Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 14-15/2024
Elias Bejjani/Video In Arabic: Nasrallah’s Speech Today: Incoherent, Confusing, Disgusting, and Demeaning to the Intelligence of Lebanese and Arabs
Text and Video: Nasrallah’s Speech Today: Incoherent, Confusing, Disgusting, and Demeaning to the Intelligence of Lebanese and Arabs/Elias Bejjani/January 15/2024
Israeli troops kill 4 gunmen at Lebanon border area: army
Lebanese journalist Nabila Awad refuses award from culture minister
Maronite Patriarch rejects linking Presidential election to Gaza conflict
Bishop Aouda: We have become more in need than ever for a leader to take the reins and lead Lebanon, away from war and the madness surrounding us.
2 Israeli 'civilians' reportedly killed by Hezbollah missile
3 militants killed and 5 Israeli troops hurt in Shebaa Farms clash
Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah: A hundred days passed and Gaza resists and perseveres
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah: US, ‘Israel’ Threaten Us with Defeated Brigades, We Say “Hello and Welcome”
Nasrallah says Hezbollah doesn't fear war, no talks before Gaza war ends
Hezbollah intensifies attacks on Israeli army ahead of Nasrallah speech
Confrontation at Shebaa Farms: Kataib al-Ezz al-Islamiya reports three deaths in operation
Israeli airstrikes and shelling in south Lebanon amid Hezbollah attacks
UN Peacekeeping chief wraps up Lebanon leg of regional trip
Member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council to LBCI: Netanyahu wants to continue the war and is trying to open the northern front
From Gaza to southern Lebanon: Navigating the political landscape amid regional turbulence
Diplomatic dilemmas: Israel's choices between diplomacy and war

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 14-15/2024
US delivers 'private message' to Iran after Yemen strikes
Genocide case against Israel: Where does the rest of the world stand on the momentous accusations?
Israel's Netanyahu Says 'No One will Stop Us' in Gaza
Gaza: 100 Days of Bloodshed Unfold in a Sea of Tragedy
Fierce fighting in Gaza as war hits 100 days
UN says Gaza war ‘staining humanity’ on eve of 100th day
Israel detains two sisters of killed Hamas leader Aruri
Arab Parliament: Israel ‘evades its heinous crimes with false allegations against Egypt’
Macron Calls for Fresh Talks to Free Gaza Hostages
2 Iranian Journalists Jailed on Protest Charges Temporarily Released
US Defense Secretary Austin in Good Condition in Hospital, Says Pentagon
China FM in Egypt calls for Gaza ceasefire and Palestinian statehood
Turkiye warns it will target any ‘terrorland’ on its southern borders
Namibia condemns former colonial ruler Germany over Gaza response
Thousands march in London, stage events in UK for Gaza ‘day of action’
A suicide bomber in western Afghanistan targets the governor's office and wounds 3 guards
Biden: US does not support Taiwan independence

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on January 14-15/2024
Taiwan Voters Just Cut China's Xi Jinping Down to Size/Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/January 14, 2024
Why ISIS has unleashed its suicide bombers against Iran/Rebecca Rommen/Business Insider/January 14, 2024
The Strike on the Houthis is a Strike on Credibility/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/14 January 2024
Four Factors Making Things Worse in Syria/Fayez Sara/Asharq Al-Awsat/14 January 2024
US-Iran Battlegrounds: From Yemen to Iraq/Dlawer Ala'Aldeen/Former Minister in the Kurdistan Regional Government/January 14, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 14-15/2024
Elias Bejjani/Video In Arabic: Nasrallah’s Speech Today: Incoherent, Confusing, Disgusting, and Demeaning to the Intelligence of Lebanese and Arabs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoVijRKsDAs&t=40s

Text and Video: Nasrallah’s Speech Today: Incoherent, Confusing, Disgusting, and Demeaning to the Intelligence of Lebanese and Arabs
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/126183/126183/
Elias Bejjani/January 15/2024
Nasrallah’s speeches have become like reports of any media correspondent, including his dull and confused speech of today. Overall, his speeches are always trivial, superficial, and embarrassing with their populist and ideological discourse, filled with colossal lies that do not even deserve a comment other than the word “charlatan.”
This day dreaming storyteller and soldier in the army of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Weleat Al Fakeah (He openly boasts about it) deludes himself with claims of Israel’s losses, its failure, and defeat, celebrating false victories of his axis of evil and terrorism.
However, like any deceiver, Trojan, and hypocrite, he dares not mention the unprecedented losses of the Palestinians in Gaza, and the losses of the Lebanese, especially those inflicted by Israel on the young victims of his group’s recruits to fight for the expansionist and dictatorial Iranian jihadist schemes.
In actual reality, the number of young people announced by Hezbollah as killed in South Lebanon in the last 100 days exceeded 160, including senior leaders. Meanwhile, the Israeli army’s casualties in the Gaza war are fewer than this number. So, where are the delusional victories and triumphs that Nasrallah claims?
Nasrallah deludes himself, mourns his Jihadist fighters, and promotes a culture of death, martyrdom, and sacrifice while hiding in his hole. In contrast, Israeli leaders stroll and inspect their fronts and military around the clock.
It is worth noting that Nasrallah is the one who declared war on Israel, not the other way around, on October 8, 2023. He openly and proudly confirmed this atrocity, using sickening arrogance in all his rhetoric after the war started in Gaza, describing it as a “supporting war,” despite Lebanon and the Lebanese having no say in this war involvement. His terrorist group officially refuses to cease its involvement before the end of the war in Gaza.
As for the deaths in his party, they are absolutely not considered martyrs for Lebanon, even though they hold Lebanese citizenship. They fight in a jihadist war under the banner of Islamic resistance, defending Iran’s rulers, their fundamentalist and sectarian regime, and their anti-Lebanon and anti-Arab schemes, all against global peace.
His terrorist party boasts about this fact, mourning them as jihadist martyrs who died while performing their jihadist duties, with no mention of Lebanon in the obituaries, knowing that Lebanon is a secular state, not Islamic or jihadist. If these victims, who were recruited not by Lebanese official authorities are considered martyrs, they are practically and realistically martyrs for Iran and its party (Hezbollah) in Lebanon, not martyrs for Lebanon.
In summary, Nasrallah’s speech today was babble and gobbledygook, meaning it was confusing and incomprehensible, containing nothing but lies, delusions, promoting for death, killing, hostility, and endless Jihadist wars.

Israeli troops kill 4 gunmen at Lebanon border area: army
AFP/January 14, 2024
JERUSALEM: Israeli troops on Sunday killed four militants who crossed in from Lebanon at a disputed border area, the army said as tensions surge on the 100th day of the Israel-Hamas war. Since Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip erupted on October 7, the Israel-Lebanon border has seen near-daily exchanges of fire between Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces. The Israeli military said troops patrolling a contested border area “identified a terrorist cell who crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory and fired at the forces.” “The soldiers engaged and responded with live fire, four terrorists were killed,” the army said in a statement. Tensions along the border spiked after the killing earlier this month of Hamas’s deputy leader Saleh Al-Aruri in a Beirut suburb, in a strike widely attributed to Israel. Violence on the border since October 7 has killed 190 people, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists, according to an AFP tally. In Israel’s north, at least nine soldiers and four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities. Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006.

Lebanese journalist Nabila Awad refuses award from culture minister
ARAB NEWS/January 14/2024
LONDON: Lebanese news presenter Nabila Awad has refused to receive an award from the minister of culture in objection to his political stances and ministerial decisions. Awad, who works for the Lebanese channel MTV, was offered an award from Ard Almobdein (Land of Creatives) Association for her achievements in the media sector, Annahar newspaper reported on Thursday. The association, in cooperation with Lebanon’s culture ministry, annually honors creatives who stand out in their fields during a ceremony at Beirut’s UNESCO Palace. When the broadcaster learned that she would receive her award from Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada, she declined it. She told Annahar that while grateful for the recognition, she opposed many of the minister’s decisions, which, in her opinion, have harmed the cultural industries in Lebanon. Awad added: “I am also known for being against the minister’s political line and stances, as well as his performance in the Ministry of Culture. “For all these reasons, I refuse to receive the award from the minister of culture. I have explained this to the association’s leaders, and they seemed understanding. “I am a journalist, and among the foundations of my profession is to defend freedoms. This is what I believe in. Therefore, I refuse to receive any recognition from those who oppose freedoms and have harmed the cultural scene in Lebanon.”Mohammad Mortada, who previously served as the head of Mount Lebanon’s criminal court, was named minister of culture in 2021 by the government of prime minister-designate, Najib Mikati. Last year, Mortada banned the “Barbie” movie from being screened in Lebanon, saying it “promoted homosexuality” and challenged moral values.

Maronite Patriarch rejects linking Presidential election to Gaza conflict
LBCI/January 14, 2024).
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi emphasized that it is unacceptable to link the election of the President to stopping the war in Gaza. During his Sunday sermon in Bkerki, he stated, "I wish Lebanese politicians, those working to overthrow the entity of Lebanon and its system, and those seeking to disguise its identity, characteristics, and role in its Arab environment, know their personal identity, their Lebanese identity, and what Lebanon is." He asked, "Where is Lebanon today, and the influencers from parliamentary blocs, parties, and those with personal, sectarian, and suspicious goals are determined to 'behead' the state by obstructing the election of this head and nullifying what the constitution clearly dictates?" He said, "In light of this question, it is unacceptable, in the past, present, or future, to sideline the head of state, the Maronite Christian, in adherence to the national pact and the Taif Agreement, securing the establishment of a state of institutions." "This would allow the parliament to regain its legislative authority, the government its executive powers [...] where the need is the election of a president. This secures the separation of powers and puts an end to chaos in the state's life," he added. On the other hand, he pointed out that it is unacceptable for a negotiation and treaty law to take place, which is exclusively within the powers of the President according to Article 52 of the constitution. Moreover, it is unacceptable, from a third perspective, to link the election of the President to stop the war in Gaza because his presence is more effective than any other means, as he raises the issue of the Palestinians at both the regional and international levels and protects Lebanon, its land, people, and entity. He also mentioned that there is much talk these days about an international movement aiming to demarcate Lebanon's southern land borders despite these borders being defined and documented by international agreements for more than 100 years. He highlighted that all of this is happening while the position of the presidency is vacant and there is an incomplete authority government, both of which are the only valid references to address this important national matter. He said, "Article 2 of the constitution stipulated that 'No part of the Lebanese territory may be given up or abandoned.' Therefore, we call for implementing international agreements and decisions regarding the southern Lebanese land borders, especially Resolution 1701, and not making any border adjustments in the absence of a president and a procedural authority with incomplete powers."

Bishop Aouda: We have become more in need than ever for a leader to take the reins and lead Lebanon, away from war and the madness surrounding us.
LCCC/January 14, 2024
Metropolitan Beirut and its suburbs of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Bishop Elias Aouda, presided over the Divine Liturgy at St. George's Cathedral, in the presence of a crowd of believers. After the Gospel, he delivered a sermon in which he said: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." With these words, Jesus preached to the people sitting in darkness. How much the darkness of the days we live in resembles that darkness in which the people were dwelling. How much we need the repentance that Christ called for, to reflect on all the sins and ignorances that we, humans, commit, and those in power in this country who have the ability to take initiative but are neglectful of their duties or are walking in crooked paths that led the country and its people to this painful reality.
In addition to the absence of a president and a fully empowered government, we suffer from a vacuum in administrations and institutions, and from difficulties resulting from the economic deterioration. There is a danger of sliding into a war feared by most Lebanese and rejected because it will lead to the destruction of what remains of this country and the extermination of its people. Around us, there is an indifferent world, searching for its own interests, not moving to stop the crime against a people being killed mercilessly, and its homes, temples, schools, and hospitals being destroyed, living in the open without water, food, or medicine. The United Nations is powerless in the face of these atrocities. If it is incapable in such circumstances, what is the use of its existence?
In conclusion, "In these circumstances, we have become more in need than ever for a leader to take the reins, and lead Lebanon away from war and the madness surrounding us, speaking on behalf of Lebanon and negotiating for it, raising his voice to protect its borders and preserve its sovereignty, ensuring peace and stability for its people. We also hope that the voice of wisdom and diplomacy will prevail over the noise of the cannons, and a ceasefire will be achieved, finding a just solution that ensures peace, stability, and justice for Palestine and the entire region because war only leads to death and destruction, while peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle Paul said. It is the comforter who leads our steps towards repentance and return to Christ, to be His disciples, and to fulfill the given mission, leaving the Holy Spirit to work in us until we reach the kingdom of heaven, standing before the divine throne unashamed."

