English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 31/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth
talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded
Letter to the Romans 16/17-20/:"I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye
on those who cause dissensions and offences, in opposition to the teaching that
you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but
their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of
the simple-minded. For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice
over you, I want you to be wise in what is good, and guileless in what is evil.
The God of peace will shortly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with you."
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese
& Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 30-31/2024
Israel knows more about Hezbollah and its
leaders than Nasrallah himself
Elias Bejjani/July 30, 2024
Israel and Hezbollah are Hollywood actors and both are partners in producing war
plays/Elias Bejjani/July 30, 2024
Israel Targets Senior Hezbollah Commander in Beirut Air Strike
Israeli Civilian Killed by Rocket Fired from Lebanon
Israel Says Hit Around 10 Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon, Killed One Fighter
Israel carries out rare strike on Beirut that it says killed Hezbollah commander
Israel says it killed Hezbollah commander in Beirut strike
Factbox-Reactions to Israeli strike on southern Beirut suburb
Israel believes Hezbollah senior commander killed in Beirut strike, Israeli
media report says
Israel hits Beirut in 'targeted' strike on Hezbollah commander
Hezbollah Informs Lebanese, Western Officials of ‘Inevitability’ of Retaliation
to Any Israeli Strike
As Tensions Soar, Hezbollah Reduces Number of Operations against Israel
One killed from direct rocket hit in Kibbutz HaGoshrim
Leave Lebanon immediately, don’t travel to northern Israel, UK tells its
citizens
‘Incentive to set foot in the Galilee’: Hezbollah official speaks on Israeli
retaliation
Erdogan will send Turkish forces if Israel enters Lebanon - former envoy
AMCD Condemns Hezbollah Rocket Attack on Israeli Playground and Calls for UNSCR
1559 Implementation
The Terrifying Lebanon Scenarios/Jonathan Schanzer/The commentary/July 30/2024
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on July 30-31/2024
Netanyahu in gov't meeting: ‘To our
enemies I say: Do not mislead us, we are brothers’
Toronto Jewish sites attacked: School bus burned, anti-Israel graffiti found
UAE ship delivers 5,340 tons of food and aid to Gaza through Egypt's Arish port
Iran's new President urges Muslim unity, strengthens ties with Central Asia and
Africa
Druze in Golan Reject Israeli Threats to Retaliate for Rocket Strike
Destruction of Gaza Water Wells Deepens Palestinian Misery
Lice, Scabies, Rashes Plague Palestinian Children as Skin Disease Runs Rampant
in Gaza’s Tent Camps
Destruction of Gaza Water Wells Deepens Palestinian Misery
Iran’s New President Sworn in, Pledges to Keep Trying to Remove Western
Sanctions
Türkiye, Armenia Make Progress in Normalization Talks
Turkish Forces Kill 13 Kurdish Militants in Northern Iraq
Radical UK Islamist preacher Choudary jailed for life for terrorism offenses
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on July 30-31/2024
He the People ...How Barack Obama ended
normalcy in American politics/Lee Smith/The Tablet/July 30/2024
Kamala Harris's 'Only Path' To Destroy Israel/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone
Institute/July 30, 2024
Erdogan's threats to invade Israel are inflammatory and only serve to escalate
tensions - editorial/Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
To join the 'Abraham Alliance,' Palestinians must renounce the path of violence/
DAPHNA JOEL, RONIT LEVINE-SCHNUR/Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
Jordanian MP: Iran Is Waging A War Against Jordan; We Must Support Iranian
Opposition Elements/MEMRI/July 30, 2024
Fight Against Treachery/Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute./July 30, 2024
Relationship Between Tehran, Washington Essential to Understanding Near Future
of the Region/Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
A Kamala Harris Presidency Is a Global Problem/Nadim KoteichAsharq Al-Awsat/July
30/2024
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on July 30-31/2024
Israel knows more about Hezbollah and
its leaders than Nasrallah himself
Elias Bejjani/July 30, 2024
Hezbollah's military power is an illusion and its resistance is a lie. Iran will
not intervene to rescue it except through rhetoric and empty statements. In
reality, Hezbollah is the enemy of the Lebanese people and their state. By
uprooting Hezbollah from its roots, Lebanon will be liberated.
Israel and Hezbollah are Hollywood actors and both are
partners in producing war plays
Elias Bejjani/July 30, 2024
The Hollywood show of Hezbollah and Israel is over. Israel killed Fouad Shukr
and declared that its revenge for the Majdal Shams crime is done. The heedless
and terrorist Hezbollah will respond in a Hollywood manner, no more, no less.
Israel Targets Senior Hezbollah Commander in Beirut Air
Strike
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
An Israeli air strike targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut's southern
suburbs late on Tuesday in what the Israeli military said was retaliation for a
cross-border rocket attack three days before that killed 12 children and
teenagers. A loud blast was heard and a plume of smoke could be seen rising
above the southern suburbs - a stronghold of the Iran-backed Lebanese armed
group Hezbollah - at around 7:40 p.m. (1640 GMT), a Reuters witness said. A
senior Lebanese security source said a senior Hezbollah commander had been the
target of the air strike and his fate remained unclear. Lebanon's state-run
national news agency said an Israeli air strike had targeted the area around
Hezbollah's Shura Council in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of the capital. Beirut
has been on edge for days ahead of an anticipated Israeli attack in reprisal for
the rocket strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday that killed
the 12 youngsters in a football field in a Druze village. Hezbollah has denied
involvement in that attack. In a statement, the Israeli military said it had
conducted "a targeted strike in Beirut on the commander responsible for the
murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional
Israeli civilians". Details would follow. Earlier on Tuesday, more rocket fire
from south Lebanon killed a civilian in a kibbutz in northern Israel, medics
said. Shortly before the explosion in south Beirut, the Israeli military said 15
projectiles had been fired across the Lebanese border within the past few hours,
with impacts in parts of the Upper Galilee region. No injuries were reported.
Israel's air force had just hit a Hezbollah observation post and "terror
infrastructure" in south Lebanon, it added.
CONCERNS ABOUT ESCALATION
As diplomats sought to contain the fallout, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
said he did not believe a fight was inevitable between Hezbollah and Israel,
though he remained concerned about the potential for escalation. Hezbollah and
Israel, which last fought each other in a major war in 2006, have been trading
fire since the eruption of the Gaza war in October, after Hezbollah began firing
at Israeli targets in what it says is solidarity with the Palestinians. The
hostilities have mostly been limited to the frontier region and both sides have
previously indicated they do not seek a wider confrontation even as the conflict
has prompted worry about the risk of a slide towards war. In the latest
exchanges of fire on Tuesday, the Israeli military said 10 rockets had been
fired from Lebanon and one hit Kibbutz Hagoshrim, causing one casualty. Israel's
ambulance service said the 30-year-old male died of shrapnel wounds. Israel said
it hit some 10 Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon overnight and killed one
Hezbollah fighter - attacks which appeared to be in keeping with the pattern of
the last nine months. Hezbollah confirmed one of its fighters was killed.
Meanwhile the United States said it will continue pursuing diplomacy to avert an
escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. "We're continuing to
work toward a diplomatic resolution that would allow Israeli and Lebanese
civilians to return to their homes and live in peace and security. We certainly
want to avoid any kind of escalation," deputy State Department spokesman Vedant
Patel told a briefing.
Israeli Civilian Killed by Rocket Fired from Lebanon
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
A rocket fired from Lebanon killed an Israeli civilian on Tuesday, Reuters
reported. Tension has spiked along the frontier after a rocket Israel said
Hezbollah fired killed 12 children on Saturday in the Israeli-held Golan
Heights. Meanwhile, Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Tuesday it fired at Israeli
warplanes that broke the sound barrier in Lebanese airspace. Hezbollah added
that it forced the warplanes to turn back.
Israel Says Hit Around 10 Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon, Killed One Fighter
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
The Israeli army said Tuesday it had struck around 10 Hezbollah targets
overnight in seven different areas of south Lebanon, killing one fighter from
the Iran-backed militant group. The army also "struck a Hezbollah weapons
storage facility, terror infrastructure sites, military structures and a
launcher in southern Lebanon", the army said, AFP reported. The strikes came
after a rocket fired from Lebanon hit a Druze Arab town in the Israeli-annexed
Golan Heights on Saturday and killed 12 children aged between 10 and 16. On a
visit to Majdal Shams on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Israel
would deliver a "severe response" to the strike. Israel says the rocket that
killed the children was an Iranian-made Falaq and was fired by its ally
Hezbollah. Hezbollah has denied responsibility for firing the rocket though it
claimed multiple launches towards Israel on Saturday. Israeli forces and
Hezbollah have been engaged in near-daily clashes along the border since the
start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7. The violence has so far killed 22
soldiers and 24 civilians on the Israeli side, including in the Golan, according
to army figures.
Israel carries out rare strike on Beirut that it says
killed Hezbollah commander
Bassem Mroue And Tia Goldenberg
BEIRUT (AP)/July 30, 2024
Israel on Tuesday carried out a rare strike on Beirut, which it said killed the
Hezbollah commander who was allegedly behind a weekend rocket attack that killed
12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. At least three other
people were killed. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the commander’s death.
The Israeli strike killed a woman and two children and wounded dozens of other
people in escalating hostilities with the Lebanese militant group.An Israeli
official said the target was Fouad Shukur, a top Hezbollah military commander
whom the U.S. blames for planning and launching the deadly 1983 Marine bombing
in the Lebanese capital. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he
was not authorized to discuss the details of the strike with the media. Shukur
is also suspected in other strikes that killed Israeli civilians. Though
Hezbollah issued a rare denial of involvement in the rocket attack Saturday in
the town of Majdal Shams, Israel is holding the militant group responsible.
"Hezbollah crossed a red line,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on
the platform X shortly after Tuesday's strike. The two sides have exchanged
near-daily strikes for the past 10 months against the backdrop of the war in
Gaza, but they have previously kept the conflict at a low level that was
unlikely to escalate into full-on war.
Lebanon's public health ministry said Tuesday's strike in a southern suburb of
Beirut wounded 74 people, some of them seriously. The wounded were taken to
nearby hospitals. Bahman Hospital near the site of the blast called for blood
donations. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the strike was
carried out with a drone that launched three rockets. “The Israeli enemy has
committed a great stupid act in size, timing and circumstances by targeting an
entirely civilian area,” Hezbollah official Ali Ammar told Al-Manar TV. "The
Israeli enemy will pay a price for this sooner or later.” Lebanese caretaker
Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the Israeli attack, saying it hit a few
meters from one of the largest hospitals in the capital. The office of Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately release a statement, but
minutes after the strike sent a photo of the prime minister with his national
security adviser and other officials. The airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburb
of Haret Hreik — a crowded urban neighborhood where Hezbollah has political and
security operations but which is also full of small shops and apartment
buildings — damaged several buildings. It was not immediately clear if any
Hezbollah official was hit, a Hezbollah official said. A Lebanese military
intelligence official said they had no information when asked by The Associated
Press whether a senior Hezbollah security official had escaped the airstrike.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with regulations.
The strike hit an apartment building near to a hospital, collapsing half of the
targeted building and severely damaging one next to it. The hospital sustained
minor damages, while the surrounding streets were littered with debris and
broken glass. A forklift was in the middle of the street, reaching to the top
floors of the destroyed building, while utility crews removed fallen power
lines. Crowds gathered to inspect the damage and check on their families. Some
of them chanted in support of Hezbollah.
Paramedics could be seen carrying several wounded people out of the damaged
buildings.A resident of the suburb whose home is about 200 meters (yards) away
said that dust from the explosion “covered everything," and that the glass in
his son’s apartment was broken.
“Then people went down on the streets," he said. “Everyone has family. They went
to check on them. It was a lot of destruction.” He spoke on condition of
anonymity out of concern about his security at a tense moment. Hassan Noureddine
said he was riding his motorcycle near the building when he heard the sound of
two explosions. “It looked like a strike from a drone and not a jet,” Noureddine
told the AP near the site of the attack. Despite fears of escalation and a
strike in recent days, Noureddine said that he and other people he knows in the
area are not fazed and that their spirits are high. Talal Hatoum, a local
official with the Shiite Amal Movement, Hezbollah’s key political ally in
Lebanon, said Tuesday's attack marked a shift in the rules of engagement in the
conflict because it caused a significant number of civilian casualties. The last
time Israel targeted Beirut was in January, when an airstrike killed a top Hamas
official, Saleh Arouri. That strike was the first time Israel had hit Beirut
since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006. Israel
had been expected to retaliate for the strike in Majdal Shams, but diplomats had
said in recent days that they expected the response to stay within the
boundaries of the ongoing low-level conflict between Hezbollah and Israel
without provoking all-out war. Many of them had not expected that Israel would
hit Beirut, which might elicit a strike by Hezbollah on a major population
center in Israel.
The United Nations' special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert,
said in a statement that she was “deeply concerned” by the strike and called for
“calm to prevail.” U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said Israel “has the right
to defend itself against the terrorist organization,” referring to Hezbollah,
but added, “We still must work on a diplomatic solution to end these attacks,
and we will continue to do that work.”__
Israel says it killed Hezbollah commander in Beirut strike
Nabih Bulos/LA Times/July 30, 2024
Israel conducted an airstrike Tuesday, targeting what it said was the senior
Hezbollah commander responsible for a rocket attack over the weekend that killed
a dozen Syrian children and young adults in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Lebanon has held its collective breath for days, with speculation rampant over
what Israel's response would be following a missile strike on Saturday that hit
a football field in Majdal Shams, a Syrian town in the Golan Heights. Israel
blamed Hezbollah for the attack, a charge the Iran-backed faction denied. A day
later, Israel's air force said it hit seven Hezbollah targets deep in Lebanon.
The airstrikes Tuesday evening appeared to be more limited, hitting a
residential building near a hospital in the Hezbollah-dominated suburb of Beirut
known as the Dahieh. Residents near the site of the blast said they heard a trio
of explosions. The state-run National News Agency said it was the work of a
drone firing three missiles. Lebanon's public health ministry said one woman was
killed along with two children. An additional 74 people were wounded — three of
them critically, the ministry said. "It shook the ground. It felt really close,"
said one gas station attendant who asked not to be named.
A 27-year-old architect who gave his name as Jawad said he had been in the
street when the attack happened. "The first missile landed, and barely a second
passed before another came," he said. The missiles targeted near the top corner
of an eight-story building, leaving at least one apartment a jagged,
debris-filled maw and damaging a number of others. Jawad pointed to sprinklings
of glass on the street. "All this is from the top floors of the buildings around
us," he said.
The Israeli military claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had
“carried out a targeted strike in Beirut, on the commander responsible for the
murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional
Israeli civilians.”A later statement identified him as Fuad Shukr, also known as
Hajj Mohsin, describing him as the "right-hand man" to Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah and a senior member of the group's jihad council. The U.S. had put a
$5-million bounty on Shukr's head for "play[ing] a central role" in the 1983
Marine barracks bombing in Beirut. "Hezbollah crossed the red line," wrote
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry condemned
the attack, saying in a statement to the Reuters news agency, "We will file a
complaint to the United Nations." Pro-Hezbollah officials, speaking on local
media channels, said the operation had failed to kill its intended target.
Though Hezbollah and Israel are longtime enemies, in recent years the fighting
between the two had been limited to little more than the occasional exchange of
missives. But tensions escalated after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack against Israel, and
Israel's subsequent military offensive in Gaza. Hezbollah escalated a rocket
campaign along the Israel-Lebanon border in solidarity with Hamas militants.
