English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 02/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will
also be disorder and wickedness of every kind
Letter of James 03/13-18: “Who is wise and understanding among
you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of
wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not
be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above,
but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish
ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the
wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full
of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a
harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on September 01-02/2024
South Lebanon: Gunfire on an Army Vehicle in Ramya
and One Killed in Bayt Lif
Four Injured in an Israeli Strike on Aita al-Shaab
Diplomatic Delegation: ‘The War Will Endure’
Lebanese Forces chief denounces Hezbollah fight with Israel
Geagea to Hezbollah: Review Your Calculations!
Hasbani: Berri’s Words Echo Old Promises
Summer 2024: A Season That Fell Short of Expectations
Bassil backs Berri's call for 'dialogue' over presidency
Bassil: Economy and social justice are a condition for Lebanon's stability
Incendiary Leaflets Against Hezbollah Found in Jiyeh
Audi: Our Country’s Laws Need to Be Upheld
One week after Hezbollah's retaliation, head of Unit 8200 to resign
Waiting game continues for Lebanon residents as fear of Hezbollah-Israel war
persists
Retaliation in the Middle East: After Hezbollah, will Iran be next?/Ali
Hamade/Arab News/September 01/2024
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on September 01-02/2024
Body of Israeli-American hostage among 6 recovered
in Gaza
Israel union chief orders ‘complete strike’ Monday in support of Gaza hostages
Israelis erupt in protest to demand a ceasefire after 6 more hostages die in
Gaza
Israeli army announces death of soldier during West Bank operation
Israel police says 3 West Bank attack victims were police officers
Gaza officials say 11 killed in Israeli strike on school
Polio Vaccination Campaign in Gaza Proceeds Amid Temporary Ceasefire Despite War
Damages
Unit 8200's Influence: Israeli Tech Entrepreneurs Thrive in Silicon Valley with
Cybersecurity Expertise
Saudi crown prince discusses efforts to support Palestinians with Turkish
president
Egypt detains two Israelis for assaulting Egyptian hotel workers
Health ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 40,738
Houthis say rescue of burning Red Sea oil tanker begins Sunday
A Libyan human trafficker sanctioned by the UN has been killed in Tripoli,
officials say
Helicopter of Iran’s late president Raisi crashed due to weather, final report
says
UAE sends mpox vaccines to 5 African countries
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on September 01-02/2024
Head Separated from Body': The Persecution of Christians, July 2024/Raymond
Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute.September 01/2024
Blood for Negotiations/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/September
01/2024
Israeli Hostages Found Dead in Gaza: Suprised? Shocked? You Shouldn't
Be/Hanibaal Atheos/lebanoniznogood.blogspot/September 01/2024
Do political leaders deserve a break?/Ngaire Woods/Arab News/September 01, 2024
Americans will ultimately turn on the pro-Israel lobby/Dr. Dania Koleilat
Khatib/Arab News/September 01, 2024
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on September 01-02/2024
South Lebanon: Gunfire on an Army Vehicle in Ramya and One Killed in Bayt
Lif
This Is Beirut/September 01/2024
Tensions resumed at the southern front on Sunday after a relatively cautious
calm prevailed in the morning. In the afternoon, Israeli warplanes destroyed a
house in the town of Bayt Lif in southern Lebanon, killing one person and
injuring eight, according to a statement from the Public Health Emergency
Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health.
Meanwhile, a Lebanese Army vehicle came under fire from the Israeli Zar’it site
on the Maroun al-Ras road while traveling along the southern border to supply
army posts with provisions.An Israeli drone also dropped bombs for the fourth
time today near the border barrier in the town of Kfar Kila. Earlier, four
people were injured in an Israeli strike on Aita al-Shaab, according to a
statement by the emergency operations center of the Ministry of Health. During
the day, Israeli aircraft flew intensively over several areas, including the
Hasbaya region, Shebaa Farms and as far as the Bekaa Valley, conducting mock
raids over the area. For its part, Hezbollah announced in a statement this
afternoon that it had targeted and destroyed the “espionage equipment” at the
Rweissat al-Alam site in the occupied Lebanese hills of Kfarchouba. It also
claimed to have targeted an Israeli army patrol near the Kafr Youfal checkpoint
and Jal al-Alam site. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Sunday
from the northern border with Lebanon that “the price we are paying will not be
in vain, and we will continue to strike Hezbollah until we have restored the
north’s population.”
Four Injured in an Israeli Strike on Aita al-Shaab
This Is Beirut/September 01/2024
Artillery exchanges resumed on Sunday on the southern front after a relatively
calm morning. In the afternoon, four people were injured in an Israeli strike on
Aita al-Shaab, according to a statement by the emergency operations center of
the Ministry of Health. Israeli artillery fired two
mortar shells towards shepherds on the outskirts of Shebaa to drive them away
and also targeted the vicinity of Wazzani. Israeli
drones flew over Kounin, Inata, Braashit, Shaqra, Maaroub and Deir Qanoun
al-Nahr. Earlier, Israeli warplanes had flown over Hasbaya, the Shebaa Farms and
the Bekaa Valley. An Israeli drone reportedly dropped bombs for the fourth time
today near the border barrier above the village of Kfar Kila. Preliminary
reports indicated that people were seriously injured in the firing of an
anti-tank rocket from Lebanon towards the settlement of Yuval in the Upper
Galilee. For its part, Hezbollah announced that it had targeted and destroyed
the “espionage equipment” at the Rweissat al-Alam site in the occupied Lebanese
hills of Kfarchouba. A Lebanese army vehicle came under fire from the Israeli
position of Zaarit, on the Marwahin road, as it moved along the southern border
to supply army centres. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Sunday
from the northern border with Lebanon that “the price we are paying will not be
in vain, and we will continue to strike Hezbollah until we have restored the
north’s population.”
Diplomatic Delegation: ‘The War Will Endure’
This Is Beirut/September 01/2024
An Eastern diplomatic delegation recently visited southern Lebanon, met with
officials, and evaluated the situation in the region. The delegation assessed
that the conflict in Lebanon is ongoing, persistent, and likely to continue for
an extended period. This conclusion was drawn from Israel’s actions and its
strategy to devastate the south while enforcing Resolution 1701 through military
means, according to one of the delegation members. The delegation submitted a
report to their government, indicating that the war would endure as long as
Israel had not achieved its objectives of securing the south and stabilizing its
northern front. Diplomatic circles have ruled out any possibility of a truce
until security is restored in the south and settlers can return. Although there
was speculation that settlers might return by September, the conditions remained
unmet, forcing them to stay in place. This situation puts pressure on Israeli
Prime Minister Netanyahu, who had promised their return by then and is now
uncertain about how to address the issue.
Lebanese Forces chief denounces Hezbollah fight with
Israel
AFP/September 01, 2024
BEIRUT, Lebanon: The head of the Christian political party Lebanese Forces on
Sunday accused Hezbollah of dragging the country into a war with Israel without
consulting the people. In a speech attacking the Shiite Muslim group, Samir
Geagea, who heads the main Christian bloc in parliament, accused Hezbollah of
“confiscating the Lebanese people’s decision on war and peace, as if there were
no state.”Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October,
Hezbollah has engaged in near daily cross-border fire with Israel in support of
its Palestinian ally, which the Lebanese Forces and other parties oppose.The
clashes are “a war that the Lebanese people reject, but has been imposed on
them,” Geagea said in a speech to supporters north of Beirut.
“It is a war that the Lebanese people do not want and over which the
government has had no say. This war does not serve Lebanon, it has brought
nothing to Gaza, nor alleviated its suffering one iota,” he added.
Iran-backed Hezbollah was the only Lebanese faction that did not disarm
after the 1975-1990 civil war. Its arsenal, reputed to
be significantly larger than that of the Lebanese army, is touted by its
supporters as a shield against Israel. The movement’s
critics call Hezbollah a “state within a state.”“This war, in which Hezbollah is
engaged, must stop before it brings about a major war that will spare no one,”
Geagea said. He called on the government to “urge”
Hezbollah to stop its fight with Israel. Lebanon is
without a president and the caretaker government is struggling to run a country
gripped by a crippling financial crisis. Tensions on
the border appeared to have cooled since a major escalation last month. Analysts
say both parties are showing restraint to avoid a regional escalation.
In the latest incident, one person was killed and 11 wounded in Israeli
strikes on south Lebanon Sunday, the health ministry in Beirut said.
Hezbollah announced that one of its fighters had been killed by Israeli
fire. The violence since October has killed some 607
people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but including at least 132
civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli
side including in the annexed Golan Heights, authorities have announced the
deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians. Tens
of thousands of people remain displaced on both sides.
Geagea to Hezbollah: Review Your Calculations!
This Is Beirut/September 01/2024
The leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, made no bones about it: “We
will not submit, we will not weaken, we will not compromise, and we will not be
afraid. We will continue to fight.” At the annual mass for the martyrs of the
Lebanese Resistance organized by the Lebanese Forces (LF) on the first Sunday of
September in Meerab, LF leader Samir Geagea asserted that the reality the
Lebanese are living through today is the direct result of the Iranian and Syrian
regime’s stranglehold on Lebanon. However, he explained that this reality is
fake and bears no resemblance to Lebanon, which is being held hostage by the
Moumanaa axis. “The Lebanese are tired of empty rhetoric, of the political
crisis, of the war, of their situation, and they’re right. What’s more, the
international community is only demanding the country’s internal and external
stability.” “Our slogan is ‘the future is ours’ because we are the very essence
of Lebanon, although we will always refuse to control the country and prioritize
our interests as the opposing camp does. We want a functional and sovereign
state,” added the Meerab leader. “The day after the war belongs to us, because
it must be based solely on the application of the Constitution and the laws on
the entire Lebanese territory. That said, everything can be called into
question, except borders and the unity of the country. The social pact and
living together can be rethought, but only once a President of the Republic is
elected, and not before.”
In a thinly veiled attack on caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Geagea was
keen to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on the declining number of Christians in
Lebanon. “To those who claim that the number of Christians is low, we reply that
we may be low in numbers, but not in efficiency or productivity. All the
percentages on which he bases himself are not precise and serve to put pressure
on Christians to amend the Constitution. So, amending the Constitution is
feasible and possible, but not before the election of a president,” he said.
LF and the Palestinian Cause
“We support this cause and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people as
much as is possible and reasonable. However, we reject the actions and words of
those who manipulate and use this cause to the detriment of Lebanon’s interests
and to advance their personal and regional interests,” he stressed. “The war was
imposed on the Lebanese, and it must end urgently before it spreads any
further,” he added.Geagea asked, “Who mandated Hezbollah to decide on war and
peace on behalf of the Lebanese? How is it that Lebanon is the only Arab country
to have an open front and pay the exorbitant price of war? What about Syria?
This war serves neither Lebanon nor Gaza. The very fact that we don’t agree with
Hezbollah and don’t support its position makes us traitors and collaborators in
their eyes.”
“In fact, they are the traitors and collaborators, since they are serving a
non-Lebanese project and interests that are not those of the country! This is
why we call on the Lebanese government to put an end to the war by imposing this
decision on Hezbollah. If the cabinet fails to do so, then it must assume all
the consequences of this war for the country. If Hezbollah thinks it can change
Lebanon’s identity, it is mistaken! Lebanon remains and will remain a free,
sovereign and independent country. That’s why I’m asking Hezbollah today to
review its calculations, rethink its strategy and withdraw. A fault confessed is
a fault half-pardoned. If Hezbollah made a mistake in its calculations when
entering the war, ‘it is virtuous to go back on its mistakes,’ but it is even
more important that it does not make a mistake in its calculations after the
war, whatever the end and the results, by going back inwards and trying to
impose specific equations, to try to reap gains and compensate for its losses or
to translate what it claims and imagines to be a victory.”
Samir Geagea also insisted on “a real and complete partnership, with a state
structure that realizes this partnership, far from the domination of any
Lebanese component through an armed force outside the state, whatever the
pretexts and justifications.” “Arming Hezbollah goes to the heart of Lebanese
coexistence and the very notion of statehood. No logic accepts the existence of
a state parallel to the state, and coexistence between the two is impossible.
