Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 22-23/2024
Elias Bejjani/Arabic Video: Saint Helena: A Pillar of Christian Legacy
Text & Video/No tears to be shed for the killing of the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi,"the Butcher"/Elias Bejjani/May 20, 2024
Only morons who have no clue of history, are rejoicing./Roger Bejjani/May 22, 2024
Drone war continues in southern Lebanon, Burkan missiles target Israeli sites
Le Drian to 'visit Lebanon urgently' as US-French summit looms
Residents Intercept UNIFIL Vehicle in Southern Suburbs
Israel-Hezbollah border clashes: Latest developments
South Lebanon: Two Hezbollah Combatants Killed in Odaisseh
South Lebanon: Ongoing Fire Exchange
Berri-led delegation heads to Iran to offer condolences over Raisi
Army seizes another guns truck at Tripoli port
‘Strong Republic’ Calls for Strict Measures to Halt Repercussions of Illegal Syrian
Minor arrested in TikTok rape case as drugged chocolate seized
Joy in Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut as European trio advances cause
Inside the interview: Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi addresses security measures
Turkish Pistols Invade Lebanon
Lebanon's 'billionaire club': The Mikati, and Hariri brothers on Forbes Middle East 2024 list
Beirut Municipality Illuminates Hamra and Sanayeh Streets
Syrian Migrants: UNHCR’s Double-Standards
In praise of the “May 17 Agreement between Lebanon and Israel of 1983”/Nadim Qutaish/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 22, 2024

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 22-23/2024
US signals support for possible ICC sanctions over Israel warrants
Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognize a Palestinian state, deepening Israel's isolation
Far-right Israeli Cabinet minister visits contested Jerusalem holy site, raising tensions
Blinken urges Egypt to ensure aid is flowing into Gaza
Arab League welcomes announcement by Spain, Ireland, Norway to recognize Palestine
Huge crowds in Iran capital for Raisi’s funeral
New Iranian foreign minister a familiar face for US officials
Iran's Armed Forces downplay role of Turkish drone in finding President's crash site
Iran's Center of Power Shifts From ‘Clerical Slippers to Combat Boots’
Saudi crown prince and French president discuss bilateral relations during phone call
Washington stepping up defense cooperation with GCC states: US official

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on May 22-23/2024
What Raisi’s death means for Iran and the region/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh//Arab News/May 22, 2024
Is there a chance of a clash between Egypt and Israel?/Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/May 22, 2024
The International Criminal Court: Unjust Equivalence?/Bakir Oweida/Arab News/May 22, 2024
UK needs a new deal as well as a new government/Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/May 22, 2024
'Showering cash on Iran': Ted Cruz claims Biden, Blinken funded Hamas massacre/Hannah Sarisohn/Jerusalem Post/May 22/2024
Nearly 70% of Gaza Aid from US-Built Pier Stolen/Joshua Marks/Gatestone Institute/May 22, 2024
Utopia and Preaching Against Incitement and the Apocalyptic Bent!/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/May 22/2024
Criminals… but!/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/May 22/2024
The Arab Summit… The Day After/Dr. Nassif Hitti/Asharq Al Awsat/May 22/2024
Must Armenia Cede Itself into Nonexistence?/Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/May 22/2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 22-23/2024
Elias Bejjani/Arabic Video: Saint Helena: A Pillar of Christian Legacy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATTsma-C6P4&t=188s
Elias Bejjani/May 21/2024

Elias Bejjani/Text& Video: Saint Helena: A Pillar of Christian Legacy
Elias Bejjani/May 21/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/129982/129982/
On May 21 each year, the Church remembers Saint Helena on Her Remembrance day.
Who was Saint Helena
In the tapestry of Christian history, few figures shine as brightly as Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. Born around 250 AD in the modest town of Drepanum in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), Helena’s life and legacy have left an indelible mark on the Christian world. Her contributions during the pivotal era of the Roman Empire not only fortified the foundations of Christianity but also transformed the religious landscape of the time.
A Journey from Modesty to Majesty
Helena’s early life was unremarkable; she hailed from a humble background and married Constantius Chlorus, an ambitious Roman officer. Together, they had one son, Constantine, who would later become one of Rome’s most significant emperors. Despite her divorce from Constantius, Helena remained a profound influence on Constantine, whose rise to power in 306 AD paved the way for Christianity to flourish within the Roman Empire.
Embrace of Faith
It is widely believed that Helena converted to Christianity following Constantine’s historic Edict of Milan in 313 AD, which granted religious tolerance throughout the empire. Her conversion marked the beginning of a fervent devotion to her faith that would guide her actions and endeavors for the rest of her life.
Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
In 326 AD, driven by her profound faith and an insatiable desire to uncover the roots of her religion, Helena embarked on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This journey, undertaken in her late seventies, was more than a personal quest; it was a mission to discover and preserve the sacred sites of Christianity. Her pilgrimage is legendary, particularly for her search for the True Cross, the very instrument of Christ’s crucifixion.
The Search for the True Cross
Helena’s dedication bore fruit when, according to tradition, she discovered three crosses at a site believed to be Golgotha. To identify the True Cross, she brought a dying woman to touch each one; upon touching the third cross, the woman was miraculously healed. This event cemented Helena’s place in Christian lore and significantly bolstered the veneration of the cross in Christian worship.
Architectural Contributions
Saint Helena’s legacy is also immortalized in the numerous churches she commissioned in the Holy Land, which stand as testaments to her faith and vision. Among the most renowned are:
*The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem: Constructed on the site where Jesus is believed to have been crucified, buried, and resurrected, this church remains a focal point of Christian pilgrimage.
*The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem: Built over the cave that tradition holds as the birthplace of Jesus, this church is a vital link to the Nativity story.
*The Church of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives: Commemorating the site where Jesus is said to have ascended into heaven, this church reflects the culmination of Christ’s earthly ministry.
A Saintly Status
Helena’s devout actions and her patronage of Christianity earned her sainthood in both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. Celebrated on May 21, her feast day honors her unwavering faith, her pivotal role in discovering Christianity’s most sacred relics, and her contributions to the spread and institutionalization of the Christian faith.
Legacy Through Constantine
Helena’s influence extended through her son, Emperor Constantine, whose own conversion and support for Christianity were undoubtedly shaped by his mother’s profound faith. Constantine’s reign marked the beginning of Christendom as a powerful force in the Western world, a transformation significantly credited to Helena’s guidance and devotion.
Conclusion
Saint Helena’s life is a beacon of faith and perseverance. Her contributions during a transformative era for Christianity laid the groundwork for the religion’s future growth and reverence. As we reflect on her legacy, we honor a woman whose devotion not only uncovered the sacred relics of the Christian faith but also built enduring monuments that continue to inspire and draw pilgrims from around the world. Helena’s story is a testament to the power of faith to move mountains, both literal and metaphorical, and to leave an everlasting impact on the world.
The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com

Video/No tears to be shed for the killing of the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi,"the Butcher"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx7bLz7nA0E
Elias Bejjani/May 20, 2024

Text & Video/No tears to be shed for the killing of the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi,"the Butcher"
Elias Bejjani/May 20, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/129948/129948/
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
On a momentous day, justice manifested itself to the entire world with the death of the Iranian President, a notorious figure who presided over a throne of corruption and oppression.
It was a dark end for a high-ranking Iranian official who held multiple positions in the dictatorial and religious regime that governs Iran with injustice, terrorism, and iron-fisted control.
Throughout his tenure in power and through every position he held, President Ebrahim Raisi, was complicit in countless crimes against his people, reaching its peak when he served as a judge overseeing the judicial system, where he sentenced thousands of innocent Iranian citizens who opposed the oppressive The whole world knows that the Iranian Mullahs' criminal, sectarian, oppressive, dictatorial, and destabilizing Mullah regime, is responsible for terrorist and mafia operations that have targeted dozens of countries worldwide.
President Ebrahim Raisi's criminal history paints a bloody picture of cruelty and persecution, as he committed the most heinous crimes against innocent Iranian citizens seeking freedom, justice, and basic rights.
His actions bore the marks of tyranny and injustice, as he sentenced more than 33,000 Iranian opposition members, mostly Mujahideen-e Khalq members, who were advocating peacefully for real change in their country, to execution.
What adds to the horror in Raisi's profile is his extremist Islamic Jihadist ideology, which he promoted with fanaticism and zeal in both words and deeds.
His ideas fueled the culture of bigotry, extremism, and harshness in the hearts and minds of extremists and radicals and paved the way to justify violence and repression under a false, populist, and deceitful religious guise.
He served as a soldier in the battles of the Mullahs, and was very close to Iran's Supreme Leader, Khamenei, who spread chaos, injustice, oppression, and poverty in Iran and all Middle East countries.
The so-called Butcher President was not far from political ambition, as he was one of the potential candidates to succeed Khamenei.
In this context, doubts arise that Khamenei's ambitious son might have been behind the helicopter crash that killed him, perhaps to get rid of his dangerous rival for power.
However, regardless of the circumstances that led to the Butcher's death, we must not allow ourselves to mourn or be affected by the demise of this murderer and terrorist.
No sadness, no tears should be shed for someone who did not spare his own people, and did not adhere to the most basic human rights standards.
No doubt that Raisi's departure was a natural end to a tyrant and dictator, and a lesson to all who seek to seize power, suppress freedoms, practice injustice, terrorism, and disregard people's lives and rights.
The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com

Only morons who have no clue of history, are rejoicing.
Roger Bejjani/May 22, 2024
The recognition of Palestine as a State could have been done in 1948. The whole world was ready to do so. Unfortunately Palestinians refused declaring their State. And they refused doing so until 1988, even when the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza were not occupied for 18 years.
Today few countries are recognizing a State in limbo with no territory. What a victory! After years of miseries. Only morons who have no clue of history, are rejoicing.

Drone war continues in southern Lebanon, Burkan missiles target Israeli sites
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/May 22, 2024
BEIRUT: Hezbollah mourned two of its members on Wednesday, the 228th day of confrontations between the group and the Israeli army in southern Lebanon. The total number of Hezbollah fatalities, along with its affiliated medics and members of its ally, the Amal Movement, has reached 330.
Confrontations continued between the two sides through airstrikes, with both sides employing combat drones in addition to conventional warfare methods. Israeli combat drones raided the towns of Mays Al-Jabal and an area between the towns of Alma Al-Shaab and Dhayra. Two missiles fired by an Israeli combat drone targeted the town of Aita Al-Shaab. Israeli artillery shelled the town of Markaba, causing a large fire that civil defense teams worked to extinguish. The town of Hula was also subjected to Israeli artillery shelling, as were the outskirts of the towns of Tayr Harfa and Alma Al-Shaab.
The two Hezbollah members were killed on Tuesday night in an airstrike by an Israeli drone that targeted the town of Odaisseh; Mohammed Ali Bou Taam (born in 2000) from the town of Taybeh in southern Lebanon, and Ali Hassan Sultan (born in 1991) from the town of Souaneh in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah targeted several Israeli military sites, including the Ramim barracks, with Burkan missiles, and the Al-Sadah site, and said in a statement that it “directly hit it with artillery shells.”
Brig. Gen. Mounir Shehadeh, the former Lebanese government coordinator to UNIFIL and former head of the military court, said that the escalation on the southern front carried two messages from Hezbollah. The first, he said, was “a response to the repeated threats from Israeli officials to launch a major military operation in southern Lebanon to push Hezbollah to withdraw to the north of the Litani Line. The second message is that the party is ready to escalate if Israel decides to enter Rafah and commit more massacres.”Shehadeh said that Hezbollah was using new tactics and weapons. He said that targeting the newly established Israeli military sites was an indication of the capabilities it possessed, especially in intelligence and reconnaissance. He added that repeatedly targeting the Meron base and downing two balloons had caused Israel to lose control and air superiority over the northern front, especially as Hezbollah said that it has so far used only 20 percent of its qualitative capabilities. The Israeli army has rigged combat drones; on Tuesday, a small drone launched by the Israeli army exploded in the direction of a house in the town of Naqoura. Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 12 website noted “an increase in the use of drones by Hezbollah,” considering that “its lethal capability has increased.”
The website reported that a study conducted by the Alma Center, which specializes in researching the security challenges facing Israel in the north, stated that “24 incidents of drones entering Israeli airspace occurred in March, the number increased to 42 incidents in April, and 20 incidents were recorded in May.”
The website quoted officials at Alma Center as saying: “There is a difficulty related to the way drones fly toward the target.” Tal Barry, director of research at Alma Center, told Channel 12 that “Hezbollah is using the current battle to evaluate the offensive and defensive capabilities of the Israeli army, and also to compare its capabilities with those of the Israeli army.”Amid the tension on the southern front and increasing protests by Israeli settlers who were evacuated from settlements in the north, a video spread across Israeli websites, shared on social media, showing an Israeli man appearing on Israeli Channel 12. In the video, the man calls what he claimed to be Caesars Park Hotel (in Beirut), demanding evacuation for himself and thousands of Israelis.
The Israeli caller, speaking in Arabic, asked the person who answered from the hotel: “I am calling from Israel. There are 30, 40, 50 thousand people who need to come to Beirut because of Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran. Do you have any available space?”
The hotel employee responded with surprise, “Where are you from?” The Israeli caller answered in Arabic, “We are from Israel, we are 50, 60 thousand people, we want to come to Beirut to your hotel.” The employee angrily replied, “Go to hell,” and hung up.The Lebanese hotel employee’s response angered the Israeli caller, who insulted the person on air. Arab News contacted the hotel on Hamra Street in Beirut to confirm the Israeli call. A hotel source confirmed that the call was received by the employee “through the landline.” The Israeli caller claimed on the Israeli TV channel that he had previously visited Beirut and stayed at the hotel, but the hotel source strongly denied this. This Israeli infiltration via phone call was preceded by a similar infiltration at the start of the confrontations. Israelis used the Lebanese phone network to contact dozens of southerners who had evacuated their homes in border regions, inquiring whether they were in their residences or had abandoned them, pretending to be from financial institutions or relief associations. It was later revealed that based on people’s responses, the Israeli side was tracking the movement of Hezbollah members in order to demolish their homes.
The Secretary-General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah revealed these communications and urged people to avoid using the Internet in the border region and to remove external surveillance cameras from homes because of Israeli infiltration. The Israeli army managed to kill a significant number of Hezbollah members by this method.

Le Drian to 'visit Lebanon urgently' as US-French summit looms
Naharnet/May 22/2024
There are currently French attempts to arrange an urgent visit to Lebanon by the French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in a bid to “stir the stagnant waters and give impetus to the mission of the five-nation committee which has started to falter,” prominent political sources said.The sources added, in remarks to al-Joumhouria newspaper, that “the efforts of the quintet’s ambassadors have been currently suspended.”The daily meanwhile quoted Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Alaa Moussa as saying that “a U.S.-French summit will be held soon and Lebanon will be among its topics of discussion.” “This necessitates the Lebanese political forces to speed up the finalization of the presidential election, especially that the U.S. administration will become preoccupied with its presidential vote as of June,” Moussa was quoted as saying.

Residents Intercept UNIFIL Vehicle in Southern Suburbs
UNIFIL/This Is Beirut/May 22/2024
A vehicle of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was intercepted near the Ain al-Dalba intersection in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Tuesday evening. Residents in the Hezbollah-controlled area stopped the vehicle, considering that the route is “outside UNIFIL’s zone of operations.”

