English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 03/2024
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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Bible Quotations For today
Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or
wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who
will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal
life.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 18/18-30/:”A certain
ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’Jesus
said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know
the commandments: “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You
shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father and
mother.” ’He replied, ‘I have kept all these since my youth.’When Jesus heard
this, he said to him, ‘There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own
and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then
come, follow me.’ But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich.
Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter
the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ Those who
heard it said, ‘Then who can be saved?’He replied, ‘What is impossible for
mortals is possible for God.’Then Peter said, ‘Look, we have left our homes and
followed you.’ And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has
left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the
kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age
to come eternal life.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on September 02-03/2024
The Danger, Sin, and Foolishness of Worshiping and
Idolizing Politicians and Leaders/Elias Bejjani/September 02, 2024
UN Contract Worker Killed in Israeli Strike over Southern Lebanon
Report: Hochstein to visit Lebanon this month
Berri has approval of 86 MPs but wants LF to participate in dialogue
Two Dead in an Israeli airstrike on a Car in Naqoura
UNIFIL condemns civilian deaths, calls for diplomatic resolution
Pierre Achkar: It is unacceptable to halt Kleiat Airport and Jounieh Port's
operations due to political reasons
Grand Jaafari Mufti slams Samir Geagea, defends Resistance
US CENTCOM says: ISIS facilitator captured in joint operation with Syrian
Democratic Forces
Hamas issues new instructions to hostage guards, accuses Israel of recent deaths
Pierre Achkar: It is unacceptable to halt Kleiat Airport and Jounieh Port's
operations due to political reasons
France-Lebanon: Disturbing Similarities
Quint meets parties in Beirut as Bassil meets 'Abou Fahad' in Turkey
LF at Dar al-Fatwa: The Need to Elect a President
Violence Surges Monday Night on the Southern Front
France-Lebanon: Disturbing Similarities
Moving to Syria: Some Lebanese who fear war have unusual backup plan
Iran: A Telltale Sign/Michel Touma/This Is Beirut/September 02/2024
Turkey Seizes Large Drug Shipment Coming from Lebanon
Valet Parking Delirium: “Because You’re Worth It”!/Bélinda Ibrahim/This Is
Beirut/September 02/2024
Geagea to Hezbollah: Review Your Calculations!
Not just Israel: Hezbollah’s growing danger to Jewish diasporas
everywhere/NATHAN KLABIN/THE MEDIA LINE/Jerusalem Post/September 02/2024
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on September 02-03/2024
Hamas admits to killing hostages, releases video of
slain hostage Eden Yerushalmi
Netanyahu apologizes for hostages' deaths, defends Philadelphi Corridor decision
Hamas issues new instructions to hostage guards, accuses Israel of recent deaths
Israeli Fire Kills Dozens in Gaza, Polio Vaccinations in Full Swing
Biden says Netanyahu not doing enough, Hamas to pay price
IDF: kills 14 terrorists, seizes dozens of explosives in West Bank operations
that could last weeks
'We all failed you.' Heartbreak at funeral for Israeli-American hostage in
Jerusalem
Hamas says hostage guards in Gaza have been operating under new instructions
Demonstrators march on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's home as cease-fire
protests continue
Israel's Labor Court Rules General Strike Must End
Biden, Harris to meet US negotiating team on Gaza hostage deal
Britain says it is suspending some arms exports to Israel over risk of breaking
international law
Palestinian man dies in detention as Israeli West Bank operation continues
US Seizes Venezuelan President’s Plane in Dominican Republic.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on September 02-03/2024
Iran's Gaza War: Unfortunately, A Ceasefire Deal Will Not Bring the Hostages
Back/John Richardson/Gatestone Institute/September 02,/2024
Today in History: Christian Slave Turned Commander Defends Albania from Islamic
Takeover/Raymond Ibrahim/LifeSiteNews/September 02,/2024
Afghanistan: More Than a War on Women’s Voice/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/September
02/2024
Inside the Frantic US Efforts to Contain a Mideast Disaster/Michael Crowley,
Eric Schmitt and Edward Wong/The New York Times/Asharq Al-Awsat/September
02/2024
Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on September 02-03/2024
The Danger, Sin, and Foolishness of Worshiping and Idolizing Politicians and
Leaders
Elias Bejjani/September 02, 2024
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2024/09/133977/
Worshiping and idolizing politicians and leaders is not merely dangerous; it is
a grave sin and an act of profound foolishness that imperils and puts at risk
the very essence of human freedom. When we elevate politicians or leaders to the
status of idols, we don't just admire them—we surrender our critical faculties
and relinquish the sovereignty of our own minds and souls. This misplaced
worship extinguishes and kills the spirit of critique and accountability within
us, which are the bedrocks and pillars of any true democracy and free society.
True freedom is not merely the ability to make choices; it is the courage to see
and acknowledge the flaws and errors of those in power, no matter how
influential or revered, valued, well regarded they may be. When we idolize
leaders, we willingly strip ourselves of this courage, becoming submissive
followers who march in lockstep without question or reflection. This kind of
voluntary blindness doesn’t just empower leaders; it emboldens them, placing
them on a perilous pedestal where they begin to see themselves as above the law,
unaccountable, and immune to criticism.
It is vital to understand that the instinct to worship is deeply embedded in
human nature. We are instinctively driven to seek something greater than
ourselves—be it in the form of religious faith, ideals, or leaders—toward which
we can direct our love and devotion. However, the true measure of wisdom lies in
how we channel this instinct. The wise individuals direct their worship toward
enduring values and principles, not fallible-mortal human beings. To do
otherwise is to surrender our intellect and emotions to mere mortals who are as
susceptible to error and corruption as any of us.
Idolizing human beings, particularly those in positions of political power, is
not just a mistake—it is a dangerous abdication of our responsibility to hold
them accountable. Politicians and leaders are inherently fallible, and when we
place them on a pedestal of worship, we create a toxic environment of unchecked
power. This paves the way for tyranny, where the leader becomes seen as
infallible in the eyes of their followers, enabling them to commit grave
injustices without opposition or restraint.
UN Contract Worker Killed in Israeli Strike over
Southern Lebanon
Asharq Al Awsat/September 02, 2024
An Israeli strike Monday in southern Lebanon killed two people in a car,
including a contract worker for the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission near
the border. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the two people were killed in an
Israeli strike on a car in the southern coastal town of Naqoura, but did not
give further details. The UN peacekeeping mission, known as UNIFIL, said one of
the victims was an employee at a cleaning company contracted with the agency.
“The contractor’s employee and another individual in the car, who we understand
was visiting from abroad, were killed,” UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said,
adding that, "attacks on civilians are violations of international humanitarian
law.”It was not clear why the car was targeted. Hezbollah, which normally
announces when one of its members is killed, did not claim either of the men
killed in Naqoura as a member. The Israeli military did not immediately comment
on the incident. It has been exchanging fire near-daily with Hezbollah since
clashes along the border began last October. Hezbollah began firing rockets over
the border on Oct. 8, a day after the outbreak of the war in Gaza sparked by the
deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel. Hezbollah maintains that it
will stop firing once a ceasefire agreement is reached to end Israel's war on
Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Tensions in recent months have boiled, sparking global
fear of the exchanges spiraling into all-out war. UN and international
governments for months have urged an end to the fighting. Israel and Hezbollah
fought a month-long war in 2006 that ended in a draw. Since Oct. 8, almost 600
people have been killed in Lebanon, mostly fighters with Hezbollah and allied
groups, but also including more than 100 civilians and noncombatants. In
northern Israel, 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed by strikes from
Lebanon. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the
border.
Report: Hochstein to visit Lebanon this month
Naharnet/September 02/2024
U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein will likely visit the region this month to reach a
final agreement on the United Nations Council Resolution 1701. A high-ranking
diplomat told al-Liwaa newspaper, in remarks published Monday, that Hochstein
has received the official Lebanese response regarding the implementation of
Resolution 1701 once the Gaza war is over.The diplomat said the war will end
soon and that Lebanon has received a message to start preparing for the day
after the war.
Berri has approval of 86 MPs but wants LF to participate
in dialogue
Naharnet/September 02/2024
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is not worried about his presidential dialogue
initiative, sources close to Berri told Annahar. "Berri is assured that 86 MPs
will participate in his dialogue," the sources said in remarks published Monday,
adding that he will not immediately call for it as he hopes that Lebanese Forces
Party leader Samir Geagea will change his mind and accept to attend the
presidential dialogue. The speaker refuses the exclusion of the largest
Christian parliamentary bloc, that he considers a key component, the sources
said. He also is against the election of a non-consensual president and prefers
that all parties reach an agreement on a president to avoid "divisions and
obstruction." Meanwhile, a parliamentary source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper
that Berri has no intention of abandoning his dialogue initiative under the
pressure exerted by the opposition and is betting on the quintet - which
comprises the U.S., France, KSA, Qatar and Egypt - to soften the opposition’s
stance regarding the presidential dialogue. Geagea had said Sunday that "the
road to Baabda Palace" doesn't have to pass through Haret Hreik and Ain el-Tineh,
calling Berri's initiative a "fabricated dialogue."
Two Dead in an Israeli airstrike on a Car in Naqoura
This Is Beirut/September 02/2024
The Public Health Emergency Operations Center of the Ministry of Public Health
confirmed that two people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the
town of Naqoura on Monday. Some media outlets reported that the targeted car on
the main Naqoura road belonged to a service-providing company contracted by
UNIFIL. Preliminary reports suggest that the victims are civilians: the first,
an employee of the above mentioned company and the second, his cousin, a
recently returned Lebanese expatriate. Additionally, Lebanese media reported
that a truck driver survived after his vehicle was hit by Israeli gunfire while
on the border road between Kfar Kila and Odaisseh. The bullets struck one of the
doors and the tires. Upon reaching Taybeh, members of the Civil Defense in the
“Islamic Health Authority” assisted him in replacing the damaged tires. In
response, Hezbollah claimed attacks on two buildings used by Israeli soldiers in
the Avivim and Manara settlements. Around midnight on Sunday, Israeli warplanes
launched two missiles on Yaroun, near the city of Bint Jbeil and the town of
Maroun al-Ras, followed a few minutes later by an airstrike on the town of
Hanine in the Bint Jbeil district. Overnight, the Israeli Air Force also struck
Hezbollah military structures in the areas of Yaroun, Aita Al-Shaab, Hanine,
Tayr Harfa, and Blida in southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli army. Around
12:30 AM, two missiles were fired at a house near the public square in Tayr
Harfa.
UNIFIL condemns civilian deaths, calls for diplomatic
resolution
LBCISeptember 02/2024
UNIFIL's deputy spokesperson, Kandice Ardiel, explained on Monday, "This
morning, a vehicle driven by an employee of a cleaning company on the
Tyre-Naqoura road was targeted.""The company is contracted with UNIFIL, and the
contracted employee and another person in the vehicle, who we learned was
visiting from abroad, were killed," she added.UNIFIL expressed its "regret for
the injury and death of many people since October 8," emphasizing that "attacks
on civilians constitute violations of international humanitarian law and must
stop." Furthermore, Ardiel said, "Once again, we urge all parties to lay down
their weapons, as a diplomatic solution is the only way forward."
Pierre Achkar: It is unacceptable to halt Kleiat Airport
and Jounieh Port's operations due to political reasons
LBCI/September 02/2024
Pierre Achkar, the President of the Lebanese Federation for Tourism, called for
political interference to be removed from Kleiat's René Moawad Airport
operations in Akkar and the Jounieh tourist port. In a statement, Achkar
emphasized the critical need for these facilities to boost tourism and travel in
Lebanon, arguing that it is "unacceptable" to halt their operations due to
political reasons. He highlighted that the persistent obstructionism in the
country has been a key factor in Lebanon's collapse and is now preventing the
state's recovery. "The federation had been one of the earliest advocates for the
operationalization of Kleiat Airport, particularly for charter flights coming
from international capitals such as Paris or London, which are unable to land at
Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport but could easily use secondary
airports like Kleiat." Achkar noted that "the lack of a second airport in
Lebanon limits tourism opportunities and reduces the number of visitors, as
charter flights are a cost-effective and widely used means of transport for
tourist groups worldwide."Regarding Jounieh port, Achkar voiced concern over its
non-operation despite its strategic importance to tourism in Lebanon. He
questioned how a Mediterranean country like Lebanon could lack a dedicated
maritime port for tourism. In conclusion, he urged "a shift in the country's
mindset," advocating prioritizing national interests over political
considerations.
Grand Jaafari Mufti slams Samir Geagea, defends Resistance
LBCI/September 02/2024
The Grand Jaafari Mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Kabalan, criticized Samir Geagea, leader
of the Lebanese Forces Party, for allegedly failing to learn from history. In a
statement, Kabalan said, "Those who do not learn from history are exposed by
tongue slips."He argued that Lebanon's history of sacrifices and sovereignty
excludes the influence of Washington and Tel Aviv. He stated that "political
agendas serving Israel have no place in Lebanon, and rhetoric that passes
through Tel Aviv does not resonate in Lebanon's political centers such as Ain
el-Tineh or Haret Hreik.""Lebanon is closer to Gaza than to Washington," he
added. The Mufti also criticized Geagea for not representing Lebanon's
interests, claiming, "The weapon that defeated Israel and liberated Lebanon is
not your weapon; it is the same sovereign weapon that continues to challenge
Israel along the southern front." Kabalan defended the role of Amal Movement and
Hezbollah, calling them the "greatest sovereign force" in Lebanon. He suggested
that without this Resistance, Lebanon would have been "Zionized."Furthermore,
Kabalan said, "Your speech on Sunday would have only been missing the presence
of an Israeli tank. The country is a national, Islamic-Christian partnership."He
emphasized that the Resistance, including Hezbollah, is integral to Lebanon's
national identity and sovereignty. "The enemy of the resistance is accused of
its nationalism, and terrorism is an Israeli-American creation," he said.
