Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 28-29/2024
Understanding the Risks of Hamas's Victory in Gaza/Elias Bejjani / May 28, 2024
Syria, donors must step up to help refugees return, UN refugee chief says
EU and Lebanon's positions: Will Lebanon succeed in achieving its goals regarding the refugee issue?
Le Drian in Beirut: Recurring Words From Shiite Duo and Opposition
Le Drian's Brief Beirut Visit Faces Challenges in Advancing Lebanon's Presidential Election
Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns 'brutal' Israeli attacks on Gaza: Urges global action
When Hezbollah Raises Funds… To Buy Drones!
Israel Targets Farmers in Marjayoun, Bombards Several Towns in South
South Lebanon: Hezbollah-Israel Clashes Continue
Hezbollah targets Ramyeh site with guided missiles and artillery
The Power of Education: Lebanon's Battle for Academic Excellence
Outstanding Payment Cards Reached 2.1 million at End-August 2023
Mikati Addresses Arab Summit and Syrian Refugees File in Cabinet Session
Lebanon in Brussels: Migration is an Existential Danger
This Parliament Won’t Elect a President!
Municipal Elections: Constitutional Council Rejects Three Appeals
TikTok Pedophile Case: New Arrest Warrants for Suspects
World Cup 2026: Lebanese Players Selected for Qualifiers
Lebanon deputy looks to push Syria on refugee return
Will EU aid in exchange for curbing refugee flows make it harder for Syrians in Lebanon to overcome hostility?
Hezbollah Leader Expresses Gratitude for Condolences, Condemns Rafah Massacre

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 28-29/2024
US condemns loss of life, but says no policy changes after civilian deaths in Israeli strike
Dozens dead in ‘barbaric’ strike, hundreds of thousands flee, yet White House insists no red line has been crossed in Rafah
Israel denies strike on camp near Rafah that Gaza officials say killed 21 people
NBC: US to suspend Gaza aid deliveries by sea after pier suffers weather damage
US-built pier in Gaza will need to be removed and repaired after damage from rough seas
Hard-liner Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf re-elected as speaker of Iran's parliament
Mossad chief staged decade-long influence, intimidation campaign against ICC prosecutor
A missile attack damages a ship in the Red Sea off Yemen's coast near previous Houthi rebel assaults
Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognize a Palestinian state as EU rift with Israel widens
WHO: Israeli incursion could halt Rafah's last functioning hospital
Israeli Tanks Reach the Heart of Rafah as Operation Intensifies
145 Countries Now Recognize a Palestinian State
Irish Parliament suspended as protesters call for sanctions on Israel
Poland's foreign minister says it should not exclude the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine
Putin Hints at Bombing Other ‘Densely Populated’ Nations
U of T seeks court injunction to clear encampment as protesters stay put
The Trudeau Liberals have eroded all five pillars of prosperity
El-Sisi in Beijing to attend China-Arab cooperation forum
Blinken discusses need to end Sudan war with top general
Armenian Independence Day Marred by Political Protests
Prosecutor Demands Conviction in Trump Trial

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on May 28-29/2024on May 28-29/2024
Guess Which 'Moderate' Palestinian Terrorist Group Participated In the October 7 Massacre/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/May 28, 2024
Will Saudi-Iranian relations be affected by Raisi’s demise?/Hassan Al-Mustafa/Arab News/May 28, 2024
US is punishing itself by undermining international law/Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/May 28, 2024
International indictment of Israel is also a rebuke for the US/Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/May 28, 2024
The Message of the Funeral/Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al Awsat/May 28/2024

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 28-29/2024
Understanding the Risks of Hamas's Victory in Gaza
Elias Bejjani / May 28, 2024
The ongoing conflict between the State of Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas has resulted in immense suffering for people in the Middle East. The devastating war has caused loss of innocent lives, and the destruction of homes and communities demands global sympathy for the victims on both sides. However, it is crucial for global and regional powers to understand the true nature and goals of Hamas and the risks associated with its continued dominance in Gaza.
Promoting wars and targeting innocent civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli, is neither acceptable nor justified by any moral or humanitarian standards. The Palestinian people are suffering immensely due to unprecedented Israeli military actions, while Hamas leaders remain indifferent, hiding in tunnels and using civilians as human shields. This organization prioritizes its jihadist agenda against Israel over the lives of defenseless Palestinian civilians.
The loss of innocent Palestinian lives is tragic and must be condemned. Hamas bears full responsibility for the suffering of its people, and its actions provide justification for Israel's military response. While it is essential to condemn Israeli actions that harm civilians, it is equally important to recognize the dangers of a Hamas victory.
Allowing Hamas to win in Gaza would strengthen it militarily, promote violent ideologies, and keep the Palestinian people under its oppressive rule. A Hamas victory would destabilize moderate Arab countries and empower other jihadist and terrorist organizations, potentially exporting terrorism to Europe, America, and beyond.
To defeat Hamas and free the Palestinian people from its tyranny, the international community must address the root causes of the conflict. This involves isolating Hamas, dismantling its infrastructure, and supporting the establishment of peaceful, democratic self-rule in Gaza and the West Bank. A future Palestinian state should be one that is reconciled with Israel and the broader international community.
Arab countries, many of which classify Hamas as a terrorist organization, must take clear and decisive stances against it. Hamas is closely aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremist groups, as well as with the Iranian Mullahs' regime posing a significant threat to regional stability.
The free world must distinguish between legitimate self-defense and terrorism. Groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, Boko Haram, the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, the Houthis in Yemen, and others, often supported by the Iranian regime, are enemies of peace. Equating their actions with legitimate self-defense undermines justice and destabilizes global security.
Sympathy for the Palestinian people, who are held hostage by Hamas, is necessary. However, the international community must not overlook the dangers posed by allowing terrorist organizations to prevail. Defeating Hamas is crucial for achieving peace in the Middle East and beyond. This peace can only be realized through dialogue, reconciliation, mutual respect, and the right of all peoples to self-determination.
In conclusion, supporting the people of Gaza in their quest for a future free of terrorism and the domination of Hamas is a humanitarian duty. The forces of peace and justice must triumph over hatred and violence to ensure a stable and secure world.
The author, Elias Bejjani, is a Lebanese expatriate activist
Author’s Email: Phoenicia@hotmail.com
Author’s Website: http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com

Syria, donors must step up to help refugees return, UN refugee chief says
Andrew Gray/Reuters/May 28, 2024
The Syrian government and international aid donors must both do more if they want millions of Syrians forced to flee the country by war to return home, the U.N.'s refugee chief has said. Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said the Gaza war and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict showed what happens if refugee questions are left unaddressed. "If you leave it unattended ... it comes back with a vengeance," Grandi told Reuters in Brussels on the sidelines of a European Union-led conference on aid for Syrians. The forum yielded pledges of 7.5 billion euros in grants and loans for coming years, the EU said on Monday evening. But 13 years after an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad spiralled into war, the fate of more than five million Syrian refugees living outside the country is increasingly contentious. Lebanese politicians have been pushing for more refugees to be sent home. Some 800,000 Syrians are registered with the U.N. refugee agency in Lebanon, whose authorities say the true number of Syrians in the country is around two million. The issue has also risen up Europe's political agenda, with EU member Cyprus concerned that large numbers of refugees unwelcome in Lebanon will arrive on its shores. But Western nations have not resumed ties with Assad, regarding him as a war criminal - an accusation he denies - and saying Syria is still unsafe for large-scale returns. Some Arab states began re-engaging with Assad in the aftermath of a deadly 2023 earthquake but had little success in convincing him to create conditions for refugee returns. Speaking on Monday evening, Grandi said he could not tell Western countries how to engage with Assad, but they could fund humanitarian work inside Syria by organisations such as his own. "Something has got to give in all this, you know?" he said. "You cannot have the cake and eat it. You have to invest if you want solutions."
VOLUNTARY RETURNS
Grandi said refugees should only return voluntarily – and this could only happen if they felt safe in Syria and could rely on basics such as housing and ways to earn a living. For Syrian authorities, this meant providing security and solving bureaucratic problems such as documentation. "It's slow progress, but we're working on it," Grandi said. He said he told Assad last year he had a "huge confidence gap" with his own people, who need convincing they can trust him. More than 500,000 people have been killed in the Syrian war and about 150,000 remain unaccounted for. Many of the country's schools, water supplies and electricity stations have been destroyed. A devastating economic crunch has added to the country's woes in recent years. Western aid donors had an important part to play too, Grandi said, with more funding for projects inside Syria. "We have a programme in Syria, but it is not very well funded," he said, adding one flagship scheme had only received between 30% and 35% of the required funding. "We need to invest more to create conditions for people to go back," he said.

EU and Lebanon's positions: Will Lebanon succeed in achieving its goals regarding the refugee issue?
LBCI/28 May 2024
Lebanon, like all countries hosting Syrian refugees, heard the European Union's stance on the refugee issue at the Brussels Conference through EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell. Borrell's stance focused on three key points:
It is not yet time for refugees to return as conditions for a safe and voluntary return are not met. Host countries must adhere to the principle of non-refoulment and the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees. The announcement of $2 billion in financial aid for refugees and not for host countries, with $1 billion allocated to Turkey and the other $1 billion divided among host countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq through UN agencies. Does the EU's position undermine Lebanon's efforts to manage the presence of Syrian refugees within its territory? The Lebanese side asserted that it would not alter its approach to the Syrian refugee issue. Lebanon, which presented a clear plan in Brussels as outlined by Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib to all attending countries, remains committed to implementing it. The plan does not conflict with international laws and stems from Lebanon's sovereign stance on handling the refugee issue, which poses an imminent danger to the country. Accordingly, Lebanon will continue applying its national laws to Syrian refugees, allowing for voluntary returns without forced repatriation, based on the Geneva Convention, which Lebanon is not obliged to enforce as it was never signed. The caretaker government has adopted Lebanon's firm stance.  During private discussions with Bou Habib, Borrell reportedly showed more flexibility and understanding of Lebanon's unique challenges regarding the refugee issue, according to attendees.In conclusion, Europe has voiced its position, and Lebanon has made its stance clear. Will Lebanon succeed in achieving its goals regarding the refugee issue?

Le Drian in Beirut: Recurring Words From Shiite Duo and Opposition
Bassam Abou Zeid/This Is Beirut/ 28 May 2024
Upon his arrival in Beirut on Tuesday afternoon, French President Emmanuel Macron’s personal envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, met with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The meeting was of a strictly ceremonial nature, as the French emissary, like all the Lebanese, is well aware that he cannot hope to make headway with Mikati on the two issues of the presidential election and the war in South Lebanon. Le Drian, who will conclude his mission of good offices in Beirut on Wednesday, also held a meeting at Clemenceau with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and Progressive Socialist Party chief Teymour Jumblatt. He met afterwards with Marada leader Sleiman Frangieh, who is the presidential candidate of Amal and Hezbollah. Walid Jumblatt stressed during his meeting with the French envoy on the need for Lebanon to have a president, whatever the cost. He told Le Drian that he would back any candidate who enjoyed substantial Christian support and could guarantee a quorum in his favor, should Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri call a parliamentary meeting. Jumblatt also reaffirmed that he is not against the election of Sleiman Frangieh, if the necessary conditions for this election are met, and that he is also unreservedly in favor of Berri’s call for dialogue. At the same time, however, he made it clear that he did not wish to embarrass Berri by pushing him to commit to convening an electoral parliamentary session, with successive rounds and an assured quorum. Roughly speaking, what Le Drian has heard and will hear tomorrow, Wednesday, are the same arguments related to the presidential elections. He is due to be received on Wednesday by Berri, who is also speaking on behalf of Hezbollah, which is determined not to tackle the issue of the presidential election seriously while the war in Gaza continues. Le Drian is preparing to hear recurrent remarks from the Speaker of Parliament. This rhetoric initially depends on demonstrating that this duo wishes for the election of a president as soon as possible, albeit under their terms, with only one candidate: Sleiman Frangieh. Therefore, Berri will continue to call for dialogue without offering any commitments on measures that would inevitably lead to the election of a president should the dialogue or consultation fail.
Le Drian won’t be able to break the presidential deadlock. Opposition forces, led by the Lebanese Forces (LF), will emphasize that the ball isn’t in their court and that pressure must be exerted on the Amal-Hezbollah duo to convene an electoral session, given that almost a year has passed since the last presidential election session. Moreover, they consider that this session must be held with a full quorum and involve prompt consultations to explore the potential for consensus on a candidate. Should consensus fail, the process should proceed with quorate consecutive rounds of voting until the future president is elected. The opposition strongly urges Hezbollah to dissociate the war in the South from the presidency, given that they do not fully believe in this connection, noting that the obstruction of the presidential election predated the October 7 war events. The issues Le Drian aims to address with the Quintet Committee (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, the US and France) today echo those used for obstruction before the war. Now, they are compounded by the ramifications of the war, Hezbollah’s already proclaimed victory and the political cost imposed thereafter, including the identity of Baabda’s president.

Le Drian's Brief Beirut Visit Faces Challenges in Advancing Lebanon's Presidential Election
LBCI/28 May 2024
French presidential envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian hurriedly traveled to Beirut for just twenty-four hours to prepare a report on Lebanon to be presented at the meeting between the French and US presidents in Paris on June 6th.
Not much hope is being pinned on Le Drian’s sixth mission. Information leaked about his intention to gauge interest in Paris hosting a dialogue between Lebanese leaders and parliamentary blocs was not well received, particularly by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. Berri reiterated in an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida his stance that he should be the one to call for the dialogue, whether it is called a dialogue, consultation, or discussion, and that he should chair it. Regarding the rumors of holding a dialogue outside Lebanon, and the possibility of such a conference being held in Paris, Berri asked, “Why not hold it in Beirut, in the Parliament?” Berri’s response, which came before Le Drian’s discussions, will form a significant barrier to the French envoy’s mission. Le Drian aims to start his tour based on the conclusions of the quintet committee’s last meeting at the US embassy, which emphasized the need for limited consultations between political blocs to end the current political deadlock, aiming to identify a widely agreed-upon candidate or a shortlist of presidential candidates. Following these consultations, the MPs would proceed to an open electoral session in Parliament, with multiple rounds until a new president is elected. It is worth noting that Speaker Berri was not pleased with the quintet committee’s statement that set the end of May as the deadline for electing a president, although the ambassadors attributed this date to the desires of some blocs they met with. Le Drian returned to face contradictions and obstacles. The Hezbollah-Amal duo and their allies remain committed to supporting candidate Sleiman Frangieh, while the opposing team is aligned with candidate Jihad Azour, although some may not object to a third option favored by the quintet committee, whose time apparently has not yet come. As for the statements about not linking the presidency with Gaza and the south, they remain slogans. The regional settlement has not matured yet, and Lebanon's turn will come afterward.
In conclusion, Le Drian’s tour is just another entry on his visit schedule and will not contribute to speeding up the electoral process.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns 'brutal' Israeli attacks on Gaza: Urges global action
LBCI/28 May 2024
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned "the ongoing Israeli occupation's brutal attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip."The most recent incident cited by the ministry involves the deliberate targeting of Palestinian refugee tents near a UNRWA facility situated northwest of the Palestinian city of Rafah. This attack has resulted in numerous casualties and fatalities.In a statement, the ministry characterized these attacks as "flagrant violations of international law, pertinent international legitimacy rulings, and egregious acts of war and genocide. "In addition, it expressed concern that "such actions could impede efforts aimed at securing an immediate and lasting ceasefire agreement, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and posing a risk of further escalation of the conflict in the region."The ministry also called on the international community to take prompt and decisive action to apply maximum pressure on Israel, compelling it to adhere to relevant international legitimacy rulings and humanitarian laws. Furthermore, it urged the international community to implement decisions issued by the International Court of Justice to halt this "humanitarian catastrophe."

