Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 19-20/2024
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video: Hezbollah is as an Iranian army, did not liberate the south; rather, it occupies Lebanon
The necessity of defeating Hamas, the mullahs, and all branches and groups of the Muslim Brotherhood/Elias Bejjani/January 16/2024
Elias Bajani/Video and Text/Dangers and Disasters of the Victory of the Jihadist and Terrorist Iranian Governance Model, Represented by its proxies: Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)/ & Baku Haram
The Washington Post, citing Western and Lebanese officials: Israel threatened to escalate fighting with Hezbollah if there is no agreement in weeks
Gallant: Hezbollah is losing the tactical battle, and if the North's right to live safely is not respected, we will achieve it by force
The Washington Post, citing Western and Lebanese officials: Israel threatened to escalate fighting with Hezbollah if there is no agreement in weeks
Lebanon ranks 136th in World Happiness Report 2023: The role of mental health
Cabinet approves the licensing of Blocks 8 and 10 for the consortium comprising Total Energies, Eni, and Qatar EnergyLebanon News
Al-Bizri unveils Lebanon's dual interests: A Palestinian solution and national unity
Israel to US ambassador: Hezbollah threat must be ended diplomatically or militarily
Heavy strikes on Ramia as border tensions escalate
Geagea slams govt. for letting Hezbollah 'turn country into battlefield'
War on Lebanon averted 'at last minute' in stormy Oct. 11 Cabinet meeting
In Lebanon, strange calls can precede Israeli attacks
Lebanese people firmly reject prospect of war/Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/January 19, 2024

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 19-20/2024
Israel bombs Gaza as disagreements with US simmer
Rifts emerge among top Israeli officials over how to handle Gaza war
Israel bombs Gaza as disagreements with US simmer
Israel president hit with criminal complaint in Switzerland
Nearly 20,000 babies born into Gaza war 'hell', says UN
Jordan's PM urges US to take lead in ending Gaza "carnage"
European Council imposes sanctions on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and bans travel to the EU for six individuals
Netanyahu's political turning point: Israeli army withdraws from Gaza amid rising internal pressures
Houthis say US ship hit in Gulf of Aden attack
UK bans Hizb ut-Tahrir as terror group
Iran displays missile capability amid Gaza war
Ethnic killings in one Sudan city left up to 15,000 dead - UN report
Trump may not be in Davos but he haunts CEOs, leaders

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on January 19-20/2024
Pakistan: Young Christian Unjustly Sentenced to Death/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/January 19, 2024
Question: “What does it mean that Satan masquerades as an angel of light?”/GotQuestions.org/January 19, 2024
A clear Saudi message at Davos 2024/Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/January 19, 2024
Deciphering the broader implications of Iran’s attacks/Sinem Cengiz/Arab news/January 19/2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 19-20/2024
Elias Bejjani/Text and Video: Hezbollah is as an Iranian army, did not liberate the south; rather, it occupies Lebanon
January 18, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2pEpzd-H0A&t=209s
The Shiite sect in Lebanon has been held hostage by the terrorist Iranian armed proxy, Hezbollah, since 1982. Hezbollah was not a voluntary choice for the Lebanese Shiites; instead, it was forcibly imposed upon them and on all the Lebanese in the 1980s during the Syrian occupation era, in an agreement between the Iranian Mullahs and the Baathist Assad regime.
Hezbollah gained complete control over the Shiites in Lebanon in favor of the Mullahs' regime in 1988, following armed battles in the Iqlem Al Tefah Region with the Shiite Amal movement. After defeating Amal, Hezbollah forcefully subjugated its armed presence, rendering it a subservient entity. Since then, Amal has become a symbolic facade executing Hezbollah's agenda without independent decision-making power.
Since 1982, Hezbollah has isolated the Shiites from other Lebanese, the Lebanese state, Arabs, and has forcefully dominated their decisions, representation, educational, religious, economic, and social institutions. Hezbollah imposed 27 parliamentary deputies on the Shiites by force, recruited Shiites men to fight on various battlefields for the Mullahs' regime in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Gulf countries, and in many Western and American countries.
Hezbollah proudly asserts that it is a military force under the command of the Iranian Supreme Leader, with all its possessions, weapons, and capabilities in all fields originating from Iran and in service to Iran.
Contrary to its false claims of being a resistance devoted to the liberation of Palestine since its creation in 1982, Hezbollah is, in fact, an Iranian army under full Iranian command.
In 2000, Hezbollah claimed to liberate South Lebanon, but it actually occupies the entire country.
In conclusion, Hezbollah's status is Iranian, rooted in Iranian ideology, completely subservient to Iran and its regime, and serves as one of its prime Jihadist terrorist military proxies.

The necessity of defeating Hamas, the mullahs, and all branches and groups of the Muslim Brotherhood
Elias Bejjani/January 16/2024
Can anyone imagine what the situation of Lebanon and the rest of the countries would be like if jihadist Hamas won the war, and behind it were the mullahs, ISIS, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood? They will certainly take us back to the law of the jungle and to pre-lithic eras

Elias Bajani/Video and Text/Dangers and Disasters of the Victory of the Jihadist and Terrorist Iranian Governance Model, Represented by its  proxies: Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)/  & Baku Haram
Elias Bejjani/January 17, 2024 The Video is in Arabic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyIYzVche54&t=32s
There is a significant and vast difference between the culture of life, peace, and human rights represented by most Arab countries, led by Lebanon and the Gulf states, and the culture, schemes, delusions illusions, and hallucinations of the so-called political Islam embodied by ISIS, Al-Nusra, Baku Haram, and the Muslim Brotherhood in all its jihadist branches. In the same diabolical and jihadist category, we can freely list the terrorist, jihadist, and expansionist regime of the Iranian mullahs, along with all its terrorist proxies like the Houthis, Hezbollah, Hamas, PMF, and others.
The model of political Islam, with all its sectarian variations, knows nothing but invasions, wars, destruction, expansion, bigotry, hatred, eternal enmity. This evil model practices its destructive, oppressive, revengeful, arbitrary, dictatorial, suppressive, and impoverishing culture and satanic education and governance in Iran, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Gaza. The unprecedented destruction caused by Hamas in Gaza is a bold example.
As for the Western and civilized model, it strives for peace, stability, decent living, securing and maintaining the rule of human rights, respecting humanity, democracy and freedom.
Therefore, the victory of the Hamas's model and its sponsor Iran will only bring disasters of all kinds and forms not only to the region. (Middle East), but definitely to the whole world.
It is imperative to defeat Hamas, the mullahs, and all branches and groups of the Muslim Brotherhood, or otherwise the whole world will know no peace or stability at any level.
Can anyone imagine what the situation in Lebanon and other countries will be like if the jihadist war led by the Iranian mullahs are victorious? Surely, they will  drag humankind to the law of the jungle and for stone age and prehistoric eras

The Washington Post, citing Western and Lebanese officials: Israel threatened to escalate fighting with Hezbollah if there is no agreement in weeks
LBCI/January 19, 2024
The Washington Post revealed on Friday that Israeli officials have threatened to escalate hostilities with Hezbollah if an agreement is not reached within the upcoming weeks, as disclosed by sources from both Western and Lebanese authorities.

Gallant: Hezbollah is losing the tactical battle, and if the North's right to live safely is not respected, we will achieve it by force
LBCI/January 19, 2024
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Hezbollah on Friday by saying, "Hezbollah is losing the tactical battle, and if the North's right to live safely is not respected, we will achieve it by force."

The Washington Post, citing Western and Lebanese officials: Israel threatened to escalate fighting with Hezbollah if there is no agreement in weeks
LBCI/January 19, 2024
The Washington Post revealed on Friday that Israeli officials have threatened to escalate hostilities with Hezbollah if an agreement is not reached within the upcoming weeks, as disclosed by sources from both Western and Lebanese authorities.

Lebanon ranks 136th in World Happiness Report 2023: The role of mental health
LBCI/January 19, 2024
In the World Happiness Report for 2023, Lebanon ranks 136th out of 137, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) secures the 26th global ranking and holds the top spot in the Arab world, followed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Why are these countries leading in happiness rankings while Lebanon lags and is one of the least happy nations? Simply put, the top-ranking nations have been actively working for years to enhance the quality of life within their borders. Notably, the UAE has even appointed a Minister of State for Happiness, reflecting a commitment to prioritizing citizens' well-being. Saudi Arabia and Qatar attribute their high happiness levels to achieving their vision of supporting social stability and progress. What prevents Lebanon from following suit? However, the situation is not entirely bleak in Lebanon. Several companies and individuals are contributing to improving the mental well-being of citizens. Starting with schools, according to a study by the American University of Beirut (AUB), 32.7% of teenagers in Lebanon are diagnosed with at least one mental disorder. Schools play a crucial role in assisting these adolescents through on-site psychological support as more than one symptom appears. Private companies also play a pivotal role in enhancing mental well-being by providing comfortable and stress-free work environments, competitive salaries, and regular recreational activities, particularly within the startup community. Moreover, ongoing campaigns shedding light on the importance of mental health contribute to securing some free treatments. Ultimately, the most significant factor is the awareness and conviction of each individual regarding the importance of mental health, highlighting that mental well-being is as crucial as physical health and should be actively addressed. After all, a smile can go a long way.

Cabinet approves the licensing of Blocks 8 and 10 for the consortium comprising Total Energies, Eni, and Qatar EnergyLebanon News
LBCI/January 19, 2024
The Cabinet approved on January 12 the licensing of Blocks 8 and 10 for the consortium comprising Total Energies, Eni, and Qatar Energy. However, at the request of the Energy Ministry, the decision included financial and technical conditions, with the hope that the consortium would adhere to them. These conditions pertain to increasing Lebanon's financial share, seismic surveys in Block 8, and reducing the timelines for exploration and drilling in the blocks mentioned. The decision is currently under review by the consortium, which is expected to make a decision regarding the Lebanese conditions and signature of the contract accordingly.