"Lebanon would lack value without Hezbollah and Amal, and only those who mourn
for Israel would undermine the decisions of the Lebanese people. The Resistance
is Lebanon's greatest red line."
US CENTCOM says: ISIS facilitator captured in joint operation with Syrian
Democratic Forces
LBCI/September 02/2024
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Monday that its forces, along with
the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), captured an ISIS leader. "During the early
morning hours of Sept. 1, CENTCOM forces and SDF captured Khaled Ahmed al-Dandal,
an ISIS facilitator assessed to be aiding efforts of detained ISIS fighters to
include recently escaped fighters," the US Central Command reported on X. “Over
9,000 ISIS detainees remain in over 20 SDF detention facilities in Syria, a
literal and figurative ‘ISIS Army’ in detention. If a large number of these ISIS
fighters escaped, it would pose an extreme danger to the region and beyond,”
stated General Michael Erik Kurilla, US Central Command Commander.
Hamas issues new instructions to hostage guards, accuses Israel of recent deaths
Reuters/September 02/2024
The spokesperson for Hamas' armed al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, said on Monday
that the movement had issued new instructions to the guards of the hostages on
how to deal with them if Israeli forces approach the detention sites, holding
Israel responsible for the recent deaths of six hostages.
Pierre Achkar: It is unacceptable to halt Kleiat Airport
and Jounieh Port's operations due to political reasons
LBCI/September 02/2024
Pierre Achkar, the President of the Lebanese Federation for Tourism, called for
political interference to be removed from Kleiat's René Moawad Airport
operations in Akkar and the Jounieh tourist port. In a statement, Achkar
emphasized the critical need for these facilities to boost tourism and travel in
Lebanon, arguing that it is "unacceptable" to halt their operations due to
political reasons. He highlighted that the persistent obstructionism in the
country has been a key factor in Lebanon's collapse and is now preventing the
state's recovery. "The federation had been one of the earliest advocates for the
operationalization of Kleiat Airport, particularly for charter flights coming
from international capitals such as Paris or London, which are unable to land at
Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport but could easily use secondary
airports like Kleiat." Achkar noted that "the lack of a second airport in
Lebanon limits tourism opportunities and reduces the number of visitors, as
charter flights are a cost-effective and widely used means of transport for
tourist groups worldwide." Regarding Jounieh port, Achkar voiced concern over
its non-operation despite its strategic importance to tourism in Lebanon. He
questioned how a Mediterranean country like Lebanon could lack a dedicated
maritime port for tourism. In conclusion, he urged "a shift in the country's
mindset," advocating prioritizing national interests over political
considerations.
France-Lebanon: Disturbing Similarities
Marc Saikali/September 02/2024
For over forty days, France has been under the management of a caretaker
government. Surprisingly, 40% of those polled are indifferent to this situation.
Could this be a symptom of Lebanese contagion? Not quite, but with persistence,
it might get there. Lebanon, having gone nearly two years without a president
and with a government in caretaker mode, shows a troubling lack of concern. Some
even argue that this paralysis limits the impact of corruption. Another common
symptom is the daily habit of complaining about everything. Here, too, the
Lebanese have a slight lead. They lack a state, institutions, a land registry, a
functioning banking system, or infrastructure… Of course, Parisians have made
efforts not to keep their streets clean outside of the Olympics, to organize
large demonstrations that turn into riots, nearly faced power cuts, and are
suffering from inflation and high prices.
However, Paris still has sidewalks, traffic lights (albeit occasionally
malfunctioning), laws (even if enforcement is inconsistent), and functioning
institutions (despite occasional strikes). It’s not quite the same as Lebanon,
which lacks a state and senior civil servants.The French are concerned about
immigration, as are the Lebanese. Yet, the scale of the issue differs
significantly: 350,000 immigrants annually in France versus over half the
population in Lebanon. Lebanon clearly has the upper hand here. France is only
beginning to deal with “no-go zones,” while in Lebanon, Palestinian camps are
almost independent and armed in a way that would make even the most notorious
crime bosses in France envious. In terms of corruption, Lebanon surpasses
itself. Corruption is not only prevalent but rewarded, with many eagerly
participating. In France, while corruption does exist, those caught red-handed
or with illicit gains often face imprisonment—yes, it happens, despite many
slipping through the cracks. Yet, the signs of political fatigue are visible in
Paris. Bakeries, full of croissants and pastries, sit next to Lebanese delis
offering falafel and hummus. A typical Parisian brunch might feature a man’oushe
or a croissant. It seems that the transmission of this epidemic might be
food-related. Even worse, the other day, while I was crossing at a pedestrian
light, two drivers honked at me! Unbelievable. I had to resort to insulting them
in Lebanese to get them to leave me alone. Come on, friends, you’re almost
there.
Quint meets parties in Beirut as Bassil meets 'Abou
Fahad' in Turkey
Naharnet/September 02/2024
The five-nation group for Lebanon has returned the Lebanese presidential file to
the spotlight through a series of meetings aimed at “convincing the parties to
go to dialogue,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday. The quintet “is
convinced that no breakthrough will occur except through direct dialogue and in
agreement with Speaker Nabih Berri,” the daily said. “The behind-the-scenes
talks were led by the ambassadors of Egypt and France, Alaa Moussa and Hervé
Magro,” al-Akhbar added. The visitors of Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid
Bukhari meanwhile said that there is Saudi-French coordination to “revive the
presidential file.”“French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian will soon visit Riyadh to
meet with Royal Court adviser Nizar al-Aloula in the presence of Bukhari and
Magro,” the newspaper quoted the visitors as saying. Bukhari had visited Berri
on Saturday, prior to departing Beirut, to put the Speaker “in the picture of
the outcome of the diplomatic efforts,” al-Akhbar said. Qatar meanwhile is
“continuing its contacts and meetings with Lebanese officials, and the last
meeting was not in Doha, but rather in Istanbul, which was visited by Free
Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil 10 days ago for a meeting with Qatari
envoy Abou Fahad Jassem Al-Thani,” the daily added. Bassil also met there with
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim
Kalin.
LF at Dar al-Fatwa: The Need to Elect a President
This Is Beirut/September 02/2024
During a meeting on Monday with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdellatif Deriane, the
Lebanese Forces (LF) reaffirmed their commitment to electing a president,
appointing a prime minister and forming a government. They view these three
steps as crucial for “Lebanon’s recovery and for facilitating the implementation
of international resolutions, as well as for repositioning the country on the
regional and international fronts.”MP Ghassan Hasbani, who led the LF
delegation, emphasized these points following the meeting with the Mufti. He
stated that “Parliament must convene, MPs should participate in the vote and
conduct consultations if needed, and voting rounds should proceed until a
president is elected.” Hasbani’s remarks largely echoed the positions
articulated by LF leader Samir Geagea in his Sunday speech during the mass
honoring the party’s martyrs.“We cannot accept initiatives that breach the
Constitution,” Hasbani reiterated at the end of the meeting, referring to the
call for dialogue made by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. This call was renewed
on Saturday during Berri’s speech marking the 46th anniversary of the
disappearance of Amal Movement founder, Imam Moussa el-Sadr, and his two
companions. In this context, he stressed the importance of upholding Lebanese
fundamental principles and condemned “attempts to divide the people and plunge
them into sectarian conflicts,” highlighting the crucial role of Dar al-Fatwa in
“uniting all Lebanese.”The war in Gaza and the situation in southern Lebanon
were also discussed during the meeting. “While we deeply respect the Palestinian
cause, we are also aware of the risks to Lebanon if conditions in the south keep
on worsening,” Hasbani stated. He underlined the large number of people who have
been displaced from their homes in southern Lebanon since the beginning of the
Gaza conflict, and the significant material damage sustained by the region due
to nonstop clashes between Hezbollah and Israel. A Lebanese Forces official told
This is Beirut that the visit to Dar al-Fatwa is part of their broader effort to
strengthen ties with various national institutions.
Violence Surges Monday Night on the Southern Front
This Is Beirut/September 02/2024
Violent Israeli raids on Lebanese border villages in the South resumed Monday in
the evening, after a relatively calm day. Israeli aircraft launched a series of
attacks on Wadi Zibqin, Shihine, Jebbine, Majdel Zoun, Yater, Houla and Markaba,
where three people were wounded. In a statement, the Israeli army announced that
it had struck “approximately ten Hezbollah’s launchers that posed a threat in
the areas of Zibqin and Shihine, and Hezbollah’s observation post in Houla”For
its part, Hezbollah launched rockets against several Israeli positions in the
Upper Galilee. According to the Israeli army, “some of them were intercepted and
the others fell in open areas”.On Monday afternoon, sporadic shelling on both
sides of the border was reported. Israeli artillery targeted Yaroun, while
Israeli fighter jets launched raids against Aita al-Shaab, Markaba, Hula and the
outskirts of Wazzani. A case of suffocation caused by phosphorus shells fired at
Khiam was reported. For its part, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for attacks
on a deployment of Israeli soldiers in Adather, as well as on positions in
Ramtha, Manara, Bayad Blida and several other Israeli settlements. Israeli army
radio reported that around ten rockets had been fired from Lebanon towards
Western Galilee, without causing any injuries. This followed the death of two
people earlier in the day in an Israeli bombardment targeting the village of
Naqoura.
France-Lebanon: Disturbing Similarities
Marc Saikali/This Is Beirut/September 02/2024
For over forty days, France has been under the management of a caretaker
government. Surprisingly, 40% of those polled are indifferent to this situation.
Could this be a symptom of Lebanese contagion? Not quite, but with persistence,
it might get there. Lebanon, having gone nearly two years without a president
and with a government in caretaker mode, shows a troubling lack of concern. Some
even argue that this paralysis limits the impact of corruption. Another common
symptom is the daily habit of complaining about everything. Here, too, the
Lebanese have a slight lead. They lack a state, institutions, a land registry, a
functioning banking system, or infrastructure… Of course, Parisians have made
efforts not to keep their streets clean outside of the Olympics, to organize
large demonstrations that turn into riots, nearly faced power cuts, and are
suffering from inflation and high prices.
However, Paris still has sidewalks, traffic lights (albeit occasionally
malfunctioning), laws (even if enforcement is inconsistent), and functioning
institutions (despite occasional strikes). It’s not quite the same as Lebanon,
which lacks a state and senior civil servants.The French are concerned about
immigration, as are the Lebanese. Yet, the scale of the issue differs
significantly: 350,000 immigrants annually in France versus over half the
population in Lebanon. Lebanon clearly has the upper hand here. France is only
beginning to deal with “no-go zones,” while in Lebanon, Palestinian camps are
almost independent and armed in a way that would make even the most notorious
crime bosses in France envious.In terms of corruption, Lebanon surpasses itself.
Corruption is not only prevalent but rewarded, with many eagerly participating.
In France, while corruption does exist, those caught red-handed or with illicit
gains often face imprisonment—yes, it happens, despite many slipping through the
cracks. Yet, the signs of political fatigue are visible in Paris. Bakeries, full
of croissants and pastries, sit next to Lebanese delis offering falafel and
hummus. A typical Parisian brunch might feature a man’oushe or a croissant. It
seems that the transmission of this epidemic might be food-related. Even worse,
the other day, while I was crossing at a pedestrian light, two drivers honked at
me! Unbelievable. I had to resort to insulting them in Lebanese to get them to
leave me alone. Come on, friends, you’re almost there.
Moving to Syria: Some Lebanese who fear war have unusual
backup plan
Associated Press/September 02/2024
Residents of Beirut's southern suburbs have been scrambling to make contingency
plans since an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in a busy neighborhood
killed a top Hezbollah commander and touched off fears of a full-scale war. For
most, that means moving in with relatives or renting homes in Christian, Druze
or Sunni-majority areas of Lebanon that are generally considered safer than the
Shiite-majority areas where Hezbollah has its main base of support. But for a
small number, plan B is a move to neighboring Syria. Although Syria is in its
14th year of civil war, active fighting has long been frozen in much of the
country. Lebanese citizens, who can cross the border without a visa, regularly
visit Damascus. And renting an apartment is significantly cheaper in Syria than
in Lebanon. Zahra Ghaddar said she and her family were shaken when they saw an
apartment building reduced to rubble by the July 30 drone strike in her area,
known as Dahiyeh. Along with Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur, two children and
three women were killed and dozens more were injured in the targeted Israeli
attack. Previously, the Lebanese capital had been largely untouched by the
near-daily cross-border clashes that have displaced around 100,000 people from
southern Lebanon and tens of thousands more in Israel since Oct. 8. In recent
weeks, the conflict in Lebanon appeared on the brink of spiraling out of
control. Ghaddar said her family first considered moving within Lebanon but were
discouraged by social media posts blaming displaced civilians, along with
Hezbollah, for the threat of all-out war. Also, surging demand prompted steep
rent hikes. "We found the rents started at $700, and that's for a house we
wouldn't be too comfortable in," she said. That amount is more than many
Lebanese earn in a month. So they looked across the border.