Let’s leave to the State the monopoly of arms according to the laws and the
constitution, and let’s not hinder the future of our homeland to serve unfounded
regional projects. To Hezbollah, we say that its weaponry does not protect the
Shiite community, just as no weaponry protects any specific community. If there
is protection, it surely lies with the just and efficient state. Guarantees are
the responsibility of the state. Reassuring each other is the responsibility of
all of us.”
Presidential Election and Dialogue
The head of the Lebanese Forces also insisted on the election of a President of
the Republic, which “must not be subject to haggling and must be based on clear
constitutional rules, free of ambiguity and interpretation.” “Parliament Speaker
Nabih Berri must convene an open parliamentary voting session with successive
sessions until the election of a President of the Republic, by what the
Constitution prescribes. Let the one who must win and receive the
congratulations and encouragement of all, rather than remaining in a spiral of
blockages and useless calls for dialogues that take place every day without
producing results. Berri must think and act as head of Parliament, and not as a
stakeholder and ally of a party whose calculations go beyond the presidency of
the republic and Lebanon itself. Under no circumstances will we accept that one
group should impose its position and its candidate on all the others, that it
should get its hands on the presidency of the republic and persist in blocking
and manipulating it, because the road to Baabda Palace does not pass through
Haret Hreik, and access to Baabda Palace is not through the gate of Ain
el-Tineh, nor according to its conditions and its artificial dialogue. The only
way to Baabda Palace is through Parliament Square, the seat of Parliament, and
the ballot box. No group, however powerful, has the right to monopolize, to
control, to destroy the balance and the national partnership, and to invent
precedents and conventions stronger than the Constitution and create principles
that become the norm,” he declared. Geagea later
concluded, “They demand dialogue for the election of the President of the
Republic but refuse dialogue to save the country from the clutches of war and
pull it out of the dark tunnel. When they fail to impose their candidate and the
president they want, they propose a dialogue to circumvent reality and obtain
what they have not been able to achieve through constitutional and democratic
rules and mechanisms. And when they want to reserve for themselves the power to
decide on the war and drag Lebanon and the Lebanese into a conflict beyond their
capabilities, they refuse dialogue and ignore the urgent and just calls of
parliamentarians to discuss the war with the government, which is the basis of
the rules of parliamentary work.”
Sovereignist Audience
The religious service began at 5.30 PM, at the party’s headquarters in Meerab,
in front of an audience of FL supporters, most notably a very large number of
young people and over a hundred FL scouts, alongside various political figures,
notably from the sovereignist opposition. In attendance were MP Marwan Hamadeh,
representing the Progressive Socialist Party parliamentary bloc, MP Sajih Attieh
representing the National Moderation bloc, MP Elias Hankach representing Kataeb
party leader Sami Gemayel, MP Nadim Gemayel, MPs Achraf Rifi and Michel Moawad
from the Renewal bloc, the President of the National Liberal Party, MP Camille
Chamoun, MP Neemat Frem, former ministers Ziad Baroud and May Chidiac, and all
MPs from the FL parliamentary bloc.
Hasbani: Berri’s Words Echo Old Promises
This Is Beirut/September 01/2024
Former Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani has criticized Speaker of
Parliament Nabih Berri’s speech on Saturday, stating that it failed to introduce
any fresh ideas to resolve the ongoing presidential stalemate in Lebanon.
The Lebanese Forces MP emphasized the opposition’s proactive efforts to
break the deadlock. “We put forward a roadmap for the presidency that includes
two approaches,” Hasbani explained. “Either consultation under the dome of
Parliament without the presidency of Berri or any institutionalization of
consecutive days and open sessions without breaking the quorum, or Berri
appoints a session for the presidential election. If a president is not elected,
the quorum stands, and we proceed with consultations followed by successive
sessions until a president is chosen.” In a revealing
interview with Al-Hadath, Hasbani expressed frustration with the lack of
engagement from certain political blocs, saying, “We were flexible and open to
suggestions, and our proposal was discussed with 98 out of 128 MPs in the
Parliament, excluding the Amal and Hezbollah blocs, who refused to engage in
dialogue on this critical matter.” Hasbani further
asserted, “The Parliament remains closed, and if Berri is sincere, he should
call for a session to elect a president, allowing us to take the necessary steps
to fill the position through successive sessions as he suggested.”Hasbani
highlighted the opposition’s willingness to compromise, noting that nearly two
years have passed since the presidential vacuum, and while they have shifted to
a middle ground, abandoning their initial candidate and proposing alternative
approaches, the other side remains rigid in its stance. He also pointed out the
lack of initiative from the Hezbollah-Amal alliance, suggesting they are waiting
for the opposition to concede due to political exhaustion. “We reject any
preconditions for the presidential elections, particularly those that exceed
constitutional boundaries. They insist on Sleiman Frangieh’s nomination, but we
will not support it. If they believe he is the right choice, they should
organize parliamentary sessions, secure a majority, and elect him.”
Summer 2024: A Season That Fell Short of Expectations
Christiane Tager/This Is Beirut/September 01/2024
The summer wraps up with Lebanon at the center of attention. As the new school
year looms, tourism professionals are reflecting on the summer of 2024. The
season has been notably catastrophic, falling far below expectations.
Catastrophic, terrible, mediocre, or not too bad, tourism professionals are
delivering an initial assessment of the unusual summer 2024 season, overshadowed
by the war at the doorstep! After the exceptional summer of 2023, this season
has been markedly uneven, largely due to the security and psychological
upheavals of the Gaza war extending into Lebanon. Experiences have varied
widely, with some regions and establishments reporting average results while
others declare catastrophic ones. However, all tourism stakeholders agree on the
detrimental impact of the conflict’s escalation at the end of July, which
overshadowed a strong start to the month. The
President of the Travel Agency Owners’ Union, Jean Abboud, describes the season
as “catastrophic,” with a 72% year-over-year decline. He highlights that from
early July to July 28, Beirut was welcoming between 14,000 and 15,000 travelers
daily, and 85 flights were serving the capital. Abboud argues that if the season
had continued at this rate, it could have equaled the success of 2023.
As of July 28, 11 airlines suspended their services to Lebanon. In response to
the situation, Lebanese expatriates on vacation and some residents either cut
their stays short or departed the country out of concern. This drop in flight
availability, combined with increasing demand, has led to a significant rise in
airfare prices. Abboud reports that only 65 flights are currently arriving in
Beirut. While some airlines have resumed operations to the Lebanese capital,
they have reduced the number of daily flights. Pierre
Achkar, the President of the Federation of Tourism and Hotel Owners’ Unions,
echoes this sentiment, describing the hotel sector as having a catastrophic
season with a 60% drop in occupancy rates compared to 2023. He notes that many
hotels are now partially closing to reduce costs. For instance, a hotel with 100
rooms may only open 40. Achkar fears that if the war continues, the Christmas
season may also be bad.
Khaled Naha, Vice President of the Restaurant Owners’ Union, informs This is
Beirut that activity in restaurants, bars, beaches, and nightclubs has decreased
by around 40% compared to 2023. This decline is particularly striking given the
initial expectations for a summer as promising and exceptional as the previous
year. These forecasts had spurred increased investments in bakeries, nightclubs,
and restaurants across various regions of the country. Thousands of new hires
were made in the sector, which was fully ready to welcome tourists. While
conditions were relatively good until the end of July, bombings, Israeli
threats, embassy evacuation warnings, and flight cancellations triggered
widespread panic and severely disrupted the season. Naha notes that the sector
is facing significant challenges, especially with high water and electricity
costs. Despite these difficulties, he remains hopeful for the end-of-year
holiday season.
Ramzi Salman, President of the Union of Guesthouse Owners, reports a 25% decline
in July and a 50% drop in August compared to the same months last year (2023).
Regarding the off-season, he hopes for at least “a slight improvement” in the
situation.
It is important to note that Lebanon’s tourism sector accounted for 30% of the
GDP in 2023, with revenues totaling $5.4 billion. Unfortunately, these figures
are unlikely to be reached this year. Revenue from visitor traffic was about
$3.8 billion in summer 2023 and $3.5 billion in summer 2022, compared to $1.2
billion in 2021. Summer 2024 has not been a banner
season for tourism professionals. However, it’s important to remain optimistic,
as pleasant weather persists and hopes for peace continue. These factors could
lead to a strong off-season and a promising Christmas season ahead!
Bassil backs Berri's call for 'dialogue' over presidency
Naharnet/September 01/2024
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has said that the FPM has always
called for “consensus” and “dialogue” among the Lebanese over the presidential
file.“That’s why today we must seek to secure unanimity over presidential
consensus and we must not allow those who have less than one third (of
parliament’s seats) to block dialogue and the election of a president,” Bassil
added, during the annual dinner of the FPM’s Zahle department. “Some are
meanwhile betting on developments for the election of a president and they want
to impose a president on us. This matter pushes us to back the call for dialogue
that has been voiced by Speaker Nabih Berri, and what’s important is that we
don’t have the intention to exclude anyone from the consultation and consensus
process,” Bassil went on to say. “But if we fail to secure unanimity, this does
not allow anyone who has less than one third to block the electoral process
because they are betting on Israel’s invasion,” the FPM leader added. Noting
that the election of a president would be the gateway for resolving Lebanon’s
crises, Bassil said “awaiting the Gaza war to elect a president would be a crime
against Lebanon.” “The Lebanese interior understands the importance of electing
a president in order to go to the negotiations,” the FPM chief added.
Bassil: Economy and social justice are a condition for
Lebanon's stability
NNA/September 01/2024
Head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, wrote on the “X”
platform: “On September 1, 1920, the struggles of our ancestors bore fruit in
the declaration of Greater Lebanon, a state whose external and internal
conspiracies intersected to overthrow its regime, and it collapsed.” "The
formula and the charter remain in our struggle; Lebanon's neutrality from the
conflict of the axes is binding and supporting Palestine is a duty," Bassil went
on.He concluded by saying: "The civil state, productive economy and social
justice are a condition for Lebanon's stability and prosperity."
Incendiary Leaflets Against Hezbollah Found in Jiyeh
This Is Beirut/September 01/2024
Residents of the coastal town of Jiyeh, Iqlim al-Kharroub and some neighboring
villages woke up on Sunday morning to see leaflets distributed by unknown
persons containing inflammatory messages against Hezbollah, reported the
Lebanese daily An-Nahar. The leaflets called for an
end to the war and the deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon and
also denounced Hezbollah’s arms depots and underground tunnels.“Stop the war
before it swallows us whole. Remove the arms depots from among people’s houses.
You will not enter the mountains. Deploy the Lebanese army at the border and it
will protect us,” the leaflets read. Another leaflet reads, “Get the warehouses
out of the houses. No to tunnels in Jbeil, Keserwan, Tomat, Niha and the Bekaa.
May 7 will not be repeated and we will defeat you this time.”To recall, on May
7, 2008, Hezbollah and its allies occupied Beirut using the force of their
militia weapons to bring down the government of Fouad Siniora. The latter had
demanded that the pro-Iranian group’s illegal telecommunications cables be
dismantled.
Audi: Our Country’s Laws Need to Be Upheld
This Is Beirut/September 01/2024
The Metropolitan of Beirut, Bishop Elias Audi, stressed the importance of
“fidelity to our country and dedication to its well-being, abandoning our
narcissism and personal interests.”In his homily on Sunday, the Orthodox Bishop
argued that “the Church raises its children to be faithful to their homeland, to
serve it, to respect its laws and their application, and to respect their fellow
citizens.” He added, however, that “the Church does not tolerate injustice, does
not cover up crime, and does not favor the leader who goes astray, for this is
at the heart of its mission to bear witness to the truth.”