Al-Bizri unveils Lebanon's dual interests: A Palestinian solution and national unity
LBCI/January 19, 2024
MP Abdel Rahman al-Bizri affirmed that Lebanon has two interests.
On LBCI's "Nharkom Said" TV show, he explained that the first interest is a fair Palestinian solution, while the second is the national interest, which requires internal agreement. He said, "We ensure the non-expansion of the war through constant dialogue with Hezbollah, and the roles of both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister in diplomatic forums, and by receiving envoys to listen to them positively and assure them that we are committed to Resolution 1701." Al-Bizri added, "We are moving towards communication with the forces we can engage with to revive the issue of the presidency, and we need a real political movement to break this deadlock, so we need to restore constitutional normality by electing a president."He considered that the envoys sometimes speak on behalf of the Quintet Committee and sometimes on behalf of their countries; "their positions are not unified, and their priorities differ." In addition, Al-Bizri pointed out that Lebanon's stability is part of the region's stability. In the proposed budget, he condemned the tax increase, stating that to increase the state's revenues, we need to ensure confidence in the country, and we can work on discriminatory taxes based on the type of work and income. He emphasized the existence of an increase in costs but without a translation into an increase in services.

Israel to US ambassador: Hezbollah threat must be ended diplomatically or militarily
Naharnet/January 19, 2024
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday said that Israel is “committed to returning the residents of the north to their homes,” after tens of thousands were evacuated amid daily clashes with Hezbollah. “We are nearing this decision,” Gallant added. "We prefer returning the residents to the north through a settlement and we're also ready to do so through military force," he said. The commander of Israel’s northern command, Ori Gordin, meanwhile briefed the U.S. ambassador to Israel on “Hezbollah’s threats.”“The Lebanon threat must be eliminated diplomatically or militarily,” Gordin added. “There can be no return to the pre-October 7 situation,” he stressed. Over 190 people have been killed in Lebanon during more than three months of cross-border clashes, including over 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians, among them three journalists. In northern Israel, nine soldiers and six civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.The fighting has also displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israeli residents on both sides of the border and Israel says it is keen on returning its residents to their homes even if that required a military campaign.

Heavy strikes on Ramia as border tensions escalate
Agence France Presse/January 19, 2024
Head of Hezbollah's bloc in parliament Mohammed Raad said Friday that Israel "is not ready" for a war with Lebanon as Hezbollah would fight "with all its might."Since the start of the Gaza war, Israel and Hezbollah have traded cross-border strikes with gradually escalating intensity, even though neither side is believed to seek an all-out war which is bound to devastate both countries. Israeli warplanes carried out Friday two airstrikes in a region between Kfarkila and Odaisseh and 12 airstrikes on the outskirts of the southern border town of Ramia, as drones struck a region near al-Tiri and Beit Yahoun. Over 190 people have been killed in Lebanon during more than three months of violence, including more than 140 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians, among them three journalists, according to an AFP tally. In northern Israel, nine soldiers and six civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech recently that if Israel started a war with Lebanon, the group would fight it "with no limits."

Geagea slams govt. for letting Hezbollah 'turn country into battlefield'
Naharnet/January 19, 2024
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday charged that “instead of performing its duties to achieve the interests of Lebanon and its people,” the caretaker government has “ceded the decision to a party and allowed it to turn the country into a battlefield,” apparently referring to Hezbollah and its clashes with Israel. “It would have been possible to avoid everything that is happening today through the election of a president, had the obstructors stopped their obstruction,” Geagea said, during a meeting with British Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell. “We will not witness any stability in the region without resolving the Palestinian cause and it’s about time there were stances coupled with actions in this file which has exhausted the region and the peoples of Lebanon and Palestine for more than 70 years,” Geagea added. The LF leader also thanked the United Kingdom for “supporting the Lebanese security institutions, topped by the Lebanese Army,” hoping this support “will continue in these difficult days, in light of the army’s reliable role in consolidating stability and implementing U.N. resolutions, topped by Resolution 1701.”

War on Lebanon averted 'at last minute' in stormy Oct. 11 Cabinet meeting
Associated Press/January 19, 2024
A member of Israel's War Cabinet confirmed that early in the war against Hamas in Gaza, an Israeli preemptive strike against Hezbollah was called off at the last minute. Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief, said he was among those arguing against such a strike in what he described as a stormy Oct. 11 Cabinet meeting that left him hoarse from shouting. Such a preemptive attack would have been a "strategic mistake" and would likely have triggered a regional war, Eisenkot said in a wide-ranging interview broadcast late Thursday on Israel's Channel 12 TV.
The interview marked the first time Eisenkot spoke in public about disagreements among Israeli leaders over the handling of the war, which was triggered by Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel. A month ago, The Wall Street Journal, reporting on the dramatic events of Oct. 11, said intervention by President Joe Biden was key to averting the strike. Israeli warplanes were in the air, awaiting orders, when Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him to stand down, the report said, citing people familiar with the call. Eisenkot said loud objections raised by him and others during the Cabinet session were key to calling off the strike. At the time, he and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, both opposition lawmakers, had just joined Netanyahu to help lead the war. Asked if their presence prevented a bad decision, he said: "Unequivocally."During the Oct. 11 meeting, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior army officials were reportedly pressing for a strike against Hezbollah, considered by Israel to be a much more formidable foe than Hamas. Hezbollah is believed to have tens of thousands of missiles that can reach any target in Israel. Since the start of the Gaza war, Israel and Hezbollah have traded cross-border strikes with gradually escalating intensity, even though neither side is believed to seek an all-out war which is bound to devastate both countries. Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah are bitter enemies who fought a 34-day war in 2006 that ended in a draw. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech recently that if Israel started a war with Lebanon, the group would fight it "with no limits."

In Lebanon, strange calls can precede Israeli attacks
Agence France Presse/January 19, 2024
"Good morning, madame. This is the bank calling. Are you at home?"
Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out more than three months ago, residents of southern Lebanon have been receiving strange phone calls from Lebanese numbers and from people speaking in Lebanese accents. The voices on the other end may claim to be conducting a survey, distributing aid, or calling from a public body. But the callers ask about families and their whereabouts, just before towns or homes come under Israeli attack, residents told AFP. Lebanese security officials and Hezbollah believe the strange calls are in fact from Israelis. Last week Umm Hussein, who is in her 70s and originally from the southern Lebanon village of Khiam, received a call from "the bank" asking her to come and collect some money at the nearby branch. But according to her grandson Hassan Shukeir, Umm Hussein doesn't even have a bank account. "They asked her if she was in Khiam, and the call ended when she said she was in Beirut," Shukeir told AFP. Shortly after the call was terminated, an Israeli strike targeted the house next to hers in the village, the grandson said. Similar incidents have taken place in recent weeks across south Lebanon, from where Hezbollah has launched daily attacks on Israel in support of Hamas since the war erupted on October 7.
Network compromised -
Israel has responded by bombarding border villages in Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of more than 190 people, at least 141 of whom have been fighters from Hezbollah which has a heavy presence in the area. Hezbollah has told residents of villages in the south not to divulge any information to people calling from Lebanese numbers they do not recognise. "The enemy exploits such information to try to ensure the presence of our brother fighters in houses it intends to target," Hezbollah said in a statement. A security source told AFP that army intelligence and the police were investigating the calls which they believe originated in Israel, meaning Lebanon's communications network has been compromised. The source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media, said Israel has used this tactic before to target Hezbollah members holed up in homes. In one case on November 22, a strike hit a house in the village of Beit Yahoun, killing five Hezbollah members including the son of Mohammed Raad who heads the party's bloc in parliament. Shortly before that attack, an unknown caller had asked the owner of the house whether she and her family were at home, the security source said. A spokeswoman for the Israeli military told AFP she was "unable to answer that question", when asked if Israel was behind the phone calls. According to Hezbollah, Israel has also hacked into security surveillance cameras at homes and businesses in border villages.
- Scanning for Wi-Fi -
In December, it said Israel was using this access to target Hezbollah fighters, and urged Lebanese citizens to "disconnect the private cameras... from the internet".
Hezbollah said Israel had hacked the cameras to gain visibility after the group's cross-border attacks had "targeted most of the cameras" that Israel itself had installed near the border. One resident, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, told AFP a local Hezbollah official called him recently and demanded he turn off and disconnect CCTV cameras installed around his house. He complied with the demand. The security source said three men had been arrested recently on suspicion of working with Israel-affiliated companies. One is accused of scanning for home Wi-Fi networks in Hezbollah's southern Beirut stronghold. Abed Kataya of digital rights group SMEX said civilian communications networks and CCTV cameras in Lebanon are easy to hack because the infrastructure lacks basic security measures. Private surveillance cameras, mostly Chinese imports, can be connected to the internet so owners can monitor them from afar using phone apps. But the connection is often "unencrypted, which makes it easy to hack", Kataya said. He said Israel has "a long history in espionage techniques", especially in Lebanon, deploying spy balloons and observation towers along the border.
On January 7, even the departures and arrivals screens at Beirut airport came under cyberattack, with media publishing footage showing anti-Hezbollah messages displayed instead and baggage conveyor belts that had ground to a halt.
Those behind the airport hack have yet to be unmasked, with Public Works and Transportation Minister Ali Hamieh saying the incident was under investigation but also admitting Lebanon lacks cybersecurity expertise.

