Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 10-11/2024
Video & Text/Elias Bejjani/Iranian Hezbollah and the Dhimmitude in the approaches of Geagea, Habashi, Riachi and Jabour...You ar lost and confusing all the Lebanese people
Patriarch Al-Rahai: We look very positively at the National Moderation Bloc initiative & to the efforts of the Five-Year Ambassadors Committee, wishing them success
Bishop Aoudi criticized the people’s failure to hold their representatives accountable: We need statesmen, not those who hunt for power, who exploit it to oppress the people and achieve their interests.
With names: 5 martyrs following an Israeli raid on Khirbet Salam!
Hezbollah fires rockets into Israel after deadly strikes
Israeli strike on Lebanese house kills five: state media
US Treasury official pushes Lebanon to halt flow of funding to Hamas
Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets at Israel's Meron after deadly Khirbet Selm strike
Challenges of Border Crossing: The Unavailable Booklet
National Moderation Bloc and Quintet Ambassadors initiative: A Beacon of Hope, says Patriarch al-Rahi
Israeli atmosphere in Beirut: MP Ghassan Skaf warns of impending conflict
Grand Jaafari Mufti urges Lebanon to fortify resistance, calls for unity against external pressure
MP Jimmy Jabbour to LBCI: We prefer victory over presidential vacuum, even if opposing candidate wins
UAE-Based Lebanese Journalist Layal Alekhtiar, Wanted By Lebanese Military Court For Interviewing Israeli Military Official: The 'Culture Of Death' Has Destroyed Half Of Lebanon And Other Arab Countries – I Have Chosen The 'Culture Of Life'
Dar al-Fatwa announces Monday, March 11 as first day of Ramadan

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 10-11/2024
Israelis rally for hostage release, Netanyahu ouster
Biden: Netanyahu ‘hurting Israel’ by not preventing more civilian deaths in Gaza
US ship with equipment for building pier en route to Gaza as part of plan to boost aid
US dispatches aid ship to Gaza after Biden vows to build pier
On eve of Ramadan, Jerusalem’s Old City offers little festivity as Gaza war rages
Another top donor says it will resume funding the UN agency for Palestinians as Gaza hunger grows
Spain’s prime minister says he will propose that parliament recognizes a Palestinian state
NATO’s biggest drills since the Cold War send a signal to Russia and aim for a real-life feel
NATO Maneuvers and European Security: Challenges and Concerns
Strategic Maneuvers: Assessing Israel's Military Plans Amidst Regional Tensions
Hope for Libyan peace as Arab League hosts talks in Cairo
Sudan’s RSF paramilitaries welcome UN call for cessation of hostilities in Ramadan
Pope Francis: Ukraine should have the courage of the ‘white flag,’ negotiate end of war with Russia
Ramadan Commencement: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE Declare Monday as First Day
UN Secretary-General delivers a video message on the occasion of the beginning of Ramadan/NNA/March 10, 2024

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on March 10-11/2024
International Law or Antisemitism?/Bat Ye'or/Gatestone Institute./March 10, 2024
How the Gaza Ministry of Health Fakes Casualty Numbers ...The evidence is in their own poorly fabricated figures/Abraham Wyner/The Tablet/March 10/2024
What Turkiye’s deals with Turkmenistan mean for region’s gas/Yasar Yakis/Arab News/March 10, 2024
Chad’s humanitarian challenge amid mounting refugee crisis/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/March 10, 2024
The IMF and UAE Swoop In to Ease Egypt’s Economic Crisis/Ben Fishman/The Washington Institute’/March 10/2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 10-11/2024
Video & Text/Elias Bejjani/Iranian Hezbollah and the Dhimmitude in the approaches of Geagea, Habashi, Riachi and Jabour...You ar lost and confusing all the Lebanese people
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQxIXp6N2-8
All that is required of the Lebanese Forces Party at the leadership level, and with regard to Hezbollah’s situation, is for them to say publicly, frankly, without ambiguity, and without subservience and surrender, to say in their media appearances, approaches, speeches, and positions what Hezbollah says about itself, its affiliation, and its Persian project. Clear and courageous stances are required, "If you do not and unable stand against Hezbollah, home". Enough Is Enough.
March 09/2024

Patriarch Al-Rahai: We look very positively at the National Moderation Bloc initiative & to the efforts of the Five-Year Ambassadors Committee, wishing them success
NNA/March 10, 2024
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi presided over Sunday’s mass in the Church of Our Lady in the Patriarchal edifice in Bkerke, assisted by Bishops Samir Mazloum and Antoine Awkar, and with the participation of a number of bishops, priests and nuns, in the presence of Representative Farid Al-Bustani, Ambassador George Khoury, Consul of the Republic of Mauritania Elie Nassar, and a crowd of Activists and believers.
After the Holy Gospel, Al Rahai delivered a sermon entitled: “When Jesus saw their faith, he healed the paralytic, soul and body” ( Mark 2:5 and 11), in which he said:“The world’s problems, with the ease of killing, war, and destruction, and the displacement of innocent citizens and making them vulnerable to hunger, thirst, disease, and fatigue, all stem from the state of sin. This is what we witness in the Israeli war on Gaza, for example, and in the tragedy of the Palestinian people, and we condemn it in the strongest terms, and we reject the silence of the countries of the world out of fear.” On their interests, sacrificing a people deprived of their land and their right to a state of their own in accordance with United Nations Resolution 181, voted on on November 29, 1947, regarding the division of Palestine into two states: Hebrew and Arab, and determining their borders. We strongly denounce the ongoing war of extermination in Gaza and call on the world to stop it. We in Lebanon seek not to slide into this blind and hateful war, to protect the South and the citizens, and to go immediately to elect a President of the Republic in order to organize the Parliament, the government and other constitutional institutions. From this standpoint, we look with great positivity at the “National Moderation Bloc” initiative, and at the efforts The "Five-Ambassadors Committee" wished the two success, and thanked them for their efforts and sacrifices. How much we need the faith of those four men who considered that the paralytic is more important than the roof of the house, and that Jesus is able to heal him from his paralysis, and then they themselves will repair the roof and return it to its original condition! These men taught us that everything in the world is for man, not man for her; They taught us how to sacrifice personal interests for the sake of the common good. If it were not for the faith of these men, the miracle of the double healing of that paralytic would not have occurred: Jesus healed him from his spiritual paralysis, that is, from his sins first, and this is the basis of his message of salvation, and he healed him from the paralysis of his body. Jesus appeared to the world as “the doctor of souls and bodies.” Let us turn to Him with the faith of the four men, and ask Him for the blessing of healing from paralysis.”
He said: “On the eighth and ninth days of this month of March, there were two celebrations: the first, International Women’s Day, and the second, Teacher’s Day. We extend our congratulations to every woman and every teacher on the holiday, while expressing our thanks to them and best wishes. We say thank you to the woman, the wife, the mother, and the sister.” The teacher, the worker, the nurse, the employee, the official in the state, the political worker, the sick, the disabled, and the one devoted to the service of love, and we declare our solidarity with her in all her rights and duties in the church, society, and state. We established in 2012 in the Patriarchal Department the “Women’s Pastoral Office,” which was published last September 2023. A document entitled: “Women’s Call and Mission in God’s Plan and the Life of the Church and Society.” It contains three chapters on: Challenges, Constants, Policies and Directions. We hope that it will reach our society, and we are working to this end. At the beginning of this year, we established the “Pastoral Office for Persons with Disabilities.” It began its activities in coordination with the institutions concerned with these people, and by defining the framework of its activities for the benefit of people with disabilities. On Teacher's Day, we are pleased to greet every male and female teacher in our public and private schools, in our Catholic schools, and in the free schools. We say to them: You are Lebanon's salvation from deadly illiteracy, and you are preparing the foundations for entering universities, where thanks to the lecturers there and the lectures, our students graduate with the highest academic levels, as witnessed by the universities in the world in which they continue their specializations. Be confident, male and female teachers, that the Church is by your side, knows your suffering and supports your demands. It is concerned with the preservation of the school, the teacher, the student, and the family at the same time. We hope to overcome the economic and financial crisis with cooperation and solidarity. With you, we raise our voice to political officials so that they can emerge from the crucible of their personal and factional interests and advance the country politically, economically, and financially. They themselves are responsible for the state of paralysis in the state and its institutions. I wish they would humble themselves, acknowledge their mistakes, and correct their performance so that Lebanon and the Lebanese would be safe.”
Al Rahai concluded: “Let us pray, brothers and sisters, for our healing, and for the healing of all people from spiritual and moral paralysis, and for the healing of those afflicted in their bodies, and our Almighty Physician is one, who is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of man and the Savior of the world. To Him be glory and thanksgiving with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and until Forever, Amen. After the Mass, the shepherd received the believers participating in the divine sacrifice.

Bishop Aoudi criticized the people’s failure to hold their representatives accountable: We need statesmen, not those who hunt for power, who exploit it to oppress the people and achieve their interests.
NNA/March 10/2024
The Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut and its dependencies, Bishop Elias Aoudi, presided over the Mass service in St. George's Cathedral, in the presence of a crowd of believers. After the Holy Gospel, he delivered a sermon in which he said: He said: “What is new in the Lord’s teaching is that He identified Himself with the oppressed and the needy, saying: ‘Because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me.’ The Lord has identified Himself with those, making them one of the gates of the Kingdom, and this door requires effort from us to open. Therefore, Our call today is to see Christ in every human being around us, so that we may be among the heirs of the kingdom and among the sheep of the right hand. These words are directed to every human being who seeks the face of God who created man, every human being, in His image and likeness. And whoever wants to follow the teachings of Christ and walk according to His will, He must honor God in the face of every human being. Isn’t this also the duty of every official, to do good towards his country by treating every citizen well? Isn’t it a call for equality between people, and for serving the nation by serving every citizen? Is there a better service than ensuring a decent living for the citizen in A safe and stable homeland? But the citizen groans and those in power live in a world far removed from reality, in the absence of a president whose representatives did not see the need to elect. What encouraged them to do so is the citizens’ failure to carry out their duty to hold them accountable and accountable. When a person votes for a representative, it is because he is convinced of his program and the truth of his promises. Isn’t it his duty? After a while, holding him accountable for what he promised, isn’t this at the heart of democratic life? So hold your deputies accountable to evaluate their performance. Hold them accountable for their failure to perform their duties imposed by the Constitution. The first of these duties is to elect a president of the country. Has a citizen held a representative accountable for failing to perform this duty?
He added: “Speaking the word of truth or performing work that satisfies the conscience are necessary actions in the life of the nation. Bearing witness to the truth, respecting the work of constitutional institutions and keeping them away from political disputes, avoiding sterile discussions, monitoring and accountability, and condemning nepotism, clientelism, submission, quotas, obstruction, authoritarianism, and extremism are things that are self-evident to those who He wanted to build a state, but it seems that there is no real will for reform in Lebanon and no one wants to build the state. We need statesmen, not power-hunters who exploit it to oppress people and achieve their interests. We need statesmen who rule Lebanon with wisdom and impartiality, who maintain it as a free, independent and They allow any interference, guardianship, or subordination. Every day that passes increases the size of the crisis and time does not recover. Time passes and passes, the brain drain increases, and the non-Lebanese multiply, and there may not be a Lebanese left to apply their failed policies to.”He concluded: “Our hope is that on Judgment Sunday, every representative, leader, and ruler will examine his conscience, judge himself, and correct his behavior so that he can hear the voice of the Lord saying to him: Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

With names: 5 martyrs following an Israeli raid on Khirbet Salam!
Al-Kalima Online/March 10, 2024
On Saturday evening, the Israeli army launched a raid on a house in the Al-Ain neighborhood in the center of Khirbet Selm. The victim of the raid was a family of 4 people displaced from the town of Blida, and more than 9 others were injured. According to information, the fighter jets fired two air-to-surface missiles towards the house, which led to the martyrdom of the father from the Marji family, his pregnant wife from the Faqih family, their two sons, and another person. The ambulance and relief teams worked to recover their bodies and transport them to Tibnin Governmental Hospital. The raid resulted in more than 9 injuries among residents of the homes surrounding the targeted house, including: Nour Majed, Malak Majed, Muhammad Saleh, Alaa Rafiq Ayoub, Madeleine Zuhair Haider, Marwa Samer Saad, Saad Samer Saad, and Zainab Samer Saad. They were all transferred to Tibnin Hospital. Government too. The raid caused the complete destruction of the house and caused heavy losses to dozens of surrounding homes.