Since then, the tense quiet that once reigned on the border has been replaced by
an almost daily exchange of fire. Both sides insist they do not want an all-out
war, but say they are prepared for it. The U.S. is intensifying diplomatic
efforts to ensure the hostilities don't devolve into a full-on war. "I
unequivocally support Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism — and
that is precisely what Hezbollah is doing," said U.S. Vice President Kamala
Harris in a news conference after the strike. "However, we must work toward a
diplomatic solution to end the attacks." U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant
Patel said: “We defer to Israel to speak to its own military operations. We
reiterate our clear position: Our commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad
and unwavering against all Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah."
Factbox-Reactions to Israeli strike on southern Beirut
suburb
Reuters/Tue, July 30, 2024
BEIRUT (Reuters) - An Israeli airstrike targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in
Beirut's southern suburbs late on Tuesday in what the Israeli military said was
retaliation for a cross-border rocket attack that killed 12 children and
teenagers on Saturday. Armed group Hezbollah denied involvement in the attack.
The following are reactions from global players regarding the incident.
LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER NAJIB MIKATI ON X
"This criminal act that took place tonight is a link in a series of aggressive
operations that claim civilians in clear violation of international law and
international humanitarian law. This is something we place in the direction of
the international community, which must bear its responsibilities and press with
all force to oblige Israel to stop its aggression and threats and implement
international resolutions."
LEBANON'S FOREIGN MINISTER ABDALLAH BOU HABIB TO REUTERS
"We were not expecting them to hit Beirut and they hit Beirut." He said he hoped
any response by Hezbollah "will be proportionate and will not be more than that,
so that this wave of killing, hitting and shelling will stop."
PALESTINIAN GROUP HAMAS STATEMENT
"We strongly condemn the brutal Zionist aggression against Lebanon and the
brotherly Lebanese people, which targeted a Hezbollah headquarters in the
southern suburb of Beirut, and resulted in the martyrdom and injury of a number
of innocent citizens, and we consider it a dangerous escalation for which the
Nazi Zionist occupation bears full responsibility."
YEMEN'S HOUTHI MOVEMENT ON AL MASIRAH TV
"We denounce in the strongest terms the Zionist aggression against the southern
suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in a terrorist attack that
premeditatedly and deliberately targeted civilians and civilian facilities in
violation of all international conventions, and in flagrant violation of
Lebanon's sovereignty and international humanitarian law."
IRAN'S EMBASSY IN LEBANON ON X
"We condemn in the strongest terms the sinful and cowardly Israeli aggression
that targeted the southern suburb of Beirut, which claimed the lives of a number
of martyrs and wounded."
SYRIA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY ON STATE NEWS WEBSITE
"The Israeli attack is a clear violation of international law, which comes two
days after its heinous crime in the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian
Golan."
WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON TO REUTERS
"We defer to Israel to speak to its own military operations. We reiterate our
clear position: Our commitment to Israel's security is ironclad and unwavering
against all Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah, and we are working on a
diplomatic solution that will allow citizens to safely return to their homes."
RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY VIA STATE-RUN TASS NEWS
The Israeli strike on Beirut is "a flagrant violation of international law."
Israel believes Hezbollah senior commander killed in Beirut strike, Israeli
media report says
Laila Bassam, Emily Rose and Simon Lewis/Reuters/July 30, 2024
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM/MANILA (Reuters) - Israel believes its air strike on Beirut
killed a senior commander of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah on Tuesday, Israel's
public broadcaster said, in retaliation for a cross-border rocket attack that
killed 12 youngsters three days ago. A loud blast was heard and a plume of smoke
could be seen rising above Beirut's southern suburbs - a stronghold of the
Iran-backed Hezbollah - at around 7:40 p.m. (1640 GMT), a Reuters witness said.
Two unidentified sources told Israeli public broadcaster Kan that Israel
assessed that "the target of the strike" was killed. The Israeli military
earlier said the target was the Hezbollah militant responsible for a rocket
strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday that killed 12 youth in
a football field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams. Two security sources in
Lebanon earlier named the target as Muhsin Shukr, also known as Fuad Shukr, head
of Hezbollah's operations centre. They said he was critically injured in the
attack around Hezbollah's Shura Council in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood.
Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad told Reuters that the strike also killed
another person and injured 35, three critically. Hezbollah has denied
involvement in the Golan attack, but said the group fired rockets at a military
target in the Golan Heights. The killing of the youths prompted a high-level
Western diplomatic flurry to avert a major escalation that could inflame the
wider Middle East. The Israeli military said it had issued no new instructions
for civil defence in Israel, a possible indication that Israel did not plan
further strikes immediately. Channel 12 TV quoted an unnamed official as saying
Israel did not want an all-out war. Israeli media reported that, depending on
the Hezbollah reaction, the military considered the Beirut strike as concluding
the response to the Golan Heights attack. Mohanad Hage Ali, an analyst with the
Carnegie Middle East Center, said Hezbollah would have to respond, perhaps by
targeting a major city like Haifa on Israel's northern coast. There were about
25 rockets launched from south Lebanon into northern Israel throughout the day,
the Israeli military said. Medics reported a 30-year-old man in the cooperative
community of Kibbutz Hagoshrim was killed.
CONCERNS ABOUT ESCALATION
Lebanon's Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said on Tuesday that his
government condemned the Israeli strike and planned to file a complaint to the
United Nations over it. "We were not expecting them to hit Beirut and they hit
Beirut," he told Reuters, saying he hoped Hezbollah's response would not trigger
an escalation. "Hopefully any response will be proportionate and will not be
more than that, so that this wave of killing, hitting and shelling will stop,"
he said. As diplomats sought to contain the fallout, U.S. Defense Secretary
Lloyd Austin said he did not believe a fight was inevitable between Hezbollah
and Israel, though he remained concerned about the potential for escalation.
Hezbollah and Israel, which last fought each other in a major war in 2006, have
been trading fire since the eruption of the Gaza war in October, after Hezbollah
began firing at Israeli targets in what it says is solidarity with the
Palestinians.
The hostilities have mostly been limited to the frontier region and both sides
have previously indicated they do not seek a wider confrontation even as the
conflict has prompted worry about the risk of a slide towards war. Israel said
it hit some 10 Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon overnight and killed one
Hezbollah fighter - attacks which appeared to be in keeping with the pattern of
the last nine months. Hezbollah confirmed one of its fighters was killed. In
January, Israel assassinated a senior exiled leader of the Palestinian militant
group Hamas in Beirut's Dahiyeh suburb, prompting Hezbollah rocket attacks into
northern Israel.
Israel hits Beirut in 'targeted' strike on Hezbollah commander
Alex Smith - BBC News/July 30, 2024
Israel says it has killed a top Hezbollah commander in a strike in the Lebanese
capital city Beirut. At least one person was killed and a number of others
wounded in the explosion in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has
a stronghold. Israel says Fuad Shukr was the target of an "intelligence-based
elimination" by fighter jets the Beirut area. They claim Shukr was responsible
for the strike on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday which killed 12
people, mostly children. Hezbollah has denied any involvement for that attack.
In a brief post on social media after the attack, Israeli defence minister Yoav
Gallant said: "Hezbollah crossed the red line". Meanwhile Lebanon's prime
minister - Najib Mikati - has criticised, what he calls, "blatant Israeli
aggression", and the country's foreign minister, said the government plan to
complain to the United Nations. Israel says the Hezbollah commander it targeted
in Dahiyeh, a suburb in the capital Beirut, was Fuad Shukr. It's not yet clear
if Shukr was killed in the attack, but the BBC's Middle East correspondent
Quentin Sommerville said security sources in Beirut believe he was not in the
building at the time. Both Reuters and AFP news agencies are quoting sources who
have said he survived the attack. Fuad Shukr is a believed to be a senior
advisor to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, the US has previously said. It has
been offering a $5m (3.9m) reward for information about him, alleging he played
a "central role" in the 1983 bombing of a US Marines barracks in Beirut, that
killed 241 US military personnel. Aerial view showing rescuers working among
debris of destroyed building working at night The strike damaged buildings in
the heavily built-up neighbourhood of Dahieyh [AFP] An Israeli reaction had been
widely expected after the deadly attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on
Saturday, and Israel's security cabinet had authorised Mr Netanyahu and Mr
Gallant to decide how to retaliate. At least 12 people were killed - mostly
children - when a rocket hit a football pitch in Majdal Shams on Saturday.
Israel has blamed Hezbollah, but the group denies any involvement. It was the
deadliest incident near the Israel-Lebanon border since hostilities between
Israel and Hezbollah escalated in October. That escalation came after Hamas'
attack on Israel on 7 October. Hezbollah - which supports Hamas - opened up a
limited second front in Israel's north, and the two sides have been exchanging
fire ever since. In recent days, world leaders have urged for restraint and
warned against the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalating further,
amid fears of an all-out war developing. Earlier on Tuesday UK foreign secretary
David Lammy told UK nationals living in Lebanon to leave immediately or risk
"becoming trapped in a warzone".But speaking in the moments after Tuesday's
strike, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that US
President Joe Biden believes an all-out war "can be avoided". "We have to
continue to be optimistic here, I think it's important to have a diplomatic
solution. We do not want to see an escalation, we do not want to see an all-out
war," she said. Earlier in the day, two unnamed Israeli officials told Reuters
news agency that while Israel sought to hurt Hezbollah, it did not want to drag
Lebanon into all-out war. Hezbollah, Israel and the Golan Heights: What is
happening and why? Israeli ministers authorise Netanyahu retaliation against
Hezbollah
Hezbollah Informs Lebanese, Western Officials of
‘Inevitability’ of Retaliation to Any Israeli Strike
Beirut: Nazeer Rida/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
Western countries intensified their warnings and contacts with Lebanese and
Israeli officials to prevent the eruption of a broader conflict in Lebanon in
wake of the Majdal Shams attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that left
12 youths dead. Hezbollah has refused to offer any assurances, reiterating that
it will “respond to any Israeli strike”.Israel wants to hurt Hezbollah but not
drag the Middle East into all-out war, two Israeli officials said on Monday
according to Reuters. Two other Israeli officials said Israel was preparing for
the possibility of a few days of fighting following Saturday's rocket strike at
a sports field in a Druze town that it blamed on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has denied its involvement in the attack. Lebanese caretaker Foreign
Minister Abdallah Bou Habib held talks at the Foreign Ministry with Hezbollah
Arab and international relations official Ammar al-Mousawi. The officials did
not make any statements after the talks, but sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that
they agreed to coordinate further with each other. Mousawi also renewed
Hezbollah’s position that the party would retaliate to the Israeli strike. “The
issue has been decided and it is not up for debate,” he was quoted as saying.
The extent of the response will be up to Hezbollah’s assessment of the Israeli
strike. The issue will be settled in the field, he added. Media close to
Hezbollah said western forces were insistent on knowing how Hezbollah would
respond to the Israeli attack. They said Hezbollah did not offer anyone any
assurances and that it was committed to the rules of engagement. Hezbollah’s
position has been conveyed to “all sides, including parliament Speaker Nabih
Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the foreign minister and US envoy
Amos Hochstein.”
US and UK
Western powers have sought to contain the situation. Washington stressed the
importance of preventing any escalation in wake of the Golan attack. London
demanded that all sides show restraint. While Washington has also blamed
Hezbollah for the rocket strike and defended Israel's right to respond, US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a phone call with Israeli President Isaac
Herzog on Monday, emphasized the importance of preventing escalation of the
conflict, the US State Department said. They discussed efforts to reach a
diplomatic solution to allow displaced people to return home, reported Reuters.
In Beirut, Mikati received a telephone call from British Foreign Secretary David
Lammy, who reiterated his call on all parties to show restraint to prevent an
escalation. He called for the peaceful resolution of conflicts through relevant
international resolutions.
Fears and criticism
Fears grew in Lebanon over the eruption of a broader war. Grand Mufti Sheikh
Abdul Latif al-Derian said Lebanon is “constantly coming under Zionist
assaults.”“We are worried that the assaults will expand and lead to a wide
regional war. This demands that we consolidate our national unity to confront
these dangerous challenges,” he added ahead of a trip to Saudi Arabia. The
Lebanese Forces, meanwhile, criticized the government. LF MP Ghayath Yazbeck
said: “We are prisoners of an insane war waged by Hezbollah - in the name of
Iran - against Israel, while Israel is waging a war against Lebanon.” In remarks
to local radio, he warned that “the war may expand at any moment.” He also
criticized Bou Habib who assured that the retaliation to the Majdal Shams attack
will not target civilians or lead to a wider war. “We cannot rely on
international assurances,” said Yazbeck, demanding that the government “confront
the international community, Iran and Hezbollah with the position that protects
Lebanon.”Moreover, he demanded that parties turn to international resolutions
that demonstrate that Israel is an aggressor against Lebanon. Former Prime
Minister Fouad Siniora urged everyone “to be alert to Israel’s hostile
intentions” and warned that it would seize every opportunity “to expand its war
and aggression against Lebanon and continue its genocide against the Palestinian
people in Gaza and the West Bank.” He called for uncovering the truth “behind
the terrible massacre in Majdal Shams,” demanding an independent investigation
by credible parties, not Israel. Head of the Progressive Socialist Party MP
Teymour Jumblatt said: “The blood shed in Majdal Shams is another black mark
against the Israeli occupation.”He saluted the “Arab people of the Golan on
their united position, for averting strife and for expelling every occupier who
sought to exploit this tragedy.”
As Tensions Soar, Hezbollah Reduces Number of Operations
against Israel
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
Hezbollah reduced the number of its military operations against Israel on Sunday
and Monday as tensions continued in wake of the strike that killed 12 people in
the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights over the
weekend. Hezbollah has strongly denied its involvement in the attack. Israel,
meanwhile, continued to make threats that it will strike Lebanon in retaliation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Majdal Shams on Monday, vowing
a strong response. Offering his condolences to the families of the victims, he
said: “These are our children. The state of Israel will not let this pass; it
cannot.”Some residents staged protests against his visit. Israeli Defense
Minister Yoav Gallant said Hezbollah “will pay a price” for the attack. “We will
let actions, not words, do the talking,” he added. A military spokesman said the
response will be “clear and forceful. Hezbollah will be targeted.” “We insist on
driving it away from our borders. This is our ultimate goal,” he added. Field
sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the intensity of the operations dropped
noticeably over the past two days. Hezbollah declared on Sunday that it had
carried out no more than two operations and only three on Monday. The figures
are much lower than what the border regions had grown accustomed to over the
past two weeks where the party had staged an average of eight operations a day,
they added. The drop in attacks did not lead to a halt in Israeli operations.
Israeli drones flew heavily at low and medium altitudes, reaching the regions of
Nabatiyeh, Jezzine, Sidon and al-Zahrani, they noted.
Israel killed two Hezbollah members on Monday.
A drone strike targeted a car and motorcycle in the towns of Shakra and Mays al-Jabal.
Two people were killed and four wounded, including a 12-year-old boy. Hezbollah
acknowledged in a statement the death of two members in the attack. In the
evening, a drone strike targeted a car in the town of Kounin near Bint Jbeil.
Israeli jets also struck Houla and Kfar Hamam and artillery hit the towns of
Aitaroun, Mays al-Jabal, Kfar Kila and Deir Mimas. Hezbollah later announced
that it fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at the al-Baghdadi position in response
to the Shakra attack. It also fired rockets against Israeli soldiers in the
Raheb area and a surveillance system that was recently set up in the Malikiya
area.