Lebanese people firmly reject prospect of war
Dalia Al-Aqidi/Arab News/January 19, 2024
Since Oct. 7, when Hamas carried out its brutal attack on Israel, Lebanese citizens have been closely monitoring the public statements and actions of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
The Lebanese are eager to speculate on the potential direction of his leadership and any new, uncalculated risk upon which he might embark. This heightened interest stems from their collective recollection of the significant events that unfolded during the July 2006 war with Israel — a period that is etched in their collective memory as it brought about substantial challenges and adversities. The anticipation surrounding Nasrallah’s pronouncements reflects the Lebanese population’s concern for regional stability and the potential impact of any reckless actions taken by Hezbollah.
The 2006 war was a deeply traumatic experience for Lebanon, marked by widespread destruction, loss of life and displacement of civilians. Its aftermath left a lasting impact on the nation’s infrastructure, economy and social fabric. Consequently, the memory of this conflict has left many Lebanese citizens understandably wary of any new military ventures or conflicts that could jeopardize their security and well-being.
The Hamas attack fueled Nasrallah’s enthusiasm, leading him to publicly endorse the operation and issue a series of menacing threats directed at the Israeli state. Moreover, he has declared his readiness to provide immediate support to his fellow comrades when called upon.
Nasrallah’s vocal support for a terrorist operation has raised concerns among both domestic and international observers
This sequence of events underscores the escalating tension and rhetoric in the region. The militia leader’s vocal support for a terrorist operation, coupled with his aggressive posturing, has raised concerns among both domestic and international observers. Since Oct. 7, Hezbollah has launched more than 1,700 rockets into Israel.
Then came Israel’s Jan. 2 killing of Hamas deputy secretary-general Saleh Al-Arouri in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieh, which represented a crucial moment in the ongoing conflict. The attack carried a clear and wide-reaching message that extended beyond Hamas, implicating Hezbollah and Iran. Al-Arouri played a significant role in fostering cooperation among these three entities, making this act of violence all the more significant.
It served as a potent reminder of the intricate relationships and alliances at play in the region. Furthermore, it highlighted vulnerabilities within Hezbollah’s security apparatus, particularly in light of Nasrallah’s prior warnings against Israeli strikes crossing into Lebanese territory.
Last Monday, Wissam Al-Tawil, a senior Hezbollah commander who was deeply entrenched within the Iranian-supported Lebanese organization, was killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike. He held a prominent position and was instrumental in the cross-border kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers back in 2006. This was the most significant loss among Hezbollah militants since Oct. 7.
Then, a day later, Hezbollah carried out an attack on an Israeli army base using explosive drones launched from Lebanon. The militia said this was a direct retaliation for the deaths of Al-Tawil and Al-Arouri. On the same day, an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon resulted in the deaths of three Hezbollah members. This incident contributed to the growing number of casualties suffered by Hezbollah during more than three months of hostilities with Israel.
Israel has continued to conduct a relentless series of airstrikes in southern Lebanon. However, the ongoing cycle of attacks and counterattacks suggests that neither party wants to escalate the conflict to the point of no return. Israel, the US, Iran and Hezbollah all share a reluctance to revisit the 2006 scenario — and there are various reasons for this reluctance.
Israel has several objectives it wants to achieve. These include the complete elimination of Hamas, the safe liberation of the remaining Israeli hostages, planning for the postwar scenario and implementing measures to reassure its citizens that the events of Oct. 7 will never recur. As a result, engaging in a conflict with Lebanon is not in Israel’s best interest.
Washington is escalating its diplomatic efforts in an attempt to avoid a potentially catastrophic conflict that could worsen the already fragile political, economic and humanitarian situation in the region. President Joe Biden has dispatched senior advisers to the Middle East with a critical mission to prevent a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah. The immediate goal of this diplomatic mission is to initiate negotiations for a land demarcation agreement, outlining the boundaries and deployment conditions for both parties along the border. In addition to these diplomatic endeavors, the US aims to protect its military presence in Syria, Iraq and in the region’s waters.
Causing a full-scale war would significantly diminish Hezbollah’s influence and power in the aftermath
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby emphasized that the White House wants to avoid conflict with any nation or actor in the Middle East and does not want to see the Israel-Hamas war escalate further. He highlighted the significant US military presence in the Middle East, which includes the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and an amphibious ready group in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Iran is inclined to avoid direct engagement in any conflict, given the potential high costs and the risk of destabilizing its already fragile political and security landscape. Instead, it sees the utilization of proxy militias in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon as a more strategic means to achieve its objectives.
Hezbollah is well aware that the threat of war represents a crucial bargaining tool. However, once deployed, this strategic leverage cannot be quickly reinstated. Causing a full-scale war would significantly diminish Hezbollah’s influence and power in the aftermath.
Public sentiment in Lebanon remains firmly opposed to any form of armed conflict. However, prevailing sentiments within the country underscore that support for any cause should not come at the expense of Lebanese lives.
Beirut’s international airport last week suffered a cyberattack by domestic anti-Hezbollah groups. They replaced flight information with a message accusing Hezbollah of risking an all-out war with Israel. The message warned Nasrallah that he would lose support if Lebanon were drawn into a war and that he would be held accountable.
The Lebanese have also not forgotten the 2020 Beirut port explosion and its economic repercussions. And they have not forgotten the assassinations that targeted national figures who were demanding a strong state independent of the guardianship of the jurist, as well as the disarmament of militias operating outside the framework of the state and an end to the rampant corruption in the country. Today, Nasrallah fears that the Lebanese will rise up against him with everything they have. After all, they have nothing left to lose.
• Dalia Al-Aqidi is Executive Director at the American Center for Counter Extremism. X: Twitter: @DaliaAlAqidi

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 19-20/2024
Israel bombs Gaza as disagreements with US simmer
Agence France Presse/January 19, 2024
Israel bombarded southern Gaza on Friday after it publicly sparred with its main ally the United States over the possibility of a Palestinian state, the creation of which Washington sees as the only pathway to a lasting peace. Witnesses reported gunfire and air strikes early on Friday in Khan Yunis, the main city in the south of the Gaza Strip, where Israel says many members and leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas are hiding. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported "intense" artillery fire near the Al-Amal hospital, while Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said 77 people were killed and dozens injured overnight. The Israeli military said its Givati Brigade was fighting as far south as its troops had reached so far in the campaign. "The soldiers eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat and with the assistance of tank fire and air support," it said. The United Nations says the war, which began with the unprecedented Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, has displaced roughly 85 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people. Many are crowded into shelters where they struggle to get food, water, fuel and medical care. UN agencies say improved aid access is needed urgently as famine and disease loom. The World Health Organization (WHO) said overnight it had counted 24 cases of hepatitis A and "thousands" of cases of jaundice likely linked to the spread of the viral liver infection. "The inhumane living conditions -- almost no drinking water, clean toilets or ability to keep the surroundings clean -- will allow hepatitis A to spread further," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter, describing the health crisis as "explosive". Hamas's October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also seized about 250 hostages during the attacks, around 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza. At least 27 hostages are believed to have been killed, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Israel has vowed to "annihilate" Hamas in response and its relentless air and ground offensive has killed at least 24,620 Palestinians, around 70 percent of them women, children and adolescents, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry. "We will not be satisfied with anything less than total victory," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a news conference on Thursday, warning that "victory will take many months".Total victory meant "the elimination of terrorist leaders, the destruction of Hamas's operational and military capabilities, the return of our hostages to their homes", as well as the demilitarisation of Gaza, he said.
A Palestinian state? -
Washington supports Israel's campaign in Gaza, but despite otherwise close ties, the two allies publicly aired differences again this week over the way forward. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken used the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to renew his call for a "pathway to a Palestinian state".
But Netanyahu again flatly rejected the suggestion on Thursday. "Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River," he said. "This is a necessary condition, which contradicts the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty." Netanyahu maintained that "a prime minister in Israel should be able to say no, even to our best friends".Washington believes that the creation and recognition of a viable Palestinian state is necessary to achieve security for Israel. "We obviously see things differently," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said when asked about Netanyahu's comments. Responding to Netanyahu's remarks, the official spokesperson for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, said that without an independent Palestinian state "there will be no security and stability in the region". "The entire region is on the verge of a volcanic eruption due to the aggressive policies pursued by the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights," Nabil Abu Rudeineh said, according to the official Wafa news agency. Abbas's Palestinian Authority exercises limited rule in the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli army also carried out raids overnight, notably in Tulkarem. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has counted at least six deaths in the city since Wednesday.
Houthi attacks -
The international community already fears that the war in Gaza could spill over into the wider region, with daily exchanges of fire on the Israeli-Lebanese border, an increase in attacks by Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the waters around Yemen and the subsequent intensification of U.S. strikes there in response. The Iran-backed Houthis have launched attacks against what they deem Israeli-linked vessels in the vital shipping lanes of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in support of Palestinians in Gaza. They have also said U.S.- and British-linked ships were fair game since the two countries launched air strikes against targets in Yemen over the past week. The Houthis claimed responsibility early on Friday for another attack on a U.S.-owned and operated ship in the Gulf of Aden. The U.S. military's Central Command said two missiles were launched at the Marshall Islands-flagged Chem Ranger, but the vessel and its crew were safe and proceeding to the next port. While vowing the rebels would continue such attacks, a senior Houthi official promised safe passage through the Red Sea for Russian and Chinese vessels in an interview published by the Russian outlet Izvestia on Friday.

