Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 08-09/2024
Text and video/Elias Bejjani: May 07, 2008 Barbaric Invasion of Beirut & Mount Lebanon/ Elias Bejjani/May 07/2024
A Decisive Meeting Expected in Bkerke on Friday/Bassam Abou Zeid/This is Beirut/May 08/2024
Hezbollah counts the cost of prolonged conflict with Israel in south Lebanon
Intense fire on Lebanon front leaves casualties on both sides
Israel, Hezbollah trade heavy fire as violence escalates
Israeli Defense Minister says the mission is 'not yet complete' in the North
Israeli strikes kill five individuals in southern Lebanon: AFP
Israel, Hezbollah trade fire as violence escalates
Over $1.5 billion in damages caused by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon
Syrian Migrant Crisis Topped Opposition MPs’ Talks in Washington
New Arrest in Tik Tok Child Rape Case
MP Joumblatt visits Speaker Berri, reiterates urgent need for immediate and permanent ceasefire
On LBCI, MP Salim el Sayegh affirms: Lebanese entity under threat; blames Hezbollah for Syrian refugees' influx - Interview
General Security Implements Measures to Regulate Syrian Presence in Lebanon
When the Mother’s Gaze Shapes the Baby’s Psyche
Exports Are Lagging Way Behind
Lebanon: The Dangers of Being Stuck in a Vicious Circle

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 08-09/2024
Battles rage around Rafah after US halts some weapons to Israel
Reaction to US decision to pause weapons shipment to Israel
US reveals it paused shipment of bombs for Israel over Rafah concerns
Mediator Qatar urges international community to prevent Rafah ‘genocide’
Hamas says it will not compromise further with Israel to win Gaza ceasefire
Gaza war cools Israel's once red-hot business ties with UAE
Israel warned the US that suspending arms shipment could undermine hostage talks: Axios
Israel says that the Gaza crossing was hit by shelling after reopening
Israel reopens key crossing for aid to enter Gaza that was closed over weekend rocket attack
Canadian man shot dead in Egypt, says security source
Italy's president says Russia's invasion of Ukraine can't be solved by rewarding Moscow's aggression
Iran and UN nuclear watchdog look for a way forward on uranium enrichment inspections
US says Houthis targeted Gulf of Aden with four drones and missiles
European Chamber of Commerce opens in Riyadh

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on May 08-09/2024
With a Gaza Cease-Fire in the Balance, Netanyahu Maneuvers to Keep Power/Steven Erlanger/The New York Times/Wed, May 8, 2024
Biden may be holding up ammo to Israel — Congress must stop him/Richard Goldberg/ New York Post/May 08/2024
Rafah, the Last Card Hamas Has to Play/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/May 08/2024
On ‘Colonialism’ as an ‘Original Sin/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/May 08/2024
Israel's Newest Security Threat – Is the US Next?/Robert Williams/ Gatestone Institute./May 8, 2024
‘I Have Learned to Cut Throats’: The Specter of ISIS Lives on in Western Nations/Raymond Ibrahim./May 8, 2024
How the Gaza war is derailing peace efforts in the wider region/Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg/Arab News/May 08, 2024
Exploitation, AI-style, a worrying new trend/Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/May 08, 2024
Europe and Saudi Arabia are partners for a prosperous future/CHRISTOPHE FARNAUD/Arab News/May 08, 2024
‘Selective Outrage/Michel Touma/This is Beirut/May 08/2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 08-09/2024
Text and video/Elias Bejjani: May 07, 2008 Barbaric Invasion of Beirut & Mount Lebanon
 Elias Bejjani/May 07/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/118016/118016/
May 07, 2008 was a criminal day for murderers, invaders, mercenaries and barbarians serving the Iranian mullahs’ agenda. Criminals and mercenaries with evil hearts violated the sanctity of the city of Beirut, desecrated its sanctity, and assaulted its peaceful people, humiliating, displacing, torturing, killing and destroying. The 7th of May is a black day carried out by Hezbollah’s, Amal Movement, The Syrian National Party armed militias, along with all the mercenaries affiliated with the Syrian-Iranian axis of evil.
A criminal and barbaric invasion that was hailed by Michel Aoun, the Iscariot, and opportunist who only cares about his authoritarian delusions and his bank accounts. An invasion that made him president in 2016. Aoun during his presidency destroyed the state, and handed over its institutions and its decision making process to the terrorist Hezbollah .
May 07, is a day of crime that the people of Lebanon will not forget, because the blood of the innocent and defenceless was spilled at the hands of terrorist and mafia militias in service of the expansionist, colonial and terrorist agenda of the Iranian mullahs.
The 7th of May was the day of an ignorant and barbaric invasion that has not yet ended, while all its evil consequences are continuing with all criminality, barbarism, insolence, immorality and arrogance. Definitely it will not end until all the Lebanese, Iranian, Syrian and Palestinian militias are disarmed, Iranian mini-states of Hezbollah, Palestinian camps and Syrian camps are eliminated and put under the control of the Lebanese authorities.
May 07, in conclusion, was day of criminality, terrorism and devil worshipers. Meanwhile the time has come for all criminals who invaded Beirut and Mount Lebanon to be brought to justice. And because every oppressor has an end and retribution, no matter how long it takes, we say to the criminals and murderers, aloud with the Prophet Isaiah (01/33) : “Our enemies are doomed! They have robbed and betrayed, although no one has robbed them or betrayed them. But their time to rob and betray will end, and they themselves will become victims of robbery and treachery”.
In conclusion, and in order for the invasion of Beirut and the Mount Lebanon not to be repeated, The weapons of Hezbollah and the rest of the Lebanese and Palestinian militia weapons MUST be handed over to the Lebanese army. At the same time controlling all the mini illegitimate-states and end Hezbollah’s occupation of Lebanon. Liberation requires that all free Lebanese at home and in Diaspora alike immediately and urgently call on the UN Security Council to declare Lebanon a failed and rogue state, and implement all UN resolutions related to Lebanon, the armistice agreement with Israel, 1559, 1701, and 1680, then placing Lebanon under Chapter VII. And assigning the UNIFIL forces present in the south, full responsibility of securing all the necessary security and administrative measures to restore the state and rehabilitate the Lebanese to govern themselves.
May Almighty God safeguard Lebanon & its people.

A Decisive Meeting Expected in Bkerke on Friday
Bassam Abou Zeid/This is Beirut/May 08/2024
The seat of the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerke is expected to witness on Friday (May 10) the final review of the draft of a national document that has been the subject of intense discussions among the Lebanese Forces (LF), the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the Kataeb Party and other Christian groups, under the auspices of the Patriarchate. All eyes will be set on this meeting as the public awaits the FPM’s definitive stance on the contentious issue of Hezbollah’s military arsenal. Initial indications suggest that the FPM is leaning towards confining the arms in the hands of the Lebanese Army. Sources close to Bkerke’s discussions expressed optimism that Friday’s meeting will be the final session during which the document would be endorsed. The text notably prioritizes the enforcement of international resolutions pertaining to Lebanon, mainly Resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701. The resolutions advocate for the dissolution of all militias and armed groups, restricting arms possession to the legitimate authorities, chiefly the Lebanese Army, which would be tasked with implementing Resolution 1701 in southern Lebanon, ensuring that Lebanon does not turn into a battleground for settling scores. There is also a strong emphasis on neighboring countries respecting Lebanon’s sovereignty and borders, to prevent any military breaches at the borders or migrant infiltrations. Furthermore, the document highlights the vital importance of rebuilding Lebanon’s constitutional institutions, but refrains from delving into the intricacies of the presidential vacancy. This initiative is intended to pave the way for launching a reform plan aimed at steering Lebanon toward recovery from its multiple crisis. More importantly, it is undertaken within the framework of the Taif Agreement, which ensures equal power-sharing and also explicitly advocates for decentralization. Once the document is endorsed, the participants would brief Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai on its content before making it public. Subsequently, a series of consultations will ensue, involving various Lebanese key players, in an effort to seek their support and get their approval. However, sources warn that this task is fraught with challenges and may not achieve the desired outcomes, notably the blessing of the Shiite duo Amal-Hezbollah and their allies, including the Marada Movement, all of whom did not participate in the Bkerke meetings. However, if it is approved by the vast majority of Christian representatives, the document will reflect a unified Christian position. Consequently, the other parties will have to take into account the joint Christian position instead of persisting on taking unilateral domineering actions. Ultimately, a Lebanese consensus on the document could be the beginning of a lasting solution and a return to stability.

Hezbollah counts the cost of prolonged conflict with Israel in south Lebanon
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/May 08, 2024
BEIRUT: Israel claims its forces have eliminated half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon in a series of targeted strikes since the two sides began trading fire in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. Hezbollah has acknowledged it is “facing a war led by artificial intelligence,” with its secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, urging members near the border to avoid using cell phones and the internet, as these devices could be used to track targets. “The Israelis take advantage of all modern technologies, social networking sites, and information warfare, carrying out new types of operations through systematic destruction and access to cadres and fighters who are influential to (Hezbollah’s) resistance,” Qassem Kassir, a political writer who specializes in Islamic movements, told Arab News. While Hezbollah has no doubt lost a significant number of fighters and commanders since the outbreak of hostilities, it also has what analysts have called “a deep bench,” capable of fighting a full-scale war. Given Hezbollah’s demographic advantage and its formidable local support base, analysts express skepticism about whether Israel can achieve its goal of pushing Hezbollah north of the Litani River in Lebanon.
“Today, Hezbollah is fighting a new battle, whether via direct confrontations, which is different from their traditional hit-and-run or guerrilla warfare tactics, or in terms of the quality of weapons and various capabilities that develop day after day,” said Kassir. Nevertheless, Hezbollah’s ongoing war of attrition with Israel has produced an unexpected psychological, social, and military reality in southern Lebanon, which could cost it dearly if the conflict continues or escalates.
The majority of Lebanese deaths have been recorded on the southern front, with more than 438 noted by Lebanon’s Disaster Risk Management Unit. Most of these deaths are among military-aged males — fighters, rather than civilians. According to a tally taken by the Associated Press, Israeli strikes have killed more than 350 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters with Hezbollah and allied groups, but also including more than 50 civilians. Meanwhile, strikes by Hezbollah have killed at least 10 civilians and 12 soldiers in Israel, and have forced authorities to evacuate civilians away from the border, fearing a possible raid akin to Oct. 7. Despite its losses, Hezbollah says it has used only a fraction of its capabilities against Israel, with the bulk of its arsenal of drones, missiles, and other advanced weapons supplied by Iran held in reserve should the conflict escalate. Kassir believes recent Israeli wins have barely made a dent in Hezbollah’s combat machinery, and that the militia has sufficient means and manpower to continue fighting for the long haul.
“The Israeli talk about Hezbollah’s defeat is a kind of psychological warfare,” he said. “Hezbollah can continue fighting. It has so far used only 10 percent of its capabilities and is ready for any battle.”While Hezbollah may be resilient enough to withstand current Israeli attacks, that says nothing of the communities along Lebanon’s southern border. The daily exchange of fire has maimed and killed scores of civilians and caused significant damage to homes, businesses, farmland, and forests. Tens of thousands of residents have fled their towns and villages for the relative safety of the north.
Some analysts and observers believe support for Hezbollah could quickly wane if the civilian population continues to bear the brunt of these armed exchanges, or if the recent spate of setbacks undermines public confidence. “There is no doubt that there has been a radical change in the perception of Hezbollah’s circumstances towards the power and deterrence that the party used to boast about,” Ali Al-Amin, editor of the Lebanese news site Janoubia, told Arab News. Indeed, as the confidence the group once instilled in the Lebanese population after the 2006 war with Israel begins to dissipate, Al-Amin says Hezbollah may be losing its wider backing. In particular, residents and business owners in the border regions, who previously built mansions and villas and invested heavily in tourism projects there, are now doubting Hezbollah’s promise to protect them and their assets.
“Hezbollah has not been able to protect this environment, and there is a rift between this environment and what is happening on the border,” said Al-Amin.
“In the villages where the displaced have taken refuge, there are questions such as: ‘Why did Israel manage to catch so many Hezbollah members and not the same in the Gaza Strip? Why were our homes destroyed and on the other side, the settlers’ homes are still standing and were not targeted by Hezbollah’s weapons, as is the case in the Lebanese Kafr Kila? Why does the enemy have so much accurate information about Hezbollah cadres and their movements and thus targets them?’”Mindful of the reputational risks, Hezbollah has tried to stage-manage its image and conceal any perceived blunders.
“In the July 2006 war, there was a kind of contract between Nasrallah and his supporters which translated into blind trust in what he says,” said Al-Amin. “But, the scenes of destruction in the frontline villages are not allowed to be published in the media. “This is because it would give the impression of an Israeli victory and that the rockets fired from Lebanon are for reconnaissance and not to harm, unlike Israel’s scorched-earth tactics for southern Lebanon.” Nonetheless, the militia’s failings have not gone unnoticed. “Hezbollah is facing a crisis due to the length of the conflict and its losses, and because of its security weaknesses, which enabled Israel to assassinate its field commanders and fight a war of attrition,” Harith Suleiman, an academic and political writer, told Arab News.
“The Israeli side did not incur high political, human and military costs.”
Thus far, there has been little in the way of international condemnation concerning Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon. Western diplomatic efforts have instead focused on Hezbollah’s demilitarization and demands for its separation from the conflict in Gaza. Western diplomats, primarily led by France, have brought forward a series of proposals for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. Most of these hinge on Hezbollah moving its forces several kilometers from the border, a beefed-up Lebanese Army presence, and negotiations for Israeli forces to withdraw from disputed points along the border.
The eventual goal is the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that brought an end to the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 and that stipulated the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, their replacement by Lebanese and UNIFIL forces, and the disarmament of Hezbollah. Hezbollah has signaled its willingness to entertain the proposals but has said there will be no deal in Lebanon before a ceasefire in Gaza. Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said a Gaza ceasefire does not automatically mean it will halt its strikes in Lebanon, even if Hezbollah does so. “Hezbollah will accept the offered option to stop the confrontations in southern Lebanon and implement Resolution 1701,” said Suleiman. However, Hezbollah’s acceptance of this agreement is contingent upon Israel’s acceptance of Egyptian-mediated deals with Israel, Suleiman added.
While life elsewhere in Lebanon continues as normal despite the armed exchanges in the south, discussions in the districts of Bint Jbeil, Tyre, and Nabatieh — just 5 km north of the border — are dominated by the question of who will compensate communities for their damaged homes, farms and businesses.This uncertainty over compensation and how long the conflict will last has the potential to fuel resentment. “Hezbollah is currently offering a displaced person whose house was destroyed $40,000, or he must wait for the end of the war for Hezbollah to rebuild his house,” said Al-Amin. There is a lack of clarity, however, as to how equally this compensation will be distributed. “Does Hezbollah, for example, reconstruct mansions, including what are considered architectural masterpieces that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, at a different cost than ordinary houses destroyed by the bombing?” said Al-Amin. “Does the average citizen accept this unfairness in compensation? This is one of the issues that awaits Hezbollah and causes a rift between it and its supporters.”