Hezbollah fires rockets into Israel after deadly strikes
AFP/March 10, 2024
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Sunday said it had fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel after Israeli strikes the day before left five dead in southern Lebanon, including three of the group’s members. Hamas ally Hezbollah and its arch-foe Israel have been exchanging near-daily fire across the border since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7. Hezbollah said it had launched “dozens of katyusha-type rockets” in the morning on the Israeli village of Meron, eight kilometers (five miles) from the border. Meron is home to a major air control base that the Iran-backed group has targeted several times since the start of the year. Hezbollah said it had acted “in response to Israeli attacks against villages in the south and the homes of civilians,” particularly the targeting of the home of a fighter in Kherbet Selm the day before. A woman and another person were also killed in the same strike, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency. “Following the sirens that sounded in northern Israel, approximately 35 launches from Lebanon toward Israeli territory were identified, a number of which were intercepted,” the Israeli army said on Sunday. The statement added that the Israeli air force struck Hezbollah infrastructure during the night, including a “military structure in which Hezbollah terrorists were identified in the area of Khirbet Selm.”At least 312 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of cross-border violence on October 8, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including 53 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed, according to the latest official figures. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting on both sides of the border. Strikes have largely remained confined to border regions for the moment, but several have hit Hezbollah positions further north in recent weeks, raising fears of a full-blown conflict. The group has repeatedly said that it will only stop its attacks on Israel with a ceasefire in Gaza.But Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said recently that any truce in Gaza would not change Israel’s goal of pushing Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon, by force or diplomacy.

Israeli strike on Lebanese house kills five: state media
AFP/March 10, 2024
BEIRUT: At least five people were killed Saturday, four from the same family, and nine wounded in an Israeli strike on a house in southern Lebanon, the country’s official National News Agency reported. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and Israel have traded deadly cross-border fire on a near-daily basis since war broke out in October between Israel and the Gaza militant group Hamas, a Hezbollah ally. “The attack against a house in the Khirbet Selm area killed a family of four,” a couple and their two children, and one other person, the NNA said, adding that the mother was also pregnant. The strike demolished the house, wounding at least nine others who lived nearby, it said. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October at least 312 people, mainly Hezbollah fighters, and 56 civilians have been killed in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally. The fighting is mainly along border regions but fears have grown of a broader conflict in Lebanon. Last Tuesday, a Lebanese couple and their son were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in the southern border village of Hula. In Israel, at least 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed. The Hamas attack on southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli figures. Israel’s retaliatory campaign to destroy Hamas has killed 30,960 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry.

US Treasury official pushes Lebanon to halt flow of funding to Hamas
Associated Press/March 10, 2024
A top U.S. Treasury official visiting Beirut this week pressed Lebanese authorities to prevent funds from being funneled to Hamas by way of Lebanon, officials said. Jesse Baker, deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for Asia and the Middle East in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, met with Lebanese politicians and officials from the financial sector Thursday and Friday. His visit came as negotiations for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza appear to have stalled. Should the war continue during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which could begin late Sunday, many fear a regional escalation, including in Lebanon. Near-daily low-level clashes have taken place between Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, and Israeli forces for more than five months.A Treasury official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters said Baker had shared with Lebanese authorities "specific concerns" about "the movement of Hamas funds through Lebanon, Hezbollah funds from Iran into Lebanon and then out into other regional areas" and called for "proactive measures" to combat it. The official said that the groups need the flow of funds to pay their fighters and conduct military operations and cannot achieve their aims otherwise. The Treasury official added that, for Lebanon, showing compliance with global anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism financing standards is key to attracting investment from the U.S. and the rest of the world and to pulling the country out of its protracted crisis. Baker pushed for Lebanon to crack down on the large sector of illicit financial service companies that have flourished amid the collapse of the country's formal banking system over four years of economic crisis, including illegal money exchange and unlicensed money transfer operations, the Treasury official said. Those businesses — along with a cash economy that the World Bank has estimated amounts to nearly 46% of Lebanon's GDP — have offered workarounds for people and groups barred from the formal financial system by U.S. sanctions, including Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which Washington considers "terrorist" organizations. Walid Kilani, a spokesperson for Hamas in Lebanon, said he had "no information" about the matter. Halim Berti, spokesperson for Lebanon's central bank, confirmed that officials with the institution had met with Baker and described the meetings as "very positive." He said that the central bank is doing its part to regulate licensed financial services businesses but that those operating without a license are "not in our jurisdiction" and should be dealt with by law enforcement.

Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets at Israel's Meron after deadly Khirbet Selm strike
Agence France Presse/March 10, 2024
Hezbollah on Sunday said it fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel after Israeli strikes the day before left five dead in southern Lebanon, including three of the group's members. Hamas ally Hezbollah and its arch-foe Israel have been exchanging near-daily fire across the border since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7. Hezbollah said it launched "dozens of katyusha-type rockets" in the morning on the Israeli village of Meron, eight kilometers from the border. Meron is home to a major air control base that the Iran-backed group has targeted several times since the start of the year. Hezbollah said it acted "in response to Israeli attacks against villages in the south and the homes of civilians," particularly the targeting of the home of a fighter in Khirbet Selm the day before. A woman and another person were also killed in the same strike, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency. "Following the sirens that sounded in northern Israel, approximately 35 launches from Lebanon toward Israeli territory were identified, a number of which were intercepted," the Israeli army said on Sunday. The statement added that the Israeli air force struck Hezbollah infrastructure during the night, including a "military structure in which Hezbollah terrorists were identified in the area of Khirbet Selm." At least 312 people have been killed in Lebanon since the start of cross-border violence on October 8, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including 53 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed, according to the latest official figures. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting on both sides of the border. Strikes have largely remained confined to border regions for the moment, but several have hit Hezbollah positions further north in recent weeks, raising fears of a full-blown conflict. The group has repeatedly said that it will only stop its attacks on Israel with a ceasefire in Gaza. But Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said recently that any truce in Gaza would not change Israel's goal of pushing Hezbollah away from the border, by force or diplomacy.

Challenges of Border Crossing: The Unavailable Booklet
LBCI/March 10, 2024
A driver who works on the route between Lebanon and Syria can be seen on his return from Syria. He carries the temporary booklet on which he crosses the border. There are few remaining slots in the booklet, and when they are filled, his work will stop. At the Arida border crossing, as in Abboudieh, the outcry is the same. The booklet is not available. This booklet is given to Lebanese citizens by customs. It consists of slots stamped upon entry and exit, and when the slots are used up, the booklet must be renewed, which is currently unavailable. We hear the same outcry moving from Arida and Abboudieh in the north to the Al Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa. There are no booklets at the customs centers. The temporary booklet that Lebanese citizens used to obtain from customs for 5,000 Lebanese pounds before the crisis is not available, knowing that its official price has now risen to 3,800,000,000, or about $40, as the drivers say. The need of drivers who have work between Lebanon and Syria for this unavailable booklet has created a black market and brokers who benefit from it. During the tour of the border crossings, it is clear that some can secure it for you at a price higher than the official price. They provide you with numbers. You call them and hear similar answers. If the Lebanese driver cannot obtain the booklet in the black market, then the very desperate one obtains a permit from customs, which is used once but also incurs additional costs for them. Customs sources indicate that the problem is related to printing, confirming that they are in the process of supplying customs centers with 4,000 booklets next week. Will these booklets enter the black market again and reach the hands of brokers?

National Moderation Bloc and Quintet Ambassadors initiative: A Beacon of Hope, says Patriarch al-Rahi
LBCI/March 10, 2024
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi presided over Sunday's Mass in Bkerke. Bishops and priests assisted him. Political figures and officials attended the ceremony. After the Gospel, the Patriarch stated, "The world's problems stem from the ease of killing, war, destruction, displacement of innocent citizens, leaving them vulnerable to hunger, thirst, disease, and exhaustion, all of which result from the state of sin."The Patriarch emphasized that this is evident in the Israeli war on Gaza and the tragedy of the Palestinian people, condemning the ongoing genocide and calling the world to stop it. He said, "We reject the silence of the world's nations, sacrificing a deprived people's right to their land and their right to a state of their own, as per United Nations Resolution 181 adopted on November 29, 1947, regarding the partition of Palestine into two states: one Jewish and one Arab, with defined borders." Regarding Lebanon, al-Rahi said, "We seek to avoid sliding into this blind and malicious war, protect the South and its citizens, and immediately proceed to elect a president to ensure the functioning of the parliament, government, and all constitutional institutions." He added, "From this perspective, we view the initiative of the National Moderation Bloc and the efforts of the Quintet Ambassadors Committee with great positivity, hoping for their success and expressing gratitude for their efforts and sacrifices." On another note, the Patriarch addressed recent events and highlighted the celebration of International Women's Day and Teacher's Day on March 8th and 9th. He congratulated and appreciated women and teachers, acknowledging their roles as wives, mothers, sisters, and professionals, expressing solidarity with them in their rights and responsibilities across society.  In addition, he emphasized the importance of teachers in combating illiteracy and shaping Lebanon's future, assuring them of the church's support. He urged cooperation to overcome economic challenges and called on political leaders to prioritize the nation's interests over personal and sectarian agendas, stressing their accountability for the country's paralysis. In his closing remarks, the Patriarch urged prayers for spiritual, moral, and physical healing. He called on "brothers and sisters to unite in seeking divine intervention for the well-being of all humanity."

Israeli atmosphere in Beirut: MP Ghassan Skaf warns of impending conflict
LBCI/March 10, 2024
MP Ghassan Skaf saw that the recent visit of US presidential envoy Amos Hochstein to Beirut had an Israeli atmosphere, indicating that there is preparation for a military operation. This article was originally published in and translated from the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anbaa. He stated that what the Israelis are seeking is to secure the safety of settlers in northern Israel, and if this safety is not secured diplomatically and politically, it will be through military means. "Hochstein indicated this when he told us that the unity of arenas does not mean the unity of truces. This means not waiting for a truce in Gaza for there to be a truce on the southern front, and this is what Hezbollah wants," Skaf said. Skaf pointed out in a statement to "Al-Anbaa" that "Lebanon must learn from the fact that we cannot remain idle and take Hochstein's threats lightly. His message conveyed that even if a truce were to occur in Gaza, you must decide because there is an Israeli determination to carry out a military operation, and as Americans, we seek to prevent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from sliding towards war.""Hochstein said that they hope to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and for US-Iranian negotiations not to stop, especially with the United States entering the presidential election phase, which may lead to a reduction in its intervention to prevent a comprehensive war," Skaf added. Skaf believed that all indicators show that Israel is seeking war and that confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel and the breaking of rules of engagement could lead to serious and destructive results for Lebanon. He stopped at two negative indicators in the Israeli position, one of which was revealed by an Israeli newspaper that 71 percent of Israelis support a wide war with Hezbollah, and secondly, and more dangerously, is that Israelis, due to al-Aqsa Flood, have become more prepared to accept losses in an upcoming war.
Skaf considered that the Lebanese state is handling the possibility of war escalation "lightly," describing it as a big mistake, as it is also dealing "lightly" with international envoys, including Hochstein, who seek to prevent war expansion. He said: "Hence, it is the responsibility of the Lebanese state to start moving international mediators to implement Resolution 1701."Regarding Hezbollah's rejection of halting its military operations supporting Gaza before a ceasefire on it, Skaf believed that "we must stop playing with fire in the south because the situation is touching the edge of real danger, and this is indeed what the US presidential envoy conveyed to Beirut."He added that things could spiral out of control in a moment of uncalculated madness for the insane Netanyahu after the rules of engagement have collapsed. "I believe that Israel's theory is to practice diplomacy at the table while the field is inflamed, and Lebanon and Hezbollah's theory is negotiations on cold, meaning practicing diplomacy at the table after a ceasefire in Gaza and on the southern front, and this is what Hezbollah is seeking," Skaf continued. Regarding Hochstein's meeting with several opposition MPs and informing them of their rejection of any settlement that allows Hezbollah to gain political gains in exchange for agreeing to calm, Skaf pointed out that what the opposition wants is not to exploit the Gaza issue or the war on the southern border to impose a president on Lebanon, as that would be equivalent to consolidating the existing division in the country.
"We all know that historically, the presidency has been and still is the task of regional and international powers, and the task of the parliament has been limited to a symbolic election. Today, the picture has changed due to the negative balance in the parliament, so no team can impose the president, and also, the supporting countries for both teams cannot impose a president," Skaf added. He expressed his belief that the Quintet Committee would be the witness and the moral guarantor of the presidential election session, and the result of the consultations would reach the third name, which would compete in the presidential race with the other established names. Skaf said: "If the third name receives more than 86 votes, we go to consensus, and if he does not, we go to the election with the existing candidates, and the small blocs, in this case, will have the biggest role in determining the winner."

Grand Jaafari Mufti urges Lebanon to fortify resistance, calls for unity against external pressure
LBCI/March 10, 2024
The Grand Jaafari Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Kabalan, considered that "we should realize that the war in the Gaza Strip and the focus on Lebanon." He said in a statement: "Because what is happening in the region touches the essence of the country and the sovereign environment of Lebanon, we must understand that the war in Gaza and the focus on Lebanon are in the midst of a world where justice is only through power."Kabalan affirmed that Lebanon's value lies in the value of its southern front, the readiness of its resistance, and its arsenal. "This necessitates confronting the war with a national decision that ends with a consensual presidential settlement reaffirming Lebanon's national choices, the capabilities of its state, and the influence of its various institutions and apparatuses to block the US project of draining the state and its institutions," he added. Kabalan also mentioned that the National Moderation Bloc's initiative must moderate in approaching the needs of national partnership and its consensual nature, as well as the reality of Lebanon facing the "tsunami of the insane US project." "Efforts by ambassadors as long as there are US fingers involved are suspicious, and we will not trust the US even if it says 'There is no god but Allah.' President Nabih Berri is a sovereign guarantee to protect the role and function of the most important sovereign site in the Lebanese state," Kabalan continued. He said, "The fires of the US spring have reached Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq, then Lebanon, and today Gaza, before that Sudan, which is gasping for breath, and Washington's eye is now on the keys of Lebanon's constitutional institutions amidst projects that affect the national and sectarian structure of the country." Furthermore, Kabalan stated: "Some must understand that the war on Gaza is the head of a bridge for a future war that affects the entire region."
"What is required is to protect the back of the resistance through a consensual presidential settlement far removed from the interests of Washington and Brussels," Kabalan concluded.