One killed from direct rocket hit in Kibbutz HaGoshrim
Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
MDA said that the person had initially been severely wounded and was given
medical treatment by MDA paramedics. However, resuscitation efforts failed, and
the paramedics pronounced him dead. An individual about 30 years old was
killed from rocket shrapnel in northern Israel on Tuesday following a rocket
attack in the area, Israel's emergency medical service Magen David Adom (MDA)
said. MDA added that the person had initially been severely wounded and was
given medical treatment by MDA paramedics. However, resuscitation efforts
failed, and the paramedics pronounced him dead. MDA paramedic Yuval Levy and
EMTs Noam Wolf and Nadav recounted what they saw upon arrival at the scene.
"Immediately following the red alerts, we received a report of a casualty and
headed to the scene. This was a difficult scene; we arrived on the scene and
found a 30-year-old male with shrapnel wounds to his upper body. He was
unconscious, and we immediately began medical treatment and resuscitation,
following which we had to pronounce him dead." United Hatzalah EMT Reshef Nuriel
recounted his efforts at the scene. "I performed CPR together with an intensive
care ambulance team on a man about 30 years old who, according to bystanders,
was hit by rocket shrapnel," Nuriel said. "Unfortunately, after prolonged
resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead." Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli
media reported that the direct hit had occurred in Kibbutz HaGosherim.
Some 10 projectiles cross into Israeli territory . At around 14:53 p.m.,
multiple rocket sirens sounded in northern Israel. The IDF later said that some
10 projectiles had crossed into Israel from Lebanon, of which most had been
intercepted. IDF artillery forces fired at the source from which the launches
had been detected, the military added. The military also noted that earlier on
Tuesday, Israel Air Force jets had struck Hezbollah terror infrastructure in the
Jibchit area of southern Lebanon. At around 15:51 p.m., several drone intrusion
alerts sounded in the area of the Galilee Panhandle. Israeli media later
reported that following the fall of projectiles in northern Israel, several
fires had erupted in the area.
Leave Lebanon immediately, don’t travel to northern Israel, UK tells its
citizens
Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
“We will do all we can to prevent the outbreak of full-scale conflict,” UK
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said, stressing that “the risk is rising.”
British citizens should leave Lebanon immediately and should not travel to
northern Israel or the Golan Heights due to the risk of an all-out war, Foreign
Secretary David Lammy said during an address to parliament on Tuesday.
“We will do all we can to prevent the outbreak of full-scale conflict,” Lammy
said, stressing that “the risk is rising.” “I therefore want to underline the
government's advice to British nationals, we advise against all travel to the
north of Israel and the north of the Golan Heights, and against all travel to
Lebanon,” he stated. Lammy referenced the cross-border violence between the IDF
and Hezbollah along that northern border, including the Hezbollah strike that
killed 12 children at a soccer field in the Golan Heights. An Israeli citizen
was also killed along the northern border on Tuesday. “There are frequent
artillery exchanges and air strikes. Tensions are high, and the situation could
deteriorate rapidly.” Lammy stated. 'No guarantee gov't will be able to evacuate
everyone' “If this conflict escalates, the government cannot guarantee we'll be
able to evacuate everyone immediately,” he said. Those who do not heed these
instructions, he said, “may be forced to shelter in place.” “History teaches us
that in a crisis like this one, it is far safer to leave while commercial
flights are still running rather than running the risk of becoming trapped in a
war zone. “My message then to British nationals in Lebanon is therefore quite
simple: leave,” he said. The United States has asked that its citizens not to
travel to southern Lebanon. Greece's Aegean Airlines and Germany's Condor
canceled flights to Beirut on Tuesday, the latest airlines to suspend services
to the Lebanese capital in recent days as tensions escalate between Israel and
the armed political group Hezbollah.Aegean said it would suspend flights until
Thursday, while Condor canceled Tuesday's flight from Dusseldorf. Air France
AIRF.PA and Lufthansa Group LHAG.DE carriers Swiss, Eurowings, and Lufthansa
announced flight cancellations on Monday.
A number of other carriers have suspended, delayed, or canceled some flights,
although Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport listed arrivals on Tuesday
from airlines including Pegasus, Emirates, Royal Jordanian, EgyptAir, Iran Air,
Qatar Airways, and Etihad.
Reuters contributed to this report
‘Incentive to set foot in the Galilee’: Hezbollah
official speaks on Israeli retaliation
MAARIV/Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
Hezbollah vows to respond forcefully to any Israeli attack, dismissing
international pleas for restraint amid rising regional tensions. Amid escalating
tension over Israel's response to Hezbollah’s attack in Majdal Shams, which
could lead to a regional war, a senior Hezbollah official revealed significant
details concerning their plans for the Galilee on Monday in an interview with Al
Jazeera. According to the report, Hezbollah has promised to respond to any
Israeli attack, regardless of its intensity. "International envoys are
indirectly raising with us the idea that we should not respond to the expected
aggression under the pretext of the need to avoid escalation and sliding towards
a comprehensive war," the Hezbollah official said. "We are capable of severely
and devastatingly bombing military facilities in Haifa, the Golan, and Ramat
David. “We will definitely respond to any Israeli attack. Hezbollah's leadership
will determine the form and intensity of our response to any possible
aggression," he added. The official also said, "The representatives informed us
of their contacts with the enemy to minimize civilian casualties. This is a good
thing, but we do not trust our enemy. Israel's terms for severe or limited
strikes do not concern us at all - it is aggression regardless of its intensity.
We take Israeli threats seriously and are fully prepared for the matter."
Efforts to limit Israeli retaliation
"The American adoption of the enemy's narrative did not surprise us. A ground
invasion into Lebanon would be an incentive to set foot in the Galilee," the
official added. Senior American diplomats told Reuters on Monday that efforts
are underway to limit Israel's response to the massacre in Majdal Shams, where
12 children were killed. "We are trying to prevent attacks on Beirut and its
suburbs," they said. Earlier on Tuesday, a Lebanese official told Saudi channel
Al-Hadath that Lebanon had received a message about the impending Israeli
military strike, described as "inevitable."Lebanon has asked mediators to act to
limit the strike, ensuring that Israel does not target Beirut or densely
populated areas.
Erdogan will send Turkish forces if Israel enters
Lebanon - former envoy
Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
Dr. Alon Liel predicts Erdogan will indirectly support Palestinians through aid
and smuggling, not direct military action against Israel. Dr. Alon Liel, former
Foreign Ministry director and former Israeli ambassador to Turkey, commented on
the possibility of a Turkish invasion of Israel in light of Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent threats to intervene in the Israel-Hamas war, Dr.
Liel told Radio North 104.5FM on Tuesday. "He is hinting that he may try to
increase military assistance to help the Palestinians in their fight, both Hamas
and those fighting in the West Bank," Dr. Liel told Gadi Ness. Dr. Liel added,
"He previously attempted this when he set up a headquarters in Turkey for them,
intending possibly to conduct military operations, smuggle weapons, and transfer
money in order to purchase weapons. It is unlikely that Erdogan, who is known to
act irrationally, would send Turkish soldiers to invade Israel. "I believe we
should take him very seriously, as he has followed through on many of his other
threats, such as halting trade with Israel. He is already trying to help the
Palestinians, sending casualties to hospitals in Turkey, and certainly finding
ways to transfer money to them," he further noted.
Indirect support of anti-Israel forces
"In my opinion, what he will try to do is strengthen the forces fighting against
us either through sending money or smuggling across the Egyptian border. By the
way, he has made significant improvements in relations with Egypt, including
smuggling to the West Bank and Jerusalem. He has always had a presence in
Jerusalem, even if indirectly." Dr. Liel also claimed: "If something significant
happens in Lebanon, Erdogan sees any Israeli entry into Lebanon as halfway
towards him. He could send forces to Lebanon; he has done this in the past,
including sending destroyers and combat ships, to Lebanon's territorial waters."
He concluded: "By the way, if we were in a proper diplomatic position, we would
need to sever relations with him. However, there is a significant weakness in
our diplomacy; we cannot make him pay a price for statements alone, so he is
effectively exploiting the situation."
التحالف الأميركي الشرق أوسطي للديموقراطية يستنكر الجريمة التي اركبها حزب الله في
بلدة مجدل شمس ويطالب بتنفيذ القرار 1559
AMCD Condemns Hezbollah Rocket Attack on Israeli Playground and Calls for UNSCR
1559 Implementation
July 29, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/07/132629/
Twelve children were killed when Hezbollah launched a rocket
attack on a soccer field where children were playing on Sunday afternoon in the
Israeli Druze village of Majdal Shams. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
vowed Hezbollah will “pay a heavy price,” for the murder of these innocents.
The American Mideast Coalition for Democracy condemns Hezbollah unequivocally
and demands the full imposition of United Nations Security Council resolution
1559 which calls for the disarming and disbanding of this well-armed Iranian
proxy militia (Hezbollah) in Lebanon. Resolution 1559 was passed in 2004, and
Resolution 1701 was passed in 2006. The Lebanese government failed to implement
them. Hezbollah has only grown stronger during the interim and is now in de
facto control of the Lebanese government. Seventy percent of the Lebanese people
reject Hezbollah and want it disarmed.
“These resolutions should have been vigorously enforced as soon as they were
passed,” said AMCD co-chair Tom Harb. “I’m afraid this exposes the inability of
the UN to enforce the resolutions it passes. At this point, according to
Hezbollah propaganda, if a serious effort were made to disarm Hezbollah, it
would plunge Lebanon into another civil war. On the contrary, this is the time
to have an international effort to disarm Hezbollah and avoid a regional
conflict”
“It is unbelievable that a jihadi terrorist organization has so thoroughly
infiltrated all levels of the Lebanese government and armed forces right under
the nose of the United Nations,” added AMCD co-chair John Hajjar. “The UN has
had observers and peacekeepers (UNIFIL) in Lebanon since the end of the Lebanese
Civil War in 1978, and all they have done is watch Hezbollah grow stronger and
have done next to nothing to prevent it.”
AMCD believes that if Hezbollah is not vigorously suppressed soon, the
once-beautiful country of Lebanon will turn into another failed terrorist state.
We understand Israel must respond to this latest atrocity, and we pray for the
people of Lebanon, while we hope for the destruction of Iran’s terrorist proxy,
Hezbollah.
The Terrifying Lebanon Scenarios
Jonathan Schanzer/The commentary/July 30/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/07/132646/
Twelve Israelis were killed in a Hezbollah attack on the Druze village of Majd
al-Shams on Saturday. The majority of the dead were children. Hezbollah has
attempted to deny responsibility. The Israeli public is not buying it. Israelis
of all stripes are demanding action.
The expected Israeli response could very well mark the most serious escalation
in the unnamed and unofficial war between Israel and Hezbollah. Iran’s most
powerful proxy began attacking Israel on October 8, one day after Hamas (another
Iranian proxy) slaughtered 1,200 Israelis. While all eyes have been on Gaza,
there can be no doubt that this is a a coordinated two-front effort on the part
of Iran’s proxies. Hezbollah has fired thousands of drones, rockets, and
missiles at Israel over the past nine months. The group has forced an estimated
100,000 Israeli citizens from their homes.
The Israelis have wanted to respond to Hezbollah since the first weeks of the
war. The Biden White House has restrained the Benjamin Netanyahu government. But
after today, Team Biden is not likely to restrain the Israelis any longer. It’s
also notable that Biden is now a lame duck, which means that he holds
considerably less sway over Israel’s military calculus.
Without knowing exactly what Israel’s response might be, here are some potential
scenarios we might expect. Israel Responds, Hezbollah Absorbs: While there could
be some tough hours or days ahead, there is a chance that Hezbollah restrains
itself. Perhaps more accurately, there is a chance that Iran restrains
Hezbollah. This would be the rational decision. But it would require Tehran and
its most powerful proxy to believe that they would pay a price for any further
escalation. While this is certainly possible, it seems unlikely. Thanks to weak
American responses after nine months of Iranian aggression, and an Israeli
government that has yet to make a consequential decision related to the
undeclared war in the north, the Iranian axis is not deterred.
A Hostage Deal Dials Everything Back: We continue to hear about efforts by the
CIA, Mossad, Egyptian intelligence, and the Hamas-financing government of Qatar
to reach a hostage deal. Hezbollah has indicated for months that if there is a
ceasefire in Gaza—one that results from a hostage deal or is struck under other
terms—the group would cease firing upon Israel. A deal is far from certain, and
even if one is reached, it is likely still several weeks away. Thus, the chances
of a hostage deal dialing back a wider war in the north seems unlikely right
now.
Amos Hochstein Prevails: For the last several months, the White House has
deployed energy envoy Amos Hochstein to try to reach a diplomatic deal between
Israel and Lebanon/Hezbollah to prevent a wider war. Hochstein brokered a 2022
maritime gas deal between Israel and Lebanon that yielded Lebanon the Qana gas
field. That deal was supposed to prevent escalations like the one we are
witnessing now. But with the benefit of hindsight, Hochstein’s effort should be
seen for what it is: a failed attempt to appease Hezbollah. His current stab at
haggling with the government of Lebanon with the goal of convincing Hezbollah to
withdraw from south Lebanon to territory north of the Litani River and halting
its aggression, are ongoing. But the Lebanese regime is a caretaker government
that wields no power in a failing state controlled by Hezbollah. The terms that
Hochstein is trying to reach are already spelled out in UN Security Council
Resolution 1701, which should have been implemented nearly two decades ago. Iran
and Hezbollah have refused. The Lebanese government has not even tried to change
the equation. And the West has stood by and watched. Of course, the fear of a
devastating war could yield a situation in which cooler heads prevail. But it’s
hard to believe that Hochstein has the answers.
A Limited War in Southern Lebanon: The conventional wisdom holds that neither
Hezbollah nor Israel want a full-blown conflagration, given the devastation that
such a war would likely leave in its wake. This is not wrong. The estimates
suggest that thousands of Lebanese and Israeli citizens would die, with billions
of dollars of damage incurred on both sides. This is why my Lebanese friends are
convinced that there would be some sort of gentleman’s agreement in the war to
come. Israel would only strike Hezbollah assets and infrastructure south of the
Litani River, and Hezbollah would only strike Israeli assets in the country’s
northern third. Unfortunately, the likelihood is low that both sides willingly
exercise restraint in the event of an escalation. This is simply not how wars
work—particularly between these two foes. Their wars have long been marked by
escalation through miscalculation.
A Big War in the North: This may be the most likely scenario if things escalate
quickly. And it’s not pretty. Hezbollah has 200,000 rockets in its arsenal,
thousands of drones, and an estimated 1,500 precision guided munitions that can
strike military assets or even strategic infrastructure in Israel. To be clear:
skyscrapers could fall. Hezbollah’s Radwan forces are highly trained and lethal;
they have trained alongside the Russian and Iranian militaries. They could try
to cross into Israel to conquer Israeli towns. The Israelis know what’s coming.
They have plans to deal with all of it, and the future of Lebanon looks bleak as
a result. But the Israeli forces are tired from nine months of fighting, the
nation’s arsenal is depleted to one extent or another from the Gaza war, and
there are concerns that this new war could be long and brutal. Israeli officials
say privately that they would prefer to wait a year for this war. Hezbollah
knows this. So does Iran. And they may believe that a war right now would be one
they have the best chance of winning. This is likely yet another grave
miscalculation on the part of the Iranian Axis—once again they will have started
a conflagration Israel cannot afford not to win—and one that could have grave
consequences for the region.