Intense fire on Lebanon front leaves casualties on both sides
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/May 08, 2024
BEIRUT: The Israeli army launched more than 20 airstrikes on Lebanese border towns on Wednesday, resulting in deaths and injuries. Alarms blared in the settlements of Adamit, Goren, Eilon, and Arab Al-Aramsheh in Western Galilee and Israeli media reported: “Hezbollah is leading a major attack from southern Lebanon using missiles and drones, and sirens are continuously sounding.”Israeli news sites said: “Injuries occurred among the Israelis in the north due to missile strikes carried out by Hezbollah on Avivim, and the situation is difficult. Seven soldiers in the Al-Malikiyah site were hit, several killed and others injured, in a combined operation involving a missile salvo and suicide drone attacks. Hezbollah’s attacks also targeted the settlement of Kiryat Shmona.”One outlet said a reservist soldier had been killed, while others reported power outages in Avivim and Dovev as a result of Hezbollah shelling. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee confirmed: “Airstrikes were launched at Hezbollah-affiliated targets in six areas in southern Lebanon, and Israeli warplanes raided the party’s military buildings in Kfarkela, Aita Al-Shaab, Khiam, and Maroun Al-Ras.” Ten airstrikes hit the forest area stretching from the outskirts of Aita Al-Shaab to those of Ramyah within a few hours. The raids continued on the towns of Yaroun, Jabal Blat, Kfarkela, the outskirts of Rihan, Aaramta and Khiam.
One house in Khiam was completely destroyed. Paramedics working to remove the rubble found three Hezbollah members had been killed and another injured. Aitaroun and Blida were hit with phosphorus bombs, which are banned internationally, while artillery shelling was recorded on the outskirts of the towns of Naqoura, Halta, Kfarchouba and Jabal Blat. Civil defense teams in the Kfarkela-Tal Nahas area worked to extinguish a fire caused by one of the airstrikes. According to a security source, the Israeli military utilized “GBU bunker-buster bombs in the airstrikes on Kafr Kila, renowned for their effectiveness in penetrating fortified structures. These bombs, part of Israel’s arsenal since 2000, were reportedly replenished through intensified American shipments.”In retaliation, Hezbollah launched operations against Israeli military sites, some with guided missiles, causing deaths and injuries among Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah said this was in response to enemy attacks on southern villages and civilian homes. A building used by Israeli soldiers in the Metula settlement was targeted, along with two structures in the Shlomi settlement, one in Hanita, two in Avivim, and a building at the Al-Manara site. Later, Hezbollah targeted Israeli soldiers at the Raheb site, causing direct damage. A statement from the organization said it simultaneously targeted and destroyed espionage equipment at the same location.
The source highlighted a significant uptick in military engagement between the Israeli army and Hezbollah over the past 48 hours, coinciding with Israel’s incursion into and seizure of the Rafah crossing. Media reports said: “Hezbollah has resorted to unconventional weaponry against Israeli sites in response to Israel’s scorched-earth tactics along the border, making the area inhospitable due to extensive phosphorus contamination. The cleanup process, aiming to rid the region of the pollutants used by the Israeli military to devastate crops, groundwater and soil, is anticipated to span several years.”Israeli positions adjacent to the Blue Line unleashed heavy machine gun fire on the outskirts of Rmeich and Ramyah, targeting water tanks and vital roads connecting border communities. Hezbollah has tied a ceasefire along the southern front to a cessation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip.

Israel, Hezbollah trade heavy fire as violence escalates
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) /Wed, May 8, 2024
Israel carried out heavy airstrikes in south Lebanon and Hezbollah said it had launched explosive drones and powerful rockets at Israeli targets on Wednesday in an escalation of seven months of hostilities in the border region. Israeli attacks killed three people in Lebanon, security sources said. The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has rumbled on since October in parallel to the Gaza war, uprooting tens of thousands of people on both sides of the frontier and fuelling concern of a bigger war between the heavily armed adversaries. The Israeli military said it had hit military structures and infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah in three locations in south Lebanon, including more than 20 strikes on Hezbollah targets in the Ramyeh area. Hezbollah said it had launched explosive drones at a military headquarters in the Israeli border town of Ya'ara, and fired its powerful Burkan rockets at a barracks in Biranit, among at least 10 attacks announced by the group on Wednesday. Lebanon's National News Agency reported Israeli strikes on 28 towns and villages of south Lebanon, a stronghold of the heavily-armed Hezbollah. Two security sources in Lebanon said the Israelis were using powerful munitions in an apparent attempt to hit Hezbollah underground bunkers. The Israeli military said secondary explosions had been identified during the attack by its artillery and fighter jets in the Ramyeh area, indicating there were weapons storage facilities in the location. The displacement of some 60,000 residents of northern Israel has prompted calls within Israel for firmer military action against Hezbollah. Across the border in Lebanon, some 90,000 people have also been displaced by Israeli strikes. The Israeli military said in April it had completed another step in preparing for possible war with Hezbollah that centred on logistics, including preparations for a broad mobilisation of reservists. More than 250 Hezbollah members and 75 civilians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since October, sources in Lebanon say. In Israel, some 20 people - including soldiers and civilians - have been killed. The United States and France have both been seeking to defuse the conflict through diplomacy.

Israeli Defense Minister says the mission is 'not yet complete' in the North
Reuters/May 08/2024
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said today, Wednesday, that "the mission is not complete" in northern Israel in the conflict with the Hezbollah group and that he remains determined to allow the safe return of evacuated residents to their homes. He added in a recorded statement, "This summer may be a hot summer," in reference to the possibility of an expansion of combat operations along the northern border with Lebanon.

Israeli strikes kill five individuals in southern Lebanon: AFP
AFP/May 08/2024 
Five people were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon, a security source told Agence France-Presse, as Hezbollah intensified its targeting of Israeli military sites after seven months of escalation. Since the day following the start of the war between the Israeli state and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire across the border on a daily basis. However, recent weeks have seen an escalation in the attacks. A Lebanese security source said, "Three people were killed in the Israeli shelling of a house in the town of Khiam," suggesting they were "Palestinian fighters.""Two Hezbollah fighters" were killed in another raid on the border town of Odaisseh. Hezbollah has not denied or confirmed the fighters from its ranks yet. Earlier, the official National News Agency reported that "Israeli warplanes bombed the towns of Khiam and Kfarkela."The airstrike, according to the agency, targeted a house in Khiam, resulting in its "complete destruction."Images taken by a photographer cooperating with AFP showed thick smoke rising after the raid. The agency reported Israeli shelling hitting many villages and towns in southern Lebanon, including Adaisseh. Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee commented via the X platform, saying, "The Defense Forces targeted [...] facilities and weapons depots through aerial and artillery bombardment in the Ramyeh area in southern Lebanon," noting the bombardment "hit more than twenty Hezbollah targets in one area within minutes."In successive statements, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for carrying out at least 11 attacks targeting buildings used by the Israeli army and movements of soldiers and military sites in northern Israel, launching drones and guided missiles in several of them. The party stated that five of its attacks were "in response to the enemy's assaults on [...] southern villages and civilian homes and targeting civilians."

Israel, Hezbollah trade fire as violence escalates
Reuters/May 08/2024
Israel carried out heavy airstrikes in south Lebanon and Hezbollah said it had launched explosive drones and powerful rockets at Israeli targets on Wednesday in an escalation of seven months of hostilities in the border region. Israeli attacks killed three people in Lebanon, security sources said. The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has rumbled on since October in parallel to the Gaza war, uprooting tens of thousands of people on both sides of the frontier and fuelling concern of a bigger war between the heavily armed adversaries. The Israeli military said it had hit military structures and infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in three locations in south Lebanon, including more than 20 strikes on Hezbollah targets in the Ramyeh area. Hezbollah said it had launched explosive drones at a military headquarters in the Israeli border town of Ya'ara, and fired its powerful Burkan rockets at a barracks in Biranit, among at least 10 attacks announced by the group on Wednesday. Lebanon's National News Agency reported Israeli strikes on 28 towns and villages of south Lebanon, a stronghold of the heavily-armed Hezbollah. Two security sources in Lebanon said the Israelis were using powerful munitions in an apparent attempt to hit Hezbollah underground bunkers. The Israeli military said secondary explosions had been identified during the attack by its artillery and fighter jets in the Ramyeh area, indicating there were weapons storage facilities in the location. The displacement of some 60,000 residents of northern Israel has prompted calls within Israel for firmer military action against Hezbollah. Across the border in Lebanon, some 90,000 people have also been displaced by Israeli strikes. The Israeli military said in April it had completed another step in preparing for possible war with Hezbollah that centred on logistics, including preparations for a broad mobilisation of reservists. More than 250 Hezbollah members and 75 civilians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since October, sources in Lebanon say. In Israel, some 20 people - including soldiers and civilians - have been killed. The United States and France have both been seeking to defuse the conflict through diplomacy.

Over $1.5 billion in damages caused by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon
 AFP/May 08/2024
The value of damages to buildings, institutions, and infrastructure caused by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon over seven months has exceeded $1.5 billion, according to figures provided by a Lebanese government official to Agence France-Presse on Wednesday. For the past seven months, Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire across the border on a daily basis since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but recent weeks have seen an escalation in mutual attacks. The airstrikes have mostly remained in border areas on both sides, while the Israeli army occasionally carries out raids deeper into Lebanese territory, prompting the party to escalate its operations or target more distant sites. Estimates from the Council for South Lebanon, an official organization tasked with surveying damages in southern Lebanon, "evaluate the value of damages to buildings and institutions at over $1 billion" since the escalation began in October 8th, until the beginning of May. The escalation has caused significant damage to infrastructure facilities, estimated by the Council to be "about $500 million." The damages primarily affected water, electricity, health facilities, basic services, and roads. Hachem Haidar, head of the Council for South Lebanon, told Agence France-Presse that "80 percent of these estimates were obtained through our teams on the ground."These estimates do not include all subsequent damages, according to Haidar, in "areas that are difficult to reach" due to ongoing airstrikes, especially those close to the border. The Council gathers information about these areas through "engineers, mayors, and village elders who provide us with available data."Villages and towns adjacent to the border, such as Dhayra, Kfarkela, Aitaroun, and Aita al-Shaab, are among the most affected areas by the airstrikes.
Journalists cannot reach border towns due to the intensity of the airstrikes and the destruction of main roads. Rescue workers and relief workers speak of massive destruction in villages completely emptied of their inhabitants. During the seven months, more than 93,000 people, especially from border villages, have been displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration. These individuals have not been able to return to their homes yet. Israel claims to target Hezbollah infrastructure and facilities, but thousands of residential units have been partially or completely damaged, according to authorities. The Council for South Lebanon estimates "completely demolished houses at 1,700 homes," in addition to "14,000 damaged homes."The airstrikes have also damaged residents' sources of livelihood and agricultural fields. Lebanese authorities accused Israel of using white phosphorus in bombing its territories, especially in border areas. Lebanese authorities await a ceasefire in southern Lebanon to conduct a final assessment of the damages, but compensation payments raise doubts in a country mired in a severe economic crisis for over four years.

Syrian Migrant Crisis Topped Opposition MPs’ Talks in Washington
This Is Beirut/May 08/2024 
The opposition parliamentary delegation which recently visited Washington focused its talks with US and UN officials on the Syrian migrant crisis in Lebanon and the developments on the southern front linked to the six-month-long conflict in Gaza. Lebanese Forces MP Ghassan Hasbani, who was part of the delegation, wrote on his X account, “We met with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, and we conveyed a clear message regarding the importance of implementing Resolution 1701 today, in light of the threat of a spillover of the war on Lebanon.”The delegation also highlighted the issue of Syrian migrants and refugees, and called on the UN to carry out its role in accordance with the treaties and agreements signed with Lebanon and in which it is clearly stated that Lebanon is a country of transit and not a country of asylum, Hasbani said. He highlighted the delegation’s message to the UN, stating that “any person who sought refuge in Lebanon cannot stay there for more than a year, if his situation is not legal. Therefore, he must be deported to another country or repatriated, if it is feasible and safe.”

New Arrest in Tik Tok Child Rape Case
This Is Beirut/May 08/2024 
The number of people arrested in connection with the TikTok pedophile network case now stands at 10. On the instructions of Tanios Saghbini, the public prosecutor at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal in charge of the case, the cybercrime office arrested an undisclosed tenth individual on Wednesday.
“The new suspect was arrested after a lengthy interrogation by the cybercrime office, which lasted until past midnight on Tuesday evening,” according to judicial sources. The man in question is “a financial intermediary between members of the network in Lebanon and abroad. He used to pay thousands of dollars to gang members in the country via money transfers or in cash,” the sources told This is Beirut. The judicial authorities are endeavoring to identify all those involved in this sordid affair, whether in Lebanon or abroad. The investigation remains at the preliminary stage. It is being conducted with the utmost discretion, above all to avoid exposing the victims and their families to any danger, but also to succeed in arresting all the members of this criminal network. In this context, Judge Saghbini sent a memorandum to the Directorate General of General Security to find out whether one of the members of the network, who was identified as Hassan S., was in Lebanon or abroad, and if so, when did he leave the country. Saghbini had previously “issued a search and arrest warrant for Hassan S. on suspicion of involvement in the network.”The individual in question “had appeared in a video that went viral on social networks, abusing minors.” The investigators are also in possession of “recordings in which he blackmails a certain Paul M., nicknamed ‘Jay’, based in Sweden, whose name is circulating as one of the network’s financial supporters.”Judge Saghbini also sent a rogatory commission via Interpol to the judicial authorities of certain countries, requesting their assistance in this case. Over a month ago, the Public Prosecutor’s Office was contacted by the parents of eight minors who had been sexually abused and forced to take drugs. Initial investigations led to the identification of some thirty people who were part of a network using the TikTok application to “lure” their prey, children and teenagers.
Banning TikTok in Lebanon?
Many voices were raised calling for a ban on the use of the TikTok application in Lebanon. This prompted a response from the office of the Minister of Telecommunications, who explained in a statement that “the blocking of any private site or application such as TikTok should be done on the basis of a judicial decision, in accordance with legal protocols.”The Ministry of Telecommunications reiterated that it is “an executive authority (…) and does not have the power to ban an application.”

MP Joumblatt visits Speaker Berri, reiterates urgent need for immediate and permanent ceasefire
LBCI/May 08/2024
The leader of the Progressive Socialist Party MP Teymour Joumblatt visited on Wednesday Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri at Ain el-Tineh, heading a delegation that included MPs from the Democratic Gathering bloc: Marwan Hamadeh, Akram Chehayeb, Wael Abou Faour, Hadi Abou al-Hessen, Bilal Abdallah, along with the party's Secretary-General Zafer Nasser and MP Joumblatt's advisor Hussam Harb. During the meeting, various developments and current situations were discussed. The delegation addressed the ongoing Israeli aggression in Palestine and southern Lebanon, emphasizing the urgent need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 to restore stability to the south and prevent repeated Israeli attacks. The delegation also presented Berri with a document prepared by the Progressive Socialist Party regarding the Syrian refugee issue in Lebanon. There was a reaffirmation that this issue should be addressed with a unified national vision within state institutions, away from incitement and exploitation, while preserving the authority of the state and the dignity of Lebanese citizens.

On LBCI, MP Salim el Sayegh affirms: Lebanese entity under threat; blames Hezbollah for Syrian refugees' influx - Interview
LBCI/May 08/2024
Member of the Kataeb Party bloc, MP Salim el Sayegh, expressed that the Parliament should prosecute the Prime Minister if there is indeed bribery in the Syrian refugee file as rumored. In an interview with LBCI's "Hiwar Al Marhala" talk show, he said that PM Najib Mikati has to address the rumors about "'closing' his files in Europe in return for keeping refugees in Lebanon."He voiced that the Lebanese entity and identity are under threat, adding: "We have a lot of information about meetings related to the Syrian refugee file that have taken place, and here I can say that everyone is afraid of this issue."He held Hezbollah responsible for the influx of this many Syrian refugees, facilitated by the loosely controlled borders. MP Salim el Sayegh indicated that sovereignty is a priority, by "controlling and closing the borders through empowering the Lebanese army.""Today, smuggling is primarily attributed to the alliance between the mafia and the militia, with the Syrian regime being the secondary actor involved," he said. He further expressed: "We are the weakest link, and we must unite in our stance on the Syrian refugee issue. If PM Mikati betrays the trust given to him, we are heading for trial within the Parliament."He added: "I demand [Foreign] Minister Bou Habib to summon the Syrian ambassador and question him about imposing fees on Syrian births in Lebanon."