MP Jimmy Jabbour to LBCI: We prefer victory over presidential vacuum, even if opposing candidate wins
LBCI/March 10, 2024
MP Jimmy Jabbour clarified that the "National Moderation Bloc" did not promote a specific presidential candidate or a clear agenda, saying: "We positively engage with its initiative and are open to it, awaiting the second round, and the ball is in the court of the Speaker of Parliament." "We are open to the initiative of the Moderation Bloc, and whatever the outcome, it remains better than the vacuum in the presidential chair, especially since the new alignment will not include non-serious names, as serious names include Sleiman Frangieh and Jihad Azour, whose intersection has not been concluded."
On LBCI's "Nharkom Said" TV show, he stated that if the parliamentary majority secures a specific name and we are against it, his victory remains better than the vacuum. Jabbour emphasized that they are not obstructers of understanding, relying on Bkerke's role in gathering Christians and Lebanese, especially since it is the responsibility of the Christian forces to act responsibly. In addition, he considered that dialogue between political parties enriches them, especially amid the situation in the southern region, as Lebanon will pay the price of war, and most do not want to go to war. He said, "We do not lean towards acknowledging that the situation in Gaza is connected to us and a reality imposed upon us."

UAE-Based Lebanese Journalist Layal Alekhtiar, Wanted By Lebanese Military Court For Interviewing Israeli Military Official: The 'Culture Of Death' Has Destroyed Half Of Lebanon And Other Arab Countries – I Have Chosen The 'Culture Of Life'
MEMRI/March10/ 2024
Lebanon | Special Dispatch No. 11187
Lebanese journalist and Al-Arabiya Network TV host Layal Alekhtiar said in a February 2, 2024 interview that aired on Al-Mashhad TV [UAE] that she has chosen the "culture of life," while the "culture of death" has destroyed half of Lebanon and other Arab countries. A Lebanese military court has issued an arrest warrant against Alekhtiar after she interviewed Israeli military Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee in the days following the October 7 attack on Israel. She said that Hizbullah sacrifices the people of south Lebanon in order to fight Israel, congratulates their family members on their death, and tells them that they too will be killed. Alekhtiar said that the people in Gaza and Palestine are being politically "exploited."
To view the clip of UAE-Based Lebanese journalist Layal Alekhtiar, click here or below: https://www.memri.org/tv/uae-based-lebanon-journalist-wanted-lebanon-interviewing-israeli-military-official-layal-alekhtiar-cutlure-death-destroyed-chose-life
The Region Has Two Cultures – The Culture Of Life, Which Allows Us To Build A Better Future For Our Children, And The Culture Of Death, Which Destroyed Half Of Lebanon And Other Arab Countries
Layal Alekhitar: "There are two completely different cultures in Lebanon and in the region: There is the culture of life and there is a culture of death. We have chosen to be among the people promoting the culture of life. It is true that the culture of life entrusts us with great responsibility, but it is our future. It allows us to build a better future for our children and for future generations.
"The culture of death, which they are promoting… They have destroyed half of Lebanon because of this culture – not just Lebanon, the [other] Arab countries as well. See the difference [between the two cultures].
Hizbullah Sacrifices People To Fight Israel; You Can No Longer Fool People With Ideological Rhetoric; The People Of Gaza Know They Have Been Exploited Politically
"[Hizbullah] sacrifices people to fight Israel. Show me one thing they achieved by this war. Today, you hear people talking about this. People are asking: 'What are we sacrificing our children for?' You can no longer fool people with ideological rhetoric. There is a paradox here. While extending condolences to these people, you say to them: 'You will also die.' You 'congratulate' them for the death [of their family member], and you promise them that they will die too…"4
Interviewer: "The people who are being killed in south [Lebanon] – are they not defending the borders? Are they not supporting the people of Gaza?"
Alekhitar: "For whose sake are they supporting the people of Gaza?"
Interviewer: "What do you mean?"
Alekhitar: "You follow the politics…"
Interviewer: "Of course, but I am asking you."
Alekhitar: "For whose sake are they supporting the people of Gaza?"
Interviewer: "For whose sake do you think?"
Alekhitar: "They built a force called 'Al-Quds Force,' but none of its members is marching towards Al-Quds [Jerusalem]…What Jerusalem are they talking about? Even the Palestinians themselves, the people of Gaza themselves… I have many [Palestinian] colleagues here [in the UAE]…They know that they have been exploited politically. They know they have been sold out.

Dar al-Fatwa announces Monday, March 11 as first day of Ramadan
LBCI/March /10/2024
The Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic sheikh Abdel Latif Derian announced on Sunday that the holy month of Ramadan will start on Monday, March 11, 2024. In a statement, Mufti Derain congratulated the Muslims and all Lebanese on this holy month.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 10-11/2024
Israelis rally for hostage release, Netanyahu ouster
AFP/March 10, 2024
TEL AVIV: Shouting “Elections now!” and “Bring back the hostages now!,” thousands of Israeli demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv Saturday to demand the departure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after five months of war in Gaza. With t-shirts and banners featuring the names and pictures of hostages seized during Hamas’s October 7 attack, the crowd demanded swift action to rescue the remaining captives. The attack on southern Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli figures. Israel’s retaliatory campaign to destroy Hamas has killed 30,960 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry. Around 100 hostages remain in Gaza alive and 31 are presumed dead, Israel has said, a key source of demonstrators’ despair. “We are a broken country,” said Ora, a psychologist in her 60s who did not want to give her full name. Some protesters called for an immediate ceasefire, a position Netanyahu’s government has so far rejected, arguing it would amount to a victory for Hamas. “Ceasefire? yes, we don’t have any choice,” said Israel Alva, a former soldier who now sells medical equipment, adding that there was no “political plan” for after the war. Mediators have been pushing for a new truce deal before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, set to begin in the coming days. But US President Joe Biden said on Friday that a breakthrough was “looking tough.”Shai Gill, a 50-year-old airline pilot who joined the Tel Aviv rally, said Netanyahu’s government — already hit by a massive protest wave before the war — “cannot stay in power” after the October 7 attack. “They don’t have the trust of the people and we have to go for an election,” Gill said. He accused the government of being “driven by the motivation to stay in power, and not by what is good for the country. They just are clinging to their seats.”Police later said they arrested 16 protesters for public disturbances, while the force used water canons to disperse the crowd as they blocked a highway. Saturday’s gathering bore some resemblance to mass protests against Netanyahu’s controversial legal overhaul before the war in Gaza — “a century ago,” as one protester put it with a sigh. Israel’s top court in January ruled against a key component of the changes, which have largely been shelved. Netanyahu had argued that they were necessary to rebalance powers between judges and elected officials. But his detractors warned the multi-pronged package could have paved the way for authoritarian rule and be used by Netanyahu to quash possible corruption convictions against him. Netanyahu was dealt a new blow this week when a probe found that the premier “bears personal responsibility” for a 2021 stampede in northern Israel that killed 45 Jewish pilgrims. Netanyahu’s Likud party said in response that the investigation was politically motivated. “Netanyahu has always governed the same way, with this attitude of ‘I’m not responsible’,” Gill said.

Biden: Netanyahu ‘hurting Israel’ by not preventing more civilian deaths in Gaza
AP/March 10, 2024
WILMINGTON, Delaware: US President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza. The US leader expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack, but said of Netanyahu that “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.”Biden has for months warned that Israel risks losing international support over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza, and the latest remarks in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart pointed to the increasingly strained relationship between the two leaders. Biden said of the death toll in Gaza, “it’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake.”Biden said a potential Israeli invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering, is “a red line” for him, but said he would not cut off weapons like the Iron Dome missile interceptors which protect the Israeli civilian populace from rocket attacks in the region. “It is a red line,” he said, when asked about Rafah, “but I’m never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them.” Biden said he was willing to make his case directly to the Israeli Knesset, its parliament, including by making another trip to the country. He traveled to Israel weeks after the Oct. 7. attack. He declined to elaborate on how or whether such a trip might materialize. The U.S. leader had hoped to secure a temporary ceasefire before Ramadan begins next week, though that appears increasingly unlikely as Hamas has balked at a deal pushed by the U.S. and its allies that would have seen fighting pause for about six weeks, the release of additional hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel remains committed to continuing its invasion and annihilating Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on Oct. 7. The militant group freed dozens of hostages during a November truce, but it refuses to release more without guarantees of a complete end of hostilities. Meanwhile, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run health ministry, with the majority being women and children, and hundreds of thousands going hungry. Biden noted CIA Director Bill Burns is in the region currently trying to resurrect the deal. Biden’s comments came after he was captured on a hot mic following Thursday night’s State of the Union address telling Sen. Michael Bennet that he and the Israeli leader will need to have a “come to Jesus meeting.”In the exchange, Bennet congratulated Biden on his speech and urged the president to keep pressing Netanyahu on growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were also part of the brief conversation. Biden then responds using Netanyahu’s nickname, saying, “I told him, Bibi, and don’t repeat this, but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting.” An aide to the president standing nearby then speaks quietly into the president’s ear, appearing to alert Biden that microphones remained on as he worked the room. “I’m on a hot mic here,” Biden says after being alerted. “Good. That’s good.”

US ship with equipment for building pier en route to Gaza as part of plan to boost aid
Associated Press/March 10, 2024
A U.S. Army vessel carrying equipment for building a temporary pier in Gaza was on its way to the Mediterranean on Sunday, three days after U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans to ramp up aid deliveries by sea to the besieged enclave where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been going hungry.
The opening of the sea corridor, along with airdrops by the U.S., Jordan and others, showed increasing alarm over Gaza's humanitarian crisis and a new willingness to bypass Israeli control over land shipments. Israel said it welcomed the sea deliveries and would inspect Gaza-bound cargo before it leaves a staging area in nearby Cyprus. The daily number of aid trucks entering Gaza by land over the past five months has been far below the 500 that entered before the war because of Israeli restrictions and security issues. Biden has stepped up his public criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he believes Netanyahu is "hurting Israel more than helping Israel" in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza, now in its sixth month. Speaking Saturday to MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart, the president expressed support for Israel's right to pursue Hamas after the militants' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, but said that Netanyahu "must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken." He added that "you cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead."
In Gaza, Palestinian casualties continued to rise. The Civil Defense Department said at least nine Palestinians, including children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City late Saturday. Footage shared by the civil defense showed first responders pulling out the dead and injured trapped in the collapsed house. One rescuer was seen holding a dead infant, before placing the limp body on a sofa amid the wreckage. Elsewhere, the bodies of 15 people, including women and children, were taken to the main hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Sunday, according to an Associated Press journalist. Relatives said they were killed by Israeli artillery fire toward a large tent camp for displaced Palestinians in the coastal area east of the southern city of Khan Younis. Israel rarely comments on specific incidents during the war. It has held that Hamas is responsible for civilian casualties because the militant group operates from within civilian areas.The Health Ministry in Gaza said Sunday that at least 31,045 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. It doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and its figures from previous wars have largely matched those of the U.N. and independent experts.
Meanwhile, U.S. efforts got underway to set up the temporary pier in Gaza for the sea deliveries. U.S. Central Command said a first U.S. Army vessel, the General Frank S. Besson, left a base in Virginia on Saturday and was on its way to the Eastern Mediterranean with equipment for pier construction.
U.S. officials said it will likely be weeks before the pier is operational.The sea corridor is backed by the EU together with the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. The European Commission has said that U.N. agencies and the Red Cross will also play a role. A ship belonging to Spain's Open Arms aid group was expected to make a pilot voyage to test the corridor as early as this weekend. The ship has been waiting at Cyprus' port of Larnaca. Open Arms founder Oscar Camps has said the ship, which is pulling a barge with 200 tons of rice and flour, would take two to three days to arrive at an undisclosed location. A member of the charity World Central Kitchen, which is also involved in the test run, said on X, formerly Twitter, that once the barge reaches Gaza, the aid would be offloaded by a crane, placed on trucks and driven to northern Gaza, which has been largely cut off from aid shipments. Senior aid officials have warned that air and sea deliveries can't make up for a shortage of supply routes on land. The new push for getting more aid in came on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which follows a lunar calendar and could start as early as Sunday evening, depending on the sighting of a crescent moon. Israel declared war on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, allegedly killing about 1,200 troops and civilians according to Israel and taking 250 hostages. Israel's blistering air and ground offensive has devastated large parts of Gaza, displaced about 80% of the population of 2.3 million and set off a worsening humanitarian crisis. The U.S. and regional mediators Egypt and Qatar had hoped to have a six-week cease-fire in place by the start of Ramadan, but talks appeared to be stalled, with Hamas holding out for assurances that a temporary truce will lead to an end of hostilities. Mediators had hoped to alleviate some of the immediate crisis with the temporary cease-fire, which would have seen Hamas release some of the Israeli hostages it's holding, Israel release some Palestinian prisoners and aid groups be given access for a major influx of assistance into Gaza.