The Ring of Fire: There are no guarantees that a war in the north stays in the
north. It’s not often acknowledged, but Israel is currently at war on no less
than seven fronts. Iranian proxy forces in Gaza, Lebanon, West Bank, Syria,
Iraq, and Yemen continue to attack Israel with various levels of intensity. And
don’t forget that the Iranian regime fired more than 300 missiles and drones at
Israel in mid-April. The activation of this “ring of fire” might be more likely
if Hezbollah finds itself on the ropes in a war with Israel. Indeed, Iran is not
likely to simply watch from afar if its most valued proxy is in mortal danger.
It’s a fair bet that under this scenario, Israel would get help from British,
US, Jordanian and Saudi missile defense—as we witnessed when Iran attacked
Israel. But that may be of little consolation if there is a steady stream of
incoming projectiles from across the Middle East. To be clear, this scenario is
a regional war.
Nuclear Breakout: There is a school of thought in Israel which holds that there
is only one reason Iran would deploy its most powerful proxy to wage war against
Israel. Specifically, Hezbollah would only engage in a fight to the finish with
Israel to prevent Israel from striking Iran as it endeavors to dash to a nuclear
bomb. We continue to hear estimates from various agencies and officials that
Iran is weeks away from what it needs to build a bomb. Assessing Iran’s calculus
for such a dangerous move is not simple. But such a scenario cannot be
dismissed.
The above scenarios are not exhaustive. But they provide a sense of the very,
very dangerous moment at which the Middle East currently stands. There are still
opportunities to prevent an escalation. Most of them hinge on Iran and Hezbollah
standing down. And there is scant evidence to suggest that this is their
inclination at the moment.
https://www.commentary.org/jonathan-schanzer/the-terrifying-lebanon-scenarios/
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 30-31/2024
Netanyahu in gov't meeting: ‘To our enemies
I say: Do not mislead us, we are brothers’
Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
Netanyahu's comments reflect Israel's ongoing commitment to counter threats from
groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah and the country’s broader strategic posture
in the region. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a stern warning to
Israel's adversaries during a government meeting on Tuesday, as revealed by The
Jerusalem Post. “To our enemies, I say: do not mislead us. On the battlefield,
we are brothers who fight side by side, and we will continue to do so until
victory,” Netanyahu declared, emphasizing the unity and resolve of the nation’s
defense forces. Netanyahu's comments reflect Israel's ongoing commitment to
counter threats from groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah and the country’s
broader strategic posture in the region. His speech highlighted the resilience
and solidarity among Israelis, particularly in the context of recent conflicts
and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The Prime Minister underscored the solidarity
among Israelis, particularly among the defense forces. By referring to them as
"brothers," he highlighted the strong camaraderie and collective resolve to
defend the nation against any threat. This unity is critical, especially in
times of conflict. The statement also serves as a direct warning to Israel's
enemies, indicating that any attempt to mislead or underestimate Israel will not
succeed. Netanyahu is asserting that Israel is vigilant, prepared, and united in
its defense efforts. Recent developments have seen intensified military
activities by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF has conducted targeted
raids and airstrikes in Gaza, eliminating key terrorist leaders and
infrastructure. For instance, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) recently struck a
Hamas command center embedded in the Khadija School in central Gaza, which was
used to produce and store weapons for attacks against IDF troops and Israel.
Conflict extends beyond Gaza. Additionally, the conflict has extended beyond
Gaza. The IDF has also targeted Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon in
response to escalating threats and attacks. This included strikes on Hezbollah's
military buildings and infrastructure used for launching projectiles into
Israeli territory. The continued military pressure applied by the IDF aims to
dismantle terrorist infrastructure and weaken the capabilities of groups such as
Hamas and Hezbollah, ensuring the safety and security of Israeli citizens.
Toronto Jewish sites attacked: School bus burned, anti-Israel graffiti found
Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
Arson and anti-Israel graffiti targeted Jewish sites in Toronto, including a
school bus and community centers, sparking calls for action. A school bus parked
in a Jewish Toronto neighborhood was consumed in an arson attack and several
Jewish community sites were daubed with anti-Israel graffiti, Canadian
politicians and Jewish groups announced on Monday. The Toronto Police Service
responded to the bus arson early Monday morning, and the investigation is still
in its early stages. School buses have been parked at the spot for the last 15
years, said police. The location, according to Yorke Centre Parliament Member
Yaara Saks and Eglinton-Lawrence MP Marco Mendico, is within a Jewish
neighborhood. A photograph shared by Saks showed that the vehicle had been
gutted and its engine block destroyed beyond repair. Mendico said that such acts
of antisemitism would continue until there were serious consequences for violent
hate-motivated crimes. The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation of Greater
Toronto and Thornhill MP Melissa Lantsman said that a kosher grocery store and
Jewish community center had been tagged with graffiti that proclaimed “free
Palestine. Condemning antisemitic vandalism
“Targeting Jews because of the Middle East is pure antisemitism and only makes
us more determined to stand up for our beliefs,” the UJA Federation said on X,
noting that they were in contact with the police about the incidents. Lantsman
said the vandalism, which saw at least two other businesses graffitied, was a
form of intimidation and should not be accepted by the government.“We will not
be intimidated by the lawless mob,” said Lantsman. “This is an assault on
Canadian values – and these thugs should be prosecuted.”
UAE ship delivers 5,340 tons of food and aid to Gaza
through Egypt's Arish port
Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
A UAE ship carrying 5,340 tons of aid arrived in Al-Arish, Egypt, for Gaza. It
includes food, shelter, and medical supplies. A ship from the UAE carrying aid
for Gaza arrived at Al-Arish this month, delivering aid via a port in Sinai.
This is the largest cargo ship aid shipment since the UAE began providing aid to
people in Gaza following the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. According to
reports, the ship that arrived in El Arish brought 5,340 tons of food and
shelter materials destined for Gaza. Egyptian Maj.-Gen. Khaled Megawer, Governor
of North Sinai greeted Rashid Al-Mansouri, Secretary-General of the Emirates Red
Crescent when the ship arrived, according to the Daily News Egypt. Sultan Al-Kaabi,
spokesperson for relief affairs in Operation Gallant Knight 3 and Ahmed Mubarak,
Medical Director of the floating UAE hospital in Al-Arish were also present, the
report said. The UAE has also been helping Palestinian civilians injured in
Gaza. This includes a field hospital in Gaza as well as the floating hospital
near El Arish. According to the reports 42 Palestinians are currently receiving
treatment at the floating hospital. The UAE has also offered to receive injured
children from Gaza directly via flights from Israel. The large ship that arrived
off the coast of Egypt left the UAE’s port of Fujairah on July 8. According to
Al-Ain media, there have been eight aid ships from the UAE and four of them have
come under the operation of Gallant Knight 3, designed to aid Gazans.
UAE continued humanitarian and relief commitment
The ship includes 4,134 tons of food divided into 145,000 packages. This
includes 145 tons of rice. There are also 4,000 tents, and 42,000 health packets
for women and children. This will all be transported in 313 trucks. “Since the
beginning of the difficult circumstances experienced by our Palestinian
brothers, the UAE has continued to perform its humanitarian and relief role in
helping our brothers with all available means, in implementation of the
directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE, with
the aim of alleviating the severity of the humanitarian conditions suffered by
our brothers in the Gaza Strip,” Rashid Al-Mansouri said, according to Al-Ain.
“The UAE is today at the top of the list of the most important donor countries
for humanitarian and development aid worldwide, as it was and still is at the
forefront of countries that rush to support and assist the affected segments and
categories,” he added. The same report noted that the UAE is also helping to
provide baked goods for Gaza and is helping to establish desalination plants to
“produce 1.2 million gallons of water per day that is pumped into the Gaza Strip
and benefits more than 600,000 people,” Al-Ain noted.
A second UAE operation dubbed “Birds of Goodness” has also taken place over the
last several months, the report said. This is part of the airdrops of
humanitarian aid to northern Gaza. The total amount of aid dropped so far has
reached 3,382 tons of relief and humanitarian aid. The UAE’s commitment to Gaza
is important. It is one of the key countries seeking to play a constructive role
in the wake of the disaster that Hamas brought on Gaza.
Iran's new President urges Muslim unity, strengthens ties
with Central Asia and Africa
Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
In meetings with Hezbollah, and discussions with Palestinian groups the new
Iranian President discussed his outreach to Muslim countries and how he would
leverage Iran’s ties to pressure Israel. Iran’s new president is hitting the
ground running, reaching out to Muslim countries and Central Asian states, as he
seeks to prepare his administration for what comes next for Iran. Under the
previous Iranian President, who died in a helicopter crash, Iran shifted more to
be focused on the East, basically pushing a policy that was oriented toward
Russia, China, Central Asia, Pakistan, and India. Iran’s new president appears
to want to do more of the same. According to Iranian state media, Iran’s
President Masoud Pezeshkian, is pushing to unify “Islamic nations in confronting
the Zionists” amid the Gaza war. He also wants to have a foreign policy that
will prioritize ties with Muslim countries. This is important messaging. Iran’s
state media is today celebrating the swearing in of Pezeshkian. Iran’s acting
foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani has also spoke about the importance of
“cultural” diplomacy, which dovetails with the Islamic outreach of the new
president. It is not clear if Kani will stay on as the foreign minister, he
continues to hold the position in an interim status after the previous foreign
minister died in the same helicopter crash with the former president. “If
Islamic countries and Muslim nations had maintained their unity and cohesion as
well as followed the advice and command of the Holy Prophet of Islam, the
Zionist regime and its backers would never dare commit such crimes against the
oppressed Palestinians,” Pezeshkian said in a meeting with the Deputy Secretary
General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Movement, Sheikh Naim Qassem. The new Iranian
leader also spoke about how Iran would continue its policies in support of
Palestinian groups. According to Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA),
“Pezeshkian made remarks on Monday night during the meeting with Ziyad Nakhaleh,
the Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement who has traveled
to Iran to participate in the presidential inauguration ceremony.” The Iranian
leader’s comments focused on the need to unify Muslim countries against Israel.
Pressuring Israel became a priority
In another development that is part of this agenda, Iran and The Gambia have
renewed diplomatic ties. This is important for Iran’s inroads in West Africa.
Iran has long had tentacles in West Africa and it seeks to increase this
influence. In addition, Pezeshkian met on Tuesday with his Tajikistan
counterpart Emomali Rahmon in Tehran. “Rahmon is in Tehran to attend the
inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new president Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday
afternoon. The Tajikistani president and his accompanying delegation met with
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei earlier
in the day,” Iran’s IRNA noted. While Iran has other interests besides
confronting Israel, the Iranian leader and Iranian state media made it clear how
much of a priority pressuring Israel has become. “While honoring the standing
and firmness of Hezbollah fighters against the aggression and crimes of the
Zionist regime, Pezeshkian called the support for the resistance front a
religious obligation and one of the fundamental policies of the Islamic Republic
of Iran,” Iranian state media IRNA said. Hezbollah’s deputy leader also brought
greetings from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah is busy in Lebanon
moving forces around in expectation of an Israeli response to the murder of 12
children and teens in a rocket attack on July 27 on Majdal Shams. Hezbollah’s
deputy “stated that Hezbollah considers itself the child of the founder of the
Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution and will do its part
to realize the valuable ideals of the revolution, and explained the achievements
and actions of Hezbollah’s resistance in recent years,” IRNA noted. In addition,
Hezbollah’s representative discussed the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000
and the Syrian civil war and praised Iran for its support of the Syrian regime
and Hezbollah over the last decades. According to similar reports from Iran, the
new Iranian president is also seeking to expand ties with Russia. Russia wants
to see Iran participate more in the economic block that includes Brazil, Russia,
India, China, and South Africa. BRICS has recently expanded to include more
countries, such as Iran. This is important for Russia as a way to balance the
West and create a multi-polar world. Russia’s president hopes to meet the new
Iranian president at an upcoming BRICS summit in October.
Druze in Golan Reject Israeli Threats to Retaliate for
Rocket Strike
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
Druze residents of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights distanced themselves
Tuesday from Israeli threats to retaliate against Lebanon's Hezbollah group for
a deadly rocket strike on a Druze Arab town in the territory. Most of Majdal
Shams's around 11,000 residents still identify as Syrian more than half a
century after Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria and later annexed it in
a move not recognised by the international community. On a visit to the town on
Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Israel would deliver a "severe
response" to the strike, which killed 12 children aged between 10 and 16 as they
played football on Saturday. Scores of Majdal Shams residents had come out to
protest Netanyahu's visit, many donning traditional Druze caps. The hawkish
prime minister arrived hours after hundreds of mourners had joined the funeral
procession for one of the children killed, Guevara Ibrahim, 11. In a statement
issued after his visit, Druze lay and religious leaders said the community
rejects the "attempt to exploit the name of Majdal Shams as a political platform
at the expense of the blood of our children". Noting that the Druze faith
"forbids killing and revenge in any form", the community leaders said "we reject
the shedding of even a single drop of blood under the pretext of avenging our
children". The Israeli military has said that the rocket which hit Majdal Shams
was fired by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. An AFP journalist reported
that a semblance of normality had returned to Majdal Shams on Tuesday, with
shops open and residents walking on the streets. But the Druze leaders and
residents said the whole community was still reeling from the children's deaths.
"The tragedy is immense, the impact is painful and the loss is shared by every
household in the Golan," they said. A paramedic from Majdal Shams, Nabih Abu
Saleh, told AFP: "The town is in a state of mourning that may last for a week.
"We can't look into each other's eyes, because tears will flow," he added. Saleh
said his community was "against any Israeli response", and asked: "Who will we
strike? Our people in Syria and Lebanon?"
Destruction of Gaza Water Wells Deepens Palestinian Misery
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
Thousands of Palestinians returned to their homes in the ruins of Gaza's main
southern city Khan Younis on Tuesday, after Israeli forces ended a week-long
incursion there which they said aimed to prevent armed group Hamas from
regrouping. Palestinian health officials said rescue workers had so far
recovered 42 bodies of Palestinians killed in the Israeli incursion into eastern
Khan Younis. Gaza's Civil Emergency Service said more searches were underway
with 200 people still reported missing. The Israeli military said its forces
killed more than 150 Palestinian gunmen during the week-long raid, destroyed
militant tunnels and seized weapons. After the Israeli forces left, people
streamed back to their homes on foot and with donkey carts carrying their
belongings. Many found their houses damaged or destroyed. Witnesses said army
forces had bulldozed the main cemetery in Bani Suhaila, the town on the eastern
outskirts of Khan Younis that was the main focus of the raid, as well as houses
and roads nearby. "I am coming back and I have faith in God. I don't know
whether we will live or die, but it is all for the sake of the homeland," said
Etimad Al-Masri, who had walked for at least five kilometers back to her home.
"Despite the suffering, we are patient and God willing we will have
victory."Many residents said they had been displaced from their homes several
times. "We hope there will be a ceasefire and calm. We hope that they act on a
ceasefire so that we can live in security and safety," said Walid Abu Nsaira,
holding some of his belongings on his shoulder as he walked back home. Ten
months into the war, Israeli forces have largely completed their storming of
nearly the entire Gaza Strip and have spent the past several weeks launching new
assaults on areas where they had already claimed to have rooted out Hamas.
Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate their homes, most of them
previously displaced several times already. Efforts to negotiate a ceasefire
through mediators, ongoing for months, are once again faltering. On Monday,
Israel and Hamas traded blame over the lack of progress. Hamas wants a ceasefire
agreement to end the war in Gaza, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu says the conflict will stop only once Hamas is defeated. There are
also disagreements over how a deal would be implemented. The war began with an
assault on southern Israel by Hamas-led fighters who killed 1,200 people, most
of them civilians, and captured around 250 hostages, according to Israeli
tallies. Since then Israeli forces have killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in
the Gaza Strip, according to health authorities there who do not distinguish
between combatants and civilians but say more than half of the dead are women or
children. Israel, which has lost around 330 soldiers in Gaza, says a third of
the Palestinian fatalities are fighters.
Lice, Scabies, Rashes Plague Palestinian Children as Skin
Disease Runs Rampant in Gaza’s Tent Camps
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
A steady stream of miserable children and worried parents flowed into the
dermatology office at Nasser Hospital in central Gaza. A toddler with a blue
hair bow sobbed as her mother showed how the red and white spots covering her
face have spread to her neck and chest. Another woman lifted her little boy's
clothes to reveal the rashes on his back, butt, thighs and stomach. On his
wrists, he had open sores from scratching. A father stood his daughter on the
desk so the doctor could examine the lesions on her calves. Skin diseases are
running rampant in Gaza, health officials say. The cause, they say, is the
appalling conditions in overcrowded tent camps housing hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians driven from their homes, along with the summer heat and the
collapse of sanitation that has left pools of open sewage amid 10 months of
Israel's bombardment and offensives in the territory. Doctors are wrestling with
more than 103,000 cases of lice and scabies and 65,000 cases of skin rashes,
according to the World Health Organization. In Gaza's population of some 2.3
million, more than 1 million cases of acute respiratory infections have been
recorded since the war began, along with more than half a million of acute
diarrhea and more than 100,000 cases of jaundice, according to the United
Nations Development Program. Cleanliness is impossible in the ramshackle tents,
basically wood frames hung with blankets or plastic sheets, crammed side by side
over wide stretches, Palestinians say. "There's no shampoo, no soap," said
Munira al-Nahhal, living in a tent in the dunes outside the southern city of
Khan Younis. "The water is dirty. Everything is sand and insects and
garbage."Her family's tent was crammed with her grandchildren, many of whom had
rashes. One little boy stood scratching the red patches on his belly. "One child
gets it, and it spreads to all of them," al-Nahhal said. Palestinians in the
camp said clean water was almost impossible to get. Some wash their children in
salt water from the nearby Mediterranean. People have to wear the same clothes
day after day until they're able to wash them, then they wear them again
immediately. Flies are everywhere. Children play in garbage-strewn sand.
"First it was spots on her face. Then it spread to her stomach and arms, all
over her forehead. And it hurts. It itches. And there's no treatment. Or if
there is we can't afford it," said Shaima Marshoud, sitting next to her little
daughter in a cinder block structure they'd settled in among the tents.
More than 1.8 million of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been driven from their
homes, often moving multiple times over the past months to get away from Israeli
ground assaults or bombardment. The vast majority are now crowded into a
50-square-kilometer (20-square-mile) area of dunes and fields on the coast with
almost no sewage system and little water. The distribution of humanitarian
supplies, including soap, shampoo and medicines, has slowed to a trickle, UN
officials say, because Israeli military operations and general lawlessness in
Gaza make it too dangerous for relief trucks to move. Israel launched its
campaign vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in
which some 1,200 people were killed and 350 abducted. Israel's assault has
killed more than 39,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities. "The solid
waste management system has collapsed," said Chitose Noguchi, the deputy special
representative of the UN Development Program's Program of Assistance to the
Palestinian People. In a report released Tuesday, the UNDP said Gaza's two
pre-war landfills were unreachable amid the fighting and it had set up 10
temporary sites. But Noguchi said there were more than 140 informal dumping
sites that have cropped up. Some of them are giant pools of human waste and
garbage. "People are having tents and living next to dumping sites, which is
really, really critical situation in terms of the health crisis," Noguchi said.
Nassim Basala, a dermatologist at Nasser Hospital, said they get 300 to 500
people a day coming in with skin diseases. After the most recent Israeli
evacuation orders, more people have crowded into agricultural fields outside the
city of Khan Younis, where insects are rife in the summer. Scabies and lice are
at epidemic proportions, he said, but other fungal, bacterial and viral
infections and parasites are also running wild.
With the flood of patients, even simple cases can because dangerous.
For example, Basala said, impetigo is a simple bacterial infection treatable
with creams. But sometimes by the time the patient gets to a doctor, "the
bacteria have spread and affected the kidneys," he said. "We've had cases of
kidney failure" as a result. Scratched rashes get infected in the pervasive
dirt. He said creams and ointments were in short supply at the hospital.
Children are the most affected. But adults suffer as well. At the hospital's
dermatology office, one man untied his dirt-covered shoes to show the painful
looking sores on the tops of his feet and ankles where his rash had rubbed open.
A woman held up her hands, chapped raw and red. Mohammed al-Rayan, several of
whose children in a tent outside Khan Younis, have rashes or spots, said he has
taken them to doctors. "They give us creams, but it's no use when you don't have
anything to wash with," he said. "You put a cream and it gets better but then
the next day it's back the same."Parents are left struggling to comfort children
with painful conditions that won't go away. Manar al-Hessi's toddler cried as
she spread cream on her forehead and chest, covered in scabs, sores and spots.
"It's horrible," al-Hessi said. "There are always flies on her face. She goes in
the toilet or the garbage, and it gets in her hands. The filth is huge."
Destruction of Gaza Water Wells Deepens Palestinian Misery
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
Israel's military blew up more than 30 water wells in Gaza this month, a
municipality official and residents said, adding to the trauma of air strikes
that have turned much of the Palestinian enclave into a wasteland ravaged by a
humanitarian crisis. Salama Shurab, head of the water networks at Khan Younis
municipality, said the wells were destroyed by Israeli forces between July 18-27
in the southern towns of Rafah and Khan Younis. The Israeli military did not
respond to the allegations that its soldiers had torched the wells. It is not
only ever-present danger from Israeli bombardment or ground fighting that makes
life a trial for Gaza's Palestinian civilians. It is also the daily slog to find
bare necessities such as water, to drink or cook or wash with. People have dug
wells in bleak areas near the sea where the bombing has pushed them, or rely on
salty tap water from Gaza's only aquifer, now contaminated with seawater and
sewage. Children walk long distances to line up at makeshift water collection
points. Often not strong enough to carry the filled containers, they drag them
home on wooden boards. Gaza City has lost nearly all its water production
capacity, with 88% of its water wells and 100% of its desalination plants
damaged or destroyed, Oxfam said in a recent report. Palestinians were already
facing a severe water crisis as well as shortages of food, fuel and medicine
before the destruction of the wells, which has deepened the anguish brought on
by the Gaza war, now in its tenth month. All Gazans can do is wait in long lines
to collect water since US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have failed to secure a
ceasefire from Israel and its arch-foe Hamas. Not only is there a shortage of
water, much of it is also contaminated. "We stand in the sun, my eye hurts
because of the sun, because we stand for long (hours) to (secure) water," said
Youssef El-Shenawy, a Gaza resident. "This is our struggle with non-potable
water, and then there is our struggle with drinking water, which we take another
queue for, that’s if it is available."The war started on Oct. 7 when Hamas, the
Palestinian armed group ruling Gaza, killed 1,200 people in Israel, according to
Israeli tallies, and took another 250 or so to hold as hostages in Gaza, one of
the most crowded places on earth. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more
than 39,000 people and bombed much of Gaza, where functioning hospitals are
scarce, into rubble, Gaza health authorities say. Fayez Abu Toh observed fellow
Gazans standing in line in the heat eager to get their hands on water. Like many
Palestinians he wonders why Israel strikes targets that pose no threat to its
military. “Whoever has a bit of a sense of humanity has to look at these people,
care for them and try to (impose) a ceasefire and end this war. We are fed up;
we are all dead and tired. The people have nothing left," he said. “Does this
well affect the strength of the (Israeli) Defense Force? This is a destruction
of the infrastructure of the Palestinian people to further worsen the situation,
and to pressure these people that have no one, but God."
Iran’s New President Sworn in, Pledges to Keep Trying to
Remove Western Sanctions
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
Iran swore in the country's new president on Tuesday, with the reformist
politician and heart surgeon Masoud Pezeshkian pledging that his administration
will keep trying to remove economic sanctions imposed by the West over Tehran's
controversial nuclear program. Pezeshkian delivered a speech after taking his
oath in a ceremony at the parliament in Tehran, Iran's capital. He said he
considers the normalization of economic relations with the world to be Iran’s
inalienable right. "I will not stop trying to remove the oppressive sanctions,"
he said. "I am optimistic about the future." Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei,
on Sunday officially endorsed Pezeshkian, urging him to prioritize neighbors,
African and Asian nations as well as countries that have "supported and helped"
Iran in Tehran’s foreign relations policies. Pezeshkian, a longtime lawmaker,
won the July presidential election after his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi was
killed in a May helicopter crash that sparked the early election. He has two
weeks to form his Cabinet for a vote of confidence in parliament. The sanctions
have hit Iran's vital oil exports, blocked transactions on international banking
networks and spurred inflation, which is running at about 40%. The dollar is
being traded for 584,000 Iranian rials, a dramatic plunge for the country's
currency.
When the landmark nuclear deal was struck with world powers, the rial traded
32,000 to the dollar. Former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew
America from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. Iran has held indirect talks with
the Biden administration, though there’s been no clear progress on constraining
Tehran’s nuclear program nor the lifting of economic sanctions. Iran insists its
nuclear program is peaceful and geared towards generating electricity and
producing radioisotopes to treat cancer patients — not nuclear weapons.
"Pressure and sanctions will not work on the Iranian nation," Pezeshkian said.
Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony was attended by representatives from more than
70 countries, as well as Enrique Mora, the European Union coordinator of nuclear
talks. Emomali Rahman, Tajikistan’s president, also attended as did Iran's
allies from Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas' leader Ismail Haniyeh
and Islamic Jihad's Ziyad al Nakhaleh. Iran has been challenged by the ongoing
Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and Western fears over Tehran enriching
uranium to near-weapons-grade levels with enough of a stockpile to produce
several nuclear weapons if it chose.
In April, Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel over the war in
Gaza, while militia groups armed by Tehran — such as the Lebanese Hezbollah and
Yemen’s Houthi militias — are engaged in the fighting and have escalated their
attacks. In his speech, Pezeshkian spoke in support of Palestinians, saying
"Iran demands a word where no Palestinian child’s dreams are buried under the
rubble of their home." "We are seeking a world where the proud people of
Palestine are freed from occupation, oppression and imprisonment and genocide,"
Pezeshkian said.
Türkiye, Armenia Make Progress in Normalization Talks
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
Türkiye and Armenia on Tuesday resumed talks aimed at normalizing ties after a
two-year lull and agreed to simplify visa rules for some passport holders, the
two countries said. Ankara severed diplomatic and commercial relations with
Yerevan in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan during its war with Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region, and has deepened ties with the ethnically Turkic Azeris
in recent years. According to Reuters, since the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
ended, NATO member Türkiye has sought to revive its historically strained ties
with Armenia, though it has said any normalization depends on progress in
Armenia's peace talks with Azerbaijan. Turkish and Armenian special envoys held
a fifth round of negotiations on the Alican-Magara border crossing on Tuesday,
the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministries said in a joint statement. They
agreed to assess technical requirements for reopening the Akyaka-Akhurik border
crossing to rail transport as well as simplify mutual visa procedures for
diplomatic and official passport holders, the statement said. It added the two
sides reaffirmed a commitment to pursue normalisation without preconditions, but
gave no date for the next round of talks.
Türkiye and Armenia have long been at odds mainly over the 1.5 million Armenians
who Yerevan says were killed in 1915 by the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to
modern Türkiye. Armenia says this constitutes genocide. Türkiye accepts that
many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman
forces during World War One, but contests the figures and denies any genocide
occurred.
Turkish Forces Kill 13 Kurdish Militants in Northern Iraq
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
Turkish forces targeted Kurdish militants in northern Iraq with airstrikes,
killing 13 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the defense
ministry said on Tuesday. The PKK militants were "neutralized" in the Gara and
Haftanin regions of northern Iraq, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry's use of the term "neutralized" generally means killed, according
to Reuters. Türkiye's military previously conducted airstrikes in northern Iraq
on Friday and destroyed 25 Kurdish militant targets, the defense ministry said
in an earlier statement. It said those targets included caves, shelters,
bunkers, depots and facilities. The PKK, which has been waging an insurgency
against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated a terrorist organisation by
Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. More than 40,000 people have
been killed in the conflict.
Radical UK Islamist preacher Choudary jailed for life for
terrorism offenses
REUTERS/Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
Choudary, 57, was convicted last week of directing al-Muhajiroun, which was
banned as a terrorist organization more than a decade ago. British radical
Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary, whose followers have been linked to numerous
plots around the world, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday for
directing a terrorist organization. Choudary, 57, was convicted last week of
directing al-Muhajiroun, which was banned as a terrorist organization more than
a decade ago, and encouraging others to support the proscribed group.
"Organizations such as yours normalize violence in support of an ideological
cause," Judge Mark Wall told Choudary at London's Woolwich Crown Court. "Their
existence gives individuals who are members of them the courage to commit acts
which otherwise they might not do. They drive wedges between people who
otherwise could and would live together in peaceful coexistence."Wall imposed a
life sentence on Choudary with a minimum term of 28 years before he can be
eligible for parole, less just over the year that he has spent in custody since
his arrest.
Choudary's other controversies
Once Britain's most high-profile Islamist preacher, Choudary drew attention for
praising the men responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States
and saying he wanted to convert Buckingham Palace into a mosque.
He was previously imprisoned in Britain in 2016 for encouraging support for
Islamic State before being released in 2018 after serving half of his
five-and-a-half-year sentence. Prosecutor Tom Little said on Tuesday that
Choudary became "the caretaker emir" of al-Muhajiroun after fellow Islamist
preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed was jailed in Lebanon in 2014. Choudary's lawyer
Paul Hynes argued that al-Muhajiroun was "little more than a husk of an
organization" and that almost all terrorist acts linked to the group had already
taken place. But Wall said al-Muhajiroun was "a radical organization intent on
spreading sharia law to as much of the world as possible, using violent means
where necessary."Choudary stood trial alongside Canadian citizen Khaled Hussein,
29, who was arrested on the same day as Choudary in 2023 when he arrived on a
flight at Heathrow Airport. Hussein was found guilty of membership of a
proscribed organization and sentenced to five years in prison.
The Latest English LCCC analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources on July 30-31/2024
He the People ...How Barack Obama ended normalcy in
American politics
Lee Smith/The Tablet/July 30/2024
The people have spoken, and last week former President Barack Obama called Vice
President Kamala Harris to tell her. His endorsement of her run for the
presidency was captured in a short video documenting the candidate’s reaction.
“Although you called for an open process,” said Obama, “and you know, Democrats
have, have put in place an open process, it appears that people feel very
strongly that you need to be our nominee.”
But without a primary, without a popular referendum, without even the open
convention that Obama was rumored to favor, how did the people make their will
known, and strongly? Was it social media influencers? Mass rallies across the
country? Media chronicling the excitement surrounding a Harris candidacy? No, it
was nothing like that. Obama is the people. The people are Obama.
