Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 10-11/2024
Elias Bejjani/Life Summary of Saint Rafca, The Blind mystic of Lebanon, The Lily of Himlaya/June 10/2024
Elias Bejjani/Video & Text: The Historical Relations between Jews and Persians: Enmity or Alliance?/Elias Bejjani, June 9, 2024
Hezbollah downs Israeli attack drone over southern Lebanon
Is Israel about to expand the war to Lebanon?
Eyeing showdown with Hezbollah, Israel presses shadow campaign in Syria
Hezbollah says it shoots down Israeli drone over Lebanon
Hezbollah attacks Israeli military site in Golan Heights
Southern Front: Hezb Shoots Down Israeli Hermes 900 Drone
Hezbollah attacks north Israel in response to strikes on south
WhatsApp Messages Sow Panic in South Lebanon Residents
Opposition MPs remain open to consultations amid presidential vacuum, statement affirms
LF says consultations not obligatory, tells Berri to call for successive electoral rounds
Berri asks where's Lebanon interest in refusing dialogue
Presidential Election: Opposition MPs Receptive to Any Initiative
MP Bassil: Whoever is waiting for a settlement, it is an "irrational" and uncalculated wait
Mikati in Jordan to participate in the "Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza" conference
Benjamin Hassan becomes first tennis player from Lebanon to compete in Paris Olympics
Security Forces Held by Mutineers in Roumieh Prison
Presidency: Further Initiatives Hinge on Shiite Duo’s Position
Will Hajjar Get the Better of Ghada Aoun’s Judicial Blunders?

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 10-11/2024
Israel-Hamas war: UN Security Council adopts US resolution for 'immediate and complete ceasefire'
Hamas welcomes UN Security Council resolution for Gaza ceasefire
What does Israel's rescue of 4 captives, and the killing of 274 Palestinians, mean for truce talks?
Israel alleges journalist held hostages in Gaza, without providing evidence
Blinken meets with Netanyahu in Israel and urges Hamas to accept ceasefire proposal
Blinken returns to Mideast as Israel-Hamas cease-fire proposal hangs in balance after hostage rescue
Angry scenes as Israeli parliament prepares to vote on conscription law
UN halts aid delivery to Gaza via US pier
Intel says 'timelines can change,' when asked about expansion in Israel
Gains for far-right parties: Here are the main takeaways from European elections
Election shifts EU Parliament further right, leading Macron to call snap polls
Italy's Meloni will welcome the G7 summit fortified by an EU vote that shook French, German leaders
The US ambassador to Japan urges Tokyo to help quickly replenish the US missile inventory
Sudan's notorious paramilitary group loots a main Darfur hospital, aid group says
Islamic State group-allied militants kill dozens in eastern Congo
Yemen's Houthis say they have arrested an 'American-Israeli spy cell'

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on June 10-11/2024
tra Choboq Ar-Rayès/Saint Of The Dat Site./June 10, 2024
Palestinian 'Civilians': Complicit in Hamas Crimes/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute./June 10, 2024
A Decade Since The Fall Of Mosul To The Islamic State/Alberto M. Fernandez/Iraq | MEMRI Daily Brief No. 608/June 10, 2024
‘How Dare You?!’ The True Source of the Arab-Israeli Conflict Is a Superiority Complex/Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/June 10/2024
Far right confounds expectations in election whirlwind/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/June 10, 2024
Qalibaf the prime contender in Iran’s presidential race/Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/June 10, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 10-11/2024
Elias Bejjani/Life Summary of Saint Rafca, The Blind mystic of Lebanon, The Lily of Himlaya
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/116856/life-summary-of-saint-rafca-the-blind-mystic-of-lebanon-the-lily-of-himlaya/

Elias Bejjani/Video & Text: The Historical Relations between Jews and Persians: Enmity or Alliance?
Elias Bejjani, June 9, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/130543/130543/
This question is often raised: Is there really a historical enmity between Israel and Iran, as well as between Jews and Persians, or is there a history of love, alliance, and goodwill?
Looking back at history, it becomes clear that the term "enmity" was never used to describe the relationship between the two sides at any time. This notion of enmity began to be promoted by the mullahs with a "jihadist" background after they took power in Iran in 1979 following the ousting of the Shah. Before the rule of the mullahs, history shows that Jewish-Persian relations were not hostile, but were complex and rich, involving periods of cooperation and alliance, as well as times of conflict. This history spans several centuries, intertwining interests and cultures at various stages. Below is a brief summary of these relations:
Babylonian and Ancient Persian Periods
Relations between Jews and Persians prominently begin during the Babylonian and ancient Persian periods. In 586 BCE, Babylon, led by Nebuchadnezzar II, destroyed the Kingdom of Judah and exiled many Jews to Babylon. In this context, the Persian King Cyrus the Great (550-530 BCE) is seen as a savior for the Jews. After conquering Babylon in 539 BCE, he issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. This act earned Cyrus great respect in Jewish tradition, and he is referred to as "the Lord's anointed" in the Bible (Isaiah 45:1).
Achaemenid Era
During the Achaemenid period, Jewish communities in the Persian Empire enjoyed a significant degree of religious freedom and autonomy. The Jewish community in Babylon flourished, with notable figures like Nehemiah and Ezra playing vital roles in the reconstruction of Jerusalem.
Parthian and Sassanian Eras
With the fall of the Achaemenid Empire and the rise of the Parthian Empire (247 BCE - 224 CE), good relations between Jews and Persians continued. The Parthians, who were in conflict with the Romans, found allies in the Jews against a common enemy. This situation persisted during the Sassanian period (224-651 CE), where Jewish communities enjoyed considerable autonomy, and Jewish culture developed through ongoing interactions with Persian culture.
Relations During the Islamic Conquest
With the Islamic conquest of the Persian Empire in the 7th century CE, dynamics changed significantly. Persian control declined and was replaced by Islamic rule. Nevertheless, Jewish communities in Iran continued to exist, experiencing periods of tolerance and persecution over the centuries.
Safavid and Qajar Eras
During the Safavid (1501-1736) and Qajar (1789-1925) eras, there were periods of tension and alliance. The Shiite Safavid government strictly enforced Sharia laws, leading to some pressures on Jewish communities. However, in later periods, especially during the Qajar rule, Jews in Iran saw a relative improvement in their conditions.
Modern Era
In the modern era, especially under Shah Reza Pahlavi and his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Jewish community in Iran enjoyed increased rights and significant improvements in their economic and social conditions. However, after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the situation changed dramatically, with the new government led by Ayatollah Khomeini adopting more conservative policies towards religious minorities, including Jews.
Iranian-Israeli Relations Under Khomeini
Despite the major shift in Iranian policy after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran and Israel experienced secret alliances and mutual aid during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988). During this period, Israel supplied Iran with advanced weapons, including aircraft parts and anti-tank missiles. This clandestine relationship was exposed in the "Iran-Contra" affair, revealing that the United States and Israel had cooperated to supply Iran with arms in exchange for the release of American hostages held in Lebanon. This move was part of a broader strategy to balance the power of Iraq under Saddam Hussein, who posed a common threat to both Israel and the West.
Current Relations Between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran
Relations between Israel and Iran are among the most complex and tense in the Middle East. These tensions have deepened significantly in light of the ongoing Gaza war, with Iran providing substantial support to Hamas. This support includes supplying weapons, training, and funding, which strengthens Hamas in its confrontation with Israel. Israel, on its part, views Iran as the greatest threat to its national security due to its nuclear program, regional ambitions, and support for anti-Israel militant groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel accuses Iran of attempting to destabilize the region by increasing its influence in countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq. In the current context, tensions have heightened with the escalation of the conflict in Gaza. Israel feels directly threatened by the rockets launched by Hamas towards its cities, which Israel believes are aided by Iranian smuggling and manufacturing efforts. Conversely, Iran sees its support for Hamas as a means to enhance its regional influence and to resist what it perceives as Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people. These tensions exacerbate the current situation, making the quest for peace increasingly challenging.
Conclusion
Through this long and complex history, it is evident that relations between Jews and Persians have been a mixture of cooperation and conflict. There have been periods of strong alliances and cultural cooperation, as well as times of tension and enmity. This intricate history reflects the complex nature of human relations, where interests, religions, and politics intertwine in various ways. Modern relations between Israel and Iran under Khomeini add a new dimension to this dynamic, showing that political interests can sometimes overcome declared religious hostilities, albeit temporarily, in the face of common threats.
The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com

Hezbollah downs Israeli attack drone over southern Lebanon
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/June 10, 2024
BEIRUT: Iran-backed Hezbollah intensified its military operations against Israeli army sites on Monday, increasing its use of drones and artillery rockets. The group said its air defenses downed an Israeli attack drone over southern Lebanon. It reported the destruction of the drone over the Rihan area in the Iqlim Al-Tuffah region on Monday afternoon. Israeli army radio reported a fire at a newly established Israeli military base near Nahariya after a drone exploded. It also said fires and damage resulted from six anti-tank missiles launched from Lebanon toward Upper Galilee towns. Hezbollah claimed the destruction of a section of the headquarters of the Golan Division, which caught fire after being targeted by a swarm of assault drones. Israeli media confirmed that two drones exploded in the north of the Golan Heights, causing a fire in the area. The Israeli army’s efforts to intercept them were unsuccessful. The Israeli army confirmed that two explosive-laden drones had infiltrated from Lebanon, but added that it had intercepted two other drones off the shores of Nahariya. It added that it had “monitored the firing of anti-tank shells from Lebanon towards the locations of Al-Manara, Yaroun, Avivim, Margaliot, and Yiftah, resulting in building damage and fires.”The army said it shelled the towns of Aita Al-Shaab, Hanin, and Salhani using artillery. Hezbollah said that it had targeted two buildings in the Manara settlement where Israeli soldiers had been stationed. It also struck a building in Yir’on, which was being used by soldiers, which resulted in one fatality and one person being wounded. An assault drone accurately targeted the Bayad Blida site. Hezbollah also targeted espionage equipment in the Ramim barracks which led to its destruction, according to the group.Hezbollah added that it had launched an aerial attack using a squadron of drones on the newly established command headquarters of Brigade 146 east of Nahariya. Officers and other soldiers were targeted in the operation, resulting in casualties.
Alarm sirens sounded in several settlements in Upper Galilee due to the fear of drones. Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on the weekly attacks in the northern region, citing a report from the Lobby 1701 organization. The report said that there had been a sharp increase in the number of drones launched by Hezbollah toward northern Israel. It was reported that Hezbollah launched 17 rockets, 132 curved-trajectory rockets, and 53 drones in the past week. The newspaper said that “38 civilians and soldiers were injured, and one soldier was killed.”Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon targeted the town of Hanin in the Bint Jbeil district, which was hit by artillery shelling, along with the town of Mays Al-Jabal. Israeli warplanes carried out raids on the outskirts of Wadi Hunin between the towns of Houla and Markaba. No casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan said on Monday that the ministry’s office in Bint Jbeil had been attacked by Israeli forces for a second time.
He noted “the continuous Israeli shelling for eight months (in the region) with phosphorus bombs.”Israel also renewed its threats to Lebanese citizens on Monday, urging them to evacuate their homes before they were bombed. A citizen in Al-Bazourieh, in the Tyre district, received a text message at dawn from an Israeli number. The sender, who was identified as Haitham, told him to “evacuate the four-story building … because the building is about to be bombed.”Several families left the area, and schools decided to close their doors to students who were planning to take end-of-year exams, but the raid failed to materialize. A security source highlighted to Arab News the distressing impact of such messages on people’s well-being. The source said: “Unknown numbers are calling and indicating which houses will be targeted. “This has led to people asking numerous questions. These questions unintentionally provide the Israeli side with valuable information. They now have accurate details about the residence of every family and individual, which reveals who is a party (Hezbollah) member and who is not.”The security source added that “the situation is complex and confusing. Today, there was a threat but no bombing, while before, there was a threat, and the targeted building was bombed.” Meanwhile, Lebanese group the Lady of the Mountain Gathering has expressed its solidarity with “the families, individuals, children, and elderly who are besieged by Israeli attacks on one side and Hezbollah’s decisions on the other.”The group added: “Defending Lebanon is not the responsibility of a party, organization, or even a sect. “We need a national state in accordance with the constitution and international legitimacy.
“The people of the south and all Lebanese have the right to live with dignity under the Lebanese flag and the protection of the army, which alone has the exclusive right to defend Lebanon.”

Is Israel about to expand the war to Lebanon?
Joel Mathis, The Week US/June 10, 2024
Israel is already fighting a war against Hamas in Gaza. Now it may be ready to expand the battle to Hezbollah. Israeli leaders are contemplating a "limited war" against the Islamic group in Lebanon, Axios said, because low-level fighting between the two sides has "dramatically escalated" in recent weeks. The Biden administration is working to discourage that idea, warning that an attack on Lebanon "could push Iran to intervene" and make a limited war not so limited. "A full-blown war appears to have become more likely," Nadeen Ebrahim said at CNN. Clashes between the two sides "have grown in number and scale" since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, forcing the evacuation of thousands of Israeli civilians from the area. The most notable escalation? An attack on northern Israel that caused wildfires to break out across the region. "Whoever thinks that they can hurt us and that we will sit idly by is making a big mistake," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
What did the commentators say?
"As Hezbollah escalates, Israel must fight back," Richard Goldberg said in The New York Post. More than 100,000 civilians have been evacuated from the northern Israel region bordering Lebanon, and cannot return safely "without security guarantees" that will not be satisfied by a "phony" cease-fire deal. The Biden administration should cease its efforts to restrain Israel as it fights back against its Iran-backed enemies, said Goldberg. "Americans would never surrender to a Hezbollah-like terror threat on our own border," he added. "Biden should not demand that of Israel, either."
"Israel is about to make a disastrous mistake in Lebanon," Joel D. Parker said in Haaretz. Israel leaders have performed miserably in the war against Hamas, stumbling diplomatically and creating a humanitarian crisis in Gaza that has prompted criticism even from close allies like the United States. Similar images from a war in Lebanon would invite a "global backlash" and even a censure from the United Nations. "It's essential that … Israel does not repeat the mistakes it is making fighting the Gaza War," Parker said. A war against Hezbollah might be justified, but "Israel needs to think hard about the pitfalls before it jumps into them headfirst."
What next?
"Despite the escalation, analysts say that both sides realize a full-scale war would pose significant risks," said The New York Times. Lebanon is reeling from the effects of a "historic economic collapse" that would be compounded by an invasion. And nobody wants a wider regional war. But Netanyahu is under pressure from right-wing allies in the Israeli government to launch an attack. The Biden administration is trying to bring both sides to negotiations, "but Hezbollah says it will not negotiate until the war in Gaza ends." This creates a paradox, The Economist said. "Diplomacy, not war, is the preferred outcome on both sides." But it is not clear that "lasting calm" is at all possible between Israel and Hezbollah, given the decades of conflict behind them. "Even the best diplomatic outcome, Israeli officers warn, would be temporary," the outlet added. For Israel, which already has one war on its hands, there are no perfect options. Said one Israeli official: "There is no good timing to go to war with them."