US dispatches aid ship to Gaza after Biden vows to build pier
REUTERS/March 10, 2024
CAIRO: The US Army has dispatched a ship to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday, days after President Joe Biden vowed to build a temporary pier to supply the besieged enclave. The General Frank S. Besson left Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia “less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the US would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea,” CENTCOM said in a statement. The logistics support vessel is “carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies,” it said. Biden’s announcement in his State of the Union address on Thursday followed UN warnings of widespread famine among Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians five months after Israel launched its offensive in the narrow strip in response to an attack by Hamas militants. Gaza has no port infrastructure. The US initially plans to use Cyprus, which is offering a process for screening cargoes that will include Israel officials, removing the need for security checks in Gaza. Most of Gaza’s people are now internally displaced, with severe bottlenecks in aid deliveries at land border checkpoints. Gaza has been under an Israeli navy blockade since 2007, when Hamas took control of the enclave. There have been few direct sea arrivals since then.

On eve of Ramadan, Jerusalem’s Old City offers little festivity as Gaza war rages
AP/March 10, 2024
JERUSALEM: On the eve of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Jerusalem’s Old City bears few of its usual hallmarks of festivity. Nearly half of the grotto-shaped gift shops are sealed behind metal shutters. The narrow streets that run toward Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest site, are eerily empty. Absent are the fairy lights and shining lanterns that would usually dangle above hurried worshippers. Ramadan preparations in Jerusalem, the spiritual heart of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, have been subdued because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, now in its sixth month. With more than 30,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza and hundreds of thousands going hungry, there’s little room for expressions of joy. “This will be the black Ramadan,” Abu Mousam Haddad said in front of his coffee stand near Damascus Gate, one of the Old City’s main entrances.
But over the next few days, attention is likely to shift from Gaza to Al-Aqsa, which has been a frequent flashpoint for quickly escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence in the past. Hamas, which portrayed its Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel as a battle for Muslim rights at Al-Aqsa, seeks such an eruption now in the hopes of engaging Israeli forces on new fronts and improving its leverage in Gaza ceasefire talks. The militants have urged Palestinians across Israel and the occupied West Bank to stream to the mosque during Ramadan to challenge anticipated Israeli restrictions on worship and movement. Although such restrictions often triggered past clashes, it’s not clear if Palestinians will risk confrontations in the current climate in which Israeli forces are clamping down hard on any perceived threats. “There is great fear among people about what Ramadan will look like this year and how the Israeli police will behave regarding the entry and exit ... into the city,” said Imad Mona, who owns a bookshop outside the Old City. Israel has limited access to Al-Aqsa to varying degrees over the years, including by barring young men, citing security concerns. The Israeli government has provided few details ahead of this year’s Ramadan, which could start as early as Sunday evening. But it has said some Palestinians from the West Bank will be allowed to pray at Al-Aqsa. In the past, Israeli forces raiding the sacred compound have clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians who barricaded themselves inside, at times to protest Israeli access restrictions. Such clashes have triggered escalations, including Hamas rocket fire, which set off a brief Israel-Hamas war in 2021. The compound has long been a deeply contested religious space, as it stands on the Temple Mount, which Jews consider their most sacred site. It lies in east Jerusalem, a section of the city Israel occupied during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. Palestinians want to make it the capital of their own future state. The United States and other international mediators had pushed for a Gaza ceasefire to coincide with the start of Ramadan. However, there has been no breakthrough. Israel remains committed to continuing its invasion and annihilating Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on Oct. 7. The militant group freed dozens of hostages during a November truce, but it refuses to release more without guarantees of a complete end of hostilities. Most Old City shop owners declined to share their views about the coming Ramadan. Scores of Palestinians have been detained by Israel over social media posts about the war in Gaza since it started. Some who would speak said that more Israeli police have been deployed in the Old City since October. Young Palestinian men are regularly barred from entering the Al-Aqsa compound for noon prayers on Fridays since the war started, according to the store owners. This has fueled speculation about other possible restrictions. The Israeli police did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Israeli media, the country’s firebrand national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has been pushing to keep out all West Bank Palestinians, as well as young men who are among the more than 2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel. His spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
The Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian affairs in the West Bank, known as COGAT, said Friday that some Muslims from the West Bank would be allowed in from the territory for Ramadan prayers, but it didn’t elaborate. Last year, hundreds of thousands were able to enter, most of them women, children and elderly men. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also been vague, saying only that similar numbers of people as last year would be allowed for prayers at Al-Aqsa during the first week of Ramadan. He said this will be evaluated on a weekly basis throughout the month. No further details were made public. Under an informal arrangement since 1967, the compound is administered by a Jordanian-based Muslim religious body known as the Waqf. Jews are allowed to visit the compound, but not to pray there. The agreement has broken down in recent years as large groups of Jews, including hard-line religious nationalists, have regularly visited. Some among them have attempted to pray at the site.
In the days leading up to Ramadan, West Bank Palestinians have been unsure whether they would be able to attend prayers. In general, Palestinians in the territory need a permit to enter east Jerusalem, which Israel considers part of its united capital, though its annexation is not recognized by most of the international community. Since Oct. 7, Israel has forbidden Palestinians from entering Jerusalem or any part of Israel. “It is the dream of every Palestinian, Muslim and Arab to pray in Al-Aqsa Mosque” during Ramadan, said Akram al Baghdadi, a Ramallah resident who has extended family scattered across the West Bank and Gaza. The holy month also threatens to heighten divisions within Israel’s unruly cabinet, with ministers already split over how to conduct the Gaza war. In a post on X, Ben Gvir denounced Netanyahu’s decision to allow Palestinians access to Al-Aqsa for Ramadan prayers. He wrote that “Hamas celebrations on the Temple Mount” do not equate to “a complete victory,” a reference to Netanyahu’s wartime battle cry. Ben Gvir, who has visited the Al-Aqsa compound several times, is also a vocal opponent of any ceasefire arrangement with Hamas. He has repeatedly called for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza and the establishment of Israeli settlements — ideas that most Cabinet members oppose. Months of conflict and tension have also brought economic hardship, with a lack of tourists and Palestinians shopping in the Old City. “It’s not just my shop that is affected, but all the traders here, too,” said Jihad Abu Salih, a sweets and pastry merchant from the city. “It’s sad.”

Another top donor says it will resume funding the UN agency for Palestinians as Gaza hunger grows
AP/March 10, 2024
JERUSALEM: Another top donor to the UN agency aiding Palestinians said Saturday that it would resume funding, weeks after more than a dozen countries halted hundreds of millions of dollars in support in response to Israeli allegations against the organization. Sweden’s reversal came as a ship bearing tons of humanitarian aid was making preparations to leave Cyprus for Gaza after international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory facing widespread hunger after five months of war. Sweden’s decision followed similar ones by the European Union and Canada as the UN agency known as UNRWA warns that it could collapse and leave Gaza’s already desperate population of more than 2 million people with even less medical and other assistance. “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is devastating and the needs are acute,” development minister Johan Forssell said in Sweden’s announcement, adding that UNRWA had agreed to increased transparency and stricter oversight and controls. Sweden will give UNRWA half of the $38 million funding it promised for this year, with more to come. Israel had accused 12 of UNRWA’s thousands of employees of participating in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage. Countries including the United States quickly suspended funding to UNRWA worth about $450 million, almost half its budget for the year. The UN has launched investigations, and UNRWA has been agreeing to outside audits to win back donor support.
On the eve of Ramadan, hungry Gaza residents scrambled for packages of food supplies dropped by US and Jordanian military planes — a method of delivery that humanitarian groups have called deeply inadequate compared to deliveries by ground. But the daily number of aid trucks entering Gaza since the war has been far below the 500 that entered before Oct. 7 because of Israeli restrictions and security issues. People dashed through devastated neighborhoods of Gaza City as the parachuting aid descended. “I have orphans, I want to feed them!” one woman cried. “The issue of aid is brutal and no one accepts it,” said another resident, Momen Mahra, claiming that most of the airdropped aid falls into the sea. “We want better methods.” The US military said that its planes on Saturday airdropped more than 41,000 “meal equivalents” and 23,000 bottles of water into northern Gaza, the hardest part of the enclave to access.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said that two more people, including a 2-month-old infant, had died as a result of malnutrition, raising the total number of people who died from hunger to 25. Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra said the toll included only people brought to hospitals.
Overall, the ministry said, at least 30,878 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. It doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tallies, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and its figures from previous wars have largely matched those of the UN and independent experts. The opening of the sea delivery corridor, along with the airdrops, showed increasing frustration with Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions. The sea corridor is backed by the EU together with the United States, the United Arab Emirates and other involved countries, and the European Commission has said that UN agencies and the Red Cross will also play a role. The ship belonging to Spain’s Open Arms aid group was expected to make a pilot voyage to test the corridor as early as this weekend. The ship has been waiting at Cyprus’s port of Larnaca for permission. Israel has said it welcomed the maritime corridor, but cautioned that it would need security checks. Open Arms founder Oscar Camps told The Associated Press that the ship pulling a barge with 200 tons of rice and flour would take two to three days to arrive at an undisclosed location where the group World Central Kitchen was constructing a pier to receive it. The group has 60 food kitchens throughout Gaza to distribute aid, he said. US President Joe Biden has announced a plan to build a temporary pier in Gaza to help deliver aid, underscoring how the US has to go around Israel, its main Middle East ally and the top recipient of US military aid. Israel accuses Hamas of commandeering some aid deliveries. United States officials said it will likely be weeks before the Gaza pier is operational. The executive director of the US arm of medical charity Doctors Without Borders, Avril Benoit, in a statement criticized the US plan as a “glaring distraction from the real problem: Israel’s indiscriminate and disproportionate military campaign and punishing siege.”Sigrid Kaag, the UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, has said air and sea deliveries can’t make up for a shortage of supply routes on land. Meanwhile, efforts to reach a ceasefire before Ramadan appeared stalled. Hamas said Thursday that its delegation had left Cairo until next week. International mediators had hoped to alleviate some of the immediate crisis with a six-week ceasefire, which would have seen Hamas release some of the Israeli hostages it’s holding, Israel release some Palestinian prisoners and aid groups be given access for a major influx of assistance into Gaza. Palestinian militants are believed to be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others captured during the Oct. 7 attack. Several dozen hostages were freed in a weeklong November truce.

Spain’s prime minister says he will propose that parliament recognizes a Palestinian state
AP/March 10, 2024
BILBAO, Spain: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Saturday that he will propose that Spain’s parliament recognizes a Palestinian state. “I will propose granting Spain’s recognition to the Palestinian state,” Sánchez said. “I do this out of moral conviction, for a just cause and because it is the only way that the two states, Israel and Palestine, can live together in peace.”Sánchez added his voice to a chorus of other European leaders and government officials who have said that they could support a two-state solution in the Middle East as international frustration grows with Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories. Sanchez also posted his plan on the X platform. French President Emmanuel Macron said last month that it’s not “taboo” for France to recognize a Palestinian state. British Foreign Minister David Cameron said that the United Kingdom could officially recognize a Palestinian state after a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Sánchez said that his position on the conflict in the Gaza Strip is much like his country’s support for Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion more than two years ago. He stressed that Spain demanded “respect for international law from Russia, and from Israel, for the violence to end, the recognition of two states, and for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.”His comments at a rights conference in the city of Bilbao came as aid shipments were headed for Gaza amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and a new international willingness to work around Israeli restrictions. Five months after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage, Israel’s military has battered the territory, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