Rifts emerge among top Israeli officials over how to handle Gaza war
Associated Press/January 19, 2024
Rifts are emerging among top Israeli officials over the handling of the war against Hamas in Gaza. A member of the country's War Cabinet cast doubt over the strategy for releasing hostages, and the country's prime minister rejected the United States' calls to scale back its offensive. Only a cease-fire deal can win the release of dozens of hostages still held by Islamic militants in Gaza, and claims they could be freed by other means was spreading "illusions," said former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, one of four members of the War Cabinet, in his first public statements on the course of the war. Eisenkot's comments late Thursday were the latest sign of disagreement among political and military leaders over the direction of Israel's offensive on Hamas, now in its fourth month. Sparked by an unprecedented Oct. 7 Hamas raid into Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw about 250 others taken hostage, the Israeli assault has pulverized much of the Gaza Strip, home to some 2.3 million people. Israel has said more than 130 hostages remain in Gaza, but not all of them are believed to be alive. Israel's offensive, one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history, has killed nearly 25,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and uprooted more than 80% of the territory's population. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said Friday that 142 people were killed and 278 people wounded the previous day, raising the total death toll since Oct. 7, to 24,762. and the total number of wounded to 62,108. Israel has also cut off all but a trickle of supplies into the besieged Gaza Strip, including food, water and fuel. Several dozen trucks with critical supplies now enter the territory each day, just a fraction of the pre-war volume of about 500 trucks. Both the United States and United Nations have said more aid needs to be delivered. A communications blackout in the territory was in its seventh day Friday, the longest such blackout since the war began. The lack of communications hampers the coordination of aid deliveries and rescue efforts. The United States, Israel's closest ally, has provided strong military and political support for the campaign, but has been increasingly calling on Israel to scale back its assault and take steps toward establishing a Palestinian state after the war — a suggestion Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has soundly rejected.
Speaking during a nationally televised news conference Thursday, Netanyahu reiterated his longstanding opposition to a two-state solution, arguing that a Palestinian state would become a launchpad for attacks on Israel.
Israel "must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River," Netanyahu said, adding: "That collides with the idea of sovereignty. What can we do?"The U.S. has said the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which governs semi-autonomous zones in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, should be "revitalized" and return to Gaza. Hamas ousted the authority from Gaza in 2007.
Washington has also called for steps toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Palestinians seek Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem for their state. Those areas were captured by Israel in 1967.
Speaking Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Blinken said the two-state solution was the best way to protect Israel, unify moderate Arab countries and isolate Israel's arch-enemy, Iran. He said that without a pathway to a Palestinian state, Israel would not "get genuine security."
At the same conference, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said the kingdom is ready to establish full relations with Israel as part of a larger political agreement. "But that can only happen through peace for the Palestinians, through a Palestinian state," he said. A spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Palestinian Authority, said late Thursday that there can be "no security and stability in the region" without a Palestinian state. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have said the fighting will continue until Hamas is crushed, and argue that only military action can win the hostages' release. Hamas seeks an end to the war before discussing hostage releases, and has demanded the release of thousands of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel in exchange for those held captive in Gaza.
Commentators have begun to question whether Netanyahu's objectives are realistic, given the slow pace of the offensive and growing international criticism, including genocide accusations at the United Nations world court, which Israel vehemently denies. Netanyahu's opponents accuse him of delaying any discussion of postwar scenarios in order to avoid looming investigations of governmental failures, keep his coalition intact and put off elections. Polls show that the popularity of Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has plummeted during the war. Eisenkot, whose son was killed in December in Gaza, told the investigative program "Uvda" on Israel's Channel 12 television station late Thursday that "the hostages will only return alive if there is a deal, linked to a significant pause in fighting." He said dramatic rescue operations are unlikely because the hostages are apparently spread out, many of them in underground tunnels. Claiming hostages can be freed by means other than a deal "is to spread illusions," he said. In a thinly veiled criticism of Netanyahu, Eisenkot also said strategic decisions about the war's direction must be made urgently, and that a discussion about an endgame should have begun immediately after the war began. He also dismissed suggestions that the military has delivered a decisive blow against Hamas. Gallant has said troops disabled the Hamas command structure in northern Gaza, from where significant numbers of troops were withdrawn earlier in the week, and that the focus is now on the southern half of the territory. "We haven't yet reached a strategic achievement, or rather only partially," Eisenkot said. "We did not bring down Hamas."
The militant group has continued to fight back across Gaza, even in the most devastated areas, and launched rockets into Israel. The former army chief said he is examining every day whether he should remain in the War Cabinet, which includes Netanyahu, Gallant and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz. Eisenkot is a member of parliament in the opposition National Unity alliance headed by Gantz. Both joined Netanyahu to help lead the war. "I know what my red line is," Eisenkot said when asked at what point he would quit. "It's connected to the hostages, that is one of the objectives, but it's also connected to the way in which we need to run this war."The war has rippled across the Middle East, with Iranian-backed groups attacking U.S. and Israeli targets. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon threatens to erupt into all-out war, and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen continue to target international shipping despite U.S.-led airstrikes. The United States conducted a fifth strike against Houthi rebels in Yemen on Thursday, even as President Joe Biden acknowledged that bombing the militants has yet to stop their attacks on shipping in the crucial Red Sea corridor.

Israel bombs Gaza as disagreements with US simmer
Agence France Presse/January 19, 2024
Israel bombarded southern Gaza on Friday after it publicly sparred with its main ally the United States over the possibility of a Palestinian state, the creation of which Washington sees as the only pathway to a lasting peace. Witnesses reported gunfire and air strikes early on Friday in Khan Yunis, the main city in the south of the Gaza Strip, where Israel says many members and leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas are hiding. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported "intense" artillery fire near the Al-Amal hospital, while Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said 77 people were killed and dozens injured overnight.
The Israeli military said its Givati Brigade was fighting as far south as its troops had reached so far in the campaign. "The soldiers eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat and with the assistance of tank fire and air support," it said. The United Nations says the war, which began with the unprecedented Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, has displaced roughly 85 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million people. Many are crowded into shelters where they struggle to get food, water, fuel and medical care. UN agencies say improved aid access is needed urgently as famine and disease loom. The World Health Organization (WHO) said overnight it had counted 24 cases of hepatitis A and "thousands" of cases of jaundice likely linked to the spread of the viral liver infection. "The inhumane living conditions -- almost no drinking water, clean toilets or ability to keep the surroundings clean -- will allow hepatitis A to spread further," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter, describing the health crisis as "explosive". Hamas's October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also seized about 250 hostages during the attacks, around 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza. At least 27 hostages are believed to have been killed, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Israel has vowed to "annihilate" Hamas in response and its relentless air and ground offensive has killed at least 24,620 Palestinians, around 70 percent of them women, children and adolescents, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry. "We will not be satisfied with anything less than total victory," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a news conference on Thursday, warning that "victory will take many months".Total victory meant "the elimination of terrorist leaders, the destruction of Hamas's operational and military capabilities, the return of our hostages to their homes", as well as the demilitarisation of Gaza, he said.
A Palestinian state?
Washington supports Israel's campaign in Gaza, but despite otherwise close ties, the two allies publicly aired differences again this week over the way forward. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken used the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to renew his call for a "pathway to a Palestinian state".
But Netanyahu again flatly rejected the suggestion on Thursday. "Israel must have security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River," he said. "This is a necessary condition, which contradicts the idea of (Palestinian) sovereignty." Netanyahu maintained that "a prime minister in Israel should be able to say no, even to our best friends". Washington believes that the creation and recognition of a viable Palestinian state is necessary to achieve security for Israel. "We obviously see things differently," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said when asked about Netanyahu's comments. Responding to Netanyahu's remarks, the official spokesperson for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, said that without an independent Palestinian state "there will be no security and stability in the region". "The entire region is on the verge of a volcanic eruption due to the aggressive policies pursued by the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights," Nabil Abu Rudeineh said, according to the official Wafa news agency. Abbas's Palestinian Authority exercises limited rule in the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli army also carried out raids overnight, notably in Tulkarem. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has counted at least six deaths in the city since Wednesday.
Houthi attacks -
The international community already fears that the war in Gaza could spill over into the wider region, with daily exchanges of fire on the Israeli-Lebanese border, an increase in attacks by Houthi rebels on merchant ships in the waters around Yemen and the subsequent intensification of U.S. strikes there in response.The Iran-backed Houthis have launched attacks against what they deem Israeli-linked vessels in the vital shipping lanes of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in support of Palestinians in Gaza. They have also said U.S.- and British-linked ships were fair game since the two countries launched air strikes against targets in Yemen over the past week. The Houthis claimed responsibility early on Friday for another attack on a U.S.-owned and operated ship in the Gulf of Aden. The U.S. military's Central Command said two missiles were launched at the Marshall Islands-flagged Chem Ranger, but the vessel and its crew were safe and proceeding to the next port. While vowing the rebels would continue such attacks, a senior Houthi official promised safe passage through the Red Sea for Russian and Chinese vessels in an interview published by the Russian outlet Izvestia on Friday.

Israel president hit with criminal complaint in Switzerland
Agence France Presse/January 19, 2024
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has been targeted with a criminal complaint during a visit to Switzerland, Swiss prosecutors said Friday, amid allegations of crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza. The Federal Prosecutor's Office (BA) confirmed that it had received a criminal complaint against the Israeli president, who was at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos on Thursday to discuss the Gaza war. "The criminal complaints will now be examined in accordance with the usual procedure," BA said in a statement, adding that it was in contact with the foreign ministry "to examine the question of the immunity of the person concerned." It did not say what the specific complaints were, or who had filed them. But a statement allegedly issued by the people behind the complaint, entitled "Legal Action Against Crimes Against Humanity" and obtained by AFP, said several unnamed individuals had filed charges with federal prosecutors and with cantonal authorities in Basel, Bern and Zurich. The statement said the plaintiffs were seeking a criminal prosecution in parallel to a case brought before the UN's International Court of Justice by South Africa, which accuses Israel of genocide in its offensive in Gaza. Addressing the issue of immunity, the statement suggested that it could be lifted "in certain circumstances", including in cases of alleged crimes against humanity, adding that "these conditions are met in this case". South Africa launched the emergency case at the ICJ in The Hague this month, arguing that Israel had breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. South Africa demanded that the judges order Israel to halt its offensive in the Palestinian territory. Israel has denounced the case as "distorted". Fighting has ravaged the Gaza Strip since Hamas's attacks on Israel on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel responded with a relentless offensive that has killed at least 24,762 Palestinians, around 70 percent of them women, children and adolescents, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
Herzog told the Davos forum that Israel had launched its campaign in "self-defense" and again condemned the South Africa case as "outrageous." "They (South Africa) basically support the atrocities and barbarism that we have seen on October 7," he said, adding that Israel was concerned about the destruction in Gaza. "We care. It is painful for us that our neighbors are suffering so much," he said. "But how else can we defend ourselves if our enemies decided to entrench themselves in an infrastructure of terror of unbelievable size and scope?" he said.

Nearly 20,000 babies born into Gaza war 'hell', says UN
Agence France Presse/January 19, 2024
The United Nations said Friday that thousands of babies had been born in conditions "beyond belief" in Gaza since the war there erupted more than three months ago. Spokeswoman Tess Ingram, back from a recent visit to the Gaza Strip, described mothers bleeding to death and one nurse who had performed emergency caesareans on six dead women. Nearly 20,000 babies have been born into the war that began after the Hamas attacks inside Israel on October 7, according to the UN children's agency UNICEF. "That's a baby born into this horrendous war every 10 minutes," Ingram told reporters in Geneva via video link from Oman. "Becoming a mother should be a time for celebration. In Gaza, it's another child delivered into hell."She stressed the need for urgent international action. "Seeing newborn babies suffer, while some mothers bleed to death, should keep us all awake at night." Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel has vowed to "annihilate" Hamas in response. Its relentless air and ground offensive has killed at least 24,762 Palestinians, around 70 percent of them women, children and adolescents, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry. Ingram described "heartbreaking" meetings with women caught up in the chaos.
'Unimaginable challenges' -
One woman, Mashael, was pregnant when her house was hit and her husband buried under the rubble for several days, and her baby stopped moving. "She says she is sure now, about a month later, that the baby is dead," Ingram said. But, she added: "She is still waiting for medical care."Mashael had told her it was best "a baby isn't born into this nightmare", she said. Ingram also told the story of a nurse named Webda, who said she had performed emergency caesareans on six dead women in the last eight weeks. "Mothers face unimaginable challenges in accessing adequate medical care, nutrition, and protection before, during and after giving birth," Ingram said. "The situation of pregnant women and newborns in the Gaza Strip is beyond belief, and it demands intensified and immediate actions." Ingram pointed out that the Emirati Hospital in Rafah was now catering to the vast majority of pregnant women in Gaza.
"Struggling with overcrowded conditions and limited resources, staff are forced to discharge mothers within three hours of a caesarean," she said. "These conditions put mothers at risk from miscarriages, stillbirths, preterm labor, maternal mortality and emotional trauma." Pregnant and breastfeeding women and infants were living in "inhumane" conditions, including makeshift shelters, with poor nutrition and unsafe water, she said. This, she warned, was "putting approximately 135,000 children under two at risk of severe malnutrition". "Humanity cannot allow this warped version of normal to persist any longer. Mothers and newborns need a humanitarian ceasefire."