2 Israeli 'civilians' reportedly killed by Hezbollah missile
Associated Press/January 14, 2024).
Two "civilians" were killed in northern Israel on Sunday after an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit their home in a town near the border, Israeli rescuers said. The missile hit a home in the town of Yuval in northern Israel, killing a man in his 40s and his mother, who was in her 70s, the rescuers said. Although Yuval is one of more than 40 towns along the northern border evacuated by the government in October, Israeli media reported that the family stayed in the area because they work in agriculture. Hezbollah meanwhile said that the attack targeted an Israeli military force and inflicted deaths and injuries. More than 115,000 Israelis have evacuated from northern Israel due to the ongoing tensions. In Israel, 12 soldiers and seven civilians have died from rocket launches from Lebanon, and more than 170 were injured, the Associated Press has reported. Hezbollah has reported at least 150 fighters and 20 civilians have been killed in the near-daily exchanges of fire. Tens of thousands of Lebanese have also been displaced on the Lebanese side of the border. Since October, over 2,000 rockets and 350 drones have been launched from Lebanon, according to Israel.

3 militants killed and 5 Israeli troops hurt in Shebaa Farms clash
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/Associated Press/January 14, 2024).
Israeli troops on Sunday killed three militants who crossed in from Lebanon into the occupied Shebaa Farms, the Israeli army said, as tensions surge on the 100th day of the Israel-Hamas war. Since Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip erupted on October 7, the Israel-Lebanon border has seen near-daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah militants and Israeli forces. The Israeli military said that troops patrolling the Shebaa Farms area "identified a terrorist cell who crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory and fired at the forces.""The soldiers engaged and responded with live fire ... terrorists were killed," the army said in a statement. Three gunmen who clashed with troops were shot dead, the army said, revising an earlier statement that said four militants had been killed. The army said five soldiers were wounded in the firefight. A group called Islamic Glory Brigades claimed responsibility for the infiltration. The Associated Press was told by Hezbollah and the Lebanese branches of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad that the group was not affiliated with them. Tensions along the border spiked after the killing earlier this month of Hamas' deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in a Beirut southern suburb, in a strike widely attributed to Israel. Violence on the border since October 7 has killed 190 people, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists, according to an AFP tally. In Israel's north, at least nine soldiers and five civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities. Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006.

Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah: A hundred days passed and Gaza resists and perseveres
LBCI/January 14, 2024).
On the occasion of the one-week anniversary of the passing of Commander Wissam Hassan Tawil, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah emphasized that “the martyr ‘Hajj Jawad’ in 2006 was a field commander, and in Syria, he was a leader in the confrontation with ISIS, and we take pride in being part of this fight.” Sayyed Nasrallah said, “Our problem with our military and security leaders is that in their lives, we cannot mention their names and talk about their biographies, and after their martyrdom, we cannot say much because we are still in the heart of the battle.”He also mentioned, “A hundred days, and Gaza resists and perseveres, and its people are in a legendary state of resilience unparalleled in history.”“Israel in the war on Gaza is more strict and secretive about news and information than in any other war,” he indicated, saying that every day there are human losses for the Israeli enemy on the Gaza front, the Lebanon front, and the West Bank. “What is happening in the Red Sea has dealt a strong blow to the enemy's economy and ports,” he said. Nasrallah also pointed out, “If the current course continues in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq, it will lead to a clear result: the enemy government will have no choice but to accept the conditions of the resistance in Gaza.”“If Biden and those with him think that Yemenis will stop supporting Gaza in the Red Sea, they are mistaken and ignorant,” Sayyed Nasrallah warned. Furthermore, he indicated that 18 Kornet missiles hit targets at the Meron base, saying, “The video we published does not reveal all the truth about the Meron base. These are some of the missiles and some of the targets that were hit.”“The one who should fear going to war with Lebanon is Israel,” Nasrallah said. He then urged, “Stop the aggression on Gaza first and then talk about anything else.”Moreover, Sayyed Nasrallah assured, “We have been ready for war for 99 days, and we are not afraid of it. We will fight in it without limits, regulations, or boundaries.”

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah: US, ‘Israel’ Threaten Us with Defeated Brigades, We Say “Hello and Welcome”
Marwa Haidar/Al Manar/January 14, 2024).
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said it clear on Sunday: “We don’t fear war and there are no talks before the war on Gaza ends.” Addressing a memorial service of the senior commander Wissam Tawil, known as “Hajj Jawad”, the Lebanese resistance leader hit back at the US and Israeli threats to expand the war in the region, especially in Lebanon and Yemen. Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that Hezbollah has been ready for the war for 99 days, and fear nothing. His eminence said that the Israeli brigades which the Zionist enemy threatened to send to the border with Lebanon are already defeated and exhausted, using a sarcastic term to respond to such threat: “Hello and welcome!” As he saluted the resistance in Gaza over its epic steadfastness for 100 days, the Hezbollah leader underlined the huge Israeli human losses in the battles in both Gaza and Lebanon, pointing to the Israeli restrictions on announcing the real number of casualties. Commenting on the US-UK aggression on Yemen, Sayyed Nasrallah affirmed that US President Joe Biden and his administration will find out that they have committed a folly. Sayyed Nasrallah, meanwhile, revealed that the information obtained by Hezbollah confirms that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq fired a cruise missile at a sensitive target in the Israeli occupied city of Haifa, and that the Zionist enemy kept silent over the incident.
About the Occasion: “Valiant Hajj Jawad”
Sayyed Nasrallah saluted martyr Tawil as a valiant and calm Hezbollah commander who joined the resistance ranks in 1990 at early age (16 years). The Hezbollah S.G. then talked about the great contributions of martyr Tawil, whom Sayyed Nasrallah said he would prefer to refer to with his nom du guerre, “Hajj Jawad.”About the Occasion: “Valiant Hajj Jawad” Sayyed Nasrallah saluted martyr Tawil as a valiant and calm Hezbollah commander who joined the resistance ranks in 1990 at early age (16 years). The Hezbollah S.G. then talked about the great contributions of martyr Tawil, whom Sayyed Nasrallah said he would prefer to refer to with his nom du guerre, “Hajj Jawad.” “Hajj Jawad took the command of several frontlines of the resistance in south Lebanon until the liberation in 2000. He was one of the commanders in the war against ISIL terrorist group in Syria, a war we have been proud to take part in,” Sayyed Nasrallah said in his televised address via Al-Manar. “Hajj Jawad left everything behind him as the war started in Lebanon 99 days ago. He went to the frontlines in the south, only going home on the last night before his martyrdom.” “Epic Steadfastness” Sayyed Nasrallah praised the Palestinian people and resistance in Gaza as saying: “100 days have passed and Gaza is still holding out. Gaza has been showing an epic steadfastness that is unparalleled in the history.” He pointed to the Zionist entity’s policy of media blackout, especially regarding the Israeli casualties and losses. “Israel in this war on Gaza is more restrictive and secretive than any other war. Political commentators, analysts and experts agree that Israel is mired in failure.” In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that the Zionist entity have failed to achieve both the implicit and explicit goals of the war on Gaza. “The implicit goals of the Israeli war are to occupy Gaza, displace the Gazans and to turn the enclave into a beach for the Israeli settlers in Gaza envelope.” “The Israeli enemy was neither able to eliminate the resistance in Gaza, nor able to eliminate the Hamas government. It is still fighting in Gaza city and Khan Yunis.” “100 days on the war, rockets are still being fired from northern Gaza towards Tel Aviv and settlements in Gaza envelope,” his eminence said, referring to Gaza resistance’s ability to run the battle. Senior Hezbollah commander Wissam Tawil, known as Hajj Jawad, who was martyred last week by an Israeli drone strike in his town of Khirbet Selm. “Hajj Jawad took the command of several frontlines of the resistance in south Lebanon until the liberation in 2000. He was one of the commanders in the war against ISIL terrorist group in Syria, a war we have been proud to take part in,” Sayyed Nasrallah said in his televised address via Al-Manar. “Hajj Jawad left everything behind him as the war started in Lebanon 99 days ago. He went to the frontlines in the south, only going home on the last night before his martyrdom.”
“Epic Steadfastness”
Sayyed Nasrallah praised the Palestinian people and resistance in Gaza as saying: “100 days have passed and Gaza is still holding out. Gaza has been showing an epic steadfastness that is unparalleled in the history.”He pointed to the Zionist entity’s policy of media blackout, especially regarding the Israeli casualties and losses. “Israel in this war on Gaza is more restrictive and secretive than any other war. Political commentators, analysts and experts agree that Israel is mired in failure.” In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that the Zionist entity have failed to achieve both the implicit and explicit goals of the war on Gaza.
“The implicit goals of the Israeli war are to occupy Gaza, displace the Gazans and to turn the enclave into a beach for the Israeli settlers in Gaza envelope.”“The Israeli enemy was neither able to eliminate the resistance in Gaza, nor able to eliminate the Hamas government. It is still fighting in Gaza city and Khan Yunis.”“100 days on the war, rockets are still being fired from northern Gaza towards Tel Aviv and settlements in Gaza envelope,” his eminence said, referring to Gaza resistance’s ability to run the battle.
“Unprecedented Israeli Losses”
Sayyed Nasrallah noted that the Israeli occupation has been covering up its casualties and losses in Gaza since this will lead to a great frustration and cause low morale within the Israeli army and settlers. “The enemy is still fighting to secure some achievements before moving to the third phase of the war in which it will redeploy its forces.” His eminence cited Israeli media reports that talked about 4,000 soldiers who have become disabled. “The Israeli media reports that 4,000 soldiers are now disabled, and that the number could reach 30,000. Brothers and sisters, if this is the case, how many Israeli soldiers have been killed or injured?!”“According to numbers and figures, the Israeli human cost on all fronts is unprecedented.”On the other hand, Sayyed Nasrallah noted that the legal case against the Zionist entity at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) “defames the image of the occupation regime and exposes the moral decline of the West over its support to Israel.”
Aggression on Yemen a “Folly”
Meanwhile, the Hezbollah S.G. said that the US and its Western allies worked to thwart the fronts which have been opened in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq in support of Gaza. “The recent aggression on Yemen represents foolishness of both the US and the UK, as it also shows US’ contradiction. While Washington calls for not expanding the war, it is doing so. If Biden and his administration think that Yemen will retreat after the aggression, then they are wrong, suspicious, and ignorant.”
Khirbet Selm Hezbollah memorial service
Attendees of the memorial service in Khirbet Selm watch Sayyed Nasrallah via a screen (January 14, 2024). He affirmed, in this context, that the US aggression won’t stop the Yemeni attacks on Israeli ships and ships bound for the Zionist entity. “The American aggression will harm the security of maritime navigation in the Red Sea, which will turn into a battlefield, and this is stupidity in itself.”“Biden and his administration will find out that they have committed a folly by staging an aggression on Yemen.”
Sensitive Haifa Target Being Hit
Sayyed Nasrallah, furthermore, revealed that according to information obtained by Hezbollah, a sensitive target in Haifa was targeted by a cruise missile fired by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. “The Islamic Resistance in Iraq struck Haifa with a cruise missile, but the Israeli occupation kept the issue a secret.”
Meron Strike Talking more about the Israeli media blackout on war losses, Sayyed Nasrallah gave another example, by revealing that the Israeli media claimed that Hezbollah struck Meron base, in retaliation for Israeli assassination of Hamas senior official Sheikh Saleh Al-Arouri, with only 40 rockets. “As the Israeli media reported that only 40 rockets were fired from Lebanon towards Meron base, we confirm that Hezbollah fired 62 rockets and missiles towards the base. 40 of these were Katyusha rockets, while the other 22 were Kornet missiles,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, affirming that 18 out of 22 missiles hit the base inflicting casualties and huge losses upon the Israeli enemy.
“Defeated Brigades”
Hitting back at US and Israeli threats for Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said that similar threats have been made since the start of the war and that they were futile, wondering: “Will they be fruitful now following 100 days of failure and exhaustion?!”He recalled the epic victory secured by the resistance in Lebanon during the 2006 July war, saying: “Though the Israeli army was fully prepared during July War, it was defeated.”“The one who should fear the war in Lebanon is ‘Israel’ and the Israeli settlers. As for the resistance in Lebanon, we have been ready for the war for 99 days, we are not afraid of it. We fear nothing, and we will fight without limits and without borders.”“They threaten us with defeated brigades in Gaza, we say: Hello and welcome.”Sayyed Nasrallah then warned the US by saying: “The US which presents itself as a neutral player that is keen on Lebanon’s interests has to be concerned about the fate of its puppet in the region, Israel.”He concluded his statement by stressing that there will be no talks to calm the front in Lebanon before the war on Gaza ends, noting that this also applies on other fronts that erupted in Yemen, Iraq and Syria in support of Gaza. “Our stance is clear that the front in Lebanon is to support Gaza, and its goal is to stop the aggression on Gaza. The US and the UK, which approached the region, will hear one stance in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq: Stop the war on Gaza.”