Israel-Hezbollah border clashes: Latest developments
Naharnet/May 22/2024
Israeli warplanes and drones raided Wednesday the southern border towns of Mays al-Jabal and Aita al-Shaab while artillery shelled Markaba and the outskirts of Tayrharfa and Alma al-Shaab. "Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike near Aita al-Shaab's school, less than an hour after a drone targeted the same area in the town," the National News agency said. Hezbollah for its part targeted a military post in northern Israel, as it announced the death of two of its members "on the road to Jerusalem" after a strike overnight on al-Odaisseh that killed two people, according to the NNA. On Tuesday, Hezbollah carried out seven attacks on Israeli positions. The fighting has so far killed at least 426 people in Lebanon, mostly militants but also including 82 civilians, according to an AFP tally. Israel says 14 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed on its side of the border.The violence has raised fears of all-out conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which went to war in 2006.

South Lebanon: Two Hezbollah Combatants Killed in Odaisseh
This Is Beirut/May 22/2024
The exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel continued on Wednesday on the southern front. Two Hezbollah fighters were killed in a drone attack in Odaisseh on Tuesday night. For its part, Hezbollah announced in two statements on Wednesday that two of its fighters had been killed, Mohammad Ali Bou Taama and Ali Hassan Sultan. The Israeli air force also carried out several raids on Mays el-Jabal and the Battishiya area between Alma el-Chaab and Dhaïra. The village of Markaba was also bombed. This led to a major fire, which Civil Defense teams have been working to extinguish. The Tal al-Hanbal and al-Qaeda neighborhoods, as well as Teir Harfa and Alma el-Chaab, were also targeted. The locality of Wadi al-Mozlem on the outskirts of Beit Lif in the central sector was targeted during the night, as mock raids were carried out over the border villages adjacent to the Blue Line. In addition, flares were dropped on villages in the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts throughout Tuesday night, while reconnaissance aircraft flew over the same villages.

South Lebanon: Ongoing Fire Exchange
This Is Beirut/May 22/2024
Escalation continued on the southern border on Wednesday afternoon as Hezbollah announced having “targeted a building used by Israeli soldiers in Avivim with appropriate weapons and achieving accurate hits.” In parallel, Israeli media reported that “Avivim witnessed a fire outbreak after an anti-armor missile was launched from Lebanon.” In another statement, Hezbollah declared “shelling the Sammaqa and Baghdadi sites as well as a building used by Israeli soldiers in Kfar Giladi with rocket weaponry and achieving direct hits.”Later, the pro-Iranian party also targeted the Ramim barracks. On the other hand, Israeli warplanes bombed the Kharbiya region on the outskirts of Rachaya al-Foukhar and the town of Rab Thalathin, amid intense artillery shelling of Hama Rashaya. Naqoura was also targeted by Israeli artillery before the Israeli army announced raiding Hezbollah military buildings in Aita al-Shaab and reconnaissance bases in Alma al-Shaab. Earlier today, Hezbollah issued two statements mourning Muhammad Ali Bou Taama and Ali Hassan Sultan, who were killed by an Israeli drone attack on the town of Odaisseh last night.

Berri-led delegation heads to Iran to offer condolences over Raisi
Naharnet/May 22/2024
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday traveled to Tehran at the head of a delegation to offer condolences over the death of Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi, foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and others in a helicopter crash.
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei presided over the funeral of the late officials on Wednesday, as tens of thousands followed a procession of their caskets through the capital, Tehran. The Lebanese delegation comprises caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Higher Islamic Shiite Council deputy head Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, Amal Movement presidential committee member Khalil Hamdan, Berri’s media adviser Ali Hamdan, and the head of parliament’s media dept., Ali Diab.

Army seizes another guns truck at Tripoli port
Naharnet/May 22/2024
The Lebanese Army has seized a second truck carrying pistols smuggled from Turkey into the country. “The Intelligence Directorate has seized at the Port of Tripoli a truck carrying 400 smuggled pistols that were concealed in it while also arresting its driver,” the army said in a statement. “Investigations are underway to identify their destination and arrest the rest of the culprits,” the army added. According to the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper, the weapons were confiscated after the truck crossed the customs checkpoint at the port. “It was not searched and it did not cross the (customs’) scanner,” the daily added, revealing that “there is a ‘rule’ at the port under which trucks carrying oils and coming from Turkey do not undergo inspection and no not get scanned.”“The truck belongs to a trader other than the trader whose shipment was seized in Batroun,” Nidaa al-Watan said. A truck carrying oils went up in flames Monday in the Batroun town of Basbina after which it turned out that it was carrying 304 smuggled pistols, the army said on Tuesday. A senior judicial source told Agence France Presse on Monday that the first truck belonged to a Palestinian resident of the Mieh Mieh Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon. The source added that the guns arrived aboard a ship that also came from Turkey.

‘Strong Republic’ Calls for Strict Measures to Halt Repercussions of Illegal Syrian
This Is Beirut/May 22/2024
A delegation from the “Strong Republic” (Lebanese Forces) bloc presented on Wednesday, to caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, a note on behalf of Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea about the impact of illegal Syrian presence in Lebanon in different sectors. The MPs conveyed their party’s rejection of the policies of international organizations and the conditions that donors “impose on Lebanese associations and municipalities to implement these policies at the expense of Lebanon’s interest, security and stability.” They considered that “these policies aim, through financial support to Syrian migrants, to settle them in Lebanon.”They called on Mawlawi to take strict measures to halt the practices of these organizations “since local associations and municipalities are subject to the authority of the Interior Minister.”The delegation included MPs Ghada Ayoub, Camille Chamoun, Elias al-Khoury, Razi al-Hajj, Jihad Pakradouni, Elias Estefan, Said al-Asmar and Nazih Matta. Following the meeting, Ayoub also expressed LF readiness to accompany the minister and government work by submitting the necessary reports against Lebanese associations and founders of associations who violate laws and regulations. In response to a question, she revealed that “the minister promised to issue circulars and give directives to the security forces and General Security to do what is necessary for the local associations to scrutinize their work.”
“So he is ready to submit a proposal to the Council of Ministers to withdraw licenses from violating associations,” she added. “We have witnessed the implementation of the security plan in Beirut in a good way, and we hope that it will be extended to all regions,” Ayoub concluded.

Minor arrested in TikTok rape case as drugged chocolate seized
Naharnet/May 22/2024
The interrogation of detainees in the so-called TikTokers case has led to the arrest of a 16-year-old boy who had been molested before he took part in blackmailing other minors, MTV reported. “The arrest took place Monday evening and he is being questioned by the anti-cybercrime bureau of the Internal Security Forces,” the TV network added. OTV meanwhile reported that the aforementioned bureau has raided a warehouse in Dbaye where large quantities of “chocolate containing narcotics” were found. The drugged chocolate “belongs to one of the detainees held in the TikTokers gang case,” OTV said, adding that the candies had been used to drug minors prior to molestation. Mount Lebanon Attorney General Tanios al-Saghbeeni had on May 9 filed charges against 12 suspects in the case. Those charged included five detainees.
“The investigative judge has been asked to send the arrest warrants to the Interpol once they are issued and to send two judicial assistance requests to an Arab country and a European country in which (the suspects) Peter Naffah and Paul Maouchi are suspected to be residing,” the National News Agency said.
According to reports, the gang comprises 30 members while at least 30 children have been molested. A judicial official meanwhile told AFP that minors who are famous on TikTok were used to lure other minors who were allegedly "drugged, raped and blackmailed into promoting drugs." The arrests came after children complained to the public prosecution about being "sexually assaulted and photographed by members of an organized gang, and forced to use drugs in hotels," the Internal Security Forces said. They were lured through a "clothing shop account offering deals or promises of being featured in advertisements, or through a hair salon or fake social media accounts," a security official said. Suspects "raped them, filmed the rapes and then made them watch the videos, and blackmailed them, threatening to post the footage (online) if they spoke out," he added.

Joy in Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut as European trio advances cause
Agence France Presse/May 22/2024
In Beirut's impoverished Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila -- a maze of alleyways where posters honor fallen martyrs -- residents expressed joy Wednesday after three European countries said they would recognize a Palestinian state.
"We hope that the whole world will recognize Palestine, and we are happy with this decision... It is a beautiful feeling," said Alaa Ghozlan, 26, whose family is originally from Haifa, now in northern Israel. "We now have hope to return to our country -- a country I was not born in and was deprived of but which lives inside me despite everything," he told AFP on a winding street in the camp. Israel was enraged by the move announced Wednesday by Ireland, Norway and Spain, arguing that it amounts to "rewarding terrorism" after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the bloodiest ever Gaza war.
Seven other European countries including Sweden have already recognized Palestinian statehood. Lebanon hosts an estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees, many living in poverty in the country's 12 official camps, according to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Most are descendants of survivors of what Palestinians call the Nakba -- the "catastrophe" -- when about 760,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes by the 1948 war over Israel's creation.
'Demand our rights' -
Shatila resident Samah Omari, 50, a housewife, said she was "very happy" with the decision, and expressed hope that it would eventually impact her and her family.
"People are dying in Palestine. We demand our rights and defend our land so that our state can be recognized by all countries," she said. "We hope to return to our country and not be refugees anymore," she added. The camp's tumbledown walls are adorned with Palestinian flags and posters in support of militant groups including Hamas and their leaders. Men on motorbikes and tuk-tuks squeeze past women shopping and school children making their way through the streets. Above, matted electricity wires and plastic water tubes are bound precariously with rope or cables, some weighed down by clothes that have fallen from washing lines. The United States and most Western European nations have said they are willing to one day recognize Palestinian statehood, but not before agreement is reached on thorny issues like final borders and the status of Jerusalem.But Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza, with its mounting death toll, has given the issue new impetus.
'Bright future' -
Suliman Abdel Hadi, 70, an official at the camp, said the timing of the decision was "important after October 7 because of the massacres carried out by the brutal Zionist enemy". "We see a bright future for the Palestinian cause," said Abdel Hadi, whose family is from the Acre area, now in northern Israel. "What happened today is the result of sacrifices made by the Palestinian people over 76 years of persecution, killing and destruction," he added. Hamas's October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also took 252 hostages, 124 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,709 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the territory's health ministry.
On another street in Shatila, a man who gave his name as Abu Majdi, and whose father originally hailed from Haifa, called the decision "great" and said it was "baptised in the blood of martyrs". "This recognition will change the future of coming generations and the future of the Palestinian cause," said the 63-year-old man, a Palestine pendant hanging from his neck.

Inside the interview: Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi addresses security measures
LBCI/May 22/2024
Lebanon's caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities Bassam Mawlawi affirmed on Wednesday that the security plan is a necessity and has been demanded by many politicians and citizens. He stated that the plan's goal is not to impound cars or motorcycles but to make sure people feel safe again.
In an interview with LBCI's "Hiwar Al Marhala" talk show, Mawlawi said: "Every Lebanese should be satisfied with the security plan, and I do not accept the notion that there are groups who want 'instability.'"He stated that security forces have dealt with citizens according to military ethics and as required. He further added that the financial crisis the citizens are experiencing has nothing to do with the Ministry of Interior, saying: "We are trying to protect them from theft and robbery, and to ensure stability and safety." He expressed: "I did not close the Traffic and Vehicles Management Authority. The reasons for the closure were due to some individuals being pursued, and there were financial issues related to the exchange rate," affirming that it has been open since April 2023.Mawlawi revealed that the Authority completes 947 transactions daily, which is the maximum productivity, and its doors are open on Saturdays and Sundays to meet citizens' needs. The Minister of Interior revealed during the interview that within a maximum of two months, citizens will be able to take the driving test. He added: "Regarding driving licenses, we have conducted exams for driving-test committees and asked driving schools to fill out the forms. Officers will review them, and these schools will undergo training at the Internal Security Forces establishment." During the interview, Lebanon's caretaker Minister of Interior said that the individuals affected by law enforcement and security maintenance are the ones directing campaigns against the security plan. He also mentioned: "Municipalities need to follow the law because they are not separate from the state. We do not support municipalities taking care of their own security, and we are not targeting anyone." He confirmed that the security plan is designed to ensure the security of the country.
Minister Bassam Mawlawi mentioned that trucks that were discovered carrying weapons supposedly intended for commercial use. This suggests they were meant to be sold to Lebanese citizens, posing a risk of increased crime. Regarding the recent developments in the Syrian refugee issue, the Minister of Interior commented: "We are determined to implement laws and the memorandum of understanding of 2003 between Lebanon and UNHCR." "We request support for Syrians in their own land, not in Lebanon because Lebanon is a temporary transit country, not a country of refuge," he added.

Turkish Pistols Invade Lebanon
This Is Beirut/May 22/2024
The Turkish pistols which were seized in two trucks, after being loaded at the port of Tripoli earlier this week, are being converted into military weapons, according to a security source who spoke to This is Beirut on condition of anonymity.
The weapon-laden trucks were intercepted in less than 24 hours on Monday afternoon and on Tuesday in the Batroun caza and in Tripoli. The high-ranking security source confirmed to This is Beirut that the pistols “were readapted and converted into military firearms by a smuggling network, then sold in Lebanon through these gangs.”The source also indicated that “there is no smuggling of military weapons into Lebanon or any attempt to arm certain groups, but we are confronted with smuggling networks and arms dealers in a limited way.”He added that “the security services are hunting these networks, most of which are known to them.”The same source explained that “this type of weapons represents a danger both to the bearer and to others.”They are being sold on the market for $100 – $200. This is not the first time that Turkish pistols have been smuggled into Lebanon through networks involving Lebanese, Turks, Palestinians and Syrians, usually via the port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon.

Lebanon's 'billionaire club': The Mikati, and Hariri brothers on Forbes Middle East 2024 list
LBCI/May 22/2024
In a recently published post, Forbes Middle East shared the Middle East's "Richest Billionaires 2024" list. According to the magazine, "the Middle East billionaires’ collective wealth amounted to $100.9 billion," adding that "Pavel Durov—the founder and owner of the messaging app Telegram—is the richest man in the Middle East, with a net worth of $15.5 billion in 2024."With entries coming from countries such as Egypt, the UAE, and India, Lebanon was featured with six billionaires, having a "combined net worth of $11.8 billion."
So, who are they?
Najib Mikati
Net Worth: $2.8 B
Najib Mikati, who currently serves as Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, cofounded M1 Group investment firm.
Mikati and his brother, Taha, founded Investcom in 1982, selling satellite phones at the peak of Lebanon's civil war.
"They expanded into Africa, where they built cellphone towers in Ghana, Liberia, and Benin, among other countries," Forbes Middle East said, adding: "In 2005, Investcom went public on the London Stock Exchange, and in 2009, South Africa's MTN bought the Mikatis' stake for $3.6 billion."
Taha Mikati
Net Worth: $2.8 B
Taha Mikati is the cofounder of Beirut-based holding company M1 Group, with investments including stakes in MTN, Pepe Jeans, and prime real estate in New York, London, and Monaco.
Bahaa Hariri
Net Worth: $2.1 B
Ayman Hariri
Net Worth: $1.4 B
Fahed Hariri
Net Worth: $1.2 B
Bahaa Hariri, Ayman Hariri, and Fahed Hariri are the sons of late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
In the details:
- In 2008, Bahaa Hariri sold his stake in Saudi Oger, the family construction business, to his brother Saad Hariri, the country's former prime minister.
He also founded and chairs Horizon Group, a real estate holding company with investments in Jordan and Lebanon.
- Ayman Hariri inherited a stake in a Saudi-based construction company, Saudi Oger, and also sold it to his brother Saad in 2014.
Additionally, he invests in startups via New York-based firm Red Sea Ventures and serves as a cofounder and CEO of Vero, a social media platform that allows users to share music, videos, in addition to photos.
- Fahed Hariri, the youngest son of the late Rafik Hariri, sold his shares in the family construction firm Saudi Oger to his brother Saad Hariri in 2012.
"He invested some of the proceeds in real estate in New York, Paris, and Monte Carlo and Lebanese banks. He is also developing residential buildings in Beirut," the magazine said.
Robert Mouawad
Net Worth: $1.5 B
Robert Mouawad inherited his family's high-end jewelry business that was founded in Beirut in 1890. Additionally, he turned over the business' management to his sons.
"Mouawad boasts one of the world's most dazzling gem collections, including Dynasty, a 51.12-carat Russian diamond estimated at nearly $10 million. Robert Mouawad also owns extensive real estate and has developed luxury residences on a man-made island in Bahrain," added Forbes Middle East.