General Security Implements Measures to Regulate Syrian Presence in Lebanon
This Is Beirut/May 08/2024 
The Media Office of the General Directorate of General Security has issued a statement outlining comprehensive measures aimed at controlling and regulating the presence of Syrians on Lebanese territory. Among the key measures outlined in the statement are directives for “Syrians violating entry and residency regulations to report to border departments and centers promptly.” These individuals are urged to “settle their status and depart Lebanese territories, with legal consequences outlined for non-compliance.”Additionally, the statement entailed that “Lebanese citizens are advised against employing, harboring, or providing housing for Syrians residing illegally, with administrative and judicial measures in place to address violations.”As for Syrians registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the statement clarified that these individuals “are prohibited from engaging in any paid work outside designated labor sectors.”The General Directorate of General Security also announced the “resumption of voluntary and safe return operations for Syrian nationals wishing to return to their country under official auspices.”The General Directorate of General Security has communicated with the UNHCR, seeking additional data to enhance its strategic approach in addressing the Syrian displacement file. The Directorate aims to reassess UNHCR registrations and propose amendments to its regulations to align with evolving requirements. Other notable measures include the “cessation of granting or renewing residency permits based on housing lease contracts or personal liability pledges.” Amendments to the conditions for renewing residency under financial guarantees are also highlighted. In a decisive move, all institutions and shops managed or invested in by Syrians in violation of residency and labor laws are slated for closure, with “strict measures” against employers flouting regulations.

When the Mother’s Gaze Shapes the Baby’s Psyche
David Sahyoun/This is Beirut/May 08/2024
Every week, we invite you to explore a striking quote from a great psychoanalyst to reveal all its depth and richness. These lapidary, often provocative, formulas open up new perspectives on the intricacies of the human psyche. By deciphering these quotes with rigor and pedagogy, we invite you on a fascinating journey to the heart of psychoanalytic thought to better understand our desires, anxieties and relationships with others. Ready to dive into the deep waters of the unconscious? “What does the baby see when he turns his gaze towards his mother’s face? Generally, what he sees is himself. In other words, the mother looks at the baby and what her face expresses is directly related to what she sees.” — Donald W. Winnicott. Contrary to common beliefs in some circles where the infant is seen as nothing more than a passive sponge, from birth, the infant is actively seeking interaction, communication and attachment. It is primarily in the gaze of his mother that he can initiate an essential encounter for his somatopsychic development. As beautifully articulated by psychoanalyst Donald W. Winnicott, “The mother looks at the baby and what her face expresses is in direct relation to what she sees.” In other words, the baby sees in his mother’s eyes the reflection of the recognition of his own existence.
Winnicott goes further by asserting that “in the affective development of the individual, the precursor to the mirror is the mother’s face.” Long before being able to recognize himself in a mirror, the infant discovers in the maternal gaze the thoughts and feelings he provokes in her. What he sees there will have fundamental repercussions for his present and future. If the mother is desiring, meaning welcoming, available and attentive to the needs and desires of her baby, her gaze will embody a mirror of love, acceptance and benevolence. Through it, the baby will feel loved, alive and creative. He will discover himself as a unique and precious being. This benevolent gaze, accompanied by tender and loving words, is crucial as it allows the baby to gradually construct his “self,” meaning his sense of being a whole, true person, increasingly distinct from his mother. It is thanks to this early radiation of love that the baby will develop confidence in himself and in his ability to love and be loved. Psychoanalyst Françoise Dolto agrees with Winnicott in stressing the importance of these early exchanges between mother and child. For her too, “It is the mother’s gaze upon the child that allows him to exist.” This gaze is like “emotional nourishment” essential for the healthy somatopsychic development of the baby.
For beyond a simple reflection, the maternal gaze is a true psychic organizer for the baby. Psychoanalyst Geneviève Haag’s work shows that communication through early visual exchanges contributes to the construction of the child’s bodily self. Seeing himself in his mother’s eyes, the baby begins to perceive the boundaries of his body and to differentiate his internal space from the external space, or as Winnicott says, his self from his non-self. The maternal gaze thus helps the infant to construct himself as a unified and coherent being. But what happens when the maternal gaze is absent, rejecting or faulty? Winnicott studied situations where the mother’s face does not reflect a loving and warm image back to the baby. This can occur, for example, with depressed mothers who are withdrawn and emotionally unavailable to their child. The infant then feels as if he does not exist for his mother or for himself. This “broken mirror,” as Winnicott calls it, is extremely hindering to the baby’s somatopsychic construction. Deprived of acceptance and recognition, he may feel “unreal,” worthless, or even lack a stable identity. These flaws in the initial maternal gaze can leave lasting and deep scars. Winnicott links them notably to certain pathologies, such as “false self” personalities, who build an artificial identity, disconnected from their deep emotions.
Psychoanalyst René Spitz has also shown the devastating effects of early emotional deprivation, particularly in his studies on hospitalism. Babies deprived of warm relationships and loving gazes show severe developmental delays, both physically and psychologically.
However, it is not a matter of blaming mothers as sometimes psychoanalysis is criticized for doing. Because these mothers have likely experienced psychological distress from an early age themselves. Indeed, motherhood reactivates in a woman her own childhood experiences and the deficiencies she may have lived through. Becoming a mother thus involves revisiting her history and overcoming certain wounds to become capable of offering, in turn, a loving gaze to her child. Winnicott insists on the need to be a “good enough” mother, not a perfect mother, who, after all, does not exist. The key is initially having desired a child out of the couple’s love, then accepting, with humility, her status as a learning parent, a learning process that never ends. Being a parent is a constant adjustment. From the fusion of the first few months, the maternal gaze as well as the mother-child relationship must evolve in accordance with the child’s needs for autonomy and necessary and gradual differentiations. It all begins in the maternal eyes, the first mirror of the self, providers of a love that will constitute our foundation, build us and carry us forward. But it is equally necessary, once this maternal gaze and permanent love are internalized, to learn not to feel, in adulthood, the need to seek the meaning of one’s existence in the gaze of others. Because the ability to love oneself and the belief in one’s own value will then have become independent.

Exports Are Lagging Way Behind
Nicolas Sbeih/This is Beirut/May 08/2024
In terms of exports, the situation is not exactly at its best and sarcastic remarks are already flying around: “Why would one even expect things to go well? Why should this economic sector fair any different when all sectors, and the entire country, are struggling to thrive and overcome the economic crisis?” The answer lies in the fact that, typically, when a country devalues its currency, the classic scenario is a decrease (in dollars) in production costs, resulting in a better competitive edge and consequently a boom in exports. But this surely did not apply to Lebanon…
Exports have consistently fluctuated between $3.2 and $4 billion, according to the customs department and the Ministry of Economy. However, these sources are somewhat questionable, as figures from the importing countries slightly differ. But let’s not dwell yet again on the shortcomings of our statistics; we have to make do with what’s available. In 2023 (based on the latest figures), we barely hit $3 billion. This translates to an export-to-import ratio of 18% (with imports totaling $17.5 billion), showing no sign of improvement compared to recent years or decades. Back in 1974, our export-to-import ratio stood at 40% – a clear indicator that we could be doing much better today, if only…Furthermore, our export performance is hindered by two sub-sectors in terms of value-added. The first one pertains to “precious stones and metals,” with an exported value of $760 million in 2023… not all of which are jewelry, but primarily scraps, worn-out pieces, small gold ingots, and other items sourced from overseas, due to the absence of mines in Lebanon. These materials are subsequently re-exported to Switzerland for certification. The second problematic sector pertains to non-precious metals, with exports reaching nearly $400 million. However, a significant portion of this figure includes scrap metal collected from bins, dumps, or picked up by roaming vans. This scrap is then exported mainly in Turkey, as is or after undergoing a melting process. However, the main question remains: Why hasn’t the devaluation of the currency boosted our exports? There are several reasons:
– The Saudi market has remained inaccessible to our products ever since our failed attempt to smuggle Captagon into the country. This is also a significant hurdle for transit to other Gulf countries via land routes.
– Another issue regarding land transportation is that Lebanese trucks face steep taxes when crossing through Syria, thereby undermining the competitiveness of our products. Why are these taxes so high? The simple answer is: Why not? And our pro-Syrian Minister of Agriculture does not seem to perceive this as a big deal. The Hezbollah camp is not exactly the ultimate image of patriotism…– Industrialists are struggling to develop their equipment due to a lack of credit. The Cedar Oxygen Fund, established a few years ago by our own Central Bank and some investors, is not able to deal with all the industry needs.

Lebanon: The Dangers of Being Stuck in a Vicious Circle
Rami Rayess/This is Beirut/May 08/2024
The dangerous presidential vacuum the country has known for almost two years now, has grown even more complicated, given Lebanon’s direct link to the regional events, notably the October 7 “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation – and the ensuing Israeli attack on Gaza that is still underway despite Hamas accepting the proposed truce as a first step towards a ceasefire. Although the presidential vacuum preceded the Gaza war, separating the two is becoming increasingly challenging, given the direct involvement of a number of Lebanese factions, Hezbollah specifically, on the southern front, and its refusal to partake in any presidential election initiative – while awaiting the consequences of the war and the change in the balance of power that would result from it. Gaza’s fate, the Palestinian approach to managing the sector, and the political borders to be drawn between the Palestinian factions, will all have a direct impact on the conflict with Israel – in light of internal Palestinian discord about future strategies to deal with challenges. Locally, one cannot overlook the growing danger of failed state institutions, from the presidential vacuum to a caretaker government with limited prerogatives, and a parliament unable to enact laws for lack of a president. Not to mention the conflicting positions of MPs in that regard, despite the entry into force of some legislations, including the state budget and the extension of municipal councils’ mandates. As commonly known, this affects all state institutions, and the government only seeks to render them profitable instead of starting reforms and solving the deeper issues plaguing them. The problem of Syrian refugees is also a pressing one, as it has become necessary to find definitive solutions to it, in order to preserve Lebanon’s stability and keep Syrian asylum seekers safe by avoiding mandatory repatriation policies. Discussing the matter with the international community and the Syrian government is inevitable. Internally, the danger of Syrian presence is increasing due to a lack of proper management, which fuels racism and facilitates disreputable behavior at the hands of the Lebanese. As such, spiraling into chaos has become a possibility. As much as it is crucial to solve this problem away from anarchy and political considerations, it is equally important that the solutions be thorough and well thought out, paving the way for long-term policies that serve the country’s interests. Such an approach may not be to everyone’s liking; however, practices based on hate and bigotry are unacceptable, especially in a country as complex as Lebanon. In conclusion, Lebanon is stuck in a vicious cycle, the only way out being the election of a patriotic President who would earn the trust of all Lebanese, and promote change on all levels.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 08-09/2024
Battles rage around Rafah after US halts some weapons to Israel
REUTERS/May 08, 2024
CAIRO/WASHINGTON/RAFAH: Hamas battled Israeli troops on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip’s crowded southern city of Rafah on Wednesday and Washington said it had held up a shipment of powerful bombs to Israel to prevent Palestinian civilian casualties. The United States, which aims to stave off a full Israeli invasion of Rafah, said it believes a revised Hamas ceasefire proposal may lead to a breakthrough in an impasse in negotiations, with talks resuming in Cairo on Wednesday.Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, cutting off a vital aid route and the only exit for the evacuation of wounded patients. A UN official said no fuel or aid had entered the Gaza Strip due to the military operation, a situation “disastrous for the humanitarian response” in Gaza where more than half the population is suffering catastrophic hunger.
Israel has threatened a major assault on Rafah to defeat thousands of Hamas fighters it says are holed up there. But the city is also a refuge for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have fled combat further north in the coastal enclave following Israel’s previous evacuation orders. They have crammed into tented camps and makeshift shelters, suffering from shortages of food, water and medicine. Rafah’s main maternity hospital, where nearly half of Gaza’s births take place, has stopped admitting patients, the United Nations Population Fund told Reuters on Wednesday. Hamas said its fighters were battling Israeli forces in the east and Islamic Jihad’s fighters attacked Israeli soldiers and military vehicles with heavy artillery near the airport. Israeli tank shells landed in the middle of Rafah wounding at least 25 people, medics said. “The streets of the city echo with the cries of innocent lives lost, families torn apart, and homes reduced to rubble. We stand on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented proportions,” Rafah’s mayor Ahmed Al-Sofi said, appealing to the international community to intervene. A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington had carefully reviewed the delivery of weapons that might be used in Rafah and as a result paused a shipment consisting of 1,800 2,000-pound (907-kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs. This would be the first such delay since the Biden administration, offered its “ironclad” support to Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Washington is Israel’s closest ally and main weapons supplier. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the decision was taken in the context of Israel’s plan to invade Rafah, which Washington opposes without civilian safeguards. “We’ve been very clear...from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace,” he told a Senate hearing.
Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, called Washington’s decision “very disappointing” although he did not believe the US would stop supplying arms to Israel. US President Joe Biden “can’t say he is our partner in the goal to destroy Hamas while on the other hand delay the means meant to destroy Hamas,” Erdan told Israel’s Channel 12 News. An Israeli government spokesperson said he had nothing to add to the reports. While Israel has stated its intention to destroy Hamas entirely, it is unclear how they would do so and experts doubt that is even possible. The Israeli military said it troops had discovered Hamas infrastructure in several places in eastern Rafah and were conducting targeted raids on the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing and airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. It has told civilians, many of whom have been uprooted several times already, to go to an “expanded humanitarian zone” in Al-Mawasi, some 20 km (12 miles) away. The mayor said the coastal area lacked all “the necessities of life.” Around 10,000 Palestinians have left Rafah since Monday, said Juliette Touma, spokesperson for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office put the number at tens of thousands.
“Some streets look like a ghost town now,” Aref, 35, told Reuters via a chat app. “We don’t fear death and martyrdom but we have kids to care for and live for another day when this war ends and we rebuild the city.”Armed groups of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah said in separate statements that gunfights continued in the central Gaza Strip, while residents of northern Gaza reported heavy Israeli tank shelling against eastern areas of Gaza City. Israel’s offensive has killed 34,844 Palestinians in seven months of war in Gaza, most of them civilians, the Gaza health ministry said. The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 252 others, of whom 128 remain hostage in Gaza and 36 have been declared dead, according to the latest Israeli figures.
Cease-fire talks
In Cairo, delegations to negotiations from Hamas, Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar reacted positively to their resumption on Tuesday, two Egyptian sources said. “The talks are ongoing,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said. CIA Director William Burns traveled from Cairo to Israel on Wednesday and met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an Israeli official said. Israel on Monday declared that a three-phase proposal approved by Hamas was unacceptable because terms had been watered down. White House spokesperson John Kirby said a new text presented by Hamas suggests gaps could be closed. The proposal included a first phase with a six-week ceasefire, an influx of aid to Gaza, the return of 33 Israeli hostages, alive or dead, and the release by Israel of 30 detained Palestinian children and women for each released Israeli hostage, according to several sources. UNRWA said no aid was getting into Gaza, despite desperate need. Israel said it was reopening the other crossing in southern Gaza, Kerem Shalom, but two Red Crescent sources said aid was still waiting on the Egyptian side of the border on Wednesday afternoon

Reaction to US decision to pause weapons shipment to Israel
WASHINGTON (Reuters)/Wed, May 8, 2024
U.S. lawmakers reacted to President Joe Biden's decision to suspend delivery of certain munitions to Israel that appeared to be a possible shift in U.S. policy, although the Pentagon said the move was not final.
SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL
In opening remarks in the Senate, the top Senate Republican harshly criticized Biden as bending "under the heat of domestic political pressure from his party's anti-Israel base and the campus Communists who decided to wrap themselves in the flag of Hamas and Hezbollah."Speaking about the weapons delay in particular, McConnell accused Biden of "creating daylight between America and a close ally," adding that the decision was withheld from Congress and that "we still don't know key facts.""For the administration to withhold assistance from Israel is devastating in its own right. At home, it will only whet the appetite of the anti-Israel left, and abroad it will embolden Iran and its terrorist proxies."
DEMOCRATIC U.S. REPRESENTATIVE RO KHANNA
A member of the House Armed Services Committee who has in the past called for a ceasefire, Khanna told Reuters that he wanted to see more details but viewed the action favorably.
"I support holding off on offensive weapons."
INDEPENDENT U.S. SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS
"Given the unprecedented humanitarian disaster that Netanyahu’s war has created in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of children face starvation, President Biden is absolutely right to halt bomb delivery to this extreme, right-wing Israeli government. But this must be a first step. The U.S. must now use ALL its leverage to demand an immediate ceasefire, the end of the attacks on Rafah, and the immediate delivery of massive amounts of humanitarian aid to people living in desperation. Our leverage is clear. Over the years, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. We can no longer be complicit in Netanyahu’s horrific war against the Palestinian people."
REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM
"If we stop weapons necessary to destroy the enemies of the state of Israel at a time of great peril, we will pay a price. This is obscene. It is absurd. Give Israel what they need to fight the war they can't afford to lose."
REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATOR JERRY MORAN
"The Biden Admin has deliberately delayed munitions to Israel. Does this not embolden Iran? We should not be signaling to Israel's enemies that U.S. support is conditional."

