Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 15-16/2024
May The Curse Be Upon Political parties & Officials Who betrayed the Cedar Revolution and sold out the March 14 Coalition/Elias Bejjani/March 14/2023
Hezbollah playing ‘dangerous game’ in Lebanon: US official
Leaf says Nasrallah taking Lebanon to "dangerous place"
Hezbollah tells Iran it would fight alone in any war with Israel
Report: Nasrallah, Iran's Qaani agree on avoiding war with Israel
Israel-Hezbollah border clashes: Latest developments
Lebanon officially replies to French paper
Report: Iran uses European ports for arms sent to Hezbollah
Aoun dubs Hezbollah's involvement in Gaza war 'a losing battle'
Army dismantles Israeli aircraft missile in Hrajel
Hamas responds to LBCI report

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 15-16/2024
Houthis claim first attacks on ships in Indian Ocean
Missile hits ship off Yemen as rebels threaten wider campaign
Israel sends team to Doha for new Gaza peace talks
Proposed US resolution would back global efforts for immediate cease-fire
Israel's dual goals: Qatar talks on prisoner deal and delaying war's end
UN envoy warns Gaza war, Red Sea attacks risk propelling Yemen back into war
Proposed US resolution would back global efforts for immediate cease-fire
Hamas proposes new six-week Gaza truce, hostage-prisoner exchange
Israel denies Hamas claim troops killed 20 Gazans seeking aid
Hamas lashes out at Abbas's 'unilateral' designation of new PM
Palestinian leader names adviser Mohammed Mustafa as PM
Spanish aid vessel visible off Gaza coast
Egypt appeals for more aid deliveries by land to Gaza
Australia resumes funding for UNRWA and pledges more Gaza aid
Woman sets fire to voting booth in Moscow
German, French and Polish leaders meet to discuss support for Ukraine
Macron and Putin: from 'dear Vladimir' to 'existential' threat
Middle East conflicts revive clash between US president and Congress
Top Democrat Schumer calls for new elections, says Netanyahu obstacle to peace

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on March 15-16/2024
Biden Should be Threatening Qatar and the Terrorists, Not Israel/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute./March 15, 2024
Israel’s army exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox are part of a bigger challenge: The Jewish state is divided over the Jewish religion/Michael Brenner, American University/The Conversation/March 15, 2024
Question: “What is more important, the death of Christ or His resurrection?”/GotQuestions.org?/March 15, 2024
Why the Gulf states have an interest in Russia-Ukraine peace/Luke Coffey/Arab News/March 15, 2024
Turkiye’s mediation plans face complex challenges/Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/March 15, 2024
Should the world call time on the WTO?/Ranvir S. Nayar/Arab News/March 15, 2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 15-16/2024
May The Curse Be Upon Political parties & Officials Who betrayed the Cedar Revolution and sold out the March 14 Coalition
Elias Bejjani/March 14/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=116550&preview=true&_thumbnail_id=53330
On the 18 anniversary of the March 14 uprising, we pray reverently for the souls of all the righteous, sovereign and patriotic heroic martyrs.
Definitely, it was a deadly sin committed by the all the mercenary Lebanese leaders, officials and politicians who betrayed the Cedar’s Revolution, and sold out the March 14 Coalition.
These mercenaries belittled the martyrs sacrifices by their low and despicable entry into the Trojan presidential deal with the occupier, the terrorist Iranian Hezbollah Armed Militia.
History will not remember those dwarfs who sold the Cedar’s Revolution, and the March 14 coalition, without humiliation, contempt, if it mentions them. They we be remembered with shame, they surely will rest for ever in history’s dustbin.
These foolish traitors fell into the traps and instinctive Satan’s temptations and drowned themselves in greed. They sold the March 14 Sovereign-patriotic Coalition with national myopia and blindness of insight.
They exchanged the people’s revolution, sovereignty, and the blood of martyrs, with authority and personal benefits. They ungratefully stepped over the sacrifices and blood of Lebanon’s righteous martyrs.
As a result of their greed, shortsightedness, narcissism, and worshipping of authority, the terrorist Iranian Hezbollah armed militia managed to entirely control and occupy Lebanon.
Because of this patriotic deviation and sin, Lebanon has lost its role and message, and fell under the Hezbollah hegemony and occupation.
Meanwhile, we affirm with peace of conscience that the sovereign and patriotic spirit of March 14 coalition is alive and active in the souls, hearts and consciences of our free sovereign Lebanese people, while it is completely dead in the hearts and minds of all political parties, politicians and puppet officials who betrayed it and traded sovereignty with personal benefits and authority.
Hence, in times of misery and unhappiness, the people of March 14 Coalition are a national necessity.
In times of servility and surrender, the popular spirit of March 14 Coalition is the answer.
And in a time of deceit, heresy, outrageous, and the lie of what was falsely and cowardly called “political realism,” the people of March 14 Coalition have knocked down the Trojans’ masks and exposed them.
At a time when personal interests prevail over public and national ones, people’s support to the culture and values of March 14 Coalition continues to prevail.
And at a time when belittling the blood of the martyrs and forgetting their sacrifices, the March 14th Coalition of consciences will not forget the sacrifices of its heroes, and will not trade in their blood.
And in a miserable and betrayal time where the Trojans, scribes and Pharisees dominate our Lebanon’s official Decision Making process, and dragging the country and its people into astray and alien paths, the people of March 14 Coalition is a must.
And at a time when politicians have lost the compass of freedom, dignity and self respect, the goals and struggles, of March 14 Coalition remain the solution, the foundation and the cornerstone.
In conclusion, the spirit of March 14, remains an urgent need for the continuation of struggle and strengthening the ranks of the liberals.

Hezbollah playing ‘dangerous game’ in Lebanon: US official
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/March 15, 2024
Warning comes as Lebanon calls French proposal a ‘significant step’ toward peace
BEIRUT: Hezbollah risks taking Lebanon to a “perilous place,” a senior US official said on Friday, though hopes remain for a peaceful solution to the country’s conflict with Israel. Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, said in a statement that Lebanon was facing “great instability.”“We have seen how Hezbollah has taken a lot of risks and this is something that could move the scene to a perilous place and put Lebanon itself in a perilous position,” she said. However, there remains hope, with US special envoy Amos Hochstein in talks with Lebanon on reaching a diplomatic resolution to the border fighting. “We believe it will happen when the humanitarian truce begins (in the Gaza Strip). We are actively working on this front,” Leaf said. “In the meantime, a dangerous game is being played and Hezbollah may misunderstand the rules of the game or Hezbollah may misunderstand the risk limits.”
She continued: “The Israeli government and the Israeli army will not take a risk by launching a large-scale offensive in the north without knowing what will happen and whether they will be embarrassed.”Leaf’s statement came as caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on Friday met French Ambassador Herve Magro to present Lebanon’s response to a French proposal submitted last month aimed at ending hostilities with Israel. The plan outlines three phases: military operations would cease, Lebanese armed groups would withdraw combat forces and Lebanese regular army troops would be deployed in the south. In its letter to the French Embassy, the Foreign Ministry said Beirut “believes that the French initiative could be a significant step” toward peace and security in Lebanon and the broader region. It did not address the specific steps outlined in the proposal but said UN Security Council Resolution 1701 — which ended the last big war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 — was the “cornerstone to realizing enduring stability.”That resolution calls for non-state armed actors to quit south Lebanon and for Lebanese army troops to deploy there. Lebanon has said it would need logistical assistance to deploy 15,000 soldiers to the area. Friday’s letter said that “Lebanon does not seek war” but wanted a halt to what it called Israeli violations of its territorial sovereignty by land, air and sea. Once the violations had stopped, it said, Lebanon would commit to resuming tripartite meetings with UN peacekeepers and Israel “to discuss all disputes and reach an agreement on a full and comprehensive implementation of UNSC 1701.”Those meetings have been on hold since hostilities in southern Lebanon resumed in October. Bou Habib said the French plan had many “excellent points,” while others needed further discussion. On the ground, hostilities resumed on the southern front on Friday, with Israel conducting airstrikes on residential neighborhoods already mostly devoid of their inhabitants. Israeli media reported that two rockets were fired from Lebanon toward the Margaliot Israeli military site in the Galilee panhandle.

Leaf says Nasrallah taking Lebanon to "dangerous place"
Naharnet/March 15, 2024
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf has accused Hezbollah of putting Lebanon on a slippery slope. "It is a place of great volatility and risk," Leaf said in an interview with Sky News Arabia, adding that Hezbollah and its leader are "taking a lot of risks" that could take the group and Lebanon itself into a "dangerous place."Since the war in Gaza erupted in October, there have been near-daily exchanges along the Lebanon-Israel border and international mediators have scrambled to prevent an all-out war in tiny Lebanon. "It's a dangerous game that Hezbollah has played," Leaf warned, as she accused Iran of escalating tensions by arming Hezbollah, the Yemeni Houthi rebels and other armed groups in the region. The United States and other governments continue with efforts to prevent the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip from spilling over into Lebanon. Hezbollah has vowed not to stop the fighting until a cease-fire is reached in Gaza. After weeks of fruitless mediation efforts, Hamas proposed a new six-week truce in Gaza and an exchange of several dozen Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. It is still not clear whether a Gaza ceasefire would apply to Lebanon. Although Hezbollah said it would abide by any Gaza truce, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel would increase its strikes on Hezbollah even if a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