Jordan's PM urges US to take lead in ending Gaza "carnage"
LONDON (Reuters)/January 19, 2024
The United States and other top powers need to use their influence with Israel to end the ongoing "carnage" in Gaza, Jordan's Prime Minister, Bisher al Khasawaneh, said on Friday. Jordan, which shares a border with the occupied West Bank, has been highly critical of Israel's bombardments of Gaza with Khasawaneh saying on Friday that they "ticked all the boxes of war crimes against humanity."Israel has denied allegations that it has committed war crimes. Khasawaneh said heavyweight international diplomacy and influence was needed to secure a ceasefire. "Leadership is needed from our American friends and our American partners, and from various capitals in the world, that can influence the decision making process in Israel in genuine terms to bring this carnage to an end," the Jordanian prime minister said at an event at the London School of Economics. He added that public opinion in the West was clear in its concerns about the violence and the pressure the international rules-based system was being put under around issues such as providing aid to the devastated parts Gaza. "The main powers are under not only just a morale responsibility but also an obligation in the context of preserving the rules-based international system to come and tell the current Israeli government that this needs to stop," he said. The hope was that then things could "move into a mode that fundamentally resolves this vicious cycle of violence and killing," said Khasawaneh, who had been met with loud protests as he arrived at the event from LSE students and Arab diaspora. Israel and its biggest backer the United States appear at odds now, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition government largely rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state even though Washington maintains that the two-state solution is the only feasible way to bring lasting peace to the region. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in his fourth trip to the Middle East last week since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, took a rough agreement to Israel that its predominately Muslim neighbours would help rehabilitate Gaza after the war and continue economic integration with Israel, but only if it committed to eventually allowing the creation of an independent Palestinian state. The latest episode of hostilities in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict started when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. Israel says more than 130 remain in captivity. Israel responded to Hamas' assault with a siege, bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza that have devastated the tiny coastal territory and killed more than 24,000 people, according to Gaza health officials. U.S.-brokered talks on a Palestinian state in territory now occupied by Israel collapsed almost a decade ago.

European Council imposes sanctions on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and bans travel to the EU for six individuals
LBCI/January 19, 2024
The European Council announced on Friday a sanctions regime on the Palestinian movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad, concurrently adding six individuals to the sanctions list. The sanctions will prohibit them from traveling to the European Union.

Netanyahu's political turning point: Israeli army withdraws from Gaza amid rising internal pressures
LBCI/January 19, 2024
In Gaza, the Israeli army continues to withdraw its units following reports that decisively concluded an inability to achieve objectives, including the elimination of Hamas. Despite the army's withdrawal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu persists in his threats to carry on with the war and intensify the fighting until Hamas is defeated and the hostages are returned. On the northern border with Lebanon, confrontations remain, and air raid sirens continue to sound. In the face of the deteriorating security situation, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant escalated his threats during an assessment session, informing his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, that Tel Aviv is approaching a decisive point and aims to bring back its residents to the north, either through diplomatic means or a military decision. Amid the contrasting stances of the Israeli army in the north and south and developments in diplomatic maneuvers, the internal front in Israel is ablaze with a dual-purpose battle led by members of the War Cabinet, Benny Gantz, and Gadi Eisenkot. The first objective is to overthrow Netanyahu and initiate parliamentary elections. The second objective is an immediate prisoner exchange deal. If these goals move toward implementation, they prevent progress toward a war with Lebanon or an intensification of the war in Gaza. However, where does the United States stand on Netanyahu? So far, after rejecting the initial US peace plan, Washington continues to seek a solution with minimal losses. According to an Israeli official, the US has proposed a regional settlement, including a Gaza ceasefire, a significant prisoner exchange, normalization with Arab states, the replacement of Hamas rule in Gaza, and an Israeli commitment to a Palestinian state. Nevertheless, Netanyahu, facing one of the most critical stages of his political life, attempted to justify his rejection of any proposed plan to end the war before achieving its goals, leading to crises that exacerbated internal opposition against him. According to polls published on Friday in Israel, the Likud party led by Netanyahu would only secure 16 seats in the current elections. In comparison, Benny Gantz' Blue and White party would attain 39 seats. In the survey, 31% of Israelis support Netanyahu, while Gantz approaches a 50% approval rating.

Houthis say US ship hit in Gulf of Aden attack
Agence France Presse/January 19, 2024
Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed another attack on a U.S. ship early Friday, after the United States launched fresh strikes on rebel targets over their aggression towards vessels in and around the Red Sea. While the Iran-backed rebels maintained they had struck the commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden, the U.S. military later said the group's missiles had missed their mark. The Houthis said in a statement posted to social media that their "naval forces... carried out a targeting operation against an American ship" -- identified as the Chem Ranger -- "with several appropriate naval missiles, resulting in direct hits". It did not give a time nor other details for the latest attack in international shipping lanes. The U.S. military's Central Command, which is responsible for the Middle East, said the Houthis "launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at M/V Chem Ranger, a Marshall Island-flagged, US-Owned, Greek-operated tanker" on Thursday night. "The crew observed the missiles impact the water near the ship. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship," the command said on social media platform X. Continued Houthi aggression against vessels in and around the Red Sea has led to strikes in Yemen by US and British forces, with the United States reporting its latest attack on Houthi targets on Thursday. The specialist website Marine Traffic said the Chem Ranger was a chemical tanker sailing from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Kuwait. British maritime risk management company Ambrey said a Marshallese chemical tanker sailing the same route had reported an incident southeast of the Yemeni port of Aden. "An Indian warship responded to the event," it said. The British maritime security agency UKMTO, without identifying the vessel, also reported an incident in the same area, adding in a bulletin that the "vessel and crew are safe, vessel proceeding to next port".
Continued strikes -
The Houthis have launched numerous attacks on ships in the waters around Yemen since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7 with Hamas's bloody attack on Israel. The Huthi statement said the rebels were acting against "the oppression of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and within the response to the American-British aggression against our country". Separately, a senior Houthi official promised safe passage through the Red Sea for Russian and Chinese vessels. Some shipping firms are avoiding the waters around Yemen but Mohammed al-Bukhaiti insisted it was safe so long as vessels were not linked to Israel. "As for all other countries, including Russia and China, their shipping in the region is not threatened," Bukhaiti said in an interview with Russian outlet Izvestia published on Friday. However, China said the "harassment" of Red Sea shipping must stop. "We call for an end to the harassment of civilian vessels, in order to maintain the smooth flow of global production and supply chains and the international trade order," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. Russia said on Thursday the United States should halt its strikes against the Houthis to aid a diplomatic resolution to the attacks on merchant vessels.
"The most important thing now is to stop the aggression against Yemen, because the more the Americans and the British bomb, the less willing the Houthis are to talk," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Moscow. US President Joe Biden conceded on Thursday the US counterstrikes had yet to deter the Houthi attacks but added: "Are they going to continue? Yes."US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that US forces on Thursday had hit "a couple of anti-ship missiles that we had reason to believe were being prepared for imminent fire into the southern Red Sea".
Several major shipping firms have halted their traffic through the area because of the Houthi attacks. Denmark said Thursday it would join the coalition behind the air strikes against the Houthis. The Scandinavian country, which has said it would send a frigate to the region, is home to shipping giant Maersk, which is among the firms to have rerouted ships away from the Red Sea.

UK bans Hizb ut-Tahrir as terror group
Agence France Presse/January 19, 2024
The Sunni Islamist political organization Hizb ut-Tahrir has been formally banned in the UK, the interior ministry said on Friday. Interior minister James Cleverly announced on Monday that he had begun the process of outlawing the group, which he called anti-Semitic and said "actively promotes and encourages terrorism." Lawmakers approved his proposal to add it to the list of 79 already proscribed groups, which includes al-Qaida and the so-called Islamic State group. The Home Office said in a statement that belonging to or "inviting support" for Hizb ut-Tahrir was now punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Anyone convicted can also be fined and jailed. The UK government said it had moved to ban the group because of Hizb ut-Tahrir's "praise" of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel "and associated incidents.""Hizb ut-Tahrir has a history of praising and celebrating attacks against Israel and attacks against Jews more widely," it added. "The UK stands strongly against anti-Semitism and will not tolerate the promotion of terrorism in any form." Hizb ut-Tahrir's long-term goal is to establish a Caliphate ruled under Islamic law. Founded in 1953, it is based in Lebanon and operates in at least 32 countries including the UK, United States, Canada and Australia, according to the Home Office. The group is already banned in Bangladesh, Egypt, Germany, Pakistan and several Central Asian and Arab countries.