One week after Hezbollah's retaliation, head of Unit 8200
to resign
Al Mayadeen English/NNA
The chief of the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) Unit 8200 and architect of
their military's Artificial Intelligence (AI), Brigadier General Yossi Sariel,
is expected to resign in the upcoming weeks, according to a report by the
Israeli news website Walla. Nearly 11 months
after Sariel's unit failed to warn the Israeli military command of Operation
Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, the general is finally resigning.
"The unit that has become an international brand
is supposed to undergo rehabilitation after the great crisis," an Israeli
security official told Walla. The Military
Intelligence Directorate's Unit 8200, known for its expertise in signal
intelligence (SIGINT) and code decryption, counterintelligence, cyber warfare,
military intelligence, and surveillance, plays a pivotal role in Israeli
security and is comparable to the United States National Security Agency (NSA).
Unit 8200 is also the IOF's largest intelligence collector and has seen a
revolutionary upheaval under Sariel, who pushed for the integration of AI into
the force's function. Renowned for his work within intelligence circles, Sariel
has made a series of blunders that have cast a grim shadow over his career in
the Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman). Not
only had Sariel failed to take the appropriate security measures prior to
October 7, but he had also mistakenly revealed his identity to the public. The
head of Unit 8200 and other top commanders of strategic units in the IOF are
kept a top secret. However, a mistake made by Sariel himself at an earlier time
nullified the effects of Israeli protocols. After
keeping his identity a secret for nearly two decades, Sariel doxxed himself
after publishing a book under a pen name. The "embarrassing security lapse" saw
Sariel, previously known as Brigadier General Y, publish a book on Amazon,
leaving a digital trail to his private Google account created in his name, along
with his unique ID and links to the account's maps and calendar profiles, The
Guardianreported earlier this year. Aman's head
of the Research Division, Brigadier General Amit Saar, had also been subject to
criticism over the failure to warn and take action against the October 7
operation and resigned in April this year, citing illness. It is also worth
noting that the headquarters of Unit 8200 came under a drone attack by Hezbollah
on August 25, in a response launched by the Islamic Resistance against the
Israeli regime for the assassination of top commander martyr Sayyed Fouad Shokor
in late July. --
Waiting game continues for Lebanon residents
as fear of Hezbollah-Israel war persists
NAJIA HOUSSARI/Arab News/September 01, 2024
BEIRUT: After weeks of tension, residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs as well
as towns and villages in south Lebanon have resumed semi-normal routines, yet
they remain cautious, keeping evacuation kits at their doorsteps.
Since Hezbollah’s retaliation for the killing of a senior military commander and
close associate of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, residents feared that Israel
might exploit the situation to launch a devastating assault on the Iran-backed
Shiite Lebanese group.
Hezbollah’s muted response, coupled with Israeli indications that it did not
want a full-scale war, has brought some relief to residents of south Lebanon.
Yet many of them consider the reprieve merely temporary and the risk of a future
conflict as high, in the absence of an agreement to calm the border front with
Israel and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah and Israel each claimed victory on Aug. 25, when the former lobbed
hundreds of missiles and drones at the latter to avenge the elimination of Fuad
Shukr on July 30.
Hezbollah launched its assault in two stages — first with 340 rockets aimed at
Israeli intelligence and military bases, then with drones targeting the Glilot
base near Tel Aviv. Israel claimed it pre-emptively thwarted the attacks,
destroying 90 percent of the Hezbollah rockets in the process.
The short confrontation on that day was regarded as mutually satisfactory,
allowing a return to “business as usual” and rules of engagement in place since
Oct. 8, 2023.
“From the start, Hezbollah has declared it doesn’t want war, but it is ready to
confront any Israeli aggression,” a source close to Hezbollah told Arab News,
adding that the group’s aim is to protect Lebanese civilians.
Analysts and experts have a somewhat different opinion. Some believe that a
strong American military presence in the region played a role in deterring
further escalation. The UN Security Council’s unanimous vote to extend UNIFIL’s
mandate by another year was viewed by politicians, including caretaker Prime
Minister Najib Mikati, as a sign that Lebanon’s stability is an international
priority.
Lebanon has been in a state of financial meltdown that started in October 2019.
The crisis, believed to be the world’s worst since the mid-19th century, has
created dire living conditions for its population.
In this photo taken on July 27, 2022, long lines form outside a bakery in north
Lebanon's port city of Tripoli as a years-long economic crisis depleted state
coffers. (AFP)
To make matters worse, political divisions have prevented the election of a new
president and the adoption of economic reforms needed for Lebanon to qualify for
international loans. Analysts say the last thing the country can afford now is a
bigger war.
Yet questions linger. Can Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006
war between Israel and Hezbollah, prevent future conflicts, despite the
limitations that have become evident over the past 11 months?
“The southern front has returned to traditional patterns of confrontation,” Ali
Fadlallah, a Lebanese expert in international relations, told Arab News.
“Israel’s claim of pre-empting Hezbollah’s attack was false. Hezbollah’s drones
reached their targets. Israel’s quick declaration of the end of its military
operation suggested that Hezbollah’s response had acted as a deterrent.”
Nevertheless, he acknowledges that cross-border tensions are high, although they
have eased slightly. “I expect this situation to continue until the US elections
in November,” he said. Israel has solid reasons to avoid a full-scale war with
Hezbollah, at least for now. Its soldiers have been fighting on two fronts since
the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, without being able to destroy the Palestinian
militant group and secure the release of scores of Israelis still held captive
in Gaza. Since Oct. 8, the Israeli military has also failed to push Hezbollah
fighters at least 10 to 12 kilometers from its border to allow the safe return
of 80,000 displaced people to northern Israel. Against this backdrop, Israel’s
demand for a ceasefire, rather than a cessation of hostilities as called for in
Resolution 1701, is seen as reflecting a continuing view of southern Lebanon as
an active front.
Citing repeated Israeli breaches of Lebanon’s airspace and sovereignty, as well
as territorial disputes along the border claimed by Lebanon, Fadlallah said
Resolution 1701 was flawed from the beginning since UNIFIL forces were stationed
only on Lebanese soil.
Still, he said, “despite its flaws, 1701 remains the most accepted framework for
maintaining stability.”
INNUMBERS
• 130-plus civilians killed in Lebanon since Hezbollah joined fight with Israel
on Oct. 8, 2023.
• 110,000 Lebanese displaced from border villages by Hezbollah-Israel fighting.
• More than 90 percent of Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon live below
the poverty line.
Resolution 1701 led to UNIFIL peacekeepers being deployed in southern Lebanon to
monitor a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. Yet provisions of the
resolution remain unfulfilled, including full Lebanese sovereignty over border
areas.
**Robert Wood, the US ambassador to the UN, recently highlighted what he called
continued efforts by Hezbollah to undermine the resolution, threatening both
UNIFIL’s mandate and regional security.
“Resolution 1701 is the best hope for stability amid Hezbollah’s war of
attrition,” Mohieddin Houshaimi, an international law expert, told Arab News.
Retaliation in the Middle East: After Hezbollah, will Iran be next?
Ali Hamade/Arab News/September 01/2024
There is no denying that Hezbollah’s attack on Sunday in response to Israel’s
assassination of its senior commander, Fouad Shukr, fell short of the
expectations of its supporters and certainly the level of threats made by the
leaders of the pro-Iranian party, including Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah,
who had sworn to punish Israel for its assassination of the highest-ranking
member of the militia. The attack seemed laughable
compared to the propaganda that Hezbollah had launched on a massive scale, in
Lebanon and the region, through the media and social networks. In the end, the
promised response did not materialize and, in return, Israel did not start a
bigger war against Hezbollah, since the confrontation caused virtually no
casualties on either side. Therefore, the page has
been turned. The revenge promised by Hezbollah’s chief of staff in the heart of
Beirut’s southern suburb is now a thing of the past. Both parties have almost
come out of this on the same level.
This reminds us of the previous Iranian response, on the night of April 13-14,
to the massacre at the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which claimed the lives of
seven senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.
About 350 missiles were launched in both acts of retaliation and, in both cases,
damage was limited to equipment. No sensitive economic or military facilities
were seriously damaged. According to descriptions of the scenes by some
observers, Iran in April and Hezbollah on Sunday launched two attacks aimed at
being a display of force, not the use thereof.
Certainly, both sides would not have refrained from causing further harm to
Israel had they not realized that seriously responding to the two deadly Israeli
attacks could provide Tel Aviv with the excuse it has been waiting for to launch
a major attack on Iran, which would be likely to affect sensitive facilities
related to its nuclear program, and also to launch a full-scale war against
Hezbollah in an attempt to reverse the current equation on the Lebanese side of
the border. Iran in April and Hezbollah on Sunday
launched two attacks aimed at being a display of force, not the use thereof
In both cases, there were behind-the-scenes “deals” between Israel on the one
hand and Iran and Hezbollah on the other to keep the confrontation to a minimum,
in order to save face for the parties involved.
Some described Iran’s response in April as spectacular, while others described
Hezbollah’s response as disciplined and spectacular. Neither party claimed that
their retaliation had changed anything in the equation. Iran’s retaliation in
April did not prevent the assassination three months later of Hamas’ political
leader Ismail Haniyeh in the heart of Tehran. Nor will Hezbollah’s acknowledged
military capabilities, or its retaliation last Sunday, prevent Israel from
carrying out further assassinations. It is therefore
estimated that Iran’s retaliation for the assassination of Haniyeh, if any, will
be like the two previous retaliations.
In other words, it will be more for the sake of image, TV channels and
social media than for serious revenge. Above all, we must remember that the
current Israeli government is desperate to launch a larger-scale war with Iran
and Hezbollah. In return, taking advantage of the massive deployment of American
and NATO military assets in the region, Washington and its allies aim to
demonstrate a gigantic military force that would be sufficient to help Iran
escape the trap of propaganda and threats into which it has fallen. This may
even be what helped Hezbollah put an end to the propaganda it was feeding for 25
days following the assassination of Shukr. While we
wait for the “Iranian revenge” that may or may not come, it is safe to say that
careful calculations and cool heads will prevail. As for the hotheads and the
rampaging masses, they can wait a long time.** Ali Hamade is an editorial
journalist at the Annahar newspaper in Lebanon. X: @AliNahar
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on September 01-02/2024
Body of Israeli-American hostage among 6 recovered in Gaza
Reuters/September 01, 2024
JERUSALEM: Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in southern
Gaza where they were apparently killed not long before Israeli troops reached
them, the military said on Sunday. The Israeli military announced the recovery
of the bodies from underground in the southern city of Rafah as a polio
vaccination campaign began in the war-shattered territory and violence flared in
the occupied West Bank. The bodies of Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden
Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino have been returned to
Israel, military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters in a
briefing. “According to our initial estimation, they were brutally murdered by
Hamas terrorists a short time before we reached them,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure after nearly 11 months
of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza to reach a deal that includes a
ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages, said Israel would not rest
until it caught those responsible.
“Whoever murders hostages — does not want a deal,” he said. Senior Hamas
officials said that Israel, in its refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement, was to
blame for the deaths. A senior Hamas official said Sunday that several of the
six Israeli hostages found dead in a Gaza tunnel had been “approved” for release
in the event of a truce deal. “Some of the names of the captives announced as
found by the (Israeli) occupier... were part of the list of hostages to be
released that Hamas had approved” in a proposed exchange for Palestinian
prisoners held in Israel, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“Netanyahu is responsible for the killing of Israeli prisoners,” senior Hamas
official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. “The Israelis should choose between
Netanyahu and the deal.”The recovered bodies were from about 250 hostages
captured during the Hamas-led shock incursion into southern Israel that sparked
the war in Gaza on Oct. 7 last year. Their deaths
leaves 101 Israeli and foreign captives still in Gaza, but around a third of
these are known to have died, with the fate of others unknown.