Hezbollah tells Iran it would fight alone in any war with Israel
DUBAI (Reuters)/Samia Nakhoul, Parisa Hafezi and Laila Bassam/March 15, 2024
With ally Hamas under attack in Gaza, the head of Iran's Quds Force visited Beirut in February to discuss the risk posed if Israel next aims at Lebanon's Hezbollah, an offensive that could severely hurt Tehran's main regional partner, seven sources said.
In Beirut, Quds chief Esmail Qaani met Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the sources said, for at least the third time since Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel and Israel's devastating retaliatory assault on Gaza.
The conversation turned to the possibility of a full Israeli offensive to its north, in Lebanon, the sources said. As well as damaging the Shi'ite Islamist group, such an escalation could pressure Iran to react more forcefully than it has so far since Oct. 7, three of the sources, Iranians within the inner circle of power, said. Over the past five months, Hezbollah, a sworn enemy of Israel, has shown support for Hamas in the form of limited volleys of rockets fired across Israel's northern border.
At the previously unreported meeting, Nasrallah reassured Qaani he didn't want Iran to get sucked into a war with Israel or the United States and that Hezbollah would fight on its own, all the sources said. "This is our fight," Nasrallah told Qaani, said one Iranian source with knowledge of the discussions. Calibrated to avoid a major escalation, the skirmishes in Lebanon have nonetheless pushed tens of thousands of people from their homes either side of the border. Israeli strikes have killed more than 200 Hezbollah fighters and some 50 civilians in Lebanon, while attacks from Lebanon into Israel have killed a dozen Israeli soldiers and six civilians. In recent days, Israel's counter-strikes have increased in intensity and reach, fuelling fears the violence could spin out of control even if negotiators achieve a temporary truce in Gaza. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant indicated in February that Israel planned to increase attacks to decisively remove Hezbollah fighters from the border in the event of a Gaza ceasefire, although he left the door open for diplomacy. In 2006, Israel fought a short but intense air and ground war with Hezbollah that was devastating for Lebanon. Israeli security sources have said previously that Israel did not seek any spread of hostilities but added that the country was prepared to fight on new fronts if needed. An all-our war on its northern border would stretch Israel’s military resources. Iran and Hezbollah are mindful of the grave perils of a wider war in Lebanon, two of the sources aligned with the views of the government in Tehran said, including the danger it could spread and lead to strikes on Iran's nuclear installations.
The U.S. lists Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism and has sought for years to rein in Tehran's nuclear program. Israel has long considered Iran an existential threat. Iran denies it is seeking a nuclear weapon. For this story, Reuters spoke to four Iranian and two regional sources, along with a Lebanese source who confirmed the thrust of the meeting. Two U.S. sources and an Israeli source said Iran wanted to avoid blowback from a Israel-Hezbollah war. All requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The U.S. State Department, Israel's government, Tehran and Hezbollah did not respond to requests for comment.
The Beirut meeting highlights strain on Iran's strategy of avoiding major escalation in the region while projecting strength and support for Gaza across the Middle East through allied armed groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, analysts said. Qaani and Nasrallah "want to further insulate Iran from the consequences of supporting an array of proxy actors throughout the Middle East." said Jon Alterman of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, responding to a question about the meeting. "Probably because they assess that the possibility of military action in Lebanon is increasing and not decreasing."Already, Tehran's carefully-nurtured influence in the region is being curtailed, including by Israel's offensive against Hamas along with potential U.S.-Saudi defence and Israel-Saudi normalisation agreements, as well as U.S. warnings that Iran should not get involved in the Hamas-Israel conflict.
IN ISRAEL'S SIGHTS
Qaani and Nasrallah between them hold sway over tens of thousands of fighters and a vast arsenal of rockets and missiles. They are main protagonists in Tehran's network of allies and proxy militias, with Qaani's elite Quds Force acting as the foreign legion of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
While Hezbollah has publicly indicated it would halt attacks on Israel when the Israeli offensive in Gaza stops, U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein said last week a Gaza truce would not automatically trigger calm in southern Lebanon. Arab and Western diplomats report that Israel has expressed strong determination to no longer allow the presence of Hezbollah's main fighters along the border, fearing an attack similar to Hamas' incursion that killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages. Israel's retaliatory assault in Gaza has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians and laid waste to the coastal enclave.
"If there is a ceasefire in (Gaza), there are two schools of thought in Israel and my impression is that the one that would recommend continuing the war on the border with Hezbollah is the stronger one," said Sima Shine, a former Israeli intelligence official who is currently head of the Iran program at the Institute for National Security Studies: A senior Israeli official agreed that Iran was not seeking a full-blown war, noting Tehran's restrained response to Israel's offensive on Hamas. "It seems that they feel they face a credible military threat. But that threat may need to become more credible," the official said.
Washington, via Hochstein, and France have been working on diplomatic proposals that would move Hezbollah fighters from the border area in line with U.N. resolution 1701 that helped end the 2006 war, but a deal remains elusive.
"FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE"
A war in Lebanon that seriously degrades Hezbollah would be a major blow for Iran, which relies on the group founded with its support in 1982 as a bulwark against Israel and to buttress its interests in the broader region, two regional sources said. "Hezbollah is in fact the first line of defense for Iran," said Abdulghani Al-Iryani, a senior researcher at the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies, a think tank in Yemen. If Israel were to launch major military action on Hezbollah, the Iranian sources within the inner circle of power said, Tehran may find itself compelled to intensify its proxy war.
An Iranian security official acknowledged however that the costs of such an escalation could be prohibitively high for Iran's allied groups. Direct involvement by Iran, he added, could serve Israel's interests and provide justification for the continued presence of U.S. troops in the region.
Given Tehran's extensive, decades-long ties with Hezbollah, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to put distance between them, one U.S. official said. Since the Hamas attack on Israel, Iran has given its blessing to actions in support of its ally in Gaza: including attacks by Iraqi groups on U.S. interests. It has also supplied intelligence and weapons for Houthi operations against shipping in the Red Sea. But it has stopped well short of an unfettered multi-front war on Israel that, three Palestinian sources said, Hamas had expected Iran to support after Oct. 7. Before the Beirut encounter with Nasrallah, Qaani chaired a two-day meeting in Iran in early February along with militia commanders of operations in Yemen, Iraq and Syria, three Hezbollah representatives and a Houthi delegation, one Iranian official said. Revolutionary Guard's Commander-in-Chief Major General Hossein Salami was also present, the official said. Hamas did not attend. "At the end, all the participants agreed that Israel wanted to expand the war and falling in that trap should be avoided as it will justify the presence of more U.S. troops in the region,” the official said. Shortly after, Qaani engineered a pause in attacks by the Iraqi groups. So far, Hezbollah has kept its tit-for-tat responses within what observers have called unwritten rules of engagement with Israel. Despite decades of proxy conflict since Iran's 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic has never directly fought in a war with Israel, and all four Iranian sources said there was no appetite for that to change. According to the Iranian insider, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not inclined to see a war unfold on Iran, where domestic discontent with the ruling system last year spilled over into mass protests. "The Iranians are pragmatists and they are afraid of the expansion of the war," said Iryani.
"If Israel were alone, they would fight, but they know that if the war expands, the United States will be drawn in."
(Reporting by Samia Nakhoul and Parisa Hafezi in Dubai and Laila Bassam in Beirut; Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick in Washington, Dan Willimas and James Mackeenzie in Jerusalem; Writing by Samia Nakhoul; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)

Report: Nasrallah, Iran's Qaani agree on avoiding war with Israel
Naharnet/March 15, 2024 
As the efforts to reach a truce in Gaza ran aground and Israel’s threats to invade Rafah escalated, the Quds Force head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard visited Lebanon, Syria and Iraq last week and held talks with the leaders of the groups that are allied with his country, a media report said. “He once again informed them of Tehran’s stance on the need to keep all eyes fixed on Gaza and to avoid engaging in any war with Israel at any cost,” a senior Quds Force source told Kuwait’s al-Jarida newspaper. The Quds Force chief “held a lengthy meeting with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in which they discussed the details of the military situation in Lebanon,” the source said. “The two sides agreed that Israel is seeking to drag Hezbollah into a war and that the Iran-led Axis of Resistance’s higher interest requires avoiding the Israeli trap and refraining from entering a direct war with Israel, despite the hefty prices Hezbollah has been forced to bear in terms of the number of those killed among its ranks, the targeting of its positions and the destruction of Lebanese border towns,” the source added. “Nasrallah agreed with Qaani that Hezbollah must absorb the pain and not engage in an all-out war unless Israel tries to invade Lebanon,” the source went on to say. The source also revealed that a Hamas military wing representative participated in a part of the Nasrallah-Qaani meeting, telling the two men that Hamas’ military situation in Gaza is “very good.”“It lost a little more than 10% of its military capabilities during the past five months, whereas it had been expected that it would lost more than half of its capabilities,” the Hamas official reportedly said. He also also told them that “starting an all-out war would harm the Palestinian stance,” the Iranian source said. “Qaani and Nasrallah discussed means to boost the smuggling of logistic, military and medical aid to Hamas out of fear that the few remaining smuggling routes might soon be closed,” the source added. “They also agreed to plan assassination operations against Israelis in response to the assassination of Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah officials,” the source alleged.
Reuters meanwhile quoted “seven sources” as saying that Qaani had visited Beirut in February to discuss the risk posed if Israel next aims at Lebanon's Hezbollah, an offensive that could severely hurt Tehran's main regional partner. “At the previously unreported meeting, Nasrallah reassured Qaani he didn't want Iran to get sucked into a war with Israel or the United States and that Hezbollah would fight on its own,” the sources said. "This is our fight," Nasrallah told Qaani, according to an Iranian source with knowledge of the discussions.

Israel-Hezbollah border clashes: Latest developments
Naharnet/March 15/2024 
The Israeli army bombed Friday several southern border towns while Hezbollah attacked several posts in northern Israel. Hezbollah said it targeted the posts of al-Malkia and al-Marj and a group of soldiers near al-Raheb post. Israeli warplanes meanwhile raided al-Naqoura, Alma al-Shaab and Aita al-Shaab, while Israeli artillery targeted the outskirts of al-Wazzani. The Israeli army had bombed overnight Kfarkela, al-Naqoura and the outskirts of Alma al-Shaab, Tayr Harfa and Shamaa. Hezbollah carried out Thursday six attacks on northern Israel and the occupied Kfarshouba Heights. Since the war in Gaza erupted in October, there have been near-daily exchanges along the Lebanon-Israel border and international mediators have scrambled to prevent an all-out war in tiny Lebanon. At least 322 people have been killed in Lebanon, mainly Hezbollah fighters but also 56 civilians, according to an AFP tally. In Israel, at least 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed in the cross-border exchanges, the military says.Hezbollah's chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday that Israeli forces were too "exhausted" to launch an all-out war. "This enemy is showing signs of fatigue," he said.

Lebanon officially replies to French paper
Naharnet/March 15/2024 
Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on Friday met with French Ambassador to Lebanon Herve Magro and handed him Lebanon’s official response to the paper that has been recently submitted by Paris as part of its efforts to pacify the situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Expressing Lebanon’s “deep appreciation for the French efforts,” Bou Habib said the Lebanese response describes the French initiative as “an important step to reach peace and security in south Lebanon.”“The Foreign Ministry reiterated the Lebanese stance that does not seek war and demands the full and comprehensive implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701,” Bou Habib added. Al-Jadeed TV had earlier reported that Lebanon’s response “included a general vision in which Lebanon expressed its readiness for an instant implementation of Resolution 1701 on the condition that Israel abide by implementing its stipulations.” Lebanon also expressed its “readiness for the resumption of tripartite meetings in Naqoura” between representatives of UNIFIL and the Lebanese and Israeli armies, al-Jadeed added. France’s proposal would involve Hezbollah withdrawing its forces 10 kilometers from the border with Israel., a Lebanese government official has recently told The Associated Press. Since October 8, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily fire. At least 322 people have been killed on the Lebanese side since fighting erupted, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including 56 civilians. On the Israeli side, 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed according to the Israeli army. The fighting has also displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border and Israel has repeatedly warned that it might launch an operation against Hezbollah to secure its residents' return.

Report: Iran uses European ports for arms sent to Hezbollah
Naharnet/March 15/2024 
Iran is using European ports to “provide cover for shipments of weapons to Hezbollah,” British newspaper The Telegraph has reported. The Lebanese, Iran-backed group has received missiles and bombs on ships that go on to dock in ports in Belgium, Spain and Italy, The Telegraph quoted sources as saying. Iran has switched to shipping weapons by sea after Israel’s air force began to target consignments coming in by land into northern Syria via Iraq, the sources said. Weapons and other goods are now shipped to the Syrian port of Latakia before the vessels go on to ports in Antwerp, Valencia and Ravenna, in an attempt to disguise the purpose of the journeys, the Telegraph reported. From Latakia, the weapons are transported south to Lebanon, it added. “Using Europe helps to hide the nature and the source of the shipments, switching paperwork and containers… to clean the shipments,” a senior intelligence source in Israel told The Telegraph. “Europe has huge ports so Iran is using that as a camouflage.
It’s very easy to do manipulations in those big ports where things have to get moved quickly, rather than a small port where there will be more scrutiny,” the source said. “It’s like a cat and mouse between us and the Iranians. They’re trying to smuggle and we’re trying to stop it. It’s been at least three years like this,” the source added. Ronen Solomon, an independent intelligence analyst based in Israel, said that Iran was also shipping weapons directly to Syria. The use of separate routes via Europe was to “legitimize” their cargo and “distract attention” from those direct shipments, Solomon added. The port of Latakia was targeted by air strikes in 2021, though these were not claimed by Israel, which rarely confirms operations in Syrian territory. Since the beginning of the Gaza war in October, five Iranian ships – Daisy, Kashan, Shiba, Arezoo and Azargoun – have unloaded goods in Syria, starting their journey in Bandar Abbas in Iran, according to intelligence handed to Solomon. “Co-ordinated by Iran’s Quds Force Unit 190, the weapon transfers are then managed by Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is responsible for arms shipments,” The Telegraph said.

Aoun dubs Hezbollah's involvement in Gaza war 'a losing battle'
Naharnet/March 15/2024
Former President Michel Aoun has informed Hezbollah that he does not support the group's point of view regarding involving Lebanon in Gaza's war. "This is a losing battle," al-Akhbar newspaper quoted Aoun as saying, in a report published Friday. The daily said Aoun has told a Hezbollah delegation he met last week that he finds their point of view "weak" and "unconvincing." Aoun reportedly said he supported Hezbollah during the 2006 war as it resisted against an Israeli aggression and during the Syrian war, as Hezbollah prevented terrorism and defended its people. "But involving Lebanon in the Gaza war is different," Aoun explained. "It is not resistance nor self-defense."He added that Hezbollah took the decision alone, without consulting other parties and committed Lebanon to a war it can not handle. "The government did not decide to start this war. Is there a joint defense treaty between us and Gaza?" Aoun asked. Since the war in Gaza erupted in October, there have been near-daily exchanges along the Lebanon-Israel border and international mediators have scrambled to prevent an all-out war in tiny Lebanon. The United States and other governments continue with efforts to prevent the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip from spilling over into Lebanon as Hezbollah militants and Israeli soldiers trade fire across the volatile Lebanon-Israel border. Hezbollah has vowed not to stop the fighting until a cease-fire is reached in Gaza. Since hostilities began, at least 322 people have been killed in Lebanon, mainly Hezbollah fighters but also 56 civilians, according to an AFP tally. In Israel, at least 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed in the cross-border exchanges, the military says. The fighting has raised speculation Israeli forces could stage an invasion into Lebanon as well.

Army dismantles Israeli aircraft missile in Hrajel
Naharnet/March 15/2024
The army’s Engineering Regiment on Friday dismantled the unexploded Israeli aircraft missile that fell three days ago between residential buildings at the entrance of the Keserwan district town of Hrajel, the National News Agency said.
Media reports had said that the army would wait for three days to dismantle the missile in order to give time for its battery to run out.The missile was discovered shortly after Israeli warplanes and drone carried out strikes in the eastern Baalbek region, not too far from the Keserwan district. Low-altitude Israeli overflights were reported that day over the Keserwan region.