Iran displays missile capability amid Gaza war
Iran's strikes this week in Pakistan, Iraq and Syria have brought back into the spotlight its ballistic missile program, which has ground forward over the past 40 years despite sanctions. On Tuesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit what it called "a spy headquarters" in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region and "terrorist" targets in Syria. Its forces also fired on "an Iranian terrorist group" in Pakistan, which said the attack killed two children and riposted with a strike on Iranian territory that Tehran said claimed nine lives. Iran's missile capabilities are one reason why Western attention remains fixated on this regional power, as the Islamic republic and its proxies step up attacks in the Middle East in solidarity with Gaza's Hamas militants in their war with Israel.
Range and accuracy
The massive Iranian missile armory covers ranges from short (300 kilometers or 186 miles) to medium (300-1,000 kilometers) and long (up to 2,000 kilometers). A majority are produced or assembled locally thanks to Iran's advanced industries and university sector. "Hardly a year goes by without an Iranian announcement about the development of a new type of ballistic or cruise missiles," said Eva Koulouriotis, an independent expert. Tehran has gradually advanced into solid-propellant missiles -- which are "easier to store and much quicker to bring into action than liquid-fuel ones, so they are much more useful tactically," said Jeremy Binnie of British private intelligence firm Janes. "The Iranians have taken Scud technology from the 300 kilometers of the missiles they received in the 1980s to 1,600 kilometers or more," he added, as well as developing "much better guidance systems... enabling them to carry out course corrections".
Iran-Iraq war
The 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war was a turning point for Iranian forces, which acquired Soviet Scud-B missiles to riposte against then Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's strikes. "That experience left a long-lasting impression on Iranian leaders, who concluded that missiles were an effective means of retaliation and a vital element of defense," said John Krzyzaniak of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. "Iran lacks a modern air force because it has been unable to upgrade its fighters over the past few decades, so it has compensated by building missiles," he added.
Foreign aid
At the outset, "Iran's early ballistic missile stockpile was furnished by Libya, Syria, and North Korea," said Farzan Sabet of the Geneva Graduate Institute. Later, Tehran was able to turn to the Soviet Union and Russia before its program could stand on its own feet. Today, "it's unclear how much external input" Iran gets, said Janes expert Binnie. "It would be more at the component level rather than (missiles') overall design and development," he said. In fact, many of the weapons "probably use off-the-shelf components where appropriate, as the Iranians are very savvy about incorporating commercial products into their missiles and their drones," Binnie said. Iran has been able to achieve this in the teeth of international -- especially American --sanctions, which experts say have managed to slow the missile program and make it more expensive without completely wiping it out.
- Unknown size -
It is unknown how large Iranian missile stocks are, but experts believe there are huge numbers in the hands of the army, the Revolutionary Guards and regional allies including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Huthi rebels in Yemen. Even in Iran alone, making a firm estimate is all but impossible, Koulouriotis said. The army and Revolutionary Guards "have their own factories and separate warehouses", she said. Arab and Western sources "talk about 60,000 missiles, but in my opinion the number is much higher than that and may reach more than 200,000", Koulouriotis added.
Big plans -
The United States and its allies suspect Iran is developing ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear warheads. The Islamic republic has consistently denied any ambition to develop a nuclear weapons capability, insisting its activities are entirely peaceful. Even without atomic weapons, the missiles have "an important conventional warfare mission to allow the country to strike targets with precision from far away", Sabet said. That allows Iran "to deter adversaries from overtly striking the Iranian homeland and some of its key assets abroad, or at least to make them pay a high price if they do", he added. In future, Tehran aims to "improve their ability to hit moving targets", Krzyzaniak said. "This will require better, faster intelligence gathering capabilities and, for the missiles, better terminal guidance," he added. The government also has "the technological building blocks to build something to reach longer ranges" beyond its current 2,000 kilometers, Krzyzaniak said.

Ethnic killings in one Sudan city left up to 15,000 dead - UN report
UNITED NATIONS/CAIRO (Reuters)/January 19, 2024
Between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed in one city in Sudan's West Darfur region last year in ethnic violence by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied Arab militia, according to a United Nations report seen by Reuters on Friday. In the report to the U.N. Security Council, independent U.N. sanctions monitors attributed the toll in El Geneina to intelligence sources and contrasted it with the U.N. estimate that about 12,000 people have been killed across Sudan since war erupted on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The monitors also described as "credible" accusations that the United Arab Emirates had provided military support to the RSF "several times per week" via Amdjarass in northern Chad. A top Sudanese general accused the UAE in November of backing the RSF war effort. In a letter to the monitors, the UAE said 122 flights had delivered humanitarian aid to Amdjarass to help Sudanese fleeing the war. The United Nations says about 500,000 people have fled Sudan into eastern Chad, several hundred kilometers south of Amdjarass. Between April and June last year El Geneina experienced "intense violence," the monitors wrote, accusing the RSF and allies of targeting the ethnic African Masalit tribe in attacks that "may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity."The RSF has previously denied the accusations and said any of its soldiers found to be involved would face justice. The RSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters. "The attacks were planned, coordinated, and executed by RSF and their allied Arab militias," the sanctions monitors wrote in their annual report to the 15-member Security Council.
'SHOT TO THE HEAD'
Reuters last year chronicled the ethnically targeted violence committed in West Darfur. In hundreds of interviews with Reuters, survivors described horrific scenes of bloodletting in El Geneina and on the 30-kilometer (18 mile) route from the city to the border with Chad as people fled. The monitors' report included similar accounts. They said that between 14-17 June, some 12,000 people fled El Geneina on foot for Adre in Chad. The Masalit were the majority in El Geneina until the attacks forced their mass exodus. "When reaching RSF checkpoints women and men were separated, harassed, searched, robbed, and physically assaulted. RSF and allied militias indiscriminately shot hundreds of people in the legs to prevent them from fleeing," the monitors said. "Young men were particularly targeted and interrogated about their ethnicity. If identified as Masalit, many were summarily executed with a shot to the head. Women were physically and sexually assaulted. Indiscriminate shootings also injured and killed women and children," according to the report. Everyone who spoke to the monitors mentioned "many dead bodies along the road, including those of women, children and young men." The monitors also reported "widespread" conflict-related sexual violence committed by RSF and allied militia.
NEW FIREPOWER
The monitors said the RSF takeover of most of Darfur relied on three lines of support - Arab allied communities, dynamic and complex financial networks, and new military supply lines running through Chad, Libya, and South Sudan. The U.N. missions for Chad, Libya and South Sudan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "Complex financial networks established by RSF before and during the war enabled it to acquire weapons, pay salaries, fund media campaigns, lobby, and buy the support of other political and armed groups," wrote the monitors, adding that the RSF used proceeds from its pre-war gold business to create a network of as many as 50 companies in several industries. Since the war started "most of the gold which was previously exported to UAE, was now smuggled to Egypt," the monitors said. The new firepower acquired by the RSF "had a massive impact on the balance of forces, both in Darfur and other regions of Sudan," the report found. The RSF has recently made military gains, taking control of Wad Madani, one of Sudan's major cities, and consolidating its grip on the western region of Darfur. In December the United States formally determined that warring parties in Sudan committed war crimes and that the RSF and allied militias had also committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. The war has left nearly half of Sudan's 49 million people needing aid, while more than 7.5 million people have fled their homes - making Sudan the biggest displacement crisis globally - and hunger is rising. The sanctions monitors told the U.N. Security Council that "an excess of mediation tracks, the entrenched positions of the warring parties, and competing regional interests meant that these peace efforts had yet to stop the war, bring political settlement or address the humanitarian crisis."

Trump may not be in Davos but he haunts CEOs, leaders
Agence France Presse/January 19, 2024
A ghost of elections past in the form of ex-president Donald Trump haunted the annual schmoozefest of the world's political and business elites in Davos. While the American reality television star-turned-politician was on the other side of the Atlantic, the biggest names in business, finance and politics at the Swiss Alpine resort could not escape him after he stormed to victory on Monday in the Iowa caucuses. Trump is the frontrunner to be the Republican nominee for the November election, and that would mean a repeat of the race between him and current U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, attendees believed Trump could win back the White House. From the International Monetary Fund's chief Kristalina Georgieva to OpenAI's Sam Altman, from EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the Trump question reared its head at different events.
For Ukraine, the issue is more acute with fears that Washington could reduce aid for Ukraine as war fatigue sets in among its allies. Kuleba told AFP on Thursday Ukraine "will accept the opinion of the people of the United States, and we will work with any reality that will follow the elections".
Kyiv has previously said a Trump victory could change how the war is played out. Meanwhile, Georgieva swerved the question during an event on the sidelines of the WEF, saying "it is for the American people to decide who is their president". Trump's first presidency between 2016 and 2020 was a turbulent time for Europe, with multiple spats over trade and apparent warnings that he would not come to the continent's aid if it was attacked. European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde noted it was up to the American people to decide during a Bloomberg event, but she appeared nervous about what a Trump win would mean. "Obviously we are all concerned about it because the United States is the largest economy, the largest defense country in the world and has been a beacon of democracy, with all its upside and downside," she said. Trump's name kept coming up until the very last day of the Davos conference on Friday. "We are talking about Donald Trump too much in Europe," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said during the forum's final panel. "We should prepare ourselves for a possible second term for Donald Trump by fostering our European competitiveness," he added.
Sanguine tech -
While many politicians in the West including EU leaders are worried about what a Trump victory could mean on critical issues including the war in Ukraine, many in the business sector were more sanguine. "There's a lot at stake in this election," Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT developer OpenAI, said at another Bloomberg event, while adding: "I believe that America is going to be fine no matter what happens in this election." Marc Benioff, CEO of software company Salesforce, also downplayed the Trump threat. "Obviously, the U.S. government is a large customer of Salesforce, and depending on who's in office, it creates a whole stir with a different part of our employee base," Benioff told Bloomberg. "But the reality is, is that, hey, we are the same company regardless of when that election is going to occur and regardless of who that president will be," he added. David Rubenstein, the co-chairman of the global investment firm Carlyle Group, said during the same panel with Lindner that Trump was "a serious political force." He added people "should not discount the fact that he could well be elected again, despite the fact that many people in Europe are not really his biggest fans."