NATO’s biggest drills since the Cold War send a signal to Russia and aim for a real-life feel
AP/March 10, 2024
ABOARD THE FRENCH FRIGATE NORMANDIE: Large NATO drills in the frigid fjords of northern Norway may be just war games meant to hone the fighting skills of the newly expanded 32-nation military alliance. But for troops taking part, they are very real. And that’s the whole point. With drills underway now, NATO is baring its fangs in its biggest exercises since the Cold War, sending an unmistakable message to Russia that alliance members are ready to defend each other if needed. Having watched Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, the NATO training aims to cover all eventualities. That can include trying to catch troops off guard. This week, crew members aboard the French frigate Normandie, one of France’s most modern warships, were roused from sleep and scrambled to hunt down and destroy a submarine that snuck into cold Norwegian waters.
The submarine belongs to Germany, also a NATO member. But for the purpose of the war games dubbed Nordic Response 2024, it was acting as an enemy vessel. The Normandie crew spotted its periscope poking through the waves and sprang into action. The submarine had already “attacked” a nearby Italian ship, the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, scoring an imaginary torpedo hit. The crew were determined not to let Normandie — a top-of-the-line vessel, in service only since 2020 — suffer the indignity of also being struck. An urgent 7 a.m. call got Normandie’s commander, Capt. Thomas Vuong, up from his bunk. He ordered the frigate’s submarine-hunting helicopter to be readied for flight, waking its pilot. “We spotted its attack periscope,” Vuong told The Associated Press on board Normandie in an exclusive interview. “Then it dived again,” he said. “We were asked to hunt for it. We succeeded.”
Once airborne, the Normandie’s NH90 helicopter hovered over the waves and lowered its submarine-detecting sonar into the sea. The frigate also used its sonar, and together, they zeroed in on the sub’s position and “attacked” it in turn. “Intelligence confirmed to us that there were no friendly submarines in the sector, so we were certain that it was an enemy submarine,” the helicopter pilot, Lt. Olivier, recounted. The French navy withheld his last name for security reasons. “So the frigate was able to fire a torpedo and destroy the submarine,” he added — but not for real, of course. The frigate and its helicopter pinpointed the submarine with sufficient accuracy to be sure that it wouldn’t have survived had actual torpedoes been fired. The Normandie crew of 146 mariners got no advance warning of the German sub “attack,” to test their readiness in the inhospitable environment above the Arctic Circle, Vuong said. As of this week, NATO nations now also include Sweden. It formally joined on Thursday as the 32nd member, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality. Finland had already joined NATO in April 2023 in a historic move after decades of its military nonalignment. In both countries, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine triggered a dramatic shift in public opinion, leading to their May 2022 applications to join the trans-Atlantic alliance. The Nordic drill in the northern regions of Finland, Norway and Sweden involves more than 20,000 soldiers from 13 nations and kicked off on Monday. It is part of wider exercises called Steadfast Defender 24. They are NATO’s biggest in decades, with up to 90,000 troops involved over several months. They’re aimed at showing the alliance can defend all of its territory up to its borders with Russia. German submariners are more familiar than Normandie with Norway’s deep and narrow fjords and the cold Arctic waters that can complicate submarine detection, Vuong said. The drill was “extremely beneficial, because we reach a very high degree of realism and so we better prepare our teams,” he said. “The fjords are a special environment, with a temperature profile different to what we know in the Atlantic.” “To be able to train our teams here, against this threat, is extremely valuable and extremely stimulating,” he added. “This is their playing field. So they know the hiding places.”

NATO Maneuvers and European Security: Challenges and Concerns
LBCI/March 10, 2024
NATO is conducting the largest and most significant maneuver since the Cold War. Under the name "Nordic Response 2024," NATO has begun large-scale military exercises in the town of Alta, northern Norway, to repel any hypothetical attack on the alliance's territories. The exercises coincide with the 75th anniversary of the alliance's founding.Around 20,000 soldiers from 13 countries, including Finland and Sweden, which recently joined the alliance, are participating in the exercises.These exercises cannot be separated from the ongoing tension between Europe and Russia after the latter's recent war on Ukraine.
The Russian response was not delayed, as Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko considered the maneuver a "final return" by the alliance to the plans of the Cold War, preparing for a military confrontation with his country.

Strategic Maneuvers: Assessing Israel's Military Plans Amidst Regional Tensions
LBCI/March 10, 2024
With the support of the Israeli Cabinet and security agencies, the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, and the Chief of Staff, Hertzi Halevi, along with officials in the Southern Command, have approved military plans to continue fighting in Gaza until Rafah. t is a decision that security and military personnel warned of its repercussions at a time when the voice supporting it was the strongest in Israel. Simultaneously, President Joe Biden's continued criticism of the Israeli Prime Minister has escalated calls for Netanyahu's immediate resignation. This has reignited discussions among security and military officials about the consequences of intensifying the fighting and entering Rafah during Ramadan, not only in Gaza but also in the region.

Hope for Libyan peace as Arab League hosts talks in Cairo
Updated 10 March 2024
GOBRAN MOHAMED/Arab News/March 10, 2024
CAIRO: A series of tentative agreements between key Libyan officials have raised hopes of a resolution to the country’s long-running civil conflict. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the league’s headquarters in Cairo on Sunday hosted Mohammed Menfi, president of Libya’s Presidential Council; Aguila Saleh, speaker of the house of representatives; and Mohammed Takala, president of the High State Council. The talks aimed to facilitate intra-Libyan dialogue as part of the Arab League’s efforts to foster mutual understanding among Libyan parties. A league statement referred to efforts to bridge viewpoints and resolve differences regarding presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya. The three Libyan officials agreed to promote the country’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and reject any hostile external interference in its political process. A technical committee will be established, and will meet within a designated time frame to review and suggest appropriate amendments to joint action. This will expand the basis of consensus and acceptance of the work accomplished by the 6+6 Joint Committee. The technical committee will also aim to resolve any disagreements among the Libyan parties regarding existing legislation. In the meeting, the parties agreed to establish a single government body responsible for overseeing Libya’s electoral process and delivering essential services to citizens. As part of the consensus-building efforts, the three parties also agreed to call on the UN Support Mission in Libya and the international community for assistance. A second round of talks will be held to finalize the agreements. The Libyan parties praised the Arab League for bringing opposing points of view together in a bid to restore the country’s electoral process. During a press conference, Menfi said: “We support any consensus between the political parties to conduct the electoral process.”The results of the meeting “lived up to Libyan’s ambitions to hold elections,” he added. “We agreed to form a technical committee to solve some of the problems, and a meeting will be held soon to complete the steps,” Menfi said.
“We stressed that elections are a way to reach a stable state.”

Sudan’s RSF paramilitaries welcome UN call for cessation of hostilities in Ramadan
REUTERS/March 10, 2024
CAIRO: Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group on Saturday welcomed a call by the United Nations Security Council for a cessation of hostilities in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, offering a potential respite from the 11-month-old conflict. Ramadan is expected to start on Sunday evening. In a statement, the RSF expressed hope that the Security Council resolution would “significantly lessen the suffering of the Sudanese people by ensuring the smooth delivery of humanitarian aid” and pave the way for a political process leading to a permanent ceasefire.
War erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The UN says nearly 25 million people — half Sudan’s population — need aid, some 8 million have fled their homes and hunger is rising. Washington says the parties to the conflict have committed war crimes. The US special envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, will visit a number of countries in Africa and the Middle East from March 11 to 25, the State Department said on Saturday, . It said the trip will demonstrate “the priority the Administration places on ending the Sudan conflict, meeting the immediate and dire humanitarian needs of the Sudanese people, and charting a path toward civilian, democratic government.”Perriello will visit Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. On Friday the Security Council adopted a British-drafted resolution for a cessation of hostilities in Ramadan, but the mechanism for implementing the resolution remains unclear. Sudan’s UN ambassador, Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed, told the council on Thursday that the president of the country’s transitional council commended the appeal of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a Ramadan truce. However, he said the leader is “wondering about how to do this.” “In embracing the proposed humanitarian ceasefire, we express our readiness to partake in discussions concerning the establishment of mutually agreed upon monitoring mechanisms,” the RSF said in its Saturday statement. “These mechanisms are crucial for ensuring the effective implementation of the ceasefire and for achieving the humanitarian objectives intended by this resolution.”

Pope Francis: Ukraine should have the courage of the ‘white flag,’ negotiate end of war with Russia
AP/March 10, 2024
ROME: Pope Francis said in an interview that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and not be ashamed to sit at the same table to carry out peace talks. The pope made his appeal during an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, which was partially released on Saturday. “I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates,” Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers.
Ukraine remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded. Russia is gaining momentum on the battlefield in the war now in its third year and Ukraine is running low on ammunition. Meanwhile, some of Ukraine’s allies in the West are delicately raising the prospect of sending troops. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Saturday that Francis picked up the “white flag” term that had been used by the interviewer. He issued a statement of clarification after the pope’s “white flag” comments sparked criticism that he was siding with Russia in the conflict. Throughout the war, Francis has tried to maintain the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality, but that has often been accompanied by apparent sympathy with the Russian rationale for invading Ukraine, such as when he noted that NATO was “barking at Russia’s door” with its eastward expansion. Francis said in the RSI interview that “the word negotiate is a courageous word.” “When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate,” he said. “Negotiations are never a surrender.” The pope also reminded people that some countries have offered to act as mediators in the conflict. “Today, for example, in the war in Ukraine, there are many who want to mediate,” he said. “Turkiye has offered itself for this. And others. Do not be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse.”Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia — has offered during a visit Friday from Zelensky to host a peace summit between the two countries.

Ramadan Commencement: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE Declare Monday as First Day
AFP/March 10, 2024
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have announced that Monday will mark the beginning of Ramadan this year. The announcement comes amidst somber atmospheres in the region due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Iran has declared that Tuesday will be the first day of fasting in the country. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) cited a statement from the Royal Court, which stated, "The Supreme Court has decided that Monday, March 11, 2024, will be the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan for this year."

UN Secretary-General delivers a video message on the occasion of the beginning of Ramadan
NNA/March 10, 2024
On the occasion of the start of the month of Ramadan, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered the following video message:
"I extend my warmest wishes as millions of Muslims around the world begin observing the Holy Month of Ramadan. Ramadan embodies the values of peace, resilience, and generosity. It is a period of reflection and prayer, an opportunity to come together and uplift each other. Sadly, many will mark this month while facing conflict, displacement, and fear. My thoughts and heart are with them – from the people of Afghanistan to the Sahel, from the Horn of Africa to Syria and beyond. I wish to express a special message of solidarity and support to all those suffering from the horrors in Gaza.
In these trying times, the spirit of Ramadan is a beacon of hope, a reminder of our shared humanity.
Let us all be inspired:
To heal divisions;
To support those in need;
And to work as one for the safety and dignity of every member of the human family.
May this Holy Month bring peace and guide us towards a more just and compassionate world.
Ramadan Kareem."