About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas assault, according to Israeli
tallies. Since then, at least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060
injured in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, the enclave’s health ministry
says.Sunday’s news that more hostage bodies had been recovered was likely to
spur further protests by Israelis demanding a hostage release deal. The Hostage
Families Forum called on Netanyahu to take responsibility and explain what was
holding up an agreement. “They were all murdered in
the last few days, after surviving almost 11 months of abuse, torture, and
starvation in Hamas captivity. The delay in signing the deal has led to their
deaths and those of many other hostages,” it said. Israel’s Hagari said that
days earlier, hostage Qaid Farhan Alkadi, a member of the Bedouin community in
southern Israel, was rescued about a kilometer away. After Alkadi was located,
troops were told to be cautious because other hostages might be in the area, but
there had been no precise information on their location, he said.
’Devastated and outraged’
US President Joe Biden, who has closely followed the fate of the hostages, said
the six included Israeli American Goldberg-Polin and that he was “devastated and
outraged.”“Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working
around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages,” he
said in a statement. Goldberg-Polin, 23, was captured
at a music festival near the Gaza border and appeared in a video released by
Hamas in late April.Earlier, speaking to reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware,
Biden said he was “still optimistic” about a ceasefire deal to stop the
conflict, adding that “people are continuing to meet.”Months of stop-start
negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have so far failed
to secure a ceasefire agreement, despite increased US pressure for a deal and
repeated trips by top officials to the region.
The two sides have agreed to pause fighting for at least eight-hours daily from
Sunday to Tuesday to allow the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and
Palestinian medics to begin to vaccinate 640,000 children in Gaza.The campaign
comes after the WHO confirmed last month that a baby was partially paralyzed by
the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
Israel union chief orders ‘complete strike’ Monday in
support of Gaza hostages
AFP/September 01, 2024
“We need to reach a deal, a deal that is more important than anything else,” he
added
JERUSALEM: The head of Israel’s powerful Histadrut trade union ordered a
“complete strike” in support of Gaza hostages on Monday and urged a deal to
secure their release after the bodies of six captives were recovered. “We must
stop the abandonment of the hostages... I have come to the conclusion that only
our intervention can shake those who need to be shaken,” said Histadrut chairman
Arnon bar David in a statement on Sunday. “Starting
tomorrow at six in the morning, the entire Israeli economy will go on complete
strike.”As part of the strike “all take-offs and landings at Ben Gurion airport
will stop from 8:00 am (0500 GMT),” David said. “We need to reach a deal, a deal
that is more important than anything else,” he said. “A deal is not progressing
due to political considerations and this is unacceptable.”Earlier on Sunday, the
Israeli military announced it had recovered the bodies of six hostages from a
tunnel in Gaza, sparking anger and grief among families of hostages.
Israelis erupt in protest to demand a ceasefire after 6 more hostages die in
Gaza
AP/September 01, 2024
JERUSALEM: Grieving and angry Israelis surged into the streets Sunday night
after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza, chanting “Now! Now!” as they
demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire with Hamas to
bring the remaining captives home. Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut,
also pressured the government by calling a general strike for Monday — the first
since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the war. The strike aims to shut down
or disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking, health care and the
country’s main airport.
Tens of thousands of Israelis were expected to protest. Many blame Netanyahu for
failing to reach a ceasefire during nearly 11 months of war. Negotiations have
dragged on for months. Israel’s army has acknowledged the difficulty of rescuing
dozens of remaining hostages and said a deal is the only way to bring a
large-scale return. “I’m crying the cry of humanity,”
said one protester who gave his name as Amos as thousands, some of them weeping,
gathered outside Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem. The
military said all six hostages were killed shortly before Israeli forces
arrived. Netanyahu blamed the Hamas militant group for the stalled negotiations,
saying “whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal.” Militants seized
Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, and four other hostages at a music
festival in southern Israel. The native of Berkeley, California, lost part of
his left arm to a grenade in the attack. In April, a Hamas-issued video showed
him alive, sparking new protests in Israel. The army
identified the other dead hostages as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog
Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33; also taken from the festival. The sixth,
Carmel Gat, 40, was abducted from the nearby farming community of Be’eri.
The army said the bodies were recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city
of Rafah, around a kilometer (half a mile) from where another hostage was
rescued alive last week. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a
military spokesperson, said Israeli forces found the bodies several dozen meters
(yards) underground as “ongoing combat” was underway, but that there was no
firefight in the tunnel itself. He said there was no doubt Hamas had killed
them.
Hamas has offered to release the hostages in return for an end to the war, the
withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of a large number of
Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.
Izzat Al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the hostages would still be
alive if Israel had accepted a US-backed ceasefire proposal that Hamas said it
had agreed to in July. Funerals began for the
hostages, with more outrage. Sarusi’s body was wrapped in an Israeli flag. “You
were abandoned on and on, daily, hour after hour, 331 days,” his mother, Nira,
said. “You and so many beautiful and pure souls. Enough. No more.”
Hostages’ families urge a ‘complete halt of the country’Netanyahu has vowed to
continue the war until Hamas is destroyed. Critics
have accused him of putting his personal interests over those of the hostages.
The war’s end likely will lead to an investigation into his government’s
failures in the Oct. 7 attacks, the government’s collapse and early elections.
“I think this is an earthquake. This isn’t just one more step in the
war,” said Nomi Bar-Yaacov, associate fellow in the International Security
Program at Chatham House, shortly before Sunday’s protests began.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu got into a shouting match at a
security Cabinet meeting Thursday with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who
accused him of prioritizing control of a strategic corridor along the Gaza-Egypt
border — a major sticking point in the talks — over the lives of the hostages.
An Israeli official confirmed the report and said three of the hostages —
Goldberg-Polin, Yerushalmi and Gat — had been slated to be released in the first
phase of a ceasefire proposal discussed in July. The official was not authorized
to brief media about the negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“In the name of the state of Israel, I hold their families close to my heart and
ask forgiveness,” Gallant said Sunday. A forum of
hostage families has demanded a “complete halt of the country” to push for a
ceasefire and hostage release. “Were it not for the delays, sabotage and
excuses, those whose deaths we learned about this morning would likely still be
alive,” it said in a statement. Even a mass outpouring of anger would not
immediately threaten Netanyahu or his far right government. He still controls a
majority in parliament. But he has caved in to public pressure before. Mass
protests led him to cancel the dismissal of his defense minister last year, and
a general strike last year helped lead to a delay in his controversial judicial
overhaul.
A family’s high-profile campaign
Goldberg-Polin’s parents, US-born immigrants to Israel, became perhaps the most
high-profile relatives of hostages on the international stage. They met with US
President Joe Biden and Pope Francis and on Aug. 21, they addressed the
Democratic National Convention — after sustained applause and chants of “bring
him home.”His mother, Rachel, who bowed her head during the ovation and touched
her chest, said “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you, stay strong,
survive.”Biden on Sunday said he was “devastated and outraged.” The White House
said he spoke with Goldberg-Polin’s parents and offered condolences.
Some 250 hostages were taken on Oct. 7. Israel now believes 101 remain in
captivity, including 35 who are thought to be dead. More than 100 were freed
during a ceasefire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians
imprisoned by Israel. Eight have been rescued by Israeli forces. Israeli troops
mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, when they
stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza
has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do
not say how many were militants. It has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s
2.3 million people, often multiple times, and plunged the besieged territory
into a humanitarian catastrophe.
Israeli army announces death of soldier during West Bank operation
AFP/September 01, 2024
JENIN, Palestinian Territories: Israel’s army on Saturday announced the first
death of a soldier during its ongoing raid in the occupied West Bank that began
four days ago. An army statement said 20-year-old
Elkana Navon “fell during operational activity” on Saturday and that another
soldier was “severely injured” in the same incident, without providing details.
Since Wednesday at least 22 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army,
most of them militants, in simultaneous raids in several cities in the northern
West Bank. Since Friday, soldiers have concentrated their operations on the city
of Jenin and its refugee camp, long a bastion of Palestinian armed groups
fighting against Israel. Violence has surged in the
West Bank since Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel
triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations said on Wednesday that
at least 637 Palestinians had been killed in the territory by Israeli troops or
settlers since the Gaza war began. Twenty Israelis, including soldiers, have
been killed in Palestinian attacks or during army operations over the same
period, according to Israeli official figures. During
a visit to Jenin on Saturday, Israeli army chief of staff Herzi Halevi said
Israeli forces “have no intention of letting terrorism (in the West Bank) raise
its head” to threaten Israel. “Therefore the
initiative is to go from city to city, refugee camp to refugee camp, with
excellent intelligence, with very good operational capabilities, with a very
strong air intelligence envelope... We will protect the citizens of Israel just
like that.” Of the 22 Palestinians reported dead since
Wednesday, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have said at least 14 were members
of their armed wings. Earlier on Saturday, Hamas issued a statement saying one
of its fighters carried out an “ambush” using “a highly explosive device” in the
Jenin refugee camp “which led to the deaths and injuries of members of the
advancing (Israeli) force.”
Israel police says 3 West Bank attack victims were police officers
AFP/September 01, 2024
TARQUMYA: Israeli police said the three people killed in Sunday’s shooting
attack in the occupied West Bank were members of the police force.
“Three members of the police force were killed this morning in a shooting
attack,” Ouzi Levy, chief of the Israeli police in the West Bank, told reporters
at the scene of the attack near the Tarqumiya checkpoint near the city of
Hebron. Israel’s medical emergency service, Magen
David Adom, earlier had announced the death of the three, two men and a woman.
“This was a very severe attack. We saw a vehicle with bullet marks on a
mound beside the road,” the emergency service said in a statement quoting two of
its paramedics who had rushed to the scene. Israel’s
far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also visited the scene of
the attack and called for more checkpoints be set up in the area.
“Right to life (of Israelis) is more important than freedom of movement
of PA (Palestinian Authority) residents,” he told journalists.
“Instead of freeing terrorists, shoot them in the head.”Sunday’s shooting
comes as Israeli forces pressed on with a widespread operation in the West Bank
since Wednesday.Explosions and gunfire were heard in Jenin city on Sunday, an
AFP photographer reported, as Israeli forces continued to operate there.
At least 22 Palestinians have been killed since simultaneous raids were
launched on Wednesday across the northern West Bank, including 14 militants from
Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups. Since Friday, soldiers have concentrated
operations on Jenin and its refugee camp, a densely-populated community which
has long been bastions of Palestinian armed groups. Violence across the West
Bank has soared since the war in Gaza began after the October 7 attack by Hamas
on southern Israel. Around 650 Palestinians have been
killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers since October 7,
according to the United Nations. During the same
period at least 23 Israelis have been killed in the territory in either
Palestinian attacks during security operations by Israeli forces, according to
official Israeli figures.
Gaza officials say 11 killed in Israeli strike on school
AFP/September 01, 2024
GAZA STRIP: Gaza health officials said an Israeli air strike targeting a group
of policemen in a school sheltering displaced Palestinians killed at least 11
people on Sunday, while the military said it had struck a Hamas command center.
“Eleven people, including a woman and girl, were killed when an Israeli
air strike struck the Safad school in Gaza City sheltering displaced people,”
civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP, adding several people
were also wounded. The school had a Hamas police
outpost, another Gaza health official said on condition of anonymity. The
Israeli military said its air force had struck a Hamas command center in the
Safad school. “The IAF struck Hamas terrorists who were operating within a
command and control center embedded inside the area that previously served as
the Safad school in Gaza City,” the military said in a statement. The war
between Israel and Hamas erupted after Palestinian militants attacked Israel on
October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians,
according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Since then, the Israeli military has been relentlessly bombing the Gaza
Strip from the air, sea and ground, which has so far killed at least 40,738
people, according to the territory’s health ministry. According to the UN, the
majority of the dead are women and children.
Polio Vaccination Campaign in Gaza Proceeds Amid
Temporary Ceasefire Despite War Damages
LBCI/September 01, 2024
In the central Gaza Strip, specifically in Deir al-Balah, Yafa Hospital remains
standing despite sustaining partial damage due to the ongoing war on Gaza.
Taking advantage of the temporary humanitarian ceasefire, which lasts from 6
a.m. to 3 p.m., the hospital is receiving dozens of children under the age of 10
as part of the polio vaccination campaign that officially started on Sunday,
September 1, and will continue until September 12, divided into three regions.