The endorsement was more than five years in the making. Obama had long wanted
her in that spot. Their families are old friends. Like him, Harris is
progressive, multiracial, physically attractive, nominally hip, a child of
academics—in other words, according to Obama-friendly media, she’s a “female
Barack Obama.” He directed donors to support her 2020 presidential campaign,
Capitol Hill sources told me at the time. More billionaires, 47, backed her
campaign than any other candidate’s—with Obama strongholds in Hollywood (Steven
Spielberg and George Lucas) and Big Tech (Reid Hoffman, Laurene Powell Jobs,
Craig Newmark, etc.) leading the way.
Obama got her the vice presidential nod even when she was forced to drop out of
the primary race after hitting just 3 percent in the polls. Jill Biden
objected—Harris had called her husband a racist! The First Lady’s reported
recent tantrums show that even after four years, she never fully grasped the
arrangement the party had made with her husband. Biden was just an imperfect
placeholder for Obama, and it was only a matter of time before the superior
avatar would be slotted in.
Mainstreaming the psychological modalities and media techniques of the Manson
family is not normal in America. But then again, as Obama’s biographer David
Garrow explained, ‘He’s not normal.’
The question is when, exactly, did it become clear to Obama that it was time for
Harris to finally replace Biden? Was it after Biden’s disastrous debate with
Donald Trump? After the attempted assassination of Trump? No, it seems the
countdown officially began Oct. 7. The Palestinians’ murderous assault on
communities in southern Israel exposed Biden’s limited ability to represent the
interests of the party he was tapped to temporarily preside over. It didn’t
require an especially refined moral sensibility to be appalled and terrified by
the carnivalesque depravity of Oct. 7—but to give Biden credit, he evidently
was. And that was the signal his time was up.
He‘s no John Fetterman. Biden is not a particularly courageous friend of the
Jewish state, nor does he appear to much value the strategic importance of an
ally that lessens America’s burden in a region vital to U.S. interests. When it
comes to Israel, the 81-year-old president is just a normal late-20th-century
Democrat who likes the country well enough, recognizes Jews as an important
albeit small voting bloc and a crucial source of campaign funds, and performs
ritualistic contempt for Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu.
But last Wednesday’s pro-Hamas riots in Washington, D.C.—in which domestic
left-wing extremists linked arms with Middle East terror supporters and other
foreigners to burn the American flag, deface monuments, and brawl with police,
all in the name of protesting Netanyahu’s speech before a joint session of
Congress—was only the latest evidence that the crux of Biden’s Oct. 7 problem
was not that Michigan and Minnesota’s voter rolls are swollen with advocates of
Muslim and Arab terror. The issue was not a party constituency at all, but
rather the party itself and its leader. Barack Obama fundamentally reshaped the
party when he struck the 2015 deal legalizing the nuclear weapons program of
Hamas’ sponsor, Iran. By legitimizing the apocalyptic foreign policy aims of the
world power that embodies Jew hatred, Obama sidelined the Jews and other
centrists and made the progressive, anti-Israel faction the party’s new center
of gravity.
The media did yeoman’s work obscuring the details and purpose of the agreement,
but the fact is, by putting Iran’s bomb under a protective American umbrella,
Obama was arming an American adversary to make it his own ally. The Iran deal
was the first clear sign that Obama was not a normal U.S. commander in chief.
When Biden extended even half-hearted, halting support to Israel’s response to
Oct. 7, he crossed the only real red line Obama has ever had. Harris—who, unlike
Biden, has no foreign policy beliefs or instincts of her own—never will.
Like friends, our favored allies reflect back to us the qualities we are
flattered to find in ourselves. For instance, when Netanyahu spoke of the lions
of the IDF, the elected representatives of the American people were stirred not
only by the thought of Israeli boys and girls on the front lines but also—in
fact, primarily—by the image he implicitly evoked: the image of our best and
brightest, our lions, risking their lives to serve America. When he spoke of the
God of Israel, the Americans might as well have struck their chests like
patriarchs and shouted, “That’s us, too, brother—America also has a covenant and
with the same God!”
How did aligning with Iran, a threshold nuclear power that threatens to destroy
Israel, change the Democratic Party? It means, for instance, that political
analysts speak openly on TV about how Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s
Jewishness makes him a problematic number two pick for Harris. Nominating a Jew,
the media reports, will split the party. And what partnership with an
anti-American regime means for America as a whole was illustrated when violent
rioters pulled down the American flag in the U.S. capital and replaced it with
the banner of a terror enclave that has been holding American hostages for more
than nine months.
What we saw outside Union Station is Obama’s faction. Local, state, and federal
bureaucrats, as well as minorities, single women, academics, labor unions, and
even Jews are all still welcome to vote Democrat. But the party’s vanguard, its
true believers, its street fighters and enforcers, are allied with the terror
gang that broadcast its campaign of rape, torture, and murder on Oct. 7.
Mainstreaming the psychological modalities and media techniques of the Manson
family is not normal in America. These are not normal times in America. But then
again, as Obama’s Pulitzer-winning biographer David Garrow explained, “He’s not
normal—as in not a normal politician or a normal human being.”
Proof that the mob outside Union Station is protected is that the few who were
arrested were swiftly released—even those who assaulted police officers. The
opposition was quick to compare law enforcement’s treatment of the death-cult
auxiliaries who marched on the Capitol to Jan. 6 defendants, thousands of whom
were rounded up, detained for months, charged, and convicted with sentencing
enhancements that will keep some, like Proud Boys’ leader Enrique Tarrio, behind
bars for two decades.
It’s a two-tier system of justice, say Trump supporters: We get jail time and
they have get-out-of-jail-free cards. But that’s not accurate. A two-tier system
of justice is one in which Black teenagers can’t afford the legal representation
available to white kids with wealthy parents. The current system is rather one
in which law is an instrument the regime uses to punish political opponents. In
the current system, everything is licit for the ruling party. That is, the
current system is lawless.
The end of normalcy in American politics has left Americans in a daze, unable to
accurately grasp the new reality or to recognize its alien features. Some say
Biden was toppled in a coup, but that’s wrong. It was never truly his presidency
in the first place. He was serving in a ceremonial role on behalf of a
politburo, and thus his executive authority owed less to his total 81 million
votes, 58 percent of which were mail-in ballots harvested on his behalf, than to
his former boss who saw him as the most plausible vehicle through which to
exercise power. But Oct. 7 and the aftermath showed that Biden couldn’t be
trusted to balance the appearance of normalcy with the psychopathy of the
faction’s priestly warrior class. So his time was up.
It was Obama’s voice you heard when Harris spoke after her meeting with
Netanyahu. One day after pro-Hamas mobs desecrated the American flag, Harris
lectured Americans on the dangers of “Islamophobia.” But what does that mean? No
one is going to the streets to beat up Muslims or burn Palestinian flags or
celebrate the slaughter of Arab infants. “Islamophobia” is a made-up concept,
designed to give cover to the terror adjuncts laying waste to American cities
and college campuses. Criticize them or their historic cause—i.e., murdering
Jews—and you’re Islamophobic. And that, as Obama likes to say, is not who we are
as Americans.
Harris’ speech was filled with Obamaisms: pairing antisemitism with Islamophobia
and “hate of any kind,” foisting responsibility for “Palestinian
self-determination” on Israel, and urging Americans not to see the war in Gaza
as a “binary issue.” That is, Americans should forsake the moral clarity that
comes naturally to them because, as Obama said in November, we have to “admit”
that “nobody’s hands are clean.” Americans have to take in “the whole truth.”
See, it’s nonbinary.
Harris is ridiculed for her vacuous rhetorical style, but Biden was never a good
stand-in for Obama’s gaseous speechifying, and the dissonance has long unnerved
the new Democratic base. Never mind the habits and ticks that stuck to the old
man after nearly half a century in Washington; by 2020, he could barely string
two sentences together no matter who typed his speeches into the teleprompter.
With Harris, however, Obama has an ideal instrument through which he can speak
directly and in his preferred prose. She’s an empty vessel. What listeners hear
in her is the immediacy of Obama, which is precisely what the party—the
people—crave.
The opposition, meanwhile, is struggling to recognize the contours of the new
political anatomy. Those who can are often hesitant to call it what it is, for
fear of being called a bigot for recognizing that normalcy in American politics
came to an end with Barack Obama, who happened to also be the country’s first
Black president. Discretion is laudable, up to a point. But when Obama
lieutenants leak to the media that Obama is calling the shots, as they have been
since the debate, it’s clear that fear of being called a racist has nothing to
do with it. The failure to frankly identify the source of our political
abnormality is a cause for concern.
We are now in the second decade of a phenomenon previously unknown in American
politics. Instead of identifying it, dissidents have devised formulations to
avoid naming it, like the deep state or wokeness or DEI, etc. But these are just
the adornments of a deracinated regime, and to cast an amorphous leviathan in
the role of adversary is to commit to a never-ending and ultimately unwinnable
struggle. It is in this space where people lose hope, for it’s a vacuum that
engenders the culture of the conspiracy theory—elaborate and colorful accounts
of despair explaining that we have no control over our lives, our fate, the
future of our families, communities, or our country because of hidden forces
that are too big and too entrenched.
The truth is that an American political faction is employing third-world
tactics—surveillance, censorship, election interference, political prosecution,
and political violence—to put the United States under the thumb of a single
party led by a man who in his mind has become the people.
Kamala Harris's 'Only Path' To Destroy Israel
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/July 30, 2024
What is insupportable is that Harris completely ignored that the Palestinians of
the Gaza Strip are suffering because of a war initiated by Hamas. She could have
done many Palestinians a favor had she called on Hamas to relinquish control
over the Gaza Strip and stop using its people as human shields in its Jihad
(holy war) against Israel.
Harris seems not to know or to have forgotten -- either is not excessively
impressive -- that on October 6, 2023, there was a ceasefire in place between
Israel and Hamas. Hamas broke it.
"Sometimes, on happier days, I like to comment on the remarkable similarities
between Singapore and the Gaza Strip. Both are self-governing city-states
located at key crossroads of world trade on the opposite ends of the Continent
of Asia. Both combine density of population with a significant urban buildup and
dramatic natural advantages, including a high-quality harbor. And yet, due to
differences in civil culture and governance, Singapore has been built into the
trade hub of East Asia. Gaza, as Saturday's (October 7, 2023) events have
demonstrated to the world, has chosen another path: becoming a terrorist
dystopia like the benighted lands formerly under ISIS (Islamic State)." — Bassam
Eid, Palestinian human rights activist, Newsweek, October 9, 2023.
The October 7 massacres, if anything, demonstrate why the creation of a
Palestinian state is actually a surefire way to perpetuate the Palestinian jihad
against Israel, as well as instability and insecurity throughout the Middle
East. China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are watching and taking note that
unacceptable behavior goes blissfully unpunished.
Hamas.... did not spend millions of dollars to boost the Palestinian economy or
give young Palestinians in the Gaza Strip employment prospects. Rather than
constructing a medical facilities or educational institutions, Hamas opted to
build hundreds of tunnels to smuggle weapons, attack Israel, and shelter its
terrorists and leaders.
[I]f and when a Palestinian state is established, as Harris and the Biden
administration insist, it will be controlled by the same murderers, rapists and
terrorist jihadists.
This is the time to remind Harris that Hamas's charter views the Jihad as the
way to take all of "Palestine" from the Jews and to destroy Israel. Harris sees
a Palestinian state as the "only path" to solve the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. The Palestinians, on the other hand, view the establishment of such a
state as the first step towards eliminating Israel. The Hamas charter begins
with a quotation attributed to Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan Al-Bana:
"Israel will arise and continue to exist until Islam wipes it out, as it wiped
out what went before."
Harris's remarks regarding a Palestinian state are seriously problematic: they
send a message to the Palestinians and others that the US is happy to reward
them for terrorism and the October 7 atrocities. Instead of talking about a
Palestinian state, she should have told the Palestinians that they will never
achieve a state as long as they back Hamas or vow to destroy a UN member state.
Harris should also have warned the Palestinians that they will never be granted
their own state unless they recognize Israel's right to exist as the ancestral
home of the Jewish people, stop radicalizing their youth, and renounce violence
and terrorism.
By advocating an end to the war in the Gaza Strip, Harris is asking that Israel,
by allowing Hamas to remain in power, submit itself to unending jihadist
attacks. What country would do that?
Demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is comparable to calling for an end to
the US war on Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Unfortunately, destroying Hamas's military
capabilities and removing it from power is the only realistic option. Failure to
achieve those two goals will only embolden Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis,
Russia, Iran and other global aggressors waiting in the wings.
In her recent meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Vice
President Kamala Harris completely ignored that the Palestinians of the Gaza
Strip are suffering because of a war initiated by Hamas. She could have done
many Palestinians a favor had she called on Hamas to relinquish control over the
Gaza Strip and stop using its people as human shields in its Jihad (holy war)
against Israel.
On July 26, US Vice President Kamala Harris stated that the "two-state solution
is the only path" for Israel and the Palestinians. Harris, who was speaking
after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, DC,
also said she made clear her "serious concerns" about casualties in the Gaza
Strip.
"It's time for this war to end," Harris added, referring to the hostilities that
erupted on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Iran-backed Hamas terrorists and
"ordinary" Palestinians invaded Israel. They murdered, tortured and raped
thousands of Israelis. In addition, more than 250 Israelis, including toddlers,
children, women and the elderly, were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
"We cannot allow ourselves to be numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.
Let's get the deal done so we can get a ceasefire to end the war," she said.
Harris seems not to know or to have forgotten -- either is not excessively
impressive -- that on October 6, 2023, there was a ceasefire in place between
Israel and Hamas. Hamas broke it.
What is insupportable is that Harris completely ignored that the Palestinians of
the Gaza Strip are suffering because of a war initiated by Hamas. She could have
done many Palestinians a favor had she called on Hamas to relinquish control
over the Gaza Strip and stop using its people as human shields in its Jihad
(holy war) against Israel.
Harris's remarks concerning the establishment of a Palestinian state in the wake
of Hamas's October 7 atrocities shows that she and the Biden administration
continue to live in a fantasy world.
The October 7 massacres, if anything, demonstrate why the creation of a
Palestinian state is actually a surefire way to perpetuate the Palestinian jihad
against Israel, as well as instability and insecurity throughout the Middle
East. China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are watching and taking note that
unacceptable behavior goes blissfully unpunished.
Prior to the Hamas-led invasion, the Gaza Strip, home to some two million
Palestinians, was administered by one of Iran's most dangerous terror proxies:
Hamas. In 2005, Israel completely withdrew from the Gaza Strip after evacuating
9,000 Jews who were living there, and after destroying 21 Jewish communities.
Two years later, Hamas terrorists staged a violent coup against the
Western-funded Palestinian Authority and seized full control of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas even assumed full control over the Palestinian side of the border crossing
between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, a move that gave it and other Palestinians
unrestricted access to the outside world so that Israel could never be accused
of blockading Gaza. It was Egypt that kept its border shut. The media and the
international community wrongly accused Israel -- but never Egypt -- anyway.
Since there was no longer any Israeli military or civilian presence in the Gaza
Strip, Hamas had an opportunity to transform it into a flourishing, prosperous
area. Instead of turning it into the Singapore of the Middle East, however,
Hamas, with the help of its patrons in Iran, converted it into a vast base for
terrorism and continuous Jihadi attacks against Israel.
"Sometimes, on happier days, I like to comment on the remarkable similarities
between Singapore and the Gaza Strip," remarked Palestinian human rights
activist Bassam Eid.