Nasrallah says Hezbollah doesn't fear war, no talks before Gaza war ends
Naharnet/January 14, 2024).
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed Sunday that Hezbollah does not not fear war or U.S. and Israeli threats, while emphasizing that his group will not negotiate over the situation on the border before the end of Israel’s war on Gaza. “We will continue and our front is inflicting defeats on the enemy,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech commemorating Hezbollah senior military commander Wissam Tawil, who was assassinated by Israel on Monday. “The new language today (by the Americans) is that if we do not stop, the Israelis will wage a war on Lebanon, and I say that this intimidation is of no use,” Nasrallah added. Referring to the Israeli battalions that have been pulled out of Gaza for rest, Nasrallah said: “They (Americans) are threatening us with the tired and scared battalions that were in northern Gaza. They are welcome (to come to the front with Lebanon).”
“Those who should fear war and be scared of it are Israel and the enemy’s government and settlers,” Nasrallah underlined. “We have been ready for war for the past 99 days and we do not fear it. We will fight in it without a ceiling and without any restrictions or limits,” Hezbollah’s leader warned. “The Americans who present themselves as being keen on Lebanon must fear for their base Israel,” he added. “Our stance is that the Lebanon front has been for supporting and assisting Gaza and its objective is halting the aggression against Gaza. Let the aggression against Gaza stop and then talks related to Lebanon will be possible,” Nasrallah went on to say. A U.S. envoy said Thursday both Lebanon and Israel "prefer" a diplomatic deal to end hostilities on the border, where Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged fire since the Gaza war began. "We need to find a diplomatic solution that will allow for the Lebanese people to return to their homes in south Lebanon... as the people of Israel need to be able to return to their homes in their north," the envoy, Amos Hochstein, told reporters in Beirut. 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, Nasrallah hailed "a historic opportunity" to help Lebanon regain control of disputed border land through diplomacy, "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."Escalating tensions have prompted a succession of Western diplomats to converge on Beirut to urge restraint and discuss potential solutions to avoid Lebanon being dragged into war. 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 six civilians have been killed, according to Israeli figures.

Hezbollah intensifies attacks on Israeli army ahead of Nasrallah speech
Naharnet/January 14, 2024).
Hezbollah on Sunday appeared to have intensified its attacks on Israeli posts compared to the past few days, hours before a speech by Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah marking one week since Israel’s assassination of senior Hezbollah military commander Wissam Tawil. In a statement, Hezbollah said it attacked an Israeli force in the Kfar Yuval area in northern Israel, causing deaths and injuries. Hezbollah also announced attacks on at least five other Israeli posts. In retaliation, Israel carried out two airstrikes on the al-Labbouneh area south of the border town of Naqoura. Israeli artillery shelling also targeted the southern towns of al-Qawzah, Beit Leef, Marwahin, Naqoura, Alma al-Shaab, Houla, Tayr Harfa, Khiam, Mays al-Jabal, Kfarkela, Ramia and al-Jibbain. Violence on the border since October 8 has killed 190 people in Lebanon, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians including three journalists. In Israel's north, at least nine soldiers and four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.

Confrontation at Shebaa Farms: Kataib al-Ezz al-Islamiya reports three deaths in operation
LBCI/January 14, 2024).
In a statement, the Kataib al-Ezz al-Islamiya announced that on Sunday morning, a group of its fighters managed to penetrate the border strip in the occupied Shebaa Farms. They engaged in a confrontation with an Israeli patrol near the Ruwaisat Al-Alam site at point-blank range, inflicting "confirmed injuries."
It stated: "Three martyrs fell during the operation, while two militants safely returned. Previously, three of our fighters had martyred on the morning of Friday, 8/12/2023, when a Zionist drone targeted them near the Al-Maqar site in the occupied Shebaa Farms after spending 35 hours on a reconnaissance mission."
According to Kataib al-Ezz al-Islamiya, this operation carries the following messages:
- First: A response to the assassination of Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri and Samir Fandi and their brothers in Beirut.
- Second: "A message to the Zionist enemy to halt its criminal war on Palestine and Lebanon before the region and the entire world is engulfed in its flames."
- Third: "A message to our people in Gaza and the al-Qassam Brigades that 'blood for blood and destruction for destruction; we are with you, and you are with us; we fight those who fought you and make peace with those who made peace."

Israeli airstrikes and shelling in south Lebanon amid Hezbollah attacks
Naharnet/January 14, 2024).
The Israeli army on Saturday waged a "preemptive attack" on south Lebanon and its warplanes attacked "Hezbollah targets,” Israel’s Channel 12 said. Lebanon’s National News Agency for its part said that Israeli warplanes destroyed a house in the border town of Yarin, causing casualties, amid reports of an airstrike on the border town of Mays al-Jabal and artillery shelling on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab and Rmeish. Israeli fighter jets had earlier on Saturday waged two strikes on the area between the border towns of Yarin, Tayr Harfa and al-Jibbain. Israeli artillery shelling also targeted the Hamoul area east of Naqoura, the Tawfa and al-Jidar areas in Mays al-Jabal, and the outskirts of Houla and Khiam. In two separate statements, Hezbollah said it targeted the al-Assi and the Birkat Risha Israeli posts with the “appropriate weapons.” Dozens of heavy artillery shells had overnight hit the outskirts of Naqoura, Alma al-Shaab, Tayr Harfa, al-Dhayra and Aita al-Shaab, amid heavy-caliber machinegun fire on the outskirts of al-Dhayra and al-Bustan. 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.

UN Peacekeeping chief wraps up Lebanon leg of regional trip
Naharnet/January 14, 2024).
U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix has concluded a four-day visit to Lebanon. "This was part of a regular visit to peacekeeping missions in the Middle East, though it came in the context of high tension along the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel," the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement. During the visit, Lacroix discussed the important role of UNIFIL in de-escalating tension along the Blue Line, UNIFIL added. “All actors must cease fire, recommit to resolution 1701, and work toward a durable political and diplomatic solution,” he stressed. “This is the only way to achieve a lasting peace.”During the visit, Lacroix met with senior Lebanese officials including Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib, caretaker Minister of Defense Maurice Slim, Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, and acting director of General Security Maj. Gen. Elias Bayssari. He also met with ambassadors of the countries sending troops to serve with UNIFIL, ambassadors of the Permanent Members of the U.N. Security Council, as well as other members of the diplomatic community. His central message in those meetings was the need to de-escalate current tensions across the Blue Line. “We are deeply concerned by the exchanges of fire across the Blue Line we have seen since the 8th of October, indicating potential for a wider escalation, which must be avoided,” said Lacroix, as he concluded the Lebanon leg of his tour. “We continue to urge all actors to cease fire, as each day this continues increases the risk of a larger and more devastating conflict.” Since the exchanges of fire began, dozens of civilians and journalists have been injured or killed. UNIFIL positions have been hit more than two dozen times, with three peacekeepers injured. “This is not acceptable and must end,” said Lacroix. “We once again remind the parties, and actors involved in the exchanges of fire, of their obligation to avoid harm to civilians and of the inviolability of U.Nm personnel and premises.”
Lacroix commended the "perseverance demonstrated by the more than 10,000 UNIFIL peacekeepers in the face of these challenges," the statement said. “In the current context, UNIFIL has continued all efforts to implement its mandate despite challenges on a scale unprecedented since 2006,” he said. “The mission and its peacekeepers remain steadfast in their continued support for a long-term solution to the conflict,” he added.

Member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council to LBCI: Netanyahu wants to continue the war and is trying to open the northern front
LBCI/January 14, 2024).
Mohammed Hourani, member of the Revolutionary Council of Fatah Movement, affirmed that "Israel is accustomed to being outside and above the law, but South Africa, with which we share a long history of struggle and cooperation, managed to present its case before the International Court of Justice."
He expressed in an interview on LBCI's "Nharkom Said" TV show that "Israel is losing many elements of strength and has not been able to achieve anything militarily in this war."He pointed out that "Netanyahu's fascist government's policy has turned into a reckless and adventurous policy involving the US administration, and Netanyahu wants to continue the war and is trying to open the northern front."He mentioned that "there is genuine concern in Israel despite all the bravado."

From Gaza to southern Lebanon: Navigating the political landscape amid regional turbulence
LBCI/January 14, 2024).
The various levels of political activity, locally and internationally, concerning Lebanon are still closely tied to what is happening in Palestine. This article was originally published in, translated from online newspaper Al Anbaa. On the ground, the situation in the south is constantly connected to the ongoing war in Gaza, and politically, the implementation of Resolution 1701 is linked to stopping this war. This stance was officially announced by Prime Minister Najib Mikati after being informed by the US envoy Amos Hochstein, while the war on Gaza continues unabated, as Israeli leaders declare every day.
However, growing concerns about the possibility of the conflict expanding into a comprehensive war are raised, especially with the developments at the Bab al-Mandab Strait and US and British strikes on Yemen. These developments alone have given the impression that things are heading towards the edge of the danger of a broader war. Israel has begun to pave the way for it with increased threats. The Chief of Staff of its army passed a statement Saturday that could be considered an indicator of Tel Aviv's intention, saying, "Southern Lebanon has become a combat zone," while Israeli Channel 13 announced that "the Israeli army has begun preemptive operations in southern Lebanon."The movement of European and American envoys and representatives of the United Nations towards Lebanon "to offer advice" not to give Israel any pretext for war and to work on implementing Resolution 1701 raises concerns due to its intensity and the pressure it implies. In this context, sources following diplomatic movements ruled out any progress on implementing Resolution 1701. They stated, "Hochstein's efforts still clash with several fundamental points. Firstly, there is no president capable of providing clear answers regarding the decision."
They added: "Secondly, Hezbollah refuses to withdraw eight kilometers north of the Blue Line unless Israel commits to withdrawing the same distance on the opposite side."Affirming, "The third point insisted upon by Hezbollah and rejected by Israel is to stop the war on Gaza, hindering international efforts."
The sources considered that "if there were encouraging signs for the implementation of Resolution 1701, Hochstein should have returned to Israel to convey Lebanese answers, rather than returning to his country, waiting for new developments to help the success of his initiative." These concerns were expressed by MP Bilal Houshaymi, who told Al Anbaa, "We, as Lebanese, have become on the brink of a comprehensive war," hoping that Hezbollah "remains rational and that Iran respects the Lebanese situation, which cannot bear slipping into war."
He added, "We saw what Israel did to Lebanon in the 2006 war, and the best example is what Netanyahu is doing today in Gaza with American, English, and French support.""If we looked at things realistically, we would see that Netanyahu has nothing to lose because his political future is over, and he only gains in war, while Lebanon is left alone."Houshaymi believed that "the country is without a president, and the absence of a head of state is a fundamental problem. Instead of having a unified opinion, our ideas have become scattered. The primary effort should focus on electing a president to avoid staying on the 'sidelines.'" He considered that "negotiations now are limited to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati heading a caretaker government that is incomplete and unsupportive, not qualified to play the role that Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora played in the 2006 war." Adding, "If our relationship with Arab countries were as good as it was in 2006, the situation would be much easier, and today we urgently need an Arab role. Therefore, returning to the 'Arab embrace' should be our priority."
He linked the matter to "electing a president who is equidistant from everyone and restores Lebanon's relations with Arab countries to what they were in the past, or else the situation will remain the same."Therefore, in the face of accelerating developments portending significant risks, there is an increasing need for national consensus on fundamental issues and initiating a responsible political process centered on Lebanon's interests in these circumstances to avert risks.