Hamas responds to LBCI report
LBCI/March 15/2024
Hamas' media office in Lebanon issued a statement on Friday in response to a report by LBCI, denouncing it as biased and unfair. The report, titled "War of Lunatics and Extremists," compared the actions of the Israeli occupation government to the resistance in Gaza, drawing criticism from Hamas for its alleged distortions and implicit alignment with Israeli narratives. The statement highlighted the report's attempt to equate recent atrocities with historical context, overlooking decades of Israeli occupation, settlement expansion, and aggression against Palestinian territories. Hamas accused the report of disregarding its perspective and justifying Israeli crimes while criminalizing Palestinian resistance efforts. Moreover, Hamas condemned the report's alleged intent to incite against the resistance and criminalize its methods, considering accusations of Hamas killing Israeli civilians as a vindication of Israeli atrocities. The comparison drawn between resistance leaders and Israeli occupiers was deemed as biased support for the occupation's agenda. The statement concluded with a call for LBCI to uphold impartiality and stand with the victims, urging the channel to refrain from aligning with Israeli narratives and promoting dehumanizing wars against the Palestinian people.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 15-16/2024
Houthis claim first attacks on ships in Indian Ocean
SAEED AL-BATATI/Arab News/March 15, 2024
AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia claimed on Friday that it had attacked Israeli and American ships in the Indian Ocean for the first time, only hours after its leader promised to extend action against Israel-linked ships in the area. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the militia launched drones and anti-ship missiles at three Israeli and American ships in the Indian Ocean following its attacks in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. He also claimed that forces used missiles to strike an “Israeli” ship named Pacific 01 which was traveling through the Red Sea, as well as firing drones at a US Navy ship. The Houthis warned that the militia will now attack any Israel-linked ships or those going to Israel in the Indian Ocean through the Cape of Good Hope. Its statement said: “The Yemeni armed forces warn all Israeli ships heading to or coming from the ports of occupied Palestine not to pass through the Cape of Good Hope, or they will be a legitimate target for our armed forces.” In recent months the Houthis have seized a commercial ship and its crew, and launched hundreds of drones, missiles, and remotely operated boats against foreign commercial and naval ships operating in international seas off Yemen’s shores in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. The Houthis claim that the group targets Israel-linked or vessels bound for Israel to force the country to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Houthi militia leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said on Thursday that his forces would expand their actions against Israel. Al-Houthi claimed that since March 7 the militia had launched 58 ballistic missiles and drones against dozens of commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean. He said in a televised speech: “We declare that ships affiliated to the Israeli enemy will be prohibited from traversing the Indian Ocean, even in the area next to South Africa, toward Israel.” The Houthi claims came as the US Central Command said on Friday that the militia had launched 13 ballistic missiles and two drones targeting international commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden during the past 24 hours. CENTCOM said that the Houthis had fired four anti-ship ballistic missiles from areas under the militia’s control in Yemen toward the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, none of which struck any ships, while its forces shot down nine similar missiles and two drones fired by the group. CENTCOM added: “These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy and merchant vessels.”

Missile hits ship off Yemen as rebels threaten wider campaign
Associated Press/March 15/2024
A suspected attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck a ship in the Red Sea early Friday, causing damage to the vessel, authorities said. The attack off the port city of Hodeida comes as part of the rebels' campaign against shipping over Israel's ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the ship reported being "struck by a missile.""The vessel has sustained some damage," the UKMTO added. It described the crew as being "safe" and said the ship was continuing on its way, suggesting the damage wasn't severe. The private security firm Ambrey also reported the attack. The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack, though it typically takes the rebels hours to acknowledge their assaults. The Houthis have attacked ships since November, saying they want to force Israel to end its offensive in Gaza. The ships targeted by the Houthis, however, have increasingly had little or no connection to Israel, the U.S. or other nations involved in the war. The rebels have also fired missiles toward Israel, though they have largely fallen short or been intercepted. The assaults on shipping have raised the profile of the Houthis, who are members of Islam's minority Shiite Zaydi sect, which ruled Yemen for 1,000 years until 1962. A report Thursday claimed the Houthis now had a hypersonic missile, potentially increasing that cachet and putting more pressure on Israel after a cease-fire deal failed to take hold in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Hypersonic missiles also would pose a more serious threat to American and allied warships in the region. Earlier in March, a Houthi missile struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, killing three of its crew members and forcing survivors to abandon the vessel. It marked the first fatal attack by the Houthis on shipping. Other recent Houthi actions include an attack last month on a cargo ship carrying fertilizer, the Rubymar, which later sank after drifting for several days.

Israel sends team to Doha for new Gaza peace talks
AFP/March 15, 2024
JEDDAH: Israel on Friday sent a delegation to Qatar for new talks on a Gaza ceasefire despite dismissing the latest proposal from Hamas as “unrealistic.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also approved a plan for a military offensive on Rafah, the city on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip where up to 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering. Negotiators failed last week to reach a ceasefire deal in time for Ramadan, but mediators are still determined to reach an agreement to head off the Israeli assault on Rafah and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to stave off mass starvation. Even the US, Israel's closest ally, has pleaded with it not to attack Rafah because it would cause a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel claims it will move people to safety first. More than two weeks after receiving an Israeli-approved proposal for a truce, Hamas replied with a counter proposal of a six-week truce to allow aid in, and a prisoner-hostage swap at a ratio of up to 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli hostage. It also calls for talks at a later stage on ending the war completely.Analysts noted a change in Israel’s language in rejecting the new Hamas offer.
Netanyahu dismissed last month’s proposal from the militant group as “completely delusional” and “from another planet,” while the most recent one was merely “unrealistic.”Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Israel’s rejection showed that Netanyahu was “determined to pursue the aggression against our people and undermine all efforts exerted to reach a ceasefire agreement.” Washington should push its ally to accept a truce, he said. Meanwhile the first ship bringing aid by sea, the Open Arms, arrived off the Gaza coast on Friday towing a barge containing 200 tonnes of food. The charity World Central Kitchen aims to land the cargo using a temporary jetty, although humanitarian agencies say aid delivered by sea or air is inadequate and Israel must stop blocking land deliveries by truck.If the new sea route is successful, it may ease the hunger crisis affecting Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people face malnourishment and hospitals in the worst-stricken northern areas have reported children dying of starvation. The UN says all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are suffering from food shortages and a quarter of them are on the brink of famine, especially in the north.

Proposed US resolution would back global efforts for immediate cease-fire
Associated Press/March 15/2024
The United States circulated the final draft of a United Nations Security Council resolution late Thursday that would support international efforts to establish "an immediate and sustained cease-fire" in Gaza as part of a deal to release hostages taken captive during Hamas' surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.No time has been set for a vote, and the draft, obtained by The Associated Press, could still be changed. The U.S. circulated the initial draft on Feb. 19, a day before it vetoed a widely supported Arab-backed resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in the war in the embattled Gaza Strip, saying it would interfere with negotiations on a deal to free the hostages. It was the third U.S. veto of a Security Council resolution demanding a cease-fire in Gaza, and has put President Joe Biden's administration at odds with much of the world, including many allies. Diplomatic talks have stalled since efforts failed to produce a cease-fire before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — an informal deadline that passed without any agreement. The Israeli military said Wednesday it will go ahead with its planned offensive in the southern city of Rafah — where 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have sought safety — and plans to move civilians toward "humanitarian islands" in the center of the territory.
The U.S. draft put "in blue" late Thursday — meaning it is in a form that can be voted on — is the fifth version of the text and makes some key changes. The initial draft would have underscored that a temporary cease-fire "as soon as practicable" required the release of all hostages, and called for the lifting of all restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid. Both of these actions "would help to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities," it said. The final draft "unequivocally supports international diplomatic efforts to establish an immediate and sustained cease-fire as part of a deal that releases the hostages, and that allows the basis for a more durable peace to alleviate humanitarian suffering" — eliminating the word "temporary."It also says that "the window of opportunity created by any cease-fire" should be used to intensify diplomatic efforts to create conditions "for a sustainable cessation of hostilities and lasting peace." The initial draft said Israel's planned major ground offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah "should not proceed under current circumstances." That language disappeared in the final draft. Instead, in an introductory paragraph, the council would emphasize its concern that a ground offensive into Rafah "would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement, potentially into neighboring countries, and would have serious implications for regional peace and security." The final draft "rejects any forced displacement of the civilian population in Gaza in violation of international law."
Since Oct. 7, more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but says about two-thirds of the victims were women and children.
The U.S. draft would demand that all parties comply with international law requiring protection of civilians and "civilian objects," which include hospitals, schools and homes. The draft would also express the council's "deep concern about the threat of conflict-inducted famine and epidemics presently facing the civilian population in Gaza, as well as the number of undernourished people," and the "catastrophic" levels of hunger. The council would reiterate its demand for "the full, immediate, safe, sustained and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip." The draft says this should be facilitated by using all available routes, including border crossings. If the resolution is approved, it would for the first time condemn "the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, as well as its taking and killing of hostages, murder of civilians, and sexual violence including rape" and condemn "its use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes and to hold hostages." It would also demand that Hamas and other armed groups immediately grant humanitarian access to all remaining hostages.

Israel's dual goals: Qatar talks on prisoner deal and delaying war's end
LBCI/March 15/2024
In a decisive move, the Israeli War Cabinet and the ministerial security cabinet of the Israeli government have finalized their stance, opting to send a delegation to Doha to continue negotiations on a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas. This decision comes after Hamas presented new proposals through mediators, outlining a two-stage process. The first stage involves a six-week ceasefire and the release of 42 hostages held by Hamas. Israel has deemed Hamas' new conditions unrealistic, particularly regarding the number of Palestinian prisoners it demands to be released and the insistence on Palestinians returning to the northern Gaza Strip. However, some insiders familiar with the deal suggest that reaching a compromise remains possible. Following the revelation of Hamas' conditions, the Israeli Prime Minister approved an operation in Rafah, coinciding with the military's start of evacuating Palestinians from the area. Nonetheless, reports from Israel indicate that the army is not fully prepared to execute the operation as planned in the upcoming weeks. Meanwhile, it has been disclosed that Washington has obligated Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to sign a written commitment to use US-supplied weapons in the operation under international law. Some Israelis view the operation's postponement as a mistake until the prisoner exchange deal is clarified. Israel remains cautious about significant progress in the deal. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Netanyahu sets two goals, according to insiders: to initiate the attack amidst increasing pressure from the US, Egypt, and Qatar to finalize the deal during Ramadan and to ensure a postponement of the end of the war, consequently delaying investigations into its causes and responsibilities.Once again, attention turns to Qatar and the possibility of announcing the success of the prisoner exchange deal.

UN envoy warns Gaza war, Red Sea attacks risk propelling Yemen back into war
Associated Press/March 15/2024
The longer the war in Gaza goes on and Yemen's Houthi rebels keep attacking ships in the Red Sea the greater the risk that Yemen could be propelled back into war, the U.N. special envoy for the poorest Arab nation warned Thursday. Hans Grundberg told the U.N. Security Council it has been impossible to shield his promising efforts to restore peace to Yemen because the reality is, "what happens regionally impacts Yemen – and what happens in Yemen can impact the region." Since November, the Iranian-backed Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea to demand a cease-fire in Israel's offensive in Gaza. It began after Gaza's Hamas rulers launched a surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed about 1,200 people and led to about 250 others being taken captive. Israel's ongoing military operation has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The Houthi attacks targeting vessels since November, however, have increasingly had little or no connection to Israel, the United States or other nations involved in the war. In the first fatal strike, a Houthi missile struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden last week, killing three of its crew members and forcing survivors to abandon the vessel. The war between the Houthis and pro-government forces backed by a coalition of Gulf Arab states has raged since 2014 when the Houthis swept down from the mountains, seized much of northern Yemen and the country's capital, Sanaa, and forced the internationally recognized government to flee into exile to Saudi Arabia. Since then, more than 150,000 people have been killed by the violence and 3 million have been displaced.
Fighting has decreased markedly in Yemen since a truce in April 2022, but there are still hotspots in the country. Grundberg, who has been trying to mediate a cease-fire and launch a political process, told the council that the U.N. had hoped, "and Yemenis had expected," that by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began several days ago, "we would have had an agreement on a nationwide cease-fire and measures to improve living conditions in Yemen."The U.N. envoy said he also had hoped to be briefing council members about preparations "for an inclusive political process."But with the ongoing Gaza War and continuing Houthi attacks, he warned the council that "the longer the escalatory environment continues, the more challenging Yemen's mediation space will become.""With more interests at play, the parties to the conflict in Yemen are more likely to shift calculations and alter their negotiation agendas," he said. "In a worst-case scenario, the parties could decide to engage in risky military adventurism that propels Yemen back into a new cycle of war."Edem Wosornu, the U.N. humanitarian office's operations director, said positive progress in Yemen after the U.N.-brokered truce in 2022 is now "at risk of unraveling.""Levels of food insecurity and malnutrition have surged in recent months, posing a real and increasing threat to the lives and well-being of millions of people, particularly women and children," she said. Wosornu pointed to an 11% increase in food insecurity since last November in assessments by the U.N. children's agency UNICEF and the U.N. World Food Program that food insecurity in Yemen has increased by 11% since last November. That assessment also found that nearly half of all children in Yemen under the age of five are experiencing moderate to severe stunting in growth and development – a 4% increase since 2022, "and more than double the global stunting prevalence," she said. Because of a lack of funds, the World Food Program has cut the number of people receiving aid in government-controlled areas and the size of rations, Wosornu said. In Houthi-controlled areas, WFP suspended food assistance to 9.5 million people in November while it continued discussions on who to prioritize for aid. Agreement has been reached on "a pilot retargeting exercise" in Houthi areas, and if it succeeds, she said a broader resumption of food distribution will take place depending on available funding. WFP is appealing for $230 million over the next five months to provide food for the most vulnerable families in Houthi-controlled areas and Wosornu urged donors to step up.