"Both are self-governing city-states located at key crossroads of world trade on
the opposite ends of the Continent of Asia. Both combine density of population
with a significant urban buildup and dramatic natural advantages, including a
high-quality harbor. And yet, due to differences in civil culture and
governance, Singapore has been built into the trade hub of East Asia. Gaza, as
Saturday's (October 7, 2023) events have demonstrated to the world, has chosen
another path: becoming a terrorist dystopia like the benighted lands formerly
under ISIS (Islamic State)."
When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, it already had a large and advanced
arsenal of weapons from various sources, according to Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior
researcher with the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv
University.
"Hamas smuggles improvised weapons from Iran via Sinai (in Egypt) or through the
Mediterranean Sea to the Gaza Strip, and it also self-produces munitions in
local laboratories and workshops under Iranian guidance.
"At the beginning of the war, Hamas was organized as a fighting force on both
sea and land, in battalion and divisional frameworks of about 20,000-25,000
combatants, some of them trained (including in Iran), well-equipped, and
embedded in a network of combat, command and control tunnels at various depths
and approximately 500-700 km long. This force was equipped with tens of
thousands of light weapons, such as Kalashnikov assault rifles, sniper rifles,
machine guns, and large amounts of grenades, IEDs, and explosive devices...
"On October 7, the Hamas battalions were equipped with anti-tank weapons of the
largest scale. These weapons included a variety of RPG rocket launchers and
different types of deadly Kornet missiles. In terms of aerial threats, it is
estimated that at the beginning of the war, Hamas had about 18,000-30,000
rockets and inaccurate missiles.... Hamas also has an unknown number of UAVs and
drones for photography and attack."
Hamas, it goes without saying, did not spend millions of dollars to boost the
Palestinian economy or give young Palestinians in the Gaza Strip employment
prospects. Rather than constructing a medical facilities or educational
institutions, Hamas opted to build hundreds of tunnels to smuggle weapons,
attack Israel, and shelter its terrorists and leaders.
By supporting the creation of a Palestinian state, the vice president is
indicating that she and the Biden administration wish to apply the Gaza and ISIS
model to the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Harris and the Biden administration
want Israel to give up the West Bank and east Jerusalem to the Palestinians, who
will surely use these two areas as launching sites for murdering more Jews as
part of their Jihadi commitment to destroy Israel.
Because Israel has complete control over east Jerusalem, there is peace and
stability in the city. By contrast, areas controlled by the Palestinian
Authority in the West Bank have in recent years seen the emergence of armed
gangs whose members are responsible for countless terrorist attacks against
Israelis and others. If Israel pulls out of these two areas, they will surely
end up in the hands of Hamas and other Iran-backed terror proxies, such as the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Public opinion polls conducted over the past few
months have shown that a majority of Palestinians support Hamas and the October
7 atrocities. This outcome means that if and when a Palestinian state is
established, as Harris and the Biden administration want, it will be controlled
by the same murderers, rapists and terrorist jihadists.
This is the time to remind Harris that Hamas's charter views the Jihad as the
way to take all of "Palestine" from the Jews and to destroy Israel. Harris sees
a Palestinian state as the "only path" to solve the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. The Palestinians, on the other hand, view the establishment of such a
state as the first step towards eliminating Israel. The Hamas charter begins
with a quotation attributed to Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan Al-Bana:
"Israel will arise and continue to exist until Islam wipes it out, as it wiped
out what went before."
Harris's remarks regarding a Palestinian state are seriously problematic: they
send a message to the Palestinians and others that the US is happy to reward
them for terrorism and the October 7 atrocities. Instead of talking about a
Palestinian state, she should have told the Palestinians that they will never
achieve a state as long as they back Hamas or vow to destroy a UN member state.
Harris should also have warned the Palestinians that they will never be granted
their own state unless they recognize Israel's right to exist as the ancestral
home of the Jewish people, stop radicalizing their youth, and renounce violence
and terrorism.
By advocating an end to the war in the Gaza Strip, Harris is asking that Israel,
by allowing Hamas to remain in power, submit itself to unending jihadist
attacks. What country would do that?
The Biden administration apparently wants to see Hamas commit more October
7-style attacks against Israel. Hamas has ready threatened to carry out
unlimited massacres against Israelis. As one of its leaders, Ghazi Hamad,
stated:
"Israel is a country that has no place on our land. We must remove that country
because it constitutes a security, military, and political catastrophe to the
Arab and Islamic nation, and must be finished. We are not ashamed to say this,
with full force... The Al-Aqsa Flood [the name of the Hamas-led attack] is just
the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth, because we have
the determination, the resolve, and the capabilities to fight."
Demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is comparable to calling for an end to
the US war on Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Unfortunately, destroying Hamas's military
capabilities and removing it from power is the only realistic option. Failure to
achieve those two goals will only embolden Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis,
Russia, Iran and other global aggressors waiting in the wings.
**Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. The work of Bassam
Tawil is made possible through the generous donation of a couple of donors who
wished to remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.
© 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.
Erdogan's threats to invade Israel are inflammatory and
only serve to escalate tensions - editorial
Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
Erdogan’s comments serve only to escalate tensions, and the international
community must continue to unequivocally condemn Erdogan’s provocations.
He is at it again. As the situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate
amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and the growing threat of war in the
North against Hezbollah, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has thrown his
hat into the ring.
Erdogan suggested on Sunday that Turkey might enter Israel as it had done in the
past in conflicts in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. However, the president was
careful not to specify the type of intervention he was suggesting.
Erdogan, who has been a fierce critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to
destroy Hamas, started discussing that war during a speech praising his
country’s defense industry. “We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do
these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like
we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,” Erdogan told a meeting of his
ruling AK Party in his hometown of Rize.
“There is no reason why we cannot do this… We must be strong so that we can take
these steps,” Erdogan added in the televised address. Turkey's military history
Turkey’s military history since Erdogan assumed the presidency in 2014 includes
supporting anti-Assad dissidents in the Syrian Civil War (which has led to a
Turkish presence in northern Syria since 2016 and an ongoing conflict with the
Kurds); troop deployment in the Mali War; support for the American-led
intervention in Iraq against ISIS in 2014; the Libyan Civil War and the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh (where Turkey has denied
any direct role in Azerbaijan’s military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh but said
last year it was using “all means” to support its close ally.)
In short and with the utmost respect, Erdogan has never faced anything like the
might of Israel or the IDF. Israel is not Nagorno-Karabakh. Nor is the IDF the
same as Syrian dissidents or Gaddafi loyalists in the desert.
Erdogan postures and poses like the belligerent populist that he is, but he
would be wise to take a glance at Israel’s short history and see the military
outcomes of other strongmen who thought they could take on Israel, such as
Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser or Iraq’s Saddam Hussein – something Foreign Minister
Israel Katz mentioned when he responded to Erdogan’s comments.
Since October 7, Erdogan has made which side he is playing on pretty clear. He
hosted Hamas leaders in April in highly symbolic and essential meetings that
reflect the terror group’s increased influence in the country. In May, he stated
that more than 1,000 members of Hamas were being treated in hospitals across
Turkey as he reiterated his stance that it was a “resistance movement” (although
Turkish officials later said he misspoke.)
There was also the document found in Gaza on the property of the chief of staff
to Yahya Sinwar, Hamza Abu Shanab, which included plans to set up a Hamas base
in Turkey.
The president has additionally made clear his thoughts on Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, stating a few months ago that Netanyahu “has reached a level
that would make Hitler jealous with his genocidal methods.”Some may label that a
slight exaggeration. Others would point out that for a man to have such a
distorted view of history ruling a NATO-member state should be worrying. That’s
another thing Erdogan may wish to consider – NATO. He would be unwise to
alienate members who remain Israel’s staunchest allies despite disagreements
during the Hamas war – members such as the US, the UK, France, and Germany.
Erdogan’s inflammatory rhetoric and overt threats toward Israel are not only
profoundly irresponsible but also dangerously destabilizing. Such hostility has
no place in the realm of international diplomacy, and perhaps it is time
somebody put the Turkish president back in his place.
Erdogan’s comments serve only to escalate tensions, and the international
community must continue to unequivocally condemn Erdogan’s provocations and
stand firm against any attempts to incite violence or destabilize the region
further.
To join the 'Abraham Alliance,' Palestinians must renounce
the path of violence -
DAPHNA JOEL, RONIT LEVINE-SCHNUR/Jerusalem Post/July 30/2024
Once we broaden our view to the entire Middle East, it becomes clear that
Israel’s security is tied to the creation of a regional alliance of moderates
against jihadists.
In his speech to the United States Congress on July 24, 2024, Israel's prime
minister Bejamin Netanyahu presented a vision for the Middle East, which he
dubbed the “Abraham Alliance.”
According to Netanyahu’s vision, the USA and Israel would establish a regional
security alliance, standing together to counter the threat posed by Iranian
regime and its terrorist proxies across the Middle East. Countries in the region
that have already established diplomatic relations with Israel will be invited
to join the alliance, as would be any others that do so in the future.
In his address, Netanyahu observed that Israel saw the potential inherent in a
regional security alliance on the night of April 14, when “half a dozen nations
worked alongside Israel” to help neutralize Iran’s missile attack against
Israel. The aim of such a regional alliance—to unite the moderates in the Middle
East against Iran—is inspired, according to Netanyahu, by the alliance formed by
the United States with European countries after World War II in face of the
geopolitical threat posed by the Soviet Union. This same aftermath of World War
II also provided inspiration for Netanyahu with regard to an equally pressing
matter: Israel’s relations with the Palestinians. One of the Allies’ great
successes, orchestrated by the United States, was to take advantage of their
overwhelming military victory over Japan and Germany in turning the two into
prosperous, secure, and peaceful countries. Importantly, both countries had been
promised the prospect of prosperity, security and independence before the end of
the war—for Germany with the Atlantic Treaty of 1941, and for Japan with the
Potsdam Declaration of 1945. After Germany and Japan’s surrender, the Allied
Nations acted with determination and consistency in investing resources into
rehabilitating the countries, thus guaranteeing their transition into
independent and prosperous entities. They also invested in deradicalizing the
defeated countries, by way of revising the content of the educational systems’
curriculums and rebuilding their governmental structures and institutions, among
other initiatives. In parallel, the countries of Europe realized that they need
to act in consort if they were to prevail against the enemies of freedom and
democracy. This understanding formed the foundations for what ultimately became
the European Union.
Making history reality
There is more to Netanyahu’s vision for Gaza and the Palestinians in terms of
the aftermath of World War II. Transposing the principles of the Postdam
Declaration to the present day, Netanyahu declared that the current war would
end as soon as Hamas surrenders, lays down its weapons, and returns the
hostages; sovereignity over the Gaza Strip will pass to the Palestinians once it
becomes clear that they are able to establish a moderate government that does
not seek to annihilate Israel; and the Palestinians would thereafter enjoy a
future of security, prosperity, and peace.
So why hasn’t any of this happened?
First, October 7 was a shocking event on a regional scale. It became clear to
the moderate countries in the region that Hamas, as a pro-Iranian militia, poses
a risk to the stability of the entire Middle East. That is why the meeting of
their interests came together at this point in time and not before. Indeed,
Israel is receiving backing from them—whether explicit or implicit—for the
ongoing war against Hamas.
Second, Israeli discourse around a vision or grand-strategy in recent years was
limited to the question of “yes” or “no” to the establishement of a Palestinian
state. Once we broaden our view to the entire Middle East, as Netanyahu did when
he warned the world against Iran and with the Abraham Accords, it becomes clear
that Israel’s security is tied to the creation of a regional alliance of
moderates against jihadists. Understanding that this is the key issue, clarifies
that the question as regards to the Palestinians is whether they will take the
side of the moderates or of the jihadists.
If the Palestinians join the moderate axis, the military victory over Hamas will
turn into a long-term reality of security, stability, and peace. History shows
that in order to encourage them to do so, the Palestinians must be assured that
renouncing the path of violence will, in due course, lead to a future of
prosperity, security, and independence for them—in other words, the existence of
a peaceful Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Now is the time to come together and act with a shared objective: the
establishment of a regional security alliance with moderate forces in the Middle
East. Such an alliance could become a magnet for the peoples and countries of
the region who are seeking to abandon the way of violence and terror. It is
possible and it is in our hands.
The authors, professors at Tel Aviv University, are the co-founders of the “Day
After the War Forum” and the leaders of “The Israeli Interest – A Regional
Security Alliance” Movement.
Jordanian MP: Iran Is Waging A War Against Jordan; We
Must Support Iranian Opposition Elements
MEMRI/July 30, 2024
Against the backdrop of Iranian efforts to undermine the Jordanian regime and
destabilize the region,[1] Jordanian MP Aisha Al-Hasanat published an article on
the Saudi news website Elaph in which she came out strongly against the Iranian
regime and called to support Iranian opposition elements in order to overthrow
it.
Al-Hasanat claimed that, as part of its imperialist plan, Iran is waging war
against Jordan by facilitating the smuggling of weapons and drugs into the
country, fostering local extremist forces and exhausting the Jordanian security
forces by employing the Iran-backed militias to create unrest on Jordan's
borders with Syria and Iraq. The Iranian regime and its proxies, she added, are
also subordinating the Palestinian cause to their needs: they are acting to
eliminate the PLO, and have brought about the destruction of Gaza by supporting
"the disgrace they called the Al-Aqsa Flood," i.e., Hamas' October 7, 2023
attack against Israel. Al-Hasanat called on the Arabs to back the Iranian
opposition movement Mujahideen Khalq, which she said has exposed the
conspiracies of the regime and made great sacrifices in fighting it. This, she
argued, is the only way to rescue the Iranian people and the countries and
peoples of the region from the Ayatollah regime – which is the duty not just of
Jordan but of all free people. It should be noted that Jordanian diplomat and
politician Bassam Al-Amoush, formerly the kingdom's ambassador in Iran, likewise
penned an article, about six months ago, in which he called to form ties with
minorities and opposition elements in Iran in order to counter Iran's efforts to
subvert the Jordanian regime.[2]
Jordanian MP Aisha Al-Hasanat (Image: Jo24.net)
The following are translated excerpts from Aisha Al-Hasanat's article:[3]
"What does [Iran's] Ayatollah regime want from Jordan? Why all this hostility
and all these wicked efforts to destroy Jordanian society by spreading chaos,
drugs and weapons and by fostering and strengthening extremist forces?
"[After] decades of hidden hatred and conspiracies against Jordan, a series of
factors – [namely] the events of the Syrian revolution and the catastrophes that
attended it, which continue to this day, as well as the aggression and crimes
against Gaza, the genocide and the crimes against humanity [there] – have
revealed the hidden [truth] and [Iran's] shameful intentions and evil plans
against Palestine, and especially against Jordan. Moreover, [these plans] were,
and still are, directed against the entire region!
"Now that the shameful secret of the Ayatollah regime has been exposed –
[namely] that it is directing the conflict throughout the region, from Iran,
Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon to Palestine, and especially the Gaza Strip, [and
also intends to] launch an indirect war against Jordan, a war of weapon- and
drug-smuggling, of exhausting our armed forces and of [undermining] our economy,
our living standards, our security and the stability that characterizes Jordan –
the Ayatollah [regime] is left with no choice but to indirectly inflict the
consequences of its failures on the countries of the region and especially on
Jordan, for which if harbors open hostility. [It did so by] launching an
escalating armed struggle against [Jordan] from the Syrian arena and the Iraqi
arena by means of its proxies.