Ghaddar's family found a four-bedroom apartment in Aleppo, a city in
northwestern Syria, for $150 a month. They paid six months' rent in advance and
returned to Lebanon.
Israel periodically launches airstrikes on Syria, usually targeting
Iranian-linked military sites or militants, but Bashar Assad's government has
largely stood on the sidelines of the current regional conflict. Israel and
Hezbollah fought a bruising monthlong war in 2006 that demolished much of
southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs. At the time, some 180,000
Lebanese took refuge in Syria, many taking shelter in schools, mosques and empty
factories. Those who could afford it rented houses. Some put down permanent
roots. Rawad Issa, then a teenager, fled to Syria with his parents. They
returned to Lebanon when the war ended, but Issa's father used some of his
savings to buy a house in Syria's Hama province, just in case. "That way, if
another war happened, we would already have a house ready," Issa said.
The house and surrounding area were untouched by Syria's civil war, he said. A
few weeks ago, his sister and her husband went to get the house ready for the
family to return, in case the situation in Lebanon deteriorated. Issa, who works
in video production, said he initially planned to rent an apartment in Lebanon
if the conflict expanded, rather than joining his family in Syria. But in "safe"
areas of Beirut, "they are asking for fantastic prices," he said. One landlord
was charging $900 for a room in a shared apartment. "And outside of Beirut, it's
not much better."
Azzam Ali, a Syrian journalist in Damascus, told The Associated Press that in
the first few days after the strike in Dahiyeh, he saw an influx of Lebanese
renting hotel rooms and houses in the city. A Lebanese family — friends of a
friend — stayed in his house for a few days, he said. In a Facebook post, he
welcomed the Lebanese, saying they "made the old city of Damascus more
beautiful."After the situation appeared to calm down, "some went back and some
stayed here, but most of them stayed," he said. No agency has recorded how many
people have moved from Lebanon to Syria in recent months. They are spread across
the country and are not registered as refugees, making tracking the migration
difficult. Anecdotal evidence suggests the numbers are small. Of 80 people
displaced from southern Lebanon living in greater Beirut — including Lebanese,
Syrians and Palestinian refugees — at least 20 said they were considering taking
refuge in Syria if the war in Lebanon escalated, according to interviews
conducted by researchers overseen by Jasmin Lilian Diab, director of the
Institute for Migration Studies at the Lebanese American University. Diab noted
that the Lebanese considering this route were a niche group who had "existing
networks in Syria, either business networks, family or friends."The threat of
war has also not prompted a mass reverse migration of Syrians from Lebanon. Some
775,000 Syrians are registered with the U.N. Refugee Agency in Lebanon, and
hundreds of thousands more are believed to be unregistered in the country. While
fighting in Syria has died down, many refugees fear that if they return they
could be arrested for real or perceived ties to the opposition to Assad or
forcibly conscripted to the army. If they leave Lebanon to escape war they could
lose their refugee status, although some cross back and forth via smuggler
routes without their movements being recorded. Many residents of Dahiyeh
breathed a sigh of relief when an intense exchange of strikes between Israel and
Hezbollah on July 25 turned out to be short-lived. But Ghaddar said she still
worries the situation will deteriorate, forcing her family to flee.
"It's necessary to have a backup plan in any case," she said.
Editorial – Iran: A Telltale Sign
Michel Touma/This Is Beirut/September 02/2024
This piece of information almost slipped under the radar… Yet, it holds
significant symbolic value and could indicate a recent political shift in Iran.
On August 27, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced
that he was withdrawing his resignation from his position as Vice-President for
Strategic Affairs. He had been appointed to this position by the reformist
President Massoud Pezeshkian, who immediately tasked him with forming a
committee of experts to suggest candidates for the new government.
Zarif, in his new capacity, advocated for the inclusion of women, young
individuals, and representatives from various ethnic and religious minorities,
including Sunnis, aiming to infuse the “new government” with a reformist ethos
and a more global perspective.
However, the former foreign minister’s proposal met with little to no support,
and the government continued to be predominantly influenced by the hardline
conservative faction. Faced with this opposition, Zarif chose to step down just
ten days after his appointment, on August 12. On August 27, in a surprising turn
of events, Mr. Zarif withdrew his resignation and resumed his activity as
Vice-President for Strategic Affairs. Despite his reinstatement, the former
foreign minister has been the target of an intense campaign by the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) since his appointment by Massoud Pezeshkian.
The tensions between the new Vice-President and the IRGC are far from new; they
date back at least a decade, or even longer, notably to the period of the
nuclear negotiations between 2013 and 2015, when Zarif was leading Iran’s
diplomatic efforts.
The Revolutionary Guards accuse the former foreign minister of being overly
accommodating toward the American administration, even suggesting that he was
too close to the United States and crossed certain red lines during the
negotiation of the 2015 nuclear deal. Mr. Zarif’s conflict with the IRGC
escalated in April 2021 when he openly criticized Qassem Soleimani and the
leadership of the Revolutionary Guards. In a public statement, he went as far as
to accuse them of covertly undermining and attempting to sabotage his
negotiations with Western officials. In response, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
condemned Zarif’s comments about Soleimani in May 2021, calling them a “serious
mistake.”However, this dispute goes beyond mere political disagreements and
extends to personal matters as well. Prominent figures within the radical camp
have highlighted that Mr. Zarif’s two children hold American citizenship. They
also likely recall that Zarif spent a significant portion of his life in the
United States, beginning in 1976, where he pursued his university studies in San
Francisco. Furthermore, his tenure as Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations
from 2002 to 2007, combined with his collaboration with Washington in
establishing the pro-American government of Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan, adds
fuel to the criticism. Such an unequivocal background undoubtedly explains the
staunch opposition of the Pasdaran to Zarif’s appointment as Vice-President,
leading to his resignation on August 12. Given this context, one might wonder
how Zarif could have reversed his decision just two weeks later, and why the
so-called “ultra-conservative” faction suddenly overlooks its substantial
grievances. The answer likely lies in Ali Khamenei’s statement made on August
27, the very day Zarif was reinstated. Khamenei called for the renewal of
negotiations with the United States on the nuclear issue, suggesting a strategic
shift that could have influenced the sudden change in Mr. Zarif’s situation. Of
greater significance is the statement made by the Iranian president on Sunday,
September 1. He called for a revival of foreign investments and an “opening to
the outside world,” explicitly stating that Iran needed “$100 billion in foreign
investments.” This new emphasis on economic engagement and reform could very
well be linked to both the Supreme Leader’s and the President’s positions and
Zarif’s unexpected return. This connection is a small but compelling step that
many observers have readily noted. Yet, the disparity between rhetoric and
reality remains substantial. Has the radical Pasdaran faction chosen to
momentarily ease its vocal opposition to the new Vice-President in order to
“calm” the US administration and facilitate the lifting of sanctions? This move
could potentially provide the Iranian regime with the $100 billion in foreign
investments advocated by Massoud Pezeshkian. Once this financial lifeline is
secured, could the Pasdaran redirect their attention to their ideological
mission of exporting the Islamic Revolution and reigniting their hegemonic and
destabilizing efforts in the region? Given the radical faction’s history over
the past four decades, this question remains highly relevant.
Turkey Seizes Large Drug Shipment Coming from Lebanon
This Is Beirut/September 02/2024
The Turkish authorities announced on Monday that they had seized a substantial
amount of drugs smuggled from Lebanon via Syria. Turkish intelligence managed to
intercept the narcotics cargo, following a two-month surveillance operation in
northern Syria involving two local military factions. Around 50 kg of hash, 208
g of methamphetamine and about 621,000 Captagon pills were found during the
raid. Twenty-six people were arrested as part of a drug trafficking and
smuggling network, according to the Ikhlas news agency.
After searching six homes and a warehouse, three smugglers’ cars were also
seized. According to Turkish officials, the drugs were sent from Lebanon through
Homs and Raqqa to reach Turkish-administered regions.
Valet Parking Delirium: “Because You’re Worth It”!
Bélinda Ibrahim/This Is Beirut/September 02/2024
Welcome to Lebanon, the land of Cedars and mafias of all kinds! The latest
sensation? The parking valet mafia, which adds a certain flair to the already
long list of leeches draining us to the bone with unparalleled delicacy. From
electricity generators to water tanks, to currency exchangers, all of them,
absolutely all, are lining their pockets at the citizen’s expense with a grace
and elegance worthy of the grandest ballets. But what are we really discussing?
A country whose foundations stand only by force of habit.
Now, enter these new despots who pounce like felines whenever a car dares to
approach, reigning supreme over our sidewalks like Louis XIV over Versailles.
They impose their laws with exorbitant fees, without anyone daring to utter even
a whisper of protest. Want to park to sip a coffee? Prepare to shell out as much
for the parking valet as for your espresso, a combo as refreshing as a blow to
the head! And don’t even think about parking elsewhere, because these crafty
ones have the monopoly on the pavement, a real empire worthy of the East India
Company.
Every inch of sidewalk is now under the control of self-styled valets, whether
they’re vegetable vendors or luxury boutique managers. Need to run multiple
errands? Be prepared to allocate a “valet” budget worthy of a maharajah! The
height of absurdity is that even if the sidewalk is empty, they demand money
simply for the privilege of parking. It’s surreal and excessive, reflecting a
country spiraling into chaos—a constant emotional rollercoaster. And what about
those vulgar nouveau riche who toss their flashy cars and wads of cash to the
valets like peanuts to pigeons, thus contributing to a rate that continues to
rise like a soufflé? There’s no longer any logical scale or ceiling, it seems
the sky is the only limit…As for parking lots, a job now more coveted than a box
seat at the opera, you might as well stash your diplomas in the closet, quit
your job, and charge every car that enters, even for a minute. Gone are the days
of making superhuman efforts to open a door or smile at the customer; just
extend your hand like a begging king, and voilà! The driver, trapped, has no
choice but to hand over a few bills if they want the privilege of placing their
wheels on this precious asphalt. And the best part? At the end of the day, these
new kings leave with pockets bursting at the seams, while the poor “normal”
workers count their meager coins. So why bother spending years in school or
climbing the corporate ladder? The real jackpot is in parking! While valets and
other mafias are raking it in, the rest of the population is crushed under
hyperinflation and poverty. Prices are soaring everywhere—restaurants, hotels,
and more—reaching Himalayan heights that would make even a seasoned Sherpa
dizzy. With the budget of a weekend in Beirut, you could afford a trip to Italy,
with all the culture, scenery, and gastronomy you could wish for.
But no, we endure these despots who extort us day in and day out. Do we have a
choice? Yes! The choice to stay at home, which many people opt for—a form of
voluntary confinement. Might as well save your money (if any is left) for a
much-needed escape.
Why be surprised? This parking valet mafia is just one symptom of the deeper rot
affecting our society. Between the generators choking our lungs with
carcinogenic fumes and the shameless scams multiplying with impunity, we watch
helplessly as our budget collapses and, above all, our dignity.
But don’t worry, as long as there are mafias to drain us with a smile, all is
well in this topsy-turvy world! We’ll continue to pay handsomely just to survive
in this country while others grow rich off our backs like parasites on a stray
dog. Fortunately, for some, the age of “working the streets” has passed. Imagine
the scene: valets as pimps, demanding their due on every street corner for every
potential “client.” A vaudevillian vision that might not be so far from the
dismal Lebanese reality, a scenario worthy of the best boulevard comedies.
Welcome to Lebanon, land of mafias and glaring inequalities. A country where
absurdity has become the norm and where “cash” reigns supreme. But don’t worry,
because as someone might say with a mischievous wink, it’s “because you’re worth
it!”
Geagea to Hezbollah: Review Your Calculations!
This Is Beirut/September 02/2024
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.
Not just Israel: Hezbollah’s growing danger to Jewish
diasporas everywhere
NATHAN KLABIN/THE MEDIA LINE/Jerusalem Post/September 02/2024
Experts warn of potential Hezbollah recruitment of antisemitic individuals,
increasing threats worldwide.
Since October 7, there has been a remarkable growth in registered cases of
antisemitism worldwide, with a notorious potential for violence that becomes a
reality in many cases. Most recently, last week, the French police arrested a
suspect over a fire attack on a synagogue in Nîmes, in southern France, an act
that experts described to TML as the profile the Islamist group seeks to
recruit.
For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org
With the situation between Israel and Hezbollah locked into a dangerous
escalation, the Islamist terror organization continues to attack Israel
directly, and many experts see increased risks for Jewish communities in the
diaspora as well. Former INTERPOL Director Chief Superintendent (Ret.) Asher Ben
Artzi explained to TML that the assassination of Fouad Shuker opened a power
struggle within Hezbollah that could lead to an intensification of attacks
against Jews outside Israel.
“There has been an intense fighting within Hezbollah’s leadership to determine
who will be closest to (Hassan) Nasrallah,” he explained. “This struggle has
significantly impacted the elite Radwan unit, particularly after the loss of its
senior commanders. Talal Hamiyah is the leading candidate to replace Fuad (Shukr).