US reveals it paused shipment of bombs for Israel over Rafah concerns
Jaroslav Lukiv & Chris Partridge, weapons analyst - BBC News/Wed, May 8, 2024
The US last week paused a bomb shipment for Israel over concerns it was going ahead with a major ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior US administration official said. The shipment consisted of 1,800 2,000lb (907kg) bombs and 1,700 500lb bombs, the official told CBS News.
Israel has not "fully addressed" US concerns over humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah, the official said. An Israeli military official appeared to play down the US move. Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari told a news conference that the US had provided "unprecedented" security assistance since the beginning of the war, adding that disputes between the allies were resolved "behind closed doors in a matter-of-fact way". "We are responsible for the security interests of the State of Israel, and we are attentive to the interest of the United States in the region," he said. Overnight, there were further Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, hours after Israeli forces backed by tanks took control of the Palestinians side of the key Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt. The Israeli bombardment was particularly intense around Rafah. Local medics said seven members of one family were killed in one strike.
Rafah has been a key entry point for aid and the only exit for people able to flee since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas last October. The crossing remained closed on Wednesday morning, but the Israeli military said it was reopening the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing, which had been closed for four days because of Hamas rocket fire. On Monday, the Israeli military ordered tens of thousands of civilians to begin evacuating nearby eastern parts of Rafah city, ahead of what it called a "limited" operation to eliminate Hamas fighters and dismantle infrastructure. Meanwhile, efforts continue to reach a ceasefire, alongside the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. In Cairo, delegations from Israel and Hamas have resumed negotiations through mediators. "The US position has been that Israel should not launch a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering with nowhere else to go," the senior US administration official told CBS, the BBC's media partner in the US, on Tuesday. "We have been engaging in a dialogue with Israel in our Strategic Consultative Group format on how they will meet the humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah, and how to operate differently against Hamas there than they have elsewhere in Gaza. "Those discussions are ongoing and have not fully addressed our concerns. As Israeli leaders seemed to approach a decision point on such an operation, we began to carefully review proposed transfers of particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah. This began in April."As a result of that review, we have paused one shipment of weapons last week. It consists of 1,800 2,000lb bombs and 1,700 500lb bombs," the unnamed official added. "We are especially focused on the end-use of the 2,000lb bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban settings as we have seen in other parts of Gaza. We have not made a final determination on how to proceed with this shipment."The official also said that "for certain other cases at the State Department, including JDAM [Joint Direct Attack Munition] kits, we are continuing the review. None of these cases involve imminent transfers - they are about future transfers".The official stressed that the shipments were unrelated to last month's landmark $17bn military aid package, but had been drawn from "previously appropriated funds". The larger 2,000lb bombs are most likely to be Mk-84s or possibly BLU-109s - or both. The former is a cheap, general purpose munition and the latter a penetration bomb designed for use against hardened or underground targets. Both can be fitted with JDAM kits that deliver precision capability using satellite navigation. Laser guidance kits can also be fitted. These bombs can be made to be very accurate, down to just a few metres. But in a dense, urban environment like Gaza the risk of so-called "collateral damage" is high. And that is where the concern lies. The smaller 500lb bombs can also be fitted with guidance units dropped from jets.
We do not know exactly how Israel uses these weapons, but media posts from the Israeli Air Force frequently show F-16 and F-15 jets loaded with JDAMs for strikes. It is worth remembering that such weapons would not just be used in Gaza but also targets in southern Lebanon belonging to the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, which has been involved in almost daily cross-border exchanges of fire with Israeli forces since the start of the Gaza war. The weapons being held back by the US are related to a future delivery, so it is unlikely to have any immediate impact. But given the rate at which Israel is bombing it will likely affect future strikes fairly soon. It is a clear message from a Washington growing increasingly concerned about Israel's campaign in Gaza. Israel launched the campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's cross-border attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 252 others were taken hostage. More than 34,780 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. A deal agreed in November saw Hamas release 105 hostages in return for a week-long ceasefire and some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Israel says 128 hostages are unaccounted for, 36 of whom are presumed dead.

Mediator Qatar urges international community to prevent Rafah ‘genocide’
AFP/May 08, 2024
DOHA: Qatar called on the international community on Wednesday to prevent a “genocide” in Rafah following Israel’s seizure of the Gaza city’s crossing with Egypt and threats of a wider assault. In a statement the Gulf state, which has been mediating between Israel and militant group Hamas, appealed “for urgent international action to prevent the city from being invaded and a crime of genocide being committed.” Israel struck targets in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after seizing the main border crossing with Egypt. Israel has vowed for weeks to launch a ground incursion into Rafah, despite a clamour of international objection. The attacks on the southern city, which is packed with displaced civilians, came as negotiators and mediators met in Cairo to try to hammer out a hostage-release and truce deal in the seven-month war. Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political office in Doha since 2012, has been engaged — along with Egypt and the United States — in months of behind-the-scenes mediation between Israel and the Palestinian group. The African Union condemned Wednesday the Israeli military’s moves into southern Gaza’s Rafah, calling for the international community to stop “this deadly escalation” of the war. AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat “firmly condemns the extension of this war to the Rafah crossing,” said a statement after Israeli tanks captured the key corridor for humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian territory. Faki “expresses his extreme concern at the war undertaken by Israel in Gaza which results, at every moment, in massive deaths and systematic destruction of the conditions of human life,” the statement said. “He calls on the entire international community to effectively coordinate collective action to stop this deadly escalation.”

Hamas says it will not compromise further with Israel to win Gaza ceasefire
Nidal al-Mughrabi, Steve Holland and Mohammad Salem/Reuters/Wed, May 8, 2024
Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Wednesday it was unwilling to make more concessions to Israel in negotiations over a ceasefire for Gaza, although talks were still under way in Cairo aimed at pausing Israel's seven-month-old offensive. Israel continued tank and aerial strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Wednesday and has threatened a major assault on it. Its forces moved in via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, cutting off a vital aid route and the only exit for the evacuation of wounded patients. Izzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas' political office in Qatar, said in a statement late on Wednesday that the group would not go beyond a ceasefire proposal it accepted on Monday, which would also entail the release of some Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian women and children detained in Israel. “Israel isn’t serious about reaching an agreement and it is using the negotiation as a cover to invade Rafah and occupy the crossing,” said Reshiq. There was no immediate comment from Israel, which on Monday declared that the three-phase proposal approved by Hamas was unacceptable because terms had been watered down. Delegations from Hamas, Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been meeting in Cairo since Tuesday. Citing a senior source, Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera TV said the talks in Cairo continued throughout Wednesday and into the night. The U.S. said on Tuesday that Hamas had revised its ceasefire proposal and the revision could overcome an impasse in negotiations. Just a few hours before Hamas' latest statement, Washington continued to say the two sides were not far apart. "We believe there is a pathway to a deal ... The two sides are close enough they should do what they can to get to a deal," U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. The U.S. aims to stave off a full Israeli invasion of Rafah, and a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington paused a shipment of 1,800 2,000-pound (907-kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that Israel had used those bombs to kill Palestinian civilians. "Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers," he told CNN. Israel's U.N. ambassador, Gilad Erdan, called Washington's decision "very disappointing" although he did not believe the U.S. would stop supplying arms to Israel. Israel says it must hit Rafah to defeat thousands of Hamas fighters it says are holed up there. But the city is also a refuge for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled combat farther north in Gaza.Hamas said its fighters on Wednesday were battling Israeli forces in Rafah's east and Islamic Jihad's fighters attacked Israeli soldiers and military vehicles with heavy artillery near the city's long abandoned airport. Israeli tank shells landed in the middle of Rafah wounding at least 25 people on Wednesday, medics said. Residents said an Israeli air strike killed four people and wounded 16 others in western Rafah. The Israeli military said it troops had discovered Hamas infrastructure in several places in eastern Rafah and were conducting targeted raids on the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing and airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.
AID SHORTAGE
The U.N., Gaza residents and humanitarian groups say further Israeli incursion into Rafah will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe. A U.N. official said no fuel or aid had entered the Gaza Strip due to the military operation, a situation "disastrous for the humanitarian response" in Gaza where more than half the population is suffering catastrophic hunger. Palestinians have crammed into tented camps and makeshift shelters, suffering from shortages of food, water and medicine. Rafah's main maternity hospital, where nearly half of Gaza's births take place, has stopped admitting patients, the United Nations Population Fund told Reuters on Wednesday. "The streets of the city echo with the cries of innocent lives lost, families torn apart, and homes reduced to rubble," Rafah Mayor Ahmed Al-Sofi said, appealing to the international community to intervene. Israel has told civilians in Rafah, many of whom have been uprooted several times already, to go to an "expanded humanitarian zone" in al-Mawasi, some 20 km (12 miles) away. Estimates of how many Palestinians have left Rafah since Monday ranged from 10,000, according to U.N. agency UNRWA, to tens of thousands, according to the Hamas-run Gaza government media office. "Some streets look like a ghost town now," Aref, 35, told Reuters via a chat app. Israel's offensive has killed 34,844 Palestinians in seven months of war, most of them civilians, the Gaza health ministry said. The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 252 others, of whom 128 remain hostage in Gaza and 36 have been declared dead, according to the latest Israeli

Gaza war cools Israel's once red-hot business ties with UAE
Emily Rose and Alexander Cornwell/Reuters/Wed, May 8, 2024
The war in Gaza has cooled Israeli business activity with the United Arab Emirates, with the once-celebrated relationship now conducted away from public scrutiny amid anger in the Arab world over the conflict. The UAE became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel under a U.S.-brokered agreement in 2020, dubbed the Abraham Accords. It has maintained the relationship throughout Israel's more than six-month war in Gaza. In the wake of the accords, Israeli entrepreneurs began flocking to the Gulf state on direct flights from Tel Aviv, establishing new business ties and expanding existing relationships that were once kept a secret. Deals announced before the war included investments in cyber security, fintech, energy and agri-tech. Ten Israeli officials, executives and entrepreneurs told Reuters that business ties with the influential Gulf state remain intact but, in a sign of how the conflict has dented enthusiasm, they declined to discuss any recent deals. "It's still happening. It's happening less; it's less in your face," said Raphael Nagel, a German Jewish entrepreneur living in the UAE who heads a private business group that promotes business ties between Israel and the Gulf Arab state. Six bankers and lawyers in the UAE also said that business ties between Israeli and Emirati companies have endured the war but that few new deals were happening. The UAE government was wary about promoting relations with Israel, they said. In Israel, meanwhile, many businesses have had staff called up for military service, impacting operations. A UAE official did not directly respond to Reuters' questions about how the economic relationship with Israel had been affected by the war. The official said, however, the UAE's diplomatic and political dialogue with Israel had facilitated humanitarian efforts to assist the people of Gaza.
The UAE is the only Arab state still hosting an Israeli ambassador. Tel Aviv recalled its diplomats from other Arab states it has ties with following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that prompted its invasion of Gaza. Israel's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. After establishing formal diplomatic ties in 2020, Israel and the UAE rapidly built a close economic partnership, unlike the decades-long peace deals with Egypt and Jordan that have failed to establish significant business relations. A trade deal was signed in 2022.
Last year, trade grew 17% to reach $2.95 billion, according to data from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Despite cooling in the wake of the war, trade remained 7% higher year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, the bureau said.
But Israeli tourists, who became frequent visitors to the UAE, now no longer fill Dubai's hotels, restaurants and bars - although Israelis and Jews say they continue to feel safe in the country. Unlike other Arab countries, in the UAE there have been no public demonstrations in support of the Palestinians or against Israel. However, symbols associated with Palestinian nationalism, like the black-and-white keffiyeh headdress, can be seen worn by people on the streets of Dubai.
"Things have become more discreet and October 7 does have quite a lot to do with it," said Bruce Gurfein, an American Jew and entrepreneur who first moved to the UAE in the late 1990s. Hamas militants killed more than 1,000 Israelis and took more than 250 hostage in a cross-border attack on Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7. In response, Israel launched an invasion of the Gaza Strip - with the aim of destroying Hamas and releasing the hostages - that has killed more than 34,000 people, according to Palestinian officials. International efforts to mediate a ceasefire are ongoing.
'CHILLING' EFFECT
Several Israelis who were already doing business in the UAE before the war said their personal and commercial relationships with Emiratis and other Arabs in the UAE remain unaffected. But they also say that there is a demand, on both sides, not to disclose business ties publicly. "I think chilling is a fair word," said Elie Wurtman, co-founder of Israeli venture capital firm PICO Venture Partners. "But, on the other hand, ... it's business as usual." Wurtman believes close ties forged in the immediate period after normalisation have helped sustain the business relationship with the UAE, a sentiment echoed by the Israeli officials and other executives that Reuters spoke to. An Israeli executive at UAE-IL Zone, a non-government Israeli-based platform that aims to develop UAE-Israel business links, said Emirati officials had assured them that investments into Israel would not be stopped over the war but have asked the Israelis to refrain from making any announcements of deals. The executive asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak to the media. The UAE official did not comment.
Michael Mirilashvili, the CEO of Watergen, an Israeli company that developed machines that can produce drinking water from the air, signed a three-way water research partnership deal in June 2021 with Abu Dhabi firm Baynunah and Tel Aviv University to advance research in water technology. Mirilashvili said the partnership with Emirati counterparts remains warm and he hasn't noticed a difference in relations since October 7. "We continue to work together," he said. "We are having very strong bonds with the people that we work with over there."
Tel Aviv University and Baynunah did not respond to a request for comment.
Robert Mogielnicki, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said the war in Gaza was a "big disincentive" for the UAE to undertake major new economic initiatives. He noted that there was growing anger and concern over the war among UAE citizens, a minority of about 1 million people in the Gulf state whose population totals around 10 million. Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc and BP put on hold plans to take a $2 billion stake in Israeli gas producer NewMed, the Israeli company said in March, citing regional uncertainty.
Four sources familiar with Adnoc's position said the war in Gaza had influenced the decision to suspend negotiations, citing the optics of moving forward with such a big deal. Didier Toubia, chief executive of alternative meat start up Aleph Farms, which received investment from an Abu Dhabi state fund during a 2021 financing round, told Reuters that there were now more sensitivities around Israeli companies doing business with Emirati firms. He predicted that there would be an acceleration in business activity once the war ends.
FRUSTRATION AT NETANYAHU
UAE officials have maintained that forging ties with Israel was a strategic decision that they did not intend to reverse. Some of them, however, have in private expressed frustration at Israel over its prosecution of the war and the high civilian death toll. Israel has strongly denied deliberately targeting civilians.
The war has fractured the UAE's relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to four sources familiar with the matter. They said that the UAE now rarely speaks directly with Netanyahu and that President Isaac Herzog was a key interlocutor in the Israel-UAE relationship. The UAE had increasing engaged with former prime ministers Yair Lapid and Nafatali Bennet since as Emirati frustrations at Netanyahu grew, the sources said. Netanyahu's office did not comment. Herzog's office, as well as spokespeople for Lapid and Bennet, declined to comment.The UAE official did not respond directly to questions about the relationship with Netanyahu's government, but called for intensified efforts to achieve a "a comprehensive and just peace" based on the two-state solution. Israeli opposition leader Lapid met with foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on May 2.