Eyeing showdown with Hezbollah, Israel presses shadow campaign in Syria
Suleiman Al-Khalidi, John Davison and Dan Williams/AMMAN (Reuters)/June 10, 2024
Israel has intensified covert strikes in Syria against weapons sites, supply routes and Iranian-linked commanders, seven regional officials and diplomats said, ahead of a threatened full-scale assault on Tehran's key ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
A June 2 air raid that killed 18 people, including an adviser with Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, targeted a clandestine, fortified weapons site near Aleppo, three of the sources said. In May, an air strike hit a convoy of trucks headed to Lebanon carrying missile parts and another raid killed Hezbollah operatives, four said. Israel has for years struck militant groups backed by arch-foe Iran in Syria and elsewhere, in a low-level campaign that burst into open confrontation after Israel and Palestinian group Hamas - another Iranian ally - went to war in Gaza on Oct. 7. Israel has since killed dozens of Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and Hezbollah officers in Syria, from just two last year before the Oct. 7 attack, according to a tally by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank. The battle hit fever pitch in April when Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing the top IRGC commander for operations in the Levant. In retaliation, Iran fired some 300 missiles and drones at Israel, almost all of which were shot down. Israel then attacked Iranian territory with drones. This direct confrontation, a first for the two countries, stopped there. Israel also briefly reduced the number of strikes it was carrying out against Iranian proxies, said Selin Uysal, a French diplomat seconded to the Washington Institute, citing the tally, which counted publicly-known attacks in the weeks immediately before and after. "There was a slowdown" after the face-off in April, she said. "But they are picking up again because of suspected Iranian weapons transfers to Lebanon. There is a kinetic effort in Syria and Lebanon to disrupt the supply chain between Iran and Hezbollah."Reuters interviewed three Syrian officials, an Israeli government official and three Western diplomats about Israel's Syria campaign. The officials asked not to be named to talk freely about sensitive matters. The Syrian officials gave previously unreported details of the targets of Israeli strikes around the cities of Aleppo and Homs in recent months, including the June 2 attack. All those interviewed said Israel's moves suggested it was gearing up for a full-scale war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which borders Syria, that could begin when Israel dials down its campaign in Gaza. "The statements of our leaders have been clear that escalation could be imminent in Lebanon," the Israeli government official said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that his country was prepared for "very strong action" at its frontier with Lebanon, where it has been fighting a so-far limited battle with Hezbollah since Oct. 8. War in Lebanon is not inevitable. Israel has also indicated openness to diplomatic efforts being brokered by Washington and France. The Israeli government official said the campaign in Syria was also aimed at weakening Hezbollah and thus discouraging it from a war with Israel. The Israeli government and military did not respond to questions for this article. Israel rarely publicly acknowledges targeted killings overseas and has not commented on the recent strikes in Syria. A senior Israeli official said last year Israel was determined to prevent Syria becoming part of a new front. The IRGC and a Syrian government spokesperson did not respond. Hezbollah declined to comment.
KILLING COMMANDERS, STRIKING SUPPLIES
Syria, a longtime Iranian ally, became the key conduit for Tehran's arms supplies to Hezbollah after Iran deployed military personnel and thousands of allied paramilitaries from around 2013 to help President Bashar al-Assad during his country's ongoing civil war.Some weapons parts are smuggled into Syria while others are assembled there, the three Syrian officials said. Israel's Syria campaign aims to make sure Hezbollah, Iran's most loyal ally and the linchpin of Tehran's projection of regional power through militant proxies, is as weak as possible before any kind of fight begins, the Syrian officials and Israeli official said. The June 2 killing of Saeed Abyar, described by Iranian state media as an IRGC adviser, showed Israel's reach in taking out key personnel and targeting equipment even when Iran has tried new methods of protecting weapons and parts bound for Hezbollah, the Syrian officials said, including moving the manufacture of weapons to more hidden or fortified locations. Abyar was visiting a manufacturing plant for missiles for Hezbollah that was hidden inside a stone quarry east of the city of Aleppo when he was hit, the Syrian officials said. "The facility was in an area designed to be hard to find and hard to hit," said one of the officials, an intelligence officer. Iran blamed Sunday's strike on Israel and the head of the IRGC has vowed to retaliate. The officials said the strike killed 17 other people, including Iran-aligned militiamen. It was the first targeting of an IRGC official since Israel bombed the Iranian consulate, they said. But it is not the only attack it has carried out since then. An air strike near the Syrian city of Homs on May 29 targeted a vehicle carrying parts for guided missiles from Syria to Lebanon, the Syrian intelligence officer said. Another strike on May 20 targeted members of Hezbollah, the officer said. Before the Iran consulate attack, a series of air strikes in late March around Aleppo hit warehouses storing high explosives for missile warheads, the officer said. Other attacks have targeted Syrian air defence systems that had in recent years given Hezbollah and Iranian military personnel some security to operate, including Russian-made Pantsir air defence systems, mobile missile launchers that the Syrian military uses, a Syrian military official said. Other strikes had targeted early-warning radar systems, the official said. "In some cases Israel is hitting even before we install our equipment," the official said. The Israeli government official said Israel's targets were advanced anti-aircraft weapons, heavy rockets and precision-guidance systems for missiles.
ISRAEL TIPPING THE BALANCE?
The number of Israeli attacks in Syria jumped dramatically after Oct. 7, when Israel and Hamas went to war. "The frequency has doubled," said the Washington Institute's Uysal. Israel carried out 50 air strikes in Syria in the six months after the Gaza war began, she said. "These included attacks on Aleppo airport, the Nairab military airport, Damascus airport, and the Mezzeh military airport, which are key in weapon transfers. Weapons caches were also among the targets." The strikes have included the killing of some 20 IRGC officials and more than 30 Hezbollah commanders, Uysal said. Between January and October of 2023, two IRGC officials and no Hezbollah commanders were killed by Israeli strikes in Syria, Uysal said. "The attacks in Syria certainly stop arms and ammunition deliveries and damage the ability of Hezbollah or Iran to organise," said Lior Akerman of Reichman University, a former Brigadier-General in Israel's domestic security service. Iran sends limited numbers of advisers to Syria, such as the senior IRGC officials killed in the consulate bombing. Hezbollah has deployed thousands of fighters there. Hezbollah official Nawaf Musawi told the Iran-aligned Al Mayadeen TV channel in March that the group was opening new ammunition depots "and getting more precision missiles and better quality weapons by land, sea and air." Farzan Sabet, a senior researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute who specialises in Iranian foreign policy, said attacks on Israel by Hezbollah and Iran's allies in Iraq and Yemen during the Gaza war had taken a toll on Israel. "But it has killed many more Hezbollah operatives and senior figures including IRGC personnel in Syria, so on balance it's a bigger loss" for Iran's allies, Sabet said. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, John Davison in London, Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Additional reporting by Maya Gebeily in Beirut, Parisa Hafezi in Dubai; Writing by John Davison; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel; mailto:John.Davison@thomsonreuters.com)

Hezbollah says it shoots down Israeli drone over Lebanon
Reuters/June 10, 2024
Lebanon's Hezbollah militia said its air defences downed an Israeli attack drone over southern Lebanon on Monday, and the Israeli military confirmed the loss of the drone. "A surface-to-air missile was launched toward an Israeli Air Force UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) that was operating in Lebanese airspace. As a result, the UAV was damaged and fell in Lebanese territory," the Israeli military said. Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement it hit a Hermes 900 aircraft, an Israeli-made reconnaissance and attack drone. The Israel-Lebanon border has seen an uptick in hostilities over the past week, with both the Israeli military and Hezbollah striking locations outside the border strip where the exchanges of fire have been concentrated, and with increased intensity. Earlier on Monday Hezbollah said it attacked with a "squadron of drones" an Israeli military post in the Golan Heights. Israel's military said it identified two drones crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel and falling in the northern part of the Golan Heights. Israel's military also said its fighter jets struck two Hezbollah military structures and a launch post in the areas of Aitaroun and Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah attacks Israeli military site in Golan Heights
Reuters/June 10/2024
The Lebanese group Hezbollah said it attacked an Israeli military site in the Golan Heights on Monday with a swarm of drones. The group added in a statement that it injured Israeli soldiers and caused part of the military site to catch fire.

Southern Front: Hezb Shoots Down Israeli Hermes 900 Drone
This Is Beirut/June 10/2024
The exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli army continued until late afternoon Monday. Hezbollah announced in the afternoon that it had shot down an Israeli Hermes 900 drone over Iqlim al-Tuffah airspace with a surface-to-air missile. The Israeli army confirmed “the shooting down of an air force drone in the skies over Lebanon, the fifth since the start of the war.” The Israeli air force retaliated by targeting the location where the drone was shot down, on the heights of Jabal al-Rihan. Earlier, the Israeli air force had launched raids against the villages of Aitaroun and Aita al-Shaab.For its part, Hezbollah announced that it had targeted two buildings in which Israeli soldiers were stationed in the settlement of Al-Manara. It also targeted the Shebaa Farms radar site and the Bayad Blida radar site. Hezbollah also said it had launched a swarm of drones at the newly created command headquarters of the 146th division east of Nahariya, targeting the locations and settlements of Israeli officers and soldiers, leading to its destruction and causing the death or injury of personnel. It also declared that it had carried out another attack with a swarm of drones against a headquarter of the 210th Sha’al Golan division leadership, “targeting the locations of Israeli officers and soldiers, causing confirmed casualties among them.”

Hezbollah attacks north Israel in response to strikes on south
Naharnet /June 10/2024
Hezbollah targeted Monday several Israeli posts, in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanese villages. The group said it attacked with suicide drones a command center east of the Mediterranean seaside town of Nahariya, in response to strikes on the southern border villages of Aitaroun and Markaba that killed two Hezbollah members Saturday.Israeli media said the drones caused a fire in Kabri, east of Nahariya. Hezbollah also attacked two buildings used by Israeli soldiers in al-Manara and another building in Yir'on, in response to strikes on the villages of Houla and Shebaa. It later targeted the Bayyad Blida post with a suicide drone, a building in Avivim in response to strikes on Aitaroun, and surveillance equipment in the Ramim barracks. Hezbollah carried out Sunday six attacks on Israeli posts in northern Israel and in the occupied Kfarshouba Heights, including with suicide drones. It also fired for the second time since the war erupted air defense missiles at an Israeli warplane in south Lebanon, "forcing it to retreat beyond the border."Hezbollah fired last week for the first time air defense missiles at Israeli warplanes that the group said were "breaking the sound barrier and terrorizing children" in south Lebanon. The group has stepped up its attacks, striking deeper inside Israel and introducing new and more advanced weaponry. Last month, Hezbollah struck a military post in northern Israel using a drone that fired two missiles, the first successful missile airstrike it has launched from within Israeli airspace. Hezbollah's use of more advanced weaponry, including drones capable of firing missiles, explosive drones and the small type of guided missile known as Almas, or Diamond, that was used to attack a base controlling a surveillance balloon raised alarms within the Israeli military. Israel in response ramped up in past weeks its targeting of Hezbollah fighters and allied militants in cars and on motorbikes in south Lebanon. Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces in the eight months since the Gaza war began, triggered by the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack. The deadly clashes have intensified in recent weeks, causing multiple brush fires on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border and raising fears the conflict could broaden.More than eight months of border violence, which began on October 8, has killed 458 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but including about 90 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side of the border, at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed, according to the army.

WhatsApp Messages Sow Panic in South Lebanon Residents
This Is Beirut/June 10/2024
A recent wave of panic in southern Lebanon has been triggered by a series of alarming messages, causing widespread distress among residents. The source of these messages is unclear, but some are believed to have been “pranks” by local Lebanese citizens.
In Bazouriya, a WhatsApp message received just after midnight warned of an imminent Israeli army attack on a specific site, leading to an urgent evacuation facilitated by Civil Defense members from the Islamic Health Authority. This disruption resulted in local schools closing and the postponement of end-of-year exams. Similar incidents have been reported elsewhere. Citizens reported receiving identical messages before the Israeli airstrike in Wadi Jilou last week. The attack led to the destruction of a three-story building, fires in nearby structures and four casualties. In Srifa, an audio recording of a young man claiming he received a call from the Israeli army led to the evacuation of the Niha neighborhood. This turned out to be a prank by local youth, yet it caused significant alarm and logistical responses by local ambulance teams. In Ghandouriyeh, threatening letters purportedly from the Israeli army were found to have been sent from within Lebanon. Furthermore, tensions on the southern borders escalated on Monday morning. In retaliation to Israel’s attacks on Hula and Shebaa, Hezbollah announced in a statement that it had targeted two buildings in the Manara settlement, causing casualties. Israeli media reported that Hezbollah’s actions caused significant distress among over 200,000 citizens in Acre and Krayot. Israeli forces also targeted Hanin, Mays al-Jabal and Bint Jbeil with artillery shelling, alongside intense air raids on the outskirts of Wadi Hunin.

Opposition MPs remain open to consultations amid presidential vacuum, statement affirms
LBCI/June 10/2024
The Coordination Committee of Opposition MPs reiterated on Monday that both current and former opposition deputies remain open to time-limited consultations, as is currently happening, without setting new precedents that contradict constitutional norms, and without any conditions, especially regarding imposing a specific candidate. They urged other parties to head to the Parliament for an open election session to elect a president, ensuring that all blocs attend, in accordance with Article 74 of the constitution. The opposition MPs highlighted in a statement that from the onset of the presidential deadline, they have relied on constitutional mechanisms to fulfill it by attending all election sessions, supporting a specific candidate, and welcoming the efforts of "friendly nations" and the Quintet Committee. The statement continued: "Opposition MPs have repeatedly responded to all initiatives and are currently open to consultations with the Democratic Gathering and the Free Patriotic Movement, which previously led to a consensus on a centrist candidate." The MPs viewed these consultations as a necessary form of dialogue that helps bring different parties together. They stressed their commitment to ensuring that these discussions are not used as a cover for constitutional violations, whether these violations become new norms or happen just once with everyone's acceptance. They stressed that consultations should not bypass the Quintet Committee's initiatives or revert to what the Speaker of Parliament has subtly proposed, which serves his party's approach, contradicting constitutional principles. The statement highlighted that the opposition MPs have tried to find common ground by agreeing on a centrist candidate. This candidate received almost 60 votes in the last election session, which took place exactly a year ago. They confirmed that all these efforts are aimed at completing the deadline and electing a sovereign, reformist president who will recreate legitimate, effective, and cohesive authority that represents the aspirations of the Lebanese people in restoring and reforming the state at all levels.

LF says consultations not obligatory, tells Berri to call for successive electoral rounds
Naharnet/June 10/2024
The Lebanese Forces on Monday hit back at remarks by Speaker Nabih Berri, stressing that the “consultations” that he is calling for are not “obligatory as he is saying.”“There is not any constitutional text that says that ‘consultations are the obligatory pathway’ and we call on Speaker Berri and others to abide by the constitution and its texts,” the LF’s media department added in a statement. “Consultations over the presidential juncture have been ongoing since the period that preceded the presidential vacuum, but these consultations have run into and are still running into the obstruction of electoral sessions on the one hand and insistence on a single candidate on the other hand, despite the inability to elect him (Suleiman Franjieh),” the LF added. “The way to break the presidential deadlock is very easy, which is for Speaker Berri to call for an electoral session with successive rounds until a president is elected, and for the MPs of Sepaker Berri and the Axis of Defiance to take part in all the rounds and give up their obstructive approach,” the party said.

Berri asks where's Lebanon interest in refusing dialogue
Naharnet/June 10/2024
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said there is no backing down from presidential consultations. Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, in remarks published Monday, that consultations are "obligatory" to break the presidential deadlock, accusing "some" parties of obstructing the election of a president. Berri has called for a dialogue to break the impasse. He insists that only dialogue would solve the presidential crisis, while the Lebanese Forces party refuses a dialogue chaired by Berri. The party says a president should be elected in parliament not chosen through prior consultations.
"Where is Lebanon’s interest in the rejection of communication that could lead to a consensus on a president's name, in light of the political divisions and the escalation in the south?", Berri asked. The Speaker told the daily he is satisfied with a French-American statement that called for de-escalation in south Lebanon. Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces in the eight months since the Gaza war began, triggered by the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack. The deadly clashes have intensified in recent weeks, causing multiple brush fires on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border and raising fears the conflict could broaden. More than eight months of border violence has killed 458 people in Lebanon, mostly fighters but including about 90 civilians. On the Israeli side of the border, at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed, according to the army.

Presidential Election: Opposition MPs Receptive to Any Initiative
This Is Beirut/June 10/2024
Opposition MPs have announced that they are “receptive to all initiatives” aimed at breaking the deadlock in the presidential elections. In a statement issued on Monday evening, opposition MPs said they were “ready to consult with the Progressive Socialist Party bloc, but also with the Free Patriotic Movement, which (FPM) had opted for a centrist candidate” in allusion to former minister Jihad Azour, for whom the opposition and the FPM had voted at the June 14, 2023 session. The statement was issued after a meeting in Saifi between opposition MPs and delegations from the PSP and FPM. The latter are currently mobilizing with various blocs in an attempt to unblock the presidential elections. “These consultations, as perceived by opposition MPs, are in themselves a model for the required consultation, which aims to reconcile differing viewpoints among the parties involved,” reads the press release. However, the opposition deputies expressed their “refusal to allow these consultations to turn into ploys aimed at violating the Constitution and circumventing the initiatives of the Group of Five (United States, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt).” It added: “These maneuvers, repeated in previous elections (by the pro-Hezbollah moumaanaa axis), led to the collapse we are witnessing today.”The sovereignist MPs thus reiterated their “openness to consultations limited in time, as they are currently taking place, free from any consecration of new norms that violate constitutional principles, and without any preconditions, in particular concerning the imposition of a candidate, so as to persuade the opposing camp to convene an open session in Parliament to elect the President of the Republic.”