Beirut Municipality Illuminates Hamra and Sanayeh Streets
This Is Beirut/May 22/2024
The Municipality of Beirut lit up on Wednesday night several streets in the Hamra and Sanayeh neighborhoods, starting from the Central Bank to the Ministry of Information, through the street leading to the Ministry of Interior parallel to René Moawad Park, up to the Spears area. The event was attended by Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud, Beirut Municipal Council President Abdullah Darwish and a number of municipal and social officials. After the event, Abboud affirmed that “this comes among initiatives to enhance security in Beirut and improve the situation of residents. The Municipality of Beirut is cooperating and participating with the civil sector in lighting the streets of Beirut,” revealing that “Mr. Ali Fatouni is at the forefront of this initiative.”“We have 18,000 bulbs and 450,000 meters of roads with poles, and we intend from today until New Year’s Eve to have most of them lit,” he said, pointing out that “this process was done with solar energy and private generators, and today we are replacing the existing bulbs, which should have been replaced earlier, with more energy-efficient ones.” “This is a great challenge for us, but with the efforts of loyal people, we will succeed,” Abboud continued.

Syrian Migrants: UNHCR’s Double-Standards
Michel Touma/This Is Beirut/May 22/2024
At the end of October 2023, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland decided to strengthen their cooperation to deport migrants residing illegally in their respective countries. French daily newspaper Le Figaro then quoted Danish Minister of Migration Kaare Dybvad Bek as stressing the collective interest of the Nordic countries in “repatriating foreigners with no residence permits.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen advocated for a “zero refugee” policy in her country since taking office in 2019. In 2020, Denmark became the first European country to revoke residency permits for Syrian refugees, deeming the situation in the Damascus region “sufficiently secure” for their return. As part of the joint policy agreed upon by the Nordic countries to address the harmful consequences of illegal immigration, Swedish Minister in charge of Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard announced in November 2023 that her government was considering deporting “dishonest migrants.” It proposed measures to facilitate the expulsion of migrants in irregular situations or those perceived as a threat to “Swedish democratic values.”
Is it necessary to recall that Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland rank among the most prosperous, developed and democratic nations in the Western world? It is precisely to preserve this prosperity and internal stability that these countries adopted a firm stance towards migrants in irregular situations, actively working to facilitate their expulsion.
In Beirut, approximately ten days ago, Ivo Freijsen, the UNHCR representative in Lebanon, forwarded a memorandum to the Minister of Interior, Bassam Mawlawi, urging “an end to inhumane practices” (sic!) against Syrian migrants. The UN official was referring to the recent actions taken by Minister Mawlawi to address the irregular situation of many Syrian migrants in Lebanon, especially in the economic sector. These measures, in essence, echo those announced by the Nordic countries at the end of 2023. However, the UNHCR refrained from criticizing the European countries as it did the Ministry of the Interior… What seems acceptable and legitimate for the Nordic countries evidently does not apply to Lebanon. The UNHCR in Lebanon feigns to ignore that Syrian migrants now make up nearly 40% of the Lebanese population, and that the Assad regime opposes their return. Lebanon must serve as a transit country for migrants, not an emigration destination, especially given the advanced downfall of the central State and the daily challenges faced by the Lebanese people amid the most devastating economic and financial crisis in their modern history. Yet, despite these circumstances, the UNHCR considers that what was deemed acceptable in Europe is not in Lebanon…Mawlawi’s display of exceptional political courage was pivotal in confronting the issue head-on and adopting concrete measures aimed at ending the illegal economic activities of Syrian migrants. His laudable initiative was undoubtedly facilitated by the comprehensive campaign recently launched by the sovereigntist camp, particularly by the Lebanese Forces (LF), the Kataeb and independent figures. This campaign spurred widespread mobilization among municipalities, their partisans and certain local driving forces, especially following the assassination of Pascal Sleiman (LF coordinator in Jbeil), to urgently address the existential problem of the chaotic presence of Syrian migrants. This cultivated a prevailing climate of national consensus, fostering support for the Minister of Interior’s implementation of the robust measures against illegal migration, notwithstanding some dissenting voices.
However, all efforts to expel illegal Syrian migrants will ultimately prove ineffective as long as the borders with Syria remain porous. This is precisely where the international community can assist Lebanon by providing the army with the support commensurate with Lebanese expectations. But this is hindered by the weighty, uncontrolled presence of Hezbollah at the border. The resolution of the migrant crisis unequivocally hinges on a radical action to remove this remotely controlled obstacle—this is, indeed, the fundamental issue—imposed by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. The responsibility of the international community, especially that of Western powers, is particularly significant in this regard…

In praise of the “May 17 Agreement between Lebanon and Israel of 1983”
Nadim Qutaish/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 22, 2024 (Google Translation from Arabic)
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/130012/130012/
The political talk and screaming made the peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon, signed on May 17, 1983, something like a taboo. The important attempt to establish peace and normalize relations between the two countries, amid the chaos of the Lebanese civil war, and the earthquakes that were striking regional geopolitics, through the Khomeini revolution and the Egyptian-Israeli peace, and in the shadow of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, lasted less than 10 months. Since then, due directly to the long Syrian presence in Lebanon and its control over the country's political culture and discourse, and then the Hezbollah militia inheriting this Syrian role, all real discussion of Israeli-Lebanese peace has been nullified. The Taif Agreement, which ended the Lebanese civil war, was falsified with readings that strengthen resistance, perpetuate Lebanese-Israeli hostility, and ideologize it within a context that has nothing to do with practical and direct Lebanese interests, such as occupation, resources, security, and others.
The peace treaty stipulated mutual recognition by the governments of the two countries of sovereignty and territorial integrity, with a commitment to prevent cross-border hostilities. Israel agreed to withdraw its forces from Lebanon in stages within 12 weeks, on the condition that Syrian forces and Palestine Liberation Organization forces withdraw from Lebanese territory. It was decided to establish a security zone in southern Lebanon, in which the Lebanese army would assume responsibility for security, in addition to general provisions regarding economic and social cooperation, and opening the door to the exchange of diplomatic relations.
None of these provisions conflict with Lebanon's interests!
It is noteworthy that among those who voted for the agreement at the time, with a majority of 65 votes in Parliament, was a mixture of the most prominent Muslim and Christian politicians, and those who were later able to play advanced roles in the Lebanese political scene, including ministers, representatives, and notables, and among them the late Elias Hrawi assumed the position of President of the Republic for nine years. Years!
As for those who voted against the May 17 agreement in Parliament, they were symbols of leftist Arabist talk, namely Zaher Al-Khatib and Najah Wakim! The harshest objection was centered outside Parliament, specifically through sectarian militias, Druze and Shiite, in alliance with the former president, the Syrian Suleiman Franjieh, and the Arabists of the Sunni sect, such as the late President Rashid Karami, and its late mufti, Hassan Khaled... What is noteworthy is that the Sunni sect will pay heavy prices later as a result of its opposition to the presence. After a very few years, a number of faces and notables who temporarily intersected with Hafez al-Assad’s Syria over his rejection of the peace treaty, such as Mufti Khalid, Representative Nazim al-Qadri, and others, were bleeding.
The truth of the matter is that the May 17 agreement did not fail because it did not achieve Lebanon’s interests, but rather because of Syria’s strong opposition to it and its eagerness to maintain its influence in Lebanon, its efficiency in investing in Lebanese divisions and generational conflict within sects, and its acumen in promoting new aspirants through which it changed the entire political elite in the country. . The treaty was also dropped so that it would not be an obstacle to Iran’s systematic robbery of the Shiites of Lebanon, whose notables voted in favor of peace, while Khomeini was seeking to turn them into a lever for the project of exporting the revolution.
Perhaps it is an irony of fate today that Lebanon, which is facing its worst economic crisis in 150 years according to World Bank estimates, and is on the brink of all-out war with Israel as a result of Hezbollah’s decision to support the Hamas movement in its current war in Gaza... is negotiating with Israel. Indirectly, through his ally, President Nabih Berri, and the Americans, similar to the May 17 arrangements, at least in terms of buffer zones, border demarcation, and truce arrangements! It is true that there is no current discussion of political normalization or ending the state of hostility, but the Lebanese-Israeli peace agreement remains, in its spirit and many of its texts, the only logical horizon for the relations of the two countries.
The May 17 agreement represented a major missed opportunity for Lebanon, which could have changed the country’s course towards a completely different fate. If the treaty were to stand, nothing would prevent the strengthening of economic cooperation with Israel, through joint projects in infrastructure, trade, tourism, energy, and the creation of growth and job opportunities. Lebanon could have sustained and systematic support from the United States as a guarantor, enabling it to attract significant foreign aid and investments. By foregoing this opportunity, Lebanon continued to pay a heavy price in terms of political fragmentation, economic collapse, ongoing conflict, and a deadly entanglement in regional conflicts. Lebanese-Israeli peace, supported by strong international guarantees, necessary to achieve lasting peace and stability, is the only thing that will enable Lebanon to restore its potential and secure a brighter future for its citizens. Sooner or later, the entire region will move towards more peace, and Lebanon will have paid many terrible prices before it can reap what was available to it at lower costs.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 22-23/2024
US signals support for possible ICC sanctions over Israel warrants
Sam Cabral - BBC News, Rachel Looker - BBC News and Cai Pigliucci - BBC News/Wed, May 22, 2024
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has suggested he will work with lawmakers on potential sanctions against the International Criminal Court as its prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials. Mr Blinken told a congressional hearing he was "committed" to taking action against the "profoundly wrong-headed decision". His comments come amid a Republican push to impose sanctions on ICC officials, which may see a vote as soon as this week. The United States is not a member of the court but has backed previous prosecutions, including the ICC's arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine. At a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, James Risch, its top Republican, asked whether Mr Blinken would support legislation to address the ICC "sticking its nose in the business of countries that have an independent, legitimate, democratic judicial system". "We want to work with you on a bipartisan basis to find an appropriate response. I'm committed to doing that," the secretary of state said. Mr Blinken said "there's no question we have to look at the appropriate steps to take to deal with, again, what is a profoundly wrong-headed decision". The ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Monday that he had applied for arrest warrants against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Mr Khan is also seeking arrest warrants for three Hamas officials - Yahya Sinwar, its leader in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, the commander of its Qassam Brigades military wing, and Ismail Haniyeh, the head of its political bureau.
What the ICC arrest warrants mean for Israel and Hamas
Netanyahu denounces bid to arrest him over Gaza war
What is the International Criminal Court?
US President Joe Biden said on Monday it was "outrageous" to apply for arrest warrants. There was "no equivalence - none - between Israel and Hamas", he added. Mr Blinken's remarks echoed the broader pushback in Washington over the court's decision. At least two measures imposing sanctions on the ICC had already been introduced in Congress as the court ramped up its inquiry into Israel's handling of the war in Gaza. Support on Capitol Hill appears to be coalescing around a bill launched earlier this month by Texas Republican Chip Roy. The Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act would target ICC officials involved with the case by blocking their entry to the US, revoking any current US visas they hold, and prohibiting them from any property transactions within the country - unless the court ceases its cases against "protected persons of the United States and its allies".
At least 37 lawmakers in the Republican-led House are now co-sponsoring the legislation, including Elise Stefanik, the chamber's third highest-ranking Republican. Ms Stefanik is fresh off a visit to Israel, where she met with Mr Netanyahu, spoke at the Knesset and met with the families of hostages trapped in Gaza. The court "equivocates a peaceful nation protecting its right to exist with radical terror groups that commit genocide", she told the BBC in a statement. Andy Barr of Kentucky, another Republican supporting the bill, said further pursuit of the ICC's case against Israel must "be met with the full force of our sanctions".
Less clear, however, is whether Democratic lawmakers will get behind the effort. The party's moderate and liberal wings have grappled with Mr Biden's Israel policy for months, as young progressive voters have pushed the president to more sharply criticise the Netanyahu government's operations in Gaza.
Ohio's Greg Landsman, one of a few Democrats who voted last week to reverse Mr Biden's pause on a weapons shipment to Israel, told the BBC he hopes Congress will issue a bipartisan rebuke of the ICC "to send the strongest message possible".
"The decision [to seek arrest warrants] will only further inflame tensions and divisions, embolden anti-Israel conspiracies, and ultimately, it will undermine the credibility of the ICC," he said in a statement. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson urged Chuck Schumer, the Senate's top Democrat, to sign a letter on Tuesday inviting Mr Netanyahu to address a joint meeting of Congress. In March, Mr Schumer called for new elections in Israel but he described the ICC's case on Monday as "reprehensible". Sen Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the BBC that he was unsure about moves to sanction ICC officials. "I'm not there yet imposing sanctions on the ICC, as opposed to looking to see whether the off ramp of a ruling by the judges of the ICC that they're not going to proceed with warrants is something I think may come in the next couple of days," the Democrat said. But Mr Coons added that he is discussing taking action with his committee colleagues from both parties. But some left-wing Democrats have expressed their support for the ICC's actions. Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar said the court's allegations are "significant" and the US must support its work as it has done on past occasions, including in the case of Libya. "The application for arrest warrants is merely the beginning of a judicial process," she wrote in a statement on Monday. "The ICC has been a functioning court – it has seen convictions, acquittals, and dismissals, as we would expect from an impartial and non-political judicial body." It remains unclear whether any sanction efforts have yet gathered the support needed to advance through either the Republican-led House or the Democrat-controlled Senate. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday that administration officials were discussing "next steps" with lawmakers. Watching from across the world in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that its adversary's "attitude and willingness to use sanctions methods even against the ICC" was "more than curious".

Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognize a Palestinian state, deepening Israel's isolation
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)/May 22, 2024
Norway, Ireland and Spain said Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state, a historic but largely symbolic move that further deepens Israel’s isolation more than seven months into its grinding war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel denounced the decisions and recalled its ambassadors to the three countries.
Palestinian officials welcomed the announcements as an affirmation of their decades-long quest for statehood in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war and still controls. While some 140 countries — more than two-thirds of the United Nations — recognize a Palestinian state, Wednesday’s cascade of announcements could build momentum at a time when even close allies of Israel have piled on criticism for its conduct in Gaza. The timing of the move was a surprise, but discussions have been underway for weeks in some European Union countries about possibly recognizing a Palestinian state. Proponents have argued that the war has shown the need for a new push toward a two-state solution, 15 years after negotiations collapsed between Israel and the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government opposes Palestinian statehood. It was the second blow to Israel’s international reputation this week after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said he would seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister. The International Court of Justice is also considering allegations of genocide that Israel has strenuously denied.
In addition to recalling the ambassadors to the three countries, Israel summoned their envoys, accusing the Europeans of rewarding the militant Hamas group for its Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the European ambassadors would watch grisly video footage of the attack.
In that assault, Hamas-led militants stormed across the border, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. The ICC prosecutor is also seeking arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders. Israel’s ensuing offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and has caused a humanitarian crisis and a near-famine. The ICC prosecutor has accused Israeli leaders of using starvation as a weapon. “History will remember that Spain, Norway, and Ireland decided to award a gold medal to Hamas murderers and rapists,” Katz said. In response to the announcements in Europe, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir paid a provocative visit Wednesday to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound — a flashpoint in Jerusalem that is sacred to Muslims and Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.
“We will not even allow a statement about a Palestinian state,” he said.
In further retaliation, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would stop transferring tax revenue earmarked for the Palestinian Authority, a move that threatens to handicap its already waning ability to pay salaries to thousands of employees. Under interim peace accords in the 1990s, Israel collects tax revenue on behalf of the Palestinians, and it has used the money as a tool to pressure the PA. After the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Smotrich froze the transfers, but Israel agreed to send the money to Norway, which transferred it to the PA. Smotrich said Wednesday that he was ending that arrangement. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the cutoff was “wrong” because it “destabilizes the West Bank” and undermines “the search for security and prosperity for the Palestinian people.”The international community has viewed the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as the only realistic way to resolve the conflict. The United States and Britain, among others, back the idea of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel but say it should come as part of a negotiated settlement. Netanyahu’s government says the conflict can only be resolved through direct negotiations. The formal recognition by Norway, Spain and Ireland — which all have a record of friendly ties with both the Israelis and the Palestinians, while long advocating for a Palestinian state — is planned for May 28.
Their announcements came in swift succession. Norway, which helped broker the Oslo accords that kicked off the peace process in the 1990s, was the first. “There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition,” said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
The country plans to upgrade its representative office in the West Bank to an embassy. Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called it a “historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine,” saying the announcements had been coordinated and other countries might join. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who announced his country’s decision before parliament, has spent months touring European and Middle Eastern countries to garner support for recognition and a cease-fire in Gaza. “This recognition is not against anyone, it is not against the Israeli people,” Sánchez said. “It is an act in favor of peace, justice and moral consistency.”President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, welcomed the decisions and called on other nations to “recognize our legitimate rights and support the struggle of our people for liberation and independence.”Hamas, which Western countries and Israel view as a terrorist group, does not recognize Israel’s existence but has indicated it might agree to a state on the 1967 lines, at least on an interim basis. Israel says any Palestinian state would be at risk of being taken over by Hamas, posing a threat to its security.
The announcements are unlikely to have any impact on the war in Gaza — or the long-running conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem and considers it part of its capital, and in the occupied West Bank it has built scores of Jewish settlements that are now home to over 500,000 Israelis. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while the 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under seemingly open-ended Israeli military rule. Netanyahu has said Israel will maintain security control of Gaza even after any defeat of Hamas, and the war is still raging there. An Israeli airstrike early Wednesday killed 10 people, including four women and four children, who had been displaced and were sheltering in central Gaza, according to hospital authorities. Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said “recognition is a tangible step towards a viable political track leading to Palestinian self-determination.”To have an impact, he said, it must come with “tangible steps to counter Israel’s annexation and settlement of Palestinian territory – such as banning settlement products and financial services.”Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide defended the importance of the move in an interview with The Associated Press, saying that while the country has supported the establishment of a Palestinian state for decades, it knew that recognition is “a card that you can play once.” “We used to think that recognition would come at the end of a process,” he said. “Now we have realized that recognition should come as an impetus, as a strengthening of a process.”

Far-right Israeli Cabinet minister visits contested Jerusalem holy site, raising tensions
AP/May 22, 2024
TEL AVIV, Israel: Israel’s far right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, visited Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque compound on Wednesday, declaring the contested holy site belongs “only to the state of Israel.”
Ben-Gvir said Wednesday’s visit was a response to a move by three European countries to unilaterally recognize an independent Palestinian state.
“We will not even allow a statement about a Palestinian state,” he said. The hilltop compound is revered by Jews and Muslims, and the conflicting claims have led to numerous rounds of violence in the past. Israel allows Jews to visit the compound, but not to pray there. But the visit is likely to be seen around the world as a provocation. Norway, Ireland and Spain said Wednesday they are recognizing a Palestinian state in a historic move that drew condemnation from Israel and jubilation from the Palestinians. Israel immediately ordered back its ambassadors from Norway and Ireland.
The formal recognition will be made on May 28. The development is a step toward a long-held Palestinian aspiration that came against the backdrop of international outrage over the civilian death toll and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip following Israel’s offensive there.
It was a lightning cascade of announcements. First was Norway, whose Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said “there cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition.” “By recognizing a Palestinian state, Norway supports the Arab peace plan,” he said and added that the Scandinavian country will “regard Palestine as an independent state with all the rights and obligations that entails.”Several European Union countries have in the past weeks indicated that they plan to make the recognition, arguing a two-state solution is essential for lasting peace in the region. The decision may generate momentum for the recognition of a Palestinian state by other EU countries and could spur further steps at the United Nations, deepening Israel’s isolation.
Norway, which is not a member of the EU but mirror its moves, has been an ardent supporter of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
“The terror has been committed by Hamas and militant groups who are not supporters of a two-state solution and the state of Israel,” the Norwegian government leader said. “Palestine has a fundamental right to an independent state.”Since the unprecedented attack by Hamas-led militants on Israel on Oct. 7, Israeli forces have led assaults on the northern and southern edges of the Gaza Strip in May, causing a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of people, and sharply restricted the flow of aid, raising the risk of famine. Wednesday’s announcements come more than 30 years after the first Oslo agreement was signed in 1993. Since then, “the Palestinians have taken important steps toward a two-state solution,” the Norwegian government said. It added that the World Bank determined that a Palestinian state had met key criteria to function as a state in 2011, that national institutions have been built up to provide the population with important services. “The war in Gaza and the constant expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank still mean that the situation in Palestine is more difficult than it has been in decades,” it said. In making his announcement, Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris said the move was coordinated with Spain and Norway — and that it was a “historic and important day for Ireland and for Palestine.” He said it was intended to help move the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to resolution through a two-state solution.
Harris said he thinks other countries will join Norway, Spain and Ireland in recognizing a Palestinian state “in the weeks ahead.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s Socialist leader since 2018, made the expected announcement to the nation’s Parliament on Wednesday. He had spent months touring European and Middle Eastern countries to garner support for the recognition, as well as for a possible ceasefire in Gaza. He has said several times that he was committed to the move. “We know that this initiative won’t bring back the past and the lives lost in Palestine, but we believe that it will give the Palestinians two things that are very important for their present and their future: dignity and hope,” Sánchez said.
“This recognition is not against anyone, it is not against the Israeli people,” Sánchez added, while acknowledging that it will most likely cause diplomatic tensions with Israel. “It is an act in favor of peace, justice and moral consistency.”
Sánchez argued that the move is needed to support the viability of a two-state solution that he said “is in serious danger” with the war in Gaza.
“I have spent weeks and months speaking with leaders inside and outside of the region and if one thing is clear is that Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu does not have a project of peace for Palestine, even if the fight against the terrorist group Hamas is legitimate,” the Spanish leader said.
Earlier this month, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Albares said he had informed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of his government’s intention to recognize a Palestinian state. Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said “recognition is a tangible step toward a viable political track leading to Palestinian self-determination.” But in order for it to have an impact, he said, it must come with “tangible steps to counter Israel’s annexation and settlement of Palestinian territory – such as banning settlement products and financial services.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz ordered Israel’s ambassadors from Ireland and Norway to immediately return to Israel. He spoke before Spain’s announcement.
“Ireland and Norway intend to send a message today to the Palestinians and the whole world: terrorism pays,” Katz said. He said that the recognition could impede efforts to return Israel’s hostages being held in Gaza and makes a ceasefire less likely by “rewarding the jihadists of Hamas and Iran.” He also threatened to recall Israel’s ambassador to Spain if the country takes a similar position.
Regarding the Israeli decision to recall its ambassador in Oslo, Gahr Støre said “we will take note of that. This is a government with which we have many disagreements. What we agree on is to condemn Hamas’s cruel attack on Oct. 7.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking after Norway’s announcement, welcomed the move and called on other countries to follow. In a statement carried by the official Wafa news agency, Abbas said Norway’s decision will enshrine “the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination” and support efforts to bring about a two-state solution with Israel. Some 140 countries have already recognized a Palestinian state — more than two-thirds of United Nations members — but none of the major Western powers has done so. This move could put more pressure continental heavyweights France and Germany to reconsider their position. The United States and Britain, among others, have backed the idea of an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel as a solution to the Middle East’s most intractable conflict. They insist, however, that Palestinian independence should come as part of a negotiated settlement.
The head of the Arab League called the step taken by the trio of European nations as “a courageous step.” “I salute and thank the three countries for this step that puts them on the right side of history in this conflict,” Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit wrote on the social media platform X.
Turkiye also applauded the decision, calling it an important step toward the restoration of the “usurped rights of the Palestinians.” The Turkish Foreign Ministry also said the move would help “Palestine gain the status it deserves in the international community.”

Blinken urges Egypt to ensure aid is flowing into Gaza
REUTERS/May 22, 2024
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday urged Egypt to do everything it can to make sure humanitarian aid is flowing into Gaza as food and medicine bound for the strip piles up on the Egyptian side. Blinken told a hearing in the House of Representatives that the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza remained closed after Israel’s military seized it on May 7. Fighting near the crossing has made providing assistance challenging, but aid could still be getting through, Blinken said, an apparent reference to the Kerem Shalom crossing near Rafah that has been open. “So we need to find a way to make sure that the assistance that would go through Rafah can get through safely, but we do strongly urge our Egyptian partners to do everything that they can on their end of things to make sure that assistance is flowing,” Blinken said. Israel is retaliating against Hamas in Gaza — an enclave of 2.3 million people — over a brutal Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian militants. Aid access into southern Gaza has been disrupted since Israel stepped up military operations in Rafah, a move that the UN says has forced 900,000 people to flee and has raised tensions with Egypt.Egyptian security sources said Egypt cannot bring aid in through Rafah as this would mean an acceptance of the Israeli military’s presence at the crossing, which Egypt opposes. Egypt’s foreign minister said on Monday that the Israeli military presence and combat operations put truck drivers in danger. Israel’s strategic affairs minister, Ron Dermer, told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” the hold-up was Egypt’s fault. “Right now, Egypt is withholding 2,000 trucks of humanitarian assistance from going into Gaza because they have a political issue about the Rafah crossing,” Dermer said.

Arab League welcomes announcement by Spain, Ireland, Norway to recognize Palestine
GOBRAN MOHAMED/Arab News/May 22, 2024
CAIRO: The Arab League has welcomed the official recognition of the state of Palestine by Spain, Ireland, and Norway. The prime ministers of the three countries said on Wednesday they were formally going to recognize Palestine as a state as of May 28. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab League secretary-general, said that this “significant move underscores a genuine commitment to the two-state solution and reflects the sincere desire of these nations to safeguard it from those seeking to undermine or eradicate it.” Gamal Roshdy, Aboul Gheit’s spokesman, said that “this important development follows the recent recognitions by Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Bahamas. These additions bring the total number of countries recognizing the Palestinian state to approximately 147, aligning with the overwhelming global consensus.”Roshdy said such recognition “is a fundamental aspect of the state's standing in international law. This step “embodies a principled political, moral, and legal stance. It marks a significant milestone toward realizing the Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he quoted Abdul Gheit as saying. Aboul Gheit said that “recognition conveys a clear message to Palestinians: the world stands resolute in defending their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state.” He stressed that “amid the current hardships, a political pathway leading to the realization of the Palestinian state is inevitable.”Aboul Gheit urged countries yet to recognize Palestine to reassess their positions and align themselves with the course of history. He highlighted that recognizing Palestine signifies a genuine commitment to the two-state solution, diverging from violent approaches, and fostering peace and security across the region.

Huge crowds in Iran capital for Raisi’s funeral
AFP/May 22, 2024
TEHRAN: Tens of thousands of Iranians flocked to the streets of Tehran Wednesday to join the funeral processions of president Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. In the center of the city, people holding portraits of Raisi gathered in and around the University of Tehran, where Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is due to lead prayers for Raisi and his companions, including foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Raisi’s helicopter crashed Sunday on a fog-shrouded mountainside in northern Iran on the way to the city of Tabriz after the group attended the inauguration of a dam project on the border with Azerbaijan. A huge search and rescue operation was launched, involving help from Turkiye, Russia and the European Union. State television announced Raisi’s death early on Monday. Raisi, who was widely expected to succeed Khamenei as supreme leader, was 63. In the capital, huge banners have gone up hailing the late president as “the martyr of service,” while others bade “farewell to the servant of the disadvantaged.” Tehran residents received phone messages urging them to “attend the funeral of the martyr of service.” The processions, which will be attended by foreign dignitaries, are planned to set off from the university and head to the vast Enghelab Square in the city center, according to state media. Funeral rites for the late president and his entourage began on Tuesday with tens of thousands of black-clad mourners in attendance in the city of Tabriz and the Shiite clerical center of Qom. From Tehran, the bodies will be moved to South Khorasan province before being transferred to Raisi’s home city of Mashhad in the northeast, where he will be buried on Thursday evening after funeral rites at the Imam Reza shrine. Khamenei, who wields ultimate authority in Iran, has declared five days of national mourning and assigned vice president Mohammad Mokhber, 68, as caretaker president until the June 28 election for Raisi’s successor. Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri, who was Amir-Abdollahian’s deputy, has been named acting foreign minister. The country’s armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri has ordered an investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash. Raisi was elected president in 2021, succeeding the moderate Hassan Rouhani at a time when the economy was battered by US sanctions imposed over Iran’s nuclear activities.The ultra-conservative’s time in office saw mass protests, a deepening economic crisis and unprecedented armed exchanges with arch-enemy Israel. After his death, global allies Russia and China and regional powers voiced their condolences, as did NATO, while the UN Security Council observed a minute of silence. Messages of condolence also flooded in from Iran’s allies around the region, including Syria, Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, both of which are backed by Tehran.