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 19-20/2024
Pakistan: Young Christian Unjustly Sentenced to Death
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/January 19, 2024
"The superintendent of police stated in his report that neither he nor the eyewitness found any blasphemy in Shahzad's conversation. His investigation also found that Shahzad was a minor, illiterate and did not have clear knowledge of any religion and only repeated words at the direction of Ishtiak Jalali." — CeCe Heil, Senior Counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice, July 11, 2023.
"Based on this investigation the police literally said he was not guilty. He had not committed any blasphemy." — CeCe Heil, July 11, 2023.
"[A]s a juvenile, Shahzad was entitled to be immediately released on bail and the judge obviously was not going to follow the law.... A much bigger plan seemed to be in place with the mob controlling the outcome..... This happens because Muslim fanatics pack courtrooms to intimidate the judges." — CeCe Heil, July 11, 2023.
According to the organization Open Doors, the persecution of Christians in Pakistan is "extreme"...
It would be advisable for the US government to suspend all aid to Pakistan until its government takes concrete steps to free the many victims of its deadly blasphemy laws; persuade Pakistan to discontinue enforcing them altogether; improve minority rights, and, most importantly, stop enabling Islamist terrorism.
According to the organization Open Doors, the persecution of Christians in Pakistan is "extreme". It would be advisable for the US government to suspend all aid to Pakistan until its government takes concrete steps to free the many victims of its deadly blasphemy laws; persuade Pakistan to discontinue enforcing them altogether; improve minority rights, and, most importantly, stop enabling Islamist terrorism. Pictured: Thousands of people in Karachi, Pakistan, demand the execution of Asia Bibi, on November 21, 2018. Bibi, a Christian woman, spent 8 years on death row because of a false accusation of blasphemy, before being released and exiled. (Photo by Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images)
Shahzad Masih, a Pakistani Christian, was 16 years old and working in a hospital as a janitor in 2017, when Muslims falsely accused him of blasphemy. Since then, has spent more than five years in prison, and has been sentenced to death by hanging for statements he did not even make.
In 2017, authorities arrested Masih after a Muslim coworker and another man linked with the Islamic terrorist group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Islami Pakistan (TTIP), accused him of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad. In 2022, a court sentenced Masih to death.
According to Pakistan's blasphemy laws, those deemed to have insulted Islam or Islam's Prophet Muhammad can be subjected to the death penalty.
Masih's mother, during testimony at the United Nations, said that two men accused him of blaspheming against Islam's prophet Mohammed after unsuccessfully pressuring him into converting to Islam. Days later, they tried to force him to confess to blasphemy while recording his voice -- a demand he refused. They then forcibly took him to a madrassa (Islamic school), where the police arrested him.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) announced that they have mobilized their legal team on the ground to represent Masih and appeal his case, stating:
"We must overturn this vile miscarriage of justice. This is the ultimate abominable human rights violation, and we'll take this case all the way to Pakistan's Supreme Court."
Masih's mother added that she was told by the prison authorities that, as all the other prisoners are Muslims, her son would not be safe while talking to her in their presence, so she visits him in an empty room.
"I only meet him for 20 minutes each time... He was a little child when they arrested him and he's still too young. He's imprisoned for nothing from the beginning... He is like a bird in a cage and it's like my son is locked in a cage."
CeCe Heil, Executive Senior Counsel at the ACLJ, said at a UN Human Rights Council event:
"[Shahzad] is completely innocent. He did not commit blasphemy. He was targeted by Ishtiak Jalali, a member of the fanatical group, TTIP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Islami Pakistan]. Yet Shahzad's childhood has been taken from him: he has been in prison since he was only 16. What you didn't hear from his parents is the complete disregard for facts, law or justice that occurred in the courtroom.
"Once Shahzad was handed over to the police, they started their investigation. The superintendent of police stated in his report that neither he nor the eyewitness found any blasphemy in Shahzad's conversation. His investigation also found that Shahzad was a minor, illiterate and did not have clear knowledge of any religion and only repeated words at the direction of Ishtiak Jalali.
"Based on this investigation the police literally said he was not guilty. He had not committed any blasphemy. One would think that no prosecutor would pursue this case any further and no judge would entertain trying it, but that's not the way false blasphemy charges play out in Pakistan. Because Shahzad is a Christian, not only did the prosecutor pursue the case, the judge erroneously tried Shahzad as an adult, completely ignoring the police investigation findings and Shahzad's government-issued birth certificate which is required by law to prevail.
"And why would a judge do this? Why would that be done? Because as a juvenile, Shahzad was entitled to be immediately released on bail and the judge obviously was not going to follow the law and release Shahzad. A much bigger plan seemed to be in place with the mob controlling the outcome.
"It's common knowledge that in Pakistan trial courts often convict those accused of blasphemy even when there is no evidence supporting the convictions. This happens because Muslim fanatics pack courtrooms to intimidate the judges.
"This is exactly what happened in Shahzad's case. TTIP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Islami Pakistan] members regularly attended the hearings, and the leader had the audacity to post a video threatening that if Shahzad was not convicted, they would kill Shahzad with their own hands. And on November 22nd, 2022, before the judge announced the decision that Shahzad was guilty and was sentenced to death by hanging, TTIP leaders were present in the courthouse. They did a photo shoot and they left as if they already knew the judge's ruling.
"So, no one who hears the facts of this case could possibly believe that the rule of law was followed or justice has been done. We have, of course, filed an appeal to the Lahore High Court, but it could take years before the appeal is heard.
"Surely, Pakistan cannot think it's adhering to its commitments to this body and other international agreements by completely ignoring not only the human rights of Shahzad but his rights under Pakistan's own laws.
"Pakistan must take immediate steps to right this wrong. This innocent, young, 16-year-old boy, who is now 22, has already lost his teenage years sitting in prison. He should not have to lose one more day wrongfully imprisoned while the courts deny him justice."
In a 2023 written question to the European Commission, a group of members of the European Parliament noted:
"Parliament's resolution of 29 April 2021 on the blasphemy laws in Pakistan outlines a culture of harassment, violence and even murder stemming from Pakistan's controversial 1986 blasphemy laws. The resolution highlights an alarming increase in blasphemy accusations, which often target Christians.
"False blasphemy accusations hinder Christians from speaking freely or engaging in religious activities. For instance, in August 2023, a mob burned 26 churches in Jaranwala, Pakistan, following blasphemy claims."
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that a 2023 bill adopted by Pakistan's parliament further strengthens the nation's strict blasphemy laws, which are often used to settle personal scores or persecute minorities, adding:
"Those convicted of insulting the Prophet Muhammad's wives, companions or close relatives will now face 10 years in prison, a sentence that can be extended to life, along with a fine of 1 million rupees, roughly $4,500. It also makes the charge of blasphemy an offense for which bail is not possible."
These laws can now be used to punish anyone convicted of insulting individuals connected to Islam's founder, Mohammed.
The imprisonment of Masih is not an isolated case. Christians in Pakistan face growing violence, discrimination, kidnappings, forced conversions, forced marriages and murder. The government of Pakistan does nothing to protect them.
A Pakistani Christian mother of five, Asia Bibi, for instance, was convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and sentenced to death by hanging in 2010. She was later saved from death row in Pakistan thanks to international pressure on Pakistan.
According to the organization Open Doors, the persecution of Christians in Pakistan is "extreme":
"Christians in Pakistan are considered second-class citizens and face discrimination in every aspect of life. Jobs that are seen as low, dirty and degrading are reserved for Christians by the authorities....They lack proper representation in politics and although there were no major attacks against churches last year, there are almost constant attacks against individuals. Many do not feel safe to worship freely.
"Pakistan's notorious blasphemy laws target religious minorities (including Muslim minorities), but affect the Christian minority in particular –roughly a quarter of all blasphemy accusations target Christians, who only make up 1.8% of the population. The number of blasphemy cases is increasing, as is the number of Christian (and other minority religion) girls being abducted, abused and forcibly converted to Islam.
"In addition to social hostility, Christians also experience apathy from the authorities who should protect them. The police force is more interested in appeasing local strongmen than implementing the law and protecting minorities. Courts have a slightly better track record in enforcing the law fairly, but lengthy delays are commonplace. Christians often languish in prison for years before judgment is handed down, and it is then too late to bring about change.
"The Christian community feels increasingly trapped between the Islamic extremist groups that operate in the region, and a government that appeases these groups. They feel vulnerable without a trusted authority to protect their rights."
Despite these practices, Pakistan has been one of the top recipients of US foreign aid. From 2001 until the second Obama Administration, Pakistan received billions of dollars of U.S. military aid. The aid ostensibly had certain goals, such as assisting Pakistan in fighting terrorism, and developing a democratic government that would create peace inside the country and with its neighbors. However, despite billions of dollars towards these aims, none of these goals have been achieved.
As Dr. S Akbar Zaidi of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace wrote in 2011:
"Given the large sums of money that the United States has invested in aid to Pakistan, assessing the success of these funds becomes critically important. What becomes clear almost immediately is that counterterrorism assistance since 2002 has not achieved the objectives of either the United States or Pakistan. In fact, it is not entirely clear that the Pakistani military shares the objectives of the United States, even as it receives billions in military aid.
"There has been little to no oversight of how the funds were actually spent, even given the potentially divergent goals of the American and Pakistani militaries. The Pakistani military in fact spent a large portion of aid funds to purchase conventional military equipment rather than to fight terrorism or advance U.S. foreign policy aims."
In the nearly 13 years that have passed since Zaidi's report was published, the security situation and human rights record of Pakistan has not much improved.
In September 2023, US Rep. Andy Ogles proposed an amendment to the House of Representatives' annual appropriations legislation, seeking to bar US aid to Pakistan, in order to discourage its ongoing crackdown on political dissent. A total of 298 Representatives voted against the proposed amendment, while 132 voted in favor.
Meanwhile, Pakistan remains a major global center of Islamist terrorism, a country where blasphemy -- even if one did not commit it -- is a crime punishable by death, and where religious minorities are severely persecuted.
Recently, Afghan refugees living in Pakistan -- who fled to escape the horrors of the Taliban regime in power since the Biden administration abandoned Afghanistan -- were deported from Pakistan back to Afghanistan.
It would be advisable for the US government to suspend all aid to Pakistan until its government takes concrete steps to free the many victims of its deadly blasphemy laws; persuade Pakistan to discontinue enforcing them altogether; improve minority rights, and, most importantly, stop enabling Islamist terrorism.
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, a research fellow for the Philos Project, and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Question: “What does it mean that Satan masquerades as an angel of light?”
GotQuestions.org/January 19, 2024
Answer: Darkness and light are metaphors for evil and good. If anyone sees an angel of light, it will automatically seem to be a good being, for the correlation of evil with darkness, and of good with light, is a powerful archetype in human history. In the Bible, light is a spiritual metaphor for truth and God’s unchanging nature (James 1:17). It is repeatedly used in the Bible to help us understand that God is wholly good and truthful (1 John 1:5). When we are “in the light,” we are with Him (1 Peter 2:9). He exhorts us to join Him in the light (1 John 1:7), for giving us light was His purpose (John 12:46). Light is the place where love dwells and is comfortable (1 John 2:9-10). God has created light (Genesis 1:3), dwells in the light (1 Timothy 6:16) and puts the light in human hearts so that we can see and know Him and understand truth (2 Corinthians 4:6).
So, when 2 Corinthians 11:14 tells us that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light,” it means that Satan capitalizes on our love of the light in order to deceive. He wants us to think that he is good, truthful, loving, and powerful – all the things that God is. To portray himself as a dark, devilish being with horns would not be very appealing to the majority of people. Most people are not drawn to darkness, but to light. Therefore, Satan appears as a creature of light to draw us to himself and his lies.
How can we discern which light is of God and which light is of Satan? Our minds and hearts are easily confused by conflicting messages. How can we make sure we are on the right path? Psalm 119 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (verse 105) and “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” (verse 130). The words of God have power. Just as God’s voice spoke physical light into existence, it can speak spiritual light into our hearts. Exposure to His voice – in His Word – will help us recognize the difference between the good light of God and that which is counterfeit.
Satan presents sin to us as something pleasing and beautiful to be desired, and he presents false teaching as enlightening and life-changing. Millions follow his deceptions simply because they do not know God’s truth. Isaiah 8:20-22 describes the darkness that results from ignoring the Word. The people of Israel have been seeking truth by consulting mediums, deceived by Satan’s lie. Isaiah says, “To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.”
Darkness is a result of attempting to find truth without the Word of God. Sadly, as Isaiah says, when people do not have the “dawn,” they wander in darkness and often become angry at God, refusing to come to Him for help. This is why Satan’s masquerade as an angel of light is so effective. It turns white to black and black to white and gets us believing that God is the liar, that God is the source of darkness. Then, in our distress, we focus our hatred towards the only One who can save us.