MP Bassil: Whoever is waiting for a settlement, it is an "irrational" and uncalculated wait
LBCI/June 10/2024
MP Gebran Bassil mentioned that, "whoever is waiting for a settlement, it is an "irrational" and uncalculated wait, since a settlement may come soon and not bring a solution."After meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh, he stated, "We agreed that understanding is much better than elections, and the most important thing is ensuring the success of the mandate in addition to securing the elections."He added, "I am not the one with the initiative, and it is not my job, but we seek to work with everyone to achieve the constitutional process."He considered that "the real settlement is the understanding between the Lebanese, and we cannot succeed in electing a president except by reaching an understanding, and it must be on a consensual president." In response to Frangieh regarding Geagea's nomination, Bassil pointed out, "Whoever wants to present such a proposal must make precise calculations, and we previously proposed to Frangieh to proceed with the principle of the strongest Christian, but he did not agree, so why would he agree now?

Mikati in Jordan to participate in the "Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza" conference
LBCI/June 10/2024
The caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrived in Jordan to participate in the "Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza" conference, which will be held on Monday and Tuesday, with the joint invitation of Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The Prime Minister arrived at Queen Alia Airport in Amman with a delegation including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Abdallah Bou Habib and Minister of Environment Nasser Yassin. Mikati was welcomed at the official reception ceremony and was received at the airport by Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs Ibrahim Jazi, Mayor of Amman Yousef Shawarbeh, Governor of the capital Yasser Adwan, and Lebanese Ambassador to Jordan Youssef Emile Raji.

Benjamin Hassan becomes first tennis player from Lebanon to compete in Paris Olympics
Reuters/June 10/2024
Benjamin Hassan and Danka Kovinic have been named as the first two tennis players confirmed to take part in the Paris Olympics after they were awarded 'Universality Places' into the men's and women's singles competitions, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Monday. Hassan will become the first tennis player from Lebanon to compete in the Olympics, while Montenegro's Kovinic will appear in her second Olympics after making her debut in Rio 2016. "Universality Places are awarded to nations who are under-represented in the Olympic Games," the ITF said in a statement. Hassan said it was a great pleasure to represent his country at the Olympics. "This means even more for me, knowing I had to withdraw from Tokyo 2020 at the last minute due to an injury," he said in a statement. "I had a dream of reaching stellar positions and representing my country in international tournaments," said Kovinic. "Taking part in the Paris 2024 Olympic Tennis Event is an important milestone in realising my dreams."

Security Forces Held by Mutineers in Roumieh Prison
This is Beirut/June 10/2024
Inmates detained several security forces menbers in a mutiny at Roumieh central prison on Monday afternoon. A special force was called in to control the situation.
It was reported that riot police stormed the convicts’ building in Roumieh prison, in order to quell a prisoner uprising. Al-Jadeed TV channel said “an uprising and unrest inside Roumieh prison was reported” and that as a result, “clouds of smoke were seen billowing outside the prison.”

Presidency: Further Initiatives Hinge on Shiite Duo’s Position
Bassam Abou Zeid/This Is Beirut/June 10/2024
The saga of the presidential election in Lebanon keeps unfolding with a series of initiatives that have yet to translate into tangible outcomes. The five-nation Quintet Committee (France, US, Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia) is in full swing, in parallel to Qatar’s own initiative and the efforts of the French presidential envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian. Adding to that is the initiative of the National Moderation bloc and that of the Democratic Gathering bloc, which are still trying to make their way. In parallel, the Strong Republic bloc has launched in the last few days an initiative of its own. In this context, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Gebran Bassil, and FPM MPs are reaching out to political leaders and parties to put forward this latest plan of action. Amidst a series of initiatives and diplomatic efforts, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri is adamantly refusing to convene a new parliamentary session for the election of a president of the Republic, the last one dating back to June 14, 2023. Nearly one year later, all the initiatives for electing a president have failed to secure the necessary commitment from the Shiite duo Amal-Hezbollah and their allies to ensure the required quorum to hold the electoral session. None of the initiatives succeeded in modifying Berri’s stance and determination to convene a dialogue session or consultation, and be the one leading it. On Monday, a meeting is set to take place at the Kataeb headquarters between the opposition and members of the FPM’s Strong Republic bloc. The main objective of the meeting, which will include representatives from the Lebanese Forces (LF), is to review Bassil’s initiative. However, the participants will highlight that the issue of dialogue and consultation requested by Berri — which will probably be bypassed by Bassil’s initiative — is still problematic for the LF. In this context, how can the speaker of Parliament, a main party in the crisis, summon and preside over such an initiative without meeting the opposition halfway? The idea here would be to let go of Hezbollah’s candidate, Marada leader Seiman Frangieh. But sources within the LF indicated that there has been no shift in Hezbollah’s or Nabih Berri’s stance regarding the presidential dossier. The speaker of Parliament is keen on securing a political win by orchestrating a dialogue with the opposition and other political parties on his terms, without any guarantee that this dialogue will culminate in the election of a president.

Will Hajjar Get the Better of Ghada Aoun’s Judicial Blunders?
Roger Merheb/This Is Beirut/June 10/2024
Following years of abuse and judicial misconduct, Ghada Aoun, the Public Prosecutor at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal, was finally scheduled to appear before the Judicial Disciplinary Council on Monday at 3 PM. Since her dismissal in May 2023, Aoun has repeatedly refused to comply with summonses from this judicial body. Ghada Aoun has consistently disregarded multiple judicial proceedings initiated against her by her superiors, leveraging the political protection of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which she was confident placed her above the law.
Today, more than three months after Judge Jamal Hajjar’s interim appointment as Acting Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, it is time for Ghada Aoun to comply with the procedures she once sneered. In fact, the head of the public prosecutor’s office has instructed the judicial police (including State Security, General Security, Internal Security Forces, and Customs) to disregard Aoun’s instructions. This move effectively removes her from all cases she was handling — illegally — since she has been dismissed from her position.
Given the circumstances, it is important to go back on the misconduct of the notorious prosecutor who, while claiming to fight corruption, launched a full-blown witch hunt against the opponents of the FPM, thereby practicing a selective and twisted form of justice, trampling upon its most fundamental principles.
In 2019, following the October popular uprising against the Lebanese ruling class, Ghada Aoun embarked on a path that primarily served the interests of the Aounist party, especially its leader, Gebran Bassil. She launched an all-out campaign against politicians, security chiefs, the Lebanese Central Bank (BDL) governor, and bankers, with the sole aim of directing the anger of the Lebanese people toward specific targets. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, along with his son Maher and nephew Azmi (Taha Mikati’s son, brother of the Prime Minister), were Ghada Aoun’s initial targets. They faced allegations of illicit enrichment through subsidized housing loans from the Banque de l’Habitat. The Prime Minister’s camp has vehemently denied these accusations, claiming to be the victims of a smear campaign.
In 2020, Aoun picked two new targets: General Imad Osman, the Director General of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), and Brigadier General Hussein Saleh. They were singled out for alleged misconduct in their duties, which, according to her, impeded the progress of the investigation into the “subsidized dollars” case. In 2021, the magistrate continued her investigation into several individuals and businesses, notably targeting the Mecattaf company for its involvement in fund transfers as well as its CEO, Michel Mecattaf. The latter tragically passed away on March 18, 2022, from a heart attack following unproven allegations of money laundering. Aoun failed miserably in proving these accusations, despite repeated promises to “uncover the truth.”Ghada Aoun publicly accused Michel Mecattaf on social media, passing an arbitrary verdict that found him guilty. She conducted several unauthorized raids on the premises of his internationally renowned company, which consistently operated in accordance with local and international monetary regulations, earning the trust of its international partners. She then surprisingly handed out the seized documents and computers of the company to a nun with supposedly close ties to the Syrian regime and whom the notorious judge highly trusted. In 2022, Ghada Aoun targeted Riad Salame, then Governor of the Centra Bank, along with four former vice governors, holding them accountable for the country’s deepening financial crisis. Through social media, she unleashed a barrage of accusations against them, all lacking concrete evidence. Ghada Aoun’s peculiar logic dictates that individuals are deemed guilty until proven innocent — a stance that conveniently serves the interests of her supporters. Finally, she filed complaints against the former director of the Ministry of Finance, Alain Bifani, BDL employees, and the international consulting firm Deloitte, which had audited the BDL in 2018. Aoun conducted a search of the governor’s villa in Rabieh, north of Beirut, escorted by a patrol from the State Security Service, led by Tony Saliba, who is also close to the FPM. These relentless maneuvers against the BDL and its governor were mainly driven by the FPM’s aim to deflect attention from the disastrous governance of the country during the mandate of the party’s founder, former President Michel Aoun.
The FPM, which was politically dominant within successive governments during Michel Aoun’s tumultuous term, sought to put the blame for Lebanon’s economic and financial woes solely on Riad Salame. Additionally, they aimed to exert control over the banking sector through figures close to the Aounist camp. This agenda required a judicial front, for which Ghada Aoun was more than ready. At no point did she consider directing her anti-corruption investigation towards the ministries that were draining billions from the central bank without providing the services they were responsible for.
When Judge Aoun Escapes Justice
Repeatedly brought before the Judicial Disciplinary Council, Aoun adamantly refused to yield to her superiors as her transgressions kept piling up. These include her meetings with businessman Omar Harfoush and her suspicious dealings with French lawyer William Bourdon, who has been involved in complaints against Riad Salame through his association, Sherpa. She did not hesitate to spread inaccurate information and defamatory messages on social media, targeting her “opponents,” notably former Prosecutor of the Republic, Ghassan Oueidate. Through her acts, Ghada Aoun was flagrantly seeking to undermine the judicial system. Always finding ways to evade notification of the proceedings brought against her, Aoun was stripped, in 2023, by Prosecutor Oueidate, of all the financial files she had been jealously following. Subsequently, she was ousted from the judiciary by the Disciplinary Council for abuses of power and defiance of judicial procedural rules. Despite these disciplinary actions, Ghada Aoun is adamant on doing things her way. Today, the new Prosecutor, Jamal Hajjar, signs Aoun’s dismissal. Will he succeed in addressing her long-standing judicial transgressions and violations of the law?

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 10-11/2024
Israel-Hamas war: UN Security Council adopts US resolution for 'immediate and complete ceasefire'
Angela Weiss, AFP/June 10, 2024
The U.N. Security Council on Monday approved its first resolution endorsing a cease-fire plan aimed at ending the eight-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The U.S.-sponsored resolution welcomes a cease-fire proposal announced by President Joe Biden that the United States says Israel has accepted. It calls on the militant Palestinian group Hamas, which initially said it viewed the proposal “positively,” to accept the three-phase plan. It urges Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”The resolution — which was approved overwhelmingly with 14 of the 15 Security Council members voting in favor and Russia abstaining — also calls on Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters earlier on Monday that the United States wanted all 15 Security Council members to support what he described as “the best, most realistic opportunity to bring at least a temporary halt to this war.”Whether Israel and Hamas agree to the three-phase cease-fire plan remains in question, but the resolution’s strong support in the U.N.’s most powerful body puts added pressure on both parties to approve the proposal. Phase three would launch “a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the remains of any deceased hostages still in Gaza to their families.”

Hamas welcomes UN Security Council resolution for Gaza ceasefire
Reuters/June 10, 2024
Hamas welcomed on Monday a U.N. Security Council resolution backing a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying it is ready to cooperate with mediators over implementing the principles of the plan. "Hamas welcomes what is included in the Security Council resolution that affirmed the permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the complete withdrawal, the prisoners' exchange, the reconstruction, the return of the displaced to their areas of residence, the rejection of any demographic change or reduction in the area of the Gaza Strip, and the delivery of needed aid to our people in the Strip," the militant group said in a statement. Hamas also said it was willing to engage in indirect negotiations over implementing the principles "that are consistent with the demands of our people and resistance." The U.N. Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution backing a proposal outlined by President Joe Biden for a ceasefire in Gaza. Russia abstained from the vote, while the remaining 14 council members voted in favor. The U.S. had finalized its text on Sunday after six days of negotiations among council members.

What does Israel's rescue of 4 captives, and the killing of 274 Palestinians, mean for truce talks?
Tia Goldenberg/TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)/June 10, 2024
Israel's dramatic weekend rescue of four hostages from the Gaza Strip, in an operation that local health officials say killed 274 Palestinians, came at a sensitive time in the 8-month-old war, as Israel and Hamas weigh a U.S. proposal for a cease-fire and the release of the remaining captives. Both sides face renewed pressure to make a deal: The complex rescue is unlikely to be replicated on a scale needed to bring back scores of remaining hostages, and it was a powerful reminder for Israelis that there are still surviving captives held in harsh conditions. Hamas now has four fewer bargaining chips.
But they could also dig in, as they repeatedly have over months of indirect negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. Hamas is still insisting on an end to the war as part of any agreement, while Israel says it is still committed to destroying the militant group. Here is a look at the fallout from the operation and how it might affect cease-fire talks:
ELATION, AND MOUNTING CALLS FOR A DEAL
The rescue operation was Israel’s most successful since the start of the war, bringing home four of the roughly 250 captives seized by Hamas in its Oct. 7 cross-border attack, including Noa Argamani, who became an icon of the struggle to free the hostages. The raid also killed at least 274 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, deepening the suffering of people in Gaza who have had to endure the brutal war and a humanitarian catastrophe. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its tallies.The rescue was met with elation in Israel, which is still reeling from the Hamas attack and agonizing over the fate of the 80 captives and the remains of over 40 others still held in Gaza. Israeli hard-liners are likely to seize on it as proof that military pressure alone will bring the rest back. But only three other hostages have been freed by military force since the start of the war. Another three were mistakenly killed by Israeli forces after they escaped on their own, and Hamas says others have been killed in Israeli airstrikes. “If anyone believes that yesterday’s operation absolves the government of the need to strike a deal, they are living a fantasy," Israeli columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper. "There are people out there who need to be saved, and the sooner the better.”Even the Israeli army's spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, acknowledged the limits of military force. “What will bring most of the hostages back home alive is a deal,” he told reporters. Over 100 hostages were released during a weeklong cease-fire last year, in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, and reaching a similar agreement is still widely seen as the only way of getting the rest of the hostages back. Hours after Saturday's rescue, tens of thousands of Israelis attended protests in Tel Aviv calling for such a deal. U.S. President Joe Biden last week announced a proposal for a phased plan for a cease-fire and hostage release, setting in motion the administration’s most concentrated diplomatic push for a truce. Biden described it as an Israeli proposal, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly questioned some aspects of it, particularly its call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a lasting truce. His ultranationalist coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government if he ends the war without destroying Hamas. That appears to have only deepened suspicions on the part of Hamas, which has demanded international guarantees that the war will end. It's unclear if such guarantees have been offered, and Hamas has not yet officially responded to the plan.
NETANYAHU SEEKS TO GAIN
The rescue operation was a rare win for Netanyahu, who many Israelis blame for the security failures leading up to the Oct. 7 attack and the failure to return the hostages despite months of grinding war. He has reveled in the operation’s success, rushing Saturday to the hospital where the freed hostages were held and meeting with each of them as cameras rolled. The rescue operation will likely help rehabilitate his image. But as the elation fades, he will still face heavy pressure from an American administration that wants to wind the war down and an ultranationalist base that wants to vanquish Hamas at all costs. His main political opponent, the retired general Benny Gantz, quit the emergency wartime coalition on Sunday, leaving Netanyahu even more beholden to the hard-liners. Netanyahu is already facing criticism from some of the families of deceased hostages, who say they received no such visits and accuse him of only taking credit for the war's successes. Israel will also likely face heightened international pressure over the raid's high Palestinian death toll. “The success in freeing four hostages is a magnificent tactical victory that has not changed our deplorable strategic situation,” columnist Ben Caspit wrote in Israel’s Maariv daily. It all makes for a tough balancing act, even for someone like Netanyahu, who friends and foes alike consider to be a master politician. The operation could provide the kind of boost with the Israeli public that would allow him to justify making a deal with Hamas. Or he might conclude that time is on his side, and that he can drive a harder bargain with the militants as they grapple with a major setback.
HAMAS LOSES BARGAINING CHIPS
Hamas has lost four precious bargaining chips it had hoped to trade for high-profile Palestinian prisoners. Argamani, widely known from a video showing her pleading for her life as militants dragged her away on a motorcycle, was a particularly significant loss for Hamas.The raid may have also dealt a blow to Hamas’ morale. In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas managed to humiliate a country with a far superior army, and since then it has repeatedly regrouped despite devastating military operations across Gaza. But the fact that Israel was able to mount a complex rescue operation in broad daylight in the center of a crowded urban area has at least temporarily restored some of the mystique that Israel's security forces lost on Oct. 7. The operation also refocused global attention on the hostage crisis at a time when the U.S. is rallying world pressure on Hamas to accept the cease-fire deal. But Hamas has a long history of withstanding pressure from Israel and others — often at enormous cost to Palestinians. The militants may conclude that it's best to use the remaining hostages to end the war while they still can — or they might just look for better places to hide them.