When Hezbollah Raises Funds… To Buy Drones!
This Is Beirut/28 May 2024
Since Monday, a video has been circulating on social networks, calling for donations to finance the purchase of drones, via the Islamic Resistance Support Organization, a branch of the Hezbollah network. This is the last straw for a pro-Iranian militia which always claimed to be funded by the Islamic Republic and boasted of having unlimited access to the mullahs’ funds. Need we remind Hezbollah that the war that has been raging in southern Lebanon since October 8 is the result of a unilateral decision taken by the group’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, in defiance of state institutions, but above all, of the Lebanese people who continue to fight for their survival against all odds? Drones, weapons, missiles and cannon fodder are far more important to Hezbollah than food, fuel, medicine, peace and prosperity. Whether it’s the liberation of Al-Quds or the quest for a divine victory, any argument is good enough to defy the Constitution, violate institutions and take hostage a people wounded by an Iranian diktat. Hassan Nasrallah, leave the Lebanese in peace! If you’re short of funds, ask Qard el-Hassan for a loan!

Israel Targets Farmers in Marjayoun, Bombards Several Towns in South
This Is Beirut/28 May 2024
The cross-fire exchange between Hezbollah and the Israeli army continued on Tuesday with the same intensity.Israeli warplanes flew at low altitudes over Tyre and its surroundings. These planes have been conducting mock raids since 4:45 PM over the entire South, particularly over Saida. Simultaneously, at around 5:30 PM today, Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier twice over Nabatieh and Iqlim al-Tuffah, causing a massive sound that created panic and tension among residents. Moreover, Israeli artillery shells targeted farmers in the Marjayoun plain. Israel also bombarded Wadi Hamul, the outskirts of Naqoura, Kfar Hamam and Rachaya al-Foukhar, accompanied by low-altitude warplane flights over the Shebaa Farms and the Arkoub area. Additionally, the warplanes launched a raid targeting the town of Maroun al-Ras, which was bombed in the afternoon with phosphorus shells, causing fires in the town. In response, Hezbollah claimed three attacks. Its military media announced that it targeted the Samaqa site in the Kfarchouba Hills, a group of soldiers near the Raheb site and the Ramya site.

South Lebanon: Hezbollah-Israel Clashes Continue
This Is Beirut/28 May 2024
The latest development on the ground includes artillery shelling targeting farmers in the Marjayoun plain and gunshots on Jabal al-Labbouneh and Jabal al-Alam in the morning. During the night, the Israeli army targeted with heavy artillery shells the outskirts of the towns of Naqoura, Jabal al-Labbouneh, Alma al-Shaab and Tayr Harfa. At midnight, Israeli warplanes raided the vicinity of the towns of Aita al-Shaab, causing extensive damage to property, crops and uninhabited houses. Until this morning, the Israeli army continued to fire flares over the border villages adjacent to the Blue Line. Additionally, reconnaissance flights were recorded over the towns of the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts, up to the outskirts of the Litani River and the sea coast. Hezbollah claimed the attacks on the Ramya position. The pro-Iranian group also fired heavy machine gun fire toward Jabal al-Labbouneh and Jabal al-Alam in the western sector. Due to the ongoing shelling in the South, the owners of banana and citrus orchards, especially in the Naqoura plain and the outskirts of Hamra and Mansouri, cannot work on their lands

Hezbollah targets Ramyeh site with guided missiles and artillery
LBCI/28 May 2024
Hezbollah announced on Tuesday that it attacked the Ramyeh site, reportedly using guided missiles, artillery shells, and direct weapons from a short distance.
It claimed the attack targeted the site's garrison, equipment, and soldier positions, achieving direct hits.

The Power of Education: Lebanon's Battle for Academic Excellence
LBCI/28 May 2024
Education is one of Lebanon's most potent weapons in maintaining its distinguished status, once earning it the title of "University of the Arabs." Despite global declines in educational standards, particularly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Lebanon's concurrent economic crisis, higher education in the country continues to offer hope for restoring its educational sector to its former glory. The American University of Beirut (AUB) serves as a beacon of this resilience. The institution has reported an increase in student enrollment this year. It’s true that, like other universities, AUB faced significant losses in recent years, losing 35% of its professors, 39% of its doctors, and 28% of its overall staff. However, the university did not succumb to these challenges. Instead, it secured financial aid to support its students, developed a recovery plan, and maintained its educational standards.
AUB is just one example of how Lebanon's private sector knows how to manage, plan, and implement strategies not only to preserve its reputation but also to secure the future of the nation.

Outstanding Payment Cards Reached 2.1 million at End-August 2023
This Is Beirut/28 May 2024
As per the latest figures released by the Central Bank of Lebanon, the number of outstanding bank payment cards reached 2,063,252 cards at end-August 2023, down from 2,379,207 cards at end-2022, witnessing a drop of 315,955 cards or 13.3% over the first eight months of 2023. In detail, resident payment cards continued to make up the majority of payment cards in Lebanon (97.1% or 2.003.636 outstanding cards), with non-resident payment cards constituting the rest (2.9% or 59,616 outstanding cards) at end-August 2023. Outstanding resident payment cards recorded a 13.5% decrease in the first eight months of 2023, while outstanding non-resident payment cards reported a 4.4% decrease over the same period. Looking at the distribution of payment cards by type, debit cards took the lion’s share with 68% (91,403,676 outstanding cards) of the total. Debit cards were followed by repaid cards with a share of 24.3% (502,281 outstanding cards) of the total. Credit cards comprised 4.4% (90,381 outstanding cards) of the total, while charge cards comprised 3.2% (66,914 outstanding cards) of the total, as per the latest figures by the Central Bank of Lebanon. It’s worth noting that outstanding payment cards have followed a sharp downward trend since the start of the crisis, as individuals in Lebanon gravitate towards a cash-based economy.

Mikati Addresses Arab Summit and Syrian Refugees File in Cabinet Session
This Is Beirut/28 May 2024
A cabinet session on Tuesday addressed several recent events including Lebanon’s participation in the Arab Summit held in Bahrain, the Brussels conference, and the ongoing tensions in the south of the country. Regarding the Arab Summit, which was held on May 16, Prime Minister Najib Mikati explained that it expressed everyone’s interest in Lebanon, highlighting that “the ‘Bahrain Declaration’ emphasized the Lebanese constants that we adhere to, and in the bilateral meetings we held, we sensed the keenness for Lebanon and the support it benefits from.”Mikati also remarked on Lebanon’s participation in the ‘Eighth Conference to Support the Future of Syria and the Region’ in Brussels on May 27. “For the first time, Lebanon presented a clear and specific action plan to organize the Syrian refugee presence in Lebanon, which was adopted by the government and supported by the parliament through its recommendations.”
The caretaker Prime Minister also emphasized “Lebanon’s request to start the early recovery plan in Syria, separate the issue of displaced persons from political considerations, and find safe areas in Syria to initiate the return of the displaced,” assuring that the Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdallah Bou Habib, made “contact with Arab ministers whose countries host displaced Syrians, namely Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria, and they agreed on a unified plan consisting of contacting the Syrian authorities and supporting early recovery in Syria.”Mikati also assured that the Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs reached an agreement with the UNHCR on all the points raised by Lebanon, most notably the handover of all data regarding the displaced Syrians. Addressing the internal political situation, Mikati called for the inclusion of all political forces, stressing that “the solution begins with the election of the President of the Republic and the proper implementation of constitutional institutions rule.” Finally, Mikati condemned the ongoing Israeli aggression in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon in Brussels: Migration is an Existential Danger
This Is Beirut/28 May 2024
The plan submitted in Monday’s Brussels Conference by the Lebanese government, regarding the threat of Syrian displacement on Lebanon, was published Tuesday, sounding the alarm that “Syrian migrants now exceed half of the Lebanese resident population”. According to the plan, “the General Directorate of General Security has reported that Lebanon hosts a total of 2,800,000 Syrian nationals. This figure continues to rise annually due to thousands of births among Syrians, reaching 39,000 in 2023 compared to 65,000 for Lebanese births”.
“Within a generation, the inevitable outcome of such a policy risks diluting Lebanon’s contracting and aging citizenry with a rapidly growing Syrian majority, jeopardizing its national identity”, the plan stated.
In addition to provoking huge demographic changes in a very delicate multi religious and sectarian country, “Syrian presence causes the abuse of subsidized resources causing more pressure on treasury and debt”, the plan added.
The plan also highlighted one additional danger. “One of the biggest challenges in Lebanon is that tens of thousands of refugee children born in host countries are not being registered. Without official papers establishing their identity and rights to Syrian nationality, the children could face a life of statelessness and deprivation of basic rights including education, freedom of movement and the right to cross borders”.
Illustrating the critical situation Lebanon is confronting, a graph showed that a “77% majority of Syrians present in Lebanon are of age 35 and less, which represents a serious social indicator”. Another graph puts ahead the increase of crime rate due to extreme poverty between March and April.
On a parallel note, the plan showed UNHCR’s diminishing support. It pointed out that the UNHCR notified the Lebanese Health Ministry of its intention to cut refugee health coverage in half due to recent global crises.
Insisting on its “full right” to obtain the data requested from UNHCR to organize the Syrian presence in Lebanon, the Lebanese government’s plan revealed the next measures to be taken, the main ones being:
– All Syrians in Lebanon will be treated as foreigners, and all related laws on foreigners will apply to them.
– Any registered or recorded Syrian who leaves Lebanon illegally by sea or legally through the land borders to Syria will not be allowed reentry into Lebanon, and should lose their UNHCR registration status.
– Syrians who entered Lebanon illegally and are not registered nor recorded by UNHCR will be deported.
The plan asserts that the Lebanese government will be working on anti-smuggling regulations, strengthening its border control and border management, and seeking international assistance for the implementation of its Anti-Trafficking law.

This Parliament Won’t Elect a President!
Johnny Kortbawi/This Is Brirut/ 28 May 2024
It is a surprise to none that nothing in Lebanon is done within the deadlines stipulated by the Constitution, mainly due to the biggest problem that the Lebanese regime faces: unilateral decisions and hegemony over the State. In 2022, the main slogan of the elections was that the new Parliament will honor its most important commitment, electing a new President. In reality, the 2022 Parliament was supposed to accomplish its mission in the first 6 months of its mandate, some of its most serious objectives being to elect a Parliament speaker and parliamentary committees, approving the first budget, and organizing parliamentary consultations to form a government after electing a President. But the Parliament was incapacitated because of the constant obstructing of its activities. And since electing a President is the result of internal and external agreements, it has become clear that the general situation will not allow for such an election, at least in 2024, the whole issue being postponed indefinitely. In fact, it has also become clear that the political events in the region are increasing in complexity, which is liable to freeze all major decisions to be taken in Lebanon. For that reason, many are stressing the importance of organizing early parliamentary elections, in order to remove the political deadlock. But the people calling for this are not doing so because one of the two main blocks will be able to secure two thirds of the seats. They are asking for early elections to remodel the Parliament by “getting rid” of the Change MPs, reducing the number of blocs to two. Elias Bou Saab, who isn’t aligned with Gebran Bassil, and Wiam Wahab, the unofficial spokesperson of the obstructionist axis (al-Moumanaa) – although a realpolitik advocate – are among the proponents of the early elections in question. That being said, such an initiative would not change the course of the presidential election: even if one of the two blocs manages to secure two thirds of the votes, a major component would be missing, the issue of internal dissent will arise, and the new President will have to start off on the wrong foot. Therefore, according to most estimates, this Parliament will fail to elect a President, and the matter will have to be postponed until after the 2026 election, if no major change shifts the balance of power in one direction or the other, that is. All will be put on hold, and Lebanon will be left with no other option but to await drastic change. In any case, the parliamentary elections won’t alter much, as we know full well that, in the case of Lebanon, they breed yet more problems instead of solving them. Has this not been the case since the country’s independence? Has it not been proved that democracy in Lebanon is a democracy in name only, and that it is rather an act to make everyone believe that institutions are being protected and the constitution safeguarded?

Municipal Elections: Constitutional Council Rejects Three Appeals
This Is Beirut/28 May 2024
The Constitutional Council (CC) rejected, on Tuesday, the three appeals lodged against the law extending the terms of municipal councils and mokhtars. The law was adopted by Parliament on April 25. The Constitutional Council invoked the exceptional circumstances in Lebanon, alluding to the war in South Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel. The CC also specified that Parliament must promulgate a new law setting the election date, once the exceptional circumstances are overcome. The appeal was rejected by seven votes to three. The CC’s decision was opposed by judges Michel Tarazi, Elias Mechrekani and Albert Serhan.On May 2, the Lebanese Forces lodged an appeal for invalidation, followed on May 7 by the Kataeb, the Renewal bloc and the Coalition for Change, then by the MPs affiliated with the October 17 protest movement.

TikTok Pedophile Case: New Arrest Warrants for Suspects
This Is Beirut/28 May 2024
The Mount Lebanon first investigating judge, Nicolas Mansour, issued contradictory arrest warrants for the suspects arrested in the TikTokers’ pedophile case at the end of the first hearing he devoted to their interrogation on Tuesday.
Their lawyers had presented formal defects at the start of the hearing.Judge Mansour also issued arrest warrants in absentia for several suspects at large. To date, 15 people have been arrested in this case. Moreover, he has asked the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Cassation to ask Interpol to issue a red notice for suspects, some of whom are abroad. As a reminder, the Public Prosecutor’s Office received a complaint over a month ago from the parents of eight minors who had been sexually abused and forced to take drugs. Agents from the cybercrime office had managed to identify some 30 people who were part of a network that used the TikTok application to “lure their prey,” children and teenagers. The detainees included a hairdresser, the owner of a clothing store, a dentist and a young girl who enticed children and teenagers onto the application and delivered them to members of the network.
On Wednesday, the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Jamal Hajjar sent two letters rogatory to the Swedish and Emirati authorities. In the first, he requested the arrest of the Lebanese Paul Meouchi, nicknamed Jay, based in Sweden, and in the second, he asked the Dubai authorities to arrest the Lebanese Peter Naffah.

World Cup 2026: Lebanese Players Selected for Qualifiers
Karim Jaafar / AFP/This Is Beirut
The Lebanese Football Federation has revealed the list of 26 players who will represent Lebanon in the upcoming qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup. Lebanon will face Palestine and Bangladesh on Matchdays 5 and 6 of the joint Asian qualifiers. The matches will take place on June 6 and 11, 2024 at 7:00 PM at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
List of Players:
Mostafa Matar (Al Ahed FC), Mahdi Khalil (Safa SC), Ali Sabeh (Nejmeh SC), Mohamad el Housseini (Bourj FC), Maher Sabra (Nejmeh SC), Hussein Zein (Al Ahed FC), Nassar Nassar (Al Ansar FC), Hussein Sharaf Edin (Safa SC), Hassan Maatouk (Al Ansar FC), Ali Tneich (Al Ansar FC), Karim Darwich (Al Ahed FC), Mohamad Haidar (Al Ahed FC), Omar Chaaban (AFC Wimbledon), Khalil Khamis (Al Ahed FC), George Felix Melki (Al Ahed FC), Nader Matar (Al Ansar FC), Jihad Ayoub (PSS Sleman), Walid Chour (Al Ahed FC), Ali Al Haj (Al Ahed FC), Kassem el Zein (Nejmeh SC), Daniel Lahud (Atlante), Rabih Ataya (Nejmeh SC), Leonardo Shahin (Falkenbergs FF), Ahmad Kheir El Dine (Nejmeh SC), Hassan Srour (Al Ahed FC).