As the commander of Unit 910, Hezbollah’s overseas terror attack unit, Hamiyah
was responsible for the attacks on the Jewish community in Argentina.” Among the
most remarkable cases of Hezbollah’s terror against Jews outside of Israel
includes the AMIA bombing in July 1994 in Argentina, leaving 85 dead and more
than 300 injured. Following up with Argentina’s investigations on the AMIA
bombing, Alberto Nisman, an Argentinean Jew who was the prosecutor working on
investigating the AMIA case, was mysteriously found dead in 2004. Chief
Operating Officer for the Latin American Jewish Congress Danilo Gelman told TML
that the initial rise of antisemitism on October 7, coupled with threats from
Iran and Hezbollah, is having multiple impacts on Jewish communities globally,
especially concerning their security.
“These communities have seen the need to increase protective measures at
synagogues, schools, and community centers, hire private security personnel,
install surveillance systems, and work closely with local law enforcement. In
many countries, governments have responded by providing additional resources to
protect these institutions, recognizing the growing threat. There was a notable
rise in acts of vandalism, threats, and assaults against Jewish communities,
synagogues, and community centers in various countries across the region. This
increase was particularly evident in countries with large Jewish populations,
such as Argentina and Brazil,” he said.
In 2017, the US added Hamiyah to its Rewards for Justice Program, offering $7
million for information leading to his arrest. In another case, in November
2023, the Brazilian Federal Police arrested eleven individuals recruited and
radicalized by Hezbollah along with their plans to attack Jewish people and
organizations in Brazil. With such a dangerous prospect, Universidad del Norte
in Colombia Professor Janiel Melamed told TML how Hezbollah, as a proxy actor in
the Iranian hybrid warfare, is leveraging Its presence in Latin America.
“Although this region is not an area of armed operations for Hezbollah, it is a
key scenario for its funding, expansion, and strategic projection. There has
been a presence in the triple border between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay
since long ago, which has influenced terrorist attacks against Jewish and
Israeli targets. The new triple border between Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela
has gained strategic importance due to the association and criminal cooperation
with several local armed structures, including drug dealing.”
Threats against Cyprus
Closer to Israel, at the peak of the escalation with Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah,
the leader of the terror group, has escalated threats against Cyprus,
heightening the tensions of the ongoing war in Gaza, suggesting that the terror
organization would also attack non-Jewish or Israeli targets if they support
Israel, a strategy already applied by other terror organizations. Cyprus, the
closest European country to the Middle East conflict zone, has strong military
ties with Israel, further complicating the situation. Another ally of Israel
that was recently targeted was Germany, with a knife attack motivated by Islamic
State group ideology that left three dead and eight wounded at a city festival.
Austria
Concerns around Jewish communities can also be seen throughout Europe, where 10%
of the global Jewish population lives. The Jewish-Austrian MP, Martin Engelberg,
told TML that the Jewish community in Austria, although a heightened strain can
be observed, Jewish life goes on as usual, with no restrictions on any
activities such as religious services, schools, and even street parties, adding,
“Austria is very concerned about the radicalization of Muslims by the Iranian
regime and its proxies. Any activities and even the use of Hezbollah symbols are
prohibited under Austrian law.”
Engelberg highlighted that Austrian authorities “observe the recruitment and
radicalization of Muslims in Europe and Austria with great concern.
Unfortunately, the recruiting and radicalization have often moved from
mosques—where the activities could be somehow observed—to mainly social media
and from organized groups to more lone wolf attackers like recently in Germany.”
In light of these concerns, Engelber also explained that security measures for
Jewish communities are already in place in Austria.
“The already existing, very strong security measures for the Jewish communities
in Austria have been further increased. Police, the Austrian military, and
security personnel of the Jewish communities cooperate closely to provide
security for the Jewish communities,” he detailed. Unfortunately, Austria has
also observed an increase in antisemitic incidents since October 7, albeit to a
much smaller extent than in many other European countries.
“On the other hand, Austria is fully committed to its fight against any form of
antisemitism. The Austrian government and the parliament have also been
expressing solidarity with Israel, condemning the horrible attacks on October
7th and supporting Israel's right to self-defense,” said Engelberg.
In Ireland, one of the European countries that recently decided to recognize
Palestinian statehood, Maurice Cohen, chair of the Jewish Representative Council
of Ireland, told TML, “Indeed, there has been a noticeable uptick, primarily in
incidents related to anti-Zionism and anti-Israel sentiments. Many people fail
to understand the deep connection most Jewish people have with their ancestral
homeland.” To the Jewish-Irish leadership, there are always concerns, and “we
have a close relationship with the local police at the highest level who have
strengthened their vigilance as have the Jewish Institutions. Of course, we
can’t discuss the security details of our community.”
Daniel Bloch, the Executive Director of the South African Board of Deputies in
Cape Town, explained to TML that in the past ten years, South Africa had
approximately six reported incidents of physical violence against Jews; however,
the same numbers were reported between October and December of 2023.
Bloch detailed: “Over the past few months, though, we have seen a decrease in
antisemitic rhetoric. Since the horrific events of October 7th, antisemitism in
South Africa has risen more than 600%. Most of the rhetoric has been online
(social media). There have been a few reports of antisemitic graffiti, and some
members of the community have been verbally attacked. It is important to note
that we have only registered a handful of physical incidents where Jewish
individuals have been assaulted.”
Executive Director of the Israel Brasil Institute (IBI), Dr. Manoela Miklos,
explained the apparent discrepancy in how Jewish communities manage their actual
and perceived risks: “The Brazilian Jewish community has been dealing with an
increase in denounced antisemitic cases. I say it like this because I don’t
think that antisemitism has increased. It was always there; now, people feel
comfortable enough to express it.”
“There is no embarrassment anymore in being an antisemite. I say this because,
suddenly, right after October 7, lots of people already had knowledge and
familiarity with antisemitic ideas. They didn’t start learning those ideas after
that day. They already knew what to say to offend the Jews, and lots of people
felt it was acceptable to say those things after October 7. The only positive
thing is that now we know the actual size of the problem and can act on it
accordingly.”
Brazil
In 2023, the Brazilian Federal Police arrested multiple Brazilian individuals
who had been recruited and radicalized by Hezbollah to commit acts of terror
against Jewish communities in the South American country. “Cases like this
increase the feeling of insecurity, but it's hard to know the real impact. It’s
difficult to talk about this without causing any kind of disrespect. There is
also a lot of islamophobia in the world, so this is a challenging subject
because that also happens to be very urgent,” Miklos said to TML.
Although these threats are concerning, in Brazil, the Jewish community's most
stressful point is the structural antisemitism and its global condition,
according to her. “I find it difficult that Hezbollah would attack the Brazilian
Jewish community. Still, the risk feels much more imminent, like the difference
between measuring the temperature and a heat index on a hot day,” she noted.
“That said, it doesn’t look like Hezbollah activities are on the border between
Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. But the situation needs monitoring since
terrorists hiding in that area have committed terror attacks before. Although it
looks like it’s a remote possibility, it has already happened, and back then, it
also looked like it was a remote possibility.”
In South Africa, a country whose foreign policy has been remarkably anti-Israel,
while certain members of the government may not be concerned with antisemitism,
the local community works closely with other local government leaders within the
various cities to combat antisemitism and protect the community. “We have very
good relationships with the various security clusters in South Africa. We will
continue to work together to protect our community and all communities affected
by crime and other security-related issues,” Bloch shared with TML.
Professor Melamed explained that Hezbollah is organically attracted to local
individuals expressing antisemitic and anti-Israel ideas to recruit, radicalize,
and make sure the person commits an act of terror. Melamed noted specifically:
“Hezbollah is an extension of the Iranian theocratic regime. It is not simply
that it is aligned with its interests, but beyond.”
“It’s integrated with it, consolidating itself as the main tool of non-state
armed pressure to achieve Iran's strategic interests. In developing its
objectives, Hezbollah rapidly expanded and transformed. In a short time, it went
from being a transnational armed actor to becoming a transcontinental
organization with a presence in Europe, Africa, and East Asia. In this expansion
process, Latin America also became a significant theater of operations in
developing its activities. In their recruiting, being a Muslim is certainly a
desired aspect, but it isn’t mandatory. Aligning with antisemitic ideas is
enough for Hezbollah to try to recruit someone if there isn’t a large Muslim
community for them to draw human resources from.”
“In contrast,” Professor Melamed continued, “Hezbollah’s recruitment methods in
France and Europe as a whole, where there is a large Muslim population, take on
a different dimension. There, the group has access to a broader base of
potential recruits who already share a cultural or religious identity that can
be more easily aligned with Hezbollah’s radical ideology.”
“The existence of established Muslim communities allows Hezbollah to infiltrate
and influence through social networks, religious institutions, and local
grievances. This enables them to recruit not just individuals driven by
antisemitism, but also those who may already harbor anti-Western or anti-Israel
sentiments and can be radicalized to commit acts of terror.”
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on September 02-03/2024
Hamas admits to killing hostages, releases video of slain
hostage Eden Yerushalmi
Jerusalem Post/September 02/2024
Hamas has issued new instructions to guards on handling hostages if Israeli
troops approach hostage holding sites. The spokesperson for Hamas' armed al-Qassam
Brigades, Abu Obaida, said on Monday that the Palestinian group had issued new
instructions to guards on handling hostages if Israeli troops approach
hostage-holding sites, reiterating blame on Israel for the deaths of hostages.
"Netanyahu and the occupation army alone bear full responsibility for the deaths
of the prisoners. They deliberately obstructed any prisoner exchange deal for
their own narrow interests, and furthermore, intentionally killed dozens of
prisoners through direct airstrikes," Abu Obaida said in a message on Telegram.
"Let it be clear to everyone that, following the incident in Nuseirat, new
instructions have been issued to the Mujahideen tasked with guarding the
prisoners. These instructions outline how to handle the situation if the
occupation army approaches the location where the prisoners are being held," he
added.After the announcement, Hamas published a video which began with the
similar message and then continued to a recorded message of slain hostage Eden
Yerushalmi before her death. In the video, she gave a message directed at Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At this time, the Hostages and Missing Families
Forum has not cleared the video for public viewing.
Rescued, escaped, died
The Nuseirat incident refers to Operation Arnon, in which four hostages were
rescued from the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, which led to the deaths of at
least 100 people, according to IDF estimates, and nearly 300, according to Hamas
estimates. The operation also led to the death of Arnon Zamora, for whom the
operation was posthumously renamed. The rescued hostages were Noa Argamani, 26;
Andrey Kozlov, 27; Almog Meir Jan, 21; and Shlomi Ziv, 40. The announcement came
a day after the IDF recovered the bodies of six slain Israeli hostages from
Gaza: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander
Lobanov, and Ori Danino. All six had been killed by Hamas at least a day before
their rescue, having been found dead in the tunnels under Gaza.Their deaths came
only a few days after Bedouin-Israeli hostage Qaid Farhan Alkadi escaped from
Hamas captivity and made contact with IDF troops in the
Netanyahu apologizes for hostages' deaths, defends
Philadelphi Corridor decision
Jerusalem Post/September 02/2024
To the families of the six hostages, he said, “I ask your apology that we did
not succeed in bringing them home alive.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
issued a rare apology to the families of the six executed hostages but insisted
that he would not cave on the issue of retaining an IDF force in the Philadelphi
Corridor. “My heart and the heart of the nation is shattered into pieces,”
Netanyahu said in a special press conference in which he defended that position.
He spoke as the death of the hostages shot at close range by their captors over
the week, rocked the nation, with the major union holding a national strike
demanding a deal. To the families of the six hostages, he said, “I ask your
apology that we did not succeed in bringing them home alive.” Earlier in the
day, US President Joe Biden blamed both Netanyahu and Hamas for the absence of a
deal.He also dismissed that criticism noting that just five days ago senior US
officials were talking about Israel’s flexibility and determination to reach a
deal. Philadelphi is non-negotiable. “I want to ask you something, what has
changed in the last five days? What has changed?“One thing, these murderers
executed six of our hostages. They shot them in the back of the head. That's
what's changed, and now after this, we're asked to show seriousness. We're asked
to make concessions. What message does this send Hamas? “It says, kill more
hostages. Murder more hostages. You'll get more concessions. The pressure
internationally should be directed at these killers, at Hamas, not at Israel,"
Netanyahu said. “We say yes, they say no all the time, but they also murdered
these people, and now we need maximum pressure on Hamas.“I don't believe that
either President Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace and achieving the
release [of the hostages] would seriously ask Israel. Israel to make these
concessions we've already made. Hamas has to make the concessions.” Netanyahu
spent the bulk of his press conference defending his decision to hold fast to
the Philadelphi, emphasizing that this saves the potential to return the
remaining 101 hostages and doesn’t prevent it. “The moment Hamas understands
this, we will have a deal,” he said.Security officials, including Defense
Minister Yoav Gallant have said that Israel can afford to withdraw temporarily
from the Philadelphi Corridor in order to allow for the fulfillment of the first
phase of the hostage deal. Issues such as the future of the Philadelphi Corridor
and a permanent ceasefire would be negotiated concurrently. Netanyahu pushed
back, stressing that once Israel leave it will never be allowed to return,
explaining that in the end, this wasn’t purely a military issue, but also a
diplomatic one that had to take into account broader strategy. “This isn’t a
security issue, this is about a national geo-political strategy,” he said.
Israel “will not give up on existential issues, but we have been flexible on
many other things” that are elements of the deal, he said. Netanyahu also spoke
about his push to maximize the return of live hostages in the first phase of the
deal, explaining that as of now 23 captives would be freed in this phase which
would last for 42 days.