Israel alleges journalist held hostages in Gaza, without providing evidence
Lauren Izso and Michael Rios, CNN/June 10, 2024
Three hostages rescued during a deadly Israeli military operation on the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza were held captive by a journalist, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) alleged Sunday, without providing evidence to support their claim. In a statement, the IDF claimed freed hostages Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv were held by journalist Abdallah Aljamal and his family members at their home in the central Gaza camp. The three men, who were kidnapped by Hamas militants from the Nova music festival on October 7, were rescued after being held captive for 246 days, in an IDF special operation on Saturday along with a fourth hostage, Noa Argamani. There are varying reports on the number of Palestinians killed during the operation. The latest figures from Gazan authorities say 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 injured – which would mark one of the deadliest days in months for people living in Gaza. The IDF has disputed those numbers, saying it estimated the number of casualties from the operation was “under 100.” CNN cannot independently verify either side’s figures. Aljamal was killed in the IDF operation along with his wife and father, according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor chairman Ramy Abdu, citing initial testimony gathered by the group documenting the IDF’s alleged killings in the Nuseirat camp on Saturday. Aljamal lived on the first floor of a multi-story building, according to Euro-Med. The IDF said the hostages were found on the third floor. CNN is attempting to reach out to people familiar with Aljamal.
Israeli claims
The IDF statement claimed Aljamal was a Hamas operative and a journalist for Al Jazeera. The allegations come a month after Israel expelled the Qatar-based network from the country under a new wartime law that allows the Israeli government to ban foreign media it deems harmful to its security. In a statement Sunday, Al Jazeera called Israel’s allegations “completely unfounded” and “a continuation of the process of slander and misinformation aimed at harming Al Jazeera’s reputation, professionalism, and independence.” Aljamal never worked for the network but had once contributed to an opinion piece published on its website, Al Jazeera said. Al Jazeera’s website credits Aljamal as the author of an op-ed published in 2019. His biography page on the site describes him as a “Gaza-based reporter and photojournalist.”Aljamal was a freelance contributor to The Palestine Chronicle, according to the US-based online outlet. The Chronicle said it was saddened by Aljamal’s death, noting his reports “have focused entirely on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”Meanwhile, an X account linked to Israel’s Foreign Ministry claimed Aljamal was a spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Labor, citing unnamed sources in Gaza.
Without providing evidence, the Israeli X account also claimed that Argamani was held in Aljamal’s home, before later saying the three men were held captive there.
‘Hell on earth’
The Israeli military operation Saturday to free the four hostages took place mid-morning, when the streets were teeming with people shopping at a nearby market. It left a trail of devastation in civilian areas, where the IDF claimed Hamas militants were embedded. Residents described the Israeli attack as “hell on earth,” with scenes of carnage following the strikes that led up to the rescue. Eyewitnesses described civilians being struck down by airstrikes and shrapnel. Footage from the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital showed trucks and ambulances transferring injured people and bodies to the hospital. Graphic footage shows many Palestinians, including children, injured with blood on their faces and clothes, and the hospital’s emergency room overwhelmed. The four rescued hostages are in “good medical condition” and are receiving medical attention, according to the IDF. More than 70 hostages held in Gaza since Hamas’ deadly surprise attack on October 7 are believed to be alive. Intensive negotiations over a ceasefire and a deal to swap hostages for Palestinian prisoners have stalled recently following months of talks. Hostage freeing operations are extremely rare. More than 100 hostages were freed under a temporary truce last year, while Israel has rescued seven hostages by military means. However, Saturday’s operation shows such operations are still possible and may encourage further efforts from the Israeli military, given a major goal of Israel’s Gaza offensive is to rescue the remaining hostages. In a video address following the operation, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari commended Israeli special forces for successfully rescuing the four hostages, and said the military would not lose sight of those still held by Hamas. “We will not stop fighting for their freedom,” he said. Israel last month pressed ahead with its ground operation in central Rafah despite international condemnation for its escalation in the southern Gaza city where some 1.3 million Palestinians were taking shelter before Israel began its operation there.

Blinken meets with Netanyahu in Israel and urges Hamas to accept ceasefire proposal
Updated 10 June 2024
now seeking a vote backing the ceasefire proposal at the UN Security Council
TEL AVIV: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his latest trip to the Middle East, where America’s top diplomat urged approval of a ceasefire proposal that faced new uncertainty following Israel’s hostage rescue operation that killed many Palestinians and turmoil in Netanyahu’s government. With no firm public response yet from Hamas or Israel to the proposal they received 10 days ago, Blinken started his eighth visit to the region since the conflict began in October by meeting with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt, a key mediator with the militant Hamas group. He then flew to Israel for talks with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. Blinken once again called on Hamas to accept the plan, which he said has wide international support. “If you want a ceasefire, press Hamas to say ‘yes,’” he told reporters before leaving Cairo on the trip that also will take him to Jordan and Qatar. Blinken said Israel has accepted the proposal, though Netanyahu has expressed skepticism. “I know that there are those who are pessimistic about the prospects,” Blinken said, putting the onus on Hamas. “That’s understandable. Hamas continues to show extraordinary cynicism in its actions, a disinterest not only in the well-being and security of Israelis but also Palestinians.” While President Joe Biden, Blinken and other US officials have praised the rescue of four Israeli hostages on Saturday, the operation resulted in the deaths of 274 Palestinian civilians and may complicate the ceasefire push by emboldening Israel and hardening Hamas’ resolve to carry on fighting in the war that started with its Oct. 7 attack in Israel. Blinken said the plan is the “single best way” to get to a ceasefire, release the remaining hostages and improve regional security.
In his talks with El-Sisi, Blinken also discussed plans for post-conflict governance and reconstruction in Gaza. “It’s imperative that there be a plan, and that has to involve security, it has to involve governance, it has to involve reconstruction,” Blinken said.
Netanyahu and his government have resisted calls for any “day after” plan that would bar Israel from having some form of security presence in the territory. Blinken said he would urge Israel to come up with alternatives that would be acceptable.
“It would be very good if Israel put forward its own ideas on this, and I’ll be talking to the government about that,” he said. “But one way or another, we’ve got to have these plans, we’ve got to have them in place, we’ve got to be ready to go if we want to take advantage of a ceasefire.”
The three-phase plan calls for the release of more hostages and a temporary pause in hostilities that will last as long as it takes to negotiate the second phase, which aims to bring the release of all hostages, a “full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza” and “a permanent end to hostilities,” according to an American-drafted resolution put before the UN Security Council. The third phase calls for reconstruction in Gaza. The Security Council voted Monday to approve the resolution, which welcomes the proposal and urges Hamas to accept it. The vote on the US-sponsored resolution was 14-0, with Russia abstaining.
But Hamas may not be the only obstacle. Although the deal has been described as an Israeli initiative and thousands of Israelis have demonstrated to support it, Netanyahu has expressed skepticism, saying what has been presented publicly is not accurate and that Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas.
Netanyahu’s far-right allies have threatened to collapse his government if he implements the plan. Benny Gantz, a popular centrist, resigned on Sunday from the three-member War Cabinet after saying he would do so if the prime minister did not formulate a new plan for postwar Gaza.
In the aftermath of the hostage rescue, Netanyahu had urged him not to step down. Blinken has met with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Gantz and Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on nearly all his previous trips to Israel. Officials said Blinken is expected to meet with Gantz on Tuesday.
Despite Blinken’s roughly once-a-month visits to the region since the war began, the conflict has ground on with more than 37,120 Palestinians killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its counts. Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage.The war has severely hindered the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to the Palestinians in Gaza, who are facing widespread hunger. UN agencies say more than 1 million people in the territory could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July. In Jordan, Blinken will take part in an emergency international conference on improving the flow of aid to Gaza.

Blinken returns to Mideast as Israel-Hamas cease-fire proposal hangs in balance after hostage rescue
Matthew Lee/TEL AVIV (AP)/June 10, 2024
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned Monday to the Middle East as a proposed Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal hangs in the balance after the rescue of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza in a military raid and following the latest turmoil in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
With no firm public response yet from Hamas or Israel to the proposal they received 10 days ago, Blinken started his eighth visit to the region since the conflict began in October by meeting with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, a key mediator with the militant Hamas group, and then talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blinken once again called on Hamas to accept the plan, which he said has wide international support. “If you want a cease-fire, press Hamas to say ‘yes,’” he told reporters before leaving Cairo on the trip that will take him to Israel, Jordan and Qatar. Blinken said Israel has accepted the proposal, though Netanyahu has not said so directly. “I know that there are those who are pessimistic about the prospects,” Blinken said, putting the onus squarely on Hamas. “That’s understandable. Hamas continues to show extraordinary cynicism in its actions, a disinterest not only in the well-being and security of Israelis but also Palestinians.”Blinken said the plan on the table is the “single best way” to get to a cease-fire, release the remaining hostages and improve regional security. While President Joe Biden, Blinken and other U.S. officials have praised the hostage rescue, the operation resulted in the deaths of a large number of Palestinian civilians and may complicate the cease-fire push by emboldening Israel and hardening Hamas' resolve to carry on fighting in the war it started with its Oct. 7 attack into Israel. “It’s hard to say how Hamas will process this particular operation and what it will do to its determination about whether it will say yes or not,” Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Sunday. “We are hopeful that with enough of a chorus, the international community all speaking with one voice, Hamas will get to the right answer,” Sullivan told ABC’s “This Week.” In his talks with el-Sissi, Blinken also discussed plans for post-conflict governance and reconstruction in Gaza, following massive destruction there. “It’s imperative that there be a plan, and that has to involve security, it has to involve governance, it has to involve reconstruction,” Blinken said. Netanyahu and his government have resisted calls for any ‘day after’ plan that would bar Israel from having some form of security presence in the territory. Blinken said he would urge Israel to come up with alternatives that would be acceptable. “It would be very good if Israel put forward its own ideas on this, and I’ll be talking to the government about that,” he said. “But one way or another, we’ve got to have these plans, we’ve got to have them in place, we’ve got to be ready to go if we want to take advantage of a cease-fire.”The three-phase cease-fire plan calls for the release of more hostages and a temporary pause in hostilities that will last as long as it takes to negotiate the second phase, which aims to bring the release of all hostages, a “full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza" and “a permanent end to hostilities,” according to an American-drafted resolution put before the U.N. Security Council. The third phase calls for reconstruction in Gaza.
The Security Council is to vote Monday afternoon on the resolution, which welcomes the proposal and urges Hamas to accept it.
But Hamas may not be the only obstacle.
Although the deal has been described as an Israeli initiative and thousands of Israelis have demonstrated in support of it, Netanyahu has expressed skepticism, saying what has been presented publicly is not accurate and that Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas.Netanyahu's far-right allies have threatened to collapse his government if he implements the plan. Benny Gantz, a popular centrist, resigned on Sunday from the three-member War Cabinet after saying he would do so if the prime minister did not formulate a new plan for postwar Gaza. In the aftermath of the hostage rescue, Netanyahu had urged him not to step down. Blinken has met with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Gantz and Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on nearly all his previous trips to Israel. Officials said Blinken is expected to meet with Gantz on Tuesday. Despite Blinken’s roughly once-a-month visits to the region since the war began, the conflict has ground on with more than 37,120 Palestinians killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its counts. Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage. The war has severely hindered the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to the Palestinians in Gaza, who are facing widespread hunger. U.N. agencies say more than 1 million people in the territory could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July. In Jordan, Blinken will take part in an emergency international conference on improving the flow of aid to Gaza.

Angry scenes as Israeli parliament prepares to vote on conscription law
Steven Scheer/JERUSALEM (Reuters)/June 10, 2024
Israel's parliament prepared to vote on a contentious law on conscripting ultra Orthodox religious students into the military on Monday amid angry scenes in the Knesset as families of some of the Gaza hostages demanded more action to get them home. Coming a day after centrist former general Benny Gantz quit the government in a dispute over the strategic aims of the Gaza war, the vote and confrontations underscored the volatile mix of forces buffeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, now increasingly dependent on his allies from the hard right. The conscription bill, which must still pass further readings and committee hearings after Monday night's vote, would see a gradual entry into the military of some ultra-Orthdox Jews, who have traditionally resisted serving in the armed forces. Although originally put forward by Gantz in 2022 under the previous government, he now opposes the measure, which he says is inadequate for the personnel demands facing the military. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, the last of a group of former generals left following the departure of Gantz and his ally, former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, is expected either to abstain or vote against the bill. By contrast, the religious parties in the coalition, which have strongly opposed a general expansion of conscription, have said they expect the bill to go through. While it would see more ultra Orthodox brought into the military, their numbers would be restricted and the bill would allow some alternatives to military service. "We have a great opportunity that should not be missed. The ultra-Orthodox public must not be pushed into a corner," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of one of the pro-settler parties in the coalition, said in a statement. The issue of lifting some of the restrictions on conscripting ultra Orthodox men into the military has been a divisive issue for decades in a country where broad military service has been seen as one of the bedrocks of its security. Resented by many secular Israelis, it has been more sensitive than ever since the start of the war in Gaza, in which more than 600 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Monday's vote would not be the final stage and the bill could still undergo significant modifications in subsequent readings but lawmakers said they expected it to go through in a vote expected to take place after midnight. "The conscription law will pass," said Yinon Azoulay, a member of Shas, one of two parties in the coalition representing the ultra Orthodox Haredi community. As parliament prepared to vote on the bill, there were angry exchanges at a meeting of the finance committee, where members of some of the hostage families waylaid Smotrich and demanded the government do more to bring the captives home. Inbal Tzach, whose cousin Tal Shoham was one of the 253 Israeli and foreign hostages abducted by Hamas gunmen as they rampaged through the communities near Gaza on Oct. 7, said ministers such as Smotrich needed to do "everything" to get the remaining 120 hostages back. Smotrich, who has ruled out any deal with Hamas and has opposed proposals for a ceasefire deal which would bring the hostages back in an exchange for Palestinian prisoners, dismissed the families' campaign as "cynical". "I will not endanger the State of Israel and its people," he said. "I will not stop the war just before the destruction of Hamas, because this an existential danger to Israel."
(Writing by James Mackenzie)

UN halts aid delivery to Gaza via US pier
AFP/June 10, 2024
The UN World Food Programme has suspended the delivery of aid to Gaza via a temporary US military pier in order to assess the security situation, a spokesperson said Monday. Stephane Dujarric linked the move to an Israeli hostage rescue operation over the weekend that freed four people, but which health officials in Hamas-ruled Gaza say killed 274 people and wounded almost 700, many of them women and children. "World Food Programme colleagues tell us that we are temporarily pausing operations at the floating dock until a thorough assessment of the security situation is conducted to ensure the safety of our staff and our partners," said Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general. "We've all seen what happened in Gaza over the weekend. We've seen some of the media reports. We've also taken note of very public statements by the US Central Command that the floating pier had not been used in the operation by the Israeli forces regarding the hostages," he said. "I think it's only normal after such a such an operation takes place with such a large number of victims, that our humanitarian colleagues take a pause, look at the situation. And hopefully it can be returned to use as quickly as possible from our end," Dujarric added.

Intel says 'timelines can change,' when asked about expansion in Israel
Reuters/June 10, 2024
Intel Corp said in response to a report on Monday that it was halting a $25 billion expansion of its factory in Israel that managing large-scale projects often involves adapting to changing timelines. "Israel continues to be one of our key global manufacturing and R&D sites and we remain fully committed to the region. As we’ve previously noted, the scope and pace of Intel’s manufacturing expansion at our sites around the world depends heavily on various factors," the company said in a statement. "Managing large-scale projects, especially in our industry, often involves adapting to changing timelines. Our decisions are based on business conditions, market dynamics and responsible capital management," it said.