Proposed US resolution would back global efforts for immediate cease-fire
Associated Press/March 15/2024
The United States circulated the final draft of a United Nations Security Council resolution late Thursday that would support international efforts to establish "an immediate and sustained cease-fire" in Gaza as part of a deal to release hostages taken captive during Hamas' surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. No time has been set for a vote, and the draft, obtained by The Associated Press, could still be changed. The U.S. circulated the initial draft on Feb. 19, a day before it vetoed a widely supported Arab-backed resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in the war in the embattled Gaza Strip, saying it would interfere with negotiations on a deal to free the hostages. It was the third U.S. veto of a Security Council resolution demanding a cease-fire in Gaza, and has put President Joe Biden's administration at odds with much of the world, including many allies.Diplomatic talks have stalled since efforts failed to produce a cease-fire before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan — an informal deadline that passed without any agreement. The Israeli military said Wednesday it will go ahead with its planned offensive in the southern city of Rafah — where 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have sought safety — and plans to move civilians toward "humanitarian islands" in the center of the territory. The U.S. draft put "in blue" late Thursday — meaning it is in a form that can be voted on — is the fifth version of the text and makes some key changes. The initial draft would have underscored that a temporary cease-fire "as soon as practicable" required the release of all hostages, and called for the lifting of all restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid. Both of these actions "would help to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities," it said.
The final draft "unequivocally supports international diplomatic efforts to establish an immediate and sustained cease-fire as part of a deal that releases the hostages, and that allows the basis for a more durable peace to alleviate humanitarian suffering" — eliminating the word "temporary."It also says that "the window of opportunity created by any cease-fire" should be used to intensify diplomatic efforts to create conditions "for a sustainable cessation of hostilities and lasting peace." The initial draft said Israel's planned major ground offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah "should not proceed under current circumstances." That language disappeared in the final draft. Instead, in an introductory paragraph, the council would emphasize its concern that a ground offensive into Rafah "would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement, potentially into neighboring countries, and would have serious implications for regional peace and security."
The final draft "rejects any forced displacement of the civilian population in Gaza in violation of international law."Since Oct. 7, more than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants but says about two-thirds of the victims were women and children. The U.S. draft would demand that all parties comply with international law requiring protection of civilians and "civilian objects," which include hospitals, schools and homes. The draft would also express the council's "deep concern about the threat of conflict-inducted famine and epidemics presently facing the civilian population in Gaza, as well as the number of undernourished people," and the "catastrophic" levels of hunger. The council would reiterate its demand for "the full, immediate, safe, sustained and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip." The draft says this should be facilitated by using all available routes, including border crossings. If the resolution is approved, it would for the first time condemn "the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, as well as its taking and killing of hostages, murder of civilians, and sexual violence including rape" and condemn "its use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes and to hold hostages." It would also demand that Hamas and other armed groups immediately grant humanitarian access to all remaining hostages.

Hamas proposes new six-week Gaza truce, hostage-prisoner exchange
Agence France Presse/March 15/2024
Hamas has proposed a new six-week truce in Gaza and an exchange of several dozen Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official from the militant group told AFP on Friday. "The agreement is for a six-week ceasefire and a prisoner exchange," the official said after weeks of so far fruitless mediation efforts, adding that the group would want this to lead to "a complete (Israeli) withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a permanent ceasefire".During the proposed truce, Gaza militants would release about 42 hostages seized during the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza, the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. The official said that between 20 and 50 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would be released per hostage -- up from a previous proposal of a roughly 10-to-one ratio, according to a Hamas source in late February.Under the new proposal, the initial exchange could include women, children, elderly and ill hostages, the official said. During the October 7 attack, militants seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, dozens of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes about 130 captives remain in Gaza including 32 presumed dead. The latest proposal appears to be a shift for Hamas, whose armed wing said earlier this month there would be "no compromise" on its demand that Israel withdraw from Gaza before any more hostages are freed. Now the militants are saying that, during a six-week truce, Israeli forces would need to withdraw from "all cities and populated areas in the Gaza Strip" and allow for the return of displaced Gazans "without restrictions", the official said. The Hamas proposal also calls to ramp up the flow of humanitarian aid, the official added. The terms of an eventual ceasefire would see Israel's "complete military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip" and a comprehensive hostage-for-prisoner exchange involving the release of all hostages for "an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners", according to the official. "Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, are responsible for following up and ensuring the implementation of the agreement," the official said. Hamas's October 7 attack killed about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. Israel's retaliatory military campaign to destroy Hamas has killed at least 31,490 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Israel has so far refused to withdraw from Gaza, saying such a move would amount to victory for Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said late Thursday that Hamas "is continuing to hold unrealistic demands" but that an update on truce talks would be submitted to Israel's war cabinet on Friday.

Israel denies Hamas claim troops killed 20 Gazans seeking aid
Associated Press/March 15/2024
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza accused Israeli forces of launching an attack near an aid distribution point in war-wracked northern Gaza, killing 20 people and wounding 155 others. The Israeli military said those reports “are false,” adding it was assessing the event “with the thoroughness that it deserves.”
The violence occurred late Thursday near the Kuwaiti Roundabout, which has been a point for the distribution of aid in north Gaza over the past weeks. The health ministry said a group waiting there for aid was hit by Israeli shelling. The United Nations says one-quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people face starvation, many of them in the isolated north, the largely devastated target of Israel’s initial offensive in Gaza. Bloodshed surrounding an aid convoy on Feb. 29 killed 118 Palestinians in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said some of its forces fired at people in the crowd who were advancing toward them. Witnesses and hospital officials said many of the casualties were from bullet wounds. The Israeli military said many of the casualties were caused by a stampede over the food and people being run over by the aid trucks. Following the violence, the United States announced plans to build a temporary pier in Gaza to bring in food by sea and joined with other countries to airdrop food into the isolated north.

Hamas lashes out at Abbas's 'unilateral' designation of new PM
CAIRO (Reuters) -Nidal al-Mughrabi/March 15, 2024
The Islamist group Hamas on Friday criticized the "unilateral" designation by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of an ally and leading business figure as prime minister with a mandate to help reform the Palestinian Authority (PA) and rebuild Gaza. Mohammad Mustafa's appointment comes after mounting pressure to overhaul the governing body of the occupied Palestinian territories and improve governance in the occupied West Bank where it is based. Hamas said the decision was taken without consulting it despite recently taking part in a meeting in Moscow also attended by Abbas's Fatah movement to end long-time divisions weakening Palestinian political aspirations."We express our rejection of continuing this approach that has inflicted and continues to inflict harm on our people and our national cause," Hamas said in a statement. "Making individual decisions and engaging in superficial and empty steps such as forming a new government without national consensus only reinforces a policy of unilateralism and deepens division."At a time of war with Israel, Palestinians needed a unified leadership preparing for free democratic elections involving all components of their society, it added.
The war began with an attack by Hamas fighters from Gaza who killed 1,200 people and seized 253 hostages in Israel on Oct. 7, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, an Israeli assault has killed more than 31,000 people and driven nearly the entire 2.3 million population of Gaza from their homes.
FOREIGN DEMANDS
As president, Abbas remains by far the most powerful figure in the Palestinian Authority, but the appointment of a new government showed willingness to meet international demands for change in the administration. Mustafa, who helped organise the reconstruction of Gaza following a previous conflict, was assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of the area, which has been shattered by more than five months of war, and reform Palestinian Authority institutions, according to the designation letter. He replaces former Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh who, along with his government, resigned in February. Arab and international efforts have so far failed to reconcile Hamas and Fatah, which makes the backbone of the PA, since the Hamas 2007 take over of Gaza, a move that reduced Abbas's authority to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians want both territories as the core of a future independent state. Hamas said any attempt to exclude it from the political scene after the war was "delusional". In a recent warning, a security official told a Hamas-linked news website that attempts by clans or community leaders to cooperate with Israel's plans to administer Gaza would be seen as "treason" and met with an "iron fist." But the group denied media reports it killed some local clan leaders in recent days for meddling with aid distribution.

Palestinian leader names adviser Mohammed Mustafa as PM
Associated Press/March 15/2024
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed his longtime economic adviser to be the next prime minister in the face of U.S. pressure to reform the Palestinian Authority as part of Washington's postwar vision for Gaza. Mohammad Mustafa, a U.S.-educated economist and political independent, will head a technocratic government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that could potentially administer Gaza ahead of eventual statehood. But those plans face major obstacles, including strong opposition from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israel-Hamas war that is still grinding on with no end in sight.
It's unclear whether the appointment of a new Cabinet led by a close Abbas ally would be sufficient to meet U.S. demands for reform, as the 88-year-old president would remain in overall control. "The change that the United States of America and the countries of the region want is not necessarily the change that the Palestinian citizen wants," said Hani al-Masri, a Palestinian political analyst. "People want a real change in politics, not a change in names ... They want elections." He said Mustafa is "a respected and educated man" but will struggle to meet public demands to improve conditions in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli restrictions imposed since the start of the war have caused an economic crisis. In a statement announcing the appointment, Abbas asked Mustafa to put together plans to re-unify adminstration in the West Bank and Gaza, lead reforms in the government, security services and economy and fight corruption. Washington welcomed his appointment but urged that Mostafa quickly form a Cabinet to implement changes. "The United States will be looking for this new government to deliver on policies and implementation of credible and far-reaching reforms. A reformed Palestinian Authority is essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people and establishing the conditions for stability in both the West Bank and Gaza," National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said. Mustafa was born in the West Bank town of Tulkarem in 1954 and earned a doctorate in business administration and economics from George Washington University. He has held senior positions at the World Bank and previously served as deputy prime minister and economy minister. He is currently the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund. The previous prime minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, resigned along with his government last month, saying different arrangements were needed because of the "new reality in the Gaza Strip." The Palestinian Authority was established in the 1990s through interim peace agreements and was envisioned as a stepping-stone to eventual statehood. But the peace talks repeatedly collapsed, most recently with Netanayahu's return to power in 2009. Hamas seized power in Gaza from forces loyal to Abbas in 2007, confining his limited authority to major population centers that account for around 40% of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Abbas is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, many of whom view the PA as little more than a subcontractor of the occupation because it cooperates with Israel on security matters. His mandate ended in 2009 but he has refused to hold elections, blaming Israeli restrictions. Hamas won a landslide victory in the last parliamentary elections, in 2006. Although it is considered a terrorist group by Israel and Western countries, Hamas would likely perform well in any free and fair vote. Abbas, unlike his Hamas rivals, recognizes Israel, has renounced armed struggle and is committed to a negotiated solution that would create an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. That goal is shared by the international community. Israel has long criticized the PA over payments it makes to the families of Palestinians who have been killed or imprisoned by Israel, including top militants who killed Israelis. The PA defends such payments as a form of social welfare for families harmed by the decades-old conflict.
The dispute has led Israel to suspend some of the taxes and customs duties it collects on behalf of the PA, contributing to years of budget shortfalls. The PA pays the salaries of tens of thousands of teachers, health workers and other civil servants.
The United States has called for a reformed PA to expand its writ to postwar Gaza ahead of the eventual creation of a Palestinian state in both territories. Netanyahu has ruled out any role for the PA in Gaza, and his government is opposed to Palestinian statehood. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories to form their future state. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally and considers the entire city — including major holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims — to be its undivided capital. Israel has built scores of settlements across the West Bank, where over 500,000 Jewish settlers live in close proximity to some 3 million Palestinians. Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but along with Egypt imposed a blockade on the territory when Hamas seized power two years later. Netanyahu has vowed to dismantle Hamas and maintain open-ended security control over Gaza in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage. Israel's subsequent invasion of Gaza has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. The Palestinian Authority has said it will not return to Gaza on the back of an Israeli tank, and that it would only assume control of the territory as part of a comprehensive solution to the conflict that includes statehood.