Hamas issues new instructions to hostage guards, accuses
Israel of recent deaths
Reuters/September 02/2024
The spokesperson for Hamas' armed al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, said on Monday
that the movement had issued new instructions to the guards of the hostages on
how to deal with them if Israeli forces approach the detention sites, holding
Israel responsible for the recent deaths of six hostages.
Israeli Fire Kills Dozens in Gaza, Polio Vaccinations in
Full Swing
Asharq Al AwsatSeptember 02/2024
Israeli forces killed at least 48 Palestinians in the past 24 hours across the
Gaza Strip as they battled Hamas fighters, Palestinian officials said on Monday,
while medics conducted a second day of polio vaccinations for children in the
enclave.Palestinian and UN officials said more than 80,000 children were
vaccinated in central areas of Gaza on Sunday, the first day of the campaign.
Hamas and Israel have agreed to brief pauses in fighting to allow the campaign
to vaccinate some 640,000 children to go ahead. No violations have been reported
near vaccination facilities. Seven Palestinians were killed in two Israeli air
strikes on Gaza City, Palestinian officials said on Monday, while two air
strikes killed six others in Bureij and Nuseirat, two of the Gaza Strip's eight
historic refugee camps, Reuters reported.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The armed wings of
Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters had confronted Israeli forces in
north, south and in some central area of Gaza with anti-tank rockets and mortar
fire. UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, repeated its call on Monday for
an immediate ceasefire to help ensure a successful and safe polio vaccination
campaign. "On 1st day only, @UNRWA teams & partners reached around 87,000
children according to @WHO. Efforts are ongoing to provide children with this
key vaccine, but what they need most is a #CeasefireNow," it said on the X
social media platform. Israel and Hamas have continued to trade blame for the
failure to conclude a ceasefire, that would end the war, and see the release of
Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza and many Palestinians jailed in
Israel.
DEADLY DISEASE
Parents continued bringing their infants to be vaccinated at medical facilities
on Monday. The World Health Organization (WHO) says a drop in routine
vaccinations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Gaza, has
contributed to the re-emergence of polio in the area. Polio myelitis is a highly
infectious virus that can cause paralysis and death in infants, with under-2s
most at risk. The WHO confirmed last month that a baby was partially paralysed
by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
Palestinians say a key reason for the return of polio is the collapse of the
health system and destruction of most hospitals in the Gaza Strip. Israel
accuses Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes, which the group denies.
Biden says Netanyahu not doing enough, Hamas to pay price
Jerusalem Post/September 02/2024
US President Biden criticized Netanyahu for delaying a Gaza ceasefire and
hostage deal, urging swift action to finalize the agreement.
Updated: SEPTEMBER 2, 2024 22:57 US President Joe Biden had harsh words for
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas in the aftermath of the terror
group’s execution of six hostages held in Gaza, including Israel-American
hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.Biden spoke with reporters prior to his meeting
with members of his negotiating team at the White House on Monday.He appeared to
confirm reports that the US would soon present a final hostage deal to Israel
and Hamas.“We’re very close to that,” he said when asked about that report. He
was also quizzed as to why this effort would be successful when past initiatives
had failed, he said, “Hope springs eternal.” He added “We're not giving up.
We're going to continue to push as hard as we can.”Senior Hamas official Sami
Abu Zuhri, told Reuters that Biden’s comments were an acknowledgment that
Netanyahu was undermining efforts.Zuhri added that any proposal for a permanent
ceasefire and complete Israeli withdrawal would be received positively. Biden
spoke as Hersh, 23, was laid to rest in Jerusalem. Hamas released a video just
before the funeral of the six hostages making short statements while in
captivity. The other hostages were Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi,
Alexander Lobanov and Ori Danino. It was expected that four of the six,
including Hersh would be freed in the first phase of a three-part deal that has
been on the table since May 31. With their death, there are 101 remaining
hostages in Gaza, of which 66 are presumed to be alive.Although it was Labor Day
weekend, Biden met in the White House’s Situation Room on Monday morning with
Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National
Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and US Special Envoy Brett McGurk.
Biden presses Netanyahu
Biden, Harris and Sullivan have all spoken with Hersh’s parents Jon Polin and
Rachel Goldberg.At the meeting Biden “expressed his devastation and outrage at
the murder, and reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas’s leaders
accountable,” the White House said. Biden and Harris “received an update from
the US negotiation team on the status of the bridging proposal outlined by the
United States, Qatar, and Egypt. “They discussed next steps in the ongoing
effort to secure the release of hostages, including continuing consultations
with co-mediators Qatar and Egypt,” the White House said. In the aftermath of
Biden’s statement, Netanyahu called a press conference after days of pushing
firm on his policy that he would not accept a deal at any price. He has insisted
in particular that Israel must retain an IDF presence in the Philadelphi
Corridor a critical buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza, under which Hamas has
for years smuggled weapons into the coastal enclave. Senior Israeli sources said
that it is remarkable that Biden is trying to pressure Netanyahu, who agreed to
both the President’s May 31st proposal and to the American "final bridging
proposal" on August 16th, and not Hamas’s leader Sinwar, who continues to oppose
the American proposal. “The President's statement is also dangerous because it
comes days after Hamas executed 6 hostages, including an American,” the senior
sources said. Biden and his negotiating team were expected to “discuss efforts”
to advance “a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages,” the
White House said.
The Missing and Hostage Families’ Forum thanked Biden for his efforts to free
the hostages and urged Netanyahu to follow in his footsteps. “It would have been
better if the Prime Minister of Israel would have acted in a similar way to save
the lives of the hostages and returned the bodies of those who were murdered on
his watch,” the forum stated.“If we needed further proof that Netanyahu is
thwarting the return of the hostages - we got it from the US president,” it
stated. “The Prime Minister's statement that we will not leave Philadelphi, not
in 42 days and not in 42 years, is a dangerous statement that means there will
be no deal and the families will not get to see their loved ones return home,”
the forum stated. The Israeli public won’t continue to allow the security
cabinet to thwart the deal that “could have saved the lives of at least three of
the six hostages who were buried in the last two days,” the forum said. On
Monday the country’s major trade union, the Histadrut, went on a general strike
in an attempt to pressure the government to finalize a deal.
IDF: kills 14 terrorists, seizes dozens of explosives in West Bank operations
that could last weeks
The IDF’s extensive West Bank operation since August 28, targeting Jenin and
Tulkarem, has led to 14 terrorist deaths and ongoing evacuations.The large
operation of the IDF in the West Bank, which started on August 28 and has
already led to the killing of 14 terrorists, could continue for a number of
weeks. Although officially the IDF is not evacuating Jenin, large portions of
the population have self-evacuated. The most intense IDF operation in the West
Bank in several months, which has also focused on Tulkarem and other areas, has
been using hundreds of troops with sustained and unusually broad air support, in
contrast to typical raids in the West Bank involving dozens or fewer IDF
soldiers operating in any one village at a time. The last time that The
Jerusalem Post was aware of a brigade-size operation in the West Bank was July
2023, when thousands of IDF forces descended on Jenin to rout a growing
insurrection in the area. For months after that operation, Jenin was viewed as
being more under control, with the Palestinian Authority security forces also
returning to put down terror activity in a stronger way than they had done for
some period of years. But more recently, and despite the IDF having arrested
closing in on 5,000 Palestinian terror suspects and killed closing in on 600
terrorists since October 7, terror in Jenin has been heating up again.
Ongoing concerns over weapons and terrorism
When the Post visited Jenin in July 2023, there were almost no Palestinians left
nearby, but eventually, they returned once the IDF withdrew. It was unclear if
the same would occur after this operation - though the current operation will
last much longer than the short multi-day operation in 2023. Also, in 2023,
pre-operation estimates were that there were 150 specific wanted suspects in
Jenin and an estimated total of 300 potential combat fighters out of the
population of 49,000. Of those, around 300 were questioned, with at least dozens
referred to the Shin Bet for more serious and extended interrogation. A
significant but much smaller number of suspects, 25, were arrested so far during
the current operation. Further, in 2023, over 300 Palestinian improvised
explosives were seized, and a couple dozen key terror command and control and
other targets were destroyed.
A significant but much smaller number of explosives, 30, were destroyed during
the current operation. Of note, many of these explosives placed under roads had
up to 100 kilograms of explosives, an unusually high amount. Israel has been
concerned about Iran smuggling higher quality weapons and explosives to West
Bank terrorists. The Israel Border Police, the Shin Bet, Duvdevan special
forces, and the Kfir Brigade from the IDF initiated the counterterrorism
operation in response to the attempted suicide bombing attack in Tel Aviv on
August 18 and a recent spike in Palestinian terror.
'We all failed you.' Heartbreak at funeral for
Israeli-American hostage in Jerusalem
Melanie Lidman/AP/September 02/2024
An Israeli-American family that became an international symbol in the struggle
to free hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza laid their son to rest on Monday
after the discovery of his body and those of five others brought a fresh
outpouring of grief. Tens of thousands of people thronged a Jerusalem cemetery
to pay their respects to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who became one of the most
recognizable faces of the nearly year-old hostage crisis. Hundreds of others
lined a major thoroughfare in Jerusalem, holding Israeli flags. Many sobbed as
his mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, said goodbye to her son and told him, “My
sweet boy, finally, finally, finally you are free!”She and her husband, Jon,
shared stories of their 23-year-old son, who they called funny, curious and
relentless in the pursuit of justice. They said they hoped his death might be a
turning point in drawn-out negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage release.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin said the past 330 days had been “such torment that closed
my throat and made my soul burn with third-degree burns.” She told her son: “I
no longer need to worry about you, you are no longer in danger."His father
added: “We failed you, we all failed you. ... Maybe your death is the stone, the
fuel, that will bring home the 101 other hostages.”Israel’s military announced
Sunday that the bodies of Goldberg-Polin and the five others had been discovered
in an underground tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli forensics experts
said they had been shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday, shortly
before Israeli troops reached the tunnel in southern Gaza where they were held.
Their deaths sparked protests by hundreds of thousands of people in Israel, with
many saying the hostages could have been returned alive if a cease-fire deal had
been reached. Three of the six hostages, including Goldberg-Polin, were
reportedly scheduled to be released in the first phase of a cease-fire proposal
discussed in July. “I apologize on behalf of the state of Israel that we failed
to protect you in the terrible disaster of Oct. 7, that we failed to bring you
home safely,” Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said in a eulogy. Goldberg-Polin,
a native of Berkeley, California, was attending a music festival when Hamas-led
militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250
others hostage. He lost part of his left arm to a grenade blast during the
attack. In April, a Hamas-issued video, showed him speaking under duress with
his left hand missing, sparking new protests in Israel. Hamas accuses Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of dragging out cease-fire talks by issuing
new demands, including for lasting Israeli control over two strategic corridors
in Gaza. Netanyahu claimed on Monday night he has accepted Biden’s previous
proposals and blamed Hamas for the lack of progress. Netanyahu also has blamed
Hamas for the deaths of Goldberg-Polin and the five others, saying “whoever
murders hostages doesn’t want a deal.”Smaller protests continued in Israel on
Monday, and Israel’s largest trade union held a general strike, the first since
the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, to pressure the government for a deal. Goldberg-Polin’s
U.S.-born parents became two of the most high-profile relatives of hostages on
the international stage. They met with U.S. President Joe Biden, Pope Francis
and others. They addressed the United Nations and the Democratic National
Convention, urging the release of all hostages. Rachel Goldberg-Polin ended many
speeches with a message for her son: “We love you, stay strong, survive.”At the
funeral, she echoed the plea she had made for months in the hope that somehow he
could hear. “And Hersh, there’s one last thing I need you to do for us,” she
said. "Now, I need you to help us stay strong, and I need you to help us
survive.”
Hamas says hostage guards in Gaza have been operating under new instructions
Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jaidaa Taha/CAIRO (Reuters)/September 2, 2024
Abu Ubaida, the spokesman of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, gestures as he
speaks during an anti-Israel military show in the southern Gaza Strip
-Hamas' armed wing said on Monday that since June the group has been operating
under new instructions on how to handle hostages should Israeli forces approach
their locations in Gaza. The announcement comes days after the Israeli military
recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of
Rafah, saying they had been shot dead by their captors as Israel forces got
close. Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades, did not provide
details on what the instructions were. He said his group holds Israel
responsible for the hostages' deaths. The new instructions, Ubaida said, were
given to guards of hostages after a rescue operation by Israel in June. At that
time, Israeli forces freed four hostages in a raid in which dozens of
Palestinians, including women and children, were killed. "Netanyahu's insistence
to free prisoners through military pressure, instead of sealing a deal means
they will be returned to their families in shrouds. Their families must choose
whether they want them dead or alive," he said. Later on Monday, the Hamas armed
wing published a pre-recorded video of one of the six dead hostages, urging
Netanyahu to conclude a deal to free them, saying she feared she could die in
captivity. The date of when the video was recorded was unclear. Netanyahu said
in a press conference on Monday that the hostages had been shot in the back of
the head, and promised that Hamas would pay a heavy price.Senior Hamas official
Sami Abu Zuhri said Netanyahu's accusations against Hamas was an attempt to
escape responsibility for their death, adding that his threats to its leaders
didn't frighten them. "Netanyahu killed the six prisoners and he is determined
to kill the remaining ones. The Israelis should choose between Netanyahu or the
deal," said Abu Zuhri Israel and Hamas have failed to reach a deal that would
end the war and see the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza in
return for many Palestinians jailed by Israel. Hamas wants any agreement to end
the war and get Israeli forces out of Gaza while Netanyahu says the war can only
end once Hamas is defeated.