Lebanon deputy looks to push Syria on refugee return
Updated 28 May 2024
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/May 28, 2024
BEIRUT: Lebanon has stepped up its push to have Syrian refugees returned to their homeland with the announcement of a Cabinet committee to negotiate directly with the Syrian government on the issue.
Lebanese deputy leader Saadeh Al-Shami will head the committee, which was set up during a Cabinet session on Tuesday with their aim of speeding up the repatriation process. Speaking following a conference in Brussels on Monday on the future of Syria and the region, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that for the first time Lebanon has a “clear and specific action plan” on the Syrian refugee issue. Mikati said that Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib, who represented Lebanon at the Brussels forum, had called for safe areas to be found in Syria so the return process could get underway as soon as possible.
Arab ministers from countries hosting Syrian refugees, including Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, were urged to agree on a united plan to communicate with the Syrian government and “support early recovery in Syria.”“During the conference, Lebanon emphasized the need for support and aid to encourage the Syrians to return to their country,” Mikati said. In his speech, Bou Habib highlighted Lebanon’s continued cooperation, not confrontation, with international organizations affiliated with the UN. International donors, led by the EU, pledged at the end of the conference to provide $5.4 billion to Syrians inside Syria and refugees in the region, in addition to more than $2.5 billion in soft loans to host countries. Lebanon estimates there are at least 2 million Syrian refugees in the country, including those registered with UNHCR, workers, legal residents, and those who entered illegally.
Hostility toward Syrian refugees in Lebanon worsened after the abduction and murder of Pascal Suleiman, a local official in the Lebanese Forces Party. Over the past two months, hate speech against Syrian refugees has escalated and work restrictions have been placed on them to hasten their return.
Lebanon is pushing ahead with plans to repatriate Syrians who entered the country illegally, and has organized voluntary return trips, but participation remains low, with only 225 people joining a convoy two weeks ago. At the opening of the Brussels conference, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell rejected any discussion of refugees’ return to Syria.
“We consider that there is no safe, voluntary, and dignified return for refugees to Syria at present,” he said. “Voluntary return must be voluntary; refugees should not be coerced. The situation in Syria today is more perilous than a year ago, humanitarian needs have never been greater, and efforts toward a political solution remain deadlocked.”Meanwhile, Lebanese security forces are continuing to evict Syrian families living in illegal settlements across towns and villages in Mount Lebanon and the north as part of a crackdown. On Tuesday, about 1,000 Syrians in Koubba in the Batroun region of northern Lebanon were evicted on orders from Ramzi Nohra, the North Lebanon governor. Ahead of the Brussels conference, Amnesty International urged those attending to “ensure that any funds pledged to support Syrian refugees in Lebanon do not contribute to human rights violations, including forced deportation to Syria.”
The rights group quoted refugees in Lebanon saying they “live in fear, avoid leaving their homes, going to work, or sending their children to school.”Dozens of municipalities have imposed curfews on Syrian refugees, and shuttered scores of small businesses and shops employing or run by Syrians nationwide. Lebanon’s General Directorate of General Security has suspended procedures for granting or renewing residency permits through lease contracts, Lebanese sponsorship, or financial guarantees. It has also cautioned people against employing, hosting, or providing accommodation to undocumented Syrian refugees.

Will EU aid in exchange for curbing refugee flows make it harder for Syrians in Lebanon to overcome hostility?
ANAN TELLO/Arab News/May 28, 2024
LONDON: Since the EU announced a €1 billion ($1.087 billion) aid package to assist Syrians in Lebanon, in exchange for Lebanese authorities agreeing to curb the flow of migrants to Europe, hostility toward the Syrian community in Lebanon has, by most accounts, continued to rise. Earlier this month, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, announced that the EU would allocate a substantial package of aid to crisis-racked Lebanon for the 2024-27 period to help it cope with its substantial refugee population.
Of this amount, €736 million would be allocated to supporting refugees, while €264 million would go toward training the Lebanese armed forces to tackle illegal migration to Europe. Von der Leyen said the aid would bolster border management, assist reform to the banking sector, and support basic services to the most vulnerable communities, including refugees, amid a crippling economic crisis in Lebanon and a surge in the number of irregular boat arrivals in Cyprus from Lebanon.
The announcement came after Cyprus, an EU member state, voiced concern about the number of migrant boats arriving on its shores last month. The majority were Syrians arriving from Lebanon. This sharp increase in arrivals prompted the Cypriot government in mid-April to suspend the processing of asylum applications from Syrians. Nicosia also called on its EU partners to step up efforts to aid Lebanon. However, von der Leyen’s announcement appears to have emboldened Lebanese authorities to step up their crackdown on Syrians, human rights monitor Amnesty International said on Monday.
Within a week of the announcement, on May 8, Lebanon’s General Security announced a new clampdown on Syrians, further tightening work and residency restrictions and ramping up raids, evictions, arrests and deportations. More than 400 refugees were repatriated to Syria on May 14, according to Amnesty International, which, alongside other rights bodies, concluded that “Syria remains unsafe for return, and refugees are at risk of human rights violations.”
“Once again, President von der Leyen has put her desire to curb the flow of refugees at any cost into Europe before the EU’s obligations to protect refugees fleeing conflict or persecution,” Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement. “This appears to have emboldened Lebanese authorities to intensify their ruthless campaign targeting refugees with hateful discourse, forced deportations, and stifling measures on residency and labor.”
Lebanon is home to about 1.5 million Syrian refugees. Anti-Syrian sentiment in the country has intensified since the onset of the financial crisis in 2019, pushing 80 percent of the Lebanese population below the poverty line. The hostility and suspicion, stoked by the rhetoric of senior politicians, boiled over in mid-April when a senior Lebanese Forces official was reportedly abducted and killed in a Syrian area near the Lebanese border. Lebanese mobs indiscriminately attacked Syrians and vandalized their properties, while local authorities and self-appointed community groups evicted many from their homes and businesses.
IN NUMBERS
1/3 of Lebanese citizens in five governorates were living in poverty in 2022.
90% of Syrians in Lebanon were living below the poverty line in 2022.
2,000 Syrians arrived in Cyprus by sea in the first quarter of 2024.
The EU-Lebanon deal augurs poorly for acceptance of displaced Syrian refugees, rights groups say. Wadih Al-Asmar, president of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights, told Arab News he has never witnessed “this amount of pressure on Syrian refugees in Lebanon, where all the security services are participating.” He believes the hostility toward Syrians is “purely for electoral reasons” and that von der Leyen has “opened a Pandora’s box in the region, especially in Lebanon.” Syrian refugees are among the most vulnerable communities in Lebanon, with the majority unable to afford basic essentials and more than half of households living in shelters that are either overcrowded or below minimum standards for habitability, according to UN agencies.
Karam Shaar, a senior fellow at the New Lines Institute, said displaced Syrians in Lebanon “are always in a position where they have to pick between two ugly options: Staying in Lebanon or going back to Syria. “It’s the balance between the ugliness of these two factors that determines whether they decide to stay in Lebanon or go back to Syria,” he told Arab News. Until now, the next best option for Syrians was onward travel to a third country — ideally an EU member state. However, since Cyprus stopped processing Syrian refugee applications, options have narrowed further.
“The option to leave Lebanon and go to Europe has also been made much, much harder because it’s much more difficult to go to Greece from Lebanon instead of going to Cyprus, which is much, much closer,” Shaar said.
Cyprus is a mere 185 km from Lebanon — taking about 10 hours to reach by boat. More than 2,000 Syrians arrived by sea in the first quarter of 2024. Whether the new EU funding for Lebanon will reduce those numbers remains to be seen.
Shaar said the money allocated to support Syrians in Lebanon is “relatively small.” Furthermore, owing to the routine misappropriation of funding by Lebanese authorities, little is likely to reach those most in need. “If you think of the 3RP (Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan), which is the main UN-sponsored plan for helping Lebanon cope with the Syrian refugee crisis, the sums that Lebanon has been receiving per year are actually higher than the amount that the EU has announced — if you look at the elements relating specifically to Syrians,” he said. “Unfortunately, in light of aid diversion, which is the case in Lebanon, in Syria — in most corrupt countries to varying extents — little of that amount will actually find its way to Syrians. “However, I think part of those amounts is urgently needed, especially in the field of education and the support toward the UNHCR.”
Co-led by the UN Refugee Agency and the UN Development Programme, the 3RP provides a platform for humanitarian and development partners to respond to the Syrian crisis at the regional and host country level. The 3RP estimated in this year’s Regional Strategic Overview report that Lebanon, the country with the highest proportion of refugees in the world relative to its population, will need $2.7 billion in financial aid to meet humanitarian needs in 2024. Last year, Lebanon received $1.8 billion, representing a mere 31 percent of the required $5.9 billion, according to the same report. Al-Asmar of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights believes the latest EU aid package will have “more negative than positive effect on Lebanon.”
The UN said Lebanon will need $2.7 billion in financial aid to meet humanitarian needs in 2024. (EU)
On the one hand, he said, the €1 billion “is not new money — this was the support that was planned for the next four years.” It was primarily a “marketing or packaging announcement,” he said. On the other hand, “this support, instead of being welcomed by Lebanese politicians, was somehow a trigger to initiate one of the biggest hate campaigns against Syrian refugees.” Rather than shouldering the responsibility for the country’s predicament, including the ongoing financial crisis, Lebanese politicians are instead making scapegoats of the Syrians, he said.
€1 billion for Lebanon over four years means €250 million per year,” which “is nothing,” especially when considering the “number of refugees we have in Lebanon.”
Pointing out that EU officials have not yet approved the agreement, he said: “We have the feeling that the EU is trying to outsource border management … and pushing the Lebanese government to commit human rights violations that EU countries cannot afford to commit. “So, whenever there are Syrian people to be pushed back from Cyprus, for example, they will not be pushed back to Syria, which is a crime. They will be pushed back to Lebanon, and then the Lebanese army will commit this international crime, which is a violation of the Convention against Torture, by sending them back to Syria.” Article 3 of the UN Convention against Torture stipulates that “no state party shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person to another state where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.” As a party to the convention, Lebanon has breached its international obligations by summarily deporting thousands, including opposition activists and army defectors, to Syria, according to Human Rights Watch.
Ahead of the 8th Brussels Conference on supporting the future of Syria and the region, held on Monday, humanitarian organizations, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, warned that Syrians are at risk of being forgotten by the international community.
With 16.7 million Syrians requiring humanitarian assistance in 2024, according to UN figures, aid agencies urged donors to increase investment in early recovery to help Syrians rebuild their lives and access basic services.
Human Rights Watch said Lebanon has breached its international obligations by summarily deporting thousands, including opposition activists and army defectors, to Syria. (AFP)
The EU pledged €2.12 billion for 2024-25 to support Syrians at home and in neighboring countries, as well as their host communities in Lebanon, Turkiye, Jordan and Iraq. In response to the pledge, the aid agency Oxfam said the discussion in Brussels “remains far removed from the harsh realities Syrians face.”
In a statement the agency said: “Funding still fails to match the scale of needs, and year after year, the number of people relying on aid grows, a stark reminder of the eminent collapse in Syria’s humanitarian situation.” The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that the Syrian Humanitarian Response Plan for 2024, covering neighboring countries, is only 8.7 percent funded, at $352 million out of the required $4.07 billion. In neighboring countries, just $371 million, or 7.7 percent, of the $4.49 billion required is covered.

Hezbollah Leader Expresses Gratitude for Condolences, Condemns Rafah Massacre
Batoul Wehbe/Al-Manar English Website/ May 28, 2024
In a solemn address, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah thanked supporters for their condolences on his mother’s passing and condemned the recent massacre in Gaza, urging action against the brutality of the Israeli forces.
During a speech at the Sayyed Al-Shuhada Complex in Al-Ruwais on Tuesday at the three-day commemoration of his mother, Sayyed Nasrallah expressed his gratitude to all those who offered condolences on the passing of his mother, Nahdia Hashem Safieddine. Addressing those mourning his mother’s passing at the mourning places set by Hezbollah since her demise, “I welcome your presence, thank you for your condolences, and ask Allah to reward you with goodness in this world and the hereafter.” He apologized for not being able to be present in person due to security reasons. “I apologize for the circumstances that everyone is aware of, and I thank all those who attended at the mourning ceremonies. You all understand my situation, and I wish I could be in the first row to share your condolences.”
Sayyed Nasrallah 28,5,2024
“I apologize for not being able to be with you in person and for not answering phone calls. Your support and actions mean a great deal to us,” he added. Sayyed Nasrallah thanked all the mourners and consolers from various countries, including Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Turkey, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritania, many African countries, Jordan, Djibouti, and the Lebanese communities abroad. He also thanked the leadership of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement for their support and the honorable families of the martyrs who sent condolence messages. “I express my heartfelt gratitude to my brothers in the leadership of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement for their early presence to offer condolences alongside my father and for standing for hours to accept condolences,” Sayyed Nasrallah said.
Who Is Sayyed Nasrallah’s Mom?
Describing his mother, Sayyed Nasrallah said she was a woman of faith and integrity, prioritizing her family’s well-being. Despite living in modest conditions, she was content and selfless, always helping her husband and showing patience and respect towards her parents. “The late Nahdia Hashem Safi Al-Din, born to two Hashemite parents, was a devout, pure, and gentle woman. She remained uninvolved in the affairs of others, never offended anyone, and harbored no hatred,” he said, adding: “Her family was her top priority, ensuring their upbringing and protection. She was a contented woman who never complained about clothing, housing, or food, and she spent most of her life in a single room.” “She actively supported my father in shouldering responsibilities, demonstrating patience and a commitment to righteousness, particularly in her dealings with her parents,” his eminence pointed out. “Martyr Hadi was her first grandson whom she loved dearly, and he reciprocated that love, his martyrdom profoundly impacted her.” Throughout her life, Sayyed Nasrallah recalled, “my mother praised Allah in times of both health and sickness. When asked about her well-being, she would respond with gratitude, saying that she was doing well, thanks to Allah.”
Humble-Rich Neighborhood
Sayyed Nasrallah reminisced about their humble neighborhood, the Sharshbouk neighborhood, which was diverse and harmonious, despite the lack of religious institutions. “We were born in a humble neighborhood known as the Sharshbouk neighborhood, a part of the Karantina area. Despite the absence of a mosque, scholar, or religious activities in our vicinity, the blessings of faith and religiosity from our parents guided us,” the Secretary General indicated. He emphasized their allegiance to the teachings of Imam Sayyed Musa al-Sadr. “From the outset, we aligned ourselves with the teachings of Imam Sayyed Mousa al-Sadr and his movement, a commitment that persists whether we are affiliated with Hezbollah or the Amal movement, myself and my brothers included.” “While not large, our neighborhood was diverse, home to Lebanese, Palestinians, Kurds, Armenians, and Maslakh Arabs, all of whom shared a common experience of poverty. Despite our circumstances, there existed a sense of love, peace, and solidarity among us all,” Sayyed Nasrallah said. “We aspire to witness today the same unity and harmony that characterized life in the Sharshbouk neighborhood; the core issue in Lebanon, in our view, lies in the actions of certain political leaders who, instead of fostering unity, incite division and conflict,” he added.
Rafah Massacre Stripped You Away!
Regarding the recent massacre in Rafah, Sayyed Nasrallah condemned the brutality of the Israeli forces, stating that such actions reveal the true nature of the occupation. “The massacre in Rafah stands as a stark confirmation of the enemy’s brutality, treachery, and betrayal. In our perspective, their actions mirror those of historical killers of prophets, as they mercilessly bomb tents and mutilate the bodies of children.”“The blood that was shed in Rafah should stir the conscience of all those who have remained silent until now,” Sayyed Nasrallah stated. He urged the international community to act against these atrocities and not to remain silent. “The massacre stripped away all the false pretenses of legality and adherence to international laws that the occupation had cloaked itself in,” he said, adding: “To those who seek normalization, we ask: with whom do you seek to normalize? With these treacherous monsters whose crimes know no bounds?”
PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT
“A few days ago,” Sayyed Nasrallah pointed, “the International Court of Justice called for an end to the aggression, yet the response was met with violent raids.” “We must condemn these horrific massacres and strive to be a catalyst for ending the war and aggression against the people of Gaza,” his eminence urged. “These massacres must serve as a stark example for us and for those who rely on the international community and international laws to protect Lebanon,” Hezbollah’s leader indicated. “To all the ignorant: The body parts of Gaza’s children scream in your ears, their blood staining your faces, and their severed heads address you. Strength, unity, resistance, martyrs and sacrifices will protect you; submission and surrender at the door of the helpless international community will not do so.”Sayyed Nasrallah concluded by reaffirming his commitment to the resistance and the liberation of the land, stating that the sacrifices made will ultimately lead to the defeat of the oppressors. “We are in the month of liberation, May, when we reclaimed our land through sacrifices and blood, the resistance has offered thousands of martyrs in this endeavor,” he said, concluding: “The blood that was shed in Rafah will hasten the defeat and demise of this Nazi-like and brutal entity, for which we see no future in our region.”