From September 1 to 4 in Deir al-Balah across 224 sites.
From September 5 to 8 in Khan Younis across 243 sites and Rafah across 18 sites.
From September 9 to 12 in North Gaza across 87 sites and Gaza City across 81
sites.
On Saturday, paramedics administered vaccines to some children in the wards of
Nasser Hospital as a symbolic step before the official launch of the campaign.
With the start of the vaccination campaign, the first day of the temporary
ceasefire passed without incident, and nearly 10,000 children were vaccinated in
the central Gaza Strip.
In the coming days, displacement camps, hospitals, and medical centers that are
still operational are expected to see a high number of children arriving for
vaccination. Paramedics and volunteers will be racing against time to complete
this humanitarian work within the specified ceasefire period.
Unit 8200's Influence: Israeli Tech Entrepreneurs Thrive in Silicon Valley with
Cybersecurity Expertise
LBCI/September 01, 2024
Silicon Valley, the global hub of technology and innovation in the US state of
California. There, many Israeli companies and entrepreneurs stand out, and they
all share a common trait: Unit 8200 of Israel. Unit 8200 is responsible for 90%
of Israel's intelligence, and the Mossad does not undertake any major operation
without it, according to the unit's former commander Yair Cohen. Unit 8200 is
tasked with intercepting, deciphering, and analyzing electronic communications,
in addition to cyber defense for Israel's critical infrastructure.
The unit, which recruits Israeli soldiers between the ages of 18 and 21, has
produced many cybersecurity experts, many of whom have used their experience in
Unit 8200 to establish their own companies or technological innovations. More
about Unit 8200 and Silicon Valley was revealed in a report by The Wall Street
Journal, which disclosed that at least five tech companies founded by Unit 8200
graduates are listed on US stock exchanges, with a combined value of around $160
billion. One of these companies was founded by Kobi Samboursky, a graduate of
Unit 8200, called Glilot Capital Partners, which invests in startups in
technology fields, particularly those founded or led by Unit 8200 graduates.
Samboursky named his company GLILOT after the unit's military base on the
outskirts of Tel Aviv, which Hezbollah targeted in retaliation for the
assassination of its military commander, Fuad Shukr. The WSJ also reports that,
according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, a Unit 8200 graduate founded the
infamous Pegasus software, which has been used by governments to access the
devices of journalists and embassy staff.
Saudi crown prince discusses efforts to support Palestinians with Turkish
president
Arab News/September 01, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday, Saudi Press Agency reported. During the call, the
crown prince stressed the Kingdom’s keenness to unify the efforts of Arab and
Muslim countries to support the Palestinian people in the face of brutal
aggression carried out by Israeli forces. They also discussed the need to
intensify efforts to stop ongoing Israeli attacks and violations against the
Palestinian people. In a post on X, Erdogan’s office said that the two leaders
discussed Gaza as well as regional and global developments.
Egypt detains two Israelis for assaulting Egyptian hotel workers
Reuters/September 01, 2024
CAIRO: The Egyptian prosecution office has ordered the detention of two Israeli
citizens for assaulting three hotel workers in the Red Sea town of Taba, near
the border with Israel, Egyptian security sources said on Sunday. The two
Israelis, who are facing charges of assault and displaying force, will be
remanded in custody for four days pending investigations, the sources added. On
Friday, three Arab Israeli tourists and two Egyptian hotel workers were injured
after a fight broke out at a hotel in Taba. Egyptian
security sources said a physical altercation erupted when an Arab Israeli
tourist verbally insulted an Egyptian hotel employee, sparking a melee that
involved other tourists and employees. Egypt’s state-affiliated Al-Qahera News
television channel said one of the Egyptian workers sustained serious injuries.
It also said the fight started after several tourists refused to pay for hotel
services.
Health ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 40,738
LBCI/September 01, 2024
The health ministry in Gaza said Sunday that at least 40,738 people have been
killed in the war between Israel and Hamas, now in its 11th month.
The toll includes 47 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to
ministry figures, which also list 94,154 people as wounded in the Gaza Strip
since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
Houthis say rescue of burning Red Sea oil tanker begins Sunday
Saeed Al-Batati/Arab News/September 01, 2024
AL-MUKALLA, Yemen: Yemen’s Houthi militia said that rescue ships and tugboats
will begin recovering a burning oil tanker in the Red Sea on Sunday, as experts
warn that time is running out to avoid a calamity as a fire on the vessel
spreads. The Greek-flagged Sounion, carrying 150,000
tonnes of crude oil, has been abandoned since late last month after a Houthi
assault destroyed its engine and caused a fire, presenting a hazard to the
maritime environment and commerce. In a post on X on Saturday, Houthi Foreign
Minister Jamal Amer said that the tugboats will reach and recover the tanker on
Sunday, bolstering hopes of averting a major disaster in the Red Sea. Since
November, the Houthis have attacked commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea and
other waters near Yemen with ballistic missiles, drones and boat drones,
claiming to be acting in support of Palestinians in Gaza. It comes as maritime
experts and the EU naval mission in the Red Sea urged immediate and
comprehensive international action to rescue the Sounion in order to avoid an
environmental and shipping catastrophe in the Red Sea, which would affect Yemen
and other Red Sea countries. “MV Sounion represents a huge environmental risk
that will affect all countries bordering the Red Sea,” the EU naval mission,
known as EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, said in a post on X on Sunday.
Wim Zwijnenburg of the Humanitarian Disarmament Project at the Dutch
peace organization PAX told Arab News on Sunday, citing recent satellite images,
that the fire on the oil tanker is spreading because of the recent Houthi use of
explosives onboard, which could damage the ship’s hull and cause the Sounion to
sink. “The fires and heat will lead to a deterioration
of the structural integrity of the hull, which can have catastrophic
consequences, with a wider environmental fallout for the Red Sea and coastal
communities,” he said. “The situation is getting more
critical by the day. The fires are not contained and affect the pressure on the
hull, which could lead to an explosion and sinking of the entire ship, with the
remaining crude oil spreading.”
In addition to the Sounion, the Houthis have destroyed two commercial ships in
the Red Sea since the start of their campaign, including the Belize-flagged and
Lebanese-operated MV Rubymar, which was carrying 22,000 tonnes of ammonium
phosphate-sulfate NPS fertilizer and more than 200 tonnes of fuel.
Zwijnenburg said that the explosion or leaking of the ship and its cargo would
have a catastrophic impact on the marine and coastal environment, as well as
people’s livelihoods in Yemen and Eritrea, adding that the salvage operation
would begin by extinguishing the fire and transferring the ship’s cargo to
another vessel. “A salvage operation with security
presence must be set up to stop the fires, tow the vessel to a safe area and
transfer the contents to another tanker,” Zwijnenburg said.
Experts also warned that the Houthis may be exploiting the rescue operation as a
bargaining chip to put pressure on the international community, as they did with
the FSO Safer oil tanker off Yemen’s western city of Hodeidah.
According to Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for
Near East Policy, the US should immediately waive sanctions on regional tugboat
companies and deploy international naval forces around the ship to prevent the
Houthis from disrupting the operation.She also called for international naval
forces be prevent the Houthis from returning to ships and sinking them.
“Experience has shown that the group is willing to interfere with salvage
efforts if they can turn the situation into a political bargaining chip — as
seen most prominently during the protracted mission to empty the FSO Safer,” she
said in an article published on the think tank’s website on Aug. 29.
Despite worldwide outcry over the devastating Houthi strikes on ships,
the group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Sarea,
claimed responsibility on Saturday night for a new missile attack on the
Liberian-flagged merchant ship MV Groton in the Gulf of Aden, vowing to continue
the campaign. US Central Command said on Sunday morning that its forces had
destroyed a drone and a drone boat in Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.
A Libyan human trafficker sanctioned by the UN has been killed in Tripoli,
officials say
AP/September 02, 2024
CAIRO: One of Libya’s most wanted human traffickers was killed Sunday in the
capital, Tripoli, Libyan officials said, fueling tension in the western part of
the North African country. Abdel-Rahman Milad, who
commanded a coast guard unit in the western town of Zawiya and was sanctioned by
the United Nations Security Council, was shot dead by unknown assailants, the
officials said. The circumstances of his death were not immediately known, and
no group claimed responsibility for his killing. Libyan media outlets reported
that he was shot while he was in his vehicle in the Sayyad area, in the western
part of Tripoli. Footage circulated online showed a white Toyota Land Cruiser
for Milad with bullet marks on its side. Both officials spoke on condition of
anonymity for their safety. There was no comment from the Tripoli-based
government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
Moammar Dhawi, a militia leader in western Libya, mourned Milad’s death. In a
statement, posted on Facebook, he called for an investigation to bring the
perpetrators to account. Libya has been plagued by
corruption and turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime
dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. The county has since then split between two
administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.
Amid the chaos, the oil-rich country has emerged as a major conduit for
people from Africa and the Middle East fleeing wars and poverty and hoping to
reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea. In
June 2018, the Security Council imposed sanctions on Milad and five other
leaders of criminal networks allegedly engaged in trafficking migrants and
others from Libya. At the time, Milad was described as the head of a coast guard
unit in Zawiya “that is consistently linked with violence against migrants and
other human smugglers” from rival gangs. UN experts
monitoring sanctions claimed Milad and other coast guard members “are directly
involved in the sinking of migrant boats using firearms.”
Milad had denied any links to human smuggling and said traffickers wear uniforms
similar to those of his men. He was jailed for about six months between October
2020 and April 2021 on human trafficking and fuel smuggling charges.
Helicopter of Iran’s late president Raisi crashed due to
weather, final report says
Reuters/September 01, 2024
DUBA: The helicopter crash in which Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi was
killed was primarily caused by weather conditions that included thick fog,
Iran’s state TV said on Sunday, citing the final investigation report on the
incident. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-liner who was seen as a
potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died when his
helicopter crashed in May in a mountainous region near the Azerbaijan border.
“The main reason of the helicopter crash was complicated weather conditions in
the region,” the final report concluded, according to Iran’s state TV.
A thick mass of fog caused the helicopter that was carrying Raisi and his
companions to crash into the mountain, the report issued by a high committee
charged by Iran’s military with investigating the incident said. A preliminary
report by Iran’s military had said in May that no evidence of foul play or an
attack had been found during the investigation.
UAE sends mpox vaccines to 5 African countries
Arab News/September 01, 2024
ABU DHABI: The UAE has dispatched several aircraft carrying mpox vaccines to the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, and
Cameroon, Emirates News Agency WAM reported. The initiative aims to support
efforts of the five African countries in addressing and mitigating the outbreak
of the virus, which the World Health Organization (WHO) had declared as a global
health emergency. In a statement, the UAE Minister of State, Sheikh Shakhboot
bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, said the support “affirms the country’s steadfast
commitment to assisting other nations during crises and disasters.”He added,
“The initiative reflects the UAE’s commitment to humanitarian values as part of
its ongoing commitment to extend a helping hand and assist impacted communities
across the world.” Earlier, the UAE allocated $5 million fund for polio
vaccinations in Gaza as the enclave recorded its first case in 25 years amid the
ongoing war that obstructed major humanitarian efforts.The vaccination campaign,
which began on Saturday, is carried out by the WHO to immunize over 640,000
Gazan children under the age of 10. Supporting humanitarian efforts in
war-stricken Sudan and South Sudan, the UAE has signed a $7 million agreement
with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The agreement allocates $6
million for UNICEF’s operations in Sudan and $1 million for its activities in
South Sudan.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on September 01-02/2024
ريموند إبراهيم/من موقع كايتستون: قائمة مفصلة
وموثقة بأحداث إضطهاد المسيحيين خلال شهر تموز لعام 2024
'Head Separated from Body': The Persecution of Christians, July 2024
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute.September 01/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/09/133942/
"[T]hings don't seem to get better.... elected officials are just not interested
in the welfare of the people," and are offering no protection or other practical
support to the Christian communities whose homes and livelihoods have been
destroyed. — Fr. Andrew Dewan, Director of Communications in Nigeria's Catholic
Diocese of Pankshin, canuk.org, July 16, Nigeria.