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 10-11/2024
International Law or Antisemitism?
Bat Ye'or/Gatestone Institute./March 10, 2024
In his study on this subject, David Elber demonstrates that the UN has no possession of territorial sovereignty and therefore cannot decree the allocation of a territory over which it has no sovereignty (on the basis of the universal principle of law nemo dat quod non habet -- no one can give what he does not possess), especially when this decision violates previous treaties endorsed by the UN itself. Resolution 181 only made suggestions to avoid the threat of war from the Arabs.
With the Venice Declaration, the European Economic Community demanded the creation of a Palestinian state on the territories liberated by Israel in 1967, which had been illegally occupied and rendered Judenrein [ethnically cleansed of Jews] by Arab countries since 1949. Since that time, the EEC/EU have never ceased to impose the concept of "Palestinian people" instead of Arab refugees, in order to justify its claim to a state that it has been striving to build for decades by monitoring, restricting and harassing Israelis in their own country, recognized by international treaties.
For the past 40 years, the EEC/EU, which wants to get rid of Israel at all costs, has invented a false people, the Palestinians, devoid of national particularisms and history, artificially constructed as a look-alike to Israel, even though they claim to follow the Koran, embody jihad against unbelief and adhere to Nazism.
UN Resolution 181, falsely called international law, authorizes the delegitimization of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem according to the 2,000-year-old anti-Semitic tradition, and the reduction of the Jewish state to an indefensible parcel that will soon be made to disappear. It has already created Palestinian ministries and ambassadors for a people that is not a people, but which it is determined to create in homage to the Hitler-Husseini alliance that symbolizes the jihad against Israel.
Over the last few decades, the EU's alliance with the Palestinian jihad -- a war to Islamize the planet... In its relentless fight against Israel, Europe has sacrificed its own territory and people to Palestinianism. Today, in a strange coincidence, we see the same alliances as in the 1940s: the majority of European countries, united under the government of the Third Reich, allied with Islam and at war with Russia and the Jewish people in a global anti-Semitic tsunami.
In its relentless fight against Israel, Europe has sacrificed its own territory and people to Palestinianism. Pictured: PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shares a laugh with French President Jacques Chirac at the Élysée Palace in Paris, on July 26, 1995. (Photo by Remy de la Mauviniere/AFP via Getty Images)
It is commonplace to hear it proclaimed everywhere and at every turn as a proven truth that the State of Israel is violating international law. Interviewed by Sonia Mabrouk on February 11, Manuel Bompard once again made this accusation, even specifying a date to a violation that dates back 70 years! This accusation, which determines all the European Union's relations with the Jewish state, justifies, for example, discriminatory practices against Israel that are unprecedented and never applied against any other state. Thus, we can read in the Journal officiel (24/11/2016, no. 81) under the heading "Miscellaneous," regulations relating to:
"the indication of origin of goods from territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 published in the Official Journal of the European Union on November 12, 2015.
"In particular, it specifies that, under international law, the Golan Heights and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are not part of Israel. Consequently, in order not to mislead consumers, food product labelling must accurately indicate the exact origin of the products, whether this is compulsory under Community regulations or voluntary on the part of the operator.
"In the case of products from the West Bank or Golan Heights that originate from Israeli settlements, a reference limited to 'product originating from the Golan Heights' or 'product originating from the West Bank' is not acceptable. Although these expressions effectively designate the wider area or territory from which the product originates, issuing the additional geographical information that the product originates from Israeli settlements is likely to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product. In such cases, it is necessary to add, in brackets, the expression 'Israeli settlement' or equivalent terms. Expressions such as "product originating from the Golan Heights (Israeli settlement)' or 'product originating from the West Bank (Israeli settlement)' can be used."
We see this text once again invoking international law without further clarification. We also note that the EU claims the right to decree of its own accord that the Golan Heights, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are not part of Israel. Is there a law allowing a group of powers to decree which provinces belong to a country and to change their historical names, such as Judea and Samaria transformed into the West Bank? Or to invent international borders where none existed before?
This text can only be seen as hateful and contemptuous of the Jewish people. Its aim is to establish in these Israeli lands a second Judenrein Palestinian state, as called for by the founder of the Arab Higher Committee, Amin al-Husseini, who united Christians and Muslims in the British Mandate of Palestine against the Palestinian Jews.
By the 1920s, al-Husseini, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, was so highly regarded in Europe that he spent the war years in Berlin. In radio recordings from this period, the German announcer can be heard describing the gathering in Berlin on November 2, 1943 of Arab nationalists mixing with the Nazis[1]:
"We are in the Luftwaffe building in Berlin, where Arab leaders are gathered to protest against the Balfour Declaration. The Hall is festooned with Arab flags and poster portraits of Arab patriots. Arabs and Moslems from every land pour into the hall. Among them are Moroccans, Palestinians, Lebanese, Yemenites, men from the Hedjaz, Indians, Iranians and Moslem representatives from all over Europe. Among the latter are a great many Germans friendly to the Arabs, high government officials, civilian and military, one of the S.S. chiefs, representatives of foreign embassies and at their head representatives of the Japanese Embassy. The audience runs into hundreds, and here now I see the Mufti of Jerusalem making his way into the hall. He is shaking hands with a number of notables and mounts the steps to the stage to deliver his address (p. 49).
"After several anti-Jewish quotations from the Koran, Haj Amin el Husseini, head of the Higher Arab Committee (Palestinian Arab National Movement) declares:
"Moslems throughout the Arab lands are united against the enemy which faces them today in Palestine and elsewhere—namely the British. The Treaty of Versailles was a disaster for the Germans as well as for the Arabs. But the Germans know how to get rid of the Jews. That which brings us close to the Germans and sets us in their camp is that up to today, the Germans have never harmed any Moslem, and they are again fighting our common enemy (applause) who persecuted Arabs and Moslems. But most of all they have definitely solved the Jewish problem. These ties, and especially the last, make our friendship with Germany not a provisional one, dependent on conditions, but a permanent and lasting friendship based on mutual interest (p. 49).
"Congratulations by telegram from Heinrich Himmler, Head of the SS.
'The Grand Mufti. The National Socialist Party has inscribed on its flag 'the extermination of World Jewry.' Our party sympathises with the fight of the Arabs, especially the Arabs of Palestine, against the foreign Jew. Today, on this memorial day of the Balfour Declaration, I send my greetings and wishes for success in your fight (p. 50).
"On 1 March 1944 at 12:30 PM., speaking on Radio Berlin, the Mufti, after vilifying Jews, Britain, and America, called on the Arabs 'to rise and fight.'
"Arabs, rise as one man and fight for your sacred rights. Kill the Jews wherever you find them. This pleases God, history and religion. This saves your honour. God is with you (p. 51).
In 1945, World War II ended, as did, incidentally, the genocide of the Jews. Forgiveness was limited to Europe only, as by then, the Arab anti-Jewish war was bloodying communities throughout the Arab world. France discreetly welcomed and sheltered Amin al-Husseini, providing him with a passport and a false name so that he could travel to Cairo in 1946, where he was received as a hero. From there, he organized the continuation of the anti-Jewish war in its theological jihadist version, since it could not -- at least for the time being -- continue in Europe.
On April 2, 1947, faced with the murderous anarchy of the Arabs in Palestine, Great Britain declared that it was relinquishing its mandate and asked the United Nations for an opinion on the measures to be taken after its departure. The General Assembly appointed an ad hoc commission, the United Nations Special Commission for Palestine (UNSCOP), whose report, accepted on November 29, 1947, became Resolution 181. This non-binding resolution proposed the creation of two states in the territory of mandatory Palestine west of the Jordan River.
It is important to clarify the following points concerning this Resolution:
The Mandatory Power, Great Britain, asked the General Assembly to set up a Commission to prepare for the Assembly's consideration of the future government of Palestine. There was no question of dividing up a territory whose sovereignty already belonged to another people, the Jews, as previously determined by four international treaties.
The Commission recommended that the General Assembly adopt and implement its partition plan. It was only a recommendation that could not have been carried out without the annulment of previous treaties recognizing the sovereignty of the Jewish National Home over this territory, after the defeated Ottoman Empire had acknowledged its withdrawal. The ad hoc Commission had no power to dismember a territory and allocate its parts.
The UNSCOP report, and Resolution 181 of November 29, 1947, therefore, violate the legal decisions of the four international treaties, the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, the San Remo Resolution of 1920, the Treaty of Sèvres 1920 and the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, which, after the First World War and the dismemberment of the defeated Ottoman Empire, recognized the historic sovereignty of the Jewish people over this territory and dedicated it to the Jewish National Home.
This procedure had been clearly specified at a meeting of the League of Nations in September 1922, when the British government, which held the mandate over Palestine, proceeded to extract 70% of the territory of Palestine to create a new country east of the Jordan River, Transjordan. In the presence of all the members of the Council of the League of Nations and the Secretary-General, the British delegate, Lord Balfour, explained that this division was intended to cancel in Transjordan the specific directives for the establishment of the Jewish National Home provided for in all the territory of the Palestine Mandate.
It is important to point out that this famous territory called Palestine was never more, in the Islamic empires, than a province with changing borders. It was the WWI Allies who, in 1918, gave it borders based on biblical topography, namely, the history of the Jewish people. The decision taken by Great Britain in 1922 created two distinct entities on the territory of the Palestine Mandate, where none had existed before. One, Palestine, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, remained directly ruled by the British and was planned to become a Jewish state, based on the 3,000-year-old history of the Jewish people rooted in this territory. The other entity was Transjordan, an Arab state east of the Jordan River on the remaining 70% of Palestine. This decision was approved on 16/9/1922 by the Council of the League of Nations.
In an interview on October 11, 1947 with Akhbar al-Yom, Abdul Rahman Azzam, first Secretary-General of the newly-created Arab League, said:
"I personally wish that the Jews do not drive us to this war, as this will be a war of extermination and momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Tartar massacre or the Crusader wars. I believe that the number of volunteers from outside Palestine will be larger than Palestine's Arab population, for I know that volunteers will be arriving to us from [as far as] India, Afghanistan, and China to win the honor of martyrdom for the sake of Palestine ... You might be surprised to learn that hundreds of Englishmen expressed their wish to volunteer in the Arab armies to fight the Jews... [the war] will be an opportunity for vast plunder... it will be impossible to contain the zealous volunteers arriving from all corners of the world..."
Even before the departure of the British in May 1948, Amin al-Husseini, who had returned to Palestine from Europe, had established his militia of Muslim Nazi veterans who, hiding in Arab villages, sowed chaos and death among the local Jews. In May 1948, as soon as the State of Israel was proclaimed, five Arab armies invaded the new country and seized land granted to the Jewish State by all previous treaties, without any protest from Europe, which, except for Czechoslovakia, had refused to sell it arms.
The Arab war of aggression of 1948, and subsequent Arab military aggressions against Israel, consigned to oblivion Resolution 181, which in any case had no legal value and violated the international treaties of 1919, 1920 and 1923, and above all Article 80 of the UN Charter. In his study on this subject, David Elber[2] demonstrates that the UN has no possession of territorial sovereignty and therefore cannot decree the allocation of a territory over which it has no sovereignty (on the basis of the universal principle of law nemo dat quod non habet -- no one can give what he does not possess), especially when this decision violates previous treaties endorsed by the UN itself.
Resolution 181 only made suggestions to avoid the threat of war from the Arabs. In fact, the Resolution envisaged the establishment of three states in the remaining territory reserved for the Jewish National Home: a tiny Jewish state, yet another Arab state, and an enlarged "internationalized" Jerusalem (demanded by the Vatican). Indeed, anyone reading Resolution 181 cannot but be amazed at the incredible incompetence and stupidity that emanate from the unreality of its vision, so much so that one is surprised not to find the color of streetlamps recommended in it.
When one considers the circumstances surrounding Resolution 181 -- the genocide of six millions Jews in Europe with the help and collaboration of Muslim SS and soldiers under German command and the ideological guidance of Amin al-Husseini, who planned with Hitler the extermination of the Middle East's Jews -- one realizes the cynicism of this resolution and its disdain of the realities on the ground, by pretending that weakening the Jews would be the solution.
Resolution 181 bears the scars of the mentality that prevailed in the countries of Europe that made up the Third Reich. It demonstrates contempt for the Jewish people, who had been ruthlessly mass-murdered in a genocide that ended only two years earlier in Europe. Although these countries were not signatories, their elites and senior officials, albeit disguised under various political labels, retained their decision-making powers. Thus, no European country ever condemned the invasion of Israel in 1948 by the armies of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, along with al-Husseini's Nazi militia.
Al-Husseini got along well with France's WWII Vichy regime. High-ranking Arab officers collaborated with the German military, and Muslim military formations integrated into the SS and Wehrmacht, and trained in the German-rules countries. They were among friends. So why should we be surprised by Resolution 181?
On May 14, 1948, the Vatican's official daily L'Osservatore Romano commented on the restoration of the State of Israel in the following terms:
"... modern Zionism is not the true heir to the Israel of the Bible, but a secular state.... Therefore the Holy Land and its sacred places belong to Christianity, which is the true Israel."[3]
In July 1949, La Documentation Catholique, the official bi-weekly periodical of the French Catholic Church, published Pope Pius XII's encyclical Redemptoris nostri cruciatus and commented:
"[W]e have now, after careful investigations, arrived at least at part of the truth, and we can only agree with a statement frequently heard that Zionism is Nazism in a new guise."[4]
In 1919, Chaim Weizmann, wanting to understand France's radical opposition to Zionism, met Georges Clemenceau for a brief moment, who is reported to have told him: "We Christians can never forgive the Jews for having crucified Christ."
Did Clemenceau really say this? Millions of Christians opposed anti-Semitism and became Zionists. Clemenceau's remark would describe only a fraction of churches and Christians: those that conceived the discriminatory status of the Jewish people, and imposed exile and, in the 20th century, genocide on them for having violated their orders through Zionism.
In 1973, the European Economic Community (which eventually became the European Union) renewed the Nazi alliance with the Palestinian jihad of the Mufti's successors, and perpetuated the Euro-jihadist war against Israel on a financial, media and international level, in exchange for oil and Arab markets.
This policy, initiated by the Euro-Arab Dialogue (1974), was reinforced after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which made Europe fear for its oil supply. Europe's main concern, however, was to avoid the Arab League freezing relations with it, after the separate Egyptian-Israeli peace, which it had reluctantly recognized at a time when the PLO and the Arab League had broken off relations with Egypt. To make amends for this misdeed, Europe produced the Venice Declaration (1980). The following appears on the Medea.be website, which published the Euro-Arab Dialogue meetings and activity from their beginnings:
"The activity of the [Euro-Arab] Dialogue was suspended in 1979 upon request of the League of Arab States, following the Camp David Agreements, after only four sessions of the General Committee. With the Venice Declaration in June 1980, the Community decided it was time to work on the political aspects of the Dialogue and organized a preparatory meeting for the General Committee in Athens in December 1983. Egypt's conspicuous absence due to its suspension from all activity of the League of Arab States was enough to prevent full resumption of activity."
With the Venice Declaration, the European Economic Community demanded the creation of a Palestinian state on the territories liberated by Israel in 1967, which had been illegally occupied and rendered Judenrein [ethnically cleansed of Jews] by Arab countries since 1949. Since that time, the EEC/EU have never ceased to impose the concept of "Palestinian people" instead of Arab refugees, in order to justify its claim to a state that it has been striving to build for decades by monitoring, restricting and harassing Israelis in their own country, recognized by international treaties.
For the past 40 years, the EEC/EU, which wants to get rid of Israel at all costs, has invented a false people, the Palestinians, devoid of national particularisms and history, artificially constructed as a look-alike to Israel, even though they claim to follow the Koran, embody jihad against unbelief and adhere to Nazism.
UN Resolution 181, falsely called international law, authorizes the delegitimization of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem according to the 2,000-year-old anti-Semitic tradition, and the reduction of the Jewish state to an indefensible parcel that will soon be made to disappear. It has already created Palestinian ministries and ambassadors for a people that is not a people, but which it is determined to create in homage to the Hitler-Husseini alliance that symbolizes the jihad against Israel.
Defamatory terms such as "settlers", "occupiers", "Nazis" and "occupied Palestinian territories" project a demonic character onto Israelis that evokes the anti-Jewish verbal violence of the Nazis. The role of the Eastern Churches, which call themselves Arab, in this maelstrom of hatred cannot be overstated -- even if we know that their survival for 13 centuries, with the Muslim scimitar at their throats, has turned them into Pavlovian Islamist propagandists. The EU has exploited this reflex in its anti-Israeli policy. These extracts from remarks made on official Palestinian Authority television on April 22, 2002, by Father Manuel Musalam, head of the Latin Church in Gaza, are by no means an exceptional example:
"The Jew has a principle that we suffer from and that he tries to impose on people: the "Gentile" (non-Jewish) principle. For him, the gentile is a slave. To the Palestinians who work in Israel, they give only a piece of bread and tell them: 'This piece of bread that you eat is taken from our children; we give it to you so that you do not live as free men in your land but as proletarians and slaves in Israel, to serve us'. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are based on this principle, and anyone who reads the Protocols understands that they apply to our current relationship with the Jews... The Church, the Pope, Christians and the New Testament clearly state that, according to the Christian faith, it was the Jews who killed Jesus. It's impossible to deny or forget this... It was the Jews who killed Jesus, then they killed the Christians, then they killed the Muslims. Now they're killing Muslims and Christians again. Throughout history, we have seen that the Jews, who persecuted Christians in the early days of the Church, are now persecuting the Church and Islam again." [Note: The Protocols of Zion was a libelous fabrication. Ed.]
Let us emphasize that Musalam's remarks are in total contradiction to the recommendations of Vatican II.
Over the last few decades, the EU's alliance with the Palestinian jihad -- a war to Islamize the planet that is not exclusively anti-Jewish -- has metastasized in Lebanon and into the very foundations of the West. In its relentless fight against Israel, Europe has sacrificed its own territory and people to Palestinianism. Today, in a strange coincidence, we see the same alliances as in the 1940s: the majority of European countries, united under the government of the Third Reich, allied with Islam and at war with Russia and the Jewish people in a global anti-Semitic tsunami. Is history always repeating itself?
**Bat Ye'or, author of Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, and of Europe, Globalization and the Coming Universal Caliphate (winner of a price in London, 2012) received a prize in Israel (1986) for her study on Oriental Jewry, and a prize for the Courage of Free Speech in Paris (2015) and in Bologna (2015) for her book Comprendere Eurabia (2015).
[1] Moshe Pearlman, Mufti of Jerusalem, London 1947, p.149
[2] David Elber, Il diritto di sovranità nelle Terra di Israele, Salomone Belforte, Livorno 2024.
[3] Bat Ye'or, Islam and Dhimmitude, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 2001.
[4] Bat Ye'or, Islam and Dhimmitude, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 2001.
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How the Gaza Ministry of Health Fakes Casualty Numbers ...The evidence is in their own poorly fabricated figures
Abraham Wyner/The Tablet/March 10/2024
The number of civilian casualties in Gaza has been at the center of international attention since the start of the war. The main source for the data has been the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, which now claims more than 30,000 dead, the majority of which it says are children and women. Recently, the Biden administration lent legitimacy to Hamas’ figure. When asked at a House Armed Services Committee hearing last week how many Palestinian women and children have been killed since Oct. 7, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the number was “over 25,000.” The Pentagon quickly clarified that the secretary “was citing an estimate from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.” President Biden himself had earlier cited this figure, asserting that “too many, too many of the over 27,000 Palestinians killed in this conflict have been innocent civilians and children, including thousands of children.” The White House also explained that the president “was referring to publicly available data about the total number of casualties.”
Here’s the problem with this data: The numbers are not real. That much is obvious to anyone who understands how naturally occurring numbers work. The casualties are not overwhelmingly women and children, and the majority may be Hamas fighters.
If Hamas’ numbers are faked or fraudulent in some way, there may be evidence in the numbers themselves that can demonstrate it. While there is not much data available, there is a little, and it is enough: From Oct. 26 until Nov. 10, 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry released daily casualty figures that include both a total number and a specific number of women and children.
The first place to look is the reported “total” number of deaths. The graph of total deaths by date is increasing with almost metronomical linearity, as the graph in Figure 1 reveals.
This regularity is almost surely not real. One would expect quite a bit of variation day to day. In fact, the daily reported casualty count over this period averages 270 plus or minus about 15%. This is strikingly little variation. There should be days with twice the average or more and others with half or less. Perhaps what is happening is the Gaza ministry is releasing fake daily numbers that vary too little because they do not have a clear understanding of the behavior of naturally occurring numbers. Unfortunately, verified control data is not available to formally test this conclusion, but the details of the daily counts render the numbers suspicious.
Similarly, we should see variation in the number of child casualties that tracks the variation in the number of women. This is because the daily variation in death counts is caused by the variation in the number of strikes on residential buildings and tunnels which should result in considerable variability in the totals but less variation in the percentage of deaths across groups. This is a basic statistical fact about chance variability. Consequently, on the days with many women casualties there should be large numbers of children casualties, and on the days when just a few women are reported to have been killed, just a few children should be reported. This relationship can be measured and quantified by the R-square (R2 ) statistic that measures how correlated the daily casualty count for women is with the daily casualty count for children. If the numbers were real, we would expect R2 to be substantively larger than 0, tending closer to 1.0. But R2 is .017 which is statistically and substantively not different from 0.
The daily number of children reported to have been killed is totally unrelated to the number of women reported. The R2 is .017 and the relationship is statistically and substantively insignificant.
The daily number of children reported to have been killed is totally unrelated to the number of women reported. The R2 is .017 and the relationship is statistically and substantively insignificant.
This lack of correlation is the second circumstantial piece of evidence suggesting the numbers are not real. But there is more. The daily number of women casualties should be highly correlated with the number of non-women and non-children (i.e., men) reported. Again, this is expected because of the nature of battle. The ebbs and flows of the bombings and attacks by Israel should cause the daily count to move together. But that is not what the data show. Not only is there not a positive correlation, there is a strong negative correlation, which makes no sense at all and establishes the third piece of evidence that the numbers are not real.
Consider some further anomalies in the data: First, the death count reported on Oct. 29 contradicts the numbers reported on the 28th, insofar as they imply that 26 men came back to life. This can happen because of misattribution or just reporting error. There are a few other days where the numbers of men are reported to be near 0. If these were just reporting errors, then on those days where the death count for men appears to be in error, the women’s count should be typical, at least on average. But it turns out that on the three days when the men’s count is near zero, suggesting an error, the women’s count is high. In fact, the three highest daily women casualty count occurs on those three days.
Taken together, what does this all imply? While the evidence is not dispositive, it is highly suggestive that a process unconnected or loosely connected to reality was used to report the numbers. Most likely, the Hamas ministry settled on a daily total arbitrarily. We know this because the daily totals increase too consistently to be real. Then they assigned about 70% of the total to be women and children, splitting that amount randomly from day to day. Then they in-filled the number of men as set by the predetermined total. This explains all the data observed.
There are other obvious red flags. The Gaza Health Ministry has consistently claimed that about 70% of the casualties are women or children. This total is far higher than the numbers reported in earlier conflicts with Israel. Another red flag, raised by Salo Aizenberg and written about extensively, is that if 70% of the casualties are women and children and 25% of the population is adult male, then either Israel is not successfully eliminating Hamas fighters or adult male casualty counts are extremely low. This by itself strongly suggests that the numbers are at a minimum grossly inaccurate and quite probably outright faked. Finally, on Feb. 15, Hamas admitted to losing 6,000 of its fighters, which represents more than 20% of the total number of casualties reported.
Taken together, Hamas is reporting not only that 70% of casualties are women and children but also that 20% are fighters. This is not possible unless Israel is somehow not killing noncombatant men, or else Hamas is claiming that almost all the men in Gaza are Hamas fighters.
Are there better numbers? Some objective commentators have acknowledged Hamas’ numbers in previous battles with Israel to be roughly accurate. Nevertheless, this war is wholly unlike its predecessors in scale or scope; international observers who were able to monitor previous wars are now completely absent, so the past can’t be assumed to be a reliable guide. The fog of war is especially thick in Gaza, making it impossible to quickly determine civilian death totals with any accuracy. Not only do official Palestinian death counts fail to differentiate soldiers from children, but Hamas also blames all deaths on Israel even if caused by Hamas’ own misfired rockets, accidental explosions, deliberate killings, or internal battles. One group of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health compared Hamas reports to data on UNRWA workers. They argued that because the death rates were approximately similar, Hamas’ numbers must not be inflated. But their argument relied on a crucial and unverified assumption: that UNRWA workers are not disproportionately more likely to be killed than the general population. That premise exploded when it was uncovered that a sizable fraction of UNRWA workers are affiliated with Hamas. Some were even exposed as having participated in the Oct. 7 massacre itself.
The truth can’t yet be known and probably never will be. The total civilian casualty count is likely to be extremely overstated. Israel estimates that at least 12,000 fighters have been killed. If that number proves to be even reasonably accurate, then the ratio of noncombatant casualties to combatants is remarkably low: at most 1.4 to 1 and perhaps as low as 1 to 1. By historical standards of urban warfare, where combatants are embedded above and below into civilian population centers, this is a remarkable and successful effort to prevent unnecessary loss of life while fighting an implacable enemy that protects itself with civilians.
The data used in the article can be found here, with thanks to Salo Aizenberg who helped check and correct these numbers.
**Abraham Wyner is Professor of Statistics and Data Science at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Faculty Co-Director of the Wharton Sports Analytics and Business Initiative.