Diplomatic dilemmas: Israel's choices between diplomacy and war
LBCI/January 14, 2024).
In a time of escalating internal and external pressures on Israel to cease the war and release prisoners from the Gaza Strip, the Israeli leadership has opened a new battle around the common Philadelphia axis between Gaza and Egypt. Israel informed the Egyptians of its plan to control the axis to prevent weapon smuggling, with the understanding that the axis would be closed later. Israeli Cabinet Minister Avi Dichter clarified that the plan aligns with the situation in the West Bank and Jordan, where Israeli control is complete at all border points, even upon entry of Palestinians into Jordan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leading the stance against halting the fighting to ensure a prisoner deal, argued that ensuring Israel's security requires achieving the war's objectives first. This sparked widespread popular anger, which has manifested in continuous protests since Saturday evening in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu's statements also angered residents of the north after discussing border security and achievements against Hezbollah. Despite Netanyahu's statements, Israelis woke up on Sunday to news of four infiltrators from Lebanon reaching the Shebaa Farms, where a confrontation with an Israeli military unit occurred. The Israeli army reported that all four were killed, and weapons and combat equipment were seized from them. Moreover, security tensions continued in this area after the massive explosion in Haifa Bay, causing confusion and fear after talks of a missile falling in the region. However, officials quickly denied this, stating that the explosion was internal without clarifying the circumstances. Amid these developments, several rockets fell in the town of Yuval in the north and the Galilee region, causing injuries to Israelis and damaging infrastructure. While northern residents intensified their campaign against Netanyahu and the army, security and military officials warned against getting into a wide-ranging war with Lebanon before ending the Gaza war and called for keeping the mission in the hands of the United States. Facing the ongoing Israeli dilemma between waiting for a diplomatic solution or launching a large-scale military operation against Lebanon to secure the northern borders, a poll conducted by the Geocartography Research Institute for Israel Hayom showed that sixty-nine percent of Israelis prefer a war against Lebanon. Meanwhile, in Gaza, sixty-four percent of Israelis doubt the army's ability to eliminate Hamas and bring prisoners back from the Strip.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 14-15/2024
US delivers 'private message' to Iran after Yemen strikes
Frank Gardner, security correspondent and Malu Cursino - BBC News/Sun, January 14, 2024
President Biden says the US has delivered a "private message" to Iran about the Houthis in Yemen after the US carried out a second strike on the group. "We delivered it privately and we're confident we're well-prepared," he said without giving further details. The US said its latest strike was a "follow-on action" targeting radar. Iran denies involvement in attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea. However Tehran is suspected of supplying the Houthis with weapons, and the US says Iranian intelligence is critical to enabling them to target ships. Joint UK-US airstrikes targeted nearly 30 Houthi positions in the early hours of Friday with the support of Western allies including Australia and Canada. A day later, the US Central Command said it carried out its latest strike on a Houthi radar site in Yemen using Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Britain had "no choice" but to take military action against the Houthis in Yemen, in response to their attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Writing in the Telegraph, he said UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had agreed to a request by the US to assist with the "limited and targeted" strikes. A Houthi spokesman told Reuters the strikes had no significant impact on the group's ability to affect shipping. The Houthis are an armed group from a sub-sect of Yemen's Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis. Most Yemenis live in areas under Houthi control. As well as Sanaa and the north of Yemen, the Houthis control the Red Sea coastline. The official Western government line is that the ongoing air strikes on Houthi targets are quite separate from the war in Gaza. They are "a necessary and proportionate response" to the unprovoked and unacceptable Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, they say. In Yemen and the wider Arab world they are viewed rather differently. There, they are seen as the US and UK joining in the Gaza war on the side of Israel, since the Houthis have declared their actions to be in solidarity with Hamas and the people of Gaza. One theory even says that "the West is doing Netanyahu's bidding".
It is still possible that these airstrikes will have a chilling effect on the Houthis. They will certainly degrade their capacity to attack ships in the short term. But the longer these airstrikes persist, the greater the risk that the US and UK get sucked into another conflict in Yemen. It has taken the Saudis more than eight years to extricate themselves from there after it intervened in the country's civil war - and the Houthis are now more entrenched than ever.
President Biden says the US has delivered a "private message" to Iran about the Houthis in Yemen after the US carried out a second strike on the group. "We delivered it privately and we're confident we're well-prepared," he said without giving further details. The US said its latest strike was a "follow-on action" targeting radar. Iran denies involvement in attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea. However Tehran is suspected of supplying the Houthis with weapons, and the US says Iranian intelligence is critical to enabling them to target ships.
Joint UK-US airstrikes targeted nearly 30 Houthi positions in the early hours of Friday with the support of Western allies including Australia and Canada. A day later, the US Central Command said it carried out its latest strike on a Houthi radar site in Yemen using Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Britain had "no choice" but to take military action against the Houthis in Yemen, in response to their attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Writing in the Telegraph, he said UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had agreed to a request by the US to assist with the "limited and targeted" strikes.
A Houthi spokesman told Reuters the strikes had no significant impact on the group's ability to affect shipping. The Houthis are an armed group from a sub-sect of Yemen's Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis. Most Yemenis live in areas under Houthi control. As well as Sanaa and the north of Yemen, the Houthis control the Red Sea coastline. The official Western government line is that the ongoing air strikes on Houthi targets are quite separate from the war in Gaza. They are "a necessary and proportionate response" to the unprovoked and unacceptable Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, they say.
In Yemen and the wider Arab world they are viewed rather differently. There, they are seen as the US and UK joining in the Gaza war on the side of Israel, since the Houthis have declared their actions to be in solidarity with Hamas and the people of Gaza. One theory even says that "the West is doing Netanyahu's bidding". It is still possible that these airstrikes will have a chilling effect on the Houthis. They will certainly degrade their capacity to attack ships in the short term. But the longer these airstrikes persist, the greater the risk that the US and UK get sucked into another conflict in Yemen.
It has taken the Saudis more than eight years to extricate themselves from there after it intervened in the country's civil war - and the Houthis are now more entrenched than ever. About 15% of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea, the US says. This includes 8% of global grain, 12% of seaborne oil and 8% of the world's liquified natural gas. The US says the group has so far attempted to attack and harass vessels in the Red Sea and the gulf of Aden 28 times. Some major shipping companies have since ceased operations in the region, while insurance costs have risen 10 times since early December. London and Washington have backed Israel following the 7 October attacks by Hamas in which about 1,300 people were killed and some 240 were taken hostage. Israel's retaliatory military campaign of air strikes and ground operations against Hamas in Gaza have killed 23,843 Palestinians so far, according to the Hamas-run health ministry on Saturday, with thousands more believed dead under rubble.

Genocide case against Israel: Where does the rest of the world stand on the momentous accusations?
Associated Press/14 January 2024
South Africa says more than 50 countries have expressed support for its case at the United Nations' top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza. Others, including the United States, have strongly rejected South Africa's allegation that Israel is violating the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Many more have remained silent. The world's reaction to the landmark case that was heard Thursday and Friday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague shows a predictable global split when it comes to the inextricable, 75-year-old problem of Israel and the Palestinians. Sunday marks 100 days of their bloodiest ever conflict. The majority of countries backing South Africa's case are from the Arab world and Africa. In Europe, only the Muslim nation of Turkey has publicly stated its support. No Western country has declared support for South Africa's allegations against Israel. The U.S., a close Israel ally, has rejected them as unfounded, the U.K. has called them unjustified, and Germany said it "explicitly rejects" them. China and Russia have said little about one of the most momentous cases to come before an international court. The European Union also hasn't commented.
US: 'MERITLESS' ALLEGATIONS
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on a visit to Israel a day before the court proceedings began that South Africa's allegations are "meritless" and that the case "distracts the world" from efforts to find a lasting solution to the conflict. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said genocide is "not a word that ought to be thrown around lightly, and we certainly don't believe that it applies here.""We don't agree with what the South Africans are doing," U.K. Foreign Minister David Cameron said of the case. Israel fiercely rejects the allegations of genocide and says it is defending its people. It says the offensive is aimed at eradicating the leaders of Hamas, the militant group that runs the territory and provoked the conflict by launching surprise attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, allegedly killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking around 250 hostages. Blinken said a genocide case against Israel was "particularly galling" given that Hamas and other groups "continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews."The U.S., the U.K., the EU and others classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. Israel's military response in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The count doesn't distinguish between combatants and civilians. It says more than two-thirds of the dead are women and children. Much of northern Gaza has become an uninhabitable moonscape with entire neighborhoods erased by Israeli air strikes and tank fire. South Africa has also condemned Hamas' Oct. 7 attack but argues that it did not justify Israel's response.
GERMAN SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
Germany's announcement of support for Israel on Friday, the day the hearings closed, has symbolic significance given its history of the Holocaust, when the Nazis killed 6 million Jews in Europe. Israel was created after World War II as a haven for Jews in the shadow of those atrocities. "Israel has been defending itself," German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said. His statement also invoked the Holocaust, which in large part spurred the creation of the U.N. Genocide Convention in 1948. "In view of Germany's history ... the Federal Government sees itself as particularly committed to the Convention against Genocide," he said. He called the allegations against Israel "completely unfounded." Germany said it intends to intervene in the case on Israel's behalf. The EU has only said that countries have a right to bring cases to the U.N. court. Most of its member states have refrained from taking a position. Turkey, which is in the process of joining the EU, was a lone voice in the region. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country provided documents that were being used against Israel in the case.
"With these documents, Israel will be condemned," he said.
ARAB CONDEMNATION
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation was one of the first blocs to publicly back the case when South Africa filed it late last month. It said there was "mass genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli defense forces" and accused Israel of "indiscriminate targeting" of Gaza's civilian population. The OIC is a bloc of 57 countries that includes Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. Its headquarters are in Saudi Arabia. The Cairo-based Arab League, whose 22 member countries are almost all part of the OIC, also backed South Africa's case. South Africa drew some support from outside the Arab world. Namibia and Pakistan agreed with the case at a U.N. General Assembly session this week. Malaysia also expressed support. "No peace-loving human being can ignore the carnage waged against Palestinians in Gaza," Namibian President Hage Geingob was quoted as saying in the southern African nation's The Namibian newspaper. Malaysia's Foreign Ministry demanded "legal accountability for Israel's atrocities in Gaza."
CHINA AND RUSSIA: SILENCE
China,Russia — which is also facing allegations of genocide in the world court — and the emerging power of India have largely remained silent, seemingly aware that taking a stand in such an inflammatory case has little upside and could irreversibly upset their relationships in the region. India's foreign policy has historically supported the Palestinian cause, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first global leaders to express solidarity with Israel and call the Hamas attack terrorism.
SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE
A handful of South American countries have spoken up, including the continent's biggest economy, Brazil, whose Foreign Ministry said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva backed South Africa's case. However, the ministry's comments did not directly accuse Israel of genocide but focused on the need for a cease-fire in Gaza. South Africa's case against Israel is two-fold: It wants the court to say Israel is committing genocide and to issue an interim ruling ordering an end to its military campaign in Gaza. The court said it would decide on an interim ruling soon but, reflecting the gravity of the case, it could take years for a final verdict on the genocide charge. Brazil said it hoped the case would get Israel to "immediately cease all acts and measures that could constitute genocide."Other countries have stopped short of agreeing with South Africa. Ireland premier Leo Varadkar said the genocide case was "far from clear cut" but that he hoped the court would order a cease-fire in Gaza. It's uncertain if Israel would obey any order to stop its military action. Russia didn't when the same court told it to halt its invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.

Israel's Netanyahu Says 'No One will Stop Us' in Gaza
Asharq Al Awsat/14 January 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that no one would stop Israel from achieving victory in its war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. "No one will stop us -- not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil and no one else. It is possible and necessary to continue until victory and we will do it," Netanyahu told a televised press conference as the war in Gaza moves into its 100th day on Sunday. He was referring to a case brought before the UN's top court, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, alleging Israel's offensive is in breach of the UN Genocide Convention, and an alliance of Iran-backed armed groups around the Middle East dubbed the Axis of Resistance. He said the military assault in Gaza had already "eliminated most of the Hamas battalions" in the besieged Palestinian territory. But he said that those displaced from northern Gaza would not be able to return to their homes any time soon. "There is an international law and it says a simple thing -- you remove a population and you don't allow it to return as long as the danger exists," AFP quoted Netanyahu."And the danger exists. There is fighting there (in northern Gaza)."

