens the Kremlin.
Third, expect Iran and North Korea to continue, and in some cases increase, military aid to Russia. Whilemany of Kyiv’s Western friends dither on supplying more weapons, Russia is not having the same problems with its partners. According to South Korean intelligence, North Korea has provided more than a million rounds of artillery shells to Russia and fragments of long-range North Korean ballistic missiles fired by Russia have been found in Ukraine. Iranian-produced drones have already been introduced to the conflict and are used almost weekly. As Russia continues to burn through its missile stockpiles, 2024 could be the year that Iranian ballistic missiles, such as the Fateh-110, are introduced into the conflict.
Finally, there is a wild-card scenario for 2024 in which the Ukrainians change the dynamics of the war in their favor. After almost a year of preparation and training, F-16 fighter jets will finally enter service for Ukraine before the summer. This could have a big impact on the battlefield, but Ukraine will need more to turn the tide. If the US and German governments finally provide the long-range missiles Ukraine needs to hit Russian targets and logistics sites deep in Crimea, Kyiv could gain the upper hand. These weapons are the American-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, and German-made Taurus air-launched cruise missiles.
The ATACMS are ballistic missiles with a range of 300 kilometers, meaning Ukraine could hit Russian targets in Crimea. Each missile can deliver a payload of up to 560 kg of explosives, depending on what type of warhead is used. The Taurus is a powerful missile with a range of 500 kilometers. Last year the Ukrainians were given a similar air-launched cruise missile called Storm Shadow/SCALP by the British and the French. These have been used effectively against the Russian Black Sea fleet. More Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles, combined with ATACMS, Taurus, and F-16s, could have a meaningful impact in the war in 2024.
Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has shown any willingness or desire to negotiate. Both sides believe that with the right strategy in place and with enough assistance from their friends they can be victorious. Both sides continue to pursue maximalist goals. The Kremlin is still committed to regime change in Kyiv and the demilitarization of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky has made it clear that he intends toliberate all of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory under Russian occupation.
Nobody should expect 2024 to be a year of peace between Russia and Ukraine.
*Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. X: @LukeDCoffey.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye close ranks on defense
Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/January 12, 2024
Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan held their second Trilateral Defense Collaboration meeting this week. The first meeting was held in Riyadh last August, while the third will be held next month during the World Defense Show, also in Riyadh. This trio of meetings aims to boost these countries’ shared objective of self-sufficiency in defense and increase the scope of trilateral defense cooperation. Besides the technicalities of these meetings, it is important to look closely at the defense nexus between these three countries and the driving forces behind the growing security bonds between them.
Over the past decade, the Middle East has undergone a myriad of geopolitical vicissitudes that have had a transformative impact on the conventional alignment paradigms among the region’s states. These shifts have resulted in a change of alignments in the region, paving the way for the emergence of new partnerships. Within this context, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan maintain a robust trilateral relationship that is increasingly important to the security, economic and diplomatic interests of all three countries. They hold joint military exercises and sign deals to consolidate their commitment to defense cooperation.
Pakistan and Turkiye both neighbor Iran. Thus, the foreign policies of Ankara and Islamabad have always been influenced by their geographical locations and intricate geopolitical dynamics. The recent reconciliation between Riyadh and Tehran — a monumental shift facilitated by China — has provided an opportunity for both Pakistan and Turkiye to balance their relationships with Saudi Arabia and Iran. In the case of Turkish-Saudi relations, the reconciliation climate in the region since early 2021 has been instrumental in mending ties and allowing them to move forward on areas of collaboration, most importantly in the defense realm.