On July 1, a young Christian man was sentenced to death for "blasphemy" in a
Pakistani court. But first Ehsan Shan will need to serve a 22-year prison
sentence and pay a fine of one million rupees. — July 2, Pakistan.
On July 20, a Christian man learned that a Muslim organization had offered a
$20,000 reward to anyone who beheads him for "blasphemy" .....posters
circulating in Pakistan in July [were] showing his picture and calling upon
Muslims to hunt the infidel down and to perform, in the words of the posters,
sar tan se juda—"head separated from body"—on him." He said the reason the false
blasphemy accusation was leveled against him in the first place was to
intimidate him from his activist work: "I have been reporting about the forced
conversion and rape of minor Hindu girls and their subsequent marriages to
Muslim Men." — July 26.
"The land in question has been specifically designated for religious use, but
the government is discriminating against the church because it is not associated
with the state's preferred religion...." — Alliance Defending Freedom, July 12,
Turkey.
On July 4, a taxi driver — Jamshaid Choudhry, 44, a Muslim man of Pakistani
origins — was arrested in New York for attacking large marble statues that had
stood before the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Fresh Meadows for 42
years, culminating with the decapitation of the young Christ statue.
Democratic Republic of Congo: According to a July 28 report:
"Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) claimed, in four statements
published on July 25-27, 2024, that on July 24 its fighters attacked six
villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) northeastern provinces,
beheading more than 57 Christian villagers. In the two largest attacks that day,
54 villagers were beheaded, 30 and 24 respectively."
Nigeria: Fr. Andrew Dewan, the Director of communications in Nigeria's Catholic
Diocese of Pankshin, wrote in a July 16 report that Christians "feel helpless
... We keep encouraging them as priests, as pastors of souls to be hopeful, to
be resilient. But things don't seem to get better... So, there is an atmosphere
of hopelessness." He goes on to say that "elected officials are just not
interested in the welfare of the people," and are offering no protection or
other practical support to the Christian communities whose homes and livelihoods
have been destroyed. He recalled a couple of recent attacks—including the July
13 kidnapping of a Christian woman and her daughter, and the Sunday, July 14
storming of a Christian village, where the village head was murdered by Muslim
herdsmen. "[T]here is a clear religious dimension to the attacks," he said.
A couple of July headlines from the ongoing Muslim genocide of Christians in the
African nation:
July 19: "Fulani Extremists Kill 18 Christians in Benue State."
July 8: "Terrorists Shut Down 70 Churches in Nigeria."
Pakistan: Late at night on July 10, four Muslim men broke into the home of a
Christian man and murdered him for having the gall to confront them about
sexually harassing Christian women in their Lahore neighborhood. Marshall Masih,
29, was the sole breadwinner for his elderly parents, wife and four children –
the oldest 10, the youngest 18 months old. His sister, Goshi, who was at the
house that night, said the family was asleep when four armed Muslims, led by
Muhammad Shani, broke into the home around 4:30 am.
"The assailants broke the door of my brother's bedroom on the first floor of the
house and held him and his family hostage on gunpoint. They then opened
indiscriminate fire on him, riddling his body with 16 bullets in the presence of
his wife and minor children.... I was horrified to see his blood-soaked body
lying on the floor while his wife and children were huddled in a corner crying
frantically."
Although rushed to a hospital, he died of his many wounds. The sister said that
Marshall had filed a complaint with police against Muhammad a couple of months
earlier, after repeated, unsuccessful attempts to dissuade him and his cohorts
from harassing Christian women and shooting their guns in the air:
"Though the police arrested Shani and recovered illegal weapons from his
possession, he was freed after a day without any case. Instead, the police
pressured my brother to stop pursuing the matter. The Muslims were offended that
a Christian had taken a stand against their criminal activities, and by killing
him in cold blood, they have shown that our lives do not matter... [O]ur pleas
have fallen on deaf ears, and so far none of the accused murderers have been
arrested... My brother was the sole provider for the family.... Our entire world
has crumbled after this incident."
Muslim Rape of Christian Girls in Pakistan
On July 1, two Muslim men drugged and raped a 15-year-old Christian girl. As she
was returning to her family home from a nearby grocery store, the Muslim men
accosted and pressured her to drink some water, which turned out to be laced
with drugs. "She fell unconscious after drinking the drug-laced water," her
mother, Sonia, said "after which the accused took her to a house and raped her."
When the girl did not return, the mother and father went looking for her. "After
some time, we saw [Muhammad] Amjad coming out of a house followed by [my
daughter], who was struggling to walk." On seeing her parents, Muhammad
immediately fled. They ran to their daughter, who appeared drugged and unable to
speak:
"Her clothes were drenched in blood. We immediately called the police, who took
her to the hospital for treatment and medical examination. The medical
examination showed that she has been raped. There were also torture and bite
marks on her body."
According to the daughter herself, whose name is withheld:
"My mind was numb and vision was blurry when I gained consciousness. At first, I
couldn't figure out what had happened to me, but then I started to feel the
pain. It was awful. There were some bite injuries on my body which also hurt a
lot.... [At one point during her captivity] I tried to run, but he beat me up,
biting me on the cheek when I was struggling to free myself. I started screaming
for help, after which he let go of me and left the house. I followed him
outside, and while I was trying to make out where I was, my parents saw me and
took me in their arms.... I'm still unable to sleep at night. The bitter memory
of that night continues to haunt me to this day."
As usual in Pakistan, police have been reluctant to move against the accused, a
fellow Muslim. According to the victim's mother:
"We made several visits to the police station, but each time we were treated
harshly by the police. When the police finally registered our FIR, no attempt
was made to arrest the accused, enabling them to obtain interim bails from the
court."
Christian attorney Zunaira Yousaf said:
"The police are clearly siding with the accused; nearly a month has passed, yet
the police have not conducted DNA tests of the accused and the victim. Due to
this, the accused have thrice managed to get their pre-arrest bails extended
from the court."
Separately, according to a July 30 report:
"A Christian girl was abducted, raped, and sold to a brothel in Gujranwala by
her captor. She was eventually found and returned home when her brother
accidentally spotted her in a rickshaw en route to a hospital. Tragically, she
passed away from a high fever and severe bleeding caused by abortion pills. In a
further distressing turn, the perpetrator attempted to abduct her younger sister
as well."
Muslim Attacks on Apostates and Blasphemers
Pakistan: On July 1, a young Christian man was sentenced to death for
"blasphemy" in a Pakistani court. But first Ehsan Shan will need to serve a
22-year prison sentence and pay a fine of one million rupees. According to the
report:
"The young man was accused of sharing blasphemous content on the social media
site TikTok, considered to be the cause of the violence that broke out in
Jaranwala in August 2023.... [when] a mob of militants destroyed and burned
dozens of Christian homes and some 26 churches in the Christian quarter of the
Punjab city. Based on intelligence, police arrested people on blasphemy charges
three days after the violence. According to police, the young man did not
produce and package the blasphemous content himself, but shared it, which made
it go viral. Representatives of the local Christian community have called the
young man a 'scapegoat,' while those who attacked and burned Christian churches
and homes go unpunished."
"A grave injustice has been committed," noted the NGO Centre for Legal Aid,
Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS):
"The verdict against Ehsan Shan symbolises the virtual death of all Christians
in Pakistan today. For the violence and destruction that took place in
Jaranwala, only one culprit has been identified, and that is a Christian."
Separately in Pakistan, on July 20, a Christian man learned that a Muslim
organization had offered a $20,000 reward to anyone who beheads him, for
"blasphemy." Since first being accused of supposedly producing pictures and
sketches of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, a decade ago, Faraz Pervaiz, a
Pakistani Christian activist, has been living in exile in Thailand. Threats
against him broke anew, however, with posters circulating in Pakistan in July
showing his picture and calling upon Muslims to hunt the infidel down and to
perform, in the words of the posters, sar tan se juda—"head separated from
body"—on him. In a recent interview, Faraz revealed the "sinister plans" of
Muslims trying to murder him:
"Pakistani Muslims are calling me, pretending to be officials from the Indian
Embassy. They claim to help me and insist that I meet them in person. This is
akin to honey trapping. They want to get a hold of me, torture and then kill
me."
He said the reason the false blasphemy accusation was leveled against him in the
first place was to intimidate him from his activist work: "I have been reporting
about the forced conversion and rape of minor Hindu girls and their subsequent
marriages to Muslim Men." Although his family and he had fled Pakistan a decade
ago, the threats and attempts on his life continue, he said, because "Revenge
has no age, time or boundaries." He added that his family "continues to live in
fear."
Uganda: On July 21, a Muslim father burned his 19-year-old daughter on learning
that she had become Christian a week earlier. Naasike Maliyati came home a week
after her conversion to find her father, Abdulrahim Kutosi, and uncles angry
with her:
"They tied me up, beat me, and finally my dad picked up a hot flat iron and hot
water and burned me and shouted loudly that I was an embarrassment to the
family. I was burnt for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, as my
father furiously continued shouting that I had ashamed [sic] the family. He
continued saying that even Allah is annoyed with me as the pain continued inside
my body."
She was then taken and unceremoniously dumped by the Namatala River, where a
Christian passerby found and took her to a hospital.
Somalia: On July 8, Muslim relatives, for a second time, attacked and wounded a
convert to Christianity and his family. Two months earlier, Mohammad Abdul, 40,
had survived a knife attack, which left him with a scar on his forehead and a
fractured hand. Then, Muslims had destroyed his home, and his in-laws had seized
his wife and five children. On June 10, Abdul rented a home and regathered his
family in it. Before long, his wife "started receiving calls from my relatives
that I should return back to my people before we get converted to a religion
which is not approved in Islam – 'Please come back home to avoid endangering
yourself and the children.'"
Thinking they were safe in her new and undisclosed location, the wife initially
ignored the threats. "As several frequent and threatening messages continued
streaming in, I started getting fearful." Suddenly, on July 8, five of her
relatives appeared pounding on her front door: "My husband was then in the
washroom. Immediately they started asking the whereabouts of my husband." When
she remained silent,
"One of my relatives went outside the sitting room and came back with sticks and
started beating the children, who started crying loudly. Another relative went
outside and came with a blunt object and hit me on my left ankle. My husband
gained courage and dashed out of the bedroom and came trying to save me, but he
was easily overpowered and knifed at the stomach as another hit him all over his
body."
Once many neighbors started appearing, her relatives fled. Because her neighbors
are all Muslim, the wife was grateful that that they did not know what the
quarrel was about, thinking it a mere robbery attempt:
"I thank God that this time round they [her relatives] did not mention their
usual Islamic slogan of, 'Allah Akbar [Allah is the greatest], which could have
endangered our lives, because we are living in an Islamic region... The
neighbors found my husband in a pool of blood and took us to a nearby medical
clinic."
She was left with a broken ankle; her husband has lost the ability to speak.
Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches
United States: On July 4, a taxi driver — Jamshaid Choudhry, 44, a Muslim man of
Pakistani origins — was arrested in New York for committing a hate crime. On the
previous Sunday, June 20, he had attacked large marble statues of the Holy
Family that had stood before a church for 42 years, culminating with the
decapitation of the young Christ statue. Video footage shows the man stopping
his taxicab near the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Fresh Meadows around
5:30 am. He then removed one of his shoes and charged at the three statues of
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, savagely swatting at the heads of Mary and Joseph. He
then turned his attention to the Christ child, and repeatedly struck his head
until it went spiraling to the ground. He concluded his jihad by spitting at the
statue. Choudhry was then seen calmly walking off with the weapon—his shoe—in
hand. Repairs to the beloved statues will cost $20,000. In a statement, Queens
District Attorney Melinda Katz said:
"We will not tolerate unprovoked attacks, especially those driven by hate.