Gaza: 100 Days of Bloodshed Unfold in a Sea of Tragedy
London: Camille Tawil/Asharq Al-Awsat/14 January 2024
After 100 days since the Israeli war on Gaza, it’s clear that the tragedy is far from over. Israel remains determined to “destroy Hamas” in response to the Al-Aqsa Flood attack last October. Although the war hasn’t ended, it’s evident that its impact has reshaped both Palestinian and Israeli landscapes.
The aftermath has sparked conflicts from southern Lebanon to Syria and Iraq, and even reached the Red Sea with Houthi attacks on commercial ships. The region now grapples with lasting consequences beyond Gaza’s borders, affecting both political dynamics and security. On Oct. 7, 2023, Israel faced a shock as its intelligence, security, and political leadership were caught off guard by Hamas’s Al-Aqsa Flood operation. The assault exposed weaknesses in the Israeli military, allowing Hamas fighters to take control of nearby settlements and kibbutz near Gaza. They easily breached the fortified border fence, taking up to 250 hostages back to Gaza. People compared this surprise attack to the unexpected events of the October 1973 war. Hamas strategically launched its assault during the Yom Kippur holiday, leading to at least 1,200 Israeli casualties in a single day, compared to 2,656 losses in the October war. In response to the shock, Israel declared itself in a “state of war,” mobilizing hundreds of thousands of reserve soldiers. Some invaded Gaza, while others guarded the northern front against potential attacks from Hezbollah or Syria. After weeks of intense fighting, the Israeli army gained control of significant parts of Gaza, especially in the north. However, this came at a high cost of casualties (23,000 Palestinians) and severe destruction to Gaza's infrastructure (70% of buildings destroyed). Despite this, the Israeli army persists in continuing the war, aiming to uphold its reputation as an unstoppable force. Hamas’s attack also brought together the politically divided landscape in Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the Likud party, formed a war cabinet by including his main opponent, Benny Gantz, while keeping another rival, Yair Lapid, out. Despite Gantz joining, the influence of the far-right in the government remains strong, with some ministers making racist statements and suggesting drastic measures like evacuating Gaza and expanding settlements. There’s uncertainty about how long this unity will last, with speculation that Gantz might leave, given his position as a prominent candidate to replace Netanyahu in any upcoming elections. Palestinians: Triumph Followed by Tragedy At first, Hamas celebrated the Al-Aqsa Flood attack as a big win against Israel. But the joy didn’t last long as they realized the heavy price Gazans were paying in lives and blood due to Israeli retaliation. Even though 100 days have passed since the war, it’s clear today that Hamas can still stand up to Israelis and cause them significant losses. However, at the same time, Hamas is facing massive losses among its fighters, with estimates suggesting thousands of militants lost. They also lost their extensive tunnels under Gaza and in the northern area, which had been a hidden base for years. Despite these setbacks for Hamas, the losses they’re facing don't compare to the hardships suffered by the civilian residents of Gaza. They now face the possibility of being forced from their homes, adding another tragic chapter to their history, similar to their displacement in 1948 during the establishment of Israel.
As Hamas structures are taken down in northern Gaza, attention now turns to its tunnels in Khan Yunis in the southern part of the strip. Israelis claim that leaders of the movement, along with hostages, are hiding there. While Hamas doesn’t flatly reject releasing the hostages, the condition is a ceasefire, something Israel refuses. Israel remains committed to its goal of eliminating Hamas rule, destroying its capabilities, and dealing with leaders tied to the October 7 attack. Efforts to locate Yahya Sinwar, the alleged mastermind and Hamas leader in Gaza, have so far been unsuccessful. However, assassinations of Hamas leaders in exile have begun, indicating Israel’s intent to continue, despite ongoing proposals to end the war, including relocating Hamas leaders from Gaza into exile. The same considerations naturally apply to Hamas’s allies in the Islamic Jihad.

Fierce fighting in Gaza as war hits 100 days
DOHA/GAZA (Reuters)/January 14, 2024
Israeli tanks and aircraft hit targets in southern and central Gaza on Sunday and there were fierce gun battles in some areas as the war reached 100 days since the Oct. 7 attack led by gunmen from the Islamist Hamas movement. Communications and internet services were down for the third day running, complicating the work of emergency and ambulance crews trying to help people in areas hit by fighting. Fighting was concentrated in the southern city of Khan Younis, where Hamas said its fighters hit an Israeli tank, as well as in Al-Bureij and Al Maghazi in central Gaza, where the military said several militants were killed. The military also said its forces destroyed several rocket pits used by Hamas to fire missiles at Israel. Over the past 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said 125 people had been killed and 265 wounded, bringing the total number confirmed to have been killed since the start of the war to almost 24,000, with more than 60,000 wounded. Speaking through video link to a conference in Istanbul, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh praised the Oct. 7 attack by the group's fighters who rampaged through Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,200 people and seizing around 240 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. "We are not seekers of wars. We are seekers of freedom," he said, saying the attack was, in part, a response to the years-long Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, which Hamas has controlled since 2007. The Israeli military says it has shifted to a new phase of the war, focused on the southern end of the territory, where almost 2 million people are now sheltering in tents and other temporary accommodation, after the initial phase centred on clearing the northern end including Gaza City. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has brushed off calls for a ceasefire, saying Israel will keep going until it achieves complete victory over Hamas. The military says, though, the next phase of the war will see more targeted operations against the movement's leaders and military positions. On Israel's northern border with Lebanon, where there has been a constant, low-level exchange of fire between troops and fighters from the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, the military said it killed four armed militants trying to cross the border. It said several anti-tank missiles were fired into northern Israel, one of which hit a house in the community of Kfar Yuval, killing one person and causing a number of other casualties. In Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, Nana, a 17-year-old high school student displaced from northern Gaza, said 100 days of war "turned our life upside down." "We demand the occupation not only to end the war but also compensation for the psychological damage of displacement and the hardships endured," she said.

UN says Gaza war ‘staining humanity’ on eve of 100th day
AFP/January 14, 2024
GAZA STRIP: The United Nations said on Saturday the Gaza war was “staining humanity” on the eve of its 100th day as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on vows to defeat Hamas. The devastating conflict has unleashed a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and fears of a regional escalation intensified after US and British forces struck pro-Hamas Houthi rebels in Yemen on Friday following attacks on Red Sea shipping. The war was triggered on October 7 when Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack from the Gaza Strip that resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Hamas, considered a “terrorist” group by the United States and the European Union, also seized about 250 hostages, 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza, including at least 25 believed to have been killed.
Israel vowed to destroy Gaza’s Islamist rulers and launched a relentless bombardment that has killed at least 23,843 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest toll from the territory’s health ministry. An Israeli siege has sparked acute shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel in Gaza, where the health system is collapsing. Visiting the Gaza Strip, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said “the massive death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss and grief of the last 100 days are staining our shared humanity.”An entire generation of children in Gaza were being “traumatized,” diseases were spreading and the clock is “ticking fast toward famine,” he warned. The Hague-based International Court of Justice this week heard arguments in a case launched by South Africa — and welcomed by Gazans — accusing Israel of breaching the UN Genocide Convention.
The case seeks a halt to the military campaign, which Israel stressed to the court was in self-defense and not aimed at Palestinian residents. But Netanyahu insisted no court or military foe could stop Israel from achieving its aim of destroying Hamas.
“No one will stop us — not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil and no one else,” he told a televised press conference, referring to the Iran-aligned “axis of resistance” groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. “It is possible and necessary to continue until victory and we will do it,” he added, saying most Hamas battalions in Gaza had been “eliminated.” Israel’s army chief Herzi Halevi said the war in Gaza was a struggle “for our right to live here in safety,” adding that the October 7 attacks would never be forgotten. Health officials in Gaza said that Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people in the besieged territory. Nimma Al-Akhras, 80, described the strike that destroyed her home. “It was very powerful,” she said. “We started to scream and I couldn’t move but someone pulled me out and put me on a cart.”
The Israeli army said it struck dozens of rocket launchers that were “ready to be used” in central Gaza and eliminated four “terrorists” in air strikes on Khan Yunis, Gaza’s main southern city. The military also reported that its engineers had destroyed a Hamas “command center” and weapons found there, after a raid in central Gaza. At Rafah’s Al-Najjar hospital, mourners gathered and prayed around the bodies of slain relatives. One man, Bassem Araf, held up a photo of a child. “She died hungry with bread in her hand. We tried to remove the bread from her hand but it was held tight,” Araf said.
“This is the resistance they are targeting in Gaza, just children.”An AFP reporter in Rafah said telecommunications had been partially restored, a day after Gaza’s main operator Paltel reported the latest outage. Paltel did not immediately confirm the service restoration but said an Israeli strike killed two of its employees in Khan Yunis while they were repairing the network. Winter rains have exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the UN estimates 1.9 million — nearly 85 percent of the population — have been displaced. Many have sought shelter in Rafah and other southern areas where the health ministry says there isn’t the infrastructure to support them. Gaza’s health ministry spokesman accused Israel of “deliberately targeting hospitals... to put them out of service,” warning of “devastating repercussions.” Hospitals, protected under international humanitarian law, have repeatedly been hit by Israeli strikes in Gaza since the war erupted. The Israeli military accuses Hamas of operating command centers in tunnels under hospitals, a charge the Islamist group denies. Fewer than half of Gaza’s hospitals are functioning and those only partly, the World Health Organization says.
In Israel, concern grew for hostages held in Gaza as they approach their 100th day in captivity, with Netanyahu under domestic pressure to get them home. Thousands rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday calling for their release, after relatives unveiled a replica of the Gaza tunnels where the captives are believed to be held. “We will continue to come here week after week until everybody is released,” Edan Begerano, 47, told AFP. Separately, about 100 people gathered to call for an end to the war, brandishing signs saying: “Revenge is not victory” and: “No to the occupation.” Minor scuffles broke out between them and government supporters.

Israel detains two sisters of killed Hamas leader Aruri
AFP/January 14, 2024
RAMALLAH: Israeli soldiers detained two sisters of Saleh Al-Aruri, a top leader of Hamas who was killed in Lebanon this month, Palestinian sources and the Israeli army said on Sunday. The killing of Aruri, the deputy chief of Hamas, in a suburb of Beirut on January 2 was widely attributed to an Israeli drone strike, fueling fears that Israel’s war in Gaza could widen into a regional conflict. The Israeli army said on Sunday it had detained the two women in the occupied West Bank “after they incited to terrorism against the state of Israel,” without elaborating. The brother-in-law of Aruri, Awar Al-Aruri, said the two women and several other family members had been put into “administrative detention.”The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, a campaign group, said Dalal Al-Aruri, 52, and Fatima Al-Aruri, 47, were arrested in separate locations near the city of Ramallah. The Israeli army had accused Aruri of helping to plan the October 7 attack in southern Israel by Hamas fighters from Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of 1,140, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures. Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has since killed at least 23,843 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said 5,875 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank since the Gaza war began. It said that, of these, 1,970 had been put under administrative detention, which allows for suspects to be held without charge or trial for renewable periods of up to six months.
Israel says administrative detention is intended to allow authorities to hold suspects while continuing to gather evidence, with the aim of preventing attacks or other security offenses in the meantime. Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War and, excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the territory is now home to around 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.

Arab Parliament: Israel ‘evades its heinous crimes with false allegations against Egypt’
GOBRAN MOHAMED/January 14, 2024
CAIRO: The Arab Parliament has denounced as false allegations made by Israeli representatives at the International Court of Justice regarding the Egyptian position on the Rafah crossing. Arab Parliament Speaker Adel Abdulrahman Al-Asoumi said that Israel was trying to evade the heinous crimes that it was committing in the Gaza Strip with allegations of Egypt preventing the entry of humanitarian aid into the region through the Rafah crossing. Al-Asoumi said that the position of Egypt, and that of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, did not require testimony from anyone in light of Israel’s aggression. He also paid tribute to Egypt for providing a large proportion of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. He added: “In addition to its tireless efforts at the political level to achieve a ceasefire and stop this aggression, Egypt (has) spared no effort to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing.”Al-Asoumi spoke of Egyptian efforts to meet the urgent humanitarian and medical priorities in support of Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The speaker added that attacks carried out by Israel in the vicinity of the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side were visible, and its obstruction of the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip did not require further evidence. He said that the whole world had witnessed the war crimes and genocide committed by Israel. Al-Asoumi praised Egypt’s leadership and its people, stressing that it was always at the forefront of supporters of the Palestinian cause.
He added that this position was not a new one, but stood as an impenetrable wall against plans and attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday that the Rafah crossing had remained open since the onset of the Gaza crisis. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Egypt had tirelessly pursued international and regional efforts to facilitate the entry of substantial aid into the Gaza Strip. Diaa Rashwan, chairman of Egypt’s State Information Service, on Friday categorically denied the allegations brought by the Israeli defense team at the International Court of Justice that Egypt had prevented the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing.

Macron Calls for Fresh Talks to Free Gaza Hostages
Asharq Al Awsat/14 January 2024
France's President Emmanuel Macron called Saturday for fresh talks for the release of the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. "The French nation is determined that... all the hostages of the October 7 terrorist attacks are freed," he said in a video posted online and broadcast at a meeting in Tel Aviv in support of the hostages, AFP reported. "France does not abandon its children," he added. "That is why we have to resume negotiations again and again for their release."During its October 7 attack, Hamas seized about 250 hostages, 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza, including at least 25 believed to have been killed. Three French citizens remain unaccounted for following the October 7 attack and are thought to be among the hostages held in Gaza. On December 15, the Israeli army announced the death of Franco-Israeli Elya Toledano, who was captured and abducted while attending a desert rave party called the Supernova festival. His friend, fellow French-Israeli Mia Shem, was among those released under a truce agreement at the end of November. Israel retaliated to the October 7 attack with a relentless bombing campaign and a ground offensive that the authorities in Gaza said Saturday had killed 23,843 people, mainly women and children.

2 Iranian Journalists Jailed on Protest Charges Temporarily Released
Tehran: Asharq Al Awsat/14 January 2024
Two Iranian journalists who were jailed on charges related to Iran's 2022-2023 protests have been temporarily released, state media reported on Sunday. An Iranian Revolutionary Court in October sentenced Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi to 13 and 12 years in prison respectively for their coverage of the death in custody of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini which sparked nationwide protests. "After 17 months in prison, the two journalists have been temporarily released after paying bail awaiting their appeal verdict and are banned from leaving the country," state media said. Amini's death, while held by the morality police for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code, triggered months of mass anti-government protests.