In this regard, last year’s signing of a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation between the Saudi Ministry of Defense and Turkish defense equipment manufacturer Baykar for the supply of drones — which took place during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Saudi Arabia — is crucial. The Turkish side said that the deal was the largest defense and aviation export contract signed by a Turkish company to date. The Kingdom became the seventh nation to purchase Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci combat drones, following many of its Gulf neighbors. Pakistan has also purchased Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci drones, which have become a game-changer for the country’s defense capabilities.Their relationship is increasingly important to the security, economic and diplomatic interests of all three countries
On the other hand, Pakistan and Turkiye’s defense relationship is much more structured and deep-rooted, dating back to the 1950s. During the Cold War, they became part of pro-Western defense alliance the Baghdad Pact, which later became known as the Central Treaty Organization, to boost their political and security collaborations. Despite the short-lived nature of the alliance, Pakistan and Turkiye have continued to enhance their security cooperation. The Pakistan-Turkiye Military Consultative Group was established in 1988 to further coordinate military cooperation. The Pakistani armed forces are still trained by Turkish forces. Pakistan also maintains close military ties with Saudi Arabia, providing extensive support, arms and training for the Saudi armed forces. Since the 1970s, Pakistan has been training Saudi soldiers and pilots. Contrary to common belief, Saudi Arabia's relationship with Pakistan goes beyond religious ideologies. Despite the ups and downs in their ties, Riyadh considers Islamabad to be a key defense partner. Regarding the security of the Gulf and Southwest Asia, both nations largely hold a shared perspective. This alignment extends to significant global issues, including Afghanistan.
In this aspect, Turkiye also becomes a part of the equation. Ankara has remained resolute in support of Pakistan vis-a-vis Afghanistan, considering Islamabad’s sensitivities. Pakistan, for its part, has always supported Turkiye’s position on the Cyprus issue. They also shared a common vision during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, siding with Azerbaijan.
These three countries also share a common vision regarding the Palestinian cause, utilizing the Organization of Islamic Cooperation as a significant instrument in regional issues. Also, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia view the Kashmir issue as one of the most pressing challenges facing the security and stability of the region. As part of the OIC contact group, Ankara and Riyadh boycotted a G20 meeting held by India in Kashmir last year, although both countries also try to maintain cordial relations with New Delhi.
As the US pivots toward Asia-Pacific, it is likely that these three nations will progress the different domains of their relations
In sum, there are several regional dossiers that bring Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan onto the same page.
Engagement between the three nations within the defense sector has been substantial and their militaries remain well acquainted with one another. As the US pivots toward Asia-Pacific and reduces its role as a direct security provider in the region, it is likely that these three nations will, as a result of the significant powers they hold, progress the different domains of their relations, either bilaterally or trilaterally. Despite the ongoing deepening of the robust triangular defense collaboration among these countries, it has so far not advanced into a formal trilateral security partnership. It would be misleading to anticipate the prompt evolution of the trilateral relationship into a comprehensive defense alliance.
While there is substantial alignment in the defense perspectives of these three countries, there could be instances where their strategic interests might deviate. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye each have unique geopolitical positions and interests. It is crucial to address these subtle differences to maintain a harmonious defense relationship. One of the ways to boost this collaboration would be to have a candid understanding on mutual threat perceptions. This would allow them to devise strategies that are cognizant of each other’s concerns and priorities. Additionally, navigating the intricate geopolitical landscape may be necessary to move forward in terms of defense collaboration.
• Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkiye’s relations with the Middle East. X: @SinemCngz

How to deal with Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping
Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg/Arab News/January 12, 2024
Houthi militiamen launched a complex attack toward international shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea on Tuesday, according to a statement by the US Central Command. They used Iranian-designed one-way attack drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and an anti-ship ballistic missile, according to the US statement. In addition to their complexity, the attacks were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at about 9:15 p.m., indicating nighttime fighting capabilities.
Eighteen of the suicide drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and the anti-ship ballistic missile were shot down by a combined effort of the US and UK military assets in the region, according to the American statement.
On Wednesday, led by the US, the UN Security Council condemned “in the strongest terms” the Houthi attacks on merchant and commercial vessels since Nov. 19, demanding that the group immediately cease all such attacks. The resolution called for “respect for the exercise of navigational rights and freedoms by merchant and commercial vessels in line with international law.” It gave tacit approval of US actions by “taking note” of the right of countries, in accordance with international law, to defend their vessels from attacks.
Although Houthi attacks on merchant shipping are in clear violation of international law, the speed with which the UNSC adopted this resolution indicated a clear double standard. Compare that to the council’s failure to pass a resolution condemning Israel and calling on it to stop its war against Gaza after more than 90 days of destruction and the death of more than 23,000 Palestinians, along with tens of thousands more injured and hundreds of thousands homeless. This double standard is highlighted and cynically exploited by groups such as the Houthis, with considerable resonance in the region, thus undermining the rule of international law and UN credibility.