Queens stands as a beacon of diversity and inclusivity, where freedom of
religion and expression are celebrated as fundamental pillars of our democracy."
Choudhry pled not guilty at his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court and was
released.
France: On July 24, a Muslim man barged into the Notre-Dame de l'Assomption
Basilica in Nice, splattered water on the lit candles, and recited Arabic
prayers and the Koran before declaring "Allah will judge!" Police, who were
quickly contacted, arrived and took the 29-year-old man, whom the report
describes as "suffering from psychiatric disorders," into custody.
In another incident, late Sunday, July 14, another Notre-Dame-du-Travail church
in Paris was vandalized. A knife was left planted in the throat of a statue of
St. Mary, and the pillars of the church were desecrated with anti-Christian
graffiti, including "Infidels should pray five times a day", "Bastard Jesus one
God Allah", "The church is consecrated by Satan", "The church will be burnt",
"The last prophet Muhammad", "Those who continue will have their heads cut off",
"I will wage war against you Christian world", "We Muslims cannot accept this
whore of a religion / Mary is your destiny", and "Go to hell."
On July 3, various graffiti inciting violence against Jews and
Christians—including one that literally read, "Death to Jews and Christians"—was
found in Croissy-sur-Seine, just west of Paris. Among hate-filled messages found
on the wall of the Canotiers' underground parking lot, was "Free Palestine."
Finally, on July 8, another church in Lyon in the Rhône "caught fire," with
little other information.
Germany: On Sunday, July 28, a Muslim migrant of Afghan origins disrupted the
service of the St. Maximilian Kolbe parish in Hamburg. According to the report:
"The young man had tied a Palestinian flag around his neck and then displayed it
on his back. Eyewitnesses reported that the young man then walked through the
nave towards the priest and stood there. He was then asked to leave the church
by church staff, a request with which he complied. At the door, however, he
continued to cause a disturbance by playing loud music on a speaker at the open
entrance. When the police arrived with several patrol cars, the man initially
fled, according to a police spokesperson. He was later stopped by police
officers who clarified his identity. He was then released from police custody."
There were many other acts of vandalism and arson against churches in Germany
throughout July (see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).
Italy: On July 27, three Muslim migrants vandalized a church and beheaded a
statue in Veneto. MP Erik Pretto condemned their actions in a press release:
"Last Saturday, late in the afternoon, the small church of Scalini di Arsiero
was brutally vandalized. The suspects, three young people, were of African
origin according to witnesses. They allegedly entered the sacred place by
breaking down the front door with their shoulders. They then destroyed
furniture, candelabras and stained glass windows, going so far as to break and
decapitate the statue of Saint Anthony of Padua with the Child Jesus, purchased
by the local community at the time of the construction of the building."
There were many more acts of vandalism and arson against churches and the
beheading of their statues throughout July in Italy (see here, here, here, here,
here, here, here, here, here, and here).
Spain: On July 20, a 24-year-old Moroccan man, dressed in Islamic prayer attire,
barged into the Church of Saint Lawrence in Pamplona where he "uttered shouts
and threats of a jihadist nature." He was involved in another public altercation
earlier that day. Arrested on the scene, he was admitted to a psychiatric
hospital for evaluation.
On the next day, Sunday, July 21 a woman barged into church in Navarra and
threatened the officiating priest with a knife. Before being arrested, she also
smashed the glass entrance to the church. The report does not indicate her
identity or motive.
Portugal: On July 31, the Cross of Christ of the São Lázaro statue from 1386, a
national monument, was destroyed by "Asian" migrants, said eyewitnesses.
Indonesia: On July 31, authorities foiled an Islamic terror plot to suicide bomb
two churches. A 19-year-old Muslim and his parents were arrested. According to
the report:
"H.O.K [initials of the 19-year-old] had become a member online of
Philippines-based Dawlah Islamiyah, said to be affiliated with the Islamic State
(ISIS), and he and accomplices were planning to carry out suicide bombings using
Triaceton Triperoxide (TATP) explosives at two Christian churches in Malang
Regency, East Java. TATP, widely known as the "Mother of Satan," is one of the
most powerful and dangerous explosives. Preliminary investigations indicated
that H.O.K. often accessed various websites containing Dawlah Islamiyah
propaganda that led him to try to carry out suicide bombings."
In a separate incident, another church was pressured into halting its worship
service in the world's most populous Muslim nation. According to a July 24
report,
"[Muslim] Residents living near the Tesalonika Church in Kampung Melayu Timur,
Teluk Naga District, Tangerang, recently rioted and demanded that the church
cease its worship activities. Footage of the rioters ridiculing the church for
having to gather inside a home went viral on social media this week. One
resident stated that the mob stopped the church's worship because the service
occurred in a majority-Muslim community...While churches in larger cities can
generally worship openly, smaller churches in Indonesia's villages are
increasingly challenged, threatened, and attacked."
Turkey: The Diyarbakir Protestant Church Foundation, established in 2019, is
facing overt discrimination from the government which is denying it the ability
to build a much needed worship center for its growing congregation on land zoned
for religious buildings. Despite repeated applications, the requests have been
continually denied or ignored by the authorities. According to the Alliance
Defending Freedom (ADF):
"The land in question has been specifically designated for religious use, but
the government is discriminating against the church because it is not associated
with the state's preferred religion.... The systemic and bureaucratic
persecution is not only in direct violation of the basic human right to
religious freedom but also Türkiye's international human rights obligations. The
discrimination must stop.... Christians face numerous legal and practical
barriers when they wish to establish a legally recognized worship place in
Türkiye."
**Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West, Sword and Scimitar,
Crucified Again, and The Al Qaeda Reader, is the Distinguished Senior Shillman
Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the
Middle East Forum.
*About this Series
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of Christians by
extremists is growing. The report posits that such persecution is not random but
rather systematic, and takes place irrespective of language, ethnicity, or
location. It includes incidents that take place during, or are reported on, any
given month.
© 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
Blood for Negotiations
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper/September 01/2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/09/133956/
The guiding principle in our region, historically shaped by the
Arab-Palestinian-Israeli conflict, was once “land for peace.” This concept
served as the legal interpretation of UN Security Council Resolution 242, which
was seen as a foundation for peace.
Today, however, we face a new reality: “blood for negotiations”- not even for
peace. A striking example of this is Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s
recent announcement that negotiations with Washington over the nuclear program
could resume.
Khamenei told his new government that there is “no harm” in engaging with their
“enemy,” adding: “This doesn’t mean we cannot interact with the same enemy in
certain situations,” but cautioned them not to “pin their hopes” on it.
So, is there anything inherently wrong with Iranian-American negotiations over
the nuclear deal? Clearly not. No one desires a devastating war in the region.
However, a critical issue that cannot be overlooked is the timing of these
negotiations.
Khamenei is endorsing these talks while the war on Gaza enters its 11th month,
at the cost of 40,000 deaths and widespread destruction, with no sign of
flexibility from Netanyahu.
He blesses these negotiations even as the possibility of an expanded
Israeli-Lebanese conflict involving Hezbollah looms. This comes in the wake of
Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran, alongside Israeli incursions into the
West Bank, while Tehran repeatedly accuses Washington of backing Israel and
participating in regional conflicts.
Khamenei’s blessing comes at a time when Iran and its militias saw October 7 as
a pivotal moment to halt Saudi-American negotiations, which were primarily aimed
at preserving the Palestinian cause and initiating the establishment of a
Palestinian state.
Last year, Khamenei stated that the Al-Aqsa Flood came at a critical juncture,
claiming that those behind it “thwarted the grand plan for the new Middle East.”
He added that the operation was precisely what the region needed, according to
Iran’s Tasnim news agency.
Politically speaking, Khamenei’s support for negotiations is also notable
because the US administration is in a “lame-duck” phase. This suggests that
Tehran is seeking to “buy time” to avoid war, aiming to hold out until the US
elections - much like Netanyahu, who is also seeking time to execute his plans.
All of this highlights the fact that the October 7 attack was a reckless gamble
that did not yield results for Iran. Now, Iran has returned to the negotiating
table over its nuclear program, hoping to secure a position in discussions about
Gaza and to shield Hezbollah from a potentially catastrophic war.
This is happening amid the silence of those I call “keyboard warriors,” as well
as those who once condemned peace negotiations with Washington as treasonous.
Meanwhile, the geopolitical landscape in Gaza is shifting, something I warned
about on October 11, 2023, when I said, “beware of changing borders.” I was
accused of treason then, but today it is becoming reality.
Thus, the question for all the theorists, since October 7, is this: Is it
acceptable to allow Gaza’s destruction for the sake of these interests? Is it
acceptable for four Arab countries to be devastated in pursuit of Iranian goals?
And is this systematic destruction of the Arab people, under outdated slogans,
justifiable?
The ultimate question remains: When will our region learn, as the costs paid
have been all too real and painful?
Israeli Hostages Found Dead in Gaza: Suprised? Shocked? You
Shouldn't Be
Hanibaal Atheos/lebanoniznogood.blogspot/September 01/2024
Why is everyone acting surprised at the discovery that Israeli hostages are
found dead in Gaza? Just the random probability of anyone getting killed in Gaza
is enough to explain it, but it's even more unsurprising that hostages will be
found dead: Israel is supposedly targeting the "terrorists" who probably have
tied the hostages to their own bodies like Siamese twins. Every time Israel
kills a "terrorist", it kills at least one hostage. It's even more macabre than
that: How about if the Hamas fighters know their end is near; they are not going
to reward Israel by dying and releasing the hostages. They will kill the
hostages along with their own demise. I wouldn't be
surprised if all the remaining hostages aren't dead by now, and just like
Netanyahu but for different reasons, Hamas is negotiating without an end in
sight because it has no live hostages left to trade for concessions.
Then Hamas knows that the perfidious Israel might still hope to find live
hostages and will pretend to negotiate until it determines how many, if any,
hostages are left alive. If they end up agreeing to a deal or as they prolong
the negotiations, the goal of the Israelis is to gain time as necessary to make
that determination. Everyone knows that once Israel determines there are no live
hostages left - even as it concludes a pause in the fighting - it will unleash
back its US-enabled savagery, without restraints this time, regardless of
whether or not it signed a deal to stop the killing.
Hamas too understands that dynamic and has no interest in a deal that does not
somehow guarantee its survival in one form or another. Since Hamas does not
trust that Israel will keep its word in any agreement, it has nothing left to
lose; its population in Gaza is dying anyway and will continue to die regardless
of any agreement. Israel does not want peace. Israel is ethnically cleansing
Palestine, beginning with Gaza. Peace means Israel will have to concede to
Palestinian sovereignty over some part of what remains of historic Palestine.
And since Israel wants ALL of Palestine, it will not sign any peace deal, and
even if pressured to do so (like in Oslo) it will immediately renege on it and
violate it. Only idiots or colluders refuse to see the trajectory of Israel's
conception, birth and evolution: Get rid of the Palestinians, perhaps keep a
tiny minority to work in construction and clean toilets, expel them to Jordan,
Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, and have its pure supremacist Jewish paradise on the
Mediterranean with a new Temple built atop the demolished Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Everyone acts surprised and saddened by the discovery that one of the hostages
is dead. The Western press indulges itself in endless coverage, interviews with
the family, melodramatic tales of the hostage's life and promise as a young man,
etc... But 41,000 innocent Palestinian civilians deliberately killed by Israeli
State terrorism under the lie of self-defense apparently does not stir any
sadness or pity or compassion. Why?