US Defense Secretary Austin in Good Condition in Hospital, Says Pentagon
Asharq Al Awsat/14 January 2024
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remains hospitalized and is in good condition, the Pentagon said on Saturday, adding that it did not yet have a specific date for his release. "He's in contact with his senior staff and has full access to required secure communications capabilities and continues to monitor DOD's day-to-day operations worldwide," Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement. Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on Dec. 22 to treat prostate cancer, Reuters reported. He returned to the hospital on Jan. 1 due to complications including a urinary tract infection and has remained there ever since.

China FM in Egypt calls for Gaza ceasefire and Palestinian statehood
AFP/January 14, 2024
CAIRO: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Sunday for the establishment of a Palestinian state and a cease-fire in Gaza, where 100 days of the Israel-Hamas war have killed thousands. In a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, the top Chinese diplomat said “it is necessary to insist on the establishment of an independent, fully sovereign state of Palestine on the 1967 borders, with east Jerusalem as its capital.”A joint statement from the two ministers urged an immediate end “to all acts of violence, killing and targeting of civilians and civilian establishments.”Israel launched an intense military campaign in response to Hamas’s deadly October 7 attack on southern Israel which resulted in about 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.In Gaza, at least 23,968 people have been killed, the majority of them women and children, according to the health ministry in the besieged Hamas-ruled territory. Shoukry and Wang called for “an international summit for peace to find a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause by ending the (Israeli) occupation and establishing an independent, contiguous Palestinian state.”
The Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, seat of the Palestinian Authority, are separated by Israeli territory. Both were seized by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Chinese President Xi Jinping has previously called for an “international peace conference” to resolve the fighting. China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Wang is currently on an African tour that will see him also visit Togo, Tunisia and Ivory Coast.

Turkiye warns it will target any ‘terrorland’ on its southern borders
MENEKSE TOKYAY/January 14, 2024
ANKARA: In the aftermath of the killing of nine Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq, Turkiye carried out a series of airstrikes against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Syria and Iraq. “Turkiye will never allow the establishment of a ‘terrorland’ on its southern borders under any pretext and for any reason,” the official statement said after the security meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later on Saturday. Simultaneously, more than 113 people were arrested in Turkiye over suspected links with the PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies classify as a terrorist group. Along with military incursions in Syria, several airstrikes hit Hakurk, Metina, Gara and Qandil regions in northern Iraq, destroying caves, shelters, bunkers and oil facilities. On Sunday, the Turkish intelligence organization announced that it “neutralized” Hasan Seburi, a PKK member responsible for intelligence gathering and surveillance against Turkiye, in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah region. Turkiye has been conducting Operation Claw-Lock in northern Iraq since April 2022, establishing several military points in the Duhok governorate to fight the group. Three weeks ago, a Turkish base in northern Iraq was targeted by PKK-affiliated groups, resulting in the death of six Turkish soldiers. Another three soldiers were killed during clashes that followed the attack. The recent escalation of PKK attacks against Turkish positions in the region is now under scrutiny. Rich Outzen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, suggests that the PKK may be driven by a need to demonstrate its capability to inflict casualties on the Turkish military amid changing dynamics in warfare technologies. “The advent of drone warfare, enhanced intelligence and precision strike in Iraq, Syria and southeastern Turkiye has badly eroded what once seemed like a serious military threat to Turkish forces,” he told Arab News. “By selecting the most favorable circumstances — bad weather and very rugged terrain — PKK leadership focused efforts to achieve a very rare successful operation,” he said. The second reason, Outzen believes, “is a desire to alter the trajectory of US policy in Iraq and Syria.” Outzen said the US “has decreasing interest in Syria and decreasing rationale for continuing support to the YPG as Daesh recedes as a primary security concern in the region.”In Iraq, “increasing tensions between pro-Iranian militias and US forces — as well as the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Peshmerga forces — has put obstacles in the path of the PKK-friendly ‘Kurdish unity’ push that elements of the President Joe Biden’s administration have supported,” he said. Outzen added: “By provoking Turkish overreaction and creating new pressure in Washington to protect and unify ‘the Kurds,’ the PKK hopes to renew its ability to leverage US policy against Turkiye.”Finally, Outzen draws attention to the Iran factor.
“Qandil has a long history of tacit deals with Tehran; the ascendance of the PKK in northeast Syria is largely a product of cooperative strategy among Assad, the Revolutionary Guard Corps and Qandil,” he said. “Tehran has its own reasons for wanting new escalations around the region in the period following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel, and it is likely that the PKK is serving as an instrumentality in that strategic approach,” he added. The extent of Turkiye’s operations against PKK positions remains uncertain. Outzen believes the PKK is operating near the limit of its operational reach, and that only under limited circumstances it is capable of engaging Turkish forces at a relative advantage — conditions that exist in the mountains between Iraq and Turkiye, but not on the plains in Syria or in southeast Turkiye. “The question of how large Turkish counterattacks will be remains open, but a large-scale offensive against the PKK where it is most vulnerable, in Syria, is a possibility,” he said. Dr. Bilgay Duman, coordinator of Iraq studies at Ankara-based think tank ORSAM, said the PKK has recently shifted its tactics and is pursuing a different strategy, which can partly explain the increase in attacks against Turkish soldiers in the region. “Previously, the PKK was launching attacks in spring. However, in the past couple of years, it began attacking Turkish military points during winter to establish control over the areas and to result in more casualties,” he told Arab News. Dr. Duman said that there had been a PKK presence in almost eight mountainous areas in northern Iraq, resulting in the evacuation of about 800 villages in the zone. “Turkiye has been developing consecutive operations toward the region to break this dominance and to cut the logistic connections between different areas,” he said. Duman said Turkiye “significantly narrowed down the territory of the PKK camps.”He said Turkiye “also targets Qamisli and Al-Dirbasiyah in Syria, where the Syrian branch of the PKK is mainly located.”But the presence of Turkish soldiers in the region “inevitably makes direct confrontation with the terror group a necessity,” he said. The PKK, which has launched a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, claimed responsibility last October for an attack on the headquarters of the Turkish interior ministry in Ankara in which two police officers were injured. Anticipating a more aggressive stance from the PKK as military pressure continues, Duman said that Turkish counterterrorism authorities have already taken measures to confront any domestic security threat that may arise in retaliation to cross-border operations in Iraq and Syria. “As long as the central government of Iraq and the KRG cannot actively counteract to contain the PKK, Turkiye is expected to continue its operations during winter and spring,” he said.

Namibia condemns former colonial ruler Germany over Gaza response
AFP/January 14, 2024
WINDHOEK: Namibia has condemned its former colonial ruler Germany’s decision this week to reject accusations against Israel by South Africa of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). South Africa launched an emergency case at the ICJ arguing that Israel stands in breach of the UN Genocide Convention, signed in 1948 in the wake of the Holocaust, and wants the court to “immediately” stop its military operations in Gaza which were launched after the October 7 Hamas attacks. Namibia, a southern African country where the first genocide of the 20th century took place under German colonial rule, “rejects Germany’s support of the genocidal intent of the racist Israeli state,” the presidency said in a statement late Saturday. Lamenting “Germany’s inability to draw lessons from its horrific history,” Namibian President Hage Geingob expressed “deep concern” for the German government’s decision Friday of having “rejected the morally upright indictment brought forward by South Africa.”Geingob accused Berlin of “ignoring” the “deaths of over 23,000 Palestinians in Gaza” and defending in front of the ICJ “the genocidal and gruesome acts of the Israeli Government.” The German government on Friday “decisively and expressly” rejected South Africa’s accusations against Israel, calling it a “political instrumentalization” of the UN Genocide Convention with “no basis in fact.”Germany was responsible for the massacres of more than 70,000 Indigenous Herero and Nama people in Namibia between 1904 and 1908, which historians widely consider the first genocide of the 20th century. “The German Government is yet to fully atone for the genocide it committed,” the Namibian presidency said Saturday. In May 2021, after more than five years of negotiations, Germany said it recognized it committed a “genocide” in the territory it colonized from 1884 and 1915 and pleged more than 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in development aid over 30 years to benefit the descendents of the two tribes.

Thousands march in London, stage events in UK for Gaza ‘day of action’
ARAB NEWS/January 14, 2024
LONDON: Hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched in central London on Saturday as part of a global day of action to oppose Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza. The day was organized by a coalition including the Friends of Al-Aqsa, Palestinian Forum in Britain, Stop the War Coalition, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Muslim Association of Britain. Around 1,700 police were on duty for the march, the latest in a series of demonstrations which have been held in London most Saturdays since the Israel-Hamas war began last year.
“The call of Jan. 13 designated by peace activists as a global day of action for Gaza has already attracted 40 countries organizing protests,” said Ismail Patel, chairman of the Friends of Al-Aqsa. He added Saturday was significant because it was the “eve of 100 days since the present crisis faced by the Palestinians. It is also a day after the International Court of Justice will deliver an interim order on the case brought by South Africa against Israel.” The international court concluded two days of hearings on Friday. The proceedings by the South African government are also endorsed by other nations.
“With Israel continuing with its slaughter of Palestinians and most of the world’s governments remaining passive, peace activists are urging civil society to demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to occupation,” Patel said. “It is up to the people of the world to guide the political leaders and help end the genocide in Gaza.”In a joint statement, the organizing coalition said: “Israel’s unrelenting attacks bear all the hallmarks of genocide under international law, as they demonstrate an ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group’.”PSC director Ben Jamal said: “The world needs to charge Israel with the gravest of crimes — genocide — not just in the International Court of Justice, but in the court of global public opinion. “In the face of the failure of governments, including the UK, to act to uphold international law and defend fundamental human rights, people continue to take to the streets to protest, week after week (and) this Saturday, from Australia to South America, from Dhaka to Washington, people of conscience will show the world demands a full ceasefire and an end to Israel’s impunity from international law,” he added. Jamal said London was at the forefront of these global protests, attracting hundreds of thousands of solidarity campaigners “despite government hostility and opposition indifference.”He said the national march continued to “show the majority of British people stand with Palestinians in this dark hour of their decades of oppression.”
He added: “A permanent ceasefire must be the starting point to address the underlying causes, including Israeli military occupation and a system of oppression against the Palestinian people that is considered internationally to meet the legal definition of apartheid. We will continue to march, demonstrate and organize to demand justice for the Palestinian people.”“Little Amal,” a giant puppet of a refugee child that has become a global symbol of human rights, joined the seventh demonstration on Saturday, accompanied by a group of Palestinian children. “Little Amal is a global symbol of human rights and the rights of children in particular. The name Amal means ‘hope’ in Arabic,” said a PSC spokesman. “She represents a nine-year-old Syrian refugee girl who travels alone across Europe to find her mother (and) was created in 2021 for a project in which she walked between the Syrian-Turkiye border and the UK to draw attention to the experience of refugees. Since then she has traveled the world and met millions of people.”Palestinian Amir Nizar Zuabi, artistic director of The Walk Productions, said: “Amal has become a symbol of the vulnerability and resilience of the millions of people that met her or followed her journey.” He said the 12-foot puppet “walks for those most vulnerable and for their bravery and resilience,” adding: “Amal is a child and a refugee and today in Gaza childhood is under attack, with an unfathomable number of children killed. Childhood itself is being targeted. That’s why we walk.” Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of more than 23,000 Palestinians, including more than 10,000 children. Thousands more are missing or presumed dead. Almost all of Gaza’s population has been displaced, with more than 60 percent of buildings damaged or destroyed. The UN has warned one in four people in Gaza are starving as Israel refuses to allow in adequate supplies and destroys food infrastructure.
The day of action involved over 40 countries across six continents, including the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Jordan, and Turkiye. Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian activists in the northern city of Sheffield continued a campaign of solidarity with the Palestinian people for the ninth consecutive day with a sit-in camp in front of the town hall. Organized with the support of the Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, the Justice Now Camp included activities calling for an end to the conflict and condemning the crimes and violations committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. Models of shrouds covered in blood and expressive shrines were placed outside the makeshift camp. The activists also called on the city council to declare Sheffield an “Israeli apartheid-free zone” and for criminal charges to be brought against British individuals who joined the Israeli Defense Forces and committed genocide in Gaza. Two Palestinian activists, Sahar Awadallah and Lena Mussa, have been on hunger strike since the start of the camp to convey to the British community the enormity of the tragedy and humanitarian catastrophe.