Israel warned the US that suspending arms shipment could undermine hostage talks: Axios
LBCI/May 8, 2024
On Wednesday, the American news website, Axios, quoted sources who said that senior Israeli officials voiced "deep frustration" "with the Biden administration over its decision to pause a weapons shipment to Israel."The two sources who briefed Axios on the issue said that those officials warned that this step could threaten hostage negotiations.

Israel says that the Gaza crossing was hit by shelling after reopening
AFP/May 8, 2024 
The Israeli army reported that the Kerem Shalom crossing, which was just reopened to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, was targeted on Wednesday by rockets launched from Rafah in the southern besieged enclave, resulting in a slight injury to an Israeli soldier. The army accused Hamas of this shelling, which hampers the "crossing's operation," which had been closed for three days after rockets were launched, killing four Israeli soldiers and injuring ten others.

Israel reopens key crossing for aid to enter Gaza that was closed over weekend rocket attack
JERUSALEM (AP)/Wed, May 8, 2024
The Israeli military said Wednesday that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, a key terminal for the entry of humanitarian aid that was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket attack killed four Israeli soldiers nearby. An Israeli tank brigade seized the nearby Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt early Tuesday, and it remained closed, but that limited incursion does not appear to be the start of the full-scale invasion of the crowded southern city that Israel has repeatedly promised. The looming operation threatens to widen a rift between Israel and its main backer, the United States, which says it is concerned over the fate of around 1.3 million Palestinians crammed into Rafah, most of whom fled fighting elsewhere. Israel says Rafah is Hamas' last stronghold and that a wider offensive there is needed to dismantle the group's military and governing capabilities.
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on Rafah, a senior Biden administration official said Tuesday. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar are meanwhile ramping up efforts to close the gaps in a possible agreement for at least a temporary cease-fire and the release of some of the scores of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. Israel has linked the threatened Rafah operation to the fate of those negotiations. The Rafah crossing has been a vital conduit for humanitarian aid since the start of the war and is the only place where people can enter and exit. Israel now controls all of Gaza’s border crossings for the first time since it withdrew troops and settlers from the territory nearly two decades ago, though it has maintained a blockade with Egypt's cooperation for most of that time. Associated Press journalists heard sporadic explosions and gunfire in the area of the Rafah crossing overnight, including two large blasts early Wednesday. The Israeli military reported six launches from Rafah toward the Kerem Shalom crossing on Tuesday. Gaza’s Health Ministry meanwhile said at least 46 patients and wounded people who had been scheduled to leave Tuesday for medical treatment have been left stranded. U.N. agencies and aid groups have ramped up humanitarian assistance in recent weeks as Israel has lifted some restrictions and opened an additional crossing in the north under pressure from the United States, its closest ally. But aid workers say the closure of Rafah, which is the only gateway for the entry of fuel for trucks and generators, could have severe repercussions.
The U.N. says northern Gaza is already in a state of “full-blown famine.”
The war began when Hamas militants breached Israel's defenses on Oct. 7 and swept through nearby army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Hamas is still believed to be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others after most of the rest were released during a November cease-fire. The war has killed over 34,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and has driven some 80% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes. Israel's military campaign has been one of the deadliest and most destructive in recent history, reducing large parts of Gaza to rubble. Biden has repeatedly warned Netanyahu against launching an invasion of Rafah. But Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government if he calls off an offensive or makes too many concessions in the cease-fire talks. The U.S. has historically provided Israel enormous amounts of military aid, which has only accelerated since the start of the war. The paused shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bombs and 1,700 smaller ones, with the U.S. concern focused on how the larger bombs could be used in a dense urban setting, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. The official said no final decision had been made yet on proceeding with the shipment.

Canadian man shot dead in Egypt, says security source
CAIRO (Reuters) /Wed, May 8, 2024
A Canadian man "of Jewish Israeli descent" has been shot dead during a robbery in the Egyptian city of Alexandria and authorities are investigating the incident as a criminal case, a security source said late on Tuesday. The security source told Reuters the man had been killed "with the motive of robbery". The source made no link between the shooting and the dead man's ethnic background. The interior ministry confirmed the shooting and said the man had been a permanent resident of Egypt. Neither the ministry nor the source gave any further details. A statement claiming the killing by a previously unknown group called "Liberation Vanguards" was circulating on social media, but security sources said they had no information on the existence of such a group or whether it had been involved in the incident. The shooting happened on Tuesday as Israeli forces seized the main border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah, where more than one million displaced Palestinians have sought shelter during Israel's seven-month-old offensive. One day after the war in Gaza began last October following an attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel, two Israeli tourists and their Egyptian guide were shot dead in Alexandria, in the first such attack on Israelis in Egypt in decades. A policeman who said he had "lost control" was placed in custody regarding that incident.

Italy's president says Russia's invasion of Ukraine can't be solved by rewarding Moscow's aggression
UNITED NATIONS (AP)/Wed, May 8, 2024
Italy’s president told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can’t be solved by rewarding its aggression and peace can only come when Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are restored. Sergio Mattarella said Italy, which now heads the G7 meetings, and many international partners have come to Ukraine’s defense to support the principle that solidarity must be given to nations attacked by acts that violate international law and the U.N. Charter. “No state, no matter how powerful or how equipped it is with a menacing nuclear arsenal can think of violating principles, including the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of another country without facing sanctions,” he said. Mattarella said the end of two world wars and the collapse of the Soviet Union had brought new hope to Europe, and that “Russia has taken on the great historic responsibility of having brought war back to the heart of the European continent.”The Italian president stressed that Russia's invasion of Ukraine isn’t merely a regional conflict since Moscow wants to exercise global influence. Russia is a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, which is charged with ensuring international peace and security. The war in Ukraine, once one of the world’s main bread baskets, has created food and energy scarcities, especially in parts of Africa, he said. Mattarella added that the peace dividends that incentivized the allocation of resources to development instead of arms after the end of the Cold War have been wasted as Russia turns back time and starts a new arms race. With the war in Ukraine now in its third year, he said Italy, its international partners and people everywhere are committed to achieving a peaceful and long-lasting solution to the conflict. “Not just any solution, though, let alone a solution which would reward the aggressor and humiliate those being attacked, setting a dangerous precedent for everyone," Mattarella said. “If peace is to be fair and long lasting, it must be based on the noble and inalienable principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” he added.

Iran and UN nuclear watchdog look for a way forward on uranium enrichment inspections
Euronews/Wed, May 8, 2024
Iran and UN nuclear watchdog look for a way forward on uranium enrichment inspections Iran and the United Nations' nuclear watchdog are still negotiating over how to implement a deal struck last year to expand inspections of the Islamic Republic's rapidly advancing atomic program, officials said on Tuesday.
The acknowledgement by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, shows the challenges his inspectors face, years after the collapse of Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers and the wider tensions gripping the Middle East in light of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Grossi has previously warned that Tehran has enriched uranium close to weapons-grade levels to potentially manufacture "several" nuclear bombs should it decide to do so. He has also acknowledged the agency's inability to ensure that none of Iran's centrifuges have been used for clandestine enrichment.
On a visit to the Iranian city of Isfahan, Grossi held a press conference alongside Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation. While both men said there would be no immediate new deal struck during the visit, they pointed to a March 2023 joint statement as a path forward for cooperation.
That statement included a pledge by Iran to resolve issues around sites where inspectors have questions about possible undeclared nuclear activity, and to allow the IAEA to “implement further appropriate verification and monitoring activities.”
While Grossi offered few specifics on the ongoing discussions, according to Grossi technical teams were in negotiations. He emphasised the need for concrete measures to put the agreement into place. Eslami, meanwhile, described the implementation problems as "mainly political". In a subsequent statement in Vienna, Grossi reaffirmed that the 2023 joint statement is "still alive". “I want results and I want them soon,” Grossi told reporters at Vienna airport. “The present state is completely unsatisfactory,” he said. All the while, tensions between Iran and Israel have lately hit a new high as the war in Gaza continues.
Tehran launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month, after years of a shadow war between the two countries reached a climax with Israel’s apparent attack on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed two Iranian generals and others. Isfahan itself apparently has come under Israeli fire in recent weeks, despite being surrounded by sensitive nuclear sites. Eslami in his remarks accused Israel of meddling in the relationship between the IAEA and Iran.“It is important to be careful that the hostile actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which the Zionists are source of ... do not affect the interactions between Iran and the agency,” Eslami said. “What is shown in the media is based on the Zionist regime’s manipulations.”

US says Houthis targeted Gulf of Aden with four drones and missiles
SAEED AL-BATATI/Arab News/May 08, 2024
AL-MUKALLA: The US Central Command said the Houthi militia in Yemen launched three drones and one anti-ship ballistic missile at international commercial and naval ships in the Gulf of Aden on Monday and Tuesday. The group launched three unmanned aerial vehicles from Yemen toward the Gulf of Aden on Monday. One of the drones was destroyed by US-led marine coalition ships, Central Command forces destroyed another, and the third went down in the sea, causing no damage, the US military said. Early on Tuesday, the Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile over the Gulf of Aden, but did not target navy or commercial ships in key maritime lanes near Yemen. “It was determined that these weapons presented an imminent threat to both coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region,” the US Central Command said. UK Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors attacks on vessels, received a report from a ship's master on Tuesday of two explosions close to the vessel off the coast of Yemen, near the southern city of Aden.
Yahya Sarea, a Houthi military spokesman who regularly confirms assaults on ships, has not claimed responsibility on behalf of the militia for any strikes since Friday. In the past six months, the Houthis have sunk one ship, seized another and launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones and remotely controlled boats targeting international commercial and navy ships in waters off the coast of Yemen and in the Indian Ocean. The Houthis say their aim is to put pressure on Israel to end its war against Hamas in Gaza. The US responded in January to the Houthi attacks by placing the group back onto its list of foreign terrorist organizations, from which it had been removed in February 2021, organizing a coalition of naval task forces to safeguard the Red Sea, and launching strikes against Houthi sites in Yemen. Mahdi Al-Mashat, head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, said during a live-fire drill in Sanaa on Tuesday that the US had offered incentives to the group in return for halting their attacks on shipping. However, he vowed attacks on ships linked to Israel would continues, along with efforts to seize control of the parts of Yemen that remain under government control. “We will continue … until our country’s whole national territory is liberated, and the blockade and injustice placed on our people in Gaza are removed,” he said. Meanwhile, local and international journalism organizations urged the Houthis to investigate the attempted assassination of a Yemeni journalist in Sanaa on Tuesday.
The Yemeni Journalist Syndicate said that Mohammed Shubaita, secretary-general of the organization and assistant secretary-general of the Federation of Arab Journalists, was shot in the leg and stomach and is being treated at a hospital in Sanaa. A relative who was with him was killed in the attack and another was wounded. “The Journalists Syndicate strongly condemns this sinful attack and holds the de facto authority in Sanaa fully responsible for the safety of our colleague Mohammed Shubaita,” the organization said. The International Federation of Journalists similarly denounced the assault and urged the Houthis to investigate the incident. Anthony Bellanger, the federation’s general secretary, said: “The authorities must immediately open an investigation to clarify the circumstances of the heinous attack against our colleague Mohammed Shubaita and his relatives. “Yemen is a hostile country for journalists where their safety is jeopardized, and the investigation must take into account Shubaita’s role as a journalist and union leader.”In a message posted on social media platform X, Reporters Without Borders condemned the attack and called for a “full investigation into this heinous crime.”.