New Iranian foreign minister a familiar face for US officials
Katie Bo Lillis and MJ Lee, CNN/May 22, 2024
Within days of the helicopter crash that killed its president and other top officials, Iran detailed a succession plan and named replacements in a clear effort to project stability at a moment of profound and sudden uncertainty within the regime. One familiar name stood out to US officials: the new acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani. Seen by US officials as a hardline establishment figure, Kani has been a top negotiator for Iran on sensitive talks with the United States on everything from nuclear issues to its use of proxy forces to attack US and allied interests across the region.
Just last week in Oman, Kani was part of a delegation of senior Iranian officials that met indirectly with US officials, current and former officials said. Because the US and Iran do not have formal diplomatic relations, the two delegations sat in separate rooms while Omani officials passed back and forth messages.
Kani, US officials said, is a known quantity and one example of why the Biden administration largely expects little to change in Iran following the sudden deaths of its president and top officials. For hours on Sunday after the US received the first reports that a helicopter had crashed while carrying some of Iran’s most senior leaders, including President Ebrahim Raisi, US officials weren’t sure how bad the accident was. But even once it became clear that Raisi and the others aboard had perished, the consensus view across the US government was that Iran’s foreign and domestic policy were likely to remain consistent. That’s because Iran’s true leader is its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi was, in many ways, a functionary. He had “influence and impact,” according to Jonathan Panikoff, a former senior intelligence analyst specializing in the region, “but ultimate decision-making authority on every issue is solely held and consolidated by the Supreme Leader.” Khamenei, 85, has been in frail health and has been watched closely. In the wake of the death of so many of his top officials, US officials believe that Khamenei will work to ensure that replacements adhere to his hardline worldview. “It’s difficult to see there will be any major changes in the way Iran behaves on the world stage,” a senior administration official said. If anything, Panikoff said, the death of Raisi and its other top leaders may make Iran more risk-averse in the short term. The senior administration official cautioned that it is still too soon to know for sure how the crash might ultimately affect overall regional volatility, including Iran’s handling of the Gaza conflict. But for now, the Biden administration believes that there will be little impact.
Impact on succession plan
Raisi was widely seen as a possible successor to Khamenei, and his death has sparked a spirited debate in Washington intelligence and policy circles over how it will jumble the field. The Supreme Leader is chosen by an opaque group known as the Assembly of Experts. Some analysts believe that Khamenei’s son may now have a better chance of succeeding his father, although he may lack critical religious credentials the role requires. But analysts say it’s impossible to assess how that mysterious election process will play out and whether the crash has improved the chances of Khamenei’s son.
“I think that’s probably true if the Ayatollah dies in the next month,” said Panikoff. “I think it may not be as true if it’s still another two or three years and other people have surfaced and come into the system.”Raisi’s death may also offer a small window for domestic protest. According to the Iranian constitution, elections must be held to name a new president within 50 days of Raisi’s death. The Iranian regime has struggled with popular support; Raisi was known as “the butcher of Tehran” and already a meme has circulated within Iran celebrating his death. Analysts say the regime will seek to tightly control who can run, deepening the public perception that elections are neither free nor fair. But Iranian authorities will almost certainly crack down on any nascent protests, analysts say. Parliamentary elections in March of this year had an historically low turnout rate — a signal of discontent with the regime and a worrying sign for regime leaders, but not one most analysts believe will translate into meaningful or successful grassroots protest.
Impact on proxy activity
The sudden shakeup in Iran’s leadership structure has taken place as Tehran has been deeply involved in the tense regional imbroglio surrounding Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Iran has offered support to a series of proxies launching attacks on US and Israeli interests in the region and in April, it launched a large-scale missile and drone attack directly on Israel. US officials have long believed that Iran is seeking to calibrate its handling of the simmering, multiprong conflict, extracting costs from its adversaries but avoiding an all-out direct conflict with Israel or the United States. So far, it has been successful. A US military official said they have seen no uptick in proxy activity in the wake of the crash. Importantly, the military official said, the death of Raisi and the elevation of Kani to the role of foreign minister has also not opened any sudden opportunities for the United States when it comes to dealing with Iran. The same toxic issues — including Iran’s nuclear program — remain intractable problems. In talks with Iranian officials in Oman last week, US officials once again laid out for their counterparts the consequences of Iran’s destabilizing actions, behavior and policies, according to the senior administration official and a US official. The Biden administration’s view has been that having zero contact with Iran would heighten the risk of dangerous miscalculation, officials told CNN, adding that the US will continue to deploy a mix of deterrence and diplomacy – like last week’s talks – to manage Iran. Issues like Iran’s support for terrorism, it’s various proxy groups and its nuclear program were all topics of discussion last week. The two sides have communicated in this indirect manner multiple times since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October. Last week was the first meeting of this kind in several months. But in the aftermath of the crash, Iran asked for US help in recovery efforts. The US, according to State Department spokesman Matt Miller, was unable to help “largely for logistical reasons.”

Iran's Armed Forces downplay role of Turkish drone in finding President's crash site
DUBAI (Reuters)/ May 22, 2024
The General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces on Wednesday downplayed the role played by a Turkish drone in finding the crash site of President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter, highlighting instead the performance of its own drones. Early on Monday, Turkey's Anadolu Agency reported that a Turkish Akinci drone had identified "a source of heat suspected to be wreckage of the helicopter carrying President Raisi" and shared its coordinates with Iranian authorities. "Despite Turkey sending a drone equipped with night vision and thermal cameras, the drone failed to accurately locate the crash site due to its lack of detection equipment and control points below the cloud," Iran's military said in a statement, referring to the adverse weather conditions believed to be the cause of the crash. Both Iran and Turkey have a large drone arsenal and have focused on showcasing the effectiveness of their drones for export markets. Western powers have accused Iran of providing drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine. While sources have told Reuters Iranian drones are also being used by Sudan's army in its war against the Rapid Support Forces. Tehran has rejected such claims. Iran's Armed Forces said they were not able to immediately deploy their own advanced drones, equipped with synthetic-aperture radar, as they were located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean at the time. The crash site, where the bodies of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian alongside other officials were recovered, was eventually found on Monday morning by Iranian ground rescue forces and by drones recalled from the Indian Ocean, according to the statement. Iran's official news agency IRNA added that the coordinates shared by the Turkish drones were off by 7 km (4 miles). Iran's military said it had chosen Turkey among "friendly countries" to help in the rescue mission due to its proximity to the accident site in the northwest of the country.

Iran's Center of Power Shifts From ‘Clerical Slippers to Combat Boots’
Golnar Motevalli, Donato Paolo Mancini and Jennifer Jacobs/Bloomberg/May 22, 2024
(Bloomberg) -- The death of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi raises a serious question about the future of one of the most powerful jobs in the Middle East: who or even what can succeed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hard-line cleric Raisi — who died on Sunday in a helicopter crash — and Khamenei’s son Mojtaba were widely seen as the frontrunners to replace Iran’s ultimate rule. With Raisi gone, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — the most powerful arm of Iran’s military which over the past two decades has significantly increased its influence on the country’s politics and economy — is now well placed to become more powerful than any individual who might eventually replace Khamenei, who’s in his mid-80s. “I don’t look at the issue of the Supreme Leader’s succession in terms of an individual, but rather an institution and I see that institution being the IRGC,” said Saeed Laylaz, previously an adviser to former president Mohammad Khatami. The gravitational center of power in Iran is likely to shift from “clerical slippers to combat boots,” after Khamenei’s death, Laylaz added. Western officials and regime insiders said it’s unlikely Raisi’s death will change the Islamic Republic’s foreign and regional policy — a factunderscored by Khamenei himself when he told the public that there would be “no disruptions” to how the country is run. Read More: Ebrahim Raisi, Iranian President Confronting West, Dies at 63 But the accident has turned attention to what Iran will look like after Khamenei. It comes at a time when the regime faces unprecedented levels of dissent at home, is trying to revive a sanctions-hit economy and is involved in a string of regional conflicts and crises, from Afghanistan to Gaza and Yemen.
When Khamenei took over as Supreme Leader in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Iran was in turmoil: isolated from the West following the Islamic Revolution a decade earlier, the country was recovering from a devastating war with Iraq that had compounded its economic isolation.
“Now Iran has much stronger capabilities beyond its borders in ways that were unimaginable under Khomeini,” said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. “He doesn’t want to leave a legacy that’s on a par with his predecessor; he doesn’t want to leave a country in ruins and weakened by much stronger adversaries.”
Defenders of the Republic
The IRGC has been central to that strengthening process. Designated a terrorist organization by the US in 2019 it was set up by Khomeini to protect the Islamic Republic as a political regime. It has increased considerably in size and strength over the past 20 years. And it has been instrumental in fostering a network of proxies and militias across the Middle East designed to protect Iran’s interests, spread its influence and constantly challenge the US presence in the region.
It also dominates Iran’s economy, having amassed a huge number of assets including a business conglomerate that manages large industrial companies, oil refineries and engineering firms involved in multi-billion dollar projects.
Khamenei has been fundamental to this expansion and together with the IRGC has shaped Iran’s regional policy and security posture. Since 2018, when the US withdrew from the nuclear deal — an agreement between Tehran and world powers — and then later came close to conflict with the Islamic Republic after killing top IRGC General Qassem Soleimani, the Guards have taken a more prominent role in the running of the country. This was evident in the way Iran responded to an attack on its consulate in Damascus in April, blaming it on Israel. When Tehran retaliated with a barrage of missiles and drones targeting Israel, the decision was taken by Khamenei and several senior generals in the IRGC, a person with direct knowledge of decision-making in Tehran said.Read More: Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance’ Watches Israel and Waits for Command. Ahead of the attack on Israel, the government was side-lined until Khamenei authorized a brief and intense period of communication with Arab neighbors and the US in the days before the April 13 strike.
“Khamenei still preserves enough authority to rein in the military,” Vaez said, “but his successor will certainly not be as well placed, at least not early on, if ever.”
Even the deaths of Raisi and Hossein Amirabdollahian, the foreign minister who was also killed in the crash, present an opportunity for competing groups within the IRGC and the hard-line political faction that surrounds Khamenei. Both will look to strengthen their hold over Iran's regional policy to enhance their positions ahead of any transfer of power. “The IRGC will have a major say in Khamenei’s succession and at least will increase the considerable control they have in the system,” said Rob Macaire, British ambassador to Iran from 2018 to 2021.
Replacing Raisi as caretaker president, ahead of elections on June 28, is former IRGC officer Mohammad Mokhber, who has close links to Khamenei’s office. Ali Bagheri Kani, who has stepped in as foreign minister, is a member of the hardline political faction, the Front of Islamic Revolution Stability, known as Paydari, which had spent years grooming Raisi to succeed Khamenei.
“Now they don’t have a candidate,” said Vali Nasr, professor at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a former adviser to the US State Department.
Iran’s New York Operation
Khamenei is determined to hand the country over to his successor in better shape than he found it, said analysts. That includes ensuring the right institutions and personalities are in place so that he can stage manage his succession while he’s still alive. Part of that strategy has been repairing ties with some of Iran’s neighbors including Saudi Arabia, a traditional foe, the United Arab Emirates and other regional powers. November’s US elections — and the potential return of Donald Trump, who abandoned the nuclear deal, as president — have acted as a catalyst for this effort to improve communications. That too was evident in the days before the attack on Israel when Tehran warned Arab neighbors and the US of its intentions. Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, was part of this diplomatic push, according to the person with direct knowledge of decision-making in Tehran.​
The attack was risky but measured, said one European diplomat who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. It showed clearly that signals from Iran had been well signposted and understood by Washington in the hours before the strike, the diplomat added. Comparing the situation to 2020, and the tensions triggered by the death of Soleimani, the Iranians had many more ways of reaching the US, the European diplomat said. Iravani's New York office at the UN is taking a much more proactive role in diplomatic maneuvers. It has a green light from Tehran to contact US officials as well as a direct line to Khamenei’s office in Tehran, according to Laylaz. “It all suggests that Khamenei is navigating a thin line,” Nasr said. “To him, where Iran is and what it needs is first and foremost a successful and stable succession.”
Iravani, a former senior official at Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, also previously held a role in the Supreme Leader’s office. It makes him the first person from an intelligence background to be appointed to the UN role, said the person with direct knowledge of decision-making in Tehran, adding that the official is well trusted by Khamenei.
Another European diplomat, who didn’t want to be named, said Iravani has been quietly working behind the scenes for years helping to execute Iran’s strategy toward the West. The Biden administration has also been working to decrease tensions, said an Iranian government official, who didn’t want to be named because they weren’t authorized to comment on the matter. Stories about reviving the nuclear deal are now being floated by Iranian state media channels close to the ruling system. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN body that’s been monitoring Iran’s nuclear program for years, has also said that Tehran has recently shown a willingness to engage in “serious dialogue” with the watchdog, according to the Financial Times. Putting Iravani in charge of Tehran’s only diplomatic station in North America and leaning heavily on recent efforts to build bridges and mend relationships across the Arab world “suggest that Khamenei is playing a much more complicated and much more nuanced game than simply going ballistic on Israel,” said Nasr.
Danger in Domestic Dissent
Against this backdrop of political and strategic machinations sits Iranian society and a population — most of which was born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution — that’s probably more adrift from its leadership today than at any stage in the last 45 years.
While Raisi oversaw modest economic growth after his 2021 election, the country’s currency hit successive record lows during his leadership, losing almost 70% of its value against the dollar in the open, unregulated market. And as much as clerics and generals in Tehran can be pragmatic with geopolitics, they prefer to be unsparing and ruthless in how they deal with their widespread unpopularity in urban centers and among the young. The Supreme Leader and the IRGC risk undermining themselves with their harsh internal repression, according to a third European diplomat, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. The past eight years have been some of the most volatile in the history of the Islamic Republic and each fresh chapter of domestic unrest has been met with a stronger response from the security forces. The most recent demonstration of this was the uprising triggered by the September 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who’d been arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict Islamic dress codes. Protests swept the country, gripping communities and explicitly challenging Khamenei and his rule in unprecedented ways, most visibly by women shunning mandatory headscarves or hijab — a defining feature of the Islamic Republic. The security forces crushed dissent, killing hundreds of protesters — most of whom were women and young people — and arresting thousands more, according to human rights groups. At least seven men were hanged for taking part in the demonstrations.
A renewed crackdown against women is currently underway, which some have sought to blame on the regional tensions, arguing that Tehran wants to avoid any opportunity for domestic protest. Mobile phone videos showing teams of uniformed officers and their female colleagues, cloaked in black from head-to-toe, beating and dragging young women in public and forcing them into police vehicles, have proliferated on social media platforms like X and Instagram. “What keeps Khamenei up at night I don’t think is protesters in Iran,” Nasr said, “it’s his legacy. He’s concerned about his legacy and the continuity of the Islamic Republic along the lines that’s best for the system.”
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Saudi crown prince and French president discuss bilateral relations during phone call
ARAB NEWS/May 22, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed relations between their countries and ways to develop existing cooperation during a phone call on Wednesday. The leaders congratulated each other on a deal between the Saudia Group, represented by Saudia and flyadeal, and Airbus for 105 confirmed aircraft, Saudi Press Agency reported. France is one of Airbus’ four founding countries, as well as home to the company’s headquarters facility – which is located in Toulouse. The crown prince and Macron also discussed topics of common interest. They exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues including the latest developments in the situation in Gaza, the need to intensify efforts and international communication to reach an immediate end to the war there, and the necessity of delivering adequate humanitarian aid to the territory.