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 28-29/2024
US condemns loss of life, but says no policy changes after civilian deaths in Israeli strike
Aamer Madhani/WASHINGTON (AP)/ May 28, 2024
The White House on Tuesday condemned the loss of life of dozens of civilians as a result of an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, but said it is not planning any policy changes as a result of the Israeli actions. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Israel had not violated Biden's “red line” for withholding future offensive arms transfers because it has not, and it appears to the U.S. that it will not, launch a full-scale ground invasion into the city in southern Gaza. “Everything that we can see tells us that they are not moving into a major ground operation in population centers in the center of Rafah," Kirby said. Kirby called the loss of life “heartbreaking” and “horrific,” and said “we certainly condemn the loss of life here.” He added that the U.S. was monitoring the results of an Israeli investigation into the strike, which suggested the civilian deaths were the result of a secondary explosion after a successful strike on two Hamas operatives. “We understand that this strike did kill two senior Hamas heads who are directly responsible for attacks,” Kirby said. “We’ve also said many times Israel must take every precaution possible to do more to protect innocent life.”State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that Israel’s weeks-old offensive in Rafah was still on a “far different” scale than the assaults Israeli forces waged on other cities in Gaza earlier in the seven-month war against Hamas. The U.S. had urged Israel not to replicate those earlier attacks in Rafah, given the vulnerable civilians crowded there. Miller said he had no direct knowledge of reported accounts from witnesses on the ground Tuesday that Israeli tanks had entered the center of Gaza, and noted Israel had denied responsibility for a new Israeli strike outside of Rafah on Tuesday that Gaza health officials said killed more than 20 people. Asked whether the strike would result in any U.S. policy changes, Kirby said, “I have no policy changes to speak to.” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said she did not know whether it was a U.S.-provided weapon that was used in the deadly Sunday strike that killed the dozens of civilians at a displacement camp. “I do not know what type of ammunition was used in that airstrike,” Singh said. “I have to refer you to the Israelis to speak to that.” The Israelis have said they used small-diameter precision munitions in the attack and have suggested that a secondary explosion caused the number of civilian deaths. Singh said the U.S. has not paused shipments to Israel in the wake of the strike. “Security assistance continues to flow,” Singh said.

Dozens dead in ‘barbaric’ strike, hundreds of thousands flee, yet White House insists no red line has been crossed in Rafah
Richard Hall,John Bowden,Bel Trew and Andrew Feinberg/The Independent/ May 28, 2024
The Biden administration said it would continue to support Israel’s war in Gaza following an Israeli airstrike on a displaced persons camp in Rafah that killed dozens of Palestinians on Sunday and prompted global outrage. White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said that the deadly strike, and reports that Israeli tanks were moving into center of the city on Tuesday, did not constitute a breach of the “red line” set by president Joe Biden that would cause him to reconsider his support.
“This is an air strike. It’s not a major ground operation,” he said, adding that the US would await the result of an Israeli investigation. Graphic videos and photos shared online from the aftermath of the strike showed a person appearing to be burned alive, bodies of women and children who had been burned, and a man holding up the body of a baby who had been seemingly decapitated. At least 50 Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured in the attack that targeted an area filled with tents, many of which caught on fire, according to the Gaza health authorities. Witnesses said a further 37 people were killed on Tuesday by Israeli shelling and airstrikes, most of them while they were sheltering in tents in the same area where the deadly strikes on Sunday killed dozens. They also said Israeli tanks had moved into the centre of Rafah.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US was “deeply saddened” by the initial strike, adding that the US has reached out to Israel to demand an investigation and raise concerns. “The [Israeli army] is continuing to investigate this matter and has promised that its investigation will be swift, comprehensive and transparent. We will be watching those results closely,” he said. That statement stood in stark contrast to a wave of immediate global condemnation from world leaders, aid groups and concerned citizens over the past few days, while the White House remained largely silent.
French president Emmanuel Macron said he was “outraged by the Israeli strikes that have killed many displaced persons in Rafah.” “These operations must stop. There are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians,” he added, calling for an immediate ceasefire.Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike where displaced people were staying in Rafah, Gaza Strip.
United Nations Secretary-General Antònio Guterres was similarly forceful in his response. “I condemn Israel’s actions which killed scores of innocent civilians who were only seeking shelter from this deadly conflict,” he said on X. “There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop.”The charity ActionAid said its activists witnessed the attack, which it described as an “inhumane and barbaric act”. Moamen, 27, who is displaced from the very north of Gaza and was in the camp that was targeted on Sunday, said most of those in the area had been told it was in the humanitarian zone and they had no money to go anywhere else. “I heard three missiles and a huge, very powerful explosion that shook the place. It appears that the rockets used were incendiary, as fires broke out in the area,” he said.“It was a terrifying scene. I saw dismembered body parts and charred bodies, very large destruction in the tents of the displaced over a wide area,” he added.
The strike came just two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive” in Rafah in a landmark emergency ruling that invoked the Genocide Convention. The attack is likely to increase pressure on Mr Biden to reevaluate his support for Israel’s war in Gaza, after vowing to withhold offensive weapons from the longtime US ally if it launched a major operation in Rafah.
Mr Biden has repeatedly expressed his strong opposition to a major offensive in Rafah, which had become the last refuge for more than a million Palestinians who had fled from the war raging in other parts of Gaza. It is also where most aid agencies are operating.
In a March interview with MSNBC, when asked whether an Israeli invasion of Rafah would be a red line for him, he replied: “It is a red line but I’m never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical.”His officials have repeatedly said the US would not support a “major military operation” in Gaza’s southern city without a “credible ... executable” plan to protect civilians. Mr Kirby was repeatedly pressed by reporters at a briefing on Tuesday to clarify what would constitute a breach of Mr Biden’s red line. “Large units, large numbers of troops in columns and formations in some sort of coordinated manoeuvre against multiple targets on the ground. That is a major ground operation,” he said. He also defended the Israeli operation in Rafah as being consistent with a “precise” and “targeted” offensive against Hamas that Mr Biden had called for, claiming that the bomb used in Sunday’s deadly attack was “not a big bomb.”“Israelis have said they use 37-lb bombs, precision-guided munitions,” he said, adding that it was “indicative” of a limited operation. The Israeli army quickly claimed response for the attack on Sunday, claiming its air force had struck a Hamas compound with “precise ammunition and on the basis of precise intelligence,” killing two Hamas officials in the process. But the next day, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident a “tragic mishap” in an address to Israel’s parliament and promised an investigation. The Israeli army said Tuesday that it was investigating the possibility that a secondary explosion caused by weapons stored near where the strike occurred may have set tents ablaze. At his briefing, Mr Miller echoed that claim from Israeli forces while explaining that he could not say for sure if it was accurate, or whether Israeli forces could either.

Israel denies strike on camp near Rafah that Gaza officials say killed 21 people
REUTERS/May 28, 2024
RAFAH: Israel’s military denied striking a tent camp west of the city of Rafah on Tuesday after Gaza health authorities said Israeli tank shelling had killed at least 21 people there, in what Israel has designated a civilian evacuation zone. Earlier, defying an appeal from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israeli tanks advanced to the heart of Rafah for the first time after a night of heavy bombardment, while Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized a Palestinian state, a move that further deepened Israel’s international isolation. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, reiterated its opposition to a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah but said it did not believe such an operation was underway. Two days after an Israeli airstrike on another camp stirred global condemnation, Gaza emergency services said four tank shells hit a cluster of tents in Al-Mawasi, a coastal strip that Israel had advised civilians in Rafah to move to for safety. At least 12 of the dead were women, according to medical officials in the Hamas militant-run Palestinian enclave. But Israel’s military later said in a statement: “Contrary to the reports from the last few hours, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) did not strike in the Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi.”Tuesday’s incident in Al-Mawasi occurred in an area designated by Israel as an expanded humanitarian zone. Israel had urged Palestinian civilians in Rafah, including around one million displaced by the almost eight-month-old war, to evacuate there when it launched its incursion in early May.
In central Rafah, tanks and armored vehicles mounted with machine guns were spotted near Al-Awda mosque, a city landmark, witnesses told Reuters. The Israeli military said its forces continued to operate in the Rafah area, without commenting on reported advances into the city center.
OUTRAGE
International unease over Israel’s three-week-old Rafah offensive has turned to outrage after an attack on Sunday set off a blaze in a tent camp in a western district of the city, killing at least 45 people.Israel said it had targeted two senior Hamas operatives and had not intended to cause civilian casualties. Global leaders voiced horror at the fire in a designated “humanitarian zone” of Rafah where families uprooted by fighting elsewhere had sought shelter, and urged the implementation of a World Court order last week for a halt to Israel’s assault. The Israeli military said it was investigating the possibility that munitions stored near a compound targeted by Sunday’s airstrike may have ignited and touched off the blaze. Residents said Rafah’s Tel Al-Sultan neighborhood, the scene of Sunday’s night-time strike in which tents and shelters were set ablaze as families settled down to sleep, was still being bombarded. “Tank shells are falling everywhere in Tel Al-Sultan. Many families have fled their houses in western Rafah under fire throughout the night,” one resident told Reuters via a chat app. The Biden administration said on Tuesday it was closely monitoring the probe into Sunday’s air strike. US Vice President Kamala Harris said: “The word tragic doesn’t even begin to describe” what happened on Sunday. But White House spokesman John Kirby said there was nothing in the incidents on Sunday or on Tuesday that would prompt the United States to halt its military aid to Israel. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres added his voice to the chorus of condemnation of Sunday’s strike and again urged Israel to allow “the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to those in need.”In a further blow to aid efforts, a part of the US military’s pier off Gaza’s coast has broken off, probably due to bad weather, rendering it temporarily inoperable, two US officials said. The United Nations has transported 137 trucks of aid from the pier since it began operations two weeks ago. Spain, Norway and Ireland said they hoped their decision to recognize a Palestinian state would speed up efforts toward securing a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas militants, which has reduced much of the densely populated territory to rubble. Egypt is again trying in tandem with Qatar and the US to revive talks on a ceasefire and the release of hotages held by Hamas, but efforts have been hampered by Israel’s assault on Rafah, Cairo’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV channel said on Tuesday, citing a senior official. Around one million people — many repeatedly uprooted by shifting waves of the war — have fled the Israeli offensive in Rafah since early May, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reported on Tuesday.
TANKS
Israel seized control of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt three weeks ago. Its tanks then entered some eastern districts of the city but had previously not rumbled into the center in full force. On Tuesday, witnesses also reported gunbattles between Israeli troops and Hamas-led fighters in the area of the Zurub hilltop in western Rafah. More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, Gaza’s health ministry says. Israel launched its air and ground war after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says it wants to root out the last major intact formations of Hamas fighters hunkered down in Rafah and rescue hostages it says are being held in the area.

NBC: US to suspend Gaza aid deliveries by sea after pier suffers weather damage
Reuters/May 28, 2024
The US military has suspended aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip by sea after bad weather damaged the temporary pier it had set up on the enclave's coast, NBC News reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed officials. The US military is expected to make the announcement later on Tuesday, NBC said in its report, which cited a United Nations official, a US official and an Israeli official.

US-built pier in Gaza will need to be removed and repaired after damage from rough seas
AP/May 28, 2024
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon says the US-built temporary pier taking humanitarian aid to starving Palestinians has been damaged in rough seas and weather and will be removed from the coast of Gaza to be repaired. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters Tuesday that over the next two days the pier will be pulled out and sent to the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, where US Central Command will repair it. She says the fixes will take “at least over a week” and then the pier will need to be anchored back into the beach in Gaza. The pier is one of the few ways that food, water and other supplies are getting to Palestinians who the UN says are on the brink of famine amid the nearly eight-month-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Hard-liner Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf re-elected as speaker of Iran's parliament
The Associated Press/Tue, May 28, 2024
Iran's parliament re-elected hard-liner Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf on Tuesday as its speaker, reaffirming its hard-right makeup in the wake of a helicopter crash that killed the country's president and foreign minister. Of 287 lawmakers voting, 198 backed Qalibaf to retain the position he first took in 2021. He initially became speaker following a string of failed presidential bids and 12 years as the leader of Iran’s capital city, in which he built onto Tehran’s subway and supported the construction of modern high-rises.Many, however, know Qalibaf for his support, as a Revolutionary Guard general, for a violent crackdown on Iranian university students in 1999. He also reportedly ordered live gunfire to be used against Iranian students in 2003 while serving as the country’s police chief. In Tuesday's vote, challenger Mojtaba Zonnouri, a hard-line Shiite cleric who once led the parliament's national security commission, won 60 votes. A former foreign minister to hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Manouchehr Mottaki, received five votes. Qalibaf called on lawmakers to find a way to address their constituents' demands after being re-elected.
“In order to create hope in the people, we must reach a common understanding and act in a converging and empathetic way, and we must agree on prioritizing the solution of the people’s problems, regardless of our political inclinations and tastes,” he said.
The March parliament election saw the country’s lowest turnout since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Of those elected to the 290-seat body, hard-liners hold over 230 seats, according to an Associated Press survey. A trained pilot, Qalibaf served in the paramilitary Guard during the country’s bloody 1980s war with Iraq. After the conflict, he served as the head of the Guard’s construction arm, Khatam al-Anbia, for several years leading efforts to rebuild. Qalibaf then served as the head of the Guard’s air force, when in 1999 he co-signed a letter to reformist President Mohammad Khatami amid student protests in Tehran over the government closing a reformist newspaper and a subsequent security force crackdown. The letter warned Khatami the Guard would take action unilaterally unless he agreed to put down the demonstrations. Violence around the protests saw several killed, hundreds wounded and thousands arrested.
Qalibaf then served as the head of Iran’s police, modernizing the force and implementing the country’s 110 emergency phone number. However, a leaked recording of a later meeting between Qalibaf and members of the Guard’s volunteer Basij force, included him claiming that he ordered gunfire be used against demonstrators in 2003, as well as praising the violence used in Iran’s 2009 Green Movement protests. Qalibaf ran failed presidential campaigns in 2005, 2013 and 2017, the last of which saw him withdraw in support of the hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi. Raisi later became president and died in the May 19 helicopter crash that also killed Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six others. Iran’s parliament plays a secondary role in governing the country, though it can intensify pressure on a presidential administration when deciding on the annual budget and other important bills. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, has the final say in all important state matters. Iran will hold presidential elections on June 28 to replace Raisi. On Thursday, a five-day registration period for candidates will open.