Spanish aid vessel visible off Gaza coast
Associated Press/March 15/2024
A ship carrying 200 tons of aid approached the coast of Gaza on Friday in a mission to inaugurate a sea route from Cyprus that was intended to bring more assistance to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the enclave five months into the war between Israel and Hamas. The ship, manned by the Spanish aid group Open Arms, left Cyprus on Tuesday towing a barge laden with food sent by World Central Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés. It could be seen off Gaza's coast Friday morning. Israel has been under increasing pressure to allow more aid into Gaza after five months of war between Israel and Hamas. The United States has joined other countries in airdropping supplies to the isolated region of northern Gaza and has announced separate plans to construct a pier to get aid in. Aid groups said the airdrops and sea shipments are far less efficient ways of delivering the massive amounts of aid needed in Gaza. Instead, the groups have called on Israel to guarantee safe corridors for truck convoys after land deliveries became nearly impossible because of military restrictions, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of order after the Hamas-run police force largely vanished from the streets. The daily number of supply trucks entering Gaza since the war began has been far below the 500 that entered before Oct. 7. Earlier in the week, Israel allowed six aid trucks to enter directly into the north, a step aid groups have long called for. World Central Kitchen operates 65 kitchens across Gaza from where it has served 32 million meals since the war started, the group said. The aid includes rice, flour, lentils, beans, tuna and canned meat, according to World Central Kitchen spokesperson Linda Roth. It plans to distribute the food in the north, the largely devastated target of Israel's initial offensive in Gaza, which has been mostly cut off by Israeli forces since October. Up to 300,000 Palestinians are believed to have remained there despite Israeli evacuation orders, with many reduced to eating animal feed in recent weeks. A second vessel being loaded with even more aid will head to Gaza once the aid on the first ship is offloaded and distributed, Cyprus' Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said. He declined to specify when the second vessel would leave, saying it depends in part on whether the Open Arms delivery goes smoothly. The Israel-Hamas war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and left another 250 taken into Gaza as hostages. Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed over 31,000 Palestinians and driven most of Gaza's 2.3 million people from their homes. A quarter of Gaza's population is starving, according to the United Nations.
The ship could be spotted from the coast hours after the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza accused Israeli forces of launching an attack near an aid distribution point in northern Gaza, killing 20 people and wounding 155 others. The Israeli military said those reports "are false," adding it was assessing the event "with the thoroughness that it deserves."The health ministry said a group waiting for aid near the Kuwaiti roundabout was hit by Israeli shelling late Thursday. Bloodshed surrounding an aid convoy on Feb. 29 killed 118 Palestinians in northern Gaza. The Israeli military said some of its forces fired at people in the crowd who were advancing toward them. Witnesses and hospital officials said many of the casualties were from bullet wounds. The Israeli military said many of the casualties were caused by a stampede over the food and people being run over by the aid trucks. After that, plans for the sea route took shape and the United States and other countries joined Jordan in dropping aid into the north by plane. But people in northern Gaza say the airdrops are insufficient to meeting the vast need. Many can't access the aid because people are fighting over it, said Suwar Baroud, 24, who was displaced by the fighting and is now in Gaza City. Some people hoard it and sell it in the market, she said. A recent airdrop that malfunctioned plummeted from the sky and killed five people. Another drop landed in a sewage and garbage dump, said Riham Abu al-Bid, 27. Men ran in but were unable to retrieve anything, she said. "I wish these airdrops never happened and that our dignity and freedom would be taken into consideration, so we can get our sustenance in a dignified way and not in a manner that is so humiliating," she said.

Egypt appeals for more aid deliveries by land to Gaza
Associated Press/March 15/2024
Egypt’s top diplomat has made an emotional appeal for an urgent increase in humanitarian aid going into Gaza by land, even as an aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food was on its way to the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are on the brink of starvation. The push to get food in by sea — along with a recent campaign of airdrops into isolated northern Gaza — highlighted the international community’s frustration with the growing humanitarian crisis and with Israel's restrictions that have prevented more aid getting in by land. Australia announced early Friday it would funding to the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians and pledged additional money to UNICEF to provide urgent services in Gaza. A quarter of Gaza’s population is starving, the United Nations has warned, and the territory's Health Ministry says more than 31,314 Palestinians have been killed. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in southern Israel during the Hamas-led incursion on Oct. 7 that sparked the war. Around 250 people were abducted, and Hamas is believed to still be holding about 100 hostages.

Australia resumes funding for UNRWA and pledges more Gaza aid
Associated Press/March 15/2024
Australia will restore funding to the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians, weeks after the agency lost hundreds of millions of dollars in support following Israeli allegations that some of its Gaza-based staff participated in the Oct. 7 attack.
The Australian government also pledged Friday to increase aid for the besieged enclave, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressing horror at the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. Australia's move follows Sweden, the European Commission and Canada in reinstating funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, which had seen its international funding frozen while the allegations were investigated. "The best available current advice from agencies and the Australian government lawyers is that UNRWA is not a terrorist organization," Wong told reporters Friday in Adelaide while she announced the aid package. "(We have) been working with a group of donor countries and with UNRWA on the shared objective of ensuring the integrity of UNRWA's operations, rebuilding confidence, and so importantly, ensuring aid flows to Gazans in desperate need." Australia, alongside 15 international partners, froze funding to UNRWA in January, leaving the agency — which employs roughly 13,000 people in Gaza and is the main supplier of food, water and shelter there — on the brink of financial collapse. A small number of the agency's staff were fired following the accusations.
Israel has claimed that 450 UNRWA employees were members of militant groups in Gaza, though it has provided no evidence. Wong also pledged an additional 4 million Australian dollars ($2.6 million) to UNICEF to provide urgent services in Gaza, and a C17 Globemaster plane will also deliver defense force parachutes to help with the U.S. led airdropping of humanitarian supplies into the enclave, which is on the brink of famine, according to the United Nations. The U.S. is also scrambling to open a new humanitarian aid corridor by building a floating dock off the coast of Gaza so aid can flow by sea.
Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, in which about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 250 taken hostage, sparked Israel's retaliatory invasion of Gaza that has killed more than 31,000, according to local health officials, left much of the enclave in ruins and displaced some 80% of Gaza's 2.3 million people.

Woman sets fire to voting booth in Moscow
Agence France Presse/March 15/2024
A woman set fire to a voting booth Friday at a polling station in southern Moscow on the first day of presidential elections, Russian state and independent media reported. The RIA Novosti news agency said a "woman set alight a polling booth" in the capital, while the independent SOTA outlet published video of a woman walking up to a booth before calmly stepping out of it as it was in flames, saying it was in the southern Marino district.

German, French and Polish leaders meet to discuss support for Ukraine
Associated Press/March 15/2024
The leaders of Germany, France and Poland plan to meet in Berlin Friday to discuss support for Ukraine, seeking to send a signal of unity and solidarity as Kyiv grapples with a shortage of military resources and Russia votes in an election all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin's reign.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is welcoming French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for a summit of the so-called "Weimar Triangle" of the three major European powers, a format that they are trying to revitalize after relations were strained under Poland's previous nationalist government. Kyiv's forces are hoping for more military supplies from Ukraine's Western partners, but in the meantime, they are struggling against a bigger and better-provisioned Russian army that is pressing hard at some front-line points in Ukraine. The European Union's plans to produce 1 million artillery rounds for Ukraine have fallen well short, while aid for Ukraine is being being held up in the United States by political differences. "We must do everything we can to organize as much support as possible for Ukraine," Scholz said on Wednesday, pointing to the "very practical question of whether there is enough ammunition, whether there is enough artillery, whether there is enough air defense — many things that play a major role." He downplayed recent differences with Macron after the French leader said at a conference last month that sending in Western ground troops should not be ruled out in the future. Scholz said then that participants had agreed there will be "no ground troops" on Ukrainian soil sent by European countries. On Thursday, Macron reiterated his position, though he said today's situation doesn't require sending ground troops. Germany, France and Poland are among Ukraine's key allies. Germany has become Ukraine's second-biggest supplier of military aid after the United States and is stepping up support this year, although Scholz has faced criticism for refusing to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles. Macron on Thursday described the Russia-Ukraine war as "existential" to France and Europe. The three European leaders are meeting as Russia holds a three-day presidential election that is all but certain to give Putin another six years in power after he stifled dissent. Speaking in Washington on Thursday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that a Ukrainian victory "is essential for European security, but I think it's also essential for the U.S." He warned of "the price of delaying decisions." "I want to stress the importance of the time," he said. "Time is of the essence. The next month will be decisive. Many analysts expect a major Russia offensive this summer and Ukraine cannot wait on (the) result of the next U.S. elections."

Macron and Putin: from 'dear Vladimir' to 'existential' threat
Agence France Presse/March 15/2024
French President Emmanuel Macron for half a decade sought to cultivate a partnership with Russia but has now become an implacable foe of the Kremlin, warning that Vladimir Putin poses a threat not just to Ukraine but the security of all Europeans. Weeks after taking office in 2017, Macron signalled his intentions towards Russia by rolling out the red carpet for Putin at a summit in the former royal residence of the Versailles Palace. In 2019, the Russian leader was invited to the French president's Mediterranean summer residence where Macron addressed Putin as "dear Vladimir" and famously declared Russia was part of a Europe that extended from "Lisbon to Vladivostok". Even after Putin ordered Russian tanks into Ukraine in the February 2022 invasion, Macron sought to keep up a channel of dialogue with the Russian leader, speaking to him on multiple occasions until September that year and insisting on the need "not to humiliate Russia". Macron openly acknowledges his position has now undergone a major turnaround, citing a "hardening" in Russia's stance at home and abroad, which has seen the prison death of opposition figure Alexei Navalny that supporters have blamed on the Kremlin, as well as a flurry of cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns against countries including France. He has repeated as a mantra that "Russia cannot win this war" and shocked European allies in February by refusing to rule out the sending of Western ground troops."Who would think for a single second that President Putin, who did not respect any of his limits and engagements, would stop there?" he said in an interview with French television on Thursday, insisting there should be "no limits" in support for Ukraine and describing the war as "existential" for Ukraine and Europe. Macron gave the interview on the eve of stage-managed presidential elections in Russia that should see Putin win another six-year term. He also is in Berlin Friday for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has expressed discomfort with France's more bellicose stance, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk."If Russia wins the life of the French will change. We will have no more security in Europe," Macron warned.
- From 'dove to hawk' -
A French presidential official, who asked not to be named, said that Macron had "gone to the end" in seeking a possible diplomatic path with Putin, even visiting Moscow in February 2022 in a last ditch attempt to prevent war.
After this "he (Macron) is the one who has the best justification to say that this path is not possible", the official said, adding: "It is the Kremlin which has changed, not him (Macron)".The breakdown in their relationship is shown starkly in a February 2022 telephone conversation on the eve of the invasion -- which extremely unusually was filmed and broadcast in a French TV documentary – where both men drop diplomatic niceties for open shows of anger. "Listen to me carefully! What's up with you?" said Putin in the conversation recorded in the documentary which was broadcast in the summer of 2022 but was shared virally on social media this week. In a sign of their previous intimacy, both men still use the informal "you" ("tu" in French, "ty" in Russian). "The metamorphosis of Emmanuel Macron, the dove become hawk," said the Le Monde daily this week. In an interview this week with French channel BFMTV, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin had "deceived" Macron by promising him and several leaders a few days before the war there would not be an invasion. "I think he realised that Putin had personally deceived him."
'Gallic cockerel' -
Macron's more assertive position, and in particular the warning that the sending of Western ground troops was not ruled out, has raised hackles in Russia. Interviewing Putin this week, the star presenter with the state-run Rossiya channel Dmitry Kiselev asked the Russian leader "what has happened to Macron? Has he lost his marbles? … He looks like a fighting Gallic cockerel! He has frightened all Europeans."Putin swatted the question away, claiming that "such a sharp reaction, quite an emotional one" from Macron was linked to France losing influence in African countries where Russia has gained the upper hand through the Wagner mercenary group. "Putin's position has not significantly changed. There are very serious changes in Macron's position," Sergei Markov, pro-Kremlin director of the Institute of Political Studies in Moscow, told AFP. For Tatiana Kastoueva-Jean, Russia specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), the change in Macron's stance towards Putin triggered this reaction from Russia. "There is incomprehension (in Russia) over how someone who wants to discuss with Russia, to be the mediator, turns into someone who takes the lead of the toughest camp opposing it," she told AFP.