Gains for far-right parties: Here are the main takeaways from European elections
Sky News/June 10, 2024
Far-right parties have made major gains in parliamentary seats for the European Union.
Some ballots in the vote for the European Parliament are still being counted, but the outcome shows the 27-nation bloc's parliamentary membership has clearly shifted to the right. EU elections latest - Macron's message for French voters. In a bitesize breakdown of the elections, here are some of the main takeaways:
Winners
The surge in the far-right had been predicted and appears to have materialised with populist, nationalist and Eurosceptic parties on course to secure just under a quarter of the votes. In France, the National Rally's decisive win sent a clear message to President Emmanuel Macron who responded by calling a snap parliamentary election. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party got 28% of the votes, boosting her position at home and arguably making her one of the strongest leaders in Europe. In Germany, the Alternative for Germany party (AfD) pushed the Chancellor's socialists into third place, stealing more than half a million votes from them. Young people are believed to have been a major source of support with 16-year-olds allowed to vote in Germany for the first time. There, and across Europe, nationalist parties capitalised on concerns over spiralling prices, migration and war.
Losers
Greens across Europe appear to have been one of the main casualties, predicted to lose around 18 seats in the new European Parliament. Since the last vote in 2019, the world has radically changed with the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East potentially altering people's priorities. Amid high inflation and a cost of living crisis, many have transferred their votes to other parties. In Germany, Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats scored their worst result ever with some calling for him to follow Mr Macron's lead. The drubbing came despite the fact the AfD opposition has been plagued with scandals going into the election, including the lead candidate having to step back from campaigning for declaring the Nazi's main paramilitary force, the SS, "were not all criminals". His aide is also being investigated for allegedly spying for China while another candidate faced allegations of receiving cash from a pro-Russian news portal. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also announced he was going to resign following poor election results for his party.
One more thing
While the far-right surge has stolen the headlines, it's important to remember it was the centre-right that were victorious overall with the European People's Party tightening its control on the chamber. Provisional results show they would have around 189 seats and considerable influence in the next parliament.

Election shifts EU Parliament further right, leading Macron to call snap polls
Associated Press
Far-right parties made big gains in the European Parliament in election results that rattled the traditional powers and made French President Emmanuel Macron call snap legislative elections. Macron's party suffered a heavy defeat from the far-right National Rally party, while in Germany support for Olaf Scholz's center-left Social Democrats sank to a projected 14%, behind the extreme-right Alternative for Germany, which surged into second place. Millions of Europeans voted for candidates to serve five-year terms in a new European Parliament, the legislative branch of the 27-member trade bloc. Provisional results from the voting that ended Sunday showed the Christian Democrats would have 189 seats, up 13, the Social Democrats 135, down 4 and the pro-business Renew group 83, down 19. The Greens slumped to 53, down 18.
FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS SNAP ELECTION IS MACRON'S 'BET ON CONFIDENCE' IN THE FRENCH PEOPLE
France's foreign minister said Monday that President Emmanuel Macron's decision to call snap elections after the far right's triumph in the European elections was not "a poker move" but "a bet on confidence in the French people." Stéphane Séjourné said Macron did not take lightly the decision to dissolve the lower house of parliament and call for early elections, which are to start with a first round on June 30 and a second round on July 7. He said the president's coalition partners are now discussing election plans internally while also seeking cooperation with "reasonable people" on the left and right. The aim of the moderate forces is to win, he said. But it's the French people who will decide "on the economic and political future of France and its role in world," Séjourné said in an interview with public broadcaster France Info on Monday.
GREENS AND LEFT-WING PARTIES DO WELL IN NORDIC NATIONS
Greens and left-leaning parties emerged as winners in the three Nordic EU members, underlying how environmental issues remain a focus of concern for many in that region.
Sweden, Denmark and Finland defied a trend seen across much of the EU in which far-right parties surged due to concerns over migration. In Sweden, the far-right Sweden Democrats, who have been gaining support for years and became the second-largest party in 2022 national elections, came in fourth place on Sunday. Christine Nissen, an analyst with the Copenhagen based think tank Europa, said Monday that security remains the top issue for voters in the Nordics, followed by climate and the green transition. Many traditional parties in past years have adopted tough stances on migration. In Denmark, pro-European Union parties prevailed, with the climate-friendly Socialist People's Party making the largest gains. They were followed by the Social Democrats and the Liberals, which are both in the government. In Finland, the governing conservative National Coalition Party garnered the most votes, nearly 25%. However, the Left Alliance made gains and the populist Finns Party lost its share compared to the last EU election, getting just 6%.
HEAD OF FRANCE'S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEFENDS MACRON'S DECISION TO DISSOLVE IT
The president of France's lower house of parliament says the president was not forced to dismiss the National Assembly but did so to show he was responsive to voters.
President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the legislature and called a snap election Sunday night after his party was handed a humbling defeat by the far-right in the European elections. "There were other paths," said Yaël Braun-Pivet, who has presided over the National Assembly since last the legislative elections in June 2022. But, Braun-Pivet, a member of Macron's Renaissance party, said the president acted swiftly to "face reality" and to show that he has heard the voters' message. "We are told too often that we do not hear, that we are cut off from the people, and there, the president took a decision following a very clear vote by the French," Braun-Pivet said in an interview with French public broadcaster on Monday.
AUSTRIA'S FAR-RIGHT PARTY CELEBRATES FIRST WIN IN A NATIONWIDE VOTE
Austria's far-right Freedom Party is celebrating a narrow win in the European Parliament election as the country looks forward to a national vote expected in September.
The Freedom Party took 25.7% of the vote on Sunday, finishing in first place in a nationwide election for the first time. It was followed by Chancellor Karl Nehammer's conservative Austrian People's Party with 24.7% and the center-left opposition Social Democrats with 23.2%. The Greens, Nehammer's junior coalition partners, took 10.7% of the vote. Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl said in a statement that "this election result means nothing less than that Austrians have made history today." He said the party will continue to work to take the chancellor's job later this year. Nehammer acknowledged that there is "great dissatisfaction," the Austria Press Agency reported. He vowed that his party will convince voters it takes their concerns seriously over the coming months by acting against irregular migration and overregulation.
ANTI-IMMIGRANT PARTY ALIGNED WITH HUNGARY'S ORBAN DOES WELL IN SLOVENI
he right-wing opposition Slovenian Democratic Party has won the most votes in the EU election in Slovenia, dealing a blow to the ruling liberal Freedom Movement of Prime Minister Robert Golob. The opposition SDS won 30.8%, or four out of Slovenia's nine parliamentary seats, while Golob's party won 22.1%, or two mandates, according to the election authorities. The remaining three seats went to smaller parties.
SDS leader Janez Jansa, a staunchly anti-immigrant ally of Hungary's hard-line Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, urged the ruling coalition to dissolve parliament and call a snap election. Golob, however, said he was happy with the result and that overall center-left parties won more votes than right-leaning groups.
MAINSTREAM CONSERVATIVES WIN IN GERMANY, WITH SECOND-PLACE FINISH FOR FAR RIGHT
Final results in Germany confirm a clear win for mainstream opposition conservatives, a second-place finish for the far-right Alternative for Germany party and a dismal showing by the three governing parties in the European Parliament election. Official figures Monday showed the center-right Union bloc taking 30% of the vote. Alternative for Germany took 15.9%. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left Social Democrats won only 13.9% of the vote for their worst post-World War II showing yet in a nationwide election. Their two coalition partners, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats, took 11.9% and 5.2% respectively. All were significantly below their results in Germany's 2021 national election. The Greens suffered painful losses compared with the 2019 European election. The new BSW party took 6.2% of the vote. Germany has 96 of the new European Parliament's 720 seats. Of those, 29 went to the Union, 15 to Alternative for Germany, 14 to the Social Democrats, 12 to the Greens, five to the Free Democrats and six to BSW. The rest went to a string of smaller parties.
WIN FOR DONALD TUSK'S CENTRIST PARTY IN POLAND AMID GROWTH OF FAR RIGHT
The centrist party of Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk won the most votes, according to official results, giving it its first electoral victory over a right-wing populist party in a decade. Many people across Europe hailed Tusk's return to power last year as a rare case of a democratic party prevailing over populist and authoritarian forces. While Sunday's voting solidified Tusk's position, the results published Monday also showed that his lead is small, and that support for the far right is rising. His Civic Coalition took 37.1% of the votes in Sunday's EU election. Law and Justice, the party led by Jarosław Kaczyński that held power from 2015 until last year, got 36.2%. That underlined the continued attraction of its nationalist and conservative worldview to many Polish voters, despite reports of corruption during its years in power. Meanwhile, a far-right party, Confederation, had its best result ever, coming third with 12.1% — in line with an EU-wide surge of support for nationalist, anti-EU parties.
INITIAL PROJECTIONS INDICATE ITALIAN PREMIER GIORGIA MELONI'S PARTY HAS WON THE MOST VOTES
Initial projections based on 18% of votes counted in Italy indicate Premier Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party has won the largest percentage of votes in the European parliamentary elections. The projection released by public broadcaster RAI puts Brothers of Italy as the most popular party with 28.5% of the vote, while the center-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) was second with 23.7%. The other main opposition party, the 5-Star Movement, won 10.5%, while Forza Italia, founded by late premier Silvio Berlusconi, was fourth with 10%, followed by the far-right League at 8.3%.
HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER ORBAN'S NATIONALIST PARTY APPEARS SET TO TAKE MOST Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's nationalist party appeared set to take the most votes in Sunday's European Parliament elections, a race that pitted the long-serving leader against a new challenger that has upended Orbán's grip on Hungarian politics in recent months. With 55% of votes counted, Orbán's Fidesz party stood at 43% of the vote, enough to send 11 delegates of Hungary's 21 total seats in the European Union's legislature. While Fidesz took a plurality of votes, it was down nearly 10 percentage points from its support in 2019 EU elections and looked set to lose two seats in what was widely seen as a referendum on Orbán's popularity. While Fidesz has dominated Hungarian politics since 2010, many are deeply dissatisfied with how it has governed the country. A deep economic crisis and a recent series of scandals involving Fidesz politicians have rocked the party, which prides itself on upholding family values and Christian conservatism.
SPAIN'S MAIN OPPOSITION CONSERVATIVES PULL AHEAD OF GOVERNING SOCIALISTS
Spain's leading opposition conservatives pulled ahead of the governing Socialists in the European Union's parliamentary elections, with the far-right making significant gains amid the surprise appearance of a new extremist party led by a social media influencer.
With 99% of votes counted, the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) had 34% of the votes, four percentage points more than the center-left Socialists of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. That translated into 22 seats for the conservatives, nine more than in the previous European election, and 20 for the Socialists. Spain has the fourth largest number of parliamentary seats allocated in the EU's assembly: 61 out of 720. The results were a significant improvement for the PP conservatives, who had likened the European vote to a referendum on Sánchez's administration. But the biggest gains were on the far-right of the political spectrum.
EUROSKEPTIC CENTRIST OPPOSITION WINS EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTION IN CZECH REPUBLIC
The centrist opposition ANO (YES) movement led by former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis has won the European Parliament election in the Czech Republic.
Euroskeptic Babis defeated the center-right Together coalition that consists of three partners in the Czech governing coalition: the conservative Civic Democratic Party of Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Christian Democrats and the liberal-conservative TOP 09 party. ANO won 26% of the votes, for seven seats, while Together claimed 22%, for six seats.
DUTCH RESULTS CONFIRM FAR-RIGHT, ANTI-IMMIGRATION PARTY FOR FREEDOM IS THE BIGGEST WINNER
Near complete Dutch results confirmed Sunday night that Geert Wilders' far-right, anti-immigration Party for Freedom was the biggest winner in elections for the European Union parliament. Wilders' party won six seats, up from one in the last European parliament, according to a near complete count of the Dutch vote, national broadcaster NOS reported. That is one seat less than projected by an exit poll after the Dutch voted Thursday. That one seat difference did not dampen Wilders' delight. "Still the very biggest winner with five more seats!" he wrote on social media platform X.
OPPOSITION PARTY CLAIMS VICTORY IN SLOVAKIA
The major opposition Progressive Slovakia has claimed victory in the European Parliament elections in Slovakia, topping the leftist Smer (Direction) party of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico. The vote took place just weeks after Fico survived an assassination attempt.Progressive Slovakia, a liberal and pro-Western group, won 27.8% of the vote, for six parliamentary seats.Smer, which refuses to send any arms to Ukraine to face Russia's invasion and is critical of mainstream European policies, followed with 24.8%, for five seats.
FRANCE'S LE PEN: WE'RE READY TO TURN THE COUNTRY AROUNDMarine Le Pen, of France's far-right National Rally party, says she is "ready to turn the country around" after dealing a heavy blow to French President Emmanuel Macron in the EU parliamentary election. "We're ready for it. After the legislative elections of 2022, which designated the National Rally Party as the main parliamentary opponent, these European elections confirm our movement as the major force for change in France," she told party supporters in Paris. "We are ready to exercise power if the French people place their trust in us in these future legislative elections. We're ready to turn the country around, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to mass immigration, ready to make the purchasing power of the French a priority," she said.
NEAR COMPLETE RESULTS IN GREECE SHOW GOVERNING CENTER-RIGHT PARTY IN COMFORTABLE Near complete results in Greece show the governing center-right New Democracy party comfortably ahead in the EU Parliamentary election with just under 28% of the vote, but with a poorer showing than the 33% it won in the previous election which the party leadership had set as a bar for Sunday's poll. Results from 95% of polling precincts showed that the left-wing main opposition SYRIZA also lost ground, polling just below 15%, down from nearly 24% in 2019. Socialist PASOK scored just under 13%, up from nearly 8%. Hard-right populist Greek Solution, which also saw a rise in its popularity to 9.5% from 4%, is the largest of three far-right parties to send representatives to the European Parliament, alongside the ultra-religious Niki with 4% and Voice of Reason with 3%.
FAR-RIGHT ELAM PARTY CLINCHES ONE OF SIX EU PARLIAMENT SEATS ALLOTTED TO The state broadcaster of Cyprus says near-complete results show the far-right ELAM party has managed to clinch one of six seats allotted to the country in the European Parliament. It's the first time that the far-right party, founded in 2008, has earned a seat in the European Parliament. ELAM's strident polemics against large numbers of migrants who have reached Cyprus in recent years has increasingly resonated with voters and have given the party a steady rise in support.With almost 85% of the vote counted, ELAM has garnered just over 11%, the state broadcaster said.
CYPRIOT INFLUENCER WITH NO POLITICAL EXPERIENCE APPEARS SET TO WIN EU PARLIAMENT A popular YouTuber and TikToker whose humorous and occasionally obnoxious posts have earned him tens of thousands of followers has stunned Cyprus' political world by appearing to wrest one of six seats allotted to the island nation in the European Parliament from traditional political powerhouses.
With more than three quarters of votes counted, unofficial results show Fidias Panayiotou clinching almost 20% of votes, about 2 percentage points behind the communist-rooted AKEL party in second and 4 percentage points behind the center-right Democratic Rally Party. Opinion polls consistently showed Panayiotou garnering high numbers, but no one expected him to perform so well solely through his social media fame after a mere two-month campaign in which he essentially offered no political positions. In his first remarks after polls closed and initial results showed him steadily in third place, Fidias, who goes only by his first name, said a "miracle" had been achieved, conceding that he himself didn't believe he would pull in such numbers. "This could be the first time that a completely independent candidate who doesn't have even an inkling of support from a political party, has managed to get elected, with social media being his only weapon," Fidias said.
FRENCH PRESIDENT MACRON CALLS SNAP LEGISLATIVE ELECTION AFTER DEFEAT IN EU French President Emmanuel Macron says he is dissolving the National Assembly and calling a snap legislative election after his party suffered a heavy defeat in elections for the European Parliament. In an address to the nation from the Elysee presidential palace, Macron said: "I've decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly." The vote will take place in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, he said. The move comes as first projected results from France on Sunday put the far-right National Rally party well ahead in the European Union's parliamentary election, defeating Macron's pro-European centrists, according to French opinion poll institutes.
CROATIA EXIT POLLS PROJECT GOVERNING CONSERVATIVES TO WIN THE MOST VOTESZAGREB, Exit polls in Croatia project the ruling conservatives to win the most votes in the EU election, followed by the main center-left opposition party. A newcomer far-right party also won a seat for the first time. The Croatian Democratic Union of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic won 33.7% of the vote, or six seats, while the Social Democratic Party won 27.8%, or four seats, according to the exit poll conducted by the Ipsos polling agency and broadcast by the state HRT television. The report said that far-right Homeland Movement won 8.6%, or one seat. The party is part of the coalition government in Croatia after emerging as kingmaker at a recent parliamentary election. The Liberal We Can group won 5.4%, which is also one seat.