Demonstrators march on Israeli Prime Minister
Netanyahu's home as cease-fire protests continue
DAVID BRENNAN/ABC News/September 2, 2024
Israeli demonstrators demand cease-fire dealScroll back up to restore default
view.
Anti-government demonstrators gathered in the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem for a second day of protests after the killing of six hostages,
demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conclude a cease-fire and
hostage-release deal with Hamas. Street protests resumed across the country on
Monday, coinciding with a general strike called by Israel’s largest trade union
-- Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, which has
hundreds of thousands of members -- which has caused disruptions to services in
some areas of the country. Protesters broke through barriers near Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Monday as they demanded
progress on a deal to return the hostages in Gaza. The current wave of
demonstrations were sparked by the recovery of the bodies of six hostages from a
tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday -- among them Israeli-American
citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The Israel Defense Forces said the captives were
killed by militants "shortly" before their discovery. The killings prompted fury
in Israel, where some place blame for the deaths on Netanyahu’s months-long
failure to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas.
During a press conference Monday evening, Netanyahu asked for forgiveness from
the families of the six slain hostages. "I ask you for forgiveness that we did
not succeed to bring your loved ones back alive. We were close, but we did not
succeed," Netanyahu said.
Amid the protests, airlines operating out of Ben-Gurion International Airport
temporarily halted some flights on Monday morning due to the strike, according
to the airport. The union said Sunday the strike was only expected to affect
some departing flights. The general strike was expected to last until Monday at
about 2:30 p.m. local time, according to union Chairman Arnon Bar-David.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a statement while expressing his support
for the general strike: “They were alive. Netanyahu and the death cabinet
decided not to save them. There are still live hostages there, a deal can still
be made. Netanyahu is not doing it for political reasons.”Defense Minister Yoav
Gallant, meanwhile, posted on X linking the deaths of the six captives to
Netanyahu’s reported decision last week to retain military control of the
Philadelphi Corridor -- the strip of land running along the Gaza-Egypt border --
despite Hamas objections. Gallant called for the security cabinet to immediately
reverse the decision in order to save the remaining hostages. Public anger
flared on Sunday night with hundreds of thousands of Israelis taking to the
streets, with some engaging in clashes with police. Authorities said 29 people
were arrested in Tel Aviv, as protesters set fire to barricades and launched
fireworks. Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the continued failure of cease-fire and
hostage-release talks. “Whoever murders hostages – does not want a deal,” the
prime minister said in a statement released on Sunday. “Hamas is continuing to
steadfastly refuse all proposals.”“The government of Israel is committed, and I
am personally committed, to continue striving toward a deal that will return all
of our hostages and ensure our security and our existence,” he added. Hamas
accused Netanyahu of intentionally sabotaging negotiations by adding
unacceptable new demands, which it said were “aimed at obstructing reaching an
agreement to preserve his power.”Some of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition
partners have pushed back on the protesters’ demands for a deal. Finance
Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for example, noted in a post on X that he was seeking
legal action to break up the general strike. Its organizers, he said, “will not
be allowed to turn the country upside down.”Strikers, he added, “serve the
interests of [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar and Hamas.”ABC News' Joe Simonetti
contributed to this report. Demonstrators march on Israeli Prime Minister
Netanyahu's home as cease-fire protests continue originally appeared on
abcnews.go.com
Israel's Labor Court Rules General Strike Must End
Asharq Al Awsat/September 12/2024
Israel's Labor Court in Tel Aviv ruled that a general strike that shut much of
the country's economy must end at 2:30 p.m. local time (1130 GMT), according to
court documents seen by Reuters. Israel's main trade union had launched a
general strike on Monday to pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into
agreeing to a ceasefire deal in Gaza after the deaths of six hostages held by
Hamas triggered mass protests across the country. The court sided with the
government in its ruling on Monday, saying the strike was politically motivated.
A rare call for a general strike in Israel to protest the failure to return
hostages held in Gaza led to closures and other disruptions around the country
on Monday, including at its main international airport. But it was ignored in
some areas, reflecting deep political divisions. According to The AP, hundreds
of thousands of Israelis had poured into the streets late Sunday in grief and
anger after six hostages were found dead in Gaza. The families and much of the
public blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they could have been
returned alive in a deal with Hamas to end the nearly 11-month-old war. But
others support Netanyahu's strategy of maintaining relentless military pressure
on Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attack into Israel triggered the war. They say it will
eventually force the militants to give in to Israeli demands, potentially
facilitate rescue operations and ultimately annihilate the group. Israel’s
largest trade union, the Histadrut, called for a general strike on Monday, the
first since the start of the war. It aims to shut down or disrupt major sectors
of the economy, including banking, health care and the country’s main airport.
Airlines at Israel’s main international airport, Ben-Gurion, were halting
outgoing flights between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Those flights either departed early
or were slightly delayed, and travelers were seen lining up at check-in counters
despite the limited disruption. Arriving flights were continuing as usual during
that time, according to the Israel Airports Authority. The Histadrut said that
banks, some large malls and government offices were all joining the strike, as
were some public transit services, although there did not appear to be any major
disruptions. Intercity trains were not included in the strike, and Egged, a main
bus line, said only some drivers were striking. Municipalities in Israel’s
populated central area, including Tel Aviv, were participating in the strike,
leading to shortened school hours and cancellations for public day cares and
kindergartens. Many municipalities, however, including Jerusalem, were not
participating. Israeli media reported that the state appealed to a labor court
to cancel the strike, saying it was politically motivated. The demonstrations on
Sunday appeared to be the largest since the start of the war, with organizers
estimating that up to 500,000 people joined nationwide events and the main rally
held in Tel Aviv. Israeli media estimated that 200,000 to 400,000 took part.
They are demanding that Netanyahu reach a deal to return the remaining roughly
100 hostages held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead, even if it
means leaving a battered Hamas intact and withdrawing from the territory. Many
Israelis support this position, but others prioritize the destruction of the
militant group over freedom for the hostages.
Biden, Harris to meet US negotiating team on Gaza
hostage deal
Agence France Presse/September 12/2024
President Joe Biden will sit down on Monday with U.S. negotiators pushing for a
hostage-release deal in the Israel-Hamas war, the White House said, after the
deaths of six captives in Gaza, including an American citizen. Biden's official
schedule was revised to make time for the White House meeting, which will also
be attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running to succeed him in
November's presidential election. A statement announcing Biden's updated
schedule said he and Harris would meet Monday "with the U.S. hostage deal
negotiating team following the murder of American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin
and five other hostages by Hamas on Saturday, and discuss efforts to drive
towards a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages." The United
States, along with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar, has spent months pushing
for a hostage-prisoner exchange and ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Militants
seized 251 hostages during the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war,
97 of whom remain in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Scores of hostages were released during a one-week truce in November, with
campaigners and family members believing another deal is the best option to
ensure the rest return. A nationwide strike in Israel aimed at ramping up
pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to secure the release
of the remaining captives was set to begin Monday.Hostage relatives and
advocates have accused Netanyahu's administration of not doing enough to bring
the captives back alive, and have called for an immediate ceasefire to rescue
the rest.
Britain says it is suspending some arms exports to
Israel over risk of breaking international law
Jill Lawless/LONDON (AP)/September 02/2024
The British government said Monday it is suspending exports of some weapons to
Israel because they could be used to break international law. Foreign Secretary
David Lammy said there is a “clear risk” some items could be used to “commit or
facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.” He told
lawmakers the decision related to about 30 of 350 export licenses for equipment
“that we assess is for use in the current conflict in Gaza," including parts for
military aircraft and drones and items used for ground targeting. He said it was
“not a determination of innocence or guilt” about whether Israel had broken
international law, and was not an arms embargo. Britain is among a number of
Israel’s longstanding allies whose governments are under growing pressure to
halt weapons exports because of the toll of the 11-month-old war in Gaza. which
has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in
the Hamas-run territory. British firms sell a relatively small amount of weapons
and components to Israel. Earlier this year the government said military exports
to Israel amounted to 42 million pounds ($53 million) in 2022. The U.K.’s
center-left Labour government, elected in July, has faced pressure from some of
its own members and lawmakers to apply more pressure on Israel to stop the
violence. In the election the party lost several seats it had had been expected
to win to pro-Palestinian independents after leader Keir Starmer initially
refused to call for a cease fire shortly after Israel retaliated for the Oct. 7
attack by Hamas militants that killed about 1,200 people. In a departure from
the stance of its Conservative predecessor, Starmer’s government said in July
that the U.K. will not intervene in the International Criminal Court’s request
for an arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Starmer also restored funding for the United Nations’ Palestine relief agency
UNRWA, which had been suspended by his Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak’s
government in January. Lammy, who has visited Israel twice in the past two
months as part of Western efforts to push for a cease fire, said he was a
“friend of Israel,” but called the violence in Gaza “horrifying.” "Israel’s
actions in Gaza continue to lead to immense loss of civilian life, widespread
destruction to civilian infrastructure, and immense suffering," he said.
Palestinian man dies in detention as Israeli West Bank
operation continues
Ali Sawafta/RAMALLAH (Reuters)/September 2, 2024
Israeli troops turned over to Palestinian health authorities on Monday the body
of a Palestinian man who died after his arrest hours earlier in the occupied
West Bank as a major operation in the flashpoint city of Jenin continued for a
sixth day. The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had received the body of
58-year-old Ayman Rajeh Abed from the village of Kafr Dan, just outside Jenin,
after he was arrested around dawn on Monday. The director of the Wissam Bakr
hospital in Jenin said the body bore signs of beatings and torture. The Israeli
military said Abed had been detained during counterterrorism operations and
experienced a "cardiac event" on arrival at a detention facility. He was given
initial treatment by medical staff from the military, before being evacuated to
the hospital in Jenin. "The IDF is aware of reports that the suspect died during
his evacuation by the Red Crescent," it said in a statement, adding that details
of the incident were under review. The death occurred as Israeli forces extended
their operations in Jenin to villages around the city, where bulldozers
continued to dig up streets and major thoroughfares to find roadside bombs. The
military said troops had located an underground weapons cache and neutralized
around 30 explosive devices, some of them buried underneath the roadway. Israel
launched the operation, one of the largest in months, on Wednesday, saying
Iranian-backed militant groups were planning to attack civilian targets.
Hundreds of troops backed by drones and helicopters have taken part in the
operation, which has caused extensive damage to houses and infrastructure in
Jenin and the densely packed refugee camp adjacent to the city. At least 29
Palestinians have been killed, in Jenin and other areas of the West Bank, most
of whom have been claimed as members by armed factions including Hamas and
Islamic Jihad. Another 121 people have been wounded, according to Palestinian
health authorities. Late on Sunday, a man was killed west of Jenin city. On
Monday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said a man had been hit in the chest by
gunfire in Qabatiya near Jenin. His condition was described as serious.
US Seizes Venezuelan President’s Plane in Dominican
Republic
Asharq Al AwsatSeptember 02/2024
The United States has seized a plane used by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
and flown it from the Dominican Republic to Florida after determining that its
purchase violated US sanctions, the US Justice Department said on Monday. The
seizure of the aircraft came amid continuing pressure on Maduro at home and
abroad over a contested July 28 election that he claimed to have won, while the
opposition said its vote tallies showed its candidate to have soundly defeated
him. Maduro, his associates and the OPEC member-state's vital oil sector are
under heavy US sanctions, and his handling of the election has raised the
prospects that further measures could be imposed.“This morning, the Justice
Department seized an aircraft we allege was illegally purchased for $13 million
through a shell company and smuggled out of the United States for use by Nicolás
Maduro and his cronies,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.US
officials said the seizure, which was first reported by CNN, was made working
closely with the Dominican Republic. The Venezuelan government did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources
on September 02-03/2024
Iran's Gaza War: Unfortunately, A Ceasefire Deal Will Not Bring the Hostages
Back
John Richardson/Gatestone Institute/September 02,/2024
The Biden-Harris administration apparently sees no problem with a Palestinian
state being yet another terrorist state, committed to annihilating Israel -- as
both Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force commander General
Esmail Qaani ("Israel is a cancer that must be eliminated"), and senior Hamas
official Ghazi Hamad have straightforwardly vowed.
A ceasefire might sound as if it is a "good thing" that benefits everyone --
understandably if a friend or family member is a hostage. The problem seems to
be the Hamas demand that Israel should leave the "Philadelphi corridor" on the
border between Gaza and Egypt, so that Hamas, backed by its patrons Qatar and
Iran, can resume smuggling weapons and ammunition into Gaza, rearm, rebuild and
attack again.
It is probably more convenient, for all those trying to overthrow Netanyahu, to
look at him rather than at the real perpetrators: Hamas, Iran and Qatar.
Qatar, "the Trojan Horse in Washington D.C.," has long been financing Islamic
terrorist organizations, as well as bestowing more than $6 billion on US
universities to teach American youths whatever Qatar's leaders decide.
Nevertheless, the Biden-Harris administration decided that these qualifications
made Qatar perfect to negotiate the Gaza war on America's behalf, the same way
the administration unfathomably decided to have Russia negotiate on America's
behalf with Iran over restarting the nuclear deal.