A clear Saudi message at Davos 2024
Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/January 19, 2024
Exactly a year ago I wrote a column marking the conclusion of the 2023 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. I highlighted the absence of key global south leaders and argued that their attendance was needed to make future meetings of the forum a greater success. I also wrote that it was about time the WEF held a meeting in Saudi Arabia, a country with such a positive trajectory that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman described it in a Fox News interview last September as “the success story of the 21st century,.”
“If Mohammed won’t come to the mountain, then the mountain must come to Mohammed,” I wrote, quoting the 17th-century English essayist Francis Bacon.
On Thursday the Saudi delegation and WEF senior management announced that the Kingdom — for the first time — would host a special meeting in April. This is in itself an endorsement of the huge progress in Saudi Arabia since the launch of Vision 2030.
However, it is not that the forum is holding a meeting in Riyadh that matters, but rather the topic of that meeting. The theme will be “growth through global collaboration” — something the Kingdom has long been keen on, given its economic, diplomatic and religious heft.
We have seen this at first hand many times. The Saudi focus on global cooperation has been evident in efforts during the coronavirus pandemic, the 2022 facilitation of the Russian/Ukrainian prisoner swap, and the rescue of civilians from Sudan in 2023.
Princess Reema made it clear that “peace and prosperity, not normalization” were at the heart of Saudi policy.
To better understand what the thinking is in the Kingdom, I would strongly recommend listening to the responses by the Saudi Ambassador to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar, to CNN anchor Becky Anderson at a session in Davos on Thursday. Princess Reema made it clear that Vision 2030 relied for its success on regional stability and global cooperation.
She also clarified the Saudi position toward normalization with Israel.
With the catastrophe in Gaza, geopolitics was heavily present at Middle East-related discussions in Davos. This was further ignited when Israeli President Isaac Herzog attempted to put the carriage in front of the horse when he told the forum that normalizing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be “a key element of ending the war with Hamas and a game-changer for the entire Middle East.”
However, Princess Reema made it clear that “peace and prosperity, not normalization” were at the heart of Saudi policy. This has been the Kingdom’s unaltered position since the Madrid Conference of 1991: Riyadh is willing to move forward with normalization, provided the plight of Palestinians is addressed and a solution agreed upon. While the Saudi requirements and security guarantees needed from the US as part of a three-way deal are unlikely to change, it doesn’t take a genius to note that the war in Gaza has only made things more complicated and increased the urgency of the Palestinian demands of Israel.
“Palestinians deserve a state, sovereignty and a pathway that is irrevocable,” Princess Reema said before condemning the killing of innocent civilians on both sides and giving a powerful statement on the need for an immediate ceasefire.
This position was later echoed by the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in an interview with NBC’s Keir Simmons. “What we feel is key at this time is to find a credible, irreversible path to a Palestinian state,” Prince Faisal said. “I think ‘irreversible’ is the thing we need to underline because that is the thing that has been lacking in the past.”
Analysts differ on how soon we can see an end to the catastrophe in Gaza. However, it is clear that a ceasefire is likely to be tied to Hamas releasing all its hostages, as a first step. This may prove difficult because the release of hostages and a ceasefire means both sides would lose their leverage. That is why regional and US guarantees and support are much needed.
Netanyahu has only two options. The first is to continue waging war and risk more global and international pressure, security risks and accusations of genocide. The second is to be remembered —as unlikely as this sounds — as the man who achieved peace.
Some Israeli pundits are skeptical. Their argument is that, for more than one reason, it is in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s interest to keep the war going. Furthermore, Netanyahu on Thursday explicitly ruled out the second step — an irreversible commitment to a Palestinian state, which would probably lead to the collapse of his extreme right-wing governing coalition.
Yet the prime minister must understand that there is no easy way out of this quagmire. The Israeli left and opposition figures, some of whom were in Davos, argue that to achieve peace, the US and other regional powers must force Netanyahu to resign and make way for a new government. But that is unlikely because, short of a new election, only a majority vote of the Knesset can remove the current government and name a new prime minister.
Thus, from the point of view purely of political analysis, Netanyahu has only two options. The first is to continue waging war and risk more global and international pressure, security risks and accusations of genocide. The second is to be remembered —as unlikely as this sounds — as the man who achieved peace against all odds, gave Palestinians a state and obtained recognition for Israel, not only by Saudi Arabia but by the whole Arab and Muslim worlds.
The second option begins with a ceasefire. Let us pray that it comes to pass, whether on Netanyahu’s watch or that of any other Israeli leader.
• Faisal J. Abbas is the editor-in-chief of Arab News. X: @FaisalJAbbas

Deciphering the broader implications of Iran’s attacks
Sinem Cengiz/Arab news/January 19/2024
It is crucial to interpret Iran’s recent attacks within a broader context, considering both regional and international dynamics, as they have consequences that impact all Middle Eastern actors.
Last week, in the space of 24 hours, Iran launched missile and drone strikes on targets in three countries — Iraq, Syria and Pakistan — and took the extraordinary step of announcing its responsibility for the attacks. The announcements sparked anger among the targeted countries.
For the attack on targets in Idlib, Tehran claimed it was the longest-range strike it had ever mounted, adding that the missiles traveled 1,900 km. Meanwhile, its missile attack into Irbil, the seat of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, killed four people and wounded many others.
Through these attacks, Tehran aims to send a clear political and security message to regional and international players and assert its regional power. The message conveyed by Iran’s attacks on each target extend beyond Iraqi or Syrian affairs and regional politics.
This is not the first time that Iran has targeted Irbil. However, this was the first time Tehran had set out to target civilians there in such a blatant manner. Also, the timing and nature of the strikes revealed Iran’s larger geopolitical aims concerning external and internal actors, particularly the US, Israel, Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government and even Turkiye.
The message conveyed by Iran’s attacks extends beyond Iraqi or Syrian affairs and regional politics
These strikes occurred amid heightened tensions in the region, with concerns about a potential spillover of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. It is possible to argue that Iran’s objective in these attacks, which further escalated the tension in the region, were both direct and indirect.
In its attack on Irbil, the target was clear and direct: Israel and the US. Tehran adopted its conventional policy of showing military strength following Israeli and US strikes on its regional interests, but it has also set an eye on a wider audience than just Washington and Tel Aviv with this attack. Indirectly, it was also a message to Iraqi Kurdish leaders, Baghdad and Ankara.
Irbil has strong ties with the US, but Iran also plays a significant role and can exert strong military, political and economic force. With precarious political and economic ties to the US, Israel and Iran, the Kurdish regional authorities in Iraq are hoping to avoid being dragged into a regional conflict, but they find themselves in a difficult position. Iran and its allies in Baghdad have long accused Irbil of hosting a hostile Israeli security presence, which Kurdish political leaders deny. The Kurdistan Regional Government may have remained silent amid Tel Aviv’s escalating war in Gaza, but its leaders do not face pressure from their home constituencies to become involved in the conflict and that is why they have kept a low profile.
The new pattern of attacks against Irbil — once widely thought of as the safest region in Iraq — indicate that it will likely be the target of more strikes at the direct or indirect instruction of Tehran, complicating Washington’s strategy in Iraq, Ankara’s interests and Baghdad’s and Irbil’s ability to impose control.
Turkiye has so far adopted a cautious tone in regards to the latest attacks, expressing its concerns about the escalating tension and calling for a peaceful solution. Turkish Consul General to Irbil Mehmet Mevlut Yakut paid a condolence visit to the relatives of those killed in the Iranian attack, although he did not comment specifically.
In its previous attacks on Irbil, Tehran aimed to send a message to influential actors in Iraq, including Turkiye. For many years, Iran has viewed Turkiye’s influence — whether through its military deployments or the relationship it has with the Kurdistan Regional Government — as a potential challenge to its own strategies inside Iraq.
Irbil will likely be the target of more strikes at the direct or indirect instruction of Tehran.Tehran fears the Turkish influence in northern Iraq just like the one in northern Syria. Iraq’s northern provinces are of strategic importance for Iran and its militia allies. In particular, the border crossings with Syria are a critical component to supporting Tehran’s policies and the militias’ domination of smuggling routes there are an important incentive to hold onto this zone. To that end, Iran has, through its proxies, formed something of a tacit relationship with the Kurdish elements that Turkiye considers a national security threat.
Iran and Turkiye, along with Russia, had developed some sort of a limited cooperation within the framework of the Astana peace process for Syria since 2017. However, with Russia involved in war with Ukraine since February 2022, this cooperation has been on hold for some time. This is also because there has been a reduction in the violence in Syria over the past year, even though the crisis is far from over.
Iran’s attack on Idlib is notable at this point. Tehran claimed that it aimed to eliminate Daesh affiliates. However, Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is known for being close to the Iran-backed Hezbollah, stated that there were no Daesh affiliates in the target and that the Iranian intelligence could have been out of date. This brings to mind the question of whether there is a lack of intelligence sharing between Ankara and Tehran regarding Idlib. Turkiye is an influential actor in this area in terms of intelligence.
Although Iran aimed to use these attacks to send a direct message to its opponents — namely Washington, Israel and the groups it considers to be a threat to itself — it also aimed to look for a wider audience and send indirect messages to regional actors that it is competing for influence.
• Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkiye’s relations with the Middle East. X: @SinemCngz