Because Palestinian women are veiled, they're Muslim, and are always wailing
over the bodies of their children. Because Palestinian men are always shown
yelling and screaming over the bodies of their loved ones. For a westerner,
wailing and screaming over a dead relative's bloodied body is demeaning, almost
animalistic, primitive. These Muslim women do not have the same "dignity" that a
western mother shows on television when her child is killed. A western mother
does not throw herself on the ground clutching her child's dead body, she does
not raise her arms to the sky invoking God's help. A western mother cries in
silence, standing up, without gesturing, without expressing her feelings to the
public of the emotionally-constipated culture that produced her. Palestinian
Arab mothers are by definition subhuman in the minds of westerners; "these
people" are used to violence; they're terrorists anyway. So when violence is
visited upon them by the "western" Israelis, other westerners subliminally
accept it as normal that a super-human Judeo-Christian Jew kills a subhuman
Muslim Arab. The act does not stir compassion or a call to action to put an end
to the barbarity. Their killing is irrelevant from a western viewpoint. It might
even be desirable because it accelerates the rape of Palestine, the completion
of the Crusades, the ultimate victory of the Cross and the Star of David over
the Crescent.
Remember Sabra-Shatila, when in 1982 Lebanese nationalist militias entered a
Palestinian refugee camp and massacred 2,000 Palestinian refugees as Israeli
invading forces looked on? For the Westerners, it did not matter that so many
people were killed in cold blood (just as it doesn't matter these days that
41,000 people have been killed in cold blood by Israelis in Gaza); there was no
interest in those who were killed, and there was no interest in those who killed
- no one asked why the nationalist militias did this, no one looked closely to
find out that the nationalists did this in revenge for a similar massacre
perpetrated by the Palestinians a few years earlier in the isolated town of
Damour.
The killed and the killers were of no interest; what mattered was only: how
could the "western" Israeli implants watch this horror unfolding without doing
anything to stop it? Inquiries were conducted, academics wrote books about it,
films were made about it, and every year it is commemorated the world over. Why
is that? The killers and the killed are both Arabs, and violent Arab killing
violent Arab is normal and accepted. It's in their nature as "human animals". It
does not shock. You see, killing with a knife is barbaric, but killing with a
fighter jet or a drone is civilized and humane. The western Israeli who did not
do the killing and was not the victim, but who observed the killing, is of
interest. Isn't that colonial racism in its most abject form? To deny the killed
and the killer any humanity and any sense of moral responsibility as to their
fate or actions, while agonizing over the observers' moral responsibility in the
event, reveals a self-centered immorality that essentially relativizes moral
judgment and truncates the supposed universality enshrined in all human rights
charters.
In Gaza, we are witnessing this very same immorality slap us in the face every
day. It is not shocking , indeed it is normal, that Western Israelis (by
definition moral and civilized) should kill thousands of subhuman Arabs (by
definition savage uncivilized terrorists) in revenge for a previous attack by
Palestinians fed up by 75 years of dispossession and dehumanization. But it is
not acceptable that Lebanese nationalist militiamen seek revenge for the
extermination of the population of a Lebanese town by the Palestinian refugees
that Israel ethnically cleansed and expelled into Lebanon.
One Israeli hostage found dead in Gaza is huge news, but 41,000 Palestinians
killed in cold blood is not news anymore. Nor is the unprovoked sacking, plunder
and pillaging of the West Bank by foreign occupiers. The ongoing genocide and
ethnic cleansing of what remains of Palestine has become a footnote in every
newscast: They cite the numbers of Palestinians killed, underline that these
numbers are suspect because it is the Hamas government that tallies them
(message: don't believe them), quote the endless "concerning", "troubling" and
"unacceptable" expressions of hypocritical disapproval which for several prior
decades was never accompanied by any action to deter and prevent such barbarity,
and move on to the excruciating details of the drowning of a fine white wealthy
billionnaire mongrel in his super luxury yacht because of a storm.
If you wish that 41,000 dead Palestinians should rot in peace under the sands of
Gaza, while another 30,000 lie under the rubble of their shelters and buildings,
then may I join you in wishing all the dead Israeli hostages also rot in peace.
It must be the Jewish and Muslim God's will.
Do political leaders deserve a break?
Ngaire Woods/Arab News/September 01, 2024
As summer winds down and people across the Northern Hemisphere return to work,
many political leaders are going on vacation, claiming it helps them recharge
and perform better than those who stay at their posts. British Prime Minister
Keir Starmer, however, decided to cancel his summer holiday to deal with the
riots across the country, underscoring the gravity of the situation and his
commitment to restoring order.
Starmer’s decision contrasted sharply with that of former UK Foreign Secretary
Dominic Raab, who opted to remain on holiday in Greece as the Afghan government
— propped up by British personnel and resources — collapsed and the Taliban
seized control of Kabul in August 2021. Raab’s choice, which he later regretted,
triggered widespread public outrage.
In some countries, going on vacation is virtually taboo for politicians. In
India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is almost unthinkable for a
minister to take a week or two off. Meanwhile, Chinese leaders, unsurprisingly,
tend to vacation in secret.
Those who object to leaders going on vacation argue that they are elected to
serve their countries, not themselves. During their tenure, the argument goes,
they should always remain on duty, setting an example for others. At the very
least, they should be available when a significant crisis erupts. In August
2022, for example, French President Emmanuel Macron faced heavy criticism after
being photographed on a jet ski at his vacation home at Fort de Bregancon while
the country grappled with unprecedented wildfires.
Leaders are also often criticized for taking extravagant trips while many
working people cannot afford a holiday. Lavish holidays can seem unpatriotic
and, when public officials, such as US Supreme Court justices, fly on private
jets and stay at luxury resorts, paid for by those seeking to influence them, it
inevitably reeks of corruption.
Conversely, some argue that leaders should be allowed to spend time with their
families — a view shared by several Guardian readers after Starmer canceled his
summer break. Leaders, according to this view, ought to model a healthy
work-life balance.
Those who object to leaders going on vacation argue that they are elected to
serve their countries, not themselves.
Another argument in favor of leaders taking vacations is that short breaks can
improve decision-making and overall performance. A 2023 study, for example,
found that holidays “meaningfully improve” the accuracy of equity analysts’
earnings forecasts. According to the study, the benefit was equivalent to
gaining 20 additional months of experience.
By contrast, decision fatigue has been shown to cause a noticeable decline in
performance. A 2019 study found that, as nurses continued working without
breaks, their decisions became increasingly conservative and less
resource-efficient. Surgeons also benefit from breaks, with one study showing
that the intervals between a surgeon’s operations directly affected mortality
rates following hip fracture surgery. The researchers suggested that reducing
decision fatigue could lead to better treatment choices, ultimately improving
health outcomes.
More broadly, taking breaks from work has been shown to boost productivity by
enhancing mental and physical health, as well as overall safety. This is why
most national and international labor regulations require regular rest periods.
When it comes to political leaders, sound judgment is crucial, given that their
countries depend on them to address unexpected crises, absorb new facts and
data, assess the implications of policies and make tough decisions. But the more
fatigued a leader is, the more likely they are to fall back on habits, false
analogies and heuristics, undermining their ability to govern effectively.
To be sure, striking the right balance between taking time off and remaining
vigilant is no easy feat. In France, for example, ministers are required to
vacation within two hours of Paris so they can fulfill their duties if needed.
Likewise, as China faced devastating floods last year, President Xi Jinping’s
chief of staff and government experts were called to his official holiday
residence in Beidaihe, a coastal resort not far from Beijing.
This is not to say that leaders should indulge in extravagant holidays. Instead,
they must prioritize restraint over excess and avoid conflicts of interest and
undue influence. The last thing voters want to see, especially when asked to
tighten their belts, is their elected representatives enjoying lavish, paid-for
vacations. That said, there is a strong case for giving leaders time to rest,
clear their minds and recharge, so that they are prepared for the challenges
that lie ahead.
**Ngaire Woods is Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University
of Oxford. ©Project Syndicate
Americans will ultimately turn on the pro-Israel lobby
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/September 01, 2024
At the Democratic National Convention, everyone spoke. Supposedly, it was a show
of diversity, which America is all about. However, one voice was missing: the
Palestinian American. Many Democratic members were upset by this lack of empathy
with the Palestinian people. This omission shows the power of the pro-Israel
lobby, which is now going full steam ahead trying to defend the indefensible. It
also shows that it has been effective.
It is now just two months until the US presidential election and no one wants to
rock the boat with important donors. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris would also
not want to give Donald Trump any reason to attack her. Trump, a staunch ally of
Israel, would use any coercive measures the Biden administration might take
against Tel Aviv to attack Harris. He would claim that the Biden administration
was bowing to Iran and not standing by its ally. Also, campaign money is now
badly needed to buy advertisements.
The pro-Israel lobby has always worked to garner US support for Israel. It is a
single-issue lobby. It gathers Jews and non-Jews alike. In fact, Christian
Zionists are an important pillar of this lobby. The pro-Israel lobby will work
on defeating any candidate that opposes unconditional US support for Israel.
Recently, two Democratic representatives — Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal
Bowman of New York — lost their primary elections because they did not toe the
line on Israel. The United Democracy Project, the super political action
committee of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, spent about $9
million on ads attacking Bush or boosting her opponent. Bush irritated the
pro-Israel group by pressing for a ceasefire in Gaza. Bowman was also targeted
because of his criticism of Israel and his position on the Gaza war. AIPAC alone
spent $15 million in its effort to unseat the incumbent congressman. Bowman said
of the power of the lobby: “We should be outraged when a super PAC of dark money
can spend $20 million to brainwash people into believing something that isn’t
true.”
The message is clear: anyone who calls for a ceasefire or even suggests that the
US should use its leverage to enforce one is out. Who would want to upset such a
powerful lobby two months before an election? No one. However, there is a
massive social movement calling for a ceasefire. Protests have taken place at
college campuses all over the country. So, how to balance between the two sides?
The best way is to pretend to be working for a ceasefire while not actually
imposing anything on Israel.
As a result of this situation, the US is stalling. This is frustrating the Arab
negotiators. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was supposed to meet with Qatari
Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani in Doha last month, but the
meeting was canceled. A US official said that the emir was unwell. Hence,
Blinken met with a much less senior official: the minister of state. Does that
give any hint? Yes, Arab negotiators are fed up with American diplomacy, which
is acting like a proxy for the Israelis.
Though Blinken said there is “a fierce urgency of now,” in fact the US is not
putting any pressure on Israel to accept a ceasefire deal. Hamas has accused the
US of being “misleading.” Therefore, Washington is putting on a show of being a
negotiator that is working diligently to reach a ceasefire, but in reality it is
only buying time for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The pro-Israel lobby will work on defeating any candidate that opposes
unconditional US support for Israel.
However, for a lobby to function properly, it needs to be low profile,
especially as the pro-Israel lobby shapes US foreign policy toward the Middle
East. No American would want a foreign government to dictate US foreign policy
or to compromise US national interests. However, it is now out in the open. This
will push people to ask: why does this group, which works for a foreign
government, have so much power.
The defeats of Bowman and Bush are pushing people to speak out. Andy Levin, a
former progressive Jewish member of Congress, lost his Democratic primary in
2022 as AIPAC spent millions of dollars supporting his opponent. Last month, he
recalled his experience with the pro-Israel lobby, which stifles any discussion
on Israel. He is calling for a change in US policy. He is calling for the
Democratic Party to work to stop “dark money” from hijacking elections.
The pro-Israel lobby will probably succeed in helping to prolong the war, which
will mean more death and destruction in Gaza. However, once the election is
decided, Netanyahu will be forced to stop. The US does not want to be sucked
into a regional war. Once the war stops, television cameras will enter Gaza and
the world will be able to see what Israel has “achieved.” The American people
will ask themselves questions. People will be listening to the likes of Bowman,
Bush and Levin.
Israel has to remember that the Foreign Agents Registration Act was put in place
in the US in the 1930s. The act states that anyone who works on behalf of a
foreign government has to register as a foreign agent. It was initially used
mainly to counter the influence of Nazis inside the country, as they were
spreading antisemitic propaganda and pushing the US to stay out of the Second
World War. After the war, Americans realized how many lives could have been
saved if they had entered the war earlier. Similarly, once the Gaza war is over,
Americans will realize the destruction their state contributed to by acquiescing
to the demands of the pro-Israel lobby. They will start asking themselves some
serious questions. They will take action and that will be bad news for Israel.
• 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.