Mossad chief staged decade-long influence, intimidation campaign against ICC prosecutor
ARAB NEWS/Arab News/May 28, 2024
LONDON: A former chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency staged a years-long campaign of intimidation against a former International Criminal Court prosecutor in an attempt to sway war crimes investigations, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
Fatou Bensouda, the former ICC prosecutor, became a target of Yossi Cohen in the years leading up to her opening a formal investigation into alleged war crimes in the Occupied Territories. Launched in 2021, the investigation ended with the seeking of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by Bensouda’s successor Karim Khan. Israel has long feared the results of the investigation, including the threat of prosecution against its military personnel, which was used as justification for Cohen’s decade-long campaign to undermine the court. As Mossad director, Cohen, a close ally of Netanyahu at the time, was acting as the prime minister’s “unofficial messenger,” a source told The Guardian. In total, four sources told the newspaper that Bensouda had briefed top ICC officials about Cohen’s campaign, which one official described as “stalking” and involving intimidation. On several occasions, Cohen had “put pressure” on Bensouda to avoid opening the Palestine case at the ICC.
“You should help us and let us take care of you. You don’t want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family,” Cohen told her, according to the account of one ICC official to The Guardian.
As part of the targeted campaign against Bensouda, Cohen used “despicable tactics,” including taking a “keen interest” in her family, one source said.
Mossad obtained secret recording transcripts as well as photographs of Bensouda’s husband, which Cohen personally showed her.
His campaign was helped by the former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, in an unlikely alliance that proved crucial to Cohen.
It is unclear why Kabila aided him, but his status as the leader of a country facing ICC investigation helped him set up a “chance” meeting between Bensouda and Cohen.
The ICC prosecutor and Cohen appear to have first met at the Munich Security Conference in 2017, two years after Bensouda opened a preliminary investigation into the Palestinian file. A year later, Cohen “ambushed” her in a New York City hotel as she was due to meet Kabila to discuss the situation in his country, The Guardian reported. Cohen’s “surprise” appearance was said to have “alarmed” ICC officials at the time.
He had earlier made a series of trips to the DRC, relating to what was described by Israeli broadcaster Kan as an “extremely controversial plan.”
Following the New York meeting, Cohen repeatedly phoned Bensouda to request further talks in an attempt to “build a relationship” and “play good cop,” sources told The Guardian.
But the influence campaign failed when in 2019, Bensouda announced that she had grounds to open a full criminal investigation into war crimes allegations in the Occupied Territories.She first requested a ruling from the pre-trial chamber of the ICC, confirming the court’s jurisdiction over Palestine. At this stage, Cohen stepped up his campaign against Bensouda into “threats and manipulation,” fearing the results of an official investigation being launched. Senior ICC officials had suspicions that Israel had cultivated sources within the court’s office of the prosecutor. In 2021, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber confirmed that the court had jurisdiction over the Occupied Territories. A month later, Bensouda formally launched the criminal investigation.
She said at the time: “In the end, our central concern must be for the victims of crimes, both Palestinian and Israeli, arising from the long cycle of violence and insecurity that has caused deep suffering and despair on all sides.”
Her successor, Khan, has vowed to prosecute “attempts to impede, intimidate or improperly influence” ICC officials after a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest was sought.
The recent results of the investigation first launched by Bensouda represent a heavy blow to Israel’s international standing, and mark a failure of Cohen’s decade-long campaign to influence the court. “The fact they chose the head of Mossad to be the prime minister’s unofficial messenger to (Bensouda) was to intimidate, by definition,” one source told The Guardian.
In response to questioning by the newspaper, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office said: “The questions forwarded to us are replete with many false and unfounded allegations meant to hurt the state of Israel.”
Khan’s move last week to seek arrest warrants against Netanyahu marked the first time the ICC has taken action against leaders of a country closely allied with the US and Europe. Netanyahu’s alleged crimes pertain to the war in Gaza, and include directing attacks on civilians and using starvation as a method of warfare.

A missile attack damages a ship in the Red Sea off Yemen's coast near previous Houthi rebel assaults
Jon Gambrell/The Associated Press/May 28, 2024
A missile attack damaged a ship Tuesday in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, with a private security firm saying radio traffic suggested the vessel took on water after being struck. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion immediately fell on Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have launched a number of attacks targeting ships over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The attack happened off the port city of Hodeida in the southern Red Sea, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links it to the Gulf of Aden, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. The vessel “sustained damage” in the assault and later reported an “impact in the water in close proximity to the vessel,” the UKMTO said. “The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call,” the center said. The private security firm Ambrey said the vessel reported by radio of having “sustained damage to the cargo hold and was taking on water.” The location of the attack corresponded to the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Laax. The vessel reported being heading to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. Grehel Ship Management of Piraeus, Greece, manages the Laax. A man who answered the phone at Grehel declined to answer questions about the attack and an emailed request for comment was not returned.The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the attack, though it can take the rebels hours or even days to claim their assaults. The Houthis have launched attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in recent months, demanding that Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostage. The rebels have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the United States Maritime Administration.Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat. In recent weeks, the tempo of Houthi attacks has dropped, though the rebels have claimed shooting down U.S. surveillance drones. Yemen has been wracked by conflict since the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war on the side of Yemen's exiled government in 2015, but the conflict has remained at a stalemate for years as Riyadh tries to reach a peace deal with the Houthis. Speaking Tuesday in Dubai, the prime minister of Yemen's exiled, internationally recognized government urged the world to see past the Houthis' claims of backing the Palestinians through their attacks. “The Houthis’ exploitation of a very just cause such as the cause of our people in Palestine and what is happening in Gaza is to escape the benefits of peace and lead us to major complications that exist,” Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak told the Arab Media Forum. “Peace is a strategic choice. We must reach peace. The war must stop. This is a must. Our people need security and stability. The region itself needs stability.”

Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognize a Palestinian state as EU rift with Israel widens
Joseph Wilson/BARCELONA, Spain (AP)/May 28, 2024
Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognized a Palestinian state on Tuesday in a coordinated effort by the three Western European nations to add international pressure on Israel to soften its response to last year’s Hamas-led attack. Israel condemned the diplomatic move, which will have no immediate impact on the war in Gaza. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a televised address from Madrid that “this is a historic decision that has a single goal, and that is to help Israelis and Palestinians achieve peace." Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz quickly lashed out at Spain on X, saying that Sánchez's government was “being complicit in inciting genocide against Jews and war crimes.” Ireland and Norway soon joined Spain in formalizing a decision they had jointly announced the previous week. The Palestinian flag was raised in Dublin outside Leinster House, the seat of Ireland's parliament. “I hope (this) sends the Palestinian people a message of hope that — in this their darkest hour — Ireland stands with them,” Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris told lawmakers in Ireland’s parliament after his Cabinet formally signed off on the decision. “It is no longer enough just to condemn. It is no longer enough just to be repulsed,” he added. “We must be on the right side of history.” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement that “for more than 30 years, Norway has been one of the strongest advocates for a Palestinian state. Today, when Norway officially recognizes Palestine as a state, is a milestone in the relationship between Norway and Palestine.”While around 140 countries have recognized a Palestinian state — more than two-thirds of the United Nations — none of the major Western powers has done so. Still, the adherence of three European countries to the group represents a victory for Palestinian efforts in the world of public opinion, and will likely put pressure on European Union heavyweights France and Germany to rethink their position.
Previously only seven members of the 27-nation EU officially recognized a Palestinian state. Five of them are former East bloc countries that announced recognition in 1988, as did Cyprus, before joining the EU. Sweden’s recognition came in 2014.
Relations between the EU and Israel have nosedived with the diplomatic recognitions by two EU members, and Madrid insisting on Monday that the EU should take measures against Israel for its continued deadly attacks in southern Gaza’s city of Rafah. After Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said: “For the first time at an EU meeting, in a real way, I have seen a significant discussion on sanctions” on Israel. Harris, the Irish leader, insisted Tuesday that the EU should consider economic sanctions against Israel, saying: “Europe could be doing a hell of a lot more."
Norway, which isn't an EU member but often aligns its foreign policy with the bloc, handed diplomatic papers to the Palestinian government over the weekend before its formal recognition. At the same time, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell threw his weight behind the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutor is seeking an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, including leaders of the Hamas militant group. The formal declaration and resulting diplomatic dispute come more than seven months into an assault waged by Israel following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in which militants stormed across the Gaza border into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage. Israel’s air and land attacks have killed 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between combatants and civilians. The joint announcement by Spain, Ireland and Norway last week triggered an angry response from Israeli authorities, which summoned the countries’ ambassadors in Tel Aviv to the Foreign Ministry, where they were filmed while being shown videos of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and abductions.
Prime Minister Robert Golob of Slovenia said that Monday his government would decide on the recognition of a Palestinian state on Thursday, and forward its decision to parliament for final approval. Finnish state broadcaster YLE quoted President Alexander Stubb as saying that the Nordic country would recognize it “at some stage in the future" also on Tuesday. The U.S. and the United Kingdom, 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. In his speech on Tuesday, Sánchez said that the recognition of a Palestinian state was “a decision that we do not adopt against anyone, least of all against Israel, a friendly people whom we respect, whom we appreciate and with whom we want to have the best possible relationship.”The Socialist leader has spent months touring European and Middle Eastern countries, including stops in Oslo and Dublin, to garner support for the recognition of a Palestinian state. He called for a permanent cease-fire, for stepping up humanitarian aid into Gaza and for the release of hostages still held by Hamas.
Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, will meet with a group of U.S.-allied Middle Eastern countries in Spain’s capital on Wednesday, and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Jordan. Sánchez said that his intention was to back the beleaguered Palestinian Authority, which lost effective political control of Gaza to Hamas. He laid out his vision for a state ruled by the Palestinian Authority that must connect the West Bank and Gaza via a corridor with east Jerusalem as its capital. The Western-backed Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, cooperates with Israel on security matters and favors a negotiated two-state solution. Its forces were driven out of Gaza by Hamas when the militants seized power there in 2007. The Palestinians have long sought an independent state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war. The idea of a land corridor linking Gaza and the West Bank through Israel was discussed in previous rounds of peace talks, but no serious or substantive peace negotiations have been held in more than 15 years. “We will not recognize changes in the 1967 border lines other than those agreed to by the parties,” Sánchez added. “Furthermore, this decision reflects our absolute rejection of Hamas, a terrorist organization who is against the two-state solution,” Sánchez said. “From the outset, Spain has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7. This clear condemnation is the resounding expression of our steadfast commitment in the fight against terrorism. I would like to underline that starting tomorrow, we would focus all our efforts to implement the two-state solution and make it a reality.”
Ireland’s government said it would appoint an ambassador and create a full embassy in Ramallah in the West Bank. Norway will upgrade its diplomatic office in the West Bank to an embassy. Spain said that for the moment, it will maintain its consulate in Jerusalem, although Israel has said that the consulate won’t be allowed to attend to Palestinians. Barth Eide, the Norwegian foreign minister, added Tuesday that “it is regrettable that the Israeli government shows no signs of engaging constructively.”
“The recognition is a strong expression of support for moderate forces in both countries,” Norway’s top diplomat said.

WHO: Israeli incursion could halt Rafah's last functioning hospital
Reuters/May 28, 2024
A World Health Organization official said on Tuesday the last hospital in Rafah could stop functioning and a substantial number of deaths could be expected if Israel launches a "full incursion" into the southern Gaza city. "If the incursion would continue, we would lose the last hospital in Rafah," Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for Gaza and the West Bank, said on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, as Israeli tanks were reported to have advanced into the center of Rafah. He said that in the case of a "full incursion", a contingency plan involving treating patients in a string of ill-equipped field hospitals "will not prevent what we expect: substantial additional mortality and morbidity".Peeperkorn said that of the three hospitals in Rafah, only one was "barely functional". He said the El-Najar Hospital, which had previously serviced 700 dialysis patients, was no longer operating. Peeperkorn said its closure had had a direct impact on WHO's ability to get medical supplies into Gaza. "Almost 100% of the medical supplies, essential medicines, equipment, they actually come from Al-Arish (in Egypt) through the Rafah crossing," he said. "There are currently 60 trucks that are in Al-Arish waiting to get into Gaza." Since the Rafah closure, WHO has only been able to get three medical supply trucks through Kerem Shalom, a crossing from Israel, Peeperkorn said. Separately, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said that a typical person in Rafah had access to around just one liter of water per day, "catastrophically below any emergency level."

Israeli Tanks Reach the Heart of Rafah as Operation Intensifies
This Is Beirut/ 28 May 2024
Israeli tanks were spotted in central Rafah for the first time on Tuesday, three weeks after the initiation of a widely condemned operation into what had been Gaza’s last safe haven. According to Reuters, tanks were reportedly sighted near Al-Awda mosque, a landmark in the center of the city, although the Israeli military refused to comment on specific operations. Reuters reports the sighting of Israeli tanks in Rafah’s western neighborhoods, as well as street fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters in the Zurub area. The Israeli air force continued strikes across the city, following an attack on Sunday evening on a tent-camp that killed 45 Palestinians and triggered global condemnation. Tel Al Sultan, the scene of the deadly strike, remains under heavy bombardment. Since that strike, 26 more people have been killed, according to Gaza health officials. For the last three weeks, Israeli forces have largely probed around the edges of Rafah, with some limited pushes in its eastern sectors. The intensification of bombardments in recent days may herald the next stage of Israel’s Rafah offensive.

145 Countries Now Recognize a Palestinian State
This Is Beirut/Marie Julien and Clare Byrne with AFP/This Is Beirut/ 28 May 2024
Israel’s war in Gaza since the October 7 attack has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own. Norway, Spain, and Ireland on Tuesday became the latest countries to recognize a State of Palestine, breaking with the long-held view of Western powers that Palestinians can only gain statehood as part of a negotiated peace with Israel. Their move, which has infuriated Israel, brings to 145 out of the 193 UN member states that have recognized a Palestinian state. They include many Middle Eastern, African and Asian countries, but not the United States, Canada, most of Western Europe, Australia, Japan, or South Korea. In April, the United States used its veto at the UN Security Council to prevent a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member state. Here is a quick recap of the Palestinians’ quest for statehood:
1988: Arafat Proclaims State
On November 15, 1988, during the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally proclaimed an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
He made the announcement in Algiers, at a meeting of the exiled Palestinian National Council, which adopted the two-state solution as a goal, with independent Israeli and Palestinian states existing side-by-side.
Minutes later, Algeria became the first country to officially recognize an independent Palestinian state.
Within weeks, dozens of other countries, including much of the Arab world, India, Turkey, most of Africa and several central and eastern European countries had followed suit.
The next wave of recognitions came in late 2010 and early 2011, at a time of crisis in the Middle East peace process.
South American countries including Argentina, Brazil, and Chile answered calls by the Palestinians to endorse their statehood claims.
This came in response to Israel’s decision to end a temporary ban on Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank.
2011-2012: UN Recognition
In 2011, with peace talks at a standstill, the Palestinians pushed ahead with a campaign for full UN membership for a State of Palestine.
The quest failed but, in a groundbreaking move on October 31 of that year, the UN cultural agency UNESCO voted to accept the Palestinians as a full member. In response, Israel and the United States suspended their funding of the body. They quit UNESCO outright in 2018, although the United States rejoined last year.
In November 2012, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations in New York after the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to “non-member observer state”.
Three years later, the International Criminal Court also accepted Palestine as a state party.
2014: Sweden First in Western Europe
In 2014, Sweden, which has a large Palestinian community, became the first EU member in Western Europe to recognize a Palestinian state.
The move followed months of almost daily clashes in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.
A State of Palestine had earlier been recognized by six other European countries — Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.
Israel reacted angrily to Stockholm’s move, with then foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman telling the Swedes that “relations in the Middle East are a lot more complex than the self-assembly furniture of IKEA”.
2024: New Push in Europe
After months of warnings, Norway, Spain and Ireland on Tuesday finally took the step, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez describing it as a matter of “historic justice.”Malta and Slovenia have also expressed “readiness” to recognize a Palestinian state when “the circumstances are right”. Australia too has floated the possibility of endorsing Palestinian statehood, and President Emmanuel Macron has also said the question is no longer “a taboo for France” while insisting it must be done at the “right moment”.