Italy's Meloni will welcome the G7 summit fortified by an EU vote that shook French, German leaders
Colleen Barry/MILAN (AP)/June 10, 2024
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni hosts this week’s summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations as the most stable European Union leader. Meloni's German and French counterparts were shaken by European parliamentary elections that fortified Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy as the strongest in Italy, setting her up as a possible bridge maker, if not kingmaker, in Europe. Meloni’s solid results create a rare stability in Italian politics, as far-right parties rattled both French President Emmanuel Macron, who called snap elections after his party was eclipsed by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose authority suffered a jolt after the far-right Alternative for German finished second, beating his Social Democrats. “I am proud that this nation presents itself at the G7, and in Europe, as the strongest government of all,’’ Meloni told supporters early Monday. “This is something that has never happened in the past, and which is happening now. It is a satisfaction, and also a great responsibility.’’Though the leader of a far-right party, Meloni continues to hew to the center, particularly on foreign policy, which has made her a reassuring trans-Atlantic partner as wars rage in Ukraine and Gaza.
She will solidify the role this week, leading the G7 meeting in the southern Puglia region from June 13-15, focusing on global conflicts, the spread of AI and on Africa, with a view in particular to Italy's longstanding concern about uncontrolled migration and human traffickers. “Meloni is the moderate face of this right-wing bunch,’’ said analyst Matteo Villa of the IPSI think tank in Milan. “Meloni is poised as a moderate center-right party now that has much consensus that can act as a bridge between the far right and the center right. Meloni is narrating herself as a much more moderate leader.”
While Meloni won office with a campaign the promised a full naval blockade of charity ships rescuing migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean, Villa noted that she moderated her policy in office and has instead directed the rescue ships to northern ports far from the search-and-rescue area. Such a policy is still protested by charities but is far from a blockade.“These policies have changed, they have become more pragmatic,’’ Villa said. As a result, Meloni is winning support from voters that don’t necessarily identify as far-right. Brothers of Italy won 28.8% of the Italian vote in two days of polling in Italy that boosted their majority from national elections less than two years ago. The results also confirmed Meloni's dominance in the governing coalition with right-wing anti-migrant Lega, led by Matteo Salvini, and the center-right Forza Italia party, led by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani since founder Silvio Berlusconi’s death last year. Forza Italia won 9.6% of the vote, and Lega plunged to 9%. The opposition Democratic Party also was strengthened, finishing with 24% of the vote and significantly narrowing the gap with Brothers of Italy. The result re-establishes the Democratic Party as the main opposition party, as the 5-Star Movement, which launched 15 years ago as a protest movement and headed the government in 2018-21, continued its downward trajectory to 10% of the vote. “We continue like a hammer every day to nail the Meloni government on social and wage issues that it ignores,’’ PD leader Elly Schlein said Monday. “Of course, we will do so by working stubbornly, in a united way, to build an alternative that this country needs to this right.”"Giorgia Meloni, we are coming,'' Schlein said.

The US ambassador to Japan urges Tokyo to help quickly replenish the US missile inventory
Mari Yamaguchi/TOKYO (AP)/June 10, 2024
The United States needs Japan's help to quickly replenish missile inventory as conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine continue and Washington seeks to keep its deterrence credible in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. ambassador to Japan said Monday. "It is clear that the United States military industrial base cannot meet all the strategic challenges that we have and obligations we have,” Ambassador Rahm Emanuel said. He spoke as Japan and the U.S. held their first talks to accelerate military industrial cooperation, two months after an April agreement between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden. “The goal here is not more meetings. The goal is production,” Emanuel said, adding: “Those who want to do harm to the United States are not going to wait for our industrial capacity to build itself up."The ambassador said China’s shipbuilding capacity will surpass the U.S. and that repairs in Japan of U.S. Navy ships and Air Force aircraft deployed in the region can free up U.S. industrial capacity to focus on building new ships. This week's talks in Tokyo are between U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante and his Japanese counterpart, Masaki Fukasawa, head of the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency. They agreed to establish working groups for missile co-production and for maintenance and repair of U.S. Navy ships and Air Force aircraft in the region, the Japanese Defense Ministry said in a statement. There will be also a group to discuss a stronger supply chain. Japan in December eased its arms export restrictions to accommodate a U.S. request for shipment of surface-to-air PAC-3 missile interceptors produced in Japan under an American license to complement U.S. inventory that has decreased due to its support for Ukraine.

Sudan's notorious paramilitary group loots a main Darfur hospital, aid group says
Samy Magdy/CAIRO (AP)/June 10, 2024
The notorious Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, fighting Sudan’s military for over a year, fired shots and looted a main hospital in the western region of Darfur, forcing its closure, an international aid group said. The RSF, attacked the South Hospital in al-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur province on Sunday, opening fire on medical staff and patients, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. Images published by local media showed abandoned wards and corridors at the hospital, with patient beds and other medical equipment damaged and blood stains on the floor. Local news outlets also reported that the military managed to kick RSF fighters out of the hospital. “It is outrageous that the RSF opened fire inside the hospital. This is not an isolated incident, as staff and patients have endured attacks on the facility for weeks from all sides, but opening fire inside a hospital crosses a line,” said Michel Lacharite, head of emergency operations at Doctors Without Borders. At the time of the attack, there were 10 patients and a reduced medical crew as the aid group and the Sudanese health ministry had begun evacuating patients and transferring medical services last week to other facilities, the aid group said. Most patients and the medical team, including Doctors Without Borders staff, managed to flee the shooting. It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties from the attack, according to the aid group. However, Lacharite told The Associated Press the group's staff found two bodies inside the facility and they identified them as an RSF fighter and a military soldier. The circumstances of their deaths were not immediately clear. The attack came as the RSF intensified its offensive to try and wrest control of the city, the military’s last stronghold in the sprawling Darfur region. Two weeks of fighting last month in and around al-Fasher has killed more than 120 people. Meanwhile, the military has allied itself with rebel groups and formed a joint force to retain control of the city, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have taken shelter since the conflict began. A spokesman for the RSF didn't return phone calls seeking comment. The facility had been hit by mortar shells and bullets three times between May 25 and June 3, killing two people and wounding 14 patients, Doctors Without Borders said. The paramilitary group also rampaged through a village in the east-central province of Gezira province, killing more than 100 people a few days earlier. Sudan’s conflict began in April last year when soaring tensions between the leaders of the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum and elsewhere in the country. The war has wrecked Sudan, killing more than 14,000 people and wounding thousands others, while pushing its population to the brink of famine. The U.N. food agency warned the warring parties last month that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don’t allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region. Widespread sexual violence and other atrocities from both sides have also been reported, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the United Nations. Two decades ago, the RSF was born out of Arab militias, commonly known as Janjaweed, mobilized by former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir against populations that identify as Central or East African in Darfur. At the time, they were accused of mass killings, rapes and other atrocities, and Darfur became synonymous with genocide.

Islamic State group-allied militants kill dozens in eastern Congo
Moses Sawasawa/GOMA, Congo (AP)/June 10, 2024
Militants allied with the Islamic State group in eastern Congo have killed at least 41 people in several villages in North Kivu province, the national government said Monday, as residents openly wondered why security forces weren't protecting them. The statement said Friday's attacks were carried out by Allied Democratic Forces militants in the villages of Masala, Mahihi and Keme. Local civil society members asserted that the true toll was higher, with as many as 80 killed. Richard Kirimba, a civil society official in the area that was attacked, said the militants appeared to be expanding their operations and that local mines were drawing them in. “There’s no state authority in this area, and in many villages there are no police, no soldiers, no national intelligence agency,” he told The Associated Press. “The population is worried because the enemy is roaming around the neighborhood,” said Kambale Vunyatsi Kiongozi, who represents some civil society groups. Residents have long called on the Congolese army to protect the local population. The government statement said Congo's government has launched an operation to pursue the militants responsible and has killed a number of them and freed hostages in the process, without providing figures. Eastern Congo has struggled with armed violence for decades as more than 120 groups fight for power, land and valuable mineral resources, while others try to defend their communities. Some armed groups have been accused of mass killings. The violence has displaced nearly 7 million people, many beyond the reach of aid. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, which helped in the fight against rebels for more than two decades before being asked by the Congolese government to leave over its failure to end the conflict, will complete its withdrawal by the end of 2024. The three-phased withdrawal of the 15,000-force has begun in South Kivu province. The government also told an East African regional force, deployed last year to help end the fighting, to leave the country for similar reasons.

Yemen's Houthis say they have arrested an 'American-Israeli spy cell'
Reuters/June 10, 2024
Yemen's Houthis said on Monday they have arrested an "American-Israeli spy cell", a few days after the Iran-backed group detained about a dozen United Nations personnel. The alleged cell included former staff of the U.S. embassy in Yemen, according to a television statement from Abdel Hakim Al Khaiwani, the Houthis' intelligence chief. "The American-Israeli spy cell carried out espionage and sabotage activities in official and unofficial institutions for decades in favour of the enemy," he said. "Members of the spy spell and American officers exploited their positions at the American embassy to carry out their sabotage activities. After the American embassy left Sanaa ... the members of the spy cell continued to implement their sabotage agendas under the cover of international and UN organizations." Israeli government officials had no immediate comment, and the U.N. declined to comment on the allegations. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the agency was working to secure the release of its 11 detained staff who work for five different U.N. agencies and the U.N. envoy for Yemen. In a series of raids, armed Houthi intelligence officers also detained three employees of the U.S.-funded pro-democracy group National Democratic Institute and three employees of a local human rights group, according to three officials of Yemen's internationally recognized government who spoke to Reuters on Friday. Houthi Al Masirah TV posted a series of videos on its Telegram channel allegedly showing the confessions of some of those arrested. Reuters could not independently verify the videos. The Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, have attacked shipping in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with Palestinians amid the Gaza war, drawing airstrikes from the United States and Britain. They have held around 20 Yemeni employees of the U.S. embassy in Sanaa for the past three years. The embassy suspended operations in 2014.

Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on June 10-11/2024
Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès
Saint Of The Dat Site
Rafqa in Himlaya (1832-1859)
Rafqa was born in Himlaya, one of the villages of Northern Metn (Lebanon), on June 29, 1832.
She was the only child of Mourad Saber el-Choboq el Rayess and Rafqa Gemayel.
On July 7, 1832 she was baptized and named Boutroussieh. Her parents taught her the love of God and the practice of daily prayer. At age seven, she suffered her first great loss with the death of her mother.
In 1843, her father experienced financial difficulties and sent her into service for four years in the home of Assaad Badawi. Rafqa grew into a beautiful, pleasant, humorous young woman, pure and tender with a serene voice.
In 1841, she returned home to find that her father had remarried. His new wife wanted Rafqa to marry her brother. Conflict developed when her aunt sought to arrange a marriage between her son and Rafqa.
Rafqa in the Congregation of the Mariamettes (1859-1971)
At this time, Rafqa felt drawn to the religious life. She asked God to help her achieve her desire and set off for the convent of Our Lady of Deliverance in Bikfaya, accompanied by two girls whom she met along the road.
When she entered the convent church, she felt deep joy and happiness. One look at the icon of Our Lady of Deliverance, and she heard God's voice confirming her desire to enter religious life.
Following a year of postulancy, Rafqa received the habit of her congregation on the feast of St. Joseph, March 19, 1861. A year later, she pronounced her first vows.
The new nun, along with sister Mary Gemayel, was assigned to work in the Jesuit-run seminary in Ghazir. Among the seminarians were Elias Houwayek and Boutros el-Zoghbi, later to become Partriarch and Archbishop, respectively.
Rafqa was in charge of kitchen service. In her free time she studied Arabic, calligraphy and mathematics and also helped to educate girls aspiring to join her congregation.
In 1860 Rafqa was sent to Deir el-Kamar to teach catechism. There she witnessed the bloody clashes that occurred in Lebanon during this period. On one occasion, she risked her own life by hiding a child under her robe and saving him from death.
After a year in Deir el-Kamar, Rafqa returned to Ghazir. In 1862, she was sent to teach in a school of her order in Byblos. One year later, she was transferred to Maad village. There, with another nun, she spent seven years establishing a new school for girls, made possible through the generosity of Antoun Issa.
Rafqa in the Lebanese Maronite Order (1871-1914)
1. In the Monastery of St. Simon el-Qarn in Aito (1871-1897)
While living in Maad, and following a crisis in her congregation, Rafqa sought divine guidance. Entering at St. George's Church, she prayed for help. Once again, she heard the Lord's voice confirming her call to religious life. Soon after, she dreamt that St. George, St. Simon and St. Anthony the Great, the father of monasticism, were telling her to enter the Lebanese Maronite Order.
Her thp from Maad to the Maronite Monastery of St. Simon el-Qarn in Aito was facilitated by the generosity of Mr. Antoun ISSA. She was immediately admitted to the Order, receiving the habit on July 12, 1871 and pronouncing her vows on August 25, 1872. She received the name, sister Rafqa, after her mother.She was to spend the next 26 years in the monastery of St. Simon. In her observation of the rule, her devotion to prayer and silence, in her life of sacrifice and austerity, she was a role model to the other nuns.
On the first Sunday of October 1885, she entered the monastery church and began to pray, asking Jesus to permit her to experience some of the suffering He endured during His passion. Her prayer was immediately answered. Unbearable pains began in her head and moved to her eyes.
Her superior insisted that she undergo medical treatment. After all local attempts to cure her had failed, she was sent to Beirut for treatment. Passing by St. John-Mark's Church in Byblos, her companions learned that an American doctor was traveling in the area. Contacted, he agreed to perform surgery on the afflicted eye. St. Rafqa refused anesthesia. In the course of the surgery, her eye became completely detached. Within a short time, the disease struck the left eye.
For the next 12 years she continued to experience intense pain in her head. Throughout this period, as before, she remained patient and uncomplaining, praying in thanksgiving for the gift of sharing in Jesus' suffering.
2. Rafqa in St. Joseph Monastery al Dahr in Jrabta (1897-1914)
When the Lebanese Maronite Order decided to build the monastery of St. Joseph al Dahr in Jrabta, Batroun, in 1897, six nuns, led by Mother Ursula Doumit, were sent to the new monastery. Rafqa was among them.
In 1899, she lost the sight in her left eye. With this a new stage of her suffering began, intensified by the dislocation of her clavicle and her right hip and leg. Her vertebrae were visible through her skin.
Her face was spared and remained shining to the end. Her hands stayed intact; and she used them to knit socks and make clothing. She thanked God for the use of her hands while also thanking Him for permitting her a share in His Son's suffering.
Preparing for death, she called upon the Mother of God and St. Joseph. Finally, on March 23, 1914, after a life of prayer and service, and years of unbearable pain, she rested in peace. She was buried in the monastery cemetery.
On July 10, 1927, her body was transferred to a shrine in the corner of the monastery chapel. The case for her beatification was introduced on December 23, 1925, and canonical investigation of her life began on May 16, 1926.
Pope John Paul II declared her: Venerable on February 11, 1982; Beatified on November 17, 1985; a role model in the adoration of the Eucharist during the Jubilee Year 2000.