Washington stepping up defense cooperation with GCC states: US official
ARAB NEWS/May 22, 2024
LONDON: The US is stepping up defense cooperation with Gulf Cooperation Council countries in a bid to address one of the region’s “most challenging periods in recent years,” Dan Shapiro, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East policy, told a press briefing attended by Arab News on Wednesday. Gulf military representatives on Wednesday met senior US officials at the GCC headquarters in Riyadh as part of the partnership’s maritime and missile defense working groups. It comes a month after Iran launched a massive drone and ballistic missile strike at Israel, and amid simmering regional tensions over the Gaza war. Conversations between GCC and US officials are “more important than ever,” said Shapiro. “The US-GCC defense working groups are rooted in a strong US partnership with the GCC and our collective commitment to cooperating on regional security issues,” he added. “For over a decade, we’ve worked together to address pressing threats and crises. The US has an interest in deepening the partnerships we’ve forged with our Gulf partners.” Shapiro, who previously served as US ambassador to Israel and Abraham Accords envoy, warned that “the threats from Iran and its proxies are pervasive” in the region. He said Yemen’s Houthi militia is carrying out “utterly illegitimate acts of terrorism” in its Red Sea campaign against civilian shipping. The working group meetings saw US and Gulf officials explore ways to “bolster information sharing, counter proliferation, and increase the effectiveness of combined interdictions of illegal maritime shipments to the Houthis,” he added. The April 13 Iranian attack on Israel, which Shapiro said was a “watershed moment in the Middle East,” also loomed large in the meetings. “In the wake of Iran’s unprecedented attack and our successful defeat of this attack, the US and our Gulf partners agreed that taking steps to deepen the integration of our air and missile defenses across the Middle East is more important than ever,” he added. “On April 13, we showcased what we’re collectively capable of when we work together on defeating regional security threats.
“It was a proof of concept of integrated air and missile defense, showing that our work to build this architecture isn’t theoretical. “It has real-world, real-time impact. It saves lives and it keeps conflicts from escalating. And it showed we’re stronger when we act together.
“Ironically, Iran’s attack on April 13 was ultimately successful in sparking deeper cooperation on integrated air and missile defense.” Shapiro said Washington’s Gulf partners, by increasing integrated air and missile defense in the near term, hope to lay the foundations for a GCC-wide air defense system. US officials at the working group meetings also proposed joint military training “to ensure that our forces share a common operational language,” he added. At the press briefing, a senior US defense official said on condition of anonymity that Washington’s Gulf partners are “laser focused” on understanding the nature of the Iranian threat, adding: “Having that conversation with the GCC in May 2024 is completely different from any conversation you could’ve had with any partner in the region before April 13, 2024.” The Iranian strike produced a “galvanizing effect” across the Gulf, encouraging states to boost their commitment to building shared defense systems, the official said. On the flare-up in the Red Sea, Washington does not view its campaign against the Houthis as a “purely military challenge,” instead accepting that “military solutions are necessary but not sufficient,” the official added.
“It’s a whole-of-government challenge from the US perspective. And it’s an international challenge from the world perspective.” The working group meetings in Riyadh also saw discussions on “some of the non-military ways” to target the militia, including “delegitimization, sanctions and condemnation, and designation as a global terrorist organization,” the official said.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on May 22-23/2024
What Raisi’s death means for Iran and the region
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh//Arab News/May 22, 2024
Sunday’s helicopter crash in Varzaqan, Iran, was a historic moment. The helicopter was carrying several high-profile Iranian officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azerbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati and the supreme leader’s representative in East Azerbaijan, Mohammed Ali Ale-Hashem. The incident resulted in the unprecedented death of a sitting Iranian president due to a helicopter crash. This event rippled across the region and the world, given the significant roles and influence of the individuals involved. It also came at a time of considerable regional tension and internal political dynamics, making its ramifications both immediate and far-reaching.
Raisi had held numerous significant positions over the years, including deputy chief justice, attorney general and chief justice. His judicial roles were marked by his time as deputy prosecutor and then prosecutor of Tehran during the 1980s and 1990s. Known as the “Butcher of Tehran,” Raisi was one of the four members of the prosecution committee responsible for the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.
Raisi also served as the custodian and chairman of Astan Quds Razavi, a prominent bonyad, from 2016 until 2019. Additionally, he was a member of the Assembly of Experts from South Khorasan Province.
Raisi’s political ambitions were evident in his 2017 presidential run, when he was the candidate of the conservative Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces, although he lost to the moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani. His second presidential bid in 2021 led him to succeeding Rouhani.
His significant influence within Iran’s political and judicial systems positioned him as a candidate to be supreme leader
Raisi was widely regarded as the likely successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. His close ties to the clerical establishment and his significant influence within Iran’s political and judicial systems positioned him as a candidate for the leading political role in the country. This belief was underpinned by his alignment with the core values of the Islamic Republic and his prominent roles in various judicial and political institutions, which are seen as grooming grounds for the eventual leadership.
Raisi’s death occurred amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel. Last month, an Israeli airstrike targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, resulting in the death of several high-level individuals, including Maj. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior Quds Force commander, and seven other Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes against Israel, further escalating the conflict. Israel then launched a series of missile strikes on Iranian military sites. These events were a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between the two nations, with broader implications for regional stability and security.
Iran’s nuclear advancements also continue to be a source of high tension both regionally and globally. The recent developments in this sphere, coupled with ongoing regional conflicts, add to the complexity and volatility of the situation. The international community remains deeply concerned about Iran’s potential to develop nuclear weapons, which could further destabilize an already fragile Middle East.
According to the Iranian constitution, the death of the president means the first vice president, currently Mohammed Mokhber, is in line to assume the presidency. However, this transition is not automatic and requires the approval of the supreme leader. Mokhber’s elevation to acting president on Monday ensured continuity, while also underscoring the significant influence of Khamenei in Iran’s political structure, with even constitutional provisions subject to his endorsement.
Mokhber, 69, had been serving as the seventh first vice president of Iran since 2021. He is also a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. His career includes service as an officer in the IRGC’s medical corps during the Iran-Iraq War.
While the death of Raisi is significant, the broader framework of power within Iran remains unchanged
In the event of the president’s death, the Iranian constitution mandates that a council, comprising the first vice president, the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary, must organize an election for a new president within a maximum of 50 days.
Ali Larijani, a former IRGC military officer and speaker of the parliament from 2008 to 2020, is one potential candidate for the presidency. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad might also consider running again. Abdolnaser Hemmati, the former governor of the central bank, could be another contender. Mohsen Rezaee, commander-in-chief of the IRGC from 1981 to 1997, and Saeed Jalili, a former secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, are also likely candidates. These individuals represent the hard-line political camp in Iran.
The death of Raisi is unlikely to fundamentally alter Iran’s domestic or foreign policies. This is largely due to the enduring influence of Khamenei, who has ultimate authority in the country. Additionally, the IRGC wields significant power both politically and economically, ensuring that Iran’s strategic direction remains consistent.
While the death of Raisi is significant, the broader framework of power within Iran remains unchanged, with the supreme leader and the IRGC continuing to play pivotal roles in shaping the country’s policies.
Raisi’s death may, however, trigger more intense competition among the potential successors to Khamenei. As the supreme leader ages — he is now 85 — speculation regarding his successor grows and Raisi’s death could intensify the jockeying for position among Iran’s hard-line political elite. This competition is not only about who will become the next supreme leader, but also who will ascend to the presidency. The interplay between these two roles is crucial in determining Iran’s future political trajectory, especially in a post-Khamenei era. The next few months will likely see significant political maneuvering as various factions within the Iranian establishment position themselves for leadership roles.
*Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian American political scientist. X: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Is there a chance of a clash between Egypt and Israel?
Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/May 22, 2024
Since Israel initiated its military operations in Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, Egypt has consistently issued warnings against any forced displacement of residents of the Strip, firmly rejecting any Israeli plans to resettle Palestinians in the Sinai Peninsula. The intensity of Egypt’s stance escalated as the conflict recently entered its eighth month, particularly following Israeli incursions into the border town of Rafah. Cairo has vehemently protested against Tel Aviv’s plans to invade Rafah, asserting that the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel is at risk. Some Egyptian officials have even hinted at reducing diplomatic ties and recalling their ambassador from Tel Aviv.
Egyptian media has also intensified its criticism of Israel through official news channels, showcasing a level of hostility not seen in their relations for possibly 45 years. This situation prompts the question: Is there a possibility of a clash between Egypt and Israel?
The likelihood of a confrontation appears higher than ever, especially with Israel’s determination to implement its plan to relocate Palestinians to Sinai. The current Egyptian leadership vehemently opposes this plan, viewing it as a threat to national security and a violation of its fundamental principles supporting the Palestinian right to a safe and stable life in their homeland. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer last week stated that Israel had asked Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, to allow Palestinian civilians fleeing the war to enter its territory, but Cairo refused.
Egypt’s rejection of this idea is not new. It is almost as old as the Palestinian issue itself. It has been reported that, during the negotiations with Israel in the 1970s, former President Anwar Sadat was presented with a similar proposal, suggesting Egypt give up part of Sinai in exchange for a piece of land in the Negev desert. Cunningly, Sadat said he would only agree to the condition if he chose the alternate land, marking the Israeli port of Eilat on the map, which made the Americans and Israelis drop the idea.
The Egyptian media has intensified its criticism of Israel, showcasing a level of hostility not seen for possibly 45 years
Under President Hosni Mubarak, during the Taba dispute, Israel and other international parties made further attempts to convince Egypt, but Mubarak steadfastly refused despite all temptations and pressures, as he mentioned in a post-2011 revolution interview with his doctor. In early 2010, former Israeli National Security Adviser Giora Eiland published a study proposing a new Jordanian kingdom as the Palestinian homeland, consisting of the West Bank, East Bank and a greater Gaza that would include part of Egypt.
Despite the long-standing rejection from Egypt, Israel’s insistence on the resettlement plan persists, potentially leading to a clash.
American newspaper The Wall Street Journal this month reported an Egyptian official suggesting that Cairo might lower its diplomatic relations with Israel by recalling its ambassador, though not severing ties entirely, due to the Israeli military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused Egypt of blocking the Rafah crossing, thereby hindering aid efforts. In response, his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry clarified that it was Israel’s control of the crossing since Oct. 7 that had disrupted relief operations for Gaza residents. Some Egyptian political parties labeled Israeli statements as “misleading.”
Egypt has repeatedly rejected any ground incursion into Rafah or an invasion of the crowded border city, which previously sheltered more than 1.5 million Palestinians. There is nowhere safe for these people to go. The situation escalated to the point where Egypt threatened to support South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice, citing the intensifying Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza, systematic targeting of civilians, destruction of infrastructure and efforts to force Palestinians to flee their land, according to an official statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
By taking this step, Egypt will be able to provide the necessary legal and technical support to South Africa in this case. The Human Rights Committee in the Egyptian parliament announced that it has evidence and proof to support Egypt’s participation in the case before the International Court of Justice. The committee has documented some violations and presented them to lawmakers from the US and some European countries. Additionally, some civil society organizations have documented violations through visiting the Rafah crossing and observing the violations occurring on the other side of the border.
The current events might be straining Egyptian-Israeli relations, including the peace treaty, and this is largely down to Israel’s actions on the ground, prompting Cairo to consider significantly revising the peace process, as it has stated multiple times. Despite the tension between Egypt and Israel since the beginning of the Gaza war, Cairo is capable of managing this tension primarily to benefit the Palestinians, alleviate their suffering and maintain regional stability, which Egypt views as crucial.
Israel has greatly provoked Egypt, disregarding that it was the first Arab country to lead a policy of moderation in the region
It is certainly not too late. The return of Egyptian-Israeli relations to normality may require Tel Aviv to reconsider its rigid stance on resettlement and accept a negotiated solution to end the war, which has so far claimed about 40,000 lives. However, the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in power in Tel Aviv complicates the restoration of positive relations, as Netanyahu only listens to himself and believes his political future depends on prolonging the war. He knows that a political settlement now could spell his downfall, especially given the significant unrest in the Israeli street opposing him and his government’s policies. Restoring the trajectory of Egyptian-Israeli relations is not out of reach, but Tel Aviv must halt its massacres against the Palestinian people and cease the destruction and devastation it has caused. Without these conditions being met, the clash between Egypt and Israel could escalate from threats to more serious stages, the extent of which no one can predict.
Israel has greatly provoked Egypt, disregarding that it was the first Arab country to lead a policy of moderation in the region, which halted the conventional wars with Tel Aviv. Egypt aims for a lasting peace in the Middle East, based on the two-state solution, which necessitates the establishment of a Palestinian state. When Israel failed to cooperate in advancing peace with the Palestinians, especially after signing the Wadi Araba Treaty with Jordan, the world noticed that Israel had halted Egypt’s moderation efforts at the Palestinian issue. The global consensus views resolving this issue as fundamental to peace and stability in the Middle East, with the exception of Netanyahu, who boasts about his efforts to thwart it. His invading forces have now reached the Egyptian border at Rafah, invading not just the Philadelphi Corridor and the crossing, but also the heart of Rafah, while preparing for further expansion in the city.
Egypt, along with Qatar, have mediated efforts to stop the war and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza residents. These efforts nearly succeeded, but Netanyahu’s obstructions hindered all attempts, leading to accusations from within Israel that he is sacrificing the lives of hostages held by Hamas and entangling Israel and America in a personal war. Egyptian-Israeli relations have always been strictly official and have never reached popular normalization. They are often described as a “cold peace.” Egypt has managed its policies toward the Gaza war cautiously, striving to prevent it from expanding into a regional conflict, which would be disastrous for everyone. Egypt chose the role of mediator and peacemaker and the whole world, including America, supported this stance.
Israel’s adventurism in Rafah has shifted the cold peace to the brink of a cold war, the beginnings of which we are witnessing now, with further developments expected in the coming days.
**Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy is a critically acclaimed multimedia journalist, writer and columnist who has covered war zones and conflicts worldwide. X: @ALMenawy

The International Criminal Court: Unjust Equivalence?
Bakir Oweida/Arab News/May 22, 2024
Has the International Criminal Court become an accomplice in injustice by equating “perpetrator” and “victim?” This question arises after ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Monday that he had applied for summonses for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders: Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif.
This decision prompts challenging questions that are unlikely to garner unanimous answers. The immediate, fervent reactions from supporters on both sides were predictable. Their alarm does not necessarily stem from a fear of potential arrests and them facing international justice. For those involved, the actions of international institutions like the ICC and the International Court of Justice are likely the least of their concerns. Their primary focus is the ongoing war that is devastating both the land and its people, inflicting a heavy toll on civilians on both sides.
It is neither surprising nor new for labels like “victim” and “perpetrator” to be exchanged between Hamas or other Palestinian fractions and Israeli representatives. Such dynamics are common in all conflicts and wars, where there are always victims and executioners, dead and killers. The contention over who qualifies as a victim or a perpetrator will remain unresolved as long as wars rage and conflicts erupt. Innocent people will continue to suffer and die without any wrongdoing on their part.
This decision prompts challenging questions that are unlikely to garner unanimous answers. In this context, it is understandable that Hamas supporters from all walks of life would rally against the ICC’s charges. Simultaneously, it is expected that Netanyahu’s government would react strongly to the accusations against him and his defense minister. What stands out, however, is the involvement of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, despite his purely ceremonial role. Crises have a way of unifying Israelis and Jewish communities around the world, reinforcing their solidarity despite internal differences. This pattern has been consistent in past crises, persists now and will continue whenever Israelis face existential threats, such as the unprecedented Al-Aqsa Flood attack. Beyond the mere accusation that an international court established in 2002 to pursue those involved in war crimes has equated Hamas with Israel — an accusation that both sides have enthusiastically inflated — there is a more significant and crucial aspect that history has documented, which neither side can easily ignore entirely, even if the trial itself does not materialize.
Indeed, the Israeli right wing, particularly Netanyahu’s Likud faction, must strive to cleanse its political records of significant blemishes. The same applies to the Hamas leaders targeted by the ICC’s accusations, even if they believe — and rightly so to a large extent — that they are safe from the possibility of being arrested and handed over to the court. Nevertheless, it is not easy for Hamas leaders, both on the ground and in politics, to easily absolve themselves of responsibility for the suffering caused by their policies. The tragedies did not start with the Al-Aqsa Flood and are unlikely to end there. Ultimately, the public’s judgment of political leaders on both sides is forthcoming and will be the most consequential.
**Bakir Oweida is a Palestinian journalist who pursued a professional career in journalism in Libya in 1968, where he worked at Al-Haqiqa newspaper in Benghazi, then Al-Balagh and Al-Jihad in Tripoli. He has written for several Arab publications in Britain since 1978. He worked at Al-Arab newspaper, Al-Thadamun magazine and the international Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. He has also worked as a consultant at Elaph online newspaper.