European Chamber of Commerce opens in Riyadh
ARAB NEWS/May 08, 2024
RIYADH: The European Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia was inaugurated in Riyadh on Wednesday. The launch event was attended by distinguished guests, including Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, assistant minister of investment; Luigi Di Maio, EU special representative for the Gulf; and Christophe Farnaud, the EU ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain. The chamber will serve as a platform to facilitate business cooperation, promote trade and investment, and support the alignment of regulatory frameworks, according to a press release from the EU. In line with the strategic partnership between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council announced in May 2022, the establishment of the ECCKSA is a significant step in strengthening economic ties between the EU and the Kingdom. Di Maio said that the establishment of the ECCKSA marks an important new chapter in the partnership between the EU and Saudi Arabia.
“I am convinced that this initiative will be key in bringing closer and in integrating our economies. The ECCKSA will certainly become a point of reference for European companies doing business in the Kingdom and Saudi companies looking for partners and markets in the EU. "It will facilitate joint ventures and boost trade and investments. There is so much untapped potential and space to grow in our economic cooperation and I am confident that the next months and years will bring about more substantive and sustainable progress,” Di Maio added.
Al-Mubarak highlighted the integration of ECCKSA’s initiatives with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, creating the potential for new business opportunities in non-oil sectors. “The launch of the European Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia marks a pivotal milestone in the flourishing economic partnership between the Kingdom and the EU. With foreign direct investment stock from Europe nearly doubling to SR218.5 billion ($58.26 billion) over the past five years, the establishment of ECCKSA will unlock new horizons for cross-border trade, investment, and collaboration. “The chamber will be a catalyst for fostering stronger ties between our business communities and supporting Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification journey under Vision 2030,” he added. The event also featured a panel discussion, titled “ECCKSA: Shaping the Future of EU-KSA Business Collaboration,” where experts discussed strategies for deepening economic ties and explored new opportunities for partnership. The panel included Leon Delvaux, acting director at the EU; Lama Alghrair, director of investor intelligence at the Ministry of Investment; Thomas Juergensen, head of trade and economic affairs for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar; and Lorcan Tyrrell, ECCKSA chairman. They collectively outlined the anticipated impact of ECCKSA on the European and Saudi business communities. Also at the launch, ECCKSA’s license was formally handed over by the Ministry of Investment in Saudi Arabia. Kristijonas Gedvilas, CEO of ECCKSA, said that the chamber is dedicated not only to strengthening economic ties, but also to building a vibrant business ecosystem that supports the shared vision. “Our immediate focus will be on expanding our membership, engaging businesses actively, and providing them with invaluable resources and opportunities that foster growth and innovation across both regions,” he added. ECCKSA aims to advance initiatives that support its members while contributing to the economic prosperity of both regions.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on May 08-09/2024
With a Gaza Cease-Fire in the Balance, Netanyahu Maneuvers to Keep Power
Steven Erlanger/The New York Times/Wed, May 8, 2024
BERLIN — Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, is known as a man who likes to play for time and postpone big decisions. But he may not be able to do that much longer. Domestically, his coalition partners on the far right threaten to break up the government if he agrees to a cease-fire and does not try to clear Hamas out of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Militarily, the strategic logic is to complete the dismantling of Hamas by taking Rafah and controlling the border with Egypt. But diplomatically, his allies, especially the United States, are pushing him to agree on a cease-fire, and skip Rafah and the potential civilian casualties a large-scale operation would cause. So Netanyahu is now negotiating and maneuvering on several fronts at once, all of which have a significant effect on the conduct of the war and his own future as prime minister.
His recent warnings to Palestinians in parts of Rafah to move to areas Israel has designated as safe, followed late Monday night by the Israeli military’s seizure of the Gaza side of the Egyptian border, signaled to his far-right government coalition, to Hamas and to the Biden administration that he would continue to prioritize Israel’s security interests. More important, Israel’s more narrow war Cabinet, which includes senior opposition figures, backed those decisions.
The seizure of the Rafah crossing to Egypt, to try to complete Israel’s security control of Gaza’s borders, has, for now, avoided a large-scale and contentious military operation in Rafah itself, which is filled with displaced civilians. It may signal that Israel is preparing at long last to agree to at least a temporary cease-fire in Gaza, even as the outcome of those negotiations remains uncertain.
“Netanyahu is being pulled in various directions,” with pressure mounting on him to respond, said Daniel Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel now at Princeton University. Foremost is Netanyahu’s desire to avoid new elections, which could mean loss of power and a renewal of the various court cases against him. “Political survival always ranks first in Netanyahu’s calculations,” Kurtzer said. Then there are the competing pressures on him from “extremists in his own coalition who want to continue the war,” he said, and from the hostages’ families, who want the government to prioritize a cease-fire and a release of more people seized in Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks. Externally, the pressure comes from Biden administration officials and some in Congress “who are losing patience over the humanitarian situation,” he noted. They want a cease-fire and oppose a major onslaught on Rafah. Finally there is “the real, continuing threat of escalation, especially from Hezbollah,” he said. Here is a closer look at the political, military and diplomatic concerns Netanyahu confronts as he weighs his next steps.
Politics
Netanyahu is desperate to hold together his governing coalition, which has 64 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, a narrow majority. His far-right partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, together control 14 seats, and they have vowed to leave the government if the prime minister makes too many concessions and agrees to a cease-fire in Gaza, leaving Hamas to claim victory. They have insisted, as Netanyahu has also done, that the military will move on Rafah. Gadi Eisenkot, a former general and opposition member of the war Cabinet, accused the two men of “political blackmail” and of standing in the way of the return of at least some hostages. But new elections would almost certainly produce a new coalition without Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, so Netanyahu has some room to maneuver. Agreeing to a form of temporary cease-fire in stages, as proposed in the current negotiations, could allow Israel to deal with what it says are the four Hamas battalions in and under Rafah at a much slower pace, over many weeks, especially now that the strip of Gaza along the Egyptian border has been seized. It would also bring more hostages home — not all of them, but some of the most vulnerable, as well as some who are dead and could be buried by their families. That could help diminish the anti-government rallies often spearheaded by the hostage families. It would also go some way to pacify President Joe Biden, who could claim a diplomatic victory with a cease-fire, which would also allow much more humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, allow more civilians to move to safer areas and even to the north, after they are screened by Israeli troops, and avoid a full-scale attack on Rafah. “Netanyahu is in no hurry to end the war,” said Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator who now leads the U.S./Middle East Project, a nonprofit policy institute. “He doesn’t want a cease-fire deal that threatens his coalition or his ability to continue the war after a pause. He wants to drag it all out, because once the war is over, what is the excuse for not having new elections?”
Military
Israeli military officials and analysts emphasize that cutting off the smuggling of arms and equipment from Egypt through the tunnels under Rafah is strategically more important to Israel than the Hamas fighters left in Rafah. Despite Egyptian denials of extensive smuggling into Gaza, Israeli officials believe that much of the extraordinary arsenal and the building supplies that Hamas accumulated in Gaza came through tunnels from Egypt. “If we end the war without blocking the tunnels, we would enable Hamas or any other terrorist organization in the Strip to rebuild their military capacities,” said Kobi Michael of the Institute for National Security Studies, a research group in Tel Aviv, Israel. Nitzan Nuriel, a reserve brigadier general and former director of the counterterrorism bureau of the Israeli National Security Council, worked with Netanyahu for several years. “Rafah is important not because of the four Hamas battalions that are still there,” he said. “Rafah is important because the message to the Palestinians who live in Gaza is that Hamas will not be able to control Gaza for good.”Otherwise, he said, Palestinians in Gaza would “stay afraid of Hamas and therefore will cooperate with Hamas.”
Even a modest operation in Rafah “fits several of Netanyahu’s goals simultaneously,” said Natan Sachs, director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. Like many Israeli officials, including those who want a cease-fire deal now, Sachs said, “Netanyahu genuinely believes an operation in Rafah is central to Israel’s overall goals — not merely in going after the remaining Hamas forces, but in cutting off their ability to resupply via smuggling through the Egyptian border.”The military operation “also puts pressure on Hamas to relent on some of its more expansive demands in the cease-fire negotiations,” Sachs said. Despite serious U.S. concerns, a limited operation now in Rafah suits Netanyahu politically, he said, “with a right flank that objects to a deal now, before the main operational goal is achieved, and facing public anger over the fact that Hamas is still standing, if severely damaged.”
Diplomacy
Netanyahu is under enormous pressure diplomatically — from allies including the United States and Germany, from the United Nations, from the European Union and from regional Sunni Arab states — to avoid a major operation in Rafah. They want him to allow in much more humanitarian aid to Gaza and agree to a deal with Hamas that could, at least, promise what the current draft text calls a “sustainable calm,” rather than a permanent cease-fire. But such a deal still would not resolve the fundamental divide between Israel and Hamas over how to conclude the conflict. Hamas wants the war to end now, with the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza and the release of all hostages in exchange for a large number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Israel wants to ensure that any cease-fire is temporary, so that Hamas cannot claim victory and begin to restore its control over Gaza. Still, after Hamas’ most recent concessions, coupled with the Israeli military moves to control the Egyptian border, a cease-fire deal seems much more possible than before — perhaps even desirable for Netanyahu. But Gaza residents are wary and mistrustful of Israeli statements. Mkhaimar Abusada is a Gaza political scientist whose university in the enclave, Al-Azhar, has been destroyed in the fighting. Now in Cairo with his family, Abusada said he is convinced that “no matter what the international community says, Netanyahu is going to go into Rafah.”Netanyahu “wants to keep his coalition government, to avoid early elections, to stay prime minister and not go to jail,” he said. “I just hope he does it in a way that deals in a humane way with the Palestinian civilians.” But in the end, Abusada said, Netanyahu “and Israel cannot be victorious after this war, not with this much death and destruction, with all the Palestinian civilians and children dead.”
c.2024 The New York Times Company

Biden may be holding up ammo to Israel — Congress must stop him
Richard Goldberg/ New York Post/May 08/2024
President Biden appears so desperate to stop Israel from destroying Hamas in Gaza that he’s reportedly delaying munition shipments to put even more pressure on Jerusalem to let the terrorist organization stay in power. Just as they did when Biden recently threatened sanctions against the Israeli military, Congressional leaders must put the White House on notice: Mess around with congressionally-directed military assistance for Israel and suffer the consequences. A report in Axios cited two Israeli officials saying that a scheduled US weapons shipment did not arrive in Israel last week. Logistic delays can happen, but this hold-up didn’t seem to have an explanation. Lips are sealed in both capitals as to the contents of the shipment, but Israeli sources believe the move was a veiled threat that Biden intends to use every available lever to hamstring further Israeli military operations to destroy the Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. Biden fears the chaos today on college campuses will spill over to his party’s convention in Chicago this summer. The president’s pro-Hamas left-wing base is in all-out revolt, while most Americans are souring on a sense of chaos both at home and abroad. His solution? Pressure Israel to stop defending itself and pay whatever price Iran sets for six months of quiet through the November election.
Biden’s strategy, however, works against his objectives.
Every time he puts pressure on Israel to cut a deal with Hamas and hold back military operations, Hamas feels less pressure to cut a deal — opting instead for head fakes like Monday’s claim that it would accept a ceasefire proposal Israel had never offered. Every time he makes cash available to Tehran, Iran’s terror proxies escalate against the United States and Israel — from the Houthis in Yemen to militias in Iraq to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Last month’s attempt to pressure Israel was a State Department threat to impose sanctions on Israeli military units — using specious claims put forward by radical anti-Israel groups to trigger a law prohibiting US funding to units tied to human rights abuses. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders let the White House know that such an unprecedented move would result in investigations, hearings, and legislation — and the Biden administration backed down.
Now, as Israel announces the first stages of an operation to clear Hamas’s last stronghold of Rafah, Biden is flirting with another redline — curbing the flow of munitions to a democratic ally in the middle of a war for its survival. Leaks suggest that Hamas sympathizers inside State are pressing for an aid cut-off – perhaps via a Biden-mandated report to Congress due this Wednesday on Israel’s compliance with international law. Congress can intervene, however, either through oversight hearings or the power of the purse. Considering the legislature just brokered a compromise on a $95 billion emergency supplemental that included aid to Israel, holding up assistance would contravene the will of Congress. It would be justified in retaliating by holding up a wide-range of spending for any Biden-controlled department. The President insists he wants to see the release of Israeli hostages and a transition to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. He might achieve those goals by putting pressure on Hamas’s sponsors — Iran, Qatar, Lebanon and Turkey — instead of Hamas’s victim. By playing for an Israeli surrender to Hamas, however, Biden all but guarantees continued conflict in the Middle East, and continued unrest from his left flank at home.
**Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, is a former National Security Council official and senior US Senate aide.

Rafah, the Last Card Hamas Has to Play
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/May 08/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/129609/%d8%b7%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%82-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%af-%d8%b1%d9%81%d8%ad-%d8%a2%d8%ae%d8%b1-%d8%a3%d9%88%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%82-%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%b3-tariq-al-homayed-rafah-the-last-card-hama/
Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire on Monday evening, especially since it came after Israel had called on the residents of Rafah to evacuate that morning, shows that Rafah, not even the Israeli hostages, was Hamas' last bet.
What happened, according to the news reports and statements we saw on Monday, is that Hamas agreed to a version of the ceasefire deal that Israel had not accepted. Indeed, Hamas' acceptance surprised even the White House, the international community, and likely the mediators, not just the Israelis.
Hamas agreed to the deal after Israel had announced that some Rafah residents would have to evacuate on Monday morning, signaling the start of the Israeli invasion. Clearly, Hamas wanted to stir domestic confusion in Israel and embarrass it internationally.
However, Hamas did not realize, even after Israel had spent around six months slaughtering Gazans, that Israel was not in the least concerned about its global image or even the domestic pressure being exerted to release the hostages. The extremist Israeli government led by Netanyahu is concerned with survival, not pleasing anyone.
Another matter Hamas failed to appreciate is that their announcement, in the manner it was made, revealed that Rafah was the last card they could play. Even the hostages are not a card they can play. It is said that Hamas has over 30 hostages, meaning the rest are either held by other factions or have been killed.
All of this means that Hamas' international position has become weak, not to mention its weakness on the ground. The disaster precipitated by Hamas on October 7 has now led to an Israeli invasion of Rafah, which has brought the occupation back to Gaza, taking us back to 2005.
The truth is that Hamas, in typical fashion, has misread developments, Israel's behavior, and the approaches of global actors. It has cornered itself into a difficult and precarious situation. It has weakened every card it can play in negotiations with Israel, and it has weakened the mediators.
Israel's entry into Rafah means today that Hamas does not need more negotiations as much as it desperately needs guarantors, which further complicates Hamas' predicament. It seems to be seeking a safe external base, and now it might be looking for a guarantor that provides it with a safe way out.
Hamas played all of its cards, forgetting and ignoring the balance of power. It has overlooked the fact that things have changed since October. Hamas did not fully understand Iran's betrayal, and it misread the international mood.
Hamas did not seriously and correctly read the mood in Israel. It was deceived by a correct but incomplete claim about the "Israeli far-right." Indeed, the facts indicate that broader Israeli society does not oppose the war. Despite wanting to bring back the hostages, it is in the mood for war.
Accordingly, Hamas's options now are difficult and limited. Finding a safe exit for what remains of its leaders and fighters from Gaza might be its only option. There are two reasons for this. First, Hamas turned itself in to Netanyahu, who wants to stay in power, on October 7.
Second, Hamas has long forgotten the axiom, "If you find that you are digging yourself into a hole, stop digging."

On ‘Colonialism’ as an ‘Original Sin’
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/May 08/2024
While colonialism, including the settler variant, is obviously an acute and vicious problem in Palestine and for Palestinians, this does not mean that decolonization is a universal issue that all of humanity must contend with. In fact, this assumption goes against the popular claim that Palestinians are suffering at the hands of "history’s last colonial project."
It seems that the universality of colonization and decolonization is being portrayed as conventional wisdom, or rather a snapshot of the current state of the world. Books and articles about "decolonization" are published, conferences are convened, it is chanted for at protests, and academic curricula at prestigious universities are changed to incorporate it.
Is the world being asked, then, to relaunch independence movements and expel colonialists?
Some "post-colonialists" hit back with: this time around, the "non-white" world is being subjected to cultural colonization. Political independence has indeed been achieved, but what the history of colonialism has done and continues to do must be contended with. It has turned our identities away from themselves and turned us away from them, and it has imposed and continues to impose the conditions that determine how we see ourselves and the world. Through the education system, cultural industry, and media, a colonial conception of the world has been formed, and an alternative one must confront it.
But the overwhelming majority of the literature associated with this school of thought is written and published in English, which is supposedly an essential conduit of colonial influence! If the demand is to make the "subaltern speak," as Gayatri Spivak (a prominent Indian academic based in the United States) put it, we only hear him speaking in English, and occasionally, in French, and all of his work is issued by the "white man's" universities and publishing houses.
We could perhaps conclude some lessons from the life story of the Kenyan novelist Ngugi wa Thiong'o, the most renowned novelist to come out of East Africa. He became a prominent figure in cultural decolonization movements, spearheading a campaign to abolish teaching English literature at the University of Nairobi, where he had been a professor, and to have it replaced by works written in African languages, some of which are only spoken. He also threw himself into a project to establish an African theater free of European influence.
However, in 1999, Ngugi was arrested by the Kenyan authorities and imprisoned for nearly a year without trial, during which he was allowed only one hour of sunlight a day. Nonetheless, he responded to his country’s authorities, from his cell, by escalating against English "cultural imperialism," announcing that he would write exclusively in his native language, Gikuyu, and changing his original name, James Ngugi.
In 2002, he returned to Kenya, which he had been exiled from after he was banned from teaching and his family was persecuted, only for him and his wife to be assaulted and have their home robbed two years later. And so, he ended up teaching comparative literature in California, where his works, penned in his native language and translated into English, are taught, published by prestigious publishers, and acclaimed by American newspapers and magazines.
But haven't we heard something like this noise before? Yes, we have. In the early 1960s, Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah coined the term "neocolonialism," and in 1965, he published a famous book entitled "Neocolonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism." If Lenin believed that imperialism was "the highest stage of capitalism", then Nkrumah found in "neocolonialism" the highest stage of imperialism. By virtue of his theory, slandering political independence as nothing more than "a national flag and a chair at the United Nations" became popular. The reality, this narrative claims, is that colonialism persists through control of markets, tastes, exports, and development projects.
In other words, political independence was pronounced dead in the name of economics, and then in the name of culture. In both cases, it was claimed that real independence had never happened and that "colonization" is not a thing of the past, nor even a phenomenon that continues to this day, but a permanent, core part of our being.
Who knows if, after economics and culture, a third clash could break out, maybe over bodybuilding or child-rearing.
This use of colonization seems to resemble the original sin of the Christian narrative as it had been introduced by the Apostle Paul and developed by St. Augustine. As a result of the sin Adam committed the day he was tricked by the serpent, humans were banished from paradise and have been plagued by misery generation after generation. They will be miserable forever, because what happened cannot be repeated in reverse, and therefore, those who wish to atone for their sins are not afforded the chance to do so.
Nowadays, since national liberation and independence movements have yielded miserable and heart-wrenching results, colonialism must be immortalized and perpetuated further. And so, for parties that define themselves solely as anti-colonial, keeping a dead colonialism alive becomes necessary in order to justify the life of the party that derives its meaning solely from opposing it.
We can use a graph to illustrate that the less a country that had been colonized in the past has achieved, the more it cries out against colonialism, and vice versa.
Thus, decolonization is impossible to achieve because colonialism, everywhere except for Palestine, has been dislodged. On top of that, colonization should not be dislodged even if it did still exist. Those demanding that we rid ourselves of it are unlikely to do so while it remains their raison d'etre. Really, what would they do if they recognized decolonization, or if they did decolonize?