The Biden-Harris administration seems to want Netanyahu gone to be able to work
with "their" prime minister: one who presumably would be delighted not only to
have a terrorist Palestinian state on his borders -- a state sworn to Israel's
destruction -- and who would also be delighted if Iran -- also sworn to Israel's
destruction -- had nuclear weapons. It is the policy embraced by Obama, so long
as Iran did not acquire nuclear weapons "on his watch." Down the road, however,
would be an altogether different story.
What many Israelis seem unwilling or unable to see is, sadly, that even with a
ceasefire, the hostages will not be released. Hamas will hold on to as many of
them as they can for as long as they can, to keep them in play as a weapon.
With a ceasefire, Israel unfortunately will not get peace and will not get the
hostages. The Israelis might see a few hostages at a time dribbled out, the
living ones first, they hope, each one exchanged for hundreds, if not more, of
convicted Palestinian terrorists released from Israeli prisons, whose first job
would be to go right back to terrorizing.
Meanwhile, the negotiations over every hostage would allow plenty of time for
Iran and Hamas to bring more weapons in through the unguarded border from Egypt
into Gaza, in order to rearm. The current leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, is
himself a convicted terrorist who confessed to murdering four people with his
own hands. Sinwar was serving four life sentences in an Israeli prison when he
was released, among more than 1,000 terrorists, in exchange for one Israeli
hostage, Gilad Shalit, in 2011.
There is at least one way to get the hostages back quickly.... "Many Americans
believe that they owe Qatar for its hosting of the U.S. CENTCOM base. The truth
is precisely the opposite: It is Qatar that owes the U.S., for locating this
base there. Without this base's presence in the country, Qatar would disappear
within less than a week – its neighbors would eat it up." — Yigal Carmon, MEMRI,
June 10, 2024.
Instead of saying, as the propagandists no doubt like, "Bring them Home," meant
to sound as if Netanyahu is hiding the hostages under the Knesset, Israelis
would be better off saying, "Release the Hostages" -- directed at Hamas, Qatar
and Iran.
A ceasefire deal unfortunately will not bring back the hostages any time soon.
Hamas will drag out each negotiation, continue attacking Israel and try to make
Israelis miserable enough to give up the fight, as many seem to be doing even
now.
A ceasefire might sound as if it is a "good thing" that benefits everyone --
understandably if a friend or family member is a hostage. The problem seems to
be the Hamas demand that Israel should leave the "Philadelphi corridor" on the
border between Gaza and Egypt, so that Hamas, backed by its patrons Qatar and
Iran, can resume smuggling weapons and ammunition into Gaza, rearm, rebuild and
attack again. Pictured: A large Hamas tunnel between the Gaza Strip and Egypt,
beneath the Philadelphi Corridor, discovered by the Israeli military on August
4, 2024. (Photo source: IDF)
The murder of six more Israeli hostages -- Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat,
Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino -- captured by
the terrorist group Hamas appears to be leading many Israelis, along with most
of their ever-gullible media (remember the Oslo Accords?) to think that if only
their government would agree to a ceasefire, they would get their hostages back.
Most people, at least in the West, would desperately like that -- not just the
American ones -- all 120 of them, especially before Hamas finishes murdering
them. If the Israelis really want their hostages back, however, they had better
think again.
For a start, the recent demonstrations demanding that Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire, look suspiciously like a "new,
improved" version of the demonstrations of 2023, against the government's
attempts to bring much needed accountability back to Israel's Supreme Court.
Those demonstrations were reportedly funded by the US State Department to the
tune of "tens of thousands of dollars" of US taxpayer money, funneled to an
Israel not-for-profit organization, the Movement for Quality Government.
If the Biden-Harris administration is not behind the current demonstrations, it
would be a pleasant surprise. The US, even before the Obama administration, has
been unable to resist interfering in Israel's internal affairs -- such as trying
to prevent Netanyahu from being elected and then trying to push him out. In
2015, Netanyahu's address to the US Congress about Iran's nuclear weapons
program was apparently organized without consulting President Barack Obama, and,
except during the Trump administration, the same US policy appears to have
continued unchecked. During Netanyahu's visit to the US in July 2024, not one
senior administration official greeted Netanyahu upon his arrival in Washington
or attended his address to Congress.
The Biden-Harris administration has even tried to direct Israels war efforts.
Vice-President Kamala announced in March that she had "studied the maps" and
that it would be a "mistake" for Israel to enter Rafah -- which it did soon
after, with breathtaking success.
What is all this really about? Even though the Biden-Harris administration would
certainly appreciate all those the anti-Israeli votes they hope will be coming
their way on November 5th, above all -- should Harris win the presidency -- she,
like President Joe Biden, appears eager to present the world with a Palestinian
State.
Biden stated in November 2023, that "the only ultimate answer here is a
two-state solution that's real" Harris openly, if codedly, admitted as much in
her acceptance speech for the presidential nomination:
"President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure,
the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian
people can realize their right to dignity. Security. Freedom. And
self-determination."
She repeated the same view in her pre-taped CNN interview on August 29:
"I remain committed, since I've been on October 8, to what we must do to work
toward a two-state solution, where Israel is secure and in equal measure the
Palestinians have security and self-determination and dignity."
The Biden-Harris administration apparently sees no problem with a Palestinian
state being yet another terrorist state, committed to annihilating Israel -- as
both Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force commander General
Esmail Qaani ("Israel is a cancer that must be eliminated"), and senior Hamas
official Ghazi Hamad have straightforwardly vowed:
Hamad: "Israel is a country that has no place on our land. We must remove that
country....We are not ashamed to say this, with full force....
News anchor: Does that mean the annihilation of Israel?
Hamad: "Yes, of course.
The Biden-Harris administration doubtless sees Prime Minister Netanyahu, called
"the Churchill of the Middle East," as standing in their way.
A ceasefire might sound as if it is a "good thing" that benefits everyone --
understandably if a friend or family member is a hostage. The problem seems to
be the Hamas demand that Israel should leave the "Philadelphi corridor" on the
border between Gaza and Egypt, so that Hamas, backed by its patrons Qatar and
Iran, can resume smuggling weapons and ammunition into Gaza, rearm, rebuild and
attack again.
The Israelis who are demonstrating are sadly misdirecting their outrage at just
about everything: who is responsible, who is deceiving them and what the
solution should be. As the journalist Caroline Glick points out, they are
playing into the hands of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar:
"... Sinwar views them [the hostages] as a tool. The texts of nearly every
single video have been nearly identical. The hostages blame Netanyahu for their
suffering and demand that the government bow to Hamas's demands or else Hamas
will kill them.
"All the agency is on Israel. Hamas merely responds to the actions of the
government. Whether the hostages live or die is Israel's decision, not Hamas's.
In other words, the sole purpose of the videos is to destabilize the government
by inducing the public to believe that it is the government—not Hamas—that is
effectively holding the hostages captive....
"Since May, and with greater determination and urgency in recent weeks,
Netanyahu has stated repeatedly that although he is willing to make massive,
painful concessions to free even a small number of hostages, he is not willing
to remove IDF units from the Gaza-Egypt border. In light of the U.S. position,
his stance makes sense. The only way for Israel not to lose is to keep Hamas cut
off from its outside supporters. A JNS/Direct Polls survey from July showed that
some 60% of Israelis support that position....
"The generals' position is supported by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Gallant
fully abandoned his voters in Likud and began serving as a mouthpiece for the
left and the Biden-Harris administration in the Security Cabinet immediately
after returning from his weeklong visit to Washington in June.
"The discourse in Israel isn't simply removed from reality because it is based
on a false presentation of the U.S. position by the security brass. The entire
domestic debate is taking place while Hamas isn't even participating in the
negotiations. For the generals, for Gallant and their comrades in the Knesset,
the media and on the streets, the only one responsible for anything is
Netanyahu.
"In other words, Gallant, the generals, the left's political leaders and the
rioters in the streets are all playing the roles Sinwar assigned them."
It is probably more convenient, for all those trying to overthrow Netanyahu, to
look at him rather than at the real perpetrators: Hamas, Iran and Qatar.
Qatar, "the Trojan Horse in Washington D.C.," has long been financing Islamic
terrorist organizations, as well as bestowing more than $6 billion on US
universities to teach American youths whatever Qatar's leaders decide.
Nevertheless, the Biden-Harris administration decided that these qualifications
made Qatar perfect to negotiate the Gaza war on America's behalf, the same way
the administration unfathomably decided to have Russia negotiate on America's
behalf with Iran over restarting the nuclear deal.
Clearly, Qatar and Iran are not just godfathers of Hamas; they are also
seemingly close friends of the Biden-Harris administration. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken, on January 1, "quietly" renewed Qatar's agreement to host the
immense US Central Command at its Al-Udeid Air Base for another ten years. Iran
was rescued by the Biden-Harris administration, from a sanctions-imposed poverty
that could threaten its regime, to a wealth of billions of dollars that has
funded all this mayhem. Iran, along with its proxies and militias, is also
behind "over 150 attacks" on US troops in the Middle East, just since October 7,
2023, wounding many American troops, as well effectively blocking most
commercial shipping through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
What the US has been doing, ever since Netanyahu was last elected in 2022, is
trying to get him removed. He would then be replaced -- in the original plan by
Benny Ganz (minister without portfolio in the war cabinet), who resigned after
it was disclosed that he met with senior U.S. officials in Washington against
the wishes of the prime minister -- in the current plan by Defense Minister Yoav
Gallant.
The Biden-Harris administration seems to want Netanyahu gone to be able to work
with "their" prime minister: one who presumably would be delighted not only to
have a terrorist Palestinian state on his borders -- a state sworn to Israel's
destruction -- and who would also be delighted if Iran -- also sworn to Israel's
destruction -- had nuclear weapons. It is the policy embraced by Obama, so long
as Iran did not acquire nuclear weapons "on his watch." Down the road, however,
would be an altogether different story:
"Iran could be able to obtain a nuclear weapon much more quickly after the first
13 years of the emerging nuclear deal, President Barack Obama acknowledged..."
What many Israelis seem unwilling or unable to see is, sadly, that even with a
ceasefire, the hostages will not be released. Hamas will hold on to as many of
them as they can for as long as they can, to keep them in play as a weapon.
With a ceasefire, Israel unfortunately will not get peace and will not get the
hostages. The Israelis might see a few hostages at a time dribbled out, the
living ones first, they hope, each one exchanged for hundreds, if not more, of
convicted Palestinian terrorists released from Israeli prisons, whose first job
would be to go right back to terrorizing.
Meanwhile, the negotiations over every hostage would allow plenty of time for
Iran and Hamas to bring more weapons in through the unguarded border from Egypt
into Gaza, in order to rearm. The current leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, is
himself a convicted terrorist who confessed to murdering four people with his
own hands. Sinwar was serving four life sentences in an Israeli prison, when he
was released, among more than 1,000 terrorists, in exchange for one Israeli
hostage, Gilad Shalit, in 2011.
There is at least one way to get the hostages back quickly, according to Yigal
Carmon, a retired colonel in the IDF Intelligence Corps and president of the
Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI):
"Hamas lives off economic and political support from Qatar. Hence, Hamas's life
depends on Qatar. Only if it feels threatened will Qatar truly help. Only if
Qatar's very existence is put in question by using political, economic, legal,
and security pressure will it move to help the U.S. and Israel to release the
hostages. Right now, Qatar is cheating them both while trying with all its might
to help Hamas.
"Qatar will not, however, commit suicide for Hamas, and when it sees that it
must choose between Hamas and ceasing to exist, it will choose existence, and
Hamas will comply with its demands because Qatar is its lifeline without which
Hamas will not exist – especially during and after a war...
"Many Americans believe that they owe Qatar for its hosting of the U.S. CENTCOM
base. The truth is precisely the opposite: It is Qatar that owes the U.S., for
locating this base there. Without this base's presence in the country, Qatar
would disappear within less than a week – its neighbors would eat it up."
The Israeli demonstrators demanding that Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire are
being duped. They are being used by the Biden-Harris administration and the
gullible Israeli media to produce, in all probability, a prime minister who will
smilingly accept a nuclear-armed Iran along with a terrorist Palestinian state.
Instead of saying, as the propagandists no doubt like, "Bring them Home," meant
to sound as if Netanyahu is hiding the hostages under the Knesset, Israelis
would be better off saying, "Release the Hostages" -- directed at Hamas, Qatar
and Iran.
A ceasefire deal unfortunately will not bring back the hostages any time soon.
Hamas will drag out each negotiation, continue attacking Israel and try to make
Israelis miserable enough to give up the fight, as many seem to be doing even
now.
*John Richardson is based in the United States.
© 2024 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Today in History: Christian Slave Turned Commander Defends Albania from Islamic
Takeover
Raymond Ibrahim/LifeSiteNews/September 02,/2024
Today in history witnessed one of the most stalwart defenses against the Islamic
spear-thrust into Europe — the Battle of Albulena in Albania, 1457.
To appreciate the significance of this epic clash, one must first appreciate the
leader of the Albanian forces, George Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg
(“Lord Alexander”). Today, he is as little known in the West as he was once
widely celebrated all throughout Europe. His life validates the saying that
“truth is stranger than fiction.”