Palestinian 'Civilians': Complicit in Hamas Crimes
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute./June 10, 2024
If ruling regimes such as Hamas do not want their civilians killed during hostage rescue operations, they should not start unprovoked wars, then complain when they are hit back. They also should not take hostages, then hide them among the civilian population. It is not complicated.
The Palestinian families can hold only themselves accountable for the scores of Gazans who died during the rescue operation. Those families were not coerced or threatened into keeping the hostages inside their homes. The exact opposite is true: They were delighted to help Hamas because they support the terrorist group.
Unsurprisingly, Abdallah Al-Jamal [a Gazan journalist who imprisoned three hostages in his home] also worked for the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera network, which has long been serving as a de facto mouthpiece for Hamas and other Islamist terror groups.
Al-Jamal's most recent article, dated June 3, was headlined: "My House Will Always Be Open – Stories from the Gaza Siege."
Indeed, the Palestinian journalist's house was open – but only for hostages kidnapped by Palestinian murderers, thugs and rapists from an Israeli music festival on October 7.
The Biden administration and those in the West who have been crying about the "innocent" and "uninvolved" civilians killed and injured since the beginning of the war initiated by Hamas should direct their anger towards the Palestinians, not Israel, for aiding and abetting murderers, rapists and kidnappers.
"Even if they were [coerced and threatened], what would it have taken to get into contact with anyone from the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and say, 'I'm being forced to hold hostages in my house; please come get them out and take my family with them.' These families made the same choice hundreds of thousands of Gazans made and continue to make daily. They choose to help Hamas, they choose to hate Jews, they choose to participate in the killing and torture of Israelis, and they continue to support a murderous terrorist organization even if it means the death of them and their entire families." — Raylan Givens, X, June 9, 2024.
We must also not forget the thousands of "ordinary" Palestinians, to many of whom Israel had given work permits, who crossed the border into Israel on October 7 and took part in the crimes against Israelis.
The Israeli rescue operation serves as a reminder that Israel is continuing to do everything possible to save its citizens, while Hamas – with the help of many "ordinary" Palestinians -- is doing its utmost to save itself, including sacrificing its own citizens.
Andrei Kozlov, one of the four Israeli hostages rescued on June 8, is brought to Sheba Hospital by helicopter minutes after Israeli police and soldiers rescued him. Kozlov and two of the other hostages were imprisoned in Gaza, in the family home of Palestinian "journalist" Abdallah Al-Jamal, who worked for The Palestine Chronicle and the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera television network. (Photo by Gideon Markowicz/AFP via Getty Images)
The courageous Israeli operation that resulted in the rescue of four Israeli hostages on June 8 has confirmed what many Israelis and Palestinians have known for some months: that Palestinian civilians were, and continue to be, complicit in the crimes carried out by the terrorist organization Hamas prior to October 7, 2023, and onward.
The four hostages, Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv, were abducted, together with more than 250 Israelis, during the Hamas-led attack -- backed by Qatar and Iran -- on Israel eight months ago.
It has now come to light that the hostages were being held in a residential area of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. This is another instance of how Palestinian terrorist groups use fellow Palestinians as human shields in the Jihad (holy war) to slaughter Jews and eliminate Israel. In this instance, it is difficult to say that the Palestinian families were used as human shields because they held the hostages voluntarily and happily.
If ruling regimes such as Hamas do not want their civilians killed during hostage rescue operations, they should not start unprovoked wars to begin with, then complain when they are hit back. They also should not take hostages, then hide them among the civilian population. It is not complicated.
The Palestinian families can hold only themselves accountable for the scores of Gazans who died during the rescue operation. Those families were not coerced or threatened into keeping the hostages inside their homes. The exact opposite is true: They were delighted to help Hamas because they support the terrorist group.
Three of the hostages - Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Zia were held in the home of Palestinian journalist Abdallah Al-Jamal, who worked for the US 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization The Palestine Chronicle, and as a spokesperson for the Hamas Ministry of Labor. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed that the three hostages were being held by this "journalist" and his family.
Unsurprisingly, Abdallah Al-Jamal also worked for the Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera television network, which has long been serving as a de facto mouthpiece for Hamas and other Islamist terror groups.
Abdallah, his wife Fatima, and his father, Dr. Ahmed Al-Jamal, were killed during the Israeli raid on the apartment where they were holding the hostages.
The Palestinian journalist's involvement in impriosning Israeli hostages did not surprise those who are familiar with his hatred for Jews and his affiliation with Hamas.
On October 7, Abdallah Al-Jamal, in response to the Hamas-led attack on Israel, celebrated on social media:
"Praise be to God, thank you very much, Oh God, pay back, Oh God, pay back, Oh God, pay back, Oh God, you promised victory. Oh God, accept it, accept it, grant us your victory."
Ironically, Al-Jamal has been the source of multiple stories about Israeli attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip. He wrote the stories while he and his family members were holding three Jewish hostages in their home.
One can only wonder if he was one of the foreign media's "trusted sources" for the fake Gaza casualty statistics – since revised down by the U.N. -- published by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health. On June 3, the Associated Press reported:
"The proportion of Palestinian women and children being killed in the Israel-Hamas war appears to have declined sharply, an Associated Press analysis of Gaza Health Ministry data has found, a trend that both coincides with Israel's changing battlefield tactics and contradicts the ministry's own public statements.
"The trend is significant because the death rate for women and children is the best available proxy for civilian casualties in one of the 21st century's most destructive conflicts. In October, when the war began, it was above 60%. For the month of April, it was below 40%. Yet the shift went unnoticed for months by the UN and much of the media, and the Hamas-linked Health Ministry has made no effort to set the record straight."
Al-Jamal's most recent article, dated June 3, was headlined: "My House Will Always Be Open – Stories from the Gaza Siege."
Indeed, the Palestinian journalist's house was open – but only for imprisoning hostages kidnapped by Palestinian murderers, thugs and rapists from an Israeli music festival on October 7.
The Biden administration and those in the West who have been crying about the "innocent" and "uninvolved" civilians killed and injured since the beginning of the war initiated by Hamas, should direct their anger towards the Palestinians, not Israel, for aiding and abetting murderers, rapists and kidnappers.
"Today proved one thing for sure: there is no such thing as innocent civilians in Gaza," commented Raylan Givens, a social media influencer who describes himself as a "proud American and Patriot." He added:
"Everyone in the neighborhood knew what was going on; all of these families knew who was being held in these buildings, and they are all complicit in Hamas crimes.
"These families did it willingly, and they were not coerced or threatened by Hamas. Are we supposed to believe that the 'innocent' Gaza families who poured across the border on October 7 and committed some of the worst atrocities of that day suddenly grew a heart amid drew the line at holding hostages? The fathers and sons who had no problem raping Israeli women to death, but suddenly would be so against Hamas that they need to be coerced into helping them? Even if they were [coerced and threatened], what would it have taken to get into contact with anyone from the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and say, 'I'm being forced to hold hostages in my house; please come get them out and take my family with them.' Israel would have done that in a heartbeat, and no one would have died.
"These families made the same choice hundreds of thousands of Gazans made and continue to make daily. They choose to help Hamas, they choose to hate Jews, they choose to participate in the killing and torture of Israelis, and they continue to support a murderous terrorist organization even if it means the death of them and their entire families." (Raylan Givens, X, June 9, 2024)
The Palestinian journalist and his family should be kept in mind the next time we hear about civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip. For the previous eight months, he and his family had been holding Jewish captives in their house. We must also not forget the thousands of "ordinary" Palestinians, to many of whom Israel had given work permits, who crossed the border into Israel on October 7 and took part in the crimes against Israelis.
Recently, interrogation videos released by the Israeli authorities showed a Palestinian father and son confessing to murdering, kidnapping and raping Jewish women in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7.
After the son had had his way with her, the father had his way with her, then murdered her.
We must also never lose sight of the fact that despite the devastation the terrorist group bestowed on its own people in the Gaza Strip, there are still many Palestinians there who continue to collaborate with Hamas. Before we break down in tears for the Gaza Strip's "innocent" civilians, let us recall that a larger portion of them elected Hamas in the January 2006 parliamentary election, supported it, worked for it, sheltered it, and rejoiced over the majority of its crimes against Israelis, including the October 7 atrocities.
The Israeli rescue operation serves as a reminder that Israel is continuing to do everything possible to save its citizens, while Hamas – with the help of many "ordinary" Palestinians -- is doing its utmost to save itself, including sacrificing its own citizens.
**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.

A Decade Since The Fall Of Mosul To The Islamic State
Alberto M. Fernandez/Iraq | MEMRI Daily Brief No. 608/June 10, 2024
It was one of the most astonishing, lopsided military victories in history. A fluke, "a seismic event" as, at most, 2,000 ISIS Jihadist fighters took over the Iraqi city of Mosul on June 10, 2014, 10 years ago, from tens of thousands of Iraqi government soldiers, police, and paramilitary forces.[1] It is true that the corrupt, sectarian regime of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki had hollowed out and politicized the security forces but still ISIS was outnumbered (and outgunned) 10 or 20 to one.
But ISIS was able to leverage propaganda and aggressive attacks and terrorism on the ground into a toxic mix that would undermine morale and the will to fight of most Iraqi security forces. The Iraqi government was even able to corner and kill key ISIS commander Abu Abdulrahman Al-Bilawi, who was leading the Mosul attack, on June 4, and yet still the city fell. Salil Al-Sawarim Part Four, the hour-long ISIS war video released just two weeks before the Mosul operation would set the stage for the conquest of the city.[2]
ISIS took Mosul in six days, would hold it for almost three years and it would take the Iraqi security forces, backed by American airpower and intelligence, more than six bloody months to take it back when Operation "We are Coming, Nineveh" was launched in late 2016. Much of the city of Mosul was reduced to rubble. Chances of ISIS ever coming back to power in Iraq seem slim, and its defeat in Mosul was extremely bloody and, seemingly, decisive.[3] The Islamic State has struggled in the Middle East since then but found success elsewhere. After suffering heavy losses in Syria and Iraq the group has found fertile fields in Afghanistan and Central Asia, and in Africa. The recent bloody attack in Moscow, at the Crocus City concert hall in March 2024 is ample proof of the group's lethality and ambitions, in this case carried out by the growing Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) branch.[4] There is little doubt that the organization has ambitious dreams and still seeks high profile targets worldwide.[5]
But in Iraq, deaths from terrorism are way down. ISIS is a threat but the Iraqi state, at least its security component aimed against Sunni Jihadism, seems much stronger today than it was a decade ago. This is true even though that state is deeply compromised by its intimate relationship and interdependence with pro-Iranian militias and parties that are a law unto themselves.
So, the ISIS victory in June 2014 at Mosul was both astonishing and ephemeral. Aside from savage, well-publicized brutality and widespread destruction it seems to have left very little behind in terms of a tangible heritage.
Yet if we look more closely, there are perhaps tangible results – real things – that came out of Mosul. Certainly, the ISIS way of doing propaganda had a tremendous effect on the propaganda of rival terrorist groups, encouraging them to improve their content. Hour-long 1080p fully high-definition videos with good production value that ISIS produced at its height right before and after the fall of Mosul were, at the time, a remarkable accomplishment. So was the ISIS delivery system leveraging multiple nodes on Western-owned social media to get their message out. We still hear, years later, of young people being radicalized by old, hard-to-get ISIS videos.[6] They still retain their power. And yet the content of the videos set the stage for the group's decline. What excited some, caused deep revulsion in others. And videos of the killings of Americans such as James Foley and Steven Sotloff in late 2014 not only galvanized American military action against the group but also put pressure on social media companies to sanitize their content.
The ISIS way of war, both before the fall of Mosul and especially in the defense of the city in 2016 against Iraqi security forces also had an impact. The Islamic State were not the originators of using drones in battle but they certainly publicized such use aggressively. Today, videos of drones striking targets following in the footsteps of ISIS can be seen from Sudan to Ukraine. Another astonishing weapon used was the deployment of multiple suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIEDs) – 10 to 15 a day in 2016 – against Iraqi security forces, a terrifying weapon against advancing coalition forces.[7] American airpower helped neutralize this threat but ISIS SVBIEDs have subsequently appeared as far away as Nigeria and the Philippines.[8]
A third result of the ISIS victory in Mosul was, of course, the declaration of the Caliphate itself by Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in July 2014 in Mosul's Al-Omari Mosque. The Islamic State had previously inched toward announcing a caliphate (2006-2010, with "Commander of the Faithful," Abu Umar Al-Baghdadi)[9] but it would be with Mosul's fall that the group would unabashedly embrace the old supreme title of Sunni Islam. Since then, even after Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi's death in 2019, the Islamic State would continue to announce, and subsequently lose to enemy airstrikes, successive, increasingly "faceless caliphs." The latest, Abu Hafs Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi is the fifth in line since that fateful day in Mosul a decade ago, and the fourth since Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi's death. Given their short lifespan, not much is known about the latest ISIS shadow caliph.
Sadly, in contrast to ISIS propaganda, ISIS warmaking and ISIS caliphs, the most lasting and tangible result of that ISIS victory in Mosul has been the destruction of non-Muslim minority communities in Northern Iraq.[10] The ISIS conquest of Mosul would lead to the displacement of the entire Iraqi Christian population in the city, an ancient community that would be ethnically cleansed, pushed out with only the clothes on their backs in July 2014.[11] Mosul's Christian community has yet to recover. Thousands were expelled, and only – at most – a few hundred have returned. Historic church buildings are being restored (including by friendly Muslim governments and local Muslims) but the native Christian community has mostly scattered.
Subsequent ISIS offensives after the taking of Mosul in 2014 would strike near fatal wounds at the Yazidi community at Jebel Sinjar and at the Christian community in the towns on the Nineveh Plain. While less complete than what happened inside the city of Mosul, recovery for both communities after the fall of ISIS in 2017 has been slow and difficult.[12] Ironically, the recovery of both Christians and Yazidis in Northern Iraq has been made much harder by the sectarian hooliganism of Shia militias supported by the government and initially created to fight ISIS.[13] Sunni Muslim triumphalism was replaced by Iranian-guided Shia Islamic supremacists.[14] Iraq today is less diverse and pluralistic than it has been for centuries. The greatest victory of the Islamic State in Mosul was to create copycats.
*Alberto M. Fernandez is Vice President of MEMRI.
[1] Warontherocks.com/2014/07/inside-the-collapse-of-the-iraqi-armys-2nd-division, July 1, 2014.
[2] Jihadica.com/is-this-the-most-successful-release-of-a-jihadist-video-ever, May 19, 2014.
[3] Icct.nl/publication/low-likelihood-isis-resurgence-iraq, May 31, 2024.
[4] Foreignpolicy.com/2024/04/10/islamic-state-is-k-isis-moscow-concert-attack, April 10, 2024.
[5] Jpost.com/israel-news/article-795314, April 4, 2024.
[6] Palmbeachpost.com/story/news/crime/2022/01/13/corey-johnson-gets-life-prison-sentence-2018-sleepover-murder-teen/9197838002, January 13, 2022.
[7] Rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA388-1.html, February 12, 2021.
[8] Mei.edu/sites/default/files/2019-04/Car_Bombs_as_Weapons_of_War.pdf, April 2019.
[9] Hudson.org/nationAl-security-defense/the-caliphate-attempted-zarqawi-s-ideologicAl-heirs-their-choice-for-a-caliph-and-the-collapse-of-their-self-styled-islamic-state-of-iraq, July 1, 2008.
[10] Nbcnews.com/storyline/iraq-turmoil/has-last-christian-left-iraqi-city-mosul-after-2-000-n164856, July 27, 2014.
[11] See MEMRI Daily Brief No. 53, The ISIS Caliphate and the Churches, August 27, 2015.
[12] See MEMRI Daily Brief No. 127, Want To Defeat The Legacy Of ISIS? Try Rebuilding Non-Muslim Communities It Has Destroyed, May 25, 2017.
[13] See MEMRI Daily Brief No. 320, Will Iranian-Controlled Christian Tokenism Increase In Iraq's Elections?, September 29, 2021.
[14] Atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/three-years-after-the-caliphate-iraqs-christians-find-little-incentive-to-return, June 9, 2024.

‘How Dare You?!’ The True Source of the Arab-Israeli Conflict Is a Superiority Complex
Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/June 10/2024
The Arab-Israeli conflict will never be fully understood — an essential criterion to solving it — until its ultimate source is recognized: Islamic supremacism.
Islamic doctrine, which teaches that Muslim blood is superior to and far more precious than non-Muslim blood (non-Muslims essentially being on a level with dogs and cattle) imbues Muslims with a sense of supremacism over the rest of mankind. And a good portion of Islamic history further enforces it.
This sense of Islamic supremacism was dramatically humbled after European powers defeated and colonized much of the Muslim world. Bred on the notion that “might makes right,” Muslims, for a time, even began emulating the then-unapologetic and triumphant West. Turkey, for example, went from being the epitome of Islamic supremacy and jihad — the Ottoman scourge of Christian Europe for five centuries — to patterning itself after Europe in all ways, including by forfeiting the Arabic script and adopting the Roman alphabet, thereby becoming perhaps the most Westernized/secularized “Muslim” nation by the mid-1900s.
Today, however, as Western peoples willingly capitulate to Islamic mores in the name of tolerance, multiculturalism, political correctness, or just plain cowardice, Muslims are becoming more emboldened, making more demands and threats, as they realize they need not militarily defeat the West in order to resuscitate their supremacist birthright. (More appeasement from the bullied always brings about more demands from the bully.)
Two Tiers of Justice
Consider Muslim behavior where it is dominant and needs no pretense. There, non-Muslim minorities are habitually treated as inferiors. Earlier this year, for instance, Muslim murderers of a Coptic Christian were spared the death penalty, though that certainly would not have been the case had they been Christian and their victim Muslim. But unlike the many Western appeasers who willingly accept a subservient role to Islam, these religious minorities have no choice in the matter. Enter the “How Dare You?” reaction, which I first described in a 2013 article. During one Christmas season in Pakistan, as Christian children were singing carols inside their church, Muslim men from a nearby mosque barged in with an ax, beat the children, and destroyed the altar and furniture. Their justification for such violence? “You are disturbing our prayers. How dare you use the mike and speakers?” Similarly, when a Muslim slapped a Christian and the latter reciprocated, the Muslim exclaimed “How dare a Christian slap me?!” Mass anti-Christian violence immediately ensued. Remember the “How Dare You?” phenomenon next time you hear that Muslim madness and mayhem are the byproducts of grievance. Missing from this rationale is the supremacist nature of these grievances.
Airing the Conditions
The Conditions of Omar, a foundational Muslim text dealing with how subjugated “infidels” must behave, spells out their inferiority to Muslims. Among other stipulations, it commands conquered Christians not to raise their “voices during prayer or readings in churches anywhere near Muslims” (hence the ax attack in Pakistan). It also commands them not to display any signs of Christianity — specifically Bibles and crosses— and not to build churches or criticize the prophet. If the supremacist nature of Islamic law is still not clear enough, the Conditions literally command Christians to give up their seats to Muslims as a show of respect. The Conditions are essentially Jim Crow laws on steroids. Remember when Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her bus seat to a white man? Any white supremacist at the time had sincere grievances: How dare she think herself equal? But were such grievances legitimate? Should they have been accommodated? Likewise, are the endless “grievances” of Muslims legitimate and should they be accommodated? These are the questions missing from the debate about easily bruised Muslim sensitivities. One can go on and on with examples from all around the Islamic world. In my monthly “Muslim Persecution of Christians” series, which dates back to July 2011, every month features a dozen or so stories of Muslims persecuting and terrorizing Christians because the latter somehow offended Muslim sensibilities by overstepping their sharia-designated “inferior” status and daring to be on a par with Muslims. And it is from here that one can at last begin to understand the ultimate Muslim grievance: Israel.
Israel Is the Worst
For if “infidel” Christian minorities are deemed inferior and attacked by aggrieved Muslims for exercising their basic human rights, such as freedom of worship, how must Muslims feel about Jews — who are the descendants of pigs and apes, according to the Koran — exercising power and authority over, and even killing, Muslims in what is perceived to be Muslim land?
How dare they?!
This is why few Muslims seemed to lament the half million Muslim lives lost during the Iran-Iraq war. When fellow (if nominal) Muslims are killing Muslims, that is unfortunate, yes, but not enough to deeply aggrieve Muslim sensibilities. But when it is the filthy infidel — the sons of apes and swine whose proper place is beneath the Muslim foot — wild paroxysms must by necessity ensue. Put differently, if grievances against Israel were really about justice and displaced Palestinians, both Muslims and their Western enablers would be aggrieved by and regularly denouncing the fact that millions of Christians have been and continue to be displaced by Muslim invaders, who in 2023 alone butchered nearly 5,000 Christians for “faith-related reasons.”
Needless to say, they are not.
So the next time you hear that Muslim rage and terrorism are products of grievances, remember that this is absolutely true. However, these “grievances” are not predicated on any universal human standards of equality or justice, but rather a supremacist worldview.