What Turkiye’s deals with Turkmenistan mean for region’s gas
Yasar Yakis/Arab News/March 10, 2024
Two preliminary documents on natural gas cooperation were signed by Turkiye and Turkmenistan during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum last week. One was a memorandum of understanding and the other a letter of intent. These documents are considered to be the preparatory stages for a full-fledged, binding agreement. Figures are not always consistent about the size of the natural gas reserves per country, especially because of the discovery of shale gas reserves. However, the order of the countries with the biggest reserves is roughly as follows: Russia (47,800 cubic km), Iran (34,000 cubic km), Qatar (23,900 cubic km), the US (17,710 cubic km) and Turkmenistan (10,000 cubic km).
The main focus of this article is the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline. It took too long for the various parties to overcome their disputes on the delineation of the maritime jurisdiction areas and the seabed in the Caspian Sea. Russia and Iran tried to get the lion’s share of control of the sea because it was previously shared only by the Soviet Union and Iran. The dispute was eventually solved when the littoral countries agreed that the laying of gas pipelines along the seabed would only require the approval of those countries whose maritime jurisdiction the pipeline passes through, not all Caspian Sea countries.
There are two main pipelines already operational in the region that will ultimately allow the transport of gas from the Shah Deniz sources of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea to the southernmost point of Italy. One is the Trans-Anatolian pipeline, which crosses Turkiye from east to west, and the other is the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, which transports gas through northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy.
During the Soviet era, the bulk of Turkmen gas was sent to Russia and a smaller quantity to Iran. After the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan started to export gas to China and India. It is now aiming to diversify its markets.
Until the outbreak of the Ukrainian war, one of the alternatives was to send Turkmen gas to Europe through Russia and Ukraine. Now that the Russian route is blocked because of the war, the most suitable route is to go through either Georgia or Armenia.
At one stage, there were misgivings about the relevance of a trans-Caspian pipeline. However, Turkmenistan now seems to be interested in going through Turkiye.
Another reason for ambivalence toward the project was the determination of the international status of the Caspian Sea. This problem now seems to have been eased thanks to the reaching of an agreement.
There were three possible routes for the Belt and Road Initiative that China introduced. One was the land and sea route that would go through the Middle East. The second was the route that went through China and Russia, ending up in the Nordic countries. The third was called the “Middle Corridor,” which would go through the South Caucasus and, more precisely, through Azerbaijan and Armenia. This route has now become the most economical because of the problems on the other routes.
After the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan started to export gas to China and India. It is now aiming to diversify its markets.
The Russian route has several problems because of the Ukrainian war. As a result, another route — the Caspian Sea route — came to the forefront. This is also called the Middle Corridor and will go either through Armenia or Georgia. This route has its problems but, as it stands, it looks the most suitable route under the present circumstances.
There is more than one alternative for the Middle Corridor. If the Azerbaijani-Armenian problem ends up with a compromise, the Meghri Corridor, which goes through the south of Armenia, could solve several problems at the same time. When Russian President Vladimir Putin brokered a ceasefire in 2020, he insisted on opening the north-south and east-west corridors through the Armenian territories in order to bring enormous economic activity to the region.
If Armenia drags its feet, the oil and gas pipelines will likely avoid the country and instead follow the line that goes from the Caspian Sea to Georgia and from there to Turkiye. The losing side will be Armenia.
A similar controversy emerged in the early 1990s, when the shortest route for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project was being debated. Because of Turkiye and Azerbaijan’s mistrust toward Armenia, a longer route that circumvented its territories was decided on.
Once the Armenian problem is solved, the remainder of the route to the European oil and gas networks is ready, thanks to the pipelines across Anatolia and the Adriatic.
There is another important project on this route. This is Turkiye and Russia’s idea to make Istanbul, or Thrace, an important hub for oil and gas transit. Russia has raised this issue several times. Whether it will eventually materialize is still to be decided.
Turkmenistan’s oil and gas supplies were mismanaged for decades by the Soviet Union and later by the Russian Federation. It is now on the threshold of a sprint forward, if Turkmenistan does not fall into political instability.
Saparmurat Niyazov, the first post-independence president of Turkmenistan, wasted the country’s resources by mismanaging the economy. With reasonable governance, it could overcome many of its problems.
Another important subject that was raised during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum was Turkmenistan’s potential membership of the Union of Turkic States. This organization is composed of Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Although Turkmenistan is a Turkic state, it is not a full member but an observer state, as it is permanently neutral like Switzerland. Whether a permanently neutral state like Turkmenistan can become a member of a union in which NATO’s Turkiye is also a member is a debatable subject.
*Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkiye and founding member of the ruling AK Party. X: @yakis_yasar