Israel's Newest Security Threat – Is the US Next?
Robert Williams/ Gatestone Institute./May 8, 2024
"The Chinese are imposing a kind of sanction on us. They don't officially declare it, but they are delaying shipments to Israel.... In electronic products, there are tens of thousands of components, but if even one component doesn't arrive, we cannot deliver the product." — Unnamed senior figure in a factory, Ynet, December 24, 2023.
Also immensely disturbing is that "massive" amounts of advanced Chinese military equipment were found in Gaza by the IDF during its military operations there.
"[I]f you set up systems with technology for critical infrastructure, like electricity, energy, water, transport, these are tied to one another. One can be used to bring the other down." — Harel Manshari, Head of Cyber at the Holon Institute of Technology and research fellow at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism, JNS, January 8, 2024.
China recently hosted delegations from Hamas and the Palestinian Authority's ruling Fatah faction, ostensibly to facilitate "unity" between the two factions, all the while pretending to be a neutral mediator interested in peace in the region.
Is the enemy, already inside Israel's gates, also inside the US?
Immensely disturbing is that "massive" amounts of advanced Chinese military equipment were found in Gaza by the IDF during its military operations there.
The Iranian-orchestrated Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 -- which resulted in mass rapes, the murders of 1,200 men, women, children and infants; taking more than 250 hostages and firing thousands of rockets at Israeli towns and cities -- has shown that China, which Israel might have thought was an ally, turned out to be, sadly, more of an enemy.
China refused to condemn Hamas and its terrorist invasion of Israel, choosing instead to condemn Israel just a week after the massacre and before Israel had even launched its ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
Israel's actions in Gaza have gone "beyond the scope of self-defense" and the Israeli government must "cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza," China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on October 15.
In contrast to earlier conflicts between Hamas and Israel, China has now openly embraced Hamas.
On March 17, in Qatar, Chinese diplomat Wang Kejian met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and said:
"... China's firm positions towards the Palestinian issue and its standing by the just demands of the Palestinian people for freedom, independence, and statehood.... Hamas is part of the Palestinian national fabric and China is keen on relations with it."At the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, where South Africa and other countries accused Israel of "genocide," the Chinese Foreign Ministry's legal advisor, Ma Xinmin, defended Hamas:
"Palestinian people's use of force to resist foreign oppression and complete the establishment of an independent state is an inalienable right... Armed struggle in this context [the October 7 massacre] is distinguished from acts of terrorism."
China has used Chinese-owned TikTok to incite and brainwash Western children, teenagers and young adults to hate Israel and to "free Palestine." The less-than-charming results can be seen on university campuses and even high schools across the US. One Chinese social media video bragged that "TikTok Has Won Big for Palestine." China is evidently seeking to undermine the United States as much -- or more -- as it is seeking to undermine Israel.
According to Michael Singh, head of The Washington Institute for Near East Polic:
"This approach is a stark departure from Beijing's past impassivity toward Middle East conflicts in which Chinese officials had usually sought to avoid entanglement. Rather, it reflects the government's new inclination to use far-flung conflicts as opportunities to undermine the United States."
"China has changed its attitude to Israel dramatically and it's gone totally towards a position of anti-Semitism now," an unnamed Israeli intelligence source said.
"Before October 7, the Chinese loved Israel and Jews and felt a sense of admiration [for them] but now, the media coverage hasn't even shown the Chinese public what happened on October 7, only the aftermath. The regime is brainwashing the public in a totally different direction and it's happening at an unprecedented pace."
"It's just pure maths," said Tuvia Gering, a specialist in China at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies.
"There's only one tiny Israel, and there's only one country that supports it, which is the US. Well, you have today 57 members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and that's a lot of votes in the [UN] General Assembly."
Israel has had diplomatic ties with China for more than three decades, and has cultivated increasingly close-knit ties with it for the past decade, especially after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2017 visit to China which led to 25 cooperation agreements, including in science, technology, transport, food and agriculture, at an estimated value of $2 billion. At that time, Netanyahu expressed interest in joining China's Belt and Road Initiative and invited China to build infrastructure projects in Israel.
Netanyahu's invitation has since led to China's deep involvement in Israeli infrastructure. That includes building the new automated deep-sea port in Haifa Bay; the Carmel Tunnels in Haifa; a railway tunnel in northern Israel; a port in Ashdod, and the Tel Aviv light rail system. China also manages some desalination and electricity infrastructure in Israel. Between 2002 and 2020, Chinese companies, including Alibaba and Huawei, invested in 463 Israeli companies, predominantly in the technology sector, especially in the life sciences, software development and IT sectors. Fifty-three percent of the Chinese investors in Israeli companies were state-owned, according to a 2021 study. China controls Tnuva, Israel's milk and dairy giant, as well as the crop-protection company Adama Agricultural Solutions. In addition, Israeli universities all have partnerships with Chinese universities.
China's energetic embrace of Hamas -- whose officials have vowed to repeat the October 7 attack, time and again, until Israel is annihilated -- therefore, appears to have come as something of a shock to Israel, mixed, apparently, with deep disappointment.
In December 2023, Israeli tech companies and manufacturers reported that while China had not officially announced sanctions against Israel, Chinese suppliers had begun to make it difficult for them to import necessary materials.
"The Chinese are imposing a kind of sanction on us. They don't officially declare it, but they are delaying shipments to Israel," one unnamed senior figure in a factory told Ynet.
"They have various excuses and pretexts, such as requiring suppliers from China to obtain export licenses to Israel that did not exist before. Additionally, they demand that we fill out numerous forms, causing significant delays. This has never happened to us before. We are talking about many different types of components. In electronic products, there are tens of thousands of components, but if even one component doesn't arrive, we cannot deliver the product."
In January 2024, COSCO, China's state-owned shipping giant, cut ties with Israel. The company announced that it would cease operations in Israel. According to Ynet, the decision seemed "a principal decision by the Chinese to no longer operate with ports in Israel."
The decision by COSCO is all the more remarkable, because Chinese state-owned companies built, own and operate Israel's new automated container port in Haifa. The port, which opened to much fanfare in September 2021, was built by the China Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), another Chinese state-owned giant, which Israel granted the right to operate the port until 2046. COSCO is a shareholder in the port.
"In practice it is maintaining a trade boycott on Israel," wrote Shaul Schneider, chairman of the board of another port in Israel, Ashdod Port, about COSCO's decision to cut ties with Israel. Schneider threatened that in response, Ashdod Port would not be sharing information with SIPG.
China, however, gets all the information it needs and more from simply spying on Israel. The US warned at the time against the new Chinese terminal in Haifa Bay, by announcing that U.S. Navy ships would not dock in the nearby Israeli naval base due to the threat of China's surveillance of the port, including the collection of data about joint Israeli-American operations.
Then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cautioned on a visit to Israel in May 2020:
"We don't want the Chinese Communist Party to have access to Israeli infrastructure and to Israeli communication systems – all of the things that put Israeli citizens at risk, and in turn – put the capacity for America to work alongside Israel on important projects at risk as well."
In 2022, Nir Ben Moshe, former director of Security of the Defense Establishment in the Israeli Ministry of Defense and a researcher in the Israel-China program at the Institute for National Security Studies warned that it was "not impossible" that alongside its official public cooperation with Israel, China was engaged in espionage activity against Israeli civilian, military, and government targets. "Israel's advanced capabilities in elite technology, cyber, medicine, agriculture, and more have the potential to contribute technologically to almost every aspect of China's buildup plans. Thus, Israel is an attractive source of technologies needed in China, as explicitly expressed by the Comprehensive Partnership for Innovation signed between the countries in 2017...
"The security establishment and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are likely a target of said Chinese intelligence efforts, both in themselves and considering their deep connections with their counterparts in the United States. The objects of these efforts would include major weapon systems in Israel that are developed in cooperation with the United States or produced by it, with some of the Israeli industries having subsidiaries in the United States, while others produce components that are integrated in American weapon systems. It is likely that advanced Israeli military technology designated for export is also a target of Chinese intelligence activity, including within the territories of the countries that have acquired it."
China's deep involvement in Israel's infrastructure, technology, food and agriculture industries is deeply concerning, especially because Iran and China are close partners. In 2021, the two regimes signed a massive 25-year comprehensive strategic cooperation deal amounting to a total of $400 billion, which included military cooperation, joint training, research and intelligence sharing, in exchange for Iran's sale of oil and gas to China at a heavily discounted price.
"One of the most worrying clauses in the agreement between Iran and China is the intelligence sharing," said Amos Yadlin, former IDF chief of Military Intelligence and the head of Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, at the time of the signing. Also immensely disturbing is that "massive" amounts of advanced Chinese military equipment were found in Gaza by the IDF during its military operations there. An Israeli intelligence source told The Telegraph:
"This has come as a big surprise as before the war, relations were very good, but we have found massive amounts of Chinese weaponry and the question is, did it come directly from China to Hamas or not?... This is top-grade weaponry and communications technology, stuff that Hamas didn't have before, with very sophisticated explosives which have never been found before and especially on such a large scale."
Guermantes Lailari, a visiting Scholar at National Chengchi University in Taiwan and a retired US Air Force Officer, wrote in a recent report for the Jewish Policy Center: "The IDF found Chinese military equipment in Hamas warehouses, including large numbers of assault rifles (QBZ assault rifles) and grenade launchers (QLZ87 automatic grenade launchers), telescopic sights for rifles and cartridges for M16s, high-end communications equipment, listening devices, tactical military radios, and sophisticated explosives. The discovery of massive quantities of sophisticated Chinese explosives was alarming because Hamas only recently acquired such lethal explosives. Additionally, the IDF discovered Chinese rocket technology in one of Hamas' laboratories.
"In January 2024, the PRC denied providing Hamas with high-quality military equipment. Even if the Chinese military supplies discovered in Gaza were provided by Iran, PRC officials knew that Iran forwarded equipment to Hamas. Certainly, Iran provided funding and training to use the equipment."
Lailari appeared to suggest that China had an even more direct role in supporting Hamas terrorism:
"One source noted that PLA [China People's Liberation Army] military advisors and tunnel warfare specialists helped design and build these [Hamas] tunnels. What other PLA personnel have helped Hamas and to what extent?"
China does not consider itself an ally of Israel, said Harel Manshari, an Israeli expert in cyber warfare, who is the Head of Cyber at the Holon Institute of Technology and a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University, as well as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT). In January, Manshari sent a letter to Yuli Edelstein, the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, in which he warned about the risk that China poses to Israeli infrastructure:
"Despite warnings from the security establishment, in the last decade, the Chinese government has invested extensively in strategic assets in Israel... We see, clearly, more extreme conduct against Israel by China... I believe that Israel must prepare itself and decrease Chinese involvement in Israeli infrastructure... if you set up systems with technology for critical infrastructure, like electricity, energy, water, transport, these are tied to one another. One can be used to bring the other down."China recently hosted delegations from Hamas and the Palestinian Authority's ruling Fatah faction, ostensibly to facilitate "unity" between the two factions, all the while pretending to be a neutral mediator interested in peace in the region. All China's actions show the reality to be quite different. China, while exerting deep involvement in Israeli infrastructure, business and technology, is actively working against Israel.
Is the enemy, already inside Israel's gates, also inside the US?
*Robert Williams is a researcher based in the United States.
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‘I Have Learned to Cut Throats’: The Specter of ISIS Lives on in Western Nations
Raymond Ibrahim./May 8, 2024 
Are the Islamic terror attacks that plague the world random outbursts of Muslim madness, or are they the result of calculated directives? Consider the following, seemingly disparate accounts. On Apr. 22, 2024, Muslim terrorists rammed their vehicle into four Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem, causing three of them to go flying in the air. On Apr. 15, a Muslim man lunged at and repeatedly stabbed a Christian clergyman, Bishop Mar Mari, as he was delivering a sermon from the pulpit of his church in Sydney, Australia. (The incident was captured on video — much to Australia’s chagrin.)
Most spectacularly, on Mar. 22, Muslim terrorists with automatic weapons launched an attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow, massacring at least 139 people and wounding more. The Islamic State (ISIS) quickly claimed and presented the attack as an effort to kill “thousands of Christians.”
But the connection to ISIS may be deeper. On Jan. 4, 2024, the “caliphate” called on Muslims to terrorize and slaughter Christians and Jews, “wherever and whenever.” Moreover, the three aforementioned attacks perfectly conform to ISIS’s directives. Consider the italicized sections of the following excerpt from the statement:
Lions of Islam: Chase your preys whether Jewish, Christian or their allies, on the streets and roads of America, Europe, and the world. Break into their homes, kill them and steal their peace of mind by any means you can lay hands on. … [S]hoot them with bullets [Moscow], cut their throats with sharp knives [Sydney], and run them over with vehicles [Jerusalem]. A sincere person will not lack the means to draw blood from the hearts of the Jews, the Christians, and their allies, and thus ease the suffering in the hearts of the believers. Come at them from every door, kill them by the worst of means, turn their gatherings and celebrations into bloody massacres.
Due to their sensationalist nature and, in Moscow’s case, large death toll, the three aforementioned terror attacks received some media attention. In reality, however, they are the tip of the iceberg: terror attacks conforming to ISIS’s directives are common, though minor or foiled ones receive little media attention.
In France, for example, on Mar. 5, police foiled a terror plot to bomb the Notre Dame Cathedral (much of which “inexplicably” went up in flames in 2019). A Muslim man of Egyptian origin, 62, was arrested. The Mar. 30 report notes that this was just the latest terror attack to be foiled in the previous three weeks. It quotes France’s interior minister Gérald Darmanin saying, We have never foiled so many attacks in France. The Islamic State is the author of the last eight foiled attacks in France. We foil a lot of [such terror] attacks, one every two months.
“Leila, 21,” begins a separate Mar. 15 report, “was planning to attack the faithful of a church in Béziers on Easter Day with a sword when she was arrested.” The report adds that police discovered in her home photos of decapitated bodies and videos of beheadings and how to make acid bombs. In her spiral notebook, she writes of [my] increasingly intense desire to go out into the street to slit the throat of the first passer-by, drag his corpse into the forest and smash his skull with an iron bar or a hammer then return to look for someone else. … I have learned to cut throats so there will probably be no problem.
On March 12, another unidentified woman, aged 39, barged into a church during morning Mass, where she made threats while waving a knife around. (The church had already suffered an arson attack, and stands near an area where three teenagers once violently attacked two other teens with tear gas while calling them “dirty Christians” — standard nomenclature regularly employed by Muslims.) This is to say nothing of the dozens of churches, cemeteries, and public crucifixes in France that were vandalized and desecrated in just the month of March, including with triumphant Islamic slogans.
In short, when Muslims ram their vehicles into infidels, or barge into their churches and other venues, slitting their throats and opening fire on them with automatic weapons, not only is that because Islam is inherently hostile to non-Muslims, but it may be a growing reflection of how the “caliphate” — which was supposedly beaten in 2019 — continues to influence Muslim hearts and minds.