Middle East conflicts revive clash between US president and Congress
Associated Press/March 15/2024
A major deadline under the half-century-old War Powers Resolution came this week for President Joe Biden to obtain Congress' approval to keep waging his military campaign against Yemen's Houthis, in line with its sole authority under the U.S. Constitution to declare war and otherwise authorize military force.
Came, and went, in public silence — even from Senate Democrats frustrated by the Biden administration's blowing past some of the checkpoints that would give Congress more of a say in the United States' deepening military engagement in the Middle East conflicts. The Biden administration contends that nothing in the War Powers Resolution, or other deadlines, directives and laws, requires it to change its military support for Israel's five-month-old war in Gaza, or two months of U.S. military strikes on the Houthis, or to submit to greater congressional oversight or control. That's left some frustrated Senate Democrats calibrating how far to go in confronting a president of their own party over his military authority.
Democrats are wary of undercutting Biden as he faces a difficult reelection campaign. Their ability to act is limited by their control of only one chamber, the Senate, where some Democrats — and many Republicans — back Biden's military actions in the Middle East. While Biden's approach gives him more leeway in how he conducts U.S. military engagement since Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks, it risks making any crisis deeper if things go badly wrong. James A. Siebens, leader of the Defense Strategy and Planning project at the Stimson Center in Washington, called it a "latent constitutional crisis." The Middle East conflicts have revived what's been a long-running clash between presidents, who are the commanders in chief, and Congress, which holds the authority to stop and start wars, or lesser uses of military force, and controls their funding. U.S. and British warships, planes and drones opened attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen on Jan. 11. Hundreds of U.S. strikes have followed. The U.S. strikes are aimed at knocking back what has been a surge of attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, a clan-based movement that has seized control of much of northern Yemen, on international shipping in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas war began. Biden formally notified Congress the next day. The administration took pains to frame the U.S. military campaign as defensive actions and not as "hostilities" that fall under the War Powers Resolution.
The resolution gives presidents 60 days after notifying Congress they've sent U.S. forces into armed conflict either to obtain its approval to keep fighting, or to pull out U.S. troops. That deadline was Tuesday. The White House continues to insist that the military actions are to defend U.S. forces and do not fall under the resolution's 60-day provision. Congress pushed through the War Powers Resolution over presidential veto in 1973, moving forcefully to reclaim its authority over U.S. wars abroad as President Richard Nixon expanded the Vietnam War. Since then, presidents have often argued that U.S. involvement in conflicts doesn't amount to "hostilities" or otherwise fall under the resolution. If lawmakers disapprove, their options include pressuring the executive branch to seek an authorization of military force, trying to get Congress at large to formally order the president to withdraw, withholding funding or stepping up congressional oversight. For Yemen, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is looking at introducing legislation within weeks that would authorize the U.S. campaign against the Houthis under set limits on the time, geographical range and scope. The plan has not been previously reported.
Murphy and other Democrats in Congress have expressed concern about the effectiveness of the U.S. attacks on the Houthis, the risk of further regional escalation and the lack of clarity on the administration's end game. They've asked why the administration sees it as the U.S. military's mission to protect a global shipping route. "This is 'hostilities'.' There's no congressional authorization for them," Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing on obtaining congressional authorization for the U.S. strikes on the Houthis. "And it's not even close."Asked this week what happens now that the 60 days are up, Kaine said it would be premature for Congress to consider authorizing the U.S. action against the Houthis without understanding the strategy. Idaho Sen. James Risch. the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had no such doubts. "I believe that the president has all the power that he needs under the Constitution to do what he's doing in Yemen," Risch said this week. But it's Gaza, and the soaring death toll among Palestinian civilians, that has stirred the most protests from Congress. The Israel-Hamas war also has a far higher profile in U.S. domestic politics. While many Americans are dead-set against any cut in military support to Israel, a growing number of Democrats have begun withholding votes from Biden in state presidential primaries to demand more U.S. action for Gaza's trapped people.
Some in Congress were frustrated early in the war that the administration bypassed congressional review to rush additional military aid to Israel, by declaring a national security emergency. A presidential order negotiated with Senate Democrats requires Israel to certify in writing by March 25 that it will abide by international law when using U.S. weapons in Gaza and will not impede humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians — or face a possible cut in U.S. military aid. The United Nations has said Israeli restrictions are keeping many aid trucks from getting into Gaza. The U.S. this month began air drops and work on a sea route to get more food and other vital goods into the territory. Some in Congress are pushing the administration to cut the military aid now, under existing federal law requiring countries that get U.S. military support to use it in compliance with international law, including by allowing humanitarian access to civilians in conflicts. A group of Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote Biden this week that it was already plain that Israel was obstructing humanitarian aid to Gaza. They urged him to cut military aid immediately, absent a turnaround by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, under existing laws on U.S. foreign assistance. "I'm still flabbergasted" that the administration hasn't acted, Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen, one of the senators pushing hardest on the point, said.

Top Democrat Schumer calls for new elections, says Netanyahu obstacle to peace
Associated Press/March 15/2024
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called on Israel to hold new elections, saying he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has "lost his way" and is an obstacle to peace in the region amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Schumer, the first Jewish majority leader in the Senate and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S., strongly criticized Netanyahu in a 40-minute speech Thursday morning on the Senate floor. Schumer said the prime minister has put himself in a coalition of far-right extremists and "as a result, he has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows.""Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah," Schumer said. The high-level warning comes as an increasing number of Democrats have pushed back against Israel and as President Joe Biden has stepped up public pressure on Netanyahu's government, arguing that he needs to pay more attention to the civilian death toll in Gaza amid the Israeli bombardment. The U.S. this month began airdrops of badly needed humanitarian aid and announced it will establish a temporary pier to get more assistance into Gaza via sea. Schumer has so far positioned himself as a strong ally of the Israeli government, visiting the country just days after the brutal Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and giving a lengthy speech on the Senate floor in December decrying "brazen and widespread antisemitism the likes of which we haven't seen in generations in this country, if ever."But he said on the Senate floor Thursday that the "Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past." Schumer says Netanyahu, who has long opposed Palestinian statehood, is one of several obstacles in the way of the two-state solution pushed by the United States. Netanyahu "has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel," Schumer said. The majority leader is also blaming right-wing Israelis, Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Until they are all removed from the equation, Schumer said, "there will never be peace in Israel and Gaza and the West Bank."The United States cannot dictate the outcome of an election in Israel, Schumer said, but "a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government." At the White House, national security spokesman John Kirby declined to weigh in on Schumer's remarks, saying the White House is most focused on getting a temporary cease-fire in place. "We know Leader Schumer feels strongly about this and we'll certainly let him speak to it and to his comments," Kirby said. "We're going to stay focused on making sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself while doing everything that they can to avoid civilian casualties."Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog called the speech "counterproductive to our common goals."
"Israel is a sovereign democracy," Herzog posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. "It is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organization Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally."The speech also drew a swift reprisal from Republicans. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor immediately after Schumer's speech that "Israel deserves an ally that acts like one" and that foreign observers "ought to refrain from weighing in."
The Democratic Party has an anti-Israel problem, McConnell said. "Either we respect their decisions or we disrespect their democracy," he said. And at a House GOP retreat in West Virginia, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called Schumer's speech "inappropriate."
"It's just plain wrong for an American leader to play such a divisive role in Israeli politics while our closest ally in the region is in an existential battle for its very survival," the Republican speaker said. Netanyahu has long had a cozy relationship with Republicans in the United States, most notably speaking at a joint session of Congress in 2015 at the invitation of GOP lawmakers to try to torpedo former President Barack Obama's nuclear negotiations with Iran. The move infuriated Obama administration officials, who saw it as an end run around Obama's presidential authority and unacceptably deep interference in U.S. politics and foreign policy. Just this week, Netanyahu was invited to speak to Republican senators at a party retreat. But Herzog took his place due to last minute scheduling issues, according to a person familiar with the closed-door meeting.
It is unclear how Schumer's unusually direct call will be received in Israel, where the next parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 2026. Many Israelis hold Netanyahu responsible for failing to stop the Oct. 7 cross-border raid by Hamas, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and his popularity appears to have taken a hit as a result. Protesters in Israel calling for early elections have charged that Netanyahu is making decisions based on keeping his right-wing coalition intact rather than Israel's interests at a time of war. And they say he is endangering Israel's strategic alliance with the United States by rejecting U.S. proposals for a post-war vision for Gaza in order to appease the far-right members of his government. U.S. priorities in the region have increasingly been hampered by those far-right members of his Cabinet, who share Netanyahu's opposition to Palestinian statehood and other aims that successive U.S. administrations have seen as essential to resolving Palestinian-Israeli conflicts long-term.
In a hot-mic moment while speaking to lawmakers after his State of the Union address, Biden promised a "come to Jesus" moment with Netanyahu. And Vice President Kamala Harris, Schumer and other lawmakers met last week in Washington with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's War Cabinet and a far more popular rival of Netanyahu — a visit that drew a rebuke from the Israeli prime minister. Gantz joined Netanyahu's government in the War Cabinet soon after the Hamas attacks. But he is expected to leave the government once the heaviest fighting subsides, signaling the period of national unity has ended. A return to mass demonstrations could ramp up pressure on Netanyahu's deeply unpopular coalition to hold early elections. Schumer said that as the highest ranking Jewish elected official in the United States, he feels an obligation to speak out. He said his last name derives from the Hebrew word Shomer, or "guardian.""I also feel very keenly my responsibility as Shomer Yisroel — a guardian of the People of Israel," he said. Schumer said that if Israel tightens its control over Gaza and the West Bank and creates a "de facto single state," then there should be no reasonable expectation that Hamas and their allies will lay down arms. It could mean constant war, he said. "As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may," Schumer said. "But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice."