Born of Albanian royalty, he was taken captive as a child by the Ottoman Turks,
and trained to be a janissary, a Christian slave indoctrinated into becoming a
Muslim soldier. Excelling at war, he quickly rose among the Ottoman ranks until
he became a celebrated general, with thousands of Turks under his command.
Despite all the honors showered on him, once the opportunity appeared, he showed
where his true allegiance lay: he broke free of the Muslims and fled to his
native and continuously harried Albania. There, after openly reclaiming his
Christian faith, he “abjured the prophet and the sultan, and proclaimed himself
the avenger of his family and country,” to quote Edward Gibbon.
Thereafter, from 1443 to 1468 — a quarter of a century — Skanderbeg committed
his life to the successful defense of his tiny homeland against the world’s most
powerful empire. In so doing, he renounced a life of wealth, prestige, and
untold pleasures among the Ottomans and willingly embraced a life of nonstop war
among and on behalf of his own people — not infrequently living in mountains and
caves as a fugitive, though always living in freedom.
His “ingratitude” naturally provoked the Turks to no end and prompted wave after
wave of jihadist invasions, each larger and crueler than its predecessor. Yet,
in a total of twenty-four battles and sieges, he beat them all back, always
while being vastly outnumbered by his Muslim foes, often by as much as
ten-to-one. Little wonder he is known as the Albanian Braveheart.
The Battle of Albulena, which occurred on today’s date, arguably represents the
pinnacle of his career. In late May 1457, 80,000 Turks under the command of
Skanderbeg’s own nephew, Hamza — whose jealousy had caused him to betray his
uncle — marched through and devastated the Mat River valley in north central
Albania. Because Hamza was well acquainted with his uncle’s guerilla tactics,
Skanderbeg had to improvise. Instead of hiding his vastly outnumbered army —
barely one-tenth the size of the Muslim army — in the mountains and awaiting the
opportune moment to strike, as he had often done, he divided them into many
smaller units and dispersed them in the valleys and woods. For three months, all
the Turks saw were tiny roving bands of Albanians, none of which dared leave the
mountains and engage them. As a result, nearly three months later, by late
August, the Ottomans concluded that Skanderbeg had become a moot point — that he
was “done up with,” that his men had “deserted” him, and that he himself had
quit to “the mountain fastness in order to save his skin,” to quote from the
sources.
But just when the Turks were most convinced that the Albanians had lost both
their leader and their nerve, on September 2, 1457, Skanderbeg, having reunited
his 8,000 men, launched a lightning-swift strike. Under Mount Tumenishta, to
loud cries and the braying instruments of war, he and his cavalry and guerilla
fighters suddenly burst into the Muslim camp in a frenzy of war. The trapped
Turks were terrified — despite assurances from Hamza that the Albanian army was
much smaller than it seemed. Panic spread, and the Muslim army was routed on the
plains of Albulena. In what became one of the Ottomans’ worst defeats, as many
as 30,000 Turks were either butchered or captured in the bloody onslaught.
Not only Albania but all of Europe benefited from Skanderbeg’s stalwart defense
and perseverance, which continued until the moment of his death some years
later. Had the Ottomans managed to transform Albania into a launching pad into
Italy in 1450 instead of when they did, in 1480, Muhammad II, the Conqueror —
modern-day Turkey’s hero — would have had 30 years, not just one, to pursue his
long cherished goal of conquering Rome and, from there, inundating Western
Europe with hordes of Muslims.
That Skanderbeg was a quintessential Defender of the West was even acknowledged
by the United States Congress, in a 2005 resolution titled, “Honoring the 600th
anniversary of the birth of Gjergj Kastrioti (Scanderbeg), statesman, diplomat,
and military genius, for his role in saving Western Europe from Ottoman
occupation.”
In the centuries following his death, more than 1,000 books in more than 20
different languages, and any number of operas and plays, were written about him.
In a letter dated 1756, Major General James Wolfe of Britain wrote that
Skanderbeg “excels all the officers, ancient and modern, in the conduct of a
small defensive army.” In 1905, historian William J. Armstrong went so far as to
write that “the exploits even of the renowned paladins of the crusades, whether
Godfrey or Tancred or Richard or Raymond, pale to insignificance by similar
comparison. Only the legendary feats of King Arthur and his knights … suggest a
parallel of wondrous achievement.”
Such praise is well warranted.
*For the full story of Skanderbeg — as well as several other Christian heroes
who stood against Islamic jihad — see Raymond Ibrahim’s Defenders of the West,
from which the above account was excerpted.
Afghanistan: More Than a War on Women’s Voice
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 02/2024
When someone is described as "having his voice heard," it means he is
influential or powerful. The voice is a tool of power and empowerment, and
because it is so, those who object or make demands "raise their voices." If
their demands are not met, they raise their voices even higher, eventually
beginning to scream. It is no coincidence that the Arabic term for "voting"
means "revealing a voice" (tasweet), because, through their voices, citizens
declare the choice they have made for their lives and the world around them. In
turn, the first thing newborns do is make sound; we thereby begin our lives and
let others know that we are alive through our voices. Historically, the voice
remained, throughout the many millennia in which culture was oral, the medium of
knowledge and the bridge through which humanity accessed everything they
learned. Beyond the basic functions played by speaking and singing, some see the
human voice as the first musical instrument in the history of music.
Others add that sound changes and is changed, and that it, like light, is known
for having a particular speed. "The speed of light" and "the speed of sound" are
used as benchmark measurements, while darkness and silence lack movement, and by
extension, have no speed. In response to all of this influence, the silencer
emerged - a weapon that mutes its own sound temporarily to permanently silence
the voices of its victims. Silencers prevent voices from asserting, protesting,
screaming, sharing their narrative, and singing, treating them, in defiance of
nature, like something that can be eradicated.
In Afghanistan, the silencer is a political and cultural system, and it is, as
such, targeting the women’s voices. A woman’s voice should not be heard in
public spaces because, according to recent reports, it is seductive and
alluring, and to avert strife and chaos, seduction and allure must be silenced.
Before silencing their voices, the silencer had already covered women's hair,
faces, and bodies. It prohibited them from working, traveling without a male
guardian, and accessing parks, amusement centers, sports clubs, and public
baths. To prevent them from going to beauty salons, it shut those salons down.
While "educating women" was a slogan of the early attempts to give rise to a
renaissance in the Islamic world, Afghanistan has become the only country in the
world that bans girls from pursuing their studies beyond primary school. As the
authorities in Kabul boasted of having destroyed 21,000 musical instruments in a
single year, UNESCO announced that 1.4 million Afghan girls had been denied an
education.
This is a war on women in every sense of the word. Because this is the case, an
entire country has been turned into a camp for torturing women and turning them
into helpless corpses. However, if wars are waged to kill the enemy and turn
them into corpses, what is happening here, through successive belligerent
measures, is that the corpse is being mutilated and stabbed repeatedly. Mere
killing does not quench their thirst for revenge nor suffice to liberate these
fearful, hateful men from their pathological fear of women and their even more
pathological hatred for them.
However, while Afghanistan is at the forefront of the war on women, it is not
the only other party to the conflict. Popular fatwas, both the televised and
non-televised, have not found themes that rival those which they have identified
in women, their bodies, and questions related to family, sex, and marriage.
As has become widely known, a draft law in Iraq would make it legal to marry
minors. It is being deliberated at a time when "anti-imperialism" hinders any
mention of Khomeini's book "Tahrir al-Wasilah" (Exegesis of the Means of
Salvation) - which is composed of collection of his fatwas, including one in
which he permits men to engage in "every enjoyment" - to say nothing about
warning against these "teachings" and disparaging them.
Nonetheless, Afghanistan presents a unique test to popular theories of national
liberation, especially since it freed itself from the Americans in the summer of
2021, to broad fanfare. Afghanistan provides a stark example of abstract
principles disappointing after they are put into practice. The worst thing that
can happen to principles is for them to remain mere principles that are never
grounded in reality and facts that validate them. That is why we find ourselves
in situations that the simple-minded had not expected, like independence and
liberation, both virtuous principles, being confronted with their victories,
which go against every virtue.
This country was born, and remained, decolonized. That is, Afghanistan was among
the few countries in the world that had never been colonized. It might have been
the most isolated country on the planet, and the most cordoned off from
"contamination" by Westerners. In recent decades, the Afghans, through their "Mujahideen"
and then the Taliban, managed to repel two "white" incursions by the world's two
most powerful military powers: the former Soviet Union and the United States.
The Taliban's ongoing animosity for the latter led it, according to numerous
journalistic reports, to go so far as to allow Al-Qaeda to reestablish its
military presence in Kabul. Meanwhile, Russia and China now enjoy good relations
with Afghanistan that are not paralleled by those of any major Western country.
However, this country, which deserves the title of the world's bride of
liberation, is busy waging a war on women- one whose medieval label is an insult
to the Middle Ages.
As for women, regardless of all the noise it is popular to make about
colonialism and decolonization, theirs remains among the most noble of the
causes in our contemporary world, if not the most noble of all.
Inside the Frantic US Efforts to Contain a Mideast Disaster
Michael Crowley, Eric Schmitt and Edward Wong/The New York Times/Asharq Al-Awsat/September
02/2024
As Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken flew to Mongolia on July 31, his mind
was on events far away, in the Middle East. Hours earlier, Israel had
assassinated a top Hamas leader in Tehran, and Iranian officials were vowing
retaliation for the murder of a close ally on their soil.
Using a secure phone in his private compartment of the plane, Blinken spoke to
several foreign officials in the hours after the killing, asking them to urge
Iran against taking any action that could lead to all-out war with Israel.
Days later, one of the officials, the foreign minister of Jordan, Ayman Safadi,
visited Tehran and called for “peace, stability and security.”
President Biden also quickly persuaded the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to
schedule a new round of talks aiming to secure a cease-fire in Gaza. Those
meetings had an unstated purpose as well: discouraging Iran from mounting an
attack that could derail the talks and make Tehran look like a spoiler.
In the month since Israel’s assassination of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, US
officials have worked almost nonstop to contain the latest tit for tat, with
Israel on one side and Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah on the other.
They are desperate to avert a regional war that they fear could pull the United
States into the fighting.
So far, that kind of disaster has been avoided, however narrowly.
Biden officials believe they have played an important role in staving off the
worst, though they concede that other factors have kept a precarious lid on the
fast-boiling pot. And while they have managed to contain the wider war for now,
they have not secured a cease-fire in Gaza, a failure that could ultimately
undermine their work.
Reinforcing the point, US diplomacy has sprung into action again this week, in
an effort to prevent a major Israeli military operation in the West Bank from
triggering new waves of violence in the region.
The US diplomatic scramble, combined with displays of military force, shows that
the United States is determined to prevent a wider conflagration — and prepared
to strike powerfully in support of Israel, if necessary.
The messages have been sent not just to Iran but to Israel. Last week, amid
signs that Israel was preparing to strike Iran’s ally in southern Lebanon,
Hezbollah, Blinken flew to Tel Aviv. There, he delivered a different message to
Israeli officials: Washington will support a pre-emptive Israeli strike against
Hezbollah equipment or forces poised to launch any imminent attack, according to
a senior US official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss
sensitive diplomacy.
But, again hoping to head off a dangerous escalation, Blinken added that Israel
should not use the opportunity to mount a broader offensive against the Lebanese
group.
Israel struck hard but narrowly on Sunday, destroying Hezbollah weapons
preparing to strike Israel, in presumed retaliation for Israel’s killing of one
of the group’s senior commanders in Beirut weeks before. A Hezbollah rocket
salvo fired in response — after the Biden White House passed messages to the
Iran-backed group urging restraint — inflicted limited damage. Both sides
claimed victory, and senior Biden officials heaved a collective sigh of relief.
Factors that have little to do with the United States have also helped avert a
wider war, officials and analysts say. Iran and Hezbollah fear that they could
suffer badly from an all-out conflict. (Hamas, by contrast, may have staged the
Oct. 7 attacks in Israel with the hope of forcing the region into such a war.)
None of the parties want to be blamed for derailing talks to stop the fighting
in Gaza. Iran has a newly elected moderate president who is interested in better
relations with the United States, and a wider war with tremendous costs could
also threaten the leading clerics’ grip on power.
The nation with the most to lose could be Lebanon, with its economy in crisis, a
reality that leaders of Hezbollah, a prominent political and military group
there, recognize.
Biden administration officials argue the crisis could be much worse if not for
their diplomacy.
Biden’s top aides have worked the phones and traveled to the Middle East —
Blinken was backed up by Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, two National Security
Council aides who handle Middle East affairs, and William J. Burns, the C.I.A.
director, who has been the lead American negotiator in the cease-fire and
hostage talks.
At the same time, the US government has not been shy about backing up its
diplomacy with the threat of devastating military force.
On Aug. 2, two days after Haniyeh’s assassination and as Blinken and others
furiously called foreign officials, the Pentagon began to flex American muscle.
The Defense Department announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III had
ordered the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln to relieve the Theodore Roosevelt
in the Gulf of Oman, ensuring no gap in major American naval presence in the
region.
Austin also directed additional F-22 fighters to the region, and took the
unusual step of announcing the deployment of the guided-missile submarine
Georgia to the Middle East. The Pentagon rarely publicizes the movements of its
submarine fleet.
At about the same time, Dana Stroul, the Defense Department’s former top Middle
East policy specialist, publicly urged the Biden administration to consider
striking inside Iran itself.