How the Gaza war is derailing peace efforts in the wider region
Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg/Arab News/May 08, 2024
In addition to its devastating direct effects, Israel’s war on Gaza has delayed if not derailed several key projects aimed at reshaping the region by restoring peace and security. Many thought that those grand visions of historical reconciliation and cooperation would lead to greater prosperity in this region and beyond. The first casualty has been the peace process to tackle the Arab-Israeli conflict. Last September, at the opening of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, Saudi Arabia launched a new effort, in coordination with the Arab League, the EU and others, to rejuvenate the Arab Peace Initiative of March 2002 by offering a grand bargain of normalization with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from occupied territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iran’s hard-liners did not hide their opposition to the bargain. The former wanted normalization without ceding territory and the latter wanted Israel’s withdrawal without normalization, but almost everyone else agreed with the proposition. Before Oct. 7, the Saudi initiative was gaining momentum as the US and others made considerable efforts in that direction. The prospect of Arab-Israel reconciliation frightened Iran’s hard-liners for two reasons. First, advocacy for maximalist positions on Palestine is a key element of Iran’s revolutionary foreign policy, which opposes the two-state solution and excludes any reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians. Second, they feared that the US would use the grand bargain to consolidate forces opposed to Iran in the region. The war, especially the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, gave Netanyahu a pretext to again reject the idea of a Palestinian state At the same time, Israeli extremists, including Netanyahu, were opposed to any solution that could lead to a Palestinian state, which is the key component of the Arab Peace Initiative and the revived peace efforts.
The Gaza war provided a way out for both. Iran has opportunistically used the war to dust up its revolutionary credentials. Iran’s affiliates — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and some Iraqi militias — have engaged in quixotic efforts to show support for Palestinian factions in Gaza in an attempt to exploit the conflict for political gain for Tehran.
At the same time, the war, especially the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, gave Netanyahu a pretext to dig in his heels and again reject the idea of a Palestinian state. There was also another reconciliation project, between Iran and its neighbors. The March 2022 agreement signed in Beijing between Saudi Arabia and Iran led to some initial positive results, including the reopening of embassies and exchange of ambassadors between Riyadh and Tehran. It was followed by a flurry of high-level meetings and ironing out of some bilateral differences. There were genuine efforts to help de-escalate regional conflicts and extend the reconciliation beyond bilateral issues. Israel did not hide its anxiety regarding any effort to integrate Iran into the region and normalize relations with it. Netanyahu has made a career of portraying Iran as the source of all evil.
The Gaza war has slowed that process too. Much as in 2011, when Iran’s hard-liners exploited the so-called Arab Spring protests to enhance their regional influence, successfully at times, today they appear to be prioritizing attempts to take advantage of the conflict to improve their bargaining position.
Delayed reconciliation with Iran is not only postponing its integration in the Gulf region, but is also casting doubts on other projects. For example, Gulf Cooperation Council-Central Asia integration, which started two years ago, is moving slowly now because of the issues related to Iran, which sits right in the middle between these two regions. Iran could become an integral part of this project if there was genuine reconciliation with its neighbors.
The Houthis have dragged their feet and instead started a war against international shipping in the Red Sea
Peace in Yemen has been another casualty. Before the war in Gaza, Yemeni factions were moving toward a peace process, led by the UN and supported by Saudi Arabia and Oman. Since the war started, the Houthis have dragged their feet in responding to the UN roadmap and instead started a war against international shipping in the Red Sea. There is speculation that they believe the war has raised their stature within Yemen and improved their bargaining position to get a better deal than the one offered by the UN.
Syria is another casualty. Last year, Syria was readmitted to the Arab League under certain conditions as spelled out in the Amman Communique. It was a “step-for-step” formula agreed to by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Among the conditions were movement in good faith toward reaching a UN-led political solution in Syria, according to UN Security Council Resolution 2254, and combating drug trafficking from Syria. The war in Gaza has clouded the atmosphere and little progress has been made since then. Drug traffickers operating from Syrian territory have become more brazen and violent and the peace process has been on hold.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, which was announced last year to connect India and Europe, via the Gulf, through marine routes and railroads, has also suffered. The US, Saudi Arabia and others announced during the G20 meeting in New Delhi significant financial pledges to start this ambitious project, which Washington hoped would not only bring economic benefits but would also help integrate these regions politically and would have a positive effect on the Middle East process of peace and reconciliation.
All these grand ideas are now either on hold or moving more slowly than anticipated due to the war in Gaza. The sooner this war is brought to a conclusion, the sooner they can materialize. If not, the extremists will win and drag this region into the abyss.
**Dr. Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the Gulf Cooperation Council assistant secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation. The views expressed here are personal and do not necessarily represent the GCC. X: @abuhamad1

Exploitation, AI-style, a worrying new trend
Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/May 08, 2024
In a world where artificial intelligence is on the lips of everyone, each for their own reasons, I have often wondered if the benefits it provides outweigh the risks.
Among the few valid but gimmicky concerns we often hear are whether a super-intelligent AI will wipe out humanity, steal our jobs or enable killer robots that could annihilate one species and not another. My concern has always been to ask: at what cost? And whether AI will impact the future of humankind, such as the norms and values on which our social and economic models have rested for centuries. Above all, how much are the key ingredients for machine learning and AI costing the tech companies? That is the cost of harvesting and labeling data, which is human labor-intensive and costly, not to mention the environmental footprint of the mega-processors and their consumption and cooling in the age of trying to reduce emissions that cause global warming — an area that could form the discussion of another article all on its own.
The social impact of AI is yet to be determined. But since AI rests on data and large-language models, it needs extensive human input during the training phase. Big tech companies have resorted to service providers that hire independent workers, often from low-income countries and are often working in less-than-perfect conditions and earning very little. This has led some people to warn about the creation of “digital sweatshops” and the exploitation of workers in the developing world. Some people warn about the creation of ‘digital sweatshops’ and the exploitation of workers in the developing world
Last year, Time magazine reported on how Kenyan workers who were contracted to monitor text data for ChatGPT for any “toxicity” were paid less than $2 dollars per hour and were not compensated for being exposed to explicit and traumatic content. It was revealed by Untold Magazine last month that such workers were even recruited from refugee camps. Refugees from Syria, some as young as 21, have been recruited from camps in Bulgaria. After brief initial training in “digital skills” and some English language training, refugees work part-time for data labeling companies in what is known as “microwork” or “click work,” which employers describe as trivial and straightforward. But the work they engage in tells a different story. These refugees spend their days labeling images of people based on race, gender and age, as well as carrying out what is known as the “semantic segmentation” of satellite-sourced images, a critical task for computer vision that involves the meticulous separation and labeling of every pixel in an image. The report claimed that this form of data work holds particular importance in generating training data for AI, especially for computer vision systems embedded in devices such as cameras, drones and even weapons. The tasks at hand called on workers to separate the trees from the bushes, cars from people, roads from buildings, etc. But experts claimed that such work — belittled by the employer as small, low-skilled and not requiring expertise — in reality does require contextual knowledge, including an understanding of what vegetation and vehicles look like in specific regions, causing some to be suspicious that AI could be used for weapons and military applications.
According to the World Bank, there are between 154 million and 435 million data workers worldwide, the majority situated in the Global South. Their work tends to be on a freelance basis and they earn a few cents per piece or task, often commissioned by employment platforms or companies online. They have no employment protections whatsoever. Their labor contributes to the development of algorithms that could discriminate and cause harm
In the case of the Syrian refugees in Bulgaria, their suspicions are not unfounded, as the number of autonomous drones and other such technologies has grown dramatically over the past few years. Tech companies and militaries have been racing to integrate AI technology into their reconnaissance, target identification and decision-making processes, which many bill as the future tools of warfare, despite their clear limited use in the Ukraine-Russia war and, more widely, in the Israeli war on Gaza.
Cheap labor is often the name of the game in gig or temporary freelance work, but in the context of generative AI and machine-learning models, the harm is multiplied. It is bad not only for the poorly paid workers, but also due to the fact that their labor contributes to the development of algorithms that could discriminate and cause harm in a way that blurs the lines of accountability and transparency regarding incorrect or biased information, as the data is often from third or even fourth-party service providers.
One risk that has already been experienced is from AI-powered software tools used in surveillance and facial recognition, which have been proven to discriminate on the basis of race and gender. The ethical concerns and moral dilemmas for the workers should be addressed, as some of their work might adversely affect their own communities. Many data labelers are kept in the dark about the end users and their remit in terms of its usage.
If used in a proper way, AI has the potential to be transformative and to make a real difference to everyday life. But AI companies’ lack of transparency, such as the veil of secrecy they apply to their programs’ development in the name of safeguarding their competitive edge, coupled with weak or nonexistent official scrutiny, encourages a culture of impunity, even if we are to believe the premise that all companies working in this sector have the best interests of humanity as their priority. I am yet to be convinced, especially when business ventures are focused primarily on profit and power. Rarely are they set up for the universal benefit of humankind — not least their poorly compensated workers.
**Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years’ experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy. He is also a media consultant and trainer.

Europe and Saudi Arabia are partners for a prosperous future
CHRISTOPHE FARNAUD/Arab News/May 08, 2024
On Thursday, as on May 9 every year, we celebrate Europe Day. On this day in 1950, the Schuman Declaration laid the foundations for today’s EU. Initially an initiative to combine European economies in order to prevent war, it evolved into one of the most successful integration projects in history. The 27 member states of the EU share a clear vision of promoting peace, stability and prosperity within and beyond our borders. This implies that we defend and promote our values and our interests in accordance with international law. It is a constantly renewed effort and we are currently adjusting again to the new and dangerous realities of the world.
This means that we need partners. No country, no power can face today’s challenges alone. Against this backdrop, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as an organization and as individual countries, are strategic partners for Europe, with whom a new dynamic has been launched.
This is particularly true about Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom, through the implementation of Vision 2030, is going through a spectacular process of transformation in all fields that strengthens its role, regionally and globally. Riyadh today is an exciting place to live and work. Every day brings new achievements, new projects, something new to discover. In support of its vision, Saudi Arabia has pursued a foreign policy aimed at de-escalation, the easing of tensions and the strengthening of peace in the region.
In the context of growing international tensions, this partnership has a political and security dimension
The EU, already a major partner of Saudi Arabia, supports these changes. As a reflection of this new reality, the partnership between Saudi Arabia and the EU is increasingly close, solid and productive. The past year saw an unprecedented number of high-level visits from Europe to Saudi Arabia and vice versa. Beyond the regular visits of the EU Special Representative for the Gulf Luigi Di Maio, a number of EU commissioners visited the Kingdom to discuss cooperation in energy and trade, some of them even twice. Josep Borrell, the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission, visited Riyadh in January and again last week, on the occasion of the World Economic Forum special session — an event that provided further evidence of how Riyadh has become an important focal point for international meetings.
In the context of growing international tensions, this partnership has a political and security dimension. In January, the EU and the GCC held their first Regional Security Dialogue in Riyadh, followed by a High-Level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation at ministerial level last month in Luxembourg. These exchanges, reflecting common views and interests for the most part, are indispensable. We must work together to build lasting solutions.
This is true about the terrible situation in Gaza. Beyond urgent humanitarian measures — in total, since October, the EU and its member states have mobilized more than €690 million ($742 million) in assistance to the Palestinian people — our priorities remain the establishment of a ceasefire and the release of hostages, but also to avoid regional escalation and to work together toward a sustainable solution, the two-state solution.
This is also true of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Europe’s support to Kyiv is constant. We appreciate the diplomatic efforts of Saudi Arabia.
More broadly, the relations remain dynamic in all fields. Just a few weeks ago, the European Commission updated the rules on Schengen visas for Saudi, Omani and Bahraini nationals, who are now able to acquire a five-year multiple-entry visa with their first application. This important measure will make it easier for citizens of the GCC countries to visit Europe, which is a destination they know well. At the same time, European citizens are more and more interested in visiting Saudi Arabia and in experiencing its great hospitality. We will continue working to achieve further easing of the travel between our countries.
To strengthen people-to-people contacts and mutual understanding, the EU has launched several events
In the economic and trade arena, significant accomplishments in recent months emphasize the strength of the exchanges. In October, the first EU-KSA Investment Forum was held in Riyadh, with about 1,500 registered companies. This week, we launched the European Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia, another milestone in our economic relations. This chamber, the first in the Gulf, is from companies, for companies. It will contribute to strengthening the voice of our companies in Saudi Arabia in order to build new partnerships with our Saudi friends. European companies have already built a strong foundation in the Kingdom. We are collectively the second most important trading partner of Saudi Arabia and the first foreign investor. More than 1,300 companies from the EU have invested in the Kingdom. However, the economic dynamics in the Kingdom and in Europe, as well as our common global challenges, like climate change and a just energy transition, offer much room for further collaboration at both the public and private levels. I also want to highlight our excellent cooperation in the field of higher education. Investing in the youth is the most promising way of promoting our relations. We are also proud to develop our relations with Saudi universities. I hope the Erasmus+ program, which is accessible to Saudi universities, will facilitate more exchanges of students.
To strengthen people-to-people contacts and mutual understanding, the EU has launched several events, such as the European Film Festival, the European Food Festival, the Night of European Languages and the European Week of Music. On Thursday, we are also launching Europe Month, a series of cultural events to encourage further cultural exchanges between Europeans and Saudis. Even in sports, the relations are stronger than many think, from famous European football players playing here to their European coaches and the Dakar Rally.
More cooperation will allow us — the EU, Saudi Arabia and the GCC — to strengthen our accomplishments by making us more resilient and stronger. Together, we will be able to do more for a future of peace and prosperity.
**Christophe Farnaud is the EU Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Bahrain and Sultanate of Oman. X: @EUAmbGCC

‘Selective Outrage’
Michel Touma/This is Beirut/May 08/2024
Hundreds of young people have recently occupied numerous campuses in the United States and some European countries, pitching tents in a similar scenario. This is a reminder of the 2006 occupation of downtown Beirut by Hezbollah and its local cohorts. Therefore, these young people are unwittingly the tree that hides the forest.
On the surface, the aim of this protest movement is to denounce the deadly Israeli bombings in Gaza and to demand the emergence of a “free Palestine.” A commendable, noble, even captivating stance in principle… But upon closer examination, one cannot help but question if there might be something fishy about the circumstances surrounding this sudden pro-Palestinian wave.
For seven long months, the Gaza conflict has been raging on, marked by deadly violence that initially failed to provoke significant reactions. So, why this sudden surge of protests across American and European universities, with almost identical scenes unfolding: tent installations, prolonged sit-ins, flags of support for Hamas and Hezbollah, and uniform slogans?
Social media likely played a catalytic role, as is often the case in such circumstances. But in order to initiate such a rapid widespread of the movement in a short period of time in several countries, across multiple campuses, and under such similar forms, two conditions must be met: synchronization and centralization of directives allowing for the simultaneous organization of protest actions; and, above all, comprehensive and exhaustive financing of the vast movement, especially since numerous tents suddenly appeared on several campuses.
This prompts speculation about the hidden forces driving and financing this uprising, and their true intentions. Some point to the upcoming American presidential election, suggesting a ploy to influence public opinion in the November vote. Others suspect the involvement of foreign services, such as Russia or Iran, known for their destabilization tactics.
Critics may dismiss such conjecture as conspiracy theories. Yet, important questions remain unanswered. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal rightly denounced “selective outrages” in his recent address to the National Assembly.
For example, why has there been no significant reaction to the massacres perpetrated by the Syrian regime against the civilian population, which has particularly suffered from the regime’s extensive use of chemical weapons and barrel bombs?
How can one also explain the total silence surrounding the savage and deadly repression by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards against the youth and population of Iran, especially women and young girls who are thrown into prison, whipped, tortured, raped and beaten to death, and in some cases hanged, solely because they refuse to wear the veil or because they sing and dance in public? Not to mention the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, with all its consequences and humanitarian repercussions. The list goes on…
Supporters of the Iran-led axis may argue that the cases of Syria and Iran, to name just these two examples, are internal conflicts justifying non-interference. But does this rationalization allow repressive regimes to massacre their own people with impunity? It would thus be tolerable and “legitimate” for a bloodthirsty regime, like the one in Damascus, to engage in a fierce struggle against its population, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths and forcing several millions of its citizens into exile. Indignation is therefore not appropriate in this case, just as the Revolutionary Guards in power in Tehran can shoot at demonstrators with impunity and forcibly impose a way of life that plunges civilians, especially women, into a dismal atmosphere of the most retrograde kind.
Human rights seem to evoke “selective outrage” when the victims are Palestinians, but they are completely ignored when Syrian and Iranian civilians are victims by the hundreds of thousands of a policy of repression, or when the Lebanese population is subjected to a war of no concern to them.
Human rights are therefore selective (quoting Gabriel Attal) and do not carry the same values depending on whether one is a victim of policies practiced by foreigners or fellow citizens!
Our intention is by no means to trivialize the hardships endured by the population of Gaza… But it’s time to cease the exploitation of the Palestinian cause for unrelated agendas and also cease futile media posturing and geostrategic maneuvers that disregard the plight of Palestinians.
It is high time to put an end to the strategy of the irrational that has only plunged the populations of the Middle East into utterly sterile wars and endless armed conflicts, without horizons, and without any rational, pragmatic or lasting resolution in sight. It is high time to cease waging “war for the sake of war” by captivating the youth and the population through deceptive and demagogic slogans whose sole purpose is to insidiously conceal the true hegemonic intentions of those in power.