Irish Parliament suspended as protesters call for sanctions on Israel
Cate McCurry and Grainne Ni Aodha/PA Media: UK News/May 28, 2024
The Irish Parliament was suspended briefly after several protesters interrupted statements on Palestine to call for sanctions to be imposed on Israel.The protesters in the public gallery chanted “sanctions now”, “stop arming Israel” and “close Shannon to the US military”. One man held up a sign that said “divest”, while another person carried a large Palestinian flag. After being ushered out of the public gallery and out of the grounds of Leinster House, the protesters told the PA news agency that while they welcomed recognition of Palestine, they wanted to call on Ireland to place sanctions on Israel. They also called for the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill and the Settlements Divestment Bill. “We are eight months on and the bombs are still dropping,” said Anne Conway, who is involved in the Donnycarney Palestine Solidarity campaign. “The women and children of Gaza are still being slaughtered, we’ve seen it yesterday in Rafah, and the international community have done nothing. “We feel we’re making the voices of the Irish people heard when we did that. “We do welcome the fact that they’ve recognised Palestinian statehood, it is a welcome thing, but it really won’t make any difference because Israel will not be brought to the negotiating table unless there’s massive sanctions introduced against them. Ireland has the standing to do that in the international community.”Michelle Hayes of the Teachers For Palestine group said it was “really shameful” that the Irish premier Simon Harris and Irish deputy premier Micheal Martin “got up and left” the Dail chamber immediately after delivering their speeches. “There are parallels between our struggle, and to see people who we have voted into government, who are representing us, to stand up, make a speech and then walk out in front of a packed gallery of Palestinians, it was shameful. I’m really, really, really so, so disappointed in the Government.” A number of Palestinians were also watching from the public gallery who were not involved in the brief demonstration. Palestine’s ambassador to Ireland, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, watched from the distinguished visitors’ gallery.
During the debate in the Irish Parliament’s lower house, politicians called for an EU trade agreement with Israel to be suspended. Earlier, Irish premier Simon Harris said there is an onus on every country and on the European Union “to use every lever at our disposal” to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza. In a statement to the parliament as Ireland formally recognises the state of Palestine, Mr Harris said: “I welcome the decision of the Belgian presidency to convene a meeting on the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
“The human rights clauses in that agreement are and must be meaningful and when they’re not being adhered to, that too must have consequences. “We need to look at all the levers at our disposal to bring about a cessation of violence before Netanyahu’s next tragic mistake. “Formal recognition of the State of Palestine here today is an act of powerful, political and symbolic value. I hope it sends the Palestinian people a message of hope that in this, their darkest hour, Ireland stands with them.
“It is an expression of our view that Palestine holds and should be able to vindicate the full rights of the state, including self-determination, self-governance, territorial integrity and security, as well as recognising Palestine’s own obligations under international law.”
Mr Harris said that generations of Palestinians have endured occupation, dehumanisation and humiliation. “In today’s West Bank we see an extreme form of Zionism fuel settler violence and appropriation of land, illegal actions that largely go unchecked,” he added. Deputy premier Micheal Martin said he is confident other European countries will join Ireland, Norway and Spain in their recognition of the state of Palestine. “It has long been my view that recognising Palestine would be most impactful if done in a co-ordinated manner with other partners,” Mr Martin told the Dail. “That we have taken the decision to recognise the state of Palestine together with Norway and Spain – and in the wider context of a regional peace initiative – is important. “I am confident that there is a growing consensus among like-minded partners that Palestinian statehood can no longer wait until the end of a process of final settlement negotiations between the parties. “I anticipate that other European partners may decide to recognise Palestine in the coming weeks and months.
“The challenge now is to maintain this momentum. We need a fundamental paradigm shift in the way all of us in the international community view the solution to this conflict. We need urgency and we need concrete steps. “We have said many times that an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access are essential. That remains essential and we will not rest until we have achieved this.”Mr Martin was also critical of the Israeli government reaction to Ireland’s decision to recognise the Palestinian state. Last week, ambassador Sonya McGuinness was summoned to the Israeli foreign affairs ministry and reprimanded over Ireland’s decision. As proceedings started, Ms McGuinness was shown footage of Hamas that Israel claimed was filmed on October 7. Mr Martin said the treatment of Ms McGuinness “fell far short of what we would expect from any country, irrespective of our political differences”.
“I have and will continue to treat Israel’s ambassador to Ireland with professional courtesy and respect. I expect the same in return. We wish to maintain functional diplomatic engagement and dialogue with Israel,” he added. Ireland’s transport minister said he “prays that Palestine could, in time, follow a similar path to” Ireland’s journey to autonomy. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said he shares the frustration of the Jewish community of the “one-sided approach” that some people are taking to the conflict on the Middle East. “Let me also reiterate to Israel: the Irish people recognise your rights to exist as a nation, recognising Palestine does not in any way diminish your rights as a state, in fact it is the opposite,” he said. “Our dearest wish is that establishment of a Palestinian state solidifies your existence and allows you to prosper and flourish in peace and harmony with your neighbours. “I particularly want to offer reassurance to Jewish friends living here in Ireland, the last seven months have not been easy, and many may feel that there is a change in attitude towards them or people of their religion.
“We need to assure them they are welcome here, they belong here, they are as Irish as all of us. “Long may Ireland be a home to Jewish people so they can continue their outstanding contribution to our nation in art, in science, in business and in politics. This house has benefited so much from people from our Jewish community. “I share their frustration at the one-sided approach that some people take to the conflict. That some would appear to think that Israel’s government’s appalling actions mean they can be silent on Hamas’s atrocities – I do not.”
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said that Palestinians in Gaza are enduring “horror on an unimaginable scale”.Ms McDonald told Ireland’s parliament that world leaders “continue to draw a false equivalence between the impoverished occupied and the oppressive occupier”. She accused Israel of “brazenly, repeatedly breaking” international law, adding: “Palestine is a nation threatened by annihilation.”The Dublin TD added: “The world was always going to face a moment of reckoning on Palestine, and as Israel continues its brutal onslaught on the refugee population of Gaza and launch horrific madness and attacks on Rafah, I believe the moment of reckoning is now. “Recognition of the Palestinian state can’t be the end, it has to be just the beginning: a new departure in pursuing freedom and justice for the Palestinians.” Labour’s Aodhan O Riordain said that the EU can and must act further by suspending its trade agreement with Israel. He said: “The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner with 32% of Israel’s imports coming from the EU and the Irish government can send a further message of solidarity by passing the Occupied Territories Bill to ban any goods and services produced in Israeli-occupied settlements in the West Bank. “However, the reality is that there is one man with unparalleled influence to bring the disaster in Gaza to an end. His name is Joe Biden and he has to do better. “We know things about peace processes in this country. We know that if there is to be peace it has to be premised in the absence of violence. “We know that if there has to be peace, there has to be compromise. We know that if there is to be peace then one side cannot win absolutely.”

Poland's foreign minister says it should not exclude the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine
WARSAW, Poland (AP)/May 28, 2024
Poland’s foreign minister says the NATO nation should not exclude the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine and should keep Russian President Vladimir Putin in suspense over whether such a decision would ever be made.
Radek Sikorski made the comments in an interview published Tuesday in the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. “We should not exclude any option. Let Putin be guessing as to what we will do,” Sikorski said when asked whether he would send Polish troops to Ukraine. Sikorski said he has gone to Ukraine with his family in the past to deliver humanitarian aid. But a spokesperson for Poland’s Defense Ministry, Janusz Sejmej, told Polish media on Tuesday he had “no knowledge of that” when asked about a report in Germany's Der Spiegel magazine suggesting Poland might send troops to Ukraine. The idea of sending foreign soldiers to Ukraine, which is battling Russian military aggression, was floated earlier this year in France, but no country, including Poland, has publicly embraced it. Poland supports neighboring Ukraine politically and by providing military equipment and humanitarian aid.

Putin Hints at Bombing Other ‘Densely Populated’ Nations
Allison Quinn/The Daily Beast/May 28, 2024
Russia’s Vladimir Putin lashed out Tuesday at European countries that are considering giving permission to Ukraine to use their weapons for strikes on Russian territory. Speaking in Tashkent during a two-day visit to Uzbekistan, Putin warned of “serious consequences” if Western weapons are allowed in attacks on Russian soil. “In Europe, especially in small countries, they should realize what they are playing with. They should remember that they are countries with small, densely populated territories... This is a factor they should keep in mind before talking about striking Russia,” he said. His comments came as more and more European leaders expressed support for Ukraine taking the war to Russian territory at a meeting of defense ministers on Tuesday. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said it is “perfectly possible” for Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia and there is “no contradiction” with the laws of war. “You have to balance the risk of escalation and the need for Ukrainians to defend,” he said, according to Agence France-Presse. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said the Netherlands would not stop Ukraine from attacking targets on Russian territory, and that she hoped “other countries that have different positions will change that.”Hanno Pevkur, the defense minister of Estonia, said, “It cannot be normal that Russia is attacking from very deep into Ukrainian territory and the Ukrainians are fighting with one hand behind their back.”NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called on NATO officials to reconsider prohibiting Ukraine from using Western-supplied weapons to strike “legitimate targets” outside the country earlier this week. The Biden administration has repeatedly cautioned against Ukraine using American-made weapons to strike inside Russia, though officials are now reportedly debating whether to change that policy.

U of T seeks court injunction to clear encampment as protesters stay put
The Canadian Press/May 28, 2024
Protesters at a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto said Tuesday they will stay at the site despite threats of discipline from the school and a looming legal action. Protesters reaffirmed their commitment to the encampment as the university was set to appear in court to seek expedited scheduling for its request for an injunction. "Having been threatened by the university with academic sanctions, including suspension and expulsion, having been threatened with arrest and police violence — despite all of this, despite all these threats being made, we remain," said Erin Mackey, one of the encampment organizers. "We've been clear from the very beginning that by virtue of being here, it does not warrant the University of Toronto calling the police on their own students," she added. Deborah Cowen, a professor at the university who came to support the protesters, said she was "deeply, deeply disappointed" by the administration's decision to seek an injunction to dismantle the encampment. "I'm outraged by our administration's actions," she said, pointing to what she called an "unprecedented" and "egregious" threat of mass termination and other forms of discipline. "And that comes when we haven't seen a serious good faith effort at negotiation,” she said. The University of Toronto is asking the courts to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse orders to leave the encampment, which was set up on campus earlier this month. The university has filed a notice of motion in court aimed at bringing about an end to the demonstration while saying the encampment was causing irreparable harm to the institution. Among the relief sought, the university is asking for an order authorizing police to "arrest and remove persons, objects and structures" who violate the terms of a court order. It is also seeking to prevent protesters from blocking access to university property or setting up fences, tents or other structures on campus. The protesters have said they are prepared to fight back with their own legal team and refused to leave the site, ignoring a Monday morning deadline set in a trespass notice issued last week. Sohail Adish, a U of T student not involved in the protest, said he has mixed feelings on the encampment and on the university's response. "I feel like they're in their right to protest as long as it's peaceful and the university is in their right to allow or disallow people on the campus," he said.
"As for students getting expelled, staff getting fired, I'd say, it really depends on what kind of actions they commit." Adish said he had concerns for the safety of the encampment, particularly when it came to fire safety. Similar encampments on university campuses have cropped up across Canada in recent months, with several schools considering or taking legal action against the protesters.

The Trudeau Liberals have eroded all five pillars of prosperity
Joe Oliver/Financial Post/May 28, 2024
Canada’s standard of living is in decline, both in absolute terms and compared to our southern neighbour and other wealthy countries. A Fraser Institute analysis shows that real GDP per capita was lower during the pre-recession period 2016-19 than in any similar period since 1985. As of the last quarter of 2023 it was below its value for 2019:Q2. It’s no surprise that 44 per cent of Canadians now say money is their leading source of stress. What explains Canada’s dreadful performance? As set out by Arthur Laffer, of Laffer Curve fame, prosperity has five pillars: restrained government spending, low taxes, minimal regulation, sound money and free trade. The Liberal government has rejected, undermined or neglected each of the five. Our weak record and disheartening prospects have not been caused by external forces but by dysfunctional government policies. Canada is blessed by enviable geology and geography — immense natural resources and a friendly superpower next door — which Canadians too frequently take for granted. Because our border is safe and our population well off by world and historical standards, progressive politicians feel free to obsess about issues irrelevant or actually harmful to economic growth, jobs, affordability, a sound currency, security and national unity. Let’s review the litany of debilitating missteps, starting with the size and role of government. The federal public service reached over 274,000 employees in 2023, an increase of 40.4 per cent since 2015. A bloated bureaucracy drains resources from the private sector, reducing economic efficiency. In the last eight years, the depletion has been rapid. Federal spending swelled from 12.8 per cent of GDP in 2015 to 16.1 per cent in 2023. Federal debt more than doubled, from $612 billion to a staggering $1.4 trillion — over $143,000 for a family of four. Interest now costs Ottawa $47.2 billion a year, rising to $64.3 billion by 2028-29. This is fiscal profligacy writ large.
Tax increases discourage economic growth. The Laffer curve demonstrates that taxes set too high can actually reduce tax revenue. Out of 61 US jurisdictions and Canadian provinces, the top three personal marginal income tax rates are imposed by Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Ontario. Nine Canadian provinces rank in the top 10, all are in the top 15, and Canada ranks fifth out of 38 OECD countries. Corporate income tax rates are also higher here than in the U.S., the U.K. and the OECD on average. High taxes damage affordability, reduce competitiveness, discourage innovation and entrepreneurship, accelerate capital flight and weaken productivity. The proposed increase in the capital gains inclusion rate for both individuals and companies and the phase-out of accelerated capital depreciation will seriously exacerbate those negatives. Since 2015, intrusive regulations have proliferated across the economy, imposing burdensome compliance costs that are particularly harmful to small and medium- sized enterprises. The resource industry, which accounts for 19.2 per cent of GDP and 58 per cent of merchandise exports, has been targeted by draconian regulation deliberately designed to block energy projects. The result is an opportunity loss in the hundreds of billions of dollars and mounting.
A stable money supply is critical for economic stability. To cope with out-of- control government spending, the Bank of Canada expanded the money supply dramatically, pushing it to $3.6 trillion, 83 per cent more than when the Liberals took office. As a result, in 2022 inflation hit a 40-year peak of 6.8 per cent. Consumer prices are now 27 per cent higher than in 2015. Rising prices disproportionately affect low- and middle-income Canadians, who are also vulnerable to hikes in interest rates, including mortgage rates up 50 per cent from 2015. In aggregate, total mortgage payments could rise by as much as $4 billion this year. Free trade had been a cornerstone of Canada’s economic policy for decades, promoting growth and prosperity. But last year Canada lost bragging rights as America’s biggest trade partner to Mexico. Instead of pursuing our comparative advantage in natural resources, Liberal policies purposely stymie the development and export of oil and gas. In a memorably inane comment, the prime minister claimed there was never a strong business case for liquified natural gas. The government should leave the assessment of business cases to business. The government’s score for supporting the mainstays of prosperity is zero for five. Rather than correcting course, Justin Trudeau seems increasingly disconnected from reality and fixated on maintaining a perfect losing streak. Doubling down on big government, high taxes and hostility to resource development will do the trick. Joe Oliver was minister of natural resources and finance in the Harper government.