The persistence of these incidents and the size of this week’s attack have demonstrated the group’s defiance
In October, the Houthis launched missile and drone attacks against Israel, citing its war on Gaza. Although the attacks were apparently futile, the armed group gained popularity in Yemen and elsewhere for what it portrayed as standing up for the people of Gaza as they suffered under Israel’s brutal onslaught. The Houthis began targeting what they believed to be Israel-bound vessels in the Red Sea, garnering more political support as the war in Gaza intensified, with very little international action to stop Israel’s atrocities.
Since then, the Houthis have widened their stated aim to include all international shipping companies, until Israel allows full humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza. Houthi actions and warnings have caused many companies to divert ships far to the south around the Cape of Good Hope, driving up costs and threatening to disrupt the global supply chain, much of which goes through the Red Sea.
Tuesday night’s attack was believed to be the 26th on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea since Nov. 19, when the group started aiming at ships with no clear Israeli connections. The persistence of these incidents and the size of this week’s attack have demonstrated the group’s defiance. Tuesday’s incident came less than a week after 14 countries, led by the US, issued a joint statement warning: “The Houthis will bear the responsibility for the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, or the free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways.”
The Houthis have not given any indication that they will stop, despite these warnings and US sanctions against individuals and entities associated with the group. They are benefiting from their increased political popularity and, as such, are not likely to heed the UNSC resolution issued on Wednesday night and let it restrain them. They have ignored past resolutions on the Yemen conflict, including Resolution 2216, which was issued under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
While efforts should intensify to stop Houthi attacks against passing ships and threats to the international shipping lanes in the Red Sea, the international community should take a longer-term view and see beyond the current attacks. There are several essential but overdue steps that can be taken to secure this vital artery. The international community should take a longer-term view and see beyond the current attacks
First, the international community should provide greater support for the ongoing Yemen peace process to ensure the success of the UN, Saudi Arabia and Oman’s mediation between the Yemeni parties. The UN special envoy has now presented a proposed roadmap toward a permanent ceasefire and political solution, which could include measures to reduce the use of anti-shipping attacks for political purposes — a clear motive for the recent attack by the Houthis.
Second, the newly deployed military capabilities in the Red Sea could help enforce the arms embargo imposed by UNSC Resolution 2216 in order to prevent the importation of missiles or missile components that can be used to threaten shipping. There are many gaps in the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen that was established under the resolution. It only inspects vessels exceeding 100 tons, allowing smaller boats to pass through, even if they carry suspicious loads. In addition, there have been consistent reports that ships exceeding 100 tons do evade its inspections in Djibouti.
Third, UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism inspectors should be allowed to fulfill their mandate by inspecting shipments in the Hodeidah port, as was originally intended, and not just in Djibouti. Similarly, staff at the UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement should be allowed to exercise its role without hindrance. This mission was set up following the UN-mediated agreement between the Yemeni government and the Houthis that was signed in Stockholm in 2018 and endorsed by UNSC Resolution 2451. However, the UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement’s movement and ability to carry out its mandate are currently severely restricted.
Fourth, the increased military presence could assist by gathering information about troop movement on the Yemeni mainland to provide early warning of impending attacks on shipping. Better reconnaissance would have the added value of monitoring violations of the UN-mediated truce on Yemen’s mainland. The truce has been holding more or less since April 2022 but needs better monitoring.
Fifth, the clearing of sea mines deployed by the Houthis, which pose a mortal danger for shipping, is extremely important and is quite feasible with the added presence of military assets in the Red Sea.
Sixth, as the UNSC resolution on Wednesday urged, there is an urgent need to “support capacity building efforts” of the Yemeni coast guard to “protect the sovereignty and integrity of the country” — a long overdue measure.
These and other similar measures are already included in previous UN resolutions on the Yemen conflict. It is the lax enforcement of those instruments that has allowed the Houthis to pose a threat to maritime security. Now is the time to put them into effect.
Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the Gulf Cooperation Council assistant secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation. The views expressed here are personal and do not necessarily represent the GCC. X: @abuhamad1