"None of this surprising, except for the fact that the expressions of hostility
and the incitement of the Jordanian public were done explicitly, through
articles and through statements by militia [spokesmen] – so much so that the
intentions of Tehran, which started to act simultaneously on several fronts,
required no assessments or interpretation [but were patently clear]. The
Ayatollahs allowed their mouthpieces, their apparatuses and their weapon- and
drug-dealers to launch a guided campaign against Jordan, after the shameful
[facts about] their exhibitionistic attack on the Zionist entity on April 13,
2024, which seemed to be coordinated in advance [with the enemy], was exposed,
[since it involved nothing more than] fireworks and cardboard drones in a
pathetic response to the obliteration of [Iran's] consulate in Syria and the
humiliating assassination of many of its commanders there.
"The fictitious and pathetic attack of the Ayatollah regime on the oppressive
Zionist regime was a watershed, [marking the shift from] the policy of cunning
and maneuvering it had employed vis-à-vis Jordan to a policy of confronting it
[directly], which became clear after the disgrace they called the Al-Aqsa Flood.
The Ayatollahs themselves admit they were behind this operation, which led to
the destruction of Gaza and is intended to destroy the place of worship [i.e.,
Al-Aqsa] over the heads of the Palestinians and to eliminate their cause and
their legitimate rights. The [ultimate] goals are to end the intifada of the
Iranian people and to subjugate it, to leave the Ayatollah regime in power in
Iran and to divide the influence over the region with the other [powers].
"The statements of various militias subordinate to the Ayatollah regime, as well
as articles by regime officials, are the best proof that they have been in a
state of confrontation with us for many long years, and have exhausted and
deceived us on our Syrian and Iraqi borders, where the Ayatollah [regime] is
always maneuvering. Lebanon too has become a source of threat, because it too
has become part of the crisis manufactured against us, and also because it
borders on Syria, which is adjacent to Jordan.
"The old slogan, that the liberation of Jerusalem will pass through Karbala,[4]
is not really about [liberating] Jerusalem. It is meant to deceive [people] and
to serve [Iran's] imperialist plans. The leadership of this regime admits that
its officials opposed liberating Jerusalem via Palestine's borders with Lebanon
or Syria, because the liberation must come from areas that do not border on
Palestine, such as Iraq. Yet the Ayatollahs in Iraq – armed from head to toe and
[provided with plenty of] gear and funds for 20 years – have not liberated Al-Aqsa,
nor have they allowed the Palestinians in Iraq to live in peace and quiet.
Instead they massacred them, expelled them and stole their property, just as
they have done in Syria and Lebanon. As for the Palestinian national unity, [the
Ayatollahs] conspired against it and tore it to pieces in an attempt to
eliminate the PLO and clear the way for their expansionist plans and those of
the extremist apparatuses, which seek to undermine the security and stability of
Jordan as well, and to spread [religious] extremism within it.
"The National Council of Resistance of Iran and its main [member], the
Mujahideen Khalq opposition organization, have preceded us in waging an intense,
blood-soaked struggle [with the Iranian regime] for over four and a half
decades, during which over 120,000 of Iran's best sons were martyred and tens of
thousands disappeared or became political prisoners. The Iranian resistance,
headed by [Mujahideen Khalq leader] Maryam Rajavi, exposed the conspiracies and
plans of the regime. Sadly, we disregarded the calls of the Iranian people that
beseeched us to stand with it and [to support] the legitimate resistance and its
aspirations for a free and democratic country. Today we understand that this is
vital in order to rescue the Iranian people and the countries and peoples of the
region [from the Ayatollah regime].
"This is not just my opinion; it is a consensus among many intellectuals and
writers, Arab and non-Arab, in the east and the west. This opinion is based on
admissions and facts and on real events, not on interpretations and assessments.
Everyone must know that confronting the Ayatollah regime is a duty, not just of
Jordan but of all free people. Jordan must not be left alone in a confrontation
of this kind, for the price will not be long in coming."
[1] See MEMRI Special Report: Assad Regime, Iranian Militias Have Sent
Reinforcements To Al-Suwayda In Southern Syria In Order To Besiege Jordan, May
10, 2024; Special Dispatch No. 11251 - Jordanian Regime Furious With Hamas,
Muslim Brotherhood: They Are Acting To Foment Chaos In Kingdom In Service Of
Iran - April 4, 2024; Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1758 - Iran's Grand Plan:
Bring Down The Jordanian Regime, Attack Israel From The East, And Thwart The
Western-Sunni Normalization Project – And This Could Begin This Friday, Iran's
Qods Day – March 3, 2023; Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1746 - Jordan
Increasingly Concerned About Iran Amid Activity Of Iran-Backed Militias On Its
Northern Border – February 20, 2024; Special Dispatch No. 11034 - Lebanese
Journalist: Iran Exploiting The War In Gaza To Undermine Stability Of Jordan –
December 21, 2023.
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11117 - Former Jordanian Ambassador To Iran:
We Must Form Ties With Minorities And Oppositionists In Iran In Order To Repel
Its Attempts To Undermine Jordan – February 5, 2024.
[3] Elpah.com, June 20, 2024.
[4] This slogan, coined by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Iranian
Revolution regime, implies that liberating Jerusalem requires Iran to gain
control of historically Sunni areas, such as Karbala in Iraq.
Fight Against Treachery
Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute./July 30, 2024
One does not need to embrace religion to recognize that something beyond our
understanding saved former President Donald Trump from death. Pictured: Trump is
taken off a rally stage by Secret Service agents after he was shot in the ear by
a would-be assassin in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
One does not need to embrace religion to recognize that something beyond our
understanding saved former President Donald Trump from death. With the FBI
confirming that it was, in fact, a bullet that came to within millimeters of a
fatal head wound, Trump has survived an assassination attempt that would have
changed the course of American history.
Some call it divine intervention. Others chalk it up to simply fate. It reminds
us of those Americans who went to work in the Twin Towers on the morning of 9/11
and those delayed in transit. Today, we each must reflect on the forces that had
an assassin miss his target by a literal hair's breath.
Trump, shaking off the shock of a failed assassination attempt with an appeal to
"fight," stood tall, with blood on his face, his fist in the air and an appeal
to "fight," in defiance of treachery. It was a response that will go down in
history.
Not so fortunate was an extraordinary firefighter, Corey Comperatore. As shots
rang out at the rally, he lay across his family to protect their lives, taking a
fatal bullet. Two others who attended the rally were severely wounded. We are
praying for their swift and full recovery.
It may have been divine intervention that saved Donald Trump, but freedom is the
Almighty's gift enshrined in American values, Declaration of Independence,
Constitution and Bill of Rights. Americans should be forever grateful to the
founding fathers for their breathtaking wisdom and foresight.
**Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
Relationship Between Tehran, Washington Essential to Understanding Near Future
of the Region
Eyad Abu Shakra/Asharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
In Lebanon, as well as Syria and the occupied Palestinian territories, we find
many different assumptions and even more predictions. The facts are strange, but
developments on the ground are even stranger.
The Lebanese are languishing under their economic and cost of living crises.
Amid a vacuum at the upper echelons of their government - albeit nominally -
their eyes and hearts are on the "southern front" and what Hezbollah’s
"diplomatic arsenal" has in store for them.
With a new Western envoy arriving as soon as another packs his bags in
frustration because of the failure to find solutions, things keep getting worse
in what has practically become an "occupied country". Its politicians are
unwelcome guests, and decisions are made outside its borders.
Hezbollah's pretext for instigating a conflict with Israel from Lebanon's
southern border is that it is on a "support mission" - coordinating and showing
solidarity with the Gaza Strip. Yes, in Lebanon, which has been denied proper
governance in line with the constitution due to its occupation by Hezbollah, the
"support" for the Gaza Strip, which is governed by Hamas (not the legitimate
Palestinian Authority) continues... but it is incapacitated and incapacitating.
Against the backdrop of Israel’s aggression, its occupation of Gaza and
displacement of its people, and amid battles on two Arab territories effectively
run by forces that imposed themselves on the legitimate authorities, Iran has
emerged as a regional power. In its own way, it is a "partner in negotiations"
to manage the region with the United States and Israel. Indeed, the Iranian
leadership has mastered this approach of "field negotiations" since the 1980s.
On the other hand, despite fiery rhetoric and direct threats, the Tehran camp
and the Washington-Tel Aviv camp agreed to an "implicit understanding" and
"shared priorities" after the Iraq-Iran war.
In fact, the higher the more heated the rhetorical threats from both sides
became, the more Tehran expanded its sphere of influence - or rather, its
practical occupation - within the Arab world. Some of its security officials
eventually felt confident enough to declare that their country runs four
capitals... and they are certainly right!!
This expansion in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, as we remember, did not emerge
suddenly or without American and Israeli political and war planners knowing
about it. On the contrary, it could not have happened without American-Israeli
"facilitation" at every juncture.
Under the pretext that armed Palestinian groups had been present in the country,
Israel was allowed to occupy Beirut and half of Lebanon in 1982. This occupation
did not end until 2000 and the emergence of Hezbollah. Then, after February
2005, Hezbollah was handed control of Lebanon.
Under the pretext of Saddam Hussein's non-existent nuclear weapons, the United
States occupied Iraq. Before the smoke cleared from occupied Baghdad, the allies
of the mullahs had returned from their exile in Iran to take power and hand
Mesopotamia to Vali-e Faqih.
Claiming to be pushing back against ISIS, the Syrian regime, an ally in Tehran's
Resistance Axis, was rehabilitated. Washington and other Western capitals turned
a blind eye to what had happened in Syria. The "red lines" drawn by Barack Obama
miraculously vanished. Not long after that, Donald Trump assured the top brass
of the Damascus regime that the only goal of the US forces on Syrian soil was to
fight ISIS.
Last but not least, international authorities did not see a threat to the Yemeni
social fabric in the Houthis' takeover of the country, nor did they see the
threat this development posed to neighboring countries or trade in international
waters.
Everyone following political and military developments in the region is familiar
with this record. It also highlights the complexities of US-Russian relations on
the one hand and Russian-Iranian relations on the other.
There is no doubt that the Ukraine war has created a new global reality with
repercussions for the Middle East. The growing roles of China and India and
their ambitions for the region have also been consequential, as has Israel’s
accelerating retreat from its commitments to peace despite some Arab states
seeking normalization with it in the hope of weakening the Likud and ensuring
that it loses its bet on extremism. In this climate, Tehran seized the moment to
reassert its role as a regional player, doubling down on its refusal to allow
its interests to be bypassed and its status as an influential political,
military, and oil-market player. Thus, through "strategic allies" - as it calls
them - or "Tehran's proxies" - as the West views them - it made its move on
October 7. Unfortunately, the operation served the objectives of Benjamin
Netanyahu. He is Israel's worst-ever leader and the most hostile to peace. The
operation also caused tremendous humanitarian suffering in the occupied
Palestinian territories. It also coincided with the presidential elections in
Washington, the rise of far-right populism in Europe and India, and an
aggravating crisis with Russia over Ukraine.
Some now say that the era of "implicit understandings" and "shared priorities"
between the Tehran camp and the Washington-Tel Aviv camp has come to an end,
meaning that Tehran's "field negotiations" have become a risky venture.
On the other hand, others believe that Washington and Tel Aviv have become
convinced that the Iranian leadership still believes it has enough cards to
negotiate greater influence in the region from a position of strength. These
observers also note that the Gaza war has demonstrated Israel's total reliance
on Western logistical support and that "Tehran's proxies" can obstruct and
confuse, as well as create regional tension. In this, they have benefited from
diminishing faith in peace with the current right-wing government in Israel.
A Kamala Harris Presidency Is a Global Problem
Nadim KoteichAsharq Al-Awsat/July 30/2024
Regardless of who wins the US presidential election after President Joe Biden's
exit from the race, an entirely new era will begin once it ends. Despite their
divergent backgrounds, both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, for different
reasons, are atypical candidates. Harris is far more representative of the
progressive wing of the Democratic Party than Biden, while Trump has
precipitated a major shift in the trajectory of the Republican Party, which has
veered towards political and moral conservatism and American ultranationalism.
Since the outcome of this election will shape an array of global issues, it
highlights a growing problem that has marked American democracy since the
mid-20th century. Indeed, it is the most democratic American election
domestically and the least democratic one for the rest of the planet, as around
250 million Americans alone will decide who becomes the country’s next
president, who, besides being the president of the United States and the
American people, is also the president of the entire world.
Accordingly, we should ask if the priority is to reach an identitarian milestone
through the election of the first woman president of mixed African and Asian
heritage, or if the priority is electing someone with the competence to lead the
world in addressing global political, security, and economic challenges.
There is no simple answer to this question, especially since all politics is
ultimately local politics. Significant matters of dispute separate the two
candidates, be it questions around gender, race, minorities, abortion, or
immigration. However, local American politics has never been this sharply
disconnected from pressing and volatile global strategic political questions.
Let us take a moment to consider China’s rising influence in Asia, the multiple
challenges Russia poses to Europe’s security and economy, and the ongoing
conflicts in the Middle East that are directly fueled by Iran and its militias.
In this world - which saw the first joint Russian-Chinese maneuver on the
borders of Alaska last week, and where international actors (not just the
Iranians) speak of the progress Iran has made on its nuclear program and the
Houthi militias recently struck Tel Aviv using a drone - the cultural wars are
at the forefront in the US. The emphasis is on Harris’s motherhood, her race, or
the pronunciation of her name - they are the key “issues” that will decide who
becomes president!
There is no doubt that Kamala Harris's candidacy is rooted in the American dream
and its promise of continuous progress on social justice and inclusivity. After
having become the first woman vice president of African and Asian descent,
Harris is now the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, a historic political
achievement for the US. However, the fear is that this milestone in terms of
social justice and equality will come at the expense of strong and balanced
political leadership that recognizes the challenges facing the world and that is
determined to address them effectively to safeguard international security and
stability.
The 2024 presidential election, then, is not merely a contest between Kamala
Harris and Donald Trump. It is a pivotal juncture that will shape the global
order at a time as the world faces a variety of challenges presented by actors
that are extorting it and draining its energy. In the Middle East, we should be
concerned that Harris's candidacy, despite its historical significance and
promises of progress, might not rise to the pressing economic and geopolitical
challenges of the era.
This excessive emphasis on identity politics comes at a time when we are seeing
increasing signs of fragmentation within American society and a growing sense
that Americans are alienated from one another. This sharp polarization
undermines domestic American unity and the next administration's ability to
provide the leverage the political and institutional capital needed to address
global challenges.
In this sense, overemphasizing identity politics could well pose a significant
threat to the role of the United States on the world stage and to its global
alliances. It risks diverting attention away from urgent global challenges that
have direct repercussions on the United States’ security and its economic
interests. Moreover, this comes at a time when competitors like China and Russia
are continuing to consolidate their influence and challenge Washington's
hegemony.
Harris claims that she represents the future, while Trump embodies the past.
However, we can see the future that the Democratic candidate is promising before
us. Under the Democrats’ leadership, during Barack Obama's two terms and Joe
Biden’s presidency, the United States’ international leadership has declined.
This decline has opened the door to audacious ventures by players like China,
Russia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, and others who have sought to shift the
balance of power in ways that sharpen polarization and weaken stability.
There is no indication that Harris would be any better, especially since she
will be keen on faithfully representing the progressive Democratic wave that
could carry her to the White House, which will have serious implications for the
split between US policy priorities and the political priorities of the rest of
the world.