El-Sisi in Beijing to attend China-Arab cooperation forum
GOBRAN MOHAMED/Arab News/May 28, 2024
CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived in Beijing on Tuesday on a state visit to China and to attend the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum after an invitation from President Xi Jinping. El-Sisi will hold talks with Xi and senior Chinese officials focusing on ways to forge closer relations and unlock broader prospects for cooperation in several fields. The visit coincides with the 10th anniversary of relations between Egypt and China being raised to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership. Ahmed Fahmy, spokesman for Egypt’s presidency, said the talks will also focus on regional and international issues of common interest, primarily the war in Gaza and ways to restore stability in the region and achieve the aspirations of its peoples for peace, security, and development. El-Sisi is also scheduled to meet the heads of several major Chinese companies. The meetings are expected to explore opportunities to attract more investment to Egypt in light of the state’s orientation toward enhancing mechanisms for the localization of industry and technology transfer. Egypt is eager to collaborate closely with the private sector and encourage foreign direct investment. El-Sisi will attend a meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, to be held on May 30, with the participation of the Chinese president and a number of Arab leaders. The forum will discuss various aspects of China-Arab relations and ways to further advance them. Egypt’s government said the forum is a framework for dialogue and cooperation between Arab states and China. Its founding document was signed in September 2004 at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo following a visit by the Chinese president.

Blinken discusses need to end Sudan war with top general
Reuters/May 28, 2024
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the need to urgently end the war in Sudan with Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in a phone call on Tuesday, the State Department said. The two also addressed ways to "enable unhindered humanitarian access, including cross border and cross line, to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people", it said. Sudan has been gripped since April 2023 by a civil war between the Sudanese army, led by Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Thousands of civilians are estimated to have died. Blinken discussed a resumption of peace negotiations with Burhan and the need to protect civilians and defuse hostilities in al-Fashir, North Darfur, the State Department said. Recent attacks around al-Fashir have shattered a local truce that protected it from the wider war. Egypt will host a conference next month bringing together Sudan's civilian political groups with other regional and global parties, the Egyptian foreign ministry said on Tuesday. The conference aims to produce an agreement between Sudan's civilian groups on ways to build a comprehensive and permanent peace, it added.

Armenian Independence Day Marred by Political Protests
LBCI/May 28, 2024
On May 28th each year, Armenians celebrate their Independence Day, commemorating 106 years of sovereignty. However, Armenia observes two Independence Days. Why is that? Typically, the Prime Minister travels to the city of Sardarapat, located in western Armenia, to lay wreaths in honor of the victims who fell in 1918. This year, however, the scene was different. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not make the trip due to protesters who camped overnight on Monday, demanding his resignation following rising discontent and accusations of ceding Armenian lands to Azerbaijan.
There are two reasons for Nikol Pashinyan's absence in Sardarapat. First, he understood that his presence was not welcome. Second, he might have been advised from external sources not to attend. "Not all peace is true peace if it is born out of supplication, and no peace is more important than the honor and victories of the nation. There can be no peace without victories." Thus, the protests succeeded in preventing Pashinyan from visiting Sardarapat. But the question remains: will these protests be successful in toppling his government as the opposition hopes?

Prosecutor Demands Conviction in Trump Trial
This Is Beirut /Gregory Walton with AFP/28 May 2024
Donald Trump engaged in a “conspiracy and a cover-up” to hide hush money payments to a porn star, prosecutors told the jury on Tuesday in closing arguments at the first ever criminal trial of a former US president. Less than six months before American voters choose whether to return Trump to the White House, the stakes riding on the verdict are hard to overstate — for the 77-year-old personally, but also for the country. Trump is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, when her account of an alleged sexual encounter could have doomed his 2016 presidential campaign. Assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass delivered the summation for the prosecution after Trump’s defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, called for his acquittal, insisting that the historic case against the former president was based on lies. Steinglass said Daniels’s story about her 2006 tryst with the married Trump was the “motive” for his alleged crime but the “case at its core is about a conspiracy and a cover up.”“Her story is messy, it makes people uncomfortable to hear,” he said. “That’s the display to the American people the defendant wanted to avoid.”Steinglass addressed the jury after Blanche told them the trial “isn’t a referendum on your views of president Trump” or “who you plan on voting for in 2024.”Prosecutors failed to prove their case, Blanche said, and the only outcome should be a “very quick and easy not guilty verdict.”Blanche spent much of his remarks attacking Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness, who has spent time in prison for tax evasion and other crimes, calling him the “MVP of liars” consumed by “outright hatred for Trump.”Steinglass countered that Cohen’s testimony was not the entire case, and there is “a mountain of corroborating evidence.”Speaking to reporters before entering the Manhattan courtroom, Trump said “this is a very dangerous day for America.” The 12 anonymous jurors will start deliberations as early as Wednesday. Polls show Trump neck and neck against President Joe Biden and the verdict will inject new tension into the White House race. Speaking on behalf of the Biden campaign outside court, actor Robert De Niro berated Trump as a “clown” intent on destroying the country. The New York case, which featured more than 20 witnesses over five weeks and days of gripping testimony by Daniels and Cohen, is the only one likely to come to trial by election day.
Unanimity Required
If convicted, Trump faces up to four years in prison on each of 34 counts, but legal experts say that as a first-time offender, he is unlikely to get jail time. A conviction would not bar him from appearing on the ballot in November. Trump chose not to testify in his defense. Instead, he used his trips to court to stage tirades against “corrupt” Judge Juan Merchan, and to claim the trial is a Democratic ploy to keep him off the campaign trail. A number of Republican Trump loyalists, including several vying to be his vice president, have made the trek to the courtroom to sit behind him. To return a guilty or not guilty verdict requires the jury to be unanimous. Just one holdout means a hung jury and a mistrial, although prosecutors could seek a new trial. In addition to the New York case, Trump has been indicted in Washington and Georgia on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He also faces charges in Florida of hoarding huge quantities of classified documents after leaving the White House. Gregory Walton with AFP

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on May 28-29/2024
Guess Which 'Moderate' Palestinian Terrorist Group Participated In the October 7 Massacre
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/May 28, 2024
[Other groups that] participated in the October 7 massacre.... include Palestinian Islamic Jihad -- and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah faction headed by none other than the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Abbas.
The involvement of terrorists from Abbas's Fatah faction in the October 7 slaughter and terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, however, may surprise some people. Many in the West consider Fatah, which dominates the PA, to be a "moderate" party that wants to live in peace and harmony with Israel. This rumor may have come about because we have been told many times by Palestinian officials that Fatah's armed wing, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was dismantled (at least in the West Bank).
Earlier this month, Abu Mohammed, the official spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, revealed that the group's fighters participated in the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israeli communities near the border with the Gaza Strip.
In another recent video, Fatah claimed responsibility for a "sniper operation" against Israeli soldiers in Jabalya refugee camp, a stronghold of Hamas and PIJ in the Gaza Strip. The Fatah terrorists said that they used a Hamas-manufactured rifle called Al-Ghoul to target the Israeli soldiers. The video is clear evidence that Abbas's Fatah loyalists have been working in coordination with Hamas.
That Fatah participated in the October 7 massacre and other terrorist attacks shows that there is really little if no distinction between Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah, and Hamas. It also demonstrates why, after Hamas is removed from power, the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority absolutely cannot be trusted to rule the Gaza Strip. Both Fatah and Hamas continue to engage in terrorism and are outspokenly proud of their attacks on Jews. Fatah and Hamas seem, in fact, to be competing to prove to the Palestinians who is carrying out more terrorist attacks against Israel.
So long as Abbas and Fatah are producing and arming terrorists, all plans by the Biden administration to "revitalize" the Palestinian Authority are worthless. If the Biden administration is sincere about reforming the PA, it ought to begin by insisting that Abbas disband his own terrorist organization and stop endorsing terrorists and compensating them with monthly payments. Until then, handing over the Gaza Strip to Abbas and his Fatah terrorists would be a monstrous mistake.
The war in the Gaza Strip, which erupted after Hamas massacred 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023, is not limited to Israel and the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group. Other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip are involved in the fighting against Israeli troops. Those groups also participated in the October 7 massacre. They include Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) -- and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah faction headed by none other than the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Abbas.
It should come as no surprise that PIJ took part in the October 7 massacre, as well as countless other terrorist attacks on Israel. Like Hamas, PIJ is an Iran-backed Islamist terrorist organization that aims to destroy Israel. Similar to Hamas, over the past few decades, PIJ has carried out thousands of terrorist assaults against Israelis, including shootings, suicide bombings, firing rockets into Israel, as well as stabbings and car-rammings.
The involvement of terrorists from Abbas's Fatah faction in the October 7 slaughter and terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, however, may surprise some people. Many in the West consider Fatah, which dominates the PA, to be a "moderate" party that wants to live in peace and harmony with Israel. This rumor may have come about because we have been told many times by Palestinian officials that Fatah's armed wing, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was dismantled (at least in the West Bank).
Earlier this month, Abu Mohammed, the official spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, revealed that the group's fighters participated in the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israeli communities near the border with the Gaza Strip, saying:
"On October 7, our heroes in the brave unit participated in the invasion of the colonies [kibbutzes, residential communities and towns] surrounding Gaza and the [Israeli military] bases known as the Gaza Division, and together with our brothers in the Palestinian struggle organizations captured many Zionists, some of them were transferred to us and some are still in our hands,"
Abu Mohammed also disclosed that members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are currently participating in the fighting against the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip and have carried out more than 470 "military missions" since October 7.
In November 2023, Fatah released a video in which terrorists from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are seen participating in, and bragging about, their role in the October 7 massacre of Israelis.
The video was publicized on the day of the carnage, with the faces of the Fatah terrorists blurred and their voices muffled to hide their identities. The video opens by showing Fatah terrorists firing Kalashnikov rifles at an Israeli kibbutz. Screams of "Allahu Akbar!" ("Allah is Greatest!") are heard in the background.
A Fatah terrorist then presents captured Israeli military equipment and says:
"We have plundered from them... Today we broke into the military post Nahal Oz [Note: It is a civilian kibbutz] and we hit what we hit, we took as plunder what we took, and we killed soldiers and stepped on their heads."
Another Fatah terrorist continues to brag about his group's participation in the slaughter:
"Allahu Akbar and praise Allah... From the heart of these temporary [Israeli] settlements, Allah willing, we had a prominent and clear role."
The video carries the logo of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which consists of two rifles and this quote from the Quran:
"So fight them [the infidels) and Allah will punish them at your hands, put them to shame, help you overcome them, and soothe the hearts of the believers." (Quran 9:14)
In the past few months, Fatah's terrorist group has also been posting videos of its members allegedly attacking Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In another recent video, Fatah claimed responsibility for a "sniper operation" against Israeli soldiers in Jabalya refugee camp, a stronghold of Hamas and PIJ in the Gaza Strip. The Fatah terrorists said that they used a Hamas-manufactured rifle called Al-Ghoul to target the Israeli soldiers. The video is clear evidence that Abbas's Fatah loyalists have been working in coordination with Hamas.
In still another video, on May 22, Fatah's official X account posted a tweet about the killing of two of its members while they were shooting at Israeli soldiers from a rooftop:
"Scenes from violent clashes waged by fighters of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah movement, in Jabalaya camp against the Israeli occupation army. We withhold the names of the martyrs until another time."
In the West Bank, members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have also been boasting about their involvement in many terrorist attacks against Israelis, especially recently. On May 26, the group posted a video of its terrorists reportedly shooting at an Israeli military checkpoint near the West Bank city of Tulkarem.
"As a result of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' prominent attacks and boldness of their operatives, they have become iconic role models for young Palestinians," the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center noted in a report on October 30, 2022. "Their status has recently risen vis-à-vis the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas."
The report pointed out that senior Fatah officials have publicly endorsed the terrorist group. It quoted one of them, Jamal Hawil, as saying:
"When [terrorist] operations were carried out and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility, the members of Fatah's Central Committee [key decision-making body] praised the martyrs and often went to the mourning tents to offer condolences.
"Despite their ambivalence, the heads of Fatah and the PA have often shown reverence for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' shaheeds [martyrs]... For example, when on February 8, 2022, three [Fatah] operatives were killed [by Israeli security forces], senior PA and Fatah figures declared them heroes of the Palestinian people. Mahmoud Abbas was particularly outspoken in a telephone conversation with the people who had come to the mourning tent. The tent was visited by [former] PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and other senior PA figures, who came to offer condolences [over the death of the Fatah terrorists]."
Between 2021 and 2022, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorists carried out several attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and Israel. Among them:
On March 29, 2022, a Palestinian armed with an M-16 assault rifle went to the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak driving a vehicle with Israeli license plates. He parked the vehicle and entered, then exited, an apartment house. He walked to a nearby street and shot at windows, then shot and killed two men standing near a grocery store. He then walked to the end of the block, turned the corner, shot at a man pushing a baby carriage, and finally ran down another street where he came upon two mounted policemen who had been dispatched to the site. In the subsequent exchange of fire, one of the policemen and the terrorist were killed. Five Israelis were murdered, four civilians and one policeman. The shooter was Dia Hamarsheh, born in the village of Ya'bad, southwest of Jenin, in 1995. His family is affiliated with Fatah.
On April 7, 2022, a Palestinian armed with a handgun went to a pub on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv and shot at patrons sitting outside. He murdered two and mortally wounded one, who died in hospital. Six others were wounded. The terrorist was Raed Fathi Hazem, 29, from the Jenin refugee camp. He had been endorsed by Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades as one of its "fighters."
That Fatah participated in the October 7 massacre and other terrorist attacks shows that there is really little if no distinction between Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah, and Hamas. It also demonstrates why, after Hamas is removed from power, the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority absolutely cannot be trusted to rule the Gaza Strip. Both Fatah and Hamas continue to engage in terrorism and are outspokenly proud of their attacks on Jews. Fatah and Hamas seem, in fact, to be competing to prove to the Palestinians who is carrying out more terrorist attacks against Israel.
So long as Abbas and Fatah are producing and arming terrorists, all plans by the Biden administration to "revitalize" the Palestinian Authority are worthless. If the Biden administration is sincere about reforming the PA, it ought to begin by insisting that Abbas disband his own terrorist organization and stop endorsing terrorists and compensating them with monthly payments. Until then, handing over the Gaza Strip to Abbas and his Fatah terrorists would be a monstrous mistake.
*Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Will Saudi-Iranian relations be affected by Raisi’s demise?
Hassan Al-Mustafa/Arab News/May 28, 2024
On May 19, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement expressing deep concern over media reports regarding the helicopter crash involving Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation.
The statement emphasized that “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands with the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran during these difficult times,” and expressed its “readiness to provide any assistance needed by the Iranian authorities.”
Upon confirmation of the tragic demise of Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent cables of condolence to Acting President Mohammed Mokhber.
Simultaneously, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed bin Abdulkarim Al-Khuraiji visited the Iranian Embassy in Riyadh to offer condolences for the death of President Raisi. The Saudi government took further steps by dispatching a delegation to Tehran, including Prince Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz, adviser to King Salman and minister of state, and Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. They were joined by Saudi Ambassador to Tehran Abdullah Al-Anazi. The delegation met with Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and paid their respects to the victims of the helicopter crash.
Further emphasizing its diplomatic outreach, the crown prince personally called Mokhber on May 24. He expressed his condolences and highlighted “the progress made in bilateral relations between the two countries,” stressing the “importance of continuing to enhance cooperation in various areas.”Saudi Arabia’s gestures reflect a commitment to the political and security stability of the Islamic Republic
While some might view these actions as merely ceremonial, they convey a clear political message. Saudi Arabia’s gestures reflect a desire to develop positive relations with Iran and a commitment to the political and security stability of the Islamic Republic.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian extremists attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad. This led to a period of heightened tensions, negatively impacting regional peace, especially with Iran’s external proxies in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon targeting Saudi security and causing damage to economic, civilian and military installations. Riyadh responded firmly yet cautiously, aiming to avoid escalation while protecting its national interests.
Over the years, Iran found itself increasingly isolated regionally, with strained relations in the Gulf and a deteriorating economic situation. Realizing that hostility toward Saudi Arabia was detrimental, Tehran pursued a new approach based on reconciliation and overcoming past animosities.
Saudi Arabia’s strategy of dialogue and de-escalation culminated in a landmark agreement in March 2023, brokered by China, to restore diplomatic relations. The joint statement read: “The three countries announce that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran have reached an agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and missions within two months.”
Iran appointed Mohammed Reza Nouri Shahroudi as its ambassador to Riyadh, while Al-Anazi became Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Tehran.
In recent months, both ambassadors have engaged in various visits and activities in their respective capitals, practicing cautious yet active public diplomacy, signaling a mutual desire to strengthen ties without overstepping established boundaries.
Realizing that hostility toward Saudi Arabia was detrimental, Tehran pursued a new approach based on reconciliation
Although progress might seem slow to some, this is a natural pace after years of distrust and Iran’s support for armed proxies that attacked Saudi Arabia and incited against it, both militarily and in the media.
Observers note that the “agreement” is built on a solid security foundation with security negotiations forming the basis. Saudi Arabia sought assurances from Iran on several key points: noninterference in internal affairs, respect for sovereignty, cessation of support for and training of armed opposition groups, and not using pro-Iranian armed militias to attack the Kingdom from Iraq and Yemen. Additionally, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was to cease supporting cells that conduct sabotage operations within Saudi Arabia.
So far, in the security arena, Iran appears to be complying and a key element is solidifying the previously known “Nayef-Rouhani Agreement,” named after then-Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz and former Iranian National Security Council Secretary Hassan Rouhani.
This security agreement is a cornerstone of bilateral relations, which are unlikely to face negative changes following the deaths of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian. The principal outlines of Iran’s foreign policy are set by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who also oversees their implementation. In the current context, Khamenei is unlikely to allow hard-liners to disrupt relations with Riyadh, as Tehran seeks to end its regional and international isolation, improve its image and alleviate economic difficulties.
*Hassan Al-Mustafa is a Saudi writer and researcher interested in Islamic movements, the development of religious discourse and the relationship between the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iran. X: @Halmustafa