Far right confounds expectations in election whirlwind
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/June 10, 2024
Will Europe ever be the same again? President Emmanuel Macron has called snap legislative elections in France after a crushing defeat for his party and other moderates in the European Parliament elections that concluded on Sunday. Far-right parties, including Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, were runaway winners, taking about 40 percent of the vote.
The hard right also outperformed expectations in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. The quasi-fascist Alternative for Germany managed an unexpectedly strong showing, despite an outcry over a TV interview, in which a party official doubted whether genocidal Nazi SS officers were criminals, and investigations into funds received from the Kremlin.
Far-right nationalists are already integral parts of coalition governments in seven EU member states and are dominant components of regimes in Hungary, Italy and Austria. With right-wing nationalists coming out on top in the weekend’s Belgian general election, liberal Prime Minister Alexander De Croo was forced to resign. Six months after an election in the Netherlands, the far-right Party for Freedom last month finally succeeded in cobbling together a coalition described as the most right-wing in modern history. Bucking this trend, the fascists and xenophobes of the authoritarian right were at least temporarily cut down to size in elections in Poland, Portugal and Spain.
Right-wing populists’ destabilizing impact on Western politics is defined by anti-immigrant hatemongering and fanciful attention-grabbing policies — such as seeking to reduce net immigration to zero, with damaging consequences on economies dependent on cheap foreign labor and on revenue from foreign tourists, students and investors. Racist culture war narratives have poisonous consequences for social cohesion across multicultural, diverse societies, recalling the polarization and violent extremist tendencies of 1930s Europe before the Second World War.
The planet has never been in greater need of far-sighted leaders willing to do what is necessary to address fundamental global issues
In a symptom of the brutal toxicity of populist politics, Denmark’s prime minister was attacked last week and the Slovak prime minister survived an attempt on his life. Conspiracy-mongering, disinformation and fake news pumped into election ecosystems, mostly from China, Russia and Iran, exacerbate democratic volatility and unpredictability.But has the world reached peak populism elsewhere? In a unique year for elections, with more than 4 billion people — over half the world’s population — going to the polls in more than 40 countries, political trends have never appeared more erratic or fragmented.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gambled heavily on provocative religion-baiting themes, seeking to mobilize the majority Hindu electorate, but his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ended up with a dramatically smaller share of the vote. Ordinary Indians cared far more about living standards, competent governance and public services than they did about rabble-rousing Islamophobic diatribes.
A chastened Modi remains in power, but without an overall majority, far less the “supermajority” he had boasted of, and he will need to substantially moderate his agenda to retain coalition partners. A buoyant opposition described the outcome as a mandate to “save democracy.”
Authoritarian strongmen have been struggling elsewhere, too. In Turkiye, significant opposition wins in local elections were a stinging rebuke to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In Iran, there was a dire turnout for legislative elections in March and May, sinking to just over 20 percent in Tehran, and there is little public enthusiasm for this month’s vote to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi. Efforts to muzzle the media, reduce civil freedoms, hamstring the judiciary and criminalize political opponents only mobilize people against antidemocratic elites. In Mexico, leftist candidate Claudia Sheinbaum won a landslide presidential election victory and in South Africa the corruption-mired African National Congress lost its electoral majority after 30 years of dominance throughout the post-apartheid era.
As recently as 2019, a jingoistic pro-Brexit narrative was a surefire vote winner in Britain. But public opinion has sharply reversed, leaving the opposition Labour Party all but guaranteed a majority after next month’s parliamentary election. The Conservative Party has been outplayed by its own populist-right, culture-baiting, anti-migrant rhetoric. Labour now occupies the center ground, while the xenophobic Reform UK squeezes the Conservatives out of existence from the right flank.
However, the year’s most titanic battle between democratic values and unabashed demagogic populism will occur in November. Donald Trump’s self-serving, divisive record and his criminal convictions should have made his candidacy inconceivable, but because of Joe Biden’s age, unpopularity and missteps over Gaza, many observers regard a second Trump presidency — with all its accompanying traumas and risks — as highly likely.
Election results in recent months have been driven less by a public lurch toward the left or right and more by universal dissatisfaction with the status quo. In the US, most voters express scant enthusiasm for either candidate. The common denominator for voters — whether in Britain, India, South Africa, Iran or Turkiye — is anger over falling living standards and the failure of ruling elites to make a meaningful difference to people’s lives.
As the Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan conflicts drag on, the planet has never been in greater need of far-sighted leaders willing to do what is necessary to address fundamental global issues of injustice, instability, inequality and environmental degradation.
Demagogues such as Le Pen, Trump and Viktor Orban have no answers to these challenges, despite ruthlessly exploiting the blind anger expressed by people who feel left behind by their political systems.
Electoral victories often come relatively easily for shameless populists, with deceitful, divisive political programs that mobilize supporters against immigrants, minorities and other disfavored demographics. These are dangerous and unpredictable times, driven by volatile public sentiments, and protest votes about the dire state of party politics risk making the situation infinitely worse.
Only citizens awakening to the populists’ morally bankrupt, racist lies can pave the way for leaders who are genuinely committed to making the difficult decisions that are necessary to change the world for the better.
**Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

Qalibaf the prime contender in Iran’s presidential race
Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/June 10, 2024
In the wake of President Ebrahim Raisi’s death, Iran is set to hold a new presidential election on June 28. This election has drawn significant attention from observers keen to analyze the candidates’ profiles, their chances and the influence of key political figures within the system. This election comes at a time when Iran is experiencing unparalleled internal and regional tension. Domestically, there is a palpable sense of anticipation and uncertainty. Regionally, the once-covert Iran-Israel conflict has escalated into open, direct military confrontations, adding to the nation’s turmoil.
The situation is further complicated by the departure of a major political figure who was known for his unwavering loyalty to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Raisi had successfully navigated numerous challenges, demonstrating complete obedience to the supreme leader’s directives. His death leaves a significant gap, intensifying the already-complex dynamics as the country prepares for its next presidential election.
A final list of six candidates was announced by the Guardian Council on Sunday. It consists of: Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, Saeed Jalili, Masoud Pezeshkian, Amir-Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Alireza Zakani and Mostafa Pourmohammadi. This final list reveals several key insights.
While the vetting process is supposed to be unbiased, the final list proves once again that this is not the case
Firstly, as expected, the Guardian Council, which is dominated by conservatives, announced a list dominated by those affiliated with the conservative faction in Iran. The one exception is the reformist Pezeshkian. While the vetting process is supposed to be unbiased, the final list proves once again that this is not the case, with the crowding out of reformist voices in favor of conservative figures known for their loyalty to the supreme leader and the political system. Among the most notable hard-liners and close associates of Khamenei that are on the list are Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament; Zakani, the mayor of Tehran; and Jalili, a former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council who is also a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.
Jalili is expected to be a prominent contender. He is a staunch ally of Khamenei and previously also led Iran’s nuclear negotiation team. Jalili is closely associated with prominent cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader in Mashhad and father-in-law of Raisi. Jalili has run for the presidency twice before — losing the first time and withdrawing the second.
Qalibaf, a professor of political geography and former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, was reelected as parliamentary speaker at the end of May. Some observers attributed this victory to an intervention from the supreme leader’s office to dissuade him from running for president, while others saw it as an endorsement of his candidacy to represent conservatives. Qalibaf is making his fourth presidential bid, having lost in 2005 and 2013 and withdrawn in 2017 to avoid splitting the conservative vote.
The second observation is that many media reports on the finalization of the candidates’ list indicated confusion and disarray within reformist circles, despite the return to the political arena of prominent reformists. These included Eshaq Jahangiri, who served as vice president under Hassan Rouhani, and Abdolnaser Hemmati, the former central bank governor. The reformists’ situation worsened following the recent parliamentary elections, for which the Guardian Council disqualified a significant percentage of their candidates. This fueled fears of another round of exclusions and reinforced the perception that the supreme leader’s efforts are geared toward selecting a new hard-line president.
Adding to their challenges has been the lack of a unified stance among the reformists regarding their strongest candidates. Some within the reformist camp are now advocating unifying behind Pezeshkian and encouraging their support base to turn out in large numbers on polling day. It is believed that Pezeshkian’s approval could be a strategic tactic by the regime to boost voting numbers on polling day and to give a veneer of openness and competitiveness to the election process, given that the regime has been suffering from a significant legitimacy deficit, which has worsened with the compounding socioeconomic crises and injustices inflicted on the Iranian people.
However, this could backfire in the event of a wave of support for Pezeshkian, similar to what happened in 2013, when Rouhani was not initially a genuine contender but a number of variables worked in his favor, leading to his surprise victory. This may be an unlikely possibility this time round, as Pezeshkian is not well known. A win for Pezeshkian would go against the trend of recent years of consolidating the regime and system with conservatives in an attempt to secure the succession process. But it is definitely something the supreme leader and other decision-makers will be keeping a close eye on.
Qalibaf also has the backing of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, making his candidacy look strong
The third observation is that, despite former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s significant popularity, he is not favored by Khamenei and was disqualified once again. Ahmadinejad has been described by those close to the supreme leader as leading a “misguided movement” and has been explicitly accused of trying to diminish the influence of the religious establishment. His public disagreements with the supreme leader’s positions led to his interrogation in parliament, making him the first Iranian president to face such scrutiny for his statements, demands and proposals.
The decision to disqualify Ahmadinejad is based on the regime’s principle of “the first mistake is the last” when it comes to former executive leaders. Consequently, many former leaders, including Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mohammed Khatami, Rouhani and the two Larijanis, have been sidelined from the political arena due to their perceived missteps.
The fourth observation is the approval of many heavyweight conservative figures, mainly to encourage the conservative voting base to turn out in large numbers on election day. This would boost the legitimacy of the system and add some interest to the presidential campaign, given the fact that these figures have vendettas and personal grudges against one another, making the prospect of election debates exciting and interesting to onlookers and observers.
In addition, like past elections, there is a high probability that some of the conservative candidates could step aside in favor of someone like Qalibaf, who is viewed as the prime candidate to take the presidency. Therefore, it would not be surprising if Zakani or Jalili dropped out at some point in favor of Qalibaf, based on instructions from the supreme leader. Qalibaf also has the backing of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, making his candidacy look strong. However, he is tainted by corruption charges and there is much pessimism over how a Qalibaf presidency would look, given his blend of conservatism and pragmatism.In conclusion, the regime’s overarching objective seems clear: to select a candidate aligned with the supreme leader’s agenda, as per the equation Khamenei has been cultivating over the years. This involves positioning loyalists in key institutions and sidelining figures from the old guard to ensure a smooth succession process.
It appears that Khamenei and the IRGC are seeking a president who will not waver under regional or international pressure nor veer toward accommodating Western policies, as seen during Rouhani’s presidency. Consequently, their preference leans toward a figure like Qalibaf, who will uphold steadfast stances and policies, particularly regarding the completion of Iran’s nuclear program. However, last-minute changes in the calculations are the norm in Iranian politics, given the introduction of new variables and situations, so this is something to be aware of until the final outcome of the presidential race is announced.
**Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami is the founder and president of the International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah). X: @mohalsulami

Macron’s Hazardous Move
Michel Touma/This Is Beirut/June 10/2024
A shockwave, a perilous and risky bet, set against the backdrop of the looming 2027 presidential election… Last night, to widespread astonishment, President Emmanuel Macron announced the dissolution of the French National Assembly following the far-right’s fulgurant victory in the European elections. Macron’s extremely daring move, aimed at shaking up the status quo, triggered a true political seism. He is somehow risking everything at a time during which both France and the European Union (EU) are navigating through intense turbulence.
President Macron initiated a two-step maneuver aimed at halting the rise of the Rassemblement National (RN, or National Gathering) and most importantly, preventing its leader Marine Le Pen from reaching the Élysée Palace. By convening the French population for early legislative elections, swiftly organized within a remarkably short timeframe of just three weeks to one month (covering both the initial and subsequent round), he probably hopes to trigger a political shockwave. This move is intended to urgently catalyze the rapid emergence of a new broad republican coalition, capable of delivering an electoral defeat to the RN. If it is successful, it would significantly halt the relentless momentum of the far-right, which threatens to culminate in a victory for Le Pen in the 2027 presidential election.
If this hypothetical political “resurgence” aimed at thwarting the RN proves unattainable, the far-right would be compelled to form a new government, amidst a (challenging) cohabitation between the Élysée Palace and Matignon. This is precisely where President Macron’s second phase of maneuvering would come into play. Power wears thin, it even corrupts, and the reality of managing public affairs during a crisis could, with a very high likelihood, unveil all the weaknesses, flaws and perhaps even the ruling team’s incompetence. Such revelations could seriously compromise what seemed to be an inevitable victory for Le Pen in the 2027 presidential race.
The grave and perilous risk undertaken by the Élysée’s President is the potential for the RN to prove its mettle, showcasing political maturity by tempering certain positions, and succeeding in governance where the previous majority stumbled. The looming scenario persists, despite President Macron and the new opposition’s concerted efforts to thwart its progress. The RN leaders declare themselves ready to assume power. In that event, the path to the Élysée would be wide open for Marine Le Pen. Will this perspective drive French voters to block the RN as early as June 30? Yet, it hinges on whether this very scenario serves as a shockwave for parties able to present a unified and potent front against Le Pen’s rise.
President Macron’s hazardous move becomes even riskier against the backdrop of a widespread surge of the far-right across many European Union countries. In a tumultuous setting marked by chaotic mass immigration, crawling insecurity, terrorist threats with sectarian anti-Western connotations, and particularly the potential extension of the war in Ukraine, the Old Continent may be facing a profound existential crisis. This would undoubtedly necessitate making significant and reaffirming essential decisions in terms of societal values, grounded in respecting human rights and rejecting any totalitarian temptation contrary to the Western society’s bedrocks. Is the RN truly ready to confront such a challenge? Has President Macron set a trap for the far-right in this regard? Today, it falls upon French voters to take swift and drastic action.
Quotes
By taking the risk of calling for hastily organized early legislative elections, President Macron undoubtedly sought to provoke a political shockwave to significantly halt the fulgurant rise of the French far-right. Did President Emmanuel Macron deliberately lay a trap for the Rassemblement National by orchestrating early elections?