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 15-16/2024
Biden Should be Threatening Qatar and the Terrorists, Not Israel
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute./March 15, 2024
Biden's reported threat to halt or suspend US military supplies to Israel if the IDF enters Rafah is what encourages Hamas to continue fighting and reject every proposal to release the hostages. When Hamas leaders hear that Biden is threatening Israel to prevent the IDF from entering Rafah, they must say to themselves: "Why should we make any concessions to Israel? America doesn't want the Israelis to destroy the four remaining battalions. The US administration is opposed to Israel's plan to eliminate Hamas, so let's wait!"
A total defeat means the elimination of all of Hamas's battalions. An Israeli victory will never be complete as long as one, or even half, a Hamas battalion remains intact.
Biden is actually sending a message to Hamas and Iran's other terror proxies, including Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis, that America is about to throw Israel under the bus. Cutting off US weapons supplies to Israel is the ultimate fantasy of the terrorists.
The administration could show impressive leadership and in fact "bring this to an end as quickly as we can" -- not just for Israel but for all in the region who are seeking peace -- by encouraging Israel to take out the terrorists in Rafah without delay.
Instead of pressuring Israel, Biden should be pressuring his friends in Qatar to force their Hamas puppets to hand over the Israeli hostages and surrender. Instead of threatening to cut off weapons supplies to Israel, he should be threatening the leaders of Qatar with the withdrawal of US forces from the country's Al Udeid Air Base and to officially designate Qatar as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (for its funding of Hamas, Hizballah, ISIS, Al Qaeda, Taliban, Al Shabab, Al Nusra Front, among others).
This is the way – the only way – to end the war quickly, as well as to send a signal to America's adversaries looking on, that the US is prepared to uphold the values of civilization, not the values of terror.
US President Joe Biden's reported threat to halt or suspend US military supplies to Israel if the IDF enters Rafah is what encourages Hamas to continue fighting and reject every proposal to release the hostages.
US President Joe Biden will consider conditioning military supplies to Israel if the Israeli army moves forward with a large-scale invasion of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, according to four US officials.
Biden has also told MSNBC that a Rafah operation would cross a "red line," although he balanced that statement with a commitment to support Israel's right to self-defense.
Israeli security sources have revealed that the Iran-backed Hamas terror group has at least four battalions in Rafah. Many of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and other Palestinians on October 7, 2023, are also believed to be held in Rafah.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have succeeded in destroying most of Hamas's battalions in other areas of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have dismantled 17 of Hamas's 24 combat battalions in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on February 4.
"The increasing defeat of Hamas in Gaza is an important achievement for the IDF," said Middle East expert Seth Frantzman.
"Hamas terrorists have lost control of significant areas in Gaza, enabling the dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure the group built up over previous decades. It is essential the IDF be supported in its efforts to prevent further threats by Hamas and other terrorist groups to Israel and the region."
Biden's reported threat to halt or suspend US military supplies to Israel if the IDF enters Rafah is what encourages Hamas to continue fighting and reject every proposal to release the hostages. When Hamas leaders hear that Biden is threatening Israel to prevent the IDF from entering Rafah, they must say to themselves: "Why should we make any concessions to Israel? America doesn't want the Israelis to destroy the four remaining battalions. The US administration is opposed to Israel's plan to eliminate Hamas, so let's wait!"
Asking Israel not to invade Rafah and destroy the Hamas terrorists holed up in the city is akin to requesting that someone running in a marathon stop before reaching the finish line. There is no alternative to a total defeat of Hamas, especially in the aftermath of its October 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis. A total defeat means the elimination of all of Hamas's battalions. An Israeli victory will never be complete as long as one, or even half, a Hamas battalion remains intact.
According to Brigadier General (res.) Amir Avivi, Chairman and Founder of Israel Defense and Security Forum:
"The Americans should understand the consequences of [Biden's] red line: a guarantee that another October 7 will happen again, that hostages will never come home, that an emboldened Iran will intensify on all fronts and that Hamas-oppressed civilians will suffer indefinitely.
"One of the reasons for this could be President Biden's willingness to avoid dissent at the Democratic National Convention in August, and he is worried about losing the state of Michigan in the coming election as young people and Arab-Americans defect over his Israel policy. Israel has a right to defend itself, he seems to now be saying, but it should stop the war now. President Biden expressed this dichotomous position in his State of the Union address last week and reiterated this point in the MSNBC interview."
On November 25, 2023, Biden was quoted as saying that Israel's goal of eliminating Hamas was a legitimate but difficult mission. "I don't know how long it will take," Biden told reporters.
"My expectation and hope is that as we move forward, the rest of the Arab world and the region is also putting pressure on all sides to slow this down, to bring this to an end as quickly as we can."
Four months later, Biden appears to have changed his mind about obliterating Hamas. His warning to Israel not to enter Rafah implies that the Biden administration actually wants Israel to lose the war against Hamas. This would mean that Hamas will continue to rule the Gaza Strip and plan more October 7-style massacres against Israelis. Hamas official Ghazi Hamad has clearly said that the terror group will repeat the October 7 attack, time and again, until Israel is annihilated.
The most dangerous part of Biden's statements is the threat to suspend or halt US shipments of weapons and ammunition aid to Israel should it proceed with its plans to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, destroy Hamas and release the hostages.
Biden is actually sending a message to Hamas and Iran's other terror proxies, including Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis, that America is about to throw Israel under the bus. Cutting off US weapons supplies to Israel is the ultimate fantasy of the terrorists.
It is no wonder, then, that in their statements, several Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders have been calling for an immediate halt to US weapons shipments to Israel.
The Palestinian terrorists want the Americans to stop supplying Israel with weapons and ammunition because that would facilitate their mission of killing Jews and destroying Israel. The terrorists are angry because they want Israel to be weak and defenseless. Hamas leaders have just one problem with carrying out more October 7-like massacres against Israelis: the US and other Western countries' providing armaments to Israel complicates the terrorists' dream of slaughtering Jews.
"We must teach Israel a lesson," Hamad said.
"The Al-Aqsa Flood [Hamas's name for its Oct 7 invasion of Israel] is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth. Will we have to pay a price? Yes, and we are ready to pay it. We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs."
The Biden administration would see more success if it stopped underestimating such threats from a brutal terror group that has shown itself perfectly capable of the mass murder, rape, beheadings, and burning alive of Israeli civilians. The administration could show impressive leadership and in fact "bring this to an end as quickly as we can" -- not just for Israel but for all in the region who are seeking peace -- by encouraging Israel to take out the terrorists in Rafah without delay.
The administration would also do well to stop the talk about punishing Israel by cutting off military supplies. Instead of pressuring Israel, Biden should be pressuring his friends in Qatar to force their Hamas puppets to hand over the Israeli hostages and surrender. Instead of threatening to cut off weapons supplies to Israel, he should be threatening the leaders of Qatar with the withdrawal of US forces from the country's Al Udeid Air Base and to officially designate Qatar as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (for its funding of Hamas, Hizballah, ISIS, Al Qaeda, Taliban, Al Shabab, Al Nusra Front, among others).
This is the way – the only way – to end the war quickly, as well as to send a signal to America's adversaries looking on, that the US is prepared to uphold the values of civilization, not the values of terror.
**Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Israel’s army exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox are part of a bigger challenge: The Jewish state is divided over the Jewish religion
Michael Brenner, American University/The Conversation/March 15, 2024
Just when you think nothing can surprise you anymore in Israeli politics, someone always comes along with a new twist.
This time it was Yitzhak Yosef, one of Israel’s two chief rabbis. In response to debates over whether ultra-Orthodox Jews should be required to serve in the military, or continue to be excused to study religious texts full time, he had a simple answer:
“If they force us to go to the army, we’ll all go abroad,” he declared on March 9, 2024.
Ultra-Orthodox resistance to conscription is nothing new.
But the forcefulness of this declaration is new, especially coming in the midst of a war. And Yosef is not any random rabbi. He is the son of Ovadia Yosef, who was the spiritual leader of the Shas Party: an important partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious governing coalition.
Ever since the state of Israel’s founding in 1948, ultra-Orthodox Jews – those who take the strictest approach toward following Jewish law, and are now around 14% of the population – have been exempt from military service. Among all other Jewish citizens, from the secular to the modern Orthodox, men are required to serve 32 months, and women 24, plus reserve duty. In 2017, the country’s Supreme Court ruled against the exemptions, but they have continued through a series of legislative workarounds. The latest is due to expire at the end of March 2023, however – and other Israelis’ resentment toward the ultra-Orthodox exemption is at a high. As a historian, I see the conscription debate as more than a political crisis for Israel’s government. The question is so sensitive because it opens up fundamental questions about the cohesion of Israeli society in general, and of the ultra-Orthodox, or “Haredi,” population’s attitude toward the Jewish state in particular. It also illustrates the complexity of a country that is not as easily explained as many of its supporters and critics alike believe.
Initial compromise
Historically, Orthodox Jews struggled to justify the idea of a Jewish state. They prayed for centuries to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, but had a specific return in mind: a Jewish state established by the Messiah. Any other kind of Jewish sovereignty, they believed, would be blasphemy. Theodor Herzl, who founded modern political Zionism in the late 1800s, had a long beard and looked like a Biblical prophet. Yet he was thoroughly secular and assimilated – he even lit a Christmas tree with his family. Herzl’s movement to encourage more European Jews to migrate to the Holy Land had little appeal for the Orthodox. There was, however, always a minority among the Orthodox who identified with Zionism, the belief that Jewish people should have a sovereign political state in the land of Israel. According to the Talmud, the central source of Jewish law, saving lives is more important than other commandments – and Zionism saved Jews from pogroms and other anti-Jewish violence in Europe. During the Holocaust, the vast majority of observant Jews in Eastern Europe were murdered. Afterward, many survivors who had previously opposed Zionism sought refuge in the new state of Israel.
On the eve of Israel’s independence, David Ben-Gurion, the prime minister of the state-to-be, entered an agreement with the leaders of the two camps of Orthodox Jews. The Haredim, or ultra-Orthodox, still refused to recognize the legitimacy of a secular Jewish state. The so-called national religious camp, on the other hand, embraced it. Among other concessions, the new state granted exemption to young Haredi Jews who wanted to study religious texts full time instead of joining the army. That hardly seemed consequential, as the young men in question numbered only a few hundred.
Shifting views
During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem as well as the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula. Since then, the national religious camp, once a moderate force, has developed into the spearhead of the right-wing settler movement. Unlike the first generations of Orthodox Zionists, national religious Israelis today are Zionists not despite but because of messianism. Israel, they believe, will help bring about the messianic age. Therefore, right-wing religious Zionists – like Netanyahu’s cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich – are enthusiastic proponents of army service.
Not so the Haredim, the ultra-Orthodox.
To be clear, Haredi Jews are very diverse. This demographic includes families with roots everywhere from Poland and Romania to Morocco and Iraq. It includes people who support Israel’s existence, and opponents who burn the flag on Independence Day. It includes men who join the workforce and men who dedicate their life to religious study. The majority of Haredim living in Israel are not Zionists, yet live there because it is the Holy Land and the state subsidizes their study. Anything else – secular education, army service, and often paid work – is seen as a distraction. A minority of Haredi Jews serve in the armed forces voluntarily, and more have enlisted since the beginning of the latest Israel-Hamas war. But they have no legal obligation to do so; nor do Israel’s Arab citizens.
Growing Haredi sector
Israel’s governments have continued to tolerate this situation as ultra-Orthodox political parties became much-needed partners.
Yet legal and popular opposition has increased.
In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the defense minister has no right to exempt Haredi Jews from military service and asked the government to find ways to draft them. In 2014, a center-right government under Netanyahu passed a law aiming to have 60% of Haredi men serving within three years. But the 2015 elections brought Haredi parties back in power, and implementation was effectively abandoned. Since then, Haredi parties have become more powerful as their population grows. Yet the Supreme Court has made clear that by the end of March 2024, the government either needs to draft Haredim, or the legislature has to come up with a new law to excuse them. Seven in 10 Israeli Jews oppose the blanket exemption, meaning another exemption might jeopardize Netanyahu’s government. Frustration is also rising over plans to raise the military service of men to three years and to double the duty of reservists to 42 days a year during emergencies. None of this would matter if the Haredim were still the same tiny segment of society they were in 1948. Today, however, ultra-Orthodox women have 6.5 children on average, compared with 2.5 among other Jewish Israeli women, and 1 in 4 young children are ultra-Orthodox.
The resulting transformation of Israeli society is easy to see. If the trend continues, Israel will become a very different, very religious society – one that can hardly survive economically. On average, a non-Haredi household pays nine times more income tax than a Haredi one, while the latter receives over 50% more state support. Even if they were ready to work, most Haredim would have a hard time finding well-paid jobs, as their state-subsidized private schools teach hardly any secular topics. For Israeli society, this portends further fragmentation and a weakening of the economy – to say nothing of the army.
But, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak says, this will never happen. In his and other Haredim’s eyes, Israel’s soldiers succeed only because religious Jews study and pray for them.
“They need to understand that without the Torah, without the yeshivas, there’d be nothing, no success for the army,” he said.

Question: “What is more important, the death of Christ or His resurrection?”
GotQuestions.org?/March 15, 2024
Answer: The death and resurrection of Christ are equally important. Jesus’ death and resurrection accomplish separate but necessarily related things. The death and resurrection of our Lord are really inseparable, like the warp and weft of cloth.
The cross of Christ won for us the victory that we could never have won for ourselves. “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). On the cross God piled our sins on Jesus, and He bore the punishment due us (Isaiah 53:4–8). In His death, Jesus took upon Himself the curse introduced by Adam (see Galatians 3:13).
With the death of Christ, our sins became powerless to rule over us (Romans 6). By His death, Jesus destroyed the works of the devil (John 12:31; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8), condemned Satan (John 16:11), and crushed the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15).
Without the sacrificial death of Christ, we would still be in our sins, unforgiven, unredeemed, unsaved, and unloved. The cross of Christ is vital to our salvation and was thus a main theme of the apostles’ preaching (Acts 2:23, 36; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 2:2; Galatians 6:14).
But the story of Jesus Christ did not end with His death. The resurrection of Christ is also foundational to the gospel message. Our salvation stands or falls based on the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, as Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians 15:12–19. If Christ is not physically risen from the dead, then we ourselves have no hope of resurrection, the apostles’ preaching was in vain, and believers are all to be pitied. Without the resurrection, we are still sitting “in darkness and in the shadow of death” waiting for the sunrise (Luke 1:78–79).
Because of Jesus’ resurrection, His promise holds true for us: “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). Our great enemy, death, will be defeated (1 Corinthians 15:26, 54–55). Jesus’ resurrection is also important because it is through that event that God declares us righteous: Jesus “was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25). The gift of the Holy Spirit was sent from the resurrected and ascended Lord Jesus (John 16:7).
At least three times in His earthly ministry, Jesus predicted that He would die and rise again after three days (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34). If Jesus Christ had not been raised from the dead, He would have failed in His prophecies—He would have been yet another false prophet to be ignored. As it is, however, we have a living Lord, faithful to His Word. The angel at Jesus’ empty tomb was able to point to fulfilled prophecy: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:6).
Scripture links the death and resurrection of Christ, and we must maintain that link. Jesus’ entrance into the tomb is as equally important as His exit from the tomb. In 1 Corinthians 15:3–5, Paul defines the gospel as the dual truth that Jesus died for our sins (proved by His burial) and that He rose again the third day (proved by His appearances to many witnesses). This gospel truth is “of first importance” (verse 3).
It is impossible to separate the death of Christ from His resurrection. To believe in one without the other is to believe in a false gospel that cannot save. In order for Jesus to have truly arisen from the dead, He must have truly died. And in order for His death to have a true meaning for us, He must have a true resurrection. We cannot have one without the other.