UK needs a new deal as well as a new government
Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/May 22, 2024
As the UK’s opposition Labour Party sets out its plans for winning the next general election, the governing Conservative Party slowly resigns itself to losing the election, which must be held by Jan. 28, 2025, at the latest. British voters are once again in the firing line of both parties’ pledges and promises to woo them, either with more tax cuts and indirect taxation, as this Conservative government knows how to do best, or by Labour leader Keir Starmer’s vision of “Ode to Joy” — yes, the EU anthem, which he said best summed up his party, maybe meaning that his Labour Party represents the best hope for the future of the country. The Labour leader, who voted to remain in the EU in 2016, has ruled out returning to the single market or the customs union and bringing back free movement if his party wins power, as Brexit remains a toxic political issue among UK voters. But he has promised to pursue closer relations with key EU countries like Germany, France and Poland. The party sitting in opposition since 2010 is raring to go and seems to be on a war footing, revealing snippets of its plans for government should it win the election, with polls over the past two years putting it as much as 20 points ahead. Labour’s recently revealed pledges include working for economic stability, improving the National Health Service, creating a border security command to tackle irregular immigration and a publicly owned clean energy company, and recruiting more police and more teachers. Starmer often repeats that “there is no quick fix to the mess that the Tories have made of this country,” promising instead a decade of “national renewal.”
Even Brexiteers admit that post-Brexit Britain is being held back by things like ‘poor international trade’
As a voter who believes the UK has long been desperate for a serious new government, I am afraid the country needs a “new deal” and not just a new government if the country’s decline — emanating from weak leadership, poor finances and even Brexit — is to be reversed.
Labour therefore needs to be bold and prepare to deal with the adversities it will inherit. Even Brexiteers have admitted recently that post-Brexit Britain is being held back by things like “poor international trade” and “weak leadership,” as revealed last week by the new Chandler Good Government Index report. In the index, the UK has dropped from 10th place to 11th, partly because it ranked 28th on international trade due to its changed trading relationship with the EU.
The index’s survey revealed that 56 percent of UK businesses said they were having difficulty trading under the Brexit rules introduced at the end of 2022. The problem, of course, is that the Conservatives felt it would be OK for the costs of overcoming trade barriers to be borne by the people. According to experts at the Bank of England, Brexit is making British food more expensive, although it does not need an expert to reveal that, as everyone in the country senses this on a daily basis at the supermarket tills. And it is not only the UK’s shopping baskets that have been affected. Medicines for the NHS are now more expensive and harder to get in a health service that has been starved of cash and staff after years of self-imposed austerity by successive Conservative governments. As if that were not enough, new import charges on products like fish, sausages and cheese were implemented at the end of last month, adding bureaucracy costs of up to £145 ($184) per shipment. The picture is no better for large businesses either, with Brexit being bad for the automotive industry in particular, as its supply chains have taken a major hit after decades of effective integration were thrown out of the door as a result of Brexit.
“Taking back control” means that the UK and EU have diverged, so buying and selling needs more bureaucracy, paperwork and border clearances, whether virtual or physical, with all these factors combining to make everything more expensive.
It is not an exaggeration to claim that the UK needs a revolution to rebuild what years of poor Conservative leadership have broken
Against such a backdrop, it is a shame that Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak continues to delay the call to go to the polls, denying the nation an immediate restart. Any incoming government will need time to adjust and, to be fair, Starmer has a huge mountain to climb. The country needs something more than just a change of government, it needs something akin to the “New Deal” adopted in the US between 1933 and 1938 under president Franklin Roosevelt, which provided support to farmers, the unemployed, youth and the elderly. The UK’s new deal may not necessarily be as extensive as that, or even the one adopted by Tony Blair’s “New Labour” in 1998, which was funded by a windfall tax on privatized utility companies and sought to reduce unemployment by providing training, subsidized employment and voluntary work for the unemployed.
It is not an exaggeration to claim that the UK needs a revolution to rebuild what years of poor Conservative leadership have broken, especially trust in the political system and the ability of various government departments to deliver and be accountable to citizens. A reboot is needed for the country to rediscover its belief in the education sector, the NHS, the police and the broken justice system.
The new government led by Starmer, if Labour wins, should find ways to instill belief, maybe through a commitment to train and retrain, to protect and support, regenerate, update and to more effectively level up, and not just through ticks on consultants’ spreadsheets.
Yes, maybe all of that needs funds and the country is already overtaxed, with the Conservatives having surely squandered all the reserves, meaning Labour, like all parties, cannot allude to raising taxes at this time. But a good start to the new deal would be for the incoming government to show courage, leadership and decency. It must instill renewed belief and certainty among the people after years of division. Above all, it needs to bring back hope, which has been deficient among the electorate on both the right and the left in an increasingly conflictive and changing world.
A new government led by the Labour Party under Starmer might just be the way to return to Britain some of its “Cool Britannia,” which has been lost under the Conservatives. It has also been reported that the UK’s post-Brexit passport ranking has, like its reputation, slipped behind the likes of Italy, France and Spain in terms of the doors it opens. **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.

'Showering cash on Iran': Ted Cruz claims Biden, Blinken funded Hamas massacre
Cruz also claimed that the White House was essentially telling Israel "not to kill the terrorists."
Hannah Sarisohn/Jerusalem Post/May 22/2024
In what was perhaps the most contentious bout of questioning during Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s testimony on Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz lobbed stunning criticism of the Biden administration’s foreign policy at Blinken, saying he and President Joe Biden funded the attacks on October 7. Cruz, the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, grilled Blinken over the number of barrels of oil Iran is now selling per day, compared to when he first took office, as well as the number of Iran’s ghost fleet ships.
“This administration desperately wants a new Iran deal. You have been showering cash on Iran from day one, and understand, the $6 billion you were asked about is the tip of the iceberg,” Cruz said. “By refusing to enforce oil sanctions, we have seen Iran’s oil sales go from 300,000 barrels a day when you got into office to over two million barrels a day today.” Cruz said $80 billion, or 90% of Hamas’s funding, comes from Iran. “This administration, you and President Biden, funded the October 7 attacks by flowing $100 billion to a homicidal, genocidal regime that funded those attacks,” Cruz said. Blinken responded to Cruz, calling his claim “profoundly wrong” and a “disgraceful statement.”
While interrupting Blinken and speaking over him, Cruz accused the secretary of filibustering and refusing to answer questions.
Cruz also pressed Blinken on the Biden administration’s conversations with Israel about Rafah, claiming the White House is “telling Israel not to kill the terrorists.”
Blinken denies withholding information
Blinken maintained the administration has not offered Israel anything other than a more effective way to deal with the problem of the remaining Hamas battalions.
Blinken rejected reports that the US offered Israel intelligence about the location of Hamas leaders in exchange for a commitment not to invade Rafah.
“That’s incorrect. We have done, and we’ll continue to do, everything we can do to develop the information and share the information. I wish we had it,” Blinken said.
Cruz concluded his allotted time with an accusation against Blinken for “funding our enemies and undermining our friends.”
“The world is much, much more dangerous as a result, and Americans are in greater jeopardy because of it,” Cruz said.
Blinked fired back, saying the Biden administration has brought more countries together and built stronger partnerships and engagement around the world than ever before.
“We were alone,” Blinken said. “We aren’t anymore, and America’s leading those efforts.”Committee Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) interjected to begin his concluding remarks, in which he thanked Blinken and Biden for restoring America’s global leadership through efforts like the Transatlantic Partnership and climate summits.
Cardin said Biden exemplified “extraordinary leadership” following October 7 and that the administration’s response has shown America’s strength in the region by preventing an escalation of conflict.
Cardin said he thinks the administration is on the “right path” for Israel and recognizes there is no future for Israel or the Palestinians with Hamas.
“But the security for Israel will not be solved on the battlefield,” Cardin said. “The only way there’s going to be lasting peace in the Middle East is if there is a genuine path forward for the Palestinians and Israelis, side-by-side in peace, recognizing each other’s security.”

Nearly 70% of Gaza Aid from US-Built Pier Stolen
Joshua Marks/Gatestone Institute/May 22, 2024
Close to three-fourths of the humanitarian aid transported from a new floating pier built by the U.S. military off the Gaza coast was stolen on Saturday en route to a U.N. warehouse.
Close to three-fourths of the humanitarian aid transported from a new $320 million floating pier built by the U.S. military off the Gaza coast was stolen on Saturday en route to a U.N. warehouse, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Eleven trucks "were cleaned out by Palestinians" on the journey to the World Food Programme warehouse in Deir El Balah in the central Strip, with only five truckloads making it to the destination.
"They've not seen trucks for a while," a U.N. official told Reuters. "They just basically mounted on the trucks and helped themselves to some of the food parcels."
According to the United Nations, no aid was delivered to the warehouse from the U.S. military's pier on Sunday and Monday.
The United Nations said that 10 truckloads of food aid from the pier arrived at the warehouse on Friday, its first day of operation. It was transported by U.N. contractors.
"We need to make sure that the necessary security and logistical arrangements are in place before we proceed," said the U.N. official.
According to Israeli estimates, Hamas has been stealing up to 60% of the aid entering the Gaza Strip, and a Channel 12 report last week revealed that the terrorist organization has made at least $500 million in profit off humanitarian aid since the start of the war on Oct. 7.
The pier was pre-assembled at the Israeli port of Ashdod before being anchored to a beach in the coastal enclave on Thursday. No American troops went ashore during the installation of the pier, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Some 1,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors helped build the floating pier.
The Israel Defense Ministry's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit announced on Saturday that "hundreds of pallets of humanitarian aid" and more than 160,000 liters of fuel had entered via the pier.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of CENTCOM, said that the goal is for 500 tons of humanitarian aid, or 90 trucks, to pass into Gaza through the pier daily, eventually increasing to 150 trucks a day.
CENTCOM tweeted early Tuesday that over 569 metric tons of humanitarian assistance has been unloaded from the pier so far.
Reuters also reported that "food and medicine for Palestinians in Gaza are piling up in Egypt because the Rafah crossing remains closed."
Israel took operational control of the crossing weeks ago, but Cairo so far has refused to cooperate with Israeli authorities to facilitate the entry of aid through Rafah. The Israeli government wants to allow aid into Gaza through the crossing but is unable to do so without Egyptian cooperation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz last week placed the responsibility for averting a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip squarely on the shoulders of Egypt.
Katz said he had spoken with his British and German counterparts "about the need to persuade Egypt to reopen the Rafah Crossing to allow the continued delivery of international humanitarian aid to Gaza."
While the world places the responsibility for Gaza's humanitarian situation on Israel, he added, "the key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends."
Meanwhile, COGAT on Thursday approved the resumption of commercial trade between Israel and the Gaza Strip, with truck deliveries starting the following morning, Israel's Walla! News outlet reported on Sunday.
According to the report, 150 trucks loaded with produce from Israel—not aid—crossed into Gaza, intended for merchants who purchased the produce, which is "intended for Hamas members and the civilian population."
Reprinted by kind permission of JNS.
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Utopia and Preaching Against Incitement and the Apocalyptic Bent!
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/May 22/2024
"Apocalyptic" refers to that which describes the end of the world; however, in a broader and more comprehensive sense, it describes occurrences that do not normally take place and the non-occurrence of normally occurring occurrences that reason does not accept. Thus, by force of the apocalyptic, the dead rise from the grave, for example, or every child dies, a flood sweeps the entire world away, trees become predatory monsters, and other strange things of this nature take place.
The Jewish prophets of the Old Testament, especially Isaiah, distinguished themselves with the apocalyptic warnings they delivered to their people and with their descriptions of the suffering that could be inflicted on their people if they continued to disobey God’s commandments.
If these prophets had not been infuriated, and if they had not conveyed those expansive images and fantasies, global literature would have lost much of what makes it what it is. However, what literature gains from this apocalypticism is a testament to life’s fragility and the scale of the peril that could befall us.
Following the current war on the Gaza Strip and the things that are being said and done during this war, the wording of the threats and promises of vengeance that have accompanied it, or the haunting declarations of victory made by both sides, one almost gets the impression that the apocalyptic bent is competing with reality to define what is real.
Though the two warring parties have presented too many examples of this to count, the mere possibility of it, or some of it, actually happening is enough to reverse all meanings, and reversal is among the signs that the end is upon us.
Indeed, what does comprehensive and overwhelming victory entail in light of Israel’s growing schism with the rest of the world, caught in the kind of isolation that often preludes a rout? How can deranged religious settlers be left to change the nature of things through violence? And what do we call the categorical confidence of a few men hunkered down in tunnels beneath the ground and promising their people a victory whose effects would stretch from the river to the sea?
The irrationality in all of this goes beyond those who directly speak for it. It has also taken hold of those who believe and celebrate their words, making it seem, for a moment, as though this irrationality is itself rational.
The fact is that the idea of "genocide"- be it as the gross actions Israel has been committing on a daily basis for more than seven months, or as the intentions manifested on October 7 - is itself an apocalyptic omen that is with us now: the number of deaths, the evacuation of civilians, the occupation of territory, the starvation of children, and changing everything that had existed... When we remember that several genocides have been perpetrated in our modern history, specifically the Arab Levant, we are overcome by warranted panic that the apocalyptic may not be an eventuality whose non-occurrence is guaranteed.
This picture is incomplete without an allusion to the paralysis and helplessness that afflict people under these conditions that are brimming with certainty, irrationality, and destruction. This is not a long way away from the sorts of reactions engendered by the prospect of nuclear deployment, especially at a time when this prospect enjoys broad mass appeal!
But can anyone, whether in our region or the world, reverse the idea of an "end," with all the apocalyptic vision it entails, into a "beginning?" And is it possible to precipitate a gradual transition from violence to politics, from ruptures to settlements, and from war to peace?
Such questions may seem utopian in light of this helplessness and paralysis that surrounds and envelopes the battlefield, or at a time when the political actors involved are split between those who are completely aligned with Israel and those who have no influence, and when the notion of victory at any cost reigns supreme over all others.
Nevertheless, the fact that the calamity - which had been immense in the first place - has reached this scale, and the prospect of its expansion to other regions and countries, urgently demand that we make ending this war a humanist and moral goal that takes precedence over every other objective and any gain its parties could attain.
When politics seems to not stand a chance, or stand almost no chance, there is no harm in putting utopia forward as a policy, an objective, and a slogan, and then clinging to it in the face of the apocalypticism creeping upon us from various sites and locations.
As for the two formulas that seem utopian in our day, and in light of the luminosity of belligerent consciousness, with its radicalism and extermination, they remain the same and do not change:
- It is necessary, politically, legally, and morally, for the Palestinian people to have a state - here, we solve half the problem.
- The illusion of annihilating Israel must be abandoned, as should the mentality of resolving conflicts through annihilation and erasure of any kind - here, we solve half of the other problem.
Can this be considered preaching in the light of our weakness and ill-preparedness? Perhaps. But preaching, regardless of what its haters may say, remains better than incitement and agitation that promise us all an immense insatiable mass grave.