Chad’s humanitarian challenge amid mounting refugee crisis
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/March 10, 2024
Against the bleak backdrop of the ongoing civil war in Sudan, Chad stands at a critical juncture, grappling with the looming specter of an escalating refugee crisis. The UN Refugee Agency has sounded the alarm, highlighting the imminent risk of a surge in refugee flow from Darfur into Chad. This dire forecast is underpinned by a distressing lack of basic necessities, exacerbating the plight of vulnerable populations already dealing with the ravages of the conflict in Sudan.
As the conflict in Sudan approaches its one-year anniversary, its repercussions reverberate far beyond the country’s borders, casting a particularly profound shadow over neighboring Chad.
Chad, already burdened with its own socioeconomic challenges, now confronts the formidable task of accommodating an influx of refugees fleeing the horrors of war. Against this backdrop of adversity, enhanced humanitarian aid and substantial development investment in Chad emerges as an urgent imperative, crucial for stabilizing the country’s fragile socioeconomic fabric and sustaining its commendable tradition of offering sanctuary to those in need.
Despite the formidable challenges it faces, Chad steadfastly upholds its commitment to providing refuge to those fleeing persecution and conflict, embodying the noble principles enshrined in international humanitarian law. In navigating the complex terrain of refugee management and humanitarian response, Chad exemplifies resilience and solidarity, embodying the spirit of compassion and empathy.
This influx of refugees, predominantly comprising women and children, underscores the urgent need for comprehensive support mechanisms to address their vulnerabilities.
Women make up a staggering percentage — more than two-thirds — of arrivals in Chad and many of them have endured harrowing experiences of gender-based violence, including rape. The necessity for comprehensive support, encompassing medical and psychological assistance, cannot be overstated.
While the UN Refugee Agency endeavors to provide essential services, the magnitude of the challenge far surpasses the available resources, leaving a glaring gap in the provision of adequate support for the forcibly displaced. In addition, Chad faces the staggering burden of accommodating nearly half a million internally displaced persons and returnees, further underscoring the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis unfolding within its borders.
By mid-February, the tally of new refugees seeking sanctuary from the harrowing conflict in Sudan soared past the half-million mark, solidifying Chad’s position as the primary destination for those fleeing the turmoil that erupted a year ago next month. This influx catapults Chad to the forefront as Africa’s foremost host of refugees on a per capita basis, with 1.1 million refugees in a population of almost 19 million. Among this multitude are not only those who have sought refuge amid the recent escalation of violence in Sudan, but also individuals displaced by preceding conflicts, hailing from diverse nations including the Central African Republic, Nigeria and Cameroon.
Chad steadfastly upholds its commitment to providing refuge to those fleeing persecution and conflict.
Kelly T. Clements, the UN Refugee Agency’s deputy high commissioner, underscored the gravity of the situation during a visit to Chad this month. She engaged with local officials to evaluate the prevailing conditions and strategize on the necessary response. Expressing the concerns of the Chadian authorities, Clements articulated the apprehension regarding the anticipated influx of famished Sudanese families in the coming weeks.
Clements added that Chad’s unwavering commitment to maintaining open borders, despite the inherent fragility of the region, underscores its humanitarian ethos. However, such magnanimity exacts a toll on Chad, with the country bearing the weight of hosting refugees not only from the protracted Sudanese conflict but also from preceding humanitarian crises.
An expected new surge in refugee arrivals, particularly from Darfur, poses a formidable challenge and is likely to further strain Chad’s already stretched resources and infrastructure. The burden of accommodating and providing for an increasing number of displaced individuals against the backdrop of socioeconomic fragility again underscores the urgency of concerted international action.
This means that the international community must rally behind Chad by offering tangible support and solidarity to alleviate the burgeoning humanitarian crisis and to foster sustainable solutions.
Beyond immediate humanitarian assistance, Chad urgently requires substantial development investment to fortify its capacity to absorb and integrate refugee populations seamlessly. Investing in critical sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, education and livelihood opportunities holds the key to unlocking the potential for sustainable development and resilience-building within refugee-hosting communities. By bolstering its socioeconomic foundations, Chad can mitigate the adverse impacts of the refugee influx and pave the way for long-term stability and prosperity.
The challenges confronting Chad extend beyond the realm of humanitarian aid, encompassing broader geopolitical dynamics and regional security considerations. Influxes of refugees from conflict-ridden regions inevitably pose security risks, highlighting the imperative for robust international cooperation in negotiating a ceasefire in Sudan and bringing an end to the devastating war.
As the international community wrestles with an array of crises and challenges, the plight of refugees in Chad serves as a poignant reminder of our collective responsibility to protect the most vulnerable among us. The principles of solidarity, compassion and shared humanity must guide our actions as we endeavor to build a more inclusive and equitable world.
In conclusion, the escalating refugee crisis in Chad demands urgent attention and action from the international community. Enhancing humanitarian aid, bolstering development investment and fostering regional cooperation are vital to alleviate the suffering of displaced populations and pave the way for sustainable solutions. As we stand at a pivotal juncture in history, let us reaffirm our commitment to upholding the rights and dignity of refugees and displaced persons, ensuring that no one is left behind in our collective pursuit of a better future.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian American political scientist. X: @Dr_Rafizadeh

The IMF and UAE Swoop In to Ease Egypt’s Economic Crisis
Ben Fishman/The Washington Institute’/March 10/2024
Cairo’s main lender and top Gulf donor have come to the rescue once again, offering major loans, investments, and Central Bank transfers that could halt the country’s latest slide despite short-term consumer pain.
On March 6, the Central Bank of Egypt announced a long-expected currency devaluation to pave the way for an expanded $8 billion IMF loan program. The move was seemingly enabled by a cash infusion from a massive land deal completed with the United Arab Emirates two weeks earlier. In the short term, though, Egyptians will likely suffer through price increases during Ramadan despite the IMF and Central Bank’s focus on limiting inflation.
The Mega-Sale
On February 23, Egyptian prime minster Mostafa Madbouly presided over a $35 billion deal with the UAE that includes development of Ras al-Hikma, a section of Mediterranean coast between Alexandria and Marsa Matruh. The Emirati sovereign wealth fund ADQ agreed to purchase 171 million square meters of land for $24 billion, while also paying Cairo $11 billion from the UAE’s existing deposits in Egypt’s Central Bank. According to Madbouly, $5 billion of these deposits will be transferred to Cairo as part of the Ras al-Hikma deal, while $6 billion will be used for “investment in prime projects across Egypt to support its economic growth and development.” A new Red Sea resort area may be the next target.
Slated to break ground in 2025, the Ras al-Hikma project is expected to attract $150 billion in investment to transform the area into a tourist destination, industrial zone, and airport, creating jobs for Egyptian companies and workers in the process. Egypt will retain a 35 percent ownership stake in the development—one of the named partners is the Talaat Moustafa Group, a construction conglomerate that is close to the government and a key player in building the new administrative capital outside Cairo. Controlling around $200 billion in assets, ADQ is the smallest of the UAE’s three sovereign wealth funds, behind the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ($1 trillion) and Mubadala ($275 billion). Both ADIA and ADQ are chaired by National Security Advisor Tahnoun bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the influential brother of President Muhammed bin Zayed. The Ras al-Hikma investment represents over 10 percent of ADQ’s portfolio. More important, it reaffirms the close relationship between the two countries’ leaders and the UAE’s commitment to Egypt’s stability, which Abu Dhabi has demonstrated more than any other Gulf donor since President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi came to power.
Economic Impact
In the near term, the cash infusion will help alleviate Egypt’s financial crisis and inject much-needed dollars into the economy, which has suffered from record inflation and a currency crisis. Immediately after this week’s currency float, the Egyptian pound began trading at a rate of 50 per dollar after spending most of the year at 30; the black market rate climbed as high as 70. This was the fifth currency devaluation since April 2022, when the rate was 15. According to the Central Bank, “Unification of the exchange rate is crucial, as it facilitates the elimination of foreign exchange backlogs following the closure of the spread between the official and the parallel exchange rate markets.” Indeed, the shortage of dollars has slowed imports, led to shortages of critical supplies, and inhibited investment.
The first installment of the Emirati deal—$10 billion has been delivered—should help offset this currency devaluation, while also easing bank withdrawal limits and reversing the drop in remittances (which had fallen due to worries that transfers would not be accessible). The UAE is expected to pay the remaining portion within two months. In addition, the cash should also alleviate Egypt’s debt crisis. As of September 2023, the country’s external debt to GDP ratio was over 42 percent, while short-term debt and debt servicing neared $40 billion, compared to $35 billion in foreign reserves. At the same time, revenues are way down, partly as a result of the Gaza war. Tourism has plummeted, and foreign currency receipts from Suez Canal crossings have been halved—from $700 million in January 2023 to $350 million this January—due to continued attacks on commercial shipping by Yemen’s Houthi movement.
It remains unclear exactly how the transfer of $11 billion in Emirati deposits will work in practice. As of October, the UAE held $6.3 billion in Egypt’s Central Bank plus an unspecified portion of the $16 billion that various Arab countries have previously delivered to help Cairo through past economic troubles. Although the $11 billion cannot be easily converted to investments, it will provide an immediate boost to the Central Bank’s balance sheet, which totaled $35.3 billion in international reserves as of February 1.
IMF Reform Benchmarks
Following Egypt’s currency float, the IMF announced a staff-level agreement to expand its loan program to $8 billion. The previous program of $3 billion had been established in December 2022, when the parties agreed to an Extended Fund Facility after the COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine war dramatically increased the cost of wheat. That deal made Egypt the IMF’s second-highest borrower behind Argentina. As part of the 2022 program, Cairo agreed to float its currency, curb spending, and implement a privatization program by selling portions of state-owned companies (see below). Yet most of these measures were postponed throughout 2023 amid Sisi’s reelection campaign, spurring IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva to warn that Egypt will “bleed reserves” unless it devalues.
Georgieva has been more sympathetic since the Gaza war broke out last October, recognizing the conflict’s impact on Egypt’s economy. Most recently, she called the UAE land deal “a very positive sign.” Notably, however, the $8 billion IMF program is smaller than the originally predicted amount of $10-12 billion. Regarding privatization, the previous IMF program called on Egypt to implement its own privatization plan by selling thirty-five state-owned companies, including some military-owned enterprises. In December, Madbouly announced that the government had raised $5.6 billion from the total or partial sale of fourteen companies, including industrial firms, hotels, and renewable energy initiatives. Most of the buyers were private Egyptian firms close to the government (who focused on snapping up hotels) and Emirati entities.
The $5.6 billion figure is difficult to verify since many of the reported deals cited a range of ownership stakes and did not specify the actual sale price. Given that most of these purchases were minority stakes, the buyers may have limited influence on the companies’ performance and efficiency—one of the main purposes of privatization. Yet new investors might emerge once the pound stabilizes. For now, the most valuable state-owned companies remain unsold, including banks and insurance firms.
The U.S. Role
From Washington’s perspective, Egypt’s economic perils have been overshadowed by the Gaza war and Cairo’s central role as an intermediary with Hamas. Addressing the financial crisis and its potential effects on Egypt’s stability is a lingering U.S. objective but not an urgent priority, particularly since observers expect that ending the war will improve Cairo’s revenue stream and pave the way for Egyptian companies to participate in Gaza’s reconstruction. Moreover, the UAE has far greater leverage over Egypt’s economic decisionmaking than Washington, with a massive portfolio of current and future investments and a compatible view of human rights. Yet the United States can still play an important role by encouraging sounder economic practices, from reducing public spending to implementing other components of the IMF reform program. These include working with the IMF and Egypt to improve the private sector by limiting the advantages of state- and military-owned firms. The Biden administration and Congress should also encourage private American investment in Egypt, as well as public-private initiatives like the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund, which has invested in profitable private equity firms despite challenging economic circumstances over the past decade.
**Ben Fishman is a senior fellow in The Washington Institute’s Rubin Program on Arab Politics.