US is punishing itself by undermining international law
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/May 28, 2024
Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House of the Representatives, last week said he was considering introducing legislation to sanction International Criminal Court officials. He added that the US does not consider any legal system to be above American sovereignty. However, this attitude greatly harms the US. Before anything else, it compromises its credibility and compromises an international system that favors the US.
After the Second World War, the victorious states put together a world order that favored themselves. The losers in the war, such as Germany and Japan, were dismissed. The postwar world order legitimized US supremacy. Hence, it has a vested interest in asking states to respect it. By saying that Israel and the US do not have to abide by any system above their own sovereignty, Washington is hugely undermining its credibility. It wants to create a system that it can impose on others but with which itself and its allies do not need to comply. The irony is that the current Gaza war broke out after the Ukraine war. If the US does not respect the ICC, how can it expect Vladimir Putin to respect it?
Karim Khan said in a media interview that he received a call from a senior leader, who told him that the ICC was “built for Africa and thugs like Putin.” This should be extremely embarrassing for the West. Though Khan did not name the official, the official position of the US has not been far from such a statement. Hence, the US expects the world to abide by the decisions of the institution it set up to ensure its supremacy in the post-Second World War era. At the same time, it is not ready to abide by the court’s decisions itself. This might have worked if we were still in a unipolar moment. However, the US’ competitors will today take advantage of this arrogance.
It wants to create a system that it can impose on others but with which itself and its allies do not need to comply
This offers a golden opportunity for countries like Russia and China to engage with the Global South. The Western world’s attitude to the Gaza war has been a flagrant demonstration of its double standards. While Russia was crippled with sanctions for attacking Ukraine, Israel faces nothing but some occasional light criticism from the Biden administration.
Countries like China and Russia have already begun trying to create a parallel system to the US-led structure. The BRICS grouping, which was founded in Russia in 2009, was able to attract countries with huge populations and gross domestic products like China and India. And the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, which gathers Eurasian countries, has been described as a rival to NATO.
These organizations, which have been emerging over the last 20 years, have been challenging the postwar order, in which global politics is US and Europe-centric. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borell was very wise when he alluded to the fact that European countries will have to either stand with Israel or with international law. He said the bloc would have to state its position on last week’s International Court of Justice ruling that ordered Israel to halt its Rafah offensive. In fact, the international law he refers to is one that favors Europe and the West. He understands that, if European countries do not stand up and respect international law, no one will. This will definitely strengthen Putin’s case against the international community and the international justice system.
Nevertheless, the US is still sticking with its unwavering support of Israel. One might ask why. Johnson’s excuse is that the international system cannot be above American sovereignty. However, this is exactly the definition of international law. It is an international body above national sovereignty.
This self-defeating attitude of the US boils down to the average politician and their reelection ambitions
However, American lawmakers are blinded by campaign funding and their desire to get reelected. This means the national interest is being subjugated by special interest groups. There is no clearer example than the statement made by Johnson. Here, the interests of Israel, which are being pursued by a small segment of affluent pro-Israel Americans, come before the interests of the nation. The interest of the US is to maintain the international order that guarantees its supremacy.
Israel is the most flagrant example of the US national interest being hijacked by special interest groups. In a way, lawmakers have been able to make this compromise because, after the Cold War, the national interest became a vague concept. During the Cold War, it was clear. It was about containing communism. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of a unipolar world, the national interest became a vague concept that could be influenced by special interests.
Even the so-called war on terror instigated by the Bush administration was not a well-defined concept. That is unlike communism, which was spearheaded by a superpower competing with the US for global dominance. This gave a margin for politicians to interpret the national interest for the general public. They offer the explanation that best suits their donors and guarantees their reelection.
Basically, this self-defeating attitude of the US boils down to the average politician and their reelection ambitions. This narrow political perspective is governing US policy and damaging its credibility and prestige. It is tragic but, in a nutshell, the current system of campaign financing allows special interest groups to dictate a policy that contradicts with the US’ national interest.
It is in the US’ interest to be credible and to win the hearts and minds of the world’s population, especially in the Global South. However, short-term pragmatism and opportunism seem to overshadow true patriotism. Politicians should understand that the decisions they take today will extend beyond the war in Gaza, beyond the Middle East and beyond the next election cycle. They will affect the US’ standing in world affairs for years, if not decades, to come.
*Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.

International indictment of Israel is also a rebuke for the US
Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/May 28, 2024
Horrifying images of decapitated babies, charred bodies, and burnt tents in an Israeli-designated “safe area” where thousands of distressed Palestinians in Gaza were forced to flee a few weeks ago have drawn condemnation from all parts of the globe. The raid by Israeli fighter jets on a Rafah refugee camp on Sunday killed more than 30, all civilians, and injured many others. This was one more war crime committed by Israel since it unleashed its military on the enclave to kill as many of the population as possible — extermination, in the words of the International Criminal Court prosecutor — and level the 365 sq. km strip, home to more than 2 million people.
The list of crimes and atrocities committed by Israel in the past eight months is long and shocking. But while Israel is now being condemned by most European countries, days after the International Court of Justice ordered it to halt its Rafah offensive and avoid harming civilians, and following the ICC’s intent to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges of war crimes and others, one government in particular has chosen to either ignore the carnage, or disguise its position on the genocidal war through empty rhetoric, denial, and obfuscation. That is the Biden administration, which has the power to stop the slaughter. The ICJ and the ICC have come under shameful attack and intimidation by neocons and pro-Israel US lawmakers. Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, said he wants to pass legislation to sanction ICC officials. He had slammed the court’s request for arrest warrants, writing in a statement that its “baseless and illegitimate decision should face global condemnation.” He added: “International bureaucrats cannot be allowed to use ‘lawfare’ to usurp the authority of democratic nations that maintain the rule of law.”
There is a marked departure in policy position between the US and its Western allies
President Joe Biden described the ICC’s move as “outrageous.” At the same time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that he would like to work with Congress to take action against the ICC following its move on arrest warrants. In a show of disdain for the ICC, Johnson confirmed he was moving ahead with an invitation to Netanyahu to address Congress. US lawmakers have warned that if the UN recognizes Palestine as a state, Washington will defund the international body. The hysteria regarding the highest world court, the ICJ, as well as the ICC, even considering a genocide case and other serious charges against Israel and its leaders has been evident for months. Last week, hawkish Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a fervent supporter of Israel, condemned the ICC and said it can “go to hell” for moving against Netanyahu. Another pro-Israel senator, Republican Tom Cotton, was one of several lawmakers who signed a letter warning ICC prosecutor Karim Khan days before he made his historic decision. The letter said that if you target Israel, we will target you.
Only Israeli politicians, including the opposition, have taken similar hostile positions against the symbols of international law, especially the UN, ICJ, and ICC.
When the truth about Israel’s war on Gaza began reaching the rest of the world, most Western governments started reversing their initial position of supporting Israel’s right to defend itself at any cost. France, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, and others now condemn the atrocities and demand an immediate ceasefire. The UK Conservative government has refused to stop arms sales to Israel and grudgingly demanded a ceasefire despite a significant shift in public opinion against Israel. Canada, too, has suspended arms sales to Israel, while Germany now says that it will arrest Netanyahu if a warrant is issued. US lawmakers have also attacked Spain, Ireland, and Norway for announcing their intention to recognize the state of Palestine. There is a marked departure in policy position between the US and its Western allies over Israel’s war on Gaza, the need for accountability, and delivering delayed justice for the Palestinians.
If and when the ICC issues arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, the rift across the North Atlantic will become deeper and almost impossible to bridge, especially if Donald Trump wins a second term in November. What is at stake now is the survival of a rules-based international order that Israel is violating and attacking.
Biden should look beyond his reelection bid and do the right thing, no matter what
The Biden administration cannot afford to sit on the fence while Netanyahu and his extremist partners continue with their genocidal war in Gaza and the West Bank. Biden’s red line on Rafah has been crossed many times over the past three weeks in defiance of the US president. In reality, the indictments issued by the ICJ and the ICC are also indirect rebukes for the US, which has enabled and justified this criminal onslaught and the slaughter in Gaza. By challenging the international order, the one that the US prides itself on sponsoring for the past three decades, Washington and the hysterical war-mongering lawmakers are pushing a radical, domineering, and eventually isolationist agenda that is a harbinger of a new global order, or chaos.
By tying itself to the criminal, genocidal, apartheid regime that is Israel today, the US risks losing its standing on the world stage. Gaza has exposed many faults in the current order, one that is blind to the most horrific tragedies of our time. Israel has already blemished itself in a way that cannot be erased. It has to look itself in the mirror and decide how far it can survive, having taken a route pushed by extremists and bigots.
However, for the US, the challenge is much more significant. It now faces an unprecedented internal struggle as the chasm between the political elite and its citizens widens. The war on Gaza has fractured America’s image of itself, a false one to begin with: that of a city on a hill, a righteous and benevolent one. Now, it is an accessory to genocide, and its weapons and political backing are responsible for the Rafah massacre and the score of others that Israel has committed in the past few months.
America’s lack of strong leadership has been visible for years. Its political system is corrupt and dysfunctional, flawed by black money, political action committees, and super-PACs. However, correcting such flaws is the business of the American people. Meanwhile, the world needs to move on, hoping that America’s decline can be overridden through collective adjustment by responsible states.
Biden should look beyond his reelection bid and do the right thing, no matter what, for the sake of American global leadership, and reining in a rogue Israel that is committing murder and putting the entire rules-based order on a tipping point.
*Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. X: @plato010

The Message of the Funeral
Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al Awsat/May 28/2024
The condolences that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates extended to Iran following the death of its president, Ebrahim Raisi have not gone unnoticed.
The attendance of both countries’ foreign ministers at the funeral, following the helicopter crash that killed Raisi, reflects the significant strategic and diplomatic decisions they have made at an extremely complicated time for the region.
Then came Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s call to the acting president of Iran, Mohammed Mokhber. As well as offering his condolences, he announced that he had accepted an invitation to visit Iran, affirming that this diplomatic gesture was made within the framework of a broader approach of seeking to maintain regional stability, safeguard economic interests, and reinforce the geopolitical influence of both sides.Saudi Arabia is keen on maintaining the climate of de-escalation created by the Saudi-Iranian normalization agreement brokered by China last year. The Kingdom is even more keen on reassuring everyone concerned that it is committed to maintaining and to developing its new relationship with Iran, irrespective of potential changes to Iran’s government.
These steps confirm that the impetus behind Saudi Arabia's policy towards Iran goes beyond immediate security concerns and the pragmatism of mitigating the threats posed by Iranian-backed groups in the region, such as the Houthis in Yemen. Through these diplomatic gestures, Saudi Arabia is calling for stable relations with Iran to become part of its efforts to create an environment in which its "Vision 2030" economic project can strive. This plan to diversify the Saudi economy within a stable regional environment conducive to foreign investment and economic integration will benefit every regional actor, not only Saudi Arabia. Indeed, everyone wins if we pursue economic development instead of waging conflicts over influence and leadership in the Gulf and the broader Middle East.
The UAE's participation in Raisi's funeral also reflects a commitment to maintaining its delicate yet vital relationship with Iran.
This approach highlights Abu Dhabi’s broader strategy founded on economic pragmatism, which also calls on Iran to become a partner in creating a new Middle East where strong commercial links take precedence over political disputes.
The UAE has consolidated its position as a global trade hub by productively leveraging and investing in its strategic location between East and West, developing its logistical infrastructure and rapid transit lines, and establishing a strategic network of free trade agreements with many countries across the globe, most notably with China. Accordingly, the last thing the countries of the region want is to shoot themselves in the foot by conspiring against Iran or undermining its instability as some allege. Doing so would risk jeopardizing their projects for the future.
The presence of Gulf officials in Tehran sent a clear message to the Iranians. The two countries underlined their commitment to fostering a stable relationship with Iran that is built on cooperation that reduces regional disputes, safeguards shared security, and paves the way for shared economic prosperity.
The ball is now in Iran's court. It can build on this sincerity, which allows for high-level officials of the three countries to visit one another’s capitals and establish joint committees on trade, engage in dialogue to ensure regional security, promote cultural exchange, build infrastructure, and reach agreements that reduce the severity of conflicts, especially in Gaza and the Red Sea. The overtures of Saudi Arabia and the UAE also open the door to cooperation on humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip, which could build trust and demonstrate solidarity.
The great fear is that Iran will remain captive to a long history of inconsistency and mutual mistrust with its Gulf neighbors and that extremism and the pursuit of geopolitical competition rooted in sectarian and strategic considerations will prevail against serious efforts to reshape relations.
Most dangerously, when Iran’s relations with its neighbors and the world become toxic, it becomes isolated, and its economy and regime’s popularity are undermined, Tehran becomes more sensitive to its domestic dynamics and fears that softening its regional stances could be perceived as a sign of weakness, encouraging its domestic rivals lying in wait. ns have always had the potential to seize the future. Does another tedious reiteration of past experiences await us this time?
The glimmer of hope created by the manner in which Saudi Arabia and the UAE expressed their condolences at president Raisi’s funeral presents a rare opportunity to build a better future for the region. This opportunity is reflected by a strategic decision to combine diplomatic respect, economic pragmatism, and geopolitical overtures... Will Iran seize it?