Criminals… but!
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al Awsat/May 22/2024
Arab media outlets and social media space were confused over how to react after the International Criminal Court Prosecutor requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, and other officials.
This confusion was not limited to the media and social platforms. It could also be seen in the political sphere. The request issued by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan created upheaval within all parties, despite their divergent aspirations and expectations.
In the Arab world, everyone was waiting for the ICC to prove that it was “credible” by issuing an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, though they doubted it would happen. Hamas was particularly eager to see this step so that it could declare a judicial and international victory. However, arrest warrants were issued for both Netanyahu and Sinwar.
Meanwhile, in the West, specifically in the United States, some members of Congress were threatening the ICC and pressuring it not to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, who has raged against his Israeli rivals, and even the American president himself, like a bull.
What happened is that the prosecutor equated Netanyahu with Sinwar, and the leader of Hamas' Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, as well as the head of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh, with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The prosecutor charged both Israeli officials and Hamas officials, asserting that he had reasonable grounds to believe they had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity since October 7th and 8th, 2023.
With these charges, the prosecutor portrayed Israeli and Hamas officials as criminals. Many share the prosecutor's conviction. However, charging both sides in equal measure undercuts the judicial process before it could make progress.
Charging all parties meant that none of them would accept the implementation of the decision. No one will enthusiastically push for the arrest of one side while abandoning the other. Hamas will not eagerly demand the arrest of Netanyahu, who is also not concerned with arresting Hamas leaders; he would rather eliminate them.
The West will not pressure anyone to hand over Hamas leaders, as no one can arrest Netanyahu now either. We saw how former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir traveled despite the warrants for his arrest.
The story does not end here. The question now is: How has this accusation opened doors and opportunities for President Putin, who is said to be pursued by the International Criminal Court? Will the Europeans, for instance, treat Netanyahu differently than they have treated President Putin following his war in Ukraine?
I am not saying that the ICC's decision is politicized, though it might be. However, the court has now fallen into the clutches of politics and politicians. The matter will not be assessed from a legal perspective. All parties will do all that they can to dilute the legal dimension, both Arab and Western, specifically the Americans. Accordingly, they are criminals... but!
And so, the prosecutor's request has complicated the crisis further and may lead to escalation. The war in Gaza is not driven by a strategy but by the pursuit of survival. Netanyahu wants to survive politically, Sinwar is trying to save his life, and Haniyeh wants to maintain Hamas' rule over Gaza.

The Arab Summit… The Day After
Dr. Nassif Hitti/Asharq Al Awsat/May 22/2024
Along with many others, I underlined the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to resolving the Palestinian issue on the eve of the 33rd Arab League Summit. This effort requires holding an international conference attended by all the international and regional actors who yield influence in the Middle East. I also suggested that Arab leaders develop an action plan (road map), thereby adding weight to its efforts to translate the Summit's decisions regarding Palestine into a viable and promising political path to peace through which relevant Security Council Resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, which is founded on these Resolutions, are implemented.
Doing so would amount to a realistic diplomatic initiative that complies with international law, with the aim of reaching a comprehensive and lasting peace and strengthening regional stability. We stress the need for this comprehensive approach despite being aware of the old and new obstacles standing in the way- obstacles rooted in the experiences of the distant and recent past. The most prominent of these obstacles is the war Israel is waging, which seeks not only the destruction of Gaza but also the total erasure of Palestinian people’s national rights, most notably their right to an independent state.
A prominent example of its actions to deny the Palestinians their rights is the aggravation of its policy of Judaizing the land and people in the West Bank, to accelerate the integration of the West Bank into a greater State of Israel. That is evident from the escalating military, security, administrative, and economic (among others) pressure it is exerting to achieve this end. The dominance over the executive of the fundamentalist religious right and its allies on the extreme nationalist right, has created additional impediments to reviving the peace process. Although it would be difficult- many believe almost impossible given the current balance of power- resuming the peace process remains the only path to resolving this historical conflict.
This conflict returned to the forefront, becoming the most heated issue in the region once again. Given its nature and its political, social, and geographic significance, it has the potential to become a central flashpoint of regional and international conflicts, cold wars, and proxy wars, and to be used to further strategic goals that are unrelated to Palestine.
Amid the impasse in efforts to end the fighting, and given the prospect that this could become a long war of attrition marked by cyclical escalations and lulls, it is crucial that the world heed the Summit's call for an international conference aimed at ensuring a peaceful settlement of the conflict premised on international law and principles, and relevant Resolutions of the United Nations. This decision, or the Arab call for it, should not be replaced (even under the guise of laying the groundwork for it) with provisional arrangements purportedly aimed at ensuring the conference is eventually held. Such approaches often serve no other purpose than to allow those who are uninterested in peace to bide their time and diffuse the sense of urgency.
Indeed, this kind of foreign policy approach ultimately delays the inevitable explosion rather than addressing its root causes, which only complicates matters further over time.
What we need is for Arab leaders to reach out to international actors (specifically the permanent members of the Security Council) as soon as possible, developing several formulas to persuade them to endorse this initiative (international conference). Despite the many difficulties that reaching a settlement within the framework of an international conference would run up against, the fact remains that holding it once the frames of reference and final objectives are agreed to, is a necessary, though insufficient, requisite for launching a track that leads to a peaceful and comprehensive resolution of the conflict.
Some argue that Israel is principally opposed to the peace settlement, its goals, rules, and steps. However, Israel has hit a dead end. Its declared and undeclared (though they have become well-known) goals are clearly and credibly opposed internationally. Its failure to achieve its objectives and entanglement in a costly war of attrition has exacerbated its domestic crises. With time, this will compel Israel to come to terms with the immense costs of its policies and abandon its unattainable declared goals.
There is no doubt that this shift will take a considerable amount of time, but with the cost potentially becoming unbearable, Israel will have to change course. This shift will not be easy on Israel, and it will have domestic repercussions.
Reaching this point in which Israel feels pressured requires vigorous initiatives on the part of various Arab actors. Regardless of this or that actor's degree of involvement, engaging with global leaders is crucial. They can be approached collectively or each could be approached within a different framework, to encourage their endorsement of an international conference. This demands crystallizing practical ideas, formulas, and proposals through meaningful dialogue with the global stakeholders expected to organize, support, and oversee the conference, as well as guarantee that a comprehensive peace settlement is reached. Despite the many obstacles and difficulties, this remains the only viable path to achieving comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East. The responsibility to ensure the implementation of the Summit’s decision in this regard is a fundamental Arab responsibility. There is no serious and realistic alternative to achieving a final resolution to this ongoing, broad conflict except by launching a proactive Arab initiative to translate the Summit’s decision into action. This path furthers regional stability, and it is imperative that we act today to avoid the risks that could emerge tomorrow.

Must Armenia Cede Itself into Nonexistence?
Raymond Ibrahim/The Stream/May 22/2024
In late 2020, war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Two months later, peace was achieved on condition that the ancient Christian nation cede its ancestral lands in Artsakh, internationally known as “Nagorno-Karabakh,” to its Muslim neighbor. The peace bought by such appeasement was fickle at best, as Azerbaijan continued its hostilities — some especially atrocious — and for nearly a year starved the Armenians of Artsakh, leading to what several human rights organizations referred to as a genocide. Then, on Sept. 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched another large-scale military offensive against Artsakh, prompting an exodus of its beleaguered and emaciated Christian population. On Jan.1, 2024, the Armenian Republic of Artsakh was formally dissolved and absorbed into Azerbaijan.
Despite Azerbaijan’s total victory — which some thought might finally put an end to its aggression — the Muslim nation opened fire on Armenia six weeks later, killing four soldiers on Feb. 14. As a result of Azerbaijan’s ongoing expansionism, Armenia is, once again, ceding more territory in an attempt to appease its hungry Muslim neighbor.
Never Enough, Until Your Heart Stops Beating
According to a May 5 report,
Amid ongoing tensions after the fall of Artsakh in September 2023, the Armenian government agreed to cede territory to Azerbaijan along the border in an attempt to normalize relations…. Protests erupted in Armenia, denouncing the territorial cession to Azerbaijan months after the Armenian government failed to defend its people and land during the Azerbaijani siege and conquest of Artsakh in September 2023. The ceded territory contains four villages in the Armenian Tavush Province….
In reality, no amount of appeasement short of total capitulation will ever satisfy Armenia’s powerful Muslim neighbors, namely Azerbaijan and its “big brother,” Turkey.
Inverted Truths
Appropriating Nagorno-Karabakh was only the first step in a larger project. As Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, once openly proclaimed, “Yerevan [the capital of Armenia] is our historical land and we Azerbaijanis must return to these historical lands.” He has also referred to other ancient Armenian territories, including the Zangezur and Lake Sevan regions, as “our historic lands.” Taking over those territories “is our political and strategic goal,” Aliyev maintains, “and we need to work step by step to get closer to it.”
To this, Tigran Balayan, spokesman for Armenia’s foreign ministry, said: “The statement about territorial claims of the president of Azerbaijan, a state appearing on the political map of the world only 100 years ago … yet again demonstrates the racist character of the ruling regime in Baku.”
This is a rather restrained and diplomatic way of saying that, not only are these claims absolutely false; they are — as most falsehoods nowadays tend to be — the exact inverse of the truth.
Founded After the Flood
Armenia is one of the oldest nations in the world. In fact, Mt. Ararat — which Genesis tells us is where Noah’s Ark came to rest after the Flood — lay within its original borders (an area which now belongs to Turkey). Its people, who are direct descendants of Noah’s family, founded current capital, Yerevan, in 782 BC — exactly 2,700 years before Azerbaijan came into being in 1918 (three years after Armenians experienced a genocide that sent many survivors fleeing to Southern California). And yet, here is the president of Azerbaijan waging war premised on the claim that “Yerevan is our historical land.”
Two thousand years ago, Armenia was significantly bigger, encompassing even modern-day Azerbaijan within its borders. Then the Turks and their offshoots (e.g., Azeris) came riding in from the east, slaughtering, enslaving, terrorizing and stealing the lands of Armenians and other Christians of the region in the name of jihad.
Anyone who doubts this should consult the Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa (d.1144). According to this nearly thousand-year-old chronicle, which is near coterminous with the events it describes, it was not until 1019 that “the first appearance of the bloodthirsty beasts … the savage nation of infidels called Turks entered Armenia … and mercilessly slaughtered the Christian faithful with the sword.”
Within 30 years, the raids were virtually nonstop. In 1049, the founder of the Turkic Seljuk Empire himself, Sultan Tughril Bey (r. 1037–1063), reached the Armenian city of Arzden, west of Lake Van, and “put the whole town to the sword, causing severe slaughter, as many as one hundred and fifty thousand persons.”
‘The Beginning of Misfortunes’
Other contemporaries confirm the devastation visited upon Arzden.
“Like famished dogs,” writes Aristakes (d.1080) an eyewitness, the Turks “hurled themselves on our city, surrounded it and pushed inside, massacring the men and mowing everything down like reapers in the fields, making the city a desert. Without mercy, they incinerated those who had hidden themselves in houses and churches.”
Eleven years later, in 1060, the Turks laid siege to Sebastia (which, though now a Turkish city, was originally Armenian). Six hundred churches were destroyed, “many and innumerable people were burned [to death],” and countless women and children “were led into captivity.”
Between 1064 and 1065, Tughril’s successor, Sultan Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri — known to posterity as Alp Arslan, one of Turkey’s unsavory but national heroes — laid siege to Ani, which was at that time the capital of Armenia. Muhammad’s siege engines’ thunderous bombardments caused the entire city to quake, and Matthew describes countless terror-stricken families huddled together and weeping. Once inside, the Muslims “began to mercilessly slaughter the inhabitants of the entire city… and piling up their bodies one on top of the other…. Innumerable and countless boys with bright faces and pretty girls were carried off together with their mothers.” Not only do several Christian sources document the sack of Armenia’s capital — one contemporary succinctly notes that Muhammad “rendered Ani a desert by massacres and fire” — but so do Muslim sources, often in apocalyptic terms: “I wanted to enter the city and see it with my own eyes,” one Arab explained. “I tried to find a street without having to walk over the corpses. But that was impossible.”
Such “was the beginning of the misfortunes of Armenia,” Matthew of Edessa concludes in his account: “So, lend an ear to this melancholy recital.” This has proven to be an ominous remark; the aforementioned history of blood and tears was, indeed, just “the beginning of the misfortunes of Armenia,” whose “melancholy recital” continues to this day.
Islamic Subjugation
Why did the Turks so ruthlessly attack Armenia? What “grievance” did they have? Simply put: Armenia was Christian and the Turks were Muslim — and Islam makes all non-Muslims enemies to be put to the sword, until and unless they submit to Islam.
During the aforementioned sack of Ani, a Muslim fighter climbed atop the city’s main cathedral “and pulled down the very heavy cross which was on the dome, throwing it to the ground,” wrote Matthew. Made of pure silver and the “size of a man” — and once broken, symbolic of Islam’s might over Christianity — the crucifix was sent as a trophy to adorn a mosque in, ironically enough, modern-day Azerbaijan.
Fast forward nearly a millennium to 2020. During Azerbaijan’s latest war on Armenia, a Muslim fighter was videotaped triumphantly shouting “Allahu Akbar!” while standing atop an Armenian chapel where the cross had been broken off.
Such is an idea of what Muslim Turks did to Christian Armenians—not during the Armenian Genocide of a century ago, when some 1.5 million Armenians were massacred and even more displaced — but one thousand years ago, when the Islamic conquest of Armenia first began.
A Thorn in the Side of Islam
This unrelenting history of hate makes one thing perfectly clear: All modern-day pretexts and “territorial disputes” aside, true and permanent peace between Armenia and its Muslim neighbors will only be achieved when the Christian nation has either been conquered or ceded itself into nonexistence.
Nor would it be the first to do so. It is worth recalling that the heart of what is today called “the Muslim world” — the Middle East and North Africa — was thoroughly Christian before the sword of Islam invaded. Bit by bit, century after century following the initial Muslim conquests and occupations, it lost its Christian identity, and its peoples succumbed into the morass of Islam, so that few today even remember that Egypt, Iraq, Syria, etc., were among the first and oldest Christian nations.
Armenia — the first nation in the world to adopt Christianity — is a holdout, a thorn in Islam’s side, and, as such, can never know lasting peace from the Muslims surrounding it. Incidentally, if all the above sounds vaguely familiar, that is because it also applies to the Arab-Israeli conflict: from the Muslim point of view, true and permanent peace can only be achieved when the Jewish nation has either been conquered or ceded itself into nonexistence.
Note: Quotes from Matthew of Edessa were excerpted from Ibrahim’s book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West.