A suicide bomber in western Afghanistan targets the governor's office and wounds 3 guards
ISLAMABAD (AP)/Sun, January 14, 2024
A suicide bomber targeted the provincial governor’s office in western Afghanistan on Sunday and wounded three security guards, said a Taliban official. The attacker detonated his suicide vest as he was shot by security guards while trying to enter inside the governor’s compound in Zaranj, the capital of Nimroz province, Abdul Mateen Qani, the spokesman for the Taliban’s interior minister, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State group’s affiliate has increased attacks in capital Kabul as well as in other parts of the country since the beginning of the year. The IS group has carried out major assaults on schools, hospitals and mosques and also has attacked Shiite areas across the country in the last few years. It's been a major rival of the Taliban since the latter seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, as U.S. and other troops withdrew.

Biden: US does not support Taiwan independence
WASHINGTON (Reuters)/Sun, January 14, 2024
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday the United States does not support the independence of Taiwan, after Taiwanese voters rebuffed China and gave the ruling party a third presidential term. Earlier in the day, the Taiwanese ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te came to power, strongly rejecting Chinese pressure to spurn him, and pledged both to stand up to Beijing and seek talks. "We do not support independence..." Biden said, when asked for reaction to Saturday's elections. The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 and has long said it does not support a formal declaration of independence by Taiwan. It does, however, maintain unofficial relations with the self-governed island and remains its most important backer and arms supplier. Beijing, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, fears that Lai could declare the establishment of a Republic of Taiwan, which Lai has said he will not do. Biden has previously upset the Chinese government with comments that appeared to suggest the United States would defend the island if it were attacked, a deviation from a long-held U.S. position of "strategic ambiguity". His comments on Saturday appear to be an effort to reassure Beijing. Even so, Washington warned just hours ahead of the polls opening that "it would be unacceptable" for "any" country to interfere in the election.
Taiwan, which neighboring China claims as its own, has been a democratic success story since holding its first direct presidential election in 1996, the culmination of decades of struggle against authoritarian rule and martial law. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Lai Ching-te on his victory and said the United States "is committed to maintaining cross-strait peace and stability, and the peaceful resolution of differences, free from coercion and pressure."He said the U.S. looks forward to working with Lai and leaders of all parties in Taiwan to advance their "longstanding unofficial relationship, consistent with the U.S. one China policy." The Biden administration has feared that the election, transition and new administration would escalate conflict with Beijing. Biden has worked to smooth relations with China, including agreeing to talk through differences on security matters at a California summit with President Xi Jinping in November. Taiwan's government expects China to attempt to put pressure on its incoming president after the vote, including staging military maneuvers near the island this spring, two senior government officials said. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. In a show of support for the government, Biden plans to dispatch an unofficial delegation to the self-governed island, according to a senior Biden administration official. The delegation is likely to include some former high-ranking American officials, according to the official, who said the names have not been finalized. Similar delegations have been sent to Taiwan in the past. China was angered in 2016 when then-President-elect Donald Trump spoke by phone with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, the first such conversation between U.S. and Taiwan leaders since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979. (Reporting by Steve Holland, Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Diane Craft and Michael Perry)

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 14-15/2024
Taiwan Voters Just Cut China's Xi Jinping Down to Size
Gordon G. Chang/Gatestone Institute/January 14, 2024
The Taiwanese, especially after seeing how Beijing suffocated Hong Kong in the past four years, do not want to be ruled by the Chinese regime.
Xi Jinping at the moment must be fuming. In his 2024 New Year's message, he signaled he is soon going to annex Taiwan. "China will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," the Chinese leader declared in a paragraph that appears to list what will happen this year.
The people of the small island of Taiwan are not afraid of large China. They are an inspiration to free people everywhere.
Taiwan's voters stood up to China and all its war talk of recent weeks. The Taiwanese heard Communist Chinese ruler Xi Jinping's threats, became even more defiant, and have now cut him down to size by electing Lai Ching-te as their next president. Pictured: Taiwan's Vice President and president-elect, Lai Ching-te, speaks to supporters at a rally on January 13, 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Photo by Annabelle Chih/Getty Images)
The results are in. Taiwan's voters stood up to China and all its war talk of recent weeks.
Vice President Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party won the presidency on Saturday in a three-way race with 40.1% of the vote. Hsiao Bi-khim, recently Taipei's representative in Washington, was elected vice president.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih, of the opposition Kuomintang received 33.5%, and Ko Wen-je of the new Taiwan People's Party came in third with 26.5%.
The election was historic. For the first time since 1996, when the island republic held its first democratic presidential election, a party has won a third straight presidential term.
Previously, the DPP, as the governing party is known, and the Kuomintang or KMT, traded the presidency every eight years.
Lai's campaign was ailing a few weeks ago as voters were expressing dissatisfaction with DPP governance on bread-and-butter issues. Then Beijing decided to weigh in, calling the vice president a "separatist" and "destroyer of peace." As a result, ethnic Taiwanese voters began to focus on their ethnicity and the China threat. The "Green" DPP represents people who think of themselves as "Taiwanese." Consistently more than 60% of the island's 23.5 million people self-identify as "Taiwanese Only"—some polls show over 80%—while generally fewer than 5% say they are "Chinese Only."
Hou's "Blue" Kuomintang fled to Taiwan in 1949 as it was losing the Chinese Civil War and is seen as the party of the ethnic Chinese on the island. Many still consider them to be invaders, especially after the Kuomintang's brutal "White Terror," a four-decade campaign waged against the local—Taiwanese—population.
Beijing proclaims that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China and now favors the KMT, because, as a practical matter, China's peaceful annexation of the island is possible only when Taiwan's people believe they have a common heritage with those on the "mainland."
Beijing's war talk—a senior Chinese official declared this month that the Taiwan election presented a choice between "peace and war"—only reminded the electorate that, despite unhappiness with the DPP, the governing party was best able to maintain Taiwan's separate existence. The Taiwanese, especially after seeing how Beijing suffocated Hong Kong in the past four years, do not want to be ruled by the Chinese regime.
Lai's margin on Saturday is larger than that in the polls released just before the 10-day polling blackout period went into effect. He can thank the KMT's Ma Ying-jeou for helping him increase his then-slim lead in the days before the voting. Ma, a former president, in a televised January 10 interview with Deutsche Welle essentially advocated capitulation to Beijing and told Taiwan's people that they could trust Xi Jinping.
"The timing is very unfortunate for the Hou campaign," said Ma Chun-wei of Tamkang University in New Taipei City to Singapore's Straits Times. "If Ma had said what he said two months ago, people might have moved on from it by now. But to say these things just a few days before the election will likely cost the party crucial median voters."
Ma Ying-jeou, president from 2008 to 2016, undoubtedly scored points with the 1.6% of voters who want immediate unification with China, but certainly not anyone else.
The former president, who had been campaigning for Hou, was not invited to the most important KMT campaign event, a rally held the day before the election in New Taipei City.
Hou, by not including Ma, was trying to reassure voters that he was not going to sell out Taiwan to China. His message throughout the campaign was that he was the best able to handle China and maintain the island's democracy.
Unfortunately for the KMT, it has to appeal to both the Chinese in Taiwan, its core base, and native Taiwanese, who are beginning to dominate politics and have different aspirations than the Chinese.
Xi Jinping at the moment must be fuming. In his 2024 New Year's message, he signaled he is soon going to annex Taiwan. "China will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," the Chinese leader declared in a paragraph that appears to list what will happen this year.China has overplayed its hand. "I think the people here are accustomed to the endless threats coming from China," said Bob Yang, a retired professor and a former president of the pro-Taiwan Formosan Association for Public Affairs, to Gatestone. "They seem to take them in stride."
As Yang, now in Taiwan after campaigning for DPP candidates, tells us, China's threats are wearing thin. A free people, living just a little over a hundred miles from the menacing Chinese state, refuse to be intimidated.
The Taiwanese heard Xi Jinping's threats, became even more defiant, and have now cut him down to size.
The people of the small island of Taiwan are not afraid of large China. They are an inspiration to free people everywhere.
Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China, a Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory Board.
© 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

Why ISIS has unleashed its suicide bombers against Iran
Rebecca Rommen/Business Insider/January 14, 2024
Scores were killed in blasts last week, at a memorial event for an Iranian military chief.
ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the attack.
Qassem Soleimani's commemoration was targeted because he led campaigns against Sunni militants.
Last week in Kerman, a city in southeastern Iran, large crowds gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of the US killing of the top Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander, Qassem Soleimani.
By the day's end of the day, scores of supporters of the rulers of Iran were dead, and hundreds were injured in a twin suicide bombing.
The attack that left nearly 100 dead, Reuters reported, was coordinated to inflict maximum devastation. The first bomber initiated the explosion at the Kerman ceremony, followed by another 20 minutes later as emergency responders and bystanders rushed to aid the victims, the Iranian authorities said.
Barbara Slavin, Distinguished Fellow at The Stimson Center and former director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, told Business Insider that Soleimani was a divisive figure.
He was considered a hero, she said, by many in Iran for driving ISIS out of Iraq and helping to defeat them in Syria.
"But of course, this has made enemies for him within ISIS," she said.
Indeed, ISIS-K, a branch of the terror network based in Afghanistan and central Asia, quickly claimed responsibility for the fatal blasts. The militant Sunni Muslim group said on Telegram that two of its members had detonated explosive belts as crowds gathered at the Kerman cemetery.
It was the latest in a string of attacks by the ISIS affiliate that has been targeting Iran for five years. The first was a two-pronged operation against the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in the capital, Tehran, in 2017, that left 16 people dead.
Iranian authorities say they have identified the alleged ringleader responsible for orchestrating the bombings. The Ministry of Intelligence said that the main suspect, operating under the alias Abdollah Tajiki, is a Tajik national who illegally entered Iran last month. Thirty-five suspects across various provinces have also been apprehended in connection with the bombings, it said.
The Iranian intelligence ministry sought to blame its old enemy Israel for the atrocity and said one of the bombers had Israeli citizenship, the Times of Israel reported. But Slavin said the slaughter at Kerman did not bear the hallmarks of an Israeli covert operation. "Israel has done a lot against Iran," said Slavin. "It's assassinated nuclear scientists, it's carried out cyber sabotage of nuclear facilities, it's stolen documents from Iran, highly sensitive nuclear archives, and so on. But it it has not at least, in my experience, taken part in these kinds of terrorist attacks."
US intelligence corroborated ISIS' role. White House spokesman John Kirby said the US was in "no position to doubt Islamic State's claim" that it was responsible, per Reuters.
ISIS plotted a revenge attack because they hated Iran's top commander
Qassem Soleimani Iran Revolutionary Guard
Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, center, attends a meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Revolutionary Guard commanders in Tehran, Iran, September 18, 2016. As Saudi Arabia holds a naval drill in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Soleimani, a powerful Iranian general was quoted, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, by the semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies as suggesting the kingdom's deputy crown prince is so "impatient" he may kill his own father to take the throne. While harsh rhetoric has been common between the two rivals since January, the outrageous comments by Soleimani take things to an entirely different level by outright discussing Saudi King Salman being killed.(Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)More
The ISIS enmity toward Iran speaks to the age-old conflict between the two major branches of Islam, the Sunni and Shia Muslims. The Islamic schism stems from a theological dispute over the success of the Prophet Mohammed in the seventh century. The two branches also have profound differences over elements of Muslim worship and practice.
While Shia Iran is self-styled as the "Islamic Republic," it is detested by Sunni extremists as a form of apostasy.
This schism is also present in Yemen, where the Iran-backed Shia Houthis rebels have fought a bitter decadelong civil war against the Sunni-dominated government. This week, the US and UK launched military strikes against the Houthi rebels that have been attacking Red Sea shipping after repeated warnings.
Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, which specialized in military operations beyond Iran's borders, personified the hostility of the extremist Sunni militants. "Soleimani got his start fighting against extremists in Afghanistan. He helped the United States in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 to defeat the Taliban, which had given sanctuary to al Qaeda, the perpetrators of 9/11," Slavin said.
As a result, as well as religious and ideological reasons, Salvin believes that ISIS was motivated to carry out the attacks out of a desire for revenge against Soleimani "for all his efforts to suppress Sunni militants for his activities in Afghanistan, going back to the late 1990s, all the way up through his campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria."Soleimani was killed by an American drone strike in 2020. The strike was authorized by Donald Trump.
The Stimson Center highlighted that the extent of the attacks highlighted an intelligence failure on Iran's part. Slavin said it's "very easy" to penetrate Afghanistan's "porous" border. Tehran has vowed revenge for the bloody Kerman attack. Experts in ISIS-K and Iran believe the Kerman attack highlights ISIS-K's recruitment strategies and its "growing ability to strike declared enemies and undermine regional stability." They will continue to attempt attacks against Iran "no matter what," Washington Institute for Near East Policy expert, Aaron Zelin, told the VoA.