Why the Gulf states have an interest in Russia-Ukraine peace
Luke Coffey/Arab News/March 15, 2024
At a meeting of the G7 in October 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky launched his Peace Formula. It consists of 10 points that can lead to a just and honorable end to the war with Russia.
The 10 points address important issues such as respecting Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, radiation and nuclear safety, the security of food exports, and accountability for war crimes committed during the conflict. It remains the only proposal on the table to end the war in Ukraine.
Zelensky and his government have been promoting the initiative on the world stage with a series of meetings. One of the most important took place last year in Saudi Arabia. It was particularly noteworthy because China also took part.
The importance of Saudi Arabia, indeed all the Gulf states, cannot be overstated in Ukraine’s quest for a just peace. Kyiv knows the Kingdom is influential, not only among other Muslim states but also with many countries in the Global South. Saudi Arabia has also played an important role negotiating prisoner swaps between Ukraine and Russia. Zelenskyy has visited Saudi Arabia three times since Russia invaded in February 2022. He addressed the Arab League in Jeddah in May 2023, there was the visit for the Peace Formula summit in Jeddah last September, and last month Zelensky was in Saudi Arabia again for talks on the state of the war, the Peace Formula, and Ukrainian-Saudi relations. When I was in Kyiv last week for meetings with Ukrainian officials, I was surprised by how many references were made to Saudi Arabia. Zelensky’s right-hand man, Andry Yermak, spoke by phone last week with Saudi national security adviser Musaed Al-Aiban about the next meeting on the Peace Formula in Switzerland this summer.
Other Gulf states have played an important role mediating and brokering prisoner exchanges and the release of Ukrainian civilians from Russian custody. Qatar has negotiated the release of Ukrainian children, and the UAE has brokered at least three deals between Ukraine and Russia for the release of prisoners of war.With so much to focus on in the Middle East, you may wonder why the Gulf states should care about the war at all. There are five main reasons.
Kyiv knows the Kingdom is influential, not only among other Muslim states but also with many countries in the Global South.
The first reason is the issue of food security in the Global South if Ukrainian agricultural exports are restricted because of the war. Many countries in North Africa and the Middle East receive a sizable amount of their grain imports from Ukraine. After an initial disruption in grain exports due to the war, they have returned to pre-war levels. The Gulf states want to ensure it remains this way.
Second, the war offers opportunities for Gulf states to play a bigger role in international diplomacy. In recent years, some have stepped up their diplomatic activity, becoming key interlocutors for engagement between rival and warring parties around the world. Saudi Arabia’s engagement with Ukraine and Russia is a natural extension of this. The same can be said of Qatar and the UAE.
Third, the Iranian angle is important. Since Russia started using Iranian drones in Ukraine, there has been a rapid evolution in Tehran’s drone capabilities due to the lessons being learned there. This could have profound security implications for the Middle East. It also means no country in the world has more experience shooting down Iranian drones than Ukraine. There is no doubt that Gulf states are interested in learning these lessons.
Fourth, the principle of respecting territorial integrity is important for Gulf states. Before Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the last time a country used military force to annex part of another was when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 to make it Iraq’s 19th province. Another good comparison with Russia’s occupation of Crimea is Iran’s control over the three UAE islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, and the presence there of the Revolutionary Guards navy.
Finally, the plight of the Crimean Tatars, the indigenous Sunni Muslim people of the peninsula, should concern many in the Gulf. They have faced persecution for centuries, from Catherine the Great in the 18th century to Stalin in the 20th. Since Russia’s annexation there have been further civil liberty and religious freedom crackdowns aimed at them.
If Russia stopped fighting, the war in Ukraine would end immediately. If Ukraine stopped fighting, its future as a country would be in doubt. So while the Ukrainians must continue fighting for survival, they are also showing the world that they seek a fair and just peace to end the war. This makes the work of Saudi Arabia to help find a just peace and a fair conclusion to the war more important than ever.
In the lead up to the next Peace Formula meeting in the summer, keep an eye on the Gulf states. There is no doubt that they will be playing an important role behind the scenes. This is a positive contribution to peace that should be welcome.
• Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. X: @LukeDCoffey

Turkiye’s mediation plans face complex challenges
Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/March 15, 2024
In the 2000s, Turkiye actively engaged in high-profile mediation attempts in some perennial intrastate and interstate conflicts in the Middle East to both consolidate its place in the regional order and to increase its leverage among regional and global stakeholders.
And in Turkish foreign policy today, there has been a growing emphasis on the importance of mediation as a diplomatic tool. Despite mediation evolving into a crucial tool for crisis resolution, it still faces numerous challenges due to its complex nature, including factors such as the intentions of the disputing parties and the motives of third-party interveners — a factor that is evident in Turkiye’s mediation attempts.
Recently, Ankara has expressed an interest in mediating or has actively offered to mediate in three distinct disputes, spanning from Ukraine to Africa, via the South Caucasus. The divergence among these conflicts is related not only to Turkiye’s direct or indirect involvement, but also to Ankara’s close ties with the conflicting parties. These conflicts are between Russia and Ukraine, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Somalia and Ethiopia.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week stated Turkiye’s readiness to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia in a bid to end the war, following talks with his Ukrainian counterpart in Istanbul. Turkiye hosted peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in 2022 but has since complained that no diplomatic steps have been taken to advance these discussions. It has repeatedly offered to host further talks, saying a summit of leaders was needed.
Ankara has expressed an interest in mediating or has actively offered to mediate in three distinct disputes
Erdogan tries to maintain cordial relations with both leaders, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, aiming to position himself as the only leader who can deal with both conflicting sides. Erdogan’s balancing act has allowed it to help produce some noticeable outcomes, including the deal that lifted a de facto Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain exports and an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war.
During the course of the conflict, NATO member Turkiye has managed to preserve its strategic autonomy by refraining from aligning with the West in placing sanctions on Russia, while also maintaining its connections with both Moscow and Kyiv without jeopardizing its own geostrategic interests. However, Turkiye’s balancing act faces constraints concerning its relations with the EU, NATO and the US; thus, it is hard for it to play the roles of both an ally and a mediator at the same time.
The second conflict, involving Armenia and Azerbaijan, also intertwines with the dynamics between Russia and the US. Erdogan has emphasized the importance of concluding a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, saying that maintaining stability in the Caucasus is a priority for Turkiye. He underlined that Ankara wants a new era in the region to begin with the signing of a peace agreement between Yerevan and Baku.
Washington has been trying to carve out a possible mediation role for Ankara in this conflict as an attempt to push Moscow out of the region. According to the West, Russia’s mediation is questionable and its policies allow Turkiye to claim the role of the new official moderator of Armenian-Azerbaijani talks. The tensions in the South Caucasus and the talks over a possible mediator are actually facilitated by the ongoing confrontation between the West and Russia due to the Ukraine war.
The feasibility of Turkiye’s mediation began to be actively discussed in Armenia after last Saturday’s joint statement by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. They announced their readiness “to work together to promote a balanced and lasting peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
Turkiye’s balancing act faces constraints concerning its relations with the EU, NATO and the US
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday stated that, while addressing the question of whether he sees an attempt by the West to engage Turkiye in the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement process, “something important is happening in our relations with Turkiye ... We are talking to each other, and I believe that we have a dialogue with the president of Turkiye. That dialogue is very complicated, not easy, but it is very important to have it.” This statement underscored that, even though Turkiye might appear to be a questionable candidate for Armenia due to its alliance with Azerbaijan, an Armenian willingness to engage with Ankara suggests a shift driven by US pressure.
However, Turkiye’s potential role as a mediator in this conflict might also face challenges. Although it has engaged in a normalization process with Armenia in recent years, given its role in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, it might be hard for Turkiye to maintain its balancing act between the two sides.
The last conflict pertains to tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia, which were sparked by the January signing of a memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland that proposed giving landlocked Ethiopia access to the Red Sea in exchange for Addis Ababa’s recognition of the self-declared republic. This was followed by Somalia’s recent deal with Turkiye, which has raised the stakes in a simmering maritime dispute with Ethiopia.
Rather than being dragged into this conflict, Turkiye wants to play the role of mediator to preserve its cordial relations with Somalia and Ethiopia, both of which attach great importance to their relations with Ankara. Turkiye has already attempted to launch a mediation process between Somalia and Somaliland but without making any serious progress. Most likely, any possible Turkish mediation in the Somali-Ethiopian tensions will face a similar outcome due to the involvement of several external actors and the complexity of the problem.
Despite Turkiye’s eagerness to mediate between all these parties, its mediation efforts have limits and may face challenges due to both its relationships with the conflicting parties and the role of external actors.
• Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkiye’s relations with the Middle East. X: @SinemCngz

Should the world call time on the WTO?
Ranvir S. Nayar/Arab News/March 15, 2024
The 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Abu Dhabi ended last week without any agreement on several of the key issues that the annual gathering of commerce ministers from around the world was meant to urgently address.
Even after running into overtime, as has become the norm with international negotiations nowadays, the only agreement that could be salvaged from the conference was a two-year extension of the tax-free status for digital e-commerce data transmissions. Meanwhile, key discussions on agriculture, fisheries and a host of other issues remained unfulfilled, with deep divisions among the participants.
Before the week-long negotiations began, the delegates knew exactly what lay on the table for them to resolve. Brazenly, the Western nations were quick to blame the developing world, notably India, for holding out on an agreement on fisheries and agriculture.
While it may be true that India had opposed any agreement, its opposition stemmed from a long-pending demand by it and almost 100 other developing nations about the manner in which the developed world has reneged on its commitments under the WTO.
First, in November 2001, the WTO members began negotiating a comprehensive round of agreements, called the Doha Development Round. The name reflects the spirit and the stated objective of the negotiations, which is to bring together a series of initiatives and trade agreements to help the developing countries achieve some level of development through tax concessions and other special statuses.
The Doha Development Round is today almost dead, as the developed nations have gone back on their word
However, the Doha Development Round is today almost dead, as the developed nations have gone back on their word. Instead of making special provisions for the developing world, allowing the poorer nations to play some catch-up with the rich countries, they have begun treating the developing nations at par and asking them to make the same, if not more, concessions on import tariffs and other issues as the rich nations.
On top of that, the rich nations have also been adding to their demands more lopsided agreements that help them in areas where their industries or businesses are strong, while holding off in areas, notably farming and fisheries, where the developing world can have the upper hand.
Take fisheries for instance. For many developing nations, fishing is an important source of employment, as well as nutrition, for a significant proportion of their populations, often as high as 10 percent. In sharp contrast, fisheries are a source of livelihood for less than 0.05 percent of the total British workforce. Yet Britain has indulged in a “cold war” with France over fishing rights in the English Channel and British ships still go far to the south in the Atlantic Ocean to catch fish.
The situation is not much different in France, which also keeps on heaping subsidies on its fisherfolk, while in the same breath urging India and other developing countries, where tens of millions of workers depend on fishery as a means of survival, to…
Similar is the case with agriculture. The US, the EU and other rich nations spend upward of $60 billion each on subsidizing their farmers, while lashing out at countries like India for continuing with its own subsidies. A European farmer can get €35,000 ($38,200) in subsidies every year, while an Indian farmer receives less than €110 annually.
It is absolutely fine for the developing nations to have stood their ground and not buckled under the pressure of the rich world
In the face of such a hypocritical stance by the rich nations, it is absolutely fine for the developing nations to have stood their ground and not buckled under the pressure of the rich world. They are right not to agree to terms that would go on to harm hundreds of millions of people for several years, if not decades.
Another area where the stance of the Western nations has completely exposed them is the issue of dispute settlement. The WTO developed a relatively effective mechanism that had, for decades, addressed disputes arising between member countries through dispute settlement bodies. These are similar to courts in common parlance, where nations would sue each other for breaching their commitments or where unfair practices like excessive duties or even the dumping of products could be challenged.
However, for the past several years, the US has single-handedly wrecked even this part of the WTO, which was perhaps the sole functioning part. Naming “judges” to the dispute settlement panels needs a consensus among all member countries and the US, which has felt “outraged” that it could possibly be found guilty and penalized by the WTO, has refused to agree to the candidates proposed by a majority of the members of the organization.
As a result, many countries have gone about acting in total breach of their commitments, rendering the entire agreement and the organization itself useless and powerless.
Amid such realities, the failure of the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Conference is not such a disaster for anyone. Moreover, almost every country is now in clear violation of the spirit and perhaps the act of the WTO as well, since they have all — notably the US and the EU — launched big subsidies for their domestic industries, spending hundreds of billions of dollars on them.
With no government seemingly in the mood to pull back from narrow-minded national policies and focus on the broader global agenda, the world is clearly headed for years of the unraveling of globalization, which had dominated the global business world for almost four decades.
Maybe the time has come to put the WTO into a suspended state, since it is unlikely to serve any useful purpose for some years to come. This way, we will not only avoid the misery of failed ministerial conferences but also end the unrealistic hopes that are built on such weak foundations.
• Ranvir S. Nayar is the managing editor of Media India Group and founder-director of the Europe India Foundation for Excellence.