The Strike on the Houthis is a Strike on Credibility
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/14 January 2024
The US-British strikes on the Houthis in response to their disruption of maritime navigation were predictable and inevitable. Rather, they had been so since the Houthis took control of Sanaa and insisted on behaving like a militia, not a political party that shares power with others, like the other Yemeni parties.
It was predictable and inevitable because the United States and Britain, along with other European countries, were not serious enough in dealing with the Houthis and addressing their actions in Yemen from the beginning. If Washington and its allies in European capitals had been serious, things would not have gone this far. Washington and its European allies were absolutely opportunistic in dealing with the Houthis, considering it a domestic Yemeni problem, and the United States and European countries even pointed the finger at regional actors, specifically Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Washington and its allies pushed endless lies about human rights, and they were supported by some international organizations. The oversimplification was astonishing, until today. We have reached a stage in which Washington and its allies are fighting the Houthis, which the Biden administration had removed from the terrorist list. The US administration is not the only one responsible. Indeed, American media outlets also promoted lies, with the veneer of human rights, about the countries of the region, particularly Saudi Arabia. The Washington Post even published an article by Mohammed Ali al-Houthi in 2018 under the headline "We Want Peace". Today, after everything that has happened, Washington and its allies are talking about Iranian support for the Houthis once again. After having overlooked that support for a long time, they are carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis, and Washington says that these strikes will continue if the Houthis continue to threaten maritime navigation.
It is not important today whether these strikes against the Houthis are effective or not, as that is not the debate here. The point is that these strikes represent a blow to the credibility of the United States and Europe’s strategy for our region, especially their approach to dealing with the militias that have destroyed several Arab countries.
Here, a question to Washington and the West in general poses itself: is their relationship with the region strategic or tactical? The militia threat is real, and Tehran's use of militias is not a tactic but a fully-fledged strategy.
Therefore, the United States and Europeans must adopt a strategic stance regarding the militias, instead of using them as pawns to undermine rivals and extort the region, sometimes in the name of minority rights and at others in the name of human rights, which we have seen not a trace of in Israel’s war on Gaza.
The matter goes beyond the Houthis, who are assumed to be close to signing a peace agreement that ends the conflict in Yemen. The question applies to all the militias from Iraq to Lebanon, from Syria to Yemen, and to Gaza, all of which are either Iranian militias or militias funded by Tehran. The credibility of the United States and Europe is in question today. Just look at the reporting of regional media outlets or what people are saying on social media. That is all you have to do to understand the damage to the credibility of Washington and its Western allies, though this of course does not imply sympathizing with the Houthis and those like them. In conclusion, Washington and its European allies must now inform us of their stances after having bombed the Houthi. Does this strike reflect a new strategic position vis a vis all the militias in the region? Or was it just a reaction that lacks a comprehensive vision for what follows the strike?

Four Factors Making Things Worse in Syria
Fayez Sara/Asharq Al-Awsat/14 January 2024
No one following developments in Syria disagrees that the situation has deteriorated to an unprecedented degree. Most observers believe the decline is accelerating, further exacerbating the situation in Syria, thereby prolonging the conflict, deepening the obstacles to resolving it, and raising the material and human costs, not only for Syria and Syrians but also for the region and beyond, as demonstrated over the course of the conflict in and over Syria. The increasing costs of the Syrian conflict, both domestically and externally, are clearly reflected and entrenched by four phenomena that are growing and intensifying. The first is the deterioration of conditions across the country on every level, with daily life becoming hellish. The second phenomenon is the ongoing wave of migration and requests for refuge of Syrians, which continues despite more than half of the population having already fled their country to escape death and war. Although they would prefer to remain, the war raging in some areas and the aggravation of its repercussions has forced them out. The third phenomenon is that terrorism and its participants are broadening. New sectarian and ethnic religious groups that had not been on the list before are being added and more states are engaged in "state terrorism" through their role in the conflict in Syria. The fourth is the growing amount of international humanitarian aid required to meet the needs of the conflict’s victims, both in Syria and the countries they migrated to and took refuge in.
Amid the increasing deterioration of the situation in Syria, the first question we must ask concerns the factors pushing things in this direction. The reasons can be divided into domestic factors on the one hand and external causes on the other. They have become deeply ingrained in Syria and the lives of Syrians, making the future uncertain.
The first reason for this deterioration and decline can be seen in the weakness and laxity of the Syrians' position on addressing the state of affairs in their country and its future. That is clearly evident in the state and role of the Syrian elite, which has been fraught with weakness, hesitation, and confusion.
There has been a decline in the political and relief role that they had begun to play at the beginning of the revolution, and they no longer play a significant role in serving the public. Instead, their focus has shifted to personal and familial projects, at best. They pursue these initiatives to escape from current conditions and solve the pressing problems somehow.
The conditions of the political elite and their overall experiences reflect a negative state of affairs and their inability to fulfill their responsibility to manage all aspects of Syrians’ lives. This is true for the political formations affiliated with both the regime and the opposition, the parties somewhere in between, and those outside of this binary. None of them have the capacity to undertake an independent and creative initiative to prevent things from deteriorating beyond a certain point.
The second reason for this decline is Syria has become divided into three entities de facto: The first entity encompasses the areas controlled by the regime, which include the coast and the center, from Aleppo in the north to Daraa in the south. It is under the protection of Russia, Iran, and the militias affiliated with the latter, most notably Hezbollah from Lebanon and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces factions. The second entity is the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, where the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) is primarily in control. It has ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and is supported by marginal political groups and populations. Together, they formed the Syrian Democratic Council and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under the protection and support of the United States.
The third entity is the Turkish-controlled entity, which is split into three sections. One section is under direct Turkish control, as it has been since Turkish forces entered the area during their military operations against the SDF in recent years. The second section mainly consists of the rural regions of Aleppo and Idlib, administered by the Syrian Interim Government affiliated with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, with armed groups belonging to the National Army present in the region. The third section in the Turkish-controlled zone is Idlib and its countryside. This section is managed by the Salvation Government affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra); militias and institutions of the organization are concentrated there.
The de facto authorities administer their zones according to their whim, without the slightest coordination or consultation. Rather, the three entities are all hostile to one another. Their rule is founded on a contradictory blend of policies and laws from Assad's regime and new ones derived from jihadist Islamic fundamentalist thought, which becomes fanatical with Al-Qaeda, as represented by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Another aspect can be attributed to the ideology of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), with its militias and its theory on democratic peoples and autonomous administration. All of this has entrenched differences in the lives Syrians lead in different parts of the country to the point where they have been rendered contradictory, making the future of residents in each area different from that of the others.
The second aspect of the continued deterioration and decline of conditions in Syria is regional and international. External factors are the third cause, and they have had an impact in two respects. First, it has sharpened international divisions. One faction has supported the regime, providing assistance that went beyond the usual limits of political, economic, and military/security support, directly engaging in combat and defense operations. On the other hand, most international and regional actors provided frail and ambivalent support and assistance to the Syrian people and their opposition. Often, these stances and interventions led to negative and catastrophic results, including silence about crimes and allowing them to pass, as well as leniency in imposing serious and effective sanctions on the regime figures behind these crimes. The worst impact of the major global actors’ positions on Syria is that it pushed Syria’s Arab and regional neighbors to retreat, as well as adjusting their advocacy for the Syrian cause, which has accelerated the deterioration of conditions in Syria.
Undoubtedly, another external factor constitutes the fourth reason for the aggravation of conditions in Syria. This factor is more significant than any of those that were mentioned previously. The Syrian question has been relegated to the margins of international concerns, placed in storage and on distant shelves. That has not only worsened conditions in Syria due to the lack of potential for a solution, which has become a pipe dream. It also gives those playing a role in Syria the sense that they are above having their actions scrutinized and being held accountable for the crimes they commit. This results in increased brutality, further aggravating the destruction in Syria and the suffering of Syrians, which has been snowballing.
Those who want to see the situation in Syria resolved, particularly regional, international, and Arab parties, desperately need to take an objective stance on the issue and re-evaluate it independently of other global crises and developments, which will continue. Prioritizing some issues over others is untenable, as their ramifications are equally significant, in terms of the suffering they engender and their catastrophic impact on the world, both for its populations and governments. This conclusion applies to Syria, where the war has been raging for a long time and led to catastrophic outcomes. It has the potential to give rise to more disasters for Syrians and many people around the world if it continues.

US-Iran Battlegrounds: From Yemen to Iraq
Dlawer Ala'Aldeen/Former Minister in the Kurdistan Regional Government/January 14, 2024
Iran’s relentless pressure on the US, via Arab proxies across the Middle East, has been mounting for some time, but intensified since the 7 October war in Gaza and may escalate after the latest attack on the Houthis in Yemen. While the Houthis have been firing drones and missiles at ships and installations of US-allies, the Iraqi pro-Iranian armed groups, known as Fasail Al-Muqawama Al-Islamiya, have launched more than 120 attacks directly at US forces in both Iraq and Syria. So far, the US has tolerated the pressure and carried out measured retaliations against Iran’s proxies only, far away from Iran’s borders. They clearly wish to avoid all out escalations, while hoping Iran would agree a security compromise one way or another.
Evidently, Iran is determined to sustain the pressure, and ultimately drive the US military presence out of the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria. They not only consider such US presence a strategic threat to their national security, but also a barrier for their hegemony in the Levant and beyond. Pushing the US out of Iraq will also help weaken the US support to the Gulf Arabs, and possibly facilitate a restructuring the region’s security architecture on Iranian terms.
Obviously, the Iranians do not underestimate the Americans’ determination to stay in the region, or their readiness to act and react militarily. Hence, they try to avoid direct military confrontation with the US forces, by limiting it to their own dispensable Arab proxies. However, Tehran sees an opportunity, during this election year, to force the US into a hasty and humiliated withdrawal from Iraq, akin to their exit from Afghanistan. Afterall, the US strategic priorities appear to focus on challenges at home, in Europe and in China. Iraq maybe important to the US but is not a top priority.
In consequence, Iraq is now caught between the hegemony of a powerful neighbor (Iran) which has undermined its sovereignty; and the overwhelming power of a global superpower (USA) that can penalize it into failure. Interestingly, Iran is not against the US diplomatic and economic presence in the Iraq, as this serves their interests best. Iran uses Iraq to access the western world, bypass the US sanctions and support their own Arab proxies across the Middle East. The US, on the other hand, does not wish to withdraw its 2,500 troops from Iraq at this critical time, on Iranian terms. To the US, their military presence in Iraq is of great strategic importance for fighting ISIS, keeping a close eye on Iran and providing support to their Syrian bases. They have also provided the much-needed security umbrella and military infrastructure for the operation of other coalition partners who have supported Iraq during difficult times.
The Iraqi Government, under Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, is clearly gravely concerned about the intensifying US-Iran rivalry in Iraq, which is distractive and undermines Iraq’s state authority. Iraq’s political leaders know that their country is nowhere near ready to see the US and the coalition partners leave. It is still not able to prevent security threats from ISIS or from the more sophisticated Fasail armed groups. Importantly, Iraq is no Iran; it is too fragile to survive a penalizing financial and diplomatic isolation that goes with an unfriendly US withdrawal.
Furthermore, the prospect of the US withdrawal is extremely worrying for the Kurds and Sunni Arabs, who believe that they will be next on the firing line. Their parties (and leaders) have been continuously targeted politically in Baghdad by pro-Iranian parties who dominate the legislative, executive and judicious branches, and recently took full control of the provincial councils across Iraq (except in Kurdistan). Alarmingly, the Fasail have dropped bombs close to Kurdish leaders’ offices, which clearly act as a warning sign of what might come next.
It is no secret that the pro-Iranian non-state-actors are now acting as the state, imposing policies while hindering reform. Pro-Iranian members of the Coordination Framework have overtly supported the Government’s approach to solving the crisis, but are believed to have fueled a populistic anti-coalition campaign. While the Prime Minister has described the attacks on the US presence as “terrorism”, many members of the Coordination Framework have considered them as legitimate and righteous.
The Iraqi government has no choice but to pursue a realistic process that puts Iraq’s interest first and ring-fence Iraq from the transcontinental rivalries. Iraq can and must negotiate a deal with the US and the broader coalition, without imposing arbitrary timelines or deadlines. They must engage in a comprehensive dialogue, covering all sectors of engagement, including the security, economic, environmental, social and cultural issues. In return, the US should exercise a strategic patience and give the Iraqi government space to achieve the common goals in its own way and in its own time. Pressuring a Shiite-led government into picking sides will not lead to Iraq choosing the US over Iran.
Finally, the Iranians should not undermine the Iraqi state any further, otherwise, they risk escalating the situation beyond even their control and to their own country’s detriment. They are known to dread the prospect of dealing with the more hawkish Donald Trump, should he wins the next US presidential elections, therefore, they would be better advised not to weaken the incumbent Biden Administration’s hands, or misread the US determination to both stay in Iraq and avoid the repeat of Afghanistan scenario.